Chapter 151
Chapter 151
Before the Storm (3)
We were falling. No one screamed or cried out.
The Imperial Princess and I frowned as we looked down below, while the Vice-Commander gathered her mana, ready to cast magic at any moment.
“……”
Worden grabbed me and hoisted me onto his shoulders. I had no idea what kind of thought process had led him to do that. Trying to pry myself off could end with me being flung away and crashing into something, so I gritted my teeth and endured it.
Then, all of a sudden, we felt our bodies become weightless.
“What is this?”
The Imperial Princess's bewildered voice reached my ears. Even I, experiencing this for the first time, found it fascinating. We were now floating motionlessly in the middle of the pit.
Nothing was pushing us away, and there was no foothold beneath us. It felt as though we were suspended in outer space.
“Gravity is affecting both sides.”
“What?”
At my words, the Imperial Princess hurriedly reached out toward the opposite side. This was the point where two opposing gravitational forces met. That was exactly where we were.
“How interesting. There's no mana involved, so how in the world did they create a phenomenon like this?”
Having decided there was no immediate danger, the Vice-Commander looked around curiously. Worden, having given up on carrying me, began swimming through the air as though he were underwater.
“Should we go back up? Or... ah, I guess going that way counts as going up too. What would you like to do?”
“……Let us head to the opposite side first.”
There were only two directions: the side we had originally come from and the one directly opposite it. The Imperial Princess chose the latter.
Smiling brightly, the Vice-Commander cast her magic. A blue line raced along the wall, and wherever it passed, a staircase of ice formed.
We slowly climbed the stairs.
“Hah.”
By the time the light had grown steadily brighter and we completely emerged from the pit, all of us couldn't help but admire the sight before us.
A vast mountain range stretched endlessly into the distance.
Towering stone mountains, as though carved cleanly by a giant blade, spread across the horizon—something rarely seen even within the Empire. When I glanced down, I saw clouds instead of the ground.
“This is absurd. Could those possibly be wyverns?”
The Imperial Princess pointed into the distance. Looking where she indicated, I saw beast-like creatures flying through the sky.
They were too far away to make out clearly.
“Wyverns? Yes, they are.”
Worden, who had the sharpest eyesight among us, nodded. Even within the Empire, wyverns were not monsters one could easily encounter.
“Is this another region? The Empire has no terrain like this.”
“I think you're right.”
“Um... everyone?”
The Imperial Princess and I had been chatting quietly when the Vice-Commander suddenly called out to us. Wondering what it was, we turned around, only to spot something rather interesting.
“……Is that a dragon?”
“A dragon? It doesn't have feathers.”
The Imperial Princess murmured softly.
At first, I had thought it was a dragon too. It had the body and face of a lizard, along with a pair of broad wings.
It looked as though it were puffing itself up in an attempt to intimidate us, but it had absolutely no effect.
Worden, whose knowledge of monsters was extensive, denied the Imperial Princess's assumption.
“Then what is it?”
“Maybe...? I think it's... a bird?”
“A bird.”
The Imperial Princess stared at the creature with fascination.
The bird continued puffing out its chest and spreading its wings wide, trying its best to threaten us.
“It's not making any sound. Did it hurt its throat?”
At the Vice-Commander's remark, I found myself nodding absentmindedly.
That pure white feathered creature was the key to this Floating Island quest.
The little fellow puffed itself up as much as it could, wearing an obviously flustered expression.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
This wasn't Princess Maker—it was Bird Maker.
And now, it was our turn.
***
“Hm~ I wonder what Davide is doing right now.”
Leaning limply against Winter's shoulder, Aro said that absentmindedly.
Canis, who had been reading a research paper nearby, let out a quiet chuckle.
“Big Sis~”
“Hm?”
“Do you~ like Dabi that much?”
When she had first introduced Davide to Aro, Canis had honestly expected Aro to dislike him.
Since Aro came from the Far East, she had very few friends and had suffered plenty of discrimination. Most of the instigators had been delinquent punks very much like Davide.
That was why Canis had assumed Aro would dislike Davide as well.
“How should I put it? Maybe... it was love at first sight?”
However, both back then and even now, Aro consistently showed affection toward Davide.
