Chapter 236
I explained in painstaking detail to Lucite-sama, who apparently still hadn't fully grasped the situation, everything we had done: our interactions with the Nadeus Clan, what we had learned about the Black Wall there, our expedition as wanderers, and how we had defeated the boss beyond the wall. I conveyed it all in order and as clearly as possible.
Lucite-sama kept his eyes wide open in astonishment the entire time. To the people living in this region, the Black Wall deep within the mist and the monsters crawling out from inside it seemed to be symbols of terror. It appeared they could hardly believe that they were gone.
"I don't expect you to believe me right away. If possible, please come with some of the other Centaurs. I'm afraid we can't offer much in the way of hospitality."
"I would like some time to think. I intend to consider it carefully, discuss it with the others, and then reach a conclusion."
"Please think about it until you're satisfied. Consider this a token of friendship."
"Oh, this looks delicious!"
Lucite-sama avoided giving me an immediate answer, but seemed willing to give the matter serious thought. Since I had invited him, I should show him the proper courtesy in return. I gave him some fresh ingredients from the Great Rock Crabs I had just hunted in droves.
Muno-sama had told me that Centaurs were omnivores, so I was sure they would be pleased. In fact, Lucite-sama accepted them with great delight.
"In that case, I think we'll be taking our leave soon. Kal?"
"Gwooon."
"Kal-chan, are you leaving?"
When I called to him, Kal gently lowered Lucin to the ground. She looked up at him with teary eyes, her expression sorrowful. It seemed they had become remarkably close in such a short time. Kal also rubbed his snout against her as if reluctant to part.
"For now. If our paths cross again, we'll meet."
"Skeleton-chan, really?"
"Really. If you behave yourself, I'm sure we will."
"Okay! Lucin's a good girl, so we'll see each other again!"
"I'm sure we will. ...Lucite-sama, I look forward to the day we meet again."
With that, I left the area together with Kal. Despite the circumstances, I had succeeded in making contact with the Centaurs. In that case, I wanted to meet the other humanlike beings as well.
The event was almost upon us, but it might be good to propose this as one of our clan's objectives. Thinking that, I returned home to log out.
"...Hey, Kal. That's Shiratsuki sitting over there, isn't it?"
"Gwooon."
When we looked down from above, Shiratsuki had landed in an area where the buildings had collapsed. Now that this land belonged to us, she could apparently enter the mist as well.
I understood the logic. Besides, I remembered that the buildings in that area had already collapsed in the first place, so there was no problem with Shiratsuki landing there. But who had brought her all the way here?
"Izaam! Kal!"
"I see. It was Iris."
Iris had come out onto Shiratsuki's deck and was waving a tentacle up at us. I see—Shiratsuki also served as a workshop for her and Shiitake. Whether or not we made the palace our true base, it was inconvenient to have their tools of trade so far away.
Besides, it seemed cruel to leave Shiratsuki and Towa, who was inside, abandoned. Iris and Shiitake in particular relied on Towa's care, so they must have felt guilty about it.
Still, leaving our ship exposed on top of rubble was far too pitiful. That thing was a relic of an ancient civilization capable of sailing through the sky, wasn't it? Constructing a building large enough to house it was an urgent task. We would have to do something about it.
Somehow, even though one adventure had ended, the things I needed to do just kept increasing. Wailing happily over this burden, I logged out from my room aboard Shiratsuki.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
I logged in. The aforementioned uninhabited-island event was starting today, but I planned to participate only minimally and visit the settlements of the other humanlike races. If we could establish connections with them, perhaps they could make use of the space that was too vast for us to fully utilize on our own. It was a rather dreary, ruined city at present, but I hoped we could turn it into a lively place.
"Good evening. You're all gathered here."
"Yo, bro."
"Good evening."
When I entered Shiratsuki's lounge, Jigoro, Kanna, and Raga were gathered there. They made an unusual trio. According to the logs, those who weren't here either hadn't logged in yet or had already headed to the event area. They certainly acted quickly.
