Chapter 306

The beautiful fireworks captivated Tatsuro and the others, as well as the humans standing further back, all gazing up at the sky in awe.

However, the Lord of Lyusiten Territory—Don—was the only one who, as if it were the end of the world, stared blankly with lifeless eyes, letting out a hollow laugh.

Once the one-time grand fireworks show concluded, Tatsuro released Don and casually left him sprawled on the vast, empty wasteland where nothing remained.

"Haha! Where did my castle go? Hahaha!"

"He’s completely lost it, hasn’t he? Should we give him another round to liven things up?"

"No need for that. I’ve got just the right medicine for him."

"Huh, that’s—"

Ai was about to pull out her Celestial Gear fan to "make him even happier," but Tatsuro stopped her and retrieved a cylindrical iron container from his Infinite Item Field.

Realizing what it was, Leah’s face contorted with a grimace.

While everyone else tilted their heads in confusion at Leah’s reaction, Tatsuro wasted no time and sprang into action.

"First, let’s get rid of this nuisance~!"

With that, Tatsuro, without even using a staff, cast Fire Magic to burn off all the hair on Don’s head.

He carefully controlled the spell to avoid burning the skin, so Don, still laughing and staring at the wasteland, didn’t even realize what had been done to him.

Then, using Tree Magic to securely protect his body while ensuring the substance wouldn’t touch him, Tatsuro opened the container’s lid. He scooped out a reddish-yellow, viscous liquid that resembled some kind of ointment with a leafy branch and slathered it onto Don’s now perfectly bald head.

"GYAAAAAAAHHHHHHH—!"

Don let out a piercing scream, clutching his head and attempting to roll around in agony, but Tsukuyomi restrained him the moment he tried to move, allowing Tatsuro to finish coating his entire head.

Throughout the process, Don endured excruciating pain, as if boiling water had been poured over his scalp.

"Uh, is that the Hair Regrowth Potion you gave to Rudolf?"

"When did it get that name...? Well, whatever. No, this is different. If we’re going by that naming sense, maybe I’d call it Hair Death Potion. Pretty terrifying weapon, right?"

"Wow, weapon or not, that’s harsh for anyone, man or woman!"

"It’s something I created during the process of making the Hair Regrowth Potion."

Indeed, it was a depilatory agent that, when applied, would kill even the most resilient hair follicles.

While developing the Hair Regrowth Potion for Rudolf, the depilatory was actually completed first.

It was more efficient to create and analyze this agent before moving on to the Hair Regrowth Potion, but Tatsuro had kept it, thinking it might come in handy someday.

This Hair Death Potion was so potent that even a light application would prevent hair regrowth for sixty years, and the only way to counteract it was regular application of the Hair Regrowth Potion.

When applied, it caused severe skin inflammation, and the destruction of hair follicles came with pain akin to having one’s skull scraped.

Furthermore, while the inflammation could be healed with Life Magic, the hair would not regrow, showcasing its stubborn efficacy.

"And this guy’s a dwarf. If he were still a lord, he might’ve managed somehow, but it’s going to be tough for him to get by from now on."

"Oh, right! For dwarves, a bald head is rare and embarrassing, isn’t it?"

"Exactly. For other races, baldness might be seen as a natural part of aging, but for a dwarf, it’s often mistaken for something done on purpose, like some kind of eccentric behavior..."

"Killing is off-limits, so we’ll let him off with this for now."

"Socially, he’s pretty much done for, though."

"Kuwabara kuwabara well then, shall we finish with one last punch?" (T/N: Kuwabara kuwabara Means warding off evil.)

Saying this, Tatsuro, ensuring it wouldn’t be fatal, delivered a punch to Don’s abdomen through Secom-kun, controlled by Tsukuyomi, breaking a few ribs to wrap things up.

Since Tatsuro wasn’t the one experiencing it, he couldn’t fully grasp the pain, but judging from Don’s writhing, the agony in his head far surpassed the damage from the punch.

"Fine, I’ll let the matter of him targeting Leah slide with this. We’re done here, so let’s leave the cleanup to the Adventurer’s Guild and get going."

Tatsuro left the restrained Don in the middle of the wasteland where the castle once stood, deciding it would be best to report the conclusion to the Adventurer’s Guild in Holmes before departing.

Tatsuro carried Ai in a Princess Carry, while Nana did the same for Leah, and they ascended into the night sky under the moonlight, reaching an altitude where no one could see them.

