The two vehicles cut across the vast plain.
The car behind—Elodie’s group—tilted their heads when Pielot suddenly climbed up onto the roof of the front car, but they just accepted it. He was sitting on Heukcheon, after all—there had to be some reason.
Riri, who was driving, simply cocked her head and thought it might be some kind of new training method.
On the continent of Falind, Frondier had experienced something similar before: once you left Atlas, the road to the capital stretched endlessly through empty fields.
It was a completely different feeling from his previous world, where every city was followed by another city.
'In a place like this, no one would ever know if a crime happened.'
Police, Pros, or lords and knights who managed territories handled public order—but only within their own jurisdictions.
The nation was large, but there weren’t enough people to fill it. Vast, borderless stretches of empty land were scattered everywhere.
Civilization was on par with his previous world, yet the culture and political systems remained far more primitive.
'When I think about the fact that we sometimes even run into bandits, it means there are places within the same nation that are basically lawless zones.'
Traveling long distances by car made one forget easily, but the road to the capital was, in reality, little different from a lawless wasteland.
It was relatively safe only because no lunatic tried to block a moving car with their bare body. But if this truly were a lawless zone, there’d be no reason they couldn’t have cars too.
And besides, cars in this world weren’t as fast as those from his previous one.
'I keep forgetting these cars run on mana.'
Though they looked similar, the cars in this world had several differences. The most obvious—there was no smell of gasoline. Because they didn’t run on it.
In a world where most things operated on mana, that energy acted almost exactly like electricity.
In that sense, most cars here were essentially like electric cars—though with smaller capacity and output.
'In this world, there were famous steeds that could outrun cars. That’s partly because those horses were absurdly fast, but also because the cars’ average speed is lower than in the previous world.'
There wasn’t a huge difference in regular driving speed, but once you pushed for maximum speed, the gap was clear.
'It’s hard to imagine fighting anything while the car’s moving, but still—no harm in being cautious.'
That’s why Frondier kept his senses sharp from the moment they set off. The car behind likely had Elodie focusing on mana detection. Selena would react to presence and sound, and there was also Riri, a former Zodiac.
If something managed to cause trouble despite all that radar, it could only be called a natural disaster.
“...Huh.”
And then, something reckless entered that radar.
Frondier, Elodie, Selena, and Riri all reacted nearly at once, and next Pielot lifted his head.
“Senior Frondier~!”
Pielot, sitting atop the vehicle, shouted down.
“Something’s coming~!”
“You can see it from there?”
“Yes! It’s flying straight this way.”
Pielot lifted his gaze skyward, locking onto whatever had entered his senses.
In fact, from the very phrase flying this way, Pielot had already guessed the identity—and his guess was correct.
“──Looks like demons are coming.”
The continent of Agoris, unlike Falind, was one constantly threatened by demons. In places with weak security, they inevitably appeared.
“What’s the chance it’s high-ranking demons looking for a contract?”
Frondier asked Arald.
Arald answered calmly as he drove.
“Not impossible, but extremely low.”
“How low are we talking?”
“Demons usually appear when summoned by humans. Which side proposes the contract first determines its advantage, so they rarely take the initiative to approach humans themselves. Furthermore—”
“Furthermore?”
“With the power I’m sensing now, they’re not worthy of any meaningful contract. They’re not low-tier, but certainly not the kind to negotiate.”
I see.
In other words, demons drawn by desire.
“Pielot, how many do you see?”
“Three.”
“Then let’s handle them—no, wait.”
Frondier pulled out his phone, made a call, and brought it to his ear.
“...Hey, Elodie.”
He had called the one in the rear car.
[What, you want me to deal with them?]
“No. Let Vasileo handle it. On one condition—leave all three alive. If he does it well, tell him he can buy anything he wants once we get to the capital.”
[Ah, okay. But why call me? Why not just call Vasileo directly?]
“I don’t have his number.”
[...Poor Vasileo.]
Is that so? Frondier tilted his head and hung up.
In the back car, Vasileo scratched his cheek after hearing Elodie’s explanation.
“Subdue three demons alive, huh. Hmm...”
He looked up. The demons were already close enough to see with the naked eye.
Vasileo panicked a bit and spoke quickly.
“Uh, they’re too close. I don’t have time to finish the formula.”
“Then make the time.”
Elodie’s voice was cool and steady.
Vasileo pressed his lips together and opened one hand.
“...Reservation Number One.”
Crackle!
At that single phrase, lightning sparked from his palm.
Elodie’s eyes widened, and the next moment, Vasileo clenched his fist.
Then—
Shhhk─
“......”
“......”
Nothing happened.
Vasileo lifted his head.
“It failed.”
Elodie’s head drooped instead.
With a heavy sigh, she opened and closed her hand again.
Rumble!
