Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Chapter 19 - Port City Erenpe #2
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"Access code! Air Striker!"
Excited, Luther had shouted a bit louder than intended without realizing it, but he didn't mind at all.
All his attention was focused on the vehicle right in front of him from the start.
"Oh...!"
A pure white machine formed by combining the Chain Axe as the main body with the drone, backpack, and shield.
Overall, it gave the impression of a sleek autobike, but in place of wheels, there were thrusters and circular propellers for hovering.
"It's like something out of sci-fi."
More precisely, it resembled a speeder bike from Star Wars.
Being a single body made it slim and elongated, perfectly matching that vibe.
[Do you like it?]
"I like it. Yeah, I love it. Absolutely love it."
As Luther grinned innocently like a kid who'd just received a new toy, Integra smiled happily too.
[Then hop on already.]
"Y-Yeah."
In fact, Luther had always been interested in this kind of vehicle even in real life.
Breathing heavily without realizing it, he carefully climbed onto the Air Striker.
"Air Striker, I'll... breathe life into you."
[Pardon?]
"No, just stay put. You know."
[I respect your tastes, but it's a bit creepy.]
[And Master, this ends up being my responsibility too, right?]
[Be gentle since it's the first time. Got it?]
Integra was acting mischievous as usual to fluster Luther, but this time his reaction was different.
He nodded with an extremely serious expression.
"Yeah, Integra. Leave it to me."
[Pardon?]
Integra reflexively asked in surprise, but Luther either had no intention of answering or wanted to show it through actions as he started up the Air Striker.
-Vroom!
"Nice."
Grinning again at the engine sound, Luther maneuvered the Air Striker so naturally—as if it were a beloved steed he rode every day—even though no one had taught him how to drive it.
"I've got the gist. It's like a motorcycle. Or maybe more like a jetski?"
"M-Ma-Master?"
The atmosphere was completely different from Luther's usual self.
Even his mutterings, his eyes, his focus—everything felt off.
It was like looking at an expert in a certain field.
And right then—
"Let's go! Air Striker!"
"Eek?!"
The Air Striker suddenly accelerated, shooting high into the sky.
"Ma-Master! It's dangerous!"
"Slow down! The altitude too!"
But it was pointless.
Luther kept it at top speed, soaring freely through the heavens.
"Master!"
This was dangerous.
Even in what seemed like empty sky, there were atmospheric currents.
Flying recklessly at nearly 170 km/h like this would definitely cause problems—
[-Or not?]
Indeed.
Despite flying at full speed in every direction, there was no real sense of crisis.
It felt natural.
Like water flowing.
Luther was the Air Striker, and the Air Striker was Luther.
"Wa-Wait. Isn't this your first time today?"
"Why are you so good at it?!"
No, it went beyond just being good—it was proficient.
It was no exaggeration to call it the skill of a master.
Watching Luther perform precise maneuvers she'd never taught him brought on a kind of rapture.
And the face beneath the visor.
Integra's heart raced at Luther's far more serious gaze than usual.
But that lasted only a moment.
Staring at Luther in a daze, Integra suddenly let out an urgent voice.
"Master! Stop!"
"No more flying is possible!"
"Energy's running low!"
They'd only been airborne for about three minutes, but it was a clear fact.
So Luther naturally reduced altitude and speed, landing smoothly on the ground at some point.
"Whew—"
As Luther removed his visor like taking off a motorcycle helmet and let out a long breath, Integra unwittingly closed her mouth again and just watched him.
Luther looked strangely cool today.
[No, this isn't the time for admiration.]
Now that they were on the ground, she needed to warn him about that dangerous flight—
[But it didn't really feel that dangerous... did it?]
There was a clear difference in risk between a sports car going 170 km/h and a motorcycle doing the same.
She should warn him never to do it again, but his flight had been too perfect to scold.
"Master, what was that?"
"Was there an Air Striker in Star Savior?"
At Integra's question, Luther smiled softly, shook his head slightly, and said,
"Nah, nothing like that. Vehicles just kinda click with me on some level. Like 'all things return to one' or whatever."
[That's a comment that makes me curious about your past life.]
