The next day, Shin and Schnee prepared to join Tiera and decided to visit their acquaintances in Erkunt to inform them of their imminent departure . In other countries, they would have left immediately, but in Erkunt they had made many acquaintances , from the king to former yers .


    Shin first informed the guild that they would leave on a journey, as to not be reprimanded again . Then, they headed to the institute of magic to meet Hmee . Being former yers, they decided to keep in contact in case anything happened . Just then, Luxuria arrived: she had somehow caught wind of Shin’s departure .


    “You’re going already? You could take it easy a little longer…”


    Luxuria grabbed Shin’s right hand and brought it to her chest, looking up at him with pleading eyes . While she didn’t state it outright, it was clear that she wished for him to stay there forever .


    “Myrades contacted me, looks like they got involved in something troublesome . We’re in the same party, so I can’t ignore them, can I?”


    Shin spoke while slowly removing his hand from Luxuria’s grip, thinking that her gaze alone would be enough to make any Chosen One fall for her .


    The fact that Tiera sent him a message meant that his assistance was needed .


    “We n to leave right after we’ve said our goodbyes . ”


    “That’s really sudden…”


    “It can’t be helped . Ms . Luxuria, you should know when to give up . ”


    Masakado, who had joined them in Erkunt just a few days before, was rather dejected . Hmee agreed with Shin and tried to appease Luxuria, but she didn’t hide the fact that she felt lonely as well .


    For former yers that knew of the game era and the current era, they couldn’t help but hope for Shin to be in the same country, if possible .


    “I’m a former devil, of course I don’t know that . ”


    Luxuria herself knew that it was impossible to keep Shin there . She wasn’t acting, she really felt lonely .


    “…well, it can’t be helped, can it . I’d like to go with you, but I grew fond of this ce, so that won’t do either . ”


    Luxuria had grown quite attached to her title of health officer of the institute of magic . Masakado added: now that she was an angel, the infirmary had gained a divine-like atmosphere .


    “I didn’t do anything special though . ”


    “Why not use the chance to behave more angel-like too?”


    “If you mean that you like the well-behaved type better, I’ll think about it . ”


    Luxuria talked while looking at Schnee and Shin raised his hands in surrender . He just meant to crack a joke but felt that any more banter wouldn’t sound like a joke at this point .


    “In any case…thank you both for everything . If you evere around here again, please visit . You will always be wee . ”


    “Next time visit when I’m here too!”


    Shin and Schnee still had ces to visit, so Hmee and Masakado prompted them to go . At the rate they were going, they wouldn’t ever stop talking, so Shin dly took the cue .


    “It’s a pity, but I very much look forward to seeing you again…”


    Luxuria finally gave up and said her goodbyes . Before Shin could reply, though, she went up to him and whispered:


    “That thing you gave me after the battle…makes me feel like I’m always being embraced by you, so it’ll do for a while . But next time, you’ll have to keep me warm yourself, okay?”


    “Wait, what!?”


    Shin hurriedly closed Luxuria’s mouth, but it was toote: the bomb had already been dropped . Hmee and Masakado tilted their heads, as they hadn’t heard clearly, but Schnee was next to Shin, so she had to have heard everything .


    Shin, slowly and timidly, turned towards her, but found her smiling as usual .


    (She’s the same as always…chillingly so . )


    Shin understood well how terrifying it was for her to remain unchanged . He wasn’t inferior to her in terms of ability, but he definitely couldn’t win against her as far as their rtionship’s power bnce went .


    “Well, Shin? We should go soon, or we won’t be able to depart before the sun sets . ”


    “Y-yeah, you’re right . So, see you guys . If anything bad happens, don’t hesitate to contact us . ”


    Egged on by Schnee’s smile, Shin quickly left the institute . The remaining locations were the royal castle, where Sherlene and the others were, and Vulcan’s workshop . They hadn’t met Lecus and the other students, but, because of Avaritia’s attack, many inquiries and messengers were keeping them busy, so they couldn’t move freely .


    Since there was no other way, Shin left a letter and some items as parting gifts for them .


    “I see, so you’re leaving . It’s a pity…sir Namsaar wanted to thank you in person too . ”


    “Myrades requested my help, after all . I’m d that Namsaar recovered, though . ”


    Sherlene said that Namsaar had regained consciousness and was gradually recovering, though he still struggled to move on his own . After waking up, he had apparently said that he would take responsibility for the incident and step down from his position as leader of the knights .


    King Kreunzeit, however, pressured him to earn more aplishments to cover for this failure and stopped him . Shin and Schnee said that if Namsaar stepped down, there would not be much difference between Sherlene and Fagall, so he resolved to strive more to fight for the country .


