Once the city of Aingurna had regained some semblance of calm, we decided it was time to move on.
On the day of our departure, a large crowd gathered before the gate leading out of the city to see us off.
"You guys were a real help, nya. Come back whenever you like, nya. You're always welcome!"
"By the next time you visit, we'll have completely purged Garnalava’s influence. Feel free to come back and play without a worry in the world."
"Thank you very much! I hope you all stay healthy as well!"
Leading the crowd were Rache-san and the rest of the Great Busters.
Rache-san had officially handed over her temporary duties to the newly arrived Guild Master and returned to active duty as an adventurer. That said, it seemed they hadn't been able to make much progress with their dungeon exploration yet.
The Great Busters were collaborating with other adventurers to eliminate the lingering traces left behind by the evil cultists. Their first priority was purifying the Council of Mentors Leadership. The cult's brainwashing had taken a deep hold; apparently, more than half of the Chief Mentors had been under their sway.
Thanks to the efforts of Zahha-san and the others, the Council of Mentors had already returned to normal. The day when the city would be completely free of the cult's influence was likely close at hand.
"We owe Master Jot a great deal. I wanted to thank him once again."
"Really, really! After Master, we can't thank you enough!"
"We are truly grateful."
"Thanks a lot!"
"No, no, the experience was just as valuable for me. Besides, this was the result of a fair business transaction. No need for thanks."
A short distance away, the Petit Golems were saying their goodbyes to Jot-san. It wasn't just Allen; the other three now occupied life-sized bodies as well. The four of them seemed to be expressing their gratitude for their new forms.
"Everyone has become so good at talking! I'll make sure Reire and the others can talk like that someday too!"
The one who spoke while watching Allen and the others was Lil, Jot-san's granddaughter. In addition to Reire, she was accompanied by two more golems using dolls as their base bodies. Lil had crafted these two using her own Create Golem skill, and surprisingly, they were sentient from the start. It seemed that in Lil’s mind, a golem was inherently something like Reire, so she produced sentient golems even when using the spell normally. She might become a revolutionary Golem Maker one day.
"Nuu... even though I haven't finished hammering the true essence of muscles into you yet... Are you really leaving, Lowell?"
"Is that you, Masso? I'm grateful for your help, but... I've had quite enough of muscles. No, really."
"I see. From now on, you will seek out your own personal style of muscles. So that's how it is."
"No, that's not quite... Well, fine, let's go with that."
Lowell was receiving a reluctant farewell from Masso-san and the members of the Gurna Warrior Group. To be honest, after the incident with the giant, he had spent a little time assisting with the Warrior Group's training. It seemed the training itself had been beneficial, but he appeared completely fed up with being unable to keep up with their constant muscle talk.
Speaking of reluctant farewells from the Warrior Group, Shiroru was getting one too.
『Make sure you keep developing all sorts of Muscle-yaki from now on! When I come back someday, I’m going to expect a taste! Keep at it!』
"Of course! I won't forget your teachings."
"We'll make sure to protect the Original Muscle-yaki too! Although catching octopuses is quite the chore."
These were the core members of the Muscle-yaki stall. I thought Shiroru had hit it off with them, but what "teachings" was he talking about? The takoyaki had been completely rebranded as "Original Muscle-yaki," and at this point, there was no going back. The impact of the staff’s physiques was just too overwhelming.
"Halfa-chan, Spira-chan... you’re not really leaving us, are you?!"
"Ugh... what am I supposed to look forward to in life from now on...?"
"Idiot! From now on, those two are going to take flight into the world! We all agreed not to get in the way of their new beginning!"
"That’s right! That’s right!"
Surrounding Halfa and Spira was a crowd of their most enthusiastic fans. People of all ages and genders had come to see them off. This following had grown out of their activities purifying the brainwashed citizens. To help with the purification, Halfa had traveled throughout the city, singing her Song of Soothing. For some reason, people started requesting other songs, and Spira, who had been acting as her chaperone, got dragged into it as well. Before we knew it, it had developed into something akin to idol activities. As Halfa and the others waved their final goodbyes, some people even broke down in tears. Their influence was truly staggering.
"Comrade Tort, I want you to have this."
"Val-san! Thank you very much."
Even Val-san from the Dungeon Research Society had come to see us off. He handed me... two boxes of Pandora Gifts! The people nearby looked startled, but to me, it was a wonderful parting gift. For a while, he had been in shock after learning that Godfee—a member of the Research Society—was an evil cultist, but it looked like he had made a full recovery.
Now then, I think that covers all the goodbyes. It's a bit sad to leave, but it's about time we hit the road. Our next destination is the south. If any of the brainwashed individuals hiding in Aingurna were to flee, they would likely head for Lievril in the west or Zephyrson in the south. I figured it would be best to check if anything strange was happening down there.
I wonder what waits for us at our next stop.
I can't wait!