episode_0231

The next morning, we left the pension to see the volcano.

“The Princess Royal is staying behind too?”

“Yeah. Someone needs to look after Isis. Don’t worry too much. It seemed like nothing serious.”

“Understood. Then we’ll be going now.”

“Okay. Just buy some souvenirs.”

Perhaps due to yesterday’s events, Isis had holed herself up in her room.

I told everyone she was just feeling unwell, but seeing Regina glance at me and smirk, it seems she knows everything.

Perhaps her joining this trip was also to sow discord between Isis and me. No, it definitely was.

‘Just don’t do anything strange.’

I just hope she doesn’t try any tricks to make Isis hurt and then take her place.

Isis isn’t even homosexual, so there’s no way she’d fall for another woman. Besides, it would only fan the flames of her anger.

I suddenly felt a sense of regret.

‘Should I have just pretended not to know?’

If Isis had hinted at it and I had just brushed it off without needing to lie, we would have entered a relationship and confirmed our feelings for each other.

Then, instead of being holed up in her room, sad, she would have been happily smiling beside me.

…But that would be deception.

After reconciling with Deborah, I resolved not to deceive anyone anymore, so I couldn’t bring myself to trick Isis.

Unless it was a matter of life and death, it wouldn’t be a big problem even if Isis found out I was a Transmigrator.

As proof, Isis chose to hole up in her room instead of immediately rushing to the cult.

“Haa…”

A deep sigh escaped my lips.

While I was thinking about Isis, Regina and Abel’s conversation ended.

We left the pension behind and headed toward the massive volcano in the distance.

Deborah whispered to me softly.

“Ruan. Is there anything at that volcano?”

“Anything? What do you mean?”

I asked, puzzled, and she subtly glanced at Pernia before replying.

“Uh… artifacts. If there are any, why don’t you get them this time?”

“Why ‘necessarily’? We never know when we might need them. We should get them quickly before someone else does!”

Deborah strongly pressed me to get the artifacts.

Somehow, she seemed more like a Transmigrator than I did.

Well, she knows about Earth, hidden pieces, and various future information, so it wouldn’t be wrong to call her an honorary Transmigrator.

I patted Deborah’s excited back.

“Calm down. I don’t know what’s here.”

“What? You don’t know?”

“Yeah. I’ve never been here. I told you I originally went to a hot spring.”

“No, you didn’t?”

“…Did I? Anyway, I don’t know, so I can’t get them.”

I roughly calmed Deborah down.

Just as we were engrossed in our conversation about artifacts, we finally arrived at the volcano.

Even though I’d heard it hadn’t had any major activity for the last 8,000 years, somehow, as we got closer, I felt the surrounding temperature rise significantly.

Abel pointed in one direction.

“Everyone, let’s go that way! We’ll take the cable car to the top.”

The volcano here was 3,000 meters above sea level.

If we weren’t going to spend all day here, taking the cable car was the smart choice.

We weren’t short on money, and above all, the travel agency would pay for it, so there was no reason to refuse.

The group all got onto the cable car.

Whirr!

The mana stone activated, and the slowly rising cable car began to move towards the summit.

Soon, we reached an astonishing height.

The group looked around at the island’s scenery, continuously exclaiming in awe.

“Oh, look over there! I can see our pension!”

“Really! Huh? Isn’t that Skadia over there? It looks like she’s going somewhere!”

“Huh? Where? I can’t see her!”

“Pfft! Uni can’t see well because her eyesight is bad, meow. Go train harder, meow.”

“Ugh… don’t tease me! I can see it if I use magic!”

Watching everyone having fun in their own way, a corner of my heart felt at ease.

‘But why is it so hot?’

The temperature had completely crossed the line.

I wondered if it was just my imagination, but it kept getting hotter as we approached the crater.

No wonder there were so many cable cars returning.

‘Nothing bad is going to happen, right?’

The moment I thought that, the heavens sent down a trial as if telling me to watch my mouth.

Rumble rumble!

A roar echoed from the ground.

