Great Sage 1 â The Great Sageâs Triumphant Return
Despite numerous clashes with the demon army, the human army was unable to reclaim their occupied territory.
The empire, the largest human nation, was exhausted. Sensing that it was only a matter of time before the human race was destroyed, Empress Anastasia Lanford the Third pleaded the impartial great sage to join the heroâs party in subjugating the demon lord.
A linchpin of the demon army, emerging victorious over the many parties of heroes that challenged it, the current demon lord was said to be the strongest in historyâŠ..
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âRook to e4, checkâ
In the middle of a remote desert, I flick my finger towards that demon lord.
A magic stone shaped like a chess piece flies to the place I target, kicking up sand as it falls down.
âGreat Sage Saitou-sama, Cain isâŠ!â
My backup, the Saint Ange whose large chest looks like it will spill out of her priests robes, yells at me. I use location magic to find the Hero Cain. Heâs at the rear of the demon lord with a deep wound on his leg preventing him from moving.
I knit my eyebrows at her swaying chest butâŠ..
âAnge, use a miracle of healing on meâ
Since Iâm weak at healing magic, Iâll use magic to transfer the saintâs miracle instead.
Apparently thatâs an impressive feat butâŠ.. For my master, the Great Sage Kate, something of that level could be done with ease.
âYesâ
At Angeâs voice, I sent the miracle to Cain while continuing to prepare the sealing ritual.
âAmazing, controlling two great magics simultaneouslyâŠ.. not to mention chantlessâ
Ange letâs out a voice of suprise.
If I were to look back right now, sheâd probably be gazing at me with her deep red eyes and hair, but Iâm focused on the demon lord.
Besides, the saint with a beautiful face and sexy body has probably already done it with the Hero Cain. Its too late to try and gain favour now.
âKnight to b6, checkâ
As I move more magic stones around, the demon lordâs two faces distort in pain.
Thats right, the demon lord has two bodies and brains in one.
It looks like two large men who were forcibly merged together but its four limbs move dexterously and its two heads allow it to take offensive and defensive actions simultaneously, making it much more troublesome than fighting two demons. As a bonus, no matter which you destroy, as long as one head remains the other will regenerate immediately.
âGo Cain, Ryza, Moulin!â
For the final stage of my plan, as the Hero Cain, the Paladin Ryza, and the Great Mage Moulin all attack simultaneously, I use the gap created by them to finish the seal.
âSorry Saitouâ âDammit, I couldnât do any real damage to itâ âSaitou, is the ritual ready yet?â
Cain and Ryza take refuge behind me while, with a fluttering robe, Moulin lands to my side.
Despite her blue short bob hair and boyish face, she wore a miniskirt under her robes, and was always flying around excitedly. If I were to peek now, I would be able to see her pure white panties but I wonât get distracted.
Her healthy thighs are always on display, and although her chest cannot compare to Ange, her energetic and balanced figure will catch your eyes.
Plus her childish yet well ordered features were undeniably cute.
âThis is checkmateâ
I stab the staff I inherited from my master into the ground, channeling mana into the three magic stones. The demon lords face warps in pain as it begins to disintegrate from the legs up.
âA- AmazingâŠ.. I wouldnât be able to understand that spell at allâ
Moulin rejoices as she clings to me butâŠ..
âWith this the threat of the demon lord is gone, the rest can be left to the imperial armyâ
I reply.
âWe did it, now the human territory will be peacefulâ
While saying so the Paladin Ryza runs up to us.
âThank you Saitou, from here on is our jobâ
The two of them embrace with radiant smiles on their faces.
Ryza is an officer in the imperial army and a noble too.
A handsome man with well ordered features and a fair and honest personality.
Thats why, when seeing Moulin get close to him, even I can root for them.
With their strength, subjugating the remaining demon army should be a simple task.
I wish them happiness.
Iâm not jealous at all but, when I look at the two of them for some reason tears begin to rise.
Well this is probably the sense of achievement from defeating the demon lord.
âSaitou, are you really going to go back?â
The hero Cain was a handsome man with a wild look.
An orphan who was chosen by the sacred sword and rose to gain great trust with the church.
Hard working with a strong sense of justice, even I liked him.
âAfter we defeat the demon lord, Ange and I are getting marriedâ
They made that death flag like announcement to me last night, he can be a bit of a hasty person but he should be fine with someone like Ange with him.
But Iâd like it if they at least stopped holding each other when talking to someone.
Angeâs breasts pressing against him made it difficult to know where to look.
âAhh as expected, this place isnât where I belongâ
I think back the days of harsh training when I was living with my master until I earned the title of great sageâŠâŠ
I also reflect on the 3 years since I joined the heroes party.
