Chapter 318 - High-Speed Trip
“All right, that’s enough chit-chat. Shall we get a move on?”
“Understood.”
“Right-o!”
About thirty minutes had passed since we left the safe area.
After leisurely making our way through the forest on the town’s outskirts and getting to know each other a bit, Tiger Lucky, our de facto leader, raised his voice. The pair of Maru II and Rinne voiced their agreement.
“Haru, Sora, you two good?”
“Okay. I’ll stick right with you, so feel free to go all out.”
“Please lead the way…!”
This expedition was Iris’s idea, planned out by her aide, the [Lady-in-Waiting]. But to be honest, I hadn't been told our exact destination.
According to Tiger Lucky, our guide, it was ‘a surprise for when we get there’…
Now, I wonder where on earth they plan on going with a massive force of four rankers plus an extra. With a mix of unease and anticipation, all we could do was follow them.
“Alright. In that case, try not to lose sight of me—[Cleave Fang].”
Just like that, Tiger Lucky casually unleashed the power of his ranker title, [Great Tiger]. Above his spiky brown hair, the symbolic crown of black and gold fangs materialized and began to glow.
“Lead the way, Tora-san!”
“We’re counting on you!”
—And, well, it was only natural what happened next.
The enhancement effect manifested by that title was the materialization of ‘Invisible Limbs of Immense Power’.
It was an authority that allowed him to compete in high-speed combat, its thrust generated by a ‘power’ equivalent to 500 STR—even if I had surpassed him in the Four Pillar War.
Furthermore, to ‘run’ with it, two jaws for his legs were more than enough… which meant that, by necessity, the most efficient method was to have the remaining two—for each of his arms—carry the other two members.
Maru II’s build was geared toward agility, but even he probably couldn't match the top speed generated by that absurd strength.
And most importantly, those limbs had no cost and were immune to fatigue.
In other words, it was a ridiculously broken ability that allowed him to permanently maintain four invisible, massive jaws, any one of which could effortlessly crush a player, all at no risk.
I just happened to have a counter-skill that functioned as a perfect meta, allowing me to shut him down completely, but that authority was supposed to be one of the most overpowered among the ranker titles.
“...I understand how it works, but it’s still an unsettling sight.”
“Ahaha, right?”
Rinne, who was floating diagonally above Tiger Lucky, caught Sora’s murmur next to me and offered a slightly embarrassed laugh.
Well, she was on an invisible platform… The sight of her floating in mid-air, posed as if clinging to something, could hardly be called graceful.
“Don’t get picky—all right, here we go!”
CRUNCH— With a powerful kick that gouged the earth, the [Great Tiger] took his first step.
His speed was likely already in the hundreds of kilometers per hour right from the start, a high-speed maneuver born of sheer force… but it seemed all three of them were used to such recklessness.
Neither Maru II nor Rinne was thrown off, and Tiger Lucky, carrying them both, showed no hesitation at all. He cheerfully let out a roar as he executed a perfect start dash.
I wondered if he could maneuver well in a forest like this—the answer came in the form of loud, destructive sounds echoing from ahead. How wonderfully exciting.
“Now then… Just to check, since we’re sort of in public…”
Even though he was out of sight, the party radar made following him no problem. Without any rush, I glanced to my side.
“What should we do? Or rather… Sora-san, can you keep up with that on your own?”
I asked my partner, who had been watching the human cannonball shoot off with an expression of mingled awe and exasperation.
After a moment's hesitation, Sora lowered her eyebrows in a troubled manner.
“Even if my agility is boosted, I can’t keep up with the avatar controls…”
With a face that was twenty percent embarrassment and eighty percent resignation, she held out her hand.
“—I’m sorry. Please.”
“—As you wish, my lady.”
I took her hand with an exaggerated, theatrical motion and swept her slender body up into my arms before she could scold me for using a name she apparently disliked.
Her reprimand came as a single, cute tap of protest against my chest—and in the next moment, the blessing of the ‘Scales’ she had tipped enveloped my body in a faint phosphorescence.
“Ready?”
“Anytime.”
Even as she said that, she made no move to wrap her arms around me while being carried. I’ll take that as a sign of trust—and so, to meet her expectations.
Holding my partner securely, I quietly kicked off the ground.
◇◆◇◆◇
“—What the hell are those two doin’?”
“They aren’t moving…?”
