"Fwaaah... I'm so sleepy..."

"Masayoshi, your school is starting soon, so you should start fixing your sleep schedule."

"...Yeah, I should start waking up early again."

"Well, I'm off. If you’re not making dinner, let me know."

"Okay, take care, Mom."

It was late morning when I saw my mother off to work. Even though I hadn't gone to bed too late last night, I had slept in until just now. Like she said, summer vacation is ending soon, and school will start again. I need to get back into a morning routine.

"Alright, I guess I’ll head to the other world today as well."

"Hoo!"

It seems Ande kept his promise and didn't come to this world.

With Fūsuke, I passed through the door on the ceiling and traveled to the other world.

"Whoa!?"

The moment I stepped through, Ande's face was right in front of me.

"You scared me!?"

"My apologies. I was merely observing this doorway between worlds up close."

Ah, he had been peering into the door on the floor, so naturally, our faces ended up right in front of each other. If I had entered with more momentum, we would have crashed.

"What do you want to do today? Want me to show you around my world again?"

"...Hmm, that is an interesting suggestion, but there are many things I wish to research. I will stay here today and continue reading the books my master left behind."

Huh, that’s unexpected. I thought for sure he’d want to explore Japan again. Also, has he already read through that many of the Grand Mage’s books...?

At some point, the Grand Mage’s house had been completely cleaned. I thought I had tidied up a bit when I first arrived, but it was now even more spotless. He seems like a serious and diligent person—maybe he's just the type to keep things clean?

…I’ll choose to believe he wasn’t simply used to cleaning up the messes left by the Grand Mage every time.

On the desk, there was a tall stack of books that he had presumably finished reading. He was still holding a book in one hand while curiously observing the portal to my world.

"Alright. I’m going to head out for a bit in this world. Even if you want to visit my world, please wait until I return."

"Ah, do not worry. Even I have no desire to wander alone in a world full of people where I do not understand the language."

"...Got it. I’ll be back by evening."

Right, Ande doesn’t have a language comprehension skill. Without knowing the language or writing, going out alone would be a hassle.

Using teleportation magic, I traveled from the Grand Mage’s house. I hesitated for a moment about leaving Ande alone here with the portal, but after thinking about it, I realized that if he really wanted to go, I wouldn’t be able to stop him anyway. Sure, I won our duel, but if he had fought seriously from the beginning, I probably wouldn’t have stood a chance.

With that in mind, I arrived at the adventurer’s guild in the town of Bradley. I still hadn’t properly thanked Gildart-san and Lilith-san for their help in my duel. Honestly, I should have done it yesterday at the latest, but Ande unexpectedly appeared in my world, so I couldn’t make it.

"Masayoshi-dono, congratulations!"

"Gildart-san, I apologize for the delay in reporting. Thanks to everyone’s support, I was able to win the duel safely!"

"Ah, news has already spread throughout town! A mysterious man in a black mask and silver armor appeared to defend the Edwards Kingdom and effortlessly defeated the rumored inheritor of the Grand Mage’s power!"

"............"

"Not only that! This man wielded not just advanced magic but even ultimate-tier spells at will, slayed the great calamity that even the Grand Mage himself could not defeat, and is known as the one who truly inherits the Grand Mage’s legacy!"

…The rumors had been exaggerated to ridiculous levels. Sure, I might have gone along with the whole ‘true inheritor of the Grand Mage’ thing at the time, but I definitely didn’t show up to defend the kingdom or anything. At least they hadn’t mentioned my actual name…

"Uh, no, honestly, it was nowhere near effortless… I was barely hanging on by a thread. If you guys hadn’t helped, I would have been taken down instantly."

"Is that so!? For someone as powerful as you to struggle, the rumored inheritor of the Grand Mage must have been incredibly strong."

"Yes, his strength was beyond ridiculous. Not just on the level of a variant species—he was something else entirely. Just thinking about what would’ve happened without those three days of training gives me chills. I won thanks to all of you. Seriously, I can’t thank you enough."

"Haha, I’m just glad we could repay you a little for the help you gave us before."

"No, if anything, I’m the one who’s deeply indebted now. If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know!"

"We’ll call it even! And if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. I may not be much, but I’ll do what I can to help."

"Understood. Gildart-san, I look forward to working with you in the future!"

We shook hands firmly.