I Was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but That World Is at Peace

Chapter 765 - The Tale of the Mechanized God ⑦

{Author’s Notes}

As a result of my iron will to finish the serious stories as quickly as possible, this story is about 12,000 characters long.

**********

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye since Alicia and Makina met. Alicia and Makina, who had come to live on the artificial island as if they were half-settled there, are having a great time every day.

Some days, just like when they went to the amusement park, Alicia would take Makina out, other days, they would spend the whole day chatting, while there would also be days that they would play games that Alicia had bought from a mainland city.

Two months have passed, and the inside of Makina’s house, where it used to be doubtful if it even has the bare necessities, has changed a lot.

However, even though they spent most of their time together, it doesn’t mean that they don’t do things separately. Alicia would sometimes wander off in the middle of the night while Makina slept, and would often return in the morning with souvenirs.

Makina didn’t mind, “thinking that she was probably that thing that she had mentioned before”…… but the reality was different. She has been doing some research ever since she met Makina, and most of the time, when she goes out alone, it’s because of that research.

Today, late at night when the date is about to change, Alicia is sitting on the rooftop of a skyscraper, staring at her mobile terminal, her hand on her chin, thinking.

(……Makina’s condition is a little strange. It’s not that the people behind this are afraid of her power and make sure that she’s at a distance away from others, it’s more like “they’re trying to keep anyone from taking her away”…… I thought there was something, so I looked into it but, hmmm……)

Looking at a number of documents on the display, Alicia uses her superior thinking skills to sort out the information. Why is Makina isolated on that artificial island, why is that artificial island so well equipped with traps for intercepting intruders…… She was trying to figure out the purpose of whoever had done it.

(What surprised me was Makina’s father…… A genius scientist who is said to have advanced the world’s technology by a century. He’s been out of the public eye for a decade…… From what I’ve gathered, he seems to be acting very suspiciously at the moment. He’s been buying up land in various parts of the world, even in the most remote areas, and he’s been spending a lot of money buying antiques that seem to have no use……)

After thinking about this, Alicia looked at a dot on the world map displayed on her terminal…… She had a serious look on her face as she looked at the land that seemed to have been purchased by Makina’s father. Follow current s on novelenglish.net . Fɪre

(……Most of them have no value in terms of land. But what is it? Something’s bugging me…… There is no regularity in the buying process. What’s the purpose of all this small land…… No, wait. This, could this be!?)

At first glance, it looked like he was buying land in different parts of the world without any reason at all, but a possibility emerged that Alicia couldn’t overlook.

(……This place and this place too. I knew it…… Some of the land he bought was inhabited by the “Seven Star Beasts”!)

Seven Star Beasts…… They’re magical beasts with unparalleled strength that can even be said to have been created from a star born from the magic power that has accumulated of years in that land that is said to be the world’s reservoir of magic power. They’re monsters that were also called living disasters……

However, that was already a thing of the past. All of the Seven Star Beasts have been defeated by Alicia, and the land that was said to be a reservoir of magic power has already been treated to prevent new monsters from being born.

(……I’ve defeated all the Seven Star Beasts, and I also made sure not to leave behind a huge mass of magical corpses. However, yes, for example…… If they were to search deep into the earth, there is a chance that he will find one or two ores that contain magic power. And most of the items he’s buying are just antiques, but there are few that seem to have magic power in them.)

It was only here that she began to see consistencies in the actions of Makina’s father. Alicia made a guess in that direction and proceeded to think about it while looking at some materials.

(He is collecting magical items. Assuming that, what is his purpose? Don’t tell me…… Did he have it? “A fragment of the Great Evil God’s core”……)

After thinking to that extent, Alicia quickly moved her fingers to touch the space and moved into that space created by Space-time Magic.

Within that space were the graves of those with whom she had forged bonds with, and behind them…… is what seemed to be a broken crystal ball.

It was the core of the Great Evil God that Alicia, the Hero of Hope, had destroyed when she defeated the Great Evil God of Despair…… The core, shattered by Alicia’s attack, has been scattered around the world by the impact of the Great Evil God’s disappearance.

And along her journey to fulfill her promise to Iris, Alicia has also collected the shards she found.

(I recovered about 80% of the core fragments……. so it’s not impossible that they found the other 20% and are in possession of it. No, it’s better to assume that he has it. However, I don’t see any point in having them…… there shouldn’t be any point, right?)

Yes, the piece of the Great Evil God’s core isn’t in any way dangerous by itself. The Great Evil God has already been destroyed, at that core would be, at most, “a piece of glass that may have a little bit of God’s magic left in it”.

