Chapter Sixty-four: A Grudge over Food Is Terrifying
Ms. Aria’s enemy detection net has detected five spots of magical stagnation. We probably need to eliminate all these spots to dispel the illusion and spatial distortion, or perhaps destroying the "correct" one out of those five would be enough… We’re not sure which it is, but since this exploration is for investigation, we decided to check them all out.
“…In any case, we should assume there will be some traps.”
“Eh, really? I thought if it wasn’t the main one, there’d be nothing.”
“Even if it’s a decoy location, nothing is stopping the dungeon from setting traps to whittle down our forces.”
“Ah… that makes sense…”
Mr. Ville’s nonchalant words sent a chill down my spine… Does that mean dangers are lying in wait everywhere we go here?! I need to really stay on guard, this is serious stuff! And the fact that he can say that without flinching means he’s been through some hellish battles…
I look around again and even knowing it’s an illusion, the sensation of grass tickling my shins and the smell of the earth carried by the wind feels incredibly real. Magic is amazing.
Seriously, our party that can see through such a sophisticated illusion at first glance is pretty amazing too, right…?
Just as I was being struck again by the dreadful reality I had been trying not to think about, a sudden snapping sound came from underfoot.
“Huah!?”
“Damn! The area was wider than expected! Rin, run!”
“Y-Yes…! Eh, the barrier, it’s quite sturdy!?”
At the same time, a pale green semi-transparent barrier-like structure enclosed the area around us. To put it into words, we were trapped inside a dome-like space with a radius of about 15 meters and a height of around 10 meters. I rushed to the wall at the unusually frantic tone in Mr. Ville’s voice, but despite looking thin and fragile, no amount of pushing or pounding made it budge.
Yup. Getting out from here seems pretty impossible… Actually, instead of trying to get through the wall, I should have just activated the Camping Car. Since the wall was see-through, I just ended up drawn towards it without thinking… I need to train myself to make calm decisions…
As I exhale a shaky breath and try to activate Campy… a harsh, inorganic clanking sound comes from behind me. Even knowing it is pointless, I still turn around.
“R-Robots?”
“Damn, magical automatons! What a pain!”
What emerged from the eerily swirling light on the ground was an autonomous machine with a form straight out of a mecha anime—small in size but still appearing to be around 3 meters tall. There is one white unit and one red one. The red one has what looks like a single eerie red eye peering out from a black slit on its face area.
As I rushed into the car, a laser beam from the mono-eye burned black where I had been standing.
O-Oh, my god, that was way too close! If that had hit me directly… I would have died, right!?
…Come to think of it, that red one was clearly aiming for me… the most fragile part of the party!
Emitting an ominous whirring sound, the red unit’s eye ignored Mr. Ville and the rest as it scanned the area, apparently searching for me since the Camping Car’s camouflage hid me from view.
…Tch…! It’s not giving up, is it…!
The red one stubbornly kept firing its laser at the area around where I had vanished and activated Campy.
“You bastard… how dare you target our cook!”
“You’ll regret this…!”
“You’ll pay for this with your life!”
“Ville, the white one is a close-range type. Its outer shell is tough but the joints are vulnerable. Ed, Aria, the red one is long-range. Restrain it with netting before it can keep its distance, then hit it with lightning magic. We must give these defilers of our dining table their just deserts.”
As I hurriedly tried to get into the driver’s seat to flee, those were the enraged shouts I heard from everyone. At the same time, the relentless laser fire stopped.
Looking over, I saw Mr. Ville leading the charge, effortlessly wielding a greatsword and targeting the white one’s joints, with Ms. Aria ensnaring the red one with threads, and Mr. Ed channeling lightning magic through them. Mr. Xenon, smiling brightly, gave precise instructions on the red and white weaknesses to the team.
…But that greatsword Mr. Ville is wielding… It’s a two-handed sword, right? How is he using it with one hand? Ms. Aria, those threads bind the red one… Aren’t they more of a cocoon than a net now? And Mr. Ed, the lightning magic… It’s high-voltage, right…? Did he get special training for handling high-voltage electricity…? While the three of them raged, only Mr. Xenon kept a soft tone and gentle expression… though I could have sworn an icy fury radiated from his entire being…?
In conclusion: the grudge over food is terrifying.
Watching the red and white robot duo swiftly reduced to scrap, I am once again reminded of how important mealtimes are to the Gourmands…
I love this party
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapter