"Karvaldr, you..."

"There's no time for idle chatter."

It was obvious what Reisir was about to ask now that Djúpr and Helga had made their decision.

He was probably going to ask what I intended to do.

To confirm my answer.

That was why I cut him off.

The answer had already been decided.

Besides, monsters were already beginning to emerge.

I needed to finish my preparations quickly.

Keeping my gaze fixed on the distorted space, I first used 【Encouragement】 on myself and Yor.

Then I cracked my whip through the air.

The sonic boom activated 【Exaltation】.

Needless to say, the skill affected everyone in my party, including Yor and myself.

As for using 【Encouragement】 on the others...

I'd wait and see.

Enhancing physical abilities wasn't useful only for reducing damage or avoiding attacks.

It was equally valuable for traveling quickly while searching for the boss monster.

That was why 【Exaltation】 needed to be activated in advance.

There was no need to rush with 【Encouragement】, which enhanced Ether-related abilities.

Maybe the monsters will be weaker than expected. Maybe there won't even be a need to strengthen everyone's skills. The effect isn't that large anyway, given my low proficiency...

The moment I finished that excuse that wasn't really an excuse—

Something pitch black burst from the distorted space.

Boom!

A bolt of golden lightning crashed down on the spot.

Monsters were at their most vulnerable immediately after spawning.

It was an entirely appropriate response.

Unfortunately, however, Reisir's attack produced little result.

Because the black thing that emerged wasn't a single creature.

It was a swarm.

"This is...!"

For the first time since the transformation began, Reisir's voice carried genuine alarm.

Something struck by the lightning detached from the writhing black mass and fell to the ground.

As if that were a signal—

Skitter skitter skitter—

The tangled lump exploded apart, scattering in every direction with a revolting sound.

No.

Before that could happen, Djúpr reacted.

With astonishing speed, he manipulated the surrounding vegetation.

Stems and leaves surged forward, wrapping around the swarm and compressing it into a giant sphere.

A sigh of relief escaped me.

"Ah, Dad... that thing was..."

"A centipede. I see. An enormous one at that."

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a centipede.

It was a centipede-like monster.

If one examined it carefully, there would undoubtedly be differences.

I had absolutely no desire to examine it carefully.

And I was certain my dear readers felt exactly the same way.

Gnaw. Gnaw.

The monsters appeared to be chewing through the plant prison.

The sound coming from inside was deeply unpleasant.

I wanted to cover my ears.

"Heli, burn it! Quickly!"

"Ah, right!"

The instant I heard Reisir shout that instruction, a horrifying possibility flashed through my mind.

What if burning the swarm simply caused flaming centipedes to scatter in every direction?

Fortunately, that concern proved unnecessary.

Reisir's judgment was correct.

The fire Helga unleashed didn't merely burn the plant sphere.

It incinerated every monster trapped inside.

Once the source of my instinctive revulsion vanished, my rationality finally returned.

This feels strangely familiar...

A scene from the original novel surfaced in my memory.

It took place after Reisir had barely recovered from the mental collapse caused by Helga's death.

At the time, Djúpr had brought him some news.

A Demon Realm had appeared deep within an uninhabited mountain range.

The monsters there happened to be relatively weak. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

As a result, the authorities had decided to preserve the area rather than destroy the demon core.

Any scholar wishing to research Demon Realms was welcome to visit.

After hearing that, Reisir filled out withdrawal papers for the Academy and submitted them by mail.

Then he and Djúpr made preparations and set off on their journey.

Before they reached their destination, however, they became trapped inside a newly formed Demon Realm.

That was the incident where Djúpr experienced his Awakening.

And the monsters that appeared there had been—

Centipede-type monsters with countless legs.

Back then, too, the distorted space had released a massive swarm all at once.

Djúpr had instinctively controlled the abundant vegetation in the area and prevented them from scattering.

Afterward, Reisir had thrust his spear into the plant sphere and flooded it with electricity.

The only difference is who delivered the finishing blow. Isn't this almost identical to what just happened?

Bushes covering the surroundings wasn't noteworthy.

Most Demon Realms were like that.

Insect-type monsters weren't rare.

And the same species appearing in multiple Demon Realms was an established setting.

The Djúpr of the original story and the Djúpr standing here now were the same person.

Naturally, he would make the same decisions under the same circumstances.

When you think about it that way, there's nothing particularly strange about it...

Yet the fact that such a similar situation had unfolded through a chain of overlapping coincidences left me deeply uneasy.

Unlike the original story, Reisir was still attending the Academy.

Even so, it felt as though reality itself were whispering that escaping the original plot was impossible.

"Myaaaang... nyaoo?"

"Karvaldr, are you alright?"

Apparently my complexion had deteriorated.

Yor and Reisir were both looking at me with concern.

I buried the unpleasant thought deep within my mind.

