'What?'
It's a word I keep coming back to in my flurry of confusion. And how exactly else was I supposed to feel? No, I wasn't exactly just confused, I was scared too. The person who came out of nowhere was insanely strong, on a totally different level from the metal mage we were fighting before. Even if we all worked together, we wouldn't stand a chance. That's the sort of feeling I was getting, and I trust my gut. I'm sure the other two feel the same way, too.
That person had a terrifying presence, I'm sure if they weren't using that skill or magic to keep us in place, we still wouldn't be able to move due to the sheer terrifying aura the supposed 'leader' had. They were strong, stronger than anyone and anything I had ever seen.
Either way, sitting here and trembling won't do anything. If they're so overpoweringly strong, all we have to do is get to the point where we can beat even someone like that with ease. Sure, I might be getting greedy with what I want in the future, but I don't care. Even in the face of that, I'll keep both my pride and ambition. I don't care what it takes, I, and the rest of us, will get strong enough to defeat even that, and return to our former planet, in some way or another.
>Attention. You have gained skill, 'Pride.'<
And now, I once again return back to the simple but effective word, 'what'.
What exactly is that? Why am I getting this skill now of all times? And most importantly, where will this skill lead me?
These are all questions I'll surely have answered in the future... but for now, we need to get out of here.
"Togeshi, Akane, are you both alright?" But before all that, let's at least make sure the two of them weren't harmed.
The room went completely silent for a moment, but Togeshi eventually broke the quiet.
"Yeah..." Togeshi was uncharacteristically quiet, looking down on the ground. He seemed to shudder, gulping once or twice. I can't say I blame him...
"I'm fine," Despite Akane's words, she clenched her forehead, "I just used too much mana."
Alright, that's good. At least they aren't hurt... physically, at least. We've been in this place for at least two hours, though... let's go, now.
...
And like I said we would, we left immediately. And we eventually reached above ground... to be greeted with a bunch of knights with their weapons drawn. Okay, not exactly what I expected, but I can work with this... no, really, this is actually good.
"You three! State your names, and what happened here." The, from what I can assume, leader of these knights spoke up, questioning us.
"I am Yuu. I, and the rest of my party, were assigned a mission to find out and destroy the organization that has been causing the rampant increase in crime in Quendest. We were just in combat with one of the members of this organization, but they managed to escape with spatial magic. However, there are still a lot of members under the effects of a poison causing loss of consciousness in the basement down this hidden door. I would recommend you take them into custody for questioning, but I don't mean to order you around." I'd rather not lie to the military force of Quendest, so, I obviously don't.
"Yuu...? And His Majesty sent you here? I was never notified of such a thing." She replied, suspicious of us.
"Of course not, this was a mission for our ears only."
The woman, hearing this, sighed and ordered her troops to go retrieve the still asleep bodies of the cultists. Of course, she told them to be extra careful. I couldn't blame her, this entire situation was suspicious from the start.
"I'd like it if you three would come with us, We'd like to ask you some questions."
...
After a couple hours of being questioned at the closest guard station, we were free to go. Apparently, the woman's name was 'Geris', though, that's hardly important information at the moment. The only thing I care about is getting back to the inn and going to sleep. I'm sure the other two feel the same way.
And so, we reached our current place of residence, went to our room, and collectively all immediately went to lie on our respective bed.
Today... was certainly something. There will definitely be a lot to report to the king... that'll be a pain. I didn't ever expect combat like that to be so draining...
Hm... it'll take about seven days to get back to the capital, so that means we should have one more day free to do whatever we want in Quendest... what to do tomorrow, though? Bigger question, what's that 'Pride' skill?
Hah... both of those things will be future me's problem, not present me... all I want right now is to sleep.
>Chapter Y.8, end.<