"That's not funny at all. I was either going to suffocate to death, or she would have killed me in a panic, or she would have killed me in anger. Other than the danger to my life, I didn't feel anything at all."
That, that problem is indeed very serious... Just as Meredith was about to fall into deep thought, Oscar continued:
"Besides, once her shame subsided, she'd bring it up. For months, she'd be grinning and demanding I explain my feelings, even fabricating my own feelings! It was incredibly annoying!"
Huh? Oh?
"So...are there really such annoying people?"
Small class! ?
"Yes, that's the kind of person that Meredith Lessen is. In other words, I can't possibly be excited about her. Proof complete."
"Hmm...it's surprisingly convincing, even though it's just a fake intellectual's words."
Hey, Sister Mei, can I use gravity magic to hit them?
It’s better not to do that, because we are in the sky now and the ground is full of demons.
While Miledy and Mel were having this conversation, Oscar and Bandu continued to bicker.
Oscar's face was brimming with veins, but he smiled; Bandu's face was brimming with displeasure. Natsu couldn't stand it any longer and stepped in to mediate, but the two of them wouldn't stop. Their endless verbal battle made one wonder if they had entered a world of their own.
(Hey, Xiaonai, Mei'er, what's wrong with those two? Why is their relationship so bad? They just met today.)
(Ben is the cocky type, so it's not surprising, but it's rare to see Oscar act like this. Not to mention that Ben is basically his lifesaver...)
Meredy and Mel were whispering to each other. After a moment of silence, Nez whispered his own conclusions to them.
(…Could it be that like repels like?)
((Like repels like?))
Meredy and Mel tilted their heads in confusion, while Natsu continued, choosing his words carefully.
(Although I am not familiar with Bandu, he seems to be quite conceited about his dignity and rationality as a patriarch, but he is unexpectedly hot-blooded.)
(Hmm, and then... Eh? That's...)
(Looks like Oscar's younger brother.)
(Well, Oscar also encouraged himself to look like an intellectual gentleman, and he was quite proud of his gentlemanly demeanor and rationality. However, he was quite rough inside.)
This is because he was an orphan who grew up in the slums. In other words,
(I think the saying "like repels like" might be an exaggeration, but...it's like they're looking at me objectively, so I feel uncomfortable, right?)
The three glanced at Oscar and Bandu.
"Don't show that disgusting smile. It makes people uncomfortable."
"I'm so sorry, because if I had a face as sad as yours, I wouldn't be alive today."
It turned out to be the case.
Both of them want to be rational, but when they see each other, they instinctively feel the rude side of themselves that they don't want to admit, so they feel angry for no reason.
(H-What should I do, Mei-nee? I never thought that the companions of the Age of Gods magicians would dislike each other from the very beginning...)
(Well, just let it be. Don’t worry about men’s quarrels!)
(Who, who can be as open-minded as you...)
Watching the female members whispering to each other, Natsu sighed softly.
I feel like my mental burden is increasing...
After that, Bartram's flying dragon began to fly at its maximum speed, and with Niz's transfer movement, it lasted for about a day and a half.
Perhaps their efforts to camp outdoors and travel at breakneck speed had paid off. A journey that would normally take a month by horseback had achieved a record-breaking speed. They were currently in a forest at the foot of a mountain that towered over Igueldo, the capital of the Demon Kingdom.
Bartram changed from dragon form to slime form and stayed beside Bandu.
"Let's go up the mountain from here. My dragon is in a cave a little way up the mountain."
As Bandu spoke, he began to walk in front to lead the way, while Miredi and others followed behind.
The forest was very quiet and the air had a strange smell. Although it was not unpleasant, the unfamiliar smell of the southern forest seemed to make the body feel uncomfortable.
There was no sign of anyone on the road leading to the mountain, and the group walked through the forest for about an hour, almost in a leisurely mood.
"Hmm...Hmm...it's quite far."
"? Are you tired already?"
Bandu looked at Meredi with a look that asked, "Is this guy serious?" There were no paths in the forest, and the ground was uneven due to thick tree roots, making it difficult to walk. Even so, only a young woman could feel tired so quickly.
"No, no, how could I be tired! Xiao Mi is a woman who loves to travel!"
Miredi said that this was absolutely not the case.
"...Miledi, you look a little pale and sweaty."
But Oscar frowned and pointed.
"Huh? Really? I think you're just being overly suspicious."
Natsu narrowed his eyes in surprise.
"You have the stamina to cross the desert, so this shouldn't be a big deal..."
"That's right, Aou is exaggerating!"
"I'd better cast a regeneration spell on you."
Mel's regeneration magic was applied to Meredith, and her complexion improved and her breathing returned to normal.
"Thank you, Mei-nee. Well, I'm completely fine now. You're so caring, Aoto."
"That's good."
"Haha, Oscar-chan is really overprotective."
Oscar pushed his glasses up, as if to say, "Stop talking nonsense," and then walked to the front with some embarrassment. Hearing Bandu complain, "If you don't know the way, don't walk in front," Oscar, although even more embarrassed, immediately retorted.
With the natural bickering of the two as background music, the group continued on their way.
Soon after, they arrived at the foot of the mountain. They pushed aside the grass and walked into the mountain, which was lush with vegetation and looked rich in fruits.
"Is the real flying dragon of Ban-chan nearby?"
Walking on the gentle slope, Meredy's breathing became rapid again for some reason and asked.
"Yes, we'll reach that cave in a little while."
Mei'er asked irritably:
"Walk a little longer...how much longer do we have to walk?"
Bandu habitually clicked his tongue and replied, "In an instant, that's all."
