TERNLF Vol. 3 Chapter 3 Part 2

“—I’m riding this?”

Outside the Demon Capital of the Volga Empire.

Waiting for me beyond a passage known only to Faura and a handful of senior officials was a large lizard with a saddle on its back and a cargo platform attached behind it.

“What is it? Is this your first time seeing a Mobi Dragon, Toa?”

“A dragon? This thing is a dragon?”

Sure, dragons were often described as giant lizards, but an actual giant lizard and a dragon were two entirely different things.

As for me, I had only ever seen a dragon once, flying far, far off in the distant sky as viewed from the frontier fortress. I had never actually fought one.

Even so, the sheer pressure it gave off had been in a class of its own among the monsters of this world.

“Nope. It only has ‘dragon’ in the name. It has nothing at all to do with dragon-type monsters. It is just an ordinary reptile.”

“So that means this guy isn’t a monster.”

“Exactly. I have heard that because it resembles the Earth Dragons that dwell in the northern part of the continent, it was named ‘Mobi Dragon,’ with ‘mobi’ meaning ‘small’ in the ancient demon tongue.”

I see.

I had never seen an Earth Dragon either, but from the sound of it, it probably looked like this lizard on a much larger scale.

“These parts are all properly maintained now, mind you. But right after the war between the dwarves and the elves, the roads had all but vanished, and everywhere was in a dreadful state.”

The war between the dwarves and the elves that had begun in the Eldwa Autonomous District had supposedly been so fierce that it reduced the district capital to ashes.

Faura and the others had been doing all they could just to avoid getting dragged into the conflict between the two races, and it seemed they had been in no position to mediate it.

“In the end, it turned into a situation where we demons seized the ruins of that war like a bunch of opportunistic thieves… but I wanted to restore this land, once lush and green, to what it had been before it fell to ruin.”

“Right. You knew what it was like back when the Eldwa Autonomous District still existed.”

“Indeed. To people like us, who could survive only in the barren lands of the north, that place in its former days had seemed like paradise.”

I had not asked her exact age, but despite how she looked, Faura had lived many times longer than I had.

Her speech and behavior could come off as childish, but there was no doubt she had endured more than her share of hell.

“The Demon King who turned such a devastated land into something this prosperous is pretty amazing.”

“It was not my power, but almost entirely Empipi’s knowledge. That said…”

Perhaps embarrassed by what I said, Faura’s cheeks flushed faintly, and she looked around as if to cover it up.

“I do not see the three girls anywhere. Are they not coming to see you off?”

“Yeah. They said they had something to do this morning and went out, and after that—”

I had just started explaining to Faura why Nikka and the others were not here when it happened.

“Wait! Toa!”

“Good, looks like we made it in time.”

Right then, I saw Grassa and Cheki come running toward us from the passage, waving widely after spotting us.

“Huff… huff… you two are way too fast…”

A moment later, Nikka appeared behind them as well, swaying a little as she made her way over.

Compared to those two bundles of energy, she seemed to be having a much rougher time physically, and was approaching us on her own at a walk.

“You lot are late. What were you doing?”

“We stopped by a few shops in the Demon Capital. We were looking for something.”

Grassa answered with a quick wink, and Cheki took down the somewhat large bundle she had been carrying on her back.

“What’s this?”

“A present for you from the three of us, Toa.”

“It’s not my birthday or anything, though.”

Had something happened that warranted getting a present?

I thought about it for a moment, but nothing came to mind.

“Huff… huff… it’s not about your birthday or anything like that…”

Finally reaching us, Nikka explained the reason between ragged breaths.

“You’ve helped us so much, Mr. Toa. Huff… huff… so before you leave, we thought we should give you something as a thank-you too.”

With her hands still braced on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath, Nikka explained, and I replied with a wry smile.

“You really didn’t have to go that far.”

“Maybe not for you, but we wouldn’t have felt right otherwise.”

“That’s why we want you to accept how we feel.”

Smiling, Grassa and Cheki pressed the bundle they were holding into my hands.

After they put it that way, there was no way I could refuse.

As I accepted it, I told all three of them, “Thanks.”

“You don’t need to thank us. Just open it already.”

“Alright, alright. What is it?”

“That’s part of the fun.”

With Cheki urging me on, I untied the string and opened the bundle.

What came out was—

“A robe?”

Inside was a neatly designed robe made of blue fabric, with a white line running from the arms around across the back.

I spread it out with both hands and looked it over closely.

“Try it on already.”

“It should be the same size as the one you’re wearing now.”

