Chapter 542: Landing of the Disciples

「Shishō! We have arrived!」

A little while later, Haru and the others arrived on the Judah continent. Even though they had run a marathon between continents, none of them were out of breath. Also, they seem to have warmed up well. When it comes to stamina, they are completely above me.

「Yo, good work. No, maybe I should say long time no see? We haven’t seen each other for a week during the preparation.」

「Ah, you’re right. Long time no see, Shishō!」

Haru greets me while raising both her fists up, showing that she’s very motivated. She’s energetic as usual. She hasn’t changed at all since we first met, huh?

「Chinatsu, Touko, are you doing well too? Mainly, in terms of stomach condition.」

「I’m fine! After all, I can’t lose to Haruna! But, Chinatsu has been like this.」

「Fufufu, due to the great amount of stress, I was able to withstand it to some extent, yes….」

「Lily-shishō’s sisters are amazing. They were hardly involved in the training, yet there was no day when they didn’t cause trouble in the mansion.」

「Well, they are Irygal Sisters after all.」

Now, do you understand a little bit of the pain I usually receive from that mother and seven daughters? No, Goddess Chinatsu has already fully understood it, so maybe I should prepare a place for her to vent.

「First of all, let’s see… I want to thank you for all the hard work and training, and for putting yourselves in the best condition. You guys came here thinking you could beat me, right? You’re not doing it just to test your strengths――」

「――Not at all! I’m going to give my all to drive my fist into Shishō’s face!」

「Haha, please don’t hit me in the face.」

「Then, to the vital part!」

「………」

Is this girl trying to disable me?

「Me too. I’m not here to test my strength, but I’m here with the intention of winning. I mean, after all the hard work, I want to win and feel refreshed.」

「Chinatsu…」

I see, my Goddess is also serious, huh? As a believer, I want to let Goddess Chinatsu win, but I can’t give up on this. Even I have pride as a master, and above all, it’s disrespectful to these girls.

「Me too, of course! And if I win, I’m going to confess my love to Danna!」

「T-Touko…!?」

What are you saying out of the blue? Do you even know that Nell is here? What are you going to do if you die before the battle!?

「Hmm, is that so? Then, show me your strength. I’m not going to root for you, but I’ve trained you enough over the past week. I’m somewhat looking forward to it.」

「Yeah, leave it to me!」

However, Nell surprisingly didn’t seem to get angry. I-I see, Nell is here completely as a master today. The way she guides her disciple without getting personal feelings involved is exactly like a leader of the knights. But, probably――

「Well, Deris? You aren’t going to lose after hearing that, right? If you lose, you’re going to be confessed to by Touko, right? I hope you do the right thing as my husband.」

「Ah, yes…」

――The blame for this is going to fall on me. Which side are you on?

「W-Well… I want to start the battle right away, but the Great Eight Demons over there are still in the middle of their preparations.」

「Preparations?」

Haru and the others glanced at them.

「Hey, hey, I think it’s a bit bleak if you just lay a sheet on the ground~. Old man Vakala, make a hundred or a thousand beautiful flowers bloom brilliantly~. As a thank you, I will sing and dance in them!」

「Hmm? …… Well, it might be fun as entertainment, but I don’t want to waste my magic power today. Alezel, why don’t you shoot some fireworks instead? You came with the usual airship, right?」

「Oh, that’s a good idea! A live concert under the light of fireworks!」

「I don’t mind, but I’m gonna charge you for each firework we launch~. However! I have a special offer for you~. If you sign this document, you can subscribe to a special all-you-can-launch plan~」

「Ugh…. Guoooooh….」

「Hey, Hund-kun is dead drunk! Who made him drink a lot!? If Hund-kun collapse, we won’t have a reliable witness!」

「Fuha! According to my camera, it was Agalia-dono who made him drink a lot! Even good liquor is poisonous if you drink too much! This is the truth of the world! Well, this lesson is meaningless for someone inorganic like me!」

「It seems that my disciple is going to confess to Black once this battle is over. Well, I’m doing it on a daily basis, but I will lose face if Black accepts it.」

「Well, it will count as cheating if his wife doesn’t approve. As for me, I sympathize with Deris. After all, I’m also troubled by the love triangle recently. That damn 『Peerless』, why is she telling me her feelings at this point….」

The Great Eight Demons are seated on the sheet, each holding a glass in one hand, and doing whatever they want to do.

「…… Preparations?」

Chinatsu asked again with a slightly different intonation from before. Yeah, I understand that feeling.

「I don’t understand it either, but maybe it’s a kind of mental preparation. It’s not going to hurt us, so just ignore them for now. I mean, getting involved with them is tiring…. There’s a building over there that you can use as a waiting room, so wait there. It is usually used only for the Great Eight Demons’ meetings.」

「Okay! I’m going to enjoy the unique atmosphere before the match!」

「When those idiots are ready, I will pick you up. Ah, that’s right. There are Therese and Weerel over there, so why don’t you just talk to them? It’s good to enjoy the atmosphere, but it’s also important to relieve your tension, right?」

「Huh? They are here?」

「Yeah, I don’t know the details, but it seems that Maria invited the two of them. They came with Alezel’s airship together with us.」

「We couldn’t leave them near the Great Eight Demons, so we had them waiting in the waiting room. This battle might lead to stimulation for them, so there’s no harm in watching.」

「I see. I can’t show an unsightly battle in front of them. I’m getting more and more motivated!」

Is Haru the type that gets fired up when there is an audience? I’m a shy person, so it’s the exact opposite.

「Um, is it okay to bring them here? Bringing them here itself is quite dangerous, right…?」

「Chinatsu’s opinion is reasonable, but wouldn’t it be more dangerous if Maria throws a tantrum when they refuse her?」

「Ah….」

Chinatsu seemed to be extremely convinced, perhaps recalling the bitter memories of the past week.

「I’ll keep them near me when the time comes, so don’t worry about that. Just in case, there are other escorts near them.」

「「「Escorts?」」」

「They’re Weerel’s acquaintances, and you guys also know about them. You’ll find out if you go to the waiting room, so go now before you get tangled up with the Great Eight Demons. It’s going to be troublesome, you know?」

When I said so, the three girls nodded and dashed toward the waiting room. Hmm, they have an excellent ability to sense danger.