Episode 215: Landing in India
The seemingly endless ocean. A public ferry was sailing through the Java Sea.
It was the ferry Yuma and the others had boarded to get to India. The ship’s hull was pure white, giving it a very clean appearance.
Yuma stood at the bow of the ship, gazing out at the incredibly vast sea.
It seemed it would take several days to reach India from here. An aircraft would be faster, but the skies over India were dominated by Insectoid Monsters.
Since this was the only route available, they had no choice but to wait.
“Are you okay with seasickness?”
He heard a voice from behind. Turning around, he saw Rui standing there.
“Here,”
He was handed a canned coffee, and he took it, saying, “Thanks.”
Rui stood next to him, sipping his own coffee and looking out at the sea. Yuma used the tab to open his can and took a sip of the coffee.
The two of them watched the sea in silence for a while. Yuma was the first to break the silence.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t thanked you yet. Thanks for helping me, Rui.”
“Huh?”
“When I got stabbed, you were the one who helped me, right? I was about to lose consciousness, but I remember it clearly.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Rui looked into the distance and fell silent. After a while, he turned to Yuma.
“I haven’t apologized to you yet either. I’m sorry, Yuma. Even though I didn’t know, it was me who hurt you.”
Yuma, who was about to drink his coffee, stopped and frowned.
“Why are you apologizing? You were just doing your job. I think I would have done the same if I were you.”
“But…”
“Look at Akito. He doesn’t care at all, does he?”
The two of them thought back to Akito in their room. After saying, “Don’t wake me until morning!”, he was still snoring away.
“He certainly doesn’t seem to care,” Rui said with a laugh.
The past didn’t matter. What was important was that if Rui and Akito hadn’t been there, he would be dead by now.
He couldn’t achieve his goals alone after all.
Thinking about this, Yuma turned his eyes to the swaying water surface.
◇◇◇
The ferry made a stop in Malaysia for supplies and then set off again.
After passing through the Andaman Sea and entering the Bay of Bengal, the destination, Paradeep Port, came into view.
“Finally. That took long enough.”
Akito, looking at the land from the deck, grumbled. Yuma replied, “Yeah,” and stared at the land of India in the distance.
At that moment, he noticed black clouds in the sky.
“What is that…”
It covered the sky like a haze. Akito also looked up at the sky and frowned.
“Insectoid Monsters. Apparently, India has mountains of ‘winged insects’ that attack people like crazy.”
“All of that are Monsters?”
Yuma was shocked. He had heard about it, but seeing the sheer volume of them was overwhelming.
“So, the people of India are living in this kind of environment?” As he was talking to Akito, Rui, who had been checking the itinerary, came over.
“Yuma, it seems a car prepared by the Japanese government is waiting for us at the port, so we’ll be heading to Cuttack right away.”
“Cuttack?”
“It’s a city in Odisha. It seems to be the Seeker’s base. The world’s largest Green Dungeon, [Dvarapala], is also nearby.”
“[Dvarapala], huh.”
Yuma once again turned his eyes to the countless Monsters gathering in the sky above India.
This place was suffering damage that was incomparable to Indonesia. Could he really accomplish the two goals of defeating the [Green Lord] and conquering the [Depths Dungeon]?
A feeling of unease welled up in his mind.
◇◇◇
“Hey, wait a minute! What’s going on?!”
Akito grabbed the port worker by the collar and twisted him around.
“Ugh, it hurts…”
“Akito! What are you doing?”
Rui stepped in and separated Akito from the worker.
“But this guy is saying he doesn’t know about the car the government was supposed to provide!”
“I-It’s true! I haven’t heard anything about it.”
The young male port worker coughed as he replied. Rui stood in front of Akito and spoke to the worker.
“I’m sorry about that. He got a little rough… But the Japanese government should have contacted the Indian government. Is there anyone who knows about it?”
“I-It’s impossible. This port is barely functioning, and the person in charge has run away. There are no employees above me, so if I don’t know…”
The worker looked down apologetically. Yuma and the others looked around.
There were hardly any ships calling at the port, and there were few signs of people. The port, which would normally be bustling, was sadly deserted.
“Can you contact the Indian government? Or the Japanese consulate?”
The worker shook his head.
“New Delhi, where the Indian central government is located, has been destroyed by Insectoid Monster attacks. Everything is in chaos right now, and it’s difficult to contact government agencies.”
Hearing that, Akito clicked his tongue.
“Does that mean our arrival as reinforcements hasn’t been properly communicated?!”
“It seems so.”
Rui thanked the worker and let him return to his normal duties. Trying to do his job in this environment, he must be a very responsible person.
Yuma watched the departing worker, thinking about such things.
“What are we going to do now? It’s going to be tough without a car to get around.”
Rui took out a map from his bag and started checking the route.
“Public transportation probably isn’t working. It’s 30 to 40 kilometers to Cuttack, so it’s not an impossible distance to walk.”
“30 to 40 kilometers?! No, no, no, there’s no way I can walk that far! I’m going to find a car, a car!”
Saying that, Akito walked off. Yuma and Rui reluctantly followed.
Next to a row of containers, a car was parked. It was a white mini truck. Akito peered inside.
“What are you doing?”
Yuma asked with a puzzled look. Akito didn’t answer, and used the handle of Gae Bolg to smash the car window.