Chapter 138
Chapter 138 – Bullets of Envy
[Yahoooi! This is really fun!!]
The bike that ran in front of us sped up earnestly . Mimir seemed to have gotten used to it in no time at all .
While I was thinking to myself, I felt myself become weightless as our bike rolled over a bump on the ground and bounced slightly into the air .
In the meantime, Roxy was…
[Wawawa, Fai! This is bad!]
[Calm down! Balance your body first . Uaaaaaaaa!!]
Even if I had to speak highly of her, I would still say that she rode poorly . Well, she’s new to this after all .
She’d eventually improve if she got more practice . Roxy has good motor skills, so I think that she just needs to get more acquainted with this bike since she’s not used to it .
As for me, it’s harder to ride a horse than to ride the bike . If Mimir could learn to do it in such a fast period, Roxy should be able to do so quite easily too .
[Fai, Fai! There is a large rock in front of us!]
[Really!? Calm down, and get around it . ]
[Yes . ]
Instead of getting around it, we’re approaching it!
But with Roxy’s current bike riding skills, there was no way for her to swerve around the rock in time . So I reached out for the handle from behind her .
[Eh… Fai]
[It’s alright . We’ll just drive it together for a while . ]
[Un…]
Her voice was unusually sounded trembling, perhaps because I suddenly placed my hand over hers to help control the bike .
After narrowly avoiding the rock, Mimir who had gone ahead of us rode back to catch up with us .
[Fiuh~, that was dangerous]
[We’re save . But, this is…]
Hearing Roxy’s stuttering voice, I came to notice the position we’re in .
We were in such a close proximity to each other that we could literally feel each other’s heartbeat and body temperature .
[Oh… . sorry]
[That is not what I mean . I am not against it or anything…]
One thing that is clear to me, she didn’t mind, judging from her now playful tone .
But I couldn’t let go of my hand just yet . Because I needed to keep the bike steered .
My mind was focused on the road, unable to think up anything to talk about . Merely staying silent as the sound of the bike rumbling as it ran through the road entered my ears .
That’s when my eyes took note of Mimir who rode slightly ahead…
Together with Eris, she’s looking at us with narrowed eyes . I still don’t get why they’re staring at me like that .
[What is it?]
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So without hesitation I rode in parallel to them and asked .
But then, Eris puffed her cheek, and actually pointed the black bayonet Envy at me!
[Ho… not that I think about it, it’s been a while since you’ve been bitten my bullet . Isn’t gluttony skill getting hungry there?]
[Oii, hold your horses there!]
[Eris-sama! Please go for it!]
Even Mimir who was busy driving the bike gave her agreement .
Both girls had seriousness in their eyes . This is bad!
[Roxy! We must run . ]
[Eeh!? What is going on?]
Apparently Roxy had been focusing only on the road just now . She didn’t even realize that Eris was pointing Envy’s muzzle at us .
At this rate… Eris will shoot me . I could almost sense her finger squeezing on the trigger ever so slightly .
[I’ll tell you later, let’s go!]
[Please wait a moment . Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah . ]
It’s emergency . I could only believe in the bike’s performance and accelerated ahead . And without slowing down, I raced straight to the cliff that was just around the corner .
Of course, a horse wouldn’t normally go that way . That’s why Roxy was screaming a lot as we go .
[Fai!]
[There]
Since the bike is equipped with balance control function, it can traverse terrain that most horses couldn’t, including these steep slopes .
[It’s alright . Just a little difficult to drive like this . ]
[But I am just a beginner! Mou!]
[Sorry, sorry . ]
I apologized, then checked for our pursuer . Just like Roxy, Mimir was just a beginner, so she should have some trouble scaling down the cliff like that… or so I thought .
[Right behind us already!? She’s too good!]
[Fate-sama! As if I’ll let you escape . ]
[Are you ready to be shot?]
Eris grinned as she pointed Envy’s muzzle at me . Ready to shoot .
That’s bad! I let go of the handle to draw black sword Greed out .
But as soon as I let go, Roxy had to take control of the bike on her own, which caused her to scream .
[Fai! I can’t, I can’t do this!]
[Eris is aiming at us from behind . ]
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[Really!?]
[For real, just see for yourself . ]
[EEEeeeeeee! Eris-sama, but why!?]
Eris fired at the same time as Roxy began speaking! She’s serious!
Already predicting that, I waved my sword to deflect the bullet .
Eris saw this and smile in satisfaction .
[Not half bad . Well, let’s shoot faster then . ]
[Please stop . ]
[That’s no good . Both of us… are already at the limit of our patience . ]
[Un un, Fate-sama… prepare yourself . ]
And Mimir too . I’m supposed to be her lord . This was rebellion .
[Roxy, can you manage?]
[Ye, yes . But it really is impossible for the current me . Fai!]
[Here it comes! Hang in there just a bit more!]
Eris shot several times in quick succession without any warning .
