Chapter 267: – Waystation. |
“This is... interesting, but also...”
Rusty looked at the game the summoners were playing while standing directly above it. Some kind of illusion spell generated the entire battlefield, making him feel like a giant looming over it. For several hours, he watched Gwen and Astrella lose to Aranea. Eldric and Aldric took turns helping their leader, but neither proved particularly useful. In the end, it was Aranea's quick thinking and strategic mind that secured her victory every time.
“How is this possible? Are these dice rigged?!”
Astrella slammed both hands onto the edge of the board and stared at the glowing dice as though they had personally betrayed her.
“They are not.”
Aranea answered calmly.
“They absolutely are! Every time I need reinforcements, I get terrible rolls, and every time you need something important, you somehow get exactly what you want!”
“Perhaps the issue lies elsewhere...”
The spider girl delicately moved her swarm of hobgoblins to finish the game. Even though she had received the weakest faction available, she somehow won through careful planning alone. She always seemed to know exactly when to advance and when to retreat. The game itself was surprisingly complex, rewarding ambushes, terrain advantages, and proper positioning.
‘It's over again. She won again... I've learned a lot.’
A faint chime echoed from the board. The battlefield dissolved into particles of light.
“No...”
Astrella stared at the empty board. As the game ended, everything returned to its original state.
“No way...”
She pointed at Aranea while pouting.
“I want a rematch!”
“Thou does? But thou hast already lost five times...”
While Astrella remained full of vigor, Aranea looked exhausted. Her complexion was already ghostly pale, and she was even less physically fit than Gwen, who had steadily recovered since Rusty's first summoning. It was obvious she was tired, but something kept pushing her forward, as though she either could not or would not refuse the challenge. She also continued hiding much of her expression behind a dark purple fan whenever she interacted with the others.
“Astrella... I don't think we'll have time for another game. Look, the sun is starting to set. We should be close to our first stop.”
Gwen pointed toward the window. The bright orange glow that had illuminated the plains for most of the journey was fading. Long shadows stretched across the fields, and the floating stones overhead had become dark silhouettes against the evening sky.
Rusty followed her gaze. Far ahead, beyond a gentle rise in the land, lights had begun to appear. At first, he thought they were stars. Then he realized they were far too large.
“What is that?”
The game board was quickly forgotten as everyone turned toward the windows. In the distance stood a humongous wall lined with lights, as though someone wanted it to be seen from miles away.
It stretched across the horizon from one end of Rusty's vision to the other. Massive towers rose from it at regular intervals, each equipped with glowing parts that were beginning to shine. He could not see clearly from this angle, but he was certain the wall had been built for protection. The only question was: protection from what?
“Once we pass that wall, we will be in the Outer Lands. But don't be afraid, Gwen. I'll protect you if anything happens!”
Gwen chuckled as Rusty proclaimed this. He still had no idea how this world worked or where they were heading, but it was clear that once they passed through this gate, they would be entering a far more dangerous region. Perhaps that was where his true mission would begin. For the time being, everything had been rather boring.
“Hm...!?”
Rusty remained on the gameboard while the girls gazed out the window. Suddenly, he felt something. Some kind of intent seemed to be directed at him from behind. He quickly turned around and raised his small shield and halberd, only to discover something unexpected. Aranea was reaching toward him with her hand, as if she intended to place it on his helmet.
“...”
Her purple eyes were fixed on him. For a moment, it looked as though she might attack. Her nails were quite long, but they did not appear sharp or suited for cutting.
‘What does she want?’
He watched in confusion as she suddenly stopped. Her expression remained completely still. Then, slowly, she withdrew her hand while a faint blush spread across her pale face.
No one else seemed to notice what had happened. By the time they turned away from the window, Aranea was already leaning back in her seat, hiding her face behind a fan. Even so, the tips of her ears had turned pink.
“Rusty, you have to see this. Look.”
Before he could continue wondering about Aranea's strange behavior, Astrella grabbed his small body and carried him to the window.
