“Yo.”
A god suddenly appeared in Sage Sion’s mansion. As she sat casually enjoying a cup of tea, she invited Kouryu to sit across from her.
“Have you figured out what’s going on?” he asked.
“Well. Within the territory I can observe, the Seyla has been exterminated. I have to assume Takatou is responsible for that. That’s about as much as I know.”
“The Great Sage has been put into an eternal sleep too, so the one giving you guys the authority to rule this world is gone.”
Sion could only assume Yogiri was responsible for that as well. She couldn’t imagine anyone else having the ability to neutralize the Great Sage.
“I see. So how do you intend to deal with us, then?” she asked.
“Good question. I can’t really ignore the way you guys have been running rampant across the world. I’d like to ask you to minimize your interactions with other people from now on. I don’t want anything else from you.”
“If that is the case, I do not mind complying. Can I assume you will handle the Aggressors from now on?”
“Yeah. They probably won’t show up nearly as often anymore, but it’s the god’s job to take care of invaders in the first place.”
“Then there is no issue on my end. I shall take the chance to have a leisurely life. Is that all you came here to tell me?”
“I also have a message for you from Takatou,” the boy said.
“Make sure you look after the people you summoned,” came Yogiri’s voice.
“That is all? Well...I suppose we were not close enough for him to send anything more intimate.” Sion was a bit taken aback by how utilitarian the message was, but she had to admit, now that the world had been reset, she hadn’t paid all that much attention to the class of Sage Candidates. “If he is sending me a message like that, am I to assume he made it back to his own world?”
“Yup. I kind of half forced him to leave.”
“Will you not be sending his classmates back as well?” she asked.
“That comes next. Getting rid of him was my top priority. I didn’t want to tempt fate by waiting for him to meet up with everyone.”
“A wise decision,” Sion replied. “Do you know where the others are?”
“You know everyone who was on the bus went to Cavern Quest, right?”
“Of course. I personally helped them to get there.” When they had gone into Cavern Quest, Sion had delivered the Gift to them directly.
“So, Cavern Quest was destroyed, sending everyone in it back to the surface,” the boy explained. “I’m going to go find them and talk to them next.”
“My, I didn’t expect such great service from you.”
“Anything to avoid Takatou’s ire. I’ve gotta do everything I can.”
“You will be sending them back as well, correct? Shall I assist you?”
“I’m not sure,” Kouryu replied. “If they don’t want to go back, I feel like I have no reason to force them.”
“I see. Assuming any such people exist, of course.”
“You came from a different world too, didn’t you?” Kouryu asked. “I can send you back as well, if you like.”
“It seems a bit late for that,” Sion replied after taking a short time to think. She had already forgotten the vast majority of her past life, so had no strong feelings about that world.
“All right. In that case, I’ll be on my way. Oh! There’s one more thing!” As Kouryu stood to leave, one more thought occurred to him.
“What is it?”
“From now on, could you avoid summoning people from other worlds?” he asked.
“Naturally. I have learned full well there are true monsters out there that defy the imagination. Knowing that they exist, I could hardly risk summoning one of them again.”
“Glad to hear it.” With that, Kouryu vanished.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
“Was someone just here?” Youichi, Sion’s attendant, asked, stepping into the room. He had lost function in much of his body thanks to Yogiri, but with magical support, he was able to go about his daily life as usual.
“Yes, to deliver a message. It seems we have been relieved of our duties here. The Sages’ rule over this world has been dissolved.”
“What? How did that happen?” Youichi wasn’t quite able to swallow what she was saying.
“As such, it is time for a vacation!”
“A vacation?” he echoed. He very clearly was being left behind by the conversation.