“We, the Skull Brigade, have been travelling around the whole continent, seeking out slaves who wish to liberate themselves.” Elena, the lone female on the ship, explained.

“My mother, who was a former slave herself, decided to start this group in order to help and save those who were illegally sold as slaves. We help to transport them to safer places, such as the Republic. Speaking of which, the Skull Brigade is listed as an A-class Adventurer’s party in the Republic.” She continued to talk as she played with Shiro’s soft, white hair.

For some reason, the little girl ended up in her lap.

“Oh…” That explained the skull symbol on the sail. He felt rather relieved knowing that these people were not pirates.

“It won’t take long to get to the Republic with the route that we’re using. But…” Elena furrowed her eyebrows. “There has been rumours of a terrifying sea monster spotted along this route. I’m afraid we may need to fight when the time comes.”

“If it’s so dangerous, why use this route?”

Elena shook her head, “thanks to the sea monster, not many ships use this route. The pirates won’t dare to come close either. The ship captain thought that encountering the sea monster is far better than encountering pirates.”

“…”

“Do you have a map that I can borrow?”

“A map? Sure.” The girl got up, placing Shiro on the bed she had been sitting on. She went towards the only chest in the room, rummaging for the desired item.

“Here.” After searching for a short while, she pulled out a piece of rolled-up parchment, handing it over to the boy.

Ryouta unrolled the parchment and studied the map intently.

Unlike the map that the king had given him, the map in front of him was better. New names and places were drawn on it. Judging from the scale, it might have been a map of the whole world.

Elena pointed to a spot near the location marked with ‘Valdavia Kingdom’. “This is where we are.” She dragged her finger towards another location. “And this is the route we are using to get to the Republic.”

“How long will it take to get there?”

“About two weeks, give or take.”

“…”

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t look at me like that! Two weeks is plenty fast! Most sea trips take months!”

“Sorry.”

“Geez!”

Ryouta went back to studying the map.

Valdavia Kingdom, the place he was summoned from, was bordered by the sea on one side and a forest on another. Neighbouring Valdavia Kingdom was a few other smaller kingdoms, including a cluster of islands called the ‘Isles’ and ‘Dragon Archipelago’.

The Republic of Vine was actually just next to the kingdom, separated only by a thick forest. The forest was said to be a very dangerous place, which was why it was inconvenient for people to travel to the Republic through it.

Other than the Republic, a place called ‘Light Empire’ and ‘Holy Land’ was marked on the other side of the forest.

Including the continent where all of those places were recorded, there was two other continents that were not as big. One of them was completely blacked out. It was located south of Valdavia Kingdom.

“…?” Ryouta pointed at the inked-out continent. “Elena, what’s this place?”

Elena raised an eyebrow. “What, you don’t know about the Demon Continent? Have you been living under a rock?”

“…”

“Sorry, sorry.” Seeing the boy’s lack of response, Elena realised she was being rude. “The Demon Continent is a place where the demons live. It was said that a demon lord has taken over the continent, and in doing that had completely obliterated the previous civilisation living there. Remnants of the people who originated from the Demon Continent before it was annexed by the demon lord migrated to the Republic and has settled down there.”

Elena shrugged her shoulders, “Or something. It’s been around thirty years since it happened, so I’m not very clear on the facts. All I know is that that place is dangerous, and that rumours are going around about how the same demon lord is amassing an army to take over the world. I heard the Kingdom is currently fighting off most of the invaders; considering that they’re right in front of the Demon Continent.”

“Oh… you’re not worried?”

“Of course I’m worried. But, I’ll leave the fighting to the frontliners. There are some really strong guys out there that can stop the demon lord, y’know? Besides, demon attacks are the norm, so I’m confident that if an army comes, we can at least take down one or two each.”

Ryouta frowned, perplexed by the girl’s lackadaisical attitude. It was as if the imminent threat was nothing to her.

Ryouta thought back to King Rufus of the Kingdom. Although he had been fairly calm in their interactions, Ryouta who had been left to his own devices could see how frantic the king truly was from his actions behind the scenes. While the demon lord had been gathering his army, the Kingdom was not falling behind at all. With the addition of the Otherworldly Heroes, the Kingdom could be said to be quite prepared to take them on.

With that in mind, Ryouta rolled up the map, returning it to its owner.