BRAND NEW WORLD

Chapter 79: A New Promise to Return

For some reason, he looked incredibly cool when he said that.

Before I realized it, a smile had crept onto my face.

"...That is, assuming they don’t gang up on us. Hahaha," Ringga added with a laugh.

His joke snapped me back to reality. I immediately pushed him away.

"T-That’s enough. I’m going to bed."

Without waiting for his response, I hurriedly left.

The Next Morning

After breakfast, everyone gathered in the backyard.

"Mommy Rima, please be careful, okay?" Daisy said.

"Mmm... You’re just too adorable. Now I want to come home as soon as possible," Rima replied, hugging her tightly.

"We haven’t even left yet..."

"Lun, I’m heading out first," Ringga said. Then he looked at Daisy. "Daddy’s leaving now, okay?"

He gently ruffled Daisy’s hair.

"Mhm! Be careful!" Daisy answered, wrapping her arms around him.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Ringga and Rima walked three steps away from the others.

"See you there," Rima said with a smile.

Ringga waved back.

A magic circle appeared beneath their feet.

Light engulfed them.

Then they disappeared.

"Now... It’s our turn."

We departed for the capital of Nuzantra in a horse-drawn carriage pulled by Langit.

Inside the carriage sat Daisy, Lusserina, and me.

Meanwhile, Abiyasa and Annandita took the driver’s seat, while Putih, Bamby, and Arimby ran alongside us.

After several minutes, we finally arrived at the capital and headed straight for its western gate.

Even before we reached it, I could already see a massive crowd gathered outside.

"Mom, is there a festival today?" Daisy asked innocently.

"No, sweetheart."

Lusserina smiled gently.

"Some people are here to bid farewell to their relatives, friends, and family members who are leaving."

"The rest have come to see off the representatives who will be joining the war."

Once we passed through the gate, I saw people from every walk of life gathered outside:

adventurers,

soldiers,

academy teachers and students,

and even nobles of the kingdom.

As we stepped down from the carriage, someone suddenly called out—

"Mother!"

"Mom!"

"Ma!"

I turned around.

Four familiar figures were running toward us.

Rania.

Radhimar.

Bartasz.

And Elrik.

Before I could react, Rania and Radhimar threw themselves into my arms, clinging tightly while tears streamed down their faces.

"Mom! Please don’t go! We don’t want to lose you again!"

Their eyes were red with tears.

"H-Hey! What’s gotten into you two? Aren’t you embarrassed in front of Daisy?"

Bartasz merely shook his head.

"But I understand how they feel."

He looked straight at me.

"Don’t do anything reckless, Mom. No matter what happens... please come back."

I gently raised my hand and patted the heads of the two still clinging to me.

"If you don’t let go," I whispered,

"Mother is really going to get angry."

The two of them instantly stepped back and stood at attention.

A trace of fear appeared on their faces.

"You two, honestly..."

I let out a long sigh.

"Don’t worry."

"I promise... I’ll come back."

The moment those words left my mouth, Rania and Radhimar hugged me again.

Even Bartasz, who had been standing nearby, was dragged into the embrace by the two of them.

"H-Hello, Daisy! How have you been?" Bartasz asked, gently patting Daisy’s head.

"Mhm! I’ve been doing great!" Daisy replied cheerfully.

After a while, everyone finally let go.

"Daisy! I’ve missed you so much!" Rania exclaimed, lifting Daisy into her arms and rubbing her cheek against hers.

"I missed you too, Sister Rania," Daisy answered.

"Awww! You’re just too cute!"

At that moment, someone called out,

"Lady Luna."

I turned around.

Approaching us were several important figures:

King Siegfried,

Prime Minister Allan,

Queen Anastasia,

Princess Verni,

Guild Master Zatya,

Knight Commander Deva,

Ryda,

Hellen,

Ares,

along with numerous influential members of both the Adventurers’ Guild and the kingdom.

After exchanging a few words, everyone prepared to depart.

"You don’t need to worry," Rania said.

"We’ll take good care of Daisy."

"What Rania said is right," Radhimar added.

"Go with peace of mind, Ma," Bartasz said.

At that moment, an enormous magic circle spread across the ground beneath the adventurers and knights who would participate in the expedition.

Lusserina and I waved to Daisy,

to Rania,

Radhimar,

Bartasz,

Abi,

Ana,

and everyone else.

Then brilliant light swept across us.

The next instant—

Everyone vanished.

• •

A vast green plain stretched endlessly before us.

One after another, enormous magic circles materialized across the grass, releasing countless figures bathed in light.

"Where are we...?" someone murmured.

"This is the eastern side of Parahyangan City," Zatya explained.

"The city itself lies about one kilometer west of here."

Zatya, Ryda, Hellen, and the others narrowed their eyes, gazing toward the distant horizon.

"But... I don’t see any city at all," Ryda said.

"That’s because the city is hidden behind a barrier."

Everyone fell silent as they continued staring toward the west.

No one spoke.

"Alright. According to the plan, Lusserina will command everyone stationed on the eastern front."

"Then I’ll leave things here to you, Lu."

"I’ll also be counting on you, Putih."

"With pleasure, My Lady! I shall do my utmost," Lusserina replied confidently.

WOOF!!

