After-Story Chapter 42: Epilogue (Part 2) - Luka the Ma-Shi-Con

In order to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere, one must first go to the port of Mao City at the northernmost tip of the Landia Continent. From there, it is necessary to pass through a Gate managed by Mao, the leader of the Seadians (though this is predicated on having Souma’s approval). If one tries to head north from any other location, they become enveloped in a mist and involuntarily make a U-turn back to where they started, unable to reach their destination.

This is because a Perception-Impairment Field that separates the Northern and Southern Hemispheres remains in place. If this field were completely removed, monster-like creatures such as the Great Dark Water Serpent or unknown pathogens like the Demon Bug Disease, which might exist in the Northern Hemisphere, could enter the Southern Hemisphere world unnoticed. Therefore, one must still pass through the Gate managed by Mao to travel between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

However, the Gate is not a literal huge door. In reality, it is more like a sea route. By sailing along this route, one enters a distorted space within the mist, and passing through it allows one to penetrate the Perception-Impairment Field (imagine the pink mist that appears in the Doraemon feature film Animal Planet).

The first place people stop after crossing into the Northern Hemisphere is the Island of Beginnings.

The Island of Beginnings, which can be called the gateway to the Northern Hemisphere world, is the first island where the Old Humanity established a base. Its size is about that of the Father Island in the Kingdom of Garlan Elf King. Adventurers bound for the Northern Hemisphere gather here, merchants gather in search of rare goods, and various nations of the Southern Continent Union dispatch troops and establish garrisons in preparation for emergencies. As a result of this concentration of people, funds, and supplies, the island rapidly developed and had already reached the scale of a city-state.

The Island of Beginnings belongs to the Southern Continent Union, but its operations are primarily entrusted to the Seadians who have returned to the Northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, the military forces stationed there from various nations have only formed a loose coalition and are not a unified military organization (due to Souma’s concern that a single organization might become powerful and run wild). They are strictly a military force intended to be mobilized only for situations that adventurers alone cannot handle.

The adventurer base located on the Island of Beginnings is called the Ad Base. It is fundamentally the same as the Adventurer’s Guilds in the Southern Hemisphere, but in the Northern world, which still lacks proper shops, the procurement of adventuring tools, food, and daily necessities must be done through the Ad Base. It also has docks and repair yards for the Ocean Adventurers’ ships.

Therefore, compared to the Southern Guilds, which only need to function as minimum request brokerage windows, the Ad Base must serve as a central hub that supports the daily lives of the adventurers. As mentioned earlier, those who venture north and aspire to become Ocean Adventurers must first register at the Ad Base on the Island of Beginnings, and then save up funds by performing odd jobs until they can acquire their own ship.

The Special Submersible Musashimaru now docked at a pier near the Ad Base.

“Alright, Old Man. You take it from here.”

“See you later, Papa, is that.”

Musashibo-kun replied to them by holding up the sign that read “OK.” Leaving the Musashimaru to Musashibo-kun, the two headed toward the Adventurer’s Guild inside the Ad Base. Like their Southern Hemisphere counterparts, the Northern Adventurer’s Guild also features attached inns and taverns. This is apparently convenient for communication and information exchange among Ocean Adventurers.

As the two entered the building, a boy who was just about to head out called out to them.

“Hey, Ma-Shi-Con and Misha-chan. Just back from a request?”

The boy, who looked exactly like a young Ocean Adventurer, equipped with a round shield and a short sword, was an acquaintance of Luka’s. Luka swatted away the boy’s hand as he clapped his shoulder, looking annoyed.

“Don’t call me Ma-Shi-Con. …Yeah, we just got back.”

“Guys who have their own ship have it made, huh? We started out as Ocean Adventurers around the same time, but I’m still doing odd jobs.”

“Your squad leader is good at looking after people, though. You’ll be punished if you complain too much.”

“I know that, but still… can’t I be jealous? You have your own ship, even if it’s weird, and you get to form a party with such a cute little sister!”

“Don’t be stupid, I’m stuck looking after this runt… Ouch!?”

Luka yelped and hopped in place after Misha kicked his ankle. Misha, for her part, simply turned away with a huff. The other boy smiled wryly and said, “That was your fault, Luka.”

