Chapter 8

### Day Five in the Other World

I decided to take a day off because I had a fever. I, who never even caught a cold in my original world, must have contracted some strange illness. I calmed the frantic Amane, telling her it was just fatigue and that I would be fine with some rest, and sent her off to her training.

No, this isn't an illness. It's probably a fever of the mind.

Ah...

My head is spinning...

The "will" that resided in the [Blood-Stained Grimoire] said, "You are the successor of Blauroad. My mission is complete," and then vanished (or fled) when I woke up after being infused with knowledge. The book itself only had the name "Blauroad," which seemed to be the author's name, and had no title. The book became famous under a terrifying nickname due to the many deaths caused by the "will's" brutal selection method.

This Blauroad, the magician, seems to have been a severely twisted and extremely evil weirdo.

The contents of the [Blood-Stained Grimoire] included destructive magic spells like bazookas and nuclear weapons, summoning rituals to make demons into servants (in a more demonic way than the demons themselves), methods to create magical torture devices (the most numerous), and spells to toy with and mock enemies (an equally diverse selection).

Most of them were as heretical as their nickname suggested.

How much of a sadist was he? If I had seen him, I would have probably found an opportunity to punch him, finish him off, and bury him securely.

...

Anyway.

Putting aside the complicated feelings about having learned the advanced and indiscriminate [Meteor Shower] spell before the more practical and general [Fireball], I threw the ornate, gem-encrusted book, along with the items I took as compensation, into a subspace I created from the knowledge infused into me. I cast an illusion spell on the glass case in the treasure room to make it look like the book was still there, so it shouldn't be noticed immediately. The black bracelet was just lying around, so I didn't do anything to it.

...

Ugh.

Forget it.

I just want to sleep today.

My head hurts...

### Day Six in the Other World

I recovered after a day of rest. When I wandered around the castle, the maids were worried about me, and Vincent came to check on me, which made me feel happy. I asked him to take me to the training ground where Amane was practicing. I arrived just in time to see a delicate girl swinging a massive sword and easily knocking out a muscular man, a scene straight out of a movie, which made me laugh.

No, sorry. I wasn't mocking her. I was just relieved by my stepsister's superhuman abilities.

If she can hone her superhuman skills here, it will be harder for her to trigger a death flag. I have high hopes for the teachers and Amane's genius.

In the afternoon, I had another secret tea party with the maids. Today's topic was Amane's attendants. The maids are currently targeting the promising young men who have been officially selected as attendants, engaging in various challenges. While they are sure to rise in status if they return alive, there's also a chance they could die during the journey, making them quite a risky bet. When I said this, an energetic maid replied, "It's okay! Waiting for a man who goes to a dangerous place is also a woman's romance!" She was quite bold, even as a joke.

Incidentally, the most popular was the First Knight (a passionate young noble who won the tournament), followed by the Mage (a beautiful young man and the kingdom's strongest former orphan), and third was the Priest (a pure and virtuous young noble from a provincial family).

On a whim, I asked, "Where does Vincent rank?" The maids, who had been talking with the eyes of hunters, paused and said, "He's unranked." I laughed at the reason. Despite being a Second Knight from a middle-class noble family and a very good catch, "Everyone hesitates to challenge him because they fall before they can bring him down." That's intense.

After listening to the maids' stories about their hunting, I asked about other countries. They told me about tourist spots, famous dishes, popular souvenirs, and handsome men, and I gradually lost track of what I was hearing, but here's a summary:

This world has two massive continents and several small islands. The southern continent has four major countries and several smaller ones.

Here, in the western part of the continent, is the "Land of Gods and Abundance," the Igzex Kingdom.

To the east is the "Land of Chaos and Creation," the Basctoluv Federation.

To the south is the "Land of Order and Magic," the Sareloorde Principality.

To the north is the "Land of Steel and Dragons," the Vangrey Empire.

Beyond the sea to the north is the Demon Continent, ruled by the Demon King.

In other words, Amane must cross the northern sea to another continent just to face the "Demon King" at all.

What a hassle...

I listened to Amane's story about her training with unusual enthusiasm, and the honest and kind girl was very happy.

I thought I should do something to help her, even if it's from the shadows.

Ryo acquired a magic spell (Meteor Strike) and is steadily progressing, but she also interacts with various people to gather information. She's basically a lone wolf, so she keeps her distance. She interacts with a cat that doesn't need food, perched on her head, in a way that suits her.