NOVEL NEXT Chapter 253
I unintentionally became a team with Lucius.
Suddenly, with Liriez as a teammate and tasked to send Rosmas, Droniel, and Yan, I started to genuinely worry a bit.
‘Is this really alright?’
Logically, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
It’s common for party members to split into two parties based on their goals.
Especially if it’s under the name of a ‘Great Cause,’ even if there’s some dissatisfaction with the party composition, as long as there’s no chance of a major incident occurring, everything should be fine.
And right now, that’s the case.
“Lucius. Do you think it’ll cause a huge problem if you and I go up to the Sky Island separately?”
“If a problem arises, wouldn’t that be the strange part?”
“Right? It should be fine, right?”
“Yes. Everyone is working for world peace. They will act logically.”
Lucius said with conviction in his voice, alleviating my worries.
“How long do you think it will take for me and my Master to go to the Sky Island? Once we ride the Spirit Device, it shouldn’t take long. If a problem arises in that brief moment, that’s not our fault.”
“Is that so?”
Hearing Lucius say that eased my concerns a bit.
“And just in case, I created clones using the Holy Sword. The clones will respond to threats on the ground.”
“Well, that’s a relief. As expected of you, Lucius.”
“Thank you, Master.”
To further alleviate these worries, Lucius had also prepared contingencies for potential problems.
“If your clones support us, we can essentially operate separately. Rosmas will go to the Elf Forest, Droniel will head to Count Odrone’s Territory, and Yan will go with Liriez to take care of the Holy Knight Order. Seems perfectly coordinated.”
“Yes. Celcius and the people of Belselphia will all do their best to assist. So, we just need to go quietly and return.”
Clank.
The cockpit of the Golden Mount opened.
I had seen it briefly before when I handed over my previous body, but it looked quite similar to other Spirit Devices.
The interior design and colors were a bit different, but there were seats and a screen at the front, just like before.
“Master. Do you want to drive?”
“What? No, that’s not okay.”
This was Lucius’s Spirit Device.
It wouldn’t make sense for someone who wasn’t the owner to sit in the cockpit.
“This is yours. I’m just tagging along.”
Although I craved to take the wheel, as a passenger—
“Ah.”
“Did something come to mind?”
“There’s a way around this. Come into the cockpit for a moment.”
“…….”
Lucius carefully entered the cockpit after closing the door.
It was a bit cramped for two, but this space could expand.
“Sleipnir, dual-seat.”
[Understood.]
Clank, clank.
Just as the sound of mechanical movements echoed, Lucius’s seat began to rise at an angle.
“What’s this…?”
“It’s a front-back dual cockpit. Spirit Devices basically support this kind of seating arrangement.”
Clank, clank.
Another seat appeared in front of Lucius’s seat.
The seat, designed by removing a bit of the extra space from behind in single-seat mode, was completely different from a normal chair.
It resembled the position someone would be in while riding a ‘bike’, which exists in the Demon World but not in the Intermediate Realm.
It wasn’t just sitting normally; you had to lower your upper body, stretch your legs back, and keep your body as flat as possible.
In other words, the so-called ‘Aero’ position.
“What’s taking so long? Aren’t you getting in?”
“…Are you sitting in front?”
“Uh, or do you want to sit in front?”
“No. I’ll sit in the back.”
Lucius settled quietly into his seat.
He firmly placed his slightly spread legs against the seat, and I leaned forward further, grabbing onto the handlebars that stuck out below.
‘This is comfortable.’
It’s still my daughter’s body.
Even as a sorceress, she had enough basic physical training and had learned flexibility through Arpe, so settling into the Aero position felt easy.
“Ha.”
Rather than bending my back, it was even more comfortable to raise my upper body and slightly bend my waist to align with the dual-seat shape.
“Lucius. Are you ready?”
“…Yes.”
Was he nervous about just going up to the Sky Island with only one Spirit Device, or was he still uneasy about leaving everything to the clones?
“Ha.”
Lucius kept breathing heavily, focused ahead.
“Um, Master.”
“Yeah. What’s up?”
“Could you try driving once?”
“Me?”
“Yes. I’d like to learn about the Spirit Device you drive. You went together with Liriez, right?”
“Oh, that’s right.”
Liriez recharged her mana while I piloted at the front.
In fact, I even caught Beelzebub with that.
‘Is that why?’
The clone made from Beelzebub, captured using the Spirit Device Celcius, was now Liriez’s partner.
If I were to get back on the Spirit Device Celcius—
“Ah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I jumped on without much thought back then.”
“……What?”
Lucius chuckled in disbelief.
