Yuma entered the realm of the Celestials.
Arten, the master of the Celestial realm, walked toward Yuma.
“Looks like you’ve been busy! Hahaha!”
Arten awkwardly smiled at Yuma, who had returned after two days.
In truth, Arten felt quite relieved during Yuma’s absence, so his feelings of missing Yuma were just a tad exaggerated.
Yuma ignored Arten and walked past him.
Yuma headed for the place where his companions were.
*
A fifteen-year-old girl was gazing at the stars.
They were the pure white stars within the Celestial realm.
The black-haired, golden-eyed girl slowly raised her right hand. The clusters of starlight moved at Belle’s gesture.
Cloney was still lingering at the very edge of the 5th Circle.
For her age of fifteen, it was undoubtedly an outstanding achievement; however, Cloney felt frustrated for not yet stepping into the 6th Circle, where the real challenges begin.
Cloney watched the Celestial Mage conjuring magic beside her.
Light fiercely gathered within the hands of the Celestial Mage, whose skin was as white as snow.
It was as if the magical energy had no bottom; endless streams of white energy caught her eye.
Cloney’s mouth slowly opened.
“You said it’s the 10th Circle, right?”
In response to Cloney’s words, the Celestial Mage, Capella, who had long hair of the same color as her snowy skin, nodded slowly.
“That’s right.”
Capella was the Celestial Mage who taught Cloney alongside the archmage Serenen.
“I want to grow stronger too.”
Capella looked at Cloney with her golden eyes.
“You mentioned how quickly you’ve grown last time. Honestly, growing at a pace beyond that is quite impossible.”
Cloney lightly smiled.
“But I need to get stronger.”
Capella observed Cloney as she gazed into the black void over there with shimmering eyes. She could vaguely guess why Cloney was so greedy for strong growth.
Those eyes were filled with desire.
The kind of desire to grow stronger.
Capella was also one of the Celestials who had witnessed Yuma defeat the evil god Barbatos through the Heavenly Eye.
“It won’t be easy, you know. To have strength like your lord Cloney.”
“I can do it.”
Cloney slowly moved her right hand, which held the staff.
A golden aura shimmered from the staff. That was magical energy. It subtly intertwined with the magic that Capella had spread through the Celestial air.
Magical interference.
The ability to bind another mage’s magic, taking over the flow of their mana entirely as her own.
The ability to bind the magic of the opposing mage and completely take their mana flow for oneself.
Only a handful of highly talented high-ranking mages can perform this art.
Even if Capella hadn’t put any special measures in place to prevent mana interference, it certainly wasn’t easy to read someone else’s magic circuit all at once.
Cloney spoke softly.
“Lord Yuma told me I could do it.”
Capella nodded slowly.
‘…Indeed.’
Could one really tell at a glance that someone so strong possessed genius in any field?
Capella resolved to keep watching Cloney as she continued to grow.
─Squeak!
The twenty-year-old swordsman was silently swinging her sword.
Her blue hair danced in the air.
Bell kept swinging her sword, continuously taking down the hundred demons. For two whole days without Yuma, she had been swinging her sword tirelessly.
In order to grow, she moved her body desperately.
This time, Yuma went alone.
And he likely solved everything by himself. Even if there were subordinates accompanying him, they probably just served as escorts.
Bell was weary of Yuma’s attitude of trying to solve everything alone.
She wanted to help, even just a tiny bit. But to offer that tiny bit of help required a tremendous amount of power that had transcended humanity.
Squeak!
The nineteen-year-old Cat-Folk swordsman, Hestia, watched with a worried expression as Bell appeared to be wildly swinging her sword.
Celestial beings of the heavenly realm didn’t need sleep like humans did. Sufficient rest and sleep were essential for maintaining health for humans. Yet Bell had been pushing herself relentlessly for two days.
As a friend and ally, Hestia couldn’t help but worry about Bell’s condition. But even so, it was hard to easily dissuade her from training due to the seriousness in her eyes.
‘…How do I stop this sister?’
Hestia furrowed her brow in deep thought.
As she genuinely pondered, someone approached her. It was Belhain, one of the knights from the Astes Empire.
Belhain rushed over urgently.
And said to Hestia,
“Lord Yuma has returned!”
At that shout, Bell’s movements, which had never slowed even when she stared intensely, abruptly came to a halt.
Hestia couldn’t help but break into a smile.
‘Well, that sure did the trick.’
*
Yuma was surrounded by three people: Bell, Cloney, and Hestia.
