Published: February 1, 2026
Sars was by no means a large country.
The only territory it owned was the Lake City, floating in the middle of an enormous lake so vast it could be mistaken for the sea. Despite having only that single place, it was an independent country and had made a name for itself as a magical superpower.
“What a beautiful country, isn’t it?”
The calm lake surface reflected the blue sky and was occasionally stirred into white by the wind sweeping across the plains.
The great bridge stretching from the shore to the city in the middle of the lake showed no signs of weathering, shining straight ahead as it reflected the light off the water. Though the lake was so huge it was hard to grasp, the country beyond the long, long bridge was surely not small.
Rizel squinted against the wind that lifted her hair, enjoying the scene as if painted by a master craftsman’s imagination.
“Big Brother, have you been here before?”
“Once, quite a while ago.”
“Then I know more about it.”
Eleven, who seemed to have seen it a few times, appeared indifferent, and Jill, who hadn’t been back in a while, didn’t seem particularly moved either. They seemed more interested when rare swords came out of treasure chests.
That was typical of them, Rizel thought with a wry smile, and started moving again after a pause.
“Well then, shall we go?”
Their course veered off from the main bridge to Sars, heading north along the shore of the lake.
Before their important objective, Rizel wanted to stop by a certain place, even if only briefly. Jill and Eleven gave their easy consent.
“Feels like it’s about time, huh?”
“After all the trouble, it was a bit late.”
“I just didn’t have the chance to come here.”
Both Jill and Eleven accepted the simple explanation without fuss.
This was about the great invasion that had struck the Commerce Nation. Rizel’s real purpose in deliberately getting involved, even though she could have stayed out of it, was to secure information available only to the lords of the Commerce Nation—information she had earned by doing a favor for Shadow.
Even after all that effort, what she obtained wasn’t needed for any specific task. It was simply something that piqued Rizel’s intense curiosity.
“I hope we get to see some spatial magic.”
Rizel smiled happily, but the two gave her slightly ambiguous looks.
“Is there a chance we might not see it?”
“If they say they don’t want to, then that’s that.”
“Oh, is that how it works?”
Then the three of them leisurely walked toward the forest visible beyond the grasslands.
That’s right. Let’s go to Sars to eat some meat.
After reaffirming how important her party members were, Rizel quickly made that decision. She felt a strong sense of mission to let Jill eat meat, and sincerely hoped Eleven would eat plenty as well.
By the way, Jill had no problem with going to Sars; he just wanted to try the famously tasty meat. But as for Rizel’s mindset, Jill honestly found it a bit odd. Even telling her to calm down didn’t help, since Rizel was truly calm inside.
Meanwhile, Eleven was naturally very happy to be fed a lot and was delighted that Rizel valued her party so highly. He would go to Sars or wherever with them.
“Sars is nice because it’s close, right?”
“I also go there sometimes.”
Judge smiled gently, and Rizel’s expression softened.
They had visited the shop before leaving for Sars, more to inform them of their departure than for any preparations. Compared to Astarnia, which would soon be hard to meet again, Sars was close—as Rizel had said.
The slow carriage ride took less than two days, and riding horses quickly could take less than one. For adventurers who traveled to many places, it was a nearby location requiring no special preparations.
In fact, it was even closer than the Commerce Nation, so Judge’s heart was very calm upon hearing of their departure.
“Judge-kun, are you after magical tools?”
“Yes. They have the latest models and some unique ones.”
“I’ve seen many in the Demon Ore Nation as well, but they seem to specialize in precision, right?”