Chapter 167: Neo-Mesopotamia

Long ago, many nations fell during the Gremlin Disaster.

Countries like Greece, Australia, and Canada.

Most were destroyed by monsters.

Australia, for example, was still a paradise for monsters even now, refusing humanity any chance of resettlement.

Some nations collapsed but later rebuilt themselves.

Egypt, Spain, China, and others.

China in particular had once been utterly stripped of all life by the Class-A Type-1 monster Taotie, yet survivors scattered across neighboring regions eventually returned. Even now, the country was in the midst of a tremendous reconstruction and resurgence.

And then there were countries that never fell at all.

America once had its homeland ravaged by the Demon King and was forced to establish a government-in-exile in Cuba, but the president survived and eventually succeeded in reclaiming the nation.

Japan had its territory shattered into fragments, but later reunified the archipelago around Tokyo and restored the state.

A handful of countries even expanded their territory instead of collapsing.

Those countries usually changed their names afterward.

South Korea annexing North Korea and renaming itself the “True Korean Republic” was one such example.

The country bordering Kuwait was another of those rare nations that had become larger after the Gremlin Disaster.

It possessed the vast and fertile alluvial plains between the great rivers of the Middle East—the Tigris and Euphrates.

It unified Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon into a single enormous territory touching both the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea.

That nation was called Neo-Mesopotamia.

The Gourmand Tribe gathered together in the moonlit graveyard to see us off, waving handkerchiefs.

They even gave us a souvenir: Warm-Warm Glue sealed inside completely lightproof bottles.

After our tearful farewell to the adorable fantasy moles—whose only flaw was that one unfortunate dietary habit—we left Kuwait and entered Neo-Mesopotamia.

Despite its population of three million, Neo-Mesopotamia did not hold high international status.

Most of its people lived agricultural lives centered on primary industries, and like many countries blessed with fertile land, its monster-based industries were underdeveloped.

Unlike India, the climate of Neo-Mesopotamia was poorly suited for raising tiger magical beasts like Dun. Worse, a magic endemic disease that infected magical beasts had spread throughout the Tigris-Euphrates river basin.

In short, the land was extremely unfriendly toward magical beast industries.

That made it difficult for the country to develop secondary industries through the standard route of utilizing magical beasts.

Still, it wasn’t all bad.

Because the magical disease affecting magical beasts also infected monsters, Neo-Mesopotamia suffered comparatively little monster damage.

Since the disease did not infect humans or demons, the nation could defend itself against monsters with relatively modest military forces.

On the other hand, experts feared that if the disease ever mutated into a zoonotic infection capable of spreading to humans, it could trigger a massive pandemic.

Apparently, UN monitoring teams were permanently stationed throughout the river basin to observe the disease’s behavior.

It reminded me of bird flu news from the old world.

“Neo-Mesopotamia” sounded like the kind of simple name a middle schooler would invent, yet the country’s internal affairs were surprisingly complicated.

Still, we were only passing through.

The details of national politics didn’t really concern us.

As long as the country remained relatively stable and travel wasn’t difficult, that was enough.

As we traveled north along the Euphrates River aboard a small steamship, Hiyori leaned against the railing and watched a flock of birds with burning tail feathers gliding elegantly alongside the ship.

At first she tried feeding them, but the sailors stopped her.

Apparently they were ordinary pest birds, and the crew even asked if she could exterminate them if possible.

Since Octameteorite only repelled powerful monsters while letting weak ones pass freely, creatures at that level weren’t enough to tell whether our guardian deity’s power had truly returned…

Beside me, Tsubaki had been playing with the brim of Hiyori’s witch hat while Hiyori stared gloomily at the birds.

Suddenly Hiyori pulled Tsubaki into her arms.

“Mi mi mi. Pet me.”

“Alright.”

“Mi! Miiimii… Blue Witch nice. Bad at petting though.”

Hearing Tsubaki’s brutally honest opinion, Hiyori glared sideways at me.

I glared right back.

“Idiot. This is your fault for teaching Tsubaki unnecessary comments.”

“Haaah? Sorry for being a bad influence! No seriously, I’m absolutely an idiot. But setting that aside, I’ve told you before—Tsubaki likes it when you stroke upward along the underside of her neck. Gently massage her with the base of your thumb like this… ahh, no, no, no! That’s wrong! Totally wrong! Move aside—this is how you pet Tsubaki.”

