Published: January 22, 2026
After losing in yesterday’s martial arts tournament semifinals, Fuuka and I, along with Huey and Kati, headed first thing in the morning to the neighboring town of Maranto.
Why, you ask? Because when Fuuka woke up this morning, the first thing she said was that she wanted to eat Maranto’s dango.
Maranto is about an hour and a half by carriage from Tsutolairu, and it’s famous for its delicious dango.
This princess really is way too free-spirited.
And to want dango first thing after waking up—how hungry is she?
After buying a large amount of dango in Maranto, we’re now riding the carriage back toward Tsutolairu.
I really hate these quick round trips—they’re exhausting.
But since we have a dinner meeting with Alf in the evening, we can’t just ditch everything.
“Kati, is it good?” Kati asked Fuuka, who was still munching on the dango, and Fuuka nodded vigorously.
“Good. I’m glad.”
Normally, Kati would have scolded Fuuka for stuffing herself like this.
But since Kati thinks Fuuka was hurt by losing to Orun yesterday, she’s been especially indulgent toward her.
...That girl definitely isn’t hurt, though. The fresh expression right after losing clearly showed no regret—I’d bet on it!
Taking advantage of Kati’s leniency, Fuuka is acting more freely than usual.
Her request to go to Maranto was probably made, knowing that Kati would agree at this timing.
Really, what a character.
◇
As the outer walls of Tsutolairu came into view outside the window, Fuuka stopped eating the dango and suddenly lifted her head, looking around restlessly.
“Fuuka, what’s wrong?” Kati called out, worried by Fuuka’s sudden behavior.
“...Haruto. Check Tsutolairu.”
“Huh? What’s with the sudden request?”
Fuuka is no fool. In fact, she’s quick-witted.
But she usually keeps things to herself and only speaks conclusions.
Though she likely has many reasons for what she just said, the world we see is too different, so we can’t fully grasp the true meaning behind Fuuka’s words. I’m used to it now.
“Just do it quickly.”
It probably means it’s faster if I see it myself than if she explains.
As Fuuka said, I closed my eyes and sent my vision above Tsutolairu.
This is my supernatural ability, 【bird's-eye vision】.
I can move my vision to any spot within a few kilometers radius.
I don’t actually need to close my eyes to use it, but it’s tiring to see two views at once, so I close my eyes when I can.
Looking down at Tsutolairu from above, I couldn’t help but mutter, “No way...”
Part of the northern district, where upscale residences stand, was partially collapsed.
“Captain, did you see something?”
Huey, hearing my mutter, asked.
“Part of the town is destroyed.”
“――What!?”
When I answered Huey, both Huey and Kati were stunned into silence.
“Hm?”
Lowering the viewpoint for a closer look, something exploded nearby.
Looking toward the explosion, there were two people.
(Wait, we’re in the air. Why are there people here—)
The two were Orun and Oliver.
(This isn’t the martial arts final, right? That should be over by now. And that thing Oliver is enveloped in…)
“This might be the worst situation. Oliver is going berserk. It’s probably that thing Christopher mentioned. Right now, he’s fighting Orun. Of course, Orun is at a disadvantage.”
“That thing? Is that what you said was the reason we came to this town?”
Huey asked again.
He remembered well even though it was only mentioned once long ago.
“Yes. We—or rather Fuuka—came here to put down Oliver if he went berserk. They said the chance of that happening was low.”
“Where’s Philly?”
Even in this situation, Fuuka asked about Philly’s whereabouts instead of Oliver’s condition or location, as usual.
I scanned Tsutolairu again to find Philly.
There, at the spot where the hero party’s mansion used to be, I saw Philly fighting Luna from the same party.
I thought it reckless to face Philly, but Luna’s magic barrier was quite strong and held off Philly’s powerful attacks.