Chapter 287 – Survivors

000

Amelia and Gray were walking toward Edin’s castle, guided by Hermes.

It seems that the wilderness has continued forever, but where is the huge fortress?

I didn’t doubt the queen’s guidance through Hermes, but I had no way of knowing how far I would have to walk.

As a result, Gray quickly got tired of the environment here, where lightning was pouring down into the dry sky, and he relieved his boredom by walking backwards or jumping.

[Gray. Calm down a bit. If there are any of the Thunder Lord’s followers nearby, they will be noticed and attacked.]

“But it’s a boring sword… How far does this sword go in the wild?

“Well, if that happened, wouldn’t they have been caught right away…”

When Amelia spoke at Gray’s words her, Hermes nodded her head as if she was right.

[But Princess Amelia is wonderful, isn’t she walking these streets without a murmur even holding such a heavy-looking weapon. I want Gray to imitate it a little.]

“I can’t handle anything heavier than Hermes.”

When Gray answered so deftly, Amelia smiled bitterly, but she looked up at the wolf-headed hammer she had received from the queen.

“Mysteriously, it’s not that heavy. In Saint Princess’ state, it’s heavier than a hammer, but… Maybe, it’s because I’m stronger when I transform into that form.”

[Is it because it’s a hammer created by the queen’s magic? Or is it another reason?]

At Amelia’s words her, Gray, as if interested in her hammer her, went closer to Amelia and asked.

“Can I listen to it?”

“Sure. Oh, but be careful, it might be cold because it’s ice…”

As soon as Gray received the hammer from Amelia, she dropped it to the ground.

Cold was also cold, but the weight was not something she could bear.

“…I’m surprised that it’s really heavy. Is Amelia a sword with built-in muscles…?”

“I-I don’t think the difference is that big…!”

When Gray grabbed Amelia’s arm, it was obviously soft, but it seemed that there was hidden muscle inside it that could lightly wield a hammer.

“Aren’t you usually confined to the tower…? How on earth are you training your sword…”

“Aurelia always brings me chicken breasts … And she gives me strength training methods to keep her quiet in her room her … For example, her pull-ups her …”

When Amelia talked like that, Gray twisted her expression a little in disapproval.

“It seems that Amelia is doing her bodybuilding her more than I thought …”

[It’s all to protect the people. I think it’s great.]

“I can’t…”

[It’s not like that. It’s not you now.]

At Hermes’ words, Gray held out his mouth for a moment and shook his head.

“I’m excited. For Hermes, is Princess Amelia a better sword than me, my partner?”

[Leaving the story of likes and dislikes, I only told the truth. Grey, you should really take care of your body now. So, I recommend training so that you can move your body as you imagine.]

Hermes spoke calmly without thinking of an excuse, but then Gray stopped him.

Then look around for a while.

“…Something… I can feel your gaze.”

[Don’t talk back, Gray.]

“No, it’s real! Someone is watching us.”

Gray holds his breath and picks up a small rock from the ground.

And then I closed my eyes for a moment…

“Is it there!”

Pod! He opened her eyes, turned her around, and threw a stone at Amelia’s back her.

Both Amelia and Hermes looked around behind her in embarrassment.

There was nothing there, but she saw stones flying through the air and-

Right! There is a popping sound, and it stops as if it bumps into something in the air, then falls to the ground.

“Ah, Paa…!”

And beyond that, I heard something, a voice that seemed to be that of a girl.

At the sound of a human voice out of nowhere, Amelia opened her eyes wide and immediately grabbed her hammer with both hands and took a stance.

“What, what is…?”

Gray too clumsily strikes a fighting pose next to Amelia, but soon after thinking that something like a tent has moved in the air.

From below, a girl with turquoise hair and pale skin appeared.

She is 2-3 years older than Amelia. Is she on the same level as Sasha?

She had a bit of a skinny impression, but she was wearing a tight black robe.

It was as if he was hiding himself by covering himself with something, something like matting.

Her eyes her were purple, and her face her had dark circles, so she didn’t look healthy.

Grabbing her forehead from being hit by a stone thrown by Gray, she looked at Gray and Amelia with tears in her eyes.

Seeing this, Gray raised her alertness to the maximum and shouted at her.

“Who is it! Why is the sword chasing us!”