While taking the most efficient route and plowing through any obstacles not worth dodging, the [Great Tiger] sped through the forest, keeping an eye behind him but never stopping.
He figured that guy would catch up instantly no matter how far ahead he got, but what was he doing just standing there daydreaming—
“I’m sure they’re having a sweet little moment. They’re just so heartwarming, those two.”
Just as he was about to get exasperated by the delighted voice of the romance fiend… or rather, Rinne, who had a weakness for love stories, he found himself thinking, ‘Well, that’s probably it,’ which was a problem in itself—
“Oh, by the way.”
“Yeah?”
The sound of a bell rang out, and the trunk of a large tree right in front of them suddenly burst into pieces. However—
As if in direct contrast to the speed at which the wind roared past their ears, the three continued their leisurely conversation, none of them paying it any mind.
“It seems Haru-san and Sora-chan aren’t actually in that kind of relationship… or at least, not yet, so!”
“—Ouch!? Hey, why’d you…”
Like that’s not it?—he flicked his partner on the forehead as her gaze said it all.
“To be more precise, it seems they have no intention of it ever becoming that way… so among us, teasing them is now forbidden. Being egged on when you’re not interested is super annoying, you know.”
“Sounds like you’re speakin’ from experience.”
“When you put it like that… yeah, okay. Understood.”
“Good, that’s settled!”
Being childhood friends who’d been together since birth must have its own set of complications.
It was a known fact that the two of them hated being treated as a couple just because they were a boy and a girl who got along well. As their master and senior, the young man had no intention of disregarding his cute junior’s wishes.
“He told me himself once that it ‘ain’t like that,’ so I got no plans to be pushy—though if they get too out of hand, I might have to think of a comeback!”
“Wow, as expected of Tora-san, so cool!”
“Damn right! I’m Tiger, Star, and Lucky!”
“I don’t really get that last part, but…”
“Ahaha… —Hm?”
Crushing the ground and pulverizing trees—the three, who had been engaged in an extremely laid-back exchange during their violent march, all reacted to it at the same time.
On their radar, the signal from behind had started to move.
And just a few seconds after they registered its movement—
“—Oh, what’s this? Talking about something fun?”
A shadow, carrying a girl and running alongside them with a completely casual expression, appeared.
“………………You were hiding something again, weren’t you? What’s with that glow?”
“To catch up in just a few seconds after being left that far behind…?”
“A p-p-p-p-princess carry!!!!”
As he was met with a stern face, an exasperated face, and an excited face, the young man holding his bashfully shrinking partner ran on, silent as a whisper.
—There was likely no other sight to which the expression ‘like the wind’ could be so perfectly applied.
Through the dense forest, a place one would never call easy to run in, he was at times even using the tree trunks as footholds, leaping as if he were flying.
“...Oi, Rinne, I can make a crack about this, right?”
“Mmmhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm—… It’s shippable, so it’s fine!”
“What in the world are you two talking about? …Anyway.”
You’re not allowed to look exasperated in this situation—interrupting that silent retort, the [Acrobat] spoke again, a provocative glint in his eyes.
“Jogging isn’t bad, but how about you finally go all out?”
And to those deliberately thrown words of challenge, there was only one possible response.
“Hah, I was just waiting for the moron who was dawdling, you know? In that case…”
It was, of course, a challenge accepted.
Why, you ask? Because—
“—Don’t come cryin’ to me when you’re exhausted, Acrobat!”
“—Who do you think you’re talking to, Great Tiger?!”
It was more fun that way, obviously.
—Incidentally, right after the two idiots kicked off at full, unrestrained power.
“H-Heeeeey, Master, you’re going a little too fa—gack.”
Maru II, trying to calm down his master who had once again gotten carried away with their ‘competition’, bit his tongue spectacularly, scattering a tiny amount of HP.
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!? Idiot, stupid, moron, even if I’m used to it, there’s a limit to this—aaahhh!!?!”
Rinne, experiencing her senior’s ‘full power, all out’ mode for the first time, let out a scream.
“………………………………………………Boys are just, really, I swear…!”
Sora, having reached the pinnacle of familiarity and resignation, turned pale and quietly closed her eyes.
And so—after running for ten, then twenty minutes, they finally arrived at their destination.
It goes without saying that the seventh-ranked members of the Northeastern Factions were both made to prostrate themselves in apology.
Boys love a good competition, you know.