Ayaka Azurite.

Ragna Mitsurugi.

Ursula Utgarza.

Sai Kumen.

Sidney Skyship.

Claira Berch.

And, Klimt Berch.

These are the names of the seven people who are called the Golden Generation on Demon Island, and at the same time, they are a list that shows the order of rank among the Golden Generation.

It was annoying and frustrating for Klimt to be ranked seventh among the seven.

It was not that Klimt was particularly inferior to anyone else. Objectively speaking, Klimt was excellent and his soul equipment was powerful. His outstanding achievements since joining the Green Woods Eight Banners were evidenced by his rank as seventh in the seventh banner.

The reason why Klimt had to settle for the lowest rank was because the other six people were more excellent than Klimt.

Even if Ayaka and Ragna, who were certain to be promoted to vice-generals within a few years, were exceptional cases, Sai, Sidney, and his sister Claira also had higher ranks than Klimt.

Only Ursula’s rank was still tenth, but she belonged to the first banner, which was the most elite unit directly under the lord. It was a hellish place where people of upper rank classes in other banners were doing ordinary warriors’ jobs. Klimt understood what it meant to be appointed as tenth in such a place.

Klimt had a sense of camaraderie with his classmates, but he also had a strong sense of rivalry with them. Even if something difficult happened, he did not intend to rely on them unless it was something serious.

However, this incident where his sister Claira was taken prisoner was something serious for Klimt. Even though he was kicked by his brother Diart in front of the public, he could not just sit back and watch the situation.

So, Klimt decided to swallow his pride and bow his head to his classmates.

Ragna of the Mitsurugi clan was needless to say, Sai of the Kumon family was a prestigious family of Demon Island with a history of three hundred years, and so was Sidney’s Skyship family. The Azurite family was famous as a noble family of the empire. If he could borrow the power of these families, he would have a chance to save his sister.

The first person Klimt visited was Sidney Skyship. The reason was simple: Sidney was the most gentle and friendly among the Golden Generation.

The Skyship family had a feud with the Berch family because they had lost their position as Minister to Gilmore, but Klimt had no choice but to use any means possible. There was no point in worrying about his family’s eyes now. He had to save his sister.

――But when he conveyed his determination to his petite classmate, he laughed and shook his soft golden hair from side to side.

“There’s no need for you to do that. She’s your sister, and she’s my friend. I have no reason not to help you. Well, convincing grandpa might be a bit tough though.”

“……I’m sorry, Sidney.”

“Klimt. I’d rather you say ‘thank you’ instead of ‘sorry’.”

He had golden hair that reached his shoulders and blue eyes. Sidney, who had an imperial noble as his mother, inherited the noble appearance of blond hair and blue eyes like Ragna, but the impression he gave was the opposite.

Unlike Ragna, who had a noble dignity at a young age and was often seen older than his actual age, Sidney was often seen younger than his actual age.

It was normal for him to be seen as two or three years younger than his classmates like Klimt, and sometimes even younger. Also, because his voice was neutral, he was often mistaken for opposite gender.

He also found it amusing and sometimes acted as a woman, so among the Green woods flag warriors, there was a fairly high percentage of people who believed in the theory that Sidney was female.

Anyway, Sidney, who promised to cooperate with Klimt, asked for the cooperation of the other classmates to rescue Claira as he said.

The one who openly refused this was Sai Kumon.

“Stop it, stop it. If you move rashly now, you’ll only make things worse.”

Sai, the younger brother of Shukuya Kumon, who was second-ranked in the first flag, had a dark complexion like his brother but bore a sarcastic expression, in contrast to his sibling’s demeanor. He rejected Klimt’s plea.

“Don’t interfere with what the lord has decided, Klimt. You won’t get away with just having your head stepped on this time. You’re doing this without your family’s permission, right? Even if you save Claira, you’ll only be disowned by them.”

So, don’t do anything unnecessary and stay quiet, Sai told him with a bored look. He seemed to want nothing to do with it, but his words were actually touching on a part of the truth.

“Besides, the one who captured Claira is Sora. There’s no way that coward would go against the lord.”

Sidney frowned as if he was troubled by what he heard.

“Never mind the coward part, I also can’t imagine Sora going against the lord. But, Sai. Sora cut down Klimt and Shiba Gozu. In terms of ability and personality, shouldn’t we consider him a different person from the old Sora?”

“As for me, I doubt from the start whether they were really cut down by Sora.”

Sai said this, while giving Klimt a brief glance, who remained silent.

Klimt gritted his teeth and glared at Sai.

“Are you saying I’m lying?”

“Klimt, let’s try to think from the opposite perspective. If I were to leave the island, meet Sora after five years, and get defeated by him, then came back to report it to the lord – would you believe me? Could you believe me?”

