“Dammit, don’t joke around me…!”
That was the first thing out of Tanii Kenji’s mouth after losing his ‘Pistol’.
The moment he saw us, he bolted. “Eh? Why is he running!?”
“Hmm…
Maybe he doesn’t have good memories with Spirit Beasts,” Shion replied to the surprised Matsuko.
”…Out of range for Silence. I need to get closer.”
Chiyu murmured.
“Can’t we just leave him alone, though…”
“N-no! If we talk calmly, he’ll surely understand!”
Reacting to Yumekai’s lethargic words, Professor Luminas spoke up.
“Sōsuke-san.”
Fukamasa looked at me, seeking my order.
“Let’s chase him. Use Microon to get right above him. Then Chiyu can use Silence.” “Mm. Understood.”
On a straight path, we would’ve caught up in no time, but since Tanii was sprinting through the dense forest, even with Microon, closing the distance instantly wasn’t possible.
Even so, catching him was only a matter of time.
“In range—Silence.”
Tsuboi’s body glowed faintly as he gradually slowed to a stop.
”…Why the hell was I so scared?”
Apparently, his fear of Mashihiro and Mikron had been enough to make him flee.
With his terror subsiding, he had come to a halt.
“Tsuboi-kun, can you hear me out?”
Still astride the Black Dragon Mikron, Luminas-sensei addressed Tsuboi.
“Huh? It’s Luminas-chan. Why are you on that black dragon…?”
“P-Please go to Professor Tanbi first. There is something more important I need to tell you.”
“Sensei, wait. Before we talk, we should get out of here.”
I cut in on her words.
Several comrades who had realized the situation were already assuming combat stances.
“Takano-kun? What’s wrong?”
Sensei had been too focused on Tsuboi to notice.
“Sensei, we are here at a body of water.”
Currently, the misshapen monsters deployed on this desert island number two types.
The Arvank and the Trent.
Both of them dwell in areas with water sources.
And right before my eyes spread a body of water large enough to be called a lake.
Into that area had come eleven humans, including Tsutsui.
There was no way the monsters wouldn’t be provoked.
Though there was no wind, the surrounding trees began to rustle.
Splashes rose on the surface of the water.
The trees yanked their own roots out of the ground and moved by shifting them like legs.
Their branches writhed like tentacles, and faces resembling human ones floated on their trunks.
The Avank also slithered up onto the land, but their numbers were beyond normal.
They threatened to completely fill my field of vision.
“Ah… ah… ahhh…”
“Tsutsui, climb up here!”
I reached out a hand toward Tsutsui.
But his legs had seemingly gone out from under him; he sat down on his rump and just stayed there, motionless. “Chiyu! Buff me!”
With that, I jumped off the Micron.
“Sō-kun…! Gah, ‘Might Enhancement’!”
Her voice was unusually frantic, but my childhood friend cast the enhancement spell without a moment’s hesitation.
My entire body glowed with a faint light as power surged through me.
I lifted Tsutsui up and flung him onto the Micron’s back.
“Teacher, please keep him from falling off.”
“Y-Yes! Hurry up too, Kudo-kun!”
The Micron and the Black Ryugu could fly into the air to break contact, but Fenrir’s Mashiro was in danger.
The countless treants had already moved to block our retreat.
I hesitated for a split second.
For now, have the Dream World barrier enclose just us.
Then, from a safe distance, we can keep attacking with deep-tier spells until the monsters are gone.
Yes. With this lineup, there’s no need to panic.
But reality rarely follows the script of ideals.
Kuroryu Miyao had not maintained a safe altitude, likely worried about the riders on Mashiro.
Then, one of its tails was caught by a treant that reached out and wrapped a branch around it.
Surprised by the realization, Kuroryu Kyogo twisted his body, trying to wrench free from the bindings.
As a result, the branches snapped.
But—
“Ah.”
Soji and Shion, who were riding on Kuroryu Miyao’s back, clung on with all their might in a split second of panic, but the Dream Realm’s response lagged behind.
She nearly dropped the tablet she was carrying, reaching out to catch it instead of holding on.
Because of that distraction, she could no longer keep her grip on Kuroryu Miyao—and fell.
That alone might have been manageable.
The misfortune lay in the fact that a treant’s branch struck her again, bouncing her away.
Her body tumbled through the air.
To make matters worse, where she bounced toward was— the swarm of Arvanks.
Screams of shock rose from her companions.
“I’ll go! Everyone else, keep taking down the monsters from within the barrier!”
I conveyed only the original plan before sprinting straight toward the horde of Arvanks.
Identifying the figures that might get in my way before reaching the Dream Realm, I pulled an item from my Inventory.
Boiling water.
Specifically, it was heated to a rolling boil using deep-level fire magic.
