Chapter 36 - Cleanup and a Surprise Attack
～Outer Reaches of the Gialpha Galaxy (Near the Lambda Nu Galaxy Side)～
Sangou, along with Shin and Kichou, had come to the so-called 'outer space'—a region slightly removed from the Gialpha Galaxy, outside the nebula.
This was to clean up after the foolish Hero whom Shin and Kichou had captured after fighting, and the fundamental reason this situation arose was because Dely had replied that handing over the prisoner was 'unnecessary.'
Incidentally, the fight with the Hero other than that captain had occurred three days before Sangou arrived in that space region.
On Dely's home planet, that foolish Hero had caused all kinds of havoc.
And since Shin had restrained such a person and thrown him into the shadows using Shadow Magic, that much time had already passed.
So then, what had happened from the time that captured Hero had labeled Shin a 'wanted major criminal' to the present?
Let's look back at that and trace the flow of events in chronological order.
"Huh? I'm a 'major criminal'? What is this 'wanted' thing? That's the first I've heard of it. So, where and from whom am I wanted? What exactly are the charges? And, did you almost die because of me? How did that happen? I don't recall your voice, so I probably don't know you."
Hearing words from a person who showed no sign of abandoning their hostile attitude, something he hadn't expected, Shin fired back questions in rapid succession.
A torrent of questions like a storm.
Since this was something Shin had absolutely no recollection of, it was a natural reaction.
"What are you playing dumb for? You stole the 'Source of Magic' from the Louvre Empire and fled, didn't you? You cheat bastard! Because of you, I was summoned afterward and had to fight barely able to use any magic. And I almost died, then when I came to, I'd moved to this world. Give me cheats too! Give me magic!"
That was a statement that contained quite a lot of stimulating content for Shin.
Even from that statement alone, there were multiple things one could understand or infer.
Hey hey, so it's related to the Louvre Empire even here? The fact that he's not having trouble with language means there's someone who granted him language comprehension like me? Probably he was given abilities when he came here.
He first made that guess about the other's condition.
Shin thought he had partially resolved some of the initial questions that had arisen from hearing Dely's story.
However, that idea about the language part was wrong, and actually it was different from Shin's case.
But that was a trivial matter.
That aside.
From Shin's position, he couldn't just take it lying down and let the conversation end; he had to say what needed to be said.
Therefore, Shin expressed his thoughts fully, but...
"Hah? I didn't flee! I was tricked by someone in the upper echelons of the Louvre Empire, thrown into another dimension, and nearly died. I escaped from there and am now in this world. But that was only the result of various 'coincidences', or perhaps 'miracles', piling up. I repeat, I did not flee. Objectively speaking, 'I was expelled due to the convenient circumstances or will of the Louvre Empire side' is the correct expression. Also, I didn't steal the Source of Magic. In the first place, no one in the Louvre Empire, including me, knew 'where it was or in what form it existed'. There's no way I could steal something like that."
Of course, the part about being expelled was the truth from Shin's perspective.
In addition, it was certain that Shin's encounter with Sangou was a miracle.
Also, it was an undeniable fact that if it hadn't been Shin who encountered Sangou, neither Sangou nor Shin would exist in the current universe.
As for the Source of Magic, it was a divine higher being that took it from the Louvre Empire, not Shin.
Even if the reality was that 'it had merged with Shin's soul', that was also done by the divine higher being.
Therefore, Shin's argument was entirely correct.
However.
Whether the other party would 'admit he was right' was a completely different story.
"Don't talk nonsense! Do you think I can believe the claims of a major criminal? And anyway. What did you come here for? This country is mine. It's fair compensation for slaying the dragon called a 'monster'. I don't know where you were hiding, but it's too late to show up now!"
The Hero the royal family of the former Rondanul Kingdom had turned to as a last resort to deal with the monster.
The person who had at least accomplished what he was supposed to do kept shouting that while still firing at Shin and the others.
However, from Shin's perspective, it was true that the claims of this person, who would be his 'junior Hero', had 'considerable and serious discrepancies in understanding'.
From the conversation so far, Shin had sensed that.
It seemed the pilot of the mechanical knight before him had some 'justification' or 'circumstances' of his own.
Shin somehow understood that.
But that aside.
If what this Hero, who would be Shin's junior, had done was equal to or greater than what Shin had imagined from Dely's story, it wouldn't serve as any excuse.
