Y/N POV

Everything feels so much better.

It was 7 days after the Battle of Priestella, and the official end of Arc 5. Everything went according to plan, and we even have all the things we need to move on. We don't even need to worry about Arc 6 for now, since we decided we were going to the Watchtower in 7 days.

So I decided to take my Battalion on vacation, now that we finished everything we could, basically at this point.

Our destination is the Kararagi City States, a country built by an Outerworlder and the Witch of Greed, which incorporated many parts of Japanese culture. But my main reason to go there isn't because of the food and culture.

The main purpose of this journey is to pick up three object that will increase my chances of survival in the future. Echidna's revived Book of Wisdom seemed to approve of my journey, so I will follow its instructions. I'm not going to blindly follow everything it says like Witch Cultists follow their Gospel, but rather, like Capella said, let it serve as a guidance and advisor.

The three objects, or items that are in question are:

The remains of the Black Dragon, Valgren.

The Great Spirit of Wind, the Shinigami, Zarestia.

And the Sword of Power, the Love Sword.

And I am quite confident that these objects will be soon under my grasp. Now, onto our first destination, Picoutatte. This city was attacked by Valgren in the past, and apparently, some people dug up their ashes back then and decided to sell them now to a corrupt noble at a high price.

I don't know who these people are, but there was only one objective:

Speak with your heart, and not your mind [SSS-Class Suicide Hunter]

"Lay your hands off my merchandise. I'm taking it, and that's that. In this world, only the righteous, the just, the strong, and the witty survive."

"Hm? Y/N, what were you saying?" Omega said as she heard my murmurings, and I immediately waved my hands in denial.

"No, it's nothing. I was just voicing some thoughts." I told my contractor, who returned a suspicious gaze, but decided to to pry further. Huh. I thought she was the type to satisfy her endless Greed. Maybe it's just because we respect each other's privacy.

Speaking of my Battalion, we're on a car right now. Yes, a car. To be more precise, a camping car of sorts. I attached two steam engines to move the cart using firestones and our constant supply of water from my authority and Palmyra's Water Magic, so our energy would not run out, not in a long time.

Fulgenta, my ground dragon, rested on a cart behind our camper van space, sleeping soundly since she helped in some manual labour today in the morning before we set out.

"The view's great, isn't it, Y/N?" Colette said as she peeked out the window, and I chuckled at her childish remarks. It's hard to believe the strong girl who has her own 'beast' form is so carefree when it comes to travelling, although I can't really blame her.

"Yes, yes it is, Colette. I took y'all out on a trip because I thought it was time for you to go and see the world outside. Unfortunately, Kararagi is the only safe option. Going to Gusteko without the preparation for the cold could have severe consequences, while the people of Vollachia might make us fight everyday or something."

"You always speak in such, detail, Y/N. No wonder Palmyra said that you were too wordy when you teach her magic." Meili chuckled, and my eyes whipped around to Palmyra, who gave a shy smile and an 'ehe'.

I sighed. There was a much better approach to get Palmyra to listen other than getting mad. "Speaking of Palmyra, you're less gloomy these days. Yo usually have a more calm and silent atmosphere, you know?"

"What do you mean? I'm always lit up. I was just not showing it purposely, or it's just because you didn't notice the times when I did so."

"Oho? That's an awful lot of times for me to not notice. Admit it already, Palmyra, or I'm going to have to brand you a tsundere."

"Wha- how- why?" Palmyra stuttered, and it was hilarious.

And thus, our journey to Picoutatte has been filled with jokes and talks along the way.

"Okay, I understand. The Royal Candidate Camps and other authorities have confirmed and supported your travels. Please, I hope you enjoy your stay in Picoutatte." The knight said as I gave the permission to Omega to move, who was in the driver's seat while I talked things out with the guard.

"By the way, what is your name, sir knight?"

"I am Faust, knight of the Lugnica Knight Order. Pleasure to meet you, esteemed saviour of Priestella and beyond."

"Aw, shucks. Don't praise me too much, sir knight, I like to keep a more humble profile." I kindly returned a bow.

"But your achievements cannot be denied, Liberator-san. Your efforts have been acknowledged by the country, if not the world itself. Without you, many people might have succumbed to the darkness and evil that would've swallowed them whole."

"I understand, I understand. Just don't go around purposely spreading too much rumours about me, okay?"

"If it's what the Liberator wishes, I shall obey then." The knight gave another slight bow, and I returned to the auto-carriage, sitting down beside Omega to take back the wheel.

"How is it this time? Another Inkal?"

"No, he didn't have a fanboy attitude. Inkal is young, so I expected this guy to be a senior of sorts."

"You know, Y/N, you talk with such wiseness and such a choice in words that sometimes I look at you and think that you're an old man."

"Well, to be fair, I have experienced much, much more than 17 year olds my age, and many adults as well. Of course my accumulated experience would allow myself to speak such words."

"Also," I turned to Omega before I patted her head. "You can't even tease me this way, Chid-chan. You are 400 years old! I would say you're definitely more of a hag than me."

"Hmph. But my body and soul's appearances are definitely in my early adulthood, so you don't have proof."

"Oh, really?" I imagined Echidna as a grandma, handing out her home-baked cookies to her kids. And within seconds, Omega punched me in the stomach.

"Y/N... if you imagine that again, I'll personally see to it that an Al Shario will rain upon you."

"I thought you said you didn't have the mana to cast it?!"

"Fufu... I never reveal my secrets."

Witches are scary...

It was the night on the day of our arrival and I already have to deal with this stuff.

Namely, thieves.

