episode_0197

A foul odor of decay mixed with a strong fishy smell spreads a terrible scent.

After running for a while, smelling that smell and getting hit by water droplets falling from the pitch-black sea in the sky, I finally crossed the line.

Victoria has also been moving eastwards for some time now.

However, since they do not know the exact location and instead go looking for it by looking at the address written on the letter, they end up going to a place far from the actual location.

If you follow the number, you’ll have to go around and around for a while. But if you go in thinking you’ll be somewhere in the middle, you’ll end up at a completely different address, so it’s even harder.

The roads are a mess, so the numbers are all messed up.

Considering that Victoria might get lost and wander around, we’ll probably get to that address sooner.

That was when.

“There’s a fugitive over there!”

As I was running while holding Polaris’ hand, someone shouted at me from afar. Polaris’s eyes were drawn to that place before I did.

Two people in military uniforms. One wind-up machine that resembles a person.

Compared to the clockwork machine that killed the man on the airship, it seems much more powerful. Only, the one that killed the man was unmanned, while this one has a man on board.

And then it comes running here, emitting light. It’s amazing how the light goes up to the top, but the thrust goes out behind the back.

Maybe it’s because I’m used to rockets, but I feel more comfortable when the thrust is generated in the opposite direction of the light.

Polaris clicked her tongue slightly and grabbed my body. Then she lifted me up and jumped.

I got up to the two-story house in one jump.

No, but isn’t that ignoring gravity too much?

But before I could say anything, a ring of light flew towards me. Polaris slammed her palm against the wall blocking her escape route.

Kwaaang!

Super strength?

No, no matter how strong he is, there is no impact on Polaris’ arm. This is not simple strength, but the result of using magic power.

Because creatures living in this world use magic power for their athletic abilities, there are many whose movements themselves are magical.

According to some memories, creatures that use too much magic power as fuel to move their bodies adapt to the magic environment of their habitat and become powerful in that environment, but as a backlash, the magic power of other areas becomes unsuitable for their bodies, so their habitat becomes narrower.

And it seems that there is a trade-off, as it is said that if a fatal change occurs in its habitat, it will not be able to survive and will disappear.

The most successful creatures are surprisingly rabbit-like creatures that reproduce infinitely through mating without using any magic power.

In any given environment, more organisms survive and spread more widely, so most ecosystems have many organisms that use food such as meat or grass as fuel.

So, it’s not that there are disabled people who can’t use magic, but rather that there are wizards who can use magic.

anyway.

This means that someone who has been born with great strength can use their magical powers to produce truly incredible strength.

“Huh!”

But that was when there was no advanced magic.

The air around them became stiff, impeding any movement. And as if it had missed the target of its magic, the wind-up machine flew towards them.

“Type 1 entity!”

“It’s the Purple Twilight Society! It’s not believed to be Type 2, so arrest and interrogate!”

A soldier shouts from behind.

Yeah, that’s right.

Two little girls.

Most of the harvesters remaining in Bern City belong to the Purple Twilight Society. I think the Type 1 individuals are purple or have unusually white skin. Judging from their speech, the Type 2 ones are probably those who use superpowers.

So if you see purple hair, it’s not strange to say that it’s the Purple Twilight Society. Besides, the direction that Polaris and I walked from was west.

Rather, it would be strange not to see it that way.

“Polaris.”

“Why?”

I suggested another way to Polaris, which moves as if it is wading through sticky gel.

“Leave me alone.”

“What?”

She looked back at me in surprise. I put my ear to hers and spoke in a small voice.

“This is number 39. If you go up the alley from here, the numbers increase. Do you remember the number?”

And I said it was number 91 earlier. Polaris nodded slightly, as if she remembered.

“Don’t worry about me, go first.”

“I hate it.”

Yeah. That’s firm.

It’s not strange when you think about her behavior so far, but right now it’s bothersome.

I heard the words “restraint and interrogation,” so I won’t be turned to dust right away. That means, that’s a space where I can move around easily.

Polaris puts more strength into the arms that surround me.

She acts this way because she sees me as someone she needs to protect, and that turns the relationship upside down.

“Polaris. Then you become a hostage.”

I intentionally cut out a lot of words. Then it sounds like, you’re being held hostage and I’m uncomfortable.

