Chapter 96: Escape (1)
Chapter 96: Escape (1)
I jumped off the Magic Ship with Cecile in my arms. We seemed to be more than a hundred meters high, but I figured it would be no problem due to my status, which had been raised by my level and blessings.
Then, both of my feet hit the ground with tremendous force and the momentum of my landing shattered the neatly set stones.
(Ahhh! It hurts!)
The bones in both of my legs shattered and broke. However, I used [Grass of Life] as soon as I landed and repaired the bones in my legs at once.
(The [Grass of Life] can also heal bones. I found out about it after being kicked by Dagraha.)
I checked on Cecile. A few debris hit the cloak, but Cecile seemed to be unharmed.
As expected, Cecile was unharmed.
I think of [Endurance] as a kind of shock absorber that protects the body from physical damage.
As I have always thought when I have fought with bandits, increased [Endurance] does not mean increased muscle mass in my body. It doesn’t make me more muscular or harder. It’s just like a protective coating that protects me from shocks, taking into account my status value.
The physical damage this time was the impact from the ground where I fell from over a hundred meters carrying the Cecile. I was not unharmed, and my legs were broken, but the shock was killed by my [Endurance], and the impact was not transmitted to my upper body or Cecile.
I’ve already confirmed that healing bones is in the scope of physical recovery after getting kicked by Dagraha.
“Lady Cecile, I’ll untie you now.”
I used the [Grass of Life] on Cecile when we landed, so I don’t think it’s a problem, but I checked to see if she’s injured by the pieces of debris once again. Since she doesn’t seem to be injured, I quickly cut the rope with my dagger.
“Hey! Allen!!!”
“I’m sorry. Lady Cecile, but the Magic Ship is already coming down.”
As soon as she was released from the restraints, Cecile protested with all her might. However, now is not the time to listen to Cecile’s complaints. Once again, I put the cloak on Cecile.
(If we don’t get out of here quickly, they might shoot arrows at us from behind.)
“Hey, listen to me! Where did you get this from? What the hell was that?”
“Lady Cecile!”
“What?”
“Right now, it’s important to ensure Lady Cecile’s safety. We’ll get out of here right away. I will carry you on my back, so please get on my back.”
I spoke a little more forcefully to Cecile. I asked her to get on my back so that I could give her a piggyback ride. It’s hard to run while carrying her in the princess style. The Magic Ship was going to land on the ground soon.
Cecile was unhappy, but after considering the current situation, she got on my back.
“Hey, you’re moving too fast!”
“Hold on tight. You’ll bite your tongue if you talk.”
As I started running, Cecile was surprised at my speed because I was at least running faster than a horse.
(We’re running out of time. Hollow, use [Night Vision].)
I summoned four Hollows into the night sky and looked for a gate. Then I hurried towards the gate to escape outside of the city.
(Oh! Great, Dagraha went to explain the situation to Carnell. That’ll buy us some time.)
I checked the situation inside the Magic Ship as I ran. Chappy was still inside the Magic Ship and while fleeing, I never neglected to check their situation.
Dagraha quickly explained the situation, saying that the servant of the Granvelle Family jumped off the Magic Ship with Cecile. Viscount Carnell hurriedly asked, “Are they alive?” Dagraha told him that they wouldn’t know until they landed, but since they were at that height, there was a possibility that they were dead.
I changed my Holder composition while running.
44 D-rank Insects
2 G-rank Birds
4 D-rank Birds
(They panicked, didn’t they? Well, I did hear that there are no Druids in this world. My summons must have surprised them.)
As I ran, I remembered what Raven, the adventurer, had told me. When I was playing games in my previous life, there was a profession that was very similar to a Summoner. That was a Druid.
Druid is a profession that uses magical beasts. It is a profession similar to Summoner, who uses summoned beasts. However, according to Raven, there are no Druids in this world. I remember being told that it was impossible to control magical beasts.
The bandits were astonished by the appearance of my summons, which was probably due to the fact that my summons suddenly appeared. Their reaction might have been a little different if they recognized me as a Druid.
The gate of the city of Carnell was still open, and when I showed them the Coat of Arms of the Granvelle Family, they let me through. As expected, the gatekeeper seemed to recognize the coat of arms of the neighboring territory. A servant carrying a girl on his back was quite suspicious, but he had no reason to say no.
(Okay, here we go. I guess the mountain range is that way.)
Under the starry sky, I started running outside the city. First and foremost, I had to get away from the city. After that, I would head for the Granvelle territory.
(I’m glad we got out of the gate. I need to find the White Dragon Mountains, detour from the north of the mountains, and return to the city of Grandver. How many days will it take me to get back?)
