The thick clouds underneath them were quickly passing by. The grass plains and trees were overlapping with the clouds, occasionally a small village could be seen, but as expected it would be quickly left behind in no time at all. It was supposed to going at a considerable amount of speed but, some kind of barrier was placed which made the breeze comfortable.
Someoneās ponytail trademark was drifting in the comfortable breeze, It was Shizuku who was watching the scenery before her eyes, and she changed her glance over towards the sun which shone brightly overhead.
The blessing of lights seen from clouds, if we reached out would we be able to grasp it? it was so close that it could be mistaken as so. Shizuku was leaning her back on the handrail while blocking the sunlight with her hand, as if looking far into the distance, she suddenly muttered something as if she was tired from just thinking about it.
[ā¦..Who would have expected that he built an airship. ā¦..He can already do everything huh]
Right, the place where Shizuku was currently at was the rear deck of the airship āFeruniruā that Hajime created.
This Feruniru was mainly made out of gravity stones and induction stones, along with other various functions built in, it was their new way of transportation. The reason why theyāve never used it up until now was solely because Hajime had thought that it was too early.
Though it wasnāt difficult to move something through gravity stones, the bigger the mass became the more you needed to be experienced in Creation magic. As far as the Cross bitts go, they had a limit of being able to only lift up 1 person.
However, through the results of pilling on training between several intervals of time, he finally became skilled enough to freely operate a large floating mass, the compiled data was then used to create the airship, āFenuniruā. Since theyāve left the Kingdom, everyone was doubting Hajime as they gathered at the grass plains on the outskirts of the Kingdom without a wagon nor a car which ran on magic, when Hajime showed Fenuniru he had a triumphant look on his face.
[Itās commonsense that flight transportation devices are obtained near the end of a journey]
Is what he said while full of confidence.
This Feruniru was 120 meters in length and in the shape of a devil fish, inside of it contained halls that led to the bridge towards the front and living quarters at the center, furthermore there was also a kitchen and room to take baths. Though I say that, because theyāre able to travel to the Empire which usually takes 2 months by carriage in only 1 and a half days, how much the utilities are going to be used is unknown. Even just floating in the sky consumes quite a bit of magical power. If it wasnāt Hajime, then using it for long times would be impossible.
[So this was where you wereā¦ā¦Shizuku]
[Koukiā¦..]
As Shizuku was recalling Hajimeās words and tsukkomied in her mind, just what about this is commonsense?, she was called out to.
When Shizuku looked towards the voice, Koukiās face appeared from the hatch that just opened up. Kouki came straight up besides Shizuku and with both arms on the handrail, he began to look towards the clouds that were in the distance.
And he started to mutter something.
[This isā¦..incredible]
[Thatās right. ā¦ā¦Iām already tired of being surprised at every little thing]
Naturally, what Kouki was talking about was the airship Feruniru. However, his expression showed no colors of admiration, it was somewhat discouraged and at the same time, mortifying.
[Hows everyone else?]
[Ryutaro and the imperial guards are eating what Shia-san cooked for them. Suzu is chatting with Riri. ā¦..Nagumo isā¦..flirting around. At the bridge laying down and relaxingā¦..]
The reason they accompanied Hajime was to keep their promise of protecting and sending off princess Ririana and her imperial guards to the Empire, and it was only Koukiās Hero party. The remaining students who couldnāt fight were left with Aiko, the Nagayama front-forces as well, they decided to protect the Kingdom while Kouki and them werenāt there.
To begin with, the long-distance transfer that Freed left behind at the Kingdom gave them a hint, there was an artifact that allowed them to return at anytime, if Kouki and them asked Hajime theyād be able to return immediately.
Shizuku glanced towards Kouki who was a biting his words. Shizuku could somehow sympathized with his behavior, she scratched her cheek and showed a wry smile as if asking, whatās up, and talked.
[What is it, you seem pretty dissatisfied? Does it not sit well with you that Nagumo-kun is popular?]
[ā¦ā¦Itās not like that]
Shizuku called out while poking fun at him, Koukiās expression seemed to have been ill-humored and replied bluntly.
[ā¦ā¦Being able to create something this amazingā¦..and being insanely strongā¦..why is it that heās able to act so nonchalantly like that. ā¦..Why was he so easily able to abandon themā¦.]
