Chapter 91
"Aren't your arms sore?"
Pastel worriedly examined Elsior who had kept turning the steering wheel because she wasn't told to stop.
Elsior shook her hands.
"This much is no problem compared to usual training."
Our Elsior is sturdy!
"Then you must have enjoyed turning the steering wheel too!"
It wasn't that you thought it was an order and followed!
I should ask to do it again next time!
Elsior stared blankly.
"I didn't see it that way~"
Pastel poked Elsior's side poke poke.
"It's similar to foolish foolish Pastel~"
Puu puu puu puu.
A totally embarrassing comparison~
"Ahaha!"
Pastel laughed then paused.
Huk.
I'm not in a position to laugh as the comparison target.
"Uwaa! I really was foolish foolish after all!"
She clutched her pink head.
I can't even deny it anymore!
I have no choice but to accept the reality of foolish foolish while reminiscing about the good past of genius genius Pastel!
Elsior was dazed.
"Why are you suddenly like that?"
But was there a time when I was genius genius Pastel?
Oing.
Pastel pondered then somehow became calm.
Actually nothing particularly changed.
"Craft...?"
Elsior looked confused.
"Ah, Elsior! Oh right! Let's hurry and go! No matter how much we trust the Knight Order's incompetence, it's not good to be too leisurely!"
She adjusted the strap of her luggage bag. She hurriedly left the steering room and moved steps to the deck.
The blonde girl keeping watch turned around.
"Really no one is coming. Is this judgment?"
"Management efficiency."
Pastel looked around the temporary docking area. The roughly prepared wooden docking area was desolate without a single person, but there were quite a few traces of people. A lone beer mug placed on a box caught her eye.
"Management efficiency?"
"It's an argument that it's efficient to put personnel who would guard the docking area into exploring the ruins, since there are no thieves who can penetrate the surrounding patrols and infiltrate the ruins anyway."
Though I don't agree, it's not a judgment I can't understand.
"But we infiltrated?"
"We came bypassing all airship patrols by examining internal documents!"
Pastel's expression became serious.
"The cult must be the same."
I wonder what their purpose is.
"Anyway, let's get off! Let's get off!"
As she ran to the rope ladder, Melissa hurriedly reached out her hand.
"Let me carry my luggage."
"It's okay, Ms. Magician!"
The luggage packed considering even camping is quite heavy.
When everyone got off, the airship started moving alone to leave the docking area. We manipulated it to hide in the surroundings then return when the docking area is empty again. Semi-automatic navigation is totally great.
"Depart!"
Ah, is my voice too loud?
She lowered her voice and shouted again.
"Depart~"
Though she shouted like that, we actually had to move quite a bit to enter the ruins.
"Uwaa."
Pastel trembled tremble tremble while climbing the wooden ladder.
The ladder continued endlessly between rock cracks as if going up to the center from Sky Island's underside. While being wary if there were people up in that distant height, she muttered in an appropriate voice.
"Do you know? A totally scary ghost story."
Pastel started the story like a kid bringing up horror stories at a pajama party.
"This isn't actually the ruins entrance! Because because."
It was just setting the mood and not really asking if they knew, but a reflexive answer came from below.
"Because these ruins were revealed when Sky Island's underside broke. There's no big problem calling it the ruins entrance, but precisely it's the broken wall of enormous ruins. Right, Pastel?"
Melissa climbed the ladder feeling satisfied. She seemed like an honor student proud of immediately answering the question.
Eeyeeng.
Pastel who didn't particularly want an answer was displeased. She pondered then pretended not to hear and said what she wanted to say.
"The reason this isn't the entrance is because this part was revealed when Sky Island's underside fell!"
"Yes. As I said."
Uwaa!
"To think the underside broke and fell! Sky Island was actually collapsing!"
Tremble tremble tremble.
"That's right. Clearly the volume has decreased compared to the survey 100 years ago. Someday Sky Island will become a place unsuitable for people to live."
Melissa spoke then added.
"In about a thousand years."
Elsior on the ladder below below muttered blankly.
"That's a long time away."
"Uwaa! It's falling...!"
Pastel was absorbed in the horror atmosphere alone.
Tremble tremble tremble.
After a long time, they finished climbing the endless ladder. A stone wall cracked wide enough for people to pass through was visible. It was the ruins entrance.
"N-no wonder it wasn't found until now in a place like this..."
Melissa breathed heavily with her arms and legs trembling tremble tremble. Sweat drops flowed down her golden hair.
"Are you okay?"
Pastel looked worriedly.
Melissa wiped her sweat with a handkerchief.
"I'm sorry. I'm like this even though I'm the only one not carrying a luggage bag. I lack training."
"Well that's true."
Elsior agreed while massaging her arm.
