After losing in the semi-finals of the martial arts tournament yesterday, me and Fuuka, along with Huey and Katie, headed to the neighbouring town of Maranto first thing in the morning.
Why? Morning, Fuuka opens her eyes and the first words she utters is that she wants to eat dumplings from Maranto.
Maranto is about an hour and a half by carriage from Tutril and is a town with a reputation for delicious dumplings.
This princess is really free-spirited.
And how gluttonous is she, wanting to eat dumplings first thing after waking up…..
Now, after buying a massive bunch of dumplings in Maranto, we’re on our back back to Tutril on a carriage.
I don’t like day trips because they’re tiring…….
However, we’ve got dinner with Alf in the evening, so can’t just abandon him.
“Fuuka, is it good?”
Katie asks Fuuka, who’s continuing to eat dumplings, and Fuuka nods up and down.
“I see. That’s good.”
The normal Katie would have scolded Fuuka for eating so much.
But, Katie thinks she’s been hurt after losing to Orn yesterday, so she’s treating her sweeter than usual.
……This person’s definitely not hurt in any way, alright? Her face looked so refreshed right after she lost, not regretful at all. I can bet on it!
Fuuka’s also taking advantage of Katie’s compassion, and behaving more selfishly than usual.
I’m sure she thought that in this situation, Katie would agree even if she said she wanted to go to Maranto, that’s why she asked.
What a really great personality.
◇ ◇ ◇
From the outside of the windows, as we start to see the outer walls of Tutril, Fuuka stops eating her dumplings and suddenly looks up and around.
“Fuuka, what’s wrong?”
Katie, concerned by Fuuka’s sudden behaviour, calls out to her.
“…..Haruto. Check Tutril.”
“Ah? Why so sudden?”
Fuuka is definitely not an idiot. In fact, she’s quite quick-witted.
However, this person is fundamentally self-absorbed, so she only says the conclusion.
In this person’s mind, what she’s just said might have been based on various reasons, but unfortunately, the world she sees is too different from us to fully grasp what she means. Used to it though.
“Don’t ask, quick.”
It’s probably faster to see than to have it explained.
Just as Fuuka says, I close my eyes and let my vision fly above Tutril.
This is my Talent, [Bird’s-eye Vision].
I can move my line of sight to any location within a few kilometres radius of me.
I don’t need to close my eyes to use this, but I try to close my eyes when I can afford it, because it’s tiring to see two different perspectives at the same time.
I look down on Tutril from above.
“You’re kidding me…….”
I utter something I don’t mean to at the devastation spread across my field of vision.
On the north side of Tutril, buildings in a neighbourhood lined with luxury homes had collapsed.
“Captain, did you see something?”
Huey, who heard my murmur, asks.
“Part of the city has been destroyed.”
“–What!?”
After I answer Huey’s question, both Huey and Katie are stunned.
“Hm?”
As I lower my viewpoint to get a closer look at the wreckage, something bursts nearby.
Looking in the direction of the explosion, I see two people.
(Wait, this is mid-air. Why is there–)
Those two people are Orn and Oliver.
(This ain’t the finals of the martial arts tournament, is it? If it followed the schedule, it would have been over by now. And that thing Oliver is wrapped in……)
“It might be the worst situation. Oliver is rampaging. Probably that thing Christopher was talking about. Looks like he’s fighting Orn right now. Obviously, Orn is outmatched.”
“That thing? ‘That’ being the thing you said about the reason why Captain and the rest came to this city?”
Huey asks again.
I mentioned this once a long time ago, he remembered it well.
“Right. We — or rather, Fuuka, came to this city to finish off Oliver in the event he goes out of control. Though they told us there was little chance of him losing control.”
“Where’s Philly?”
Fuuka, acting as usual even at a time like this, doesn’t ask about Oliver’s condition or location, but instead where Philly is.
I look over Tutril again to search for Philly.
Then, at the place where the mansion of the Hero Party was located, I find Philly in battle with Luna.
I thought it would be reckless to face Philly, but Luna’s magic barrier is quite durable and she can take Philly’s powerful attacks.
But it’s only a matter of time.
The only person in the vicinity of this city who can stand a chance against her is Fuuka.
But Fuuka has the task of bringing down Oliver.
I’m going to have to risk my life here and hold back Philly…….
