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Chapter 219: Senpai Adventurer

「I wanted to die in this land as its last king… 」
Khan vigorously ruffled his hair.

「Sorry to burst your bubble, I’m someone whose life doesn’t have anything to do with heroic tales and glorious death. You still have Bayliss and the『King’s Bough』 wanted you to live so just give up. 」

I could sense Khan’s desire to end his life after living for so long, and Bayliss seemed to have accepted it. That’s why I was totally in for just burning the entire thing without caring what happened to Khan up until halfway through the ordeal.

But Shahira was different. Well, it’s also partly because I saw the Bough and thought there might be a chance, but she’s the one who made me change my mind.

「You’ve been holed up in this place for over a thousand years already, right? Why don’t you travel around the world and see places, or you can stay here and do something for this kingdom to get back on track, although that might take a long time. And once you’re realllyyyy tired of living, you can disappear then. 」
It’s really fun doing a lot of rummaging around and poking and creating stuff, you know. I highly recommend it.

「Is that your desire? 」
「Well, you can say that, but why don’t you just do whatever you want until the end? 」
Don’t disappear just to satisfy yourself. Please do so only after you’ve become truly happy that even onlookers can feel that happiness, alright.

「I understand. 」
Khan solemnly nodded. Hey, you can loosen up a bit, you know.

「I am Bayliss. 」
「Yup. You already introduced yourself, right? 」

「You have to call her name again, that’s the proper etiquette, right. 」
「Bayliss? 」
Khan told me so I asked him back. I don’t have the slightest idea on the etiquette of an isekai world, much more if it’s an ancient kingdom, you know.

「— Wait a sec, she’s getting mana from me? 」
「That’s because I’m pretty sizable compared to normal spirits. I really have to do this, even just for the beginning, alright? 」Bayliss replied to me.
Oy, wait wait wait.

「Even if you ask me if it’s ’Alright’, it’s troubling me. Aren’t you bound to Khan? 」
So why are you entering a contract with me?

「I am now Khan’s kin. Khan is now bound to you through a contract, so I’m also doing the same. 」

「? 」
I couldn’t wrap my head around what she was saying, so I blankly stared at her while ruffling Riche’s fur. Ahh, this is so calming.

「You… You don’t get it, do you? I’m your 『King’s Bough』now. 」
「Why Bough? 」
I don’t want a human stick that’s bigger than me.

「Didn’t you rename Shahira just before I, her King, disappeared? This sounds unbelievable, but you overrode the contract. 」
「Because she has completely assimilated to Khan’s body, Khan is now the 『King’s Bough』 in essence, and you are his contract partner. 」
Youthful looking Khan and happy Bayliss looked at me.

「Eh, but I’ll be troubled. 」
「It’s already over. I too spent the entire night wondering about this condition. 」
Khan, aren’t you way too fast in sorting out your heart and adapting to things?

「Will Khan disappear if I don’t do anything? 」
「My body weakens and deteriorates. I won’t disappear until either I wish for it or you break the condition you ordered Shihara, and that’s to prolong my life. 」
「Now he’s not sure if he’s a divine beast or a monster~ 」
Bayliss clung to Khan’s arm while he spoke.

Argh, get a room, you flirts! Khan looked unruffled despite the huge chest pressing on his arm.

「What do you plan to do now? 」
「I’ll be off to see the world. 」

Want me to give you a clang clang stick as a present?

「One more thing, sorry about this since I already said I’ll give all these treasures to you, but can you leave one of them behind? 」
「Yeah, that’s fine. Actually, I’ll just take a little bit and leave the rest if you’re planning to revive this place. 」
「No, I’ve already given my word. Besides, I don’t have people, so it’ll be a long time before I do that. 」

Khan’s request was a teleportation circle and a set of teleportation crystals. As their name suggests, the teleportation circle is a round plate. You go on top of it and it’ll teleport you to another plate that’s connected to it, apparently.

The bigger plate is installed in this temple and it’s connected to the one that Khan took. The crystals are consumable; they are used whenever you want to be teleported back to the temple. Bayliss is the spirit of the desert, so she can’t stay away from here for too long — that’s about 10 or so years. If he’s taking her with him then she has to periodically return here.

No one among Khan’s people used this, so it could be considered a lost ancient technique. Even if people knew about it, the balance among the spirits of this world had already changed drastically, so it’s pointless making them, apparently. He showed them to me, but there’s a lot of things about them that I didn’t understand.

They plan to set up a base in the place where they’re going to install the teleportation circle. Once they’re bored they’ll just move bases, rinse and repeat.

For the meantime, I told him all that I knew about the current era, and we decided that being an adventurer would be a convenient identity for him given his circumstances. I gave him an identity card I issued using Soleil’s name.

And so, off to Canum we go.

***

I asked Dinosso, Butler and Retze for help. You see, I’m totally unqualified to explain anything about this world after all.

I made Khan meet them in the room where we play cards. Dinosso’s alertness skyrocketed to the point that I’d never seen him do before. Butler erased his presence.

「You… 」
Retze stared at me with exasperation after seeing the two guys’ reaction.

「Name’s Khan, I’m in your care. 」
Khan ignored the three and introduced himself with a smirk.

「My neck’s prickling. What are you? 」
Dinosso’s tone was tense.

「That Jean guy’s 『King’s Bough』. 」
Khan quickly replied as they faced each other, although he was relaxed. He languidly took a sip of wine.

Not at all his restless self right after we 【Teleport】 here; he had been looking around the room, pacing here and there while picking a plate and even a cup and staring at it intently.

「『King’s Bough』, are you X-Stick? 」
Retze turned his gaze at X-Stick.

「He’s a different Bough from me! It’s way too early for me to look like an uncle, right!? 」
X-Stick energetically replied.

Riche doesn’t like crowds so I sent him home first. Bayliss stood beside Khan, but she looked like a little girl, probably because this place is too far from the desert.

Yeah, can’t help but doubt Khan’s lolicon tendencies when looking at them like this, right?