Part 3
---[Underwood Underground Cavern] The underground floodgate of the Great Tree.
The group of [No Name]s had been led to the VIP room located beside the underground floodgate that was the pride of [Underwood] for their active role in the previous battles before the ceasefire and for the future role they may play in the war.
The passages that were created from the excavation of the Great Tree’s interior extended downwards along the centre of the Great Tree in a spiralling fashion.
Didn’t they say that this was a VIP room? It sure is troublesome to get there. Asuka couldn’t help having that complaint forming in her heart, as she spoke:
“This passage seems to extend quite deep into the ground…Could it be that the room is situated at the interior of the Great Tree?”
“Yep, that’s right! Okyakusan, I’m leading you to a VIP room that’s constructed by the carving of a huge tree burl amongst the Tree Roots or Tree branches. And the one that I’m bringing you guys to right now is the most luxurious of them all, so please look forward to it yo♪”
Carol who was responsible for leading the way was happily leading them to the VIP room while waving her nicely bent tail.
Although it was a period of emergency, the few of them couldn’t help being full of anticipation upon hearing that much praise given to the room they were assigned to. Asuka and Izayoi turned to look at each other and exchanged a smile.
Carol stopped before the VIP room---
“OK, see it for your own eyes then! This is our prided floodgate of the [Underwood]’s Gigantic Water Tree which stretches across the River! It’s the best VIP room that allows you to enjoy the sight of two thousand or more water and tree sprites!”
With a sound of *Clack*, the door was pushed open. And with the wind that blew in from the VIP room windows, a scent of the river and a small group of faeries were blown in.
“Wa……!”
Although the faeries were so small that it was almost impossible to focus on their corporeal bodies, the faint glowing lights surrounding them were enough to make their presences known. The faeries were like fireflies that danced above the river surface, weaving right, left and around each other, causing the view of the Great Water Tree sprawling across the River to have an added touch of allure.
Using her hands to cup a little Faerie, Asuka asked Kuro Usagi:
“Are all of these little glowing balls faeries?”
“YES! Before Faeries have stronger spiritual powers, they are all of this miniature presences. Mel had gained her spirit level through the developing of land and those faeries that are reborn from death, except for those that did the same way as Ayesha, would look like this when they are born.”
Kuro Usagi explained with much confidence in herself.
For Asuka who had always believed that Mel was the smallest in size, this was a very refreshing information to her.
Taking the time while the two of them were talking to move to the windows, Izayoi gazed upon the the mouth of the river where the Great [Underwood] Tree roots grew over. And as he watched that sparkling and glowing magnificent sight before him, an expression came over his face that could not be completely called joy but better described as wistful.
“……This is quite a problem, with such a beautiful waterside view, just by Shirayuki-hime alone, we aren’t going to win.”
“Eh?”
“It’s about that… Remember the previous day when I went to find Shiroyasha to develop the water source? Well, that plan was actually--- to construct a shrine for Shirayuki-hime and develop waterways to make the view of the free lands look prosperous and resplendent.”
“There…There’s such a plan as well……?”
Having heard of the plan for the first time, Kuro Usagi was taken aback.
The surroundings of the Outer Gate, especially the development of the free lands and its look of prosperity would often reflect on the level of the [Region Master].
Izayoi had actually planned to construct a shrine of worship for Shirayuki-hime and to gradually expand from there to develop the plans of a Water City within the Outer Gate 2105380.
Hearing his explanation, the expression of Kuro Usagi and the others had turned from wonder to one that was difficult to describe.
“Nn…… When you say it like that, it sure is a strong opponent. [Underwood] is one of the handful of water cities that can be found in the Lower levels. But to try to catch up to it from scratch……”
“That’s too difficult. And from the perspective of the soil composition, there’s also quite a large difference between East Side and South Side right?”
“Ye…Yes. The South Side’s climate is more suitable for the growth of plants and the soils is much more fertile. Even if one wasn’t a Eudemon, they would still be able to live comfortably here.”
