Towards the Unknown City of Kadath (2)
Luke Blaze, the eldest son of the Blaze Count family, had shown exceptional talent in fire magic since childhood, fitting for someone from the renowned Blaze family of fire magic. Passing the academy's practical entrance exam in second place was proof of his talent. The top spot... well, that monster was an exception. Anyway, Luke possessed the tremendous specs of being the heir to the Blaze Count family while also being a genius in fire magic. Naturally, many people approached him at the beginning of the semester, but... I still can't forget the famous words I heard from him while passing through the hallway.
"Hmm? What did you say? Suggesting I go to a place with good water?"
"Shh! Shh! Keep your voice down—"
"A place with good water... Aha! You're talking about the beach! Indeed, on a day like this, a cool beach suits perfectly!!"
For reference, the day he said that was early January, during an unprecedented cold wave. The noble children, horrified when Luke asked if he could bring his younger sister along, quickly ended the conversation and fled. Then, left alone, he muttered to himself.
"Cold water for cold weather. I should learn from that. Hmm!"
...That's the kind of person he is. His eccentricities didn't end there. Last summer, rumors suddenly began circulating about ghosts appearing on the mountain behind the academy. As the rumors grew, an investigation team centered around the student council was formed to track the ghosts. The true identity of the ghost turned out to be Luke, who was running up the mountain in the middle of summer for "mental training." Ghost stories about him kept coming out like layers of an onion, but to summarize: Luke Blaze. He was...
"What are you talking about. How can a cat talk. Aren't you mistaken?"
"Is that so. I see! It seems I was hearing things because I was hungry!"
He was an idiot. Lilith sent me a dumbfounded look, but.
'I'm sorry, but I have no way to explain that either...'
I heard that the men of the Blaze family are always born with that kind of disposition. Fortunately, in the Blaze family, a girl is always born right after a boy. And that girl, unlike her older brother, is said to have a very clever mind. The saying that God is fair was proven in the Blaze family. A stupid but strong older brother and a smart but frail younger sister. It was truly a remarkable balance. And the protagonist of the rumor that the Blaze family had updated the record for the greatest brain of all time was none other than Luke. Of course, it was sarcasm.
"Hungry, you say. What about the food in your backpack?"
Glancing over, the backpack hanging on his back looked a bit deflated.....Surely not?
"I ate it all! The headmaster must have been mistaken. He said it was a day's worth of food, but only one meal's worth was inside!"
...It seems the rumor that Luke eats five servings as a basic meal is true.
"Arthur! I was looking for you!"
"Me? Why?"
"As far as I know, you've taken first place in all written exams so far, right?"
"...So?"
"Great! Arthur! Won't you be my brain!"
"...What?"
What on earth is he talking about... Luke places his hands on his hips and declares proudly.
"I'm an idiot!!"
"....?"
Saying that with his own mouth..?
"Therefore, a smart person needs to help me! My sister said so. If you don't know something, grab a smart person first! She said since I'm an idiot, I'm the perfect person to die alone somewhere."
"......"
"In fact, I'm hungry right now!"
I genuinely thought Luke was amazing.
'Wow.... How is it that my head hurts after just a few minutes of conversation?'
Is this also a talent? Grabbing my throbbing head, I asked Luke.
"Luke... do you know what kind of place this is?"
"No, I have no idea!"
...Figures. It wouldn't be just Luke. According to Lilith, this wasn't where we were originally supposed to go.
'The exam is canceled. We can't proceed any further here.'
Therefore, what I needed to aim for now was rescuing the students and escaping. But the problem was...
'To explain this, I'd have to explain Lilith first...'
Imagine it.
"Hey guys, look at this? Actually, this cat, my familiar, is an Outer God? Surprised? ...Would they believe it. Even I wouldn't believe it if I were them."
In that case...
"Luke. What was the assignment for this exam?"
"Hmm! It was definitely to survive for the four-day exam period, wasn't it?"
"Right. But the headmaster added one thing. Students who take the initiative will receive higher scores."
I emphasized 'initiative.'
"That's right! That's what he said!"
"Then what does 'initiative' mean here?"
"I don't know!"
"If it's just simple survival, how would they measure initiative. Surviving diligently? That's obvious, isn't it?"
"Indeed! I hadn't thought of that!"
Yeah, figures. I just thought of it myself.
"My thought is this. If we escape the spatial rift within the period, wouldn't we get bonus points?"
"Ooh!! Beyond survival to escape! That's truly an initiative attitude!"
I clenched my fist tightly at an angle Luke couldn't see.
'Yes! Thank goodness the first person I met was Luke!'
Lying to the first person is hard, but after that it's simple. Luke may be an idiot, but in terms of combat ability, he's a strong person who can compete even with upperclassmen beyond our grade. Naturally, his recognition among students was high, and if I could travel with Luke, it would be easier to persuade the students. Tell the same story I told Luke to other students, persuade them, and head to Kadath together. That was my goal. Sorry, but to achieve this goal, I had to deceive Luke further. Moistening my lips slightly, I slowly broached the subject.
"Luke. What do you think a true man is?"
It was an abrupt question, but Luke pondered it seriously.
"Hmm.....! A true man... I think someone like my dad is a true man!"
Luke's dad, the current head of the Blaze family. Naturally, I'd never met him. But given the Blaze family characteristics, he'd probably have a similar personality to Luke. In that case.
"Perhaps, what would your father do if a close friend was in danger?"
"Of course he'd help! Because that's what a man does!!"
"Right! A spatial rift is an extremely dangerous place. Naturally, there could be students who lose their lives."