When had they checked my size…? Then again, with Cheki’s 【Appraisal】, something like that was probably easy enough.

I had to admit, that was a clever use for her skill.

“Alright, alright, quit rushing me.”

I tossed the robe I had been wearing into storage, then put on the brand-new one.

“So? Does it suit me?”

For the past ten years or so, I had worn almost nothing but dark-colored clothes, so this felt oddly embarrassing.

At the same time, I was not sure bright colors like this really suited me.

“It looks great on you!”

Nikka’s delighted voice blew that anxiety away in an instant.

“Your usual clothes are fine too, but I always thought they felt kind of heavy.”

“Heavy…? I mean, it’s true I’ve mostly been wearing dark clothes.”

“I’ve always thought brighter colors suited you better, Mr. Toa!”

Grassa calling them heavy had almost gotten me down a little, but Nikka’s excitement gave me no room for that.

“Mm-hm. You’ve got good features to begin with, Toa, so I always thought you ought to put a little more effort into how you dress.”

After looking me up and down from head to toe, Cheki said that.

“Am I being praised or insulted here…?”

“I’m praising you. More importantly, don’t you notice?”

What exactly did she mean by that?

I had only barely begun thinking over Cheki’s words when I noticed it.

“Hm? Don’t tell me this robe is…”

Right. I had thought it might just be my imagination, but ever since changing into the robe, my body had felt strangely lighter.

“Yep. It’s not just an ordinary robe. It’s a magic tool enchanted to assist the flow of mana.”

“This robe is a magic tool?”

“Yeah. So, what do you think?”

I focused on my body and examined the flow of mana.

Sure enough, just as Cheki had said, I could tell that mana was flowing with less resistance than usual.

“Now that you mention it, yeah, it really does feel like my mana’s flowing better. Thanks, all three of you.”

I thanked them again, then asked, a little worried, “But wasn’t this expensive?”

“Well, you see…”

“Wait, Cheki! Don’t tell him the price!”

“That’s right. If Mr. Toa hears it, he might pull out his wallet and insist on paying for it himself.”

The moment Cheki started to say how much it had cost, the other two hurriedly cut her off.

It was not like I had any intention of doing something tactless like paying for it.

Still, depending on the amount, I might have blurted something out.

On that point, those two, who had known me longer than Cheki had, probably understood me well enough.

“I got it. I got it, so I won’t ask about the price anymore.”

“That really is so like you, Toa.”

“It’s a present, so as long as you’re happy to accept it, that alone makes us happy.”

That was true enough.

When you gave someone a gift, it would not feel very good if they immediately asked how much it had cost.

I lowered my eyes to the robe the three of them had given me.

Now that I looked at it again, the robe, based in a deeper shade of blue, had what looked like magic circuit patterns embroidered in silvery-white thread around the chest, both arms, and the hem.

Those patterns were connected by silver lines, giving it a design that really tickled the adolescent part of my heart.

Those circuits and lines were probably what made mana flow more smoothly.

It was my first time seeing a magic circuit like this, but both its mechanism and its craftsmanship made it obvious that it had been made by a highly skilled artisan.

The three of them had not told me the price, but there was no way it was something the three of them could normally have afforded on their own.

As I was thinking that, Faura narrowed her eyes and gave me a long, careful look from beside me.

“Oho. That is quite a stylish design.”

“You think so too, right, Faura?”

“Indeed. By the way, Grassa, what shop did you buy that robe from? I suddenly feel like buying some new clothes from there myself.”

At the very least, surely it was fine to ask where they had bought something this good.

Just as I was thinking that, Faura asked Grassa the exact question on my mind.

“Umm…”

But for some reason, Grassa hesitated.

There was no way the three of them had gotten it through some shady means.

If that was the case, then there had to be some other reason it was hard to answer.

“What is it?”

“Nikka, Cheki, is it okay if I tell him?”

The other two nodded at Grassa’s question.

“The truth is… we didn’t buy that robe from a shop.”

Early that morning, the three of them had gone out into the Demon Capital to find me some sort of present that might be useful on my journey.

They had gone around to several shops, agonizing over this and that, but apparently they had gotten tired from the bustling crowds in the Demon Capital and decided to take a break.

“And then Nikka suddenly went, ‘My wallet’s gone,’ so…”

“Did she get pickpocketed?”

“Looks like it. But I had no idea when or where it’d been stolen, so I was really in trouble.”

It was not as though she had been carrying a fortune to begin with, but that money had still been precious.

