247. The Final Interlude

Mayor Uesugi and Fujita were having a discussion in a conference room.

“—Well then, the surrounding surveys will proceed as planned. Regarding the matter you requested, the additional portion is ready. With this, the conditions are met.”

“Umu, well done.”

Mayor Uesugi nodded generously at Fujita’s report while scanning the documents. Now that electricity had been restored in the new Safe Zone and computers and copiers were functional, paper reports like this had become more frequent. The types of jobs available even for those who hadn’t obtained skills or occupations had increased, and efficiency was several times better than back at the City Hall.

“……But are you really going through with this? To be honest, I’m still against this operation. The risk is too high.”

“Even so, it must be done. Either way, if we lose, everything ends. The only path left to us is to raise the probability of victory as much as possible, no matter how microscopic that probability may be.”

“But……”

Fujita tried to press further, but a knock came at the door.

“Oh, perfect timing. Come in.”

Prompted by the Mayor, a person entered the conference room. Fujita’s eyes widened upon seeing him.

“You are……”

“My name is Ivar Raven. I look forward to working with you.”

Ivar Raven. An otherworlder like Libera, he was the man who had come to this world ahead of the Vanguard by descending into monstrosity. In this world, he had gone by the name Aiba, but now that his true identity was revealed, he went by his real name, Ivar.

“I have come after hearing that your preparations are complete.”

“Umu, we’re counting on you.”

Ivar gave a brief greeting and took a seat.

“My apologies. Forcing you to go along with my selfishness.”

“Think nothing of it. Like Libera-sama, I will not hesitate to cooperate with you all. But…… are you truly sure? This is an extremely dangerous method. Moreover, I hear you are the lynchpin of this barrier. Will you still participate in this battle?”

As if making a final confirmation, Ivar stared at Mayor Uesugi. He nodded without hesitation.

“Yes. In this upcoming battle—I, too, shall fight. I can no longer leave our lives solely in the hands of the youth. Besides, I have already prepared my successor. There are no problems.”

Mayor Uesugi glanced toward Fujita. Fujita couldn’t help but avert his eyes from that gaze.

“……I understand. Let us begin, then.”

Sensing that resolve, Ivar slowly held his hand out toward Mayor Uesugi.

Around the same time, Touka Igarashi was outside the “Safe Zone” with Sayaka Katsuragi.

“Ugh…… Touka-oneesama, is this really okay……?”

“What’s the use of getting cold feet now? Besides, this is something only you and I can do, you know?”

“B-but……”

Seeing Sayaka trembling like a young deer, Touka let out a sigh. How on earth had she changed this much? That “hyahha, kill them all” attitude from before had completely vanished, and now she was entirely docile. Well, she still listened to whatever Touka said, so it wasn’t a problem per se, but it was still unsettling.

As they walked through the forest hand-in-hand, a chill suddenly ran down their spines. The surrounding air became tense in an instant, and a massive pressure weighed down on their shoulders. Apparently, the other side had noticed their presence as well. The darkness before them rippled, and a giant wolf—the “Wolf King” Schwarz—emerged.

『—What is your business?』

“……It is an honor to meet you, Wolf King Schwarz-sama. Actually, there is a matter I wish to discuss with you.”

『A discussion, you say……?』

“Yes.”

Schwarz let out a low growl. That alone made Touka feel like collapsing from terror. He had promised to fight alongside them until the conclusion with the Vanguard, but scary was still scary. Honestly, she felt like she might wet herself.

(Steel yourself, Touka Igarashi…… This is something only I can do……)

Pushing back her fear, Touka stared at the Wolf King. To be honest, what she was about to propose was likely something Schwarz would find incredibly unpleasant and hard to tolerate. But it was something that absolutely had to be done to raise their victory rate against the Vanguard by even a fraction.

“Wolf King-sama, I beg of you. Would you be willing to form a re-contract with her—with Sayaka Katsuragi?”

Meanwhile, on the coast of the Safe Zone, Nishino was agonizing alone.

“What should I do……”

He stared at his own status. He was troubled by the skill-up perk, a benefit of his evolved race, “Celestial (Sorabito).” A Celestial can convert three existing skills into higher-tier skills. One had already been used to raise “Command” in order to keep the monster tamer Sayaka Katsuragi in check, but the remaining two were still untouched. He had judged it better to wait until he had raised his level to a certain point and earned enough SP to change existing skills into higher ones, thus keeping them on hold until now.

“I really should decide soon……”

However, as a commander, the experience Nishino could earn from training with Libera or fighting monsters had begun to plateau. He decided it was time to use the perk. After much deliberation, he selected two skills.

“Alright, I’ll go with these two. Time to strengthen them—hm?”

