Chapter 39 - Return and Separation to Scattered Places
～Intermediate Space Between the Gialpha Galaxy and the Lambda Mu Galaxy～
Sangou couldn't decide where to head.
First, receiving instructions from the captain being impossible due to his absence, and additionally, Kichou, who could be asked for an opinion, also being absent, formed the problem.
In the first place, where were the captain and Kichou right now, and what were they doing?
Unable to grasp that, Sangou was troubled.
Reuniting with the captain.
That being the top priority was surely certain for Sangou at present.
But when concretely considering that method, the current options essentially boiled down to choosing one from two.
Yet there were no conditions tipping the advantage to either side.
Truly, a situation full of problems with no correct answers was, no matter how excellent Sangou was, tough when it was tough.
Should he head for the Tauro Star System in the Lambda Mu Galaxy, where Derry and Miu were?
Should he head for the capital star of the Gialpha Galaxy, where Rouju and others were?
He constructed multiple action plan patterns by changing everything settable as preconditions within possible fluctuation ranges.
No matter how many times he repeated probability calculations from there, neither was clearly advantageous.
But having to decide on one was tough.
Thanks to being involved in constructing the return magic circle, Sangou understood its characteristics.
Was there a problem with the magic circle's construction itself due to some external factor's influence, or as an unimaginably low possibility?
By one of those, the accident of 'Sangou being sent to a different place from the captain and Kichou' had occurred.
But still.
From the magic circle's characteristics, even under the current accident circumstances, it was extremely likely that the captain and Kichou were somewhere within the range Kichou had acted in this universe.
Additionally, at least the captain's survival was a certainty Sangou could be confident in.
The captain, 'Hero Shin', as seen by Sangou, had absurdly outrageous abilities, and his trust in that point alone was deep.
Even if he could confirm that the captain had clumsy and cowardly aspects regarding women, that was a separate matter.
On the other hand, it was true that there was some slight unease about Kichou's survival.
But Kichou had undergone further evolution.
Kichou, now a Super Divine Dragon, as a living being, should have already reached a realm Sangou couldn't fathom.
"(Kichou is probably fine too)"
Thinking that, Sangou stopped further thoughts about Kichou.
Because under the current lack of information for making decisions, confirming that was impossible.
That wasn't the only problem.
No matter where he headed, securing the energy necessary for movement was an accompanying issue.
At present, there was nearly one hundred percent energy remaining.
But still.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to reach either galaxy 'without resupply' via warp navigation.
That was the reality.
Also, in the space between galaxies, the so-called 'outer universe' area, things capable of recharging Sangou's energy were basically 'almost nonexistent', which was the problem.
In the end, Sangou decided 'head for the Gialpha Galaxy' with no basis.
The bio-spaceship, to save energy, gave up on warp navigation, deciding for the time being to accelerate at max and then cover distance with inertial navigation.
That aside.
Then why did Sangou, in a lonely state without the captain or Kichou nearby, manage to return to the world where the Gialpha Galaxy Empire existed?
Let's clarify that flow in detail by looking back at the past.
Sangou cooperated with Kichou to aim for return to the world where the Gialpha Galaxy Empire existed, by modifying the Hero Summoning magic circle used in the Orze Kingdom.
If one were to attempt that with human ability, it would be an extremely vicious difficulty.
Yet analysis and modification of such a thing were made possible.
That was achieved because there were two special things plus alpha.
One was an organic artificial intelligence, a child of super-science.
Another was the high intelligence Kichou newly acquired as a racial trait after evolving into the special existence 'Super Divine Dragon', unprecedented in the past.
With those two, the condition of 'having received translation of magic language for the magic circle from Hero Shin' was added, finally making analysis and modification of the magic circle possible.
Construction of a new magic circle to achieve the goal.
While starting that, Sangou conveyed a question mixed with impressions to the captain.
If the only method for the summoned Hero to return was modifying the summoning magic circle, then...
Given its abnormal difficulty, wasn't that essentially the same as having no means?
Sangou's question boiled down to that single point.
Of course, Shin, asked such a question, gave an answer.
"Hmm. 'Essentially the same as having no return method,' huh. Well, that's probably right. In the first place, this summoning technique itself wasn't created by humans. At least I think so, and that's likely the truth. If not, it'd be strange that 'something god-like can conveniently interfere every time during summoning.' But they didn't properly prepare a return method. I sense malice from the being that provided this technique."