That’s why Alicia is in no particular hurry to collect them. However, there is no possibility that some factors will come together to develop into an incident, so she just collects them when she sees them during her journey.

(This isn’t a game or an anime. Collecting the pieces of the Great Evil God’s core won’t allow someone to revive the Great Evil God. Even if one restores it, I don’t think it would be much more than a crystal ball with a large amount of magic power in it. In the first place, since I have most of it, there’s no way they can completely restore the core. So, what is Makina’s father trying to do? Is he under the misapprehension that collecting them will bring back the Great Evil God? That could also be why she’s trying to acquire magical items…… Hmmm, but something still doesn’t feel right.)

The thought that popped into her head once was the possibility of the resurrection of her former nemesis, the Great Evil God….. but there are parts that couldn’t be explained by that.

(Even if their goal is to revive the Great Evil God and the Seven Star Beasts, that still doesn’t explain Makina’s current situation. With the aforementioned situation, Makina’s power is supposed to be important in the “searching phase”, but he isn’t using Makina’s power to collect magical items. I don’t know, I just can’t seem to connect Makina’s current situation with magical items. Am I just overthinking this, and there really is no connection between her father collecting magical items and Makina?)

After thinking about this, Alicia shook her head as if she was switching her thought process, and moved her hands again to return from her special place to the roof of the building.

(Well, let’s just continue investigating him…… and think about what kind of souvenirs I should buy for Makina to take home tomorrow…… no, I guess it should be today huh. Well, I think Makina would be happy if I brought her something she doesn’t know…… something…… she doesn’t know…… Wait.)

As if the puzzle pieces clicked into place in her mind, Alicia’s expression grew sharper and she began to think again at a tremendous speed.

(It was a blind spot, no, a pitfall. I know about magic power and the magic to make use of it. But to the rest of the world, it’s a fairy tale…… The world has already lost the skill of magic. It is quite possible that Makina’s father “doesn’t know about magic”. Yes, I should change my thought process here. He doesn’t know that there is magic power in the items he collects…… but what if he’s only aware that “they hold some kind of mystical power in them”? What if he’s “mistaking magic power for something else”……)

Taking out her mobile terminal, Alicia operated it with tremendous speed. She has acquired a wide range of skills over the years of her travels, some of which are super advanced hacking techniques.

Making use of her skills, she looked up a few conjunctured databases……

(Of all the items we bought, the one that Makina’s father particularly bought with a lot of money…… were items that are certified as “Divine Relics”. Divine Relics, a God’s power…… The possibilities that would come to mind upon acquiring such a thing would either be reanimation of the dead, eternal life, world domination, and evolution to a superhuman…… They’re all standard stuff, but none of them doesn’t feel right…… However, my intuition is telling me that I’m close. Based on my experience, this isn’t something I should ignore…… I need more detailed information about Makina’s father…… Unnn? This is……)

Stopping her fingers from moving at high speed, Alicia gazed at the information displayed on the terminal. It was information on a proposal that Makina’s father had submitted to his sponsor, a wealthy family, just before he disappeared from the eyes of the public.

It seemed like he was instantly rejected and wasn’t able to get a loan…… The proposal was left as data.

(……”Artificial God Manufacturing Project”…… What a ridiculous target. A proposal like this can only make you think you’ve lost your mind. In fact, it was immediately rejected, and Makina’s father disappeared from the public after this. The content is also incoherent, a poorly written occult proposal written by someone who should have been a renowned scientist…… But this sentence, “a God of Salvation with the power to see everything in the world”…… If clairvoyance is the power to see everything in the world…… This bothers me. I’ll do some more research in this direction.)

This normally would have been something she would laugh at, but Alicia was curious about the proposal. After examining it in more detail for a bit more, she closed her terminal and looked up at the sky.

The night sky was dark and covered with thick clouds, as if to show how cloudy her mind currently is.

In a simple building on a quiet artificial island, Makina was reading a book. The book Alicia had brought her was so interesting that she had kept reading until midnight, when the date changed.

Thinking that it was time to go to bed, she closed her book and looking around the house, she smiled to herself.

The island where you can say there is nothing, this house where you can say there is nothing…… She was just living her life with nothing. After living such a life for over a decade, for her life to have changed a lot in just two months……

Before she met Alicia, there were no books, games or other luxury items in this house. Makina had also never been off the island before she met Alicia.

Before she met Alicia…… She had never felt so lonely, being alone in the night.