"Izaam-kun, you're here too. Since this is perfect timing, why don't the four of us go to the event area together?"
"Hmm... All right. Let's go. Before that, Kal can't come with us, so I'll go tell him."
I hesitated for a moment, but it seemed rude to refuse after they had gone out of their way to invite me. Besides, I had logged in on the first day of an event that had interested me, so it was only human nature to feel like going.
After excusing myself to the three of them, I went to tell Kal, who was sleeping on the deck, that I was heading out. Kal gave a single cry as if cheering me on, then curled up and went back to sleep. Apparently, he was in the mood to sleep today. In that case, I could leave without worrying about him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"How's Kal-boy?"
"Sleeping soundly."
"Children grow while they sleep, you know. Right, dear?"
"That's right. Shall we go, then?"
"Let's. Oh, I almost forgot."
Before the four of us formed a party and used the controls to head to the event area, I replaced my mask and staff with different ones. Iris had made both of them for me.
The mask had nothing but three holes where the eyes would be; otherwise, it was perfectly smooth, without a single raised or recessed part. The empty space was decorated with Eefa-sama's holy symbol: a skull and a spiral pattern. The staff had been carved from mist-spewing ash oak, and it was a fine item that enhanced the power of 【Flame Magic】, 【Water-Ice Magic】, and 【Smoke and Mist Magic】.
However, both items were incomparably inferior in performance to the 'Skull Mask' and the 'Penglai Staff.' Why would I wear such things? It was for disguise.
Ever since the incident when I rampaged alongside Jigoro, apparently my appearance had become widely known. In that case, there was no need to wear a conspicuous mask and staff for no reason. If I hid my arms and tail as well, the chances of strangers picking a fight with me should be lower. As for Jigoro, he looked completely different from the way he had back then, so there was no need for him to disguise himself at all.
"You call that a disguise?"
"It's better than wearing a silver mask, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I suppose it is."
"So, with that said... there."
When Raga and I, the party leaders, operated the menu screen, our vision flashed white for an instant, and the four of us found ourselves standing on an unfamiliar beach. A great many ordinary humans, whom we would normally never see, were gathered around us. It seemed we had arrived safely at the event's venue.
Even so, we were attracting a tremendous amount of attention. However, all of those gazes were focused on Kanna and Raga. That was only natural, since the two of them had won the pairs division of the First Tournament.
The two of them had never joined a famous clan, and after promptly leaving for another continent, they had practically vanished. Now their markers had transformed into monsters, and they had brought along two monsters whose origins were completely unknown. The only looks directed at Jigoro and me were suspicious ones asking, 'Who are those guys?'
"The amount of attention is about what I expected. Quite a few people seem to want to talk to the two of you, but..."
"Then, as planned, let's split up here. I'll make up something plausible about Izaam-kun and the others."
"Sorry to trouble you. Jigoro, let's go."
"Sure thing."
It was a good thing we had made separate parties in anticipation of this. We parted ways at the point where we had appeared, and Jigoro and I hurried off. Behind us, the two of them were surrounded by people who seemed to be acquaintances and talking with them, but Raga appeared to be covering for us smoothly.
"Hey, you two. Wait a second."
"...What is it?"
However, it seemed we wouldn't be able to leave the area without incident. Five players stood in our way, blocking our path.
Judging from their equipment, they seemed to be fairly high level. They were of ordinary height, with ordinary ears, and none of them had any beastlike features. Therefore, I assumed all five of them had the High Human Race. Every one of them was handsome, making it clear how hard they had worked on character creation.
I didn't think we had ever met them. Perhaps some of them had been among those we annihilated in the northern mountains while we were in Fars, but I didn't remember such things individually, so I would leave that aside. Still, I had a vague idea of what they wanted.
"Why are people like you hanging around those two? Your equipment doesn't look like anything special, either."