"Uhmm...! But the headmaster said he'd pull us out immediately if it gets dangerous."
In a normal situation, that might be the case, but the current situation was like a derailed train. No one could predict it.
"You never know. The headmaster is human too. What if a student gets hurt the moment he blinks?"
"Indeed! That certainly makes sense!"
At this moment, I poured all my effort into drawing out the sadness latent within me. The first thing that came to mind was the memory of the dream where Lilith disappeared. Immediately, my tear ducts were stimulated, and the corners of my eyes trembled.
"Luke. If my close friends were seriously injured or lost their lives, I think I'd be very sad. Don't you feel the same?"
I wouldn't be that sad, but it was true that I wanted to save them.
"...Arthur."
Hearing my words, Luke suddenly put on a serious expression and approached me. Oh no, it was a desperate performance on my part. Did it not work?
Luke, who had come close, grabbed both my shoulders and...
"You're a true man! Arthur! Helping friends in trouble is a wonderful thing. Yes! Exam scores aren't important! That's exactly..."
Luke took a deep breath and shouted with all his might.
"Because it's romance!!!!!!!!"
Whew, looks like it worked. My eardrums hurt a bit, but this much is a sacrifice I have to make...
"Then Luke. Won't you come with me to rescue our friends in danger?"
Luke grabbed the hand I extended.
"Gladly!!"
Wow, he's really an easy guy to understand.
----
Having formed an alliance like that, we were passing through the forest. The dense trees stood so thickly that it was hard to tell one place from another, but fortunately, we had the best guide. Lilith, poking only her face out from my arms, was finding the other students and leading us in the right direction.
"Ooh! What a cute cat. I heard the rumor that you got a familiar. I was busy with family matters so this is the first time I've seen it in person."
"Her name is Lilim."
"Lilim! It suits her well!"
"...Nyaaa...."
Lilith seemed drained by the overly energetic Luke.
As we continued moving in the direction Lilith pointed, at that moment.
-Arthur.
"Uwak?!"
"What's wrong! Is it an enemy!"
A voice suddenly echoed in my head. It was an unpleasant sensation, as if it was directly vibrating my brain rather than entering through my ears.
-It's me.
The transmission method was clearly different, but it was a familiar voice. I lowered my head toward my arms.
"...Lilith?"
When I whispered, Lilith nodded.
-Lucky. I was worried it might not work. Ah, don't answer out loud. This voice can only be heard by you.
“Arthur! What's wrong!"
“Uh, uh..... Sorry. I must have stepped on a tree root wrong."
“Be careful! There are tree roots sticking out everywhere here."
"Uh, yeah..."
I slightly lifted Lilith and whispered softly into her ear.
"Is this magic?"
-Yeah, it's awkward to communicate with that monkey-like human next to us.
...Monkey-like. That's too much.
-This magic is two-way. Once it's cast, you can speak to me with your mind too. Try thinking of shouting in your heart.
'Shouting in my heart, what kind of...'
-There's no way that would work, right?
-Oh, you're doing well.
...This works? After testing it a few times after that, I was soon able to converse with Lilith through our minds naturally. And not long after, within an hour of walking the forest path, we found a wide clearing. Vines bearing colorful fruits were hanging in the clearing.
"Oh! Those fruits look delicious. I was just getting hungry, perfect. Let's have some..."
"Wait!"
I hurriedly blocked Luke, who was heading toward the vines.
"Don't forget. We're inside a spatial rift right now. Those fruits might be poisonous."
"Indeed! As expected, you're smart. My sister definitely told me not to eat anything random!"
Whoever Luke's sister is, what kind of battle have you been fighting...
I suddenly felt respect for Luke's sister. I carefully examined the fruits hanging on the vines.
'This is poisonous. This one is edible.....'
Most of them were fruits I knew, so it was easy to distinguish, but the problem was conveying this to Luke. If I told him directly, he might suspect how I knew. As I was thinking of an excuse.
"Nom!"
Lilith plucked one fruit and ate it. Then she glanced at me.
'Aha!'
"Luke. Try eating the fruits that Lilim eats. Those should all be safe fruits."
"Ooh! As expected, cats are amazing!"
Luke picked and ate the same fruit Lilim had eaten, chewed a few times, then gave a thumbs up.
"Mmm! It's sweet and sour, delicious! You should try some too, Arthur."
The fruit Luke handed me was indeed sweet and sour and edible.
"Just in case, I'll pack some more fruits. Fruits are a good way to replenish moisture and vitamins!"
As Luke lowered his backpack and packed the fruits, Lilith approached me.
-I found them.
-How many?
-11 people, 80m away.
-...What? 11 people?
I was momentarily flustered by the sudden large number, but Lilith's next words made me shocked once again.
-Wait, it decreased to 10.....Huh?
The number decreasing meant...
"Damn it! Luke!”
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"There's a battle happening 80m away! It looks like one person has already been taken down!"
"What?!"
Luke, who had thrown aside the fruits he had picked, jumped up from his spot.
"Where!"
Flames were rising from his body as he stood. When Lilith pointed the direction, Luke ran off, creating flames. Running in the same direction, I wrinkled my nose at the fishy smell piercing it. It was a smell I had become familiar with from being bullied by Lewis.
'The smell of blood!'
Quickening my steps, I could hear the sounds of battle.
"Die, you monster!"
"It's coming! Dodge!"
What could be seen piercing through the tall trees was...
'...A giant?!'
It was a grotesquely shaped giant with pink skin covered in shaggy fur like clothing.