Faced with the sudden question, Blaine did what he did best.
He simply nodded his head.
Ginny smiled as she looked at the taciturn youth.
"I heard that you killed the most out of anyone else there! Not only did you get there really fast, but you also saved more than a few of our officers. It's sometimes hard to believe you're just a 1-Star…"
As she said, Blaine couldn't help but remember the plenty of dismembered corpses that littered the battlefield belonging to the fallen soldiers… And the words of the corpse-like figure he saw at the entrance to Redpine City.
('It wasn't just me either, right? You let so many people die… Many trusted you, relied on you, and believed you would keep them safe. But now? All of them are just like me. Stone…Cold…Dead.')
He clenched his fist as he turned to look out the window.
They were far enough away from the tear that he could barely even feel its ominous fluctuations.
Going any farther without someone standing on guard outside would be dangerous.
It was already a big enough risk that they threw caution to the wind and came this far without having anyone watch this long.
Sitting on the roof of the moving van was a valid method, but synchronizing their movements with Lorie's driving would be considerably hard if a threat did show itself.
Furthermore, not only was the van not that durable, but having the freedom to move in a fight was extremely important.
He unfastened his seatbelt and threw Lyn a look.
Sensing his gaze, she also turned to face him.
It was quite weird… Lyn always seemed to know when someone was looking at her.
Almost like she possessed some kind of uncanny sixth sense for this kind of thing.
However, it wasn't any mana art.
She had naturally developed it after training diligently.
This time, though, it worked in Blaine's favour.
He pointed outside the van.
Understanding his meaning, she nodded her head.
Moving her head to face Lorie's direction, Lyn slowly opened her mouth.
"Stop the car."
Obeying her command, Lorie brought the car to a halt.
Without wasting a moment, the taciturn pair opened the door and resumed the remaining of their shift.
***
Like that, another two days had passed before their group finally reached the homestretch of their tunnel voyage.
Due to their delay on the first day and other smaller hiccups on the way, their trip fell behind schedule.
Though the creatures were nowhere near the level of the creatures of the
But since there wasn't really any rush, it wasn't really a concern for the group members.
As long as they discovered and looted the Holy Ruin before the forces from the Kelon Coalition, it wouldn't be too much of a problem.
Oh yeah… They had to make it back alive as well.
As the van continued down the road, it avoided several smaller diverging paths that broke off the main road.
As they traversed the expanse of the tunnel, they had seen other paths like this more than a few times.
Apparently, they were mostly blocked off by rubble after the earthquake ages ago and collapsed sections of the tunnel.
The tunnel they were in right now had been mostly cleared by Cecelia's ancestor in the past, so the group didn't need to bother Rick to clear their path for them.
But the same couldn't be said for the branching tunnels.
…Not that anyone wanted to see those paths opened.
Who knew what kind of abomination was on the other side of those collapsed walls of rock.
There was no need to artificially increase the difficulty of their already borderline suicidal mission just to satiate their curiosity.
Eventually, as Lorie reached the supposed end of the tunnel, at least according to the map she had been given, a large wall of earth and stone came into view.
The wall differed from the clumps of rocks blocking the branching tunnels.
It was shaped to look no different from the surrounding tunnel walls.
A perfect dead end...At least for people who didn't know what was on the other side.
Bringing the vehicle to a halt, Lorie got out of the van and stretched her arms in exhaustion.
Although sometimes Ginny would take the wheel as the best driver among the group members, to the point where it wasn't even a competition, she was tasked with driving for the majority of their expedition.
It reached the point where serious discussions were held about changing the combat pairings so that Lorie could simply focus on driving.
However, the person in question refused this.
She was quite the workaholic, after all.
Delsie couldn't help but sigh, thinking that this might be why she never had time to maintain a proper relationship.
…Though she didn't voice her words out loud.
Though Blaine was the best among them on a motorbike, his skill with four-wheeled vehicles was not yet refined to be Lorie's level.
Not that he really practiced, preferring to stick to his trusty bike instead.
As the others got out as well, each grabbing their weapons, Lorie turned around and gave Rick an exhausted look.
"It's your turn."
Giving her a silent nod, Rick worked his magic. The earthen wall blocking them parted as if it were a lie, revealing a bright, sun-lit opening.
Since no pre-emptive attack was aimed at them, they let down their guard after a few moments.
Ginny winced as the sunlight hit her eyes.
"Argh… I've spent so long in this cave that my eyes have become like those of a shut-in…"
Remembering something, she threw a quick look at her skin.
"I've become so pale too…"
Lorie sighed as she shook her head.
"Come on… Becoming pale should be your last concern. We're about to enter enemy territory."
"Oh yeah… There's that too…"
Delsie looked at the two before a wistful smile formed on her lips.
"I think it's about time we all finally change our clothes. Unless, of course… You all plan on announcing that we're from the Clairmont."
Shortly after this, Rick was given another task to do.
Raising a few small earth walls from the ground creates makeshift changing rooms.
While most army members didn't particularly care about a bit of skin showing here and there, given the nature of their work, a minimum level of decorum was maintained when possible.
Furthermore, they had a princess of the kingdom with them.
Princess Cecelia threw Rick a grateful glance before stepping behind the earthen wall.
After several minutes, she reappeared wearing a different set of clothes.
It was a mixture of green, brown and beige.
They were clothes obviously designed for camouflage.
However, that wasn't all.
These specific clothes were traditionally worn by the army members of the Kelon Coalition.