Sterling woke the next morning, after half a day had passed.
The reason he had woken so late was because he had fainted yesterday after exhausting all his energy.
Thanks to that, I’d had to drag him quite a distance.
Though I had rested properly after the sun went down, at first I had moved diligently, not knowing whether we might be pursued.
Fortunately, there had been no pursuit, but by the time I stopped walking, I had already covered dozens of kilometers.
Sterling came out of the tent just as I was drinking coffee for dessert.
He clutched his face and asked me,
“Where are we?”
“About twenty kilometers east of the ruined city.”
If we kept going west from here, we would reach the old base that had become a lake, and if we went south, there was a swamp where the warehouse ruins lay.
Right now, however, all that could be seen before us was barren land.
Sterling looked around and frowned.
“My face hurts quite a bit……”
When he lowered his hand, his face was covered with wounds I hadn’t seen yesterday.
“Don’t you remember? When we escaped with the relic, you must have gotten quite a few injuries.”
“Ah. That’s right.”
At my words, his expression darkened.
It seemed he remembered what had happened yesterday. He must also have remembered sliding toward me while lying face down.
“Strange. I heard that relic protects its target to some extent while moving……”
So there had been a reason his face had been fine yesterday after all.
At his words, I shrugged.
He had a lot of wounds on his face, but this much was letting him off easy.
If I had dragged him facedown for twenty kilometers straight, that face of his wouldn’t have been left.
In truth, I had only dragged him facedown for a few kilometers.
Partway through, he started bleeding so much that after that, I had no choice but to bring him along gently.
“Perhaps because it was a disposable relic, its performance wasn’t the same.”
Even without me saying anything, he figured it out on his own.
As he cautiously felt his face, he asked me,
“Did you shake off the pursuit?”
“More than half a day has passed. There’s been no pursuit in that time. I think you don’t need to worry.”
He looked at me again.
“I didn’t expect you to bring me this far while I was unconscious. You’re far more competent than I thought. Good work.”
It was clearly praise, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
It was because of that way of speaking.
He wasn’t even my superior, yet I had no idea how long he intended to keep talking down to me like that.
Of course, English didn’t have honorifics, but even without interpretation, it was perfectly clear he was looking down on me.
‘Maybe I should’ve dragged him a little farther……’
While I was staring regretfully at the wounds on his face, he looked west and bowed his head.
It seemed he was observing a moment of silence for his dead comrades.
I drank my coffee and waited for him to finish.
A moment later, he raised his head and opened his mouth.
“I will remember your devotion. Every drop of your blood will become a cornerstone of the grand plan to save humanity. Now lay down your pain and sorrow, and rest in peace.”
Hearing that, I clicked my tongue.
For a moment, I had seen him in a different light, but there had been absolutely no need.
Sterling was exactly as I had first thought.
After finishing his speech-like farewell, he looked at the cup in my hand and smacked his lips.
“That’s coffee, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
I answered immediately.
“……Mm, I see.”
He probably thought that if he asked, I would offer him some, but I had no reason to do that.
At my knife-like answer, he did not ask for coffee again.
[Still, it seems he was educated properly. He knows how to preserve a noble’s pride.]
As a commoner, I had no idea what that meant, but the coffee I drank alone was extremely delicious.
A little while later, when I set the coffee down, he opened his mouth.
“It was unexpected that the monsters would be this strong.”
At those words, I stared at him quietly.
“As far as I know, the report was properly submitted.”
At my words, he fell silent for a moment.
“……It was a difficult report to believe. When I return this time, it will be reported properly. That is why I came.”
The words that came after a brief pause were an excuse no different from what I had expected.
It was quite an absurd thing to say, but now I didn’t feel much of anything about it.
At any rate, bringing him back for the sake of the report had been the right choice.
Now that Sterling was awake, it was time to depart.
I handed him some meat I had grilled a few days ago, then packed up the tent and equipment and put them into the box.
Seeing the tough meat, he frowned again.
But that was Sterling’s fault for waking up late.
All the food I had brought from Earth had disappeared into my breakfast.
If he had woken up a little earlier, I might have shared, but I had no intention of showing kindness to someone who had woken up late.
After packing everything, I stood atop a mound and looked down ahead.
Sterling tossed aside the remaining bones and came up beside me.
“Are we leaving now?”
At Sterling’s words, I pointed ahead.
“There are things blocking the way. Even if we go, we’ll have to clear them out first.”
Beyond the mound, monsters were gathered on a wide plain.
They were rat monsters larger than wolves.
It seemed the monsters were also having mealtime, as they were gathered in one spot, eating several rabbit monsters.
The place where the monsters were was not far from the mound.
Just as we were watching the monsters, the monsters tearing at the meat kept looking around as if they sensed something strange.
“We’re this close, yet they haven’t noticed us until now. We were lucky.”
It wasn’t luck.
Until now, the area around us had been hidden by Soph’s magic.
A little while ago, when I took down the tent and dispelled the magic, the monsters had begun to notice.
“There are a lot of them. This is troublesome. All my comrades are dead, so there’s no one to buy time……”
To him, who seemed troubled, I asked something I had been curious about all this time.
