"Iris, you will definitely regret this!"
At some point, Iris had peeled the potato, revealing the pale yellow edible part. Then, while dodging Ella's attack, she took a bite with quick yet graceful movements.
-
She stood there in a daze as she took a bite, and then Ella snatched the potato-like food from Iris's hand.
If it weren't for Iris's strong self-control, her face would have turned ashen. Of course, it didn't mean that she was poisoned or unpalatable, but the taste was a little too much for Iris - the sweetness of this potato was a little too high for her.
"Well……"
Resisting the urge to swallow water, Iris covered her lips with her hands and stiffly swallowed the potatoes, which were as sweet as beets. If this taste happened to Ella, it would probably be as difficult as swallowing raw meat.
Hiding the remaining half of the potato in her arms, Ella looked at Iris with a stiff expression.
"I told you... Iris will regret this."
A drink with a lot of bitter additives was taken out from the storage and handed to Iris. Iris took it after hesitating for a moment, and drank it in big gulps, tilting her head back to reveal her snow-white neck, as if to wash away the sweetness in her mouth.
It took a full three minutes for Iris to come back to her senses from the discomfort. As far as she could remember, the last time Iris did this was when she secretly threw a sugar cube into her coffee. However, unlike last time, she did not feel any guilt this time. After all, she had reminded her in advance.
As if she knew this, Iris, who had recovered, had a changing expression, and finally declared revenge with an unnoticeable hum.
"I will definitely return Aira-chan's 'gift' later."
"Hey! You asked for this yourself, you can't blame me!"
"Who knows? After all, I'm an unreasonable person. Also, remember to tell me the truth about your investigation later."
A mischievous look flashed in her green eyes. After saying this, Iris turned around and walked towards the carriage with an elegant hair-flipping gesture.
Chapter 8: The Fantasy of Cliffs and Airships
*创世纪6187年3月6日 上午09:01分 西部魔族领与布鲁泽亚帝国边境
After the long night, Ella and her group set out again heading north, preparing to go around the northern border of the Bruzea Empire to the eastern Papal States. Given Ella's current location, the fastest route should be to cross the Bruzea Empire directly to the east, but since she heard that there was civil unrest in the northern part of the Bruzea Empire, Ella decided not to choose a route that might encounter trouble.
As for the clues found last night, if nothing unexpected happens, it might be something else. Although the source of the miasma is not so clear because it is deep underground, it is at least certain that the miasma does not come from the Mark of Original Sin, but is the result of the terrain as Iris said.
Naturally, out of curiosity, Ella wanted to go and check it out, but because the target location happened to be the only way to go, Ella did not tell everyone about this news. She only told Iris who was keeping watch with her, and the others planned to explain it in detail after they arrived.
Unexpected encounters are part of the fun of travel.
While Ella was still thinking about how to tell everyone about the miasma, Lotte's voice came from outside the carriage.
"Miss Ella, it will be difficult to get through the front."
According to Ruthie's description, there was a cliff ahead with only a single-plank bridge. Although people could walk on it, it was impossible for a carriage to pass through it no matter what.
According to past experience, everyone should get off the carriage at this time, Camisia should lead the horses across, then Ella should use the storage to fold up the carriage, and finally everyone should walk through the narrow path - this is how it should have been.
There was a sound like an earthquake coming from the cliff. It was not a real earthquake, but the sound of a waterfall formed by a river hundreds of meters high. Although it was very shocking both visually and auditorily, Ella couldn't help feeling afraid of heights when she thought about walking across the single-plank bridge on the cliff.
Although he had experienced similar situations before—for example, when flying with the Wings of Hermes or being carried by Camisia, the altitude was almost the same as this cliff, or even higher, but flying actively and passively hanging in the air were two different things, especially since this single-plank bridge did not seem strong enough and even felt shaky.
Arriving at the edge of the cliff, Ella swallowed subconsciously. The length of the wooden bridge was less than twenty meters, but driven by fear of heights, she inevitably felt dizzy, especially when she thought of the tragic scene of falling into the pool below. Ella couldn't help but want Camisia or Iris to take her over, but the former needed to fly with a horse, and the latter refused on the grounds that "this is also part of the fun of traveling" - it was completely revenge for the potatoes last night.
"If there's a zipline... well, no, that's also dangerous..."
Shaking her head to dispel the strange thoughts that suddenly popped up in her mind, Ella stared at the cliff at least ten meters away from her and fell into thought.
In my group, only Iris and I were magic casters, and Iris had already reached level 30 and could use the "Flying" magic. Needless to say, Camisia, Luty, Angelica, and Shengan seemed to have no fear of this environment at all. It looked no different from walking on land. Angelica, in particular, even seemed eager to try it out. Her sparkling sapphire eyes even gave me the illusion that she wanted to do a somersault on the single-plank bridge.
[Angelina wouldn't do anything so dangerous...]
Completely unsure of her inner thoughts, Ella fell into deep thought again when she saw Lotte successfully walk over.
