Hestia faced the pointed eyes directed at her head-on without flinching.
They were none other than the gazes of her fellow Cat-Folk.
“Cat-Folk living beside humans are bound to be tamed.”
A Cat-Folk man of similar age to Hestia stood before her, speaking out of sheer jealousy.
The most renowned figure on the continent at this moment.
A clear envy toward the Cat-Folk surrounding the storm eye known as Duke Yuma.
Hestia’s green eyes glinted as she narrowed her gaze.
“So, do I look like a tamed cat to you? Huh?”
Hestia drew her sword.
“Bring it on if you dare, you little punk.”
“Eeeek!”
Provoked by Hestia, the Cat-Folk man finally picked up his sword.
Boom!
In just three exchanges, the man found himself sprawled on the ground.
“Being in the wild isn’t all that great, huh?”
Hestia chuckled softly as she extinguished the aura blade glowing on her sword.
With so many monsters surrounding her, Hestia couldn’t afford to stay mediocre in her sword expertise.
Beyond mere physical strength, there were monsters constantly growing and pushing themselves.
Hence, Hestia had no choice but to evolve.
Sword Expert Intermediate.
While she wasn’t quite on the level of Cloney or Bell, she was growing at a comparable pace.
“Ugh!”
As the Twilight Tribe man lay on the ground groaning and trying to rise again, someone grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back down.
“She has enough skill to keep by her side. That fur, so close to a deep scarlet… and those green eyes. A child of the Paradise Tribe, huh?”
The leader of the Twilight Tribe, Elpher, approached Hestia, his brown mane flying around.
“Come to think of it, I heard a rumor about a child wandering the continent after leaving the tribe two years ago. I guess that’s you. What’s your name? I’m Elpher.”
Hestia opened her mouth.
“Hestia.”
Elpher nodded slowly.
“Right, Hestia. I think there’s great value in being among humans. Just don’t let them manipulate you and use you.”
Someone suddenly appeared beside Hestia.
“She doesn’t get manipulated or used. Hestia is my sister.”
It was Cloney, with her black hair and golden eyes.
“We’re just companions.”
Elpher’s eyes widened at Cloney’s words.
“Oho… companions. I see. I understand now. I misspoke.”
Elpher was quite taken aback by Cloney’s boldness, which was unexpected for a mage, especially while facing a beast-like Cat-Folk man without a hint of fear.
Hestia grinned.
“Let’s go, Cloney!”
Yuma had neatly stripped the Dwarves of their goods and was now heading back toward the Elves. He had something to confirm, specifically with the High Elf Luine, the Spirit Master.
“Luine!”
Luine narrowed her eyes upon seeing Yuma unexpectedly returning.
“What’s going on?”
Having just witnessed him robbing the Dwarves, Luine couldn’t help but feel startled by Yuma’s approach.
“Show me a spirit. I’ve never seen one before and really want to.”
“I want to see it.”
Luine felt like she’d been hit hard on the head with a rock.
“…You just want to see the spirit?”
“Yeah.”
Luine slowly nodded her head.
“You can promise not to do anything reckless, right?”
“Yeah, I’ll just look.”
Yuma had only one thing to verify.
A green light shone in Luine’s eyes. A green halo spread from her back.
“My friend.”
Something appeared behind Luine. It was a giant bird.
The body was glowing in shades of blue and green.
– Kikiruruk!
The turquoise bird settled softly on Luine’s shoulder.
“It’s a wind spirit, Sylphid.”
Yuma gazed at the wind bird, Sylphid.
[Lv.137] Sylphid
Race: Wind Attribute Spirit
Alignment: Good
Level: Advanced Spirit
The frightening thing about a spirit mage is that they don’t just have one spirit.
And it wasn’t just Luine in front of Yuma who was an elven spirit mage.
“If the spirits are individually recognized in the Search Eye, it doesn’t seem like Luine would die if that spirit were killed.”
It seemed likely that the spirit would be the one at a higher risk of vanishing in this world.
Yuma had already heard from Brigitte that the only race with talents as spirit mages was the [Elf].
Though the chances were significantly low, he thought it would be quite troublesome if elves happened to become enemies. He slowly nodded his head.
“Alright. Thanks for showing it.”
Luine affectionately petted Sylphid’s head.
– Kiruruu…
Following Luine’s will, Sylphid scattered turquoise light and returned to the spirit realm.
Yuma had confirmed everything he needed to.
Although the meeting hadn’t followed its intended agenda, they had established communication tools to contact each other if the mage realm intruded. Just knowing what other races on the continent were like was already a clear gain.
Thus, the [Racial Conference] came to an end.
Berkan, the crown prince of the Lycanthrope Kingdom, approached Yuma.
“I will stabilize the return of Baukalak immediately. I will make him pay for daring to stab a knife in the back of the crown prince!”
Berkan, with a head fully resembling that of a wolf, faced Yuma.
His flowing gray mane and fierce eyes stared intensely at Yuma.
“Yeah, do it properly.”
If things aren’t organized right at home, how can they deal with the invasion of the demon realm?
Yuma’s words had that implication, but Berkan didn’t take it that way.
Another remark followed Yuma’s words.
– If you don’t sort it out properly, I’ll personally come and wipe Baukalak out.
This showed how much the sense of intimidation from Yuma had grown in Berkan’s mind.
The representatives of the races gathered back around the round table.
“We might end up fighting each other someday.”
Brigitte, standing next to Yuma, slowly continued speaking.
“But this time, we must unite. Who could invade the continent while this racial alliance is coming together?”
Brigitte’s words heavily resonated with the races.