He looked at the trio, who had encircled him as if to trap him, with a subtle expression.
“Where did you sneak off to this time?”
“Where did you go all alone?”
Bell leaned in close, her sky-blue hair fluttering.
Yuma sensed something approaching through his sense of smell.
“Uh.”
It was very clear—
“Bell, you might need a wash. You smell like sweat.”
It was the smell of sweat.
“Ugh….”
Bell gritted her teeth at Yuma’s words.
“Ugh…!”
A strong wave of anger surged from the bottom up.
Yuma had gone down to the Intermediate World alone again to solve something by himself, and she felt a strong sense of inferiority and helplessness because of it. After swinging her sword non-stop for two days to overcome that feeling—
The reason for this was just ‘sweat smell’ coming from him…!
Bell’s face slowly turned bright red. She raised her right arm slowly.
She brought her wrist to her nose.
Bell’s delicate brows furrowed.
“It’s really me!”
The problem was that the sweat smell was really hers.
Sniff!
Cloney, unfazed, firmly grabbed Bell’s hands.
“…Your opponent is Yuma. You knew he had no sense in this regard. Just bear with it, sis.”
Cloney’s golden eyes reflected sincere empathy.
Even if the sweat smell was genuine, as someone witnessing Yuma who felt the need to mention it in a situation where it wasn’t necessary, it was a feeling of shared empathy.
Hestia perked up her crimson cat ears and said.
“Right, right. The being in front of us is Yuma, right?”
With both of the normal people beside her comforting her pitiful heart, Bell could finally suppress her anger.
“Yeah… thanks.”
Yuma slowly opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry.”
He realized he didn’t really need to say that. And he caught on that these three girls were angrier than he thought.
Cloney nodded vigorously.
“Good apology! Yuma!”
“Yuma, looks like you’ve gotten a bit more perceptive!”
Hestia’s green eyes sparkled.
Yuma felt the need to quickly get to the point.
The point that these three wouldn’t welcome.
Taking them to the [Transcendence Altar] in the Join Tribe’s land?
That didn’t seem like a good choice.
“It was said that predicting how long it would take for divine awakening is impossible.”
Then, taking these three with me seemed like a stretch. It was better to leave them in the Celestial Realm so they could grow stronger as quickly as possible, just as things were now.
‘Ella Brighton.’
The Third Legion Commander of the Empire who went along with me to the Resen Kingdom, Ella Brighton. It seemed fitting to take that spearwoman along. I knew well enough from the last assignment that she had skills that could be helpful, so I could trust taking her with me.
Yuma opened his mouth again to get to the point.
“I think I’ll descend to the Intermediate World again in a week. There’s something I need to do. It’s hard to estimate how long this will take.”
At Yuma’s words, the relaxed expressions of the trio instantly turned stiff again.
The thought of going down alone again weighed heavily on their minds, and the fact that they couldn’t even estimate how long it would take only added to their concern.
In Yuma’s position, he couldn’t explain the purpose of this journey at all this time.
The awakening of divinity.
I had heard a long explanation from the Goddess of Earth and Eternity—Leah, but the very thought of becoming a god didn’t even cross my mind yet.
Only after becoming a god do I think I’d be able to recognize that this was something possible.
“…You really don’t know how long it will take?”
Cloney asked softly.
Bell bowed her head low.
“Here we go again, Yuma,Yuma….”
Hestia drooped her crimson ears.
“Trust me and wait, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Yuma had no choice but to say that.
“I trust you, then.”
Bell slowly lifted her head. Her pink eyes locked onto Yuma.
“You’ll be incredibly strong by then, so come back quickly.”
Cloney, who had been staring at Bell, turned her gaze back to Yuma.
“That’s right. I’ll be counting on you, so come back quickly.”
Hestia perked up her previously drooping ears.
“Don’t get hurt, and come back safely!”
Yuma opened his mouth again.
“Alright then.”
A week later.
Before descending into the Intermediate World, Yuma stood before the Celestial Sovereign, Arten.
Arten, appearing as a boy with white hair, recoiled slightly as Yuma approached him.
“While I’m away, if anything happens to the Astes Empire, send your apostles to protect it.”
Yuma continued softly.
“I’m saying to repay the favor for killing Barbatos on your behalf.”
Arten gulped.
“Okay, got it!”
With that, Yuma set up the Celestial Realm as backup behind the Astes Empire and returned to the Intermediate World.
And he set off with the Empire’s Third Legion Commander, Ella Brighton.
The destination was the land of the Join Tribe.
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