Foreigner Volume 9, Chapter 217

Volume 9 Chapter 217, Demonic Dragon ~ 32

　They eat dinner in a hut made of stone by sorcery.

　It is not quite congenial, but there is no tragic or crushing tension. Satoru and the others do not feel tense, to the extent that Isolde frowns at the fact that they have come to the residence of the Feather Dragon, the Holy Dragon, the king of this world, and wonders if they are not being a little too casual.

　The reason for this is simple: Satoru is not here to exterminate the Holy Dragon and has no intention of hostility. The fact that Holy Dragon has sent Amon all the way here to eliminate the obstacles, and the Holy Dragon is trying to be friendly with them. If this is the case, there is no point in being unnecessarily cautious, or so he thinks.

　If the Holy Dragon wants to fight, he will buy it, but if not, he will not fight needlessly, which is Satoru's stance, and he is not going to change his mind.

　Everyone has confidence in Satoru's different abilities. Even if by mistake they were to come into conflict with the Holy Dragon Feather Dragon, Satoru would be able to twist and turn it―If this is the case, he thinks that unnecessary tension is a waste of energy and nerves.

　While Amon, the guide, was relaxed to the point of dismay as Satoru and the others ate their dinner, Amon's conscious body was floating around Solor, who was not eating and talking to her. Solor, however, continues to politely ignore his conscious body.

『......What is that?』

　Since he was ignored when he spoke to Solor, Amon gave up and asked Satoru, her master. Leia, the Immortal King, and Minerva, the daughter of the Flying Dragon that uses Mimicry, aside from these two. Among the others, Solor is clearly different. She must have stimulated Amon's intellectual quest.

「It's secrets.」

　Satoru laughed and boasted. Solor is a Magic Doll from the Ancient Magical Kingdom that had been lying dormant in the labyrinth. At a glance, she looks like an ordinary human being, but her existence must be kept a secret. Since Amon is also a being isolated from the outside world, there is little worry that information about her will leak out, but that does not mean that Satoru can't tell anyone about it.

　In response to Satoru's reply, Amon fluttered in front of Satoru's eyes and looked as if he was protesting, but then he stopped moving as if dejected.

『Things are bothering me,......, but I can't help it. I'm just curious about one thing. She's not human, is she?』

「Well, yes. It's not a life form in the strict sense of the word.」

『I knew it. I'm guessing it's a homunculus. Umumu ......』

　The light intensity of the consciousness fades slightly as it sinks into thought. This consciousness is a compound of at least three arts: 【Distant Hearing】, 【Distant View】, and the ability to send the voice of the other side to this side. It must be a very difficult art, but Amon has kept his consciousness attached to this side for such a long time. As the Immortal King, he must be an excellent sorcerer with at least 2,000 soul, but even so, his mastery of such a complex composite art is impressive.

「Are you okay with having your conscious body over here?」

『Hmm, ahh. However, I can't do anything else』

　Basically, he can only use one sorcery at a time. It is impossible to use another art while one is being used. Some physical, mental, and logic can be used in parallel, but only in a form that is used unconsciously, not as an art.

　One cannot imagine two things at the same time. Therefore, in order to have more than one effect at a time, it is necessary to combine the arts into one. Even a practitioner of Amon's caliber cannot do anything else while his consciousness is being emitted in this way.

　Satoru, who has been in this world for 84 days, knows that much.

「I mean, is it safe to use it for such a long time and maintain it?」

『If it was to last longer than three days, I would have had to wait for the magic power to recover, but considering the speed at which I can move, I don't think that would be necessary.』

「I see. You're excellent.」

『...... Oh!』

　The movement of the conscious body stopped.

「? What's the matter?」

『N-no. I'm both flattered and tickled by the compliment. After 150 years as the Immortal King, I can only hear human speech on the rare occasions when I speak with the Holy Dragon.』

　Satoru couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Having seen Leia, the Immortal King, up close and personal, Satoru has no resistance to the Immortal Retainer. The fact that Amon, who has been abhorred by all living things, is surprised to be praised is not hard to understand.

　Satoru laughs a lot and then turns to Amon's conscious body with a straight face.

