“Mm,” Diablo nodded.
Rose’s damaged areas were already all fixed.
“Did some kind of problem crop up?” she asked, turning her gaze to Rem and the other girls.
“Mm... Rem, explain it.”
He’d somehow been able to talk to people (?) thanks to his Demon Lord role play, but Diablo was fundamentally bad at speaking. Learning from past experience, Rem explained the gist of the situation.
“...The Kingdom of Lyferia is being invaded by the Gelmed Empire that hails from the far east.”
“The Gelmed Empire?”
“...Rumor has it that the King of Lyferia died in battle. The castle has fallen, and we’ve holed up in the Grand Cathedral in the capital’s twelfth district. The difference in strength between the two armies is clear, however. And so, Diablo decided to teleport into the castle and launch an attack on the enemy commander.”
“The Gelmed Empire...” Rose tilted her head curiously. “Does such a place truly exist? Rose cannot find any mention of it in her database.”
“...It’s a faraway country.”
“But Rose has the world map stored in her database.”
“...Well, I don’t know much about this database of yours.”
Rose seemed rather unconvinced. Her memories conformed to Cross Reverie’s setting and lore, which had no mention of the Gelmed Empire. That made sense, since Gelmed was based off of another game, the smartphone game Girls’ Arms.
I had a feeling this might be the case, but Rose really doesn’t remember anything about the Empire, huh...?
“By the way, the Empire uses something called Magimatic Sols...” Rem changed the subject. “They’re quite similar to the thing that always appears behind you, Rose.”
“It is indeed called the Magimatic Sol.”
“...You were created by someone, right? Could it have been the Gelmed Empire?”
Rose fell into a small silence. As if thinking... or rather, searching about the topic. But eventually, she shook her head.
“Rose believes it is a coincidence... There is no record of this in Rose’s database.”
“Good,” Diablo cut into their exchange. “Even if you do not know, it does not get in the way of your fighting, yes? We’re going to charge into Gelmed’s main encampment. I will have you act as vanguard.”
“By your will, Master,” Rose said, bowing her head deeply.
“Also, we’ll have to take some items we may need. This will likely become a dungeon exploration.”
Diablo never explored the castle in the game, but there’s no doubting that it was quite the spacious place. Rose led them to the treasure vault.
“We should have come to visit this place sooner,” Shera chimed in.
“...Think about it a little,” Rem retorted. “Do you remember how long it took us to come here and go back? It took days even when we used a sand ship or a carriage.”
“Huh? But we could teleport here.”
“...Teleporting to the capital would land us in the middle of the castle, it seems.”
“Oh!”
The way she didn’t let the nitty-gritty details bother her was without a doubt part of Shera’s charm, but it was also one of her faults. Rem rested a hand on her forehead and sighed. If the castle in the game was as vast as it is in this world, there likely would have been several teleportation spots dotted around it.
Diablo picked multiple items from his vault and placed them into the pouch hanging from his waist when he suddenly heard whispering.
“...Huh? For real?”
“No, but I’m a sorcerer right now...”
“Uuu... You’re right, I should do what I do best to help!”
He thought she was speaking to someone, but apparently Horn was speaking to herself.
I know that feeling, Horn. I do that a lot too, Diablo nodded to himself.
What he didn’t know was that Horn was speaking to the goddess of the Holy Grail, Babalon. Horn then stepped up to Diablo.
“Boss, can you lend me this dagger, please?”
“Mm, I permit you to use it if you wish.”
It was a level 80 dagger. It was a bad drop for Diablo, and he only kept it as a material of sorts, but it was still an SSR rarity item. It was a good weapon for light warrior classes, like thieves and seekers. It had a relatively high level cap and so it did have some enchantments and special effects, but...
“This isn’t going to help you against a Magimatic Sol, you know?”
“Ugh...” Horn shook her hands in a flurry. “I’m not going to pick a fight with those things!”
“...Are we finally going to charge in, Diablo?” Rem asked him with a severe face.
“No, we’ll be stopping somewhere else first.”
“Where?”
“Sasara’s place.”
“...I see. Having the Swordmaster on our side will be reassuring.”
“Right.” Sylvie cast down her eyes.
Lumachina and Horn didn’t know about her power, since they weren’t there for the battle in Faltra against the Demon Overlord Modinaram.
“I’m sure she’ll help us!” Shera exclaimed, raising a hand cheerfully into the air. “Let’s go!”
†
“I must refuse,” Sasara said flatly.
“Huuuuuh?!” Shera raised her voice in shock.
Yeah, I figured, Diablo thought, biting his lips.
They were on 《Mount Tenzan》, at the Swordmaster’s estate. Sasara was seated on her feet, which Diablo recognized as a seiza-style. Diablo and his cohorts were all seated however they liked, since Lyferia had no customs of sitting on the floor.
