Announcement

It pains me to announce that to date, RTD is unable to find TLs to translate this series in a satisfactory manner. As such, there are ma.s.sive delays for this series.

There are other people who wish to take this up and had emailed us personally. After a long discussion with the team, we hereby announce that we will give up this series.

We are in the midst of reshuffling and might take up easier series to host them on our site.

Terms and Condition

With that, please enjoy

TL: Gengareric(ex) ; airsblue

TLC: Fairy, Renbo, Rinkage

Editor: Xrain, Rinkage

The huge discrepancy between the previous chapter and this one.

The story until now:

~This was how things ended up… probably~

Ayame （I-It's shaking more than I thought. I'm starting to feel sick…）

Lily （Are you alright?）

Ayame （…C-Can't take it anymore.) *barf*

Lily "W-Wait… Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!?"

Silane "What's going on!?"

A catastrophe.

The fortress, enshrined in the deep forest, was shaped like a tessellation of irregular, spiky polyhedra. To describe it in one word, it was forbidding. The pa.s.sing of years had weathered its red surface and this had merely added to its imposing presence. From where I stood, only the outer walls were visible and that alone was sufficient to make one understand just how ma.s.sive this fortress was. I had thought that we would have been brought to a village or town, but if you think about it, there was no way a normal town or village could have been established in a place that the otherworlders referred to as the ‘Sea of Trees’. It would not be enough to merely arm yourself with cold, hard metal. People could not survive in such a place, unless they hid themselves within robust structures made of thousands of bricks.

“People from another world. That is our destination, Fort Tilia.” Silane’s once strained tone was now coloured with relief.

“Our knights regularly hunt down the monsters in the vicinity of the fort, so you are safe now. Preparations for your arrival are well underway at the fort, and the others should be waiting for us there, so let's go. It’s right up ahead.”

The students began their advance once more at a light pace. Before they knew it, the forest floor beneath their feet had given way to a well-trodden path, one sufficient enough to be called a road.

"Are there any others like us in the fort?"

Taking advantage of the excited atmosphere generated by the other students, I asked Silane another question.

“Yes. One other lucky person managed to make it through the forest alone, like you.” Silane’s voice trailed off as she responded.

“Unfortunately, this person was the only one, other than you two, who had pa.s.sed through the forest using their own strength."

"The only person other than Li… Mizus.h.i.+ma-san and me?"

"That is correct."

"But, there are many other students here just like me."

I looked at the other students, who were walking in high spirits. If Silane wasn't lying, then what about the others?

“Unlike you, they didn’t pa.s.s through this forest using their own abilities.” Silane responded with consistent sincerity.

"The third order of our knights have several forward bases within the forest for the purpose of gathering information. Your compatriots were found hiding there, so we travelled to each of the four bases and gathered all of your fellow otherworlders together bringing them to the fort."

“…I see.”

I nodded with understanding.

I thought it was strange from the very beginning. At the time when the Colony collapsed, there were approximately 800 students. Among them, how many had survived and left the Colony? 100? 200? Or could the number of survivors be twice of that amount? In any case, for those who escaped from the Colony, the monster infested forest must had been a living h.e.l.l for them. This was something I could say based on my own experiences, so there was no doubt about it. Actually, if I had not met Lily, I would have already been dead. With exception to an irregular like me, it wouldn’t be strange even if they were annihilated. When I first came across the students that were guarded by the knights, I was shocked to see that so many people had survived, since, frankly speaking, their survival should have been impossible.

“However, I don’t know what they had been through.” Silane said in a serious tone.

"The knights use those bases as a place to rest as they explore the depths of the Sea of Trees. Although, the appearance of those bases look like simple cabins."

"Since we had set up barrier stones that were painstakingly created via alchemy, the bases were protected from monsters. Thanks to that, all the otherworlders here were able to survive. I am sure you can understand how useful they are."

I became silent unknowingly as I had recalled the time when I spent the night at the cabin. Apparently, it belonged to the knights. This 'barrier stone' must have been the strange stone that prevented Lily and Rose from drawing close. Although, for the sake of letting Lily and the rest inside, I had already destroyed all the ones there.

