Apparently, there's going to be a signing event with this author, the illustrator, and a cosplayer dressing up as Setsuna. Thanks for reading~
Taking a detour to Camlaba made me gain a better harvest than I thought I would.
It was extremely unpleasant to be sold out by the informant, but I was able to find out more information than I thought I would, and I was able to circulate false information in the Grantsbach Empire too.
Being able to process the【God's Tear】and make Setsuna's weapon was a plus too.
"Setsuna, do you like it?" (Kearuga)
"Nn. This is the strongest weapon that Kearugsama made. Setsuna will take care of it forever." (Setsuna)
She lovingly stroked the steel claws wrapped in cloth.
Setsuna has been doing that for a while now.
She looks happy, so I'm glad I worked my hardest.
I should give her a chance to try it out somewhere.
"Goshujinsama, Guren wants you to make a weapon for her too!" (Guren)
The fluffy fox cub jumped off my back, transformed and then asked me that in a sweet voice.
I almost made a wry smile.
… Guren doesn't know where I got the material for Setsuna's claws.
I became a little curious on whether she would still want one, even after knowing where the material came from.
"Well, you know. I need special materials to make weapons of that class, and I don't know when I'll be able to get that material next. I'll make one for you if I do, though." (Kearuga)
"That's a promise! Can't wait!" (Guren)
Then, I'll have to have sex… er, I mean, massage Guren's insides a lot.
It should pop out eventually.
"Goshujinsama, listen, listen. Guren wants a weapon that goes like, booooom, and then gyuiiiiin when you put in power like graaah!" (Guren)
"Please, tell me with words I can understand." (Kearuga)
Guren talked passionately about the weapon she wanted.
Rather than swords or spears, she seems to want a【Gun】.
I can make something that accumulates mana, compresses it and shoots it out in an amplified form with the【God Tear's】properties.
True, that kind of weapon would be better for Guren.
Her reflexes are good, but it makes more sense for her to move around bombarding since she won't have to learn fencing or martial arts.
Despite her looks, Guren is smart and she knows what she can or can't do.
While nodding along to Guren, I somehow deciphered what she was saying to imagine the completed weapon she wants.
I'll design it when I'm free since I'm a man that protects promises.
"The dragon knights don't seem to be coming, do they." (Freya)
Freya grumbled that while I was playing with Guren.
I look at my pocket watch.
Yeah, they're late.
"It should almost be about time for them to come, though…" (Kearuga)
Right now, we're in a desert in the outskirts of Camlaba.
We were going to get picked up here, as no one else would probably come here, and head to the Dioral Kingdom.
The dragon knights are usually very strict with time, but they haven't come yet.
I have a bad feeling about this.
And that feeling didn't end.
Just as a sudden gust passed by, Setsuna's nose started twitching.
"… Kearugsama, the gust right now carried the smell of blood. Setsuna knows that smell. It came from far away in the distance." (Setsuna)
I don't even need to ask whose blood it is from the serious look on Setsuna's face.
"Setsuna, I'm counting on you to lead us to the smell." (Kearuga)
"Nn. Leave it to Setsuna." (Setsuna)
That blood must have come from the dragon that carried us or the dragon knight that rode it.
I definitely can't give them up. Losing our means of transport hurts, and they've really helped us out a lot.
I think of them as friends, and I like the flying dragons too.
Please stay safe.
I hurry to them and pray.
We ran towards the place where the smell was coming from thanks to Setsuna's guidance.
There, we saw…
"How terrible. I can't believe anyone would go this far." (Kureha)
"Why would they do something like this! This is overkill!" (Freya)
Messed up corpses.
The dragon knights were cut up into pieces, the dragons were scorched by magic and pierced by a countless number of arrows.
We lost our means of transport and our friends.
A sense of loss surged forwards in our chests, but we had no time to stay still.
"This isn't good." (Kearuga)
There are several problems at hand.
First off, there’s an enemy that's strong enough to kill the dragon knights.
Dragons are strong. Although flying dragons are more known for their speed and transportation ability, they're still a powerful dragon race. No normal person would be able to kill them.
The enemy is either of the hero class or someone who has the same power as a hero.
Furthermore, dragon knights can pull out the maximum power of dragons, and yet they ended up like this, which goes to show how strong they are.
I definitely can't let my guard down against this enemy.
Secondly, there's no way someone with enough power to kill a dragon would be stationed near Camlaba for no reason. They must've been prepared for some reason. This relates to the third problem, but the enemy must be aiming at us, and they had predicted us to have stopped by at Camlaba.
Rather than predicted, it's more like they lead us here.
