Floor 31, Whale Hunt (5)

"That's Kershakins, the extermination captain Roxanne and I spoke about during the day! Tell Roxanne I've found a way!"

Instead of an answer, only the murmur of voices drifted across the forest for a while.

Then, before long, a familiar elf stepped out from between the trees.

"I could have sworn we already talked about this during the day. Or am I mistaken?"

Roxanne smiled faintly. It was clearly not a serious question—just a teasing remark, laced with amusement.

I couldn't think of a good comeback, so I simply smiled back, and she took that as her cue to continue.

"You work fast. I suppose you're good at making decisions."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"More like I got lucky. The airship I arrived on happened to be docked at a temporary landing pier."

"A landing pier? There's a pier on Mount Tumei?"

"Yes, over by Peak 21."

"Ah... so on the outer edge of the range. I imagine the extermination corps built it."

Since I didn't actually know the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠details, I just shrugged. It wasn't as if it mattered much either way.

"I think it's better if we move right away. What do you think?"

"Excuse me? Right now?"

Whether the suggestion caught her off guard, Roxanne frowned slightly. It wasn't disapproval—more a reaction of mild bewilderment.

"Yes. If we're heading east of Regium, I figure it's better to get moving sooner rather than later."

"Still, isn't that awfully rushed? I haven't even finished talking with the others yet..."

Roxanne trailed off, her eyes sweeping over me.

"And you don't have any whale-lure incense either. I can smell it on you, but..."

"No, don't worry about that. I brought more than enough."

Cutting her off, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a sack of Sky Whale lure incense.

At the sight of the sack emerging from my waist, Roxanne's eyes went wide.

"I've got about forty of these."

"You truly are full of surprising talents. The blessing of the Wind God, lightning, and now a subspace as well..."

"Well, I suppose I'm a little special. Anyway, the incense is settled, so it'd probably be quicker to talk about moving out tonight."

« Q.»

M..•

Roxanne made a troubled face. Fair enough, I suppose—showing up in the middle of the night and announcing we'd seize an airship right then and there would fluster anyone.

So I added something to keep her from agonizing over it.

"I already know where the pier is, so you're free to say no and do it later. But I can't promise I'll still be around then. I don't have much time left."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I have to leave for somewhere else in six days. There's an important promise I absolutely have to keep..."

"Six days?"

Roxanne echoed. Fortunately, she didn't press about the promise itself. Not that I could have explained it anyway.

I nodded firmly.

"Yes."

"Six days... the airship alone takes about five to reach Regium, so... that's cutting it close."

Roxanne bit her lip and nodded.

"Give me a moment. Let me talk with the others."

"I hope it goes well."

"Don't worry... everyone here gathered for the Sky Whales. It's sudden, but they'll understand."

Fortunately, the elves' discussion concluded on a favorable note. It was the obvious outcome, really—people who had gathered for the sake of the Sky Whales weren't about to throw away an opportunity like this.

Peak 21 was quite a distance away, so we tore up the mountainside at an incredible pace. No wonder she was an elf—she moved like the wind itself. Not that I fell behind.

Partway through the run, Roxanne struck up a conversation.

"We're grateful, of course, but is this really all right for you, Kwon Suhyeok? As the extermination captain, I mean."

"Sorry?"

"Like you said before, the corps' purpose is to keep the air routes open... but abandoning your own troops to cooperate with elves? The people above you aren't going to look kindly on that."

I couldn't really come up with an answer. Come to think of it, I did feel a little guilty about the state I'd be leaving the extermination corps in.

Granted, I hadn't killed anyone, and I hadn't technically disobeyed the order to repel the Sky Whales... but deserting my post to team up with elves was definitely outside the bounds of common sense.

Or is it? Maybe it'll be less of a problem than I think.

Either way, so long as we succeeded, the Sky Whales would be driven out of Mount Tumei. I might catch some flak for it, but... it wouldn't count as outright defiance of orders.

Roxanne's gaze pulled me out of my musings. She was looking at me with an expression of quiet sympathy, as if she'd interpreted my silence in some wistful way.

"Well, it can't be helped. The Sky Whales matter more than my career."

"...I said this before, but you really are a good person."

There was genuine warmth in Roxanne's voice. Her gentle tone stirred a faint twinge of guilt in me.

After all, I was doing this because of a hidden mission, not out of any noble conviction... Without meaning to, I was lying to Roxanne.

"Once this is over, I'll speak to the Federation and have a letter sent to your kingdom."

"Pardon?"

"Trade with the elves. That's what humans want, isn't it? You may not know this, but I actually hold a rather high position."

Smiling wryly, Roxanne added one more thing.

"Ah—though you must never tell anyone that I was here."

Ah. I thought I understood what she meant. I'd seen something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠along those lines in the documents back at the barracks.

They said the Whale Protectors were giving them headaches, right.

The Whale Protectors were not an organization officially recognized by the Elven Federation. Whenever complaints about them arrived, the Federation insisted they hadn't sent anyone—that the elves had merely acted of their own accord.

But it was a blindfold game anyone could see through. In name only, of course—those were the Federation's elite soldiers, gathered in one place.

"I thought the Whale Protectors weren't officially recognized? Can the Federation really send a letter to the kingdom?"

"Well, everyone knows the truth anyway. Just manufacture a pretext and be done with it."

"...Thank you."

When I nodded, somewhat awkwardly, Roxanne stepped a pace closer. Apparently my answer had made quite a favorable impression on her.

