—-- Leon Greyrat —--

As I returned to the beach, Ruijerd and Eris instantly noticed my… condition.

“Leon? What’s wrong? Did you get something in your eye?” Eris asks with worry.

“No, nothing like that, I just…”

How do I explain this…

“I met the Great Demon Empress, I guess?” I shrug.

“Hah?” Eris exclaims. “What does that mean?”

Ruijerd, on the other hand, seemed a bit surprised, but quickly accepted it, “So she revived, huh? And I assume she gave you a demon eye?”

“Y-Yeah, but it’s a bit hard to control. The Eye of Magic Power is what she called it,” I reply.

Ruijerd raises his eyebrow, “Is that so? I knew a few people that had that eye, and from what they said, it was fairly similar to my third eye.”

Oh? Really?

“So if you require any aid, I may be of help,” he says.

“Thanks, Ruijerd. I’ll take you up on that, because right now,” I then take off the cloth I had wrapped around my face as a makeshift eyepatch. “Agh! It… it’s a little too much.”

I quickly put it back on.

“Whoa! Your eye was purple, Brother!” Aisha says, running up to me. “Show it again!”

“No way,” I shake my head. “Anyway, are you two done? I brought lunch.”

“Yay!”

Even Norn seemed excited seeing the food.

“But it won’t taste any good with sand on your hands. Here, show them.”

With the two extending their hands, and Eris showing hers as well, which were covered in callouses and dirt, I summon some warm water before washing them off and handing them a skewer each.

But damn… this eye was a liability more than anything right now. I guess I’ll have something to do in my free time as I try to search for a way to get Ruijerd across, huh?

Oh! I almost forgot!

“I, uhh…” the words trail off as I look back to Eris.

It wasn’t because I was stunned by her beauty, at least not this time, but rather, I remembered that she had a family too. One that completely slipped my mind.

“Huh? What is it?” Eris says.

“My… my family is alive… Sylphy too,” I say.

Her eyes widen in surprise. “That’s amazing! Then… why are you looking so sad?”

“Umm, I forgot to ask about yours… sorry,” I say, wincing.

Contrary to my expectations, Eris simply shrugs, “Oh, them? They’re fine. They have Ghislaine with them, after all.”

…Oh. I suppose that’s true.

It was nice to see she still had so much trust in Big Sis.

—-- Leon Greyrat —--

It had been a week since our arrival in Wind Port, and while I had yet to make any progress in terms of getting Ruijerd to the Milis Continent, I had gotten control of my new demon eye.

Our routine was fairly unchanged.

We would wake up, I would check the guild for any news, the others would get breakfast, and then we would convene at the beach for training.

Eris would practice her swordsmanship with Ruijerd, I would train my demon eye while joining Eris and Ruijerd here and there, and Aisha and Norn would play on the beach or practice their own magic.

A peaceful time.

Anyway, while I had gotten a bit of advice about controlling my new eye from Ruijerd, it was, unfortunately, mostly quite useless, as his magic sense was something he was born with, making it difficult to explain to me.

What did help with controlling my demon eye, however, was my swordsmanship, oddly enough.

Not in terms of swinging a sword of course, but rather my ability to control my touki, and therefore my mana, in my body. By using the same concept, I was able to easily turn off and on my eye by the second day by shutting off the flow of mana to it.

Once I got used to regulating the flow of mana, I was able to use my eye to the fullest. The most important thing I had to do, however, was make sure my eye wasn’t seeing the latent mana in the air, but rather the magic power that was used by another. This way, I could constantly have the eye on to watch out for surprise attacks, and easily read the flow of mana in someone’s body should we clash.

If I had to describe how it felt… well, it was basically giving me a visible cue to my inexplicable ‘sense’ that I learned from my Master, the Water God.

This may sound like it was useless, as I already could sense mana, but that was far from the truth.

First, to properly use the ‘sense’ of mana to the fullest extent, I would have to be very focused, which was hard to do in the heat of battle, especially when I was managing both magic and swordsmanship. But with a visual cue, that problem went away.

And second, my demon eye made the ‘sense’ sharper than I ever could get from using my pure senses.

