164 163. Sprint.txt (1/2)

Palinkron's location and the direction in which the Sith flew away are in line with each other. If we also head straight for it, we should be able to catch up with the Sith's back at some point.

Thinking about how to move as fast as possible to catch up with the Sith, we expand Dimension. Along the way, I sense that the cork soldiers are gathering around the mansion.

''Before I know it, we're surrounded ....... No, I've fought twice with a flourish, so it's no surprise ......

I'm rather surprised they haven't raided it yet.

Maria reacts to my soliloquy.

'A battle with the guardians (guardians) had already brought soldiers to the mansion to check on them. They didn't do anything, so I left them alone. ......

They don't know what's going on, and they're just waiting for reinforcements. The way this yard is changing, anyone would be alarmed.

The ground has been gouged out, but the plants and trees are overgrown. If it had changed so rapidly in just one night, anyone would be puzzled.

Besides, the residue of magical power left in the garden was thick. It's no wonder the soldiers didn't bypass it and are just waiting to see what happens.

One by one, the forces of the cork are gathering around the mansion.

''But it's just as well.''

But I didn't see that gathering of strength as an obstacle. Rather, I consider myself lucky.

I find the fastest way to move.

”Maria, can you ride a horse like that one?

Many of the soldiers were mounted on horse-like creatures.

Perhaps because the battlefield was surrounded by plains, mounted soldiers seemed to be in abundance.

''Horses?　Are you talking about the military ”Al-Auna”?　I can ride it, but I'm .......

Al-awna?

I've heard that word before.

Perhaps it refers to the horses of this world. From now on, when I hear the word ”Al-Awna”, I'll think of horses.

I've decided to ride that warhorse and chase it for now.

I don't have any riding experience, but I'm sure I can copy the skills. I'm not saying that I'll be a top-notch rider in no time. But I'm confident that I can reach a level where I won't be shaken off. Rastiara also said that she can ride, so I have enough places to copy the skills.

''Alright, thank God. Now we'll have 'legs' to chase Dia.

...... Um, you're going to rob the cork soldiers?

I suppressed my guilt and nodded back to Maria.

If it was just simple speed, me and Rustyala would be faster if we ran on our own legs. However, if you think about moving over long distances, relying on another 'leg' would be the most efficient. In that respect, a vehicle like that horse would be ideal.

''We don't have time to explain the situation to the soldiers, so we'll take it away. We're going to force our way through anyway, so we'll take it while we're at it.

Good call. Mr. Kanami.

I had expected Maria to disagree, but I was rather impressed with her bold choice. It was a far cry from me, whose conscience was aching.

'There are twenty-seven men in the army. Let's attack a few of the soldiers in the ...... north. This way.

He finds a short-handed spot in Dimension and hurries to the north of the mansion.

He then jumped over the garden fence and swooped down on the soldiers who were waiting for him.

There were six soldiers who were on the north side of the house.

First, as soon as they land, Rustyala takes one soldier's back and strangles him, knocking him out.

I thought about strangling his carotid artery and knocking him out too, but I decided against it since I had no experience in martial arts. As usual, I use my signature swordsmanship to lightly slash his leg.

''What, where did you appear from--!

If a soldier calls out to you, you make him drive his fist into the ground with his fist. I make it difficult for them to breathe and prevent them from calling out to their comrades for help.

The swift surprise attack by Rastiara and I knocked half the men unconscious and the other half down.

The fallen soldier would soon recover from his breathing difficulties and call for help.

Before that, we secure the warhorses.

When all three of us are on our warhorses, I glance at the grunting soldiers, my heart aches.

My heart aches.

No matter how one looks at it, what we are doing is a robbery. No, before that, we'll be charged with obstruction of justice.

For a moment I want to at least leave some money for the warhorse, but I shake my head that there's no point in such complacency. Even if I left enough money on the table, it wouldn't make up for what I stole.

Dismissing it as being for my fellow Dia, I remove the soldiers from my sight.

I can see that the morals that were nurtured in the original world are slowly being chipped away. At best, I can say that we are adapting. But I knew that this was not a good phenomenon of adaptation.

It's because of the trials in the other world and - most of all - the dreams.

I feel like I'm being rapidly adapted (・・・・・・・) to another world because of the memories of my dreams. Even though I haven't even spent a month in another world yet, I feel like I've been living in another world for years because of that dream.

Shaking off that uncomfortable feeling, I control the reins.

The warhorse roughed me up a bit, but I managed to get the warhorse to have a taste for it, just by following my example. It doesn't take much effort to finish the job.