「Would you excuse us for a moment?」

『Do you want to talk amongst yourselves?』

「Yeah」

　Satoru returned honestly. The perceptive powers of the conscious body are the same as those of a normal person. Right now they are in a small stone hut, so if Satoru can get Amon outside the hut, he won't be able to see or hear them.

『Very well. If you are worried about hearing, ask Leia Löwenstadt-dono to put up some wards for you.』

　Satoru looks at the floating consciousness with a disturbed look. Indeed, what I am about to tell them is something I don't want a third party to hear. That's why I asked him to leave the room. It is true that if I asked Leia to go outside the hut and put up a "ward," it would be impossible for anyone, even Amon, to hear what I was about to say.

　However, it was surprising to Satoru that he would go out of his way to say so. Amon must have been talking on the assumption that he would be suspected.

「Do you want to listen in?」

『The answer is no. Indeed I have become the 『Immortal King』 in search of more knowledge, and I am here on this Sacred Mountain with the permission of the Holy Dragon, but the knowledge that is out of my reach is frustrating. There are many cases where it is better not to ask questions. That's what I think.』

　Satoru stroked his chin. I don't have full confidence in this other Immortal King, but I can understand his thinking, and I also sense that he is quite honest.

「I see. I'll trust you, then. I'll call you when I'm done, so please go outside the hut.」

　Following Satoru's request, Amon's conscious body went outside the hut and put some distance between them. Satoru did not even check Amon's behavior.

『...... What a strange fellow he is』

　Amon had only heard about Satoru when he was asked by the Holy Dragon to do this.

　He was summoned from another world by Leia Löwenstadt's 【Otherworldly Summoning】, the forbidden lost art, and he is an otherworldly person with a soul that is greater than that of the Holy Dragon Feather Dragon. That's all the information I have.

　Well, none of this information is outrageous. There is no being in this world that has a soul that surpasses that of the Feather Dragon, even if you unravel the history of the world. Amon knew of the existence of the 【Otherworldly Summoning】 art, but it was hard to believe that there really were otherworldly people who had been summoned by it.

　But guess what? He could handle with one hand a giant sword called a Giant Killer that even the greatest of wielders of 【Herculean Strength】 could not easily control, he can use 【Shukuchi】 with incredible speed even when holding a single person, and easily build a sturdy stone hut. Satoru's magic power is certainly out of the ordinary. [TLN:  Change [Brute Force] to [Herculean Strength]]

　Even more so, even with Leia Löwenstadt nearby, the man did not waver at all when I told him that I was the Immortal King. He had the courage to believe my words without hesitation, even though there were countermeasures against him.

　I wonder what that man wanted to ask Feather Dragon―I am curious, but they say curiosity kills cats. Keeping his promise to Satoru he waits at a distance.

　Satoru's reason for keeping Amon away is simple. Because he has something he needs to talk about with his companions.

　Matching the question that they can only do one per person to Feather Dragon. They decided that this would be the type of information that they should not tell Amon.

「Let's go over the questions we're going to ask Feather Dragon.」

　Inside the narrow stone hut where he had set up their sleeping quarters, Satoru turned to all of his own magical slaves.

　Leia, Rico, Minerva, Liz, Solor, and Isolde. Including Satoru, there were seven of them. He noticed that the number of people in the group had grown considerably.

「I'll ask you beforehand, If each of you has something you'd like to hear individually, now's the time to do it, all right?」

　As a reward, one question per person is allowed for each brave soul who has made it to the Holy Dragon. Some questions are forbidden, but there is nothing that cannot be answered if it is about something that happened in this world, such as the means of sorcery that has been lost, a secret history, or the whereabouts of someone who has gone missing.

　But there is no second time to ask the question. For example, if Leia asks a question here and then comes back at a later time, the Holy Dragon will not answer her question.

　So if there are any questions that any of his magical slaves want to know privately, this is the only time to prioritize them.

「I don't have any. I'll leave it to Satoru.」

　Rico was the first to respond, shaking her head from side to side. Rico, for example, did not know what had happened to her own parents, so it was a great thing for her to say that so clearly as if it was part of the questions she wanted to ask.