“…That’s-“

“You wouldn’t believe it, right? It’s only natural to think that I’m up to something. Besides, you and your sister are from the troublesome Berch family, and your position is difficult. It wouldn’t be surprising if you’re trying to turn things around by working with Shiba and staging an act to take out Sora. In fact, Shito Gilmour said something similar to Shiba Gozu, didn’t he?”

Sai said that and lightly raised both his hands.

Of course, Sai was not seriously suspecting that Klimt was colluding with Sora.

He was just saying that such a view was possible. And if so, there would be people like Gilmour who would use this incident as a means to bring down others.

As a person of the Kumon family, he couldn’t easily nod along with his classmate’s request.

“Besides, even if Klimt’s story was true, Sora didn’t kill either Klimt or Shiba in the end. He didn’t even cut Claira, did he? I’m sure he hasn’t changed at his core.”

If Sai truly intended to negotiate with the Mikatana family, he would have returned with either Goz or Klimt’s severed head and used some of Claira’s fingers as bargaining chips. He didn’t believe that someone who couldn’t go that far would harm the hostages.

His initial statement, “Don’t do anything unnecessary and stay quiet,” was undoubtedly his true intention.

After hearing Sai’s blunt opinion, Sidney pondered with a troubled expression. Although Sai’s opinion was crude, he didn’t think it was entirely incorrect.

If the head of the family, Shikebe, had a similar mindset as Sai, then Klimt and Sidney’s efforts would be counterproductive at best.

Nevertheless, Sidney could understand Klimt’s restlessness and couldn’t help but ponder what to do next.

“You’re talking about something very dangerous, aren’t you?”

The one who appeared with that voice was Mitsurugi Ragna. Behind him was Ayaka Azurite.

Sidney was surprised by the perfect timing, and Ragna shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s not a coincidence. I came here looking for Klimt.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

Perhaps he was ordered by the head of the family to scold him for his rudeness yesterday.

“I got permission from my father to move the four flags to rescue Claira. We can’t leave the island ourselves, but this should calm you down, Klimt.”

“What!?”

Klimt was stunned and speechless. Ragna’s words were completely unexpected for him.

As Jijinbou was, most of the Green Woods warriors who work outside the island belong to the fourth flag. Ragna said he would move that unit to save Claira.

The fourth flag, which has many warriors working outside, is looked down upon by the other eight flags, but it is still one of the eight flags. Even if Ragna is the heir of the main family, he shouldn’t be able to move them easily. Moreover, Klimt hasn’t said anything to Ragna yet.

This means that Ragna had started to take action to rescue Claira, regardless of Klimt’s intentions. He probably had been moving since yesterday.

Klimt, who was at a loss for words, thanked Ragna.

“…Ragna, I’m sorry…no, thank you.”

Following Klimt, Sidney also bowed his head lightly.

“Ragna, I also thank you. Thank you.”

“It’s just helping a fellow student. There’s no need to thank me.”

Ragna, who responded coolly, certainly gave a sense of being someone who stands above others.

And, there was someone who tried to scratch at Ragna’s calm appearance. It was Sai.

“To help your fellow students, huh? Yesterday, you were so upset when you heard that your fellow student was alive, weren’t you, Ragna?”

“…I thought he had died long ago. I was surprised.”

“Surprised, huh? You looked panicked to me. Worried that your former fiancée would show up and take away your beloved Azurite–ugh!?”

The golden generation knew that Ragna, who was always calm and composed, would expose his emotions when it came to his brother Sora.

They smirked and tried to break Ragna’s pretentious face by poking at him, but Sai’s words were suddenly cut off.

Upon looking, a slender white hand was vigorously pinching Sai’s cheek.

It was Ayaka who had somehow managed to sneak up behind him.

“Sai? Is this the mouth that insults Ragna, who worked so hard for the sake of his comrades?”

“Ow, ow, it hurts!”

“Well, of course it hurts if I’m pinching you! Now, do you have anything to say to Ragna?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It was just a little prank. Please forgive me!”

“Ayaka, that’s enough. If you keep doing that, Sai’s cheeks will droop. It’ll be annoying to have to stifle my laughter every time I see him from now on.”

With Ragna’s intervention, Ayaka released her grip on Sai’s cheek.

Sai, his hand on his now-bright-red cheek, grumbled.

“Ow, ow… Jeez, you’re still as strong as ever. And when did you manage to get behind me? I didn’t see you at all.”

“I was standing right next to you and I couldn’t even see you. It seems that the Dancing Princess has been honing her speed even further.”

Sidney nodded in appreciation, and Ayaka responded with a smile.

“If we’re talking about improvement, then Sidney has definitely become even more charming. The rumors about the singing siren who has captured the hearts of the Six Banner warriors are reaching us too. Last time we met, Ursula said she wanted to hear your voice again after such a long time.”

Ayaka shook her head with regret as she spoke.