Once high enough, Jeanne carried the Flight Palanquin on her back, and everyone except Cardina boarded it.

Cardina, meanwhile, scouted for any potential pursuers while they leisurely made their way back to Holmes.

After Tatsuro and the others left, those left behind began to contemplate their next steps: some worried about the future, others prepared to return to or become adventurers.

Amidst this, Eduar, battered and bruised, and Andoni, writhing in pain with only the muscles and bones of both upper arms severed, who were knocked out by Ai were treated by familiar Life Magic users until they could move again.

Upon waking, they immediately asked where they were, as the place no longer resembled anywhere they knew.

They were then informed of what had happened to the castle.

"It’s hard to believe, but... I can’t help but think those kids could’ve done it."

"So this really is where the castle used to be. Seriously, nothing’s left—worse than a natural disaster."

"And that guy rolling around over there is Don Morrow?"

"Hey, he’s still Don Lyusiten Morrow, the Lord of Lyusiten Territory. Well, probably not for much longer, just a few days at most. Anyway, take the compiled documents and a report of what happened here to His Majesty."

"Yes, sir!"

A man dressed as a Lyusiten soldier, who had been healing them and explaining the situation, saluted Eduar and Andoni before returning to his real duties.

"Now we just need to take that guy to the capital. Left like this, who knows where he’d wander off to."

"Right, let’s do it."

Eduar and Andoni, finally able to return to their original mission, drew their weapons and approached Don, who was still clutching his scalp in agony—but then...

"Ugh, wait, my sword really got taken!? What am I supposed to tell His Majesty...?"

"I’m in the same boat. How do we explain to His Majesty that we lost national treasure-grade equipment in a bet...?"

Their brief joy at returning to their duties was quickly overshadowed by the depressing realization that they dreaded facing the consequences, and they trudged forward.

When they reached Don, who was far from his former self but minimally functional, he suddenly regained a spark in his eyes upon seeing them.

"Oi, quick, kill those brats! I’ll never forgive them... I’ll make them regret laying a hand on me... Guuuh—"

"Unfortunately, that’s not possible. We’re not—never were—your subordinates, and we’re tasked with escorting you to the capital, Heldamdo."

"What!? Escort me? Commoners like you have no such authority! If you get it, then get lost. I’ll pay you later—"

"You’re awfully slow on the uptake, aren’t you, Eduar?"

"Yeah."

At that, Eduar and Andoni displayed not the fake identification they had shown during their contract with Don, authorized by the king, but their true credentials via the system.

"I am Asil Dandlo, one of the Magic Twelve, a unit directly under the king."

"And I’m Hieronymus Miro, one of the Martial Thirteen, also under the king. By royal decree, we’ve been investigating you. If we both agree, we’re authorized to apprehend you."

"The Magic Twelve and Martial Thirteen? Hah—there’s no way kids and girls could beat people like that!"

"Ugh!"

"Guh!"

Don’s mocking words, laced with scorn, cut deep. Though their titles were genuine, their humiliating defeat made the prestigious designations feel like a burden.

The Magic Twelve and Martial Thirteen were titles bestowed upon the most exceptional individuals in each magic attribute and martial skill, respectively. They operated solely under royal command, and their identities were known to very few, making them an elite, covert unit.

Thus, Asil (Eduar) was the top Tree Magic user in the Heldamdo military, and Hieronymus (Andoni) was the top swordsman in the Heldamdo military.

However, as this applied only to Heldamdo citizens in the military, they weren’t necessarily the absolute best in their fields. Still, bearing the king’s name meant disgraceful defeats were unacceptable.

"Judging them by our standards is problematic. Those kids—no, those individuals—are almost certainly Servants of the Martial God and the Magic God."

"Exactly. Otherwise, there’s no way they could wield such a diverse array of martial and magical skills."

"Indeed. With that level of prowess, they must have been entrusted with an extremely important mission. Do you realize what it means to interfere with the Martial God and the Magic God?"

"Are you saying those brats are chosen by the Martial God and Magic God...?"

Only then did Don begin to realize that targeting them might have been a grave mistake.

If they truly were such significant figures, acting under the divine mission of those two gods, Don’s actions could be seen as opposing the gods themselves.

While no god has ever directly intervened, there have been cases where those who obstructed a god’s will were targeted by divine oracles, commanding all who received that god’s blessings to kill the offender.

In such cases, those under the god’s favor would compete to eliminate the target, seeking deeper blessings. The offender would be swiftly killed, and the one who succeeded would receive divine favor, with no nation able to hold them accountable—because defying a god’s will would lead to the same fate.