「If I had to say, I would say the whereabouts of the Hyalvas, but honestly, I don't mind ignoring it.」

　Isolde was the next to speak up. As the former head of the Holy Sword Clan, she must be concerned about the whereabouts of the last remaining great demon race. To be honest, Satoru is also concerned about this point, so he silently nodded in return.

「Minerva is about Minerva's child...」

「That's what we came here to ask.」

　Satoru returns with a bitter smile. The reason they came to this Sacred Mountain to ask the Holy Dragon in the first place was to ask him how to give birth to and raise the Dragon People, the child with Satoru who is now in Minerva's belly.

「I am to ask if there is such an art that can make Onii-san return to his original world.」

「...... That's something that directly affects me.」

　Liz muttered thoughtfully. It is true that Satoru has been following Yarth's whereabouts up to this point, but the assumption is that Yarth probably knows. Depending on the existence of the art, and the answer to that question, it could certainly end Satoru's journey in the worst possible way. Of course, he has no intention of giving up even if he says so.

「What about Solor and Leia?」

　Satoru turned his gaze to the two outstanding sorcerers who had yet to open their mouths.

「I would like to examine Master's body and soul.」

「That's another story that's on me, isn't it?」

　Well, Satoru did not expect Solor to come up with the question spontaneously. She must have progressed enough to be able to say that she would like to ask about Satoru's body and soul.

　Satoru turned his attention to the remaining person. His first magical slave who summoned Satoru to this world only shrugged her shoulders very lightly.

「I guess. We are almost all about my Lord. You don't need to check one by one....... Well, it looks like one of us is not quite there yet.」

「I-I'm sorry!」

　Isolde immediately responded and bowed her head. It is true that among the magical slaves who just raised their voices, only Isolde made a request that was not directly related to Satoru. However, she also said it was fine to ignore Hyalva, and Satoru has no intention of blaming them for that.

　The magical slaves may be a little reserved, but the way they look at Satoru is sincere. Satoru stroked his chin. Holding up a finger.

「First of all, is there any way for me to return to my original world?」

　First of all, this is the major premise.

「If there is an 【Otherworldly Repatriation】 art, what are its conditions, and if possible, what is the chanting? If you don't know, or if there is no such thing―is there anyone who could know? Where is this person?」

　These questions depend on how you ask them. If you ask too many questions, the Holy Dragon will not answer them, so you have to think about it.

「Next, can Minerva's child be born and raised normally?」

　Leia nodded her head. They have very little information about dragons. The only way to find out how to give birth and raise a child is to ask a Holy Dragon.

　Once he had finished, Satoru closed his eyes, took a breath, and then spoke the thought that had been in his mind for a long time.

「Is it possible to summon my sister Alice here by rearranging the chanting of the 【Otherworldly Summoning】 art?」

　All the slaves except Solor rolled their eyes as they read Satoru's intention behind those words almost exactly.

　It is a word that Satoru can put down roots in this world, and peek at the possibility of that.

「...... My Lord.」

「I've been thinking about it. Honestly, my sister is the one I have the strongest unresolved feelings about my former world.」

　This is the first time that Satoru has clearly expressed that thought in this way. With a small self-mockery, Satoru spun nonchalantly.

「If I can summon her here, I wonder if I can live in this world. Well, I can't summon her selfishly, though. I'll think about that a little more.」

　Leia's eyes were a little downcast. Minerva and Liz involuntarily exchanged glances, and while Satoru's possible continued presence in this world was a cause for rejoicing, Leia could not help but have a mixed feeling.

　But Satoru's expression is serious.

「The major premise is that I will return. But if there is a possibility, I would like to explore it this world.」

　If the art of repatriation exists, and if he can summon his sister Alice by rearranging the chanting of the 【Otherworldly Summoning】 art, he can at least be reunited with her.

　If he could tell Alice that he was safe and reassure her, Satoru would be willing to put down roots in this world.

　It was not because he wanted to reign over this world.

　He could live as a craftsman in some remote village, or he could live in an uncultivated area, cultivating a small field. As long as he lives small(?小さく生き), that's all that matters.

　The reason for this decision is simple.

　Above all, Satoru himself does not want to part ways with his magical slaves with whom he has formed such a strong bond.