It couldn't.
To add, from Shin's preliminary investigation, it was clear that the other party had no excuse.
Also, while Shin was gathering information through such a back-and-forth conversation, Kichou kept being shot at by the mechanical knight and kept dodging.
The Divine Dragon was steadily gaining experience from this battle, and his evasive maneuvers became more refined.
This guy is no good. I need to do something quickly.
Shin, having succeeded in getting direct information from the other party, muttered the classic line for this kind of situation only in his heart.
Next, he directed words that were like an ultimatum at the mechanical knight.
"Guilty. I sympathize with the part about being summoned from Japan to the Louvre Empire. I can imagine how you were treated there, so I feel sorry for you. But, your actions after coming here have been completely messed up. As a fellow countryman, I'll ask you one thing, just in case. Do you have any intention of reflecting, reforming, and starting over? Think carefully and answer, because this is your last chance, you scumbag Junior Hero-kun."
Objectively, it might have sounded like he was giving a chance.
But in reality, he was just provoking him.
That was because Shin wasn't without irritation and anger.
Incidentally, if the other had said something like 'I'm sorry! I regret it. Please forgive me!' and prostrated himself with full force, what would Shin have done?
Of course, the foolish Hero's choice wasn't that, so there was no problem.
However, as time passed due to the conversation, the battle between Kichou and the mechanical knight shifted from medium range to close combat.
If Shin stepped in, the battle would probably end in an instant.
But Shin was in a relaxed spectator mode, thinking 'It's a chance for Kichou to grow.'
The fact that he wasn't thrown off Kichou's back, which was moving violently, even though he wasn't desperately clinging on, might show a glimpse of Shin's vastly superior strength.
From the outside, this scene probably looks more like a super robot show than a real robot one.
What Shin was thinking at this time, which was something utterly trivial, was his own secret.
Well, there is an end to everything, so timing it right, Shin called out to Kichou.
"Kichou. Is it about time to stop? I want to finish this before we break that unique machine any further. That thing has impressive performance, so it would be a waste to completely destroy it."
The golden machine had been operating for nearly an hour without running out of energy or ammunition and was still fighting.
Shin, taking an interest in it, spoke to Kichou and got permission to intervene in the battle.
"Now then. It's a bit of a sorry method for the opponent, but I'm already being resented for no reason, so it's fine, right? Shadow Binding! And then—Shadow Storage!"
Shin easily immobilized the giant mechanical knight.
Then he threw the entire machine into the shadows using Shadow Magic.
Of course, the pilot was still in the cockpit.
For any Hero other than Shin, putting something in the shadows would be difficult due to the machine's size, and maintaining it would require continuous mana consumption, making it impractical.
It should have been, but for 'Shin's current burden', it was an 'extremely small burden' close to zero, even at the level of 'margin of error'.
Poor Junior Hero-kun, the fool, only had two possible futures: losing his mind in the true darkness, or starving to death.
In other words, he had fully entered a checkmate state.
Leaving him in there for a week should be enough.
Shin himself might be a protagonist with extremely evil thoughts and actions.
Well, as a means to obtain the machine without damaging it, this choice might not have been wrong.
With the master gone, the things that seemed to be robots guarding the entrance of the ruins all retreated inside the ruins.
Kichou changed into his young dragon form and entered the ruins with Shin.
And just inside the entrance, Shin happened to find a stone tablet.
On it was written:
"Our race has reached its physical limit and sublimates into spiritual lifeforms. You who have evolved from the seeds of life we scattered across the universe. Please feel free to use the equipment left here. We hope you will one day achieve evolution following in our footsteps."
Thanks to my skills, I can read this. But it's not guaranteed that someone who can read it will come. Actually, the royal family here couldn't read it either. I wonder about that junior-kun.
After reading it, that was the first thing Shin thought.
Incidentally, his junior Hero wasn't interested in what was carved on the stone tablet and hadn't even looked at it.
Well, either way, it didn't affect the big picture, so it wasn't a problem.
It's unreasonable for me to try to understand the thoughts of beings that have probably reached the limits of evolution! Well, that aside, stone tablets are still the best for long-lasting information transmission.
The next thought that came to Shin was this, and he gave up thinking deeply about a race he had never seen.
In that state, what Shin discovered during the internal investigation of the ruins was the machine that seemed to have been used to summon his somewhat lacking junior Hero.
