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Smoke! Fire! Gunpowder! Stealing the Tesoro of the Feast! - Episode 4
⭠ last episode | Episode 4 | next episode ⭢
[ Northern Country - Open Skies ]
The next day, we crossed the Northern skies for the valley described in the request.
Figaro: Bradley, are we on the right track?
Bradley: Yeah, we should be able to spot it soon. Actually, Mithra, are your eyes even open?
Bradley glanced over his shoulder as he spoke. I was worried about Mithra and Owen being no-shows for this mission, but they ended up coming with us after all.
From what I’d heard, after a half-assed attempt at verbal persuasion failed, the twins and Figaro had chosen to use force, and that was why the both of them were in a foul mood.
Mithra: (yawn) …… That wasn’t funny. Don’t you think it’s too early to head out?
Bradley: The day starts early for those with too many years. As for those with barely any years, they're always in a rush.
Shino: I guess Northern Wizards aren’t the big deal they make themselves out to be. This isn’t even close to early.
Cain: Shino, you’re used to waking up early just like me, aren’t you? If you’re gonna hit the training grounds, the best time to do it is early in the morning!
Owen: Being a weakling must be miserable. You have to waste effort doing so much pointless stuff just to gain a bit of useless strength.
Shino: Just you wait, one day I’ll make you cry with this useless strength.
Cain: Hey, now. We’re on a mission. It’s not the time or place to pick a fight.
Owen: Hmph. If you don’t want to pick a fight with me, then you should stop thoughtlessly butting into my conversations, weak little Knight sama.
Cain: ………
Shino: Cain. Don’t pick a fight.
Cain: I know……
Bradley: You sure are energetic in the morning, tiny Eastern Wizard. Your hand back to normal yet?
Shino: Hmph. Has been since dinner.
Shino sighed and shook his head as he clenched and unclenched his fist. It was clear to see that his hand, that had turned transparent yesterday, was now completely back to normal.
Figaro: Might’ve been a good thing Heathcliff had returned to House Blanchett. He’d have fallen over from shock seeing Shino like that.
Akira: Right, I don’t think his reaction would have stopped at just a surprised look… Oh yeah, the candy in the jar isn’t transparent anymore when I looked at it this morning.
Snow: So it was indeed magic that didn't last.
White: But of course it wouldn’t have! It was from a stall selling cheap trinkets.
Snow and White joined us, flying parallel to Cain’s broom that I was riding pillion on.
Akira: Snow, White, thank you for the outfits. It must have been quite a hassle to prepare so many all of a sudden.
Snow: Ohoho. We happened to remember that we had a few spare outfits sitting around that would be perfect for today. It only took a bit of resizing to make them fit us all.
White: We also further modified the outfits to suit the climate and geography. They’re easy to move around in, and they’ll help us stay warm too. You look good in it.
Akira: Thanks! You two look very beautiful in it too.
Snow & White: Oh my~!
Owen: That aside, why are we travelling by broom? We have Mithra’s space-crossing door that can directly bring us to our destination.
Figaro: It would be beyond foolhardy to simply appear in the middle of the ravine without knowing what may occur, that’s why.
White: Recon work would have to be done thoroughly and discreetly. By soaring the skies, we’ll have a bird’s eye view of the ravine and its effects on its nearby geography.
Bradley: Look, it’s coming into view right about now.
We turned our gazes downward at Bradley’s words.
Cain: ……!
Shino: That’s…
We couldn’t help but doubt our eyes. An unnatural-looking rift had split apart a snowy mountain.
It was as if someone had swung a giant blade downwards and cleaved the mountain wide open.
Figaro: Suffice to say, that doesn’t look natural in the least.
The rift was far too large and wide to be called a fissure. It reminded me of one particular locale that I had once visited.
Akira: (That’s right, it reminds me of one of the Ravages of Oz……)
It was not a landform brought on by time’s passage. Some unnatural force had rampaged through the area, tearing it apart in one fell swoop.
We flew directly over the ravine, while continuing to observe what laid below.
Bradley: That ravine must go real deep down. I can’t see shit.
From the skies, we could not see how deep it ran.
A bottomless darkness dividing the snowy white ground awaited us.
Akira: It looks more like a canyon than a ravine, to be honest…
A snowy mountain mercilessly sundered apart by a deep, unfathomable darkness.
What should have been a part of nature now looked like a completely different dimension.
[ White CG ]
White: The ravine must have grown larger since we received the request. It may yet grow wider and deeper still.
We can’t see to the bottom of the ravine, but it’s hard to imagine light travelling all the way down considering how deep it must be. Its inky darkness is unlikely to be conducive to most forms of life. You could say it’s like the darkness of death.
