Detection Spell
That afternoon, after school, I arrived at the hotel where Riena was staying.
“Hero-sama, the detection ritual is complete,” Riena said the moment I stepped through the door.
No greeting, no small talk—that was the first thing out of her mouth.
“To think you finished it all on your own in just one week… As expected of the brilliant high priestess once hailed as a prodigy of the Goddess Athena Order. A large-scale, high-precision detection spell usually takes a whole team of priests a month, right?”
“I couldn’t afford to slow you down, Hero-sama. So I gave it everything I had. But… hahhh, I have to admit, I’m a little drained.”
“You’ve always had my back—even when we were still in the other world. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thanks, Riena.”
“No need to thank me. Truly.”
“Sorry to ask while you’re still recovering, but… could you activate the ritual now? The moment we locate the Demon King Kanan’s soul, I want to move.”
“Understood. But before that, may I ask one thing?”
“What’s up?”
“Don’t you need to prepare weapons or armor first? You’re still wearing your school uniform, aren’t you?”
As she pointed out, I had come straight from school, still dressed in my high school blazer and slacks.
“This world’s peaceful—too peaceful. You can’t just walk into a shop and pick up a sword or a suit of armor. Places like that don’t exist here.”
“No weapon or armor shops…? That’s hard to believe. This world really is peaceful, then.”
“Even if one did exist, I doubt they’d have anything strong enough to fight the Demon King. Honestly, weapons like that probably don’t exist in this world at all.”
Sure, if we launched a few hundred nuclear missiles at him, maybe we’d stand a chance—but that’s obviously not what we’re dealing with here.
“True enough… If only we’d managed to bring your Holy Sword Strelka. A legendary-class weapon like that, brimming with divine power—it would’ve made all the difference. But… carrying something of that magnitude across worlds was beyond me.”
“Even without the sword, all of my hero skills still work here. As long as he hasn’t fully awakened, I should be able to take him down. No use wishing for something we don’t have.”
“That optimism of yours hasn’t changed a bit, Hero-sama. It’s… comforting.”
“So yeah, don’t worry about me. Just go ahead and activate the ritual.”
“Right away.”
With a small nod, Riena turned to the wall, where a large sheet of rolled-up parchment stood propped upright. In one smooth motion, she unfurled it.
Inscribed across its surface was an intricate magic circle, filled with sacred characters from the Ancient Divinity Script—High Hieroglyph.
Then, lifting a crystal cube about ten centimeters wide from the table, Riena held it in both hands like an offering, closed her eyes, and began to chant.
“Melro Hasje Lethansh Je Frima Rutera Ulua Lu Kantara… O exalted, almighty goddess Athena, reveal to me the location of the Demon King Kanan’s soul! Su Ares!!”
Her incantation, woven in the sacred rhythm of High Hieroglyph, rang through the room—and the crystal in her hands began to shimmer, glowing with a brilliant inner light.
After several moments, the light slowly faded, and a section of the magic circle began to pulse faintly.
“Approximately six kilometers to the north-northeast from here,” Riena reported.
“Nice work, Riena! North-northeast… that runs right along the train line. It’s only about three stations away—lucky break!”
“How fortunate. Then shall we depart at once?”
“Yeah. No way I’m letting a Demon King from another world run wild in this one!”
With that, Riena and I left the love hotel behind and boarded a train, heading toward the place where the Demon King Kanan was waiting.