Then I forced an arrogant expression onto my face.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"A delicately raised young master just witnessed a tangled mass of centipede monsters the size of forearms writhing around on countless legs. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Don't describe it in detail. And this isn't the time for jokes."

Unlike many other insect-type monsters, these creatures didn't emerge in concentrated waves.

Instead, the distortions appeared sparsely across the area.

That meant this location should remain safe for a while.

At least until monsters wandering from elsewhere arrived.

Or until enough time passed for another spawn.

The monsters appearing throughout the city, however, would already be spreading in every direction.

Threatening countless people.

This wasn't a situation where we could afford to stand around forever.

"Yor. Can you fly up and locate the boss monster?"

"Yaong!!"

Later in history, Demon Realms containing multiple monster species would become common.

For now, however, each Demon Realm generally contained only a single type.

From what little I'd seen, these centipede monsters possessed no wings.

There was little danger in the sky.

That was why I entrusted reconnaissance to Yor.

And Yor eagerly accepted, soaring high above us.

"It's such a relief Yor is a flying cat. Otherwise we'd have to wander through the Demon Realm blindly looking for the boss monster."

Even after seeing her fly, he still thought she was a cat.

The urge to criticize the protagonist of someone else's novel welled up inside me.

But there was no benefit in encouraging suspicions that Karvaldr's familiar might not actually be a cat.

So I said something else instead.

"The only reason I asked Yor to do this today is because I judged the airspace here to be safe. In a Demon Realm containing flying monsters, I would never assign her such a task. So abandon any thoughts of using Yor as a scout."

"Why are you explaining something so obvious? No, more importantly—are you planning to enter Demon Realms with me again?"

"I'm warning you in advance in case an unexpected situation like today occurs again."

"So you're assuming we'll keep getting caught in Demon Realms together? Does that mean you'll stay close to me all the time?"

"How could that possibly be what I meant?!"

His body must have been too comfortable.

Otherwise nonsense wouldn't keep pouring out of his mouth like this.

When I glared at him with open disgust, Reisir immediately began a second round.

"Still, something feels strange."

"What?"

"Even though we're inside a Demon Realm, I don't feel frightened or anxious. Maybe it's because I'm surrounded by people I can trust?"

"More likely it's because you disposed of the monsters so easily and became complacent after the area turned safe."

"Ah..."

Reisir looked awkward for a moment.

Then he immediately adopted a serious expression and resumed scanning the surroundings.

At that exact moment, a distant scream echoed through the city.

"Did you hear that? Just now—"

"Stop."

I cut him off immediately.

"If we get distracted saving every person we encounter and become tied down, even more people will die."

"...That's true."

For an Awakened, defeating the boss monster and collapsing the Demon Realm always came first.

One reason was that killing the boss would eliminate all ordinary monsters as well.

But the decisive reason was far simpler.

The lives of the Awakened themselves depended on it.

If they exhausted themselves rescuing everyone they saw, they would eventually confront the boss monster with depleted stamina and drained Ether.

And that led directly to failed operations.

In simple terms—

It dramatically increased the chances of dying during the boss fight.

That was why a proper organization required more than a combat force composed of Awakened individuals.

It also required a rescue force composed of ordinary people.

Only groups possessing both could eventually earn recognition as legitimate Einherjar Teams.

The system was still far from established.

Even the term Einherjar had yet to become widespread.

But that was how the setting worked.

"Young Master, you're remarkably... cool-headed."

This time it was Djúpr speaking.

"Isn't that preferable to being impulsive and irrational?"

"Ah, I didn't mean it as criticism. I was simply impressed. Even in a situation like this, you're capable of making calm judgments."

"..."

My defensive response immediately became pointless.

Djúpr's praise was utterly sincere.

I felt embarrassed for answering so sharply.

And even more embarrassed by the praise itself.

Heat quickly rose into my face.

"Uh...? Young Master, are you perhaps—"

"MYAAAT—!!!"

She found it.

At exactly the right moment, my beloved baby dragon descended from the sky and rescued me.

"Lead the way."

"Nyang nyang!"

The city had already been difficult to navigate.

The uncontrolled growth of trees and bushes had made it even worse.

Yet Yor guided us without the slightest hesitation.

Along the way, centipede monsters discovered us and rushed to attack.

That didn't become a problem either.

Helga simply burned them all to death.

While carefully controlling the flames so they wouldn't spread, no less.

Looks like she underwent special training during the vacation.

That wasn't speculation.

It was certainty.

No matter how talented she was, accurately hitting constantly moving targets required practice.

Without it, such precision would be impossible.

Then again, if not for me, Helga truly would have died on the day of the closing ceremony.

She must have resolved to become stronger after that.

And Reisir, unwilling to lose his precious childhood friend, had probably spent the entire vacation pestering her to train.