CH 126

Chapter 126

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : After The Storm Part 2 — Area Of Inviolability

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「Y–You, Y–You can’t!!!」

Nia breaks in between them at lightning speed. Then she snatched Kazas from Aerial, held him protectively, and began to intimidate Aerial with her groans. Aerial was stunned to see this.

「What’s wrong, Nia?」

「You can’t, you can’t, you can’t! You can’t do that!」

「Why is that?」

「Kazas is mine! I won’t give him to you!」

「Oh, Nia is Kazas’ lover?」

「That’s right! ………Ah.」

After she said it, Nia seemed to come to herself, and when she looked around, everyone was grinning.

「Heh, Kazas and Nia… guys.」

「That is something Lisa didn’t know. You are surprisingly quick with your hands.」

「She beat you to it, aren’t she, Alfie? Pupupu…」

「Don’t say weird things, Euthy.」

「Long and happy life, both of you…」

When Fenna concluded, Nia, who had finally recovered from her embarrassment, turned bright red and turned over. Her tail was also flat on the ground.

However, Aerial didn’t flinch at all.

「I don’t care if Nia is your wife, I wouldn’t mind being your mistress.」

「I’m not okay with that!」

「It doesn’t matter what Nia thinks. Let Kazas decide.」

「W–What do you think? Kazas!」

Kazas is more than a little woozy when two women crowd around him. He didn’t think he’d ever experienced anything like this in his life. Kazas, too, is too different from his life up to now, or maybe he is not able to respond quickly. Miranda, Euthy, and Lisa are looking at him as if they are really enjoying themselves.

「E–Errm………… The one I like is Nia-san, so if you could please refrain from doing this, Aerial-san.」

「K–Kazas…」

「If that’s what Kazas says, then there’s nothing I can do… seeing you refuse so firmly, I can’t just force you to do it.」

Nia’s eyes watered with joy, contrasted with Aerial’s disappointed look, as if she had missed her prey. All of them were impressed by how she made a rational decision under the circumstances, but it seems that even Kazas was using all the reason he could muster. Who knows what Lisa’s inner chagrin was that it would have been fun if he had lacked a little more intelligence.

「If you want me, just tell me. You can attack me in my sleep if you want, or you can keep quiet about it to Nia.」

「Aery!」

「Don’t be so blind, Nia. If you really don’t like it, make sure you get your hands on Kazas first.」

For Aerial who grew up on the prairie, where power relations seem to dictate everything, pulling the plug is probably quite a concession in itself. But without any further strong words, Aerial sits quietly and continues eating. It appears that the case is closed, but perhaps it was Kazas who was most shocked. He was still blank and empty.

「Kazas, are you okay?」

「Y–Yes… I’m okay somehow, Nia-san.」

「I don’t like it when people call me that. And now that everyone knows… you can call me whatever you want.」

「Then… Ni–Nia?」

「What, Kazas…」

「I’m embarrassed, Nia…」

「Gohon, gohon!」

「What are you flirting so proudly in front of all of us, you idiot couple? I’m telling you to do that kind of thing at night.」

Lisa coughs deliberately, and Euthy steps in between them and pulls their faces apart with a jerk. Nia was in a position to snatch Kazas, and this time Nia could have pushed Kazas down.

The two finally realized the embarrassing situation and rushed away to correct their positions.

「It’s nice to be young.」

「You look like an old lady, Miranda.」

「What did you say!?」

「I–It’s nothing!」

「Alfie, they say that’s called KY, you know?」

Fenna is a rare case of a rush. Where did she learn such a word? Alfiris is worried about Fenna, who is becoming more and more worldly.

「So. Seriously, what are we and Alfie going to do now?」

Aerial had finished eating and was asking with a serious expression on her face, arms folded. But it was the same question for all of them, they turned to Alfiris.

「Let’s see… I hope there’s no follow-up on that big-ass thing, but that’s just wishful thinking. Then there’s only one thing to do.」

「Or we could just plow through this meadow.」

Everyone looks outside. Even though the momentum has diminished, they can still see some tornadoes outside. It would seem suicidal to plow through it, but staying would be just as suicidal. But Alfiris was not completely without vision.

「I’m sure Aery could plow through it, right?」

「Yeah, it’s doable. However, the Seeker’s Forest is normally about 300 km in a straight line from here, but there are dangerous areas along the way, and it usually takes two days to reach the Seeker’s Forest. Plus, if you factor in the tornado going around, I’d say we’re looking at 5 days.」

「Oh, come on, so we’re going to sleep through a tornado?」

「No way. There is a shelter that Father and I built. We’ll use it.」

「Then it’s settled. As soon as we’ve eaten, we’ll pack our bags and head out. Everyone, get ready.」

Along with Alfiris’ decision, everyone gets ready. Alfiris, who had already finished her preparations, is the first to go outside, but then Miranda arrives.

「What’s the matter, Alfie?」

「No, there’s nothing wrong…」

「There would be nothing, with a face like that?」

「Eh?」

Alfiris didn’t realize it, but she didn’t have a very good look on her face.

「What’s worrying you?」

「Hmm… I was wondering if we’ll be saying goodbye to Fenna and Aery soon.」

「I see, that’s true… Well, don’t worry. I’ll be right beside you the whole way.」

「Lisa too.」

Lisa comes out from behind.

「Lisa.」

「Well, not forever, but for the time being. And I’m not going to die. You can come see me anytime.」

「I’m just saying.」

「I know…」

But Alfiris couldn’t help but feel uneasy in some way. Would they really part ways and meet again? Such unexplainable anxiety was swirling in Alfiris’ mind.

