"Grey!"
"Look to the sky!"
Piña had already spotted two blue-and-white figures above.
The man she called to was a middle-aged knight riding just behind her.
"Ah, I see them too, Your Highness. They look like two of the Winged Folk!"
Grey shouted back over the pounding hooves.
"But it seems they're flying right toward us. Could they have something they wish to say to us?"
At that, Piña raised her right hand, signaling her knights to slow their charge.
Suddenly—
At the very front, Princess Piña, Grey, and the knights saw a dazzling streak of golden light hurtling straight toward them.
"Your Highness, look out!!!"
Grey's seasoned eyes recognized it instantly—this was no friendly arrival, but a powerful enemy mage.
"Norma, with me! Stop him!"
"The rest of you, scatter at once!"
Grey drew his blade in a flash, calling on five of the few male knights riding behind him.
Ignoring Piña's cry of alarm, he charged headlong into the lightning.
At the very instant before colliding with the lightning—
Grey kicked off the stirrups, launching himself clear of the saddle.
Two backward flips carried him through the air before he rolled across the ground, the impact skillfully dispersed.
His horse, however, was blasted apart in the next instant, reduced to a mess of shredded flesh and bone.
Grey was unfazed; that had been his plan. Use the horse to soak the lightning, then close in for melee combat.
But when he turned his gaze toward the supposed mage, shock froze his breath.
Amid the searing brilliance of golden lightning stood a towering figure.
Grey's eyes went wide.
Never before had he seen a "mage" wreathed head to toe in living thunder.
And with that sight, the dread in his chest deepened.
"Who are you, to dare assault the Empire's knight order!"
It was all he could do.
But when that golden light flared again in his eyes—he knew it was over.
The man before him was a madman with no fear of the Empire at all.
"Princess Piña… this old man can no longer protect you…"
Nearly fifty years of life spent in service to the Empire, and in his twilight years, he had sworn to shield the princess.
Now, in a blaze of golden lightning, the old warrior was reduced to a charred corpse.
[Thud!]
His body struck the earth. In the distance, Princess Piña stared in blank disbelief.
At the same time—
The five noble-born male knights who had followed Grey into the charge died screaming, both riders and steeds torn apart by the storm of lightning.
And it was not over yet.
From above, a blue-and-white figure plummeted into the knight squadron on the left.
A circle of pale afterimages swept through their ranks.
One after another, the short-skirted, beautiful young knights were cleaved cleanly in half.
"AAAHHHH!!!"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Screams—screams of terror, despair, and agony—rose in waves, echoing across the field.
On the right, the squadron met the same fate, struck by the assault of another Air Force colonel.
"No!"
"No!!!"
Princess Piña watched as companions she had lived beside for years were torn apart one by one before her very eyes.
Her body went limp, collapsing against her horse's back, letting the terrified beast run wild beneath her.
Tears streamed from her eyes as she screamed and cried uncontrollably.
She could not understand—why?
Why would they attack her order?
But she seemed to have forgotten—their mission this time was to march on Alnus Hill and investigate the otherworldly forces.
That already counted as joining the war between two worlds.
This was nothing like hunting brigands or capturing goblins.
And clearly, Princess Piña had not yet prepared herself for the cruel reality of battle.
From a distance, Budo watched coldly.
The reason he had not stepped in further was simply so others could take the credit.
Once a general of the Empire, he understood perfectly what spoils should be ceded and which should not.
...
After spending a night in Italica—
And helping Itami Yōji, Lelei, Cato, and the others deal with a band of brigands formed from deserters—
They now drove military jeeps up to the edge of the Romalia Mountains.
"This terrain looks like we can't get through by car."
Itami Yōji frowned at the steep, overlapping ridges ahead.
"You can continue west. There you'll find a bridge across the Rho River. Beyond it is a plain, and from there, heading east again, you'll reach Rondel."
Lelei stepped forward, pointing west with her sapphire staff.
"Wouldn't that be a long detour? Is that how you usually travel?"
Itami asked curiously. Lelei answered flatly.
"No. If we wish to return, we can ride our staves and fly across the sky."
"Uh… well, we could have flown by helicopter too."
Itami shook his head bitterly.
He turned to Shino Kuribayashi, Kurokawa Mari, and the others gathered around the convoy.
"Has that guy Katsumoto still not come back?"
Shino shook her head. "No—ah, there he is! He's back!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry—did I take too long?"
As he came closer and noticed everyone staring at him, Katsumoto scratched his head and offered an awkward apology.
But Itami Yōji and the others paid it no mind, climbing back into their jeeps to continue west.
They failed to notice, however, that not long after the convoy left, two figures appeared in the distance.
Hyūga Takeshi and Uchiha Koku, lifting their Invisibility Technique, revealed themselves.
In Takeshi's arms lay Yamanaka Yōsuke, seemingly unconscious.
"Good thing our eyes can sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy. Any closer and we would have been discovered."
