Because Yudou had completely taken control of the financial reins of the magic item shop, Wiz was no longer able to freely purchase all sorts of strange and questionable magic items as she pleased.
Thanks to "Gift of Frost" and "Blessing of Water," Yudou had finally cleared a hell-difficulty achievement, accomplishing the miraculous feat of turning Wiz's magic item shop from chronic losses into actual profit.
When Wiz saw the account books—books that had been drenched in red ink for as long as she could remember—finally showing black numbers instead, she was practically moved to tears.
Even though she had no idea what those massive incoming payments labeled "Gift of Frost" and "Blessing of Water" actually were, Wiz had stocked so many goods over the years that she assumed they were probably items she'd imported long ago and then completely forgotten about.
After successfully bringing the shop out of the red, Yudou formally received his reward from Wiz: a magic crystal worth two billion eris.
Leaving this world was only a matter of time. To prevent Wiz from completely wrecking the shop again after his departure, Yudou even created an extremely detailed and systematic business plan for her. He also left a sizable reserve of the two potions stocked away in the warehouse.
As long as Wiz didn't start doing anything reckless again, keeping the shop profitable shouldn't actually be that difficult.
Of course… based on Yudou's understanding of Wiz, the moment financial control was returned to her, not doing anything reckless was practically impossible.
"Yudou… are you getting ready to leave?" Wiz asked softly. "We're friends, right? Even if you leave Axel… could you promise me that you'll come back to see me sometimes?"
Seeing Yudou meticulously arranging and explaining matters related to the shop, even someone as slow on the uptake as Wiz could tell that he was preparing to leave.
Although the thought of parting filled her with sadness, she wasn't surprised by his decision.
After all, Axel was a nice place—but in the end, it was just a beginner town. With Yudou's strength and the reputation he had built, his stage belonged in far larger cities, perhaps even the royal capital, not in this remote frontier town.
Still, knowing that he would leave someday didn't make it hurt any less now that the moment had arrived.
Despite being well-liked in Axel, Wiz had always kept her distance from others because of her identity as a lich and a former general of the Demon King's army.
At the same time, she lived in constant fear that the day her identity was exposed, she would be driven out of Axel.
After all, even the adventuring companions she had once relied on with her life had ultimately chosen to part ways with her—so how could she expect anything different from others?
Though she lived in the lively town of Axel, Wiz had always been alone… until Yudou appeared. Someone who saw through her true identity and accepted her without the slightest hint of disgust.
And now, even that person was preparing to leave Axel for somewhere else. To say Wiz wasn't heartbroken would have been a lie.
"I'm not just leaving Axel," Yudou said gently. "I'm temporarily leaving this world. Though… maybe I'll have a chance to come back someday."
That was right—Yudou really was about to leave this world. The final objective of his world mission had finally appeared.
Just earlier, the Adventurers' Guild had issued a Level-One Emergency Alert. Axel lay directly in the path of the Mobile Fortress — Destroyer.
The mobile fortress was a berserk ancient weapon, clad in anti-magic armor and armed with devastating firepower. It was originally a war machine designed to conquer cities and lay waste to nations.
For various reasons, that war weapon had now completely lost control. If it wasn't stopped, the colossal fortress would reduce all of Axel to rubble.
There was only one day left before the mobile fortress reached Axel, but the entire town had already entered a full combat-readiness state.
Unlike their previous battle against the Demon King's army, the mobile fortress possessed no intelligence. If they couldn't withstand it, they could theoretically choose to evacuate.
But doing so would mean abandoning Axel entirely. Most people would be instantly displaced, losing everything they had.
To deal with the incoming threat, the kingdom had issued an enormous bounty. Any adventurer who could stop the mobile fortress wouldn't just receive unimaginable wealth—they could even be granted a noble title.
Yudou hadn't known what the mobile fortress was before. But after seeing that gigantic mass of iron looming in the distance, he immediately understood.
This return to Axel was mainly to bid farewell to the people he knew here—for the last time.
When Wiz thought Yudou was only leaving Axel, she could barely hold herself together. After all, even if they lived in different towns, meeting again was still possible.
But when she realized that Yudou wasn't leaving Axel—he was leaving this world—her emotions finally broke.
Wiz didn't know where Yudou was going, but leaving this world meant they might never see each other again… just like what had happened with her former companions.
"Wiz," Yudou said quietly, meeting her eyes, "would you be willing to form a contract with me? No… please, form a contract with me.
"I can't guarantee that I'll be able to return to this world. And I don't want you waiting for me the way you waited for your old companions. So… let's become partners.
"That way, even if I'm in another world entirely, I can still meet you through the power of the contract."
As a lich, Wiz perfectly met the requirements of the Demon King Contract. In truth, Yudou had thought about this for a long time—but he'd never been able to bring himself to say it out loud.
Because of her companions, Wiz had already given up being an adventurer. Despite possessing considerable power, she continued running a perpetually unprofitable magic item shop.
If he truly considered her a friend and partner… wouldn't binding her to a contract and summoning her to fight alongside him go against her wishes?
Yet to Yudou's surprise, after hearing the conditions and effects of the contract, Wiz's face lit up with a radiant smile. Without the slightest hesitation, she formed the contract with him.
"If I was willing to give up being an adventurer for my companions back then," Wiz said firmly, "then now I can just as easily become that 'Ice Witch' once again—for my partner!"
After parting ways with Wiz, Yudou went on to say his goodbyes to Luna, Lia, Kazuma, and Aqua as well.
When Lia learned that Yudou was preparing to leave, she made the same decision as Wiz—without hesitation.
In fact, Lia had long known that Yudou didn't belong to this world. The things he had asked her to create within dreamscapes before—none of them existed in this world at all.
As for Luna, she was filled with regret over Yudou's departure, but there was nothing she could do. Unlike Wiz and Lia, she couldn't abandon everything to follow him. Even if she wanted to, she felt she wouldn't be of much help to him anyway.
Kazuma and Aqua, on the other hand, reacted very differently.
The moment they learned that Yudou had the power to leave this world, they both immediately threw themselves at his legs, desperately begging the big shot to take them along.
However, when Yudou explained to Kazuma that his own world—while modern—was even more dangerous than this one…
Kazuma and Aqua instantly gave up all thoughts of riding Yudou's coattails to glory.