Shin's view was probably correct as a guess based only on the current situation.
But though Shin and the others would never know, the facts were different.
Actually, the teleportation magic circle for return was provided as a set.
However, activating that magic circle required enormous magic power, and because the first Hero didn't want to return after defeating the Demon Lord and tried to stay in this world, it led to the worst outcome: 'Hero assassination.'
But the Hero who wished to stay rather than return to Japan hadn't made unreasonable demands to the summoners.
He had merely 'asked for reasonable money and a convenient place to live.'
The summoners, on the other hand, had to consider after hearing that.
Their true feeling was 'we want him to go back,' but would the expense of 'massive magic power' be approved?
Also, if they asked the Hero to return, would 'a being with power surpassing the Demon Lord,' who had no intention of listening, 'always' live quietly if he remained in this world?
Two very natural questions arose.
It didn't take long for the country's upper echelons to come to hold those questions.
In the end, the country that committed the brutal act of 'Hero assassination' underwent repeated division and merger due to subsequent political changes, eventually giving birth to the 'Louvre Empire,' which inherited the Hero Summoning technique.
In that process, Hero Summoning was performed many times, but the teleportation magic circle technique, never once used, was lost over time.
Due to these circumstances, only the Hero Summoning technique remained in the Louvre Empire.
At the same time, the bad precedent of 'assassinating the Hero after use' was thoroughly inherited and remained.
At the time the first was carried out, 'the total population was smaller than now and the Demon Lord's emergence cycle was longer' was probably one cause of the teleportation magic circle technique being lost.
But people tend to flow in easy directions.
That might be the real problem.
Also, the being that provided both magic circles knew one had been lost over time but didn't re-provide it after learning that.
Was there malice in that part?
If asked frankly, a person with normal Japanese sensibilities would likely only say 'yes.'
Anyway, setting aside questions, impressions, and unknown facts as 'that's that,' construction of the original teleportation magic circle proceeded.
Powers that shouldn't exist in the world of the Louvre Empire and Orze Kingdom came together in three, finally moving things forward.
Of course, it goes without saying that this has nothing to do with the three 'love,' 'courage,' and 'power' sleeping at the bottom of some quiet sea — it's only the same number.
"Master. Done~. I cut out the strange interference parts completely, but it should work properly with this~"
"Oh! Kichou, well done. Sangou, as expected too."
"No, it's nothing much. However, regarding this, the part about 'the caster being inside the array' was too difficult. Making it so the caster who activated the magic circle is inside it and it still works through the final stage. When trying to establish that, it tangled with the safety devices, so segregating and nullifying them was troublesome. In the first place, you can't construct a magic circle assuming the one sending and the one being sent are the same. Also, something to supply magic power was necessary, and that part was the magic circle's core that absolutely gets left out of the teleportation, so we couldn't change that either. But according to Kichou, 'one large-class monster magic stone we hunted can substitute for it well.' That supply part became the decisive solution."
"I see. We hunted a lot, so losing one as a necessary expense is no problem. Having me or Kichou stay behind instead of a magic stone is an unthinkable choice."
While answering Sangou's statement, Shin casually breathed a sigh of relief inside.
"(I'm glad I don't have to do the random teleportation gacha. Good, good.)"
Shin's genuine true feelings were here, and he was deeply grateful to his excellent brain trust, Sangou and Kichou.
Kichou created a huge magic circle to fit Sangou's hull within its effective range, and Shin set the switching magic stone for the final stage while pouring the enormous magic power necessary into the magic circle.
However, this couldn't be done if Shin was inside Sangou's ship.
So Shin went into space and worked while deploying a barrier magic.
Under those circumstances, Kichou had almost used up his magic power deploying and maintaining the huge magic circle, so he was clinging to Shin to receive magic power replenishment.
In other words, Kichou also wasn't inside Sangou's ship.
At the final finishing stage, Shin switched the magic power source from himself to the magic stone outside the magic circle, and at the same time, jumped into the circle with Kichou.
Then, the moment the final necessary magic power was poured entirely from the magic stone, the magic circle activated.
"Wait! I cannot allow you to take all of the Origin of Dragon Vein to another world without permission——"
Shin and the others received some kind of power interference in a fleeting moment.
