Chapter 79
Dango
Operation
Translator : PolterGlast
Clutching the
megaphone, I took a deep breath.
『Open the gate!!!』
I shouted without
holding back, so just like Yuko, it howled. The kiin sound made several people
cover their ears. But they immediately looked at each other, trying to gauge
the situation. It was only natural. No one would move just because a kid like
me suddenly shouted. Among them, the one who reacted fastest was Veda.
"Just as she says--" Even with my eavesdropping skill on, I couldn't
make out what he was saying in the commotion. But I was sure his lips formed
those words.
"Yes,
sir!!!"
Along with his reply,
the young gatekeeper jumped down. He was the one who had almost rushed down
before Yuko stopped him. Maybe he was even faster than Veda's words. The heavy
bolt wouldn't move easily with just one person. The sand scorpions were getting
closer and closer. As if unable to bear it, the people around also jumped in.
What should have been one person desperately trying to move it had turned into
a crowd working together. The moment the door opened, the man tumbled in with
the carriage like an avalanche collapsing. Seeing that, I thought I was going
to cry after all. I knew that person.
『Close it, quick!!!』
This time it was much
faster than before. Calling out to each other, they closed the gate tightly.
There was no time to feel relieved.
『Everyone, get buckets! If you don't have buckets, get
up on the wall! Please!』
If the Saint's level
was high enough, sand scorpions were nothing to worry about. Using the power of
prayer, she could slow their movements and defeat them one by one. If the boss
that Yuko mentioned was among them, the rest would scatter and disappear.
But Yuko hadn't raised
her level as the Saint. Her Saint points were overwhelmingly insufficient.
In the past, I liked
not only otome games but all kinds of games. But if I had to choose, I probably
preferred RPGs, adventure games, and simulations where I could relax and take
my time, rather than action or shooting games. In other words, I liked collecting
things. In otome games, I enjoyed looking at a full list of CGs, and I
especially liked games that showed the percentage of collected items and
scenarios. The Tale of the Land of Five Leaves had that too. A list of enemies
you had fought. I even chose the route where I fought sand scorpions just to
get them on that list.
When you selected an
encountered enemy from the list, you could see even more detailed data. The
location where you met them, the number you fought, the items they dropped.
Special skills, and--weaknesses.
I remembered it, but
it was just a coincidence. I just thought they were enemies with strange
properties. To finish the event in scenario mode without transitioning to
battle mode, you needed the unique skill of the key character in Leyshan. That
ability was to manipulate earth. Sand scorpions usually slept buried in the
earth. In other words, by covering them with a large amount of earth, you could
make them sleep peacefully. But we couldn't use such a trick now. Covering the
entire body of hundreds of sand scorpions evenly with earth was impossible,
even if it was just one. If that was the case, then.
『Gather mud in the buckets! Then throw it at the sand
scorpions as hard as you can from the top of the wall!!!』
The sand scorpions'
weakness was mud.
They usually slept in
the dry, thin topsoil, but if they got damp, they couldn't breathe at all.
Scorpions that extinguished the flames on their tails while in the earth would,
if even a little bit of moist mud hit their bodies, be drained of nutrients
instead of absorbing them, and they wouldn't be able to relight their
extinguished flames. It had left a strange impression on me how they could feel
safe in the earth but couldn't survive even a slight change in the environment.
Soleil was a land
where water was precious. It rarely rained, and probably no one had ever
thought of using precious water to make mud and throw it at sand scorpions. A
confused atmosphere spread, as if asking, "Why?" But it was a
desperate measure. Luckily for them, a large pile of mud had formed inside the
wall.
Of course, this was
one of the things I had asked Veda for. I told him I wanted a lot of soil
prepared. Before the sand scorpions came, there would be heavy rain. Basically,
the rain was contained within the water sphere membrane, so it wouldn't enter
the city, but the area near the water sphere membrane was different. A large
amount of water that couldn't be absorbed flowed into the city. That's why the
city was humid, and Ichi and the others, who loved water, were so excited that
they started racing in the tower.
In the game, when it
rained, the graphics in the center of the city didn't change at all, but near
the wall, an effect of rain falling with a zaa-zaa sound was displayed. I had
thought it was possible that the main part with many buildings was omitted to
prevent the game from lagging, but I was relieved when I saw the finished mud,
thinking that somehow things were going according to the plot.
And the buckets were
my second request to Veda. To improve the sound transmission of the megaphone,
it was necessary to clean the surroundings. For that purpose, we needed a lot
of cleaning tools, so I specifically asked for extra buckets.
When the sand
scorpions arrived, Yuko immediately said she knew how to repel them. She wanted
to surprise everyone, so she wouldn't tell us before. She would only say it in
front of everyone. Veda had been at his wit's end with her, as she would turn
away and refuse to tell us if we tried to force her.
If Yuko, who had
knowledge of the game, said she knew how to repel them, then it would probably
be okay. I didn't want to confuse everyone with two sets of instructions, from
Yuko and me, and I wasn't even sure if using mud to repel them was reliable
since I hadn't actually done it in the game. It was too vague to tell Veda.
But I was still
worried, and I thought it would be fine to just ask for extra buckets since it
would only mean a few more cleaning tools.
