Searching and finding

I was in the Gaslow Territory, one of the most hostile regions of the Demon Continent.

The monsters that appeared on the Demon Continent were far more powerful than those on the other continents, and far more numerous.

However, there was still an ecological balance.

Just as there were large numbers of Acid Wolves and Pax Coyotes in Biegoya, this region also had its own native flora and fauna.

There were the Basilisks, with their petrifying breath.

The Black Dracos, freely soaring through the skies with their powerful jaws and poisonous claws.

The giant Lake Bug, which created pools of its own mucilage and then attacked anyone who came near to drink from it.

There were also the White-Fanged Cobras, which were highly agile and covered in tough, magic-resistant scales…

And, beasts aside, some places released poisonous gas and others were filled with deep ravines.

Since all the monsters were brutally aggressive, the entire place was classified as a dangerous zone.

Therefore, the Gaslow Territory in particular had a reputation as a miserable pit. Absolutely horrible for demons.

There were almost no cities or settlements here, and those that did exist were heavily fortified.

Hardly any adventurers came here.

During the war some four hundred years ago, Atofe had fought alongside Laplace, unleashing his fury on the battlefield and crossing swords countless times with the Armored Dragon King Peragius.

There was a legend about it that was especially known to warriors:

"You who seek power, go forth. The Demon Continent is your destiny. Travel through its lands. Ascend Fort Necross. Show your strength to the Demon Queen, and your desire for even greater strength. Only then can that unrivaled power be yours."

Yep—those seeking the fort were wandering knights.

They followed the legend here, seeking that power. No one who came here ever made it back, so, in the end, no one knew if the legend was true or a mere fairy tale.

Well, except for me.

About half of those knights died during the journey.

Most of those who survived were assimilated by Atofe's personal guard.

Someone probably did try to return home from time to time… but it takes more than one or two people who know the truth to ruin a good story like that. I was pretty sure Atofe's subordinate, Moore, was the one spreading those rumors.

It was a nasty trap, one that preyed on pure-hearted warriors.

It could even be called evil.

Bu t I wasn't here now to unravel mysterious traps.

I was in this place because the teleportation circle I'm looking for is here.

Right in the middle of the mountains and right in the middle of a nest of Black Dracos.

I had slept for approximately 6 hours since when I went to sleep it was approximately 5 in the morning which means it is already 11 in the morning here.

I had to hurry, I didn't know how far from the capital the other side of the circle was and I had to get to the north exit of the city to find the carriage where Philemon and Wii Taa were.

I've never faced a Dragon in this world now that I think about it, only humans and monsters that don't go above C rank.

But that's not something I should worry about, I've faced people and beings much stronger than simple dragons, especially considering that these Dracos are weaker variants.

On another note is my newly obtained mana eye, which I'm still struggling to control, the only thing I did with Kishirika was cut off its mana supply and deactivate it.

But using it is a very different thing.

The only thing I can currently see with my active eye is a dense yellow layer which is supposed to be mana, but in the middle of the mountains I can see another layer of red mana and right in the middle of those I see a single dot with white mana.

I don't have to be an expert to figure this out, the red mana is the Dracos and the white dot is the teleportation circle.

And if my calculations are correct I could count a total of fifteen Dracos huddled together.

"Okay...let's do this!" I announced and rose again into the skies with gravity magic until I flew over the mountains.

I reached the mountain in less than a second, the Black Drakes' nest was in an area of the mountains that formed a ring, it was the perfect place for them to lay their young but unfortunately I will have to finish them off.

(kreeeeh!!)

One of the Dracos noticed my presence and rushed towards me quickly.

From what I could see, most of them were adults and were about twenty meters long, something impressive.

But he didn't have time to impress them so with a Long Sword of Ligth the Draco's head fell to the ground and then his body.

(kreeeeh!!)

(Yeaaaagh!!)

The other Dracos realized what happened and rushed at me but with a movement of the sword their bodies were split in half.

(thump!!)

Creating a last-second barrier aura, I landed on my feet on the ground with a cloud of sand following the impact.

The terrain looked like a cliff from below but I realized that it was a stepped area that gave the sensation of the ring.

And I could finally see it, to my left was the teleportation circle which was surprisingly intact considering the Black Dracos are here.

There were about five of these left if I counted correctly but none dared to attack me and I noticed that they were significantly smaller than the others, the largest being five meters.

"These are the young ones then," I muttered as I raised my hand towards them.

I couldn't just let these monsters grow up just so they could attack people.

With the slightest movement, the bodies of the five Black Dracos were instantly crushed and I made sure to break the scattered eggs as well.

It was an easy task and I knew this would save thousands of lives.

"Okay...it's time" I muttered to myself as I tried to get to the teleportation circle.

When I arrived in front of this I could see that again, I did not understand in the slightest the components of this or how they behaved

But I can't waste time on this either.

So without wasting any more time I put both my feet in the circle and instantly felt a suction sensation from the ground and immediately lost consciousness.

...

"Gah!" I opened my eyes suddenly and found myself in a completely dark room full of cobwebs.