The entire volcano shook, and the vibrations transferred to the cable car, making it sway as if it would overturn at any moment.

“Everyone, be careful!”

“Grab the safety bar!”

I warned everyone, grabbing the safety bar with one hand and pulling Alisa and Deborah close with the other.

Just as everyone tensed up.

Boom!

Cracks spread across the crater, then lava erupted with an explosion.

Tens of thousands of fireballs, scattered with black smoke, engulfed the surrounding area.

“Damn it!”

“We have to stop it! Mages, put up a barrier!”

“Uh, yeah! Got it!”

At Abel’s calm command, everyone, including Uni, simultaneously activated their barriers.

Multiple layers of barriers enveloped the cable car, protecting it from the fireballs.

Soon, the fireballs struck the barrier.

Thud thud thud!

Countless fireballs, large and small, pounded the barrier, making a sound like heavy rain.

All that impact was fully transmitted to the casters, accelerating their mana consumption.

Deborah and Uni’s faces grew progressively paler.

‘There’s no solution like this.’

In this state, it might be fine for now, but eventually, the barrier was bound to shatter over time.

I looked around, searching for a safe zone.

And the moment I found the land where the lava had just flowed past, I noticed someone beside me.

I turned my head, and my gaze met a cat’s eyes.

“…What a coincidence.”

“Indeed, meow. I didn’t expect you to be thinking the same thing, meow.”

Pernia, who didn’t drop her persona even in an extreme situation.

While admiring her thoroughness, I noticed the deep suspicion in her tone and tensed up.

After a brief standoff, just as I realized this wasn’t the time and was about to shout to everyone.

Clang!

With a sharp crash, the cable car tilted precariously.

I knew instinctively.

The cable had snapped.

The barrier enveloped the cable car, but it couldn’t cover the cable lines supporting it.

It was a miracle it had remained intact until now.

Creak!

Losing its support, the cable car swayed precariously, relying on a single line.

Now, even a minor impact would cause it to plummet.

But to make matters worse, the barrier, having taken cumulative damage, shattered, and a huge fireball directly struck the cable car.

Crackle!

Fortunately, the fireball tore through the unoccupied center, but that only made it worse.

Because that location became the dividing point between Pernia and me and the rest of the group.

The cable car, pushed beyond its limits, split into two around that dividing point, sending Pernia and me far away from the others.

“No, damn it!”

“Oh, no!”

I felt a dizzying sensation of floating and swore profusely.

‘Why her, of all people?!’

The fact that I was stranded with Pernia, of all people, was infuriating.

But reality doesn’t change.

Facing the fact that complaints were only possible if one was alive, I yelled at Pernia.

“Hey, you can summon a wind spirit, can’t you?! Why are you just standing there?!”

“Ugh! I-I need to concentrate, okay? It’s hard in this state!”

Pernia, finally breaking her persona, hastily pulled out her Galeblade and summoned a spirit just before we crashed into the ground.

Whoosh!

Wind enveloped my body, and we began to decelerate rapidly.

We gently landed on the ground.

“Whew… we survived. Good job.”

“It’s nothing, meow. More importantly, we need to regroup with everyone, meow. Did you see which way they went, meow?”

“Roughly. Follow me.”

“Underst…”

Deep rumble!

Just before we took a step to rejoin them, the ground shook again.

Pernia and I’s eyes met.

“No way, right?”

“Run!”

Tremendous roar!

The moment I quickly grasped the situation and pushed off the ground, the volcano erupted a second time.

With an even louder roar than before, the ground undulated like waves, fireballs rained down from the sky, and lava surged across the land.

We tried to get as far away from the volcano as possible.

‘Actually, it didn’t really matter to me.’

If I used my Avatar Transformation, I would have near-immunity to fire, so the lava would likely feel like nothing more than a warm hot spring.

Fireballs were a minor issue that I could simply endure and regenerate from.

But solely to prevent Pernia from discovering my true identity, I was making a fuss and running away like this.

“Kyaaak! The lava’s right behind us!”