A place where light does not shine, far and deep below the surface of this very land.
It reminded me of the dark and menacing deep sea.
A place darker than night itself, far and deep with no end in sight, a space isolated from the world itself. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of it.
Mithra: No, there is life. Something lies at the bottom.
Hunched over on his broom, Mithra stared into the abyss as simply as staring into a puddle of water.
The other wizards stared as well, as if they too, had sensed something.
Shino: He’s right. I sense the presence of something.
Akira: The presence … of what exactly…?
Owen: The suffocating presence of death, that’s what. Whatever lurks in there must surely be used to killing both humans and wizards.
Cain: Then the best plan of attack is to gird our loins and get the jump on it.
Owen: If you too would like to make it out of here alive, that is.
A sharp gust kicked up. It whipped up some snow, sweeping it into the ravine below.
From the front of the party, Bradley exchanged looks with the twins and Figaro.
Wordlessly, they nodded back at Bradley in unison.
Bradley: Let’s descend. Be cautious.
[ Whoosh… ]
[ Darkness ]
Still on their brooms, the wizards and I made our descent.
In an instant, when we descended into the ravine, it felt like the day turned to night.
[ No BGM ]
I realised I had taken the wide blue skies and the snowy mountains for granted. Everything melted into inky darkness.
Cain: Kenja sama, you alright? Hold onto me if you’re feeling scared.
Akira: I-I will. Thanks…!
Our dive into darkness finally came to an end when we touched solid ground.
I had no idea how far we were from the surface.
Everything was cloaked in darkness. The more I blinked, the more each flutter of my eyelids served to further instil fear within me, as I could not tell if my eyes were open or shut.
Figaro: It sure is inconvenient to move around in this sort of darkness.
Figaro snapped his fingers.
Our surroundings popped into view, as if someone had lit up a lamp.
[ Ravine Floor ]
[ BGM begins ]
Akira: Wow…! It’s…?
The light had calmed me down, but after I could see, I couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
The floor, which was once coated in darkness, now shone with a certain brilliance. It was not blinding; it was gentle and pale, like light refracting off of a fresh bed of snow.
Something glimmered in a multi-coloured haze in the light of Figaro’s spell.
Shino: It’s sparkling everywhere.
Cain: Is this light … from snow?
Bradley: It’s not snow, it’s moss.
Episode 5 ⭢
[ Northern Country - Open Skies ]
The next day, we crossed the Northern skies for the valley described in the request.
Figaro: Bradley, are we on the right track?
Bradley: Yeah, we should be able to spot it soon. Actually, Mithra, are your eyes even open?
Bradley glanced over his shoulder as he spoke. I was worried about Mithra and Owen being no-shows for this mission, but they ended up coming with us after all.
From what I’d heard, after a half-assed attempt at verbal persuasion failed, the twins and Figaro had chosen to use force, and that was why the both of them were in a foul mood.
Mithra: (yawn) …… That wasn’t funny. Don’t you think it’s too early to head out?
Bradley: The day starts early for those with too many years. As for those with barely any years, they're always in a rush.
Shino: I guess Northern Wizards aren’t the big deal they make themselves out to be. This isn’t even close to early.
Cain: Shino, you’re used to waking up early just like me, aren’t you? If you’re gonna hit the training grounds, the best time to do it is early in the morning!
Owen: Being a weakling must be miserable. You have to waste effort doing so much pointless stuff just to gain a bit of useless strength.
Shino: Just you wait, one day I’ll make you cry with this useless strength.
Cain: Hey, now. We’re on a mission. It’s not the time or place to pick a fight.
Owen: Hmph. If you don’t want to pick a fight with me, then you should stop thoughtlessly butting into my conversations, weak little Knight sama.
Cain: ………
Shino: Cain. Don’t pick a fight.
Cain: I know……
Bradley: You sure are energetic in the morning, tiny Eastern Wizard. Your hand back to normal yet?
Shino: Hmph. Has been since dinner.
Shino sighed and shook his head as he clenched and unclenched his fist. It was clear to see that his hand, that had turned transparent yesterday, was now completely back to normal.
Figaro: Might’ve been a good thing Heathcliff had returned to House Blanchett. He’d have fallen over from shock seeing Shino like that.
Akira: Right, I don’t think his reaction would have stopped at just a surprised look… Oh yeah, the candy in the jar isn’t transparent anymore when I looked at it this morning.
Snow: So it was indeed magic that didn't last.
White: But of course it wouldn’t have! It was from a stall selling cheap trinkets.
Snow and White joined us, flying parallel to Cain’s broom that I was riding pillion on.