[ā¦ā¦..]
It appears that Kouki is still not comfortable with Hajimeās judgement to not fight god and abandon this world. If he himself had that much power then heād go off and save the world from god himselfā¦ā¦while he was thinking about that, Shizuku completely understood what he meant.
[ā¦ā¦Heās probably already chosen]
[chosen?]
Shizukuās reply which she muttered made Kouki turn his glance at her again. While Shizuku was looking far into the distance, she took her time to choose her words.
[He isā¦..probably not as free as he appears? Perhaps, even though he looks calm, I think heās probably always āfranticā. Heās always āfranticallyā trying to survive with his important people]
[ā¦ā¦.]
[Heās already said it too right? You donāt do something because youāve gained power, because you want to do something you use power. Right now what youāre feeling is the ādifferenceā, it wasnāt something that he had from the beginning. āIncompetentā, āGood-for-nothingā, while being told such things, he crawled up from the bottom and obtained it. ā¦..Literally, what he obtained at the end was determination and resolution. Not In order to defeat god, nor save the world. Itās much simpler, itās for those who are close to himā¦..itās completely different from us who ābecause we can, we willā. Thatās why, even if hes being told ābecause you can, then do itā, he wonāt easily nod and agree with it. Because, he didnāt obtain power for that purpose, if he looks the other way and loses his most important things then heād obtain nothing out of itā¦.]
[ā¦..I donāt really understand]
[U~n. Though it may be a bit different, look, in order to become the boxing world champion I worked hard, since youāre strong, wipe out all the evil in the town! saying something like that just doesnāt work out?]
[Muā¦.when you say it like thatā¦..but, whatās on the line are the lives of the people of this world]
Midway in, Kouki stubbornly refuted Shizuku while his eyebrows were in a ? shape.
[Ma~a, not being able to leave behind people in need is one of your good traits butā¦..thatās only Koukiās senses of value so you shouldnāt force them onto Nagumo-kun]
[ā¦..Whatās with that, do you have his back on this?]
[What childish things are you saying. Iām simply talking about people in general? Besides, Iām sure you havenāt forgotten it, somehow or another Nagumo-kun has saved numerous people including us. It was the same for the town of Ulu as well, Kaori also said that he saved the Ankaji dukedom too. It seems he also wiped out the hidden organization that took part in human trafficking at Fuyuren and he also rescued Myu who was a Umininzoku child and returned her to her mother too. ā¦ā¦As for us, I donāt think weāve done much to save the people from this world?]
[Thatāsā¦ā¦]
[Surely for himselfā¦..heād only act for those who are important to him such as Yue and themā¦ā¦.fufu, thinking about that, eventually he might āTake the opportunityā to send god flying away?]
[Whatās with that, that pitiful godā¦.]
While thinking of such silly things, Shizuku laughed as she thought that it was possible in the future if it was Hajime. Kouki had a complicated expression but, he didnāt have the strength to deny Shizukuās words so he tsukkomied and stopped at that. For a while, a time of silence passed by. Shizuku guessed that Kouki was thinking while carrying conflicted feelings within himself again and decided to not say anything.
Then, at that time, Feruniru which had flown in a straight course and fixed speed suddenly went off course. Kouki and Shizuku were wondering what happened since if they just flew straight theyād reach the Empire.
[ā¦..Did something happen?]
[For the time being, shall we go back inside]
The two nodded in consent and quickly returned into the ship.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Shizuku and Kouki entered the bridge, everyone had already gathered around the crystal like object at the center.
[What happened?]
[Ah, Shizuku-chan. Un, for some reason people are being chased by the Empireās soldiers]
Kaori answered Shizuku who asked. What Kaori pointed towards in cubic crystal was, several Usagininzokuās running through a valley, behind them were approaching empire soldiers who were playing a real game of tag with them.
This crystal was created with the āDistant Viewing Stoneā and āDistance Transmitting Stoneā through Creation magic, it was possible to project the image of the distant surroundings with the crystal installed in the bridge, in simple terms, it was a telescope which was capable of projecting an image.
When Shizuku looked at the crystal display, certainly, there were 2 Usagininzoku women between a narrow valley without any flowing water, they seemed to be worrying as they ran away from the Empire soldiers who were approaching behind them. Behind the approaching Empire soldiers were several large transportation carriages, rather than chasing them from the beginning, did they escape instead? Or were they trying to catch the Usagininzokuās that they found by chance?
