Bonding with Companions

When the attack operation ended, I profusely praised my companions, who had fought their hearts out.

The one who, alongside Ursula, Vivia, and Miria, received the news of victory closest to me was Himeno…

"… W-we won…! Amazing! Amazing!"

She seemed the most overjoyed.

With Himeno, since there was no telling when a prophecy would descend, the option to be apart couldn't easily be chosen.

But thanks to that, I'd grown a bit closer to Himeno too.

In the latter half I resumed Himeno's power leveling, and as a result she'd grown up nicely to LV20.

Well, she hadn't learned that many excellent skills. Recovery was a bit weak.

Compared to attack, it dropped a rank.

Major damage was 25 damage, while major recovery was only 15 recovery — the same as medium damage.

Still, being able to recover HP when there was leeway was a good thing. Not a bad skill.

… However, on the H side, it was extremely effective. Major recovery and up could recover the Master's HP.

In other words, it allowed 5 extra rounds of H per day. Splendid.

That aside…

"Himeno, you did your best.

This victory is thanks to Himeno foreseeing Vivia's attack.

Truly, thank you… Without that, we couldn't have stopped Vivia.

If the two of them had attacked us scattershot, the forts would have fallen one after another and we'd have lost.

Thanks to Himeno, we could focus on countering only Miria.

… Truly, thank you."

"M-mn… O-of course! I am one of only two great Prophecy Princesses in the world!"

So Himeno puffed out her chest.

… Bravado, surely.

The image of her shrinking and saying "I'm sorry" for not foreseeing Miria's raid came to mind.

In truth, no one was more anxious about her prophecy being incomplete than Himeno herself.

… I would absolutely make Himeno grow. So I resolved.

Even if she didn't grow as is, like this time, I could work hard and effectively turn the issue into a non-issue.

I would absolutely support Himeno. So I resolved anew.

"Have you reviewed me a little?"

"M-mn. W-well… attack operation success. And capturing two hard-to-obtain Demon Generals.

For achieving such results, I'll add 3 points!"

So Himeno said.

"That makes it -96 points… I have to work harder."

"Eh, no, more… O-of course! Becoming the successor of that great Father-sama, half-measure results cannot be acknowledged!

You must apply yourself more and more!"

She didn't seem to remember the score she herself had given, and was a bit flustered…

Well, if points increased at this pace, they'd eventually turn positive.

After that, when I went to Fort 5, next after Reida-san were…

"… Naoto, congratulations on the attack-op victory! Amazing! Two Demon Generals came attacking, didn't they!?"

"… Griera! Seika! Libera! Moruna-chan!"

Now that the battle was over, people could teleport in from outside too.

Everyone who'd been wounded had fully recovered and returned.

That's right — this was no longer Magical Beast territory, so it was safe even for Griera to come.

"Naoto!"

"… Naoto."

"Naoto-sama."

The three of them, relief on their faces, hugged me.

Information on our side had only been fragmentary, from incapacitated knights, so they must have been beside themselves with worry.

"Sorry to make you worry. Thanks to everyone, we won safely."

They had probably flown here the moment it ended. Sorry I couldn't greet them sooner…

"Griera, thanks for introducing Melvis. Without her, I think we'd have plainly lost."

"Haha. Well, if I could've come myself, that'd have been good…

But, really, glad it worked out."

I embraced them all again.

While embracing the four… to Seika, I sent a special meaningful glance.

"… nh."

Seika happily reddened.

The promise… uwah… I was so looking forward to it!

After that, one after another, everyone teleported in from each fort.

Maybe because we Fort 9 members had returned first, they came in order from the highest-numbered fort.

The Fort 8 members returned.

"Kishilia, Lizalind, Luna. Truly, well done. Especially Kishilia, thank you.

Equal to Fort 1 as the most difficult, supporting it head-on… you really saved me.

Of course Lizalind and Luna too, thank you."

"Mn."

The greatest contributor… well, it would have been impossible if any one of them had been missing, though. But it was no exaggeration to say her work was the largest.

But Kishilia's attitude was offhand.

"Right, as a fruit of this time, the number of Magical Beasts I can make companions has increased by one.

… Next time, I want to go find a powerful Unique Monster."

"Sounds good. Let's definitely go."

I made the promise with Kishilia.

