I stepped out from the teleportation slash and saw a large grassy field that felt empty.

On the previous day, this large grass field was filled with tall pillars made from hard earth and dragon carcasses, which were used as the main ingredients for Undead Dragon magic spells for my mother.

The grassy field in this vast forest now looks deserted, and only the ground is left with puncture marks from tent pegs.

Not only did I leave Aiko alone in this place, but I also forced her to maintain the magic circle formation that was actively mapping the forest area that was being explored by the stealth slime herd and Marquess Rommel's knights.

That's was... Pretty hard tasks for her, huh?

"Peeekkoookk!!"

Just as I was about to think Aiko was carrying out her arduous task alone, I was startled by the crowing of a chicken monster who playing with Ellen. By using her cursed katana form and flying low over the vast grassy field, Ellen seemed to be practicing her swift, low-flying maneuvers and dodging attacks from a pair of chicken that had mutated into monsters.

Besides that, I also saw another cursed weapon that was flying low in front of the magic circle formation that mapped the surrounding area.

"I've returned to an empty place and have to work as a Military Expeditionary leader, huh?" I muttered after stepping out of the teleportation slash and lamenting the emptiness of this vast grassy field.

Before entering the deepest part of the forest, this grassy field looks like a stopover, a place to rest for a moment. It could be an interesting natural tourist spot, located on the border of the entrance to the deepest part of the forest.

"My Monarch, you have returned?" said a cursed weapon that had not yet been named and flew low towards me.

"Onee-chan is back, too..."

"Oh! Ooohh!! What is this?!"

"Why do I feel a lot of holy magic coming from the Goddess of Destruction from my Monarch?"

"Something big must have happened to my Monarch, right?!" With a hint of joy in her voice, the unnamed cursed weapon flew around me.

She looked so happy and spun around, laughing joyfully.

"Yes, I can tell something big has happened," I replied as I held out my hand and signaled the cursed weapon to hover silently above my hand.

As a cursed weapon that had lost its blade form and was sealed for quite a long time in the Shrine of the Goddess of Nature, I felt sorry for her for having to endure the strange shape of her weapon.

The shape is not too strange, I think...

Only, I don't know if it is a light sword or a heavy sword...

Its still mysterious form made me wonder and think about other options for a weapon that I could use at any time.

I already have the cursed Odachi, a heavy weapon capable of maximizing the potential of powerful attacks, combined with the blessing of the Goddess of Destruction. It's perfect for intense combat which requiring a high level of damage and domination, befitting the Goddess of Destruction's blessing of destroying all things.

The cursed odachi is indeed powerful, but it has some drawbacks, including its size and limited speed. For quick, precise, and accurate attacks, I rely on Ellen, who wields her shape as a cursed katana. Her slender shape and ability to engage in fast-paced combat make up for the cursed odachi's weaknesses.

Even if other weapons can be used to support each of my weapons' strengths and cover their weaknesses, I have to find a new balanced weapon option.

And that choice fell on the tanto weapon used by Mio as a compact and hidden weapon.

Even if it larger than a kitchen knife or throwing knife, it wasn't a big deal...

As long as it can still be hidden on my thigh, as a hidden weapon.

"What already happened, Onee-chan?"

"Please tell me, I'm curious about this!"

While flying around in circles on the palm of my hand, I felt like I was watching a little girl who was curious about something and was willing to force her older sister to tell her what had happened.

"Nothing happened," Momo replied as she hovered beside me.

"Onee-chan, you can't lie to me. I can feel the intensity of the Goddess of Destruction's holy magic energy that is far greater than within my Monarch's magic core. Something must have happened while Onee-chan and my Monarch were gone," the cursed weapon argued as it flew low above my palm and placed its blunt end. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

I immediately grabbed the tip of the nameless, cursed weapon and felt its sharp, dull blade. It felt a little rough and brittle, if I grap with all my might, but her magical core was still functioning properly, to regenerating her magic.

Creating living things from inanimate objects...

Something like that can only be done by a Goddess, huh?

I don't know how the Goddess of Destruction did that, but it certainly confirmed her as a Goddess who was capable of doing things that people in the mortal world couldn't.

"Just a small matter that happened to befall my Monarch," Momo replied with a small explanation that made the cursed weapon that was dancing on my palm fly low towards Momo.

"That kind of explanation is unacceptable, Onee-chan. Please provide a more detailed explanation for your bored little sister..."

"I've already explained what happened briefly, why I should explain the details of the incident too?"

"Of course, you must tell the details, too! That kind of explanation will make me die of curiosity, you know!"

