17-4
The Ark at the Farthest End
Translator : PolterGlast
When I asked where
the Ark was, Plea laughed at me. Told that I would understand if I
waited a little, I quietly waited for the ceremony to end, and we had wandered
into a strange space.
A pure white world.
A single butterfly was flying there. Since Plea had told us to chase it,
as we advanced through this otherworldly realm, surprisingly, the land of the
Ark lay ahead.
「Uwa...
What is this place... It's beautiful...」
「Muu,
so this is our sanctuary...」
「Hey,
is it alright for an old man like me to be here? I'm feeling massively out of
place, y'know...?」
The sanctuary of the
Horned race, the land of the Ark, was beautiful. It was enveloped in clear air
and radiant light. Even so, looking up at the sky, there was no sun. Towering
barriers standing high into the heavens lined all four sides, narrowly and
oppressively confining the world. That world was far too pure; it felt
unnatural and artificial. Even being told that there was a gate leading to the
Abyss in such a place, I simply couldn't believe it.
「Tagging
along with us was the end of your luck. Keep us company until the end.」
「Yeah,
that's my intention, bro.」
「Ah,
there's a town!?」
As we proceeded, we
approached a residential district. However, there were no residents. No matter
which house we checked, it was empty, yet not a single speck of dust had piled
up.
「What a
strange place...」
「Rather
than strange, this is scary...」
「This
is what you call ruins.」
It wasn't a very
pleasant sight. It was a paradise without people. I couldn't help but feel an
eeriness at the reason why people vanished from such a comfortable land.
「The
folks who were here could only live here.」
When I looked back, Zirant,
who should have disappeared, was walking beside me. A tone of pity was mixed in
her voice, and drawn by her words, I looked around in all directions once more.
Unable to leave this
world. Stepping outside means death. Just imagining it for a moment makes my
throat feel suffocated.
「The
surface world in the past was polluted by the poison of gods. Until the first
Emperor of A-Zir went around cleansing the world, the ancient races had
no choice but to live fleeing from the poison that robbed them of their power.」
Zirant looked
proud. Her manner of speaking was as if bragging that the first Emperor had
saved the world. There are many things to think about, but relying on the map
we received from Plea, we proceeded along the path. A beautiful but
lonely world. It felt more like a gravestone than the land of the Ark.
「The
folks here yearned for the outside world, but couldn't even leave this place.
What was born as a result is this Black-Horned race. By crossbreeding
themselves with other races and even monsters from the Abyss, they supposedly
created a new Horned race.」
「Ooh,
you know more about it than me, Zira-chan!」
Zirant says
the black horns are not pureblood Horned race. I was starting to get bored of
the scenery by now. I decided to keep her company in her display of knowledge.
「Then,
where did the non-black-horned Horned race go? The folks in the village were
all black, you know.」
「I know
that much! Our ancestors abandoned this world!」
「That's
strange, isn't it. Why would they need to abandon it when the world was
cleansed?」
「Th-that
is... I don't know that, ask Zira-chan!!」
In front of Sigrun,
even Zirant is just a petite young girl. Not understanding what it
meant, the female hero lifted Zirant up in a princess carry and clung to
her, asking for assistance.
「...They
segregated their habitats. It seems the pureblood Horned race had far too high
intelligence, and ultimately the Horned race side deemed coexistence
impossible.」
Zirant is
unperturbed. She wears a cool face without protesting.
「Mu,
mumu... Even though our ancestors were superior, why would they need to abandon
the world...? What does that mean, Zira-chan!?」
「The
ancient Horned race, if they felt like it, could have completely dominated the
world with their intelligence and magic power. To coexist and prosper together
with other races, they were extremely far too superior.」
Not understanding
the meaning, Sigrun tilted her head. Sigrun's thought processes
are quite simple, after all...
「I kind of get
it, but then again I don't really get it either. I guess that's just how those
folks whose brains are built too well look to guys like us~」
「If this is how
their descendant turns out, the ancestors will never find peace... In short, Sigrun, your ancestors were graceful
and fiercely proud. They simply grew sick and tired of the endless cycle where
the rulers and the ruled merely swap places.」
Despite Zirant
thrashing about telling her to put her down already, Sigrun still hadn't
released her restraint while keeping her head tilted. When that tilted head
straightened and was directed at Zirant, she said this:
「...I
don't understand it at all!!」
「Eei,
you simpleton, just put Wagahai down already!」
「I
refuse that! After all, Zira-chan feels the best to hug, wahahaha, so
smooth~!」
「Nyaaah?!
What an insult to Wagahai, who is a god, what tyranny!? Stop it, wabuh,
ah, I'll tell on you to that gyaru village chief!?」
In front of Sigrun,
it seems there are no gods or anything. Zirant had her cheeks vigorously
rubbed against Sigrun's chest and writhed in agony saying it tickled.
「No
sense of tension at all, huh... Oh, ain't that the entrance in question?」
「Seems
like it. Look ahead, Sigrun-sama, we're going underground so please take
the vanguard. Otherwise, I'll just leave it to Shinza.」
「That's
troubling! Alright, I'll give this to you!」
「Eh...
Uwaah!?」
Sorry it is exactly
as the words say, but Zirant danced through the air. Sigrun threw
her away. As expected, if something like that is thrown at her, Kachua
would be crushed. Needless to say, I hurriedly stepped in to cover. If I do
something seemingly apostle-like for the time being, she might be in a better
mood later.
「I-It
is nothing... I-I am used to flying through the sky and such, ha, hahahaha...」
「Then
you can stand up right away, right?」
「That
is impossible, my legs have given out...」
「Ooooi,
hurry uuuup? If you don't hurry, I'll go on ahead, y'knoooow?」
Truly an uninhibited
level of arrogance. At those words, Zirant's anger flared up and she
said this:
『That simpleton!!
Once I regain my power, someday I'll completely crush her!!』
Zirant, please say that directly to the person herself... Even if you did say it, Sigrun might misunderstand it as you playing around with her and draw her sword, though...
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