It appears that Hajime and them saw the situation and slowed down Feruniru. Normally heād just ignore it but, because it was Shiaās race he decided to be concerned about it.
[Isnāt this bad! If we donāt immediately help them!]
Kouki shouted out as expected. It seemed like heād jump out at any moment even though they were in the sky.
However, Hajime didnāt answer the rushing Kouki, he drew his eyebrows closer to the crystal display and looked at it suspiciously.
[Oi, Nagumo! Surely youāre not intending to abandon those girls are you!? If you wonāt be helping then Iāll go! Hurry and let me down!]
[Shia, these guys areā¦..]
[Eh? ā¦ā¦Ar~e? These 2 areā¦..]
Hajime ignored the raging Kouki and called out to Shia. Shia also seems to have noticed now that they zoomed in on the image.
[Why are you two so laid back! Their the same race as Shia-san right! Do you think nothing of it!]
[Iām sorry, youāre a bit noisy so could you quiet down for a bit? ā¦..Hajime-san, thereās no doubt about it. Itās Rana-san and Mina-san]
[As expected huh. ā¦ā¦Because of their sudden change in condition I had a hard time remembering. ā¦ā¦These guys movements and expressionsā¦..fumu]
Koukiās opinion was completely cut off by Shia and he instinctively became quiet. By the way, the reason why Kouki was addressing Shia with āSanā was due to the results of her introducing herself by her first name with a refreshing smile, but Shia had said to just call her by her first name without adding honorifics with a smile.
In the meantime, the two Usagininzoku women stopped moving their legs as they fell onto the ground. Their current position was at a slightly more open valley.
When he saw that, Kouki regained his senses and decided that heād leave the bridge and go to the front deck. Though thereās still quite some distance between them, for the time being he was intending to shoot magic to attract the Empire soldiers attention.
[Ma~a, wait. Amanogawa. Itās fine]
[Wha, what are you saying! Those feeble women seem like theyād be attacked at any moment!]
~Ki~ Kouki glared at Hajime in frustration, However, Hajime was smiling from ear to ear and muttered like something was interesting as he looked at the crystal display.
[Feeble? No way. Those guys areā¦..the āHauriaā you know?]
What are you saying? immediately after Koukiās doubtful expression, [Ah!], someoneās astonished voice sounded out. When Kouki looked towards the crystal display to see what happened, what was there wasā¦ā¦a mountain of corpses consisting of Empire soldiers who were beheaded or pierced accurately through the head by an arrow.
[ā¦ā¦.Eh?]
Not just Kouki but everyone who didnāt know of the Hauria tribe became dot eyed. In the meantime, feeling suspicious that the forces which left the transportation wagons werenāt returning after they went to chase the Usagininzoku, they decided to send out several scouts.
And, when those scouts found the mountain of their comrades corpses, they called out to the two Usagininzoku women who were at the center leaning on one another and shaking as they approached in a threatening voice.
They may have usually been much more careful of their actions after suddenly finding a mountain of their comrades corpses but, before them were the pet slaves who had absolutely no fighting power. They approached while upset but had no caution. They got closer.
The moment when one of the scouts was about to grab one of the Usagininzoku woman by her Usamimis, an arrow shot out from somewhere and pierced through the scout behind him in the head. When the scout noticed the sound of the man collapsing on the the ground and convulsing, he looked back.
In front of him, the Usagininzoku woman who should have been trembling in fear got up without a sound, at some point she was already wielding a short sword in her hand and the scout in front of her was easily beheaded.
And the other Usagininzoku woman also immediately kept a low posture as she crawled on the ground towards the beheaded man who was falling sideways and easily reaped the head of the last scout who was stunned towards the sudden situation.
The head popped off as if it was a toy, Kouki and them, [U~], became pale faced and held their mouths. Princess Ririana and her imperial guards instinctively stared at Shia when the impossible scene of the Usagininzoku killing the Empire soldiers were shown. The special one wasnāt only you!? with their eyes opened wide in surprise.
