Chapter 94 - Escape from Northern Nishi-Nakanohara ②
We flew at low altitude, just barely skimming the tops of the trees.
The rim of the bowl would last a long time if we rotated it to use the front, back, left, and right sides evenly, but the bottom couldn't be replaced. We couldn't use much power for ascending.
"Why would the Orcs cross the mountain stream?"
"I do not know. However, there are apparently rare instances of such things happening."
"I've never fought in a forest before, but is it really a struggle?"
"Since formations cannot be used, it becomes mostly one-on-one. Neither magic nor bows can attack over a wide range. If the numbers are equal, we would likely lose."
I heard that in the Goblin cave, they retreated while fending off the enemy's attacks with earthworks. Since the forest is too vast, that same tactic couldn't be used.
"We have no choice but to treat the mountain stream as a defensive position and hold it. If we cross first, we can aim at the enemies coming after us from above. I think they understand that too, so they won't attack so easily."
"In short, it's about the opponent's numbers."
"That is how it is."
I wanted to join up immediately, but in our current state, we wouldn't be much of a fighting force. First, we had to rest our bodies. If only there were a mountain hut...
Looking toward the west, the smoke from the mountain hut was no longer visible. The fire must have gone out.
Wait? There's something there...
"There's something in the western sky!"
Black shapes were floating in the sky.
"Aren't those the ones that were chasing us?"
Today marked the third aerial battle.
There were about fifteen Gargoyles. In a straightforward fight, there was no chance of winning.
Beatrix skillfully dropped two at once with a single shot of lightning magic, but at this rate, we wouldn't win.
"They're coming from the left!"
"Crouch!"
As Paul-san told us, the two of us crouched down. He suddenly changed the flight direction as if sliding sideways.
"Kyaa!"
"Wait! Hey!"
Gago! We collided. The impact sent us rolling around inside the bowl. I almost crushed Chururi's cage.
"Wait, are we okay?"
"This thing can repel stones fired from a catapult! It won't break from something like this."
I mean, we inside it feel like we're going to break, though.
"Good! The enemy has moved away."
Timidly standing up and poking only my head over the rim, I saw the Gargoyles flying in a distant circle.
"I snapped the necks of about two of them!"
He was laughing heartily.
"Shouldn't we have just done this from the start?"
"Umu. From now on, let us make ramming our basic tactic."
The alias 'Bloody Paul' flickered in my mind.
The Gargoyles kept a certain distance and followed us closely.
"I wonder how long they intend to follow us?"
"They have likely guessed that we are flying with magic."
"Are they aiming for us to run out of mana?"
"Most likely."
They were quite persistent. It wasn't like monsters that usually attacked with momentum.
"Gargoyles are dolls that move by magic. They seem to be able to think and move on their own, but they have no emotions."
"Is that Forbidden Magic?"
"Probably not. There are no legends of humans controlling Gargoyles. In a way, they are the monster version of a Doll or a Charm."
"Is Subordination no good either?"
"Even if you can control them with Subordination, you cannot create them, can you? The root is different."
Various things were difficult. Magic was too deep, and there were too many things I didn't understand.
"Now then, the mountain stream will soon come into view. What shall we do now? Shall we fly across?"
"Please proceed east along the stream for a bit. Let's see how the opponent reacts."
"Understood. Then we shall fly just above the water's surface."
The mountain stream was winding, but it was wide enough for the bowl to fly through. Cliffs pressed in from the left and right, and occasionally tree branches hung over, but it seemed we could manage to fly.
The Gargoyles were flying in a single file so as not to lose sight of us.
"They're following us without giving up."
"They do not know fatigue, after all."
It couldn't be helped. If possible, I had wanted to call her during a banquet.
I looked at my ring.
It was a silver ring with a light blue stone, and in the center of the stone, a deep blue color swirled.
"Dune. I want to see you. Show yourself."
I recited the password.
"That's quite a sweet line. Are you lonely?"
Are you, the loneliest person in the Class of 175, really saying that?
The ring glowed, and water gushed out. It kept overflowing, taking the size of a person, taking shape, until her face became clearly recognizable.
"It's been a while, Jeanne. You didn't call me, so I thought you'd forgotten. But to suddenly invite me up into the sky, you've got good taste."
I was suddenly hugged.
But she immediately grimaced.
"Oh, you haven't taken a bath. That's not good for your skin."
"It wasn't the time for that. I mean, Dune, do you always wear those clothes?"
She was wearing the light blue frilly outfit I bought at the brothel. It wasn't completely transparent, but the way it looked like it might show something but didn't was quite seductive. With her great figure, if she walked through town, she'd create a sea of nosebleeds from the old men.
"I've taken a liking to it. Since you bought me two, I wear them alternately every day."
She was laughing, ufufu.
I had bought a different design for night use. She was using that as her everyday wear.
"Dune. It's been a while."
"Was Beatrix doing well too? Oh, Paul-san was here too?"
"It has been a while."
The shy mage, who was famous at the brothel, was turning red.
In any case, only a week had passed, but it seemed there was no need for reserve.
"By the way, what's wrong? Some strange things are following you."
"We're being chased."
"Then, are those enemies?"
I nodded. Yes.
"I understand. Since you went through the trouble of calling me, I'll protect you as promised."
She looked straight into my eyes.
The bodyguard fee, huh. I understand.
"Thank you. I'll treat you to a meal as thanks when we get back. Also, all our friends are going to be together soon, so we're having a celebration party. I'm planning to invite you as the guest of honor. I'll buy you the clothes to wear then, too."
"Ufufu. You understand, don't you? Then, I'll show you something special."
Dune extended her right hand toward the mountain stream and flicked it upward.
Don!