“North Side’s city is always in an autumn-like appearance due to the huge Kekkai surrounding it, but the other undeveloped parts and areas apart from its city seem to be frozen grounds. To make up for the shortage of natural endowment, the Communities have to teach one another and share their knowledge while working hard to create or summon more Gifts. And precisely because of how the Communities in the North are equipped with a higher level of knowledge, it gave them the ability to continue their development.”
When compared to those two, the East side was……Thinking about that, everyone fell silent.
The climate at East Side and the soil composition wasn’t too shabby.
The structures and decorations may be a little old fashioned but it did not bring much inconvenience.
But to point out an area that it was best at…… it would probably be its security and only that.
“……But [Underwood] had also just recently revived to the state we see it today after being destroyed by a Demon Lord. Since the conditions are similar to be viable as our opponents, the problem isn’t about the advantages they have or do not have but the fact that within ten years, we must show them that we can do much better.”
Izayoi gave a harrumph as he made the announcement.
No matter how far that target might be, for him to take back his words would surely hurt his pride. Izayoi gazed at the cavern before him once more with eyes that seemed to be declaring war upon it.
The dazzling glows of the faerie clusters could be seen darting around as they danced in the air above the prided [Underwood] Underground Great Tree Water Gates.
This dream like spectacle before them would become a topic to be examined by the [No Name]s in the future, though this would be something that they would find to be difficult to solve.
Asuka sat on the sofa in the VIP room, sighing as she gave her conclusion:
“Discussing it further would be a waste of time. Regarding that topic, let’s think about it when we have more time to mull over it. Our priority now should still be to draw up the battle plans to rescue Kasukabe-san and Leticia.”
“Nn……You’re right! The solving of the riddle can be left to Izayoi-san, so let’s start the discussion on our strategies now!”
Kuro Usagi switched to a happy mood as she gave her reply with alacrity.
Izayoi and Jin sat down as well as they joined the discussion.
“Well then, a realistic problem that we have now is the fact that we do not have any means to rush to that Citadel. Regarding this point, we can only find the [Draco Greif] Alliance to ask for help but…… ochibi-sama, do you have any other ideas?”
“Well, it’s not really an idea but I guess we can ask Gry-san for the favour. After all, he did see Yō-san as his friend and should be willing to lend a hand to our cause of saving her in this time of emergency.”
“Oh? You mean that Gryphon, the one whom we met at the [Thousand Eyes] Branch store?”
“ YES! Gry-san is a very friendly and understanding gentleman!”
*Hm* Izayoi folded his arms as he started to ponder about the matter. If the Gryphon was willing to become his means to get to the Citadel, he had no complaint about that arrangement. In fact, that could be counted as solving the problem.
“That’s good, then I will be leaving it to Kuro Usagi to handle it. Then next up is the formation of the group to wait for the orders and the invasion party. The group that is to wait for the orders and engage the Titans when they attack will be led by ochibi-sama and Percher while the invasion party is by me---”
“---and I will be going as well.”
Asuka interrupted Izayoi’s words.
Izayoi lifted his head in surprise but Asuka ignored his reaction as she continued:
“Kuro Usagi is unable to join the game. So she must stay to deal with the Titans. Jin and Percher have the strength to battle with the Titans and that leaves me and Izayoi-san to attempt the invasion by flight……that should be the best way to assign the roles right?”
Asuka stared Izayoi seriously in the eyes and corresponding to her stare, Izayoi made his expressions unreadable as he started to observe Asuka.
And before he could even give a reply, Asuka added:
“About how Izayoi-san always chooses to give the instructions for me to be far from the danger zone in large scale Games……it’s not that I’ve not noticed that move.”
“……”
Izayoi only squinted his eyes but did not deny it.
Because more than half of what Asuka had said was the truth.
When it was the battle with [Perseus], Asuka’s strength was clearly lacking and knowing that point, she had accepted the task assigned to her.