“Mimimiii! Dairi’s petting really is the best!”

I stole Tsubaki from Hiyori’s arms and petted her properly, and my adorable pet practically melted with happiness.

Gwooooh, she’s adorable!

She might’ve turned humanoid, but inside she was still the same lizard-like creature she used to be.

I wanted her to stay this way forever.

But our parting with this innocent flame spirit was drawing near.

Once we reached Baghdad, the capital of Neo-Mesopotamia, we would say goodbye to Tsubaki.

Hiyori and I would continue north toward the Kingdom of Rus.

Tsubaki would head west toward the Mediterranean.

We would each walk different paths.

From the beginning, Hiyori and I had been traveling to fulfill our contract in the Kingdom of Rus.

Tsubaki’s goal, meanwhile, was to make the Mediterranean olive oil regions her territory.

Until now, we’d simply happened to be heading in the same direction.

We were never meant to stay together forever.

That had been obvious from the start.

So I wasn’t surprised.

And I wasn’t sad either.

If anything, I was impressed.

She was becoming independent.

Good for her. Amazing, even.

Apparently, however, Hiyori felt differently.

Ever since we entered Neo-Mesopotamia, she’d constantly wanted Tsubaki nearby.

As our parting approached, she sighed more often and carried around an increasingly melancholic atmosphere.

Over the past few years, I’d actually learned a thing or two about communication.

I could now decipher what Hiyori’s strange behavior meant.

With high probability—

Hiyori was sad about parting with Tsubaki!

Of course, being able to understand that was about as far as my abilities went.

I still didn’t really understand the feeling itself.

I mean, it wasn’t like Tsubaki was dying or that we’d never see her again, right?

So wasn’t it fine?

Apparently not.

Humans were complicated.

After thoroughly enjoying her petting session and going all limp and satisfied, Tsubaki was returned to Hiyori’s arms.

Then Hiyori hugged me too.

Sandwiched between the two of us, Tsubaki looked utterly content and soon began dozing off.

Hiyori watched her with a gentle expression, but when she noticed me looking, she awkwardly averted her eyes.

“…I know. I neglected her all this time, and now I suddenly want her to stay with me forever. Even though Tsubaki’s already grown up and trying to become independent.”

“What exactly did you think you read from my expression? I wasn’t thinking anything like that.”

What I’d actually been thinking was:

I don’t like seeing her look lonely.

Don’t assume a guy who barely manages verbal communication can suddenly converse through eye contact!

“Well, I dunno exactly, but… maybe give her a present or something?”

“Hm?”

Hiyori tilted her head at my awkward suggestion.

“No, I mean—you like gifts, right? So why not do the same thing?”

“I made Salamandra for Tsubaki, and I gave her that magic-sealing protection choker too. They’re strong and useful, and maybe when she looks at them she’ll think of me sometimes. Probably.

“You taught Tsubaki magic and manners, right? That definitely helped her grow and gave her memories to keep. But I think it’d be better if there was also something physical left behind too. Like… uh… how do I explain it…”

“…………”

“Basically, give Tsubaki something. And get something from her too. Exchange presents. Maybe that won’t completely erase the loneliness after you part ways… but it might make it easier.”

I couldn’t truly empathize with Hiyori’s sadness.

But I still wanted to be there for her.

After listening to my clumsy attempt at advice, Hiyori thought quietly for a while before finally nodding with a slightly brighter expression.

“Yeah… that might be true. I’ll try that.”

“Do it. Also, you’re about to get burned.”

“Ah! S-sorry!”

Hiyori ended up hugging both me and the peacefully sleeping Tsubaki at once, and the heat building up made my stomach feel like it was about to catch fire. I was honestly relieved when I finally got free.

I stretched out and looked over the vast surface of the Euphrates River. The steamship’s foamy white wake stretched behind us, swirling and slowly fading away.

Perhaps sensing an opening in our distraction, the flaming-tailed birds that had been following the steamship suddenly clicked their sharp beaks and swooped in closer.

But the leading few of the formation were abruptly frozen solid and plummeted into the river.

The rest panicked and scattered.

The Blue Witch, having refined her already silent spellcasting even further, simply snorted as if it were only natural, then carried the happily dreaming Tsubaki back toward the cabin.

Yeah…

You might be feeling down about things, but I think you’re doing just fine as a family.

We still have time before we reach Baghdad.

So instead of spending it with a gloomy face…

let’s make as many good memories as we can until the very end.