Recalling this, a worrying thought crossed my mind.

"I don't suppose you use the same barrier stones in the fort up ahead, do you?"

If that were the case, Lily wouldn't be able to approach the fort. A wave of panic washed over me the instant that thought crossed my mind, but fortunately, it was an unneeded concern.

"No, we don't. The barrier stones have a limited range of effect. When it comes to the size of the fort, the range is simply inadequate."

“Ah, is that so?”

“Not only are they rare, but we no longer have the knowledge to make more. On top of that, their effective range is limited. So, in the end, they can only keep monsters at bay. It’s not something that can completely prevent intrusions. In the first place, the criteria needed to set it up is too hard for it to be used here.”

I heaved a sigh of relief and gave her an appropriate response. That was wonderful news. It didn't seem that the barrier stones would be a problem for us in the immediate future. After regaining my composure, I looked at the students who were walking around cheerfully.

“I don’t know what they had been through. That’s true, isn’t it?” I repeated Silane’s words from a while ago, and sighed.

“They were lucky, weren’t they?”

"What do you mean, Takahiro-dono?"

“No, I mean, according to your story, they arrived at the cabins where the boundary stones were set up by chance. By coincidence, you happened to visit and were able to help them as well. Isn't that right? Is that not an amazing stroke of luck?”

In some regards, their circ.u.mstances resembled my own. After the collapse of the Colony, I wandered the forest, with both mind and body in tatters, and eventually reached that cave. Just as I was about to give up on life, Lily found me, and because of that, I'm still here now. It was probable that I had felt slight sympathy for the other students walking with us.

"No, that's not quite right." Silane refuted my conjecture.

“We had received information that there might still be survivors, and we were requested to protect them. So, it wasn’t a coincidence that we saved them.”

"Requested? The h.e.l.l…?"

I was baffled by what Silane just said.

This is no longer the j.a.pan on Earth we were familiar with. Even in coincidental encounters, it was impossible for anyone to help someone without having hidden motives. Such naïve things cannot be expected. For starters, who could have requested for it?

While I was lost in doubt, a joyful cheer reached my ears.

Looking towards the front, I noticed a small iron gate that didn’t begin to compare with the magnificence of the fortress. It seemed that we had reached our destination while we were talking. The area around the fortress, though hidden deep in the forest, had been cleared by humans. The trees, which we had grown accustomed to seeing, disappeared from our sight as we entered the clearing. The sky was vast. It was as if we were suddenly released from something that had enshrouded us. This was a place for humans. The feeling was tangible. Unfortunately, I shouldn’t lose my focus because of that.

Just a little distance away, in front of the fortress, dozens of knights stood with their heels aligned. There were also several men and women around the fortress dressed in the clothes of students.

I was confused, shouldn’t there be only one student who had made it to the fortress? Turning to ask Silane, who had been walking beside me, I found she had stopped dead in her tracks.

"Silane-san?"

"…Don't tell me."

When I turned around, I noticed that Silane was looking up as she groaned. Seeing her reaction naturally caused me to also look up as well, and my gaze landed upon the yellow flickering light. The mysterious creature that usually floated above Silane’s shoulder was thras.h.i.+ng and flailing its short limbs about as it flew around in circles. It seemed to want to convey a certain message using its gestures, but unfortunately, I couldn’t decipher what it was trying to say. However, it was a different story for Silane; she seemed to be fluent in the creature’s language of movement.

"All members, draw your swords!"

Silane’s sounds of warning rang through the forest. Before I could even raise my question, the situation had begun to unfold. In the next moment, a huge green caterpillar made its appearance, pus.h.i.+ng through the forest trees from which we had just emerged.

"Uwaaaaaa!?"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!"

It was a gigantic monster with a body over 3 meters in length. What was even worse was that there were five of them. The quintet of monsters charged at us, making unnerving chattering sounds. The students could be heard screaming while the knights rushed to unsheathe their swords.

"W-Why there are so many green caterpillars in the vicinity of the fortress!?" One of the knights, who seemed shaken up, screamed.

Come to think of it, Silane did say that the knights eradicate the monsters in the vicinity of the fortress on a regular basis. So, it was possible that they had not encountered that many monsters before.

