Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Surviving in the Sky Garden (3)
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Rumble...!
The ground shook, and thick smoke billowed into the sky.
The clear signs of an explosion sharpened my dulled senses.
Something unusual was happening.
Having reached that conclusion, I lowered my body close to the ground and perked up my ears.
It was a purely instinctive movement, an attempt to gather even the slightest bit more information.
‘This smell…’
Just then, a pungent odor that made me wrinkle my nose assaulted my senses.
Perhaps it was carried on the unnatural wind kicked up by the blast.
This unpleasantness seeping through the gaps in my mask was unmistakably that of gunpowder.
Did that mean it was an explosion caused by gunpowder, not magic?
Of course, some forms of explosion magic could create substances with properties similar to gunpowder.
So I couldn't completely rule out the possibility of magic just yet.
‘The explosion is close. But I’m sure Echo said there were no electronic devices within a hundred meters…’
Therefore, it was unlikely that an examinee was the culprit, since they were required to wear their watches at all times.
No matter what tricks they tried, they couldn't escape Echo’s detection.
The same went for the proctors or any active Fixers.
In fact, they had no reason to be wandering the Sky Garden without their equipment.
So the possibility of them being the cause of the explosion was even lower than it being an examinee.
‘Then is the culprit a fairy? No, that’s probably not it.’
First of all, fairies are fundamentally gentle metahumans.
They dislike fights that cause harm, and though they may be greedy, they value trust.
They tend to be playful and, having grown up in an isolated environment, are rather naive.
At the very least, their average disposition could be considered the finest among all metahumans.
So, a fairy setting off an explosion in their own garden?
No matter how I thought about it, it didn't add up.
Besides, few of them would be capable of using such powerful magic in the first place.
‘Then the cause of this explosion is… I’m not sure. An outsider?’
It couldn't be Vespera, could it?
I figured she would use a cleaner method than an explosion reeking of gunpowder.
And if her goal was the World Tree Seed, she had no reason to cause such a commotion.
If she made a scene and got her identity revealed, there would have been no point in spending all that time sneaking in.
Thus, frowning deeply as I quietly mulled it over, I made a decision.
I needed to find out what was going on.
‘Echo. Can you jam the watch’s location tracking?’
[ Yes. In that case, I will reverse the data that has been transmitted so far. ]
‘Right. That’ll be enough.’
After asking Echo to interfere with the location tracking, I held my breath as much as possible and headed in the direction of the explosion.
Fortunately, it wasn't difficult to figure out where the blast had occurred.
It wasn't far, and all I had to do was follow the direction of the acrid wind.
But when I arrived at the epicenter, I couldn't help but look bewildered.
The scene was filled with an eerie sense of wrongness, as if a ghost had played a prank.
“…”
There were no victims caught in the blast, nor was there any object that looked like the cause of the explosion.
All that remained was roughly churned-up earth and scorched trees and grass.
I have no idea what the intention was.
Thinking this, I quietly placed a hand on my forehead.
If someone had really done this intentionally… it was undoubtedly a huge mistake.
This would only heighten the Fixer Association's vigilance and offer no benefit whatsoever.
Who on earth would do something so absurd?
As someone who was now being hindered, I couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.
[ Lady Yuria, someone is approaching quickly. Their destination is this location. ]
Just then, Echo’s urgent voice came from my wrist.
Someone was coming this way. It must be an examiner or a proctor.
I quickly moved and slipped into a nearby bush, hiding myself from view.
No sooner had I flattened myself to the ground than a group of people arrived with hurried footsteps.
“This is the site of the unidentified explosion!”
“Hmm… There are certainly… some traces… here…”
“I don’t feel any trace of magic. It doesn’t seem to be magical…”
“If it’s not magic, then it wasn’t the fairies.”
Peeking through a gap in the bushes, I saw four men and women at the scene.
One was that gloomy, eight-foot-tall woman, Sayoko, who had introduced herself as an examiner earlier.
The other three were unfamiliar faces. They were probably proctors who were also Fixers.
The four who arrived at the scene meticulously observed their surroundings, as if determined to find out what had happened.
They sifted through the soil with their fingers and pulled up blackened trees and grass.
But perhaps observation alone yielded no results.
They put their heads together and began to discuss what might have occurred.
“A device using gunpowder? But the examinees shouldn't have anything like that…”
“The possibility of an outsider… is nil. The Sky Garden is protected by a special magic barrier, so no one can approach without going through a special process.”
“Then how in the world did this…”
The proctors seemed utterly unable to comprehend the sudden explosion.