I decided to take a break after coming some distance from the city. I took out magic lights, water, and food from my <Inventory> in front of Cecile while she continued staring at me.
Not long after the break, Hollow, who was waiting in the sky above the landing site of the Magic Ship, saw some movements.
People were gathering in the area that I destroyed in my landing process.
Carnell and Dagraha were both there. They were talking about Cecile and me since they didn’t find our corpses there and know that we are alive.
Viscount Carnell was surrounded by several of his entourage. I was looking at them with Hollow and <Sharing> from the sky, and the Viscount was giving them instructions in rapid succession. As I continued to watch to confirm the status of the pursuers, Dagraha spoke to the Viscount, interrupting his instructions.
The voice was too distant for me to hear, but that was when I wondered what he was talking about.
Dagraha’s body blurred for a moment and some kind of shimmering mist covered his body. Then he started to run towards the gate.
(That’s fast! That’s what I call a Thief.)
Dagraha, who I expected to be a Thief, had high [Agility], and he headed straight for the gate that I passed through.
(Oh? Is he coming out of the gate?)
I prioritized checking Dagraha’s movements and followed after him with Hollow. Dagraha exited through the gate and began to run at once.
(What? This is…)
I realized that he was having a nightmare. Now Dagraha was running straight in the direction Allen was running.
(Shit! He’s using some kind of tracking skill.)
Dagraha seemed to know where I was by using some sort of tracking skill. He ran straight to me.
“I’m sorry, Lady Cecile. It seems that our pursuers are coming. Let’s get out of here now.”
“What? Okay, okay.”
Dagraha was running at a considerable speed. However, my [Agility] reached 2000, thanks to my blessings. Even though I was carrying Cecile on my back, I wasn’t losing speed to Dagraha to the point where he could catch up quickly.
Without being overtaken, I continued to run away from Dagraha with Cecile on my back.
After that, I tried to correct my direction and entered the river I had found, but Dagraha’s pursuit showed no signs of stopping. Dagraha was closing in on us from behind. He was quite a distance away from us, but he knew our position perfectly, as if he could see us.
(He’s a very capable Thief.)
The Hollow ahead of us discovered a city. It seems to be a slightly larger city in Carnell territory. I ran towards the city. However, the gates were already closed and the gatekeeper was standing guard for the night.
“Hey, Allen. Are we going into the city?”
A bonfire was burning, and Cecile notices the town. She talked to me over my back as we headed straight for the city.
“Yes.”
“It looks like the gate is closed.”
“That’s right. I’ll try my best. Let me talk to him for a minute.”
(Hey, can’t we use the city to spread the Dagraha?)
“Oh, hey, stop!”
I was told by the gatekeeper to stop and not to proceed any further. He was obviously suspicious of a boy dressed as a servant with a girl on his back this late at night. He even pointed his spear at me.
“I’m glad you’re here, …. Well, we’re in town. Just a little more patience, young lady.”
“Uh-huh.”
Ignoring the alarmed gatekeeper, an out-of-breath Allen spoke to Cecile as if relieved.
“I’m sorry, gatekeeper. Could you please let us into the city?”
“No, I can’t do that. The gate has already been closed. We can’t let in suspicious people like you who come at this hour.”
“No, we are not suspicious.”
I showed him the Coat of Arms of the Granvelle Family.
“The Granvelle Family, huh? No, but why this late at night?”
I showed him Granvelle Family’s Coat of Arms and he flinched for a moment. It is Viscount Carnell’s territory, but it is too unnatural that two people from the Granvelle Family of the neighboring territory came together at this late hour.
“No, actually, the carriage broke down a little way from here and we’re stuck. The young lady didn’t want to stay there.”
I lied fluidly. The carriage is broken and the lady is selfish, so I’m in trouble.
“……”
I pushed all the blame on Cecile for what happened.
“Well, no, but…”
(Oh, this is going to work? Dagraha’s going to be here soon, and I can’t ask and answer any more questions than this.)
“I’m well aware that it’s impossible for me to do so, so can’t you just close your eyes this time?)
I quickly reached out my hand to the gatekeeper’s hand. The gatekeeper was scared, but he then looked at the object Allen handed him. It was glowing golden in the reflection of the bonfire that was burning next to the gate.
I handed him one Gold Coin.
“Well, I have no choice. But even if I let you through, the inn is closed.”
“I’ll see what I can do about that.”
He implied that he would spend the money and let me stay there. With a “Good grief.” The gatekeeper let us through the door next to the gate, which looked like a service entrance for gatekeepers.
Allen and Cecile entered the city to escape being chased by Dagraha.