“Doesn’t your arm hurt?”
Pastel worriedly looked at Elysee, who was still turning the steering wheel.
Elysee shook off her hands.
“This much is nothing compared to my usual training.”
Our Elysee is strong!
“Then you really enjoyed turning the steering wheel after all!”
It wasn’t because I thought it was an order!
I should ask her to do it again next time!
Elysee stared blankly.
“I didn’t see it that way~.”
Pastel poked Elysee in the side.
“You’re just like silly Pastel~.”
Flap flap flap.
That comparison is so embarrassing~.
“Haha!”
Pastel laughed but suddenly stopped.
Ugh.
I’m not in a position to be laughing.
“Uaaah! I knew I was silly and foolish!”
She grabbed her pink hair.
I can’t deny it anymore!
Recalling the good past of being genius genius Pastel, I can only accept the reality of being silly silly!
Elysee looked bewildered.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
But was there ever a time when I was genius genius Pastel?
Huh?
Pastel pondered and gradually calmed down.
In fact, nothing had really changed.
“Craft…?”
Elysee looked confused.
“Ah, Elysee! Oh right! Let’s hurry! No matter how much we trust the incompetence of the Knight Corps, it’s not good to be too laid-back!”
She adjusted her bag straps and hurried out of the cabin to the deck.
The blonde girl on lookout turned around.
“Really, no one is coming. Is this what it means to be judged?”
“It’s about management efficiency.”
Pastel glanced around the temporary docking station. The wooden structure was deserted, without a single person, but there were quite a few signs of human presence. A lone beer mug placed atop a box caught her eye.
“Management efficiency?”
“Since there’s no thief capable of getting past the patrols surrounding the ruins, it’s argued that it’s more efficient to allocate personnel to invading the ruins rather than guarding the docking station.”
I don’t agree, but it’s not an incomprehensible judgment.
“But we invaded anyway, right?”
“We managed to bypass all the airship patrols by examining internal documents!”
Pastel’s expression turned serious.
“The cult is probably the same.”
I wonder what their objective is.
“Anyway, let’s get down! Let’s get down!”
As she rushed to the rope ladder, Melisa extended her hand hurriedly.
“I’ll carry my own things.”
“It’s fine, Mage!”
The load was quite heavy since she packed with camping in mind.
Once everyone descended, the airship began moving away from the docking station on its own. I had programmed it to return after the docking station was empty again. Self-operation is truly magnificent.
“Departure!”
Oh, was my voice too loud?
I lowered my voice and shouted again.
“Departure~.”
I may have shouted like that, but we still had quite a distance to travel to actually enter the ruins.
“Uaaah.”
Pastel trembled as she climbed the wooden ladder.
The ladder stretched endlessly through the rock crevices as if trying to reach the center underneath the sky island. While keeping watch for anyone up there, she murmured at a suitable volume.
“Do you know this? An incredibly terrifying tale.”
Pastel began her story like someone bringing up a scary story at a pajama party.
“Actually, this isn’t the entrance to the ruins! Why? Because, because.”
It was merely atmosphere-building, not that she really wanted to ask if anyone knew, but a reflexive answer came from below.
“This ruin became exposed when the bottom of the sky island broke apart. Even if we call it the entrance, it’s not a big issue, but technically, it’s a massive wall that has been broken. Right, Pastel?”
Melisa felt proud climbing the ladder. She seemed like an honor student boasting about immediately answering a question.
Ugh.
Pastel was not pleased, since she hadn’t really wanted a response. After some thought, she pretended she hadn’t heard and spoke her piece.
“The reason it’s not the entrance is that this is the part where the bottom of the sky island fell and became exposed!”
“Yeah. Just as I said.”
Uaaah!
“They say the bottom actually broke and fell! The sky island was actually collapsing!”
Shudder shudder shudder.
“That’s right. If we compare it to the surveys from a hundred years ago, it’s clear the volume has decreased. At some point, the sky island will no longer be habitable.”
Melisa added.
“In about a thousand years.”
From below, Elysee muttered blankly.
“That’s a long time away.”
“Uaaah! It’s just going to collapse…!”
Pastel immersed herself in the atmosphere of fear alone.
Shudder shudder shudder.
After a long while, she reached the top of the endless ladder. A stone wall wide enough to pass through came into view. It was the entrance to the ruins.
“This, it’s in a place like this that we could never find it….”
Melisa panted, her limbs trembling. Sweat beads trickled down her golden hair.
“Are you okay?”
Pastel looked at her with concern.
Melisa wiped her sweat with a handkerchief.
“I’m sorry. Even though I wasn’t carrying a bag, I’m still like this. It’s a lack of training.”
“That’s true.”
Elysee nodded while rubbing her arm.
Melisa shot a sidelong glance at her. Still, perhaps having no retort, she didn’t argue back.
“Don’t be too hard on Elysee. It’s natural that it would be tough for a mage. And this ladder was really tall.”
