Avangarde Royal Capital
“Anyone who wants to follow me, raise your hand!”
Almost half of the people here raised their hands. Was it because they genuinely wanted to follow that leader, or just to save themselves? Either way, it was a dire situation. The massive fortress approaching from below was something even Elmera couldn’t handle completely. If that’s the case, then I have no choice but to take action. No, we have to.
“Kurinka, I need your help to stop Gran Baena.”
“Y-Yeah, but what can I do?”
“You can do something. In fact, I can only rely on you. If Elmera’s Imagination Magic doesn’t work, then this is our only option.”
“Hey, don’t give up on me yet! Just give me a little time, and I can manage!”
“A little won’t be enough!”
“Huh?”
Vattel let out a foolish-sounding voice as he looked up at me, perched atop the dragon. Ignoring him, I moved away from the spot with Elmera. Those three would be taken care of by Eeks and Tiferia. But as for the fortress, it was up to us to handle it.
“Eeks! Please take care of those three!”
“Sure thing. Just finish up quickly on your end!”
“…Your end?”
The knight who had been cozying up to Vattel glared at Eeks with a face full of resentment. I didn’t know how that knight fought, but with Eeks around, I wasn’t worried at all.
“Did you just say ‘your end’?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Seriously?! Hahaha!”
“…I sympathize with your situation. I can’t really criticize you, though.”
With that taken care of, I turned to Elmera to ask her about Gran Baena’s location. I had never heard of magic sensing before, and Kurinka couldn’t do it either. It seemed to be a technique that only someone of Lord Hast’s caliber could manage. Speaking of which, where had Lord Hast gone?
“Isn’t it around here?”
“Right below us?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s do this.”
Just a little north of the central plaza. Thanks to the soldiers’ quick response, there were no people in sight anymore. That made things easier. It was better to create a hole here with no one around.
“Sonic… Spear!”
The Sonic Spear pierced through the stone platform of the central plaza. The hole it created was a perfect circle, and seeing that made me even more convinced that it was a good thing no one was around. If someone fell in here, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Whoa, that’s scary. I definitely don’t want to be on the receiving end of that. Seriously, what kind of waterway would try to take on something like this?”
“Let’s go down.”
I didn’t have time to pay attention to Elmera’s teasing. If the Sonic Spear had hit Gran Baena, its movements should have stopped. Now, we just needed to descend and start the next task.
Inside the Underground Fortress Gran Baena
“Huh?”
I never thought the day would come when Elmera and I would speak in unison. I wasn’t sure about Elmera, but I was surprised because the interior looked so much like Metallica’s airships. Iron-like walls, automatically opening doors, and all sorts of incomprehensible machinery. Could it be that Metallica built the Comet Wolf Brigade’s fortress? No, that couldn’t be.
What shocked me even more was that the fortress continued to move even after being pierced by the Sonic Spear. Elmera had confirmed that no one was inside. Yet, this fortress was still moving toward the surface. I didn’t dare ask how it was moving underground; even if someone explained it to me, I wouldn’t understand.
“Well, this is probably it. The fortress itself is already dead. What’s moving it is just the Shadow Entry.”
“So it’s being powered by magic?”
“That’s right, Kurinka. Moving something of this mass requires an insane amount of magic and preparation. But I don’t know the details.”
“Kurinka…?”
“Isn’t ‘Kurinchin’ a more efficient way to say it than ‘Kurinka-chan’?”
“Please don’t call me something weird…”
If Kurinka genuinely disliked it, I should stop. I was enjoying teasing her, but Kurinka had become strong now, though she used to be bullied by Formas. Deep down, she was still a timid and serious girl, and that hadn’t changed much.
So, if Kurinka was uncomfortable, I would pull Elmera away from her.
“Oh, are you jealous of me?”
I had gotten used to such nonsensical remarks by now. And now, Elmera was clinging to me, but this really wasn’t the time for such antics.
“Elmera, be serious. Many lives are at stake here. Hurry up and get rid of the Shadow Entry.”
“I already did! My job is done here! Now it’s up to you two youngsters to figure it out!”
“You always pout so easily…”
Ignoring Elmera, who had her hands behind her head and was looking away, I realized that Gran Baena had indeed stopped moving. Elmera had done her part. I hoped she could do something with her Imagination Magic again, but that seemed unlikely. Now she was squatting down, sulking as she drew something on the floor with her finger. I couldn’t criticize her, but she looked like a child.
“I want to get started right away, but is Gran Baena digging through the ground like a mole? Or is it slipping through?”