I looked around and it was a stone room and I could see some vines breaking up the concrete.

Without wasting time I looked for the stairs and went up them, the layout of this place was the same as in Asura so finding the exit was not difficult.

I left the teleportation ruins and found myself in a tropical forest.

"..." Fortunately this was the natural fauna of Shirone considering that the capital is close to the sea.

I looked through Nanahoshi's notebook to orient myself better and I could see some interesting points

*7 kilometers northwest of Lakatia (capital of Shirone)

*Turn right when you come across a monument to world powers

*Bandit zone two kilometers south (Orsted mentioned that they are the remnants of the conflict zone trying to enter Shirone)

"Okay, let's get to work," I muttered with a smile as I quickly closed the notebook and rose to the sky.

The reason? Simply to locate which direction to go, if I rose high enough I could see the sea in the distance on the horizon which is to the East.

I needed to go up about three hundred meters to be able to see the sea while I turned to my left.

"Okay..." I muttered to myself, I had already spotted the capital so I started to quickly head back there.

It took me two minutes to arrive at my speed but I decided to land near the forest and enter from the north.

According to what Kishirika said, my master and Philemon would arrive in the city tomorrow so I should wait for them here first thing in the morning.

So now I just have to wait and...

I have no money

(stiff stomach)

"ughh..." I moaned in pain as I stroked my empty stomach.

Now that I think about it, I hadn't eaten since my fight with Atofe, so I had gone almost a whole day without eating.

Also all my current money is in demon currency and there is no place to exchange it, not even for the material it is made of they would give me much.

I honestly haven't been able to recover financially since I gave all my money to the girls...

It's been less than a week since they set out on their journey to the magical university of Sharia, and so much has already happened...

I hope they are using my money correctly at least.

"Roast boar for breakfast then," I muttered as I headed back into the woods.

Finding wild boars wasn't difficult at all, I just walked for ten minutes in the forest and I could hear one squealing.

In reality, these bastards are a plague and that's still considering the fact that they are hunted massively. If you kill one of these bastards, out of nowhere, five more will appear.

As monsters, they are nothing special, simple E-rank beasts, but their meat is sincerely delicious, so they are fine.

I sat on a log as I watched the meat roast and my hunger increased.

I didn't have good memories of this city for obvious reasons and while flying I could see to the north part of the forest that I destroyed in my fight with Mauricio's men.

And now that I think about it, I haven't heard anything from the Millis, although I'd like to stay that way.

Until the last city, our group had remained the same, all in harmony...

But that damn Hitogami had to come and screw everything up...

I clenched my fists in anger just remembering the damned.

But I'm doing this for a reason, right? I'm doing all this for all the lives that bastard destroyed, for the life he took from me, my mother, my brother and...my father.

I hardly ever thought about my father and felt there was no need.

Did my father truly love me? Or did he just see me as a political tool?

In the ten years we spent together he never said anything to me that told me he loved me.

Maybe that's why his death didn't affect me, and even in a way...it relieves me.

Yes, I was relieved that my father died. I don't know what I was thinking at the time, I just thought that the weight of his expectations would no longer affect me.

But there is no point in thinking about any of that anymore, Both my parents are dead and my only family now is Philemon.

If my mother were watching me now she would say something like "protect your brother at all costs, don't worry about me" that's how she was.

And that's just what I'll do, not to honor her memory, she will always live in my heart, but because it's what I must do, it's my brother we're talking about.

My brother John in my other world did the same for me, and now I'm going to return the favor in a way...

...

Due to my status as a "Tramp" I decided to camp on the side of the road and sleep early at night to wake up early in the morning.

And my plan worked, resulting in me waking up at six in the morning so I decided to do my routine workout.

"one...two...three...four..." I started rocking as my mind filled with questions and anxiety.

What happens if Wii Taa doesn't recognize me? I guess I haven't changed too much this year, right?.

And what will I say when I meet him again? And what will I do with Philemon?

The most obvious reason is simply to take him to Sharia and have him stay with Roxy and Hilda...

But then what? I won't be able to spend much time with him because I'm now Orsted's ally, and who knows where the hell that guy will send me...

"Fifty...fifty-one..." My body quickly began to warm up, I felt a small drop of sweat on my forehead from the effort

Wii Taa always told me to do this exercise daily so that I could know my mental state.

My right shoulder started to hurt slightly and my hands started to burn and blisters were forming...

Blisters mean I'm doing it wrong, which shouldn't be possible after so many years of training.

But one thing was clear, my mind was not focused.

In fact, I barely remember the last time I could sit and do nothing and not believe that I was wasting my time.

Not with so much at stake, not with a false god stalking me and my family, who could?

"Ninety-nine...one hundred" I muttered as I slowly dropped my sword to the ground, I wasn't exhausted, this wasn't even half of my limit, but I was doing it wrong.

No matter how hard I tried to concentrate, my mind began to wander with the doubts, anxiety and anger I felt.

"I'm not okay...I'd like to talk to someone..." I muttered to myself as I looked around.

Not even in this world i was someone with many friends, after all one of them betrayed me and tried to kill me and another is a married man with his own problems...

