Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Elaine and Pero's Homecoming -2
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Not with her two hands, but with her entire body.
From her entire body to the world.
The wind that had bound her while spilling blood was released into the entire world.
She believed that Pero, having borrowed that power, would soon master his steps and draw the gaze of both mutants.
So, until Pero grew accustomed to the wind... it was Elaine's role to buy time.
-Roooaaarrr!
The giant mutant's fist came crashing down like a meteor.
Elaine lightly stepped aside. Like a sail fully catching the wind, she accelerated smoothly.
Boooom!
The fist shook the ground. Elaine casually fired off a wind blade. It sliced through the mutant's skin with a schwick, but the wound wasn't deep.
"As expected, the destructive power has dropped quite a bit."
But what she could do was nearly limitless. And now, she wasn't racing against time anymore. All that remained was to calmly carry out what needed to be done.
Elaine gathered dirt, stones, and sand from the ground, suspending them in the wind. Like orbiting satellites, several spheres formed around her.
She launched them.
Bam! Boom!
When a wind orb struck the giant mutant's head directly, sand exploded outward, blinding its vision. The mutants flailed their arms amid the chaos.
With another gesture from Elaine, a chilling gale swept past the mutants' Achilles tendons. Again and again, without pause.
Forcing them to expend energy while protecting herself. It was the complete opposite of her fighting style up to now... but it felt as comfortable as slipping into a perfectly tailored dress.
And then, Pero shot up into the high sky.
Confirming it, Elaine began condensing the wind in a defenseless stance. To forge a blade that could sever their necks in one stroke. Trusting him.
Pero felt the wind coiling around his body. When he focused his mind, he could sense it, and it was as if a new sensory organ had been added—he could even manipulate it.
It seemed to be the ability to control the wind borrowed from Elaine.
"Elaine has such an amazing power..."
It's called wind transformation.
"It's different from my healing. Do you think I could use it someday too?"
When you're under a ton of stress.
"... Not a very nice power, then?"
I'll draw their attention, so get moving.
Pero nodded to Yuna in his head. He imagined wings made of wind sprouting from him and flapped them vigorously. But only a breeze stirred—nothing else happened, like a lie.
"...?"
You have to anchor the wings to your body to fly. And wings aren't the best model for flight. For beginners... think of it as launching your body.
"Ah, right... Launching, like this—"
Shwoooosh!
Before he could finish, Pero's small body rocketed into the sky.
Higher even than the giant mutants' heads. Up where the moon and clouds played. Looking down from above, he saw the giants staring up at him.
And Elaine, gathering an ominous storm of wind in her grasp.
The mutants' gazes locked onto Pero floating in the air. Two massive pairs of arms stretched toward the sky to seize the boy.
"... What do I do next?!"
If you bind the giant mutants' movements, it'll be easier for Elaine.
"With the wind... maybe sprinkle some sand in their eyes?"
The bestowed wind kindly obeyed Pero's thoughts, but that very fact made it hard to handle. Hovering in the air was the result of barely scraping together his focus.
A virtual personality fed only very limited information couldn't skillfully wield the power of wind transformation. Pero wasn't a mage or a warrior—he was just a boy with healing abilities.
But in Pero's mind resided the Violet Magic Tower's grand archmage, ascended to sublimation.
Yuna briefly took control of the body.
The archmage drew strange glyphs in the air with the boy's fingers. The wind swirled around, instantly taking form. It was a massive chain.
-Roooaaarrr!!
The giant mutants' wrists were simultaneously bound by chains of wind. Dragging his fingers downward, immense pressure applied in the direction of gravity—slamming the bound wrists into the ground.
Their structures, similar to humans, lost balance as their centers of gravity tilted forward, smashing their heads together. Pero shouted.
"Elaine!"
Trusting that Pero would draw the giant mutants' attention and create an opening. In Elaine's hands, which had been quietly gathering wind, a massive blade like a condensed storm was now gripped.
From below to above.
From the ground toward somewhere in that night sky, she slashed diagonally. The compressed wind blade unleashed, surging explosively.
Schwick.
The cutting sound wasn't loud.
The giant mutants' necks were severed.
Boooom!
After the neck—covered in plastered faces—hit the ground, Pero landed lightly, wrapped in wind. Elaine looked at him with a relieved expression.
Nothing had changed dramatically. She would still suspect others and prioritize realistic judgments in her actions. But perhaps, in critical moments, she could try trusting someone.
Looking up at the moon, Elaine asked Pero.
"So?"
"...Yes?"
"I mean, what you wanted to say... next time?"
"Ah, right...! Um..."
Pero's face flushed bright red as he fumbled, then dropped to one knee and offered something. A grass ring, woven with care.
The boy took a deep breath and confessed his feelings.
"I... I like you, Elaine! Maybe... since the first time we met...!!"
Elaine's response to Pero's confession was this.
"Isn't it a bit premature, Pero?"
Are you a gold digger or something?
"Eh."
"We've only known each other for five days... and all we've done is walk together a little. Matters between men and women need a bit more time."