She couldn’t wait for the night to end. She couldn’t help but look forward to greeting Alicia, who will be back with a bright smile on her face and an unusual souvenir.

Feeling a warm happiness in her heart, Makina was about to prepare for sleep…… when she heard the sound of a helicopter.

Immediately activating her power of clairvoyance, she saw several large transport helicopters arrive on the island…… and they were about to make a slow descent in front of Makina’s house.

Confused by this situation she encountered for the first time, Makina went out of the house. Thereupon…… a huge container suspended by several helicopters was unloaded a short distance away from Makina’s house, followed by a series of helicopters landing on the ground.

And from the helicopters came down a dozen people in white coats. The only face familiar to her…… was the man leading them.

[……The time has finally come! Tonight, God will be completed!!!]

Makina just looked with emotionless eyes at the man in white who was shouting with a crazy smile on his face. What is he talking about, what is his purpose, what is that huge container…… These were things that she’s curious about.

But more than that…… The man’s eyes, visible against the helicopter’s lights, made her feel uncomfortable. It isn’t like Alicia’s eyes, he wasn’t looking at Makina at all…… No, it was more correct to say that “he isn’t looking at Makina as Makina”. It was as if he was looking at a component of a machine.

Feeling as if her heart, which had been filled with happiness, was growing cold, Makina thought as if it were someone else’s problem.

Ahh, as expected————- calling him as “alleged father” is enough……

At the same time, she was glad that it was a dark night with no stars in sight. She didn’t want this person to tarnish the starry sky that she likes looking at together with Alicia……

As soon as they found Makina, the men set to work. If they had taken even one step into the house, they would have noticed the increase in the number of items that shouldn’t have been there, but for them, Makina was nothing more than a component for the creation of an artificial god, and if Makina herself was already nearby, they see no point in entering the house.

The artificial god that were taken out of the huge container…… were equipped with a huge black sphere in the center, a machine that was about 15 meters in size and designed to look like an angel.

The men quickly prepared and Makina was put inside the black sphere…… the core of the God. Realizing that it was pointless to resist, Makina meekly obeyed.

There is nothing special inside the core, it is just a dark space…… Makina could freely move her body and it’s not like there’s anything suspicious about it. It was so empty that it felt anticlimactic.

However, the moment Makina’s father announced the activation, the inside of the core lit up for a moment, and Makina screamed in agony.

[Uuuu, kuhhh…… A- Aaaaahhhhhhh!?!?]

It was a muddle stream of emotions that were hard to describe. Information flowing incessantly into my head…… emotions around the world. Suffering, hatred, sadness, anger…… a tremendous amount of emotions rushed through Makina’s head.

God, whose original concept was to save the world…… and whose purpose was to erase suffering and sorrow from the world, uses Makina’s power to collect the negative emotions of the world.

How much of it is there? There are billions of “humans” living in the world, not only in the present but also in the past, and if the non-human creatures were to be included, the number is too ridiculous to describe.

Sure enough, as for whether a mere human could take in such an overwhelming amount of information…… No, there is no way she can accept it. That’s why, the God’s core protects Makina’s body with the enormous magic power that fills its interior. It was to prevent her from being broken…… However, that’s just so that components needed to make the artificial god run don’t break.

There is no consideration for the pain Makina is suffering from the information that is burning her brain. Holding her head that felt as if it was about to explode, she rolled around in the empty core.

It was as if she was being painted over. Her thoughts, her mind…… Feeling like she was being crushed by all the negative emotions in the world, her vision started turning black.

No longer having the strength to utter a sound of anguish, she thought of the feeling that she was disappearing in the unstoppable muddle of information…… but Makina thought of her friend that isn’t here.

(……It hurts…… my head…… my heart…… feel like burning…… The world’s overflowing emotions…… feels like they’re painting me out…… Help me…… Alic……)

The only person in her world, and the only person…… she wants to seek for help.

[……Ali…… cia……]

On the rooftop of the building, tainted by the darkness of the night, Alicia scratched her head as she walked, looking at the screen of her mobile terminal.

(Hmmm. I understand that they are gathering various materials to make a god, but I don’t know where they would get the essential component. If I knew that this would happen, I should have built up a better information network.)

She was basically a traveler who went around the world as she pleased, and she didn’t put any special effort into gathering information unless a world crisis-level problem appeared.

After all, she is by far the most powerful being in the world. It would already be enough even when she’s dealing with situations without planning, and in the first place, there was no one in this world who could harm her.

