Part 2
---[Underwood] Underground City, Spiraling Stairs of the Outer-walls
Due to the fact that the Underground city of [Underwood] was excavated in a spiraling semi spherical shape like that of a snail shell, the troop had to walk round and round the city to reach the surface. Though the depth was at most twenty meters, to walk along the sloping walls would still be a distance away from their destination.
However, the troop of [No Name] did not show any sign of getting tired of the journey as this was their first time visiting this city and their eyes were aglow with excitement. Moreover, the Harvest Festival was ongoing all around them with the smells of enticing food wafting into the air from the many temporary stalls that lined the road.
Yō’s eyes were attracted to the stall that had a [Six Scars] Flag hanging on its sign.
“……Ah. Kuro Usagi, that stall is selling [White Cheese] that is grilled on the spot……”
“No, you cannot~… should wait till we thank the [Host] before we come back to try the food from the stalls……”
“Oishi neh.”[50]
“When did you sneak away to buy that?!”
Yō ignored Kuro Usagi’s comeback as she used her hand to pull at the cheese stick that had a long strand of half melted cheese trailing out from her mouth to it.
The cheese that was still steaming, had the unique texture and smoky smell of food that have been grilled on the spot, even if it were to be eaten plain, one wouldn’t be tired of its flavor.
Two.
Three mouthfuls…Yō continued to eat while Asuka and Ayesha beside her were casting envious looks at her.
Noticing their actions, Yō passed the paper wrapping to them as she tilted her head with a smile:
“……Want a sniff?”
“Sniff?”
“Sniff? You ask if we want to have a sniff or not? Wouldn’t one normally ask the question of “Want a bite?”, but this fella decides to ask us “Want a sniff?”!”
“Nn. Because there’s none left.”
“And it’s empty!”
“Did you want us to smell the lingering scent?! What are you thinking to play such a game of reality?”[51]
Yō licked her fingers.
The other two could only look longingly at the stall that had a gradually widening distance between them as they plodded on.
Jack who took the lead was hugging his pumpkin head as he laughed at the rowdy commotion of the girls behind him.
“Yahohohoho! Oh my, really! Kasukabe-san sure is interesting! To have such a lively comrade sure makes others envious, Jin Russel-san.”
“Yes I agree. But if comparing the liveliness, I would think that [Will-O'-Wisp] should be of a level higher than us.”
“Yahohohoho! Aiya, I feel really embarrassed now!”
The troop, that was by far noisier than any other Communities around them, climbed the net-like tree roots to reach the surface.
But from here on, the remaining distance was the real challenge. Yō lifted her head to gaze upon the Great Tree. Seemingly in a daze with her mouth open, she asked:
“……Kuro Usagi, how many hundreds of meters does this tree go up to?”
“I heard that the Water Tree of [Underwood] reaches to a total of five hundred meters. Though it isn’t as tall as the cliffs found at the boundaries of Little Garden, it should be one of the large class amongst the sacred trees.”
“Is it?......Then where is the place that we are heading to?”
“It should be around the middle.”
“ ……Is it?”
In other words, the height they were heading for was two hundred and fifty meters up and it would require stairs or other climbing footholds.
Yō didn’t even bother disguising her thoughts of how troublesome that was as it was clearly painted all over her facial expression.
“……Can I fly there?”
“Kasukabe-san, no matter how you see it, it’s you wanting to do things in your own way again.”
“Yahoho! I understand your feelings, but please do not let it spoil the spirit of teamwork. And we are allowed to use an elevator to reach the Headquarters, so it wouldn’t waste too much time.”
Elevator? The troop felt doubtful about what they heard.
However, Jack didn’t explain further as he continued to lead them.
Arriving at the bottom of a thick and sturdy looking branch, Jack walked into a container[52] constructed out of wood before waving to the others.
“Everyone, please come into this container. And when everyone is inside, please close the door and ring the bell, which is beside it, twice.”
“I got it.”
Yō pulled the rope that was attached to the container, causing the bell to ring.
Water began to pour out of the Water Tree’s burl[53] that was located quite a distance above.
They watched as the water gushed into another empty container that was connected to the container that Yō and the others stood upon. As the pulley that connected the two containers started to rotate with a click-clacking sound, the container that they were in had begun to rise slowly.
“Wow!”
“We are starting to rise!”
“Yahoho! This is a mechanism that utilizes the weight of water that is poured into the other empty container to lift this passenger container up. Though it is a primitive method, but it is much faster than walking with one’s own feet.”
Exactly like how Jack said it, the Aqua powered elevator only required few minutes to reach the Headquarters.
The troop hitched the metal part of the container to the platform when they arrived at the top before walking towards the wooden path.
The path that was paved by the fitting of wooden planks in a straight line seemed a little dangerous but the worry soon vanished when they stepped upon it and realize that it was sturdier than it appeared to be.
Railings were also installed on the two sides to prevent people from falling off the path. As long as one doesn’t place his or her body over the rail to look over it, they wouldn’t be in danger of falling.
After following the path for a while, the flag of the Harvest Festival’s host, [Draco Greif] could be spotted by the troop.
“There’s one, two, three……seven flags? Is it organized by seven Communities?”
“Sadly, the answer is NO. It’s said that [Draco Greif] is made up of six Communities that come under an Alliance. The large flag in the middle is the Alliance flag.”
Kuro Usagi pointed to the flags that consisted of seven of them as she explained.