Especially since the whole point this time had been for the three of them to use what money they had to buy me a present, the fact that Nikka alone had lost hers dealt more of a mental blow than if she had simply been pickpocketed under ordinary circumstances.

“So while Cheki and I were comforting Nikka, who was feeling absolutely miserable, this weird pair came up and started talking to us.”

Apparently they had been a dwarf and an elf, which was not exactly a combination you saw every day.

Those two races were practically sworn enemies, but every now and then you did hear of a party made up of several people that happened to include both a dwarf and an elf.

Even so, for just the two of them to be traveling together by themselves was extremely rare.

“When we explained what happened, that elf lady suddenly started sniffing around Nikka’s neck.”

“That really surprised me at the time.”

“Did she do anything to you?”

The moment I heard about this sexually harassing elf, I turned to look at Nikka.

“I heard afterward that she wanted to know my scent so she could look for my wallet.”

“Huh?”

What was she, a dog?

“She was amazing, though. Right after that, that elf lady actually found Nikka’s wallet for us.”

Cheki’s eyes lit up as she spoke in an excited rush.

“The culprit was this demon who looked insanely strong, but she tied him up with rope in an instant. Catching a demon like that so easily… I kind of idolize her now.”

“Yeah, yeah. She was so cool.”

“It really made me want to become a lady like that too. Though my number one goal is still Edra.”

As Cheki excitedly recounted the story, Nikka and Grassa nodded along in full agreement.

“So what did those two have to do with the robe?”

Realizing the story would not move forward at this rate, I prompted the three of them to continue.

At that, Grassa and Cheki both went, “Oh, right,” and picked the story back up.

“Yeah. Because they’re the ones who sold us the robe.”

“The elf lady designed it, and the dwarf man made it, apparently. But the two of them were short on travel money, so they were looking for a place to set up a street stall and sell some of the things they had with them.”

“When I heard that, I asked what kind of things they were selling.”

So the pair had taken several items out of a bag and shown them what they had been planning to sell at their stall.

“At first, we were thinking maybe a bracelet or something, but there wasn’t anything that looked like it’d suit a man.”

“They were probably showing us things aimed at women because they were matching us, so we explained it was meant to be a gift for a man. We also said he was especially talented with magic, and that it’d be nice if it had some kind of ability that could help with that.”

Grassa took over from Cheki and Nikka there.

“And then the dwarf man said he had just the thing, and showed us that robe.”

After explaining the robe’s performance, the dwarf had asked what their budget was, then said that would be fine and agreed to sell it to them.

“I checked it with my own ability just to be sure, and it really was exactly what the dwarf man said it was, so that surprised me. I told him it was way too cheap for something like that, way beyond what our budget should’ve gotten us, but…”

According to what Cheki explained, it had originally not been meant for sale at all, but had been something he made for an acquaintance.

However, he had not had any specific plans to meet that person, and had only brought it along in his travel luggage on the off chance they might run into each other.

So, the dwarf had said, if it was only going to sit there unused, he would rather sell it cheaply to someone who would actually make proper use of it.

“The size was perfect too, so we were thinking we’d be willing to go a little over budget if we had to.”

“With this level of performance, it probably would’ve cost quite a lot at a normal shop, wouldn’t it? …Anyway, it’s a good thing those two were kind people.”

I had no idea how much money the three of them had been carrying, but the robe itself had to have been worth a considerable sum.

I felt bad for the person who had originally been supposed to receive it, but thanks to that, I had unexpectedly gotten some excellent gear.

For now, I was probably better off just accepting that and being grateful.

After hearing the whole story, Faura put a hand to her chin.

“Travelers, hm. If someone that capable were among my people, I would have considered calling them to the castle.”

“They said they were going to leave as soon as they sold a few things and got enough travel money together, so they’re probably already gone.”

“They did say there was somewhere they had to get to quickly.”

“I see… I would have liked to meet them and at least hear them out. If possible, I would even have invited them into our country and put them in charge of training artisans, but I suppose it cannot be helped.”

At Grassa’s and Nikka’s words, Faura’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.

The demon race was not particularly skilled at making things. That was one of the reasons Luchimada had given up on trying to create an Illusion Canceler through the demons’ own abilities.

Having survived in a brutal land where mere dexterity was not enough to keep you alive, demons had a tendency to solve most things with force.

It was only after the founding of the Volga Empire that they had begun turning their attention toward craftsmanship at all.

“…Well then, I should get going.”

