Chapter 9

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

The back of the bookstore, filled with old books, was where the old woman, Lala, with her wrinkled brown skin, mismatched blue and red eyes, and short white hair, muttered in exasperation.

"But that drunkard of a husband. It seems his head has finally been addled by alcohol. According to his disciple, the master is as lively as ever, yet what he brought was a will."

Lala, who knew many things about Sasaki that he never spoke of, felt an indescribable emotion well up as she read the special magical tool inscribed with Sasaki's will. It contained not only instructions for dealing with his estate and the enchanted sword at his waist, but also memories from their meeting, the great war they ran through, the day they were united, the time they defeated the Great Demon King, and the birth of their child. It was sealed with words of love.

"Hmph. Absolutely."

Lala's nose snorted, but the corners of her mouth remained upturned.

She had known many things about Sasaki that he never spoke of, but seeing them in writing stirred an indescribable feeling.

"Hmm? A letter from Elrika's familiar? What a day full of unusual events, it's like a heavy rain."

Lala, who was pondering what to do, saw a white bird, her friend's familiar, fly into the store, and thought it was another unusual event, along with the letter from her husband.

"Hmm... the final journey, huh?"

After reading the letter the white bird had in its beak, Lala learned that Fae and Elrika were about to set out on their final journey. Almost unconsciously, she moved her fingers to cast a spell.

"How nostalgic."

From the empty space, a picture appeared, depicting the people with perfect precision.

In the center, the young Fae was laughing like a mischievous child, with Elrika by his side. Sasaki was drinking from a bottle at the edge, and Lala was standing with her arms crossed next to him. And the other comrades-in-arms.

These people in the picture were none other than the legendary and strongest group of humans, the Hero Party.

Indeed, they were a collection of social misfits and eccentrics. For example, in the picture, a well-built man was showing off his muscles, wrapped only in a thin cloth around his waist, indicating that there was even a narcissistic exhibitionist among them.

"...Well, shall I go buy some food?"

Lara, who considered herself to be the one who had been tossed around by these eccentrics, was reminded of their quirks by the picture of the party members. Looking up at the sky, she stored the picture in a different space and left the store to attend to the immediate task at hand.

"Ah! It's the old witch!"

"Hehe. I'll boil you and eat you."

"AAAAAA!?"

And this old woman, with her good-natured attitude, would greet the neighborhood troublemakers with a terrifying smile.

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"There are a lot of people with letters and errands today."

Lara, returning from shopping, looked at the hooded figure standing in front of her bookstore with a troubled expression. In a normal town, this would be suspicious, but here, it was a den of suspicious people, so no one paid any attention.

"Don't come in. I'll tell you, I only bought food for myself."

Lara invited the suspicious man into the bookstore.

"It's been a while, Master."

The hooded figure, Aldric of "Incineration," bowed as he stepped into the bookstore.

"Did you just come from the Magic Council? I bet it's a troublesome matter."

"Well, that's... "

Lara knew that Aldric, one of her disciples, had recently attended a council where high-level mages from around the world gathered to discuss matters of magic. Since he came to her immediately after, she assumed he brought a troublesome matter.

And she was right; Aldric's hesitation confirmed it.

"It's this..."

Aldric pulled out a black book bound with red chains from an empty space.

"From the looks of it, I've only heard about it. Is this the strategic-level demon summoning book created by Grace the Fool?"

"Yes. It was recovered from a collector's study by the council. They believe the demon inside is on par with a deep-layer mage and are struggling to handle it."

"That fool didn't know the word 'control' and was a complete idiot."

Lara frowned at the black book she hadn't seen in a long time, and Aldric also furrowed his brow.

"Grace the Fool" was of the same generation as Lala and was known as a magic technician during the great war, but he had a terrible habit. He prioritized power and destruction, ignoring control and safety. As a result, his creations could be useful if used correctly, but if mishandled, they could lead to one's own destruction.

This book was no different. It was designed to contain a demon on par with a deep-layer mage and use it as a strategic weapon. However, demons are beings that want to kill humans, and as expected, they were completely uncontrollable, leading to the book being sealed. The discovery of such a book was a headache for Aldric.

"Ah, well, there's no choice. I'll take care of it since it's from the same generation."

"Can you do it?"

Lara, despite complaining about the trouble, declared that she would take care of the war relic from her generation and took the magic book, then transferred to an isolated space where a wilderness spread.

Lara's bookstore was surrounded by an abnormal amount of magic, making it easy to create an isolated space.

"Damn. I can't understand why he could seal and isolate it but didn't consider control."

Lara wanted to erase the book and its contents, but the book was merely a gateway to summon the demon. If the book were destroyed, the sealed demon could drift in an unknown space and potentially appear at any time.

Therefore, she had to call out the demon and erase it, no matter how troublesome.

"Come out."

Lara removed the chains binding the book and summoned the demon.

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