But in the end, what remained after the teleportation magic circle activated was only the magic stone that had lost its contained magic power.
Thus, the god-like being that managed this world had the premise of 'a world with magic power' as its management target collapse, and would be questioned about its management responsibility by a higher existence.
That would happen, but it was a story unrelated to Shin and the others, and they bore absolutely zero responsibility, not even a speck.
Incidentally, the reason the god-like being didn't notice Shin making off with the 'Origin of Dragon Vein' until the last moment was greatly influenced by the incident where a moon-like giant satellite was completely blown away during the Demon Lord subjugation.
This strength of luck, some effect of fate power, was also probably deeply connected to Shin having obtained the power of Hero ✕ Hero.
Therefore, from the god-like being's perspective too, it might have been a failure that was in a sense its own fault.
What happened to Shin and the others, who received instantaneous interference at the final moment of teleportation?
To state the conclusion first, the situation could be described as 'the teleportation result was affected.'
Although the world and time axis of the destination were the same, Shin and the others were teleported to different places.
Shin was in the space around a planet with the imperial capital, right in the middle of outer space.
Kichou was on the sea of the main star of the Betasia Star System.
And Sangou was, surprisingly, almost at the midpoint between the Gialpha Galaxy and the Lambda Mu Galaxy.
The three were cast out to their respective locations.
This was the full picture of the flow up to the situation that created Sangou's predicament at the beginning.
After the teleportation magic circle activated, Shin was thrown into outer space where a human couldn't possibly survive alone.
However, for the Hero who had already deployed a barrier magic, that degree of problem didn't immediately become a 'problem.'
But even if his life wasn't immediately threatened, in a situation where Sangou and Kichou were nowhere to be seen, he couldn't afford to relax.
First, Shin confirmed 'Is Sangou and Kichou really not in this vicinity?'
Following that, he hurried to grasp his current position.
Of course, magic was used for that.
He confirmed them with Map Magic and Search Magic.
The result was cruel.
As definite information, he immediately obtained the fact that neither Sangou nor Kichou could be confirmed.
While feeling intense disappointment and anger about that, staying there was pointless, so he teleported home.
Incidentally, the reason for the disappointment and anger was that Shin sensed the current result was caused by the god-like being's interference.
Marquis Asada's residence, where Shin suddenly appeared in that flow.
From the perspective of the residents of Shin's home, a strange child appearing out of nowhere would naturally lead to a 'What's going on?' state.
However, Rouju and Silk sensed Shin's likeness from the child's appearance.
Well, since the person himself had only his appearance rejuvenated, it was a 'matter of course' story.
If it ended there, it would be fine, but ordinarily it couldn't end like that.
"(He had a hidden child!)"
The words Rouju and Silk shouted simultaneously but separately in their hearts.
They were coincidentally exactly the same.
Like an instant water heater, Rouju and Silk boiled their anger in a short time and entered a full-throttle state surpassing their limits.
However, Rinju and Ranju were relatively calm.
Was it a blessing in disguise that those two were in a state where they could talk a bit with Shin, who had become a child?
The Hero who had returned from the other world to the world where his wives were somehow succeeded in convincing all of his wives that 'the current appearance is a changed form of Shin himself.'
"I got separated from Sangou and Kichou. Due to the magic circle's nature, it's not random teleportation, so Kichou should be somewhere in this universe, and Sangou is in either this universe or the universe Sangou originally came from."
Without hiding his expression mixed with various emotions, Shin explained the situation to Rouju and the others.
The teleportation magic circle identifies the teleportation destination from the target's memory.
However, the caster specifies the time range of that memory.
And the teleportation destination cannot be somewhere in the world before teleportation.
These were the rule-like things Shin knew about the teleportation magic circle's operation.
Incidentally, Shin had one misunderstanding at this time; despite grasping the rules, he thought there was 'a possibility' that Sangou had gone to the world with the Deltania Star System.
But the facts differed.
In this case, there was no possibility that Sangou had been sent to the universe where his birthplace, the Deltania Star System, was located.
Because the caster of the magic circle was not Sangou but Kichou.
Kichou was born in the Gialpha Galaxy.
Therefore, excluding the universe with the Orze Kingdom before transfer, Kichou had spent all his living time in the universe where Rouju and others were.
In other words, the limit of the time range affected by interference with the magic circle was at most the range of time Kichou had been alive.
