“The government will fully support everyone so that you can travel safely. We are adjusting for departure in a week, will that be alright?”
Akito smirked at Serizawa’s question.
“I can leave even sooner. I’m ready for anything.”
Rui agreed.
“Me too. If Yuma is okay with it, I want to leave as soon as possible.”
Yuma felt the same way. His desire to help Kaede grew stronger every day.
Yuma also told Serizawa that he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
“Understood. We will also prepare as quickly as possible. Please inform your families, friends, and colleagues.”
As Yuma and the others were about to leave the conference room after Serizawa finished speaking, there was a knock on the door. Yuma turned his gaze to the door.
The door opened with a click, and several men in suits entered.
Yuma looked puzzled, but Serizawa hurriedly raised his voice.
“Prime Minister Takakura! What’s wrong?”
Yuma’s face stiffened at the word “Prime Minister.” He knew that a new prime minister had been appointed, but seeing him on TV was completely different from seeing him in person.
Rui, and even Akito, seemed surprised.
“I’m sorry. I really wanted to see Mitaka-kun. I slipped away from the meeting.”
Takakura stared at Yuma’s face. A tall, dignified-looking politician. Yuma swallowed hard at the sight of the real Prime Minister up close.
“I am Takakura, the Prime Minister. Thanks to you, the damage to Japan was minimized. I want to thank you on behalf of the people. Thank you so much.”
Yuma panicked at Takakura’s bow.
“N-no, it’s fine. I did it because I wanted to.”
As Yuma was flustered, Takakura raised his head and looked at Yuma again.
“You’ve been through a lot of terrible things. It’s not much of an apology, but the government will fully support what you’re trying to do.”
Takakura turned around, and one of his attendants handed him something. Takakura took it and turned back to Yuma.
“I wanted to give this to you today. I brought it with me.”
In Takakura’s hand was a “red gem” placed on a cloth.
Yuma, Rui, and Akito were all captivated by the gem.
“This is a Magic Gem dropped by the Red King. Researchers have found that it is different from any Magic Gem that has existed before. It seems to be a gem called ‘Red Beryl’.”
“Red… Beryl?”
As Yuma muttered in wonder, Takakura nodded once and continued.
“The researchers measured it with Elceed’s new Mana Measurement Device. The ‘Mana Index’ was about 30,000.”
“T-thirty thousand!?”
Akito couldn’t help but exclaim. Rui and Yuma couldn’t hide their surprise either.
That was an unheard-of Mana Index. Looking closely at the red gem, faint patterns floated on its surface. Reliefs like plant vines.
It was the same as the Demon Ore found in the Deca Slime and Chimera.
“No one else would be able to use this. It’s the Magic Gem of the Red King you defeated. Please, take it with you.”
Yuma accepted the gem from Takakura and said, “Thank you.” He also greeted Serizawa and left the room.
The three of them left the Prime Minister’s Office and walked side by side to the car prepared by the government.
“Still, that’s amazing. Thirty thousand… wouldn’t your body explode if you ate something like that?”
Akito said anxiously, and Rui agreed, “I think so too.”
Yuma pinched the Red Beryl with his fingers and held it up to the light to look at it. It was a sparkling, beautiful stone that was mesmerizing.
“Well, I think it’ll be okay.”
Yuma popped the gem into his mouth and swallowed it.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”
Rui and Akito shouted at the same time.
“What are you doing, eating it like it’s a mint!? Are you an idiot?!”
“Are you okay, Yuma!?”
Ignoring the two’s worries, Yuma looked unfazed.
“Yeah, there’s no problem…”
At that moment, a heat like magma surged up from the pit of his stomach. He groaned, clutching his stomach, and Rui and Akito began to panic.
“Hey, hey, hey! I told you so, spit it out!”
“Yuma, hang in there!”
The two looked pale, but Yuma exhaled and stopped them with his hand.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m used to this kind of thing, it’s already subsided.”
The two looked dumbfounded at Yuma’s nonchalant expression.
“Let’s talk about our plans for the future, for now.”
Rui and Akito were confused but accepted Yuma’s proposal, and the three decided to go home together. They all got into the car prepared by Serizawa and left the Prime Minister’s Office.
◇◇◇
That night, Yuma had a discussion with his parents.
Sitting at the dining table, Yuma and his parents faced each other.
“India… why do you have to go so far?”
His mother asked Yuma, looking unconvinced.
“I’m going for my Seeker job. There are a lot of people in trouble over there, and they’re asking Japan for help.”
Yuma decided not to mention his goal of “reviving Kaede,” as it would confuse his parents.
He explained that he was participating in an overseas dispatch request from the government, but—
“Yuma, there’s no need for you to go. Japan is in a dangerous state, why go all the way to India?”
As expected, his father was against it. Of course, no parent would say yes to their son going to a dangerous place.
Still, he couldn’t back down here.
“Dad, I know it’s dangerous. But there are things that only I can do. I told you? I can use a different kind of magic, and there are people who need this power.”
“But…”
“I’ll come back safe, I promise. So please understand.”
When Yuma bowed his head, the two showed bewildered expressions. But they couldn’t complain any more to their son, who was working as a member of society.
