Variable (5)
Once the thunderous roar finally died away, Hepais was the first to move.
Without a word she slipped the Stone of Bonds into her pocket and began cramming her belongings back into the bag she had brought.
"Hey, Pink—no, Hepais. I get what you're thinking right now. Think this through carefully."
Charlotte's rough voice cut through the silence.
"...Yes?"
"The second that pebble lit up we heard the boom, so yeah, it's natural to assume something happened to Yuria. But..."
Charlotte paused, eyes closing tightly as she chose her next words with care.
"Artifacts basically react according to their user's mana. That roar just now... it shook the ambient mana floating in the air."
Rubia nodded as if she understood at once. Hepais only tilted her head.
"Meaning the flow of mana got tangled and it might've just glitched out for a second."
"So that means..."
Hepais's hands stilled. She looked up at Charlotte.
"Yeah... Yuria might not even be there. Can't swear to it, though."
Charlotte let out a heavy sigh and turned back toward the window.
"No ordinary bomb could make a blast that big, so something definitely went down... Haah, fuck. This is driving me nuts."
She raked a hand roughly through her hair, pulled out a fresh cigarette, and lit it.
"Of course I'm still heading up the normal way. But like I said before, Hepais—think hard. If you die, Yuria might die with you."
"B-but..."
Hepais finally crumpled to the floor, head hanging as she choked back sobs.
Charlotte exhaled a long plume of smoke with another deep sigh. Rubia's fists clenched tight at her sides.
If that were me...
If I were in Hepais's place right now, without my greatsword...
What would I want most?
...I don't know.
I can't even empathize properly. I don't understand a thing. Still...
I walked slowly over to Hepais.
My hand brushed the greatsword at my hip as I opened my mouth.
"Hepais... let's go."
Her head lifted little by little.
"...D-deal...?"
Confusion was written all over her face.
I gave her the same silly, bright smile I always did.
"To Karahan."
Then I puffed out my chest and thumped it twice with my fist.
"You saw how strong I am, right? So just trust your unni...!"
I repeated the exact words I had once said to her back in Roholan.
"Un... ni..."
"Mm-hm."
"...Noah unni..."
"Mm-hm. Y-yeah, I'm your unni..."
Hepais kept murmuring my name under her breath until her head dropped again with a soft thud.
This time, though, her expression wasn't soaked in sorrow.
It was pure joy and overwhelming emotion.
Thank goodness... at least she didn't blow her nose on my clothes like last time... whew...
Rubia watched me for a long moment, then heaved a deep sigh and started packing her own things.
As for Charlotte—
"Whoa, shit... No wonder Rubia falls for that. Goddamn, I need a change of panties. Completely soaked."
Breathing hard in a thoroughly flushed voice, she strode out of the room.
She's... a good person like the rumors say, right...?
I shook my head vigorously and reached out to wipe Hepais's tears.
"Okay, dry those eyes... and let's get ready?"
Hepais nodded hard, sniffling, and the tears stopped almost at once. She went right back to packing.
I stood and carefully approached Rubia.
"Um... Rubia."
"Yes?"
Her voice was incredibly gentle, yet she kept packing in complete silence with no expression at all. It was terrifying.
"...I-I'm sorry for deciding on my own..."
I whispered it so softly and tugged lightly at her sleeve.
Her hands stopped. She looked straight down at me.
Her gaze pressed down on the crown of my head, harder and harder...
Scary...
Maybe ten full seconds passed.
My head kept sinking lower until I was about to fold at the waist—
"Noah."
Rubia quietly spoke my name.
A faint smile rested on her lips.
"...Y-yes?"
"That was cool. Truly."
The smile spread across her whole face until it became a radiant laugh.
"Charlotte was right... Hehehe..."
Then she turned back and resumed packing.
"Uh, uhh... th-that... uuugh..."
I was sure I'd get scolded so hard...
Honestly... I only did it because I figured Charlotte might refuse, but Rubia would definitely follow me no matter what...
I really... really had such a rotten thought...
"A-actually—"
"Yes. I know, Noah. I know exactly what you were thinking when you said that. You figured I'd follow you no matter what, and that was incredibly cheeky of you. I even want to give you a good knuckle to the head."
"Eek..."
Rubia's voice was full of playful spite, yet she kept packing with that same smile.
"But, mmm... it also means you trusted me that much. So it's... not entirely bad. Hehehe... it actually feels nice."
"Th-then you're not mad...?"
Her hands froze. Her head turned slowly toward me.
"Oh, I'm going to be mad. After everything's over. Just the two of us in a room. Very thoroughly mad."
