âYeah, Judom Lankars. A former adventurer that was well known as the âȘImpact Kingâ«.â
Apparently it was a nickname, but Hiiro frowned upon hearing it.
âThat name sounds like a delusional middle schooler came up with itâŠâ
âMiddle schooler?â
âForget it.â
âOkay? Anyway, remember his name. Itâs such a waste that heâs a âHumasâ.â
âOho, wouldnât expect that from someone whoâs lost in status and prestige.â
âI keep telling you, he isnât like that! He took care of me once too, albeit a long time ago.â
Arnold narrowed his eyes reminiscing.
âWell, I couldnât care less about that guy, but at this rate, I wonât be able to pass the check point, right?â
âYeah, it takes quite some time to pass through there.â
Hiiro pondered about what to do with a pensive face. It seemed it would work out with time, but it already took one week in the capital, so it would take even longer here. He definitely wasnât patient enough for that.
âHey.â
âMh?â
âThe check point is in front of a large bridge, right?â
âYeah, that bridge is the only connection between the human and beastman continent. Well, it isnât impossible to cross over the sea, butâŠâ
âBut itâs no good? I thought about taking that route if anything else fails.â
âAnd how? The sea between the continent got a really rough stream and sometimes even whirlpools. Not to mention the ferocious demons. I heard itâs all due the particular terrain, so I guess crossing by boat is impossible.â
(I canât pass it normally, since I donât have a âȘVisaâ«. That said, passing over the sea is out of the question, too. Wait, if I use my âȘWord Magicâ«âŠ No, itâs quite likely someone will see me. Ah, right, I can just copy the âȘVisaâ« with the word âcopyâ âŠBut thatâs so ordinary and no fun. Reminds me, I havenât tried that experiment yet. Good timing. If the left is no good, try from the right, or so they say. KukukuâŠ.)
Hiiro smirked as he thought of something. But the other two were astonished seeing him like that, thinking that he was up to no good again.
On the next day, they went up to a hill near the check point.
âHey, are you really going to do it?â
Arnold looked doubtful, which pissed Hiiro off.
âJust do what I told you.â
Muir looked at them restlessly.
âOkay, letâs get started.â
Hiiro said so, then wrote âlightweightâ onto his chest with magic power. He had trouble writing like this, but he didnât use âȘAir Writingâ« as the costs were too high. After that he activated it and counted until forty in his head.
âAll set.â
âOkay. Ohh, youâre really light!â
Going by Hiiroâs stature, he would be around sixty kilo without a doubt, but right now he weighted no more than a few kilo. Arnold lifted him up like a spear.
âY- You really sure about this?â
âHurry up already. I told you it only lasts for one minute, so I only got twenty seconds left now!â
âFine!â
Arnold mustered all his strength and thenâŠ
âWRAAAAAR!â
he threw Hiiro into the sky with all his might.
WHOOOOOOOSH!
âUh!â
Hiiro squinted from the incredible air pressure and took off the ground with a lot of speed, feeling like a cannon ball.
(Oh~ Nice view from here)
He admired the wonderful scenery in his heart. Then the effect from âlightweightâ vanished and he slowly lost momentum. As he was about to stop in midair, he wrote a word into the air.
This time it was âflyâ. He aimed at his back and activated it, because he imagined flying freely like an animal with wings like that.
Of course he had previously checked that he was able to fly by writing it on his palm. Directing it at his back was mostly whimsical.
(Mhm, wings⊠Maybe I should try if I can grow some next time)
He got a bit excited from having found a new challenge. This part of him showed how much of a kid he still was. Then the effect from âflyâ manifested.
(Ohh~ Iâm flying~ But kinda slow. Iâm as fast as walking, I think?)
He imagined himself flying faster, but his speed didnât change. Well, it didnât interfere with his plan, so it was alright.
Slowly raising up even higher into the sky, he flew slantwise over the check point. At this height, he only looked like a small bird to those on the ground.