As those thoughts swirled through my mind, I pulled out the wooden sword that I had concealed. At this point, it was already a conditioned reflex. After judging that I had no time to equip the s.h.i.+eld that was worn on my back, I instantly exchanged glances with Lily who was next to me. What was most important was to confirm the situation of my surrounding. However, when I looked around, I was stunned by the scene that had unfolded before me.

"…Huh?"

All the students around me had fallen into a state of panic. Those who tried to flee to the fortress before them became oblivious to their surroundings due to their panic, and ended up cras.h.i.+ng into one another, which, in turn, caused them to tumble to the ground from the impact. The fallen were actually among the luckier of the students. There were others who were shoving anyone who got in their way as they tried to make their way to safety, some who were completely paralysed with fear, some who started clinging to the knights, and even huge idiots who wound up kicking anyone nearby to the ground.

…What on Earth is this?

Looking at this scene just made me wonder how all these people managed to survive up till now. According to Silane's story, it was certainly true that they didn't leave the forest on their own. They hid themselves in a cabin, and remained there until Silane and the group the knights came to their rescue. However, before they had taken shelter at the safe place, they should’ve been through h.e.l.l in the forest after the Colony collapsed. And yet, why…

At this rate, it would be hard for us to escape without proper planning, and those students would also be a hindrance to the knights’ fight. Panic is a contagious thing. Upon seeing how the people around were reacting, the knights became visibly agitated as well. This commotion wasn’t merely holding everyone back. It was clearly a suicidal action.

"Don't panic!"

Silane, the sole person among them who remained composed, rebuked her subordinates. However, one could partly detect a bitter tone in her voice, probably because she understood how bad the situation was at that moment.

"Strengthen your defence! They are coming!"

The creaking sounds, caused by their jaws moving, could be heard as the green caterpillars launched themselves at us. Even though they resembled large caterpillars, the way they charged at us was more like large bulls. The knights, who had regained their composure after being rebuked by Silane, tried to form a defensive wall holding their s.h.i.+elds in front of the students. Nevertheless, try as they might, they still couldn’t give me a sense of security. Perhaps I was unconsciously comparing them with Rose.

Could they defend against those monsters?

Anxiety built up inside my chest as I watched the green caterpillars cras.h.i.+ng into the knights. No, they almost crashed into the knights, but it didn't quite happen that way. An unexpected development took effect before that scene could even start to unfold.

A cool-sounding voice reached my ears. "Leave it to me," and everything came to an abrupt and violent end.

The bodies of the green caterpillars had been torn to shreds. Blue liquid was splattered all over the place as their bodies were blown apart in the opposite directions. All I could feel was numbed shock as the whole scene took place right before my eyes. The fight ended in an instant, leaving only carnage in its place. I couldn’t comprehend what was going on at all. The only thing I knew was who had done it.

A girl, clad in sailor uniform landed on the ground with a thud. There was no trace of this person at all just now. It was as though she had appeared out of nowhere. As she was stood in front of the knights as if she was protecting them, she had to be the one who had to be responsible for the unbelievable scene before me just now.

"It's fine now."

The girl with l.u.s.trous long black hair that extended to her waist smiled pleasantly. It was a warm smile that lifted up everyone’s uneasiness.

The sudden appearance of the girl made everyone who was present hold their breath. I was no exception. Rather, I was possibly the most shocked of all.

The girl was holding a slender sword with an exquisite design. I a.s.sumed it was what had torn the five caterpillars that had attacked us into shreds. However, to the very end, that remained merely a conjecture. Even though I had been present, I couldn’t understand how she had triumphed over the green caterpillars. It was unbelievable. I had acquired the skill to enhance my physical ability using magic, and since sensory organs were also strengthened, it would not be a difficult feat to grasp the movement of any opponent that was at similar level to a Fire Fang. Although, seeing a movement and being able to react to it are separate issues as humans’ senses are usually much better than their physical functions. If Gerbera were my opponent, I wouldn’t be able to react in time, but I could still see her movements. But, it was no exaggeration to say that I couldn’t see the movement of the girl in front of me at all. The instant I spotted a dark silhouette moving, everything was already over. She was unbelievably swift, even more-so than Gerbera. It was impossible. It was incomprehensible. The only possible explanation was that we existed in different time axes. Although, from her incredible strength alone, I could figure out who she was.