They sent us to the informant in Camlaba. We came to Camlaba under the suggestion from the informant in Ranalitta. The person behind all this mess used the informant in Ranalitta to lead our movements.
… They probably know that I've gathered information, and there's a chance they also know about the false information I circulated.
And thirdly, the corpses were laid out like this, almost as if asking for us to find them.
There can only be one reason why someone would do this.
This is bait… to fish us up.
"I've received your message, Bullet." (Kearuga)
Just as I said that, assassins covered in sand-coloured cloth all appeared. They made a circle formation to surround us.
Even though Setsuna can sense presences well, the fact that she didn't notice them until now is abnormal.
They must be professionals at erasing their presences. They're also covered in blood to protect themselves against Setsuna's nose.
By covering themselves like that, they were able to fade in with the smell of the dragon's blood.
Also, their distance is perfect.
They're just barely outside of the boundaries of my【Presence Detection】, so they're at a position where both Kureha and I can't step in to attack them.
They're holding rifles that only just arrived on the market.
Without saying a single word, those damn assassins all shot us at the same time and immediately spread out in retreat without checking to see if their bullets hit.
I didn't have the time to make any countermeasures against bullets that surpass the speed of time, being shot at this distance, in this timing.
I was just barely able to push Setsuna and Guren down as they were near me, to at least protect their vital spots.
With her amazing reactions as the【Sword Saint】, Kureha protected Freya.
That gave me a peace of mind too.
Freya would've instantly died if any of her vitals were hit.
I took three, dull impacts.
The feeling of lead bullets piercing my body was irritating.
I spat out blood.
"It must be quite strong to pierce my flesh." (Kearuga)
The power of the weapons themselves was magnificent too, but the shooters must’ve had an abnormally strong status.
… Those rifles use mana too. By making them hybrids of firepower and mana, it was able to exhibit power impossible for the current, existing weapons.
No, that's not all. There must be some sort of trick behind it. Otherwise, there's no way I, who's over level 200, could be injured.
Kureha also took deep injuries by covering Freya.
"Kearugsama! How could they injure you like this… Setsuna will kill them!" (Setsuna)
"Setsuna, you don't have to chase after them. They'll definitely have a trap set up. Kureha, come over here. I'll treat you." (Kearuga)
"Please do, I haven't been injured like this for so long." (Kureha)
I keep Setsuna in check while taking out the lead bullets in my body.
There's a chance she could die from getting too passionate and going in alone.
The way they escaped was suspicious too.
Well, they might've been trying to make me think it was suspicious and hesitate.
Either way, I can't let Setsuna go alone.
I scoop out the lead bullets in Kureha's body just like I did for myself, and cast【Recovery Heal】on both of us.
"You're as skilled as always. That healed me completely. Excuse me for showing such an unsightly state." (Kureha)
"No, you did a good job protecting Freya in that situation." (Kearuga)
If Kureha and I were both alone, we would've evaded them unharmed. However, we had no choice but to protect our comrades and get injured.
On top of that, they knew that if we, the vanguards that protected the other members, get injured, the other members wouldn't be able to chase after them.
Every single thing they did was planned.
That was a perfect trap that was only made because they knew everything about us.
"It makes me smile instead to be entrapped so perfectly." (Kearuga)
The hero of the【Gun】, Bullet, definitely thought this up.
I'm certain of it.
No one else would be able to get me this well.
… Now that I think about it, it was my loss from the point when I came to Camlaba.
To get to the Dioral Kingdom from Camlaba, you have to cross a large desert.
It wasn't a worry for us since we had dragons, but now they're gone.
Although we have high statuses, crossing the desert will take time.
He tried to kill us, but he didn't think he could. I'm sure he just thought of it as an add-on thing, where it would be lucky if we did die.
His real aim was to hinder us and isolate us in the desert.
No matter how fast we go, it will take at least six days to cross the desert to the Dioral Kingdom.
He made such an elaborate tactic to hinder us, but what for?
I don't even need to think about it, it's to destroy the Dioral Kingdom while we're not there.
"I'm laughing too hard that I'm welling up with killing intent. I admit it. You won the first round… however, I'll get you back in the second round." (Kearuga)
I throw a knife in rage.
It pierced the forehead of an assassin who erased his presence after pretending to leave.
He had erased his presence perfectly, he was outside of the【Presence Detection】area and he had erased the smell of blood too. I didn't throw that knife because I could tell he was there.
I threw that knife because I knew Bullet would place someone there.
I can't beat Bullet in a battle of pure wits. The difference in our experiences is too much.
However, I still know what he would do. That's not just because I stole his experiences and knowledge with【Recovery Heal】.
It irritates me to say this, but it's because he’s my teacher.