Published: July 4, 2025
Part Three: Eastern Nations Arc begins!
"Hey, Ryo, wake up!"
"...No, I can't. No more cake, I swear. I'm full... mmm..."
"There's probably no cake here anyway."
Was that Abel's words the decisive blow?
Ryo opened his eyes wide and literally jumped up.
He looked around.
Beside him was Abel.
The two of them were on a sandy beach.
In front of them, the sea stretched out.
Behind them was a forest that had approached close to the coast.
He was wearing his usual robe.
He was also wearing the shoes he received from the dullahan.
Murakumo and its sheath, as well as Mikael's Custom Knife and its sheath, were all present and accounted for.
The identification plate he always wore around his neck was also hanging there.
There seemed to be no problem at all.
"Phew, that's a relief. It seems there are no fatal issues."
After grasping the situation, Ryo said with a relieved expression.
"No, from any perspective, this is a serious situation..."
Abel apparently couldn't agree with Ryo's opinion.
That was to be expected.
The world is made up of diversity.
He must always maintain the basic understanding that there are people with differing opinions and ways of thinking.
"Indeed... I left my usual bag behind, so I don't have any salt or pepper, which is a big issue. However, I'd like you to endure that. Have you become unable to tolerate things now that you've become a king, Abel?"
"That's not it! What the hell is this place anyway?!"
Ryo tilted his head in confusion, responding to Abel's unreasonable anger.
"Isn't it the coast? Where else could it possibly be...?"
"Ah, yeah... I see, my wording was poor. Why are we on this beach?"
"I see. You don't understand what happened at that time, do you, Abel?"
Ryo finally understood why Abel was muttering such things.
...Apparently, he thought he understood.
"The demon Garwin's magical power... or rather, his magic went out of control. Demons are usually skilled at gravity manipulation magic, right? Since a great physicist once said that gravity is the bending of space, I think we got teleported to a place we don't even know about because the space got completely twisted."
"...I’m sorry, I don’t get it at all."
Despite Ryo's thorough explanation, Abel couldn't comprehend it...
It is difficult to make someone without fundamental knowledge understand.
It's like trying to make someone who can't do basic arithmetic understand 10-variable second-order nonlinear partial differential equations.
...Yeah, in the first place, even understanding 10-variable second-order nonlinear partial differential equations is impossible.
"In other words, both of us have been teleported somewhere far away."
"That's right, I think that's an accurate way to understand it."
Abel said it bluntly, and Ryo accepted his words.
"We need to get back soon."
"Yeah. But that'll be difficult..."
Ryo responded to Abel's words.
And then, Ryo fell silent.
Even after a while of waiting, Ryo remained silent.
Abel could see that Ryo's expression was unusual, deeply serious, and immersed in thought.
It was different from his usual act of seriousness.
After spending a long time with Abel, he could grasp that difference.
"What’s wrong, Ryo?"
"Abel... I believe we will eventually be forced to confront an unavoidable battle."
"Where is that coming from?"
With a serious expression, Ryo spoke, and Abel tilted his head in confusion.
Ryo stretched his arm out.
What he was pointing at was...
"The sea?"
"Yes. Unless we decide to stay here forever, we will have to eventually venture into that sea."
"Ah..."
At that point, Abel understood what Ryo was concerned about.
"The depths of the sea are a different world."
"Indeed... It's said that it's a world where people shouldn't go more than the night forest."
Abel nodded in response to Ryo's words.
"There’s no one who can defeat the aquatic monsters in the sea..."
Abel muttered.
Yes, that was obvious.
In an environment surrounded by water, attacks using fire attribute magic or wind attribute magic have no meaning.
Even if you generate a stone spear using earth attribute magic... it would face water resistance.