But then the one minute passed and the effect ended. He wanted to write âflyâ again, but couldnât.
(Seems I canât write it twice in a row after all)
Writing the same word in succession was impossible. He had checked upon that previously too, so he didnât panic.
(Then Iâll go with this next!)
He wrote the word âfloatâ. Upon that, he stopped descending and came to a halt in midair. Floating in the middle of the air was a rather strange feeling.
âMhm, how many have seen the world from so high up?â
From above, âȘEdeaâ« looked beautiful. He could see green lands, blue seas and high mountains. A sight that truly made you aware of Mother Nature.
(Now Iâll just repeat writing âflyâ and âfloatâ)
With that in mind, he enjoyed the view while he waited for the effect from âfloatâ to vanish.
Meanwhile, Arnold and Muir were at the check point.
âH- Hey, Uncle, will Hiiro-san be alright?â
âNo idea. But Iâve never seen someone as reckless as him.â
Hiiro had explained them the plan yesterday in the following way: First he reduces his own weight by writing the word âlightweightâ. Then he lets about thirty seconds pass.
As for the reason for this pause, apparently he could only activate the next word when one minute passed after a word with a temporarily effect. At worst, he could end up crashring into the ground during the one minute he was being thrown.
Therefore he had Arnold throw him after forty seconds. The remaining twenty seconds would pass while he was still in an upwards movement. Still, it was only feasible since Arnold possessed quite the strength as a âGabranthâ.
As the next step, he would fly through the air by using the word âflyâ. Of course they asked why he didnât use that from the beginning, but he couldnât use the same word in succession and there was a high chance he would be spotted by someone as his momentum would be slow then.
Of course there was also a chance of him getting spotted as Arnold threw him, but one would surely think his eyes are playing him a prank as Hiiro took off with quite the speed.
The last step of the plan involved using âflyâ and âfloatâ alternatively and looking for an isolated place to land.
They had asked him if there wasnât a simpler method by using words and Hiiro had checked upon that as well. He found a way to copy the âȘVisaâ« by using the word âcopyâ.
However, Hiiro had always wanted to try out flying like this and since this was a good opportunity, he went through with it.
âSeriously, I donât know if heâs a genius or just stupid.â
âAhahaâŠâ
âEither way, heâs a brat.â
Arnold could only give a feigned laughter at this point. Still, it puzzled him how he was convinced that Hiiro would pull it off without problems.
The check point was a huge dome out of metal. Before going in there, an officer confirmed the âȘVisaâ« one by one.
âOkay, you may go on.â
Being told so, Muir entered first, followed by Arnold right afterwards.
The dome was filled with shops. Some were makeshift from peddlers, others were permanently located there. When they proceeded further in, there was a door, big enough to let one adult through, guarded by two male officers on the left and right.
(Strict as always. All that effort to check those who want to pass)
While thinking so, he headed towards the officers together with Muir.
A magic circle was drawn right in front of the officers. The circle lighted up blue when a âHumasâ stood on it, green for a âGabranthâ, red for âEvilaâ and yellow for everyone else.
Discrimination against the âPheomâ? That thought crossed his mind, but no one of that race ever passed through a check point up till now. To begin with, they rarely showed themselves. Itâs said that no âHumasâ ever even saw one.
Therefore the âPheomâ were grouped together with everyone else.
âGoing home, I see. Youâre clear to pass!â
Upon the officerâs words, Arnold and Muir took the door outside, setting foot onto their own continent.
âUwa~ Such a long bridge~â
Just like Muir had said, a bridge long enough to be called magnificent spanned in front of their eyes. It was approximately ten kilometre long, so her surprise was understandable.
âLetâs go, Muir.â
âYeah.â
âBut I wonder where he ended up in.â
âYeah, me too~â
Of course they meant Hiiro. He wasnât in sight, so they speculated that he was at the end of the bridge and started walking ahead.