What have we even been doing? You really don't know.
"Ugh."
"So, I'm grateful for your feelings, but..."
Let's just be friends.
"Ah..."
That day, Pero's world crumbled.
Distance remaining to paradise.
0.
Pero bounced ahead excitedly. His movements brimmed with elation. It was like the moment he checked if his long-purchased lottery ticket had won.
"It's here, Elaine! The compass is pointing right ahead."
"We've finally arrived. Right on time."
The tattoo on her wrist was racing toward zero. To arrive on schedule, Elaine had endured quadruped mode twice.
"A true princess carry... D-don't say it like that!"
"........."
The grand archmage borrowing Pero's mouth freely spouted rude remarks. Based on three facts: they weren't face-to-face, everyone mistook her for a good mutant larva, and there was no risk of her identity being exposed.
Yuna was fully embracing her basement-dwelling NEET persona.
During the journey, the two had shared many stories. She heard about Pero's village being destroyed, confessed she came from another dimension—and spoke of the imperial family's turmoil.
Hidden in this was the First Princess's sharp calculation. In her original world, blabbing imperial secrets would likely lead to funerals, but this was another world. No damage even if Pero spread the tales.
So, she decided to use it as a rehearsal. To explain the incident to Irid and Sledo, persuade them to reconcile warmly once more.
Elaine flicked her fingers, sweeping away the sand dune the compass indicated with wind. As the covering blew off, a sturdy iron door appeared.
"... There's an entrance!"
"Yes, there is, Pero."
"Paradise is here...!"
"It is."
"... Are you upset about what the larva said?"
"Just feeling emotional anew. That it really exists."
Elaine grabbed the iron door's handle, shoving aside the straining Pero, and applied her strength. With a grinding creeeak, the door opened.
A ladder descended deep below.
The passage looked clean, no bloodstains or signs of anyone. The odds of 'paradise' functioning normally rose a bit.
Elaine straightened her skirt hem and looked at Pero.
"... I wanted to check the interior too, but time's short."
"You're heading back?"
"Yes. I can hear the ticking in my ear. Kindly counting down..."
"... I like you!"
"That's twenty-six times now? 'Even a tenth strike fells the tree' isn't meant to encourage persistence, Pero."
"I-I l-like..."
Elaine pinched Pero's cheeks and stretched them wide.
"Eeeeh..."
"Let's end with wishes of luck for each other's journeys. It suits us both perfectly—'this is just the beginning'?"
It was, now.
Pero had reached paradise, but that didn't mean the end of labor and adventure. He needed to verify if there was truly enough food for the next generation, inspect the facilities.
Elaine had reached 'paradise,' but that didn't mean bidding farewell to all her traumas. It was merely her first step; erasing the scars would require much more effort ahead.
"Good luck, Pero."
"... Good luck to you too, Elaine!"
After their smiles crossed, the visitor vanished in a violet glow. Pero stared at the spot where Elaine had been...
"Let's do our best."
And began his life.
First Princess Elaine rose shakily from the magic circle.
It felt like waking from a long dream. Dazed, strangely floaty, lacking a sense of reality. Two Violet Magic Tower mages rushed forward.
"You've awakened, Princess. Did you enjoy... Ow."
The mage took a sharp elbow to the ribs from the Tower Master and canceled his line.
"H-how was it? Fun?"
The Tower Master asked with an oddly excited expression—like salon ladies blooming with gossip about someone's romance.
Elaine pondered deeply, then spread her hand and stared at her palm.
Wind swirled there. The change gained in that other world carried over to reality. A major harvest.
"Thanks. It dredged up unpleasant memories, so the mood soured... but..."
"......!!"
The Tower Master shrank back.
"I gained a lot too. It was good."
The Tower Master sighed in relief.
Elaine watched the archmage's anxious fidgeting with amusement, stretched once, and turned away.
First, she'd go to Irid and give him a long-overdue hug.
"The First Princess gained something huge."
"... It was the same wind transformation, wasn't it? It's not like evolving from Ivysaur to Venusaur with a thunderbolt—the evolution stage doesn't change."
"Using your wuxia novel example... it's the difference between orthodox sect arts and demonic arts. Demonic arts are harder to advance, right? Extreme wind transformation makes sublimation tough."
"Ah."
"The First Princess ditched demonic arts for orthodox sect ones... good news?"
"Good news. Oh, gotta log it."
"... Stop!"
"Why?"
"I'll handle the log this time, so rest first. You can rest."
"No, there were a lot of sloppy parts this time, so I want to review..."
"...M-me! I'll do it! If you don't want spicy backlash, get out!"
"Why go that far...?!"
The Tower Master smacked the slightly deranged mage on the back and chased him from the simulation room. She feared his reaction upon recognizing the living, breathing AI.
Ruining my session? That evil AI deserves hell.
...Worst case, he'd say something like that and wipe the personality!
Violet Magic Tower Master Yuna gulped nervously as she reconnected to the simulation room. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do, but first... secure the safety of that boy whose clean first confession got shot down.