บท 49: Border
Hours passed since Mika and Ophelia departed from Loogam.
"Are we moving faster than last time?" Mika asked as he looked outside the window.
"We're being carried by tamed monsters we use for emergency cases. Those monsters are at least two times faster than the normal monsters." Ophelia, who sat across from him, explained.
"So this means we will arrive tomorrow already?"
Ophelia nodded her head.
"Anyways, I will try to get some sleep. Wake me up if anything should happen."
"Sure. Didn't you sleep well last night? You looked tired even before we departed so go get some rest."
"It's not like that." Ophelia denied it.
Rather than tired, she seemed more stressed.
And just like that, with her arms crossed, she closed her eyes while still sitting upright.
"Is she really sleeping like that..?"
He was fascinated by her method.
But he did not waste any time and proceeded to take out a sheet of paper.
"..."
Ophelia handed it over to him when they were in the carriage.
It contained details about the rescue mission.
But because they went missing recently, the document only had information regarding their quest.
According to the quest, the team only had to subjugate some monsters at the border of Rostanta.
"What could I have happened to them? I don't think that they had problems with the monsters.
Hey, do you know anything, system?"
[Unfortunately, I cannot help you in this case.]
"Not even a hint?"
[I do not possess any helpful information.]
"I see..."
[Be that as it may, I wanted to announce that I won't be in reach for a few days.]
"Huh?!"
Mika stood up in surprise.
In all those years, it may be the first time that the system will be out of touch for a few days.
"W-why?"
[I don't know. I was just ordered to take some time off.]
"Ordered?"
[My time's up. I wish you good luck on this quest.]
"W-wait!"
[And do not forget. Don't use your power recklessly, especially in front of others.]
"System!"
No response.
"System?"
He called out to it a couple more times, but he was met with the same silence.
"Wait..."
Shocked, he cast his gaze down.
"Am... Am I free?"
After all those years, he was free.
Nothing would interrupt his thoughts anymore.
Nothing would put him into uncomfortable situations anymore.
Nothing would mess with him anymore.
He let himself fall on his seat.
"Haha..."
"Hahaha!"
He laughed like a maniac.
"Hm..."
Ophelia trained herself to be able to sleep anywhere, however, the sound of Mika's laugh managed to wake her up.
She slowly opened her eyes only to see his face, whose expression resembled a monster.
"What the!"
Out of reflex, she slapped him across the face.
"Argh! What was that for?!"
"Huh? Mika?"
It was at that moment that she realized that it was actually Mika.
"Yeah, it's me!"
"..."
Looking creeped out, she leaned herself more on the wall.
"Why did you laugh like a demon?!" she asked looking at him in disgust.
"I was laughing normally!"
"..."
She heaved a sigh.
"Whatever... Just shut up and let me sleep..."
She shook her head sideways as she tried to fall asleep.
Thus, for the rest of the trip, Mika did not utter a word nor did he do anything besides looking outside the window.
"..."
It was night already, however, there was no sign of the driver telling them when they would rest.
Carefully, he opened the small hatch above Ophelia's head.
"Excuse me, but don't you need a rest?" Mika asked the driver.
"Rest? Haha, no need for that! I and those boys are used to driving through the night without sleeping or rest!" he answered free-spirited as he also mentioned the tamed monsters.
"I see, haha..." Mika laughed wryly as he slowly shut the hatch again, scared that he would wake Ophelia up.
However, his fear soon turned into reality.
"Hng..."
Ophelia yawned.
"..."
This was a dangerous situation.
A very dangerous situation.
Mika was sweating bullets.
She was about to open her eyes, but Mika could not move.
He was too scared to move.
"Hm?"
And yet he did not see the bigger picture.
"Hmmm?"
After her eyes opened, she squinted them.
"D-did you sleep well?" Mika asked nervously with a grin.
"..."
She did not look him in the eyes.
She stared to the front.
"Mika. Tell me one thing."
"Y-yes?"
"Why the hell is your crotch right in front of my face?"