“Ugh… That’s too much, throwing stones all of a sudden…”

She answered with her tongue flowing and her tears welling up.

“…I’m sorry. I think we should apologize.”

Amelia didn’t seem to feel any hostility or malice from her, and she wanted to hear the story, she thought.

That’s why her first thing is to apologize to her and then open her mouth once more.

“This is Amelia. This is Grey. Who are you and why are you behind us?”

When Amelia spoke in a kind voice, the girl answered with a lingering voice, as if she had calmed down a bit.

“…I, I. Peruluca… I was a slave to… The wizard. I, I am also a wizard, but…”

Amelia nods her head at the words of the girl who introduces herself with her gloomy air.

“Mr. Peruluca… You were a slave of a magician…?”

“Above, in the realm of Mr. Crowley, who was a great wizard, I was helping him with his magic experiments. …This dwarf suddenly came with an army, killed the master, and absorbed the realm. There is no place for me to be either. I lost, but…”

At her words her, Hermes said, ‘Crowley…’And repeated the name she had put into her mouth her.

“Is this a history lecture…?”

[Crowley was a being who had touched a taboo and obtained incredibly powerful powers. Its magical power his even corrupted an angel, the sense of touch of the stars, and made it its own familiar. He had numerous slaves, but I heard that he soon died in a rebellion that could not withstand his oppression.]

At Hermes’ words, Peru Luca nodded his head.

“Eh, except for the last one. That’s right. Crowley-sama was preparing a bomb that would contaminate the surrounding area with dark magic when he died, but suddenly, guys wearing animal masks appeared… And destroyed the tower we were in .Dropped it right here…”

Hearing Peruluca’s words, Gray tilted his head.

“When will that happen?”

[In our world, it’s as old as Edin.]

“Then how old are you!?”

Considering that Edin was over a thousand years ago, she must be about that age too.

“Ooh, we’ve only been here for about 10 years…”

However, when Peruluca answered like that, Gray tilted her head once more.

[The time axis of the gap in the other dimension is distorted compared to our dimension. It is also in that sense that there is no meaning in comparing reality and time here. When those who are at a future point in time than us enter the rift of the other dimension, it is possible that they arrived here in the past than we are now.]

At Hermes’ explanation, both Gray and Amelia looked confused, and Hermes shut his mouth for a moment, then continued his words as if to make the explanation a little easier.

[You don’t have to make it difficult to understand. Because this is the original place.]

“I see… But if that wizard named ‘Crowley’ is dead, why are you here?”

“That’s that. Because I don’t want to die either… I stole one of the master’s treasures, this blanket that becomes transparent when worn, and sneaked into this realm. Somehow, I was living while avoiding the eyes of the Dwarf’s subordinates… Seeing you guys come through the dimensional door…”

Gray seemed a bit frustrated at the way she stretched her tongue every time she spoke, but she somehow managed to be patient and listen to her.

“I see. I wonder if he was a fugitive.”

“Ugh…”

Perhaps Gray’s words were stabbed like a dagger, Peruluca let out her drool as she drooped her head.

“However, we’re on our way to the Thunder Lord’s stronghold. It’ll be dangerous if we follow you?”

“Wh-what!? You, you guys. Are you going to commit suicide!? Why! I thought I’d met people who weren’t mechanical dolls!”

Peru Luca grabbed Amelia by the shoulder her and shook her as she panicked.

“Well, we need the weapons the Thunder Lord has in order to return to our hometown~!!”

As Amelia continued her speech even as her body her swayed, Peru Luca looked at her sane as she patted her pod and removed her hand her from her her.

“What…? No… What…?”

Then, she puts her hand on her forehead on her, or puts her hand on her chest on her, or grabs her wrist on her.

“Mo, it looks like you’re in a normal state… Then you must have a problem with your head…”

“It’s an rude sword… Even if you look at it like this, this person is a sword who is a princess of a kingdom. It’s better to be polite…”

Gray intertwined her arms to see if such Peru Luca was displeased, but Peru Luca heard that and said something like ‘Wow, Princess…?’

“… No matter how much I do, I won’t be fooled by such lies. I’m sure she’s as pretty as a doll, but why is she the princess here? It’s the people who do bad things who are banished.”

“…It’s a sword that has circumstances in many ways. Then, is Peruluca a bad person?”

