CH 285

Chapter 285 – Oz’s Visit

Those people suddenly disappeared. The ship also disappeared in a puff of smoke, as if it had suddenly lost all substance.

“….Hm. What a strange human being. Who is he…?” (Vodara)

Vodara frowned when a certain being suddenly flashed through his mind.

“An earthling who leads many races, huh? …It couldn’t be.” (Vodara)

He glanced fleetingly over at the Curseweaver, who was still silently floating there.

“…Well, whatever. This time, I managed to get my hands on quite the rare pawn. Besides, I also got to try this thing out.” (Vodara)

Vodara pulled the cube that had shattered earlier out of his pocket.

“I was able to confirm that it’s temporarily usable, even though it’s a replica. My plan is still going well to some extent, even though there were some unexpected anomalies. Now then…” (Vodara)

The thick fog that had been shrouding the surroundings suddenly lifted, leaving behind a bright blue expanse of sky. The place that used to be a graveyard of ships was now nothing but an empty ocean.

“Garib, I will not stop. You can rot away in your little garden, stuck in the past for as long as you live.” (Vodara)

“It’s time to move on to the next stage.” (Vodara)

With that, everyone present disappeared into the black vortex.

—

We’d managed to teleport safely back to Joysprout Island, immediately bringing relief to our taut nerves. We had been fighting against an opponent that could even stand up against an S-Rank opponent when Vodara and the Curseweaver suddenly appeared, so the tension couldn’t be helped.

“―Maaaster!!” (Sol)

Sol flew into my chest at a tremendous speed. It seemed that she sensed my presence upon our arrival on Joysprout Island and had immediately come over. However, she came in with such momentum that I wasn’t able to catch her and fell on my rear end.

“Mastermastermastermasteeeer~!!” (Sol)

Sol was rubbing herself all over me as if she wanted to imprint her smell on me. But then someone else jumped into the fray and threw Sol out.

It was Izu.

“Get a hold of yourself already, you good-for-nothing owl!” (Izu)

“Puuu! That hurt! What are you doing all of a sudden?” (Sol)

“Your attitude is unbefitting of a Familiar! How many times do I have to tell you?! A Familiar must act in a way that does not inconvenience her Master—Hey, are you listening?!” (Izu)

Sol, who wasn’t good with long-winded lectures, was once again happily in my arms, completely ignoring what Izu was saying.

“Ah, so you have returned, my lord… Did something happen? There seems to be a new face.” (Kaza)

Kaza made an appearance shortly after, and his gaze was naturally drawn towards Oz.

“That’s right. Who is this anyway? That is quite the eerie appearance.” (Izu)

“Eerie?!” (Oz)

Oz looked disheartened by Izu’s overly honest statement. While Oz was still getting over that one, I explained to them who Oz was and what had happened.

“―So that is what has befallen you all. I see, a spirit demon, is it?” (Kaza)

“That’s right. Perhaps Izu might know a thing or two about them.” (Bouchi)

“Ah, no, I may not be of much help to you on the topic of spirit demons. In the first place, the existence of spirit demons is rare, and very little literature about them has survived to this day.” (Izu)

“I see. I’m surprised Shiki knew about it then.” (Bouchi)

“But to think you all encountered the Curseweaver… I am most delighted that you all remain safe.” (Izu)

“Right, right, Master! You aren’t injured or anything, right?” (Sol)

“Thanks, you two. As you can see, I’m not injured.” (Bouchi)

Hearing my reply, both Sol and Izu let out sighs of relief.

“Then my lord, what shall we do now?” (Kaza)

Kaza’s statement was probably what everyone was thinking at the moment. I looked at Oz, and all eyes turned to her.

“Bueh? What is it, what is it? Did I do something?” (Oz)

“No. You definitely want to help Duarte, right?” (Bouchi)

“Of course! After all… Duarte is my captain!” (Oz)

“…Alright. But honestly, it’ll be impossible right away.” (Bouchi)

“This is my island—Joysprout Island.” (Bouchi)

“Your… island…? D-Don’t tell me you’re a pirate, Bouchi?!” (Oz)

“No, what made you think that?” (Bouchi)

“Master, it is said that pirates have their own island that serves as their base.” (Izu)

Izu went on to explain that in the other world, pirates almost always had a place they considered their base of operations, and it was usually an island of some kind.

Come to think of it, I’d heard that Duarte had an island too.

“Speaking of which, I still have to tell you… about this world, Oz.” (Bouchi)

“T-This world?” (Oz)

And thus, I explained to the confused Oz that they were no longer in the world that she and her companions used to live in and that they were now on a planet called Earth.