It had numerous fragments of magic stones connected to it, presumably as an energy source.
But neither Shin nor Kichou could understand its principles.
It was not a summoning using magical technology.
That much alone they understood.
The magic stones used as energy were completely depleted, and the machine itself was considered no longer operable.
But even so, Shin casually threw the entire machine into his Storage Space.
Because dangerous things shouldn't be left lying around.
Incidentally, all equipment, including this machine, had small stone tablets placed nearby, and the instructions were so user-friendly that even a monkey could understand them if they could read them.
This explained why the foolish junior Hero had been able to use everything so quickly.
And Dely's sister, who had been imprisoned, was found safely inside the ruins.
Meanwhile, Sangou had been monitoring the situation through a sub-unit attached to Shin.
The excellent bio-spaceship decided to descend into the atmosphere as soon as Dely's sister was found alive.
Since Shin, as captain, had given Sangou that level of discretion from the start, quick action was possible.
Sangou arrived near the entrance of the ruins on the surface and let Dely and Miu disembark.
Thus, the brother and sister had an emotional reunion.
"Dely. I'm glad your sister is safe. By the way, about these ruins. There's nothing valuable left. The dock where the spaceship was might be usable, but since there's no spaceship, it's useless. I'd like to seal this place with sealing magic, what do you think? Oh, and I'll keep that machine and the giant mechanical knight that came out as my reward, so please understand that."
"Yes, please go ahead and seal it. We can't use them anyway. Also, regarding the machines, my father, who had the decision-making power, is no longer alive, so I'll permit it on my own authority. They are royal property, but I have no other reward to give you, Shin-san. In fact, is that enough?"
"Yeah, of course. Oh, and about that guy's custody. I can hand him over to you if you need him, but what do you want to do?"
Something like a public execution.
If that were to happen, Shin wouldn't feel good about it.
But if Dely, as the ruler, judged it necessary, Shin could accept it as unavoidable.
Because it was an undeniable fact that the foolish junior Hero Shin had captured was the murderer of Dely's parents.
"I don't need his custody. But please don't release him alive on this planet. Separately, I'm sorry to trouble you, Shin-san, but is it possible for my sister and me to ride on Kichou-san's back and make a triumphant return to the castle? Of course, with Sangou-san as well. If that can be done, announcing that 'the mechanical knight was defeated' will have credibility, and my subjects and people will be reassured."
"Oh, that's fine. Kichou, can you do it?"
"Yes, Master. That's fine."
The matter was settled, and Dely and his sister traveled together, returning to Rondanul Castle, which Shin had thought looked like Edo Castle.
Since Dely was still young, a coronation ceremony would be held for the succession, but his sister would also serve as regent as guardian.
Up to that point, decisions were made smoothly.
And thus, the Rondanul Kingdom began as the first unified dynasty in the planet's history.
Shin, Kichou, and Sangou did their best to assist in the restoration of the areas that the monster slain by the junior Hero had ravaged before dying—areas corresponding to around Okayama, Shikoku, and Kyushu in Japan on Earth.
Then, about sixty days later, thanks to magical dominance and Sangou's overwhelming performance, the initial restoration was completed without any issues.
When the administrative personnel under Dely were taken on Kichou's back and shown the restored lands, they were first astonished, going 'What the hell is this～'.
Next, thinking about arranging new settlers and personnel to govern, they scratched their heads, but that was a minor matter.
No matter how amazed or troubled Dely's subordinates were, it was no problem for Shin and the others.
"Shin-san. Are you really sure you don't want territory or a title? If it were you, I could even approve a marriage with my sister."
The moment Dely said that, Miu's presence behind him swelled.
The beastwoman's full-blown killing intent was dangerous, and normally it should be suppressed.
But Dely had an inkling of the cause of that killing intent.
As a result, it led him to retract his earlier statement, so perhaps this was a necessary event.
"Ah, Shin-san already has several wives, so it's unnecessary. Sorry, that was a slip."
Miu's killing intent subsided.
Next, the topic shifted to Miu's future.
"Is Miu returning with Shin and the others to the Asada Marquis's residence on the capital star of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire? Or will she remain with Dely for a while longer?"
In short, that was the gist of it.
Miu's judgment leaned toward staying.
Because Dely had just inherited the throne and lacked trustworthy guards.
Based on that judgment, the beastwoman made a request to Shin: 'If possible, I want to stay here as a guard for a few years.'
