The next day, Makoto went out with Rinon, using a cart loaded with water to sell it to merchants in the city, while Tomoe and Mio went to rescue Rinon's older sister. When Tomoe and Mio finally found her, she was already on the verge of losing consciousness due to the magical experiments she had been subjected to. Mio approached her, and with just a single touch, her condition was restored to normal, as if everything that had happened before had only been a dream.
Who are these two people? Rinon's sister wondered silently.
"Since Waka-sama's task is complete, let's return to the hotel," Mio said as she tried to open the closed door. When she realized she couldn't open it normally, Mio used her power and erased the door in front of her.
As they walked through the corridor, they encountered the strongest adventurer in Zetsuya City—Mils Ace, supposedly level 444. He was the one who had falsified his level, even though his true level didn't even reach 400.
At the same time, Makoto had already returned after selling the water he brought to the city's merchants for thirty gold coins. The price was high because the quality of the water was excellent, and the city was located in a dry, barren region where clean water was extremely valuable.
When Makoto arrived in front of the hotel, Rinon suddenly made an excuse to leave.
"Wait a moment, I'm going to retrieve something I left behind at the house," Rinon said.
Although her excuse didn't really make sense, Makoto remained silent and simply watched as Rinon entered a narrow alley together with someone who looked suspicious.
Inside the room, Makoto used Sakai to detect Rinon talking with someone. After that, Rinon returned to the hotel with a gloomy expression and sat in front of it.
Even though they treated me so kindly, how could I possibly steal from them… Rinon thought.
Before long, the hotel manager appeared.
"Hey, you're causing trouble. Go somewhere else," the manager said.
"I'm sorry, but—" Rinon tried to reply.
"It's troublesome to have someone filthy like you here," the manager interrupted.
"Excuse me, she is a precious friend of mine," Makoto suddenly appeared and said using written magic.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know she was your friend," the manager replied nervously.
After reading Makoto's words, Rinon froze.
A precious friend… she repeated in her heart. Guilt welled up inside her for having thought about stealing Makoto's money.
"Are you okay?" Makoto asked as he approached Rinon.
"Onii-chan, I'm sorry," Rinon said while crying and bowing her head.
Makoto could only gently pat her head.
This is unforgivable—cornering a child to the point where she breaks like this, Makoto thought.
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from afar. Makoto and Rinon turned toward the source and saw a massive cloud of dust rising into the air. Wiping away her tears, Rinon said,
"Onii-chan, I'm worried about Onee-chan. I want to look for her."
With that, Rinon ran toward the source of the noise. Makoto didn't have time to stop her and could only shake his head before heading back into the hotel.
Meanwhile, Tomoe and Mio had encountered Mils Ace, the strongest adventurer in Zetsuya, along with his subordinates.
"You… Toa—no, you shouldn't be able to move anymore," Mils Ace said.
"Oh? So you're the strongest in Zetsuya. You're not here to save this girl?" Tomoe replied.
"Save her?" Mils Ace laughed loudly. "No. Mils is their leader," Toa said.
"Boss we've already manipulated that kid," one of his subordinates added.
"Good," Mils Ace said smugly.
"Oh, leaving the dirty work to your subordinates and then pretending to be a hero—the strongest one, no less. How petty," Tomoe said.
"What did you say?" Mils Ace snapped.
"Aren't you the ones who came yesterday? Exceeding level one thousand like that is excessive," one of Mils Ace's men said.
"What are you talking about?" Tomoe replied.
"Falsifying levels—if you overdo it like that, you'll end up being given impossible quests," the subordinate continued.
"That's why I have a proposal. How about becoming our allies? I'll teach you profitable tricks—money, honor, everything can be yours," Mils Ace said confidently.
"No need," Tomoe replied indifferently.
"I refuse," Mio said without hesitation.
"Are you really swearing loyalty to that ugly man? I don't know what rich family he comes from, but you're loyal to someone that ugly?" Mils Ace sneered.
Hearing those words, Tomoe and Mio grew furious. Their previously relaxed auras turned icy cold as they stepped toward Mils Ace.
"That ugly face is worse than a goblin's," Mils Ace said, laughing loudly with his subordinates.
Without hesitation, Tomoe and Mio launched their attacks, but they were blocked by a barrier wall. The collision between their fists and the barrier caused a massive explosion.
