episode_0130

The fastest vehicle Piné knew was a horse.

But.

Elves can run faster than horses.

In areas without trees, their speed is similar to humans’, but in densely wooded areas, they can sprint faster than horses. They are a race capable of moving even faster where the Great Mother World Tree resides.

Arguing about speed with such a race is…

“Let’s go!”

“WAAAAAAAAH!”

The moment Lady Ellise shouts “Go!”—the sheer pressure of the speed is overwhelming.

I’m experiencing this kind of velocity for the first time.

A horse?

A carriage?

This is incomparably faster than any of those.

On a completely different level.

Just feeling the sheer force of it presses down on my entire body, imprinting the terror of death—and yet, this is supposed to be a mode of transportation?

“WAAAAAAH…”

It’s torture.

Are the others doing alright?

Would a Hero’s party easily shrug this off?

Would failing to endure this disqualify someone from being in a Hero’s party?

I don’t know.

I’m too busy fearing for my life to even think.

All I can do is pray this hellish experience ends quickly.

—

### BOOM!!!

“We’ve arrived!”

Ellise looked satisfied as she observed her ice rocket’s “graceful” landing (?) .

Last time, she crashed while destroying part of the forest.

This time, she only took out a few trees.

Comparatively, it was a “safe” landing.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?”

“Of course!”

Lia, the first one out, surveyed the surroundings and roughly confirmed their location.

She looked unfazed.

As expected of the Hero.

Her durability was on another level—this speed was nothing to her.

“Ughhh…”

“You okay?”

“Y-Yeah… It was a bit rough, but… I’ll be fine after a recovery spell… No need to worry…”

Sophia seemed somewhat strained, but she quickly regained her composure.

“We here?”

“Yes. We’ve arrived properly. But… Serene, you’re completely fine?”

“I disconnected until we landed. So, yeah.”

“Oh…”

Serene remained unscathed because she had completely tuned out.

“……”

Kamang stepped out quietly.

“Kamang, you good?”

“Yes.”

Kamang looked completely at ease.

Was this level of speed nothing to her?

As expected of Marianne.

Her demonic resilience was on another level.

“BLAAAAARGH!”

Meanwhile, Piné collapsed face-first onto the ground the moment they arrived—and promptly threw up.

Elves are a fairly strong race.

Magically powerful, yes, but even physically, they surpass humans.

However.

That’s only when comparing the average elf to the average human.

Comparing an elf to humans strong enough to join a Hero’s party tells a completely different story.

And Piné was proving that firsthand with her body.

“You okay?”

“BLEGH!… WAAAAAAH!”

“Sophia. Cast a recovery spell on her.”

“Understood.”

“Uuuuuugh…”

Slowly, Piné’s expression began improving.

So, she was in Sophia’s hands now.

‘What about Cain…?’

He was the physically weakest in our party.

I couldn’t help but worry.

But.

Cain had a smug look on his face.

He even insisted that they hurry up, since missile-like speed wouldn’t be a problem for him.

That was why they used this method of travel in the first place…

But still, worry was worry.

I quickly checked on Cain.

“……Cain?”

Thud!

Cain collapsed like a corpse.

At that moment, the entire party went into emergency mode.

“CAIN!!”

“Sensei?!!”

He looked like he’d died of a heart attack.

So I shouted—

“Lia!”

“On it!”

Lia quickly touched Cain and cast a resurrection spell—

“……?”

“Lia?”

“Uh…”

“What? Don’t tell me… You can’t resurrect Cain?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Then..?”

“He… He’s fine?”

“?”

“He just passed out.”

“Passed out?”

Ah!

Did he faint because of the speed?

“No. He knocked himself out on purpose.”

“On purpose?”

“He gave himself a concussion to induce unconsciousness.”

“……”

We all stared at Cain for a moment.

Then, he rubbed his eyes and woke up.

“We here?”

“Cain?”

“What?”

“So that’s why you said it was fine?”

“Uh… Yeah?”

By stimulating his brain with magic, he induced a “fainting” state.

Since he could roughly estimate the arrival time, he set a spell to cancel the unconsciousness upon arrival.

…That was Cain’s method.

“Wow… You’re really something else…”

Staying conscious would have meant suffering from the extreme speed— so he just skipped it entirely.

Sounds simple when explained like that, but—

“Who in the world just punches their own brain…?”