"How are we
supposed to throw mud?" someone shouted, and another person said to make
mud balls. The sand scorpions finally clung to the city walls. They were
scratching their way up with their thin legs. Scary. The screams rose even
higher. In the meantime, I saw Veda quietly clutching several of his magic
tools. --He also had a trump card.
"W-well, might as
well do it now!"
One person threw a mud
ball with all their might. The mud ball flew off in the wrong direction, but
the momentum was so great that it flew off with the bucket, spun around in the
air, and slammed into the ground. And the mud inside splattered all over the
ground. In that instant, the sand scorpions fled from that spot.
Centered around the
overturned bucket, the sand scorpions had completely disappeared from that
area. Everyone stared down at the scene with their mouths wide open in
surprise. From then on, the situation changed rapidly. Everyone shouted loudly,
sweat beading on their foreheads even though it should have been cool inside
the water sphere membrane, and threw mud at the sand scorpions.
What had started as
chaos gradually became organized. Children who weren't strong enough made mud
balls. Men gathered and carried the mud. Those who were good at aiming threw
the mud. The teachers from the Magic Tower took charge of coordinating
everyone. They shouted and fought back. Their hands and faces covered in mud,
they knocked down the sand scorpions climbing the walls one by one.
It was an amazing
sight. The residents of the city had united and were searching for what each of
them could do. Ichi and the others scattered around, ran up the water sphere
membrane, and surveyed the situation from above.
--There's one that
made it over there!
I conveyed their words
loudly using the megaphone. Even if a scorpion had climbed over, they could
calmly deal with it if it was just one.
--El, something
strange happened over there...!
It was Nii's voice.
Indeed, there was a
strange sensation, as if the entire group of sand scorpions had trembled. I
couldn't tell which sand scorpion had reacted. But Nii had seen it clearly with
his own eyes.
"Lo, Lotus, just
now, Nii!"
"Got it!"
Lotus ran. He jumped
off the wall, which wasn't low at all, with momentum. The sword he drew pierced
the body of a sand scorpion vertically. The sand scorpion twitched slightly.
That was all. It quietly moved its hands and then stopped moving.
Quietly, the sand
scorpions disappeared as if a red wave was receding.
Only Lotus stood
there.
Somewhere, a small
voice could be heard. It was a small voice that I couldn't even tell what it
was saying. It gradually overlapped, and many people raised their fists. It was
a cheer. Thank goodness, thank goodness, really thank goodness. I could hear
many voices. Everyone was covered in mud, their faces were all messed up in the
same way, but in the end, it turned into laughter.
"Somehow, it
worked out..."
My throat, from
shouting too much, hurt terribly. My hand, which had been holding the megaphone
the whole time, was throbbing. I was stunned, and my emotions seemed to have
gone somewhere else. "Hey, you!" I was surprised when a stranger
suddenly called out to me. And then, slap, he slapped me on the back.
"What, you, you did a great job, you, youuuu!" The stranger couldn't
get his words out in his excitement. Then another person called out to me. But
everyone was the same, and even though I wanted to reply, I didn't know what to
say.
When I gave a weak
smile, I lost the sensation in my legs.
"Gya!?"
I was lifted up and
tossed into the air with a "wasshoi!" "St-stop, st-stopp, ngya,
gya, gyaaaaa!!!?" "You little brat--!!" Everyone was laughing
despite their words, and they kept tossing me up and down, "wasshoi, wasshoi,"
it was crazy.
I wondered why this
was happening again, being tossed into the air repeatedly, my vision spinning
as I cried for help, and then I realized Lotus had returned. Even though I
reached out my hand for help, for some reason, Lotus grinned. No, this wasn't
the time to be grinning.
"Lo...
Lo-tuuusss!!"
"Good job."
"You're being so
incredibly detached!!!"
He probably knew that
I didn't completely dislike it from the bottom of my heart, which was
frustrating. I had always run away and hidden from people, but suddenly being
called out to like this was beyond ticklish, it was maximum awkwardness. But
still, I was happy. When I threw my arms wide open, people who were even more
carried away tossed me even higher into the sky. "Higyaaaaaaaah!?"
Laughter echoed around.
In the midst of all
that, Yuko was just sitting down on the spot, all alone. Even Nabari-san, who
had been confused about what to do, had joined the mud ball operation halfway
through. I knew that Yuko had been sitting there blankly by herself the whole
time. I had been worried about her, but it wasn't the time for that, so I
couldn't say anything, and I still couldn't do anything.
But then, I noticed.
Her eyes were gleaming sharply. Her mouth moved quietly. It was just when I was
tossed high into the air, so I couldn't hear Yuko's voice.
***
I clenched my fist.
Everyone except me was
in a whirlwind of excitement, surrounding one girl. That position should have
been mine. No, it had been mine until just a little while ago. In an instant,
no one even glanced at me. Even when I occasionally felt a gaze, it was a cold
look that quickly turned away and disappeared.
Lotus.
The man who should
have been one-eyed and one-armed was looking at the girl with extreme
gentleness. When his eyes met hers, he grinned. It was too bright a face. I
never know something like that. This was wrong.
The girl with the
cute, blonde appearance was called El. I bit the corner of my lip. El, El, El.
I repeated it heavily many times, exhaling a leaden breath. I was the Saint.
And yet.
--That kind of
character wasn't in the game.
"El, just who in
the world are you...?"
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