Ch.143The Last Escape (2)

The signal was picked up.

[—This is the 1st Fleet of the Pinar Republic. We’ll send a rescue ship after confirming your identity.]

Communication returned in Ascalian. They’re sending a rescue team. My heart pounded at the thought of escaping this deserted island.

But there was one notable point here. The country coming to get us wasn’t the Holy Spirit Kingdom or the Magic Kingdom.

“Pinar?”

“It’s the elves’ country.”

Tiria said.

“Located in the south.”

I know. The Pinar Republic. An economically advanced country located in the southern hemisphere. Small population but excellent technology.

“Isn’t that a country that chose isolationism? So a neutral country is coming to rescue us.”

“I suppose so?”

Tiria beamed. She clasped her hands together, looked up at the sky, and prayed.

“Goddess, thank you! When I return, I’ll have lots of babies!”

“Saint, you’re being vulgar.”

It’s good that a neutral country is coming. Good, but…

Something feels off.

Why would a country that chose isolationism in diplomatic relations enter another country’s war zone? Actually, is Pinar even truly neutral right now?

“Wait.”

While I was thinking about this, Riyo interrupted. Post-heat cycle Riyo was smart. Befitting someone who attended the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s most prestigious academy, she delivered one sharp insight that cut to the core.

“The Selbrien continent is quite far from the Tatangkur Islands. Why is Pinar’s fleet in this area?”

“Huh? Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

“And they said it was a warship, not even a civilian vessel.”

“Hmm.”

Tiria pondered before speaking.

“Considering everything that’s happened on this island, it’s entirely possible the Magic Kingdom launched a preemptive strike against Pinar.”

I had just reached the same conclusion.

Probably, Pinar is no longer a neutral country now.

“Major General Giford, don’t you know something about this?”

“…Yes.”

Adora nodded at Tiria’s question.

“Supreme Command said they would launch a preemptive strike against the elf nation. It was the Chancellor’s order.”

“Are they insane? Weren’t there officers who opposed it?”

“There were. Soon enough, they were all stripped of their positions.”

Adora added a hollow laugh at the end, seemingly finding it absurd herself.

Rachel grabbed my fingertips.

“…Erich.”

I could feel her trembling. Far from ending, the war was getting worse. I don’t know how much longer we’ll have to fight.

So, we need to stop it. To prevent the war from dragging on any further.

“Rachel, it’s up to us. If we don’t step up, this won’t end with just the war between the Holy Spirit Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom. It could turn into a world war.”

“Y-yes.”

“Let’s go.”

We gathered our documents and food. We also carefully checked our escape equipment. After sending a communication that we would go out as soon as the rain stopped, we looked for Salvira.

[“My disciple, as I mentioned before, the Leviathan might appear when you leave.”]

The sea dragon Leviathan. The monster that forced us onto this deserted island. They say it’s the gatekeeper guarding the entrance to the barrier.

[“That creature has tremendous loyalty to the Demon King. Even if it appears, I’ll try to handle it somehow, but be mentally prepared.”]

[“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”]

This is the final hurdle.

After dinner, the female soldiers and I went to bed early. Since it was cold due to the rain, we slept embracing each other.

Our last night on the deserted island was passing by.

***

Several months ago.

As soon as the new year began, the Magic Kingdom sank several Pinar Republic merchant ships. The reason was that they were secretly selling weapons to the Holy Spirit Kingdom.

One pretext led to another. The Republic, which had minimized interest in other countries for a long time, decided to join the war.

“They really underestimated us water elves.”

Elves are divided into specific races. Wood elves adapted to forests, mountain elves adapted to highlands, and water elves adapted to the sea, among others.

Among them, Pinar was a country ruled by water elves, and being an island nation, its navy was very powerful.

Despite the Magic Kingdom’s production of drones and submarines based on magic technology, the Republic was no easy opponent. By forming a joint front with the Holy Spirit Kingdom, the allied forces succeeded in securing the Tatangkur Waters.

And they discovered two surprising facts.

The first was:

[—Castaways including Saint Tiria Kasten of the Holy Spirit Order request rescue.]

An unidentified rescue request.

“The Saint?”

“The Holy Spirit Kingdom’s Saint, Valkyrie unit members, and even Divine Engineer Corps members? And Magic Kingdom officers too?”

At first, they thought it must be a false signal. However, after exchanging information with the Holy Spirit Kingdom, they concluded it wasn’t impossible.