"…She's a cheat holder."

The moment those words escaped my lips, she smiled, and her expression soften considerably. It was such an attractive smile that even someone like me, who was already accustomed to Lily’s smile, was almost charmed by it.

“Hey, Eno. Isn’t it heartless of you to only make yourself look cool there?”

A voice of complaint directed at her, prompted me to turn to look for its source. An armed party, consisting of two guys in school uniforms, could be seen coming from the direction of the fortress. The first guy held two straight swords, one in each hand, while the other was wielding an eye-catching battle staff, inlaid with gaudy-looking jewels.

“There was no avoiding it since this was an emergency. You guys are too slow and I can move faster.” The girl returned her slender sword to its sheath as she replied to them with a faint smile.

“Aren’t you saying we’re like turtles compared to you?”

While the two of them engaged in conversation easily, all eyes were on them given their abrupt appearance. It was inevitable since the scene we had witnessed earlier had left a tremendous impact on us. Part way through their conversation though, they suddenly became aware of the stun looks on our faces.

“More importantly, Juumonji-kun, let’s introduce ourselves first. Everyone seems to be dumbfounded.”

"Ah. Now that you mention it, you are right."

Upon hearing what the girl said, the guy who wielded two straight swords nodded and looked at us. One could really tell that he carried the aura of a sportsman from his tall stature and his strong, st.u.r.dy body.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Juumonji Tatsuya. And, these guys here are Eno Yuna and Watanabe Yos.h.i.+ki. All of us belong to the 'Scouting Corps'."

When he signalled them with his eyes, Eno Yuna, the girl who had defeated the caterpillars easily, looked slightly bashful as she shrugged her shoulders and waved her hand lightly. In that same moment, the other guy, Watanabe, small in stature, raised his battle staff as a response.

“It seems that everyone managed to escape the forest safely. I’m glad. And I'd like to convey my thanks to all the knights for accepting our request. Thanks to you all, we still have our schoolmates with us."

…So that’s how it was.

I had finally grasped the situation. The name, Eno Yuna, had sounded familiar to me. There were many different kinds of cheat holders from Warrior types who excelled in magic and physical skills to those with other unique abilities but without fighting capability like me. However, there was an exception. A group, that numbered less than ten, unexpectedly possessed both cheat abilities, and Eno Yuna was one of them.

―― Eno Yuna the 'Skanda'. (TL: Skanda = The swift-footed guardian deity. You can google it)

She was widely known even among the 'Stay Behind Group’ for her speed. That girl was amazingly fast. From my understanding, there was no one who could match her speed even among those who possessed cheat abilities in the Scouting Corps. After confirming it with my own eyes, it was undoubtedly true that her speed was overwhelming. Due to her popularity, the news that she had joined the first Scouting Corps that comprised mainly elite members had reached even my ears even though I was from the Stay Behind Group.

The first Scouting Corps.

The team that consisted of those with cheat abilities left the colony to head to the eastern land in order to acquire the information about this world. As a result, the strength of the remaining Scouting Corps stationed in the colony was weakened, causing the collapse of the colony. However, that first Scouting Corps that had left on that mission seemed to have made contact with the residents of this world as originally intended.

Silane had mentioned that it wasn’t a coincidence that she ended up sheltering these students and that she had received a request to protect them because there was a possibility that there might be survivors. In other words, the one who had made the request was the first Scouting Corps before us, and they had also saved the lives of all the students here. Even in the earlier incident, they removed the threat to the students by eliminating the attacking monsters. There were no qualms about it. All these events happened only because those who possessed the power were using their abilities for good.

“I’m delighted to be able to meet everyone here. There’s nothing to be worried about from now on. As long as we’re here, you’ll be fine."

The line Juumonji just said showed his conviction as someone who would protect those close to him. Even though their behaviour was different from each other, these three members from the Scouting Corps were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with a certain confidence. They had faith in their own strength, purpose, and existence. It was as though they were heroes who lived in the story.