And now, the Martial God and Magic God had been named. These two were particularly dangerous.

The Martial God’s favor extended to all who possessed martial skills, and the Magic God’s favor extended to all with magical skills.

In this world, there wasn’t a single combat-oriented individual who didn’t receive at least a sliver of favor from these two gods.

Thus, angering both the Martial God and Magic God would turn every combat-skilled person in the world against you.

Even the two men before Don were no exception, nor were his own subordinates. In other words, no one would protect him.

"To think of revenge after witnessing that level of combat and magic is, in a way, impressive. But they’re the real deal. There’s no other explanation. You’d better stop thinking about them altogether."

"And you know our strength, don’t you? We’ve shown it to you multiple times, so even someone as ignorant as you must understand we’re on a different level. That’s why you kept us close, isn’t it?"

"Y-Yes, that’s true..."

After such a thorough explanation, Don finally grasped the gravity of the sin he had committed—or so he thought, though it was a misunderstanding.

"W-W-What should I do!? Tell me! I don’t want to die! And you two, you interfered too! You’re just as guilty!"

"Don’t lump us together. I don’t know about Asil, but I only posed as your subordinate because of an oracle from the Sword God, not the king. And as a result, I helped the Servant of the Martial God use an advanced Beast Spirit Technique. I doubt I’ll be punished for that."

"As for me... Oh, right! The Servant of the Magic God collected one of my plants. I didn’t receive a specific oracle, but that must surely aid the Servants! Unlike humans, gods aren’t petty. It might not erase my actions entirely, but they surely won’t condemn me to death!!"

"But what if you wake up tomorrow and your Tree Magic is gone?"

"—That would be bad... But what’s done is done. I’ll offer daily prayers of apology from now on..."

Hieronymus (Andoni)’s half-joking remark flustered Asil (Eduar), who, despite the misunderstanding, vowed to offer prayers of apology every day until his death.

"Then I’ll pray every day too! No, not just pray—I’ll build statues of them—"

"Statues! That might work. If we show through actions that we didn’t mean to interfere with the Servants, they might forgive us!"

"Yes, exactly! Let’s get started—"

Don tried to use his remaining wealth to commission statues, but Hieronymus (Andoni) stopped him.

"Asil can do what he wants, but you’re headed to the capital to face His Majesty’s judgment. Sorry, but the Adventurer’s Guild is also furious, and if we don’t settle this quickly, it could darken the future of our nation, which is poised for further growth. Tough luck."

"What—wait, at least let me build the statues—"

"No time for that. Asil, restrain him."

"Understood. Don Lyusiten Morrow, I’ll gratefully adopt your idea. Phew, this might keep us from incurring their wrath."

"No—mmph!"

And so, Don was bound tightly with Tree Magic vines, loaded onto a cart pulled by a Tree Golem, and hurriedly transported to the capital.

A few days later, Don was officially stripped of his lordship. Normally, nine-tenths of his wealth would have been confiscated, and he would have been assigned work to live as a commoner somewhere in Heldamdo. However, because he also angered the Adventurer’s Guild, all his wealth was seized, and he lost his rights as a citizen.

His Guild Card was erased, and he was banned from entering any town in Heldamdo.

Effectively exiled, but since sending such a person to another country could cause diplomatic issues, he was denied passage through checkpoints and abandoned in a monster-infested forest to survive in the wild.

For a few months, Don, through sheer luck, survived by scavenging what monsters left behind.

But in the end, wracked with severe abdominal pain, Don—now just Don—went unnoticed and was devoured by a monster, leaving this world.

Beyond Don’s fate, this incident sparked new developments.

The Territorial Capital was relocated from Lyusiten to Holmes, and a new lord was appointed in Holmes.

Furthermore, on the Castle Grounds where the Lyusiten lord had long resided, a massive twenty-meter-tall metal statue was erected.

It depicted a man and a woman.

The king, fearing that his lord’s offense against the gods might bring consequences upon himself, ordered its construction.

However, the statues were significantly beautified, portraying an ultra-handsome man and a stunningly gorgeous woman—

Unaware that such oversized, exaggerated statues of themselves had been built, the two were currently sleeping soundly, entwined on the same reclining seat.

Having been active from breakfast until past midnight, both physically and mentally exhausted, they were fast asleep.

Leah, lying on another seat, was also sound asleep, finally at ease.