She hadn’t needed much in the way of information-gathering skills at this point, so she was still struggling to gather information on the artificial god.

(Well, I guess there’s nothing for me to panic about, right? Considering the materials they have, the best they can make is a degraded Seven Star Beast. To the public, it would be a threat that could bring human extinction, but the quantity and quality of their materials are too insufficient to create a being of the level I would struggle with. In the meantime, I guess I’ll just destroy it when it appears? Now then, I’m tired after a long day of investigating, so let’s check out a 24/7 store and get something to eat and bring back to Makina———-!?)

After concluding this, Alicia stretched to relieve the stiffness in her body, before she tried to descend from the roof of the building to the city and get something to eat.

But at that moment, her body…… no, her heart pulsed strongly.

[……?κατ?γχειρε? is reacting. This is… something happened to Makina!?]

In Alicia’s heart resides ?κατ?γχειρε?, a Heart Tool that specializes with bonding with others. And that ?κατ?γχειρε?…… The bonds that Alicia potently forged——— is telling her that something happened to Makina’s body……

[D*mn it! Makina!?]

Immediately leaping up, she powerfully accelerated through the air. With one step, she ripped through the sound barrier, and with two steps, she left the sound behind and headed in a straight line for the artificial island where Makina is.

Now regretting the fact that she had left Makina at this moment and went to the city……

Within the eyes of the artificial god…… the mechanical angel, light began to dwell. This signifies the completion of the artificial god. When Makina’s father understood this, he spread his hands with a joyful smile on his face and exclaimed.

[At last, oh, at last…… The God is complete! Finally, the world can be saved!!!]

Cheers of joy resounded after his declaration. Joyful voices of the people who taught the same as the man and gathered in this place…… Receiving all of it, the man shed tears.

At last, finally…… He thought that it was finally time to be free from the pain and sorrow that hadn’t healed for over a decade……

[……Now, God! Save us…… Save the world! Erase all the sorrow, all the suffering from this world!!!]

The man spoke out his wishes with joy he had never felt since losing his wife…… which had become his “final words”. Hearing the words the man said, the artificial god held out his mechanical hand to the man, and with a flash of light, it obliterated the man without a trace.

After a moment of thunderous roar, silence fell. However, the artificial god took no heed of them, being frozen in place, unable to comprehend what had happened, as it waved its mechanical hand towards the man’s companions.

A flash of light was released again, and a dozen people and several helicopters were obliterated.

Malfunction? Rampage? No, that’s not it. The artificial god had indeed descended as a proper god. And that artificial god indeed listened to the wish of Makina’s father…… its creator, and acted to make his wish come true.

The plan to create an artificial god was a success. However, the only and biggest miscalculation he made…… Would it be more appropriate to say that it was too successful? The god they had created was too god-like, even in its thoughts. Holding no human emotion, it didn’t consider the depths of his wish.

Erasing sorrow and suffering from the world…… is easy.

“It can just wipe out all living things that have emotions in this world”.

When those with emotions are gone from the world, no one will suffer and no one will be sad, the peaceful world that its creator wanted will be completed…… That was what the artificial god concluded.

Indeed, in a sense…… what she’s doing really may have been saving them, but it’s not the world that Makina’s father wanted. However, the artificial god will never notice that.

The god was only moving to fulfill its purpose of saving the world.

Made from all kinds of magical items, with fragments of the core of a God that once existed, and created with the highest technology, the artificial god holds great power.

The power of the artificial god is so great that even if the armies of all the nations in the world were united, they would be no match for it…… and in fact, in just one day, it could wipe out all beings with emotions from the world.

The artificial god spread its mechanical wings, trying to head forth and save the world…… but she stopped. It sensed something approaching…… and soon after, a meteor flew through the thick clouds.

[————-Weave my bonds! ?κατ?γχειρε?!]

Clad in multiple meteor-like lights, Alicia landed in front of the artificial god with an angry expression on her face. Then, holding two knives in her hands, one black and one white, she pointed one of them at the artificial god and spoke.

[A patchwork iron like you, taking my friend and pretending to be god….. Don’t get too carried away, you piece of junk…… I’ll have Makina back!]

Seeing Alicia’s sharp declaration, the artificial god immediately went into an attacking stance. The fact that it immediately raised an attacking stance could be attributed to the magic power of the Great Evil God and the Seven Star Beasts, the materials used to create the artificial god.

It may not have a will, but it knows about magic. The being in front of it, Alicia…… is a powerful human who is in a different realm compared to the artificial god……

A flash of light shot out from both arms, the light of death in the name of salvation that had wiped out its creator and allies without a trace. However, that was easily sliced through by the knife Alicia wielded.

