Makoto then explained what had happened during his archery training—how he spread his consciousness outward and then gathered it back again. When Shiki heard that Makoto had dispersed his consciousness, he was startled.
"Are you really all right, Waka-sama?" Shiki asked worriedly.
"You don't need to worry. I've always trained in archery like this. Even back in my previous world, nothing was different," Makoto replied casually.
Several days passed after Shiki witnessed Makoto's archery training. Makoto spent his days calmly: in the morning, he had breakfast and checked on the city's development, then trained his magical energy manipulation. At noon, he went to see Erin and had lunch with her. After that, Makoto would either play with Erin and Komoe or discuss the city's progress with Tomoe and Shiki, covering important factors such as agricultural development, livestock, and technology.
The Forest Ogres had also moved to this world with Tomoe's help. They were tasked with assisting Alke in exploring the forest around the city and recording the plants they discovered. The Forest Ogres also participated in joint training with other races. At first, they were confident in their strength, but after the joint training, their confidence was shattered. They turned out to be the weakest among all the races; they couldn't even defeat the elder dwarves, who did not focus on physical strength but instead specialized in research and craftsmanship. Under the leadership of Mondo, the strongest warrior among the Forest Ogres, they trained harder than ever so they wouldn't fall behind the other races.
A week passed after the last inter-racial match organized by Tomoe. On this day, the first Eryndal Ranking Tournament was held, attended by fighters of all races living in Eryndal. The tournament was lively, filled with the cheers of the spectators. Since the previous arena had been easily damaged, Shiki and the elder dwarves specially constructed a new one and reinforced it with earth magic, making it far sturdier. Makoto only watched the final match—the battle between Agares and Liddy, who were currently the strongest fighters in Eryndal.
Watching Agares and Liddy from the stage, Makoto noticed that they had grown slightly stronger compared to the previous week. "It seems they've trained seriously during this past week," Makoto said.
"Yes, Waka-sama. As far as I know, they both specifically requested time off from Ema to focus entirely on training for a full week," Shiki replied.
"It looks like we're going to see an interesting fight," Makoto said calmly.
At the same time, Agares and Liddy took their respective positions and prepared to attack. Liddy struck first, using wind magic. Agares easily blocked it with his body, then swung his axe to clear away the dust obstructing his view.
"This trick won't work on me anymore," Agares said.
However, Liddy had already disappeared from Agares's sight. Unlike before, when Liddy attacked head-on, this time he used the dust to conceal his presence and moved behind Agares to strike from the rear.
When Agares failed to see Liddy in front of him, he was momentarily surprised. Before he could locate Liddy, he heard the sound of a sword swinging. Due to his large body, Agares couldn't evade in time, and his back was slashed by Liddy.
"Ugh," Agares groaned.
Ignoring his wound, Agares twisted his body and swung his axe toward Liddy, but Liddy leaped backward to evade it.
"O wind, grant me strength," Liddy chanted, casting wind magic to accelerate his movements. He then launched a relentless barrage of attacks. Agares, who focused more on strength and defense, struggled to block Liddy's rapid strikes. One by one, wounds appeared across Agares's body, covering him in injuries and making him dizzy from blood loss.
Seeing Agares weakening, Liddy swiftly attacked again, slashing across Agares's chest and leaving a deep wound. Agares collapsed and could no longer continue the fight.
"That's enough!" Komoe declared. "The winner of this week's Eryndal ranking is Liddy of the Mistio Lizard!" Komoe announced loudly.
Upon hearing his victory, Liddy shouted, "Woah!" as he raised his sword. Makoto then stepped onto the stage together with Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki.
"That was a good match," Makoto said to Agares and Liddy, who were kneeling before him. "Liddy, you made good use of your speed advantage to prevent Agares from counterattacking and wore down his stamina through blood loss. But don't grow careless because of this victory," Makoto advised.
"Agares, I can see that you still haven't fully unleashed your abilities. Although you've become slightly stronger than last week, you were too reckless, which prevented you from counterattacking Liddy," Makoto continued.
"Yes, Waka-sama," Agares and Liddy replied in unison.
Tomoe then handed the victory trophy to Makoto. The trophy was shaped like a beautiful tree, crafted from various rare materials combined using special techniques. Despite being made from many rare materials, it had no special function other than being durable and beautiful. It took the elder dwarves nearly a week to craft and polish it to perfection.
Makoto received the trophy from Tomoe and handed it to Liddy. "This victory trophy is a symbol of your win in this week's combat contest. If you wish to keep it, become even stronger," Makoto said.
