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nCh. 89: Meeting after Running

n“I can’t help but feel that this isn’t a good situation. What do you think?”

nLapis asked him as they ran through the forest, but Loren had too much on his plate to answer her.

nHe was running through a place that was hard to run in and had a child under his arm.

nAlthough it was easier than running while carrying Lapis on his back, but because the fairies chasing after them were so fast, he was having to run at full speed, and he was so tired that if he lost focus even for a second, his feet might stop moving.

n“Can’t Shayna drive them away?”

n‘I’ve been working on it…’

nOf course, Shayna’s voice didn’t reach Lapis’ ears.

nOnly Loren could hear her.

nHearing her, Loren moved his eyes and looked around, and saw there were fairies here and there falling to the ground, but it didn’t seem to have much effect because of their sheer numbers.

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n“If we stop, we’ll end up being eaten. What do we do!?”

n“Burn them?”

n“Do you prefer being burned to death than eaten to death?”

nLapis’ magic was powerful.

nIt wasn’t something they would want to use in front of Feuille, but in the crisis they were in, Loren knew that they couldn’t afford to be picky.

nBut they were currently running within a forest, and if Lapis were to use the magic she used at the campsite before they entered the forest, it would burn everything around them as well as the fairies, and there was no telling how big of a fire it would become.

nIf that happened, they wouldn’t be able to escape scot free either.

n“Can’t you use spells other that aren’t fire attribute?”

n“I’m not that good at them…because they aren’t that cool.”

n“Don’t choose magic based on how they look!”

nAlthough he said that, he couldn’t tell her to use something she couldn’t.

n“We’ll eventually be caught!”

n“They’re smaller and can navigate through the forest better than us, after all.”

nSince Loren had a large body, he had to be careful about choosing the spaces between the trees he could fit through, but the fairies that were chasing them could get past almost every opening, so they were chasing after them in almost a straight line.

n“Do fairies ever get tired!?”

n“They do, but I have a feeling that even if they do, that won’t stop them.”

nWhen Loren glanced back, what he saw were fairies with bloodshot eyes and blood covered mouths, gnashing their teeth and fluttering their wings.

nThe sight was even scarier because of their cute looking faces, so Loren turned back, afraid that if he looked at them too long, they would appear in his nightmares.

n“It doesn’t look like we could talk to them either.

n“What should we do?”

nAlthough she didn’t sound worried at all, Loren could see a hint of uneasiness on her face, so instead of saying anything, he got a better grip on Feuille and focused on running.

nIf he was told to charge into the fairies, swinging his great sword, although he would get quite injured, he could do so, but if he was told to think of a way to drive them back or find someplace to hide, he didn’t think he could think of any.

nSo, Loren decided that all he could do was keep running while hoping that Lapis could think of something.

nAfter a while Lapis asked Feuille, who was hanging limp under Loren’s arm, a question.

n“Is there a lake or a swamp that’s somewhat deep in the area?”

n“There’s one that way.”

nFeuille pointed in a direction.

nConfirming the direction in which he was pointing at, Lapis tapped Loren on the shoulder, somehow leaned into him while running at top speed, and yelled into his ear loud enough so he could hear her over the flapping of wings.

n“Let’s go that way!”

n“That way is…”

nI’m not sure if it’s a lake or a swamp, but there’s water! You know what to do, right?”

nAfter thinking for a moment, Loren realized Lapis’ intentions.

nIt was possible that they could wait out the swarm of fairies that were chasing them.

n“Same as bees, huh.”

n“Yes. Now all we have to do is hope that the water is as clean as possible!”

nAmong the things one could do when being chased by bees that sting, jumping into water is one of them.

nCreatures like bees won’t follow under the water because their wings would get wet.

nAlthough she wasn’t sure if the fairies were the same, Lapis guessed that there was a high chance that they won’t follow them anymore.

nBut on top of needing a deep source of water, they had to be inside it from head to toe.

nIf the water was somewhat clean, it would be endurable, but if it was green or mixed with rotten mud, they could be hesitant, even though their lives depended on it.

n“Feuille! Is it a lake or a swamp!?”

n“Uhh, umm?”