Kind of like how while I was fluent in the Demon God tongue, I was much better in the Human tongue, my native language.

Thinking about it now, this might seem like cheating, but an improvement was an improvement.

So that was good. But that still left the glaring problem with our plans.

Smuggling Ruijerd.

Incidentally, during this week, I had a talk with Ruijerd and Eris about this dilemma.

I didn’t expect them to have any insights, of course, but I didn’t want them to think I was leading them around without caring about their input.

Plus, as smuggling Ruijerd over was our most likely option, I needed to make sure he was okay with it.

Luckily, while he did make a sour face, he quickly agreed, citing how he was the source of the current problem, so it was uncouth for him to get upset when someone else found a way to resolve it.

I also may have hinted that if we didn’t like what we saw, we could always go back afterwards, especially if it involved trafficking children. So that probably helped him swallow any doubts.

But honestly… even without using it to ‘bribe’ Ruijerd, I would probably do that anyway.

I don’t know whether it was just me, or if taking care of my sisters had done something, but each time I saw a child in trouble, I felt the instinctual need to protect them, no matter the race or the circumstance.

I guess I was more like Ruijerd than I thought, huh?

I… didn’t really mind that.

“But fuck… just where do you find smugglers?” I murmur to myself.

I mean, it wasn’t like I could just place a quest at the guild for it, nor could I go asking around casually. I would have to get my hands dirty for this, it seemed.

As Ruijerd was watching the kids, and Eris was knocked out after a day of training, I decided to start my search by heading out from the inn we were renting and into the night.

I guess I should start at the bars and-

“So the ‘Guardian Wolf’ needs some help, eh?”

Hearing a man’s voice, I turn my head down the alley to see a figure emerge from the darkness, a wide smirk on his face.

“...What do you want?” I ask cautiously.

He had a sword hung at his hip, covered by his large coat that draped to his knees and had a thug-like face with a scar running down his right eye.

In short, a dangerous-looking man, and from how refined his touki seemed to be, constantly flowing through his body, he had the skills to back it up too. Likely… Saint rank, if I had to guess.

“Nothing nothing! If anything, I want to help you!” he says, waving his hand nonchalantly. “You know… I remember hearing you ask about transport a while back, seems like you have a problem on your hands with… what’s his name? Ah, the ‘Judge’. Who knew the Superd race was a real thing? Anyway, I decided to try to find you and strike up a deal, so here I am!” 

This guy was suspicious as hell.

“And? What about it?” I ask.

“Calm down,” he says with a faint smile. “Well, from what I’ve gathered, and what you said, you need some help smuggling your comrade over the sea, right?”

I nod.

He points to himself, “Well, lucky for you, I’m the perfect guy for the job.”

…This seemed way too convenient of a development, but then again, he did say how he was looking for me.

“...I’m guessing it won’t be free, right?” I say.

“Ha. In your dreams, kiddo. My life ain’t worth the cost of smuggling a Superd, you know,” he says. “But… well, let’s say I’d be willing to do you a favour, as long as you help me out. You’re pretty strong, right? Even without the rumours, I can tell.”

…Right.

I didn’t like this, not one bit, but then again, I was never going to feel comfortable with the smuggling thing, so I guess I should just be grateful such an opportunity fell into my lap.

Assuming he’s not scamming me, that is.

“And what exactly is your request?” I ask.

“Hehe, well you see…” he scratches his cheek. “Basically, I need you to release some goods that we have before they get shipped off and, if possible, take them back to their homes.”

…Say what now?

He… wanted us to… save his captured slaves? Was I hearing that right?

I was thoroughly confused now, “Uhh… I guess that wouldn’t be too difficult, but… why? Isn’t that, like, bad for business?”

“Ah, well, if they were normal goods, then yeah, it would. But you see… my friends went ahead and bit off more than they could chew, you could say. One of those goods would be way too much trouble than they’re worth and will end up biting us in the ass a few years from now,” he says with a shrug.

“Okay… Did you capture some member of royalty or something?” I ask.

“Something like that,” he smirks. “So? You in?”

I narrow my eyes, “...I don’t see a problem with it, but why aren’t you doing it yourself? I can tell you’re strong.”

