The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

I thought it was strange. The leader, who had obtained the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, was a formidable enemy. But was he really at a level where the Mad House would reach out to recruit him first? If you think about it that way, there was a point of doubt.

“Is the Mad House trying to expand its power?”

“I haven’t heard it directly, but that’s how I see it. It’s a clearly different move from what they’ve done so far.”

Bianca was not an early member of the Mad House. But she was a similar type to Elliot. It meant that she was older than she looked. As she was a person with a wealth of experience, if Bianca felt that way, it was highly likely to be true.

“It’s a very sudden story. Wasn’t the Mad House a group of outlaws with no clear sense of purpose? Even if they change their course now…”

“Well, if I had known it would change like this, I wouldn’t have joined. I’ll have to see how things go and quit if it crosses the line.”

Bianca grumbled. It was not a complaint mixed with affection for the organization, but a complaint full of annoyance. Although others longed to be even a subordinate of the organization, she seemed to have no lingering attachment.

Why would they be called ‘outlaws’? This was the bare face of the organization called the Mad House.

“Then your boarding the airship to the City of Iron and Blood must be related to that.”

“Hmm, it’s similar, but… wait, don’t you think I’m talking too much about myself?”

I clicked my tongue inwardly. She acted as if she would give me everything, but she cut off the conversation at the most important moment.

“I answered because it was cute that you were asking so many questions, but I think it’s a bit unfair.”

“Is there something you’re curious about?”

“I’ll ask you the same thing. What’s your business in the City of Iron and Blood?”

Since I had already received a lot, I could just wipe my mouth and go, but this was within a range that was okay to reveal. The aftermath was also annoying.

“I’m looking for one person.”

Bianca’s eyes widened, and she clapped her hands.

“That’s a coincidence. My business is also to find a person.”

We were probably not aiming for the same person. The fact that our business was the same was literally a coincidence.

If so…

“A recruitment offer?”

“I have no intention of cooperating in that way. There’s just a kid who’s not in touch, so I’m just checking if he’s alive.”

“You mean an existing member is in the City of Iron and Blood.”

“It’s not a special thing. We don’t usually gather in one city, but we act at our own discretion in each city.”

No, it was a special thing.

“Do you have any idea why there are so few passengers on the flight to the City of Iron and Blood?”

“……Aha, you were suspicious of that?”

It would be impossible to say it was a wild guess. The notoriety of the Mad House had to be at a considerable level. Bianca tapped her lips and thought, then shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know, I’m not interested in what he’s doing. Just know that it has nothing to do with me.”

“Okay, I hope it has nothing to do with you in the future.”

If the Mad House was really up to something, it could interfere with my purpose.

“I’m already in a bad mood because I’ve been given a troublesome task, so I have no intention of going to the trouble of doing that.”

Bianca, who had lightly dismissed my excessive worry, soon got up from her seat.

“I’ll be going now. The conversation is getting long, and it’s drawing attention. I don’t want my disguise to be revealed. My cabin is over there, so come and visit if you’re bored. I’ll welcome you.”

Bianca winked and put on her mask again. The trace of the woman named Bianca was completely erased from her back as she walked down the hallway.

As I was staring blankly, Sage, who had been silent, watching the atmosphere, pulled at my collar so hard that it wrinkled.

“……Don’t go.”

“I won’t.”

Although we had talked peacefully, it was entirely thanks to the strange favor she had shown. Since I couldn’t know the origin of it, it wouldn’t be strange if she suddenly changed.

It was enough that I had dug up some information. I had no intention of building an unnecessary friendship.

「The World Tree scolds me, asking why not.」

Something that was not my hand slapped my cheek back and forth. It was the stem of the World Tree. It seemed to be imitating Bianca’s disguise.

‘The kid has picked up a very bad habit.’

I scolded the World Tree, saying, ‘Do you think you can do that?’ I shouldn’t even go near Bianca’s cabin, so that it wouldn’t pick up any more bad habits.

…That resolution was broken in a few days.

***

“Oh my.”

I kicked open the door and went in. My eyes met Bianca’s, who was lying languidly on the bed. She didn’t seem surprised at all and pulled up the blanket, raising her upper body.

“You’re so powerful. Not bad.”

“You seem relaxed.”

“I just woke up. What fun is there to be had in this quiet space to stay awake? I thought you would come to play soon, but you didn’t even show your face, so I was bored to death.”

A languid yawn. She tidied her messy hair and smiled brightly.

“So what’s your business that you have such an expression? Did you get curious about something again? Or…”

“It’s half and half. There’s something I’m curious about, and there’s something I want to check. I’m still not sure what’s right.”

I glanced past her to the window.

“We’ll know soon.”

“What’s that…?”

At that moment, a loud noise rang out, and a vibration came over, and Bianca fell to the side. Her hair, which she had just tidied, stuck to her face again, making her look shabby. But I put my hand in my coat and looked down at her with a cold gaze.

So that I could enter the battle at any time.

“It’s an attack.”

A group of small airships in formation was approaching from beyond the window.

“If you know anything, explain.”

***

“……?”

It was Sage who noticed the incongruity first. While the two of them were enjoying a board game, she suddenly shivered and messed up the pieces. It was right after she had lost to me three times in a row.

I smiled bitterly and advised.

“I know you’re angry because the game is not going well, but it’s not good manners to just flip the board…”

“That’s not it.”

It was a low, sunken voice.

“Someone is following us.”

It was an absurd story. It was already the end of the journey. It was about a day’s journey to the City of Iron and Blood. We were still flying on the sky road. In addition, an extreme environmental zone was spread out below the airship.

