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It was the final day of Golden Week, and the scheduled date for the raid. The members of Lua Cheia and Nord Glacier were at the entrance of the forest, waiting for the members of Lan Canglong who were yet to come.

“…It would seem they’ve arrived.”

Looking at the path leading to the forest, they saw a group of five seemingly appear out of nowhere, which had been harder to notice before as they were under the effect of a type of camouflage used for safety on roads.

The five were led by Lan Canglong’s Guild Master, the young boy Shao. When he noticed Crim’s group, he stepped forward a bit to greet her.
“Thank you for inviting us here today… Though it seems a portion of you still seem to hold some resentment.”

Things seemed to get tense as he added that with a shrug.

“Ah, really? You still haven’t apologized about that?!”
“Wha- Mei! I told you to behave if you wanted to come along!”

A little girl stepped out from amongst Lan Canglong’s members, who was around the same age as Lycoris, and seemed angry at Shao.

“I’m really sorry that my big brother is such a nuisance. But don’t think he’s always like this, okay? He also has a cute side.”
“Mei, can you stop? I’m in the middle of something important here…”
“For example, he called his character Shao Xinglou, and half of it came from my mom’s name, who went together with dad on a business trip overseas and…”
“Mei, could you shut up already?!”

Shao desperately covered his sister’s mouth to gag her before she could ruin his character even more, which everyone watched with a bit of astonishment.

“But…but…”
“Hey, one of you go tie her up somewhere for a bit, she’s getting in the way!!”
“Alright alright, come with us for a bit, miss.”
“Heyyy?!”

Shao’s nonchalant and uncaring attitude had vanished completely as he gave desperate orders to his members, after which two of them stepped forward and dragged his sister away.

It seemed like the Blue Demon Lord could not win against his little sister. That whole scene left everyone feeling awkward and unsure of what to do next too.

“Ugh…this is exactly why I didn’t want to bring her along.”
“Ahah…ahahah… It’s fine, it’s a pleasure to know thine sister is such a lively young lady.”

Crim did her best to comfort him, seeing how he was looking down in despair.

“She’s a bit too lively and it becomes a bother though… Oh well.” He let out a light cough to clear his throat, then turned to look at the one person there who was looking at him without any suspicion, the tall dragonewt Lueger.

“Well, what’s up with you? You don’t have anything to say since you’ll have your back towards me the entire time?” He asked that, a mocking grin on his lips.

“…Trusting one’s companions is fundamental for any tank.” Lueger replied with a calm and collected voice.

“Oh… Okay, you got me there.” Hearing that mature response left Shao stumped as to how to continue.

But then the overall leader of the alliance, Sorleon, decided to intervene, “Don’t forget that if you do anything against my guild members, I’ll be the first one to cut you down.”

“Okay that’s scary… You’re someone I don’t want chasing after me.”

Sorleon’s assertion quickly erased the grin off Shao’s face, and Crim was almost feeling bad for him, so she decided to step in, “Nevertheless, I hold faith that thou wouldst not retract a pledge or covenant, thus I shall place my trust in thee.”

“Ugh…this is why it’s always impossible to deal with chicks that say stuff like that with a straight face.”

As Crim said that while beaming a smile, Shao avoided her gaze and looked away embarrassed. That reaction made Crim tilt her head in confusion, but all Shao could do was sigh about it.

“Seriously…I can’t believe I’m the only one of the three Demon Lords with at least some common sense.”
“Huh? What art thou trying to say? ‘Tis thou and Sorleon who art the anomalies, growing stronger so swiftly.”
“If you ask me, I’ll never understand why you two keep acting like clowns instead of taking your leading role seriously.”
“““…Huh?”””

The three Demon Lords looked at each other with confusion. It seemed like each of them believed they were the only sensible one, while the other two were strange.

“The three of you are the biggest weirdos here!!”

Frey could not stand that anymore and shouted the truth with all his might, and then everyone else except the three nodded in agreement.

◇◇◇

Crossing the newly finished bridge to the island, they arrived at the ladder at the bottom of the cliffside. It was finally time for Crim’s revenge, so moving ahead of everyone, she began climbing the ladder.

«Would you like to begin Castle of Seyfert? Yes/No (15/15 Members)»

When that prompt showed up, she pressed the Yes button, after which the fog covering the island dissipated and revealed the path forward.

“Well, let’s go, everyone.”
Saying that, she invited the rest to follow her up the ladder.

“Woah, this is so prettyyy!!”
As soon as they were on top, Freya exclaimed that as she looked around.

“It’s incredible, the sky and the lake are so blue too!”
“The stone covered in moss and plants looks so mesmerizing..!”
“This looks like such a nice place to bring some food and have a picnic on!”

The group of young girls, which included Hinagiku, Lycoris, and Mei who had quickly become their friend, also gave their thoughts as they began to run around the vast flower bed..

Everyone else just watched them with warm smiles.

“It’s really pretty, but it also looks somewhat desolate. It doesn’t look like there’s any enemies around here though?”
“Yes, but don’t lower your guard. We’ll be within the arena soon enough if we keep walking.”
“The one where that Adnammelech knight killed you, right?”

When Sorleon asked that, Crim replied with a nod. Crim had been there once, walking while admiring the scenery.

The ruins had an oddly soothing effect on one’s consciousness, making it easy to get lost in thought. Further ahead there was a circular patch encircled by stones on the ground, and that was likely the place Crim had accidentally stepped into to trigger the fight.

“Over there.”
“..? I don’t see anything though…”

Frey looked around confused when Crim pointed there. But then, when they got close enough…

“Welcome back, strong lady and her entourage.”

There was a crystal clear voice, and as it rang in their ears, the scenery around them changed, as if time was being turned back. The old and cracked stone paving turned into beautiful limestone. The overgrown plants also turned into a beautiful garden.

“So you’ve properly brought some allies this time, I see.”

A blonde knight wearing scarlet armor appeared there, Adnammelech. Her smile seemed almost inviting, but her presence there added an incredible pressure on everyone.

“My name is Adnammelech, tenth of the Red Lion Emperor’s Twelve Blades, and younger sister to Knight Commander Effie. A knight of light who purges evil.”

Repeating her introduction from the previous time, she moved to block their path, and everyone reached for their weapons.

“Well then…time to do this.”
“Leave it to me, I’ve been training for this day!”

Freya replied immediately, quickly moving to stand in front of everyone, and the rest also went to take their positions.

“Let’s go everyone, let’s show the Demon Lords we can do this without their help!”

Frey would be taking command during the fight, and everyone gave an energetic reply to him. Meanwhile, Crim and the others from a demon species moved outside of the battlefield.

“Very well, let’s do this then. Show me whether you truly have the spirit to get across me and move forward.”

Saying that, she pulled up her red sword that was plunged into the ground. And so the fires of battle were lit, leading to a long day of fighting…