kscans

Chapter 110 - Requiem

Hayato and the others exited Mist's mansion through a back entrance.

A magnificent carriage, fit for royalty, was waiting there. The maids and butlers from Mist's mansion were busy making preparations.

Maris was sitting in the coachman's seat.

"Everyone, please get in quickly. We're leaving the Demon Capital at once!"

"Maris, are you driving, or being the coachman?"

"The Animal Taming and Riding skills affect how well you can handle a carriage. I can get us going at quite a speed. I'm also confident in providing the smoothest of rides."

(So it affects how you handle the horses. I don't know the mechanics, but in that case, Maris is the best possible coachman.)

Maris's Animal Taming and Riding skills were both at 100. If those skills were important for operating a carriage, there was no one better suited for the job.

Hayato and the others quickly boarded the carriage.

Relic and Lunaria were already seated inside, ready to go at a moment's notice.

He felt bad about leaving Ash, Ney, and Rosalie behind, but right now, getting Noat to safety was the top priority. Besides, Esha, Relic, and Maris couldn't fight due to their country affiliation. And Hayato, as a production player, couldn't fight either. In other words, there was no point in them staying.

A butler closed the door from the outside. Through the window, he bowed and said, "Please take care of Noat-sama." At the same time, the other butlers and maids also bowed.

He then explained that if they followed the road east from here, they would be able to exit the forest.

Mist's mansion, though in the Demon Capital, was located within a forest. And that forest was Mist's territory. Exiting the forest was the same as escaping the bounds of the Demon Capital.

Hayato, as the nominal leader, bowed and said, "Understood," then called out to Maris.

Maris nodded, and the carriage began to move.

It quickly picked up speed. The trees outside the carriage window flew by at a considerable pace.

(This speed would be impossible in the real world.)

Being a virtual reality, there was no particular jolting even on the unpaved road. The Demon Capital Zardogia was a much larger territory than the Royal or Imperial Capitals, but at this speed, Hayato felt relieved that they would soon be out of the forest.

With some breathing room, his mind calmed. Hayato looked over at Noat to get some information.

"Noat, do you know why the dragons are trying to capture you?"

"Who knows? You'd have to ask the dragons to find out. But I might have a small idea."

"An idea?"

"All I have is my singing. I think they either want me to sing, or they don't want me to sing. Since they called me a dangerous person, I have a feeling it's more likely the latter."

I see, Hayato thought.

He himself had been called a dangerous person, and Veru had told him to back off. It was reasonable to assume they wanted Noat to stop doing something as well. But what did it mean that they didn't want her to sing?

He might be able to protect her without knowing the reason, but conversely, if he knew the reason, it could give them a major advantage in the Stampede. Hayato decided to ask for more details.

"Is there a song that's effective against dragons? Song skills are mainly for buffing allies and debuffing enemies, right? Do you have any songs that affect specific monsters?"

"Hmm? I do have some, but none that only work on dragons. I have ‘Bremen,’ which attracts animal-type monsters, and ‘Siren,’ which inflicts the charm bad status on human-types, but I don't have a song for dragons... I think."

"I see. But, just in case, could you tell me all the songs you can use—"

Just as Hayato said that, the carriage shuddered. It wasn't a major impact, but the fact that the supposedly smooth carriage had shaken made everyone tilt their heads.

"W, we're under attack! Is someone following us!?"

Maris's voice, almost a cry of pain, came from outside.

Hayato immediately stuck his head out the carriage window and looked behind them.

There was Pat, skillfully performing a Gun Spin while on horseback.

(Seriously, is this a Western movie?)

"It's that guy, Pat! He's chasing us! Maris, go faster!"

"T, this is as fast as I can go!"

Whether Pat's horse was fast or the carriage was slow, he had caught up enough to ride alongside them.

"I ditched my date with two cute little ladies for this, so you'd better believe I'm gonna get some results."

Pat stopped his Gun Spin and shot at the carriage.

The carriage was struck again.

"Everyone, protect the carriage! It'll break if its HP runs out!"

As soon as Maris shouted, Esha took out her Beelzebub and fired at Pat from the window. But it had no effect at all.

"It won't work on me until you're out of the Demon Capital. You'd better not waste your time."