Canis, who didn't believe in something like love, couldn't understand Aro's behavior and found herself curious. Then Aro's next words left her staring blankly.
“At first sight?”
Winter, who had become Aro's pillow, joined the conversation.
She quietly recalled Davide. His sharp features and attitude didn't exactly leave a good first impression.
On top of that, there was the notorious reputation he had built throughout the academy. She trusted and followed him as her Cult Leader now, but when they had first met, he had been terrifying.
“Humans probably wouldn't understand, but for people like us, the ‘pack’ is important.”
“The pack?”
“Yeah. Our clan, our bloodline. Things like that. Especially for us, since we live together in tribal communities, it's even more significant.”
There were humans in the Far East as well.
However, the beastfolk, the races known as half-human, half-beast, greatly outnumbered them.
As the conversation shifted to the culture of the Far East, Winter's eyes sparkled.
“Every tribe has its own unique scent. We distinguish our own tribe by that scent. We've smelled it since the day we were born, so it's familiar, comforting, and feels like home.”
“So~ what does that have to do with Davide?”
“The funny thing is... Davide gives off that kind of feeling. Familiar, comforting, like home.”
Canis and Winter tilted their heads.
Having thoroughly investigated Davide's background, Canis knew exactly where he came from.
He was a pure Imperial citizen.
More importantly, he had never even left the Empire.
“Our Silver Fox tribe smells like water and the moon. Something like that.”
“……Does the moon even have a scent?”
Winter looked at Canis.
Canis simply shook her head.
Of course it didn't.
Aro immediately wore an aggrieved expression.
“No, it's... how do I explain it? Mana! Right, it's like mana.”
“Ah~”
Only then did Canis nod in understanding.
After all, even mages were capable of distinguishing mana despite it being colorless and odorless.
Thinking of it as sensing the scent of mana was an explanation that made enough sense.
“Davide has that scent. A distinct scent of water, and another that's similar to the moon. At first, I thought he was one of our own. Like someone whose scent had changed a little after living in the Empire for a long time.”
Canis stroked her chin.
Now that she heard Aro's explanation, it was beginning to make sense.
“The entire Duhein Family is like that~ No, wait. Maybe it's just those on the water side?”
“Water? Come to think of it, what exactly is the Duhein Family?”
Still unfamiliar with the Empire, Aro asked about the Duhein Family.
Looking into people's backgrounds wasn't really her style, so she had planned to ask Davide directly.
But every time she saw his handsome face, the thought slipped right out of her mind.
“Sea monsters? Sea beasts that take human form?”
“……”
Aro looked puzzled at Canis's explanation.
“The Duhein Family is loved by the sea~ Better yet, they're friends of water. If even a tiny bit of Duhein blood runs through someone's veins, they gain incredible affinity for the water element. Naturally, they also become almost completely immune to water-attribute damage~”
“Loved by water.”
Even Winter, who hadn't known that much, murmured in fascination.
“But Dabi~ is a little strange~”
“Hm? How so?”
“If sea creatures like Dabi~ then sure, I get it~ But even creatures that aren't related to the sea seem to like him?”
As she said that, Canis brought up the Earth Dragon they had encountered in the desert as an example.
Now that they thought about it, she had a point.
“Hmm. Now I'm curious. Should I just ask him directly?”
Without waiting for anyone to answer, Aro got to her feet.
Startled, Winter stood up as well, and Canis, who had been bored anyway, tidied up her things and followed.
“Our~ Cult Leader~ where could he be?~”
“He went somewhere with Worden.”
“He said he had something to do.”
The three chatted among themselves as they left the lodging.
The first to take the lead was Canis.
There wasn't a trace of hesitation in her footsteps.
“Where are we going?”
“Hm? I was just~ walking?”
Even after walking for quite a while, there was no sign of finding anything.
Growing suspicious, Aro finally asked, only for Canis's answer to leave her speechless.
Without another word, Aro grabbed Canis by the head.
“Oohh!” Canis let out a strange cry as Aro dragged her along.
“Th-that! That thing! Astrology or whatever! Can't you use it to find Senior?”
“Ah~ That's right.”