And in the next moment, Alicia took a step and easily surpassed the artificial god’s recognizable speed, cutting off both of its arms.

However, that’s not enough to stop a god. The arm that was cut off transformed into liquid metal, instantly creating a new arm. At the same time, the artificial god spread its wings and flew up into the sky.

It wasn’t that it ran away. She just intercepted Alicia not in the narrow artificial island, but in the wide sky above. As Alicia jumped up in pursuit of the artificial god, flashes of light rained down upon her…… Which were also slashed apart by her knife with tremendous speed.

(That regeneration ability, could it be from one of the Seven Star Beasts? However, she’s really weak….. Putting aside the Seven Star Beasts, it’s not even stronger than an Ancient Dragon.)

As she circled around the artificial god, which continued to emit flashes of light from its arms and wings, repelling its attacks, Alicia was lost in thought. As she had expected, the power of the artificial god isn’t at a level that Alicia could call threatening.

And even though all it takes to beat it was but a moment…… then there are other reasons why the fight is still going on ……

(Makina is in that central sphere…… Looking at the flow of magic power, it’s being forcibly taken by that piece of junk with a huge amount of magic power that’s not being channeled through a magic technique. If I just normally destroy that sphere, Makina, who’s connected with it, would receive damage as well……)

Yes, the reason why Alicia was having trouble attacking was the existence of the captured Makina within its core. If she attacked the core carelessly, Makina would be hurt as well.

(However, that didn’t mean that I could just continue to avoid its attacks. Even if I’m completely fine, Makina would receive significant mental damage……)

The artificial god’s attacks weren’t a big deal, and even if she continued attacking for a whole day, her attacks would not reach Alicia. However, that doesn’t mean that the mind of Makina, who was probably still suffering within the core, would be able to bear it.

In that case, she’ll need to deal with this situation as fast as possible……

(It would be difficult for my current skills to break that messy magic binding at high speed and save Makina unharmed……)

Then, after thinking about it for a while, Alicia smiled.

(Oh, is that so? There’s nothing that the current me can do now? I can’t save Makina? Isn’t that…… “how it has always been?”)

A strong will resides in Alicia’s eyes. Yes, this was just as usual. She was never born invincible, nor was she an all-powerful superhuman.

She had faced and overcome many difficulties in the past. Yes, for her, “what the current her couldn’t do” isn’t an obstacle at all.

[……It’s just the same as always! If “the current me” couldn’t do it,, then I’ll be “the me who can do such a thing”!!!]

With that declaration, Alicia kicked the air and soared higher into the sky. Then, one by one, the meteors around her were absorbed into Alicia’s body.

[This is——— At this moment——— The farthest my heart had reached! Exceed my limits——— And now, weave the world!——— ?κατ?γχειρε?!!!]

As if in response to Alicia’s voice, her body emitted light, and when that light reached a critical point…… pushing aside the darkness of the night, the sun of hope descended.

Alicia, clad in a shimmering light, kicked the air again, blowing away the dark clouds as she headed in a straight line for the artificial god.

In the dark core, Makina’s mind, which had been exposed to so many negative emotions, was already in quite a precarious state. Her vision, her mind, and even her soul had been painted black.

She no longer felt any pain, for there was already no room left for thought in her mind. She just felt terribly cold…… Even so, the negative emotions that kept pouring in made her feel a little scared that she might not even be able to feel the cold anymore, but even those negative emotions were overtaken by the overflowing amount of emotions she’s receiving that they disappeared.

Perhaps, it would have been easier if she closed her eyes and killed her heart. But even so, there is still a little bit, as small as a fragment…… within Makina’s heart…… holding unto the hope named Alicia.

Perhaps, that’s why, immediately after she felt that light…… Makina looked up in the darkness.

(……Light…… warm and gentle…… Ahh, this is emotion…… “the light of hope”……)

The light brought warmth to Makina’s cold heart and gradually awakened vitality in her soul.

(Ahh, that’s right…… There isn’t only sorrow and suffering that fills the world. That was something…… I learned from Alicia.)

Strengthening her trembling body, Makina desperately reaches out towards the light that she doesn’t know where it’s coming from. She doesn’t know the reason why, nor what is her basis. However, she was sure that Alicia was at the end of that light.

[……Alicia.]

Almost as soon as she had spoken the name of her hope, someone forcefully grabbed her outstretched hand. No, as for who that someone is…… it should be obvious.

