kscans

Chapter 318 - High-Speed Trip

"Alright, that's enough chit-chat. Time to get a move on."

"Got it."

"Okay-dokey!"

It had been about thirty minutes since we left the safe area. After getting to know each other a bit while strolling through the forest near the city, Tiger Lucky, our de facto leader, spoke up, and the duo of Maru II and Rinne gave their assent.

"You two good to go?"

"We're okay. We'll stick right to you, so feel free to go as fast as you want."

"We're counting on you to lead the way…!"

This expedition was Iris's idea, planned by her aide, the [Lady-in-Waiting]-dono—but to be honest, I haven't been told our exact destination. According to our guide, Tiger Lucky, it's a 'surprise for when we get there.'

I wonder where a massive force of four rankers plus an alpha is headed. Half-anxious and half-excited, all we can do is follow them.

"Alright. Try not to lose us—[Cleave Fang]."

As if it were the most normal thing in the world, Tiger Lucky unleashed the power of his ranker title, [Great Tiger]. A symbolic crown of black and gold fangs materialized above his spiky brown hair and began to glow.

"Lead the way, Tiger-san!"

"We're in your hands!"

—And, well, of course that's what would happen.

The enhancement effect manifested by that title was the materialization of 'Invisible Limbs of Superhuman Strength.'

Even though I surpassed him in the Four Pillars rankings, this was the power that allowed him to compete in high-speed combat, a propulsive force born from a 'strength' equivalent to 500 STR. Furthermore, since he only needed the two jaws corresponding to his legs to run… it was naturally most efficient to have him carry the other two on his arms.

Maru II-shi is an agility build, but he likely couldn't match the top speed generated by that insane power. And more importantly, those limbs had no cost and were immune to fatigue. In other words, he had four massive, invisible jaws, each capable of easily crushing a player, and he could keep them active indefinitely with no risk. It was a ridiculously broken spec.

I just happened to have a counter skill that was like a perfect meta against it, but that power is normally considered among the most broken of all the ranker titles.

"…I know how it works, but it's still an unsettling sight."

"Ahaha, right?"

From up diagonally to Tiger Lucky's side, a floating Rinne caught Sora's murmur next to me and laughed, looking slightly embarrassed.

Well, it was an invisible platform… Her posture, as if clinging to something while suspended in mid-air, could hardly be called graceful.

"Don't get picky! Alright, here we go!"

CRUNCH—the [Great Tiger] took a step, gouging a huge chunk out of the ground.

His speed was probably already in the hundreds of kilometers per hour from a dead start, a high-speed maneuver of pure brute force. But for the three of them, this level of recklessness was probably just another day at the office. Neither Maru II nor Rinne were thrown off, and Tiger Lucky, carrying them both, showed no hesitation. He let out a cheerful roar and blasted off.

I wondered if he could maneuver well in a forest like this—the answer came in the form of loud, destructive crashing sounds from up ahead. What a wild guy.

"Now then… just to check, since we're technically in 'public'…"

Even if we lost sight of them, the party function's radar made following them no problem at all. I turned to my side without any rush.

"What should we do… or rather, Sora-san, can you keep up with that on your own?"

She watched the human cannonball shoot off with an expression somewhere between exasperated and impressed. After a moment's thought, Sora furrowed her brow in a troubled way.

"Even with the agility boost, I can't keep up with the avatar control…"

With a look that was twenty percent embarrassment and eighty percent resignation, she held out her hand.

"—I'm sorry, but please."

"—As you wish, my lady."

I took her hand with an exaggeratedly theatrical gesture, and before she could scold me for the nickname she apparently disliked, I swept her slender body up into my arms. Her only protest was a cute, disgruntled tap on my chest. The next moment, the blessing of the 'Scales' she had tipped enveloped my body in a faint phosphorescence.

"Ready?"

"Anytime."

She said that, but she didn't even try to wrap her arms around me while being carried. I'll take that as a sign of trust—and in that case, I'll have to live up to her expectations. Holding my partner securely, I quietly kicked off the ground.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—What are those two doin'?"

"They're not moving…?"