Miu understood that her request was essentially selfish.
But she wanted to return to her beloved Shin eventually, and at the same time couldn't abandon Dely now.
Since both were wishes she wanted to fulfill, it couldn't be helped.
And for Miu, it was something she was confident Shin would 'definitely make happen.'
This was the conclusion because Miu had already established her position within the Asada Marquis's residence as an 'unofficial lover of Shin' acknowledged by Rouj and the others, and she had no intention of giving it up.
Well, Shin also had no intention of leaving things half-done after intervening so deeply in Dely's affairs.
At the very least, he wanted to stabilize Dely's country to the point where it would be fine even if they left it for years without even checking on it.
In that process, Miu's offer was actually convenient for Shin in some respects.
That aside.
Before things reached this point, of course, Shin had faithfully fulfilled his promise to Laura by repeatedly making temporary returns to the Gialpha Galaxy Empire using long-distance teleportation magic.
What exactly are we talking about?
It's not that he left the captured junior Hero in the shadows for over sixty days after Dely returned to the castle; he dealt with him properly during that period.
That part ties in with Sangou's situation at the beginning.
Returning to his home in the capital and completing his regular report to Laura, Shin chose a location in the slightly outer part of the Gialpha Galaxy, the so-called 'outer space' region, where no one would be troubled, as the best place to deal with his junior Hero.
There, after deploying a large-scale barrier magic, Shin leisurely took out the mechanical knight with the fool still inside from Shadow Storage.
The Shadow Binding he had placed on the machine when capturing it had already worn off by the time it was put into Shadow Storage.
Although it wasn't clear how long he had gone without food or water, the pilot was still alive inside the machine.
That was obvious because the machine was being operated, albeit erratically, as soon as it was taken out of the shadows.
Well, at the same time, it was certain that his mental state was not normal.
The junior Hero did not respond to Shin's calls from outside.
Growing tired of it, Shin cast a sleep magic covering the entire machine, putting the pilot to sleep.
Next, he had Sangou emerge from the shadows as well and had him store the machine in his hangar.
This choice of method was because Sangou would be able to investigate the mechanical knight, which Shin couldn't do.
Sangou began a precise investigation of the mechanical knight.
Although it took a little over two hours, the bio-spaceship perfectly examined every part of the machine.
Sangou succeeded in dragging the pilot out of the cockpit and removing Shin's junior Hero from the machine.
This probably proved once again that Sangou's investigative and analytical abilities, as a product of super-science, were not just for show.
Incidentally, the machine, now lacking its pilot and sitting in the hangar, was once stored in Shin's Storage Space, but it was a foregone conclusion that it would eventually become a toy for Sangou's 'disassembly investigation'.
Since maintenance and repairs were also needed, it was an unavoidable flow.
Well, leaving the mechanical knight aside, the problem was how to handle Shin's junior Hero, who was still asleep.
Of course, it goes without saying that a series of quarantine inspections, starting with sterilization, were performed on him by Sangou without question.
"Captain. What are you going to do with that person?"
"Ah, Dely chose not to kill him. As such, there's no compelling reason to kill him anymore. And then. I don't feel good about leaving him in the shadows to starve either. Also. I think before he had his life derailed by summoning to another world, he was probably an ordinary person. So I'm thinking of giving him one more chance. Record the video and audio of me and him from now on. Also, prepare a monitor so he can see it later."
"Yes. Recording started."
"And then, like this. Shadow Binding. And activate Oblivion Magic."
Forgetting the cause of his mental breakdown, time rewound within the junior Hero.
But physically, he remained weakened by the passage of time.
Also, thanks to the Shadow Binding cast as a precaution, he couldn't move.
As for the time with Oblivion Magic, since it was set back to one hour before he met Shin and began fighting, from his perspective, he was in an incomprehensible state where 'suddenly Shin was in front of him and he couldn't move'.
"Hey. I'm sure you think it's pitiful to be put in this sudden incomprehensible state, but please listen calmly to what I'm about to say."
"What's this all of a sudden? Who are you? Where is this? Have I been abducted again?"
"Ah. As a fellow Japanese, I want to talk in order to help you, in a sense. It would be easier if you just listen quietly and think."
"Okay. I'll listen."
Shin succeeded in bringing things to a discussion without immediate confrontation.
Of course, learning from their previous encounter, Shin used a ring of transformation to change his appearance, and he didn't even mention a name that would remind him of 'Jin'.