"Haaa...how pathetic!" I spat out as I shrugged and started walking towards the road.

The carriages do not have schedules to pass through here, especially the caravans of merchants, but most of them resume their trips at this time, so I will have to be attentive to those who pass by.

Now I don't even know under what conditions Wii Taa and Philemon are traveling, although I highly doubt they have been captured, my master is a North King after all.

"So my only tool now is to simply wait," I declared as I dragged a log to the side of the road and with frozen wild boar meat at my side I would wait here for them all day.

...

(rattle, rattle, rattle)

"hmm?..." I looked up at the sound of a carriage's wheels approaching.

I was coming from the north so I would be heading towards the city, that was good.

And it was...a simple carriage that transported wood but to make sure I used my mana eye.

The human mana is now green but there was no one hiding among the woods so I discarded it immediately...

"hmmm..." An involuntary snort escaped my nose as I sat down on the log again.

This will take longer than I thought.

And so it was unfortunately, I managed to count around 15 carriages that passed into the city but most of them were transporting food or were small caravans.

Honestly, I even got a little impatient with the midday falling, but I didn't do anything else.

It wasn't until much later, just at dusk, that I heard the distant sound of a caravan, and from what I could see, there were several carriages.

...

[Wii Taa Pov]

Four months have passed since that disastrous day at the Ars refugee camp.

Even when I think about it again I can't help but grit my teeth in anger but the little boy on my lap barely manages to calm me down.

With so many months having passed since the beginning of my journey, Philemon has now grown accustomed to my presence, the child, barely four years old, has fully accepted me as his protector.

My plan was simple, return to Millis and go to the great forest to Hobbit territory to settle again.

I haven't seen my family for decades and I hope my letters have reached them.

Later on, Philemon would grow up and I train him until he was 15.

It wasn't the most elaborate plan, I didn't even know if my family would take me back or anything, I didn't even know if they would accept Philemon because he was a human.

So my plan B is simply to go to the Capital City of Millis and offer my services as a North King to some noble house.

I was proud of my skills and had no doubt that any noble with half a brain would want a powerful swordsman protecting him.

And with Philemon I could simply enroll him in some school so that he could develop fully.

All this time that had been my mentality, my plan and I had done nothing to change it.

Now that the Notos have disintegrated and Philemon's Noble rank has been revoked, it's the least I can do for him.

"Dada...i mean Wii Taa..."How long until we get to the city?" Little Philemon's question brought me out of my reverie.

An involuntary smile formed on my face and I stroked his air.

"According to my calculations, we'll arrive in the city in less than two hours. I suppose you're already hungry, right?" I asked him.

"...yes, I want grilled meat" he murmured softly while caressing his stomach.

"Hah! Old habits never die huh?!" I said in amusement as I ruffled his hair only to see the boy pout.

Little Philemon and Lord Paul are like day and night.

While Paul always showed a seriousness and maturity that can only be seen in adults, little Philemon is just a normal child.

I never knew the reason for these very different personalities, but if I'm sure of one thing, it's that Lord Paul would have trusted me alone to take care of his little brother.

Now we were headed to the capital city of Lakatia, Shirone. Two months ago, we had encountered a caravan heading toward the Kingdom of the Dragon King. After offering my services as a temporary bodyguard to the caravan owner, he agreed to drive Philemon and me to their final destination.

Due to my strength, the journey was faster and safer than expected, obviously, which is why the trip through the conflict zone was completely uneventful. Now we are heading to this city without a single worry...or so I would have liked to think.

"Hey! Stop the carriage!" a strangely familiar voice shouted from the first carriage of the caravan.

Philemon and I always stayed in the last carriage, but the voice still reached us.

"Nghh!" With a shout and a desperate tug, the carriages came to a screeching halt, almost colliding with each other.

"Hey!" The caravan owner's voice called out to me from the front, and without waiting a second, I leaped out of the carriage.

We'd already had many ambush attempts in the conflict zone, and I repelled each one. This would be yet another failed attempt, but...

I arrived at the front of the first carriage in less than a second. I expected to see at least a dozen people waiting for me there, but there was only one child...

Even so, I kept running. I'd seen plenty of these kinds of dirty tricks before: using poor children to trigger feelings of compassion among the people in the caravans, causing them to stop, and then attacking from behind.

The worst part was that these children would always be the first to attack, so I brandished my swords indiscriminately.

But just as my sword was millimeters from his neck...

I froze, not from fear, terror, or amazement.

From one moment to the next, I couldn't move at all, to my surprise.

"Wii Taa, it's me, Master, Paul!" The familiar voice made me look directly at the person in front of me.

He had grown a lot; now I only reached the height of his nose.

He was dressed in a tattered robe with signs of fierce battles on the back; his gaze was much sharper and more tired than I remember, and at his waist he carried a sword with a pink scabbard.

He had cut his hair, and the tips were now white.

But even with all these changes, I still recognized him; after all, I had watched him grow for ten years and had trained him personally.

In front of me stood Lord Paul Notos Greyrat.