Polaris, who immediately understood, looked at me with a hurt expression, but honestly, it would be difficult for a school girl to defeat a soldier who used magic.

I don’t know if Polaris is particularly strong, but if you look at Kanna’s memories, there is no such story.

So it means that he is an ordinary student. Even if it is 1:1, it is not so bad, but there are 3 experts. Even if it is the same level, 1:3 is dangerous.

But if there is a difference in skill, it is a sure defeat.

“Really, are you okay?”

I nodded as I watched the wind-up machine approaching. Slowly, my strength began to wane, so I exerted myself and pulled myself out of Polaris’ embrace.

And then I deliberately stepped into the steel hand reaching out towards Polaris.

Geeg!

No, isn’t that holding on too tightly?

First, provoke Polaris to give her time to escape.

“Are you thinking of rebelling against the crown?”

“What?”

“My name is Belle. I am under royal protection, and I came to you because I feel uneasy about what is happening in Bern City. Human. What are you doing here?”

It is true that they are under royal protection.

It is also true that I have been told that I feel uneasy about what is happening in Bern City.

But when I put the two together like this, it sounds like I’m on a royal mission.

“What are you talking about!”

“I’ve been in the press several times. I’ve been in the press with members of the royal family. Are you going to say you don’t know? Who on earth are you protecting?”

Let’s ask proudly, the man riding the wind-up machine has stopped moving.

“Let go of your hands.”

I ordered him to do so, but he wouldn’t let go. I could sense the occupant of this clockwork exoskeleton struggling through the brass mask.

Meanwhile, Polaris left this place.

As I was leaving, I saw the sea in the sky above, so I guess he was calculating that if something happened, he would join Victoria and come find me.

Either way is fine.

At that time, two other soldiers also came here.

“Marquis Gaston is already dead. So, guide him to the commander directly below him.”

Honestly, I wouldn’t tell you. Do you really think that a little girl would say something like that? You’d just let it go like she was just saying something, or something like that.

Even if that were true, wouldn’t it be an accident if no one knew the truth?

Now, as I was wondering what shape I would be torn into, one of the soldiers who came near me looked at me and held his breath.

“Bell, sir?”

this.

You know me, but I’m not a stranger to you. You don’t have any relatives among the harvesters, and you remember my face from the media?

“Sergeant. Do you know who this girl is?”

“Yes! Wasn’t there someone who treated all the wounds during the disaster in Bern City? That’s why the royal family brought him here!”

Ah, so that’s how normal people know it.

I can roughly tell the rank of the person in front of me. The slightly older man is the highest rank, and below him is the man in the wind-up gear and the soldier.

Hmm?

I feel like it’ll end too plainly.

“Why is that person here?”

I heard the highest ranking person mumbling. It wasn’t a question to me.

But there are things I want to experiment with, and this is where I let my reason fly.

“Because the royal airship was shot down. Inside, the clockwork machine was killing people, trying to hijack the airship and crash it. And then it attacked me on the ground. I barely escaped and arrived in Bern City.”

I stopped at the port of Nantes and witnessed the murder of the Marquis Gaston, the real master of this army. But I don’t mention that part. I just twist it so that it will be confusing for someone to check the history later.

Since the airship flew automatically towards the sea, one might think that it escaped from the sea and miraculously arrived at the shore.

Why do we do this?

It’s just simple bullying.

“Where is the person responsible?”

By the way, this means to call the person at the top. There are soldiers who survived there, so if he spread the news to the army, they will already know that Marquis Gaston is dead, but if not, they will not know anything.

“Captain, what should I do?”

The man who recognized me asked his superior with an anxious expression. As expected, the person riding the wind-up machine is of low rank.

“First… … .”

The man called the captain sighed deeply.

ego.

What choice will you make?

“Take this person and return to base. Keep a close eye on him until you confirm that he is a royal.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The young man and the man in the wind-up machine salute. The language is mild, but the gist of it is to tell the truth, so watch out for them and harass them if they lie.

Oh, you’re not as aggressive as I thought. If it were treason, I thought you’d go crazy and try to bury the evidence.

The experiment got pushed back. Well, I guess we can go over there and do it.

I was led by them to a place called the base by the captain, under a sky where the sea leaked instead of rain.

By the way, being held by the hands of a wind-up machine is not a very pleasant ride.