(Yukito side)
Hmm... I see. So Riruyo is the place of origin for various elves in this world, huh?
"That means, if there is an elf born outside of Riruyo, one of their parents is an elf and the other is a human, right?" I asked Luke.
"That's correct. But there are also some elves who leave together and form families outside of Riruyo," Luke said.
"Then, what about the other two continents?" I asked.
——
(Luke side)
To the west of Riruyo, there is the continent of Nakuso. This continent is also connected to three other continents, namely Londerg, Centram, and Riruyo.
This continent is inhabited by beast-humans. It sounds a bit strange, right? They are also called beast-men.
You may have never seen them before, but their physical appearance is basically the same as ours.
The only difference is that they have ears on top of their heads, and some of them also have tails. That is the main difference between them and us humans.
Their distinctive traits also vary, depending on the animal from which they are descended.
This continent is open to everyone and every race, no matter where they come from or who they are. Except for Abbys, of course.
Just like Riruyo, they do not want to join Arche, because they say that this force is useless.
It is said that their leader has seen with his own eyes how strong Abbys is, but they want to fight them with their own hands and feet, without help from other parties.
They also consider Arche to be a weak force created merely for entertainment and as a place for nobles to make money.
Well... since many nobles have joined Arche, they are not entirely wrong about that.
The leader of Nakuso has, since ancient times, come from beast-men with lineages such as lions, tigers, and the like.
Because they have more muscular bodies compared to other beast lineages, the people choose leaders like that.
Because of this, their leader is confident in their physical strength, to the point that they do not need help from Arche or the other continents.
What do you think?
——
(Yukito side)
"It's the same, huh? Their reason for rejecting it is pretty good," I muttered.
"As far as I remember, Nakuso is located at the upper far-left when viewed on the map, right? Its land area is larger than the other continents on this landmass," I said.
"Yes, that's why their forces are known for being strong and never giving up. Especially since they are beast-men, most of them possess very strong physical abilities," Luke said.
"That means... they never use weapons, right?" I asked.
"Not exactly. They still use weapons, but they prefer fighting with their bare hands, because for them it feels freer and allows them to become wild however they want," he answered.
Hmm... If I want to look for a nekomimi girl (cat-eared girl), that means I should go to that continent.
Well, I'm only interested in being able to pat their heads and ears. It's nothing more than that kind of desire.
Wait a minute, is it possible that I could get a nekomimi little sister if I go there? Yosh, this will be my backup plan.
"Then, the last one is Londerg, right?" I asked.
——
(Luke side)
Ah, I've already told you about the continent of Samatoki before, right? That's good, then.
Oh, if you want to know about Centram, they are actually not that different from Velmoria.
It's just that the buildings in their cities are more densely packed and the population is more crowded than in Velmoria, because of its strategic location.
Alright, as for Londerg... Ah, I remember. This continent is known for its extremely cold climate.
You must be confused, right? This continent is always covered in snow every day, but it doesn't snow every single day.
Because of that, humans and other races are able to live on this cold continent.
Most of their cities are located not far from hills or ice mountains, because they believe those places are suitable for building cities.
There is no specific race that originates from this continent, but most of its inhabitants are indeed humans.
Just like the previous two continents, this continent is connected to three continents: Samatoki, Centram, and Nakuso.
Their leader has agreed to the offer for them to be registered under Arche.
And one more piece of information about Arche—aside from forces from several cities joining together—
Any region that provides its forces to Arche will be protected and defended by Arche if that place is attacked.
——
(Yukito side)
I understand now. So Arche is a force created to defeat Abbys someday, and it includes many different members.
Not all continents participate in this Arche group, and that means—
"Luke, are the forces themselves chosen directly by their leaders?" I asked.
"Hmm, that should be the case, but there are also some people who offer themselves to join Arche without their leader's approval," Luke answered.
"Is something like that even allowed?" I asked again.
"As long as the person is willing, Arche doesn't mind accepting them. Oh, do you think adventurers like us are also part of Arche?" he asked back.
As usual, he could guess what I was thinking.
"It depends. Only outstanding adventurers will be summoned when Arche decides to move. As long as we're not summoned, we're free to do whatever we want," Luke said.
That means all adventurers in Necvalion are possibly part of Arche? I didn't expect this group to be bigger and more powerful than I thought.
If the situation becomes desperate, all adventurers in the city who are affiliated with Arche will surely be summoned to fight.
"What if we refuse that summons?" I said.
"Some say our adventurer rank could be deactivated, and others say we might be eliminated," he answered.
"That means—" I said.
"It's possible that those who don't follow the leader's wishes could die. But well, I don't really know much about the actual consequences of refusing," Luke said.
Well, at least I now understand the condition of this world after Luke explained it to me.
Abbys can move at any time, but even so, I will still do whatever I can.
"Oh yeah, how long have we been here?" I asked.
"Thirty minutes, why—" Luke said.
We stared at each other, as if we had just remembered something we were supposed to do.
——
Luke and I left the shop and ran toward the guild to meet Hime and Yuu-chan.
Hime had warned us not to be late, but if we didn't show up for half an hour... that means we're already late, right?
"Luke, is thirty minutes a long time?" I asked.
"Who knows. Maybe for them it's long, but for me, not really," he said.
"Yosh... Well, at worst we'll just get scolded by Hime, or maybe her attitude will be a bit different than usual," I said.
I hope so... But... it's probably unlikely. They might have already met the Guildmaster.