Cardina, as always, maintained Detection Magic to stay vigilant, while Jeanne flew the Flight Palanquin as smoothly as possible to let the three rest peacefully.

Nana and Athena, with nothing to do, relaxed in their Child Form and small tiger forms on their respective seats.

It wasn’t until nearly noon that the three began to stir.

"Yawn~ I slept so well~ Huh? It’s already night?"

"Today’s a day of constant night."

Still groggy and confused by the night outside the window, Tatsuro gently smoothed Ai’s bedhead while explaining.

"Oh, right, it’s the Day of Curses, isn’t it?"

"Exactly."

This was the Day of Curses, a day of polar night where dawn never came.

Thanks to the large moon, the night paths were bright even without additional light. They flew through this night sky in the Flight Palanquin, eventually arriving at their destination, the town of Holmes.

Entering through the same North Gate they’d left from, they headed straight to the Adventurer’s Guild and were immediately ushered into the guildmaster’s room.

There, they recounted the entire ordeal.

Hilde Weber, the female dwarf guildmaster of Holmes, listened with a smile, though inwardly her face twitched.

In just a little over a day, they had gone to the neighboring town, stormed the castle, rescued a hostage, subdued it, destroyed the castle without a trace, and returned—all without killing anyone.

If an ordinary person claimed this, it would be dismissed as nonsense, but coming from Tatsuro and his group, it was all too convincing.

Moreover, while they were leisurely heading back to Holmes, a report from Lyusiten’s guild staff, sent via a bird-type familiar, confirmed the state of the castle, leaving no room for doubt.

The report even filled in speculative details.

"So that brings us to now."

"Yes. Were there any issues with what we did? If not, we’re planning to depart soon."

"Uh, well..."

Having promised to handle things as long as no one died, and with no deaths reported, there shouldn’t be an issue... but their actions far exceeded expectations, making it hard for Hilde to judge alone.

After a few seconds of hesitation, she decided, "Well, they were in the wrong, so it’s fine," and let it go.

"No problem at all. We’ll also lodge a protest with the kingdom regarding Don Lyusiten Morrow’s actions and ensure no trouble comes your way."

"That’s a relief. Thank you, Hilde, for all your help this time."

"No, protecting adventurers is part of the Adventurer’s Guild’s duty."

The rest of Tatsuro’s group also thanked her, exchanged brief farewells, and left the Adventurer’s Guild.

Their next stop was to visit the person in town who had helped them the most.

"Hey, what’s up? Need something from me?"

"No, we’re leaving town, so I wanted to say goodbye."

Tatsuro, speaking for the group, informed Rudolf Thiele, who had taught Leah technical skills, of their departure.

Rudolf’s face showed a hint of loneliness.

"Ah... so you’re leaving already. Well, if you ever come back to this town, drop by and say hi."

"Definitely. You’re my master, after all!"

"Master, huh? It was only a few days, though."

Thanks to the skills he taught her, Leah had grown significantly. That growth made her hold deep respect for Rudolf.

The duration didn’t matter; even a few days were enough for Leah to consider him her master without question.

Her earnest gaze conveyed her feelings so strongly that Rudolf, embarrassed, scratched his now fully regrown hair brusquely.

"Haha, he’s blushing!"

"Sh-Shut up!"

Ai’s teasing made Rudolf’s face redden further with embarrassment.

"But seriously, I think we’ll come back to this town. It’s an interesting place."

"Yeah, do that. I’ll be waiting."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Even if they returned to their original world, they could use Interdimensional Transfer Magic to visit easily, no matter the distance.

Plus, they planned to make money here, so they’d likely return often.

As Tatsuro mused over such calculations, Rudolf spoke up.

"So, where are you headed next?"

"We’re going to Casapisti, the country beyond Libelhight."

"A whole country away, huh? That’s pretty far."

"Yeah. There’s a place there we want to visit."

"Got it. Well, it’s good to see different places while you’re young. Just don’t die out there."

Tatsuro didn’t specify where in Casapisti, and Rudolf didn’t ask.

Knowing too much about the destinations of powerful beings like Tatsuro’s group could lead to unwanted trouble.

"Alright, we’re off."

"See ya!"

"Peewee!"

"Neigh!"

"We’re off!"

"Take care!"

"Later~"

"Go get ‘em!"

With that, Tatsuro and his group waved goodbye to Rudolf, with whom they’d formed a bond in this town, and set off for their next destination—the Banramonte Mountain, said to be the highest peak in the world.