Hence, Sangou's destination was inevitably limited to the same universe Shin had returned to.
Well, either way, Shin intended to search for Sangou and Kichou, so the details didn't matter.
With such things and various matters, Shin ended up contacting Laura later than promised and was first properly scolded.
But during that contact, Shin asked for a search for Sangou and Kichou.
There was a good chance that the Imperial Military, stationed throughout the Gialpha Galaxy, would discover Sangou or Kichou.
Especially for Kichou, the possibility of returning 'by his own power to reunite with Shin and the others' was low.
Therefore, Shin's expectations for the Imperial Military inevitably grew.
As for Sangou, based on Shin's knowledge of his abilities, setting aside time, he had confidence that 'the possibility of returning on his own is high.'
Expectations for his overly excellent partner inevitably rose high.
That too was unavoidable.
Laura received Shin's search request and immediately contacted relevant parties to arrange matters.
Laura acted instantly partly because she was relieved to be able to return some of her debt to Shin.
Laura, holding the position of Empress of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire, was self-aware that she had 'relied heavily and made Shin push himself.'
However, unfortunately for Laura, a separate matter would arise in the near future that would make her want to rely on Shin again.
Naturally, Laura didn't know that at this time, so even if it was brief, it might have been a happy time for her.
Then what about Kichou, whom Shin thought would have difficulty returning on his own? What was he doing and where?
As briefly touched upon earlier, Kichou appeared on the sea of the main star of the Betasia Star System.
He immediately noticed that neither Master Shin nor Sangou were around.
Having evolved into a Super Divine Dragon was not for show; with his high intelligence, Kichou was able to realize that the current situation was 'caused by another's involvement in the teleportation magic circle.'
And the magic power stored in his body had no means of replenishment once used.
Thus, hesitating to use magic easily narrowed the options for breaking the current situation.
In the end, at that time, Kichou had no choice but to rely on the tough body he had gained by becoming a Super Divine Dragon.
He swam through the sea by instinct, searching for land.
When several hours passed, Kichou learned that his current location was the main star of the Betasia Star System.
"(If I go to Orega, even if it takes time, I'll surely learn the whereabouts of Master and Sangou.)"
Thinking that, Kichou was surrounded by both the maritime guard and aerial guard of the Betasia Count Household, which later, as a trivial matter, would become a story they could laugh about.
Incidentally, the reason even Kichou's instincts couldn't foresee and avoid this situation was probably the interference from the ability of the higher existence, the god-like being.
Even a Super Divine Dragon isn't perfect or complete in all things, so this might be unavoidable.
Anyway, after many twists and turns, Kichou reached the count's residence.
Orega took Kichou in under the pretext of 'protection.'
Next, Orega contacted Rouju about the matter.
From Kichou's perspective, he could now obtain information within the Gialpha Galaxy Empire and also transmit information.
Thus, at this stage, all that remained was 'to wait for a change in the situation.'
In fact, after a while, information about the search order Laura had issued for Sangou and Kichou reached Count Betasia Orega.
Though it was a somewhat pointless timing.
Having finished asking Laura for the search, Shin considered 'how to search for Sangou and Kichou' at home.
The Map Magic and Search Magic Shin often used made it easy to know 'something is there or someone is there,' but unfortunately they weren't magic that could give details about 'what kind of being it is.'
Hence, they were useless in this case.
And the method of 'appealing one's own existence to be found by the other party' also troubled him as he couldn't think of a suitable means.
The Hero Shin was certainly a cheat existence in this world who could use the convenient power called 'magic' without limitations on magic power.
Still, if there was no magic suited to the situation and usable, or if he couldn't think of a way to apply and use it, there were quite a few things he couldn't do.
Even a Hero with inexhaustible magic power, Shin was by no means omnipotent.
A child abnormally capable at things he could do.
That was what the Hero Shin was like.
Thus, days spent pondering 'what if this, what if that' passed quietly.
In the end, unable to do anything, he encountered the situation where contact from Orega reached Rouju.
Report of 'Kichou under protection' reached Rouju.
When Shin heard that from Rouju, he immediately teleported to the main star of the Betasia Star System.
Reuniting with Kichou was achieved through that process.
"Master. I'm glad we met safely~"
"Yeah. Glad we're both safe. By the way, you don't know where Sangou is, right?"
Without any particular expectation, Shin asked Kichou on a whim.
