Chapter 365: A Pleasant Journey.
Chapter 365: A Pleasant Journey.
Rattle.
My body felt the jolt as the chassis shook, likely from hitting a large rock.
A significant tremor shuddered through the entire vehicle, but it didn't last long.
After a second or two of shaking, the irregular rattling vanished, replaced by the engine’s rhythmic, unpleasant vibration humming through my body. This was our journey.
This wasn't the first time it had happened.
The situation had repeated itself several times throughout the drive.
Meteor, who was currently behind the wheel, had apologized the first few times, but now he didn't even bother asking the backseat if we were okay.
And the three of us, huddled together in the back of this nine-seater van, didn't voice any particular complaints about it either.
It was reckless driving, to be sure, but we knew all too well why things were like this.
First, there was the issue of visibility. Meteor, while taller than me, was still on the shorter side compared to the average adult, making it difficult for him to see the ground clearly while driving a van.
Then there was the fact that the road we were currently on was unpaved.
And finally...
Thump.
My train of thought was cut off by another jolt.
We hadn't even hit a large rock this time, yet the chassis shook violently.
In other words, the car wasn't absorbing the impact properly.
This van was such a piece of junk that no matter how careful Meteor was, there was no physical way to prevent this. If anything, Meteor was doing a decent job of suppressing the vibrations with this clunker.
The real target of my resentment should be...
"Damn Management Bureau bureaucrats."
The Management Bureau, who had provided this cheap van despite the long distance we had to travel, was the primary culprit behind this uncomfortable trip.
I really don't know what those Bureau guys have against me.
What do they mean, "Please understand that the Type S of vehicles available for rental have been restricted due to emergency measures"?
A license that allows for unlimited rentals, but with a restricted rental range?
"Restricted unlimited." There’s a limit to how much a contradiction can make sense.
Anyway, because of that, I considered taking a plane, but my disciples were vehemently against it.
Then I suggested a train trip, but the service was suspended due to some bizarre circumstance—apparently, a train had collided with a monster, causing the engine to explode.
According to the news, the culprit was a Colony Consciousness Monster with Reality Manipulation abilities. Its rank was at least B-Rank, potentially reaching the lower tiers of A-Rank. It looked like an ordinary deer, but it had antlers that resembled tree branches.
While the physical specs of each individual were weak, the fact that they were a colony consciousness made them difficult to suppress.
Come to think of it, isn't this also the Management Bureau’s fault?
If they had dealt with that thing beforehand, I wouldn't be in this piece of junk; I’d be enjoying a comfortable train ride.
There were almost no reports of damage until the train accident.
They show abnormal behavior, refusing to counterattack or flee even when attacked, simply charging blindly as if heading somewhere specific, making them difficult to stop.
They laid out a bunch of excuses like that, but regardless, if they couldn't exterminate it, it's the Bureau’s fault.
...Wait, a deer with a tree stuck in its head? I feel like I've seen that somewhere before...
It must be my imagination.
There's no way I would have just passed by a high-Rank Monster like that.
Unless some other accident had occurred, I would have crushed it on the spot to nip the problem in the bud.
Anyway, the tree-headed deer isn't the important part; the point is that a combination of these circumstances led to this uncomfortable journey.
If there's any silver lining, it's that we aren't traveling that far—we're heading to the relatively nearby residence of the Yellow King.
Two or three more days of patience, and this car trip will be over.
Just as I was thinking that, steeling my resolve and staring blankly out the window...
Thump.
Along with the vibration of the chassis...
Thud.
My leaning head collided with the window.
"...."
I have to endure this for two days?
Can't I just get out and run right now?
And use this godforsaken piece of junk as firewood for a campfire?
Just as I was seriously considering it...
"Krr-aaaaaaagh."
A sound far too vulgar to be human echoed through the vehicle.
Naturally, my head turned toward the source of the noise.
There, lying in the very back seat with her mouth wide open and drool leaking out, was Disciple A. A clump of Gray Dust and a dancing tentacle were perched on her stomach.
"...How can she sleep through this?"
The question escaped my lips naturally.
"...I wonder."
Han A-bin, who had seemed a bit moody for the past few days, spoke up with a deep scowl.
Looking at her face, I briefly wondered if I had done something wrong, but seeing her pale complexion and her hand over her mouth, it was clearly motion sickness.
"Didn't she sleep last night?"
"...She went to bed at 10:00 and woke up at 6:00, just like always."
What a model of healthy living you are, Baek Si-hyun.
But seriously, how is she sleeping?
I always think this, but Baek Si-hyun is a fascinating creature.
Someday, I'd like to run a test to see if she's actually human, but she isn't the priority right now.
Han A-bin was the bigger problem. Her face was gradually turning the color of a blueberry, and she was even starting to gag.
If left alone, she might settle down, but what if she actually vomited?
This was already a disastrous, rattling journey in a piece of junk.
I didn't want it turning into a hellish journey in a piece of junk that smelled like vomit.
I absolutely could not let that happen.
Therefore...
"...Why don't you try transforming?"
I offered the advice to Han A-bin.
"...Ugh... Why so suddenly? Has an enemy appeared?"
Han A-bin replied with a pale face, giving the "correct" answer.
As if she couldn't just transform into a Magical Girl whenever she felt like it.
Sure, I get being reluctant to transform unless it's an emergency.
But the thing is, I consider this an emergency.