    The problem was that there was no one skilled enough to seed him . That was how important Namsaar and the two Heroes were for Erkunt .


    “Then, we will be going now . Thank you for finding the time to meet us .


    Shin and Schnee had arrived during training, so they kept their farewell brief .


    Sherlene and Fagall thought of stopping them, but after hearing that Shin’srades needed his assistance, they couldn’t . They saw Shin and Schnee off with bitter smiles .


    Shin thought that if he lingered in the royal castle he could get involved in something troublesome, so they left quickly . Disappearing without a word would be disrespectful, so he visited the people he knew more, but he didn’t have much time to spare .


    Soon enough, Shin and Schnee reached the next destination, the workshop that had be quite familiar by then .


    Vaal was at the reception desk with about three other dwarves nearby . Based on past experiences, it was clear that they were there hoping to catch a glimpse of Schnee .


    “Good day, Shin, Yuki—are you in a hurry, perhaps?”


    “Wow, keen eye as usual . Yeah, we’ve got some urgent business to take care of, so we have to leave right away, but it felt wrong to do so without a word, so we came . ”


    “!?”


    “That’s a pity . I’m sure the boss will say the same too . ”


    The dwarves reacted to Shin’s words with evident disappointment .


    “Where’s the boss?”


    “He went to a craftsmen’s meeting . The situation has improved, but the city still needs rebuilding . When will you depart?”


    “That’s a shame, we have to leave today . It’s faster if we run instead of using a horse carriage, so we don’t need to make any preparations . ”


    “Eh!? Today!?”


    Vaal didn’t expect them to leave the same day as the visit, so he was very surprised .


    “That’s why we’re in a hurry . Please tell Vulcan that I’m looking forward to talking about smithing with him the next time wee . ”


    “…understood . Please take care . ”


    Shin and Schnee left Vaal and the dwarves and headed towards the gate . He was strangely impressed by the sight of the three dwarves, crying and waving handkerchiefs as they saw them off .


    “Ok, shall we go?”


    “Yes . ”


    Shin and Schnee passed Erkunt’s gate, waited until they were in a ce where no one could see them, and then started running . They used 【Hiding】 at the same time, so they could go as fast as they wanted without worrying about being seen .


    Their destination was the elf vige called 『Lanapacea』 . Shin had never heard of it, but Schnee said to have been there before .


    “The resurrection of the World Tree…ording to Tiera’s message, it isn’tpletely dried up, so hopefully we can do something . ”


    “That’s right . Personally, I’m more worried about Tiera . ”


    “About Tiera? What do you mean?”


    Schnee’s tone and expression gave Shin a very bad feeling .


    “The Lanapacea vige is Tiera’s hometown . I believe that is the reason why, as she wrote in the message, things aren’t progressing well . ”


    “…I see . ”


    Shin recalled the image he had seen of Tiera holding the remains of a woman, weeping loudly .


    “Tiera is an adult now, so maybe there is no reason to worry…but please keep it in mind, just in case . ”


    “Got it . ”


    Schnee didn’t seem to be all that worried about any potential issues . After all, Tiera had always been together with Schnee since losing her homnd . They had lived together far longer than Shin had .


    Shin nodded, thinking that her judgement could be trusted more than his .


    After all, hundreds of years had gone by, so it wouldn’t be strange if they hade to an agreement .


    “Anyway, she was teleported next to her hometown…it feels like it was intended . ”


    Shin noticed that he had never heard the name of Tiera’s hometown before . Her message didn’t mention it either and he wasn’t aware of the circumstances surrounding Tiera after she was cursed .


    Shin thought that it was probably tied to her particr status as Priestess of the World Tree .


    Other than Yuzuha and Kagerou, the experienced Shibaid was with her too . If something truly dangerous happened, he would surely contact them via Mind Chat . The message didn’t describe their situation in detail, but it looked like they were stuck at an impasse . In order to break through it, Shin’s assistance was needed .


    “Anyway, let’s hurry while resting when we can . ”


    They would take proper rest at night in Tsuki no Hokora and use the remaining time to proceed . They nned to maintain the maximum speed possible, while ensuring they wouldn’t arrive at Lanapacea exhausted .


    “Understood . Oh, there is something I must ask youter, so please give me some time tonight . ”


    “Okay, got it . ”


    Shin answered Schnee casually, but he had forgotten . Forgotten that, now that there were no immediate emergencies, he could not avoid being interrogated about certain things .


    “The meaning of Luxuria’s words: being enveloped by you . I will need a thorough exnation, is that clear?”


    “Gwah!?”


    What Shin exined that night and what happened next is a secret only Shin and Schnee knew .