Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Black Whale (2)
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⋯⋯They’re gone.
⋯⋯Yeah.
Albert and his aide exchanged those dazed words.
The moment the Hero heard that her acquaintances were inside, her action was to sheathe her Holy Sword at her side and charge straight toward the location.
She bolted out like a wild beast with ferocious momentum, not even needing any means of transport, leaving no time to stop her.
“Major General, sir. What can we do now?”
⋯⋯.
Hmm.
What can we do, indeed.
Against a force on the level of a catastrophe-class magical beast, throwing in regular soldiers would just be meaningless loss of life. The right move was to deploy only the key forces simply and decisively.
And now that the Hero—their key force—had rushed off on her own, their additional options were extremely limited.
In that case.
“Have you eaten?”
⋯⋯.
“If not, join me. We can watch while we eat.”
⋯⋯.
A moment later.
Albert and his aide, each with a sandwich in their mouths, quietly chewed as they stared at the magitech device displaying the scene.
⋯⋯Major General, sir. Is it really okay for us to be doing this?
It felt like just yesterday they’d sworn to become proud soldiers assigned to the Capital Defense Force.
Was it right to sit back so leisurely while those much younger than them threw themselves into the jaws of death?
But the Major General’s response to that question was astonishing.
“Oh, right. You weren’t there last time, were you?”
“Pardon?”
“You probably didn’t see what those kids did when the demon appeared in the capital.”
⋯⋯?
He hadn’t been there, true.
But why bring that up now?
Reading his aide’s expression, Albert gave a wry smile and continued.
“I once had exactly the same doubt myself.”
Sipping his coffee noisily, Albert gazed steadily at the screen.
“And I concluded that worrying about it is a waste.”
And the person who’d led him to that realization was right there in the screen now, doing exactly the same thing.
Carlyle Bellfast.
The man who’d pulled off the impossible when a demon appeared in the capital.
“Just sit back and watch.”
That was one solid conclusion Albert had reached since then.
Getting involved in the monsters’ business never ended well.
⋯⋯.
Hmm.
The aide stared silently at Albert.
“You don’t need to make that face saying I’ve lost my mind after gobbling up the Major General position.”
⋯⋯.
“Anyway, just watch. You’ll get it soon enough.”
“Even if you say that⋯⋯!”
What the screen showed, from the aide’s perspective, was kids who looked like nothing more than clumps of blood charging fearlessly into deadly danger.
There were things you could do in this world and things you couldn’t.
And slamming a motorwagen full speed into a catastrophe-class magical beast fell squarely into the latter category, by any standard.
⋯⋯Though he’d set aside the question of why a student was driving a mage tower motorwagen, which was only given to select high-ranking officials.
-⋯⋯
-⋯⋯!!
The Black Whale’s cry, sensing nearby ‘lifeforms,’ began echoing from afar.
It wasn’t just audible through the screen—it reached them physically, even from far away from the site, with a volume that sent chills down their spines.
Then.
Mana like black tentacles began extending from below the Black Whale.
Seeing it, the aide groaned.
⋯⋯Even if we threw an entire mage battalion at that, we wouldn’t stand a chance.
Even through the screen, its power was clear as day.
A battalion-sized unit would be crushed into meat paste against that surging black tentacle-like mana.
And facing that deadly threat was.
Someone whose appearance didn’t fit the scene at all.
Someone peeked out from inside the motorwagen.
“A maid outfit?”
The aide tilted his head at the bizarre attire, but meanwhile, the woman in it clasped her hands into fists.
It looked like she was praying.
[-Please.]
Even the cautious words carried a sense of reverence.
And as those words ended.
Blinding light erupted from her body, as if she’d hauled in an artificial sun.
⋯⋯What that meant was abundantly clear.
⋯⋯Major General, sir?
“Yeah?”
“Is that a mana reaction?”
“Looks exactly like a walking giant fusion reactor. Doesn’t it?”
⋯⋯She’s pulling that off without any incantation?
“That’s beyond a mage battalion—even a full regiment wouldn’t touch it.”
⋯⋯.
⋯⋯He wondered how many mages in the mage tower could even attempt something like that.
Unless it was a dragon, known as a pure mana lifeform, no one would dare try to mimic it.
And yet, some girl in a maid outfit was doing it right there, out of nowhere⋯⋯
⋯⋯.
Seeing the aide’s expression drift into disbelief, Albert chuckled.
Yeah, that’s right.
That’s how you end up like me, after going through all that.
And the following scene drove the nail into the aide’s dawning realization.
[-Hiyah!]
With that deflating shout.
The dazzling white light gathered at the woman’s fingertips and fired toward the black tentacles the Black Whale had sent down.