“Well, I’m doing this for their own good, you see, but I think you can understand why it might be bad for me to betray my friends like that,” he shrugs.

I guess I could, yeah.

This all still felt… quite wrong, but from what I could tell, this seemed like a good deal. As long as I wasn’t being lied to, that is. Almost… too good.

We wouldn’t have to pay a dime, nor would we have to do anything ‘dishonourable’, as Ruijerd would say.

Heck, if anything, we would be doing good by rescuing some enslaved people.

And besides, it wasn’t like we had any other options to choose from, now did we?

“I’ll… have to talk with my party first, but I see no issues with your task,” I say. “I accept.”

The man’s smile widens, “Good. I’ll give you more of the details in a couple of weeks, so don’t go anywhere. Ah, the name’s Gallus, by the way. Gallus Cleaner.”

“...Leon Greyrat,” I return.

And so, with Gallus sending a wave my way, he then began walking back into the night, slipping easily into the shadows.

I guess we found our way out of Wind Port. Now to talk to Ruijerd…

—-- Roxy Migurdia —--

My name is Roxy Migurdia, a King-rank water magician with the unique ability to cast magic without an incantation and the former tutor to the Seventh Prince of Shirone.

The past year has been… hectic, to say the least. But I’ll try to recount what I can.

I remember noticing an odd storm of mana hovering across the mountains where the Asura Kingdom was and having it disappear a moment later. Seeing this, I decided to investigate. I had wanted to leave my post as the prince’s tutor for a while, so it was a good excuse.

As for why I noticed the storm? Well, it was common for me to practice magic while looking towards that direction for… reasons. 

Reasons that were much too embarrassing to admit.

As I journeyed through the Asura Kingdom, I heard a rumour that became a larger talking point the further I went north… That the entire Fittoa Region had disappeared.

Needless to say, I was confused. And more than that, extremely worried.

After all, my dearest students called the Fittoa Region their home. And while I trusted in their abilities, it didn’t stop the feeling of unease from pervading my mind.

And so, with renewed vigour, I made my way to the place I had spent nearly three years, and when I arrived, I instantly noticed the change in scenery.

Where there used to be a city, there was now… nothing. 

Well, not exactly nothing, as there was a refugee camp that had been formed, but still nothing like the great citadel city that used to be there.

Ignoring the faces of despair, I made my way to the camp’s center, only to be met by a giant board with a grand list of names and various requests of missing persons.

And among those, a certain name stood out.

One Paul Greyrat.

It was a simple letter, calling on his ex-party members from his adventuring days to help him find his family, as well as serving as a notice for any of his family that read it to find him in Millishion or to search for the others themselves.

But that confirmed it.

Leon, and Rudy as well, had been victims of this disaster which had now been called the Displacement Incident.

As soon as I knew that, I felt the urge to instantly begin searching for the two, as while they might be strong, they were still young and inexperienced. But before I could do so, I met my two current companions.

Elinalise Dragonroad and Talhand, both S-rank adventurers who were members of the Fangs of the Black Wolf, Zenith and Paul’s former party.

Incidentally, they were also about to set off on a journey to find Paul’s family, both as a favour to their former comrade, as well as due to Leon, whom they had somewhat parented in his childhood.

Let’s just say I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of baby Leon as we travelled together, but those were tales for another time.

As the three of us conferred, we decided that since Paul had the Milis Continent covered, and with the search and rescue squad scouring the Central Continent, there were two options left for us to make significant progress with our admittedly outstanding collective abilities.

The Begaritt Continent and the Demon Continent.

While they were both harsh lands, we decided that we would explore the Demon Continent, as I hailed from that place myself, so I already knew the language and customs.

And so, after arriving in Wind Port and not finding any information, we quickly gathered some supplies before heading north to the next city, hoping that the other cities would have better luck.

I had thought about leaving some sort of quest or notice, but we eventually decided against it, as if they were fine, they would be able to get back on their own, and if they weren’t… well, I doubt their captors would take a small sum for their freedom.

If something like that came to pass, we would have to free them on our own.