After going over a few final points about everyone’s plans from here on out, I gingerly climbed onto the saddle of the Mobi Dragon.

According to Faura, riding it was basically the same as riding a horse.

“Be careful.”

“Please come back safely.”

“Don’t do anything reckless.”

“Even among elves, the ones in that forest are especially the sort you cannot reason with. The moment you think things are bad, retreat at once.”

“I know when to pull back, too.”

I answered Cheki, Nikka, Grassa, and Faura with a smile.

I had crossed blades with elves many times at the frontier fortress.

That was why, out of everyone here, I probably understood best just how dangerous they were.

And because I understood that, I was going alone, so that if something happened, I could withdraw immediately.

“See you. Move out, Mobi Dragon!”

I gave the four of them a small wave and lightly tugged on the Mobi Dragon’s reins.

My first destination was the ruins of the former capital of the Eldwa Autonomous District.

If Faura was to be believed, this Mobi Dragon ought to be able to reach it in less than half a day even over unmaintained roads.

Turning my back on the four of them as they gradually grew smaller in the distance, I slowly urged the Mobi Dragon to greater speed.

—

“—So this is the place.”

After spending several hours being jostled atop the Mobi Dragon’s back, which could not exactly be called a comfortable ride, I arrived at my first destination: the ruins of the Eldwa Autonomous District’s former capital.

“There are warped mana pools all over the place…”

The ruins of the capital were where the fiercest battle of the Eldwa War had been fought.

As a result of the elves and dwarves fighting with everything they had, several places where the flow of mana had become unstable were said to have formed in this land.

That was precisely why, even now after so much time had passed, this place remained a barren wasteland where not even grass grew.

“I heard a few dungeons formed here too, but I guess nobody’s touched them after all.”

In this world, dungeons continued to grow and were treated as giant monsters.

And since dungeons were born in mana pools where mana gathered, this land could truly be called the perfect place for dungeons to form.

However, unlike normal dungeons, dungeons born from warped mana did not allow monsters or living creatures to dwell within them.

Ordinarily, a dungeon took living beings that produced mana into itself and used the mana generated by their activity as its “food.” But dungeons born from warped mana did nothing except kill and devour their prey, becoming no more than monsters themselves.

What was more, unlike ordinary dungeons, they did not accumulate rare ores and the like within their bodies.

In other words, even if adventurers risked their lives delving into the dungeons in this place, there was almost nothing to gain from it, which was why no one bothered trying to conquer them.

“Well then, I’ve checked the dangerous-looking spots. Time to look for what I came here for.”

After climbing down from the Mobi Dragon, I started walking toward the destination Cheki had told me about beforehand.

It was at the edge of the ruined capital.

I made my way through the gaps between several half-collapsed pillars still left standing.

“Is this the statue she meant?”

Behind the last pillar, a fallen statue about my height was lying on the ground.

“What a mess.”

According to Cheki, the statue had originally depicted a dwarf and an elf living in harmony, gazing lovingly at the baby in their arms, a likeness of Cheki and her parents.

But none of that remained now. Both figures had been completely destroyed from the shoulders up, and the baby they had once held in their arms had been smashed apart beyond recognition.

“Right, then I just need to head west from here.”

Turning my back on the ruined statue, I went about twenty meters west.

“There it is… just like I thought.”

What lay there was a bowl-shaped crater about five meters across and two meters deep.

And at the bottom, where I looked down from the edge, a cylindrical object was embedded in the ground as though it had been driven straight into it.

One glance was enough to tell it was made of metal, and in this world, it looked utterly out of place.

I was struck by the same feeling I had when I first saw Empipi, the MPPRD.

“If I hadn’t known Empipi existed, I might not have believed something like this was here either.”

To get closer to it, I jumped down into the crater.

Then, standing before it, I confirmed once again that it was exactly what I had expected.

“A cryosleep device… So even something like this got thrown into another world too.”

Back in my previous life, when I still had not fully given up on my longing for space, I had learned that cryosleep devices existed. And now there was a real one right in front of me.

“So Cheki spent all that time in suspended hibernation inside this thing…”

During the Eldwa War, after her parents sent her away, Cheki followed their instructions and took shelter inside this device. By the time she woke up, many long years had already passed.

When I first heard that story, I had suspected the device in question might be a cryosleep device.

Perhaps her parents had foreseen that the coexistence between elves and dwarves would eventually come to an end.

“But there doesn’t seem to be any power source or anything connected to it, so how did it…?”

I had no idea where this cold sleep device had come from, but this world had no electricity that could power something like it.

—