After the boom subsided, the first to move was Hephaestus.
Silently, she stuffed the stone of fate into her pocket and began to awkwardly gather her bag.
“Hey, pink… no, Hephaestus. I know what you’re thinking. Think it through,” Charlotte said in a rough voice.
“Uh…?”
“Since there was a boom as soon as that stone started glowing, it’s reasonable to think something happened to Yuria. But…”
Charlotte paused for a moment, closed her eyes, and carefully chose her words.
“Generally, artifacts react to the user’s magical power, but that boom just now… it shook the magical energy in the air.”
Rubia nodded in understanding, while Hephaestus tilted her head.
“So it might mean the flow of magical energy got tangled and caused a temporary malfunction.”
“That means…”
Hephaestus, who had stopped moving her hands, looked at Charlotte.
“Right… it means Yuria might not be there. I can’t guarantee it, though.”
With a deep sigh, Charlotte turned her body back to look out the window.
“No ordinary bomb could make a sound that loud… Something definitely happened, but… damn it, this is frustrating.”
Roughly sweeping her hair back, Charlotte pulled out a new cigarette, lit it, and continued, “Of course, I’ll make it to the normal place first. But like I said, Hephaestus, think it through. If you die, Yuria could die too.”
“Ah, but…”
In the end, Hephaestus sank down with a thud, lowering her head and trembling.
Seeing her, Charlotte exhaled a deep breath, while Rubia clenched her fists.
If I were in that situation… without the Great Sword, in Hephaestus’s position…
What would I want the most?
…I don’t know.
I couldn’t empathize and understood nothing, but still…
I slowly approached Hephaestus.
Drawing my Great Sword from my waist, I opened my mouth.
“Hephaestus… let’s go.”
Hephaestus slowly lifted her head.
“…Huh, deal…?”
Her face displayed a look of confusion.
I smiled at her as usual.
“You saw how strong I was, right? So just trust me…!”
I repeated what I had told Hephaestus back in Loholan.
“Big… sister…”
“Uh-huh.”
“…Noah, big sister…”
“Uh-huh. Yes, I’m your big sister…”
At that, Hephaestus, who kept murmuring my name, bowed her head thud.
But now, her expression wasn’t one of sadness.
It was of joy and emotion.
Fortunately… she didn’t wipe her nose on my clothes like last time… phew…
After a moment of silently staring at me, Rubia sighed deeply and began packing her things.
Charlotte, on the other hand, said, “Wow, look at that… no wonder Rubia’s fallen for you. Damn it, I need to change my underwear; they’re all wet.”
Breathing heavily with excitement, she rushed out of the room.
Rumors aside… she must be a good person, right…?
I shook my head and reached out to wipe away Hephaestus’s tears.
“Okay, let’s stop the sniffles… shall we prepare?”
Nodding vigorously while still sniffling, Hephaestus quickly stopped crying and resumed packing.
Then I stood up and cautiously approached Rubia.
“Um… Rubia.”
“Yes?”
She answered in a very gentle voice, but I felt scared seeing her expressionless face as she quietly packed her things.
“…I’m sorry for deciding on my own…”
I whispered very softly, tugging at the edge of Rubia’s clothing.
She stopped her hands and looked down at me.
Her gaze began to press down on my head, thud… thud…
This is terrifying…
Had about 10 seconds passed…
Just as my head was about to drop down and bend almost to my waist.
“Noah.”
Rubia quietly called my name.
Her face bore a light smile.
“…Yes?”
“That was cool. Really.”
The smile spread across her entire face, turning into a bright grin.
“Charlotte was right… heh heh…”
Then she turned her body back and continued packing.
“Uh, um… well, um… ugh…”
I thought I was going to get a huge scolding.
To be honest… I thought if I forced my way, Rubia would definitely come along even if Charlotte didn’t… that’s why I did it.
I really… really had such a bad thought…
“Actually—”
“Yes. I know, Noah. I know exactly what you’re thinking and why you said that. You thought I would follow you no matter what, and I want to give you a good smack for that, you know?”
“Eek…”
Rubia, with a voice full of mischief, was still smiling as she packed her things.
“But, well… since you trusted me that much. It’s actually… not that bad. Heh heh… it feels nice.”
“If that’s the case… you won’t be mad…?”
Rubia’s hand suddenly paused, and her head slowly turned.
“I will get mad. Once this is all over, just you and me in a room, I’ll be really mad at you.”
With a remark that seemed to say, ‘Brace yourself,’ Rubia turned around and started packing again.