“It’s me, the person I was with was a bad person.”

In response to her reply her, Gray gave a nod, but Amelia smiled wryly.

And, seeing Amelia’s expression her, Peru Luca sighed heavily and spoke with her gloomy face her.

“…From the look on his face, he seems to be serious… Listen carefully. The hammer that dwarf shitsack has isn’t just a hammer… It’s his treasure made from the heart and scales of a dragon. Hey. Not only can it create powerful lightning bolts, but it also returns when thrown, and even flies and fights for its owner.”

As if the thought of her frightened her, Gray tilted her head as Peruluca grabbed her arm her and shook her body her.

“Is the dwarf’s weapon also a hammer?”

“Because you’re a dwarf, you use a hammer as a weapon. …No, come to think of it, you have one too. What is that big ice hammer…? Could that be your weapon?”

Amelia replied by showing her own hammer, which Peru Luca pointed at her with her finger her.

“The Queen of Frost Kingdom made it.”

“… Did you guys come from there!? How did you get inside!? The castle was never opened to the owner!”

“The sword that struck the bell.”

When Gray replies, Peru Luca grabs her head her.

“The bell? No, we also tried to strike the bell, but it didn’t open. Then, is there something special about these children? Ha, but since the master is already dead, it’s useless to know…?”

“…A really strange human sword. Anyway, we’re going to find the dwarf’s hammer, so don’t follow him if you’re scared.”

At Gray’s words her, Peru Luca suddenly raised her head and spoke.

“Ha, but… You, you guys. Seriously… If you just go, you die…”

Peru Luca, she said as if she wanted to stop that much.

Her expression her looked quite desperate.

Her face was that she hated parting with another human she had discovered in her solitude.

“…Then would you like to come with me?”

Then, Amelia spoke to Peruluca.

Peruluca blinked her eyes and her face her turned pale in astonishment.

“If you have that invisible blanket that Peruluca has, will you be able to avoid the Thunder Lord’s eyes? If you help us, won’t it? Then, when we return to the Frost Kingdom from here, Peruluca will be able to go with us..”

“…That, that’s… Too dangerous…”

Amelia held her hand at Peruluca’s words her.

“Even here, it’s all dangerous. Besides, Peruluca-san thought you wanted to run away from this wilderness, didn’t you?”

“That’s true… Uhh…”

Gray let out a sigh as she looked at Peruluca with such an indecisive attitude.

“There’s no need to forcefully take someone you don’t like. Princess. Anyway, if you follow her, you’ll be frightened and you won’t be able to move her legs to her.”

“Th-that kind of thing… Ah, but it might be impossible…”

Peru Luca turned her swaying pupils towards Amelia, and Amelia’s eyes were looking at Peru Luca with her straight will her.

She seemed to have her own vague belief that with her she would be all right.

“…I-for now, okay. But promise me to run away as soon as it becomes dangerous.”

“Of course. Is Gray okay with that?”

“I thought so from the beginning. The princess shouldn’t die here yet.”

Gray nodded her head, and Peruluca took a deep breath, then folded her invisibility blanket and tucked it into her own large back bag.

“Everyone, let me introduce myself once again… Pee, Peruluca Roroki, Lupepei… Hey.”

“…?”

At her words her, both Amelia and Gray tilted their heads and shook their heads.

“Is that all a name…?”

“Yes…”

Gray nodded his head with a mysterious expression.

“It’s strange… Can I just call you Peruluca?”

“Uh, do that. I don’t really like last names either…”

At Luca’s words her, Amelia nodded as well, shaking her hand up and down.

“Please take care of me! Peruluca!”

“I-I am. Amelia…”

In this way, the girls who had acquired a strange companion were walking toward the dwarf’s fortress once again.

001

On the other hand, Cleon, who was riding on the back of Freyja, who was running fast, realized that the magical composition around her was changing little by little.

“…Strange.”

“What?”

“I can feel a different kind of magical energy around here than in the realm so far. It feels like two incompatible, thick magical powers are mixed together.”

Cleon’s magical senses were responding sensitively.

As if Freya did n’t know what Cleon meant even after hearing Cleon’s explanation of her, she looked in front of her again and didn’t slow down as she ran.

At that time, if he had not stopped his feet her quickly when he saw the sharp javelin flying in front of him.