"On that note—when do you think your extermination corps will catch on?"

"Tomorrow morning at the earliest, tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

They'd notice my absence first thing in the morning. But I'd told the vice-captain yesterday that I'd left something precious behind on the airship. With any luck, they might not figure it out until the afternoon. Of course, if anyone got around to inspecting the warehouse before then, I'd be caught...

"That should be plenty. At this pace, we'll have the airship seized before dawn breaks."

Unable to judge the remaining distance myself, I simply nodded in silence. With the airship back on the table, something I'd set aside earlier resurfaced in my mind.

"Hmm, let me handle persuading the airship pilots. It'll probably require a bit of intimidation, but hearing it from a fellow human will go over better than hearing it from elves."

"Excuse me?"

Roxanne's eyes went wide at that. What? Did I say something wrong?

I racked my brain for a moment, but it didn't seem like I'd made a mistake.

"Persuade the pilots? Why?"

"Well, obviously we need someone who can actually fly the airship..."

"What on earth are you talking about? We'll fly it ourselves."

"Pardon? Elves know how to pilot airships?"

I'd simply assumed they couldn't. At my dumbfounded follow-up, Roxanne gave me a look of utter incredulity.

"Don't tell me you thought elves were some kind of race that never benefited from civilization? Honestly, I'm disappointed."

"No, that's not what I meant..."

I hastily denied it, letting the words trail off. Roxanne was right, of course. I'd had no idea that the elves—those extreme naturalists—could operate airships. But I couldn't exactly admit that.

Before the silence could stretch too long, I scrambled for an excuse.

"I thought herding the Sky Whales by airship would be quite dangerous. The professional pilots have better handling skills, so I figured it was for everyone's safety."

"Ah, so that's what you meant."

Fortunately, the excuse seemed to land—Roxanne nodded as though convinced.

"Don't worry. Some of our friends used to fly the Federation's rare airships, so there's no need to take unnecessary risks."

"I see. Well, that's a relief, haha. Oh, and while I'm at it, there is something I've been curious about—the Sky Whales..."

I laughed awkwardly and hurriedly changed the subject.

Dawn was drawing near. The mountains tinted a pale blue, dew-soaked grass brushing against our ankles as we passed.

We had been running for a long time, yet not a single elf looked tired. Less a matter of stamina, I suspected, than the wind spirits at their backs.

And at last, we arrived at the temporary landing pier beneath Peak 21.

A broad clearing carved out of the trees. Before a hastily built wooden structure hovered a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠white airship. It resembled a seafaring vessel, save for the massive engines mounted on both flanks and the prow—and with what looked like cannons scattered across its deck, it seemed more than capable of serving as an attack craft as well.

There were sentries posted around the pier, naturally, but we had thrown up a shroud of shadow, and they never noticed our approach.

Some two hundred elves crept silently toward the airship.

When we drew near, Roxanne gave me a glance—the signal to deal with the sentries around us.

No casualties. Subdue them, quickly.

We'd already agreed on this on the way over. The moment I nodded, the elves sprang into motion.

The sentries went down first, followed by those resting inside the building.

"Ghk..."

"Kck!"

"Wh-what the—urk!"

The airship was valuable property, which meant the guards watching it were numerous. But with the elves appearing out of nowhere, the situation was being wrapped up with remarkable speed.

And then—

KRAKOOM— An elf came bursting clean through the building's wall.

"Hurgh—! Kghh!"

The elf who hit the ground clutched his stomach, doubled over and dry-heaving.

Things had been going far too smoothly, I'd been thinking. This was a hidden mission, after all—and the airship was worth more than the Sky Whales themselves.

It made sense that there'd be a boss mob guarding it.

"Seral!"

Roxanne cried out and sprinted toward the fallen elf. Apparently deciding they couldn't hold out on their own, the elves inside the building came pouring out all at once.

And a burly figure in a white cap walked slowly out of the building.

The name tag told me he was the captain of the airship.

Swinging an enormous spiked mace around and around, the captain swept his gaze across the scene—until it locked onto me.

"The extermination captain? What in blazes are you doing there?"

Since I'd supposedly arrived aboard the airship as the extermination captain, the scenario seemed set up so that he recognized me, whatever my appearance.

Not that I expected talking to get us anywhere, but I couldn't exactly shove an axe in his face without a word first.

"I figured I'd need an airship or two to drive out the Sky Whales."

"Ha! With the elf bastards, and not the extermination corps?"

"Yes. I intend to escort the Sky Whales out of the range alive."

"Now look here—I don't know how you people do business, but you're telling me the extermination captain needs my airship?"

"That's right."

The captain boredly picked at his ear. Arrogant as his manner was, I could sense instinctively how strong he was.

He was on a high floor, so perhaps the floor's assist was in play, but he looked stronger than the floor's Warden. About even with Roxanne, maybe?

Of course, still nowhere near my level... but it had been a while since I'd met a real heavyweight.

"I can see what you're counting on, strutting around like you own the place... but backing or no backing, this airship is royal property. I could overlook you keeping me waiting, but as captain, I'll not stand by while you make off with my ship."

"Well, then there's nothing for it. I'll just have to take it by force."

"PWAHAHAH!"

The captain let out a contemptuous snort, genuinely amused.

I adjusted my grip on the axe. At the same instant, the captain's whole bearing transformed.

"Then come at me. Let's see what you've got."

The moment the words left his mouth, he kicked off the ground and came charging.