＊＊＊

And meanwhile, it was the site where Phalanx used his magic. The magician boy said that he had canceled the magic, and indeed he was right, the earth was already cold and hard. But the original land has been deformed, and the rocky place where Phalanx lived is no longer in its original form, having melted away. The only person who descends upon the place is the boy himself, who used magic to put out Phalanx’s flames.

「Alright, it cooled and solidified safely. That was faster than I expected. It seems the magic hasn’t reached the periphery yet, though.」

The boy lands softly on the ground and checks to make sure there is no one around. In fact, he was right: the center where Phalanx had used his magic had already cooled and solidified, but the flames were still burning on the periphery. But that doesn’t seem to matter much, or the boy doesn’t seem to care.

「No one so far, huh? Well, it was bad enough that the flames were still burning like that. At that rate, it would have melted the ground and left the ruins bare. We can’t expose these ruins to the public yet… they were originally 1,000 years too early. But I guess we can’t say that now, can we?」

The boy mutters, not speaking to anyone.

「Now, let’s see what’s going on inside.」

The boy’s figure sinks into the ground. The pressure in the ground should make it impossible for him to breathe, but the boy does not seem to mind at all. After a while, the boy comes to an underground cave. This is the cave that Phalanx said he had sealed.

「This place is… B4? It’s still just a regular cave, but… Nhn?」

With a ground-shaking sound, something comes walking toward the boy. Moreover, it was coming back and forth at the same time. It seems that something of considerable size is walking toward the boy, but he doesn’t move at all.

「A guardian. You’re still guarding these ruins, aren’t you?」

A dragon with a silvery-white body appeared before the boy’s eyes. It was perhaps twice the size of Phalanx. It had sharp claws and pointed fangs. It was obvious at first glance that it was a creature so powerful that no human being could stand up to it. Also appearing from behind was a giant in full body armor. It is also larger than Gigantes. In both hands, he holds a large sword with a blade that is probably twice the size of the boy’s, and there is no peeking at his expression. Although it isn’t clear if he is even ready to kill, he must be ready for battle, as he has already drawn his sword.

The two of them stopped a certain distance from the boy. There is no doubt that they have entered a fighting stance. The distance between them is gradually closing.

The boy, however, smiles wryly and walks toward the dragon, which opens its mouth to greet him and tries to spit out a breath. The boy didn’t seem to panic in the slightest, and slowly spoke to the dragon.

「Don’t worry. I am not the enemy.」

And when the boy held up his palm, the dragon stopped its hostile behavior and let the boy pass on his way.

「Hmm, you still listen to orders. Glad to see you’re not broken.」

The boy gives the dragon a quick glance and stares off. But eventually, perhaps finding it tedious to walk, he again dived into the ground and headed underground, but after a few layers, he could dive no further.

「Can’t I just omit it from here? I guess I’ll just have to be an adult and look for the seal.」

The boy then begins his search. He brings his hands together in front of his chest and slowly releases them to form a mass of light between them. The mass broke up into several smaller bubbling masses and began to slowly circle around the boy.

「Okay… let’s go.」

Simultaneously with the boy’s words, the light scatters. The boy stood still for a while after that, but eventually he sensed that one of the lights reacted to something.

「I guess I found it…」

He was so excited that he started to move at high speed using the magic of levitation. How many kilometers did he travel as it was? The boy was standing in front of a huge door, as if even Gigantes could pass through it. The boy examines the door for a while, but then decides that it is safe to open it, and lightly pushes open a door that looks three times as big as he is.

The room beyond the door was completely different from the previous caves, and the walls, which appeared to be made of dirt, were at once transformed into walls of crystal. The crystal was like a mirror reflecting the boy’s image, but the entire room was bright, as if light was emanating from somewhere.

The boy walked slowly through the room, which was crystal to the ground. When he reached the middle of the room, suddenly a voice came out of nowhere.

「Intruder confirmed. Will isolate this room and then eliminate.」

「Activate summonses #1 through #3.」

Suddenly, a portion of the crystal wall is pulled back, and a summoning formation floats in the space that appears. The fiend that is about to emerge from there is so deadly that even a layman can tell that it is unusually powerful. But when the boy,

「Stop.」

With a single exclamation, the magicians stopped activating all together. And the boy pushed forward at once to the door at the back.

「I hope you didn’t have to fight in vain. I hate fighting, more than anything.」

The boy looks up at the door. There is an intricate magic circle on it, the likes of which he has never seen before. The crystals on the wall where the door is located are different from those on the other walls. When the boy tried to touch the wall, his hand was snapped off.

「The seal here is activated smoothly. I can’t go on from here without unsealing the seal, but it’s not a good idea to release the fiends across the way…」

Behind the door, a number of fiends are wandering around. Each of them is of a different species and genus, but they do not seem to be fighting at all. Their appearance is eerie to the extreme, with giants with multiple heads, giant slug-like mollusks crawling on the ceiling, and spider-like creatures whose entire bodies look like metal, all of which are unknown to the general public.

However, they doesn’t seem to care about the boy at all, as if they can’t see him from the other side.

「Hmm, what should I do… As much as I would love them to go inside, I don’t think we need to go that far yet. But we need to take measures to keep humans away from this place. I have no choice but to go back to the ground.」

With that, the boy simply ducked down and left. The room was once again silent, and all that remained was the crystal reflecting the roaming fiends as if it were an event in an aquarium.