As it was, Freya’s upper body was pierced, and she must have collapsed on the spot.

Cleon immediately jumped off Freya’s body and looked at the place where the spear flew – the relatively low cliff top of the rocky mountain.

In that spot, a figure standing with his back to the light was looking down at Cleon and Freyja.

“Stop, pay the toll if you want to pass here.”

As she heard her woman’s voice in her, Cleon looked up at her with a look of disbelief on her face.

“…It’s amazing. Are there bandits in this realm?”

But Freya shook her head.

“All of the personalities here have been disfigured and turned to electricity by the Thunder Lord. There can be no rogues.”

“… They say that. You above, your existence is being denied.”

The moment after Cleon said that, Freya suddenly pushed Cleon away.

His body her almost lost control and moved sideways, but the next moment, something jumped out of the ground where Cleon was standing and soared into the sky.

It was a giant stag beetle.

It was slightly larger than Cleon’s face her, and had two horns growing like saw blades.

Had it stayed there, it would have been cut in half from the bottom.

The stag beetle soared into the sky, spun several times in the air, and flew to the woman on the cliff.

[It feels good.]

“…Did you just say that stag beetle?”

“…A man-eating insect. A jungle bug.”

When Freya said that, Cleon widened his eyes.

It was because one of the five already destroyed realms that Yggdrasil had explained before coming here was the realm of those man-eating insects.

“Then next to-“

“It’s the first time I’ve heard of dealing with bugs. The style of the spear she threw belongs to the ‘Dark Elf’.”

When Freyja answered, she reached her hand at her own javelin from the top of her precipice.

Then she turned the spear back toward her hand.

“It won’t end with threats this time.”

[Her spear is quite accurate.]

When the insect and the woman talked like that, Cleon raised his voice as if to stop it.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you anything.”

“Don’t lie to me. You guys are subordinates of the Thunder Lord, right? Like that guy in the iron mask, you’re a rookie.”

“Iron masks…? No, we came from the realm of Yggdrasil. Somewhere in this realm, to find companions.”

“Yggdrasil…?”

At Cleon’s words her, the girl on the cliff shut her mouth for a moment.

“Hey. Utgart. What happened?”

[It’s difficult to ask me. You’re the one who told me to tell you if anyone is coming here. Sif]

“…I told you to let me know when the Thunder Lord’s minions arrive…!”

[I have not heard of such a story.]

Looking up at the two beings who suddenly started fighting, Cleon lost his senses for a moment.

“These pitiful guys…”

Freyja let out a sigh as if she was tired of looking at the two of them.

Soon after, the woman and the insect quickly came down the cliff to the ground.

What appeared was a female warrior of the Dark Elves, clad in light clothing made of leather.

She was wearing something like an eyepatch that covered both of her eyes, and her pointed ears and brown skin.

And gray hair.

Unlike the Dark Elves of general perception, the exposure was not that severe.

She had a voluptuous body that could be seen even from the clothes of her.

However, there were scars on her arms and legs on her.

It was as if she had been struck by lightning.

“… Mi-I’m sorry… As you can see, I have bad eyesight… I asked this idiot to tell me. Maybe it’s because they’re insects and don’t have brains.

Watching her unexpectedly quick apology her, Cleon scratched her head, but the stag beetle that was flying beside her heard her words and crossed the horns of the saw blade.

[It is discriminatory to say that insects do not have brains. This racist. I, Utgart, was a being capable of the highest level of conversation among my own people. He did not engage in savage cannibalism.]

“I never knew there was such a strange species in the jungle of man-eating insects…”

When Freya said that, Woodgart nodded her head proudly.

“If she wasn’t cannibalistic, how could she grow up like that?”

Freya asked, and the stag beetle answered.

[Looks like you’re mistaken. What I didn’t do was savage cannibalism. It’s not barbaric to kill people of your own kind and eat them after they die. It is a story that he did not eat while alive.]

“…Ah, yes.”

When Freyja replied with a tired expression, Cleon’s expression also became awkward.

“What are you guys like?”

And, as if she could not hold back her curiosity, when Freya asked a question, the stag beetle and the dark elf looked at each other.

“The rebels. Just the two of us.”

[They joined hands to cut the flesh of the Thunder Lord.]

“…Let’s listen closely.”

Cleon spoke as if he was interested, but Freyja looked at him as if he was serious.

