Volume 2 Chapter 9 (1/2)
Chapter 9 – The Story of a Bomb
It was a forest with many tall, thin trees
I was flying onpath that looked like it had beenbetween trees The leaves that had fallen on the ground writhed andsound
The clireat feeling
Taking a nap in a place like this would probably feel really good
”………”
After continuing to travel through the forest for a while, I saw a horse-draagon The wagon was entirely devoid of any luggage, and deplorably, it was stopped right in thethe way
I could only see the back of the wagon from my position, and hence I wasn't able to see the driver Is he taking a carefree nap? Or is he trying to say that he won't allow anyone to pass beyond this point?
”……Ei”
I inclined my broom upwards a little as I had no other choice The brooradually floated upwards
Obstacles must be overcome, after all
When I was above the wagon, I looked doards What I saw there was the roof of the wagon, a horse eating grass—-and a on
I ion was stopped in the middle of the road
The driver was not slacking off and taking a nap, nor was he blocking my path on purpose
”………”
The man was covered in blood and wounds He was collapsed lion
○
Just what happened here?
I had no idea what the circumstances were, but it was clear that the driver's life was in danger I felt that flying off and leaving him in this state would be far too cold hearted, so I landed ic
A warm, white haze wrapped around him and erased the bloody wounds and bruises that covered his body
He looked quite young, but he was still older than uess he was somewhere in his mid twenties His unkempt black hair looked dull as it was covered in dust
”……Ugh”
Just as the wounds on his body finished fading froht, he opened his eyes
He stared blankly at the canopy of the forest, and eventually he spotted me
”Are you okay?”
I spoke to hi over him
”……”
I didn’t receive an answer
”Umm… Are you okay?”
I tried waving my hand in front of his eyes
”……”
He blinked rapidly, opened and closed his mouth a few times, and finally moved his body
”E-ExcuseI've been lying here?”
Perhaps he's not completely awake yet? He seemed a little hysteric as he asked that question
”I just happened to find you as I was traveling, so I have no idea—but it was probably not a very long time”
The blood fro, after all
”T-Thank goodness! In that case, I can still make it on time…! Umm, I'm not sure who you are—”
”Elaina That's my name”
”Elaina-san! Would you please listen to my wish!+?”
He carabhim
”Sorry, I'm in a hurry”
”P-Please, just hear me out first!”
”……Ha”
I can hardly be bla in on me from behind
I was already half-weary of the incident and then he started talking to me desperately
”I know that I' this of you after you savedhorrible will happen at this rate! Please, I beg you! Please help me!”
He knelt down on the dirt and bowed tome to help him…
…I feel like I've experienced so similar in the past
After thinking about it carefully, it was a sie business after healing someone
I felt like it wasabout et mixed up in the issues of injured people whom I happen to heal?
I surreptitiously touched the brooch on my chest to make sure it was still there, and replied
”Well, I can listen to what you have to say, at least”
After hearing that, he quickly blurted out:
”At this rate, a lot of people are going to die!”
He said that in a hysteric voice
That certainly caught h I still didn't understand what this was all about
In the end, I heard the whole story from him
Apparently, he was a e Due to his job, he was currently transporting certain cargo to the country just ahead of where ere However, his wagon suffered an unexpected trouble while he was on his way
To put it briefly, he was attacked by bandits
On his side it was just one horse and a weak man, and on the other side were dozens of robust men There was no way he could win He was easily pulled froon and then beaten, kicked, and cut up by the bandits who then proceeded to strip him of all his valuables
”Oh my, that sounds awful”
”Yes, it really hurt a lot The only silver lining is that I didn’t end up dead”
”—So? How does the fact that you were attacked by bandits lead to a lot of people dying?”
Was he actually frouised as ato die, did he mean that the bandits would be massacred as retribution for what they did to him?
”Uo was actually a bo to”
”A bomb?”
”Yes They said so I didn’t really understand it They agreed to pay an absurdly high price for it, so I had it made for them”
”Hoho How much?”
”It was about ten thousand gold coins”
I felt my head start to ache It's just an explosive to open a tunnel, what's with that incredibly high price? Are they idiots?
I could vaguely guess what happened next
”So basically, these bandits have got their hands on an incredibly expensive boht put it to evil use—is that what you meant?”
”That's right This is a serious problem If the bandits take the boht die”
”Yes, it's really a serious problem”
Judging by what he said earlier, it sounds like he doesn't particularly care about ill happen if the bandits take the bomb to the country ahead of us instead
What's up with that? Are they on bad terms? If they are, then why did he prepare the bomb?
”That's right… More ierous as it will blow up instantly if youit”
”What the heck…”
”As one of the people involved in creating the bomb, I can tell you that it has an extreth of the bo the price that was paid for it”
”You helped make the bomb?”
”Yes I drew up the blueprints, and also wrote the user manual”
”………”
He said that he just helped to make the bomb, but he actually turned out to be the most important man involved in the process
Should he be called a merchant, or an inventor?
If he's the inventor, why did he lie and say he's a merchant?
”The operation of the bomb is fairly si purpose”
”So basically, you're saying that even the bandits can easily use it?”
”That's how it is The bomb is easy to use, so I don’t knoill happen in the future…”
”………”
Thethe bomb to attack his home I see, now I understand why he was so hysterical
Having his own creation used to destroy the country he ca sadder than this
”Soet the bomb back from the bandits, no matter what”
What he said was true It was clear that things would take a turn for the worse if nothing was done
There is no time to be indecisive At this rate, some people will die for certain
After unconsciously taking my broom into my hand, I realized that I had become impatient as well
”I'll try and track the bandits froo to the country ahead and report that the bomb was stolen”
”………”
The man looked bewildered for a second, and then,
”Ah, yes, I understand”
He said that and juon
And then,
”Right then, let's go”
It happened right after I said that and mounted my broom
The dreadful sound of an explosion reverberated throughout the forest
The shockwaves that could be felt on my skin made the plants shake and sent the ani up, I saw that the birds were flying ahilea loud noise
We both looked at each other
He had several different types of expressions running across his face
At this point, I slightly regretted the ti in a leisurely manner
○
I shook off the young”Please wait, I want to co too,” and went over there alone
I didn’t want hined himself… or rather, that was just an excuse To be honest, I was probably panicking and not thinking clearly at that tihout the forest was just that powerful
After getting onabove the treetops, I was able to see so into the air towards the south
Afterfroe there Or rather, it was a place where a village used to exist
”………”
There was nothing left alive Blood, flesh, and viscera were spread everywhere
Both the people and the wooden structures that barely rated as houses had been co there was in pieces, as if they had been cut apart by a sharp blade
Near the center of the village, there was a large hole that looked like a crater created by the ie cloud of sand and dust had been expelled into the air fro up into the air like smoke
”………”
After that, I found two scraps of paper a the debris over there
One of them was the user manual
The other was a letter
I went ahead and read it
”…So that's how it is”
After putting those ite and told him only about the state of the place where the bo my report, he replied,
”I see… That's unfortunate”