The Returnee Wants Peace

Areas occupied by demonic beasts feel similar now as they did before.

When looking at a desolate city devoid of human presence, one would often feel a meaningless solemnity along with a sudden chill running down the back of their neck.

Clink-

A glass shard kicked by a foot flew with a light sound.

Nearby magic lamps were half-broken and covered in dust, and moss had accumulated in layers on the building walls that once gleamed.

Apocalypse enthusiasts from the previous world said there was a certain feeling that came from the fallen city itself.

But there is no beauty or rhythm in destroyed civilization.

"It's over there."

In the silent city where only occasional cries of demonic beasts could be heard.

There was a group of people moving.

"Phew..."

Cassis, hiding his body near the main gate of the Belice Mansion, grumbled with a sigh.

"Why is it so far from the main gate to the main building?"

"What can we do, the grounds are so vast. Our family was well-off. That's why we probably put up every defensive magic there is in the world, right?"

That was true.

Two years ago, the Belice Marquis family had layered all sorts of defensive magic on the mansion to prepare for attacks from demonic beasts.

Unfortunately, that even blocked Froy's spatial movement, so they had to walk on two feet from the main gate.

"My... I guess there wasn't any defensive magic that could prevent this situation?"

"Think about it. If there had been, would it have turned out like this?"

"Shh, be quiet. Are you so eager to be discovered?"

At Froy's warning, who was examining beyond the main gate, they both fell silent at once.

For good reason, the stone path leading to the mansion, wide enough for carriages to pass, was particularly crowded with demonic beasts.

"Tsk."

Cassis, exchanging glances with Lysithea, clicked his tongue briefly.

Though they seemed to bicker as if they didn't get along, in fact, they had become familiar with each other's personalities through cooperating in various trials.

This level of verbal sparring was closer to a customary greeting.

More than that...

'They said these creatures have weak eyesight but are sensitive to sound.'

Cassis carefully observed their movements.

The moving corpses - or 'zombies' according to Rosha's expression - were said to slow down during the day when sunlight was intense.

Instead, because there were so many of them, there wouldn't be much danger as long as they avoided being surrounded.

The ones to be particularly careful of here were the mutated zombies.

"Mutated zombies... I can see a few even at a glance. Five on the path, three in front of the main building."

"The ones in front of the main building seem difficult to cut down easily."

Joel, who had been observing the situation, quietly added.

Mutated zombies were demonic beasts born from those who handled magical power in life, and because each individual had a different combat style, they were very tricky to deal with.

Fortunately, as they say, 'Even if the sky falls, there's a hole to escape through,' there was a plausible method.

"We just need to get to the fountain in the garden. There's a secret passage inside the fountain connected to the mansion."

Lysithea's words eased their minds a bit.

The path to the fountain looked quite challenging, but if they could break up the battle once in the middle with a secret passage, it would be much easier.

"What are you going to do, Rosha? Do you have a method in mind?"

Cassis, who had unwavering faith in his sister's abilities, suddenly asked.

Roshanak Aper.

The most famous of Marquis Aper family's three siblings was an excellent magician who used appropriate magic promptly in any crisis, wasn't she?

Everyone's eyes turned to Rosha.

Although the expectant gazes might have been burdensome, she nodded readily.

Then, stopping the fidgeting she had been doing, she lifted up Koko.

"Go, Kokomon."

"Haah."

Koko, who sighed, flapped his wings.

Now that they looked, his legs were tightly tied with string to metal fragments rolling on the ground.

As he rose above the wind-blocking wall, the string began to shake and make sharp noises.

Clang! Clang clang! Clang!

Wooooh!

The zombies' gazes all turned at once.

Drawing aggro with noise plus brilliant flying skills.

The zombies, seeing the mobile of metal fragments glittering like a suncatcher, followed in droves as if possessed.

Thanks to this, the area in front of the main gate where the group needed to pass became empty in an instant.

"..."

"Why? When there's such an easy method available, is there any need to use magic specifically?"

Rosha retorted, looking at Cassis with quite a dumbfounded expression.

Was he surprised because it was too analog a method?

But how would they know if there were zombies that could detect magical power?

"...I'm surprised."

Froy, who had steadily supported Rosha as she crossed the main gate, asked as he moved with her.

"Have you perhaps experienced such a situation before?"

"No. I haven't experienced it directly, just heard about it vaguely."

It seemed to be a question based on knowing Rosha's past, but she silently shook her head.

The 'zombie outbreak' in the previous world had happened somewhere in the Western world.

It was a country at a distance impossible to reach on foot, but because it was a world where information spread so quickly, she had roughly heard the news.

"I see. But even so... it's admirable. Usually, magicians tend to try to handle everything with magic."

"Don't praise me too much. It wasn't anything special."

"But I'm sincere. And why are you stopping me when I want to praise you?"

Did he know that Rosha was weak to compliments?

Froy, who had been replying with a smile, whether sincere in his teasing or not, suddenly blocked her front with one arm.

"You took the spotlight just now, so how about giving others a chance now?"

"...Alright then."

The man, who had spotted zombies approaching from afar, quickly gave hand signals to the back.

It must have been sign language used on the battlefield, as the sound of swords being drawn silently could be felt.

And then.

Halt-

As Froy's gaze, after closing and opening his eyes intently, settled, the zombies that had approached within arm's reach stopped moving.

Rather than stopping on their own, their limbs trembled as if forcibly stopped.

Taking advantage of this gap, two swordsmen approached and quickly cut them down.

"Good."

"Next, eleven o'clock direction."

They cleared the way as quietly as possible, positioned inside a widely spread soundproofing curtain.

Fortunately, perhaps thanks to Koko drawing aggro, there weren't as many zombies to deal with as expected.

There was a large zombie with a chipped greatsword near the fountain, but although they struggled a bit to avoid making noise, it wasn't a particularly difficult opponent.

Grooah!

"Man, that one screams loudly."

Cassis, who was approaching while cleaning his sword, hesitated looking at Lysithea. Perhaps he belatedly thought it might be someone she knew.

But Lysithea turned away with a complicated expression.

"It was probably a mercenary. We hired a lot of mercenaries at the time."

"Hmm..."

"More importantly, everyone come this way. I found the entrance."

Indeed.

At the base of the marble fountain that must have once been beautiful, there was a section with a subtly different color.

Unlike other parts made of ordinary - no, expensive natural marble, it was a secret door with metal lined inside the marble.

"It's fortunate that the water has dried up. Or not? I'm not sure if this should be called fortunate..."

The door opened very smoothly, belying its lack of maintenance.

The passage was very complicated, so Lysithea and Joel took the lead.

Fortunately, there wasn't a single demonic beast in the passage, and magic stones that emitted light were embedded at intervals, so there was no problem walking.

The problem was elsewhere.

"Hmm..."

Froy, whose expression had been subtly sinking since opening the secret door, softly let out a sigh.

This was already the third time.

This time, he even stopped his footsteps abruptly.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Rosha whispered softly.

She was worried because Froy had rarely been sick except when injured.

Even considering that her emotions were duller than average, it was a clear enough feeling to name immediately.

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"We haven't even gotten to the main point yet, and you're already using your ability so sparingly."

"Brother!"

Cassis, who had been scolded by Rosha, pouted.

The passage was quite narrow, so voices echoed, and as a result, the entire group stopped walking.

Regardless.

Froy knelt down on one knee and looked closely at the floor.

"This is... a trace of someone passing by recently."

More precisely - he meant the muddy footprints left on the floor.