"Uhm, it's good to you, now you can die with curiosity. Make sure to become a useful cursed weapon for the Monarch of Holy Destruction before you die."

The answer Momo gave sounded like she was playing with the nameless, cursed weapon, like sisters joking and bickering with each other to strengthen their relationship.

Even though Momo looks like an older sister who is teasing her younger sister, there is still warmth and care in her as an older sister who loves her younger sister who has just been released from her seal.

"Muuuu~ Onee-chan is too mean to play with my curiosity."

"You're the only one who's curious. Even Ellen doesn't seem interested in what the Monarch of Holy Destruction just did and still playing with a pair of chickens that have evolved into monsters," Momo replied while looking for another excuse to play on her little sister's curiosity.

"Ellen!! Come here!! Our Onee-chan and Monarch are back!!" the nameless cursed weapon shouted to call out to her sister, who was playing with a pair of chicken monsters.

Ellen, who was still busy playing tag with the pair of chicken monsters, immediately stopped and flew silently for a moment before launching her cursed katana form at me.

Bzzzttt...

Zzzrrrtttt...

From quite a distance, I could see Ellen's cursed katana sheath glowing black-purple and expelling magical energy originating from the Goddess of Destruction's blessing, stored in her magic core.

The black-purple lightning bolt made Ellen's movements hundreds of times faster than when she was playing with a pair of chicken monsters.

"Welcome back, my Monarch!" Ellen said in an energetic tone after using the magical energy that came from the Goddess of Destruction's blessing.

"Welcome back too, Onee-chan!" Ellen continued to say to Momo, who was being pressed with a lot questions by a cursed weapon without a name.

Tap...

Tap...

Along with a greeting from Ellen, my twin sister and Sia walked out of the teleportation slash.

"This place feels a lot quieter without people around, doesn't it?" Alice asked, looking puzzled at the empty grassy field before her.

"That's natural, Alice. That's because our military expedition has already traveled deep into the forest, and we need to catch up with them," Alyssa replied as she snapped her fingers to cast a spell that opened her magic storage box.

Snap!!

Swiirrrll...

A magic circle formation that opened Alyssa's magic storage box appeared before my eyes, showing a magic protofon that my mother had perfected fell into Alyssa's hands, and she immediately caught it.

Somehow, I feel that such a magical item seems more useful than the magical artifacts kept by the royal family.

I glanced at my magic circle formation and saw the progress of the exploration that Marquess Rommel's knights had carried out.

"Hmm? Why does this exploration feel faster than the previous one?" I muttered in amazement, looking at the various red dots coming from the Marquess Rommel's knights.

I kept the small mutter to myself and watched the small dots indicating the positions of Marquess Rommel's knights, before the various sounds coming from the magic protofon distracted me.

While Momo was still playing with the curiosity of her still nameless little sister, my attention was drawn to the sound report coming from the magic protofon.

"Attention! We, the twelfth scout unit have discovered the magic plant according to the directions given by Miss Lisa. We will take a sample and return immediately via the route we have taken! Report complete!"

"Report received, we have marked the position based on the rough map drawn by Miss Lisa. Immediately return to the main line through the safe path that Miss Lisa has informed after obtaining the magic plant sample!"

"Report to Madam Estelle! We have discovered the underground monster's nest and obtained an accurate match based on the information provided by Miss Lisa. There will be a small battle taking place, and we request a ten-minute extension to collect some necessary samples! Report complete!"

"I have received the report. Immediately complete your confrontation and make sure to return to the main line without bringing the monster horde you are attacking. Make sure to return with fresh monster samples!"

"Report to the main line unit, we have discovered the entrance of an underground cave filled with insect nests. We request permission to go deeper and confirm the type of insect that made a nest at the entrance of this underground cave! Report complete!"

"We have received the report, and don't forget to bring some live insect samples. Make sure you don't get lost when you enter the underground cave. Don't bother us by looking for your missing bodies and report your status regularly! You don't want to trouble Lily-sama anymore, do you?"

Hearing various reports coming in and out at the same time through the magic protofon, it made me interested in what had happened while I was gone.

Madam Estelle, Lisa, and several of the military officers seemed to have been working hard during my absence from this military expedition.

Without the help of Alice and Alyssa, they tried their best to achieve results that could lighten my responsibilities as the leader of the military expedition.

"This makes me curious about one thing..."

"What were those stealth slimes up to while I was gone?" I muttered as I glanced at the teleportation slash and heard Aiko's footsteps walking out.