It goes without saying that such consideration was made.
"So, the main topic. Do you want to go back to Japan? Or do you want to die here? Choose whichever you like. However, returning to Japan comes with a price. Your memories will be erased to the point before the summoning. Also, the passage of time cannot be undone. So you'll be thrown back to Japan with the recognition that 'time has passed but you have no memory of it'."
It might seem cruel, but the boy before Shin had done too much in this world.
Therefore, the choices presented had to be harsh.
"Of course I don't want to die! If I can go home, I want to. There was nothing good about being summoned as a Hero. Those memories are fine to disappear. As for the time, the amount that's passed since I came here is limited. It means I'll be put in a 'state of limited amnesia' for that period, right? If it's just that, I should be able to start over."
"I see. Then I'll use Oblivion Magic to rewind your memory time. But neither of us recognizes the exact passage of time. So, I'll rewind it in several stages. Write that fact on paper so that your future self, who has no memory, will believe the situation when he sees it. I'm also recording this process, so if that's not enough, I can show you the video with audio on that monitor."
Shin's thinking had shifted slightly from execution because of seeing the instruction stone tablet for that machine during the ruins investigation.
Though the activation principle was a mystery, it was a machine that used the magic power of magic stones as energy to return to a 'place not here' where the person had memories of being until just before, even though it wasn't magical technology.
The twenty-four-hour time limit Dely mentioned was probably, in Shin's opinion, because after that, memories become vague.
Because ordinary humans cannot accurately retain memories of 'when and where' for very long.
If Shin directly supplied the mana needed to operate the machine, it would probably work normally without any problems. Since he now had a way to send the junior Hero back to Japan, it naturally affected Shin's thinking.
And Shin didn't tell the person being sent back, but what he was about to do was essentially a human experiment.
After all, the fact that 'he was an enemy who attacked to kill Shin' didn't disappear.
Therefore, Shin had no hesitation in making him an experimental subject without telling him.
This was probably the result of his five years of life in the other world, the Louvre Empire, having a significant influence on Shin's personality and thinking.
Thus, Shin's somewhat dense junior Hero lost his memory and safely returned to Japan.
He would have some trouble after returning due to losing the memory of a certain period and being listed as missing during that period that Shin forgot to explain, but that's another story.
Incidentally, since the body trained as a Hero remained, a future as a sports star awaited the boy.
For the boy who unknowingly participated in Shin's experiment, it wasn't all bad.
Now, let's return to the scene after Dely's kingdom restoration and Miu's decision to stay as a guard.
After finishing the initial cooperation in the Rondanul Kingdom and reaching the necessary decisions, Shin had Sangou enter his shadow and teleported to the Asada Marquis residence in the Gialpha Galaxy Empire.
The brief pain and vulnerability caused by the sudden consumption of vast amounts of mana from ultralong-distance teleportation.
The moment Shin arrived at his home, a summoning circle activated at his feet.
This was a complete surprise attack, and Shin was summoned to another world without any means to resist.
Then, before the summoning was complete, Shin received interference from a high-ranking being.
What was happening was exactly the same phenomenon as when he was first summoned from Japan to the Louvre Empire.
Sighing with annoyance at 'here we go again', Shin nevertheless accepted the consciousness and power flowing into him.
Your original power is too strong, but since it's the rules, I can't give no power at all. There's also no case in the handover from my predecessor where I could give no power. Eh? A being that even has innate skills? This is rare. Well, do your best.
Thus, Hero Shin helped Dely become king and assisted in the restoration of the Rondanul Kingdom.
Also, after saving Dely's homeland, since no death penalty was desired for the messed-up junior Hero and the aftermath was entrusted to him, he effectively used him as a sample for a human experiment to return him to Japan.
Was it because Shin conducted that experiment?
Or was it simply the influence of the destiny power a Hero possesses?
It's not clear, but Shin experienced his second summoning.
What kind of place would the summoning destination be?
What would Shin be made to do, and would he be able to return to Rouj and the others?
No one knows the future.
After sending his junior Hero back to Japan as an experiment, the Hero found himself also sent to another world with a slight time difference.
Since Sangou and Kichou, still riding inside Sangou, were summoned to another world while remaining in the shadows, Shin could only anticipate that no matter what was demanded of him or what he had to accomplish at the landing point of the summoning, the future would be nothing but easy.