Chapter 87

After enrolling at Mileus, I spent about a week with Maren and then returned to Ars for a while.

As soon as I returned to the Ars government hall, Selena made a loud noise.

"Lord Alex, congratulations!!"

"Congratulations...? For what?"

"Well, it's great that you made friends so quickly!!"

"I see..."

Do you want to be my parent or something...

"Moreover, such a cute girl! You did well, Lord Alex."

Yuri also said something to that effect.

I don't know what I did, but it's certainly a relief to have made friends.

Moreover, I didn't feel the same aversion to the dark crest that I did in the empire.

Redos, who teaches holy magic, and the professors I can ask questions to...

Actually, I wish the professor who teaches dark magic—was it Melder?—was here.

Well, with that library, I might not learn anything new.

For now, I want to try summoning a dark summon beast with the summoning magic I learned from Maren.

After summoning a black wolf, I spent a few days practicing summoning fire and water elementals with Maren, like salamanders and undines.

I don't think I can make them fight for long periods yet, but I think I've got the basics down.

I wanted to try summoning a dark summon beast, but even in Ars, I hesitated to do so.

Even a small amount of magic summoned such a powerful black wolf.

If I summon something normally, who knows what might appear...

First, I need to clarify why I'm summoning in the first place.

Of course, I'm curious about whether I can control dark summon beasts and what kinds of summon beasts there are.

But most of all, I'm worried about the demon that whispered in my head.

I don't know if I can summon it directly, but even if I summon another demon, I might gain some knowledge about demons or dark magic.

However, there's no need to rush.

I should do it safely.

To summon safely...

I turned my face toward the continent reflected in the window of the government hall.

On the opposite side of Ars, in the Tialus province... there's no one living there.

Even if the dark summon beast I summon goes berserk, it won't cause much damage.

Of course, I think some precautions with magic tools are necessary.

...Anyway, it's time to finally cross to Tialus.

It's also my territory, and I want to see it properly.

I also want other magic ores, and I want to plan for development.

I asked Selena,

"Selena, the investigation of Tialus province isn't done yet, right?"

"Yes. We've been busy looking for a base in Mileus, and we've only selected the investigation team. I apologize."

Finding a base in Mileus is difficult.

I might need to see it myself.

However, the Mareas, equipped with a transfer pillar, is docked at the port, so moving around isn't particularly difficult. Besides, I can always teleport directly to the university.

"No, don't worry about it. Tialus is dangerous... we need to be cautious. So, I want to go and investigate it myself."

"Lord Alex, you? But it's too dangerous..."

Selena's voice made Yuri look exasperated.

The journey to Ars was really tough.

We were chased by powerful hell snakes and arrow crows all the way here.

Tialus province is a den of monsters.

"Indeed, it's dangerous. But I have you all."

Starting with Elysia, they are all superhuman... no, they are not human, but they are all powerful.

"Lord Alex...! Of course! If Lord Alex goes, I will do my best to protect you!!"

Elysia also answered,

"I don't want to be a burden, but Lord Alex is the strongest."

"If Lord Alex wasn't here, we would have been finished... really."

Yuri, with a wry smile, said,

"Yuri, it's okay if you stay behind..."

"N-no! I want to be of use with magic ores! Please let me come!"

Seeing Yuri's response, Lahn also said,

"M-me too. If I'm there, I can also look over the territory from the sky."

"Thank you, Lahn. I'm glad you all agree. Let's go and investigate tomorrow. Selena, please prepare for our absence."

"Understood!"

Thus, we decided to head to the Tialus mainland, across from Ars Island.

The next day, we arrived at the north shore of Ars Island.

On the opposite shore, we could see the land of Tialus, where black birds flew in the sky.

I considered going through the door before the central mine, but there was a risk of someone else intruding.

So, we decided to go to the opposite shore by teleportation first.

"Alright... let's teleport to that beach first. Is everyone ready?"

When I turned around, Elysia, Yuri, Selena, and Lahn were there.

They were all armed and ready.

Elysia was carrying a large backpack that could fit a person. From the blanket sticking out of the backpack, it seemed to contain camping gear used during the journey from the capital to Tialus.

"Elysia... isn't it heavy? We'll return to Ars when it gets dark, and we don't plan to investigate every day. Do you really need that much luggage?"

"But we might get hungry on the way. I thought we might have a chance to eat while enjoying the scenery, so I brought cooking utensils."

"Can you really do that in that environment? ...But, there's a possibility we might be in a situation where we can't teleport."

There might be strong unknown monsters.

There might be something that absorbs dark magic.

It might be wise to prepare for all situations like Elysia.

"Understood. Let's prioritize safety—let's go. Everyone, be ready to fight at any time."

Seeing everyone nod, I teleported with them to the opposite shore.

After teleporting, I immediately checked the surroundings.

There should have been a large flock of black birds—arrow crows—in the sky.

They might attack us at any moment.

—But, the arrow crows only looked at us and didn't try to attack.

Elysia lowered her sword and said,

"They're not attacking."

Selena also nodded and replied,

"They probably remember our faces. They lost a lot of their comrades in Ars, so they see no point in attacking head-on. They haven't come to Ars recently, either."

"In that case, they might attack if they get a chance."

Yuri, while keeping an eye on the surroundings, said.

I nodded and said,

"Let's be cautious... anyway."

Saying that, I headed inland from the beach.

Then, I found an old road with cobblestones peeling off in places.

This was different from the road that came from Roblion.

It stretched straight north, cutting through the forest.

"Are we following the footsteps of the ancients?"

"Footsteps?"

Selena, tilting her head, was answered by Elysia that it was a metaphor.

In the meantime, Lahn made a suggestion.

"It's dangerous to go where there's no path. If you don't mind, I can fly ahead and scout."

"That's kind of you, but we don't know what dangers lie ahead. Let's stay together. I want to use teleportation, but considering our magic power, it's better to walk."

"Understood. Please let me know if anything happens."

Lahn nodded.

Selena, swinging her arms, stepped forward.

"Then, let's proceed down this road! I will be the vanguard!"

"Shh! We might be noticed by other monsters—ah!"

When Selena looked, a large number of giant snakes—death snakes—were coming from the road.

"I told you so..."

Yuri, pale-faced, said.

However, Selena said brightly,

"What is there to fear! I won't let them touch Lord Alex!!"

"Well, if we're scared of such enemies, we can't do any investigation. This is a good opportunity to show our strength. Lahn, please take care of Yuri, who is not good at fighting."

Elysia also drew her sword and said.

I didn't want to fight, but it might be better to instill fear in them like the arrow crows.

I also faced the death snakes and said,

"Alright... everyone, let's take them down!"

"Right!!"

Thus, our Tialus investigation began.

* * *

**Announcement:**

The book version of Volume 2 of this work will be released on June 17th!

Some bookstores already have it in stock!

This time, it's filled with wonderful illustrations by Mr. Takamine Nadare! There are also illustrations of Lahn, who joined us, and the demon girl, who is still lively in the book version!

If you're interested, I would be very happy if you could pick it up.

Here is the cover image!