“Ahh~ Who knew there were such good men on this continent? I’ll have to visit again sometime,” Elinalise says from the side. “Taking five of them at once was a challenge, even for me! Fufufu!”

…Yes. As one might have guessed from those words, Elinalise was a slut. One who took every opportunity she could to bed a man, even going so far as to pay them for it.

Of course, I wasn’t one to call her a derogatory name just based on that, but hearing her moans every single night, as well as the fact that she herself called her a harlot, I decided that it wasn’t all that bad.

But aside from her… eccentricities, Elinalise was a wonderful woman. Both in looks and demeanour.

So much so, that I couldn’t help but get jealous of her, as she was basically my ideal.

Still… I just couldn’t imagine giving my body so haphazardly. I had remained pure for all this time, waiting for the perfect partner, so I wasn’t planning on having my first so easily. Especially not in the presence of multiple men and women, no matter how many times Elinalise invited me.

No. I would first find Paul’s family, and once I found Leon… well… 

Ah! Nevermind!

H-He was only seven when he made that promise, right? He… probably forgot about me.

But… he did send me letters… and he continuously professed his love for me in them, up to the final exchange… so what am I supposed to think!?

“Ara~? That’s a good face you have right now, Roxy,” Elinalise purrs from the side. “Is my talk about the joys of men rousing some feelings?”

“W-What!? No! I’m just… feeling nostalgic is all,” I reply hastily, pulling my hat down to cover my reddening cheeks.

It wasn’t necessarily a lie. After all, it had been a while since I’d been to my homeland. Ever since I crossed the sea, I hadn’t looked back in all these years.

But now wasn’t a time for reminiscence. I had a family to find.

“That so? Well, let’s head to the guild then. I want to get ourselves an inn, though I probably won’t be there tonight if you understand,” Elinalise says with a wink.

“I definitely do,” I deadpan.

After all, for every single night that she was able to, the elven warrior had taken a man to bed. Sometimes even going for multiple at a time.

With an estoc hung at her side and a buckler strapped to her forearm, along with a curved body that turned heads wherever she went, I couldn’t help but sigh in envy each time I was met with the realization that I would never hold a candle to the girl.

Haa… thinking back on it now, my love with Leon was probably a dream, huh? After all, I was the only girl he had met at the time, so he must have fallen for me, but only in the sense of a childish fling. Now that he had grown up and seen many women in his life, he probably would grow disappointed when we met again, wouldn’t he?

Haa… well, that’s a depressing thought, isn’t it?

“Hah. I just hope the alcohol is a bit better than back there,” Talhand adds. “Nearly puked my guts out.”

“Oh, shut up you big baby,” Elinalise sneers. “You only hated it because you were seasick. Some sturdy dwarf you are.”

“What’d you say? Damn bitch,” Talhand spits.

And yes… there was that as well.

While my two companions were quick to start fights over the most menial of things, it never came to the point of exchanging blows. While it was shocking at first, I eventually came to understand that’s how these two friends talked to each other.

Though it was definitely uncomfortable for the outside observer. Which was me, in this case.

“Whatever, I don’t need to argue with you right now,” Elinalise says, her face switching to a serious look. “Let’s make our goal clear. We’re here to search for Lilia, Zenith, Norn, Aisha, and Leon Greyrat. If we find any other Fittoans, we’ll simply give them some money and send them to the Milis Continent, got it?”

“Haa… yeah, got it. Let’s go to the guild then,” Talhand says with a shrug.

While I was originally planning to search for Rudeus as well, we got the good news in Millishion, where we briefly met with Paul, that Rudeus had already started heading north to search the Northern Territories while bringing along two beastfolk girls.

I was initially hesitant about having a child search such a dangerous place, but I trusted Rudeus’ abilities.

Despite the good news, that still left five to be found. And two of them were children who hadn’t even reached their first birthday.

Luckily, from what Paul heard from Rudeus, Norn and Aisha should have been teleported along with Leon, and since Leon was already a Saint-rank fighter and an intelligent kid, he was probably enough to get all three of them to safety.

But that was only in terms of the Central and Milis Continents.