Lumachina alone sat just like Sasara, trying to emulate her stance and sitting as upright as she could. And Rose was waiting outside, as there was the risk of the floor caving in under her weight.
“...Why can’t you help us, Sasara?”
“The last time I fought with you, it was a battle against a Demon Lord. The Swordmaster is one who wields her blade for the races... And so, I could lend you my help in a battle against the Fallen. But this time, this is a war mankind fights amongst itself, is it not?”
“...But the Empire is far too unjust and terrible.”
“But they’re still of the mortal races.”
“...That much is true.”
“And there could be those among the Gelmed Empire who had accepted the Swordmaster’s tutelage.”
Sasara only inherited the role of Swordmaster six months ago, and Diablo had a suspicion the Gelmed Empire were invaders from another world... But that was just his guess. They could well have existed in this world since the distant past.
“What would you do if someone from the Gelmed Empire was a student of mine, and came to me first to petition help in defeating Lyferia?”
“...We would be in trouble then.”
Sasara had once said that if Diablo was to fight her at full force with all of his magic, he would emerge victorious. But truly, who was to say how a fight between them might end? When Sasara was truly serious, her attacks became shockingly rapid. They were hard to block or dodge. She could well sever Diablo’s head before he knew it.
“I am not aligned with the Kingdom of Lyferia, nor do I obey the Gelmed Empire,” Sasara said, bowing her head. “And while I do think of you as my friends... Picking a side in a battle between Humans goes against the path of the Swordmaster.”
“No...” Shera uttered, her voice heartbroken.
“Forgive me. The Swordmaster is the one who shows others the peak of swordsmanship... Interfering with worldly matters would tarnish the role’s honor. Doing so would mean casting away everything the great founder and my stepfather have passed down to me.”
Sasara’s expression turned sorrowful. She was adopted by the former Swordmaster, and owed him a great debt of gratitude. And when he had become an Oni, she was forced to cut her stepfather down. The bond between the two of them was stronger than anyone unrelated could understand.
“If you wish to train for the upcoming battle, I would gladly accommodate...”
But Diablo had no such leisure, of course. Even as they spoke, the Gelmed Empire could well have been marching on the twelfth district. Diablo rose to his feet.
“As you say, you not becoming an enemy to us is good enough,” he said.
“I thank you for understanding my position. As a Swordmaster, I can’t help you... But you have helped me in the past, against my stepfather. I pray that we will meet again once this war ends.”
Sasara’s stepfather told Diablo to help his daughter. Forcing her to help them push back the Empire would surely make him turn in his grave.
“Hmph... We can beat back those fools even without the Swordmaster’s help!” Diablo said, trying to appear as tough as he could.
But while their conversation was over... Sasara turned her eyes to Lumachina. This was their first meeting, it seemed.
“You are...” Sasara muttered.
“My apologies for not introducing myself. I am Lumachina Weselia, the High Priest.”
“So you really are...”
“It might come across as strange, but... It doesn’t feel like the first time we’ve met, Miss Sasara.”
“I feel the same way, in fact,” Sasara nodded.
“I would like a chance for us to speak of this more deeply someday.”
“I feel the same way... Once this matter is put to rest, perhaps I shall visit the capital.”
“I look forward to it,” Lumachina said.
“I would love for you to taste my Swordmaster soba, as well.”
“...Soba?”
Neither of them smiled and they spoke in rather business-like tones, but their exchange was rather calm and pleasant.
Diablo and his group left the estate.
“It’s such a shame...” Shera said, her shoulders drooped in disappointment.
“...There isn’t much to be done,” Rem replied, shaking her head. “We all have motives and principles we can’t budge on. We should honor her decision.”
“To think she would go against Master’s orders...” Rose, who had waited outside throughout the whole exchange, took the news with a grim expression.
Horn and Shera tried to placate her, while Sylvie spoke up.
“Okay, time to shift gears, everyone! Cuz we’re charging the castle next. We’ll teleport right into the enemy camp! Let’s get going and keep in mind what we’re up against.”
“Okaaay!”
“...You’re right.”
“Roger that!”
Rem and the others nodded, their eyes turning serious. It would have usually been Diablo’s place to say that line, with a stiff, unyielding voice.
Standing next to them, Sasara was beating flints together.
“It is said that smoke can repel misfortune, so this is a charm for repelling bad luck. I cannot join you, but know that I pray for your success.”
“Thank you, Sasara,” Rem bowed her head.
“Bye bye!” Shera waved enthusiastically.
Diablo steeled his resolve and gripped the Tenma’s Staff firmly. He would need to be prepared for a few possible situations, and there were sure to be things he could not foresee. He had to prepare himself for what was to come.
He then thrust his staff up toward the heavens.
“Teleport!”