Three guys to two girls.
Maybe the gender ratio was to be blamed.
If only it was three each, or if it was two guys to three girls there would still be hope.
âPlus the demon lordâs secret is here. Without borrowing the power of the gate I wonât be able to return to my worldâ
The demon lords body was turning to earth. In the center of my magic circle appeared an old wooden door.
âHuh? I thought there would be twoâ
In this world, there exists three doors capable of traversing time and space.
Of those three, one is in the possession of my master, the first great sage.
âI donât know the location of the other twoâ
Or so she saidâŠ..
âWhatâs wrong Saitou?â
The Hero Cain walks up to the door and tilts his head as if to confirm something.
âNah, donât worry about itâ
I assumed based on the strength of the demon lord and itâs form that there would be two, but the last door must be in a different location. I pull myself together and approach the door.
It was while defeating the generals of the demon army known as the four heavenly kings and conquering dungeons of torture that I came to learn of itâs existence.
âOnce the demon lord vanishes completely, even I wonât be able to use it anymoreâ
This door requires thousands of souls to be used.
Thatâs why my only chance to return to Japan is now, before the energy of the souls the demon lord has gathered disappears.
Although my master asked me âWhy not try and find happiness in this world?â I simply let out a sigh. The empress also tried to prevent me from leaving, but seeing the two couples flirting only strengthened my resolve.
Besides this other world is full of pretty boys and girls. After living here for a while my appearance also changed somewhat, but as expected the difference is too great.
Iâll live a quiet life in Japan and look for a suitable girlfriend.
My master once said âTo live a humble life is true happinessâ and I couldnât agree more.
Looking at my companions once again, I can feel the growth theyâve had since the time I joined them. Iâm sure theyâll be able to complete any secret tasks her majesty might give them.
I walk up to the door and draw a magic circle.
This world travels on the same temporal axis as Japan so I am unable to specify a time, but I am able to specify a place.
After some consideration, I write the coordinates of a place in Japan from my memories.
âGreat sage Saitou-samaâŠ.. Since this is farewell, please listen to my feelingsâ
Saint Ange clasps her hands together as if to pray to me.
âIâve always admired you, that feeling hasnât changed even now. Iâll protect this world together with Cainâ
Admired? Well I knew that she respected me but there seems to be a subtle nuance.
I tilted my head in confusion as her eyes began to water.
âWell you know. About Angeâs love consultation, umm. But donât worry about this world Saitou, weâll definitely ensure itâs peacefulâ
Behind her Cain was scratching his prickly hair.
Love consultation?
âHahaha, as expected you didnât realise. It canât be helped, this is the man who ignored even the vehement advances of the empires strongest idol after allâ
Moulin tapped Ange on the shoulder.
âMoulin also made quite blatant advances on him thoughâ
Ange puffs her cheeks cutely.
âBecause of that I decided to give up on the unobtainable flower and instead focused on the man who said he loved meâ
At the side of Moulin who was laughing happily, Ryza was scratching his smooth long hair.
âSaitou Iâve always respected you. I was always training in order to become more like you. Iâll make sure the world is at peace and to bring Moulin happinessâ
An embarrassed Ryza muttered.
âAah, I feel the same way!â
Cain looked toward me and gripped my hand.
I couldnât care less about the words of some guys who smell of sweat. Unobtainable flower? Advances??
I was told that I was the type to focus on one thing and lose track of my surroundings butâŠ..
Ange? and Moulin? Who even is the empires strongest idol?
I canât remember anything about that.
All I remember is our fierce battles with the demon army and the days of coaching and supporting the party.
Just to make sure they werenât lying I activated my search magic, but they were all telling the truth and wishing me well on my journey.
W- W- Well thereâs no need to dwell on the past.
Letâs overcome this with my masters skill of forward thinking.
Only a few minutes left until the door opens.
âAlso hereâs a gift from her majesty, although its probably meaningless since youâve already made up your mindâ
Ange handed me a small box.
That reminds me, when I was requested to aid in subjugating the demon lord, with the intention to refuse, I made an unreasonable demand. I suppose I wonât get to receive my remuneration.
Itâs not something that can be given after all, and her majesty also made many unreasonable demands from me.
Well now theyâve just become pleasant memories.
I open the lid to find a small card on top.
âTo the big stupid idiot who never laid a finger on me despite being told they had the right to do whatever they pleased, allow me to first say thisâ
So the message began, and written beneath in smaller letters.
âI love youâ
The four were waving goodbye to me with tears in their eyes.
âWait, do I really need to go back?â
As that thought crossed my mind, the gate magic which could no longer be stoppedâŠ..