“I am Sif. This stag beetle is Woodgart. We are both in the same situation. The realm we lived in was absorbed by the Thunder Lord. I ran away. So… Well, that’s why we’re hanging out together like this. In this realm, you can live without food.”

[Probably, the thunder lord’s magic seems to make it possible. It’s a happy story. Otherwise, I would have starved to death.]

At the conversation between the two, Cleon nodded as if he knew well.

“And you guys were hiding here and ambushing the passing Thunder Lord’s household. Is this it?”

“That’s right. Their bodies are made of metal, so if you steal them, you can make weapons and use them.”

[This is my idea.]

As she said that, she showed the chunks of metal she was tying to her sack.

“I managed to escape the Thunder Lord…”

“That’s because I can erase the memory of spirits with my incantations. I took care of them before they lost their bodies and only their spirits escaped and returned to the Thunderlord’s stronghold.”

I’m saying it simply, but it was the first time I’d heard that such a thing was possible.

“Did you guys… Say you were looking for a colleague?”

“That’s right. Like me, I’m a human… And a girl. Have you seen it?”

Udgart and Sif looked at each other, then shook their heads at the same time.

[I saw you, it’s been half a year since I saw a living creature.]

“Okay…”

Cleon nodded her understanding, and Sif and Woodgart were silent for a moment.

“…Come to think of it, I haven’t heard your name.”

“I am Cleon. This side…”

“Freya. Yggdrasil’s guardian and eldest daughter.”

When Freya said that, Sif nodded, but Udgart trembled.

[Cleon? Could it be that he is the companion of ‘Anansi’, the owner of the spider web?]

“…I know Anansi, but I wonder if it’s a companion…”

When Cleon said so, Udgart suddenly folded his wings and descended to the ground, as if bowing his head.

[…Anansi was the ancestor of the giant spider that ruled the jungle, my hometown. He was always hoping for the return of Anansi and Cleon. So that insects and humans can regain their relationship.]

“…”

Freya and Cleon shut their mouths and looked at each other.

“What the hell have you been doing?”

Cleon just averted his gaze at Freya’s question.

[I never thought the day would come when I see Cleon-nim alive. …This Woodgard, it seems like shedding tears of emotion. Although the body cannot shed tears.]

“It’s the first time I’ve seen him do this… You, you’re an amazing person.”

When Sif talked to Cleon in admiration, Cleon didn’t know what to say.

[Cleon. Is there anything this Woodgart can do to help? If meeting with you is all guided by Anansi’s web of destiny, then I’m sure there will be things you can do to help.]

“… As I said before, we’re looking for a human girl. We know the direction, but… Maybe, we’re heading to the Thunderlord’s stronghold. If that’s the case, we’ll need a bit more power.”

After Cleon answered, Udgart rose to the sky again as if he knew.

[Then, it’s time for this tearing saw-blade Woodgart to help.]

“Hey, wait! Are you going to follow this man?”

Sif raised her voice as if surprised by Udgart’s words her.

[Okay. Dark Elf. I enjoyed working with you, but I seem to have found my mission. It was for this moment that I survived and have been alive until now.]

“…Ah, no… Then our rebellion…”

Sif spoke in her slightly creepy voice, but Cleon spoke her words to her as well.

“…Then, why don’t we go together? If we plan a rebellion anyway, it’s better to have a large number of people.”

“… I feel like I’m falling for something plausible, but… Okay. It’s hard to live alone with these eyes.”

When Cleon made that decision, Freya looked at the two with a little unreliability.

“Are you really going to get help from these two?”

“That side is also power reinforcement, isn’t it good?

“…Huh.”

Knowing that it was a compliment to both sides, Freya shook her head.

For some reason, her tail seemed to wag slightly.

“… Then. Shall we set off? I sense her moving her. I must hurry up and join her.”

[I get it. Leave the scouting to me.]

As Utgart said so, he rose into the sky and flew a little forward.

“…Wait, if you fly like that.”

Freya, who had been looking at it blankly, but suddenly remembered something and tried to stop Utgart.

But right away, watching Utgart return, he sighed.

Because behind them, the Thunder Lord’s household was.

[Sorry. Bad luck.]

“Cleon…”

“Please don’t say anything.”

Hearing Freya’s resentful voice, Cleon murmured.