[Dammit! That’s overkill . This is just you being trigger happy!]
[Ahahaha, I’ll consider that a compliment . Then, I’ll just shoot some more]
[Just stop!!]
[Go~go~, Eris-sama!]
[Mimir too, cut it out . ]
[Place your hand on your chest, and think deeply about why all this happen . Of course, after Eris-sama shoots you . ]
[Oii . ]
They just won’t listen . Eris is shooting at me, while Mimir is chasing after us with her skillful riding .
The best I could do was to defend . In the middle of it, I could hear Greed laughed at me via 《Mind Reading》 .
『Aren’t you so popular? How jealous . 』
[Seriously, now of all times? Look behind us, Eris is shooting at us . She might kill me . ]
『Because she’s a maiden in love now . 』
[… . but isn’t she shooting a bit too often for that?]
『Ahahahaha . 』
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[So you are just going to laugh!?]
Right about then, Roxy started to make a fuss about riding down the slope .
[Fai, Fai! I am at my limit! It’s going to slip!]
[There’s a balance control, you won’t slip . ]
[But…]
[Since it has come to this . ]
I put Greed back on his sheath, and placed my hands over Roxy’s once more .
[We’ll escape at once . Roxy also pour magic power in . ]
[Okay!]
With the two of us pouring in magic power at once, the bike was pushed to its performance limit . The openings on the bike’s jet black body started to emit blue glow .
Mimir got left behind . We had the upper hand in terms of magic power .
Maybe Eris would attempt to help out, but by then, we would’ve already gone beyond the horizon .
We scaled the cliff down in no time at all, and proceeded to dash through the open plains below .
[This is fast!]
[I do not think the vehicle will last this way . ]
The speed was too blinding and mechanism seemed to be about to explode at any time .
Mimir and Eris was reduced to a mere dot in the distance . Then disappeared in the horizon .
[Fuu~, we managed to get away from those barbarians . ]
[Ee, I guess we did . But that was so horrible of you to call Eris-sama and Mimir with that kind of nickname . ]
[But she shot at me with Envy . ]
[She certainly… did . But, this is no good after all . They all come along mostly because of Fai . ]
[I know . Well, shall we wait for them then?]
[No . The Lanchester territory is just up ahead . It should be easier for us to regroup there . ]
Roxy turned around a little to see me, and I saw her sticking her tongue out a bit .
She may seem like serious all the time, but she also likes to do unexpected things . I came to know this side of her when I was still working as a servant back at the Heart mansion . She would wear regular town’s girl clothing and slipped away from the mansion .
Being reminded of that part of her, I chuckled .
[Mou, why are you chuckling so much?]
[Roxy will always be Roxy, won’t she?]
[Wha, what was that? What was that all about!?]
[It’s nothing bad . I’m just feeling relieved . ]
[U~n, fine then . ]
Convinced, Roxy focused back on driving the bike . Apparently the spartan training session on the cliff did well, as she drove better than before .
If it’s like this, I should be able to take off my hands away from the handle just fine .
But when I tried to, Roxy told me to stay put instead .
[It’s fine to stay like this up until Lanchester territory . ]
[If you say so then . ]
And just like that, we stayed that way as we rode on our own for quite a while . I didn’t see Mimir and Eris appearing from behind us yet . Apparently we made a fairly large distance .
When turned my head back to the front, I heard Roxy’s chuckling .
[I’m glad that I came along]
[Nn?]
[Sorry to say this all of a sudden . But, I am glad . I am happy to be able to travel together with Fai like this . And…]
She kept her eyes to the front as she continued .
[I don’t want to lose someone close to me anymore . I would regret it if I just stayed at the capital while Fai and the others are fighting . I just could not wait . ]
[Roxy…]
[I am well aware that I cannot compare to Fai in power . I was very grateful when you saved me from the Tenryu back then .
But it also made me realize the gulf standing between us . Even now, I do not have the power to stand against the Tenryu . ]
The bike ran faster . Probably because Roxy poured in more magic power into it .
[However, if I keep thinking like that, I would have never left the capital in the first place . And sorry for storming off during Fai’s farewell party . ]
[It’s alright . I knew that Roxy was worried about something, though I couldn’t do anything about that…]
[I should make it up with Fai somehow… and that is a problem I should deal with myself . ]
[I…]
[Yes . But I am happy . For Fai to welcome me with a smile despite me being powerless . ]
I took one hand off from the handle, and placed it on her shoulder .
[You’re not powerless at all . You might not know this, but I’ve been saved by Roxy many times . And I’m thankful for it . Roxy coming along truly gives me encouragement . And also…]
[And also?]
[I’m happy, to be able to travel around with Roxy like this]
[Fai…]
She leaned her head sideways, putting her cheek over my hand that was on her shoulder . I felt gentle warmth there .
If only this moment could last forever, but the tall wall of the old Lanchester territory could already be seen in the distance .