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A few days passed since I made off with the spirit. Even though the spirit was gone, not much changed in just a few days. I assumed that things would start growing worse in about a year.

With all that decided, I prepared to sneak into the castle for the third time¹. First, I entered the noble sector using the hooded man’s store as my entry point. His shop’s door, though heavy, was easily manageable with my current abilities.

However, this wasn’t an entry method I could use often since the hooded man received a notification whenever someone entered his store. I’d already used this route in an earlier infiltration, so this time, I decided to wait for another customer to visit before sneaking in. That wait ended up taking a few days.

Honestly, given the state of that store, I was surprised it hadn’t taken longer.

When the opportunity finally came, I slipped in as the door opened and, from there, made my way into the royal castle, as I had before. Despite the tight security, the guards overlooked the tops of the walls, which allowed me to sneak in without much trouble. From then on, I shadowed Princess Topersion, gathering information.

I never thought I’d be doing something like this right after saying goodbye just a few days ago. Most people would feel embarrassed to be spotted after such a farewell. But then again, I wasn’t exactly normal; I’d probably lose my mind before feeling shame.

As I followed her, I discovered that the Fraus Kingdom was preparing for war with the Nigel Kingdom to the north. It seemed that in the last few days, their plans had escalated rapidly, and the situation was quite serious. The Nigel Kingdom, known as the Demon Kingdom, was ruled by a figure called the Demon Lord, which was the reason Fraus had summoned us here in the first place.

That said, Fraus’ reason for summoning us was purely to gain tools for war. The Demon Lord was merely a king ruling over one kingdom.

But putting that aside, it seemed the princess was very serious this time. If the plan went forward, the heroes would be deployed north soon. That was all I needed to know. With this, my former classmates would inevitably be drawn into the war.

Each of them was as skilled as the strongest knights, and unlike regular knights, the kingdom had no issue treating them harshly. This seemed to be the main reason they were moving forward with the plan—they likely intended to have the heroes carry out the brunt of the work. After all, all it would take was an order. And if they failed, the kingdom wouldn’t consider it a significant loss.

Though it’s probably not my place to say, I thought they’d be wise to use Ichinari. His training had become noticeably more intense since our last encounter.

But really, what else could he have expected after pleading with an intruder for help?

In any case, it seemed I’d completed my tasks in Fraus. In other words, I wouldn’t be seeing my former classmates for a while. The next time I encountered them, it would likely be in the Nigel Kingdom.

◇◇◇

“By the way, God, why is Forbidden Magic forbidden?”

After leaving the royal capital of Fraus, I headed east. I was making my way to the Viridis Kingdom, situated in the northeastern part of the continent. Why go there, you ask? Well, I’d heard that the area was home to many elves, and with my appearance, it would be easier to blend in.

So, on the way, I got curious about Forbidden Magic and decided to ask God about it.

(He always picks up when I call him. Maybe he’s not all that busy after all.)

“Can’t really say. You could say God’s got some free time. There’s no world left to protect, after all. But God’s also preparing for a new world, so there’s still work to be done. As for Forbidden Magic—it ruins the soul. The more you use it, the more you lose control of yourself.”

“I see. So, in a way, it’s just giving you more work?”
“Exactly. God told them to stop ages ago because creating new souls and managing ruined ones was too much. But there are still quite a few who use it in secret.”
“A bit late, but good job.”

I’d been a little curious about Forbidden Magic, so I asked. But that wasn’t the main reason I called. It was because of the yellow orb floating along beside me.

“I’m pretty sure I sent the spirit to you, so why is it still here? Did you mess with my eyesight?”
“No, it wanted to stay with you, Fi. And spirits can’t just ignore the end of the world.”
“Huuuh? Didn’t you tell it that the world was going to collapse eventually? Or is this some kind of ‘the world can be saved with the help of the spirits’ type of thing?”

“No, nothing like that. Even if you freed all the spirits now, it wouldn’t even delay the collapse. At best, it would just collapse more quietly. Without any spirits, there’d be constant earthquakes, typhoons, and unpredictable weather. But the spirits can help alleviate that.”
“Are you really okay with that, being God and all?”
“When it comes to the spirits, they’re in a similar position to you, Fi. A request like this doesn’t bother God.”

If God was fine with it, then I didn’t see why not. Even if it slightly prolonged the world’s lifespan, God would just chalk it up to a minor miscalculation. And I could understand the spirits wanting to see the world before it was destroyed after being locked away for so long. But there was one thing I needed to confirm.

“I’ll ask again—you’ll still grant my wish even if this spirit gets captured again, right?”
“Hahaha, you’re quite straightforward, Fi. Here’s the deal: as long as you don’t deliberately hand it over, God will consider it saved.”
“Understood. In that case, I’ll try talking to it.”

(I see. I have nothing against the spirits, and it just looks like a ghost hovering beside me.)

“I heard from God that you’d like to follow me?”
“That’s right. Please take care of me, Master Finis.”

“Perfect. I needed someone to talk to. That being said, I don’t really care about this world—are you okay with that?”
“I am fully aware. But even if this world is going to disappear, I want to preserve its beauty as long as possible.”

“I see. Just so you know, I won’t stop even if we come across the most ruined lands—is that okay with you?”
“I am.”

“I’m not going to actively antagonize people—are you okay with that?”
“I am.”

“And if you get in my way, I’ll send you back—is that clear?”
“Of course.”

If it was fine with all of that, then I had no complaints.

“In that case, let’s go.”
“Let’s!”

The spirit and I continued forward with renewed energy. There was still quite a bit of ground to cover before we reached the eastern border of Fraus.

1. Robinxen: What a strange choice.