"Even if there's no damage, I'm sure you don't enjoy being shot at, do you?"

Even if there was no pain or damage, anyone would instinctively want to avoid a gun being fired in their face. And it was night. Every time she fired the Beelzebub, the muzzle flashed. The light would serve as a flash and slightly hinder the opponent's attacks.

Esha, anticipating this, fired her gun repeatedly. She had brought a large amount of juice from the soiree, so she could shoot as much as she wanted.

Just as Esha had predicted, Pat seemed annoyed by her attacks and fell back.

Esha leaned halfway out of the carriage window and fired at Pat behind them.

(Can you even lean out of a window like that?)

Despite the dangerous situation, Hayato found himself thinking about that. In this game, you generally couldn't go out through windows. At least, that's how it was six months ago. That was part of what made things so difficult when the Hero went on a rampage. It seemed that restriction had been removed at some point.

(Oops, no time to think about that. But at this rate, can we make it out of the Demon Capital?)

Just as Hayato thought that, the carriage suddenly changed direction slightly.

It wasn't a major detour, but they were supposed to be able to leave the Demon Capital by heading east along the road. He felt a little strange that they had taken a different path.

"Maris, it looks like you changed course. Is something wrong?"

"Dragon Zombies and Ghosts are blocking the road! It'll be a bit of a detour, but we'll take another path out of the forest!"

It was a Stampede, so monsters were likely everywhere. Normally, they could just defeat them, but Esha, Relic, and Maris couldn't damage the Stampede's monsters. They had no choice but to run.

However, if all the paths were blocked, they wouldn't be able to escape. They would have to fight somewhere.

Hayato, being a player, could attack, but he was a production class and couldn't fight. However, there was one exception. Lunaria, whose affiliated country was the Demon Country.

"Lunaria-san. If the path is blocked again, can I ask you to defeat them?"

"If there are no ghosts, I'll do it. If there are, I won't. Actually, I caught a glimpse of one out the window just now. I honestly thought I was going to faint."

"You should have said so sooner."

While thinking that Lunaria was effectively useless as an escort, Hayato considered what to do.

Hoping there wouldn't be any more monsters was a gamble. And running around the Demon Capital until the Stampede was over wasn't realistic. Hayato wracked his brain for a solution.

"Hayato-sama, may I have a word?"

"Relic-san? What is it?"

"Yes, I've noticed something. Noat has a song that is effective against undead-types. And since she is currently staying at Mist-sama's mansion, her affiliated country should be the Demon Country. I believe Noat is capable of attacking."

"There's such a thing?"

For some reason, Noat also tilted her head, but Relic smiled and nodded.

"These gloves you made for me, Hayato-sama. Their name is Requiem."

"Um? What about it? And why are you bringing that up now?"

"Requiem also means a song of mourning. I believe there is a song called ‘Requiem’ that deals considerable damage to undead-type monsters. Isn't that right?"

At Relic's question, Noat tilted her head slightly before nodding vertically.

"You're not wrong, but to be precise, it's a song that purifies the undead. It also has the effect of suppressing undead from spawning for a while. It's a rare song that you can't use without both the Holy Magic and Song skills. Naturally, I can sing it."

"I see, if there's a song like that, we'll be fine even if the road is blocked… It suppresses undead from spawning?"

Hayato looked at Lunaria, who was sitting in the corner of the carriage, hugging her knees.

"Lunaria-san, you can fight as long as there are no ghosts, right?"

"I promise as the Demon Lord. If I lie, I'll swallow a thousand needles. Though I'd rather you change it to a thousand cookies."

"That doesn't matter, but if you can fight, can you beat the Underworld Dragon?"

"Absurd. I can win even in this dress."

"So you can do it… I see. Veru-san and the others must have been trying to abduct Noat because this would be a problem for them. Maris, change of destination. Head for the plaza in the Demon Capital."

"What!? Are you sure!? The Underworld Dragon will be appearing soon!"

"It's fine. All the facilities in the Demon Country have been repaired, so let's aim for the Dragon Soul Fragment in this Stampede. Right now, the most dangerous place is Mist-san's mansion. Let's have Ash and the others do their best to keep it from being destroyed."

As Hayato said this, he began using his production skills to create the dishes and medicines that would be needed for the battle ahead.