Is it because of the presence of Rastiara and Maria, two role models nearby? Or is it because of the skill copy, status, or--or is it because of the dream? It's hard to tell.

Soon we are riding our warhorses and setting off from the outskirts of the city of Cork to the north.

Rustyala, who is following behind me, looks at the direction I'm moving and asks me questions out loud.

'Kanami, are we going to break the northern barrier at this point!

'Yes, I will!　After we leave the cork, we'll continue northwest!

Okay!　Then let's take down the soldiers at the barrier with magic!

We continue on the street.

It's the outskirts of town, so there aren't many people, but there are still people walking down the street. We rode our warhorses wildly, with people yelling at us as we passed.

After a few minutes, we reach the cork barrier.

It's a high wall, even from the inside.

The only way to get over it is to go through the door of the barrier. The location of the barrier is known ahead of time in ”Dimension”. And, of course, the status of the barrier.

The northern barrier has a few guards and one huge wooden door.

It's too thin a barrier to stop us.

We don't even need to stop.

”Maria, make a hole in the door!

He gives instructions to Maria, who is running alongside him. Without any hesitation, Maria nods and begins to build her magic.

I then take out a throwing knife from my 'belongings'. Rustyala's one understood his role without needing to be told. He finishes constructing some magic for long distance.

When the distance between us and the barrier is close enough to reach our voices, the soldiers on guard notice something strange.

They try to shout to stop the three enemy shadows that are coming towards us at a terrifying speed.

''Wha, what!　Wait, guys!　Don't go any further!

The Flamesphere!

Instead of a reply, Maria's spherical flames fly.

At the same time, I throw my knife and Rustyala flies a low-killing wind magic.

I took charge of the left half of the troops, and Rustiala took charge of the right half. The purpose of the attack is to stop them, but it's also to encourage them to move so they don't get caught up in Maria's magic.

Maria's flame bombs land on the door.

Then, with an explosive sound as if gunpowder had been popped, the great door was blown off.

Not just the windhole, but the door itself was gone.

Most of the soldiers were on their hips on the ground from the impact.

Without hesitation, we ran through the scorched remains of the dusty flame.

After passing through the gate, ignoring the shouts from behind us, the plain spreads out in our field of vision.

Now we're out of the city of Cork.

The only thing left to do is to push on through this great plain.

However, it is difficult to travel across the plain, which stretches unchanged to the horizon. Maria, who knows this, confirms again.

'Kanami-san, are you sure you're right about this direction?'

The direction is measured accurately in Dimension, and I take the map out of my 'possessions' and check it against it.

It's correct. I'm going to ignore the town on the way and head in a straight line to the fort where Palinkron is.

From a quick glance, it looked like we could get there if we spent the night going northwest. There were three or so cities in between, but he could tell that they were going straight ahead without turning aside.

Perhaps the flying Sith would be heading straight ahead as well.

However, a calm voice breaks in.

''No, Kanami-san. Even if it's a bit of a detour, you should still stop by the city. If you change your feet often, you'll get there faster in the end.

...... sure you're right. Then let's make one stop in town.

I adopt Maria's opinion, since we didn't have to go far off the beaten path if we only made one stop.

Leaning slightly in the direction of travel, I choose a path that allows me to make a stop in the city.

Even though there are dimensions and maps, there is still the possibility of getting lost. The closer we are to the city streets, the easier it is to get directions, so it's not a bad route.

Thus, we push through the Great Plains without hesitation.

We took the best possible move and left the mansion as fast as we could think of.

But the discomfort remains, as if it sticks.

I still feel like I'm doing something wrong.

All the mistakes I've made to date make me uneasy about the best move I've taken.

Still, I had no choice but to run my warhorse.

I thought about everything I could think of in ”Parallel Thinking” and followed the instructions of ”Sensory”. If this is still impossible, then it means that it's no longer within Aikawa Uzumi's tolerance range.

-- and there is a real sense that it has already been exceeded.

But such a situation, I'm used to it.

I'm not going to stop just because I'm over the limit.

I'm not going to stop just because I'm over the limit.

I'm going to keep going forward.

◆◆◆◆◆

From Cork, we continue northwest and reach a new city as the sun goes down.

The city's name is Coral.

Unlike the trade-centric port city, it is small in size. It doesn't have the high defensive walls of Cork, just a frame of stone walls. Of course, like a city in the middle of a war, there are many soldiers on guard.

However, for those of us who have the ”Dimension”, monkeys were only natural.