First and foremost was the evacuation of the citizens of the New City of Ket Nya. Kiji and Orgo took charge as representatives to direct and lead the populace.
In contrast, Cyclone had earnestly requested to lead the search for Mr. Lou, while I—being the only one who knew what that godlike powerhouse looked like—took charge of the team seeking him out.
"Gil..."
Char looked up at me with teary eyes as she clung tightly to me. I gently stroked her head.
"It's all right. We'll definitely come back here."
I spoke as much to convince myself as to comfort her.
"Okay..."
Char buried her face into my chest and fell still. Chato and Tama were also part of my search team, and knowing how lonely Char tended to get, I had anticipated this reaction. From the very beginning, she had stubbornly insisted on joining us. But this mission would likely take us right to the brink of enemy territory. It was too dangerous for Char, so in the end, she had to stay with the evacuating citizens.
After clinging to me for a few moments longer, Char looked up, flashing her usual innocent smile.
"See you later, then!"
Waving both hands vigorously, she hurried off to catch up with Kiji and the others.
Though a lingering reluctance tugged at my heart, I set out toward our search area.
Our destination was the northwest—the only region that remained unexplored. Under normal circumstances, it was an ultra-hazardous zone where even monsters dared not tread, dominated by a massive lake of acid.
That supreme powerhouse had repeatedly referred to this as a "serious game." As hard as it was to believe, the invasion by Aldebaran's Demon King Army might itself be nothing more than a trial he had imposed upon us.
Well, considering he could pulverize Demon King Aldebaran with a single kick, everything in this world was probably no different from roadside bugs to a being like him. Looked at from that perspective, it wasn't all that strange.
Then there was that dream. Lately, I had occasionally caught glimpses of that absolute piece of trash in my sleep. But the most recent one had been completely different from anything before. It had felt as though I was trapped in a theater, forcibly subjected to a flood of memories from that scumbag's past. It was an intensely bizarre, deeply unsettling sensation. What on earth had that been?
It was far too unrealistic to assume I had simply been a hunter hired by him. My gut told me that I had shared some past connection with that scumbag, and somehow, our memories had become partially linked. If my amnesia was tied to that as well, it would at least offer an explanation.
Still, that bastard's past didn't matter to me. I could take my time worrying about regaining my memories after this crisis was safely resolved. Either way, my past held little value to who I was now.
As I was lost in these idle thoughts—
(Hey, Gil!)
Chato shot out his right arm, halting our advance. It seemed something had registered on the detection item I had developed.
I lightly raised my right hand, and the team immediately formed a tight circle, dropping into low stances.
Amid the prickling tension in the air, I drew the Magic Sword Flame from its scabbard at my waist and activated Mimicry, taking on the form of my sword master—the towering, blue-haired swordsman.
If this were the Demon King Army under Aldebaran, they wouldn't sneak around tailing us like this; they would have resorted to direct force. They didn't hold us in high enough regard to bother with stealth. Having seen that dream, I was certain of it.
Whoever was watching us right now undoubtedly belonged to a different faction. And if that were the case, there were plenty of ways to deal with them.
(I've got this!)
Kicking off the ground, I bolted at high speed toward the point indicated by the detection item.
Suddenly, a red-haired girl with white wings came into view right before me, and I skidded to an abrupt halt. She was the Garuda girl I had seen in my dream—a fellow resident of the New City of Ket Nya. There was no doubt she had nothing to do with the Demon King Army.
But why was she following us? In the dream, she had boasted quite a bit about her combat prowess. Had she wanted to join the search team after all?
Stifling my confusion, I kept a measured distance and sheathed Flame.
"You're from the Garuda tribe, right? The evacuation route isn't this way."
Given the timing, she had clearly been tailing us. My question was merely a pretext to get her to lower her guard.
"Y-Yeah. I must've taken a wrong turn."
Sure enough, the red-haired Garuda girl gave the exact response I had anticipated.