Chapter 118 - The Start Of Our Journey

"Let's fly, lit up the engine, boys" Teria shouted.

"Aye, ma'am!" Reply the crew.

The Magi-engine was activated and slowly, our Airship named Zet, left the dock, moving away from Cadebre's Skyport.

With this, our exploration to find the Red Comet officially began.

The wind stroked my hair as I walked on the deck. The sky was so vast and a smile formed on my face when I saw it. The feelings that appear when riding a vehicle made my body itch to do something.

I want to face the danger that will confront us as soon as possible!

I want to fight and get exp!

If I could, I'd like to eat meat and Magi Stones owned by various new types of monsters. I have to be stronger than before. 

I need an increased strength to deal with the monsters in Death City Vulvanier.

At the very least, I must reach Level 30 before I reach our final destination. The two Exp Spots waiting for me and I should make the most of it

For a few tens of minutes, I formed a plan to hunt efficiently.

"Hey." A familiar voice called out to me.

I twisted my body to see the owner of the voice. "It's rare for you to call me. What do you want to talk about, Ruciel?"

"I just want to know if you're okay with all this?"

"...I don't understand the meaning of that question."

Ruciel's long ears made a strong jolt. The girl then walked up to me and brought her face close to mine. 

"Don't pretend! I'm sure you know what I mean!" She shouted and her beautiful golden eyes stab me.

"Truly, I don't know it," I replied. Simultaneously, I pulled Ruciel closer and hugged her.

"Let me go!" She's threatening me.

"Honestly, I don't know what your question meant. I'll let you go once if you tell me what you mean in a way that's easy to understand."

Done with that sentence, I began to admire Ruciel's beautiful face which was now putting on a drained expression.

"I'm talking about those women. Myu, Lostria, and Ronove," Ruciel whispered.

"Why did you mention their names? There's nothing wrong with them, right?"

"Myu keeps looking at you whenever she has the opportunity. She even collected your falling hair. As for Lostria, the woman was too suspicious. You need to know, she and the captain of this Airship probably know each other and plan something. For Ronove, that old woman was so terrifying, I could feel the powerful aura of death enveloping her."

She gave me a lengthy explanation. She forced the gears in my brain to spin, to process her explanation.

And yes, I can say, the things that Ruciel said are true.

Myu is too obsessed with me. I'm aware of that. And right now, thanks to Heat Perception, I learned that the girl was peering at us from behind a pile of barrels, which wasn't far from where we were.

I don't know why she did that and I hope, she is not a Yandere. I don't want her to kill Ruciel without my knowledge.

A woman named Lostria was unthinkable. She cheated when we did Coin Toss. She likes to make small lies. And yes, she did know Teria from the beginning. I realized this because I could smell Lostria's scent clinging to Teria's body and some of her crew. That happens when we search for an Airship for us to rent.

I know all these things and I hope her attitude just for a while. I'm a little interested in her. That's why I want to be friends with her. I also need a Helmsman. Lostria is a good candidate.

As for Ronove. yes, she's scary. After all, she was a Necromancer, and probably, she had the highest level among everyone in this Airship.

However, she is the one that I believe will not betray me. Necromancers famously kept their promises. I'll be safe because she and I have already made a deal.

Once again, I said, Ruciel was right about those women. However, more than anything about them, I'm more interested in one thing.

"You hate me, but you care about me. Your attitude makes me happy." I smiled. 

On the other hand, Ruciel's face became flushed. A moment later, she grabbed my face with her right hand and started pushing me away.

"Let me go!" She order me and he increased his strength.

A moment later, our hugs came off.

"Ruciel, hug," I whined.

"Never!" She snapped at me.

"Ho ho ho, it's good to see you guys so close," said Ronove who gave us a warm look.

The old woman's arrival instantly made Ruciel stiff and then freeze. It made me wonder, is Ronove truly that scary?

...

I didn't get an answer so I decided to make a question. "Can I help you, Ronove?"

"Yes." Ronove nodded then turned her head towards the front of the Airship. "We're going to the northeast. I wonder, are we going to pass through the Wistras Grand Forest?"