"Oh, that was close. As the strongest in Zetsuya, I've got abilities, equipment, and assets to match," Mils Ace bragged arrogantly.
"Mio, I'll go first," Tomoe said.
"Fine. I don't care who goes first," Mio replied.
"Then I'll start with a punch. For Mio's sake, don't die in one hit," Tomoe said enthusiastically.
"Are you mocking me? All of you, attack!" Mils Ace shouted.
Tomoe shattered the barrier with a single punch and sent Mils Ace flying into a wall.
After that, Tomoe went on a rampage, destroying the surrounding walls. Mio calmly searched for Mils Ace, and once she found him, she slapped his face repeatedly until it swelled so badly his features were unrecognizable. Together, Tomoe and Mio rampaged, destroying not only Mils Ace's base but also the surrounding buildings.
When they finally stopped, only rubble remained.
"Mio, didn't Waka warn us not to destroy the city?" Tomoe asked, looking around at the ruins.
"That's because Tomoe-san got too excited," Mio replied calmly.
"You destroyed several buildings too," Tomoe shot back.
At that moment, Mils Ace suddenly appeared behind Toa, pressing a sword to her neck.
"Hm-mm-mmh," he muttered indistinctly, his swollen face preventing him from speaking clearly.
Tomoe and Mio calmly looked at him and walked closer.
"Hm-mm-hn," Mils Ace threatened, pointing his sword at them.
Without hesitation, Tomoe and Mio struck his head, sending him flying far away.
"It seems everything is finished," Tomoe said.
They then returned to the hotel with Toa and the other three. On the way, they encountered Rinon, who was searching for her sister. Toa immediately hugged Rinon, who burst into tears upon seeing her sister safe.
Inside the hotel room, Makoto looked at Tomoe and Mio, who stood nervously before him.
"So, what did you do?" Makoto asked.
"We rescued Toa and the other three," Tomoe replied.
"Then why has nearly half the city been reduced to rubble?" Makoto said as he pinched Tomoe's cheeks.
"It must be because you forgot yourself and went berserk," Makoto added, pinching harder.
"Waka, you're truly merciless to me," Tomoe complained, holding her cheeks.
"If I'm not mistaken, your name is Toa," Makoto said, looking at the nervous girl sitting on the floor.
"Yes, my name is Toa," she replied.
"Thank you for saving me and helping Rinon," Toa said, bowing deeply.
Toa's face really did resemble Nukumi's. Although Makoto already knew this, seeing it in person still amazed him.
"I helped you because you reminded me of a friend," Makoto replied using written magic.
"Even so, I'm deeply indebted to Makoto-sama, Tomoe-sama, and Mio-sama," Toa said earnestly.
After telling Toa and Rinon to rest in the next room, Makoto turned back to Tomoe and Mio.
"So, how are you going to resolve this situation?" Makoto asked.
"Waka, how about I alter their memories?" Tomoe suggested.
"How exactly?" Makoto asked.
"I'll make the city's residents remember that the city was attacked by monsters," Tomoe explained.
"That's a good idea. Since this city is on the edge of the world, a monster attack wouldn't be strange," Makoto said.
"Then I'll leave it to you," he added.
"Very well. Altering memories is easy for me," Tomoe replied confidently.
The next day, Tomoe altered the memories of the city's residents so they believed the city had been attacked by monsters and that, with the help of all the adventurers, the monsters were driven away. She did not alter Toa's and Rinon's memories, as Tomoe and Mio trusted them.
Makoto planned to stay in the city for several days, waiting for the incident to die down to avoid suspicion from leaving immediately after the attack. During his free time, Makoto trained his magical energy manipulation and chatted with Erin whenever he had the chance.
After several days, once the incident had fully settled, Makoto prepared to depart for Tsige City.
As Makoto was making preparations, Toa arrived with the three people Tomoe and Mio had saved earlier: Louisa, a female elf; Hazal, a human man; and Ranina, a dwarf woman. They asked Toa to request permission for them to accompany Makoto to Tsige City.
"Um, Makoto-sama, may we travel with you to Tsige City?" Toa asked nervously.
"I don't mind if you come with us," Makoto replied casually.
The next day, Makoto and his group departed from Zetsuya City toward Tsige City—where a new chapter of the story was about to begin.