Leaving me with the words Be ready for it, Rubia turned away again and continued packing.
I stood there fidgeting, unable to answer, then moved to help her and Hepais pack—when something extremely important suddenly hit me.
I almost forgot. That would've been a disaster...
"Ah, um... Ru-Rubia..."
"Yes?"
I sidled up to the still-smiling Rubia and whispered into her ear.
"Do you... happen to have any panties?"
Rubia's expression went rigid.
"A-actually right now... I'm n-not wearing any..."
Her face twisted in an instant.
Her hand shot out and clamped hard around my wrist.
"Are you... trying to seduce me right now? Or... are you seriously not wearing any?"
A voice thick with fury rang in my ear.
"Ugh... eek... Ru-Rubia?"
"Answer quickly, before I check myself."
I tugged my skirt down with my free hand and mumbled.
"I-I'm really... not wearing any..."
"Why?"
"Th-they tore..."
"Wow... no. Wait, then... what about the bandages?"
"Th-they tore t—"
Rubia raked both hands through her hair exactly like Charlotte and growled.
"How on earth were you planning to manage... Haah, shit. I'm going crazy... Just follow me quietly."
She stuck right behind me and herded me slowly into the corner of the room where the luggage bags were piled.
After... well, after the panties situation was resolved, we finished our preparations and set out. The moment we reached the foot of Karahan we began climbing without delay.
We passed the lower slopes at a swift pace and soon reached the midsection. We ran into several magic beasts along the way, but none of them posed a problem.
Even though it was the middle of the night, my Qi Sensing made spotting them easy...
And more than anything, Rubia had grown so much stronger that the lesser beasts exploded before they even realized we were there.
When we finally reached the end of the midsection—
"I already told Lévizé, but gathering adventurers is going to take a while..."
Charlotte spoke in a grave tone. She was no longer in her everyday clothes; she now wore heavy-looking plate armor that looked completely different, a splendid sword at her side and an enormous shield in her hand.
"If we run into Kalt before the reinforcements arrive... I'll buy time. Don't look back—just run. Got it?"
"Will you be all right...?"
Rubia asked, worry thick in her voice at the thought of Charlotte stalling.
"No, I won't. I'm fucking terrified. But there's nobody else who can buy time, so what choice do I have?"
She rapped her shield with a hollow clang and continued.
"Still, I stole this stuff from the imperial vault, so it should hold up better than nothing... Haah, no idea how that lunatic's going to come at us, though."
"...I'm sorry. Because of me..."
Hepais, riding on Charlotte's back, hung her head low.
"Pinkie doesn't need to apologize. If we left you in the village and Kalt came looking, what then? Staying with us is still better."
"She's right, Hepais. You don't need to feel sorry. Noah and I already promised we'd help you all the way."
Rubia added with a warm smile and a nod.
"Well... that's how it is, so just take care of yourself. Don't get hurt for no reason."
"Yes. I understand..."
"Same goes for you, Rubia... and especially Noah."
Why me all of a sudden...?
"Y-yes...?"
"You're the biggest problem. Just now when a beast popped out you charged in first. Did a ghost that died without killing a magic beast possess you or something? Do you die if you don't drink blood like the rumors say? Huh?"
"She's right... Noah. You absolutely must not do that this time."
Charlotte and Rubia both glared at me at once...
"Eek... Ru-Rubia too... I don't do that...!"
A ghost that died without killing a magic beast?!!
I die if I don't drink blood?!!
I just... just wanted to loosen up a little...
That's so mean.
"Don't give me that... Tch. Anyway, if you don't listen to me I'll throw every last one of you in prison, so keep that in mind."
Finished speaking, Charlotte turned her gaze toward the summit.
"Hoo... All right. Let's move again."
With a heavy clank of armor, Charlotte took the first step.
One hour passed.
The air grew thin and the cold set in rapidly.
We pressed on, keeping our body heat with Rubia's divine power.
Two more hours went by.
The mountain path became barren of even a single blade of grass, and the sparse magic beasts gradually disappeared as well.
I shifted Hepais onto my own back and half-dragged her upward.
When we were nearly at the summit—
Rubia, breathing hard, looked up at the sky and said,
"Haa... haa... the sun... is starting to rise."
"Yeah, we're almost... Huh? Hey, look at that—"
Charlotte was staring straight ahead, not at the sky.
I widened my Qi Sensing and painted the surroundings in my mind.
Far in the distance—
"Isn't that Yuria's power?"
—hundreds of tree roots jutted up from the ground in a completely unnatural cluster.