[One Horn]
[Two Wings]
[Three Tails]
[Four Footed]
[Five Claws]
[Six Scars]
And the piece that was hung in the middle, above all the others was the [Draco Greif] Alliance Flag.
“That is the Alliance flag?......But why do they need to have an Alliance?”
“About this, when three or more Communities form an Alliance, they can create an Alliance flag to witness their pact. Though there are many different types of uses…… the most important reason would definitely still be to go against Demon Lords.”
“Against Demon Lords?”
“YES! For example when an Alliance’s Community is attacked by a Demon Lord, the other Communities of the same Alliance can force themselves into the Gift Game to give aid.”
“……Really? The others will come to help huh[54].”
“But if you want to ask if it is always possible for others to join in, I would say that it isn’t like that all the time. And it still depends on the Alliance Communities to judge whether or not to force their way into the Game. If the situation is deemed too unfavorable, there’s also the most opted choice of not helping. So I guess it is more of a self-comforting act.”
“Really?” Asuka replied as she turned to look at the flag. The other members had used the time the two had used to converse to bring forth their report about their arrival at the reception area of the HeadQuarters.
“We are Jack and Ayesha of [Will-O'-Wisp].”
“I’m Jin Russel of [No Name].”
“Okay. [Will-O'-Wisp] and [No Name]……oh!”
The Dryad[55] teen who was in-charge of the reception area suddenly lifted her head.
“May I ask if you are Kudou Asuka-sama of [No Name]?”
“Nn. That’s me. You are?”
“I’m one of the [Underwood] Dryads that participated in the [Rise of the Fire Dragon] Festival and I heard that I’m indebted to Asuka-sama for having offered a hand in the rescue of my younger brother……”
*Oooooh* Seeming to have the recollection of the incident, Asuka made the sound of understanding.
The other party should be referring to the time when the battle with “Black Death Demon Lord” was ongoing and she had once helped that young Dryad teen back then.
Confirming that she found the right person, the reception girl immediately bowed to Asuka in gratitude.
“It’s you, right? I’m really grateful to you, Asuka-sama for saving my younger brother’s life. It’s all thanks to your help that my Community can return safely as a troop without any loss in our numbers.”
“Is it so? That’s great. So the one who sent the invitation was you guys? “
“Yes. The Great Faerie is currently in deep sleep, so we have taken over in the task of sending the invitations. In addition, the new leader of [One Horn] and the representative of [Draco Greif] Alliance ---Sala Doltrake-sama has also specified to give you guys a hospitable reception.”
The troop of [No Name] looked at each other with surprise painted all over their faces.
“Sala……Doltrake?”
Asuka was perplexed as she tilted her head with her feelings shown clearly on her face.
She had an impression of that surname and hence asked Jin:
“Could it be [Salamandra]’s……”
“Nn……that’s right. Its Sandra’s elder sister, Sala-sama the eldest daughter. But I didn’t expect her to come over to the South Side……Could it be that the person who leaked the secret techniques of the North Side is……”
“I’m afraid that the word ‘leaked’ is a baseless accusation, Jin Russel-san”
Just then, an unfamiliar female voice suddenly came from behind and the group hurriedly turned their heads as they were alarmed.
In the next moment, a gust of hot air blew caused the Great Tree’s branches to sway. And the source of the fierce hot air and raging winds is a girl who had appeared in the air and the Flaming Wings that she was emitted by her.
“Sa……Sala-sama!”
“It’s been some time, Jin. I’ve always wanted for the day that we see each other again. The [Highborn of Little Garden]-san behind, this should be our first meeting, right?”
Sala Doltrake dispelled the fiercely burning Hono no Tsubasa (Flaming Wings) and landed upon the tree branch.
The head of red hair that was exactly like the color her younger sister’s hair was waving in the wind while the healthy bronze colored skin was boldly exposed. Her simple and scant outfit would even allow others to mistake her for a dancer.
Atop her head, above the set of determined eyes, there was a set, that looked more beautiful than Sandra’s, of dragon horns that were parallel to her eyes. And those gave her a sense of a strong domineering spirit. If there were a need to measure her power as a Lesser Dragon, it would be easily understood with just a look at those horns.
Looking through the troop of people one at a time to familiarize herself with their faces, Sala smiled and said to the dryad girl in-charge of the reception area:
“Thank you for the hard work of working the receptions, Kirino. I will be here so, run along to play.”
“Eh? But if I leave this place, those participants that will come to say their greetings……”
“I did say that I will be here, right? Moreover a large majority of the Communities that will participate from the eve of the Harvest Festival have already arrived. Even if you leave the reception area, no one would blame you. Go and have some fun like the other kids and enjoy the Harvest Festival.”
“O…Okay!”
The Dryad girl who was called Kirino showed a happy expression as she bowed to Asuka and the others before making her way to the Harvest Festival plaza.
Sala who had stayed behind, looked at the crowd with a sliver of a smile at the corner of her lips as she solemnly bowed her head.
“To all of [No Name] and [Will-O'-Wisp], welcome to [Underwood]. It’s my honor to be able to invite the two well-known Communities of the lower Floors to this place.”
“……well-known?”
“Nn. But standing here to talk wouldn’t speak well of me. Come follow me in. I will serve you guys tea as we talk.”
Sala beckoned towards the troop as she entered the Headquarters.
Though the members of both Communities exchanged puzzled looks, they still accepted the invitation and entered the interior of the Great Tree.
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