Chapter 90
Macho Man
Translator : PolterGlast
―Citizens of Kasei, fear not!!
Everyone raised their
faces at the resounding voice. They had been terrified by the suddenly
appearing wall of wind. What in the world was happening? What should they do?
"...It's the Lord
of the Main Tower..."
It was a voice they
had heard many times. There was no man in front of them. But a powerful voice,
as if booming from the depths of the earth, echoed throughout the capital of
Kasei. "Thank goodness," one person muttered. Before they knew it, it
spread like a chain reaction. It continued. With a surge of heat, the
golden-haired boy just gazed blankly at the sky.
"Socius, you did
it, great! We'll be alright now!"
"Eh, ah,
yeah..."
Slapped hard on the
shoulder by his friend, Socius finally realized where he was standing. He
couldn't quite catch up to his overjoyed friend's feelings. He had heard rumors
that Hail Land had attacked. The city had become as chaotic as if a bucket had
been overturned, and messengers from the Vice-Tower Master were running around,
saying that although Hail Land had attacked, there would be no conflict with
them.
However, an order was
issued not to go outside the city, and even among the students, those from
other countries seemed distant. Still, just in case, they were preparing to
evacuate when a wall of wind rose up. What in the world was happening?
--Could it be the work
of demons?
Anxious rumors spread
like wildfire. He didn't know who started them. But he had a feeling it was
someone from his own country, Cloudy Country. Having grown up with the same
values, he could somehow understand. The seeds of unease sprouted in an
instant, and before he knew it, everyone was saying the same thing.
He understood, he
understood those feelings all too well. But the way they blamed everything they
didn't understand on demons and spread fear disgusted him. And then, the Lord
of the Main Tower's voice, using a magic amplification tool, echoed throughout
Kasei. The people were clapping their hands and rejoicing, just like his friend.
(What is it? I don't
understand, but something...)
He just felt like he
was being swept away somewhere. Was this okay? It must be okay. There was
nothing he could do. He had no power. (But, I also, something...) He had a
strange feeling, as if he was desperately rushing towards something he didn't
understand.
Without him even
knowing, something had begun and ended.
Socius just clenched
his fist. He bit his lip.
***
(The Lord of the Main
Tower is back...!?）
The Magic Tower was
bustling with a large crowd of people. There were countless people who had
words they needed to convey to him. I didn't even know if it was okay for me to
go in such a situation. But Veda had asked me to give it to him. "Excuse
me, please let me through!" I hugged the bracelet and tried to squeeze
through the crowd, but I wasn't moving forward at all.
"Sorry 'bout
that."
Just as I thought a
path had suddenly opened, Lotus used his large hands to clear the way. The
person who turned around irritably, upon seeing Lotus's difficult expression,
made a quiet "Hyaa..." sound and stepped aside. I was terribly sorry.
And at the end of the
path, there was a large man. He was like a bear. Big body, stubbly beard, and
well-tanned. People called out to him from the right and left, and he replied
to them simultaneously, making it so confusing that even I, who was just
listening, couldn't make sense of it.
Having finally
arrived, I hesitated, thinking, "Is this really okay?" Just then, I
was pushed from behind and inadvertently stumbled forward. "Whoa, whoa,
whoa." The bearded macho bear was looking at me. Our eyes met.
Ichi and the others,
who had belatedly squeezed through with their bodies looking thin and frail,
looked at the Lord of the Main Tower—a man named Kuuga Shiroe—and made a ma,
machoooooo... sound effect with their bodies suddenly becoming muscular.
Machoooooooo...
The Lord of the Main
Tower kept his eyes fixed on me and suddenly closed his mouth, so the people
around him followed suit. Everyone was looking at me curiously. Only Ichi and
the others' sound effects echoed. What was this?
"You're El,
huh!!!?"
"Oof..."
I thought my eardrums
were going to burst. He wasn't angry. He just had a purely loud voice. It felt
like being hit by a blast of wind.
"Yes...?" I
nodded with a question mark for some reason, and Kuuga grinned broadly.
"What a big mouth," I couldn't help but stare up at him blankly.
Then, I remembered my initial purpose.
"Ah, um, I,
Veda... no, the Vice-Tower Master, told me to give this to you...!"
I hurriedly stopped
myself from calling the Vice-Tower Master by his first name, considering the
gazes around me. I held out the wooden bracelet I had to Kuuga. Since he was so
big, I had to stretch a little. Suddenly, Kuuga stopped all movement. And then,
he immediately looked around.
"Alright, sorry
folks, I'm gonna disappear for a bit!"
"Lord of the Main
Tower!?"
And then he forcefully
grabbed the scruff of my neck. My feet were off the ground.
While I was still
dumbfounded by the unbelievable turn of events, my body was spun around.
Apparently, Lotus had
rescued me, and now I was being held on his shoulder like a sack of rice. Even
when I looked back, I could barely see his profile, but Lotus's expression was
grim as usual. But if I had to explain, the small wrinkle between his eyebrows
was one more than usual. "...You're Lotus, right!!!?"
"Ugh..." And just like me, he was hit with a volume that was
practically an attack. I think a little spit had flown.
"Perfect! Let's
go then!"
Shockingly, Kuuga
grabbed the scruff of both me and Lotus with his right and left hands, dragging
us along and moving from the spot. ...Where are we goinggg~~!!? I honestly
wanted to ask Ichi and the others, who were bouncing and following us, the
exact same thing. Lotus already had a blank expression.
What was this
development?