That was laughable. There was no way that was possible. There was no way they were heroes. They were just students. They were simply young teens just like us.

"You can just leave everything to us. Be rea.s.sured and just take a rest."

Saying all those things wouldn’t give me rea.s.surance at all. In the first place, the tragic event that had led to the collapsing of the Colony was because the Colony had entrusted everything to the first Scouting Corps. I would not forget that h.e.l.l. I had never forgotten about it. The culprits of that event were these three people in front of me, who also possessed cheat abilities. There was no way they could possibly be saints. They were a group of filthy, immature young people who were possibly driven by greed.

And yet, what was going on here?

There was no particular need to look around since the atmosphere here had confirmed that everyone was wors.h.i.+pping these three as heroes. They had lowered their guard and became relaxed since the misfortune was over and these three members would supposedly eliminate the dangers from them forever. It didn’t seem as if the students or knights doubted what these people from the Scouting Corps had said. Everyone seemed to believe in them except for one person.

There was definitely something off. Something was not right. There were inconsistencies and discrepancies in these events. Or could there be something wrong with me?

“Majima-kun.” Lily called my name anxiously.

At that moment, the warmth that emanated from her as she stood close to me was the only thing that confirmed my sanity.

We were then led to the fortress as students under their protection. The three people from the Scouting Corps had something to discuss with Silane, so they parted from us. After separating from the knights, only the students were escorted to their rooms. The one who had guided us through a pa.s.sage with reddish bricks was a man clad in different equipment than the knights. It was an armour that merely functioned to protect the body with a round s.h.i.+eld similar to mine. I had only caught a glimpse of it as we made our way to our destination, but he seemed to be carrying a spear that resembled those carried by sentries which possibly suggested that he was from a different unit.

Even though we were told that all of us could have our own rooms, I decided to stay in the same room as Lily. Taking our safety into consideration, this was an obvious choice for us. However, possibly because the other students were feeling anxious as well after arriving at a totally unknown place, there were some who requested to share the rooms with a few other people, too, so it was fortunate that we didn't stand out because of that.

The room that we were escorted to was simply furnished with just two beds and a desk. There was also a single wooden framed window, but what surprised me was the lighting device that was installed on the wall. Upon closer examination, I realized that it was neither a type of electric light nor a torch, but some kind of tool with a fist-sized gem fitted inside. The gem itself seemed to be emitting light, though I wasn’t sure what theory was behind it. Was it a magical device? It seemed that this world had developed a level of technology that was very different from our world.

By the time I had finished inspecting the room, the man, who had guided us earlier returned once again with a tub of water, cloth, and clothes. Probably because he knew that we came from a different world, he looked nervous. After telling us that they would be holding a banquet to welcome all the people today, and that there would be someone who would come to inform us once everything was prepared, the man left.

Once I finished wiping my body with the wet cloth and washed my jersey, I changed into the clothing provided. This new set of clothing consisted of an indigo coloured long sleeve s.h.i.+rt and a pair of trousers. It seemed that these outfits were sewn for the more muscular men in this fortress, so they were quite large. As Lily was rather slender, she appeared to be wearing a tunic. To be honest, they weren't really comfortable either. That might have been the reason why those from the Scouting Corps were still wearing their school uniforms even after arriving here. I truly missed my clothes that were made by Gerbera, but there was no use complaining about it. After changing into my new clothing, I also noticed that my skin felt irritated by the texture of the cloth. I rolled up my sleeves and wrapped the sash that was provided around my waist. Since they had left me with my weapons, I wore them over my clothing.

After giving my look the final touch, I sat down on one of the two beds and heaved a sigh. Everything had proceeded so smoothly up until now that it was scary. It made me feel foolish for overthinking it and making so many preparations. However, I knew that the reason I wasn’t able to bring myself to feel happy was because I felt that there was something not quite right about the situation.

“Are you tired, Master?”

Lily, who had been carefully inspecting the room, stood in front of me and peered into my face.

“…Don’t call me Master here. We do not know who might be listening.”