While taking the most minimal route and simply plowing through any obstacles not worth dodging, the [Great Tiger] ran through the forest at incredible speed, keeping an eye behind him but not stopping.

He figured that guy could catch up in an instant no matter how far ahead he got, but what was he doing just standing there like a bump on a log?

"They're probably being all lovey-dovey again! They're so cute, it just makes my heart flutter!"

Tiger Lucky rolled his eyes at the delighted voice of Rinne, the romance fanatic… or rather, the girl with a weakness for love stories, but he couldn't help but think, Yeah, that's probably it.

"Oh, by the way."

"Hm?"

The chime of a bell rang out, and the trunk of a large tree just ahead suddenly exploded into splinters. However—

Despite the wind roaring in their ears, the three of them continued their leisurely conversation, not paying it the slightest mind.

"Haru-san and Sora-chan aren't actually… at least, they aren't in that kind of relationship yet, so!"

"—Ouch!? Hey, why'd you…"

And you still think that?—she flicked the forehead of her partner, whose gaze said it all.

"To be more precise, they don't plan on it becoming that way, so… from now on, teasing them is forbidden among us. It's super annoying to be teased about something when you have no intention of it happening, you know."

"You sound like you're speakin' from experience."

"Well, when you put it like that… yeah, okay. Understood."

"Good, very good!"

Childhood friends who'd been together since birth must have their own set of issues. It was a known fact that the two of them hated being treated like a couple just because they were a guy and a girl who got along well. As their master and senior, the young man would never disrespect the wishes of his cute juniors.

"He told me himself once that it ain't like that, so I'm not gonna be pushy about it—though if they get too ridiculous, I might have to say somethin'!"

"Whoa, you're so cool, Tiger-san!"

"Of course I am! I'm Tiger, Star, and Lucky!"

"I don't really get that last part, but…"

"Ahaha…—Huh?"

Crushing the earth and pulverizing trees—the three of them, who had been engaged in an extremely laid-back exchange during their violent procession, all reacted to it at the same time.

The blip on their radar behind them had started to move.

And just a few seconds after they registered its movement—

"—Oh, what's up? Talking about something fun?"

A shadow, carrying a girl and running alongside them with a perfectly normal expression, appeared.

"………………You were hidin' somethin' again, weren't ya? What's with all the glowin'?"

"He caught up in just a few seconds after being left that far behind…?"

"H-He's carrying her p-princess style!!!!"

As he was met with a dangerous glare, an exasperated look, and a face of pure excitement, the young man holding his bashfully shrinking partner ran on, silent as a whisper. The expression 'like the wind' had never seemed so fitting.

He was in a dense forest that was anything but easy to run through, at times even using the trunks of trees as footholds, flying and leaping through the air.

"…Hey Rinne, I'm allowed to make a crack about this, right?"

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm—…It's so perfect I'll allow it! It's fine!"

"What in the world are you two talking about? …Anyway."

You're not allowed to look at me with that exasperated face in this situation—as if to cut off such a retort, the [Acrobat] spoke again, a provocative glint in his eyes.

"Jogging isn't bad, but how about you start going all out?"

There was only one way to respond to the words thrown down like a gauntlet.

"Hah, I was just waitin' for you slowpokes! In that case…"

It was a challenge accepted.

Because, well—

"—Don't come cryin' to me when you run outta gas, Acrobat!"

"—Who do you think you're talkin' to, Great Tiger?!"

It was just more fun that way.

—Incidentally, right after the two idiots kicked off the ground with no holds barred.

"H-Heyyyy—! M-Master, you're goin' too fas—gurk!"

Maru II, trying to calm down his master who had once again lost all restraint in the heat of 'competition,' bit his tongue spectacularly, losing a sliver of HP.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!? You idiot, you idiot, you idiot! Even if I'm used to it, there's a limit to this?!?"

Rinne screamed as she experienced her senior's 'full power, all out' for the first time.

"………………………………………………Boys are just… really… ugh!"

Having reached the pinnacle of habituation and resignation, Sora turned pale and quietly closed her eyes.

And then—after running for ten, twenty minutes, when they finally reached their destination, it goes without saying that the seventh-ranked members of the Northern and Eastern factions were both forced to prostrate themselves in apology.