But this, perhaps, gave a hint for future action, so some fate-like thing was probably at work.
"Yes~. I only vaguely know that he's somewhere in that direction~"
"Kichou, you're amazing. So you can tell even just the direction. That means Sangou has also returned safely to this universe."
Admiring Kichou's ability, Shin was relieved to at least learn of Sangou's safety.
However, once relieved, what followed was about the prospects for reuniting with Sangou.
"If he's safely reached this universe, we'll probably reunite eventually. Conversely, from the fact that no action from Sangou's side has reached us yet, it's clear he's quite far away."
"That seems to be the case~"
"Unfortunately, I can't think of a way to do something about it immediately. So for now, we just have to wait."
"That's right~. I think my instincts would work in a real crisis~"
"(What kind of 'crisis Sangou could fall into' does Kichou imagine?)"
Unable to imagine the situation from Kichou's words, such a thought crossed Shin's mind.
But it wasn't something to say out loud, so he let the question slide.
Regarding Sangou, it was hard to envision a situation where Sangou himself was completely lost.
However, if there was a way to speed up an effective reunion, the talk would shift toward hastening reunion.
But Shin had enough trust in Sangou that 'as long as he's alive and in the same universe, reunion will eventually be possible.'
Thus, he could endure the waiting state mentally.
Hence, the following words came out of Shin's mouth.
"We've also asked the Imperial Military to search, so let's at least tell them the direction and have them switch to focused search. Well, he's likely to be outside the Gialpha Galaxy though. Now, let's first return to the capital."
Shin's prediction was correct.
If Sangou were somewhere in the Gialpha Galaxy, even if it were some unexplored area, at least communication contact should have reached the capital long ago.
Well, aside from that, Shin thanked Orega, who was surprised to see his son-in-law's appearance, put Kichou into his shadow, and flew to the capital.
Being able to teleport freely was a privilege unique to Hero Shin, and although long-distance teleportation caused him to suffer for a brief time upon arrival, it was convenient enough to be worth the trade-off.
Incidentally, Kichou could also use teleportation magic, but he was limited by his amount of stored magic power.
Therefore, he couldn't do the same as Master Shin, and it could be said 'the difference is large.'
Thus, returning to his home in the capital through that flow, Shin happened to have an opportunity to speak with Laura, who was visiting Silk.
Since it was convenient, he reported finding Kichou, properly conveyed the direction Sangou was thought to be in, and asked to change the search to focused search.
"That's fine. But how did you know that 'Sangou is in that direction'?"
Faced with an extremely simple question, Shin couldn't confess that it was only Kichou's instinct, and being unable to answer well was a trivial matter.
"Well, fine. Anyway, it's good that at least Kichou was found. I'll properly arrange the cancellation of Kichou's search and the change of direction for Sangou's search after returning to the palace. By the way, Marquis Asada. Let me ask you something unrelated. You're 'free' right now, aren't you? Besides searching for Sangou, you don't have any other problems to handle in the near future, do you?"
It was the moment an ominous question from Laura, in her position as Empress, flew out.
Shin, in the position of having made a request, felt a premonition that a difficult problem was coming, but his situation was arranged so he couldn't psychologically escape.
Thus, Hero Shin succeeded in returning from the world he was summoned to, back to the home where Rouju and others waited.
But the teleportation magic circle, a collaboration between Sangou and Kichou used for the return, received slight interference from a god-like high-level being at the last moment, and couldn't demonstrate its full effect.
Although the three succeeded in crossing worlds, the positions they returned to were scattered and separated, and for Sangou and Kichou, who had movement restrictions, even if they knew heading to the distant capital star of the Gialpha Galaxy Empire was best for reuniting, that itself became difficult.
Still, Kichou, who managed to get contact through Orega, was able to reunite with Shin first, and through Kichou's instincts, worries about Sangou were cleared.
Was it the Hero's fate power at work that Laura learned Shin had nothing to do besides searching for Sangou, and moreover, currently had no effective method of actively searching on his own?
What kind of unreasonable demand would Laura throw at him?
No one knew the future.
When he returned home with Kichou, his child-like appearance was seen by Laura in the flesh, and the Hero-sama felt some indescribable fear from her ominous gleaming eyes.
Although worries about Sangou should have decreased after reuniting with Kichou, Shin felt a bad premonition rising from another matter.