"Whenever you feel like you can't take it anymore, just transform for two or three minutes and then cancel it. It'll stabilize your physical condition, and you'll feel fine while you're transformed."
"...That's a very... simple way to use it."
You could just call it trivial.
I finished speaking and turned my head back to the window.
If I made her worry more, her condition might actually get worse.
About ten minutes passed.
The rattling continued.
The sound of teeth grinding and sleep-talking echoed from the back.
Just as the retching from the seat next to me was becoming more frequent...
Twinkle.
A faint halo of light, almost accompanied by a sound effect, spread through the van.
...She finally gave in.
Reflected in the window, A-bin transformed into her Magical Girl outfit amidst small particles of light.
The light particles fluttering inside the vehicle drifted through the air along with the dust, tickling my eyes slightly before quickly vanishing.
About thirty seconds later.
The ragged breathing that sounded like it would give out at any moment subsided, replaced by the sound of regular breathing from the seat next to me.
"The effect is good, right?"
"...It is."
Han A-bin’s voice sounded much more comfortable now that she had succumbed to temptation.
I could sense a feeling of enlightenment in her tone, as if she were thinking, I should have done this sooner.
With that short exchange, silence returned to the vehicle.
In reality, it was incredibly noisy due to the bizarre sounds Baek Si-hyun was making and the loud engine of this firewood-powered car.
But no human voices could be heard inside.
How much more time had passed?
By the time A-bin was about to transform once more...
"...Senior?"
Along with the halo of light covering the interior again, Han A-bin spoke to me.
"What is it?"
I replied calmly.
"...Ah. Well... um."
A-bin, who had initiated the conversation, seemed to have started without organizing her thoughts. She stammered, and I waited, letting out a small chuckle.
After about twenty-five variations of "Well," "Um," and "So," she finally spoke.
"During your duel with Senior Meteor, you were hit by a special bullet, right?"
She had finally found a topic.
Her effort to keep the conversation going was admirable, but of all things, she chose the duel.
I felt a slight prickle of annoyance, but since my disciple's cute effort was so earnest, I quickly buried that feeling and opened my mouth.
"I was."
"But I was wondering... I didn't think a special bullet like that would work on you, Senior. Even sedatives don't work on you; it takes something on the level of Senior Oxymoron’s medicine to even have a slight effect."
Perhaps because I had played along, Han A-bin’s words began to pour out like a dam that had just been opened.
And the content was quite interesting.
Oho. So it wasn't about the duel itself, but a question born of pure curiosity?
If that was the case, I wasn't particularly annoyed.
If we were reviewing the duel, my buried anger might have flared up, but this was fine.
Let's see. Special bullets.
Admittedly, the field of firearms is quite a minor branch.
When there are much more flavorful and flashy options like martial arts, magic, or transformation Heroes, why would anyone bother with guns that smell of gunpowder?
Unless you're someone obsessed with guns like Chong So-rim, or you were born with that kind of power, it's a path few choose to walk.
In fact, professional soldiers probably know more about that field than Heroes do.
They use them personally and have access to all the catalogs.
But let's skip the detailed classifications for now.
I'm not a military geek, so I don't have deep knowledge of the subject.
However, I knew enough to explain the basics.
"Those special bullets are generally divided into fixed performance and variable performance."
"Variable performance?"
"It means the user can infuse the bullet with their own power to strengthen it, or if they're a mage, they can weave a new Magic Circle into it."
"Ah, I see. So the ones Senior Meteor used were variable bullets, which is why they were so effective."
Han A-bin provided the answer as if she had understood everything from that brief explanation.
Still as bright as ever, A-bin.
But there was still more to explain.
"Right. But there's a problem with variable performance. Hmm... I think you might be able to guess it, A-bin. Want to try?"
Should I try acting like Macbeth?
With that thought, I looked at Han A-bin with a small smile.
A-bin seemed to be enjoying the conversation for the first time in a while, lost in thought with a slight smile of her own.
She soon opened her mouth to answer.
"The performance isn't uniform. Since there are few users, production is difficult. And even though it's variable, there's a set maximum performance... something like that?"
Spot on.
"Exactly. And on top of that, they're obscenely expensive. One of the bullets Meteor fired into my head probably costs more than my annual salary."
You know, like that guy recently who sacrificed his savings to summon a meteor.
Whether it's magic or technology, if you throw enough money at it, you'll get results.
Even Chong So-rim, despite using fixed performance, fired things like those ridiculously expensive black hole shells.
Just as the explanation was continuing in a friendly atmosphere...
"The bullets aren't that expensive."
Meteor suddenly interjected.
"My salary has been slashed so much lately that I'm making less than a first-year Hero. Are they really more expensive than that?"
"My apologies. In that case, the bullets are more expensive."
...Wait, for real?
How much did that petty guy, Meteor, spend just to win a single duel?
The explosives he used there must have cost a fortune too.
Anyway.
"See, A-bin? Just treat Meteor as an outlier. It's not like I'd just faint from getting hit by a few bullets—"
BOOM.
Suddenly, the chassis let out a massive groan.
I thought we had hit another large rock.
But the vibration this time was ominous.
"Meteor, what the—"
The moment I lifted my head to look around...
I realized exactly what had happened.
We were surrounded by so many trees that it felt like we were in a forest.
But those trees hadn't grown from the ground.
They were trees blooming from the heads of a stampeding herd of deer, their eyes glowing with a frantic blue light.
A forest created by them now surrounded us.