The allied forces launched an operation. They scoured the Tatangkur Waters looking for the castaways.

Then the second surprising fact emerged.

“…So, is that the water snake called Leviathan or whatever?”

“That’s what they say. I’ve never seen such a large fish in my life.”

“I’m seeing some strange things in this era.”

The elf officers looked up. The head of a giant snake was loaded on a cargo ship. There were traces of melting from bombardment here and there.

“I heard its endurance is no joke.”

“Well, we can investigate that later. For now, we should pray that the Magic Kingdom surrenders. To do that, we need to stabilize the Tatangkur Waters first… Are the signals still coming?”

“Yes, there have been reports of similar rescue requests continuing.”

“We can’t just ignore this.”

Water elves can read the flow of water. They can understand what’s happening around them just by the sound of waves.

“The warriors who went to hunt the sea dragon commonly testified. For some reason, they sensed multiple presences outside their field of vision…”

“…This might be a big catch.”

There were also reports of a hidden barrier detected in the waters. The issue of the unidentified rescue requests had to be resolved.

There might be more monsters like the sea dragon. The Republic mobilized its 1st Fleet for a rescue operation that seemed almost excessive.

The sea was calm. Despite spreading out widely to continue the search, no people were visible.

“Is it really true? The Saint who was dispatched first is cooperating amicably with Magic Kingdom officers to send rescue requests…”

“Speculation won’t change anything. Just do as you’re told. If we find them, it’s a big win, and even if we don’t, it’s not something that would offend the Holy Spirit Kingdom.”

“But with the war’s end uncertain, continuing to stay here is also a problem… Oh!”

“What is it?”

“Something’s coming through!”

***

“Hey! You said the weather would be nice today! Why is the wind blowing so hard?”

[“Beep! Beep-beep-beep-beep!”]

“Everyone hold tight!”

Waves are approaching. The sea surface is churning. Despite rowing, it wasn’t easy to move forward. Even Rachel, who would normally be suffering from seasickness, had to row.

It was as if the barrier had a will of its own and was hindering our escape.

How much further do we need to go?

Can we really get out of here?

Just as my arms and mind were growing dim from frantically rowing, there was a thud as something blocked the boat. The bow was hitting something, preventing us from moving forward.

“…This is it.”

Looking up, I could see a geometric pattern barrier. A doorless door. It was transparent and couldn’t be seen without concentrating mana.

Riyo took out a spell-cancellation tablet.

“If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to go back.”

“Don’t say such unlucky things! Little fox!”

“Grr! Who are you calling a little fox?”

Taking the tablet from Riyo, I called for Tiria. She smiled and placed her hand on the tablet. Her hand overlapped with mine.

“Let’s proceed as planned.”

“I’m ready, honey.”

A barrier that can never be opened from the inside unless divine power and magic power are injected in the perfect combination. We’re forcing it open.

[“———.”]

“———.”

As the language circulated, the tablet glowed. Rachel captured the spherical light that rose up in her spear.

And then.

“Haaaah!”

She threw it.

Crack!

The world is cracking. As if the world we had been in until now was nothing but a lie, the ceiling split open.

The fox sisters and Adora continued their argument while rowing. The boat moved forward vigorously, and the scenery changed. From a gloomy background with heavy clouds to an ocean with warm sunlight pouring down.

“…Did it work?”

I looked at Salvira. She closed her eyes and nodded silently.

We were quiet. Everyone silently looked up at the ‘real’ sun, repeatedly exhaling shallow sighs. We rowed, and rowed, and rowed some more.

Then suddenly, we saw several small boats approaching us at high speed.

It doesn’t matter which country’s boats they are.

Because the flag on the leading vessel had a red star on a white background.

It’s a hospital ship.

Though I described them as small, the size is relative. The ironclad ship that approached us looked dozens of times larger than the raft we had made.

Clunk.

A small elevator descended from the starboard side of the hospital ship. There was a person, no, an elf on it. They were rescue team members dressed in Pinar Navy uniforms.

The elves looked at us in surprise. Then one of them saluted and asked in awkward Ascalian:

“Where would you like to go?”

I smiled slightly, returned the salute, and answered:

“A neutral country.”

With those words, my consciousness faded. My head drooped. The last thing I heard before passing out was the voices of my soldier wives crying out for me to stay conscious, and what I saw was the blue… yes, the ephemeral blue sea. Sparkling with beautiful water scales like white phosphorus.

The sea continues to breathe today.