Reunion And The Seven Moons

“My friend, what splendid growth. I’ve heard good things about you from my subordinates and from those you’ve been summoned by. It pleases me as well to hear such favorable rumors about you.”

At the words of my friend, Devil King Grazen, who was elegantly sipping tea in my personal Demon Realm, a smile naturally spread across my face.

I was accepting dispatched summons for my own sake, but if doing so made my friend happy, then of course that made me happy too.

Perhaps it was because Grazen had been sending me summons with particularly favorable terms, but after completing assignment after assignment—so many that counting them had become difficult—my power had increased to the point where I could now reasonably call myself a High-Ranking Devil.

Naturally, it had still taken a fair amount of time, but even so, my rate of growth was probably extraordinary for a devil.

…Though because I’d grown so quickly, I couldn’t deny my lack of experience, and more importantly, I was still terrible at fighting, so in an actual battle, I probably wouldn’t be able to defeat other High-Ranking Devils.

Repeatedly taking short-term dispatched summons was plenty enjoyable, but by now I was also starting to wish someone would summon me normally again.

I had accumulated plenty of things I wanted to do, like talk to Bella about becoming a devil, deal with the pixie’s summoning stone I’d received, and restock my food supplies.

“Hmm. In that case, perhaps I should send you a summons that would allow you to remain for somewhat longer… Oh? My friend, what excellent timing.”

At the same moment Grazen spoke, I felt something tug at my body.

I wondered how he had noticed my summoning before even I had, but just as he said, the timing really was excellent.

And more than that, there was something strangely nostalgic about the sensation of this summons—the voice calling to me.

“You look delighted, my friend. I admit I am a little saddened that we cannot speak at greater length, but yes, I shall look forward to hearing your stories when you return. Now then, off you go.”

Perhaps Grazen had sensed something from my reaction.

But there was no time to ask, so I nodded once at my friend’s words and surrendered myself to the call.

To the voice unmistakably calling my name.

“Grandma, no! Stop!”

The first thing I heard after being summoned was a young girl’s voice.

When I opened my eyes, I saw an elderly woman lying on the ground with severe wounds, and standing protectively in front of her as though shielding her from me was a girl who looked around fourteen or fifteen years old.

The mana filling the surrounding area was dense, and when I instinctively looked up at the sky—

“Whoa… seriously…?”

I muttered blankly at the sight spread out before me.

After all, seven moons were shining brightly across the vast night sky.

“No… This mana is far beyond anything I can handle. Grandma, what in the world did you summon…?”

The despair in the girl’s voice brought me back to my senses, and I lowered my gaze from the sky.

Incidentally, there was no contract Magic Circle beneath my feet.

In other words, I was completely free to move.

No wonder she was terrified.

Judging from what the girl had said, the elderly woman lying on the ground seemed to be the one who had summoned me, but summoning a devil outdoors without even preparing a contract Magic Circle was beyond reckless.

To put it plainly, it was no different from suicide.

…Although I did get summoned without a contract Magic Circle surprisingly often.

Anyway, while I tried to choose my words carefully so I could calm the frightened girl without provoking her, I finally noticed it.

This familiar mana, this scent of the soul that filled me with nostalgia…

“Wait… um, could you possibly be Annie?”

The old woman lying on the ground looked up at me and gave a weak nod.

Her voice and appearance had both aged, but even so, the joy of seeing an old friend again brought a smile to my face.

“It’s been a long time, Lept-kun. I’m glad you came. …I have a favor to ask. I’m finished. When I die, I’ll give you my soul, so please protect my granddaughter, Lenis.”

But Annie’s words sounded like a farewell, and I almost frowned as the thought, Not this again, crossed my mind.

I might have been a devil, but even so, I had absolutely no desire to devour the soul of a friend.

If she’d said she wanted to become a devil and asked me to take her soul and recreate her as one of my subordinate devils, I might at least have considered it, but that wasn’t what she’d said.

“Yeah, I don’t know what you mean by ‘finished,’ but are you talking about your injuries? Because I’ve already healed them. Annie, don’t underestimate me. I’m a devil, and I’m also the apprentice of the great sorcerer Garmon-san. Wounds like those are nothing.”

I was probably a little angry.

Perhaps because I’d been so happy and nostalgic about seeing her again, what Annie said immediately afterward had cut that much deeper.

The girl shielding Annie—presumably her granddaughter Lenis—was frightened, but I couldn’t stop myself from continuing.

“Why do you immediately jump to offering me your soul anyway? Do I really look like I’m desperate to eat my friends’ souls? Seriously, stop doing that. …But I do need a contract to remain manifested here, so please give me something.”

At my words, Annie, who had been staring blankly while holding a hand over her now-healed wound, suddenly let out a laugh.

Before long, it turned into full-blown laughter.

Had Annie always laughed this easily?

As payment for my manifestation, Annie gave me a ring she had worn for many years, saturated with her mana, and I absorbed it.

Annie told me we should move first because pursuers were coming, but for some reason, she and Lenis tried to leave on foot.

When it came to Annie, she was supposed to be a master of Storage Sorcery and Gate Sorcery.

Curious, I asked why, and she explained that a barrier had been spread across the entire surrounding region that could detect and analyze mana, so even if she used Gate Sorcery to travel somewhere else, their pursuers would simply identify the destination and follow them.

I nodded in understanding, which meant that as long as I didn’t use mana—or rather, didn’t activate the effect through sorcery—it should be fine.

So I manipulated spiritual particles and magical essence directly, activated Gate Magic, and transported us to the place where Garmon-san’s tower had once stood.

It was the only set of coordinates I still remembered in this world.

Still, the fact that a barrier had been erected that could not only detect mana but also analyze it and determine the effect of the sorcery being used suggested that this world had become far more complicated than it had been back when I lived here.