“As long as I keep my voice low, it should be fine as this room seems to be soundproof, too. This is exactly the place where we can let Ayame roam around freely, isn’t it?”

"That is certainly true."

Upon hearing my reply, Lily lowered the zipper of her jersey, revealing her chest. It slowly transformed into a semi-liquid state, revealing a large hollow where Ayame was curled up inside. Slowly, Ayame raised her head. If this room were monitored by someone, all our secrets would have been revealed at once, though I was probably overthinking it. However, for someone like me who had no knowledge of magic, it was impossible to tell if someone were using enchantments to monitor this room. The moment that thought crossed my mind, I began to have doubts again. I wondered if it was safe to hide Ayame under Lily’s jersey.

“…I understand, Lily. Let's be like usual when we’re alone."

"Un."

Ayame, who had been waiting for our conversation to conclude, hopped onto the floor and came over to me as I laid on the bed. It seemed that she was trying to attract my attention as she wagged her fluffy tail that was as big as her body. When I stretched my hand out and scratched under her chin, she squeezed her eyes shut, appearing contented. When I withdrew my hand mischievously, she began scratching at my hands with her forefeet. It didn’t hurt, though, since her claws weren’t really sharp. As she urged, I began stroking her again in the direction of the fur, or occasionally the opposite one. Ayame’s coat was soft. She bathed regularly, and the softness of her coat was probably due to Gerbera’s frequent grooming of her fur using the comb Rose made. The moment I stopped stroking her, she would start scratching against my hand, and if I still hadn’t heeded to her urging, she would pull my hand towards her forcefully. It was such a desperate gesture that it felt soothing just watching it. Since she was grunting unhappily through her nose, I decided to stop teasing her. In the meantime, I also removed the bandage from my left hand, revealing Asarina, who begun to grow and coil around Ayame.

“Master.”

While I was watching the two young ones playing with each other, Lily, who had finished changing her clothes, clung to my arm. A mischievous smile was etched across her face as she touched my cheek in way that resembled a little bird pecking at its food. It was as if a fox was pawing at me playfully in order to attract my attention. I perceived what she wanted, so I decided to speak my mind.

“Could you lend me your ear for a minute?”

“Of course.”

I decided to tell Lily all the feelings that I had been experiencing ever since I joined this group of humans. Lily, on the other hand, was earnestly listening to me from the beginning till the end. As I poured out my thoughts, I was able to organize the situation, too. Once I put my thoughts together, I told her that I was feeling discomfort because, “In short, I think everyone here is too trusting.”

From Silane’s point of view, anyone who came from another world, like us, was supposed to be suspicious strangers, so there was no reason at all for her to believe in us. In the first place, even though they had risked their lives going through such a dangerous forest to rescue the students at the request of the Scouting Corps, they actually had no obligation to heed that request at all. The same could also be said for those students. They should have known what happened at the Colony, and yet they had still accepted those three people so easily. It was as if all of them didn’t know how to mistrust someone at all, and accepted us easily.

“It is certainly strange.”

After listening to my story, Lily agreed with my opinion as well.

“As Master said, something definitely doesn’t feel right. I think there are probably some circ.u.mstances that we are not aware of."

“If that’s the case, we’ll have to ask Silane-san about it.”

“Yeah, that’s right. But…”

Lily nodded her head in agreement, but it seemed that there was something that she was hesitating to say.

“Is that a bad thing for us in any way?”

"Eh?"

Lily’s question made me realize something that I hadn’t thought of before.

“As Master said, they are too trusting, but is that not something that is convenient for us? In fact, everything is going well so far, isn't it?"

"That's…"

“Since we don’t know if they have any ulterior motive, it is necessary for us to investigate this situation, just in case. But that’s not what Master is worried about, is it?"

I was at a loss for words when I looked at Lily, who was looking at me as she tilted her head. What Lily said was right on the mark. Honestly, since everything was proceeding smoothly, I should be happy. Doubting what was happening behind the scenes was a different problem. Despite both these revelations, I was still not pleased.

“In my opinion, it seemed to me that Master was shocked by the fact that something was off…” Lily said as she looked at me.

At that moment, the sound of knocking echoed through the room.