Pastel looked down from the ladder. Just below the rock crevice, the dusty temporary docking station looked as tiny as a speck.
Uaaah, how many floors is this?
100 floors?
200 floors?
If I fell now, I don’t think they’d be able to retrieve my body.
Given this, it’s commendable that Melisa, despite being a mage, climbed this. How diligent must she have been with physical training?
Elysee turned her shoulder and looked at her strangely.
“Aren’t you tired?”
Me?
“I’m a genius, so I’m fine!”
The bold reply brought back blank stares.
“Since Melisa is tired too, let’s take a moment to catch our breath.”
“I want to say I’m fine, but that would be troublesome in its own right. I’ll gratefully take a rest.”
She set down her load. As the two girls sat and began to rest, Pastel stepped aside and approached the stone wall.
The smooth stone surface had not withstood the passage of time, resulting in several large cracks, but it still maintained its luxurious appearance.
“I can sense the divine.”
The demon showed interest.
“After all, only a god could create something like this in such a place.”
Heh.
She whispered quietly.
“Is it a place like a holy land?”
Invading a holy land with the demon lord.
The feeling of betrayal made her heart race.
“Don’t get your hopes up. After the age of the Old Testament ended, the gods began to abandon such places. It won’t be very holy. After all, didn’t they say a monster was dwelling here?”
Still, this means it is indeed a holy land!
Pastel pressed down her racing heart and cautiously approached the cracks in the wall.
Leaning in to listen, she peeked her upper body inside. Her pink hair slipped down.
Broad pathways appeared on both sides. Torches hung like in a dungeon, creating a strange atmosphere.
Pastel fully entered and examined the torches. The torches burned with clay mixed with magic stone powder instead of coal.
Did the Knight Corps set these up?
“That’s great. It should be easy to know the area of the Knight Corps.”
If she was going to investigate the Knight Corps, she could search the torch-lit area and find the camping spots in the corners where the torches had dimmed and been left abandoned.
“The cult probably wouldn’t boldly create an area like this. If you want to find them, it’s going to take a lot of effort.”
Pfft.
“I have my own thoughts too.”
“Oh?”
It’s nothing like that.
The demon lord will surely help me out somehow!
Oh yeah.
“Do your best.”
“Yes! I’ll cheer hard for you!”
Hang in there, demon lord!
The demon paused.
“Why are you cheering…?”
It was a voice that seemed to foresee the future.
Go team! Go team!
After resting for a while, they moved again.
“There are identification numbers on the torches. If everyone takes notes, we could restore the search routes of the Knight Corps.”
“Wow, I’ll leave it to you!”
“I’ll draw a map too. Could you take out the quill pen and parchment from my bag? I knew this might happen, so I packed sturdy parchment along with the paper.”
Melisa diligently mapped out the clean passageway that the Knight Corps had already cleared, free of monsters.
“This magic on these torches contains notes. It’s not difficult to decrypt, so I’ll take a look. There’s a warning about rampant vampire bats. Since there are no bats around now, it seems they were eliminated.”
Wow wow.
Melisa is not only great at studying but also super capable in practice!
Is this how a warlord’s successor should accumulate real-world experience?
Ugh, I don’t want to do that.
“Melisa, please!”
“Yes? I’m doing it, right?”
Having fully enjoyed the power of networking, Pastel casually glanced at the other girl. Elysee, who had been inspecting the traces of vampire bats’ bl**d stains, looked puzzled.
Her pink eyes sparkled.
“Could it be, could it be Elysee can do something?”
With the southern warlord exhibiting such prowess, perhaps the northern warlord could do something as well?!
She sent a look of excitement a million times over.
Thump thump.
Elysee seemed flustered.
“Me? I can….”
Her silver eyes scanned the surroundings. She looked at the wall, then at the torches, and then back down at the bl**d stains.
After a moment’s consideration, she confidently declared.
“I can catch bats.”
Pastel was left dumbfounded.
“I can do that too.”
Silence fell.
Elysee appeared bewildered again. She glanced at the wall, then the torches, and then back at the bl**d stains.
Then she cast her gaze around until she landed on her own bag. After a moment’s contemplation, she boldly stated again.
“I can carry the bag.”
That was a remarkably confident voice.
Pastel was dumbfounded again.
“I can do that too….”
Huh?
The pink eyes rolled away.
Now that she thought about it, it seemed like she couldn’t do it.
Pastel subtly unclasped her bags. She handed them over to someone who could carry them instead.
“Elysee, please!”
“Huh?”
The bags received by Elysee were slung over her shoulders.
“Uh…?”
Her silver eyes blinked blankly.
Pastel wiped her forehead for no reason.
“Phew.”
Of course! Of course!
The bags just didn’t suit her!
There was someone who was suited for it!
Having finished mapping out the area, Melisa turned around. Her expression was of disbelief.
“Really, what are you two doing….”