“If someone buys time, are you planning to use that fireball ability?”
“No. I intend to use Flame Earth magic.”
I was able to hear the word I had wanted more easily than expected.
I immediately asked,
“‘Magic’?”
“That is, hm…… Seeing as my words aren’t being blocked, it seems you’re also a Circle member. I didn’t expect they would grant qualifications to a foreigner.”
It seemed speaking about “magic” was also subject to security restrictions, just like “Earth’s destruction.”
He seemed displeased that I was part of the same organization. He clicked his tongue quietly.
However, he did not stop speaking.
“I’ll take that matter up with the person in charge on your side later, and since you’re a member, there should be no problem telling you. That’s right. I am a mage who learned magic in Paradise.”
With a proud expression, he opened his hand. His hand glowed red-hot.
“In Paradise, there are relics and records that contain magic. They restore those materials and teach magic to special people. I was among the very first to learn magic and become a mage.”
After saying that, he recited a spell that was not short.
[!@#@!#!!#…….]
A moment later, a small flame appeared above his hand.
He puffed up his shoulders as he showed off the flame, but in my ears, I could hear Soph sighing.
[It is truly a mess. Both the pronunciation and the sentences are complete gibberish. It is a wonder the magic activates at all.]
Even without Soph saying so, his words were not being interpreted.
Not because it was some remarkable magic, but because the words were such a mess that they could not be translated.
Sterling continued boasting.
“I am learning fire magic first, but soon, the next magic will be……. No, there’s no need to say that.”
This time, however, he came to his senses before finishing.
He had no choice.
The monsters had found us.
The monsters that had been eating began coming toward us.
His words had been cut off midway, but I wasn’t disappointed.
I hadn’t heard everything, but I felt I had heard all the important parts.
I asked Soph,
[Could they be records left behind by the people who escaped this planet?]
[I do not think so. The pronunciation and sentences were a mess, yes, but more than that, the magic itself seems quite different. His magic is not from my descendants, but seems to have been made by the people who went to another planet when we came to this one.]
The biggest reason I had been curious about Sterling’s magic was that his magic might have been related to Soph’s descendants.
If there was a connection, that would mean Soph’s descendants had gone to a planet called Paradise, but unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case.
[That’s a shame.]
[It is all right. Someday, once I regain my memories, there will come a day when we can look at the movement records in the underground ruins.]
The possibility of finding his descendants had dropped again, but Soph seemed fine.
Sterling said,
“The monsters are coming. Let us retreat for now. Without my comrades, I have no time to prepare my magic.”
He had dressed it up in other words, but in the end, he was saying we should run away.
I glanced at Sterling and stepped forward.
As I descended the mound, Sterling shouted at me.
“Don’t tell me you intend to block them from the front! It’s dangerous! That’s reckless!”
At the noisy shout, I dug a finger into my ear.
When I did not stop, he shouted again.
“Fine! If you’re determined to die like that, I’ll prepare my magic as quickly as possible from here!”
Then, I began to hear the sound of him reciting a spell.
I glanced back and said to Soph,
“He’s not running away.”
[Did he not say he was a noble? A noble does not do things that would cost him his honor.]
“What noble……”
I grumbled loudly and sped up.
The monsters approached quickly.
Soph asked,
[Shall I finish this?]
“No. I should warm up a bit as morning exercise.”
It wouldn’t be bad to show him proper magic, but if I showed Sterling Soph’s magic, things might become troublesome.
Besides, magic was not needed against the ones charging at us.
I was no longer the past me, who had struggled with close combat.
I leapt into the center of the charging rat monsters.
Kaaaaak!
The monsters’ attacks poured in from every direction.
Swinging claws and teeth aimed for my body, but I did not avoid those attacks.
I swung my spear before they could reach me.
Swaaaak!
The monsters’ bodies flew in all directions.
Legs and claws. Even rat-like heads.
All the monsters that had charged first were wiped out in an instant.
The monsters following behind stopped in shock, but I did not stop.
Each time the spear traced through the air, part of a monster’s body flew into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, almost all the monsters lost their lives.
One quick-witted monster tried to run away alone, but that monster did not get far either.
Whoosh!
The spear flew swiftly and pierced through the last monster’s back.
The monster impaled on the spear collapsed, and I stretched my hand toward the fallen monster.
Shuuuk.
The spear pulled from the monster’s back returned to me.
Thud.
I caught the spear and turned my head.
Looking up at the mound, I saw Sterling standing there with both hands raised, a blank look on his face.
The energy that had gathered in his hands was scattering in all directions.
I walked toward him while putting the dead monsters into the box.
After putting all the monsters away, I stood before him.
I stared at him intently.
He had a complicated expression on his face.
It was an amusing expression, so I wanted to watch a little longer, but since we had caused a commotion, we had to move.
I said to Sterling,
“Let’s go.”
“R-right.”
Hearing that, I looked at Sterling again.
A moment later, Sterling opened his mouth once more.
“……Let us do that.”
It was an awkward honorific.
It wasn’t entirely satisfying, but I decided to leave it at that.
We set off once more toward the terraforming base.
Public Release (1)