"Why, you ask...? There isn't any problem with it, is there?"
"There absolutely is. Those two won the tournament. They're top-level players in PvP, you know? They live in a different world from nameless players like you."
"Oh?"
The man in front declared this as if it were self-evident. I could hardly believe there were people who would actually say something like, 'They live in a different world.' If the people in question were fine with it, what was the problem?
Still, I wasn't entirely unable to understand what he meant. To him, we looked like deadweight dragging down top players. To put it more harshly, perhaps he thought we were leeches. I suppose he had his own sense of justice. None of my business, though.
"So what exactly do you want us to do?"
"Don't go near those two anymore. Don't get in their way..."
"Hey, bro. Mind if I pound this guy?"
Jigoro cracked his knuckles and intimidated the people who had picked a fight with us. Unusually for him, he narrowed his eyes and glared at them. He sometimes hurled filthy insults at enemies during battle, but he had never acted like this. Apparently, he was extremely angry.
Jigoro stood over two meters tall and had a heavily muscled body, fiery red skin, thick, sharp horns, coarse hair that looked like lightning itself, and golden tattoos running across his entire body. When someone with such an air of strength glared at them, it seemed people unused to such a sight naturally became flustered. They were ordinary people on the inside, too, so perhaps that was a perfectly normal reaction. However, there didn't seem to be anything to gain from fighting, so I stopped Jigoro.
"Forget it. There's no point in fighting."
"H-heh! Then try it, if you think you can. You look impressive, but you're probably not much good. Besides, there's no way a monster player can beat me."
The young man seemed a little cowed, but he answered Jigoro's intimidation with a provocation of his own. But what did he mean by saying that a monster could never win?
"Huh? Why's that?"
"It's obvious. Unlike ordinary beasts, monster players came in with the Second Wave. There's no way you can beat us First Wavers."
The young man said it as if he were pointing out something absurd. I see. So that was the general perception. It was partly because we had acted in secret, but it was still a little sad. It was as though everyone shared the belief that monster players couldn't compete at the highest level.
"Now that you understand, do as I say. Stay away from those two."
"I refuse."
I firmly rejected the young man's request, which had been phrased like an order. Who would listen to some third-rate nobody of unknown origins who casually made remarks insulting all monster players? After being spoken to so arrogantly, I was a little angry myself.
"Hey! Weren't you listening to what I just said!?"
"I heard you. Even so, let me say it again. I absolutely refuse. To begin with, the idea that 'the stronger person is superior' and 'you must obey the superior person' makes no sense. And if this is really for their sake, then the proper thing would be to persuade the two of them directly, wouldn't it?"
"Guh!"
If he wanted to persuade someone, he should have spoken to Kanna and Raga, not us. If he could explain the disadvantages of staying with us and convince them, then that would be fine. The fact that he knew this would be difficult was precisely why he had come to us instead.
More than anything, what infuriated me was that he genuinely thought a light threat would make us, his inferiors, back off. His rotten character was utterly distasteful!
"Besides, where is your guarantee that you people are stronger than us? If that's all you wanted to say, then move aside and clear the way."
"You bas—!?"
When I had said my piece and tried to move on, the young man drew his sword and slashed at me—only for Jigoro to punch him. The young man flew backward at cannonball speed.
"Damn, I punched him before I knew it..."
"Hah... It can't be helped. Jigoro, go ahead."
"Whoa, you sure about that? We might get banned."
"They want to fight. Besides, don't ask after you've already punched him."
"Hah-ha! That's more like it!"
The words that treated us with such contempt had finally snapped my patience as well. Still, I hadn't expected this to turn into a violent altercation. The event's premise made player-versus-player combat pointless, but our opponent had drawn his weapon, and we had already struck him. Settling things peacefully through discussion was no longer possible.
In that case, I might as well stop holding back and cause a proper ruckus. I would vent all the frustration I had built up until now. With that resolve, I raised my staff.