“Philly is in the place where the Hero Party’s mansion used to be. For now, I’ll buy time, you head over after finishing off Oliver.”
“No need. I will cut down Philly.”
Fuuka, self-absorbed as usual, only informs us of her conclusion.
“Fuuka, this is an abnormal situation. Tell me so I can understand. What you have to do is to stop Oliver. Why are you letting that go and heading for Philly?”
To my question, Fuuka has an expression as though saying ‘why are you asking me that’ as she tilts her head.
“Isn’t that because Orn is there?”
“So tell me why. Why do you put so much trust in Orn? I’m sorry to say this, but if Orn continues to fight Oliver like this, he’ll definitely die, alright?”
“………………Hmm? Maybe Chris didn’t tell you about Orn?”
Fuuka seems to have thought of something and asks.
From Christopher?
He requested me to handle the Oliver affair by supporting Fuuka, but other than that, he didn’t mention anything else, did he?
I fish frantically through my memory, but I don’t recall being told anything else.
“…..I haven’t heard.”
“I see. That’s why we weren’t on the same page about Orn stuff.”
“Don’t come to a realisation all on your own, talk to me. Or is it something you can’t talk to someone like me from a branch family about?”
To my question, Fuuka shakes her head left and right.
“That’s not true. Rather, I thought Haruto also knew about it. I’ll explain now. –First, do you know the ‘Talented King’ has appeared?”
“I knew that. The real thing, born at the same time as Oliver, right? But he lost his life ten years ago in an attack by the Cult,……………… Oi, don’t tell me…..”
No way, oi.
Is that why Orn is so unbalanced?
He’s mastered martial arts to a point near Fuuka’s level, but his physical abilities are nowhere near. That means…..
“Yes. Orn is the Hero from the fairy tales sealed with magic – the ‘Talented King’.”
With that one title, everything makes sense.
Fuuka’s previously incomprehensible words now make sense.
“Then why is he so outmatched? Ten years ago, he should have been able to break the seal if he wanted to, right?”
“What Philly did ten years ago, you didn’t hear about that too?”
“……I see, [Cognition Alteration]. So Orn’s memories have been rewritten, that what you’re saying?”
“Yes. And not just how to unseal, he also doesn’t remember Ki.”
Speaking of which, I mentioned Ki when Fuuka’s second round was over, but that guy didn’t look like he knew anything about it.
“Then isn’t it going to go badly? Even if he is the ‘Talented King’, Orn won’t stand a chance if he’s still sealed.”
“Probably alright. He doesn’t remember Ki, but I think Orn has another way to break the seal. Otherwise, he couldn’t have defeated the Black Dragon alone.
That’s right. He killed the Black Dragon all by himself.
The ‘Talented King’ and ‘Hero’ both set out to conquer the Southern Great Labyrinth huh, now that I think about it, what a nightmare….
“Almost no time. Just now I saw the future where Luna was killed by Philly. Orn will be sad if Luna dies. So I’m going first. Haruto also, go right away.”
Fuuka leaves the carriage and starts running toward Tutril at an unbelievable speed.
How much further into the future did she see…… Wait, that means she temporarily can’t use [Future Sight] doesn’t it!
“Captain, are you going too?”
Huey asks me with an anxious look.
“Yeah. This is the reason we came to this city. You guys continue take the carriage to Tutril and help evacuate civilians.”
I consider both Huey and Katie to be my companions, but I can’t involve them from here on out.
Because one moment of carelessness can be fatal.
I don’t want these guys to set foot in that kind of place.
“I’m going with the Captain.”
“Me too!”
“Doesn’t seem like you understand, so I’ll make it clear. If you’re half-hearted, you’ll die, alright?”
“I can infer that from the mood of Captain and Fuuka. Still, I would like to repay the Captain and everyone else for being my life’s benefactor. If I’m a liability, I don’t mind if you cut me off.”
“I feel the same way. If it weren’t for Captain and Fuuka, I wouldn’t be here. That’s why I want to help the two of you, my saviours!”
……They both seem firmly determined. I don’t even have time for questions and answers right now.
“Got it. Then we’ll be moving out right away. Katie, I want you to cast [Agility Up] on yourself and Huey.”
“Understood!”
Then we had the carriage stopped and chasing Fuuka, we headed to the Hero Party’s mansion.
–