Akira: Snow, White, thank you for the outfits. It must have been quite a hassle to prepare so many all of a sudden.
Snow: Ohoho. We happened to remember that we had a few spare outfits sitting around that would be perfect for today. It only took a bit of resizing to make them fit us all.
White: We also further modified the outfits to suit the climate and geography. They’re easy to move around in, and they’ll help us stay warm too. You look good in it.
Akira: Thanks! You two look very beautiful in it too.
Snow & White: Oh my~!
Owen: That aside, why are we travelling by broom? We have Mithra’s space-crossing door that can directly bring us to our destination.
Figaro: It would be beyond foolhardy to simply appear in the middle of the ravine without knowing what may occur, that’s why.
White: Recon work would have to be done thoroughly and discreetly. By soaring the skies, we’ll have a bird’s eye view of the ravine and its effects on its nearby geography.
Bradley: Look, it’s coming into view right about now.
We turned our gazes downward at Bradley’s words.
Cain: ……!
Shino: That’s…
We couldn’t help but doubt our eyes. An unnatural-looking rift had split apart a snowy mountain.
It was as if someone had swung a giant blade downwards and cleaved the mountain wide open.
Figaro: Suffice to say, that doesn’t look natural in the least.
The rift was far too large and wide to be called a fissure. It reminded me of one particular locale that I had once visited.
Akira: (That’s right, it reminds me of one of the Ravages of Oz……)
It was not a landform brought on by time’s passage. Some unnatural force had rampaged through the area, tearing it apart in one fell swoop.
We flew directly over the ravine, while continuing to observe what laid below.
Bradley: That ravine must go real deep down. I can’t see shit.
From the skies, we could not see how deep it ran.
A bottomless darkness dividing the snowy white ground awaited us.
Akira: It looks more like a canyon than a ravine, to be honest…
A snowy mountain mercilessly sundered apart by a deep, unfathomable darkness.
What should have been a part of nature now looked like a completely different dimension.
[ White CG ]
White: The ravine must have grown larger since we received the request. It may yet grow wider and deeper still.
We can’t see to the bottom of the ravine, but it’s hard to imagine light travelling all the way down considering how deep it must be. Its inky darkness is unlikely to be conducive to most forms of life. You could say it’s like the darkness of death.
A place where light does not shine, far and deep below the surface of this very land.
It reminded me of the dark and menacing deep sea.
A place darker than night itself, far and deep with no end in sight, a space isolated from the world itself. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of it.
Mithra: No, there is life. Something lies at the bottom.
Hunched over on his broom, Mithra stared into the abyss as simply as staring into a puddle of water.
The other wizards stared as well, as if they too, had sensed something.
Shino: He’s right. I sense the presence of something.
Akira: The presence … of what exactly…?
Owen: The suffocating presence of death, that’s what. Whatever lurks in there must surely be used to killing both humans and wizards.
Cain: Then the best plan of attack is to gird our loins and get the jump on it.
Owen: If you too would like to make it out of here alive, that is.
A sharp gust kicked up. It whipped up some snow, sweeping it into the ravine below.
From the front of the party, Bradley exchanged looks with the twins and Figaro.
Wordlessly, they nodded back at Bradley in unison.
Bradley: Let’s descend. Be cautious.
[ Whoosh… ]
[ Darkness ]
Still on their brooms, the wizards and I made our descent.
In an instant, when we descended into the ravine, it felt like the day turned to night.
[ No BGM ]
I realised I had taken the wide blue skies and the snowy mountains for granted. Everything melted into inky darkness.
Cain: Kenja sama, you alright? Hold onto me if you’re feeling scared.
Akira: I-I will. Thanks…!
Our dive into darkness finally came to an end when we touched solid ground.
I had no idea how far we were from the surface.
Everything was cloaked in darkness. The more I blinked, the more each flutter of my eyelids served to further instil fear within me, as I could not tell if my eyes were open or shut.
Figaro: It sure is inconvenient to move around in this sort of darkness.
Figaro snapped his fingers.
Our surroundings popped into view, as if someone had lit up a lamp.
[ Ravine Floor ]
[ BGM begins ]
Akira: Wow…! It’s…?
The light had calmed me down, but after I could see, I couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
The floor, which was once coated in darkness, now shone with a certain brilliance. It was not blinding; it was gentle and pale, like light refracting off of a fresh bed of snow.
Something glimmered in a multi-coloured haze in the light of Figaro’s spell.
Shino: It’s sparkling everywhere.
Cain: Is this light … from snow?
Bradley: It’s not snow, it’s moss.
Episode 5 ⭢