The Royal Capital, Istria

The carriage leisurely passed through the gate.

In Istria's royal capital, Sei was exercising noble privileges for the first time in a while.

The reason was that Ogress and Istria had diplomatic relations through marriage, and both had origins in the same empire.

A prince dispatched from the empire had founded the Kingdom of Istria.

A princess dispatched from the empire had founded the Kingdom of Casalia.

The Ogress Archduchy was founded by a princess who fled from Casalia—namely, Ria—and later absorbed the internally chaotic Kingdom of Casalia through annexation, becoming the Holy Ogress Empire.

So while extremely distant, they were undoubtedly relatives from their very founding.

The noble privilege was used simply to skip the hassle of passing through the castle gate.

But shortly after, Sei would learn that this choice had been the correct one.

 

*

 

"I thought it would all be stone, but inside there's quite a bit of wood," Laila remarked as she looked around the inn. After securing a high-class inn, Sei's group had immediately been handed an invitation to the royal castle.

"… It's addressed to me and Mako. My name aside, how did they know Mako's name?"

Checking the map, the hero was inside the royal castle.

Considering there had been heroes who nearly died or ended up becoming adventurers, this one seemed to have maneuvered quite skillfully.

"Ah, I see. With that Gift, that makes sense."

Precognition.

The one who, on that day, had safely teleported every single one of Onesis's heroes away—the person responsible for that feat.

And the one who knew the terror of dragons better than anyone.

 

*

 

"Takahashi-san's precognition, you see, had both short-interval predictions and long-interval predictions. As she leveled up, it kept getting more and more useful."

Seeing one second into the future during combat. Or knowing events one day ahead.

The precision kept improving, and apparently her swordsmanship level had risen quite high as well.

Despite being a girl, she didn't shy away from fighting on the front lines and was also diligent in her magic training.

"Level 65, huh. Sounds like she did her share of fighting after the teleportation too."

"… On that day as well, Takahashi-san's precognition activated about thirty minutes before the dragon arrived. But…"

What she sensed was apparently quite abstract—something terrifying, something immense was coming.

The dragon's existence had probably exceeded her expectations, making it impossible to fully comprehend.

 

*

 

"If possible, she's the hero I wanted to secure first."

According to Ria and Carla, precognition was a type of space-time magic.

Well, since it foretells events that haven't happened yet, that classification made sense.

If she would accompany Sei on his journey, she could predict events one day ahead—or perhaps even further.

That would definitely reduce the dangers of travel. It could even reveal the presence of hostile heroes.

 

*

 

"So anyway, I can bring a few people along if they're treated as attendants?"

"Me! Me!"

"Me too! Me too!"

Kukuri and Laila, the curious duo, raised their hands.

Between their talkativeness and their strong curiosity, these two somehow felt like a matched set.

And the quiet duo would stay behind.

Who knew how much conversation they'd actually have.

"I'm going to the guild."

With just that, Gantz left the room, leaving only Lavi behind.

"Um, will Lavi be okay alone?"

Lavi stood up and firmly gripped the hem of Sei's clothes.

 

*

 

Istria's royal castle was truly magnificent.

In terms of tradition, Craia might have been superior, but the capital of a great nation was indeed different.

However, according to Carla, Istria had intense conflicts between royal and noble factions, making it a complicated country internally.

Now then, upon arriving at the castle, Sei and Mako were immediately led to the audience chamber.

The audience chamber was that typical scene—the king seated high atop stairs, with nobles lined up on either side.

When the heavy doors opened, that expected sight spread before them, making both Sei and Mako more than a little nervous.

As they proceeded to the designated spot and were about to kneel, a voice came from His Majesty the King.

"That will not be necessary. Mei, proceed with the discussion."

A girl in shrine maiden-like attire beside the king descended the stairs.

"It's been a while, Tsubaki-san. I need you to cooperate right away."

The girl, filled with a sense of urgency—Mei Takahashi—said this.

 

*

 

"A monster stampede, you say…"

The king nodded at Sei's words.

The setting had already changed, and a strategy was being planned in a conference room.

"According to my precognition, in three or four days, tens of thousands of monsters will emerge from a forest in the kingdom's northwest. We've already begun positioning troops, but it's proving difficult…"

As he learned later, the nobles had ignored Mei's prediction.

And as a later consequence, this would serve as justification for reducing noble influence, allowing Istria's royal authority to regain some stability.

 

*

 

Originally, Mei had more preparation than other heroes right before the teleportation, so she possessed items to prove her identity.

She made her way to Istria's royal capital and was invited to the court as a hero from a nation destroyed by dragons.

Being recognized by the king, the highest authority, was significant—her precognition gradually gained respect, which also led to a rapid increase in royal power.

However, a turning point arrived.

A precognition of a monster stampede.

Tens of thousands of monsters to deal with—the location was known. But there wasn't enough time to assemble troops.

In her anxiety, Mei had another precognition.

Though vague, a being of great power would arrive. If they borrowed that power, the monsters could be annihilated.

"But I couldn't pinpoint the exact date… Still, this should reduce the casualties."

