Chapter 45 (2/2)
Edita Sensei quickly made her way out of the room.
She really isn’t good at socializing.
I felt a bit closer to her when I realized she suffered in the same way I did.
I could hear the sound of the entry door open and quickly close. When it was clear that Edita Sensei had left the room, Ester-chan began to speak. Her expression seems a little more nervous than usual.
“Is that Elf your friend?”
“Yeah you could say that, but we really only met a few days ago.”
I guess it would be more like ten days if I include the time I met her when she was a spirit.
“really?”
“We were just talking about new ways of creating medicine.”
“I-Is that so.”
The loli’s stiff face softened.
She really does have an easy to understand personality.
“By the way, did you need me for something?”
“Eh? Ah, n-no. I was just wondering if we could eat together.”
“Sure. It is about that time isn’t it?”
“Yes!”
“Then, can you please invite Fahren to join us?”
“Eh? Lord Fahren?”
“There’s something I’d like to ask him.”
Of course, it’s about the Dark Continent.
We were leaving the school while headed to visit the noble mage. We travelled in a carriage for a while before arriving at a restaurant in the capital city of Kalis. It’s a rather high-class restaurant that’s commonly used by nobles and rich merchants.
I was sitting at one of the four seats at our table.
“You want to know about the Dark Continent?”
“Yes, if there’s anything you can tell me.”
The other members were Sophia-chan and Ester-chan.
The former is still overwhelmed by the presence of the noble mage. The latter immediately sat in the chair next to me. This girl couldn’t resist her own desires and sat down in the seat next to this middle-aged man.
Sophia-chan is starting to sweat from being surrounded by the nobility. It’s pretty cute.
“I believe I’ve only been there once.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s a place one goes if they’re truly confident in their own skill.”
“I see.”
With how curious the noble mage can be, I’m surprised he hasn’t been there more.
“At the same time, most people that visit that place never wish to return. Many people that travel there will never return and will simply become food for the creatures living there. The few that make it out live on to tell their stories and raise fear or curiosity in those that hear it.
“I-I see.”
The noble mage is speaking with a more serious tone than usual.
Apparently, it really is a dangerous place.
“And most people don’t even know what lies in the Depths.”
“The Depths?”
“We call the area near the sea the Coastal Region, the area beyond that that we’ve managed to map out is called The Shallows, and the deeper region that very few people have ever explored is called The Depths. People who reach the coastal region are usually relatively talented individuals looking to test themselves. The Shallows are much more dangerous. The amount of people that manage to return from there is less than half. The Depths have hardly been explored over the last hundred years.”
“I see.”
It’s relatively straightforward.
Edita Sensei was talking about her experience in the area called The Shallows.
It seems that even that area would be difficult for someone with a high level of skill to survive in.
By the way, I didn’t check her status.
“The Depths account for more than 90% of the landmass of the Dark Continent. The reason we’ve decided on the names Coastal Region, The Shallows, and The Depths is because nobody has ever been able to map out the entire Dark Continent. I could count on one hand the number of bases in that area that are manned by people.”
“I-I see.”
It’s easy to understand but I did want to know a little more about the place.
I might be hesitant to go if this is all I know about it.
“And I can assume the reason why you’re asking me about this place.”
“Well, I’m still trying to decide on what to do.”
“I see. Well, you’re as busy as ever.”
While murmuring to himself, the noble mage flipped over a piece of meat with his fork before stabbing into it.
The noble mage decided on this place. Apparently, it’s one of his favourite places to eat.
Next to him, Sophia-chan is trembling while cutting away at the steak in front of her. She’s clearly become incredibly tense just by sitting next to the noble mage. The thick steak she had before has now been cut down to a single square piece of meat.
I’m guessing she’s started acting this way due to every interaction she’s had with him before. It’s probably made even worse because of the noble mage’s weird interest in her.
I’d like to taste the inside of her armpit right now.
“It’s nothing compared to you.”
“What have you gotten yourself involved in this time?”
“I can’t tell you the details, but I’m trying to make a potion.”
“hmm, do you think things will turn out the same way as before?”
“Eh, well, I’m not sure.”
I wish I was as good looking as this ossan.
I wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble.
“U-umm, what about the school.”
The person next to me spoke up.
It was Ester-chan.
Her concerned voice really makes me want to protect her.
“If I do end up going I’ll have to leave the school for a while.”
“.”
The blonde loli’s eyes opened wide after hearing my words.
She looks lost in love again.
I’m sure the day will come when that love will shift to a new person. Thinking back to what happened with Allen the other day, it most likely will be someone entirely new. I should be thinking about who that new person will be.
It’s not like I’m trying to push her off to someone new. Even now, I’m sure that when it happens I’ll take a huge mental blow. I’m guessing I’ll be drowning in sake within three days.
“Can you just leave the school like that?”
“Well, I’ll make some arrangements for you. I’ll be able to get you an extended leave of absence.”
“Thank you.”
That’s good to hear.
It seems that I’ll be able to preserve my life with Sophia-chan even if I go out travelling.
“However, because nothing is currently set in stone, I’ll remain here for the time being.”
“I see.”
I only asked to meet with him for my own personal reasons, so it’s difficult to ask even more of him. If I travel there by carriage or some other means, I first need to gather more information. There’s still too much I don’t know about that place.
I wonder if there’s something like a travel agency in this world. In Japan, it wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the full-fledged travel industry began. There are various things that resembled this as early as the mid-1800’s, but, considering the industrial age of this world, I doubt anything like that exists.
As I began to wonder how I’d get there, the noble mage made a suggestion.
“You can probably reach it by using flight magic.”
“ah.”
Of course. I don’t even need to use public transportation. When I was fighting the dragon I really learned to control my flight magic. I’m sure I’d be able to fly all night and day if I were able to avoid sleeping.
“Well, that should work.”
“At the northernmost tip of the continent, there is a port town where an airship travels to the Dark Continent. I believe the name of this town is Ponch. I’m sure you could use this airship to travel part of the way and then use your flight magic to travel the rest. You could probably make it to the Dark Continent without having to travel overnight.”
“I see.”
“If you’re not going to use your flight magic, it would be best to avoid travelling to the Dark Continent by boat.”
“Why is that?”
“I’ve heard that there is a mighty sea dragon that lives in the water between the two continents.”
“A dragon?”
Even in the sea, there’s a dragon.
I wonder if that dragon’s attacks are like typhoons.
“If I were still young I’d considered going with you.”
“You’re still young.”
“Hmm, it’s nice to hear someone say that.”
The same thing I said to Edita Sensei.
This feeling is quite nice.
“B-But, how long will you be gone?”
“Well, let’s see. Since it’s a very dangerous place, I’ll first need to gather information and recruit members to go with me. If possible, it would be ideal for me to find someone that’s been there before.”
“it will be difficult to find someone like that in the capital. You might have to travel some distance to find a companion.”
“Are you sure?”
Should I try to recruit someone from that town called Ponch?
“How far away is Ponch anyway?”
“I think it would take around ten days by airship. If you were to travel by ship and carriage it would most likely take several months plus a few additional days for every time you’d need to transfer to a new ship.”
“I-I see.”
It’s basically on the opposite side of the planet.
I’ll talk with Edita Sensei again, but this is starting to seem really time-consuming.