Chapter 92

The next morning, we left the hot spring town and moved out. Alice was sitting in the passenger seat of the Golem Car I was driving. She was visibly in a good mood, perhaps because she’d been so dissatisfied with the back seat until now.

Leading the way ahead of the Golem Car was a monster resembling a tiger. What made it different from those in my original world was its size. It was large enough to be mistaken for an elephant, and every movement of its legs caused the ground to rumble. Astride the galloping monster’s back were the Sorceress Nerea and Mihana. This giant tiger was a creature Nerea had summoned; apparently, she was employing it through sorcery. Since she had been doting on it before our departure, it was effectively her pet.

Currently, we were heading toward the primary city of Nerea’s territory. In terms of status, it was on the same level as the Fortress City or the Arbor City. I’d decided to have Nerea serve as our tour guide as an apology for her earlier rampage. According to the original schedule, our visit to the primary city was supposed to be a bit further off, but we moved the plans up. I took the liberty of cutting out the intermediate stops.

Those were places we’d intended to visit merely as camouflage for our fake vacation. Now that we’d made contact with Nerea like this, there was no need to go out of our way to stop by. It was better to enter her base of operations openly at an earlier stage.

“Hey, Jack.”

“What is it?”

“Why did you ask Nerea to be our guide?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t told Alice and the others my intentions yet. If I were to list the most obvious motive, it would be the reinforcement of our power dynamics. By having Nerea serve me in such a public fashion, I was making it known to everyone that I held the initiative. If I was a guest invited by Nerea herself, it would plant the impression in third parties that I was a person of significance. I wanted to instill that same image in Nerea herself. In any negotiation, the side that holds the initiative wins. This groundwork would make it easier to steer future developments.

Additionally, since this land was Nerea’s territory, simply having her accompany us granted us freedom of movement. You could even say we’d gain various privileges. If our location was going to be sensed anyway, I figured it was more constructive to be brazen and make use of her. Besides, I was starting to get bored of this peaceful, tedious trip. If I could skip the towns in between and go straight to Nerea’s base, that was the path I wanted to choose.

When I conveyed those thoughts to Alice, she giggled. “That’s a very ‘Jack’ way of thinking.”

“I always live my life being true to myself.”

If I were capable of suppressing my nature and acting as a model citizen, I probably would have remained a soldier in my old world. At the very least, I wouldn’t have ended up as a mercenary bordering on a hitman. Well, I don’t regret my past career. It was a path I chose after my own brand of consideration. A life lived as one pleases isn’t half bad.

Despite stopping for meals along the way, we traveled almost non-stop. Then, right at sunset, our destination—the primary city—came into view.

The exterior of this city was clearly different from anything I’d seen so far. There were no walls designed to keep out enemies, and there were many tall buildings that looked like skyscrapers. The crowning touch was the presence of what appeared to be railroad tracks. Extending from the city, the tracks stretched out toward some unknown distance. A vehicle resembling a train was running along them. I couldn’t see where they ended, but perhaps they connected to nearby towns.

“It’s remarkably developed.”

“This wasn’t in the intelligence reports, so it seems they were installed very recently,” Alice noted.

Alice and I were both impressed by the unexpected development of the city. I’d only researched the basic overview of this place. It was supposedly packed with various facilities and services, earning it the nickname “The Entertainment City” among the public. Its commercial revenue was said to be among the highest in Eurea.

“I can see a vast number of barriers even from this distance. It looks like they’ve implemented countermeasures by interweaving multiple systems. Monsters wouldn’t be able to get in, and it should be able to repel offensive magic as well. It’s impressive equipment.”

“So that’s why they don’t need outer walls.”

I’d thought it looked far too defenseless, but it seemed they’d taken proper precautions after all.

If Alice went that far, it must be truly impressive.

To my eyes, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary city, but she was the specialist in all things magical. I had no choice but to take her word for it.

Afterward, we entered the city and headed toward its center. Since Nerea remained mounted atop that tiger monster, it nearly caused a minor commotion, but the situation was brought under control through the efforts of those who appeared to be her subordinates. They suppressed the panic with practiced ease, so this sort of trouble was likely a common occurrence. Given Nerea’s personality, I could certainly sympathize with the hardships her underlings faced.

A vast mansion stood in the center of the city. Surprisingly, it was a seven-story wooden structure. It was built on a scale that made me hesitate to even call it a “mansion.” This was Nerea’s residence, and we were permitted to use the guest rooms within.

“There is a private hot spring as well, so please feel free to use it at your leisure. If you have need of anything, I shall come at once, so please call for me.”

“That helps.”

“No, no, not at all. Though it began with my own blunder, I am simply happy to be of use to you, Lord Jack.”

Nerea spoke respectfully as she quietly withdrew from the room. Just before the door closed, I thought I saw heart marks floating in her eyes, but I decided to ignore them. As long as there was no actual harm, it wasn’t a big deal. If I treated her too coldly, it might trigger a rampage in a different direction. It was wiser to brush her off moderately. Such are the struggles of a popular man.

Now that the three of us were alone in the room, I started by issuing instructions.

“Alice, check if there’s any concern about hidden cameras or wiretaps.”

“Understood.”

Alice, who had been standing by, began inspecting the room with fluid movements. The check was over in about a minute, and she gave a small shake of her head.

“I checked thoroughly, but there were no spells or magic tools of that nature.”

It seemed there were no strange tricks, after all. Well, since Nerea had been reflecting on her actions, I figured we’d be fine.

“Hey.”

Mihana stood before me, looking displeased. I shrugged and asked, “What is it? Are you hungry or something?”

“What are we going to do about this situation? The schedule is a mess, and it’s impossible to move behind Nerea’s back now.”

“Ah, that.”

Mihana was referring to the job from the Assassin King. Investigating Nerea, and the assassination. Under the current circumstances of staying in her home, conducting a top-secret investigation was difficult. Mihana was asserting as much, blaming me for being the cause.

“Well, don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.”

“…Fine. Then I’ll just do as I please.”

Mihana let out an exaggerated sigh and walked out of the room. The sound of her irritated footsteps soon faded away.

“Is it okay to leave her alone?”

“It’s no problem. We can’t let our guard down, but she can’t do much harm. If anything, it’s better to let her roam free.”

I already had a good idea of what Mihana’s ability was. Even if we left her to her own devices here, it wasn’t as if anything major would happen. In fact, there was currently a complete lack of any action she could take that would actually trouble me.

‘If her acting solo isn’t just for emotional reasons… there’s a possibility she received secret orders from the Assassin King.’

It was entirely plausible. While the specifics were unclear, it wouldn’t be strange if she had an objective different from ours. After all, we ourselves were acting according to a secondary goal—the killing of Mihana.

Nerea was behaving for now, but there was a risk she would go out of control eventually. No, with her, she definitely would. The possessiveness I felt when we faced off wasn’t the kind of thing that subsided easily. It would undoubtedly reignite. I suspected it was that very obsession that had pushed her to the position of an Eurea Representative.

“You look like you’re having fun, Jack.”

While I was lost in thought, Alice spoke to me. I replied playfully.

“In fact, I’m enjoying this immensely. It’s quite entertaining.”

Gradually, everyone’s ulterior motives were beginning to swirl together. This friction would continue to intensify until it eventually triggered a massive explosion. Just imagining it lifted my spirits. In the end, I was a man who sought out conflict. Peace just didn’t suit me. To go wild as my instincts dictated, kicking around the people who acted like they owned the place—that was true entertainment. The nature of a “Bomber” was something even I couldn’t suppress.