　Perhaps out of concern for Leia, Rico put her hand on Leia's shoulder and gave her a small smile. Leia also noticed Rico's concern and looked up, smiling back at her weakly and then lowering her eyes.

　Leia, too, would of course be happy if Satoru would remain in this world. However, as Leia is aware that she has ruined his life, it is hard to forgive her for being honestly happy.

　Satoru, too, was aware of Leia's feelings, but he did not intervene. Satoru is well aware of Leia's strong sense of responsibility.

　However, it is up to him to make the decision.

　Not only in this case but also in other cases, the most important decisions that affect each of the women who have become slaves are made by the individual concerned. Satoru has basically taken this stance up to this point. The reason he hesitated in accepting Liz was simply because he felt too much guilt.

「The rest, my body, my soul, the changes in my personality, huh? If we could afford it, the whereabouts of the Hyalvas, and...」

「Oh no, please ignore that.」

　Isolde interjects with a heartfelt apology, but Satoru shakes his head Nope.

「I can't do that. I'm the one who destroyed the Holy Sword. I am responsible for destroying the guardian of history up to that point.」

　Pff, Leia gave a small laugh. Behind Satoru's words that he was willing to put down roots in this world, there was a sense of responsibility for the women he had enslaved. 

「......For the time being, it would be best if we could ask the Holy Dragon for more information about the 【Otherworldly Summoning】 art」

「That would be the best thing to do.」

　The 【Otherworldly Summoning】 that brought Satoru to this world is where it all began.

　Satoru looked around the group to make sure there were no objections and nodded his head in agreement.

　Satoru looked around the group to make sure there were no objections or counter-arguments, yep and nodded his head.

「Anyway, let's take a good rest today. Solor, Leia, you keep your eyes on our surroundings.」

　Leia nodded in response and then tilted her head.

「Does my Lord trust that Amon?」

「Just because he's the Immortal King doesn't mean he can't be trusted, because I can tell by looking at you, Leia. Besides, he seems to know that if he is hostile, he will blow away. Then he won't hostile. That's fine.」

「Fair enough.」

　For Satoru, it's not about whether you trust him or not, it's about whether you are hostile or not. If they are hostile, he will step on them, if not, he won't bite back. If they try to take advantage of him, he will pay back at them accordingly, but at least there is no sign of that from Amon.

　Satoru looked outside the hut and searched for Amon. In the true darkness of the cave, his conscious body glowed unreliably. It was about 1 major (9 meters) from the hut. At that position, he could not have heard the conversation.

「Hey, we're done」

　Noticing Satoru's voice, the conscious body approached the hut.

「Even if I say ......, we're going to sleep.」

『It can't be helped. Rest easy. I am checking the perimeter, so you may rest in peace』

「I'll take you up on that offer.」

　Satoru's words, which he returned lightly, were those of trust. Even Amon was amused.

『...... Honestly, what a strange fellow.』

　Leia and another homunculus, a female sorcerer, came out of the hut to replace Satoru and must have heard Amon's mutterings. Solor has her usual expressionless face, but Leia smiles sarcastically.

　As one would expect from a legend existence. Amon had seen her in portraits before, but although the real one looks a little young, she is still stunningly beautiful.

『I think I understand why the Immortal King before me, Leia Löwenstadt, followed him.』

　Fufu, With a small smile, Leia sat down at a half-major away from the hut. Although it was a watch, there was no doubt that Amon had scattered the beasts and monsters that were supposed to live in the area.

　To be honest, the fact that the intentions of the Holy Dragon Feather Dragon are somewhat unclear is a cause for concern, but it would be good to have some interaction with the few remaining members of the same beings. Amon seems to think so, too. Instead go near Solor, Amon who had shown interest in her earlier, drifted lightly near Leia.

『This is a great opportunity. I would like to ask you a few questions about the "warding" arts that Leia Leia Löwenstadt is good at.』

「No problem. Just be quiet.」

『Very well』

　Amon's voice from his conscious body is bubbling with energy, and Leia smiles a little.

　Thus begins the Immortal King's discussion of sorcery. While Leia and Solor's companions are asleep, the heated discussion is said to have included Solor, and it is said to have become heated.

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