After Mel's departure, the atmosphere turned silent. Magnus was still thinking about the magic circle, but after a while, he realized that right now, that wasn't his top priority.
He went down to where Flitz and Haru were, checking their condition.
"Are you two all right?"
"I'm fine, but Flitz-san is injured. Please help him, Teacher Magnus!"
In Haru's panic, Flitz stood up and reassured her.
"It's fine, Haru, my wounds aren't that serious."
"Really?"
Thanks to the nanobots' hard work, the injuries Flitz had sustained were gradually healing.
"I see... try drinking this, it's a recovery potion."
Magnus pulled out a small transparent bottle filled with red liquid, explaining that it was a potion.
Flitz took the potion and drank it without hesitation.
As soon as he finished it, his injuries and pain subsided significantly.
Flitz was surprised at the potion's effect. Of course, he didn't forget to analyze it with his nanobots.
"I don't know exactly what happened to you both, but it's best if we head back to the capital first. We can talk about it on the way."
[Wind: Flight]
Magnus lifted Flitz and Haru with wind magic and carried them back toward the capital.
On their way home, they watched the sun begin to rise, illuminating this beautiful world.
During the weeks they had lived in the castle, Flitz and Haru had never gone outside the castle grounds.
Other than the forest scenery they saw the first time they came to the capital, this was the first time they truly got to see the world at large.
Towering mountains, flowing rivers, and lakes that were home to many creatures—sometimes they even saw small villages where people were starting their daily activities.
That beautiful scenery captivated the two of them.
After seeing it, Flitz decided what he would do in the future.
**********
The place fell silent again after Magnus carried the two heroes away.
At that moment, two mysterious figures emerged from behind the trees.
Both wore hooded black cloaks and black masks that completely hid their faces—it concealed their true selves entirely. One of them crouched down and picked up a fragment of Flitz's weapon.
"Hmm... he comes from a fairly advanced civilization, huh... I hope his technology can be of use."
From the heavy tone of his voice, he was a man.
"Master! Why do we have to wear these cloaks?"
A woman's voice spoke from behind the man.
"Hehe... of course, so that we look more mysterious."
"....."
"Oh, come on! Wouldn't it be cooler if we appeared as mysterious figures in the heroes' story?"
"....."
The woman could only fall silent at his answer.
"Haaa~ I'm going home! With the cult's attack, there must be a lot of work waiting for me."
After saying that, the woman turned around and stretched out her hand. She moved her index finger as if touching something in the air.
At that moment, her fingertip truly seemed to touch something in the air, and something incredible happened.
Craack! CRASH!!!
At her fingertip, a strange crack appeared at first, but in an instant, space shattered like glass, creating a large enough rift.
After creating it, the woman stepped into the rift, leaving the man behind.
"Hey, don't leave me!"
As soon as she entered the rift, space slowly returned to normal.
"....."
"I really was left behind."
The man complained pitifully for a moment at being abandoned.
Then, he looked at the fragment of Flitz's weapon in his hand and fell silent, deep in thought.
"Hmm... hehe... I suppose it's time. All members must gather. It's time for us to move."
With those words spoken cheerfully, the mysterious man vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving the forest utterly silent.
**********
On the way to the capital, Haru and I were told by Magnus what had happened there, and by the time we returned, it was already over.
We could see the damage to several buildings.
When we arrived, King Cyrus welcomed us with heartfelt relief. He had truly been worried about us.
After that, we were taken back to the castle.
When we met Fujita and the others, they breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing we were safe.
Their concern reminded me of old memories and made me smile brightly.
**********
A few days passed.
In that time, I gathered some information.
It seemed that this cult attack was the largest one in recent years.
Apparently, the attack wasn't only aimed at Jatumheim. Over the past few days, the cult had launched assaults in several other nations as well.
Their motive was to abduct heroes from other worlds.
Yes, just like the witch in the legend had said—she had created summoning magic circles in several places across the world, so it was no surprise that other nations had also received heroes from other worlds.
Back to the point. From the detailed information I heard, thanks to the discovery of demons in the castle, the cultists' plan had been exposed.
It was said the cult had originally intended to carry out abductions in a subtle and organized manner, but because their plan had been discovered, they launched a massive attack as a diversion and carried out kidnappings outside their original plan.
Because King Cyrus knew of their scheme, the damage to Jatumheim's capital was minimized.
King Cyrus had also warned the other kingdoms about the cult's intentions.
Thanks to that, the other kingdoms managed to withstand the cult's assaults. Even so, several heroes were reported missing, suspected to have been abducted by the cult.
Lately, I rarely saw King Cyrus; he seemed very busy after the attack.
Not only him, but everyone working in government institutions also looked busy. Magic and Aura classes were suspended temporarily. We only did light training on our own.
Because of that, I had a lot of free time.
Today I had a small event with Haru that we had promised.
On my way to the meeting place, I occasionally saw unfamiliar faces coming and going in the castle grounds.
Among them, sometimes I saw someone wearing clothing with a crest I recognized.
That crest bore the image of a three-headed dog—it was the symbol of the Adventurers Guild in the Kingdom of Jatumheim. It seemed the person was a guild staff member.
The Adventurers Guild was a large inter-world organization that employed people known as adventurers.
As long as it didn't break the law, adventurers would always take on any job.
And the success in minimizing the cult's attack damage couldn't have happened without these adventurers.
I heard the guildmaster of the capital's Adventurers Guild was King Cyrus's close friend.
**********
"Ah, Flitz-san! Welcome. Come, sit here."
Seeing me arrive, Haru greeted me and pulled me toward a round table with a pair of chairs in the garden corner.
On the table were already prepared some sweet snacks, a pair of cups, and a teapot.
After Haru skillfully poured tea into my cup, we sat facing each other.
"Please enjoy your tea."
As it turned out, today's little tea party was just the two of us. Anna and the Princess were busy, while Renaldi and the others declined my invitation.
I lifted my cup and sipped a little, then turned my gaze to Haru across from me.
As usual, Haru wore noblemen's attire for men, with short pants showing her smooth thighs.
Looking more closely, unlike usual, she seemed to be wearing light makeup on her face.
"Are you wearing makeup?"
"Eh? Y-yes, I am. This is my first time trying things like makeup. Do I look weird?"
"No, it really suits you. Though even without it, your face is already very beautiful."
"B-beautiful!!!"
Haru's face slowly turned red, almost as if steam were coming out of her head. Her movements grew stiff.
She was usually bold, but it seemed she was weak when teased. I couldn't hold back my laughter after seeing her like that.
Haru grew even more embarrassed hearing me laugh.
After that, we chatted and spent time together.
I also took the chance to ask her how she had managed to find me when I was taken away by Mel.