Year 4667 of the Unified Imperial Calendar:
Fourth Month, Day 9. (1:01 PM)
◇ Astra's POV ◇
We sped through the streets of the town while leaving a gust of wind wherever we passed through. The winds were threatening to blow me back, but I held on to the maid as if my life depended on it. And it actually did.
"Sir slave. Do you know where she is?" she asked with a tone that didn't sound polite.
"Yes. I'm quite familiar about where she fell." I answered. "I was there three days ago."
"I see. Then point where to go."
I pointed at the nearby mountain range. "It's probably somewhere there."
It was the same area where I was picked up three days ago. And I had observed the area from a high position so I could still remember how it looked like.
The maid glanced at where my finger was pointing, and then took a hard turn as she drifted along the ground. Without losing much speed, she then proceeded to where I was pointing.
However, If I remember...
"Hey! There's no roads there!" I warned.
I swear I could've heard her scoff at me. Maybe it was just my imagination, but she still answered. "We don't have time." She said. "We're taking the shortcut."
"Shortcut?!" I retorted rhetorically.
She ignored me as she sped up even further and suddenly too a turn...
...and used a staircase as a ramp.
"HOOOOLYYYY SHIIIEEEEET!!!!"
We flew through the air as the wind brushed against us. As for her, she was quite stable as I was practically eating her hair from behind. Her braid had somehow untangled itself.
"H-Hair! Hair!!" I yelled in protest.
"Shut it." She coolly retorted. "If you're a man, bear it."
"Ugh...damn it!"
"Did you say something?"
"No maam!" Thank god the wind was quite strong.
Anyway, we began to fall as my stomach churned. My mind was already becoming lighter and my vision blurry. But when I thought it was over...
"Activate thrusters." The maid spoke with a blank tone.
...we were suddenly propelled forward as we instantly accelerated in mid-air.
This looks like its gonna be a wild rodeo.
◇◇◇ Third Person POV ◇◇◇
Reyshia proceeded in the underground cavern with wariness. She made sure to check where her each step was going to land, and made sure to check each corner with potential dangers.
The deafening silence gave an eerie impression, as occasional sounds of dripping water would break her concentration every now and then.
It was unknown how long she was walking. She had completely lost track of time. She suddenly thought about the...wisewatch, was it? as she regretted not taking it from Astra. It sure looked convenient, but taking a slave's possession went against her pride.
She continued to press on as she looked for clues where to leave the place—and if possible—retrieve Valkyria. She loathed the idea of parting with her Ark, and she swore she'd get it back at Professor Ashier. She would.
As she walked, she suddenly noticed that somehow, the sound of her footsteps had become...strange?
Unlike the crunching sounds she heard from her steps earlier, it was now closer to thuds...metallic thuds, to be precise.
She moved her light ball closer to the earth and saw a reddish brown dirt covering the ground. She touched it, it was rough, and uneven. She knew what this was.
"...rust?..."
It was rust. It couldn't be anything else. But what would rust be doing here? Since it only came from metals, why would metal be present here in such even layout?
Well, she at least had an inkling...
Reyshia's lips curled upwards as her heart increased in beats. This was it. This might be the clue she was searching for. Perhaps if this is it, she might get rewarded by the Emperor with great fame. And by then...
She proceeded forward with increased pace. The metallic thuds beneath her feet became more evident the farther she went. And a not short while after, she saw something...
She ran.
◇ Astra's POV ◇
About an hour later, we finally left the town as we sped through the plains. And by this time, I was seriously thanking Lady Reyshia for picking me up.
As we proceeded through the plains, we were leaving a massive dust cloud that followed us, and a large mob of monsters behind it.
They looked like dinosaurs, reptiles, some sort of goblins and etc. They ran at about half of our current speed. About 100kph, and I was reminded just how lucky I was. If I'd encountered one of those before meeting Lady Reyshia, my isekai story might have ended there.
Heck, that would have made me my version of Royce from Game of Thrones!
Ahem...anyway, we were about halfway though, and with no obstacles in our way, we should be there in 15 minutes.
"Hey, slave." She called out. It seems her evaluation of me just went down. "In which mountain?"
I pointed at a direction. "It should be near the third mountain we pass through."
"Alright." She acknowledged.
The next moment, I felt a strange sensation as we suddenly accelerated by the next. She had deployed the thrusters again.
◇◇◇
About ten minutes later, we finally arrived at our destination. The maid looked at the scene and was surprised.
"I see. So you really weren't lying." She muttered. "Well done, slave." She praised with a hollow tone.
In a certain part of the mountain, a hole of about 8 meters in diameter gaped from the ground, as it seemed to continued downwards. Were Arks heavier than I thought? The Gundams that I saw doesn't dig when they fall, after all.
'And what bothers me was the explosion...'
It was indeed unnatural as explosions shouldn't be that strong. Sure, maybe some bombs, but Arks didn't seem to be that type. Gundams also didn't explode when they fell onto the ground.
'Well, they wouldn't be called Gundams otherwise. Maybe Bombdams, hehe...'
In any case, the lack of metal debris in the surroundings gives me the idea that Lady Reyshia is still alive. And I really hope she is.
I turned to the maid. "So? What now?"
She looked at me with obvious contempt, and said. "If your brain works properly, then it's obvious we search." She spat venomously. "Well, I doubt that though."
'Damn it! What the hell's with her! She keeps getting more and more rude!!'
That's it. I'm at my limit. I have to put her in place. I definitely will.
I turned towards her as I raised my chin and glared. "Hey, do you kno—"
"What? Did you say something? Slave?" she cut off and asked with a glare of her own.
"Ah. No maam." I replied meekly.
Damn it! What the heck was that?! From that glare alone, I can tell she's already killed ten people!
The maid smiled at my reaction and went ahead. She then looked back. "Aren't you coming? I need a meat shield, Slave."
"Yes, maam." I replied with a blank tone.
She's not even mincing on her words anymore. Damn it.