Not being able to respond, I hesitated and was about to follow Rubia and Hephaestus to help pack when suddenly I remembered something very important that needed to be done before heading to Kalt.
I had almost forgotten about it, that would have been a disaster…
“Ah, um, Rub, Rubia…”
“Yes?”
I slowly approached Rubia, who wore a big smile, and whispered in her ear.
“Do you have… any underwear?”
Rubia’s expression hardened.
“Ac, actually, I’m… not wearing any underwear right now…”
Her face twisted in an instant.
Rubia’s hand shot out, gripping my wrist tightly.
“What… are you trying to tempt me? Or are you really not wearing any?”
Her voice enveloped with menace echoed in my ear.
“Ugh… uh… Rubia?”
“Quickly answer me before I take a look.”
With her other hand, she pulled her skirt down.
“I-I’m really… not wearing any…”
“Why?”
“Because it got… torn…”
“Whoa… wait. Then… what about bandages?”
“It got… torn—”
Then, like Charlotte, Rubia roughly swept her hair back and growled.
“How the hell are you going to handle this… damn it. I can’t take this anymore. Just follow along quietly.”
Then she pressed right behind me, slowly pushing me to a corner of the room where the bags lay scattered.
*
After preparing… Um, no.
Once we finished and stepped out, we immediately began climbing the mountain at the entrance to Kalt.
We quickly passed through the entrance and climbed halfway up, encountering several monsters but moving through without issue.
Even though it was night, my senses made it easy to spot the monsters…
Above all, Rubia became incredibly strong… the little monsters exploded without noticing us.
Just as we reached the end of the halfway point.
“I talked to Revuze earlier, but gathering adventurers will take some time…”
Charlotte, donned in heavy plate armor that looked nothing like everyday clothing and wielding a magnificent sword and large shield, spoke seriously.
“If we run into Kalt before reinforcements arrive… I’ll buy some time, so don’t look back and run, alright?”
“Will you be okay…?”
Hearing Charlotte’s words about buying time, Rubia asked with worry-filled eyes.
“No, I’m not okay. I’m freaking scared. But no one else can buy time other than me, so what can I do?”
She continued while banging the shield, clank.
“I stole this from the imperial palace storage, so I think it might hold out… but who knows how that crazy guy will come out.”
“…I’m really sorry for causing you trouble.”
Watching the scene quietly, Hephaestus, who was on Charlotte’s back, lowered her head in apology.
“Pink doesn’t need to apologize. What if we went up and Kalt came looking for us? It’s better for you to stay close to us.”
“Right, Hephaestus. You don’t need to be sorry. Besides, Noah and I promised to support you till the end.”
Rubia, who was nodding with a warm smile, added her voice.
“Well… that’s settled, so take good care of yourself and don’t get hurt.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best…”
“Rubia, you too… especially Noah.”
Why am I the one being singled out…?
“Yes, yes…?”
“You’re the biggest problem. Just now, you jumped in first when the monsters appeared. You’re not the common ghost that can’t catch monsters, right? Is it true you’ll die if you don’t drink blood like the rumors say? Huh?”
“Exactly… Noah. You absolutely must not do that this time.”
Charlotte and Rubia glared at me in unison…
“Ugh… Rubia too… I’m not like that…!”
No need to call me the ghost that can’t catch monsters!!
That I’ll die without blood!!
I just… wanted to loosen up a bit and move around…
This is too much.
“It’s totally not like that… jeez. Anyway, if you don’t listen to me, I’ll lock you all up, so keep that in mind.”
After finishing her speech, Charlotte turned her gaze toward the peak.
“Phew… then, let’s go.”
With an arse sound, Charlotte resumed her march.
An hour passed.
The air became thinner and the cold began to set in.
We moved forward, maintaining warmth with Rubia’s divine power.
Another two hours passed.
The mountain trail, devoid of any grass, began to stretch out, and the scattered monsters gradually dwindled.
I moved Hephaestus to my back, almost dragging her along as we progressed.
Just as we were nearing the summit.
With exhausted breaths, Rubia looked up at the sky and said, “Hoo… the sun… is starting to rise.”
“Yeah, we’re almost there… huh? Hey, what’s that—”
Charlotte looked not at the sky, but straight ahead.
At that moment, I expanded my senses to take in my surroundings.
In the distance…
“Isn’t that Yuria’s ability?”
There, rising in a peculiar manner, were hundreds of intertwining roots of trees.