It would be strange if there were people around, and although the airship was large and seemed slow at first glance, it was not a speed that a person could follow.

But I did not dismiss it as an excuse to flip the board. If a warrior read a presence with their senses, a mage could sense a much wider range with their mana. Sage’s case was especially sensitive.

The fact that her range covered even the outside of this huge airship was a surprising fact, but I believed that Sage could do it. I summoned the Guardian Hawk outside the window and shared its vision.

“Not from the ground, but from the sky…?”

“It’s not a mistake. I can see it with my own eyes.”

It was still quite a distance away. It was a distance where they would look like small dots to the naked eye, but to me, who was looking through the hawk’s vision, it was as clear as if they were right in front of me.

In this world, people could fly in the sky. Magic, psychic powers, artifacts, the means were diverse. But there was a clear limit.

Long-term flight was impossible, and the speed could not follow the airship. In that sense, the word ‘following’ was a strange expression. It was generally impossible to follow an airship.

Nevertheless, it was not a wrong expression. The size of them in my vision was gradually getting bigger.

“They’re small airships.”

It was possible because they were also on an airship, just like us. But the size was much smaller. Except for the parts and equipment, it was a size where about five people could ride in one.

The appearance was also crude. To the point where I would have nodded if it had been explained as a hang glider rather than an airship. At first glance, it was not an official airship operated by each city.

But even that was a great technology. It was on a different level from the mounted bandit groups that were rampant in the Land of Similarity. It was an organization with a proper foundation.

Whether it was a matter of technology or a matter of permission from the city government, considering that an airship was not something that just anyone could own, it was not a situation that could be ignored.

“It’s not a welcome party, is it?”

“We’ll know if we ask.”

I grabbed a crew member who was walking around. It was the crew member I had talked to on the first day.

“Yes, what can I do for you?”

“It seems a formation of small airships is following us, have you heard anything about it?”

“Yes? A formation of small airships, you say?”

The crew member blinked his eyes with a blank face.

“That can’t be. It’s not that there are no small airships, but they are only owned by certain companies and certain families. It’s because they have many flaws to be used strategically. That’s why they are not included when counting the number of airships in each city.”

He opened a bundle of knowledge focused on a specific field.

“It’s a distance that can be operated since we’re not far from the destination. But why would they do that? If they own a small airship, they are a prestigious family in the city. If they operated a number of airships that could form a formation without prior notice, their intentions would not be good, and even if they attacked the airship and took hostages, it would be difficult to recover the money since they are from an external city, and it would be a bad move that would only put them at a disadvantage diplomatically…”

“I don’t think I need to know about such circumstances. Rather than that, let’s go outside and check if what I said is true or not, and then talk again.”

The crew member disappeared somewhere with a half-believing, half-doubting attitude. And after a while, he reappeared with a pale face.

“A-a formation of airships is really following us.”

Then it wasn’t that he didn’t know because he was a rookie. It was truly an unexpected emergency.

“Is there a way to solve it?”

“We’re sending a radio message for now. Until an answer comes back…”

“I’m talking about how you’ll respond if they launch an attack.”

“That’s…”

“Are you saying there’s no way?”

“……That’s right.”

I sighed. Well, I thought so. The airship was, in other words, a passenger ship in the sky. The interior space was decorated with an emphasis on the convenience of the passengers.

There was not enough space to equip means to respond to external threats, including cannons. This was because, unless a war between the cities had broken out, there were few forces in this world with the technology and audacity to attack an airship.

“We will do our best to deal with it so that no harm comes to the passengers. If you wait patiently, even if you are anxious…”

I did not listen to his excuse and left the main hall. Was this the reason why the number of passengers on the flight to the City of Iron and Blood had decreased?

‘No, if that were the case, the flight would have been canceled altogether.’

The airship was not officially operated by the city government. But if something happened to the airship, it would undoubtedly be a diplomatic issue. If such a big incident had been going on, it would have reached Claire’s ears early on.

In other words, this was an unexpected and abnormal accident that had never happened before. And coincidentally, on this airship, there was a tool of an evil group that often caused such out-of-the-ordinary accidents.

That’s why I had kicked open the door of a cabin that I had not even gone near.

***

“Are you suspecting me as the culprit now?”

“I said it was half and half.”

Half innocent, as she had been attacked and had fallen defenselessly. Half suspicious, as she was so calm even in this situation. And a spoonful was added to the latter, considering the notoriety of the Mad House.

“It’s unfair. I told you I don’t know what’s going on in the City of Iron and Blood.”

“I didn’t believe you would only tell the truth.”

“It’s true. I’m only interested in stealing things. This kind of indiscriminate attack is not my style. There’s nothing to gain.”

“Is that really so?”

“Of course, do you think they’ll avoid me when they attack? I’m a victim too.”

I finished my staring contest with Bianca and withdrew my suspicion. To be honest, I didn’t believe her, but since she insisted she was innocent, I couldn’t question her further. Above all, if Bianca also turned into an enemy in this situation, I couldn’t handle it.

“Then lend me a hand. It seems we have to solve this ourselves.”

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be of much help. My ability doesn’t reach the sky.”

“You insist that it’s not your doing, but you can’t even lend a hand?”

“If you put it that way, it creates a misunderstanding. I’m just saying that’s how my ability is.”

A sorcerer who handles the domain of shadows. It was certainly not an ability that would be active in a battle that unfolded in the sky. But that was their business.

The seed of suspicion began to grow again in my mind. Bianca, who had noticed my inner thoughts, continued in a reluctant tone.

“Instead…”

(End of Chapter)