I got on Olivia’s back and flew to the sky .

    I only brought Eleanor and Hikari and headed towards the north .

    『Are you sure it’s over here?』

    「Eleanor asked」

    「I would not forget a human’s smell once I have met them . As long as they are still alive, I can track them . That human especially possesses a strong smell, so there is no way I can be wrong」

    Olivia in her dragon form said with a heavy tone .

    Because her body became bigger, not only her tone was heavy, but her voice was loud as well .

    She would release a pressure that ordinary humans would feel frightened just by talking to her .

    Despite that, more than half of that pressure is neutralized .

    It’s because Hikari is hanging by her neck .

    Olivia, O-chan .

    Although they’re essentially different dragons, Hikari treats Olivia just like how she does with Chibi Dragon .

    And Olivia accepts that . Because of how heartwarming they look, the pressure she releases decreased even more .

    And I don’t really mind it like that, so I ignored it, and continued to talk with Olivia .

    「What kind of place is in this direction? Althea seems to be worried about Rodotos so, is it a city?」

    That’s right, it’s Althea .

    To establish Mercouri as a kingdom, a proper internal affair is essential after defeating the Empire .

    The other four kingdoms might be able to do something about it, but Mercouri only has Rex and Soora who I support .

    One of them is a man from a country village and the other is a woman from a village who chose to cease connection with the world .

    There was no way they could govern .

    And so, there comes Althea .

    The Great Sage Althea, the woman who was Rodotos’s right arm .

    In the era I’m in, I have witnessed her political ability a bit, so I believe she could do it .

    「If it’s the Imperial City Irion, it’s over there」

    Olivia slowly raised her clawed hand and pointed diagonally .

    「That’s an unfamiliar name . I see, it’s not the city huh」

    『I turned into something like “that”, so there is no way she would stay in the city』

    「I guess so……」

    ☆

    We flew for about an hour and landed in a deep forest .

    I got off in front of a mountain cabin that looks like a secret hideout inside the forest .

    Olivia returned to her dragonkin form and Hikari was still hanging from her neck .

    「It’s here?」

    「Un, she’s inside」

    Olivia completely changed her tone after turning to her dragonkin form . She seems like a friendly neighborhood childhood friend in this form .

    Her tone just fits how she looks with Hikari hanging from her head .

    「Ororo?」

    「What’s the matter?」

    「I didn’t notice from far away, but this human, she’s dying?」

    「What did you say?!」

    『Umu . The life force of the human inside seems very weak』

    Hearing what Olivia and Eleanor said, I opened the door almost destroying it, and rushed inside .

    Inside the dark cabin was a bad smell and stagnated air .

    A silhouette that faintly appears .

    She is sitting on the ground, facing towards the wall .

    Her long hair and familiar clothes, it’s Althea .

    「Althea!」

    I ran up to her while calling out her nameーーI was stunned seeing her face when she reacted and looked up to me .

    It was an old woman .

    The last time we’ve met was only a few days ago, but the youthful Althea turned into a wrinkly old woman .

    「You came……I thought you’d come」

    Although the tone of her voice sounded very youthful, the voice itself was completely that of an old woman .

    「Rather than that, what happened, Althea? What happened to you?!」

    「It is the, compensation」

    「Compensation?」

    「Ahh, it came again」

    「What?」

    I looked towards the opposite direction from Althea .

    I looked over there and saw something dark and transparent passing through the wall .

    「Hikari!」

    「Un!」

    I called Hikari and she turned into a Demon Sword . I raised the mother and daughter Demon Swords and faced towards that thing .

    「A ghost huh, I’ll end you quickly」

    「Wait」

    「Eh?」

    Althea grabbed me with her wrinkled hand .

    「Why should I wait?」

    「That is……he is……」

    『Rodotos, huh』

    「What?」

    Althea and Eleanor said together .

    I turned around in surprise . This ghost that doesn’t even have a shape, this is Rodotos?

    『There’s no doubt, it’s him』

    「……eii! If so, then let’s leave this place first!」

    I couldn’t kill it at once, so I carried Althea and rushed out of the room .

    ☆

    I gained quite a distance from the cabin . Although we’re still inside the forest, the silent air made me feel that we had ventured deeper .

    Hikari remained in her Demon Sword form and Olivia and I faced with Althea .

    And there, I had Althea explain what’s happening .

    To save Rodotos whose soul is being sullied by Eleanor, Althea used an elixir to let Eleanor gain a physical body in exchange for releasing Rodotos .

    Rodotos was released immediately but still passed away . His soul was released as well .

    「ーーor, that was how it should have been」

    「He wasn’t released?」

    「He was, once . However, his soul did not return to the heaven completely . As you can see, he started to attack me」

    「And because of that, you became like this?」

    「It would seem that he has an attachment to life . He might be trying to revive himself by absorbing my life force」

    「Is that so?」

    I asked Eleanor .

    『Although I don’t know whether it’s on purpose or just left like that, my powers might have remained in his soul . There are such times, when someone dies possessing my powers, they would turn into evil ghosts that are attached to life』

    「You yourself were obsessed with having a physical body after all」

    『That is true during this era . I do not anymore』

    「Is that thanks to me?」

    『Umu』

    I spoke in the middle and let Althea and Eleanor speak to each other .

    「I want to release him . What should I do?」

    『It’s simple . Just ask this man』

    「Me?」

    『You only need to cut him . Not his soul, but my powers that is possessing his soul』

    「I see」

    「Can you do that?」

    「Leave it to me . I’ll make him ascend to heaven the next time he comes」

    What Eleanor is saying is not something that difficult . Rather, for me who was able to bring our powers that Eleanor didn’t have, the level of difficulty is just like riding a bike with one hand .

    It’s Althea’s request . I’ll quickly end him .

    「Rather than that, it’s you . That appearance, aren’t you in a really bad situation?」

    「Let me see, it feels like he took fifty years of my life . I won’t live for long」

    「Can’t you do something about it?」

    「Well, when it comes to a person’s longevity……」

    Althea made wry smile .

    The Great Sage Althea, the woman who knows everything in this world .

    She is saying that because she knows everything, she cannot do anything against a person’s longevity .

    『……I see, it was like that huh』

    「What do you mean by that, Eleanor?」

    『I understood right now . I understood the reason why how she, an ordinary human, could meet you』

    「What do I need to do?」

    『You’re too quick to be convinced』

    Eleanor laughed .

    Althea, just Althea .

    When we first met, she was an old woman who would suck up life force from humans, so I thought that she is from a long-lived race . But Althea who I met in this era said that she was an ordinary human .

    I secretly had my doubts on why she was able to continue to live and meet me in the future .

    『Do you remember? What I said to you after you slept with those Mercouri women?』

    「Are you talking about Cima and the other girls? …………the way you sleep with a woman?」

    「Don’t tell me……is it like this?」

    Althea said and grabbed my hand .

    Its the usual thing that Althea in the future does . That ability that absorbs life force .

    She held my hand just like that .

    「It’s that thing Rodotos was doing huh」

    It looks like what I heard from Eleanor, was something Althea actually saw .