“I don’t know about Gran Baena itself, but the Shadow Entry’s property is slipping. However, once we destroy Gran Baena, there’s a chance the surrounding soil will collapse into the gaping hole.”
“Even though it’s slipping?”
“Are we really going to debate that here?”
“That’s why I want to ask Kurinka.”
“W-What can I do…?”
“I’m going to destroy Gran Baena, so I need you to regenerate the soil.”
Both of their faces stiffened. I understood Kurinka’s reaction, but why was Elmera reacting that way too?
“Was that a joke?”
“I wouldn’t joke at a time like this! I’m not Elmera!”
Kurinka started to tremble. Even as she gripped her staff, Elmera kept tapping her shoulder.
“For you, Lua-chan… I’ll do my best.”
“You don’t have to push yourself! It’s obviously impossible! You can tell me to die if you want! Sometimes, telling the truth is kindness! Come on, challenge yourself!”
“I can’t say that! I can’t say that! Why would I tell Lua-chan something like that…?”
“These two are such a hassle!”
Kurinka looked like she was about to cry, and Elmera was mocking her. It was frustrating to make a mistake over something like this. I thought regeneration could fix anything, but if it couldn’t restore the soil, then how could we purify the Undead? Unlike my destruction, Kurinka’s regeneration was still a mystery to me.
“Then after we destroy this fortress…”
“Ugh, you’re such a handful. I’ll return this fortress to the earth, so the destruction girl should take the regeneration girl back up.”
“Can you really do that? You said earlier that you couldn’t do much with half of it.”
“I need time to think too. If I can imagine it, then it’s possible.”
“So that’s how it works…”
“That’s why you should hurry up. Given its mass, it might take a little while.”
I’ll shatter the fortress into pieces, and Kurinka will regenerate the soil in the gaps. I felt embarrassed for bringing Kurinka along with such confidence. I had recently learned the phrase “I want to crawl into a hole,” and I truly wanted to. No, I was already in one. This time, I learned that even if I crawled into a hole, the embarrassment wouldn’t change.
Avangarde Royal Capital, Central Street, Plaza
“I’m sorry, Kurinka.”
“Huh? Why are you apologizing?”
“Because I made you feel embarrassed… Elmera is definitely going to laugh at me later. She always does that.”
“I was a bit taken aback, but thinking about it, it means you trust me that much, Lua-chan, and that makes me happy.”
Seeing Kurinka blush, I realized she wasn’t forcing herself. But as her partner, I hadn’t fully understood her, and that was something I needed to reflect on.
“I don’t really understand that power of Elmera’s either. We can take our time to learn about it together.”
“…After this battle is over, how about we train together? Just like that combined technique we did before, there might be more we can do.”
“Yeah. Plus, we haven’t had anything delicious to eat lately with all this fighting.”
“Well, it seems like you ate a lot in the Nation of Kashiram…”
I felt relieved seeing Kurinka act a bit clueless. I was glad to know I hadn’t hurt her and that she was willing to take on training with me.
Actually, I had secretly been thinking of a technique for a while now. I might embarrass myself again like this, but if I hit the mark this time, I was sure it would be something amazing. Once completed, I wouldn’t lose to anyone. I didn’t know when I would need it, but I wanted to know how far we could go together. I wanted to challenge our limits in every sense of the word. It was definitely something I wanted to try.
“Let’s go. Eeks and the others might have already finished, but…”
“Then I’ll transform into a Dragon.”
“Oh, I’ll run! So…”
“W-wait, are you giving me a piggyback ride? It’s been a while… What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“N-not really. Just felt like it.”
It wasn’t exactly a distance that required transforming into a Dragon, but I wanted to be close to Kurinka to make up for earlier. There was a sense of reassurance in having her here, something I strangely craved right now. Perhaps deep down, I was afraid that she might distance herself from me because I had failed.
“Rua-chan’s back is so warm… On the day of the Combat Tournament, we were bouncing around on the rooftops of the town like this.”
If possible, I wanted to just run away somewhere like this. This area was quiet, but with thieves and Phantoms lurking around, that wasn’t really an option.
“If Eeks and the others have settled things, then that’s fine, but if not, I’ll take care of it.”
I didn’t think it would be wise to prolong this any further. Even after this battle ends, there would still be plenty of anxious people around. Nentro and Juo still hadn’t shown themselves, and while I didn’t have the strength compared to others, I had no idea what they were plotting.
◆ Avangarde Royal Capital, Central Street, South ◆
“I support that guy!”
