The scouting party led by Bell and Yoru.

…….

More than ten days passed, and they still hadn’t returned.

So the Universal Ship took off.

It hadn’t been able to focus on work for days, so no one minded.

Tou, the captain of the Universal Ship, had already resigned himself to the situation and prepared accordingly.

Still, what could have happened?

If it were just Yoru, maybe, but Bell was with them.

If it were Bell, no matter what happened, she would have returned to report first.

The Universal Ship already left, so if there’s still no word in three more days, I’ll ask Hakuren or Rasuti to take me there as well.

-0-

Three days later.

In the distant sky, I saw an airship and the Universal Ship.

Looks like they’ve returned.

[What now?]

Hakuren, in her dragon form, asked me.

We were just about to set out.

Well, since we’re already prepared, we might as well go greet them.

I rode on Hakuren’s back and flew toward the airship.

-0-

Even from a distance, I could tell that the airship was carrying a Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machine (Arti-Horse) suspended beneath it.

So they found a new one.

It’s different in design from Siegfried.

And the Universal Ship was also carrying a Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machine.

That one had a different design as well.

Did it take them so long because they were recovering these two?

I can easily picture Bell saying something like, [Time’s up. Let’s just leave it and go back] and Yoru arguing, [No, we’re taking everything with us] .

Ah, Yoru’s waving at me from above the passenger area of the airship.

I should wave back.

…

Hm?

What?

I thought it was a greeting, but it’s not.

She’s signaling me?

Interpreting Yoru’s gestures…

She wants Hakuren to fly underneath the airship?

Yoru’s going to jump down and move to Hakuren?

That’s dangerous.

Rejected.

I signaled back with that message, and now Yoru brought over an angel.

The angel carried Yoru and flew close to Hakuren.

Hakuren, is it alright?

[Sure thing]

With Hakuren’s permission, Yoru landed on her back.

Hakuren wasn’t carrying the cargo bed, so Yoru would need to be careful not to fall.

Just don’t cling to me.

I’ll fall too.

So, what is it?

You came all the way here for something.

[There are still two more left! Please head out to retrieve them!]

…….

So there are two more besides the ones suspended from the airship and the Universal Ship.

[Before someone else takes them!]

All right, all right.

But we can’t just head out as we are.

Hakuren isn’t exactly free either.

She’s supposed to be teaching the children, and I was already asking too much getting her to check on the airship.

[I don’t mind at all]

Thanks.

But won’t it be tough to carry two more of those?

I looked at the humanoid units hanging from the airship.

[Ah… you’re right]

Exactly.

That’s why we’re going back to the village.

[No way!]

Calm down.

I didn’t say we’re not going to retrieve them.

[Mmm…]

Yoru and I rode Hakuren back to the village.

-0-

How to retrieve the Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machines.

I figured the most straightforward approach would be to send the airship and Universal Ship again after unloading their cargo.

But thanks to Hakuren’s mediation, Hiichirou and Guraru agreed to go instead.

Of course, under the supervision of Raimeiren.

That’s helpful, but didn’t Hiichirou have his brooch crafting?

He said he hit a dead end and Gutt suggested he take a break.

Makes sense.

And apparently, Raimeiren will be taking both me and Yoru with her.

……

I get why Yoru has to go, she’s the guide. But do I really need to be there?

[It is a father’s duty to witness his son’s accomplishments]

That’s what Raimeiren told me.

[You want me to ride a dragon alone?]

That’s what Yoru said.

Even Yoru was scared, apparently.

[If it were Hakuren-san or Rasuti-san, maybe, but this is Raimeiren-sama we’re talking about…]

I see… Though you might get scolded by Raimeiren if you say that out loud.

She’s not that scary.

She’s a doting grandma who loves her grandson.

[Exactly. And I’ll be traveling with said grandson.]

Ah… right.

Got it.

It’s just a quick retrieval mission.

We’ll get it done fast and come straight back.

-0-

We went, and we came back. Quick and simple.

It didn’t even take a full day.

We left early in the morning, and now it’s evening.

The Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machines were already secured with ropes, making them easy to transport. But really, credit goes to the dragons.

Thank you, Hiichirou, Guraru.

You really saved us.

And Raimeiren, sorry for the trouble.

Raimeiren seemed pleased to go out with Hiichirou and the others again after such a long time.

Lately, Hiichirou’s been spending all his time over at Gutt’s place.

He’s already finished a few brooches, but he doesn’t seem satisfied with any of them.

He might have more of a craftsman’s spirit than I thought.

I’d like to tell him that no beginner creates perfection right out of the gate, but saying that might discourage him.

Best to let him keep going until he’s satisfied.

Sorry, Gutt, for the trouble.

-0-

Now then.

This time, the two Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machines brought back by the airship and the Universal Ship.

And the two more brought back by Hiichirou and Guraru.

That makes a total of four new units that have arrived in Big Tree Village.

The High Elves are in a frenzy trying to build hangars.

Apparently, both the airship and the Universal Ship were loaded with related parts, and now unfamiliar equipment is stacked in towering piles.

The Mountain Elves are absolutely delighted.

Oh, and the spiderlings who rode on the airship,

It sounds like it was quite the ordeal for them.

-0-

At first, it seems they tried to bring back all four of the Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machines by suspending them from the airship.

But, of course, that was impossible.

The ship couldn’t fly.

They gave up and reduced the load to two units, but even then, the weight was too much and slowed them down significantly. Just as things were becoming problematic due to delays, they ended up dropping one of the units.

The mining site where Siegfried was discovered had already been cleared of demon beasts and monsters during preliminary excavation by the kuros and spiderlings, so there were no issues there. However, the location where the unit was dropped hadn’t been cleared at all.

It was swarming with demon beasts and monsters, and the angels alone couldn’t manage it. I’ve received reports that the spiderlings worked hard to recover the unit.

I also heard that Suarurou, who was supervising the angels, fought alongside them.

I’ll have to thank her as well.

And the Universal Ship, too.

If it hadn’t gone to retrieve them, it would’ve taken much longer for everyone to make it back.

As for it taking off on its own… let’s just not mention that.

-0-

And then…

A deep rumble echoed, dodo-do-do.

Silhouetted against the setting sun, something was tearing across the space between the village and the forest. Tearing…? Well, it wasn’t exactly running. Its legs weren’t moving. Was it hovering? Or using treads?

It was one of the Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machines brought back by the airship.

And it was moving smoothly.

Who’s piloting it?

Yoru, the most likely candidate, was completely wiped out from riding on Raimeiren and had collapsed the moment we returned to the village.

More specifically, she had crawled into the cockpit of the unit Guraru brought back and fallen fast asleep, and now the mountain elves who wanted to examine it were stuck figuring out how to remove her.

That rules her out…

Bell is over by the parts area.

Tou is near the Universal Ship.

So who is it?

One of the mountain elves?

As if sensing my gaze, the Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machine turned and headed my way.

It was overwhelming.

It didn’t appear to be armed, but just seeing that massive body coming toward me was enough to make me uneasy.

The spiderlings quickly lined up in front of me, just in case.

Perhaps because it saw that, or maybe that had been the plan from the start, the Multipurpose Humanoid Mobile Heavy Machine came to a stop a short distance away.

It lowered itself, and the cockpit hatch opened.

And out stepped…

The Demon King’s daughter, Yuri.

-0-

Yuri: [This is Yuri, who hasn’t had much screen time lately. Until now, I’ve been doing my best while based in Village Five.]