Happy Eid-ul Mubarak to all my Muslim Readers! May our Ramadan Prayers Bear Fruit!

Chapter 270 – Route of the Journey

All I had to do was press a button on the pocket watch and it would light up and move in a variety of ways.

But now, no matter how many buttons I press, no matter how much I try to shake it up and down, or tap it lightly, nothing changes.

“N, no way…”

“?”

Espie tilted her head curiously. That’s how worked up I am right now.

For some reason, this was the era before I was born.

I didn’t know the principle, but this watch brought me to this time period.

But, this watch was now completely silent.

“I, is it broken…?”

If this were just a watch, it would be okay.

But it wasn’t just a watch.

If this watch is broken, then I…

“H, how, do I go back noooooooooooow!!??”

“Big brother?”

Hey, wait! I can’t go back?! Then, what do I do, what will happen?

Will I never be able to go home for the rest of my life?

Wait a minute, that’s on the level of being really bad or something…

“I see… I understand now… tis why the future Espie said to head for the Ruins of Shiznautmy.’”

“…… Hah?”

At that moment, beside me who was panicking, Tre’ainar had a calm expression on his face, as if he had understood something.

『This watch… perhaps it must be powered not by magic, but some other form of energy. It must be related to the technology of the ancients.』

「…… is that right…?」

『Tis why Espie’s idea of heading for the ‘ruins of Shiznautmy’, is indicative of the Shiznautmy of this era.』

「Eh!?」

『At the time Gouda was skirmishing on the frontiers of the Empire… I had already destroyed the City of Sorcery by then.』

「I… I see…… that means…」

『The future Espie expected this to happen. The only way to operate the watch is to use the technology found in the ruins of Shiznautmy. And to make that journey… she intended you be accompanied by the Espie of this era.』

「…… wh, what!?」

Hearing that, I thought back to my conversation with the Future Espie.

Surely, that’s what she was talking about.

――Hold on to it… I want you to go to Shiznautmy with ‘me’ and ‘Slayer’. I know it’s selfish of me. But that’s what we want.

――Young man, we wanted to meet you and travel to Shiznautmy with you… that’s our wish. We don’t know anything about it… please guide us.

I see…that’s what she meant… tte!

“tte, Slayer was there!”

“Suleya! Hey, is something wrong, big brother?”

And worst of all, taking Espie with me?

Ridiculous. Espie is one of the Seven Heroes, right?

One of the strongest forces of the Allied forces, right?

We’re in the middle of a war right now though…

『However, Espie herself has no desire to return… she insists on accompanying you… I suppose tis what it is. For a certain period of time, you must have had a history of working with Espie…』

「B, but, one of the Seven Heroes did something like that on her own…」

『Honestly, I have not received any reports about Espie’s absence during the war… if that is the case, the Allied Forces, who did not want to give such reports to humanity or the Demon King’s Army, had been hiding the reports for some time…』

In other words, from now on, I have to take this Espie with me across the sea again to go to Shiznautmy.

Moreover, with Slayer, who I haven’t met yet…

“Hey, don’t ignore me… hey…… did I….. do something wrong? …… do…… do you hate me…?”

“Huh?! Ah, no…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…… I’ll fix what I did wrong… I’ll fix it…”

Ah, Espie, who I had neglected for a while, was tearing up and pulling my clothes.

Geez…

“Ah~, no… I have a lot of things on my mind… well, that’s all.”

“?”

“Well… would you like to come with me for a while?”

“Huh!?”

I’m not sure how much turmoil and shock this will actually cause the Allied Forces, or if I’ll possibly be hunted by the Allied Forces. Even though I’m worried about that, for the time being, it seems that I have no choice but to act together according to the words of the future Espie.

“Unh!!!!”

And, at my words, Espie jumped at me.

“Big brother, I’ll help you a lot… I’ll even rub your shoulders or something!”

“Oh, I see…”

“Un!”

Unlike yesterday’s doll-like appearance, she was smiling, smiling, smiling, and seemed to be overflowing with all the emotions she had been holding back or storing up until now.

“Alright, Espie. From now on we’re going to another continent… so the war here is already…”

“Un, it’s fine! I don’t care about the war! I’m going with big brother, so I don’t care anymore!”

“I, I see…”

Yeah whatever… well, if your age is still in the single digits, this should be fine.

I acted spoiled with Sadiz when I was like this…

「So, Tre’ainar. We’re heading across the ocean again… but what about the war on this side? As I recall, Gouda of the Six Supremacy is here, right?」

『Hmm? Ah, tis no problem. In the past, Gouda would have seized part of the Empire’s territory, but he should have immediately engaged the army of the Seven Heroes and retreated.』

「With His Majesty? Oh, is that so?」

『Uh huh, it was a sort of diversion, and I gave orders not to invade too deeply.』

「I see… but, even though the Seven Heroes and the Six Supremacy have fought, it was such a trivial feeling…」

『Tis not unusual, the war between demons and humans was a cycle of taking and retaking territory. The Six Supremacy and the Seven Heroes have fought each other many times. It seems that the people of Bethreal were attempting something rather premature…』

Anyway, before I left, I was relieved to find that it did not appear that “history had changed because Espie was not there”.

“Now… in that case, we’ll go by boat…”

“Un un!”

“………… hmm?”

Ah? We’re going by boat, but… I… how much money do I have right now?

I mean, is the currency different?

『The currency has not changed, however… you have used up almost all the funds at the equipment store…』

「Geh!?」

『I see… the travel expenses…』

I was planning on a survival lifestyle for a while…

So, when I fished in my pocket again, I only found a little money… I can’t get on the ship with this.

“Big brother, do you have any money?”

“Huh? Oh, um…”

“I don’t have any either… if I was stronger, I could carry big brother and fly like pew… but I’m…… still useless… guss…”

“N, no, no, kids shouldn’t care about money!”

I quickly put the money back in my pocket. I can’t let Espie look apologetic about money.

I have to do something.

If this happens… will I work again?

『Hmm? Wait…… certainly, at this time of year… moreover…… this region…』

And it was then.

『Ah! I see… that is to say… ah, indeed… to my understanding… is that what it is! ‘That event’ took place as scheduled, even during the war…』

Tre’ainar muttered something with a surprised expression as if he had realized something.

『Oi, child. Let us take a different route across the sea from the future.』

「Huh?」

『If you go straight south from here, you will find a large city. It will take you about three days to reach on foot. Tis a city called Weinz, and tis not in embroiled in the war, so tis peaceful.』

「Weinz? Oh, I’ve been there when I was a kid… is that right? But even if I go there, I don’t have any money, so the ship…」

『Tis fine. While there, you will find prospects.』

「Eh?!」

An unexpected suggestion from Tre’ainar.

No way, prospects?

「Ah, I see…」

Then I realized something.

I have an ID now, even if it’s a forgery.

That means I’ll be able to do things I couldn’t do before.

「As a Hunter.」

『Hmm? Oh, not what I meant.』

「Eh…?」

I thought I was going to be a Hunter and hunt monsters or something…

『Fufufu, if you go to a city of a reasonable scale, you will find that…』

「That?」

『Oi, child…do you know of the ‘off-street ticket office’?』

Then, a very unexpected sentence came out of Tre’ainar with a smug face.