The queue was arranged in the following order: Luty, Angelica, Shen Gan, and finally herself. Because the single-plank bridge itself was not very stable, in order to prevent different rhythms from causing people on the bridge to lose balance, Camisia specifically instructed that they must cross it one by one. Therefore, she had two people's time to think - about three minutes.
Is there any magic that can come in handy here?
At his current level of 19, he couldn't use the "Flying" magic. This was something that couldn't be changed. Although there were many magic crystals and scrolls in the warehouse that could allow him to float or fly, they were at least at level 5. Using them here would inevitably seem like an overreaction.
Using overloaded 'acceleration' magic to rush over in one go would be a good option—if successful, it would be over in the blink of an eye—but 'acceleration' magic isn't 'teleportation'; it simply makes you run faster, and there's no way to avoid missing steps. And what if your excessive movement breaks this seemingly unreliable wooden bridge...
Well, avoid this option.
While thinking, Angelina also walked across the wooden bridge with unusually light movements, and the answer was expected.
"It would be nice to have a prop like an airship..."
A means of transportation similar to a hot air balloon popped into my mind. I had seen it in fantasy comics before. It must be a romantic feeling to be able to ride on that kind of magic airship that travels back and forth between Sky Island. However, its speed and safety remain to be seen.
"I remember the airbag on top was made into a long strip, with a propeller attached to the tail. There seemed to be a blowtorch and fuel tanks on the passenger basket, but those are all from the manga, so whether they can be reproduced is a big question..."
Not only that, first of all, it is difficult to find airbags that are fire-resistant and high-strength. In this world of insufficient productivity, there are almost no workshops that can produce such special and huge cloth. Secondly, there is a lack of technology similar to fuel tanks. Although I thought of using magic circuits to make a device that can spit fire, and the propeller at the tail can also be driven by a rotating magic circuit, the magic as a power source is very troublesome. Of course, there is no problem in sending people to continuously inject magic into the magic circuit, but if you keep doing this, you can't enjoy the scenery along the way. Therefore, a battery-like structure is needed, and the conversion rate of magic is also a problem.
"Let's discuss this with Iris later if we have a chance."
Putting this thought aside for the moment - while I was thinking, Fukagan had already used the "air pedal" to jump over the single-plank bridge, and I was the only one left here.
As if remembering something, Ella clapped her clenched right hand against her left.
"If it's an air pedal, I can make one too. I can use the 'magic shield' as a foundation and walk over it step by step."
No matter what, the strength of the single-plank bridge cannot exceed that of the "Magic Shield", so using the "Magic Shield" as a stepping stone will definitely not cause any problems. At this time, the fact that the "Magic Shield" cannot move with the user becomes an advantage. As for why the "Magic Shield" can float in the air with a certain strength, this kind of thing should be left to the researchers who specialize in magic to think about.
With this thought in mind, Ella confidently walked slowly to the edge of the cliff and cast "Magic Shield".
——I felt regret the moment I took the first step.
The appearance of the "magic shield" is similar to glass, so it looks more terrifying than a single-plank bridge. It feels like walking on a glass plank road. I have no confidence that I can lay the "magic shield" step by step when my legs are weak.
Ella withdrew her left foot, which had already been stepped forward, and was caught in a dilemma.
"Hmm... Ah, right, wouldn't it be okay if we just use the 'Magic Shield' as a link to create a path from here to the other side, and then use the overloaded 'Acceleration' to rush through? Given the range of the Magic Shield, we shouldn't miss a step, right?"
If this were a comic, Ella would definitely have a lightbulb symbol appearing above her head right now, and would be putting her ideas into practice.
"magic--"
"Princess, what are you doing?"
I raised my head and heard Camisia's serious voice.
"I've placed you at the end of the team so that I can pick you up right after we've moved the carriages. Do you want to try walking there on your own? In that case..."
It seemed as if she saw a mixture of relief and loss in Camisia's purple eyes, but now was not the time to think about these things, Ella immediately added.
"No, no, I just wanted to see how deep it is, ahahaha..."
"Hmm? Is that so? Then please get ready. I will take you there now."
"please."
Just like that, the plan that she had spent so much time thinking about was not even put to use, and Ella was taken to the other side by Camisia in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 9 Mithril Ore and Mutated Mountain Beaver
After crossing the single-plank bridge with a huge waterfall, the team came to the place explored by Ella, a cave that was obviously dug out not long ago. Under normal circumstances, everyone would definitely ignore it and walk away, and in fact, that was indeed the case - if it weren't for Ella's suggestion.
"It's already noon, how about we take a break here?"
"Okay, Miss Ella."
The midday sun seemed a bit dazzling, so everyone chose to rest under the shade of trees on a country road. Perhaps because the Bruzea Empire was in the midst of war, there were very few travelers on the border, not even bandits, so everyone did not make any special disguises to conceal their race.
"This is... Blue Honeysuckle?"
There was a hint of surprise in Camisia's voice, as if she had caught a glimpse of something rare.
At the location she pointed, a withered vine appeared in front of everyone. Like Camisia, Angelica was also interested.
"Blue honeysuckle? Is it the blue honeysuckle that only grows on mithril veins?"
"Yes, Green Honeysuckle usually grows on Mithril veins, which means there is a high probability of Mithril veins nearby."