Yuma’s parents reluctantly agreed to let him go to India.
◇◇◇
Thanks to Takakura and Serizawa’s quick actions, preparations for departure were completed in about three days.
Yuma was riding in Kanzaki’s car, heading to Haneda Airport. The government had prepared a chartered plane, which they would board to go to India.
“Have the Seeker Clan members who are going with Yuma-kun already arrived at Haneda?”
Maika, who was sitting in the back seat, asked. All the members of D-Minor were in the car. Yuma was sitting in the passenger seat, and Maika and Tanaka were in the back seat.
“Yes, we’re planning to meet up there.”
“I see, but I’m glad there are Seekers accompanying you. Yuma-kun, you can be a bit of an airhead, so I was worried about you being alone.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Haha.”
It was true that he could be a bit of an airhead, so he couldn’t deny it.
Yuma himself was one of the people who was relieved that Rui and Akito were coming with him. As he was talking to Maika and Tanaka, Kanzaki’s car arrived at Haneda.
The four entered the airport and walked through the lobby to the back.
There seemed to be a boarding gate exclusively for government use, and everyone walked around looking for it.
When they finally found it, Rui and Akito, as well as people who seemed to be government officials, were waiting in front of it.
“Oh, you’re here, Yuma! You’re late.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Yuma started to jog. He had arrived on time, but Rui and the others seemed to have arrived earlier than expected.
As he approached, he noticed that Serizawa was among the staff.
“Serizawa-san, thank you for everything.”
“No, what I can do is limited. But if something happens at your destination, please contact us through the government or the consulate. We will support you as much as possible.”
“Understood.”
As Yuma thanked him, Serizawa said, “And…” and took something out of his suit pocket.
“This is from the government. There aren’t many, but please use them to help you.”
What was handed to him was a black case. When Serizawa opened the lid, there were several gems inside. Clear, colorless gems. This was…
“These are ‘Rock Crystal’ and ‘Zircon,’ which are White Magic Gems. Even if you combine them all, the Mana Index is only about 1200, but this is all we can prepare. I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m grateful just to receive them. Thank you.”
Yuma thanked Serizawa politely. He exchanged greetings with Rui and Akito, and as he was about to enter the gate, he was called out from behind.
“Yuma-kun.”
When he turned around, Aisha was standing there.
“Aisha-san, you came to see me off?”
Yuma didn’t expect Aisha to come and see him off. However, he had asked Aisha about Kaede, so he wanted to see her before leaving Japan.
She was wearing the same white coat as usual, but she was carrying a long, white bag on her back.
“Aisha-san, how is Kaede’s situation?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve asked a laboratory I know to cryopreserve her. Her body won’t decay anytime soon.”
“I see, that’s good.”
Yuma said with a relieved tone, but Aisha wore a difficult expression.
“Yuma-kun, you shouldn’t relax just yet. Even with cryopreservation, the body doesn’t completely avoid decay. It’s merely delayed.”
“You’re right, aren’t you?”
“Even if Recovery Magic can truly revive the dead, we don’t know under what conditions it’s possible. In other words, we need to hurry as much as possible. We need to gather the White Magic Gems before her body deteriorates.”
Yuma responded forcefully to Aisha’s words with a “Yes!”
From the start, he had no intention of collecting them leisurely. He would travel the world and master Recovery Magic as quickly as possible.
And then, he would heal Kaede immediately. He was prepared to do anything for that.
“And—”
Aisha lowered the bag she had been carrying on her back and took out its contents. It was like a metal rod. It had a strange shape.
“This is what I promised you.”
“Promised?”
Yuma didn’t understand what she was talking about.
“I told you before, I’d make a weapon for you.”
He remembered. Certainly, when they cleared the Black Dungeon, Aisha had said she would make a weapon. She remembered.
As Aisha fiddled with the weapon, the head tilted, and the handle extended.
It was a familiar shape to Yuma.
“It’s a Variable Pickel. It uses a metal called Adamantite, mined from the Dungeon. And four Magic Gems are embedded in the head.”
When Yuma peered in, there were indeed gems of red, blue, green, and yellow in the head.
“If you can master it, you should be able to use all four major elemental magics.”
Yuma received the Pickel along with the bag from Aisha, his eyes shining.
“Thank you! Aisha-san. I’m so happy.”
“If you get your hands on stronger Magic Gems, you can also exchange them for the Magic Gems attached to the Pickel. This is all I can do. The rest is up to you.”
“Yes!”
Yuma looked again at the people gathered at the boarding gate.
Kanzaki, Maika, Tanaka, and Serizawa. And even Aisha. Everyone offered words of encouragement and worried about him taking care of himself.
Each of those words made him happy. People he would never have met if he had lived a normal life.
Finally, Kanzaki turned his eyes to Yuma.
“Yuma, once it’s all over, come back to D-Minor. There’s still a lot I need to teach you.”
Yuma squeezed out a voice filled with emotion, saying, “Yes.”
Looking to the side, Rui and Akito were nodding with smiles. Yuma also nodded, looking at the people who had come to see him off.
“Well then, everyone, I’m off!”
Yuma, Rui, and Akito entered the boarding gate and proceeded to the government plane.