Melissa glared subtly. But she didn't refute, perhaps having nothing to say.
"Don't be like that too much Elsior. It's natural for a magician to have a hard time. And this ladder was too high."
Pastel looked down the ladder. The temporary docking area like dust was visible far below the rock crack.
Uwaa, how many floors is this?
100 floors?
200 floors?
At this point we probably couldn't even recover the corpse if we fell.
At this level, Melissa who climbed this despite being a magician is amazing. How diligently did she manage her physical strength usually.
Elsior looked strangely while rotating her shoulder.
"Aren't you tired?"
Me?
"I'm fine because I'm a genius!"
Blank gazes returned at the confident answer.
"Since Melissa is tired too, let's catch our breath for a bit before going."
"Though I want to answer I'm fine, that would be burdensome in its own way. I'll gratefully rest."
They put down their luggage. As the two girls sat down to rest, Pastel came out separately and approached the stone wall.
Though the smooth wall couldn't overcome the passage of time and developed large cracks, it maintained its high-class appearance.
『I feel divinity.』
The demon was interested.
『Well, there's no being that could make something like this here except a god.』
Heeh.
She whispered softly.
"Is it like a holy land?"
Infiltrating a holy land with demon.
Wickedness thump thump.
『Don't have big expectations. After the Old Testament era ended, God started neglecting places like this. It won't be like a holy land. To begin with, didn't they say monsters inhabit it?』
Anyway it means it is a holy land!
Pastel pressed her thumping thump thump chest. She carefully approached the wall crack.
She listened carefully then subtly inserted her upper body. Pink hair flowed down.
A wide passage was visible on both sides. Torches hung like in a dungeon creating a strange atmosphere.
Pastel fully entered and examined the torches. The torches were burning clay mixed with magic stone powder instead of coal.
Did the Knight Order place these?
"That's fortunate. It'll be easy to know the Knight Order's territory."
If we're investigating the Knight Order, we can search the torch area, and if we're camping, we can do it in a corner where torches have been off and neglected for a while.
『The cult wouldn't have made areas so openly. You'll have to struggle quite a bit to find them.』
Pupu.
"I have thoughts on all that too."
『Oh?』
Things like that.
Demon will somehow do it for me!
Oh yeah.
『Try hard.』
"Yes! I'll cheer hard!"
Do your best, demon!
The demon paused.
『Why are you saying you'll cheer...?』
It was a voice like foreseeing the future.
Fighting! Fighting!
After resting for a while, they moved again.
"There are identification numbers on the torches. If we note them all, we can reconstruct the Knight Order's search route."
"Wow. Please do!"
"I'll draw a map while we're at it. Could you take out the quill pen and parchment from the bag? I brought sturdy parchment besides paper knowing this might happen."
Melissa diligently made a map while walking through passages already cleaned by the Knight Order without monsters.
"There's a memo mixed in this torch's magic. The encryption isn't difficult so I'll interpret it. Beware as vampire bats are rampant. Seeing there are no bats now, it seems they cleared them out."
Uwa uwa.
Melissa is totally competent not just in studying but in practice too!
Do you have to accumulate practical experience this tightly to become a warlord's successor?
Uwee, I don't want to do that.
"I'm counting on you Melissa!"
"What? I'm doing it?"
Pastel who enjoyed the power of connections subtly turned to the other girl. Elsior who was examining traces of vampire bat bloodstains looked puzzled.
Pink eyes sparkled.
"Perhaps perhaps what can Elsior do?"
When the southern warlord is active like this, the northern warlord must be able to do something too?!
She sent a gaze with million-fold expectation.
Thump thump thump thump.
Elsior was perplexed.
"Me? I..."
Silver eyes looked around. She looked at the wall, then the torch, then down at the bat bloodstains again.
She pondered for a moment then spoke proudly.
"I can catch bats."
Pastel blanked out.
"I know how to do that too."
Silence fell.
Elsior was perplexed again. She looked at the wall again, then the torch, then down at the bloodstains.
Then she turned her gaze here and there before stopping at her own luggage bag. She pondered for a moment then spoke proudly.
"I can carry luggage bags."
It was a really proud voice.
Pastel blanked out again.
"I know how to do that to..."
Oing.
Pink eyes rolled.
Come to think of it, I don't seem to know how.
Pastel subtly took off the luggage bags. She handed them to someone who knows how to carry them instead of herself.
"I'm counting on you Elsior!"
"Huh?"
Elsior who received them in a daze put on all the luggage bags.
"Huh...?"
Silver eyes blinked blankly.
Pastel needlessly wiped her forehead.
"Phew."
No wonder! No wonder!
Luggage bags didn't suit my aptitude!
There was someone suited for it!
Melissa who finished mapping this area turned around. Her expression was dumbfounded.
"What are you two really doing..."