I already destroyed one force within the last 15 minutes, and handed them over to the authorities. However, another group is already on the move.

What is it with Picoutatte's thieves? Is there a Thieves Guild of some sort? The weirdest thing of all... is that multiple organizations and mercenary groups seems to involved. They also seemed to be transporting something, and I found something weird in their carriages.

They were boxes. Boxes of what seemed to be... ash.

Ash of some sorts, not volcanic, and I can't even seem to distinguish what kind of molecules are contained. Did something magical, like a meteor of sorts, get incinerated, and they're trying to revive it?

Well, that's not my concern for now. I can find that out later after I deal with those idiots.

The idiots in question were a combination of assassins, thieves, and mercenaries.

"Stop hiding, you lot. Your weak killing intent is leaking out, and having to constantly detect it is annoying." I said towards the trees, and around 50 men walked out.

"Why are you interfering in our business, kid? This has nothing to do with you." A man, who seems to be a commander of sorts, stepped out.

"Also! We are hired by the lord's daughter herself, so-"

The large commander quickly cuffed the mouth of his underling, and knocked him unconscious. What a nice piece of juicy information he just leaked. I'll be sure to dig into that later. But, I need to focus on the priorities.

"Shipping suspicious ash into the city without a permit is already weird enough, but more stealing and knocking out knights and guards of Picoutatte? That is definitely considered a crime, you know."

"You've seen too much, kid. I will make sure you never see the light of day again." The commander guy unsheathed his sword, and he rushed towards me before swinging his sword as hard as he could. A valiant and commendable effort, but sadly, that isn't going to damage me.

"I'd like to see you try." I said as his sword shattered upon contact with my Prudence's Barrier, and he stared at the pieces in amazement.

Seeing that their leader needs help, two other members among the group swiftly dashed towards me with their weapons at the ready, but they were easily intercepted my Imperceptible Extensions, which choked them until they were unconscious.

"Rage Pulse." I muttered, and activated my Authority of Deceit to began my cells' auto-repair as the Authority of Wrath's power rendered several mercenaries immobile, and then I deployed the Dominator's Domain to leave only the strong ones left.

Five mercenaries out of the 50 remained, and they were still under the effect of Dominator's Domain. This should be a piece of cake. However, when I unsheathed Zeam and prepared to wound them, a giant sickle flew from behind me and I immediately deflected it back, only for it to caught by the one who threw it. Frustrated, I generated a diamond barrier to keep the thieves inside, and faced the opponent who brought reinforcements.

"Who are you, weakling?"

"I? I am the 5th ranked on the Assassin Rankings... Bloody Reaper, Calgur Poshulum. If you think you can mess with the business of people who are much higher ranked than yourself, think again. Considering that you're somewhat strong, I'll let you go if you were to leave now and promise to forget everything, considering that you're not a target."

"Leave? I think you got the wrong idea. YOU don't get to leave."

"Imperceptible Extensions Phase III - Swords."

The tendrils of shadow shot out towards the man, but he swung his sickle and cut against the hardened shadows, which resulted in a stalemate. Seeing this, I summoned my three spirits, and launched an attack towards the now defenseless assassin.

"Al Goa!"

"Al Jiwald!"

"Al Minya!"

The three high level spells zoomed towards the assassin, only to be intercepted by the other assassins.

"Tch." I unsheathed my three swords of power, and cut down two assassins in an instant using Inen and Ryokyo. As I swung Zeam towards the Reaper guy, the third assassin sacrificed himself before the Reaper finally won against my Extensions, and the shadows dispersed.

"Not bad, not bad. But... this is going to cost you, Bloody Reaper! Authority of Wrath, Stage II!"

"Massacre."

Within a five-meter radius, I knocked every single assassin unconscious, scaring the Reaper. However, another batch of people suddenly came up from behind him, surprising me. "Why is there more and more insects popping up..."

"Hah, surprised, kid? We even have back up from the assassination organization this time! You can't defeat us now, can you? Charge, my comrades!"

"Assassination organization? Well, I think you're fighting the wrong person. Chimera, get your people under control."

"Okay, everyone, you heard Y/N-kun. Stop." A shrill voice rang out from the sky, and within a second, the Reaper was pierced through the heart with a dragon claw.

"Huh. That's more efficient than I thought, Cappy."

"You were just dragging it out on purpose, Y/N."

"Okay, to be fair, why would I need to use my full power?"

"You're just making excuses. Now, let's address the main issue. Children..." Capella turned to the assassins. "What. Do. You. Think. You. People. Were. Doing."

"Who are you? What makes you think you can just order us around-"

Splat.

The guy turned into a pile of formless meat within a second at the wave of a hand, and instantly, all the members bowed down.

"Mother! We are so very sorry about our disrespectful behaviour. Please spare us..."

"Silence! What makes you think you are still in a position to make demands! And! You tried to kill Y/N! My Y/N! You should suffer no less than being turned into the very meatbags you are! So now, prepare to-"

I cupped my hand over Capella's mouth, and brought her over to behind a tree.

"Cappy, what did I say about turning people into meat piles?"

"Only do it to the evil ones...?"

"Yes, but they're our allies. So at least we can question them first. They seem to obey you, after all. You have to act like a leader, not someone who just turns people into formless matter just to scare them."

"I... fine." Capella nodded before transforming the meat pile back into the assassin, and he scrambled away in fear.

"Be grateful, you mongrels. Y/N has decided to give you some leniency today. So there will only be interrogation."

And thus, began a long night of questioning every single assassin we could find in the vicinity.

Ah... this trip is off to such a great start.

Really, so great...