TNZKMA 132

１３２

 

It seems like Kyui really did tell Olphynn about the Saine. I wonder about Dole and the other guards.

For some reason, I felt like they didn’t know. So, I have to keep things about Kyui unnoticed by anyone, just like always. I lightly stroke Kyui through my clothes.

As we approached the plaza, I could feel the tension rising among the heroes. They surrounded me and Olphynn as we moved forward, with them forming a protective barrier around us. The path became progressively worse.

The wall that had once stood in the middle of the main road leading to the plaza had collapsed. The heroes easily climbed over the rubble, while Olphynn and I had to make an effort, heaving ourselves over it. With my shorter legs, it was a bit of a struggle—“heave, heave”—but with Saine’s help, I made it across and started walking again.

The fact that the wall had collapsed likely meant that monsters had passed through this way. There were no changes in the surrounding houses. If they were hiding beyond one of the walled-off gardens behind those houses, we wouldn’t be able to tell.

Even I, for once, kept my mouth shut as I walked. I was scared and wanted to talk to calm myself down, but I couldn’t even let out a whisper. I could sense that the Dauntlesses were using their ears, eyes, and senses to their fullest extent. We walked in silence.

Facing the plaza was the priest’s mansion. Four priest mansions stood grandly in the eastern section. Next to them were government offices and the homes of wealthy families. But now, all of them had turned to mere rubble.

I froze in shock.

I had heard about it and imagined it, but seeing this scene with my own eyes left me breathless. As someone born and raised in peaceful Japan, I had only ever seen things like this on TV. It was a world so unreal, as if a giant monster had rampaged through.

With Saine urging me forward, I followed everyone else. The fountain where Dole’s Ceremony had been performed was now just a pile of rubble, with only a small trickle of water flowing out.

[I…I was here.]

I turn in the direction where the Blue Crest mansion used to be. There’s nothing there. The rubble where the Blue Crest Ceremony building used to be is a different size than the other places. Each piece of rubble is very small.

[I was blown backward by the wind from the front, so I thought I’d fall into the fountain. But I didn’t, and when I realized what had happened, I wasn’t even wet.]

[……Then, you may have flown over the fountain.]

Olphynn walked around the rubble from the fountain, feeling the ground. I crouched down and searched with him.

I was about to eat lunch at the time. The sun was directly overhead so I thought it was daytime. So I was looking at the sky, and then I was blown away. I wonder what I saw as I flew away. I don’t remember closing my eyes.

Ah, I saw a mansion. The roof of a mansion. But that wasn’t the Seiga mansion with the blue crest. It was reddish brown… so it was the Daryss family.

I ran to where the Daryss family used to be. Saine ran with me.

The Daryss family mansion had also collapsed. Five flights of stairs lead to the front door. The stairs remained. I turned my back to the stairs and knelt on the ground.

The cobblestones were bumpy and cracked. They were broken as if something had pushed them up from below. I stared intently at the stone rubble, or rather the wall. There had to be a hole somewhere. There had to be a hole where I’d fallen.

As I looked at the stone pavement one by one, something dark caught my eye. I crawled closer and looked closely.

This didn’t look like just a shadow. The stone pavement had broken and stood up, supporting each other to form a mountain. It looked like a mountain made of two playing cards. There were many like that, and some had stones placed on top, turning it into rubble.

[Saine, something’s strange here.]

Saine got down on one knee to look at the place I pointed out. Then he drew his sword and made me step back.

With a single kick, he sent rubble flying. Even though it was rubble, I wasn’t talking about small stones or powder. To me, it was bigger than the pickling stones we use at home. Saine kicked several of the huge stones away in one go.

[Ah…! It’s a path.]

Once the rubble-turned cobblestones were gone, there was a gaping hole.

With ropes fastened around their waists, Dole and Loop went down the hole. Saine and Vyrs remained in the plaza to protect Olphynn and me.

Saine and Vyrs were holding on to Dole and Loop’s ropes respectively. If it was as I had felt in the plaza below, the bottom was deep. But both Dole and Loop jumped down without hesitation.

I was glad the rope was long enough, but how were they planning to get back up? I wandered around the hole, waiting.

Eventually, the rope Saine was holding was tugged with a jerk. I could tell Saine had braced his feet. He was gripping the rope with his left arm, which was his non-dominant hand, and his right hand was still gripping the sword. The rope Saine was holding was taut. While I was wondering if it was possible, Dole came back out of the hole.

Dole was about the same build as Saine. In other words, he was not light at all. And yet, Saine was able to withstand Dole using only one arm as he put all his weight on the rope to climb up.

[Wow…]

Given the situation, I couldn’t make a fuss, but I couldn’t suppress a small exclamation of awe.

Without thinking, I patted Saine’s left arm. “You did great, arm,” I thought as I stroked it. Saine looked down at me with a slightly smug smile.

Vyrs and Dole waited as they held Loop’s rope while he climbed up. It took both of them to hold on. I quietly watched. Loop looked lighter than Dole, though.

[Hey, you just compared us with Saine, didn’t you?]

I shook my head vigorously. I did compare them, though.

[Well, whatever. Saine’s got superhuman strength. He’s special, so don’t lump us together.]

Dole, Vyrs, and even Loop—who probably didn’t understand—said this, and I nodded vigorously.

But I still couldn’t help comparing them. My man is cool. I chuckled to myself.

[It’s definitely a passage.]

[Can we move forward?]

[I don’t think so. The eastern path has collapsed, and the central path is the same. The cobblestones that covered the ground, walls, and ceiling all seem to have peeled off and fallen. The soil is damp, so I think it collapsed during this recent commotion.]

[There’s a plaza on the way to the forest, supported by thick pillars. It didn’t seem like those pillars had just fallen. It looked like a few had fallen a long time ago, and the space had gradually become narrower.]

A thin layer of dust had accumulated on the fallen pillars. I remembered how my hand had touched something like sand when I climbed over one of the broken pillars.

If those massive pillars had fallen recently, the air would have been more dusty. But the air was normal there. I was able to think clearly without coughing, so it couldn’t have been that recent.

After thinking for a moment, Olphynn raised his head.

[Let’s head to the central plaza. If my theory is correct, this underground path should connect to the Priests’ Guild.]