Eternally Regressing in Another World

Chapter 34: Square 28: The Blue Pursuer

Right, the oil field thing, I’d heard about that from the woman I saved yesterday. There’d probably be massive sums of money changing hands between nations over this, possibly even risk of war. Elizabeth had described herself as behind the scenes support staff, but that probably meant she’d be especially busy with something like this.

”I see, so no other adults to rely on... yeah, guess not.”

The enemy was a guard, so reporting to the guards was pointless. This kid’s parent was unavailable. For Flaut, this really was a dead end in every direction.

”That’s why you’re the only one I can rely on now, mister!”

Of course I wanted to help somehow. But this time, I didn’t even have basic info on the enemy, let alone whether it was one person or an organization. With Nest, I’d had Elizabeth and Tender, and knew the enemy’s numbers and location, so it worked out. But this time, my only ally was one elementary school kid. The sheer difficulty made my eyes well up a little.

”Anyway, you get the situation now, right? Come on, let’s go!”

”Huh? Go where?”

”I told you already. Shiran’s dad was talking in a back alley. To that noble.”

Thirty minutes by carriage from there. Northwest side of the city. A high end residential area lined with noble estates. Not much foot traffic, but unlike other parts of town, everything here looked remarkably tidy. The stone paved roads here were clearly better funded, with far fewer bumps than elsewhere.

”That house right there, that’s the noble’s estate.”

The nameplate read ”Vade.” The building looked straight out of a French estate, yet the nameplate was written in Japanese. Still hadn’t gotten used to that particular gap.

”But how do you know it’s this one?”

”Duke Vade has this incredible beard. He had his hood on, but I recognized him instantly.”

Hearing ”incredible beard” for a duke, my mind jumped straight to those novelty party glasses with the fake beard attached. If his face really looks like that, no wonder he’d be instantly recognizable.

”But what are we gonna do once we’re here?”

”We beat up Duke Vade the moment he steps outside!”

Flaut declared this with total confidence. Where exactly that confidence was coming from, I had no idea whatsoever.

”Nobles usually have bodyguards, don’t they? What about them?”

At my words, Flaut gave me a look like he couldn’t believe what I’d just said.

”Aren’t you gonna handle them, mister?”

”No... I’m...”

”Aren’t you strong, mister? You’re tall, and you know Eliza sis too.”

Completely misunderstood. If I didn’t clear this up fast, this kid was going to charge straight into a noble’s mansion.

”Um, I really do know Elizabeth. But I’m really not that strong, you know?”

”It’s fine! If you just hold them off a bit, I’ll blast them! I think I could probably handle just the duke on my own, at least.”

Probably during that ”bit,” I’d get turned into ground meat.

”Listen. You’re being way too reckless about this. The other side has power and manpower. We need to think this through more carefully, and then...”

”I can’t wait that long! What about Shiran!!”

Unable to hold back his emotions, Flaut raised his voice. But making noise on enemy territory was extremely risky. If someone had overheard... My worst case prediction hit dead on.

”Did you just say Shiran?”

A man suddenly called out to us. About my height, but muscle bulged visibly even through his clothing. Dressed entirely in blue, in a style reminiscent of Chinese martial arts attire. His eyes carried a hostility fierce enough to devour us whole.

”...No, we weren’t. We were just talking about a book. And this kid said he ’doesn’t know’ that book.”

An unbelievably flimsy lie. If a lie that weak could shut him up, it’d be a miracle.

”Oh? Talking about a book, in a place like this, in hushed voices?”

The blue clothed man’s expression didn’t shift at all. Getting off the hook here looked unlikely. While I scrambled for some way out, Flaut spoke up.

”Hey! Are you one of Duke Vade’s men!? Why are you trying to make Shiran a sla— mmph!”

I clamped my hand over Flaut’s mouth in a panic. But it was already too late.

”...I see. Sounds like you know everything already.”

The blue clothed man unclasped his hands from behind his back and slowly clenched a fist. There was no way a criminal who’d just learned his secret had leaked would show mercy.

”Tch!? Run!!”

I grabbed Flaut’s hand hard. There was no way a kid’s legs could outrun this guy. I pulled the portable ashtray out of my pocket.

”Take this!”

I flung the contents of the ashtray straight at the man.

”Ghh! What is this!?”

Looked like the ash had hit his eyes cleanly enough. That should buy us some time.

”Run!!”

”O-okay!”

We ran, cutting through as many corners as we could to shake him off.

”Mister! Let’s hide in that forest over there!”

I hesitated for a split second. True, hiding in the forest could give us a solid chance of losing him. But if we got caught in there instead, there’d be nowhere better suited for a quiet killing. Rather than get cornered like rats, I’d take my chances with a slightly reckless escape route!

”We’re jumping in here!”

”Huh!?”

What I pointed at was a river. A bit further ahead, it led into an underground channel. The murky water made it impossible to gauge the depth.

”Mister, do you even know where that leads!?”

”Of course I don’t!”

”Whaaat!?”

But there wasn’t time to hesitate any longer. A crushing pressure, like something dragging at my body. I could clearly sense danger closing in.

”Jump!!”

”Waaaaah!!”

The river was deeper than expected once we jumped in. Swimming in full clothes with no footing was genuinely risky. Especially with a kid along. I grabbed Flaut’s shoulder and pulled him in tight against me.

”Flaut, you okay!?”

”Blugh, s-somehow...”