“You rely on Misha-chan even in combat, right? Come on~”

“Come on~, is that,” Misha replied with a cheerful smile.

Luka made a sulky face but couldn’t say anything, as there was no doubt that Misha was the superior decision-maker in combat against monsters. It wasn’t that Luka couldn’t fight, but Misha simply possessed too much talent as a warrior.

The boy then waved his hand and left, saying, “See ya later~.” Luka sighed as he watched him go, then led Misha toward the Guild counter.

Meanwhile, a middle-aged adventurer who had observed the entire exchange turned to his partner, who was gulping down alcohol at a nearby table.

“Hey, what does ‘Ma-Shi-Con’ mean?”

“What? You didn’t know that?” His partner looked surprised.

“It’s a portmanteau of ‘Mama’s Boy (Mazakon) & Sister Complex (Shisukon),’ making ‘Ma-Shi-Con.’ Luka the Ma-Shi-Con—he’s famous around here for many reasons, isn’t he?”

“No, I know Luka. After all, he’s in a party with a weird mascot suit adventurer, sails a strange ship, gets called ‘Big Brother’ by a little dark elf girl… and most of all, he’s the son of that beautiful receptionist, Juno-san.”

The man was right; Luka, Misha, and Musashibo-kun’s party was famous. Since they were an odd trio even by appearance, they were hard to miss and prone to gossip. The first man drank his alcohol and tilted his head.

“I can kind of understand the ‘Sister Complex’ part. Having a little sister who’s strong, despite being so young, would give anyone a complex—both in the sense of being overprotective and feeling inferior. But what about the ‘Mama’s Boy’ part? I’ve never seen him clinging to Juno-san…”

“Ah… that has to do with his special magic.”

“Magic? Isn’t he Wind-elemental? I saw him wrap his feet in wind and jump over the roof when Misha-chan got mad at him earlier.”

“Apparently, it’s something else. You can see it on the Guild registration, but his magic is classified as Dark-elemental.”

The drinking man said this gleefully. The Dark element refers to all magic outside the four main elements (Fire, Wind, Water, Earth) and the recovery-based Light element. Although the name sounds ominous, it’s essentially the ‘Other’ category of magic, and even Souma’s Living Poltergeists (Doll Manipulation) falls into this category.

The drinking man set down his cup, leaned in, and continued, “And his magic ability is called ‘Maternal Blessing.’“

“‘Maternal Blessing’?”

“Yeah. It’s an ability that allows him to ‘add half of his mother’s abilities to his own.’“

“…Come to think of it, Juno-san was originally an adventurer who could use Wind-elemental magic. I see, that’s why he’s a Mama’s Boy.” The man who asked the question was about to agree but quickly tilted his head again.

“But wait? If he can only use half of his mother’s abilities, doesn’t that mean he can only use a degraded version of her magic? Isn’t that an incredibly useless ability?”

“That’s what you’d think, right? But no, it’s not like that.”

The drinking man grinned, seemingly enjoying his moment of superior knowledge.

“When people hear about his ability, they all react just like you. But anyone who looks down on him and tries to pick a fight ends up having a bad time.”

“A bad time?”

“Yeah… just like me.”

“You! Stop being immature!”

“Hmph, it was just youthful indiscretion.”

“Luka and his party have been active for about a year, haven’t they? Then you’re already an old man.”

The drinking man, already tipsy, laughed happily, saying, “I’ve repented now,” even when called out for being old. Unaware that two drunkards were discussing them, Luka and Misha arrived at the counter, where a tall person completely covered in a gleaming silver full-plate helmet and armor—with absolutely no skin visible—was talking to a female receptionist with long green hair.

When the woman noticed Luka and Misha, she smiled warmly.

“Oh, Luka and Misha-chan. Welcome back.”

Luka and Misha approached the woman.

“We’re home, Mom.”

“We are home, Mother Juno, is that.”

The woman greeting them was Luka’s mother, Juno Minazuki. Though her hair was longer than it used to be, she looked to be in her late twenties and carried a calmer aura than before, truly embodying the title of Beautiful Receptionist. As the two approached Juno, the person in the silver full-plate armor gave Juno a nod in farewell and left the area.

Juno waved her hand to see him off, then turned back to the two.

“So, how was the adventure?”