As they say, information gathers where people gather. After more and more tamers came, a few more clues regarding the rumor were revealed.
Apparently, the “time travel device” is the property of a phantom, and it appears once every decade at the same location. The said location was slowly fleshed out, starting from the vague “South of the Kingdom” to the “Most Remote Town Down South”.
Curious, I planned to go to the south and confirm for myself. After all, if there’s an actual article, then my plan for traveling back in time to save Fatima might be pushed forward earlier than expected.
“Everyone, gather around! The teleportation array will be activated shortly!”
Soon, one of the knights raised their voice, calling the attention of all the tamers that were gathered. However, not all could fit in the teleportation array at once. The arrangement they made was that we would enter in batches, and our batch was set to enter last.
“You must be Will, right?”
A voice echoed from behind us, prompting the girls to turn at the same time. The woman flinched a little under their intense gaze, but quickly cleared her throat and extended a hand forward.
“I-It’s nice to meet you. I’m Threya Midnight. We’ll be setting off as part of the same batch, so it might be for a short while, but please take care of me~!”
*Arf!* *Arf!*
As if to greet me too, a little dog by her foot barked twice before letting out its cute tongue and panting heavily.
“A… Pug?”
I looked at the small dog, with a scrunched-up black face and pretty fine light-brown fur. It roughly licked its mouth before continuing to pant, saliva dripping lightly.
“Yes, this is my companion, Peabody!”
The woman, Threya, explained with a bright smile, lifting the dog by its front paws and presenting it to me… It’s a he, I see…
“This energy level… 8th stage?!”
This fact completely surprised me, as beasts that went past the fifth stage should experience some changes in physical appearance. However, this pug was just a pug, no matter how I looked at it. Who would’ve thought that a little beast like this was actually more powerful than my girls?
I was tempted to pat its head, but its brown eyes stared straight at me as if saying, “Touch me if you dare!”
“… You’ve got quite a powerful companion.”
I was unable to say anything else, so I just praised its power. The woman was surprised, though, as she stared at the pug as she hugged it between her two mountains.
“You heard that, Peabody? He really could detect your power level even while hiding it, just as I expected!”
*Arf!*
Hearing their little conversation, I then realized that they were actually trying to hide the little dog’s power. Were they pretending to be pigs to eat the tiger? I could feel a shiver run down my spine, seeing how crafty the pair was.
“Last group!”
Just as I was about to take a step back in fear of the pair, the guards finally called for us. Without our notice, the queue was already over, and we were the last teams left.
“Come! Let’s go!”
Threya called us, leading the way to the teleportation array. Having no choice, we followed behind her and entered the shining pattern drawn on the ground. The guards, seeing that we were already inside, didn’t even ask to confirm and just activated the array, covering us in a flash of light as we were sent to another place.
“Whew~! I really can’t get used to the feeling of teleportation!”
Wiping the nonexistent sweat on her forehead, Threya went ahead, walking toward the large gate that was visible a short distance away. The pug was still held tight in her embrace, but it wasn’t showing any signs of discomfort. Rather, it looks like it was enjoying the ride…?
“I’m getting curious as to what that Pug would look like while fighting…”
I muttered before following behind them, with a few meters of distance as a gap. The girls were silently following behind me; their eyes were alert and looking all over the place, as if trying to see if any danger was incoming.
“Next!”
moments.
As the line went on, it was soon Threya’s turn. The guard furrowed At the front gate, the tamers that went ahead of us were all lined up in a queue. The guards were carefully checking each and every one of them and recording their tamed beasts and monsters in a ledger. The line was moving quickly, so it should be our turn in just a few moments.
As the line went on, it was soon Threya’s turn. The guard furrowed his brows when he looked at her and her tamed beast.
“… Only one?”
He asked, as if confused. After all, the pug looked too weak at a glance. Threya just smiled and nodded her head, indicating that the pug was her only tamed beast.
Although reluctant, he just entered their team into the ledger and let her cross the gates.
“Next!”
Finally, it was our turn. The guard looked at me, then behind me.
“Which ones are the tamers?”
He asked with a flat voice. I turned around, and we were the last ones in line. Nobody else was behind me, so I just pointed to myself and explained.
“I’m the tamer; the rest are all my companions.”
“…?”
The guard looked at me quizzically. He couldn’t believe that the girls behind me were all tamed beasts and monsters. Well, too bad, I can’t really prove they aren’t tamers in just a short while.
He was completely unconvinced but still wrote our group into his ledger before signaling for us to enter the gates. As soon as we entered, the wide lawn between the gates and the front of the castle was filled with hundreds to thousands of tamer-and-tamed-monster groups. Looking around, the weak ones were in the eighth stage.
“… Aren’t we out of place in here?”
I raised my voice in exasperation. After all, my most powerful tamed monster was Igni, who just reached the seventh stage. I guess we barely passed the minimum, but a lot of tamers were looking in our direction with gazes filled with disdain.
I wasn’t really affected, but the girls were getting more and more irritated. I guess they don’t like how everyone was thinking that we only got here through our connections and not our power levels like the rest.
As I looked around, I realized that only a small part was familiar to me. Most of the tamers were ones that I hadn’t seen anywhere else in the gathering spot before.
“Are they from other kingdoms?”
I don’t have any idea how many kingdoms there are around the entire world, but they must be from the nearby ones that responded to the request of the prime minister too.
I was curious about their tamed monsters, but spamming appraisals without permission can earn the ire of the other party. Well, if they pick a fight with me first, then that’d mean I could appraise their companions without worry.
As I was waiting for some hot-blooded brats to pick a fight with me, a guard raised his voice, reminding everyone in the wide courtyard.
“Everyone, remember to move in your designated direction! From left to right, four groups: North, East, South, and West!”
“Oh, so we can select where we want to go? Lucky~!”
I thought they would be assigning us randomly. If it’s like this, then I don’t have to think hard anymore. Together with the girls, we headed for the group that was designated to go to the South.
As I was looking around, I found that Threya was also in the group, making me feel a mix of awkwardness and appreciation. At least there’s one I know who came from the same kingdom; that’s good enough. Before I could call to her, she had already seen us and ran to our side. 𝐞𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥．𝗰𝐨𝗺
“Will! So you’re heading south too? Are you a gourmet?”
“Gourmet? No… Why?”
It was a question that came out of nowhere. As I asked, she turned her head as if confused.
“Well, the South is known for its delicious food culture, so I thought you were going there for the same reason as us.”
*Gulp*
A loud sound echoed from behind me, prompting me to turn around. However, the girls all had their gazes turned away, as if not wanting to claim it was they who were tempted after hearing Threya’s words.
“Well, we’re going there for a different reason, but I guess a nice meal after a hard day’s work is something worth looking forward to.”
I did pack some food, but there’s nothing wrong with procuring local delicacies out there. Everyone suddenly beamed after hearing my words, but they noticed that I was looking at them from the corner of my vision. Everyone quickly cleared their throats and acted as if they were just looking around, maintaining vigilance.
“Haha, what cute companions you have!”
She added with a teasing grin before the pug in her arms barked loudly, as if in protest.
“Oh, yes, you are cute too, Peabody!”
This pug… I think he’s a man through and through. I feel like he’s just distracting her from letting go of him so that he can stay between her twin peaks for as long as possible. Well, I might be mistaken, though.
Without any sort of warning, the entire field around us suddenly released a bright light.
“…!”
I didn’t feel anything strange, nor was there any warning from my senses, but the girls still moved instantly, pushing me to the ground as if to protect me, and looked around in wariness.
When the light faded, we were no longer at the castle… We were on the frontlines, with demons approaching!