[Were you some kind of pro racer?]
"Who knows? Anyway, Integra, isn't the flight time too short?"
Just three minutes.
At Luther's point, Integra furrowed her brow and replied.
[It's because of you, Master.]
[Running at top speed like that guzzles energy like crazy, doesn't it?]
[At a normal cruising speed, it could've easily gone for at least 30 minutes.]
"That's still short."
Even cruising only lasted 30 minutes.
[Sigh, but what can we do?]
[You're too big and heavy for a delicate thing like me to support.]
Luther was nearly 190 cm tall, and with the bracelets full of nanoparticles, his usual weight exceeded 100 kg.
Add the Air Striker's own weight, and it approached 150 kg, so Integra wasn't exaggerating.
[The Air Striker can only use Astra's Dragon Heart right now.]
[Get me one more Dragon Heart from a Dragonkin, and we can do Twin Drive—letting us operate much longer than now.]
[The Buster Cannon's power would increase too.]
"Hmm."
The more he heard, the more appealing it sounded.
A Dragon Heart from a Dragonkin.
The southern region was set to feature not just more Dragonkin than the west, but also powerful lesser dragons.
'But man, this is starting to sound kinda villainous.'
Hunting Dragonkin to loot their Dragon Hearts.
'Well... better than trembling before the Hecatoncheires' Dragonkin.'
And truthfully, it wasn't like he could hunt them just because he wanted to.
The Hecatoncheires' Dragonkin were far from weak.
Let his guard down even a little, and Luther himself would end up the hunted.
[Anyway, thanks to you, Master, we got here quick.]
[Just a bit further, and we'll reach the ferry terminal.]
It was just over three minutes of flight, but maintaining 170 km/h the whole time covered a huge distance.
Plus, it was a straight-line path through the sky, shortening both time and distance compared to walking.
After separating the Air Striker again, Luther dismantled the nanosuit and started walking toward the ferry terminal.
[Using the waterways of the Anes River, we can reach the port city of Erenpe at the southwest tip in two days.]
[You said the place where the southern arc's protagonist, 'Holy Knight Ash,' first appears is the port city of Erenpe, right?]
"Yeah, technically on a ship."
It was the opening scene of the southern arc: Ash standing on the deck of a ship bound for Malkuth Kingdom, gazing at the blue sea from behind.
[What's Ash like?]
At Integra's question, Luther paused his steps for a moment and rummaged through his memories.
Unlike Anne Rose, who was basically a bright and lively girl reminiscent of the sun, Ash—as her name 'Ash Remaining from Fire' suggested—was a somewhat dark and rigid woman.
"For starters."
[For starters?]
"She's a beauty."
[Pfft, pfft. Of course she is.]
[She's the protagonist; who wouldn't be?]
As Integra pouted her lips and replied in a sulky tone, Luther chuckled softly and stroked the drone mounted on his right arm like a watch.
"I'm kidding. Though it is true she's a beauty."
Unlike Anne Rose with her sunny blonde hair, Ash had extremely black tresses.
If anything, she resembled Karen.
"She's calm and composed. Doesn't show her emotions much."
[Is her personality bad?]
"Nah, actually really good. You know, the type that's stern on the outside but warm on the inside... that kinda thing?"
[I get the gist.]
A cool beauty with a calm demeanor.
It fit perfectly as a contrast to the bubbly girl Anne Rose.
"Oh, and she was raised in a convent until she turned 17, so she's kinda naive about the world."
[Her job is Holy Knight, right?]
"Yeah, so she usually wears a nun's habit. And... it's not revealed early in the southern arc, but she's actually one of the fourteen executors—the secret weapons of the Church of the Seven Gods. She's a bearer of the 'Stigmata.'"
[Stigmata?]
"Yeah, it's one of the settings in Dragon Hunter Origin. Those with Stigmata can wield powerful holy powers, and Ash was born with it. That's why she became an executor at such a young age."
[So she's super strong?]
[Bus level?]
"Nah, not quite... She's not that prominent right now."
Ash had only been an executor for about a year.
Since she'd been promoted due to her highly valued Stigmata, no one expected overwhelming combat prowess immediately.