Just as we were talking, a firework suddenly shot into the sky.

It exploded into a gigantic arrow of light pointing toward a location farther west.

"It looks like that’s the signal..."

"Everyone, let’s move."

The players gathered together once more.

I activated another teleportation spell, sending us to the rendezvous point we had agreed upon.

• •

When my vision cleared, the scenery had changed again.

We now stood at a crossroads.

Not far away, I spotted Ringga together with several unfamiliar figures.

We walked toward them.

"Are we late?"

"No," Ringga replied.

"We just got here ourselves."

"So... this is our ’goddess’?"

The voice belonged to a Draconian dressed like a mage, holding a long staff.

An unusual combination.

"Oh right, let me introduce him."

Ringga pointed toward the Draconian.

"This is Grandpa Lampir."

"Mbah Dukun, not Grandpa Lampir!" the Draconian shouted in protest.

When I used Analyze on him, his name indeed appeared as Mbah Dukun.

"Dyt! Help me out here!" Mbah Dukun complained.

"Nah. Too lazy."

The reply came from a muscular man standing nearby.

"The silent, cool-looking guy over there is Rhadyt," Ringga explained.

"Where’s everyone else? Has everyone arrived?"

The moment I asked that question, another magic circle appeared a short distance away.

Naturally, everyone’s attention shifted toward it.

This time, Rima stepped out together with Axxel, Key, Pegel—the Lord of Darkness—and several others.

"Hey, Lun!"

"Hi, Luna!"

Axxel and Key greeted me.

Rima immediately walked over.

Her eyes were slightly red, and worry was clearly written across her face.

I gently took her hand.

"Don’t worry."

"I’ll be fine."

"Besides, we can’t allow even a single monster to escape."

"If even one gets through, cities will fall, and countless innocent people will die."

"That’s why we’re entrusting the outside to you."

"Protect everyone in case any monsters slip past us."

Rima wiped her eyes.

"Remember..."

"You promised you’d come back."

I nodded silently.

She embraced me for a brief moment before activating her teleportation magic once more and disappearing.

For several seconds, I continued staring at the place where she had vanished.

"Has everyone arrived now?"

"Not yet," Ringga answered.

"There are still a few others."

While waiting, we spent several minutes reminiscing about the old days together.

Then Ringga suddenly looked upward.

"They’re finally here."

I followed his gaze.

High above us, several figures descended from the sky.

When they came within a few dozen meters of the ground, they slowed their fall and landed gracefully.

The first to arrive was Mang Pedo.

Behind him came a man accompanied by several little girls.

"Yo! Am I late?" Mang Pedo called out.

We greeted one another.

Suddenly, a cat-eared girl ran straight toward me, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

She circled me, looking me over from head to toe from every angle.

Then she hugged me tightly.

"Umm...?"

"Please forgive my ’little sister,’" Mang Pedo said awkwardly.

"She was just so happy that she finally got to meet you."

"Huh?"

"She came from that adoption system?"

Mang Pedo nodded with an embarrassed expression.

"..."

"What exactly did you write in her description?"

He fell silent for a moment before answering.

"I wrote..."

’She deeply admires Lunaria Oberyth.’

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"I honestly didn’t know what else to write... so I just put that. Hehe."

I let out a long sigh.

Then my eyes happened to fall upon someone standing behind Mang Pedo.

Wait...

Could it be...?

"Kardol!"

"Yo! How’ve you been?" Kardol replied casually.

Kardol—

A fellow Tower Guardian like me.

The master of the giant whale tower near the city of Movento.

The man I had believed to be dead...

was actually alive.

"I thought you..."

I turned toward Ringga.

He immediately looked away.

"..."

"Y-You never asked," Ringga muttered.

I sighed once again.

"It’s a long story."

"Maybe I’ll explain everything after this is over," Kardol said.

I never imagined that he was still alive.

As I was lost in my thoughts—

"Sister Luna!"

A familiar voice rang out.

I turned around.

"Shana!"

Shanaerah—whom I called Shana—and Shany’s mother came running toward me with boundless enthusiasm.

She was only a few meters away when—

THUD!!

Shana fell face-first onto the ground after Ringga stuck out his leg and tripped her.

"WAAAH!! Sister Luna!! Big Brother Ringga is so mean!!"

I shot Ringga a sharp glare.

He immediately pretended to look elsewhere.

I crouched beside Shana.

She quickly wrapped her arms around me, continuing to whine and complain.

"There, there."

"I’ll scold him for you later."

"..."

After a while, her tears subsided, and she stood back up.

"Alright."

"Since everyone’s finally here, let’s treat this as an event."

"As usual, each of you will receive one Skill Scroll," Ringga announced.

Whispers immediately spread through the crowd.

"Only one?"

"Seriously?"

"This isn’t a game anymore!"

"We’re risking our lives here!"

I glanced at Ringga beside me.

He answered with a small nod.

"Fine."

"You’ll each receive two skills."

"WOOHOO!!"

"Now that’s more like it!"

"Finally! I can get the skill I’ve always wanted!"

"..."

Ringga looked over the gathering one last time.

"Alright, everyone."

"Are you ready?"

"Let’s protect the world we love!"

"YEAHHHH!!"

The cheers echoed across the vast plain.

This assault would determine the continent’s future.