[No, without a doubt Iām the only special one? Thereās no way that there would be so many just like me. That was the results of training for them. ā¦..Hajime-san placed them into a hell which couldnāt be lukewarm, it was training which could be called devil remodeling, that kind of feeling]
[ [ [ [ [ā¦ā¦] ] ] ] ]
Everyones line of sight turned towards Hajime. Their eyes all clearly expressed the same things. In other words, [It was you again!?]. Hajime abruptly averted his eyes.
In the meantime, the situation was coming to its final stages. The remaining empire soldiers and the transport wagon finally reached the slaughter site. The Empire soldiers foot completely came to a stop when they noticed the appearance of their comrades that were scattered on the road to block them.
They couldnāt just advance on ahead by trampling on the corpses as if nothing happened, above all they became intensely agitated as they made a ruckus.
And the Hauria tribe didnāt let that chance go by. No, everything may have been done for the sake of that chance to appear. The remaining Empire soldiers numbered 12. The Hauria tribesmen jumped out from both sides of the cliff, suddenly they appeared but even with the 2 women from before their numbers was only 5 people. However the Hauria tribesmen who jumped at them were better prepared to fight against the Empire soldiers, 3 heads were sent flying, and 1 person was shot right through the middle of their forehead by an arrow.
The Hauria didnāt let up their fierce attacks. Just like the flowing water, they attacked the Empire soldiers as a group.
The moment that one of the Empire soldiers managed to grab their sword, a Hauria would jump from the side and immediately cut their head off.
Arrows came flying towards the Empire soldiers from the front. Itās speed was unlike those before it, they were transparent and the instant they tried to clear away as the Empire soldiers read where the arrow was going, a different Usagininzoku would come in from their blind spot and cut off their head.
While the Empire soldiers gave out a courageous roar as they approached and kicked the heads of the beheaded soldiers. The moment that their eyes were fixed onto the Haruia who were unforgivable due to their angered hearts, a different Hauria suddenly appeared behind their backs and beheaded them.
When you thought it was the right, they came from the left, when you thought they were in front, they came from the back, there were no restrictions, the Empire soldiers were at the mercy of the ever changing attacks. It didnāt take much timeā¦ā¦until their heads flew through the air.
[Is, is this supposed to be the Usagininzokuā¦ā¦.]
[Seriouslyā¦ā¦]
[Rabbitās are scaryā¦.]
Mutters filled with horror were heard on the bridge of Feruniru.
[Fu~n, their proficiency hasnāt dropped at all. It doesnāt seem like they skipped out on training. ā¦ā¦But, their ending was a bit weak]
As Kouki and them were still stunned with open mouths, Hajime pulled out Schlagen and opened up a part of the windshield and pushed the muzzle outside with a standing shooting posture. There was still around 5 kilometers before the site. Everyone besides Yue and them were popeyed, Hajime was smiling and looking straight ahead without moving. Then he gently pulled the trigger.
Doba~an!!
The sound of an explosion was heard and a line flashed through the sky from Schlagen which gave off bright red sparks.
It blew up the head of the Empire soldier who jumped out of the carriage and was about to cast magic on the Hauria. There were also Empire soldiers in the carriage. With āDistant Viewā in Hajimeās magic eye, he was able to detect the surge of magic building up, he had noticed that the soldier was planning an ambush attack so he sniped him from Feruniru.
On the crystal display, it showed the Hauria tribesmanās surprised expressions when the ambushers head was completely blown off. They immediately traced the line of trajectory and noticed Feruniru that was flying in the sky.
Normally theyād become cautious with the attack that came from a mysterious flying object butā¦..In the next instant their expressions became joyful.
A boy with a crossbow on his shoulder jumped out from the shadows of the rocks and smiled fearlessly! and decided to wildly salute. They seemed to have noticed who the person who shot out that flash was. It was to be expected of them. A bright red flash was a classic symbol of their boss who they loved and respectedā¦..
The Hauria tribesmen saluted the boy whom they followed gladly. There appearances were seen reflected on the crystal display and once again everyones gazes turned towards Hajime. This time their eyes contained a lot of amazement. What kinds of things did he have to do to make the gentle Usaginizokus turn into that, Kouki and the others had eyes that silently questioned that.
[Hajime-san, Hajime-san. Letās quickly get down. To be doing this kind of thing outside of the Sea of Treesā¦..maybe theyāve run out of control againā¦..]
