Chapter 9

[Varius, in the middle of this bad weather, you are surprisingly able to proceed without getting lost . ] (Caucasus)

[It’s pretty easy actually…… Here, 3 years ago, we made this thing didn’t we? Based on where this needle is pointing, we would be able to figure out which direction we should head to] (Varius)

Disregarding the heavy rain, providing a pleasant temperature and humidity — the inside of the Nimbus Cloud’s shield .

I pointed towards the compass held in my left hand as I answered Caucasus’ query .

How nostalgic .

Thinking back, I didn’t have enough mana to use alchemy magic at the time, so I had Caucasus and Beelzebub lend me their mana to make a needle and coil .

To magnetise the needle, a high voltage needed to be applied to the coil with the needle placed in it but…I really worked hard using that magic .

I purposely used the defibrillation magic without chanting, expending a large amount of mana for a long period of time in order to achieve that high a voltage .

I am now able to cast lightning magic used by Heroes with ease though…having to exert so much effort in casting lifestyle magic, good times .

While I was thinking about such a thing, the Nimbus Cloud continued to speed through the sky . If all goes well, we’ll arrive in about 3 hours but…during this time, not doing anything is pretty boring .

Using storage magic, I took out a self-made Game of Life and the accompanying dice .

[Caucasus, Beelzabub……wanna play the Game of Life together?] (Varius)

[Oh, we doin’ that? Yay!] (Beelzebub)

[There is no helping it . In any case, there is nothing to do…this me shall accompany Varius in his game . ] (Caucasus)

Thanks to my sporting tamed monsters, we passed the time without feeling bored .

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[Eating Wyvern’s meat has resulted in food poisoning, return to square one…ahhh dammit! This is a shitty game! Seriously a shitty game!] (Beelzebub)

Beelzebub started acting up .

…Sorry .

After all, this isn’t the commercial version of the game but a self-made one .

The game balance can be a bit weird here and there…but I would like for it to be treated as part of its charm .

In this manner, we peacefully engrossed ourselves in the game…however, a carriage on the highway beneath us suddenly caught my eye .

On a whim, I reduced the speed of the Nimbus Cloud to observe the carriage .

[Varius, what are you looking at?] (Caucasus)

[Yeah…about that carriage, doesn’t it look like it’s stalled?] (Varius)

That’s right .

It’s probably due to that deep puddle of water, causing half of the carriage’s rear wheel to sink into it, making it unable to move .

[……Is it about the vehicle of those humans?] (Caucasus)

[That’s right . See there, they are unable to take the wheel out of that puddle right?] (Varius)

[Definitely…… Oi, Beelzebub, what are you doing, nonchalantly moving the pieces when none of us are looking?] (Caucasus)

[…Keh, got found out, huh] (Beelzebub)

It seems that while Causasus and I were looking at the carriage, Beelzebub recklessly tried to cheat .

Caucasus found out, he got rebuked instead .

… . . Putting that aside, I guess we’ll lend that carriage a hand .

[Caucasus, you are able to lift the carriage up, right?] (Varius)

[That goes without saying . Something like that, these horns can easily lift it up . ] (Caucasus)

[……How reliable . ] (Varius)

Reducing our altitude, we head towards the carriage to help out .

[Yo] (Varius)

I increased the mana flowing into the Nimbus Cloud to increase the radius of the weather shield, protecting the carriage — along with the coachman — from the rain .

After that, just when Caucasus was about to clamp onto the carriage with its horns…

[You people! Who are you!] (Coachman)

The coachman drew his sword and approached us .

Well, this is to be expected .

From the coachman’s perspective, this is a situation where [Monsters have approached from the sky, attempting to take the carriage] .

It can’t be helped that he is on guard .

[Ah, it’s fine . These guys are my tamed monsters . Your carriage seemed to have stalled, so we came to help] (Varius)

[Tamed monster? No matter how I look at it, you seem to be a Sage though . Also, I’ve never heard of a Tamer capable of taming a Giant Stag Caucasus [1] .