“You just jumped on?”
“Uh. I just hopped on in this position, right on Liriez’s thigh. You probably don’t remember since you fainted after I borrowed your body back then.”
“…….”
Suddenly, I felt a shiver down my spine.
“What’s this? Did they turn on the air conditioning? Oh, it’s on. No wonder it feels cold.”
“…….”
“Then I’ll take off. Wait, Lucius. What’s wrong? Are you hot? Should I turn the air conditioning back on?”
“What’s air conditioning?”
“Oh, right. It’s an air circulation device. It blows cool air while also using the outside air to ventilate.”
“Ventilation?”
“Yeah. It’ll adequately block once we go up to the Sky Island.”
“…Please do.”
Lucius gripped the seat handles tightly, and I pulled the handlebars in front of me.
“Lucius.”
Swoosh.
“If, by chance, we ever need to take the kids with us…”
I created something using my mana.
“Sunglasses. Basic stuff.”
“……They look cool.”
“Right?”
I turned my head back forward and stepped on the pedal connected to the seat.
Vrrrooom.
Opening the hatch.
“So… huh?”
Just as I was about to step on the pedal, the voice of the Golden Mount filled the air.
[Going into riding mode. Acceleration.]
With that voice, the entire unit started to shake.
“Whoa…”
Until just now, I had been a human-shaped giant firmly planted on the ground, but it seemed like the device had transformed into an entirely new form, as if it read my thoughts.
The shining golden mana flickered back and forth like wheels, and the wings spread out on either side of the car radiated brilliant golden light.
“……This could work too. Can we create a road all the way to the Sky Island?”
[Possible.]
“Hehe, really? Lucius. You see that lever up there? Pull it with both hands and flow your mana. We’ll connect the road to the Sky Island with your mana.”
“Uh?”
“Just try it. Trust me.”
“…Understood.”
Lucius steadied his breath as he pulled the lever.
At the same time, our screen panels began to shine with golden light.
[Booster Mode: Schnellstrasse. Ultra-high-speed driving mode. Please fasten your seatbelt. Relax and maintain your position.]
“Ah, seatbelt…?”
“Just hold on tight.”
Swoosh.
Golden mana flowed from the seat, coiling around us like a whip.
Lucius was practically glued to his seat, and a golden seatbelt extended around my waist and thighs, securing me tightly.
“Even if there’s an accident, we won’t be thrown off. Hehe.”
“……This is amazing.”
“Right?”
Vrrrooom.
The hangar doors began to open.
It seemed like Celcius had opened the doors automatically, and I gave a quick wink at Celcius, who was waving at us through the screen.
“Lucius. When you’re ready, shout out loud. Like this.”
Whispering.
I imparted the magic words to Lucius, who took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the lever once more.
“Then.”
Lightly, I pressed the pedal.
“Wing Road—!!”
Before the Golden Mount Sleipnir, a brilliant golden path unfurled.
“Here we go!”
With a strong thrust, I abandoned myself to the transformed bike shape of Sleipnir.
“Faster than sound!”
We soared through the sky.
*
“…….”
Watching the golden trail rise from the sea, the maid with blue hair scratched her cheek.
“Who knew something like that was possible?”
The maid, Lily, smiled wryly.
“Still, I guess it’s a good thing? That I don’t have to deal with that myself.”
Lily turned her gaze to the sea, where the golden light surged.
“…Well, I never planned on directly facing it anyway.”
Lily pulled out a piece of parchment from her clothes.
The parchment displayed the faces of several individuals, and the four women were known in the world as the ‘Hero Party.’
“A method to dismantle the Hero Party. Use the relationships between the heroes and their surroundings. The basic strategy of the Great Demon Lord Bel Phegor.”
Snicker.
“That’s quite an outstanding strategy. I wonder what Bel Phegor thinks about this? Does he find it impressive or does he think it’s pathetic?”
Swoosh.
Lily placed the parchment with the drawn face of one man among the four party members on the table.
“Hero Lucius. You may see the witch as your master, but what about the other women…? Hehehe.”
Swoosh.
As clouds brushed over Lily’s head, something resembling wings flitted behind her.
“A harem will inevitably crumble before the possessiveness of women. Additionally…”
Snicker.
“Just a sprinkle of ‘lust’ and it escalates into chaos. Ah, Arpe. Are you watching?”
Lily raised her arms towards the sky with an overly gentle expression on her face.
“I’ll make sure that the one you love becomes a woman forever cherished by the hero. To do that, first…”
Smirk.
“I’ll need to eliminate the harem members one by one…?”
With that, Lily disappeared into the mist.