Just as I thought I heard a loud sound, a pillar of water rose from the stream.
Don! Don! Don!
Just like that, pillars of water rose in succession.
The water pillars, like living creatures, approached the Gargoyles and began to strike and shatter them one by one.
"That's amazing..."
Beatrix was wide-eyed.
Paul-san was also looking back with his mouth agape... please look forward, it's dangerous!
The three surviving Gargoyles hurriedly soared into the sky.
"Naive. It's impossible for lumps of stone to escape from me."
When she raised her arms high, three exceptionally high—unbelievably high—water pillars rose, caught up to the fleeing Gargoyles in an instant, and crushed them to pieces as they swallowed them.
When I told her the reason we were being chased by the Gargoyles, she told me to sleep while she carried us.I wonder if you'd call it a water bed; she created a squishy lump of water that was even softer than the 'fluffy' from before. It flowed slowly down the mountain stream, regardless of the river's current.
The bafun sensation was comfortable.
"You saved us. Thank you."
"Ufufu. It's fine. You did well to endure this far."
"I thought if we made it to the stream, you'd do something for us."
"Correct. The waters here seem to like human hunters who never forget their feelings of gratitude. Compared to that, they say they hate those unfriendly ones from earlier."
Come to think of it, Paul-san and Angus-san would pour sake and pray when crossing the mountain stream.
"I shall also tell the hunters and the people of the town. To be more grateful than ever to the water flowing through the mountains and forests."
"The one who's been offering cookies lately is you, Paul-san, isn't it?"
"No, that is, well, I asked Robinson to..."
With a bright red face, he was stammering.
It seemed he couldn't stand up to Dune.
"It's fine. All three of you, just sleep. I'll wake you when we're close to where your allies are."
While my head was being stroked, I became sleepy.
With a half-hearted goodnight greeting, I fell asleep just like that.
When I woke up, the water bed had run aground on a riverbank.
Paul-san was waist-deep in the water, catching fish.
"Yo, hah! Alright. Yes, yes!"
Maybe it was my imagination, but he seemed unusually lively.
"Dune, good morning."
"It's almost evening, though. Did you rest well?"
"Yeah. Thank you. Somehow, I feel really refreshed. Did you do something, by any chance?"
Dune removes bad things from the body.
"Just a little. You seemed tired, after all."
"Thank you!"
When I went to hug her, she stroked my head.
"The thing is, Jeanne and Beatrix were fine. But Paul-san, he had quite a lot of bad things accumulated in his body, so I put some spirit into fixing him up. Then, he ended up like that..."
"Oh, Jeanne. You're awake. Man! I feel like I've been rejuvenated. Look, I caught four, so there's one for each of us. Hurry up and wake Beatrix. You can't fight on an empty stomach. Wahahaha. Man, being healthy is a great thing."
His cheerfulness was usual, but his body movements were somehow different. They had a sharpness, or rather, they were smooth. Even his tone had changed slightly.
"Is he okay? Is it fine like that?"
Dune was quite worried.
"Maybe he'll go back to normal once he returns to town and starts living his usual life."
"What kind of life does that man usually lead?"
"I don't really know, but probably the kind of life that makes a energetic person like that turn into the Paul-san he was before you fixed him."
"The fruit of neglect."
"If he goes back to normal, just tell him it's because of his daily neglect!"
"Ahaha. I'll do that. Thank you, Jeanne."
She gave me a squeeze.
"Well, shall we wake Beatrix? Let's eat."
"Yes. Let's do that."
When the two of us went over to Beatrix, she was sleeping with her mouth wide open.
"Beatrix hardly needed anything done to her. What kind of life does she lead?"
"This girl just sleeps all the time. Maybe that's why."
"Hmm. I guess it really is sleep, then."
She was touching her own skin, peta-peta.
I think you're the most beautiful one, though.
After waking Beatrix with Awake magic, it was breakfast time.
There were four Highway Cookies, so it was just right.
Beside Dune, who was munching on a Highway Cookie, we had a strategy meeting while roasting fish rubbed with salt.
"What are we going to do now?"
"Umu. We must join up with Hans and the others and prevent those Orcs from crossing the mountain stream."
"You won't back down on that, will you?"
"That is right. We humans do not normally go north of the stream. The monsters do not come south either. Until the day comes to settle the matter once and for all, non-interference is the basic rule."
"What happened this time?"
"This time, humans intruded first. The cause likely lies with us. They must have things they are protecting in their own way."
A touch-and-go state of mutual non-interference, huh. Moreover, the cause of this conflict lay with the humans.
"Then, even if we fight and win north of the stream, we'll just incur their resentment, right?"
"That would be the case."
"If we let them cross once and then repel them, wouldn't it be a draw for both sides? Let's call it a 'punishment for both parties' (T/N: A legal principle where both sides in a quarrel are punished equally)."
"You say interesting things."
Was that so? I thought 'punishment for both parties' was a basic concept...
For some reason, Dune stroked my head.
"How is it as a strategy?"
"It is not impossible. We will not lose to monsters when it comes to information gathering and tactical ability. However, there must be a defensive base after the river is crossed."
"Let's build one!"
Paul-san was here. We had built moats and earthworks in Higashinohara too. In addition, with the bowl, magic circle traps, and Robinson-san's scouting ability...
"Alright. Let us propose it to Hans."
The policy was decided. If it went well, the monsters probably wouldn't come south for a while.
We parted with the neutral Dune here. This was because I could escape if I intended to.
When Dune recited the password "See you later, Jeanne," she vanished from within my hugging arms into the ring.
"That girl has changed. She's become softer, or something..."
"It is likely because you are already friends. When we met before, it was a spirit and a human. Now, such things no longer matter, do they?"
That was certainly true. She was one of my friends.