Nihonkoku Shoukan

Here"s the super-short side story, referencing all the way back to !

Rodenius, Princ.i.p.ality of Kua Toine, elven holy land, Reen Noa Forest

The forest was dense and moist. It had large trees blocking the sky, forcing sunlight to filter through branches and leaves before it reached the ground. There was a small river nearby that was clear and pristine. The air was clean and slightly humid, filled with the sound of running water and chirping birds. A cool, gentle wind blew.

At the entrance to the Reen Noa Forest, the elven holy land, two high elves waited. Their names were Meena and Uor.

"I really don"t like… letting humanfolk into the holy land," Uor muttered.

In all his life, he had never seen any race other than elves enter the forest. Throughout all of history, the first and last time it happened had been when the coalition of races used the Reen Noa Forest, then called the Sacred Forest, as their final bastion against the demon lord"s invasion, back when the elves" G.o.d still lived among them. Now, races other than elves didn"t particularly have any reason to enter the forest, except perhaps if there were an emergency.

"Uor!!! You can"t say that to our guests! The people coming today aren"t just regular humans, they"re from j.a.pan! They rescued Kua Toine from Rowlia"s invasion, and they also helped our kin when they were being chased by cavalry while evacuating from their village! I also heard that j.a.pan was the one who defeated the resurrected Demon Lord Nosgoorah in the Topa Kingdom."

"Meena, you"re too gullible. You should first question whether the demon lord even actually came back, let alone whether j.a.pan truly defeated it!"

While the two argued, they heard a sound like something chopping the air. They turned to look at the source of that sound.

"Wha… What is that?!"

As high elves, the pair spent most of their lives deep within the forest, so this was their first time seeing one of j.a.pan"s vehicles, a helicopter.

"I-It can"t be!!! A flying boat?!"

The story about the emissaries of the G.o.d of the Sun came to mind. Soon after, the helicopter landed in front of them and a number of humans came out from inside of it. Two of the humans wore gray clothing, while the other four had mottled-green clothing. One of the humans wearing gray, a middle-aged man, came forward.

"My name is Nakamura, I"m an archaeologist. I would like to express my appreciation and grat.i.tude in advance for your guidance within your holy land."

"Y… Yes, right."

j.a.pan saved the Princ.i.p.ality of Kua Toine in its time of crisis. They were expecting them to be arrogant over that fact, so it was almost anticlimactic for Nakamura to bow this low before them.

"Come this way… it"s a bit of a hike."

The j.a.panese investigation team followed the two high elves. Two hours later…

"Haah, haah, haah, are… are we almost there yet?"

The investigation team was completely exhausted.

"Goodness, are you already tired? Haha… I heard that you come from a land of capable warriors who defeated the Kingdom of Rowlia and saved the Topa Kingdom from the demon lord, so this is somewhat unexpected," Meena laughed in response. "It really is just a bit further, so please do your best."

"This place is crazy, though. Our compa.s.ses just spin in circles here, without a guide we would never have been able to get anywhere."

"In the age of myth, this place was used as the last stronghold for the coalition of races after they had been invaded by the demon lord"s armies. Unless you can hear the forest"s voice, you"ll quickly find yourself lost."

They kept walking. Thirty minutes later, they arrived at a gra.s.s-covered, dome-shaped building. Meena looked back and began to recite a story.

"This building holds a treasure to the high elves. As you know, during the age of myth, the demon lord"s armies invaded Rodenius. The demon lord"s magic power was immense, so in order to oppose it and its army of demons, all the races banded together to form the coalition of races, an allied army. Unfortunately, the demon lord"s army was too powerful. The coalition of races suffered defeat after defeat, their strongest and most valiant warriors slain one after another. They had to retreat into the Sacred Forest, the elves" holy land.

"The demon lord"s army intended to burn down the Sacred Forest. This would have completely wiped out the elves. Our G.o.d sensed the danger and prayed to The Creator, the G.o.d of the Sun. The Creator heard his wishes and sent envoys to help us… the Emissaries of the Sun descended into this world.

"The emissaries rode divine flying ships and cast sorcery that summoned thunder and flame that scorched the earth, decimating the demon lord"s army. When the emissaries had finished their duty and were preparing to return to their world, one of their divine flying ships was too damaged to take back. They ended up leaving that ship behind.

"The elves used now-lost s.p.a.ce-time magic to preserve the ship and kept it safe for the future. According to the stories, the front of the divine ship was damaged and lost black blood, so it could no longer move."

That was the end of the story.

"My heart is beating so fast…! If that legend is true and this ship really exists, I might die of excitement!"

Meena put a hand on the gra.s.s and chanted something arcane. The gra.s.s covering the building began to wriggle and move, opening to reveal an entrance. They went inside. Even though there were no windows for sunlight, it was bright inside. There was a curtain of light, and something inside of it.

The investigation team stared at it. The elves" treasure, used during the age of myth, a divine flying ship.

"Wh… at?! Why is this here?!?!"

"What the h.e.l.l is going on?!"

Meena, concerned at the j.a.panese investigation team"s strange reaction, asked, "What"s wrong? While this is our treasure, it"s also true that it"s not of this world, so why are you so surprised?"

The j.a.panese investigation team had frozen solid; it didn"t appear that any of them heard Meena"s question.

"That"s… a ze.. a ze…"

""Ze"?"

"A Zero fighter!!!"

During World War II, the Zero fighter was a symbol of the Empire of j.a.pan. At the start of the war, these planes dominated the air and were feared by both America and the United Kingdom as "the Zero demons" or "the invincible Zeroes" whenever they appeared on battlefields.

The mystery only deepened.

Later, the j.a.panese government learned about this Zero fighter and decided to thoroughly research the mythology of this world.

 —  — Chapter 31