 

*

 

Mei Takahashi possessed a brilliant mind and a good-natured personality.

She assessed situations normally and searched for what she could do.

The result of that was using Sei's group's fighting strength.

 

*

 

"I know you understand the situation, but for now, please just cooperate."

Conversing with someone who had precognition was difficult.

After all, they already knew what you were going to say.

But he also understood that precognition wasn't omnipotent.

"May I use the divine dragon's power?"

At Sei's words, clear fear surfaced on Mei's face.

"A dragon… Are you saying it's going to attack this country?"

"No, that's not it. One of our companions is a divine dragon."

 

*

 

That was probably the element that had been causing uncertainty in Mei's precognitions.

"A dragon… Isn't that the root cause of Onesis's destruction?"

"Ah, well, from the dragon's perspective…"

Sei gave a brief explanation about dragons and explained his own role.

"A world crisis, huh… It seems my precognition doesn't work well on things beyond my comprehension."

Mei sighed but was also convinced.

"A fortress in the northwest—there's no way we'd make it in time from here. But instead of reinforcements, we could fly there on the dragon."

"If it's a small group, I can also use teleportation."

 

*

 

At those words, murmurs spread through the room. Teleportation magic had almost no practitioners nowadays.

"In that case, please bring spare weapons—especially arrows. That would be more useful than a few additional soldiers."

When the man who was likely the commander spoke, the others nodded.

"Ah, non-living items can be stored in my Folder… my Infinite Storage. Is there anything else in terms of weapons to bring?"

"Infinite Storage…?"

The commanders were speechless but quickly moved to arrange supplies.

"You may truly become saviors of our nation…"

The king murmured, but Sei couldn't be optimistic.

Monster stampedes toward the west and north from the demon territory—and now the same thing happening here at nearly the same time…

"Your Majesty, there may be evil gods behind this."

"Evil gods, you say!"

In the chamber where disorderly murmuring arose, Sei declared loudly.

"The monsters that headed west from the southern demon territory were annihilated by heroes, and those that headed north were annihilated by the elves and us. And behind them were evil gods."

 

*

 

This might have been a mistake to reveal.

Sei thought so but continued speaking.

"Even if there are evil gods, we can defeat them. That's something we can handle."

Honestly, it depended on the opponent's level.

If it was a god at the level of those in the demon territory, three of them could defeat it easily. But if it was a powerful god like those invading other continents, it might be impossible.

Even while thinking this, Sei maintained a confident demeanor.

 

*

 

With just a brief period until supplies were gathered, Sei's group had assembled in Mei's private room within the palace.

Since they'd pulled Gantz from the adventurer's guild, no one was left out.

"Even so, that child is a divine dragon? I can't actually see precognitions about her, so I suppose it must be true."

Mei looked slightly more relaxed. The monster stampede situation must have frightened her after all.

But now, she had companions.

The Knight of the Divine Dragon, a hero, and a divine dragon.

With this many people, casualties should be kept to a minimum.

"How is it, actually? Honestly, in the battle with the elves, the defensive power of the barrier was a major factor."

"I see. I haven't seen it myself, but I hear the fortress itself is quite sturdy. Though apparently it's rather pre-modern."

The elven barrier had considerable defensive power, but this probably couldn't compare.

"The left and right sides are steep mountain paths, but since we're dealing with monsters, quite a few will probably slip through."

Indeed, that was a problem.

 

*

 

"Given this situation, do you have any strategies?"

"… Ever since you went to the elven village, there's been no contact, so I was worried, and then…"

Ria, on the other end of the communicator, was clearly angry.

"Forget about some monster stampede and bring the hero back!"

"Look, she's completely involved in this situation. It's impossible until we resolve this."

"You… Monsters are one thing, but gods? And if I recall correctly, there's supposed to be a powerful evil god dormant in that area."

That was dangerous information indeed.

"Any chance you could send a dragon our way?"

"Don't be unreasonable. There's no dragon we could mobilize right now… Actually, there is one."

"Oh, there is? It would be a huge help if they could handle either the god or the monsters."

"Ah, I'll handle the god."

"… Huh?"

"I said I'm coming."

"Uh, wait, Shishou, didn't you say it was bad for divine dragons to get involved with heroes?"

"There's no problem with the Precognition hero. Besides, I have descendants in Istria. I'd really like to leave this to Teru, but there's no way she'd easily agree to help."

So that's why she was going herself, apparently.

 

*

 

"What did Ria-san say?"

"Apparently she's coming here herself."

Seeing Sei's pale complexion, Mako's expression went blank as well.

"… My condolences."

"Hey, Mako says that, but you're immortal now. You could endure Shishou's training."

"I'll pass. Please spare me."

At their exchange, Mei interjected.

"What? Is someone scary coming?"

"Scary isn't quite it… more like… incredible?"

"She's scary! She's the type who laughs 'fuhaha' while crushing your skull!"

A smile and instant death. Sei had witnessed that image of Ria many times. And he was always the target.

"Well, in terms of fighting strength, there won't be any problems… If anything, it might be overkill."

Sei laughed with a resigned expression, and Lavi patted his head.