Usually, you dilute this with water when taking a bath, but there wasn’t much time for such courtesies here.
The Arvanks drenched in scalding heat let out agonized screams, thrashing around in pain.
Using my enhanced physique to knock them aside, I seized the moment and leaped.
Soaring high like some superhero, I launched myself toward the Dream Realm as she fell.
“Catch—!”
I grabbed her body out of mid-air, falling together.
The surrounding Arvanks scattered to avoid us, creating a small patch of open ground.
I landed there.
The impact sank my boots halfway into the earth, but my reinforced flesh meant I sustained no injuries.
“Hah… hah… E-eh? Kuno……?”
She didn’t seem to expect rescue; her face was etched with disbelief.
“Are you okay?”
For a split second, as if regretting her own carelessness, her face drained of all color.
“Ah, I’m sorry…!”
She was shaken, unlike her usual self.
But there was no time for comforting her.
“Dreamworld, two barriers.
One surrounding just the group—and—” Just then.
The Arvanks encircling us pounced all at once.
And as they lunged to bite us—right before impact, they were knocked back by an invisible force.
”…Yeah, I get it. Surrounding just us who are isolated, right?”
Typical Dreamworld.
She had quickly recovered from the confusion and grasped the situation.
With this, we wouldn’t have any problems even if surrounded by a massive swarm.
The rest of the group could attack until the monsters outside the barrier were gone.
And Dreamworld and I could hold out in this small barrier.
“Looks like we’re safe now. Dreamworld, are you hurt?”
“Y-Yeah. My arm still moves. But maybe it’s just the adrenaline.”
I wasn’t aware I’d been injured at the moment it happened; the pain only started to set in afterward.
“I hope we can link up with Chi-ru before the adrenaline wears off.”
At least it seemed like there were no serious injuries, which was a relief.
For a second, I thought things were over, but now I could breathe again.
My comrades should realize that I and Yumekai are safe once they confirm the barrier of the Dream Realm is functioning.
The barrier allows visibility from the inside out, but not from the outside in.
We cannot verify the presence of our companions within different barriers, just as they cannot verify ours.
Since we know for certain that everyone is safe, there’s no need to worry.
”…Hey, Kudo.”
The cries of the Arvank that had been audible at first suddenly ceased.
Had the Dream Realm rejected the intrusion of ‘sound’?
“What’s wrong?”
“Why did you do something so reckless? What would have happened if I had passed out, or even died?”
The thought of a comrade dying was one I wanted to avoid, but had she lost consciousness, I would have simply carried her back to the group.
I shaped the stones in my Inventory into massive boulders, raining them down to crush the Arvanck. Using my enhanced body, I moved across the rubble to rejoin my companions.
We used Fubou and Professor Luminus’s magic to take down the Trolls blocking our retreat, clearing a path for Mashiro to make her run.
It was dangerous, and she likely got hurt in the chaos, but fortunately, we have Senri with us, who wields healing magic.
I only came up with that idea now; in the heat of the moment, I was far too frantic to think that clearly.
Besides, the Yume-kyō isn’t going to care about hearing such plans right now.
“My body just moved on reflex.”
So he conveyed only the facts.
“Hmpf”
Yume-kyō’s body flinched.
It was only then that I realized I was still holding her in a princess carry.
“Sorry, let me set you down now.”
She remained standing there as I released her, refusing to step away from me.
More than that, she actually leaned into me.
Moments ago, I’d had no time for such things, but now that I focused on it, I could keenly feel the warmth of her body and the rhythm of her breathing.
”…Yume-kyo?”
She looked up at me.
Her face was dyed a deep red, and her eyes were brimming with tears.
“So… how are you going to deal with this?”
Or perhaps it was just my imagination that made her voice sound so feverish.
“I can’t rest until I settle my debts. But how am I supposed to pay back a life-saving favor like that?”
Come to think of it, Yume-gai was that type.
”……Don’t worry about it.”
“No way. I’ve been in debt to you all this time. Now that saving my life is added on top of that… there’s no choice but to spend the rest of my life repaying you, right?”
If her voice had form, it would be soaking wet and heavy with absorbed water by now.
Her words were so moist and saturated with resolve that it was almost a delusion to think otherwise.
Yume-gai slowly moved her face closer.
The aloof classmate who had always stood apart from everyone else was now… seeking me out?
“Y-Yume-gai…”
Even though the situation was safe, my throat still clicked with a nervous gulp.
“We don’t have anything to do until the others exterminate all the monsters. Let me repay you.”
And then, her face twisted into an anxious expression.
“Or… is it that I’m not good enough?”
The pace of development may vary, but the girls who joined us all end up getting close to Sousuke in the end.
Next time will be a chapter focusing on Ei-chi, our first in a while.
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