The atmosphere between Tomoe and the skeleton grew tense. At the same time, they launched their attacks. The skeleton attacked Tomoe using earth magic. Seeing the earth magic rushing toward her, Tomoe took the stance to draw her katana, and with a single swing, she cleaved the incoming spell in two. Then Tomoe vanished from the skeleton's sight.
"What!?" the skeleton exclaimed in shock as his magic was easily cut apart by Tomoe. While the skeleton was searching for her, Tomoe suddenly appeared behind him and placed her sword beside his neck.
"The difference in their strength is far too great. This can't even be called a fight," Makoto said calmly after watching the exchange between Tomoe and the skeleton.
"Even if I'm not as strong as you, I won't give up!" the skeleton shouted. Aware of the gap between himself and Tomoe, he attacked her with ailment magic. Tomoe casually dodged it and reappeared beside Mio.
"That was dangerous just now," Tomoe said lightly.
"Tomoe-san, stop playing around," Mio said to her.
"How about you deal with him instead, Mio? Wouldn't it be faster?" Tomoe suggested.
"Alright," Mio replied.
"Are you looking down on me!?" the skeleton shouted angrily.
"We're not looking down on you," Mio said.
"Then take this attack!" the skeleton yelled, using all his strength to fire ailment magic at Mio. Mio easily absorbed the spell that came toward her, then drained part of the skeleton's magical energy.
"Thanks for the meal," Mio said casually.
"So? Are you going to surrender now?" Tomoe asked.
"I surrender," the skeleton replied in a resigned tone.
"Waka wants to speak with you. Can you wait a moment?" Tomoe said.
"He wants to talk to me?" the skeleton asked in surprise.
They then walked toward Makoto.
"Waka-sama, we're back," Mio said cheerfully.
"Good work," Makoto said as he gently patted Mio's head.
"Waka! That's not fair—Mio's the only one getting her head patted," Tomoe complained.
"What are you talking about? If you want one, come here," Makoto said after finishing with Mio.
After patting Tomoe's head as well, Makoto looked at the skeleton standing before him.
"I want to talk with you. Will you come with us?" Makoto asked.
"With pleasure. I also want to ask you something," the skeleton replied.
"It seems the party can't continue. Village chief, in that case, I'll be heading home," Makoto said to Nilgistri.
"Makoto-sama, I sincerely apologize for the disturbance during the banquet," Nilgistri said.
"It's fine. Who knows when an incident might happen at a party. Until we meet again, village chief," Makoto replied.
Makoto then entered the Mist Gate opened by Tomoe, followed by Tomoe, Mio, and the skeleton.
Upon arriving home, Makoto casually sat down on the sofa.
"Please, have a seat," Makoto said to the skeleton.
"Excuse me," the skeleton replied and sat down across from Makoto.
"So, what is it you want to ask me?" Makoto asked calmly.
"First, what technique did the black-haired woman use earlier to defeat me?" the skeleton asked.
"That was simply dark magic," Makoto said as he picked up the tea Mio had brought him.
"Mio used dark magic to devour your spell," he explained.
"That should require an enormous amount of energy," the skeleton said.
"Normally, yes. Even if I used that technique myself, I'd need several times more magical energy than the spell I wanted to devour. But Mio is different—she has a special ability that allows her to devour anything. Because of that, she only needs a small amount of magic to consume her opponent's spells," Makoto explained.
"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Makoto continued.
"Who exactly are you? How can you have two followers who are so powerful?" the skeleton asked.
"I'm just an ordinary human," Makoto replied.
"Pfft," Tomoe snickered, holding back laughter.
"Waka, what ordinary human could defeat us and make us his servants?" she said, laughing.
Hearing her laughter, Makoto flicked Tomoe on the forehead.
"Aaah!" Tomoe cried, holding her reddening forehead.
"Waka, why do you like flicking my forehead so much?"
"Because I want to," Makoto replied firmly.
"I can assure you, I am human," Makoto said as he looked at the skeleton.
"Now it's my turn to ask. What were you seeking that drove you to become undead?" Makoto asked.
"Everything was for the sake of becoming a Grant," the skeleton replied.
"Do you know what a Grant is?" Makoto asked.
"A Grant is a superior human race—beings that surpass humans in every aspect," the skeleton said.
Hearing that, Makoto shook his head.
"Tomoe, explain what a Grant really is to him," Makoto said.
"Yes, Waka. The reason you wanted to become a Grant is because you knew there are other worlds different from the goddess's world, right?" Tomoe said while looking at the skeleton.
The skeleton was shocked by her words.
"You researched various kinds of literature and folklore and defined Grants as superior humans capable of freely crossing between worlds," Tomoe continued.