"Sister Mei'er is a daughter of the ocean and hates climbing mountains."
So, could we use Nizu's teleportation and get up there in no time? Perhaps Meier said this out of consideration for Meredith, who seemed to be walking with a heavy step. But it's also possible that she simply hated climbing mountains, as she said.
Bandu's gaze shifted to Meredith, and it was clear he was asking, "Is it okay to have someone like that as a companion?" Meredith defended her, saying, "Even though she's a rather problematic older sister, it's, it's okay... probably." But... her voice was very soft. Furthermore, she didn't dare look at Bandu as she spoke. It seemed Meredith's usual dejected demeanor made it difficult for her to speak confidently.
Natsu looked embarrassed and said to Mei:
"Anyway, there's a lot of cover here, and moving to an unfamiliar area would be dangerous."
"By then, we're already pretty much inside the security network. No magic is allowed from now on."
Oscar tilted his head in confusion after hearing Bandu's instructions.
"What does that mean?"
“Pfft!”
"Can you please stop smacking your lips when you see my face? I'll tear your scarf apart, okay?"
Oscar said this with a smile that showed his veins. Bandu's surprise deepened. It seemed that the two of them really didn't get along.
"Alright, alright, you two, stop arguing! Seriously. By the way, Ben, what do you mean by not being able to use magic?"
Meredith stood between the two and brought the subject back to the topic.
Bandu's usual poker face became even more emotionless as he led the group and began to explain.
"The Magic City's defenses are very tight. They not only have the ability to repel attackers, but also have methods to detect intruders."
According to him, a magic sensing barrier with a radius of several kilometers was set up with the Magic City as the center.
A person's magic is essentially like a fingerprint; each person has subtle differences; no two people are exactly alike. Just like no one's magic light has the same color, even if the eye can't see the difference, careful analysis will reveal it.
In the Magic City, all residents and those entering and leaving it were required to register their magic power with a dedicated department. If unregistered magic power was detected within the barrier, soldiers would immediately arrive.
Of course, if it's a type like physical strengthening that doesn't release magic power externally, it's okay.
As a natural barrier protecting the Demon City, if you go up a little further in this mountain, you will enter the range of the barrier.
"For this reason, please refrain from using magic if possible."
Oscar and the others accepted his explanation because they had only come here to reach the flying dragon carrying Mei'er. However, their expressions twitched when they heard his next words.
"Feiryuu took that woman—"
"It's Mei'er, huh?"
"... Feilong Bama-er—"
"It's Mei'er, huh?"
"Don't call me sister!"
Meredith pulled on Mer's skirt, asking her to curb her sadistic nature, and then winked at Bandu to continue.
"Hmm, after Feilong sends Mei'er to the hidden village, we'll head straight to the middle of the mountain."
"Eh? Ban, are you saying..."
"Yes, we will immediately launch a rescue operation."
"You can't use magic, right?"
"That's right."
"Uh~ Since it's a natural barrier guarding the back of the Demon City, I imagine there should be troops defending it..."
"Of course. The mountaintop camp is manned by a garrison corps proficient in magic and familiar with the mountain's terrain. They patrol the mountain along random routes."
"Xiao-Xiao Mi originally thought that they would use Xiao Mi to attract the enemy's attention, and then Xiao Ban and Xiao Nai would take the opportunity to rescue them..."
Since he was seeking the assistance of a magician from the Age of Gods, it was natural to assume that he would expect such a drastic measure. However, Bandu flatly rejected Meredith's suggestion.
"Absolutely not."
He explained that the experiments were extremely confidential within the Demon King's castle, so any attack would be immediate. While it would be fine if the subjects were simply sent to a location unknown to Bandu, the most worrying thing was that the subjects, who had been stopped by Bandu in exchange for their cooperation, would now face the risk of execution. Therefore, he could only make a full-throttle move during his escape.
"Luckily, the princess of Laisen took the teleporter as her companion. My original plan was to ask the liberators to rescue the experimented subjects, while the princess and I held off the soldiers."
If that happened, the two would have been locked in a desperate battle with the Demon Kingdom's tens of thousands of elite soldiers. Thanks to Natsu, their escape time was significantly reduced. That was truly a stroke of luck.
That being said, many of the subjects have limited mobility, so it's undeniable that this will take a bit longer. In that sense, having Mei'er around would have been helpful... but in that sense, I'll have to ask Miley and the others to put in a lot of effort.
After hearing Bandu's explanation, Mireidi seemed unwilling to give up and proposed an alternative plan:
"If that's the case, since we can't use magic, then instead of defending the mountains where there are so many soldiers, it would be better to invade the capital... maybe disguise ourselves as merchants and sneak in."
"No, we don't have that kind of time. We can only resort to a method that is almost forced to break through."
In other words, the best method is for a magician who has the advantage of being able to use magic from the Age of Gods, but relies on his physical condition that is not accustomed to the mountainous areas, to evade and defeat the soldiers who are specifically guarding and fighting in the mountains without using magic, and then invade the mountain castle.
"No matter what, we must end this quickly before the Demon King returns. If we encounter garrison soldiers, we must eliminate them before they alert others, and we must not use magic."
Even if it's that easy for you to say... the muscles on the faces of Miledi and others kept twitching.
Meredith, in particular, was twitching violently. Her eyes were shifting, and she looked uneasy, like a carp about to be put on the chopping block.
Bandu continued nonchalantly:
"Don't worry, we don't have to cross the mountains, and invading the city won't be difficult because there are secret passages."
Oscar perked up, pushed up his glasses and asked:
"Secret passage? That's the so-called escape route used by the royal family, right?"
"...Because Bartram is excellent."
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