“I can’t make that wish now that I’m hiding in the demon gate. By the way, when Ursula and Claira come back, let’s have a tea party together.”

“That sounds like fun. I’d love to be invited. By the way, judging from what you just said, it seems like you’re confident that Claira will return safely.”

“Sora asked not to lay hands on the Kijin if he wants Claira to return safely. Lord Mitsurugi said that if Sora’s power is indeed real, he can entrust the Kijin to him. Since his demands are being met, there’s no reason for Sora to harm Claira.”

Upon hearing this, Sidney inwardly tilted his head in confusion. Ayaka’s tone made it seem as if she were stating a well-known fact.

Shikibu’s words meant “If it’s true that Sora defeated a mythical creature by himself, I’ll leave the treatment of the kijin to him.”

Of course, Sidney didn’t doubt Gozu or Klimt. He didn’t doubt them, but if he was asked if he trusted them 100%, he would be at a loss for an answer.

He knew Sora from five years ago, and even more so from before that.

But Ayaka, who knew the same thing, seemed to believe Gozu’s report without question. No, it seemed to Sidney that she was saying it as if she “knew” rather than “believed”.

And then, as if to interrupt Sidney’s thoughts, a bell rang from the west.

First, one strong one. Then, three small ones.

The encrypted signal, which was meant to avoid causing anxiety to the residents, informed them that monsters were approaching from the west. Normally, attacks were handled by each unit without ringing the bell. This bell was used when a unit had a shortage of defensive forces for some reason and requested reinforcements from other units’ flag bearers.

“West means the eighth flag. There are a lot of new recruits there. If they have to deal with three groups of monsters including large ones, it’s no wonder they’re having trouble. Everyone, hurry up and head there.”

“Roger.”

“Ugh, how annoying.”

“Got it.”

Sidney, Sai, and Klimt responded to Ragna’s words in that order.

Meanwhile, Ayaka was already preparing to draw her soul equipment.

“――Soul equipment activation.”

What appeared in response was a vivid scarlet sword. The guard had the shape of a bird spreading its wings. Ayaka gripped the hilt with both hands and moved on to draw the sword.

“Fly, Carla!”

As Ayaka shouted, those who were there heard the flapping of a phoenix’s wings.

The next moment, Ayaka had two swords in her hands. She held a pair of soul equipment that resembled the left and right wings. Her body floated lightly in the air and remained still in midair.

It is not a jump using “Kei”. This was not simply floating in the air. It is a talent of innate ability to fly in the sky and run through the air if desired. Among the rare soul equipment users, Ayaka Azurite’s ability to fly with her soul equipment, Karura, was particularly unique.

“I’ll go ahead.”

After calling out to her classmates, Ayaka ran through the air like an arrow towards the western wall.

Seeing Ayaka disappear from her sight in almost an instant, Sai raised both hands as if giving up.

“As always, that ability is ridiculous. Even if her sword skills alone are troublesome, to be able to attack from the sky however she wants… There’s no way to win against something like that.”

“Don’t complain. You know it’s hard to control because it’s powerful. Only Ayaka can handle it. We’ll use our legs that we got from our parents.”

“Yeah, yeah. By the way, Klimt, don’t push yourself too hard, okay? You got your bones broken by that sora guy, right?”

“It’s already healed. I don’t need your concern.”

“Hey, you two, stop chatting or I’ll leave you behind.”

While each of them talked as they pleased, the four of the golden generation activated their Kei at exactly the same time and kicked off the ground.

The ground creaked loudly, as if unable to withstand the pressure from their four combined Kei.

On this day, the monster that approached Shuuto was a Coral Worm.

As its name suggests, its appearance was a coral-colored worm, in other words, a snake. However, it had no scales, and its face, specialized for long underground life and shaped more like a mouth, made it resemble an earthworm more than a snake.

Coral worms outside the island grow up to only about two meters at most, and they live deep underground, so they rarely come out in front of people.

However, the demon island species exposed to the magic of the demon gate grow up to more than five meters long, and they actively show up on the ground in search of food.

Worms are considered to be kin of dragons, just like wyverns, and have a powerful regenerative ability. For this reason, it was not easy to defeat large worms, let alone small larvae, even for the Green woods Flag Knights. After all, they did not stop moving whether they were burned, frozen, or cut in half.

Therefore, to defeat a large coral worm, it was necessary for several soul users to challenge it together.

However, on this day only, there was no need for that. Ayaka Azurite single-handedly wiped out all the large ones.

The worms that were cut by Ayaka’s soul equipment did not activate their regenerative ability and died easily compared to their usual tenacity.

Of course, this was due to Ayaka’s soul equipment’s ability.

Karura is a spirit bird that flew in the sky of God’s era and is the natural enemy of all dragons.

It is the name of the Dragon Eater who ate dragons that did evil to humans.