Lightning suddenly crashed down from the sky, piercing through the three demons.
“Graaagh!”
“Gyaaaah!”
The demons didn’t even get to say a word before screaming as they fell.
Vasileo gasped in admiration.
“As expected of Instructor Elodie. To use Chain Lightning that fast, and even add ‘Distance Activation.’”
“Thanks for noticing.”
Elodie smiled wryly.
It had looked as though magic was forming in Vasileo’s hand, but it was still too soon for him.
'That reservation must’ve been Chain Lightning too. What a shame.'
She knew Frondier had given him the hint for Reservation. But neither Frondier nor Elodie knew the exact method.
No one expected Vasileo to pull it off instantly from what he’d heard. The fact that he had managed to raise Elodie’s hopes even for a second was impressive enough.
“Next time, make it work.”
“I-I’ll try.”
If it were Frondier, he’d have said Trying isn’t enough, but Elodie couldn’t bring herself to be that cold.
Bzzz—
Elodie’s phone rang again, and she answered.
[That just now—was that Vasileo?]
“No, it was me. He failed the reservation.”
[Then the reward’s yours.]
Reward? Ah, right—Frondier had promised they could buy one thing they wanted in the capital.
“I can really take it?”
[Mission cleared, after all.]
...So Frondier had assumed from the start that Vasileo would fail.
“Right. Speaking of which, what about the demons that fell? I didn’t think that far ahead.”
[Don’t worry.]
Frondier spoke—from the front car.
Like Pielot, he had stepped outside and was standing on Heukcheon.
After saying the last words into his phone, he lowered it.
“They’re right in front of me.”
As he said.
The three fallen demons were bound by Heukcheon, directly before him.
“Ghhk...”
The demons still groaned in pain from the lightning strike. Even so, they writhed, struggling to escape Heukcheon’s grip—but to no avail.
'I usually prioritize extracting information, but will these things even be worth questioning?'
Frondier examined the demons closely.
All three had different faces—proof they weren’t the low-tier kind he’d seen before.
Low-grade demons looked almost identical. So these were at least a step above that.
The higher a demon’s rank, the higher its intelligence—and the easier to talk to.
In that sense, they might be good sources of information. But since they’d come out of nowhere, he wasn’t too optimistic.
Still, one thing caught his attention.
'Why are there three together?'
He’d often seen low-grade demons move in packs, but higher ones had no reason to.
Fulfilling desires or making contracts—they preferred to act alone.
If they were moving together, there had to be a reason...
“For now—what did you come here for?”
“W-What do you mean, what for...”
One demon asked back with a pained face.
Well, maybe it was a meaningless question. They had likely come driven by desire.
Then maybe he should ask what that desire was.
Just as Frondier thought that—
“Release us! Do you have any idea who we—”
Thud!
Frondier’s punch snapped the demon’s head sideways.
“Ghhk, gkha—!”
Frondier looked down at the demon without a hint of anger.
“Calm down. Whether I let you go comes later.”
“L-Later?”
“You’re demons I’ve gone to the trouble of catching. I should at least find out what I can.”
The demons exchanged glances.
That unhesitating strike, that utterly languid expression—
This guy was not normal. They reached that conclusion instantly.
One of them clenched his jaw and bowed his head.
“Damn it, so it is...”
And that faint mutter—
“What?”
Frondier heard it.
He approached the murmuring demon.
“What did you just say?”
“W-What are you talking about?”
“You said so it is. Just now.”
“What about it—”
Thud.
Frondier grabbed the demon’s face and lifted it.
“You’re saying you knew this would happen?”
“W-What are you—”
Thwack!
The demon beside him butted in and got smacked by Heukcheon for his trouble.
“What did you mean by so it is?”
“I-It didn’t mean anything—”
“You want to die for nothing?”
Frondier’s clear eyes locked onto the demon.
There was no killing intent, no anger.
They were eyes like someone studying an interesting puzzle.
The demon suddenly felt like he himself was the puzzle.
A puzzle the man could solve—or tear ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) apart—whenever he pleased.
“You didn’t just pick your targets at random.”
Without realizing it, Frondier was smiling faintly.
“You came here for me, didn’t you?”
“S-Shut the hell up.”
“Oh, really?”
At the demon’s words, Frondier closed his eyes once, then opened them again.
“...Ah!”
The demon screamed the moment their gazes met, seized by chilling terror—and realized what this human had just done.
“Y-You bastard, how—!”
“See? You don’t obey even when I use a demon’s power.”
“......!”
Even when he invoked demonic power, it didn’t bind him.
The meaning was clear.
“You’re already following another demon, aren’t you?”
“......!”
“Who is it?”
Frondier’s smile deepened.
He had thought these were just useless flies buzzing in ignorance—but they turned out to be useful ones.
“Which demon sent you to me?”