"Hehn, see how reliable I am, you understand now!"

Lizalind was self-satisfied for having played various active roles.

She had plenty of all-target attacks, and being capable both at range and up close, she'd been very active, I'd heard.

… Sorry, I only heard about it through reports…

"Fufu, the late game was easy. I got to talk lots with Kishilia-san and Lizalind-san."

Luna wore her usual gentle, easygoing smile. She must have had a rough time rotating through battlefields.

Everyone was a little tired but seemed fulfilled.

Fort 7…

"Lyuka, Sawako, Leone. Well done.

After the first attack you were totally stable. As expected. Thank you."

Despite having to defend Fort 7 while it was still damaged from Miria's raid, they defended it solidly.

As I thought, dependable.

"Fufu, fighting like this all together is fun, isn't it."

Lyuka laughed cheerfully.

"We were active too… You were watching our work properly, right?"

"O-of course…"

No, only reports… sorry.

Had the battlefield been a bit more relaxed, I'd have had time to watch everyone's performance.

… The end was relaxed, but that was too relaxed. Too sharp a contrast.

"Fufu, it was all hectic. Well done."

Leone, understanding all the circumstances, comforted me.

"Thank you…!"

I praised each of the three, yoshi yoshi.

Fort 6…

"Suzanne, Saria, Klara, well done.

… It became quite a harsh fight, sorry I couldn't pay you much attention.

You practically rebuilt things on your own, truly a help. Thank you. As expected of Suzanne.

Of course Saria and Klara too. Truly, thank you."

"Fufu, you're welcome.

… Magical Beasts, when they act strategically, are this formidable, aren't they.

I mustn't grow complacent. I have to keep applying myself going forward."

Suzanne seemed to have various thoughts.

She was strong, always calm, knowledgeable — I tended to lean on her…

But she too was in her second year just like me, having only debuted last year.

… Was I putting too much burden on her? I needed to be careful.

But Suzanne seemed to take pride in being relied on by me.

"Fufu, you fought lots. Good, good."

Saria praised me in mom mode. Later, I had to praise her in reverse mode.

"… When I went out as a mercenary before, accompanying Kishilia…

Honestly, it wasn't even 1/5 as harsh as this time, and we failed.

The fort we defended was an iron wall, but the other forts kept falling…

If we'd been rotated to multiple battlefields like Naoto did with Melvis, it would have been quite different.

That was splendid command."

So Klara praised me.

"Thank you. It's thanks to everyone working hard."

I gave each of the three a chu.

The Fort 5 members didn't teleport — they walked back.

"Kanan, Maika, Adelia. Well done."

"Fufu… you're welcome. From midway in we got used to it too — gather them with my whirlwind, finish with Maika. We fought with good coordination.

Midway through we had Reida-san follow up several times. Like when Adelia wasn't around…"

"Yeah, she was something else. Reida-san was really strong."

"Nya! I made a promise with Reida's Garumon for a mock battle next time-nya. When you see Reida, take me along-nya～"

"Mn, got it. Fort 5 was rock-solid in the end. Thanks. If headquarters had fallen, it would've been bad. It was a real help."

I embraced the three. Well, these three were completely insiders, so a fairly light hug.

Fort 4…

"Welcome back, Haru, Patty, Irana.

… Sorry I couldn't see to you at all. Defending it solidly was a real help."

No, after day one I'd hardly seen to them at all. Truly sorry…

In this harsh battle, the achievement of holding firm without needing my attention was extremely large.

Haru had grown quite dependable too.

"Naoto-kun, ehehe… I do my part too. I knew Naoto-kun was busy with directing things everywhere…

I, did I support Naoto-kun properly?"

"Of course! Haru, truly, thank you."

I held her tight.

Of course Patty and Irana too. Aah… embracing them, their plumpness felt really good.

"Haru was super pumped up～! She worked hard! Saying she'd be Naoto-san's knight～!"

"Yeah! She's really gotten strong recently! Griera said she has promise, too."

"Not at all… Patty and Irana worked super hard too."

The three seemed to have grown closer than before, weathering hardship together. Heartwarming…

Haru as a knight… huh.

Haru, as a boy too, seemed to think "knight" was a cool title, so let's think about it soon.

… Or rather, there were pressing circumstances where I had to do so immediately.

But that talk for later.