The place we were
brought to was the familiar World Tree Chamber. Feeling a gentle breeze and
looking up at the World Tree with its leaves spread powerfully, everything that
had happened just now, no, the current situation with Hail Land attacking, felt
like a dream or something. But what abruptly dragged me back to reality was
Kuuga, the culprit who had brought us here.
"Alright!"
He sat down
cross-legged at the base of the World Tree with a plop. And then, with his
thick arms, he forcefully slapped his knees. Slap, a loud sound echoed.
Looking at him like
this, I thought he might be the one whose image was least different from the
game's graphics. His features were easy to grasp. His specific age wasn't in
the settings, so I didn't know. But he was probably in his forties or so.
Unlike Veda, he had a solid stability. The kind that made you think, "If I
leave it to this person, it'll surely be alright."
"Veda told me
about you guys. I also know there are three slimes. I have better eyesight than
most people."
"Oh my!"
Ichi and the others, who had apparently been secretly hiding, popped out.
Oh dear, oh dear, were
we seen? Was it obvious that we were imitating our muscular macho man? Oh no,
how embarrassing! Muscle, muscle! Ichi and the others were talking to each
other and pretending to flex their abs, but it would make things complicated if
I translated here, so I'll refrain. "Well, I don't really get it, but it
looks fun!" Kuuga laughed heartily, but this wasn't the time for that.
"I understand
that you guys are 'good folks'. With that said, the story I have to tell you
is, honestly, this country is in deep trouble!!"
A forceful voice
slammed into us. And how much of that "deep trouble" did he
understand? Hail Land had attacked. The wall of wind that Veda had probably
created. And the power of the World Tree's roots was gone, and the land was
about to collapse. --The conclusion was, everything.
"First off, that
wall Veda made won't last even a day. We don't have enough time to move other
countries."
Kuuga held out his
index finger straight.
"Normally, a wall
made by Veda would last three days. But the magical power diffusion is insane.
It's obvious it'll disappear soon... I don't even know what's happening to Veda
right now."
When he spoke the
latter part, his voice lowered quietly. It was then.
--Veda is being firmly
protected by our barrier!
I could have sworn I
saw eyebrows on Ichi, even though slimes shouldn't have them.
"Eh!?"
"What's
wrong?"
I conveyed to Kuuga
what Ichi and the others were explaining, doing this and that. Come to think of
it, you dropped some mysterious water droplets when you parted with Veda, I
recalled. Kuuga let out a relieved breath and bowed his head towards the three,
saying, "I want to express my gratitude again. Thank you."
Embarrassed, Ichi and the others let out a "Hyaaa!" and all hid
behind Lotus, who was even bigger than me, but I had to properly thank them
later too.
"Alright then,
now that the unease is gone, here's the second point. If, by any chance, Hail
Land attacks Kasei directly and we fight back, the land won't be able to
withstand our weight. The end of the collapse is just the abyss. We absolutely
have to avoid that. I've confirmed it with my own eyes, from one end of Soleil
to the other. There were already places where the land was collapsing in some
areas. It's unbelievable."
That must have been
the reason why Kuuga, who should have been in the tower in the game, wasn't
there.
"We'll be
defeated even if we don't resist. The country will end even if we fight. It's a
dead end. So, the only option is to buy time without fighting and have other
countries strike the main force of Hail Land. A day is nowhere near enough for
that."
In other words, what
should we do?
My expression might
have naturally become one of inquiry. The bear-like man grinned amusingly. My
heart skipped a beat.
"I'm going to
transform the water sphere membrane right now. Into a more powerful one that
repels anyone with malice towards this country. If I turn it into a magic tool
that's too strong, the lifespan it can be used as a magic tool will drastically
shorten, but we have no choice. We can always revert it later."
Come to think of it,
Veda had said something similar. If we could at least prevent Hail Land from
approaching Kasei for a few days, that would be enough. The land should be able
to withstand just Hail Land's soldiers.
Yuko had said that if
Kasei and Hail Land's soldiers fought, the land would collapse. Even if the
power of the World Tree's roots in Soleil was weakening, the country wouldn't
collapse today or tomorrow. One army could still hold out. But if two armies
fought, it would exceed the limit.
In that case, the
residents of Kasei just had to endure within the capital. Everything would be
alright. --If only we had the water sphere membrane.
"Only I can
transform the magic tool. Transforming it in a day will be pretty tough, but if
I put my life on the line, it might just work... maybe."
However, Kuuga's words
were surprisingly unconfident. An awkward silence filled the air. "...Instead
of explaining to us, shouldn't you hurry up and do it...?" I blurted out.
Lotus, having read the entire atmosphere, said the opposite of what he should
have.
"Yeah,
right," even Ichi and the others nodded in agreement, and for some reason,
even Kuuga nodded, saying, "Yeah, right." What was that about?
"Well, in other
words, I'm going to hole up from now on. It's a task that requires deadly
focus, so I'll probably be able to do simple communication, but expect me to be
unable to leave the room."
"Then please,
don't worry about us..." I was about to quietly back away when Kuuga waved
one hand like a beckoning cat, as if saying, "Hold on, don't go. It's
nothing important, really," he said. I definitely thought it was a big
deal. In this situation where there was no time to spare, it must be something
important enough to deliberately make time for.
"El, there's
something I want to ask of you. Hey, could you just go and cut down the World
Tree?"
"I see," I
nodded. And then I shouted, "That's not a 'just a bit' level of
request!!!!!"
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