Camisia looked at Ella. If it was Ella, she might have known it in advance using the "Terrain Search".
Ella, who had been waiting for this moment, spread the map on her lap and gently drew the approximate range with the tip of a pen - the target was a mithril vein, even Camisia would be happy.
"That's the approximate range, but because the map is a little off, the location might be a little further down."
"This area... happens to be at the junction of the Dwarven Territory and the Bruzia Empire. Judging from the current situation, this area should not have been mined yet, which means it's still undiscovered. If that's the case, we should send people to occupy it sooner rather than later."
"But there will be some problems, right?"
After handing the map to Lotte, Ella stood up and parted the bushes behind her, revealing the cave they had previously explored that could spread the "poisonous miasma" effect. It was more like a crack embedded in the mountain's interior than a cave. Since the damage around it was very recent, it must have been recently excavated.
"There's a level 24 monster in there. It was that monster that caused the poisoning of the two-headed bird earlier. If we don't deal with it first, it will cause trouble for those behind us."
As Ella had said, a monster with the ability to emit miasma resided in the cave. Initially, Ella had assumed the miasma was simply present in the cave, and that the monster simply happened to be there. However, after closer inspection, she discovered that the miasma itself originated from the monster itself, a species known as a "mutated raccoon."
When Ella told Iris the species of the "mutated raccoon", Iris said she was not sure. The state of miasma rarely appeared in the records, and the word "mutated" was in the name of this monster, so this should be attributed to individual differences.
Ella's words made Camisia look delighted.
"Princess, you have already begun to subconsciously consider the people's interests. As a member of the demon clan, I really—"
"Cough cough."
If Camisia continued to talk like this, it would definitely take a long time, so Ella deliberately coughed twice.
"...Well, it's true. Level 24 is a bit of a problem for the advance team. In that case, let's eliminate it first. Mixing mithril into weapons can improve the efficiency of mana transmission. Although the demons already have a lot of mithril ore, it never hurts to have some extra."
"I'm also interested in that monster. Let me, Ella-chan, and Camisia go together, and Lute-chan will take care of lunch."
"Well, I'll be ready before the ladies return."
Lotte, dressed in maid attire, bowed slightly. Since Ella had already searched the area in advance and found no monsters that could threaten Lotte and the other two, leaving Lotte outside would not be a problem. After all, with Camisia there, it would take no more than ten minutes for them to be inside. It would take much longer to deal with a corpse than to turn a monster into a corpse.
"There's no time to lose, let's go in now."
……
ten minutes later.
"boom!"
Along with the roar of the mountain and the countless dust raised, three figures flashed out from the crack-shaped mountain. Along with them appeared a giant creature that blocked a large area of vision, but now that creature had become a corpse.
Angelica's eyes, drawn to her by the loud noise, gleamed brightly.
"Wow! What is that?! It looks amazing!"
The sight was of the giant monster called the "Mutated Mountain Rat." Its round body looked like a hamster enlarged to the size of a small mountain - except that it was not covered with smooth fur. The gray-black skin exposed directly made people feel like their stomachs were boiling.
"Eh... even if Angelina said it was great... she wouldn't have any second thoughts other than it's ugly, right?"
Ella, who was walking at the front of the team, responded to Angeline who was running towards her with a clattering sound. This "mutated raccoon" could only be described as ugly no matter how you looked at it. Not only that, its whole body exuded an extremely strong animal odor, which could be seen from the fact that Iris was covering her nose and walking away in disgust. In fact, if Ella hadn't said that it could be used, even Camisia would have abandoned it - it was disgusting in every way.
"Because it's our first time meeting."
"Senior, you're not saying you want to cook that monster, are you?"
It was obvious that Shen Gan frowned and took a small step back, with an undisguised look of disgust in his eyes.
Even Lotte was embarrassed by this request.
"Even if I were to do it, I'm not sure I could do it well..."
"No, that's not Lotte-senpai's question. Is this kind of meat really edible?"
"Eh? Are you planning on eating it, little Ella?"
"Huh? Why would you think that? I just want to use the skin. This kind of fur has such a shape and volume. I think it can be used as an airbag after processing."
The reason why I asked Camisia to bring it out was because I had my eyes on the fur of this "mutated mountain raccoon". As long as it was processed, it could be used as the airbag of the airship I had thought of before on the cliff. As for the fuel tank, after discussing with Iris in the cave, I found that it could be replaced with a battery-like device. Although it was not satisfactory in controlling the loss of magic power - magic power must be recharged every three hours, otherwise the magic power will dissipate on its own, but three hours is enough for use, and I don't have the intention of staying on the airship all night.
As she continued to pinch her nose with her hand, Angeline's voice sounded muffled.
"Airbag? What's that?"
As expected, there was no word for airbags in this world, so Ella couldn't help but feel that it was difficult to explain.
Scratching her head in annoyance, Ella walked over to Camisia at the back and retrieved the dead "Mutated Rattan" from the storage.
"Well, Angelina will find out when the time comes. If it can be made, it should be a very interesting thing."
"Before that, Senior, please wash off that smell from your body."
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