n“If it’s a swamp, hurry up and tell us! We need to be prepared if it is!”

nLoren could even jump into a sewer if it meant saving his life, but he still wanted some time to prepare mentally.

nThat was why he wanted to confirm beforehand with Feuille, but because of the sudden questions as well as bouncing up and down, his mind was muddled and couldn’t give a proper reply.

nDuring that time, the trees cleared up and they could see the water they were aiming for.

n“Loren, it’s a lake!”

nThe color of the water wasn’t brown or green.

nInstead, the water looked clear and blue.

n“I guess it’s not a problem then! We’re jumping in! Hold your breath!”

n“Just like that!? Loren!? Oh my…<>!”

nChasing in after Loren, Lapis used something that he wasn’t sure if it was magic or divine arts.

nLoren’s body sunk down into the water regardless of whether it took effect or not.

nThe water was so clear that he could see quite far off.

nLoren had been worried that because of the state of the forest, inside the lake would be the same way, so even if they were able to escape the fairies, this time they would have to run from creatures underwater.

nBut clear water wasn’t a suitable for many creatures to live in.

nIf it was this clear, it was possible to see if anything was coming towards them, so Loren guessed that it would be fine and looked up, and a shiver ran down his back as he saw the fairies flying above the water.

nIf it were bees, they would swarm above the water for a while, and eventually give up and fly away, but the fairies showed no signs of going away, and were waiting for them to come back up.

nAs he held his breath, Loren decided that they were in a bad spot.

nAs he was afraid that they would have to choose between drowning and having their faces torn apart, Lapis pulled on his clothes.

nWhen he turned towards her, she opened her mouth wide and took a deep breath.

nWater should’ve rushed into her lungs and pushed out all the air, but Lapis took breath after breath like nothing happened, and nudged Loren to do so as well.

n‘Onii-san, what Onee-san used was a spell that allows you to breathe underwater. It’s okay so let go of your breath and try breathing.’

nLoren hesitated, even seeing Lapis doing so, but with Shayna urging him on as well, he opened his mouth and tried breathing in the water.

nBut the water didn’t gush in, as if stopped by an invisible wall, and instead, he felt cold air flow into his lungs.

nWhen he turned to Feuille, who he was carrying, was in the middle of trying it out himself as well, he was relieved to see that he was doing fine as well.

nAs he did so, Lapis grabbed his hand and started pulling him.

nWith their difference in size, even though it was underwater, Lapis couldn’t move Loren at all, but since they couldn’t talk, Shayna explained what she was trying to say.

n‘Onii-san, the effect of the spell isn’t permanent. If we don’t escape to a place we can surface, you’ll still die, you know?’

nAlthough it seemed like they escaped drowning, they weren’t safe yet.

nSo, as he let Lapis pull him along, Loren looked for somewhere they could escape the fairies flying overhead.

nBut no matter how far they traveled, the shadow above showed no signs of going away.

nThe lake didn’t look that large, but if there were enough fairies on the surface to cover the whole lake, that was a ridiculous amount of them.

nAs Loren wondered what they could do as he looked upwards at the shadow, he eventually gave up and looked back down, and cocked his head as he saw Lapis trying to chase something away.

nAs he got closer, thinking that there was no way there could be ones that could dive underwater, his widened as he saw that it was indeed a fairy.

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n“W-wait, wait a second! Please listen to me!”

nThe fairy that kept coming back even as Lapis continued to slap away seemed to be a girl.

nAt the clear voice that rang out within the water, Loren stopped trying to run away, and Lapis stopped trying to hit her.

nSeeing that the two of them stopped, the fairy that was going around Lapis stopped in front of her.

n“Mister and miss human, are you two still normal? Have you been running from that? If so, how about I help you out here, and then you can help us?”

nAll the fairies they had met until then had just tried to bite them, not try to talk to them.

nLoren was confused at the appearance of the fairy that could breathe underwater, as well as talk.

n“I’ll guide you, so could you at least hear me out?”

nThe fairy girl, with her chestnut hair swaying in the water, tried to lead them somewhere, flapping her wings.

nKnowing that she was their best chance at getting out of the situation, Loren and Lapis started walking through the water after her.

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