"Isn't that obvious? We have to go through that forest if we want to get to mount Lenmar."

"That's crazy!" Ronove said in a slightly high tone. "Call everyone and meet me in the control room!"

"Why?"

"Just do it, don't ask anymore!"

Ronove left and I started calling Lostria along with the others. A few minutes later, we gathered in the control room.

In the room, Ronove asked us or rather asked me to explain our route of travel.

In front of me and at the table, lay a map that would help my explanation to the Enforcement. The image on the paper shows the places within the territory of the kingdom of Heingarz.

The place we are going to, Vulvanier's Death City is in the northeastern part of this kingdom. The city is at the foot of mount Lenmar.

To reach that place, we had to pass through the Yo Tee mountains then the Thousand Rock Islands, and lastly the Wistras Grand Forest.

Those three places will be our shortcuts.

Yes, these shortcuts are dangerous but also have wealth that cannot be ignored. There are a lot of Rare Items in that place and I don't want to miss them.

I want to collect some Ore, Earth Crystal, Magic Stones, and a special metal made by Shadow Elf. That raw material I need to make Spear.

My explanation of our route was complete. And yes, I didn't explain my plan to collect raw materials.

"Why are we going through these dangerous places?" Ronove asked in a voice tinged with anger.

"Dangerous? I think you mistakenly thought, grandma," said Lostria. "There are indeed some powerful monsters in the places we are going through. But they wouldn't be a problem for this Airship. Aether Cannon can overcome them."

"If you just mention monsters, that means you don't know the danger I mean." Ronove looked at the people who were here one by one and her eyes stopped at me.

"Tell me, who proposed a journey bypassing these places?" Ronove's question this time was tinged with the killing intent.

Thanks to that, the people here besides the children — who may not have been the target of Ronove's killing intent — became frightened and became weak. Of course, they're some of the people who become wary, ready to fight.

Ruciel, Teria, and the three Crew men drew their weapons. They're ready to fight Ronove.

And yes, fighting fellow allies is not a good thing. That's why...

"That is my idea, Ronove. Therefore, please pull back your terrifying aura."

My words made Ronove's eyes sharper. Her body shook violently. A moment later, her anger erupted by shouting, "Did you know we're about to enter the Shadow Elf's territory!? Do you want to get us all killed!?"

Shadow Elf... These long-eared, blue-skinned people have no sympathy. They were a strong race even though they could only use Shadow and Dark Magic, different from their relatives who could use all the elements except Shadow and Dark Magic.

And Oh! I almost forgot Shadow Elf was born to be a great Assassin! And they're so good at doing that, killing I mean.

And that's the reason why they're scary.

"I've never heard of this!" Shouted Lostria who then also looked at me sharply.

"Shadow Elf, you're alarming something incredibly dangerous this time," Ruciel commented with a pale face.

And not only Ruciel, but the faces of some people here also turned pale.

"Shadow Elf? Is there something wrong with them?" Kimi asked me.

"There's nothing wrong with them. The Shadow Elves were a beautiful race. I'm sure you'll like them, Kimi." I said as I stroked the little girl's head.

"Don't mess around, young girl," said Ronove, who then hit my forehead with a tiny Spell.

"Arg! It hurts!"

"Look, we're going to change the route of this journey. We'll avoid the Wistras Grand Forest and take a detour. Do you agree?"

Getting a question from Ronove, almost everyone in this room made a powerful nod.

"Wait! Wait! Wait a minute! We're not going to take a detour. We're going to visit Wistras."

"Do you want to kill us so much!?"

"Of course not, Ronove. I have business with those Shadow Elves. I know how to handle them and might be able to get permission from them to cross the Wistras. And, wouldn't we be fine if we stopped before entering Shadow Elf territory? Therefore, please don't change the route of this journey before I meet those Shadow Elves."

"If your negotiations fail—"

"We're going to take a detour!" I shouted and made a strong nod.

Ronove looked at me for some time before finally sighing. "Alright, we do what you want."

"Thank you!" I ran and hugged the old woman.