"But true to her role as the southern protagonist, her potential is insane, so her growth is ridiculously fast."
[Hmm, I see.]
[We should set aside some time to hear more about the lore.]
[Master, we've arrived at the ferry terminal.]
The air had already been thick with the smell of water.
A large ferry terminal where relatively small ships clustered around the vast Anes River, which evoked thoughts of the sea.
And several buildings erected to serve the passing crowds.
Dozens of people—at a rough estimate—were strolling around the docks.
"Let's check out the boat schedules first."
[There's a ticket booth over there.]
In the original story, this ferry terminal had been destroyed along with the west, left with nothing but corpses rolling around, but the situation now was completely different.
Pushing open a saloon-style door straight out of a western, the building inside featured a clean ticket counter and a wide platform where people waited for their ships, sitting in clusters.
[Let's get tickets first.]
As Integra said, Luther approached the ticket booth and bought passage to the port city of Erenpe.
[Two-hour wait, huh.]
[By the way, Master, I've got a question.]
Her tone suggested it was less genuine curiosity and more just killing time with chit-chat.
So Luther asked back lightly.
"What?"
[About Ash.]
[In the original, how did Anne Rose and Ash become friends?]
[From what you've said, their personalities seem so different; it couldn't have been easy.]
"Well... you've seen her personality; Anne Rose is super nice, right? Great affinity too. So she kept approaching Ash first... and they got close."
[That skips over a lot of the middle part, doesn't it?]
"Well, yeah, but."
[Yeah, but?]
At Integra's probing, Luther hesitated, narrowing his brow, then gave up with a resigned face.
"Honestly, the original doesn't show it properly either."
[Pardon?]
"Yeah, uh... It shows Anne Rose talking to Ash, then it just sums it up like 'They talked for hours. Seems like they've gotten close' or something..."
Trailing off, Luther glanced at the mini Integra on his shoulder, and sure enough, she stared back with cold eyes.
[What a total trash game.]
[Absolute trash.]
[Master, why pick a trash game like this to—]
That was as far as she got.
Integra abruptly cut herself off and said in a low voice.
[Master, look over at the platform.]
Following Integra's voice, Luther turned and unwittingly widened his eyes.
An unexpected person was sitting on the platform.
"Ash?"
Indeed.
No one else but the southern arc's protagonist and one of the Church of the Seven Gods' executors, Holy Knight Ash, was sitting in the corner of the platform, staring down at a go board.
[We've encountered Ash in the port city of Erenpe, sooner than expected.]
[Circumstantially, she's probably heading to Erenpe too.]
Luther nodded at Integra's words but didn't approach Ash right away.
Considering Ash's personality, bluntly striking up a conversation would be the worst move.
'At least need some conversation starter.'
Something Ash would be interested in—something they could talk about for a good while, even if not hours like with Anne Rose.
Arms crossed, Luther pondered for a moment.
Recalling the story of Dragon Hunter Origin, something suitable might come to mind.
'No, wait.'
Glancing back at the platform where Ash sat, Luther shifted his gaze from Ash in her black nun's habit to the go board in front of her.
She was playing alone, without an opponent, and her eyes on the board were incredibly serious.
'Ash loves go.'
Having grown up for 17 years in a convent with few amusements, she naturally got hooked on go, the old monks' favorite game—that was definitely a setting.
'It was emphasized several times in the original.'
However, since neither Anne Rose nor the eastern and northern protagonists, Radien and Reinhardt, knew how to play go, scenes of her actually playing were rare.
'But there were plenty of minor depictions.'
Like Ash buying books of famous go games at a bookstore, or happily rambling about legendary go masters while drunk.
'Go. Yeah, go. Can I work with go?'
But no matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.
All Luther knew about go was that it used white and black stones, and the one who made more territory won—basic rules only.
So a plan to bond over go with Ash was—
'Wait.'
Go.
Go.
Go?
[Master?]
Support AI Integra.
AI.
AI.
AI and go.
[Master, why are you grinning so evilly?]
"Ma...ster?"
Integra tilted her head with furrowed brows, but Luther kept his wicked smile.
Still beaming, he turned to look at Ash.