"But that's a misunderstanding. Long ago, there were humans who discovered rifts in this world and jumped into them. Most of them were drawn back to this world soon after seeing the other side. Only a small number did not return and were able to continue living as new people in that other world. Those people were called Grants."
"In other words, it's not that you can cross worlds after becoming a Grant—rather, those who successfully crossed worlds were called Grants," Tomoe explained.
"That's impossible… Then everything I've done until now… what was it all for?" the skeleton said gloomily.
"I won't force you to abandon the hope you've clung to," Tomoe said, then added cheerfully,
"You can make a contract and become waka's servant."
"Waka, you said we should look for talented individuals. Doesn't he fit the criteria? I don't think there's any harm in employing him," Tomoe said.
"A-Are you saying you need a being like me?" the skeleton asked.
"Yes. I want you to help me," Makoto said with a smile, extending his hand.
"Thank you, Waka-sama," the skeleton said as he took Makoto's hand.
"Tomoe, I'll leave the contract ritual to you," Makoto said.
"Leave it to me, Waka," Tomoe replied confidently.
Tomoe then performed a ruler's contract ritual between Makoto and the skeleton. The skeleton was enveloped in a dazzling red light. When the light faded, a handsome man with long red hair stood before Makoto.
"Waka-sama, I would like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to become your servant," the man said.
"I'll be counting on you as well," Makoto replied.
"Yes," the man said, kneeling before Makoto.
"So, what do you think? No regrets about becoming Waka's servant, right?" Tomoe asked.
"From now on, you'll need to learn about the rules of servitude and Waka-sama's habits," Mio added.
"Then, Waka, I'll educate this man in the memory storage space so he can learn more about you," Tomoe said.
"Wait a moment, Tomoe. I want to give him a name as well," Makoto said, turning to the man.
"From now on, your name is Shiki. 'Shiki' is taken from knowledge and reason."
"Thank you for giving me such a wonderful name," Shiki said respectfully.
The next morning, Makoto ate breakfast with Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki.
"How are you feeling, Shiki? Are you able to adapt to this place?" Makoto asked.
"Thank you for asking about my condition, Waka-sama. I am truly grateful to have become your servant. I never imagined that the one I longed to serve would be my master—and that you would be the ruler of this New World. One could even say you are a god," Shiki said enthusiastically.
"I'm not a god. I don't even know what it takes to become one. As long as I have sufficient strength, the rest doesn't really matter to me," Makoto replied casually.
"Just as I thought—Waka-sama is special because you think differently from others," Shiki said.
"Waka-sama, what will you do today?" Mio asked.
"I'm going to meet Patrick Rembrandt to create ambrosia medicine," Makoto replied.
"If it's just ambrosia medicine, I can easily make it myself," Shiki said.
"No need, Shiki. I've already made a promise with an acquaintance to create it together. Besides, there will be a grand celebration in the New World tonight. You can stay here and help with the preparations. I'll also introduce you to the residents of the New World during the celebration," Makoto said.
"Waka, you seem quite interested in Patrick Rembrandt," Tomoe said.
"I am interested in Patrick Rembrandt's talent," Makoto replied.
"Why are you interested in him, Waka-sama?" Mio asked.
"Mio, what do you think the New World needs the most right now?" Makoto asked.
After thinking for a moment, Mio replied, "Residents, Waka-sama."
"And what about you?" Makoto asked Tomoe and Shiki.
"In my opinion, a system of governance, Waka," Tomoe said.
"For me, the economy, Waka-sama," Shiki answered.
Hearing their responses, Makoto smiled.
"You're all correct. Right now, the New World has far too few residents. To solve this, we need to carefully select other races that wish to migrate here. It may take time, but we can thoroughly choose races that are suitable," Makoto said.
"Then what about the Forest Ogres, Waka?" Tomoe asked.
"As for the Forest Ogres, we can handle that tomorrow after tonight's celebration. Tomoe, you'll be responsible for that matter," Makoto said.
"Leave it to me, Waka," Tomoe replied.
"Next is the system of governance. We can adapt examples from the memories I have from my previous world and adjust them to suit the New World's situation. As long as I remain the ruler of this New World, we can revise the system as many times as we like," Makoto said calmly.
"As for the New World's economy, we don't yet have truly talented people. You may be able to manage it with the help of information from my memories, but each of you also has your own duties," Makoto said, looking at Tomoe, Mio, and Shiki.
"That's why I'm interested in recruiting Patrick Rembrandt. He isn't a bad person, but he isn't kind to his enemies either. You can see it in how ruthlessly he treats his enemies and how well he treats his subordinates. I can also tell that he cares deeply for his family," Makoto continued.
"But we still need to investigate him further before deciding to recruit him," Makoto concluded.