Then, a massive explosion erupted—one that could’ve whited out the screen with noise.
And after the noise cleared.
A giant crater had formed in the ground.
The black tentacles from the Black Whale, which had filled the entire screen moments ago, were gone.
⋯⋯.
The aide stared in a daze.
He turned to Albert, who was casually munching his sandwich.
⋯⋯Major General, sir.
“Correction: that’s not a giant fusion reactor. It’s a walking strategic weapon.”
⋯⋯.
“Last time I saw her, she wasn’t that strong. Guess she’s grown a lot since then.”
⋯⋯.
⋯⋯One fact he knew instinctively.
That blast was on the level of a massive bombardment that could half-destroy a huge building.
A spell that two or three mage battalions would need days of prep to unleash once.
And she’d done it.
Right from her seat, in seconds, no incantation, no mana array.
Just like tossing a pebble.
He couldn’t even count how many foundational principles of magic she’d skipped.
[Wow, yay! Carlyle! You did it!]
And the one who’d done it was waving her hands up and down brightly, without a hint of fatigue.
No side effects at all.
[Yes, Vespa. Good job. Could you come back in now? It’s dangerous.]
[O-Okay!]
And.
The maid-outfitted woman ducked back into the motorwagen, and in baton-pass fashion, an orange-haired man poked his head out.
His gaze.
Was fixed directly on Albert and the aide.
As if looking ‘through’ the screen.
⋯⋯.
⋯⋯.
Albert and the aide flinched simultaneously.
⋯⋯Isn’t that a micro aerial camera up there?
It was the pinnacle of stealth tech procured from the mage tower.
They’d boasted even a dragon wouldn’t detect it.
And yet.
The man was staring right at it, casually.
[-Good work—!]
Even.
Bowing politely in greeting.
[To all you Imperial Army folks, thank you always for your hard work in situations like this!]
⋯⋯.
[Especially this time, with the Hero involved, it must’ve been a mess. Let me apologize on her behalf!]
⋯⋯.
Hmm.
Regardless of the bizarre situation, Albert and the aide both nodded at the validity of his words.
What a polite young man⋯⋯
[But from here on, I’m afraid we can’t let you watch! Sorry!]
And with those words.
His polite smile was the last thing on screen before it went black.
As if every micro camera there had been shattered.
⋯⋯Hundreds of them, in just one second.
⋯⋯.
Albert gave a wry smile toward his stunned aide.
“See? What’d I tell you.”
⋯⋯.
The aide, silent for a long while, finally rubbed his face.
⋯⋯Major General, sir. Got any coffee left?
“There’s a grinder right there. Grind some beans first. I’ll make you one.”
“Thank you.”
Clearly, both had arrived at the same conclusion: ‘There are areas in this world where worrying is a loss.’
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“—Fhew.”
Carlyle let out a long breath through his nose as he sheathed the Holy Sword.
‘This is definitely good.’
What he’d solidly gained from the dean’s training method was the ability to attack not with a ‘point’ but with an ‘area.’
Now, even a sword slash covered a whole range instead of just a line—a definite boon.
Like turning a basic attack into an AoE skill.
“Th-That was amazing!”
And the one most specialized in AoE among them sparkled her eyes and waved her hands up and down.
“You’re way more amazing than me, Carlyle!”
⋯⋯.
No.
Objectively, wasn’t she the more amazing one?
She’d won a mana domain clash against a catastrophe-class magical beast. That alone proved she’d far surpassed human limits.
“Yeah, well. Somehow.”
⋯⋯Even so, what they’d just blocked was barely a basic attack from the Black Whale’s perspective.
And she clearly knew that.
⋯⋯As expected of the Great Mother of the Blue Sea. She could probably do this infinitely.”
“Agreed. A war of attrition would be an instant loss for us.”
“Can we even kill that thing?”
“We can.”
If they couldn’t, they wouldn’t have come as a trio to begin with.
And there was a need to correct their assumption.
He recalled the legend Panhima had told him.
-Wise and ruthless Sea Kings⋯⋯ They won’t harm travelers crossing the sea as long as you don’t touch their young. It’s a pretty famous tale in the Far East.
And now, he looked at the Black Whale thrashing violently in the sky, nothing like that description.
If his guess was right.
It wasn’t rampaging to kill humans right now.
It had a completely different goal.
So, what they needed to do was clear.
“Panhima. We’re not going there to kill it.”
⋯⋯What?
To the dazed Panhima’s question, Carlyle grinned.
“We’re going to save it!”
They were going to rescue the ‘victim.’
Not kill it.
[⋯⋯Now you’re expanding the scope to non-human creatures?]
⋯⋯.
What’s that supposed to mean?
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