Takeshi let out a long sigh of relief.
Their Byakugan and Sharingan had clearly seen it just moments ago: centered on that mage Cato, spiritual energy filled the air, forming a semicircular barrier about 100 meters in diameter.
It was obviously some kind of detection barrier.
"All right, we've put enough distance between us. Let's move."
Koku crouched down suddenly, biting hard into his right thumb.
"Summoning Technique!"
With a resounding bang, a massive plume of white smoke erupted before them.
And then—
That familiar, towering, flame-red silhouette loomed into view.
A Fire Dragon!
With a flicker, Koku leapt onto its back.
Hyūga Takeshi, carrying Yamanaka Yōsuke, followed quickly after.
Once they were settled, the Fire Dragon obediently spread its wings and soared into the sky.
"By the way, inside their vehicle I only saw Kurosuki Raiga. Kaguya Kazushi wasn't there, and neither was the girl with the great scythe."
Takeshi, seated on the dragon's back, turned to Koku.
"Hm?"
Koku's brows furrowed. "If they weren't in the vehicle, then where? Were they killed?"
"Who knows. Let's hope the Captain can find out."
Takeshi spread his hands, helpless.
"In any case, saving Kurosuki Raiga comes first."
Standing tall on the Fire Dragon's back, arms folded, Koku faced the roaring wind, his voice solemn.
"For Umigakure right now, a shinobi with the potential to reach the level of elite jōnin is a force we cannot ignore—and one we cannot afford to abandon!"
...
Morning.
Second floor of the Rondel Elven Inn.
Bright, crystal-clear sunlight streamed through the window into Room 301.
There lay Hiraga Saito with his arms wrapped tightly around Louise both fast asleep on the wide bed.
[Bang!]
Suddenly, the door was flung open, slamming hard against the wall.
The tranquility inside the room was instantly shattered.
Saito's eyes snapped open. He sat up, grabbed "Derflinger" by his side, and fixed a sharp gaze on the intruder.
"Mmh… Saito?"
Louise, in her white short-skirt nightdress, groggily lifted her head.
At that moment, a voice called from the doorway.
"Louise! Saito! Hurry and get up!"
"Mr. Hodolew says news just came from Sage Mimoza—Sage Cato will be arriving here any moment now!"
Kirche shouted with a broad smile.
"Really?!"
The last traces of drowsiness instantly vanished from Louise's face. She turned back with delight, eyes wide, eager for confirmation.
Saito finally relaxed as well. But unlike her, he remained calm, naturally stepping down from the bed to put on his clothes.
"It's true, it's true! Mr. Hodolew said we need to head to the restaurant where we met before and wait for Sage Cato!"
Kirche's voice brimmed with excitement.
In recent days, the novelty of this place had already worn off for her, and she deeply missed her family back in the Zero Magic World.
So yesterday, when she heard Louise and Saito talk about bringing her family here to escape the rule of the World Government, she immediately suggested doing the same for her own family!
After all, the Halkeginia continent had already collapsed.
They were no longer royalty of Gallia.
They had lost nearly all their wealth, status, and power.
Now, they carried only the hollow title of "nobles," forced to live stifled lives in the Kingdom of Albion, bowing to the whims of local aristocrats.
Her father had once said that if the Zerbst family was ever to flourish again, they had to find a way to integrate into the World Government.
At the time, it hadn't seemed like the wrong idea.
But to Kirche now, following that vast, terrifying World Government any longer seemed pointless.
It would be far better for the whole family to come to this world—the continent of Falmart—where both the environment and the political system were quite similar.
Perhaps they would never rise to the rank of imperial royalty here, but the prospect of becoming a ducal house was still within reach!
Tabitha felt much the same. But she wished only to bring her mother.
Hodolew, Tuka, and Tiffania also agreed.
In short, all of them supported the plan to "bring their families over."
But there were plenty of problems with it.
First, based on past experience, it seemed that a certain god of this world had forbidden Louise from opening the "Gate" to other worlds.
Which was strange. According to legend, gods themselves periodically opened the "Gate of Ginza," drawing in other races and civilizations from beyond.
Regardless, it appeared that to open a "World Gate" connecting to the continent of Halkeginia, they would need the permission of that god—or gods.
Alternatively, they could once again pass through the "Gate of Ginza" back to Japan, and from there open a "World Gate" to Halkeginia.
That second option was originally what they had intended to choose.
After all, seeking out gods sounded far too outrageous.
But then Mr. Hodolew, through his acquaintance with Sage Mimoza, learned that they could actually visit the temple of the cult devoted to the very god who had prevented Louise.
There, they might discover the reason behind it—or even negotiate for permission to "open the gate."
But Sage Mimoza also warned them that the temple could not be approached casually.
Unless one received an invitation from the cult, or was led there by a demigod, those fanatical apostles would attack without hesitation, refusing to hear any explanation.
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