Vol 4: Chapter 30
The mediator, whose core was destroyed, collapsed on his back. The black flames coming from the body extinguished every passing moment. Even the mithril armor broke into fragments.
「Fuh…」
Immediately, silence descended. Craters have formed on the ground, buildings have collapsed, and clouds of dust everywhere. The dust in the air didn’t easily settle to the ground because the air circulation inside the city was slower than the outside.
I walked up to Sumeria, who was still lying unconscious.
(She’s still unconscious. And her body temperature is low. She doesn’t seem to have eaten yet.)
If she had continued to use【Insane Blade】, it would have surely spelled certain death in the not too distant future.
「The person called Marshal, you’re there, aren’t you?」
In the shadow of a nearby building, I felt the presence of the Marshal earlier.
After waiting for a while, he appeared nervously.
「W-What was all that just now?」
「I didn’t expect that the mediator would be summoned, either. Who is the one who summoned him… the fat, evil boss woman?」
Perhaps it was a bad way to put it, as the Marshal blinked several times in disbelief.
「That was Sarume, the head of the Urume family. You can say that she is the leader of the Underground city.」
「In other words, there is a pledger among the underground people too, right?」
「Pledger? Do you mean someone who can hear the word of God?」
「Oh, so that’s how it’s recognized in this place.」
They judge the Covenant as the word of God, huh.
But then again, I don’t know who established the Covenant. It might not be a creature that is found in either world if it can enforce the Covenant upon the two worlds.
If so, is it beyond the two worlds?
Is it really God?
(Even so, how was the pledger able to summon the mediator? …I’d like to know more, but I don’t think she’ll tell me.)
「So, what will become of Sumeria?」I asked
「You… care about this girl?」
「I saved her life, after all.」
「She will……」
The Marshal was hesitant.
I took that as his answer.
Regardless of whether he can be trusted or not, the Marshal seems like an honest person at his roots. That is why he can’t just say the most appropriate thing to say at this moment.
In other words, Sumeria’s future is uncertain. No, considering her physical condition, her future seems to be rather bleak.
「H-Hey, you? What are you going to do with her!?」
I carried Sumeria in my arms and stood up, so the Marshal called out to me in a hurry.
「I think it would be much better for her to be with me than you guys.」
「Who are you to decide that–」
As the Marshal tried to come closer, I shot a glare at him.
Implying that if he got closer than that, I would shoot magic.
「Guh…」
The Marshal clenched his teeth and hung his head.
I carried Sumeria under my arm and left. The passage to the outside had collapsed, but it was a quick fix with【Earth Magic】. Similarly, it was easy to collapse it again.
I don’t want to be tailed while retreating.
When I went through the dark passage, the door to the outside remained open.
「Oh, adventurer! You are safe!」
The Lev master sergeant called out.
The other Levs were hidden in the vicinity, and only the master sergeant was waiting for me.
「That person… is the formidable enemy who subdued us. But something feels strange. Is it because she’s sleeping? I don’t feel like she’s that formidable anymore.」
「It will take a while to explain, so let’s just leave for now.」
「Alright. Where should we go?」
「To the Dragonewt City, where all of you will be welcomed.」
** Dragonewt City **
Anastasia was surprised to hear the series of incidents which occurred at the airship from the scout team that returned. And she felt greatly anxious when she learned Reiji decided to not come back.
She knows that Reiji is strong. However, great dangers are known to lurk in this world.
「Ah, shoot! This is more boiling water than hot water, nu!」
The large communal bath, which is a souvenir from Reiji, became a hot topic in Dragonewt City. And he gave Anastasia the task of heating the bath.
The construction was done by all the dragonewts, so it took only one day for completion. Water was drawn from a stream.
The next morning, Anastasia’s fire magic had gone amiss after hearing the report from the scout team.
The boiling large communal bath was like a hell pot. The dragonewts backed away from the pool while looking at Anastasia.
「I-I’m sorry, I failed…」
「It’s alright, nuro. We can shift the boiling water to the water in the women’s bath, which is still cold.」
When the red elder said so, the dragonewts started to move.
Today, the elders had all lined-up, wearing just towels around their waists. They wanted to fully soak in hot water today.
Thanks to the soaking in hot water, the old skin molted off. Their skin became glossy, and they felt 20 years younger. The elders liked it a lot.
However, it was the women rather than men who cared about their appearance. The female dragonewts took the initiative of transferring the boiling water to the female bath. The overwhelming majority of female dragonewts in the city came to take a bath. As for how many, their numbers surrounded the bathhouse which is about the same size as a 25-meter pool. The female bathhouse was bustling. They couldn’t all fit in at once.
Rather, if everyone were to enter, the amount of water in the pool would very likely overflow and would be halved.
Anastasia wondered how many times she would have to heat the pool today.
It was going to be a busy day.
As a result, it is no wonder that Anastasia came to be called “the bathhouse child”. She was worried sick when there was no report of Reiji returning for days, but the work Reiji entrusted her with served to distract her mind.
3 days after Reiji disappeared.
The women’s bath was opened once in the morning, twice in the afternoon, and once after dinner. The women loved chatting and the public bath was becoming a social gathering place.
「My man always says he’s going hunting and comes home late. Do you get what I’m saying, nu?」
「No way! Is he cheating?」
「Exactly… They meet up outside the city, nu! Just what is he thinking?!」
「This is why we need to keep a tight leash on men, nu.」
Such a troubling topic can be heard loud, and openly. Anastasia, who has to go to the bathhouse to heat the water, overhears it even if she doesn’t intend to.
Moreover, many dragonewt gossip about the same topic. “Cheating outside the city” seems to be a hot topic among the female dragonewts.
Anastasia was heating the bath for the second session in the afternoon, thinking that she would hear the same story again after this.
「Asha! Asha!」
Kimidori Gorn, who went out to the city, rushed to her.
「He is back, nu!」
Anastasia immediately understood. It was Reiji.
Her【Fire Magic】went amiss once again and boiled the water in the pool, but Anastasia started running without looking back.
There was a crowd at the entrance of the city.
「Reiji-san!!」
When Anastasia called out, her emotions leaked and about four fireballs emerged in the air.
There were Levs who were very similar to Dragonewts in the crowd.
And in the center of the crowd was Reiji.
「Asha.」
Anastasia was moved to tears when she saw Reiji waving to her. Her legs were about to stop due to the overflowing emotion, but she wanted to talk to him, wanted to touch him so badly that she forced her legs to keep moving.
「Reiji-san, welcome back–」
As Anastasia got closer to Reiji, her words ceased mid-sentence.
There was an unknown girl next to Reiji, tightly gripping his clothes.
——This is why we need to keep a tight leash on men, nu.
The voice of the female dragonewt rang in her mind, accompanied with laughter.