It doesn’t look like the coachman intend to lower his guard .

Ah,I see . I dyed my hair after all .

Well…I seem to have dug myself a fresh grave .

That was what I thought, however…

[Well, isn’t it fine? It’s true that a complete stranger has appeared, but he is saying that he has come to help . We won’t make any progress at this rate anyway…why not try trusting him?] (Man)

The man who came out of the carriage admonished the coachman .

He then looked at my tamed monsters and I, and spoke .

[Fumu…… A Giant Stag Caucasus and a Beelzebub, huh . That calm demeanor despite being surrounded by some pretty strong monsters, seems like they really are your tamed monsters . ] (Man)

[Hahaha, what a critical analysis . ] (Varius)

[It is just such an irregular situation that I could come up with no other conclusion . That goes for the mysterious cloud you are riding as well . ] (Man)

The man gave a wry smile .

[This a tool capable of flying through the sky, called a Nimbus Cloud . ] (Varius)

[The sky…no, it’s fine . I’ll give up trying to understand . ] (man)

…… . . Oops, this is not the time for idle banter .

We came to pull the carriage out after all .

[Ah, my Caucasus will start moving the carriage, so please move away a little . ] (Varius)

[Aah……my bad . I was in the way, huh?] (Man)

After confirming that the man had moved to a safe location, I gave Caucasus the signal .

Right after that… . . Caucasus firmly gripped the carriage with its three prided horns, and lifted it up without any difficulty .

Caucasus then move the carriage a few meters away, and placed the carriage back onto the ground . This time, the carriage did not sink into the ground, be it the front or back wheels .

The rescue was a success .

[I believe that the carriage will be able to move again with this . ] (Varius)

[……You have my thanks . Although it pains me that this is the best I could give as thanks, please accept it . ] (Man)

Saying that, the man took a single gold coin out of the carriage .

Although I didn’t feel like I did anything to warrant such a reward…since the man might be the type who hates owing people favours, guess I’ll just accept it .

As we continued our exchange, Caucasus returned to the top of the Nimbus Cloud .

[Well then, we will take our leave now . ] (Varius)

[I see . It would be nice if fate allows us to meet again . ] (Man)

We exchanged farewells, and I raised the Nimbus Cloud’s altitude .

In this kind of rain, it would have been fine to accompany the man to his destination if we had time to spare, however…the test is tomorrow after all .

Since there was nothing we could do about that, it’s time to resume our journey .

[It really flew… . . all right, I’ll give up on thinking after all . ]

The man looked like he muttered something, but I couldn’t make out what he said .

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There wasn’t anything eventful after that, and we finally arrived in the town where the Elite Academy is in .

By then, the rain has subsided to a drizzle, to the point where we aren’t troubled by it .

Since I was starving, I got off the Nimbus Cloud for a while and entered one of the shops for a late lunch .

After that, I got back onto the Nimbus Cloud and flew over to Elite Academy’s airspace .

Regarding exams, it’s important to conduct a preliminary inspection of the venue before the actual event after all .

The structure of the buildings, the classrooms which would be used for the exams, as well as the training ground’s location, I hammered all these information into my head .

After about an hour, I have roughly gotten an understanding of the general layout, what’s left would be touring the town I’m in for the first time .

Well…I just dropped by the weapons as well as jewelry stores, and although I didn’t buy anything…seeing so many new things made the time spent quite fulfilling .

After that, I stopped by a restaurant again, for dinner this time .

I took a look outside once my stomach has been adequately filled, and saw that the day has completely turned to night .

…… . . Though it’s a little early, guess I’ll turn in for the day .

I laid down on the Nimbus Cloud with my tamed monsters .

This sure is a comfortable place to sleep .

With an appropriately low resistance, it fits the entire body such that it stays in a completely relaxed posture .

Probably due to everything that has happened today, my consciousness left me the moment I laid down .

Notes:

[1]: Recall that Caucasus’ species name is “Caucasus Ookuwagata” where Ookuwagata means “Giant Stag”