Chapter 277

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

A Step Towards Salvation

It would be a disaster if a monster like the Yamamaneki appeared in the kingdom of Ponsonia . Even Dream Maker, with their cannons, was barely able to hold it back . Stronger monsters than that one existed, no doubt .

「That means the people here are walking on thin ice . 」Hikaru said . 「They’re living life on the edge . 」

The citizens he saw on the streets seemed to be at peace . They simply lived their lives, working and having fun . But that peace was slowly getting violated .

If we told them what Drake said, they would probably only take it with a grain of salt . Actually, how many people would even come with us if we told them they should leave this country and cross the sea?

Transportation was no problem . The warships they possessed could ferry a few thousand people across at once . Even with a lot of luggage, they could fully evacuate after a few trips .

Maybe… Just maybe . Eiichi created the ships so the people could abandon this continent .

It was possible . State leaders would at least prepare last resorts for their subjects .

「Hey, Drake . Can you use the Drakon Passage here?」

『Hmm?』

The drakon was devouring some fruit, sweet juices sticking around his mouth . With a strained laugh, the store employee allowed them to bring their pet .

With the door locked, they were able to take off their masks in the room . If someone came, Hikaru could sense them with Mana Detection anyway . They could just put the masks back on then .

『I don’t think so!』

「Well, that sucks… I thought we had an escape route just in case we need it . 」

『The ley lines aren’t really stable . My holy mana would only disperse if I used it . 』

「I’m not even sure what you mean by the ley lines not being stable . Please elaborate . 」

『You humans use it too . You know, the thing guilds use to contact other guilds . 』

「Oh, Linga’s Quill Pen . 」

Linga’s Quill Pen was a magic communication item that used the mana flowing under the earth . Apparently it followed the same principle as the Drakon Passage .

『Using that might be possible, but the Drakon Passage would be too much . 』

「Wait a sec . 」

『What?』

「Can we use the pen even across continents?」

『I think so . It should work . 』

「Hmm…」

「So…」Lavia joined the conversation . 「We can communicate with people back home with the Linga’s Quill Pen, right? Are you planning to do something with it?」

「No, I don’t really have anything in mind . I was just wondering if we could use it . 」

「But there’s no Adventurers Guild here!」Paula cut in .

「Not here, no . 」

「Not here?」

「But there might be one in the settlement from 500 years ago . 」

「Oh!」

Monster wouldn’t be interested in the ruins of an old human settlement . If they had the pen back then, it might still be there . The Linga’s Quill Pen was invented quite a long time ago, the technology now lost, but it did exist five centuries ago .

It might be a good idea to visit the ruins, Hikaru thought . Fortunately, they were given permission to venture outside freely .

『If you want to use the ley lines, I think you should fix the disruption first . 』

「How do we even fix that?」

『I dunno . 』

「Nothing we can do about it, then . 」

『Hmm… I guess you’re right . It feels like someone’s disrupting the ley lines on purpose . Just like how people lose their ability to use magic . 』

「So some evil creature is involved? They sure have a lot of time in their hands, doing whatever they please . 」

『It’s their deepest desire to destroy this world that God created . 』

「They sure are thorough . 」

「Thorough?」Lavia asked .

Drake seemed to have had enough of the complicated matters and went back to eating fruits fed to him by Paula .

「Yup, thorough . They spent a very long time eating away at the continent . Every move they made was calculated . First, they chose this continent that drakons wouldn’t spot easily, then they gradually expanded their territory . Drakons still found the place, but they managed to take them down by weakening them over a long time . 」

「So the drakons left a message with the residents, huh?」

「That was all they could do . Next, the evil creature expanded its territory even farther south, destroying Vireocean’s settlement along the way . They’re even disrupting the ley lines . 」

「Careful and logical…」

「Yup . It would be easier if they were dumb . 」

「But put it another way, they might be easy to manipulate . 」

「What?」Hikaru wasn’t sure what Lavia meant .

「Careful and logical . 」she said, smiling . 「Just like you, Hikaru . By putting yourself in their shoes, you can anticipate their next move . 」

「I see . I don’t know if we’re similar or not, but I just have to do that, yes . That’s not a bad idea . 」

Hikaru believed he was indeed careful and logical in his actions, but hearing it from someone else made him feel a little embarrassed .

「Hikaru . 」Lavia wore an expression that said she had complete faith in him . 「If we defeat the evil in this place, would that make us the savior of the world?」

「You really think we can do that?」

「Of course . 」

「Yeah, I think that’s what would happen . 」

Hikaru was a little surprised . It sounded like she wanted to take action herself . He didn’t expect Lavia to care that much about this continent .

「What’s going on? Why are you so interested in this matter? Normally, people would postpone threats they couldn’t see . 」

「You might’ve rubbed off on me . 」

「Me?」

「By the way you think . The enemy gets stronger with every passing day, so it’s better to take immediate action . Plus, if more evil creatures are born in this continent, hundreds of years later… or even a few decades later, they might attack, you know, during our lifetime . You considered that, didn’t you? That’s why you mentioned postponing a threat . 」

「Yeah…」

「But you weren’t sure . You thought about not taking down the root cause of all this . Because of us . You don’t want to put me and Paula in danger . 」

「………」

「Paula and I are prepared for anything . 」

「Yup!」Paula exclaimed as she fed Drake fruits she cut up .

「Oh, stop it . I’m not that noble, you know . To be honest, I don’t really care if the world ended as long as it doesn’t happen while I’m still alive . 」

『Hey, that’s not good!』Drake voiced his complaint, juices spraying out of his mouth, but Hikaru just ignored him .

Lavia chuckled .

「But this continent might go down sooner than expected and become the Ruined Continent in the truest sense of the word . 」Lavia said . 「If the evil had to be taken care of, you’ll rise up to take the challenge . 」

「Like I said, you’re giving me too much credit . 」

「No, I’m not . Me and Paula will be in danger if evil spreads . You will then drive it away to protect us . 」

「Well, yeah, I guess . 」

Hikaru had no other choice after hearing Lavia’s words . He would take action and destroy evil in order to protect her .

「M-Me too?!」Paula asked .

「Not really . 」

「Nooo!」

「It’s fine . Hikaru’s just hiding his embarrassment . 」Lavia said with a wry smile .

「Okay, fine . 」Hikaru sighed . 「Let’s explore the continent . It’s best if we take care of any problems quick . 」

Lavia smiled . 「Yeah! I have to learn the language and read their books too! It’s amazing . They have lots of books and they’re all printed! Plus their book making technology is too advanced . Apparently there’s a library too, thanks to Mr . Eychi!」

Hikaru watched Lavia as she was getting excited .

Okay, I get it . You want me to destroy the evil lurking here so you can read all the rare books in this country, Hikaru thought .