Fort 3…

"Yumi, Cellas, Mira. Well done. Truly, thank you for the Vivia battle.

Winning there with no one incapacitated was really huge."

I praised the three who'd worked hard in the Vivia battle. After that, they'd defended the fort splendidly.

Even with a win, if 1-2 had been incapacitated, things would've gotten quite harsh.

Plainly, 1-2 forts would have fallen.

"You were truly strong. Yumi, Cellas, Mira."

"… Fufu, saying it myself but my buffs have reached quite the level.

If I strengthen everyone at this rate… we won't lose even against Eclair-sama."

"Yeah. With element considerations too, I'm thinking of relying on Yumi in the Eclair battle, but you're plainly reliable on the combat front too."

I praised Yumi greatly.

We were drawing much closer to the Eclair battle, so I had to decide members soon. Among them Yumi might well be the top candidate.

"I'm happy. I'll show you I'm useful. Yes, more than Kanan!"

Yumi laughed. Not in a malicious way, but as a competing rival.

I hoped these two would keep competing and growing stronger.

"Cellas, Mira, thank you too. You were truly strong."

As enemies they'd been so hard to handle, but as allies, with this much strength. We really managed to win.

"Fufufu. From here on too, I'll serve thee with all I have. My beloved Master."

"Mn, from here on too, looking forward to it, Cellas."

"Fufufu, I'm glad to be of use. Our power is your power now…

Lean on us lots.

… That said, on the Soleil matter is where I'd most like to be relied on."

"…!"

Soleil… one of Silvana's daughters. S-Class NPC Astrea's daughter. Said, alongside Astrea, to be very beautiful.

"Wait just a little longer. Next time, I'll set up the meeting."

"Yeah, please do."

Truly reliable. Soleil… what kind of girl was she? I'd love to meet her.

Fort 2…

"Well done, Yuria, Mikoto, Colette, Setsuna."

"Haaa… it was tough…"

Yuria was thoroughly in tired mode.

"Only the start. The final 3 days were easy, weren't they."

Mikoto seemed exhausted, but her tsukkomi was sharp.

"… I'm frustrated. To get everyone wounded like that…"

Colette was looking down too…

It seemed the battle had many issues for these three.

"Looks like it was a harsh fight… sorry."

"No, I was the unreliable one.

A bit more… ah, no good. I have to apply myself more."

Yuria was down, but listening, there was no clear mistake on her part.

It was just that with too few forces and too many enemies, nothing could be done.

"Setsuna, well done too. Thanks for the help."

"Mn."

"After Setsuna came in, it was really a help… Well, the Magical Beast attacks got a lot easier too, so it was almost overkill."

Yuria put her arm around Setsuna's shoulder.

"From here on, directing crowds will be needed too, huh.

Naoto, you're amazing. To direct a 9-front battle like that, well done."

"No, no, I didn't do anything especially great.

I just reallocated from low-damage spots to high-damage ones…

And Melvis supported all the way."

"Fufu, well, all of that paying off was the victory. Once more… splendid. Naoto. I'm really glad to be your companion."

Yuria praised me.

"What, again…"

"Fufu, I wanted to say it again. Didn't I say it? That I really wanted to fight as an independent Master.

… But now it's different. I want to become more useful to you. I want to be stronger."

So Yuria showed me her firm resolve.

And then, Fort 1.

"Welcome back, Melvis… If I imagine you not having become a companion, I shudder.

Truly, thank you. Yufi and Tytis, well done too. Ia, Necron, and the others too, thank you."

I held Melvis's hand.

"… Do you remember the talk from before?"

That… was a remark that could be taken as "I might be willing to grow more intimate with you."

Of course I remembered.

"… Wait just a little. Once preparations are done.

… The S-Class Conference is near, isn't it. I'll have things ready before then.

… Could you meet with us once?"

"If it's Melvis, putting any plans aside, top priority."

"… Fufufu. I look forward to that time."

I made the promise to meet with Melvis.

Melvis's business… what could it be? If she became my official companion, I'd be so happy.

It wouldn't be that convenient, I bet…?

Honestly we'd squeezed out victory at our utmost limit; this time I really relied entirely on Melvis. A bit unreliable, I thought.

… To what extent had she acknowledged me?

Well, no use worrying.

And so I praised everyone and shared the joy of victory.