Danmachi: Westward Cloud [Complete]

[Vol.4] Quest 339- All Onboard

Two days before the Behemoth was slain.

Late at night.

"I see, so you found it deep southeast of Yamato, huh?" said Cirrus, holding a communication magic tool.

"Yup, the moment we found it, we immediately retreated, say, for a single ship to track it," said Poseidon. "Oh, and School District is waiting for you to come. Currently, we are getting their ship ready since it was built to fight the Leviathan."

"Then we will come as soon as possible."

"We’ll be ready when you get here!"

Cirrus hangs up the call and looks out at the city.

"Fuu~," he lets out a breath as he clenches his fists. "Ai get ready. We're leaving as soon as possible."

Ai sits up from bed. She gets up quietly, not wanting to wake Artemis, and goes over to Cirrus, sitting by the open balcony.

"I’ll take a quick bath. Do you want to join?" She walks to Cirrus and wraps her arms around him, sitting on his lap. "You're also sweaty."

"It’s mostly your sweat, you know."

"Is that why you smell so great?" she said, putting her cheek next to Cirrus.

"Probably, but we need to get going." He wraps his left arm around her waist and picks her up. "This would be our last bath together in a while."

"Then let's hurry and get in."

They look up to see Artemis looking at them from bed.

"It’s a chilly night, so can you pick me up, too?" She said it with her arms out.

"Fine~," Cirrus said, picking her up.

‘I have doted way too much on these two over the years. It is nice to see them this cute.’

The next day at noon on top of the Moonlight Tower.

"Are you really leaving now?" said Callisto.

"We are. Sorry, we're leaving so suddenly, sweetie." Cirrus pats her head. "But we’ll finish up as quickly as we can."

"But why aren’t you riding by horse or tamed monster?" asked Auberon.

"Because I’m faster. (Theïká Panoplía: Aethon.)"

His armor covers him as Ai walks over and jumps on his back.

"Make sure not to cause trouble for Artemis and Astraea," Ai said.

"Don’t worry; just come back okay," Astraea said.

"Hm, the faster you come back, the better, so get going," Artemis said.

"Hm, well, see ya later, kids!" Cirrus bends his legs and, "Boom!!" shoots high into the sky beyond the clouds.

Boom!!

"And they're gone," Artemis said.

"How do you know, Mom?" asked Calli.

"Because when you break the sound barrier, it makes that boom sound, so they're already outside of Orario.

"Ooh… That’s pretty cool!"

Flying above the clouds, Fafnir comes out of the shadow Cirrus was producing onto the clouds.

He disengages his armor, and they both land on Fafnir.

"Fafnir, you know the deal."

"On it!"

Cirrus holds his hand out with his magic circle, appearing before Fafnir.

"(Theïká Panoplía: Aethon.)!!"

Fafnir flies through it, and the armor is equipped onto her.

"(Sing)!!!"

Then electricity covers her, strengthening her. She flaps her eight wings, and they fly even faster.

Boom!!!!

She cuts through the air, traveling at speeds that would kill a normal person from the g-force alone.

She disturbed the sea of clouds as a divide grew across the sky.

Six hours later.

Thud!!

Cirrus lands back onto the soil of Yamato in the town of Fuyuhama.

They walked through the town, with many of the residents stepping aside to let Cirrus and Ai through.

They arrive at the port where Poseidon was speaking with another god, Baldr. He had a gentle appearance, with long blonde hair.

"Lord Poseidon!" Cirrus shouted.

The two gods turned to him.

"Ah! Kid!! Mrs. Kid!!" Poseidon greets Cirrus and Ai.

"It is nice to finally meet you, Heavenly Crown." Baldr nodded at him. "The Hringhorni is fully stocked and fixed. We can leave it to your discretion."

Cirrus looks off into the distance to see their ship. It was massive—700 meters in diameter—with a scale only comparable to a large city. It also incorporated the drop item of the Leviathan, with its blue fins giving it a majestic look. It also wards away monsters, just like the scales of the Black Dragon.

Cirrus had to admit it was a spectacle to see, a marvel in engineering.

"Lord Poseidon, Lord Baldr, are you sure my son hasn’t snuck in?" Cirrus asked.

"Knowing him, I am sure he found a way inside," Ai said.

"We informed Susanoo and the whole city is abiding by your concern," Poseidon said.

"And?" Cirrus raised an eyebrow.

"Your son is a very clever child," Baldr added. "I haven’t seen my students work so hard to keep him and his friends from getting in."

"Hm." Cirrus nodded. "Well, let’s get going. Lord Poseidon, are you going on your own ship?"