Honestly, it’s borderline insane.

But.

Cain simply smiled.

“If I accidentally kill myself, I can just ask Lia to revive me. Nothing to worry about.”

“Yup! Just trust me!”

Lia beamed brightly as she said that.

Cain gently patted her head, then looked at me and spoke.

“So, where are we?”

“The forest near the lawless city.”

“Hmm…”

Cain glanced around before saying—

“Still a bit of a distance.”

“If I messed up the landing, I could’ve blown the city away. So yeah, I kept a safe margin.”

“Good call. Smart thinking.”

“That’s it?”

“Huh?”

“Pat my head too.”

“Sure.”

Cain patted my head as well.

It felt a little embarrassing, but…

The affection made me happy.

Is this why Lia always asks for head pats?

Nice.

“Darling! Me too!”

“Sure.”

“Cain! Me next!”

“Got it.”

“C-Cain? Um…”

“Kamang, come here. I’ll pat you too.”

“Okay!”

One by one, people started clinging to him, making the scene slightly absurd—

But I didn’t mind.

It felt like… family?

Huddling together, sharing body heat—I liked this feeling.

Before meeting Cain, my mana surges made it impossible to even get close to people.

Now, I could stick close enough to feel their warmth.

I loved it.

“Feels nice…”

“Me too…”

“But we should get moving. If we’re late, even securing an inn will be a hassle.”

He was right.

Arrive too late, and even the innkeeper might be gone.

Just as I was about to pull away—

“……”

Piné stood awkwardly in the distance, watching us.

I was about to call her over when—

Cain was faster.

“Piné noona. What’re you doing over there alone?”

“M-Me…?”

“Come here.”

“Are… Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

“Then… Okay…”

“Ah… You don’t seem to like head pats, so… How about a hug?”

“O-Okay…”

Piné clung to Cain too, sharing his warmth.

It was still awkward, but…

Well…

I didn’t hate it.

Lia, Sophia, Marianne, Piné.

And.

The next companion we’ll recruit in the next city.

Our shared thought was—

We’d all join Cain’s harem.

I don’t feel jealous.

Not at all, but…

‘Her chest is really huge…’

Seeing how her bust rivaled Sophia’s full liberation state made me slightly irritated.

‘Why do all the women in our party have huge chests?!’

Lia—busty beauty.

Sophia—massive when unrestricted.

Piné—clearly stacked.

Marianne—also very well-endowed.

This one—busty.

That one—busty.

‘I’m not flat myself, but…’

By Hero party standards, I’m the smallest.

‘Cain says he likes both small and big, but…’

Clearly, he’s a breast man.

Meaning.

In the coming “legal wife battle” after the Demon King’s defeat—

I’d be starting at a disadvantage.

‘Sigh…’

I exhaled.

Once we recruit the last member, preparations will be complete.

We’ll crush the Demon King, then settle Marianne’s issues—and we’re done.

The only thing left?

The legal wife battle.

Deciding who becomes first wife.

‘Can I win…?’

No idea.

But.

No matter the outcome, I won’t feel jealous.

‘I had no comrades, no friends, no family, no lover… My entire life, up until now, I’ve been alone. But not anymore.’

I have comrades now.

Friends.

Family.

A lover.

Everything I lacked before meeting Cain—I have now.

So.

I don’t want to ruin this.

I won’t let greed for the “first wife” title destroy everything.

So I’ll just think about it privately.

Becoming first wife would be nice—

But even if I’m not, that’s okay.

Either way, it’s a happy ending.

‘Cain said it.’

As long as everyone’s smiling, that’s a happy ending.

From the moment I heard those words, my goal was to see that ending.

So.

Let’s finish the important tasks first.

Gather all comrades, resolve Marianne’s issues.

The legal wife debate comes later.

…With that thought, I got up.

—

### Lawless City.

In the Prophecy RPG system, it’s counted as one of the nations—

But in reality, it barely qualifies.

Why?

Because it’s literally a lawless city.

No king.

No ruler.

No laws.

No rules.

A city formed by criminals gathering in its ruins.

Effectively, a den of villains—

The worst-maintained area in the Prophecy RPG world.

And yet.

What’s with this situation?

“We welcome the Hero’s party!”

Robed figures, arranged like an honor guard, greeted us in perfect formation.

What the—?

Bugenhagen?