"Yes, Waka-sama," Liddy replied seriously as he knelt and accepted the trophy. He then turned around, raised it high, and shouted, "Woah!" The other fighters also cheered loudly. Watching Liddy lift the trophy, Agares resolved to win the next match.
After the tournament ended, Makoto returned home. "Tomoe, Shiki, are the preparations complete?" Makoto asked.
"Yes, Waka. All preparations are complete. I've prepared some gold and rare materials to exchange for currency from another world," Tomoe replied.
"Waka-sama, my preparations are also complete. I asked the elder dwarves to create special equipment that can function as a portable laboratory. It's not enough for detailed research, but it's sufficient for a simple laboratory," Shiki said, showing a not-too-large suitcase.
Makoto looked at the suitcase and understood its function. It contained a space larger than its exterior size. Although the elder dwarves had succeeded in creating storage-type equipment, they hadn't yet found a suitable core material to fully stabilize such functions. As a result, they shaped it like a suitcase to maintain the stability of the internal space. Though it only had about five square meters of internal space, it was sufficient to carry the necessary equipment. While storage magic existed, its usage was limited and depended heavily on the caster's ability. That was why Makoto had asked the elder dwarves to research storage equipment, and the suitcase Shiki carried was a successful prototype after numerous experiments with various materials.
"Alright, let's go to Erin's place," Makoto said. They then teleported to Erin.
"Welcome, Onii-chan!" Erin exclaimed as she jumped toward Makoto. Makoto caught her and hugged her.
"How have you been, Erin?" Makoto asked, gently pinching her nose as he held her.
"I'm fine, Onii-chan," Erin replied cheerfully, giggling as she pinched Makoto's cheeks with her small hands.
Seeing their interaction, Tomoe said, "Waka, how about we have a child of our own?"
"Yes, Waka-sama. If you wish, I can bear as many children as you want," Mio added seriously.
Hearing this, Makoto could only shake his head. "We can talk about that later," he said.
"Eeh? Wouldn't that be fun, Onii-chan? If you have a child, I'll become Onee-chan!" Erin said excitedly.
"Yes, Waka-sama. If you have a successor, I could become their teacher. Just imagining it makes me impatient," Shiki said earnestly.
"So, Waka, when will we have children?" Tomoe asked, with Mio nodding beside her. "Yes, Waka-sama. I'm ready anytime," Mio said.
Makoto flicked Tomoe's, Mio's, and Shiki's foreheads, leaving red marks, and gently pinched Erin's cheeks instead, unable to bring himself to flick her.
"Ah!" Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki exclaimed.
"Uee," Erin whimpered softly.
"Stop joking around. We came here for something serious," Makoto said.
"But we weren't joking," Tomoe muttered.
"Erin, will our soul-bond communication be disrupted when I'm in another world?" Makoto asked.
"No, Onii-chan. The soul bond between us was formed in a special way that transcends space and time. So no matter where you are, you can contact me through it," Erin answered confidently.
"In that case, Tomoe, Mio, Shiki, I'll be going now. I don't know how long I'll be gone—maybe just a short time, or if I'm unlucky, it could take quite a while. If I don't return for a long time, don't worry. You can ask about my condition through Erin," Makoto said.
"Waka, be careful on your journey," Tomoe said.
"Waka-sama, I hope your journey goes smoothly," Mio added.
"Waka-sama, may luck be with you," Shiki said.
"Yes, I'll be careful," Makoto replied seriously.
Makoto then activated the ability he had obtained from Erin. First, he camouflaged his aura so it couldn't be detected. Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki could still see his body, but they could no longer sense his presence—it was like looking at an illusion.
A green light enveloped Makoto's body, protecting him while traveling through chaotic space where time and space were distorted. He then created a portal leading out of the dimension.
After finishing his preparations, Makoto looked at Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki, who were watching him with concern. "Alright, I'm heading out," Makoto said, stepping into the portal. Shortly after, the portal closed.
Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki stared silently at the spot where Makoto had disappeared. Although they could no longer feel their contract connection with him, they were certain that Makoto was safe.
When Makoto emerged from the portal, he found himself in a dark void. Behind him was a world that looked like a floating bubble. Makoto knew and felt that the world before him was Eryndal, as he was its ruler. Nearby floated the Goddess's world. Although the two worlds were similar in size, the difference between them was obvious. Compared to Eryndal's world barrier—which had been reinforced many times, especially after Makoto gave it a name and now resembled a thick, sturdy membrane—the Goddess's world looked like a fragile soap bubble that Makoto could easily shatter.
Though he sensed this, Makoto had no intention of testing it. He was neither a hero nor a saint, but neither was he a demon-hearted being. Makoto was simply someone who wanted to live peacefully and held a dream of adventuring and seeing the world.