“I guess you did lead your own regiment before. But this time, you’ll be leading strangers... Will you be okay?”
“I will.”
“Ooh, so confident. You’ve grown so much... To think you used to be so shy.”
Eluria pouted. “I wouldn’t let my shyness impede a combat operation. Lives are at stake here.”
“I know, I know—I was just teasing you. Cheer up, okay?” Raid gently patted her head with an awkward laugh.
“Eluria! It’s been a while!” Totori crowed, approaching them with Savad in tow.
“Mm. It’s good to see you again, Totori and Savad,” Eluria replied.
“I’m glad to see you doing well, Eluria,” said Savad. “The Imperial Lord has been worried about you.”
“How’s Mifuru doing?”
“Ever since her outing with you, she has taken to sneaking into the streets incognito and has been a lot more chipper than before. Well, maybe a bit too chipper... I heard she nearly handed Raid our entire country on a silver platter.”
“Wow... I just took my eyes off him for a little while, and he nearly became a king,” Eluria muttered.
“We would have still followed the Imperial Lord’s orders if it pushed through, but a sudden change in ruler would certainly be quite the ordeal, so...” Savad mumbled with a tired smile.
Eluria could imagine the headache that the Legnarian officials went through when it was decided that Totori, Savad, and their magician squad would be deployed for this operation.
“Well, would ya look at that.” The man who’d raised a question earlier—Jamil—approached with an easygoing smile and wave. “Turns out you’re acquainted with the Legnarian duo!”
Totori turned to him. “Oh! It’s Uncle Sandy!”
“Long time no see, Uncle Sandy,” greeted Eluria.
Jamil sighed. “Well, I can’t blame you for calling me that... Still, I’m a special-class magician, so could you at least spare me this indignity when we’re in public?”
Savad looked at Eluria in surprise. “You know him as well, Eluria?”
“Mm-hmm. He knows my mother and father, and he came to our estate when I was a kid.”
Jamil offered his hand to Raid. “Let me reintroduce myself. The name’s Jamil Hyer, a special-class magician from Gralea down south. Hope I can be of some help!”
“I’m Raid Freeden. I’ve heard you’re the most senior among the special-classers. It’s encouraging to have you on board.”
“Hah! You sure know how to flatter this unc! Still, I’m nowhere as strong as you young’uns. I could only be a special-classer for so long ’cause we lack magicians down south. Don’t get your hopes up, a’ight?”
“I take it you’re being modest,” Raid replied with a subtle smirk. “I’ve heard many things about the Sandsmith of the South. You’re definitely a valuable force for our operation.”
“Sandsmith, my foot! ‘Uncle Sandy’ is enough for him!” Totori snapped.
“Mm-hmm. Uncle Sandy,” Eluria agreed.
Raid squinted. “So, why exactly are they calling you that...?”
Jamil chuckled awkwardly. “Well, ya see, when li’l Totori here first became a special-class magician, I mistook her for a lost child, so I made a sandcastle for her...”
“Of course, I snapped and burned that puny thing to a crisp with my lightning,” Totori deadpanned.
“He made me a sandcastle too,” Eluria added. “So I made him an even better one with my magic.”
A dry laugh spilled from Jamil’s lips as he gazed into the distance. “I lost to a newbie, then to a kid... So now I’m just ‘Uncle Sandy’...”
Despite his modest remarks, Jamil Hyer was the oldest veteran among the current special-classers and boasted numerous feats in the southern region of the central continent which was rife with desert regions and manabeast attacks. His support from the people of the south was immense, placing him among the upper ranks of the special-class magicians.
“Uncle Sandy, make me another sandcastle! I’ll turn it into glass for you!”
“Uncle Sandy, I’ll show you around this castle. Let’s compete to see who can re-create it with the most detail.”
“Okay, okay... I’ll find some time to play with you both, so could you please drop the nickname...?”
Alas, none of his glory could be gleaned from his slumped figure. He looked very miserable, sandwiched between two petite girls—one a long-living beastdweller, and the other a genius Sage. Raid was starting to feel bad for him.