The races were gravely moved.
The dwarves nodded vigorously.
“That is indeed true. The demons dare not lay a hand on this Intermediate World.”
And then Princess Brigitte’s final words rang out.
“Yes, we must show who owns this land when the time comes. This time, the five of us will unite.”
A fierce determination gleamed in everyone’s eyes.
Humans, Cat-Folk, Dwarves, Lycanthropes, Elves.
It was the moment the alliance of the five races was completed.
*
Crash!
─Divine Realm.
The god of war and struggle, Barbatos, was speeding through the vast Divine Realm.
His black hair flowed fiercely in the wind. His red eyes darted around in search of prey.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mountains trembled with his every step.
With a single leap, he rocketed between the heavens and the earth.
Although he belonged to the Evil Gods, the second-tier gods who were not part of the Eight Evil Gods swallowed hard watching the sprint of the throwing god, Barbatos.
“…Hunting gods again, huh.”
At the words of a god in the shape of a black sheep, another god in the form of a girl with pink hair clicked her tongue.
“Tsk tsk… Aren’t the second-tier gods too scared to pretend to be gods comfortably?”
The black sheep rolled its pure white eyes.
“Who is the god that the throwing god is after again?”
“Rokmenton, the god of wisdom and magic.”
“…He’ll get caught eventually. No matter how vast the Divine Realm is, it’s almost half of it now.”
The girl agreed with the sheep’s statement.
Currently, the Divine Realm is split in half.
One half is dominated by the Eight Evil Gods, along with the gods that follow them.
And the other half is made up of gods who split the realm in half to oppose the Eight Evil Gods.
The Eight Evil Gods and their followers mockingly called the other half ‘Outer Divine Realm.’
“I’ll catch you.”
Barbatos soared over another mountain, scanning the area.
To find Rokmenton, who had awakened powers he must devour.
“Do your best to hide.”
Bang!
After a long time, the hunt for gods was enough to stir up Barbatos’s excitement.
*
There were about three months left until the invasion of the Demon Army.
Time flowed quickly.
After a month had passed, someone appeared from the sky.
A High Elf riding a colossal griffon.
[Lv.210] Yullaus
He was a High Elf at the level of Grand Sword Master.
Yullaus, a male elf with long silver hair, handed the reins connected to the enormous griffon’s saddle to Duke Yuma.
Yullaus had a refined face and a rather thick voice.
“The griffon is a divine beast that reads the rider’s heart. Only those with supreme confidence in themselves can achieve a bond with the griffon.”
Yuma gazed at the griffon.
Even its height rivaled that of an ogre.
With the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion, the divine beast exuded a powerful aura as if it was only natural.
As Yuma took hold of the reins, the griffon’s sharp eyes locked onto him.
“Does the griffin have a name?”
Duke Yuma stared intently at the griffin and asked.
Yullaus’s voice rang out.
“It’s Ethan.”
“Ethan, nice to meet you.”
Without hesitation, Yuma patted Ethan’s head and back. Then he climbed onto the saddle.
Kru-lu-ruk…
A brief sharp cry.
But Yuma paid it no mind and confidently gripped the reins.
Believing in oneself.
That was one of the few things Yuma had.
“Let’s go.”
Yuma’s unwavering composure flowed down the griffin’s body.
Step… step…
Ethan the griffin began its powerful strides.
Flap—
Then, the gigantic wings slowly moved, preparing to take off.
Yuma lightly tugged on the reins.
It was the signal for takeoff.
Swoosh─!
Yuma looked.
He saw clouds so close he could touch them. And down below, the densely packed structures of the imperial palace and the bare patches of grass.
Yuma flew around the enormous mountain behind the palace for quite a while.
“Faster.”
A mental connection.
“Slowly.”
Kururu—
As if Ethan understood Yuma’s words, it grasped everything Yuma said while patting its back.
“…There are no elves around.”
Yullaus could only say that upon seeing Yuma land back on the ground riding Ethan.
A month had passed since Yuma received the griffin in exchange for the life of the elf diplomat Ishera.
This time, the guest arrived at night.
Yuma opened the door to the reception room.
“It’s a bit late.”
Lycanthrope Berkan was bowing his head inside the reception room.
“Did you settle the kingdom?”
Berkan’s golden eyes fixated on Yuma.
“Yeah, explained everything to my father… and executed all of my brother’s followers.”
Yuma shifted his gaze to the bag in Berkan’s hand.
Berkan chuckled.
“Seems like there’s the smell of blood. That’s my brother’s tongue. I pulled it out, that sneaky tongue.”
“You’ve been through a lot. Do you blame me?”
At Yuma’s words, Berkan shook his head.
“Far from blaming you, I’m grateful you helped clean up the kingdom.”
Berkan placed the bag containing his brother’s tongue into the spatial pocket.
Then he added,
“Now, is the Baoukalak Kingdom and the Astes Empire truly united?”
Yuma extended his right hand.
“Of course.”
Berkan took his hand and smiled.
And another month went by.
“Yuma…!”
Princess Brigitte urgently woke Yuma.
She appeared adorned in imperial regalia.
Seeing Brigitte, who had woken him personally, Yuma chuckled.
“You’re doing something un-emperor-like again.”
Even at Yuma’s friendly comment, Brigitte’s stern face didn’t loosen. She rushed to open the window, her white hair fluttering.
“…The clear signs of an invasion have begun.”
Yuma and Brigitte turned their gazes to one place.
That place was the sky.
In the clear sky.
Kwarrrr….!
There was a single ominous spot.
A violet circular current swirled and shimmered with a crimson haze, crackling like lightning.