"Nay, I’m the helmsman for the Hringhorni! Just like when me and my Familia helped kill that long snake! All my Familia is on board!" Poseidon said brazenly. "Oh, by the way, Baldr, I should mention we are gonna run into a storm."

"Are you sure?" He looked up at the sky. "But it’s clear out? There isn’t even a cloud in the sky."

"Not with Cirrus on board!" Poseidon walked to the Hringhorni. "The kid is cursed. I’ll tell you, yeah! He and the sea do not mix!"

"Uhh, what does he mean?" Baldr looked at Cirrus and Ai.

"Oh, every time Cirrus is out at sea, a storm always hits," Ai said, walking towards the ship.

"Is that true?" He looked at Cirrus.

"It’s true, unfortunately." Cirrus walked past him.

"Well… Hm."

Baldr followed behind.

"By the way," Cirrus said. "Did you evacuate the students onboard?"

"We wish, but with how massive the ship is, we need their help." Said Baldr.

"Don’t you have a crew to handle the ship’s needs?"

"We have 10 thousand, and that is barely enough."

"Hm. Well, you have special areas where they would be safe?"

"We do," Baldr said. "We have been fixing them and making more."

"That’s good."

"Oh, Lord Poseidon!" Ai said. "Do you know where Haku is?"

"Uhh, probably in Fuyukusa."

"You sound uncertain?"

"Well, we kept him and his friends from sneaking on. Other than that, only the Susanoo Familia will know."

"Well, just in case." Ai turned to the people of Fuyuhama. "To you all!" she shouted, and everyone looked at her. "Tell my son that we wished to meet him before we left! And that we love him! But we must get going to slay the Leviathan!"

Everyone nodded.

"We will pass on the message to the young lord!" said one citizen.

They all crossed the bridge named Breiðablik, across the end, Cirrus could see Lance and a young-looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"!" They notice them coming up to them.

"Ah! Cirrus! Ai! You’re here!" Lance said. "Let me introduce you to my—"

"I am Leon Vardenburg." He bows elegantly. "I am known as Chevalier Blanc, level 7."

"Level 7, huh?" Cirrus said, looking at him up and down. "That’s pretty impressive, considering I haven’t seen you around Orario."

"Well, the world is a big place, sir." He lightly smiled. "I would have liked to have seen you while we docked in Fuyuhama, but you were always busy building and running the city, or also when we docked in Melen, but you were still also very busy managing the entertainment district."

Truth be told, Cirrus actively avoided any contract with School District as a whole and let the Quetzalcoatl Familia handle their graduates.

"Ah well, I’m sure you know how it is running such a large-scale operation."

"Very well, by the way, I happen to have met your son."

"Uh-huh." Cirrus had two expectations for where he was going with this.

"He is a very bright boy, clever, and cunning. He once tried to board the ship using sheep."

"Sheep?" He stopped to look at Leon. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, he had sheered the sheep’s wool," Leon stopped as well to meet Cirrus' eyes. "Made it into a wrapping, covered himself, and latched onto a sheep intended for some of our students who wish to be farmers."

Cirrus looked to Ai.

"Don’t look at me." Ai responded. "He gets that from you."

"Well, that was all I wanted to say." Leon resumed walking. "I was also going to ask if you wish to send your son to School District?"

"Naw, he’s good where he is," Cirrus said bluntly as he resumed walking as well.

"I am sure he is, but would you not like it if he grew his status?"

"A status is a crutch." Ai stepped in. "To improve one’s skill, one must hone and build a foundation. From there, they will build upon it."

This was also done for Callisto, Auberon, and Alise. Callisto was naturally talented in archery and had the dedication to learn the spear. Auberon was thoroughly trained by Malion and Artemis in archery as well as CQC, in which he was naturally gifted, but his gentle personality gets in the way. Alise still hasn’t begun her training. Unlike her other siblings, who were taught early on by their mothers, Ryuu raised her with no intention of raising her to be an adventurer. If she asked to be trained, Ryuu would be more than happy to oblige, but she never has.

"Well, how am I to question a parent's judgment, especially from ones as well-regarded as you two?" He bows once more. "Follow me; I will show you to your room in the life layer."

As they were being shown to their room, the ship embarked from the port, and a student went into a storage facility.

They walk to a large crate of vegetables. The student knock three times.

Knock-knock-knock!

The top of the lid opens up slightly.

"Are we in the green?" Haku said.

"We just left port." They looked around. "I’ll come again later tonight. I’ll also lock the door when I come back so you guys can use the restroom."

"Thanks again."

"No problem, you're still going to hold up your end of the bargain?"

"Of course, I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you with the Artemis Familia."

If there is a human, then there will always be a flaw in a perfect defense.