What had seemed enormous from a distance now appeared almost impossible to comprehend. The structure towered over the plains like an entire mountain range. He had no idea how humanoids could accomplish such a feat of craftsmanship, though magic was probably involved, as usual.
Rusty estimated the wall to be hundreds of meters tall. Even now, as they approached, he could barely make out its upper reaches.
Their wagon was far from the only vehicle heading toward it. Multiple glowing roads converged on massive gates set into the wall. Caravans, armored wagons, mounted riders, and even flying creatures flowed toward the entrances. The entire structure looked less like a fortification and more like a border separating kingdoms.
“It's huge...”
Rusty pressed his helmet against the glass.
“Are we going to go through it now? What does it look like on the other side?”
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He asked as the vehicle began to slow down.
“No, silly. We'll be staying outside. Just look.”
Gwen pointed through the side window. Away from the main roads stood a collection of buildings and crowds of people moving between them. Compared to the wall behind them, the structures looked tiny. Yet as the wagon drew closer, Rusty realized they were anything but small.
Rows of stone buildings stretched across a vast clearing. Large inns stood beside stables capable of housing massive mounts. Warehouses, blacksmiths, and traders filled the area, making it resemble a proper town. Yet something was missing.
There were no ordinary homes. It was as though the workers lived inside the businesses themselves, and the entire settlement existed only as a temporary stop for travelers passing through.
“It is called a waystation.”
Gwen leaned closer to the window.
“Most people don't travel beyond the wall after sunset. The outer lands are too dangerous at night.”
“So everyone stops here?”
“Pretty much. There is also a fort on the other side, but it’s more heavily guarded than this place.”
“So danger lurks on the other side…”
Rusty clutched his small halberd as he looked at the wall again. Once they were on the other side, his work would probably begin. The girls, however, did not seem to take his concerns very seriously.
“You’re being overly dramatic, Rusty. Nothing will happen to us. The professors will protect us, and the enchantments will keep the monsters away!”
It was reassuring to hear, but Rusty was not born yesterday. He knew enchantments could fail. Powerful and unexpected monster mutations were also a possibility. There was even the chance of a targeted attack. These were the children of nobles and powerful future summoners. There were probably people out there who wanted them dead. Otherwise, the academy would not be this heavily protected in the first place.
“Everyone, get ready. We will be departing shortly.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a burst of mana that deactivated all the silencing magic. It was Quinten, Class B1’s teacher. His monocle shone brightly as he rose from his seat. The abrupt cancellation of the spell brought the sounds from outside rushing in and also caused the drooling Syber to awaken.
“Huh…”
“Hah, look at this guy. He drooled all over himself!”
Astrella pointed at the boy, who quickly wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his school uniform. For a moment, he looked slightly disoriented, but he recovered with astonishing speed. His hair was fixed, his collar straightened, and he was sitting properly in an instant. Then he jolted upright and turned toward the window beside him.
“So we have arrived…”
“...Don't try to ignore me!”
Syber did not turn his head, which only annoyed Astrella further as she continued pointing in his direction. Gwen grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her back. They needed to sit down and make sure they had not forgotten anything in the wagon.
Now that the silencing spells were gone, the sounds from outside flooded in. They could hear people talking and various mounts snorting, along with the heavy creaking of wagons and the distant clang of metal being worked in the waystation.
Rusty climbed down from the board and onto Gwen’s lap. Soon, the wagon came to a halt. Their teacher stood up first and went outside to speak with the others. Before long, the students were instructed to leave through the front, leaving their group as the last members of B1 to step outside.
“Let’s go. My legs are feeling sore.”
Astrella commented, and Gwen nodded in agreement. Rusty was carried as he had been many times before, while Syber remained the last to move. Aranea, on the other hand, stayed in the middle of the group, making it look as though the others had placed her there for protection, like a noble lady under guard.
“So this is a waystation…”
Once outside, Rusty started looking around. Some things were quite different from the place he came from, such as the floating islands and the various creatures, but there were also many similarities. The level of technology seemed comparable, and the magic used here could also be found in his own world.