Her tone was threatening.
"E-ehm , well..."
He did not realize that he was standing right in front of her the entire time while talking to the driver.
In that position, it was inevitable to shove his lower body into her eyesight.
"I don't care about your excuse."
She stood up facing Mika.
"..."
Mika bit his lips as he turned his face, showing her the cheek which was not hit yet.
Following that, the driver only heard a loud slap coming from inside the carriage.
Time passed and it was now the middle of the night.
"When exactly will we arrive?" Mika asked still appearing scared of her.
"As soon as the sun rises." she replied while looking outside the window, which only showed her reflection as it was too dark outside.
Because his eyes were looking down, he noticed that Ophelia was constantly tapping her index finger on her thigh.
"I've never seen you so restless befor-"
"Let's go over the plan." she cut him off.
"As it is a rescue quest, I will actively participate. When we arrive, you will check out the surroundings for any possible hints. In the meantime, I will look for witnesses and gather information in the nearest city."
Mika nodded his head firmly.
As they reviewed their plan in more detail, the morning sun began to rise from the horizon brightening up the previous dark night sky.
It also meant that they almost arrived at the borders.
"..."
Ophelia looked outside the window as they passed through the city near the borders.
"Something feels off here..." she muttered.
Her gaze was pensive.
It may be very early in the morning, however, in the city, there was no sign of even a single person.
Doors were closed and curtains prevented others from looking inside.
It was as if they were hiding.
Ophelia did not ponder any longer about that with the border being almost right in front of them.
Slowly and steadily they came to a halt.
The driver opened the door of the carriage.
"W-we're here..." he announced with a pale face.
"What happened?" Ophelia asked sternly.
"I-I don't know how to describe that... It would be better if you take a look for yourself..."
"?"
On his suggestion, Ophelia stepped out with Mika following suit.
According to her memories and knowledge, the border was located on a wasteland to the east of Malnor. Only a sturdy wall was separating Malnor from Rostanta.
"I-impossible..." she murmured in shock as she looked at the scene.
Instead of said wall, a wide crater was seen.
Even though it was not deep, its width could be comparable with that of the crater Mika caused in the Great Jungle.
Mika looked around.
"There're no signs of rubble nor any signs of an explosion so how could that crater be this clean?" he pondered grimly.
It did not seem like the wall was destroyed, rather it seemed like the part of the wall was erased.
"Does a monster exist, which could be capable of doing this?"
"No."
She turned her face to Mika.
She broke into a cold sweat before she explained her thoughts.
"No monster could be able to cause this nor was it a magic attack as it would surely leave behind a trail of magic or other visible signs."
"If it isn't magic or a monster, then what could it be?"
Lightly frightened, she averted her gaze from him.
"It's just a speculation, but there's the chance that we're dealing with a demon here."
"?!"
Mika looked at her in disbelief.
"Did you say demons?"
She nodded her head.
"No way..."
Mika looked back at the crater.
Alone from that sight, Mika had the feeling that this demon could be potentially more dangerous than Zantar.
"So does it mean that the demon is involved with the missing Gerard and the others?" he asked with great concern.
"Prepare for the worst..."
Both knew that being optimistic would not help them.
"We have to change the plan. Let's go back and request reinforcement. Even though it's you, we can't risk an ambush with just the two of us. Besides, we don't have any information regarding the enemy." Ophelia stated.
"We have to act now! Every second matters now! While we wait for reinforcement to come, it could spell the end for the others in the meantime!" Mika said in a rush.
"I understand how you feel. But what's the point if we end up dying because we storm recklessly at the enemy?"
"But-"
"We need help!" Ophelia cut him off with a slightly raised voice.
Then, someone approached them.
"?"
Ophelia was the first to notice the person and turned around.
"You're...!"
Her shock was even greater than when she saw the crater.
Her greatest concern turned into reality.
The only thing she wished for was to not meet certain people.
And yet she was facing one of those persons now.
A person, who knew her from back then.
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