While I was thinking for a moment, the lava had already caught up to us.

At this rate, a lava shower was only a matter of time.

I maintained my composure internally while outwardly acting urgent.

I quickly pointed a finger in one direction.

“Th-there’s a cave over there! Let’s go in there for now!”

“A c-cave? Will that block the lava?”

“It’s elevated ground! Follow me!”

I didn’t know if the lava would reach the cave, but it would at least block the fireballs, so it was fine.

Pernia and I rushed into the cave.

Fortunately, the lava only passed by without entering the cave.

“Oh, is it okay?”

“W-we’re alive…”

We let out sighs of relief.

‘It’s still not safe.’

It was fine for now, but no one could predict how the situation would change.

For now, we needed to wait and see.

“Let’s rest here for a bit. We’ll move again once the volcano settles down.”

“……”

“Pernia?”

She didn’t stir even at my call.

She was just staring at the lava, which was getting closer and closer to the cave entrance.

She seemed quite anxious.

‘Her will to survive is certainly something.’

After all, she was willing to offer herself to a complete stranger just to live, so it wasn’t incomprehensible.

I didn’t bother speaking and quietly leaned against the cave wall.

It was then.

“The lava’s rising, isn’t it?”

Pernia opened her heavy lips.

“The lava?”

“Yes. It’s rising. It’s not going to come in here, is it?”

“Ah, the lava must be cooling and accumulating little by little.”

“Th-then what do we do? Is there no way?”

“I don’t know? If worse comes to worst, we’ll just have to leave and run again. Or find a new safe zone.”

“Anything else? Nothing?”

“No. You think of something.”

I didn’t know what she was expecting, but it was getting a bit irritating.

When I answered cynically, Pernia fell silent again, apparently deep in thought.

Then, suddenly, she pulled out her Galeblade.

“I’ve got a good idea.”

“Huh? What idea?”

“A way to block the lava. We can survive with this.”

Whirr!

A tremendous amount of mana concentrated in the Galeblade, and a vortex wrapped around its blade.

I became anxious.

“Hey, what are you doing? Stop for a moment.”

“It’s fine. The rescue team will come soon anyway, and for now, blocking the lava is important.”

“Hey! Stop!”

“Hyaa!”

Boom!

As Pernia swung her Galeblade, an X-shaped sword energy shot out and struck the cave ceiling, immediately sealing the entrance.

Its scale was so considerable that even using Avatar Transformation, I wouldn’t be able to break through.

She wiped sweat from her brow and looked back at me.

“See? This way the lava can’t get in, right?”

The proud smile playing on her lips made me furious.

“Damn it, are you crazy? What do you mean by blocking the cave!”

“What? But there’s no other way! Or are you just going to wait for the volcano to settle down and die? The rescue team will come in a few days anyway!”

“No, that’s… oh, damn it, seriously! I never thought you’d do something like this. Ugh, my vacation!”

Because of this crazy woman, my happy harem vacation was about to be ruined.

As I continuously cursed and complained, Pernia also seemed to get angry, her eyes flaring.

“Is your vacation that important? We’re about to die! Instead of being grateful!”

“What? Grateful? You really… Haa, no. Never mind. Arguing with you will only give me a headache. Fine. Let’s just wait a few days and leave. Damn it.”

Realizing that our differences of opinion wouldn’t be resolved, I leaned back against the wall.

Anyway, I had a dimensional pouch, so there was no fear of running out of food. It was just a shame that I had to waste time doing nothing.

Just in case, I tried turning on my communicator, but for some reason, there was no sign of a connection.

In the end, I completely gave up on escaping.

However, unlike me, Pernia seemed quite satisfied with the current situation, taking out snacks and eating them deliciously.

I really wanted to yank her tail.

I secretly glared at her, then thought of Deborah and Alisa.

‘They must be worried, right?’

Especially Alisa, with her dependent personality, might have been greatly shocked.

I hope Deborah comforted her well.

‘I wonder when we’ll be able to leave.’

I earnestly hoped the rescue team would arrive as quickly as possible.