Winter recalled how Canis had once used Astrology to find Davide at the Giant's Tomb.
She remembered being told that if there was one star shining exceptionally brightly, that star would be Davide.
At Winter's words, Canis nodded.
A miniature night sky formed in the palm of her hand.
“Oh. That's amazing.”
“I would've thought~ Astrology would be more advanced in the Far East~”
“Ah, I never really learned it properly.”
Aro brushed the question aside casually.
Without paying it much mind, Canis simply stared at the night sky she had created.
“Huh. This is a little~ strange.”
“What is?”
“I can only see traces of Dabi~”
The brightest star was nowhere to be found.
In other words, it meant that Davide himself did not currently exist on this island.
However, Canis could see the trail left behind by the great star as it had passed through.
“Maybe Senior isn't the big star this time.”
“No~ I don't think that's it~ I use Astrology whenever I'm bored~ and every single time, Davide has always been the brightest~ He was the brightest star I've ever seen~”
After puzzling over it for quite some time, the group had no choice but to follow the trail of the star.
Fortunately, Davide's route wasn't very long.
“Looks like~ he came through here~”
Entering a maze of narrow alleys, the group moved forward without hesitation under Canis's guidance.
Then they came upon a particular alley.
Canis and Aro, both highly sensitive to mana, immediately stiffened.
Only this alley was permeated by a slightly dark mana.
More accurately, something inside this alley possessed dark mana.
“Well, this is~”
“Urgh!”
With no other choice, they stepped into the alley.
Every one of them immediately clamped a hand over their mouth.
A bizarre stench invaded their airways through their noses.
Aro, wearing her mask, fared somewhat better.
Winter, however, took the full force of it.
She hurried over to a wall and violently emptied the contents of her stomach.
Suppressing her own nausea, Canis gently patted Winter's back.
“Bleeegh! Gaaah!”
Winter continued retching miserably.
The sight was pitiful enough to evoke sympathy from anyone who saw her.
“Ah! Ahh!”
Having nothing left to throw up except stomach acid, Winter suddenly took out her flag.
Startled by the abrupt action, Canis instinctively stepped back.
Winter swung her flag through the air, drawing an X.
“……”
“……”
What appeared was the all-too-familiar chapel.
Rushing inside in a panic, Winter quickly emerged carrying something.
Seeing the three gas masks in Winter's hands, Canis and Aro stared blankly.
“Phew! That's much better. Want one?”
“……Yeah.”
Winter promptly pulled one gas mask over her face before handing the remaining ones to them.
Aro and Canis hurriedly put theirs on as well.
Only then were they finally freed from the horrific stench.
“Well now. Quite a few visitors this time.”
As they ventured deeper into the alley, they encountered someone unfamiliar.
A homeless old man in ragged clothes, wearing a peculiar wide-brimmed hat and leaning against a wall, greeted them.
Aro and Canis immediately became wary.
His appearance was that of an ordinary homeless man, yet the aura he gave off was anything but ordinary.
It wasn't threatening.
Rather, it was tranquil and deeply subdued.
“Grandpa~ would you happen to know~ a tall man with dark skin and blue hair?”
“Hm? Ah. That young man.”
Canis stepped forward as their representative.
With her usual easygoing smile, she approached the homeless man and asked.
Judging from his reaction, he clearly knew something.
The group visibly brightened.
“By any chance, miss, do you have any horns?”
“Huh?”
“Isn't this a world where information has value? Heh heh.”
At the homeless man's words, Canis fell silent for a moment.
The mention of horns immediately reminded Aro and Winter of what they had worked so hard to collect the day before.
“You mean the ones we got from hunting monsters?”
“Probably. I think that's what he means. But Senior took all of them.”
As they talked, Aro and Winter let out small sighs.
If only they had known, they would've asked Davide to leave a few with them.
“Yes~ I have some.”
“What!? How!?”
Canis's answer was completely unexpected.
She took out a bundle of horns from her inventory.
There were five of them tied together.
Winter, unable to understand why Canis had them, jumped in surprise.
“I figured~ if Dabi told us to collect them~ there had to be a reason~ so I gathered some too~”
“……”
Aro and Winter could only stare blankly at Canis.