The moment he tried to strengthen the skills, something caught the corner of his eye. Curious, he approached and found a small treasure chest. Because it was small and in a place where people rarely came, no one had found it. It was “Luck” that he had found it.

“Doesn’t look like a Mimic……”

Nishino checked the contents. Inside was a single orb about the size of a thumb. As he carefully took it out, the orb turned into particles of light and was absorbed into Nishino’s body. The orb’s effect flowed into his mind.

“This is—”

It was the ultimate “Luck” for him.

“—Alright, that completes this round of stat distribution……”

I lay down on the bed after finishing my stat allocation. The massive amount of points obtained by reaching LV15. I used them to change “Watcher,” “Ascetic Monk,” and “Masquerade Master” into high-tier or highest-tier occupations all at once. But I wonder how useful this will be in the fight against the Vanguard……

(……It was a surprise that “Watcher” had a highest-tier job just like Ninja.)

I was a bit shocked that Watcher had more room for growth than the shadow-manipulating Jet Black Player. The skills I obtained at the highest-tier of “Watcher” were quite powerful, but it’ll take time to master them.

“Come to think of it, I wonder if Ichinose-san’s matter went well……?”

The specific matter Ichinose-san had been pursuing, even at the cost of putting her evolution on hold. She said the conditions would be mostly met today, so if she succeeded, an email should be coming soon.

≪—You have received an email.≫

“Oh, that’s some calculated timing.”

I opened my status to check, and as expected, it was from Ichinose-san. Seeing the contents written there, my smile deepened. It seems Ichinose-san succeeded in her “Gamble.” As I thought, she really is quite lucky.

(—Bit by bit, but steadily, preparations are advancing……)

Aka’s power transfer and Momo’s special training are going well. Nishino-kun and the others, and Fujita-san’s group, are all gaining strength. Everyone is desperate for the coming battle. I need to get stronger too. As I was thinking that, I felt a presence behind me. Turning around, Sui was there. ……She’s a tree, yet she’s sitting properly in seiza.

『Papa, Papa, I’m hungry.』

“Yes, yes, I’ll get it ready now, just wait a bit.”

I took fertilizer from the Item Box, put it in a bucket, and diluted it with water. Sui put her hand—no, root… it’s a root, right?—into it and shivered comfortably. The bucket full of fertilizer decreased visibly.

『Ahhh, it’s delicious. Thank you.』

“Eat plenty.”

『Yes, sir.』

I kept preparing refills. Sui finally felt full after drinking about twenty buckets of fertilizer water.

“Still, Sui has really grown in two weeks……”

『Yes. but I want to grow more and more and be of use to Papa and Mama soon.』

“Haha, thanks.”

When I stroked her head area, Sui shivered happily. In fact, Sui was growing at a staggering speed. Lately, she had stayed at this size thanks to learning “Expansion/Contraction,” a skill that allows her to control her physical size, but her true form had already grown into a giant tree exceeding ten meters. A terrifyingly fast growth rate. Truly a Divine Tree.

“Though it seems those support skills Libera-san mentioned are still unusable……”

The only skills she could use were normal ones like “Expansion/Contraction” to change size and “Leaf Blade” to fire leaves. All three slots in her Unique Skill column remained as “■■■■.” Libera-san called it a territory version of Otherworld Anchor, but I wonder what the specific effect is. I hope it awakens as soon as possible.

“……Hm?”

What was that? I just felt a strange presence for an instant. A bizarre presence, like a human yet not like a human. It was only for a split second, though. Now I feel nothing.

“……It was just for a second, maybe I imagined it?”

『No, it wasn’t your imagination.』

Just as I thought I was mistaken and tried to turn my attention back to Sui, Arrogance’s voice echoed from where it hung on the wall.

『That presence just now is like the aftershock that occurs when spaces connect. You recognize it, don’t you? You must have felt the same presence when she—the Dead King Libera—came to this world.』

“……”

Now that he mentioned it, I feel like I did sense a similar presence when I first met Libera-san. Why did I feel the same thing as back then? That means—

“…………”

No, that’s impossible. I immediately rejected the possibility that surfaced in my mind. Because it’s too early. We should have time. We should still have four months left until the decisive battle.

『You’ve understood it long ago in your head, Kazuto Kudo.』

But, as if to deny my denial, Arrogance took a breath and said:

『—They’ve “arrived.”』

The next moment, along with a roar, a tremendous light illuminated the darkness of the night.

[Report]

The release of Volumes 4 and 5 of this work in paper format has been decided. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude. Volume 5 will consist of almost entirely new written content. I will report on the release date and bonuses again later. It is thanks to everyone who supported me that I have been able to continue this far. Thank you so much. I hope you will stay with me until the end.

End of 247