They spoke with expressions thick with gravity.
After all, this strange incident wasn't just a problem for the Fixer exam.
It also affected the Sky Garden, which was supposed to be completely sealed off from outsiders.
In a way, this might be considered a more serious situation than ever before.
‘By the way, this is the first I’ve heard of a magic barrier. So there was a system like that in place.’
No wonder attacks on the Sky Garden were so rare in the original story.
If it had a strong defensive wall like a magic barrier, it made perfect sense.
As long as the magic barrier was up, outsiders couldn't get in easily.
I wouldn't have to worry about invasions from groups like the Metahuman Liberation Army.
So, the only one I needed to worry about now was Vespera, who had managed to get inside.
‘This is good news. With the magic barrier, the Queen's Unholy Tiara will be useless. All that’s left is to secure the World Tree Seed before Vespera does.’
I smiled victoriously, my breath held in the bushes.
The whole situation with Vespera had been making me anxious.
This meant I could now focus on obtaining the World Tree Seed.
While I was lost in thought, their discussion seemed to have reached a conclusion.
The somewhat slow-moving Sayoko calmly gave instructions to the flustered-looking proctors.
“For now… we should maintain a state of alert… Deploy more of the proctors who are on break into the garden… and monitor the examinees’ situations more closely…”
“Yes, I’ll go to the command post and report this.”
“I’ll call the proctors on break.”
“I’ll observe the examinees more closely, just in case!”
As expected of a big shot ranked 144th among Fixers.
Despite her apparent communication issues, she was quite skilled at managing the proctors.
Well, rank 144 was high among Triple Fixers. Her strength was not to be underestimated.
Perhaps it was true that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
In any case, as soon as she finished speaking, the proctors went their separate ways to carry out their tasks.
And the only one left at the scene of the explosion was Sayoko.
But just as I thought she too would be leaving soon…
She suddenly looked in my direction and spoke.
“I feel… a presence…”
Flinch!
Her words were so clearly aimed at me that my shoulders trembled involuntarily.
I was flattened against the ground, holding my breath. How did she notice?
As I broke into a cold sweat in this baffling situation, my eyes darting around, I suddenly remembered something.
High-ranking Fixers were said to have senses so keen they could notice a passing ant.
And it wasn't like I knew any methods for erasing my presence.
No matter how I held my breath and pressed myself to the ground, I couldn't possibly hide the unavoidable sounds of my breathing or my heartbeat.
‘W-Wait… If I get caught here, won’t I be framed as the culprit?’
The possibility… was quite high.
For starters, according to my watch, I was somewhere else entirely.
If Sayoko discovered my identity now, I would look like nothing but a suspicious person.
I might even be disqualified from the exam and treated as a suspect!
Of course, I had reached an amicable agreement with Tempest not to interfere with each other.
So even if I were captured, it wouldn't lead to the absolute worst-case scenario.
But after refusing his protection, getting caught like this… ugh, it would be too embarrassing.
“An illusion… No, I can definitely feel it… Like a small animal… a faint heartbeat…”
But regardless of my growing panic, Sayoko muttered to herself and began walking toward the bush where I was hiding.
Since she felt a presence not far from the explosion site, she apparently intended to investigate it thoroughly rather than dismiss it as a mistake. Why did she have to be so meticulous!
To make matters worse, my flattened position on the ground made it difficult to escape.
It was a desperate moment, and it felt like Sayoko was about to expose me!
Suddenly, something next to my face leaped out of the bushes.
“…!”
“A rabbit…? Was I mistaken…”
That’s right. What had jumped out of the bush was a rabbit with an adorable appearance.
Its fur was purple, but since the Sky Garden was home to many gentle animals from other worlds, it wasn't a particularly strange sight.
Sayoko, who had been approaching, stared blankly at the purple-furred rabbit.
Then, as if she had made a mistake, she abruptly turned around.
Apparently, she thought the presence she had sensed in the bushes was just a wild rabbit.
However, I could only stare wide-eyed in bewildered shock.
Because in the bush I had been hiding in… there was definitely no rabbit.
‘If I’m not mistaken, it appeared right next to me. What in the world…’
Confused, I began to crawl backward out of the bush.
I lifted my head and looked around, trying to find the rabbit that had left…
“Hey, you stupid little human. Was that your doing?”
Suddenly, I heard a sharp remark from something flying near me.
Stupid little human? Who would say something so harsh?
I whipped my head around, my gaze following the voice.
“…?”
And there, with half-lidded, disgruntled eyes, was…
The purple fairy I had been searching for in the Sky Garden.