That man had to be close by now. Rough as it was, we needed to hide ourselves somehow.

”Flaut, can you go under?”

”I-I’ll try.”

”Alright, on three!”

We took in a breath and sank down deep. Right after that. A hunter’s gaze peered down into the river. Eyes searching for prey, if he’d spotted us, we’d have died without question. But luckily, the murkiness of the river and my black clothes worked in our favor. The blue clothed man never managed to find the two of us.

In a corner of some residential neighborhood, a manhole cover rattled loudly. Gasping for breath, Flaut and I crawled out, barely alive. The bright sunlight offered a small bit of warmth to our chilled bodies.

”Phew, glad this world has manholes too.”

”I’m... soaked all over.”

”Clothes and body will dry off eventually. The real problem, for me, is this.”

What I was staring at was my bag, now in a pathetic state. Most of its contents were probably ruined.

”At least let the weapon have survived, please.”

I pulled out the gun and checked the bullets.

”Do bullets even fire after getting wet...? Damn it, there’s no way an average Japanese guy would know anything about guns.”

Anxious, I carefully reloaded the bullets anyway. With no real knowledge on the matter, all I could do was hope it would actually fire. Letting out a sigh, I pinned my hopes on something else and nervously spun the wheel of my Zippo lighter. Sparks flew, and after a few tries, a beautiful flame lit up.

”Thank god... as long as I’ve got the lighter, I can manage something.”

”Hey mister, shouldn’t we at least dry off?”

”Yeah, good idea.”

We moved to an open area with direct sunlight and sat down on the edge of a flower bed.

”Can’t believe there was a guy like that. What do we do, get someone else to help after all?”

”Help, from who? Should we go to Elizabeth’s mansion?”

”Eliza sis already left the mansion. After that she headed out of the country without coming back, and won’t be back for days.”

This was getting worse by the minute. With this few allies left, should I actually count Flaut as combat capable too? Thinking about it, this kid was Elizabeth’s little brother. Maybe, despite his looks, he could actually hold his own in a fight.

”Hey, Flaut. What kind of magic can you use?”

”Why the sudden question?”

”Just tell me, it matters right now.”

Flaut, looking a bit annoyed, said ”guess I have no choice” and chanted an incantation. Crouching down, he drew a circle on the ground with his finger.

”...What’s that?”

”Just get back. It’s dangerous.”

”...Dangerous?”

I stepped back as instructed. A few seconds later, the ground gouged out with a loud bang, kicking up a cloud of dust.

”Cough, cough! S-so, how was that? That’s my magic, ’Marking Bomb’! It’s actually called ’seal explosion magic,’ but doesn’t this name sound way cooler?”

Cooler? Not really the point right now. Sure, it was impressive. But it honestly seemed like a pain to actually use in practice.

”HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE!!!”

Someone from a nearby house came storming out, furious, frying pan in hand. Looking closer, the impact had covered the flowers in the flower bed with dirt.

”Run, mister!!”

”Right!”

Shouting apologies as we went, we bolted from the scene at full speed.

”Phew, phew, I think we’re safe now that we’ve come this far.”

”Hope so... feels like all we’ve done today is run.”

”Ah, mister, look over there.”

Following where Flaut pointed, there was a rest area good for taking a break. A few benches, and even a vending machine.

”Want to rest a bit?”

”Of course!”

I stood there frozen in front of what looked like a vending machine.

”Not buying anything, mister?”

”No, I’m thirsty, but... what is this?”

”A mana can, right? They sell those everywhere.”

I had no idea what that was. Actually, the only time I’d ever seen one was that one time at the hospital. Nothing about ”sold everywhere” rang true for me at all.

”Does drinking this restore magic power or something?”

”A little, I guess? Though someone with a lot of magic power, like Eliza sis, probably wouldn’t feel much from it.”

So basically more of a placebo effect. Just a minor top up at most, so really more like an ordinary drink. Probably something like an energy drink in this world.

”...Does it taste good?”

”I don’t really drink them much myself. If you’ve completely run out of magic, I guess it tastes good then.”

Flaut said this without much interest, drinking water from a nearby tap instead. Which meant, for someone with zero magic power like me, it would probably taste awful. Guess I’ll skip it.

”We’ll move again in a bit. Staying in one place too long is dangerous.”

”Got it, but do you have somewhere in mind to go?”

Come to think of it, we hadn’t actually settled on a destination yet.

”Hmm, Old Man Beard’s place is kind of close to the duke’s mansion. What should we do...”

”Hey, if you don’t have anywhere set, why don’t we go see Shiran first?”

That had obviously crossed my mind too. But Shiran had bolted out of her room that morning, so I had no idea where she’d be.

”I don’t think Shiran’s at home.”

”I know. At this time, she’s probably over there.”

Flaut’s words caught me off guard.

”...You know where Shiran is?”

”Shiran’s probably at that plaza over there. She’s always there, just kind of spacing out.”

Hearing ”plaza” in the direction Flaut was pointing, it clicked for me. Right, that was the exact plaza where Shiran and I had first met.

”Perfect timing, actually. I want to hear things straight from Shiran too. And if we’re protecting her, better to have her close by anyway.”

I started walking, and Flaut quickly fell into step beside me. Glancing over, his expression was firm, and he met my eyes as if to confirm something.

”I’m definitely gonna save Shiran, mister!”

”Yeah, leave it to me!”

I gently but firmly high fived the small hand Flaut held out.