The Demon and Begaritt Continents were an entirely different story. So if they needed help, our best bet to find them would be in one of those places, hence Elinalise’s motivating words.

I… did find it a bit odd how fast that laid-back promiscuous woman could switch to a serious personality.

I guess that’s something that comes with age and experience, but nonetheless, “I’m glad you’re taking this seriously, Elinalise.”

“Of course, I would,” she says. “While I hold no feelings for Paul, especially since he decided to find another woman, I do miss Zenny quite a lot, so I feel obligated to save her family. And as for Leon…” her lips curl up into a slight smile. “Well, let’s say I view him as a son of some sort. I did have him feed from my breast, after all.”

“Oh, uhh… I see,” I respond, startled.

She… fed Leon as a baby?

I don’t know why, but I felt slightly upset by that.

No, I knew why. I was jealous. But that was way too embarrassing to admit.

“Oho? Do you perhaps-”

“Let’s get going!” I cut the woman off before she could come to her conclusions. “And no looking for men!”

“Ah, come on~ Just one or two?” Elinalise purrs. “In fact, maybe you should get yourself a man-”

“I can’t do that,” I scowl.

After all… I already had someone waiting. Even if that someone was probably not attracted to me anymore, I intend to keep my promise, at least until we meet again.

And so, with that sorted out, we then headed to the large stone building in the centre of the city, the Adventurers Guild.

With me knowing the language, and the other two being hardened veteran adventurers, it didn’t take long for us to get settled and begin our next phase of the search: information gathering.

Scouring the entire Demon Continent on our own would be idiotic, and by the time we found anyone, they would have already died from old age, so this was the obvious conclusion.

Luckily, news travelled quite easily on the Demon Continent, especially among adventurers, but even if it didn’t, Elinalise was always there to smooth the process with her incessant flirting.

It didn’t take long to find something of interest.

The so-called ‘Red Wolves’, an A-rank party that shot through the ranks in a single year to become one of the most famous parties in the Continent.

While their strength was known to be great, that wasn’t the reason for this fame. 

Instead, it was the odd composition of the members.

First, there was the ‘Crimson Fang’ Eris, sometimes called the ‘Mad Wolf’, who was a swordswoman known for her feisty personality.

Then, there was the ‘Judge’ Ruijerd, a tall spearman with a righteous sense of justice who was rumoured to be a Superd. 

…What a terrifying proposition.

And lastly, the ‘Guardian Wolf’ Leon, a swordsman rumoured to be a skilled magician, with a fierce personality that demanded respect when he walked into a building.

We found him… Leon was alive. And not only that, he seemed to be thriving.

Remembering the boy, I knew that Leon would make a name for himself wherever he went, but I never expected to find him so quickly.

And to become an A-rank adventurer… it took me five whole years to get to that point, which was quite an achievement, enough that there were songs sung about me. But Leon blew that out of the water with his progress.

Truly, an envious talent.

And if that wasn’t enough, it was said that he had two children that followed him around, one with maroon hair and a red scarf, and another with golden hair who carried around a stuffed animal.

So it seemed that Norn and Aisha were alright too.

To venture the continent for a year with those two… I would have to give Leon some compliments when I met him next. He always liked head pats back in the day, right?

But anyway, that still left Zenith and Lilia to find, so our job was far from done.

“Hah. To think the wee lad grew up to be an A-rank adventurer?” Talhand shakes his head. “I know Paul said he was a good swordsman, but that’s ridiculous.”

“Hmm, humans do grow up pretty fast,” Elinalise replies, twirling a strand of hair with her finger. “I just wonder if our cute little Leon has grown up into a good man.”

My eyes narrow.

She wouldn’t… no, there’s no way.

“Oho? That’s quite the glare there,” she chuckles, patting my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Roxy, I have no plans to bed someone I see as my family. Even I’m not that shameless.”

Well… that’s good then.

“But to think it was like that… fufu, what a womanizer, Leon must be,” she adds. “I didn’t take you for a cradle robber, Roxy. But since you were his teacher… did you teach him anything else~?”

I feel my cheeks get hot as I avert my head.

There was no need for such embarrassing things to be said. We had people yet to be found.