[Makina!]

[!? Alicia!!!]

A strong hand pulled her out of the core, and faintly feeling like she’s floating, Makina was pulled out of the core.

[Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.]

[No…… I’m glad you’re here.]

Seeing Alicia, with each strand of her hair shining, as if her whole body was covered with radiance, Makina felt relieved and thought she’s beautiful.

The light Alicia was clad in should have been quite strong, but she didn’t feel dazzled, and was only feeling warmth. And Mankina immediately understood…… that this was the light that had lifted her out of the darkness.

(This radiance emitted by Alicia is her future…… the beacon of hope for happiness. It’s so warm and reassuring.)

Reaching out to cling to her with one hand and holding her close with the other, Alicia kindly smiles at her.

[Now that the princess has been rescued from captivity, if she would just give me a kiss on the cheek, we’d have a happy ending…… but well, let’s get rid of the piece of junk first.]

[Eh? Ahh……]

Hearing Alicia’s words, Makina turned and saw the mechanical angel…… the artificial god falling, its core destroyed.

Perhaps, it hadn’t completely stopped functioning yet, but as it fell, it reached out and tried to release light from its hands. It was a merciless flash of destruction, different from the light Alicia was clad in……

But before it could be released, Alicia raised her white knife to the sky. Thereupon, with a high-pitched vibrating sound, the light of hope converged on her knife.

[……Pierce Hope!]

The light of hope that was released looked like a shooting star falling from the sky, tearing through the darkness of the night. The shooting star, clad in warm light, easily shattered the flash of destruction and annihilated the nameless mechanical god created by human hands.

After confirming that the artificial god had completely disappeared, Alicia took Makina’s body, which she had been holding in one hand, back in a princess carry, and with a bright smile, she spoke with a somewhat light tone.

[How should I say this…… You’re leading an aggressive life as usual eh~~]

[Fufu, unnn. I guess so. It really feels straight out of a fairy tale, isn’t it?]

[……Are you hurt anywhere?]

[No, I’m alright….. but perhaps, because I’m relieved, I’m feeling a little tired.]

With a smile of complete relief, Makina wrapped her hands around Alicia’s neck. She felt suffering, she felt pain…… but now, more than that, her heart was filled with joy.

[……I’m really, really glad…… that Alicia came and saved me.]

[It’s natural. Even if you were on the other side of the world, I would do my best to come to your aid…… Makina is my best friend after all.]

[……Unnn!]

Makina wanted Alicia, not anyone else, to come to her rescue. Her wish came true and Alicia showed up to help her, and she was inexplicably happy about that.

[……Alicia…… you’re my hero.]

[Yes, I wish you would at least call me a heroine. I’m still a youn…… well, let’s just put aside my youth, I’m a maiden after all. I demand a change!]

[Hmmm…… Nope, I really think Alicia would be more of a hero rather than a heroine. Alicia is so cool after all. So, the change is rejected.]

[Oh dear……]

[Fufufu.]

[……Ahaha.]

Above the sky, higher than the clouds, the two girls smiled brightly at each other. As if they’re holding unto the happiness of being together like this……

After laughing for a while, Alicia suddenly noticed and gently spoke to Makina.

[……Hey, look, Makina…… It’s the sunrise.]

[Uwaahhh…… How beautiful.]

At the end of the two’s gazes, the dazzling sun came up, illuminating the sea of clouds. It looked as if the sun was blessing them with a new beginning.

[……Now then, anyway, that should be the end of the matter. Makina looked tired too, so it’s about time we———-]

[Alicia.]

[———-Unnn?]

Alicia was about to say that it was time to go home, but then, she heard her name being called and turned around to look at Makina. Thereupon, with smooth, natural movements, Makina brought her face close to Alicia’s.

[———-Chyuuu.]

……and lightly kissed Alicia on her cheek.

[Uwaaahh!? Uoohhh, abffhh!?]

Completely surprised by the unexpected surprise attack, Alicia miscontrolled her magic and almost lost her footing in midair, but somehow managed to hold herself from falling.

Then, looking unusually flustered, she shouted to Makina.

[W- What are you suddenly doing, Makina!?]

[……With this, we’ll have the “happy ending”, right?]

[…………………….]

When Makina told her with a giggle, looking like she pulled off a successful prank, Alicia looked shocked for a moment before she burst into laughter.

[……Pfft, ahaha! Speaking of which, that really was the case, right? Unn, that’s right. Now, we don’t have any complaints…… Happy end!]

**********