However, during the time of [Black Death Demon Lord]’s battle, though it wasn’t a direct order, he did make it known that he wanted Kudou Asuka and Kasukabe Yō who were at the front lines to maintain a distance away from the Demon Lord.
For Izayoi had judged that at the scene then, the only candidate who could go on par with the Demon Lord wasn’t Asuka and not Yō as well……it was Leticia alone.
“In the end, your decision might have been right. Who knows? Maybe Izayoi-san should be left to assign the roles this time as well…… but this time, there’s no news of Kasukabe-san and Leticia. Though it might be reckless, we must still forcefully break through into the enemy’s encampment. Or else the people that we want to rescue might not be able to come out safely.”
“So, please let me go with you.”
For Asuka who had a high amount of pride to say such a thing, it was clear that she was serious about it.
Hence Izayoi did not give his answer simply, but continued to ponder over it with his arms folded across his chest. And after a while, he suddenly posed a question to Asuka:
“……Why does Oujo-sama want to come along with me? For Kasukabe and Leticia?”
“Yep.”
“Really? But I don’t want to bring you along.”
Izayoi immediately gave his reply. His sharp and cold tone did not leave a single shred of ground as he rejected Asuka outright and caused the atmosphere of the place to suddenly drop to the freezing point.
Compared to the anger of being rejected, Asuka was experiencing a numbness in her body due to her anxiety.
Izayoi leaned forward to observe Asuka’s expression as he calmly gave his advice:
“Oujo-sama, I do admire that determination in you. But I still do not want to bring you along. For in the case where we meet with some trouble, with a Demon Lord---or perhaps an unknown threat that’s of an equal calibre, Oujo-sama will be finished on the spot.”
“N…No way that’s going to happen. I…I’ve also faced [Black Death Demon Lord] before……”
“That was just the result of coincidence. If Oujo-sama were to fight Percher in a proper duel, there’s no odds on your end at all.”
“……What?!”
The unexpectedly blunt reply caused Asuka’s retort to be trapped in her mouth. Clearly, Asuka had not expected Izayoi to reject her with such a finality in his voice.
Izayoi stood up and scratched his head as a troubled look came over his face.
“But, I can also understand the direction where Oujo-sama is coming from and the determination and feelings that back it. If it were me seeing my own people being made a of fool in such a manner, I would also be unable to stay quiet about it. I would surely want to exact my revenge on those guys……but if Oujo-sama were to be with me, my actions might get restricted during the critical moments and I would rather try to avoid that situation.”
“……”
Hearing how Izayoi described her to be [A Bother] in a roundabout manner, Asuka could only grind her teeth for she was clear that her Gift was unsuitable for search missions. However aside from that point, she still wanted to play a part in helping Kasukabe and Leticia.
Not knowing how to reply to that, Asuka could only lower her head and it was then that Izayoi’s lips parted into a grin.
“But, if Oujo-sama does possess the strength to defeat Percher, it will be a different matter altogether.”
“……Eh?”
“There’s still a lot of unstable factors between the new combination of ochibi-sama and Percher in battles. There’s no saying that things will always progress smoothly for them on the battlefield every time either. So with that in mind, allowing them to gain some experience from fighting Deen whom we know is the natural opposite to their powers, isn’t a bad idea too.”
Izayoi glanced at Asuka with a smile at his lips.
Asuka had also caught on to the implied meaning as she replied:
“In other words, you want me, alone……to battle against the combination of Jin-chan and Percher?”
“Yep. As long as Oujo-sama wins one of the bouts, I will bring you along.”
Izayoi nodded his head as he glared at Asuka challengingly.
If you want to demand for something, you must show your strength first. That was Izayoi’s letter of challenge.
Asuka also took on a [That’s how I would want it] attitude as she rested a hand on her hip while pointing at Izayoi.
“Great! I couldn’t have asked for more! I will show Izayoi-san that you are wrong.”
“Nn. Do your best then.”
---That is if you really can win……Izayoi softly muttered under his breath.
While Jin was stumped by the schedule that was going off topic, he still lightly clenched his fist to give himself some encouragement.
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