Kouki and them watched as Shia rushed Hajime. From the Hauria tribesmanās strategy, they were clearly aiming for the Empireās transportation force, it appears that, they took a trip outside of the Sea of Trees in order to kill Empire soldiers which caused Shia to became worried if they were intoxicated by battle again and ran out of control.
Hajime had thought from their appearances that there was no way of that happening but, because Shia had an anxious face, Hajime himself became slightly interested and decided to land Feruniru in the valley.
When Hajime and them got off at the valley, there were a lot of Demi-humans there besides the Hauria. There seems to have been about 100 people. It appears that that contents of the transportation wagons were Demi-humans. Besides Usagininzokus, there were Kitsuneninzoku*Fox* as well as Inuninzokuās*Dog* too, Nekoninzoku*Cat*, and many women and children Morininzoku*Forest People/elves*. Everyone looked at Hajime and them with cautious eyes, they werenāt able to hide their surprise at the flying vehicle which theyāve never seen nor heard about before. It certainly was an encounter with the unknown.
And, with 80% of those who were surprised, a boy with a crossbow on his shoulder ran through the other 20% of Demi-humans who were confused and cautious, he immediately appeared before Hajime and performed a splendid salute with his back straightened.
[Itās been a long time, Boss! Iāve been awaiting the day when we meet once again! Iāve never thought that youād appear again like this, Iām once again impressed! Also for helping us a while ago, I thank you!]
[Yo~o, itās been a long time. Ma~a, donāt mind what happened earlier. Since it was you guys, youād likely be able to take on that kind of damage. ā¦.Youāve guys have improved quite a bit]
When Hajime had a smile on his face and said that, 2 women and 3 men with Usamimis had come out from the dumbfounded Demi-humans and saluted just like the boy with Usamimis, their eyes were beginning to water up because of their overflowing emotions. And, while wonderfully harmonizing their voices and their arranged heels sounding out.
[ [ [ [ [ [Weāre grateful, Sir!!] ] ] ] ] ]
The Hauriaās voices trembled and echoed through the valley. They were moved enough to tears, but they didnāt cry as their boss who they hold in high esteem praised them of their growth. Everyone looked up towards the empty sky and seemed to have held back the tears that were about to pour out. It appears that they put in slightly too much effort into holding the tears back as their eyes became bloodshot and scary. Hajime, Yue, and Shia were calm but, Teio and Kaori in the back, Kouki and them and Ririana and them were completely taken aback.
[Ehtto, Itās been a long time everyone! Itās great that youāre energetic above all else. By the way, where are father and them? Is it just you guys Pal-kun? Also, why are you guys in such a place, going against the Empire soldiersā¦..]
[Please calm down, Shia-anego*older sister, extremely humble way*. If you donāt ask one at a time I wonāt be able to answer? For the time being, right now thereās only the 6 of us here. There are various circumstances, lets find a calm place where we can talk in detail. ā¦.And also, itās not Pal-kun, its āBaltoferd of Certain Deathā. Please donāt make mistakes?]
[ā¦ā¦Eh? Did you tsukkomi me just now? Or rather youāre still taking up that nameā¦..Rana-san and you guys should also be cautious]
Pal was the same as always and Shia massaged her temple as she endures her headache. However, the opinion to move to a different place was reasonable, for the time being sheāll not press them any further, Shia gave out a warning to the woman Rana as well as the other members to not follow Palās lead and change their names.
But, the reality was already something that went above expectations.
[ā¦ā¦Shia. Itās not Ranaā¦ā¦.its āRana Inferna of Swift Shadowsā]*I think, ???????????*
[!? Rana-san!? What are you sayingā¦ā¦]
Out of the Hauriaās, Rana had a firm older sister feeling, Shiaās cheeks start cramping up as she never thought this would happen. However the Hauriaās furious attacks didnāt stop. Attacking through waves of cooperation was their strengths.
[Iām, āMinasteria the Sky Renderā!]*?????????*
[ !? ]
[Iām, āYaozerias of Mighty Illusionsā!]*?????????*
[ !? ]
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[Iām, āYorugandal of Crawling Decapitationā!]*?????????*
[ !? ]
[Fu~, Iām āLiquid Break of Light Rainā]*???????????*
[ !? ]
Everyone had extremely triumphant looks as they took on poses like joO*