“Are you an idiot?! He’s a thief! Are you out of your mind?!”
“Are you satisfied with the current regime? Those rotten nobles should just perish!”
The situation had taken an unexpected turn. A large crowd was jostling about, and Eeks and Tiferia were in no position to fight. In fact, they were getting quite overwhelmed in the chaos.
“Hey! You’re getting in the way of the fight!”
“Yikes!”
As Eeks forcefully shoved people aside, terrified onlookers stared at him as if he were a monster. I could only imagine that this was a first for both of them, being unable to fight in such a situation.
“…So you’re siding with the royalty. This is a matter that has nothing to do with the privileged.”
“More like, how can you trust someone who has been missing for years? Showing up now like nothing happened.”
“Tiferia is the same. She can use the taxes she siphoned from us as she pleases.”
“Oh dear, how cruel. That’s just too much.”
“Those bastards!”
Tiferia, flustered and panicking, was putting on quite a show, but the situation was dire nonetheless. Especially for Eeks, who had once despaired over people like this. He spat in disgust, completely disillusioned.
“The destruction of the Royal Capital is imminent! Hurry up and make a decision or something!”
“…This is strange. It should be about time to reach the surface.”
“Y-yeah, right! Tenkei, what’s going on?!”
“I stopped it. Why don’t you just give up already?”
“Flash Strike!”
No one called me Rua anymore. It only made me angrier that these people were treating me like this. That feeling extended to the situation at hand. I was truly fed up.
“Hahaha, stop with the bluster. There’s no way you can do anything about that mass, which took years to complete, the Auto Shadow Entry!”
“Then fine, don’t believe me.”
“Haha, hahaha…”
“You’re a fool!”
After a dry laugh, Tenkei began to press his ear to the ground. He didn’t need to do that; the earthquake wasn’t coming anymore.
“Even if I were to shatter it to pieces, it shouldn’t stop! No, it’s not something that fragile! Damn it, what kind of junk did you send us?! This is not what we agreed upon!”
“…Are you ready for what’s coming?”
“Hmph! Are you going to make a move against us? Look around! Who has the initiative here?!”
“Now it’s the Flash Strike Girl! No matter how strong you are, a naive kid should just stay out of it!”
“Becoming A-Rank at such a young age makes things all the more troublesome.”
“Listen, there’s a world for adults!”
“Shut up, you brat!”
Among those berating me were soldiers. It was unbelievable, considering they had been fighting thieves with all their might just moments ago. Even if they thought it was a natural ability, it was chilling. I felt sorry for Ai and the others who were loudly supporting me. And the moment Mai was shoved by someone, I stopped thinking altogether.
“Shut uuuuuuuup!”
If the Kaiser Dragon were here, it would have fled from the murderous intent radiating from me. The vibrations spread through the air, echoing my anger. It was a scene so shocking that I thought someone might die from it. Some soldiers were frozen in place, paralyzed with fear, while others even wet themselves. Greyman was absurdly throwing money in my direction. What was that? Was he giving it to me? I didn’t want it.
“It’s nice that it’s quiet now.”
As for the thieves, they were remarkably calm, except for Tenkei, who was trembling and trying to crawl away on all fours. The leader was pouting like an octopus, surprised but not scared. The other two, as Eeks had said, might not even feel fear anymore due to their shattered minds.
“You’re the loud one! Hahaha! Are you stupid?! You should just die! Hahaha!”
“Y-you’re so annoying!”
“Ah! You scared me! Where did that voice come from?!”
Even Eeks and Tiferia were barely managing to stand, so what was up with these guys?
“How terrible! These guys have all fainted!”
“You’re all going to join them now. I’ll take care of you all at once.”
I was tired of looking at the leader’s mocking face. Twirling my braid, I feigned ignorance, thinking, “Oh really?” Now, it was time to act.
◆ Shin Report ◆
Only Kurinka can be relied upon, I declare!
Phew! Hehe!
Eternal Preservation Edition! Confirmed!
Ah, my stomach hurts.
Look up the meaning of revival a hundred times, will you?
You idiot, fool, ah, fool!
And even in the midst of battling thieves,
You’re all getting cozy, aren’t you?
These brats are just hopeless.
My pure heart is being tainted.
Rua has gracefully dismissed them, but it’s quite the mess.
It seems someone has been up to no good.
Hmm, hmm, I’m starting to get a sense of it.
And I’ll keep that in my heart.
By doing so, I can feel superior to those two.
Yay!