Meanwhile, Savad turned his attention to Raid and said, “Come to think of it, are the three of us the only special-classers who were recruited for this expedition?”
Raid nodded. “That’s right. Well, it’s not like we could’ve brought all of you...”
“What? It’s just us and Uncle Sandy?” Totori hummed. “Well, I understand Celios’s cloudhead and Vegalta’s ironman not coming... But what about the north’s furball and little miss burner? Or the east’s four-eyed meathead? They all seem like they’d have their eyes on some land here in the First World.”
Savad sighed. “So you had weird nicknames for all the other special-classers too...”
“Well, setting her nicknames aside...” Jamil smoothed his expression, looking much more professional. “The northern region is busy due to the recent ultra-sized manabeast attack, while Celios is still occupied with investigating manabeast behavior across the land, so their special-class magicians had to stay behind. There’s been some strange behavioral patterns observed ever since, hmm...around the time Alma was running around eliminating dragon nests.”
As they had heard from Fareg, an ultra-sized manabeast had suddenly appeared in the north while they were in the First World. The deal Raid had offered to the nations of the Second World was a good one, but nothing was worth leaving their home base in the Second World utterly helpless before another possible manabeast attack. Hence, many states decided to keep their special-class magicians—individual forces capable of single-handedly fending off ultra-sized manabeasts—and compensate by offering their other combat forces.
“But the southern region doesn’t have that luxury.” Jamil sighed. “We don’t have many primary industries, what with our territories being filled with deserts, so getting our hands on more land in a new world is top priority.”
Raid nodded. “Sounds to me like we need to save this world in a jiffy so we can give the southern nations their new territory already. The First World will benefit from that land development as well.”
“Hah! You say it like it’s so easy...” Jamil grinned. “Well, from what I heard earlier, it sounds like I can rest easy with you two in the lead.”
Just then, Eluria curiously swept her gaze across the room and asked, “Raid, where are Ms. Alma and Millis?”
“Hmm? Oh... Now that you mention it, I don’t see them at all. The First World personnel are in charge of escorting the representatives, so the brigade members shouldn’t have any work till we start loading stuff in tomorrow...”
“Mm... I’ll go look for them.”
“Do you really need to? I’m pretty sure Alma’s just getting Ed to tidy up her room for her or something.”
Eluria bobbed her head with sparkling eyes. “I’m even more curious now.” She jogged away with cheerful steps, leaving Raid wondering just what could have fascinated her so much.
“By the way,” Jamil said, “you said we’re planning on recovering Celios... Can the Calamities not cross the strait between the central continent and the western archipelago?”
“It would depend on their size, but they probably can,” Raid answered. “The continent and archipelago are quite far apart, but the distance isn’t much compared to the gaping sea between the central and eastern continents. The Calamities will probably come rushing in once we land in Celios.”
As Ariel had explained earlier, Calamities typically disliked entering the sea, but that wouldn’t stop them if there were targets to eliminate on the other shore. They possessed a certain level of intelligence, with which they could determine that entering the sea would be no impediment to their flesh and movement. Thus, Calamities were likely to come rushing toward them in Celios from the central continent.
Jamil squinted. “So, we would be dealing with the Calamities in Celios and constant reinforcements from the central continent? Forget the next stages of the plan—will we even be able to establish an outpost there?”
“Rest assured, we’ve already prepared for that. Eluria said there should be no problem.”
“Oh... That girl’s always been a bright one...”
“Whether now or in the past, she’s not one you can describe simply as a genius. I struggled a lot against her back in the day...” Raid remarked with a fond chuckle. “Not only did she invent magic, but she also dished out strategy after strategy the likes of which no ordinary person could ever devise. To top it all off, she executed them without the slightest hesitation and saw every single one to completion. She’s so crazy, isn’t she?”
Jamil shot him a flat look. “You know, Alicia and Galleon told me about your engagement... Are you sure you want to talk about your future wife like that?”
“No, no. I’m just like her, so this is a compliment. Besides, that just means she’s always up to something interesting. I couldn’t ask for a better wife.” Raid’s lips stretched into a fearless grin. “She makes the impossible possible—that’s my bride, Eluria Caldwin.”