Around them, the entire waystation unfolded like a small city built in the shadow of a gigantic wall. Magical lanterns stood everywhere, unlike any he had seen before. Instead of glowing crystals, they contained round orbs that floated inside glass enclosures mounted on poles. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the lanterns illuminated the area with a bright, steady light.
Massive stables stood to the left, their doors wide enough for drakehorses to pass through without lowering their heads. On the right were rows of workshops where not only weapons and armor were being repaired, but carts damaged during travel as well. Rusty spotted large claw marks on a wagon in the distance, and the sight made him eager for the day they would finally venture outside.
The shops also seemed more focused on resupplying travelers than selling specialty goods. This was a supply station rather than a true merchant hub, but the academy apparently had little need for its services. Their vehicle remained on the road while waiting in line, and the students were instead guided toward their temporary accommodation, a massive five-story building.
“I’ve never seen an inn like this…”
“This isn’t an inn, Rusty. It’s called a hotel, and it’s been reserved for us.”
Gwen's explanation made Astrella grin once again.
“All thanks to being Class B1. We get the whole place to ourselves with no limits!”
She puffed out her chest proudly, but her grin quickly faded when Saber walked past.
“Just try not to overeat. You’ve been getting larger lately.”
Astrella froze and glanced down at her stomach. To Rusty, she did not look particularly large, but she clearly disagreed. Her expression turned offended almost instantly.
“...Hey, what did you mean by that? Stop right there, you idiot!”
The chase began immediately. The teacher did not seem particularly concerned by the commotion. They passed through the entrance while attendants standing by the doors bowed as they entered. For Rusty, who had grown up in a frontier town bordering a large orc tribe and had spent much of his new life in the slums, such treatment was entirely unfamiliar.
He was not sure whether the deference was due to the presence of noble children or because promising summoners carried greater status. Regardless, they were escorted inside and led first to a large dining hall where the students were free to eat as much as they wanted.
The dining hall was not as large as the academy cafeteria, but it could easily accommodate more than twice the number of people currently present. Rusty, being a living suit of armor, could not really judge the quality of the food, but it still looked strange to him. The idea of consuming other creatures to sustain one's body seemed highly inefficient.
Within the confines of the hotel, the restrictions placed on summoned creatures still remained. However, the effect felt less oppressive than before. Rusty suspected this was because the suppression originated from enchanted equipment carried by the teaching staff rather than from the hotel itself, making its influence noticeably weaker.
After that, it was time for the humanoids to clean themselves, something he was not used to seeing either. Where he came from, water was rarely available and was mainly reserved for cooking and drinking. Using it for bathing was usually a luxury enjoyed only by wealthy merchants and nobles. He had heard that humanoids developed an unpleasant smell if they went too long without washing, but lacking a nose himself, it was never something that concerned him.
“Don’t you even dare try to peek!”
“Why would anyone want to do that?”
“You’ve been warned!”
The girls gathered on one side while the boys took the other. For some reason, Rusty was brought along for the wash as well. The bathhouse was surprisingly spacious, with polished white floors made from what looked like expensive stone.
He was able to move around without anyone's help. Many other tiny summoned creatures scurried about the room. He spotted a small turtle spinning through the air, while Aranea’s tiny spider was chasing Astrella’s fairies.
The scene looked peaceful, but all the water being used seemed terribly wasteful. A large basin held heated water, and more flowed continuously from stone monster heads mounted along the walls. There were even decorative engravings made from precious metals in several places, which struck him as an absurd waste of resources.
‘If only I could take some of this with me... I wouldn’t even need to sell monster parts.’
He spotted traces of rare metals and gold throughout the room. They served no purpose beyond decoration, something he had never understood about humanoids. He would have been perfectly content living in a damp cave in the middle of nowhere as long as he had monsters to fight and Gleam by his side. Yet these humanoids surrounded themselves with luxury while treating it as ordinary.
‘Well, once this is over, maybe something exciting will finally happen!’
He thought to himself as he carefully moved across the slippery floor, his small halberd in hand. Suddenly, he glanced to the side and noticed something strange. A small panel had slid open, and he could see movement on the other side.
“An attacker!”
“GAH!”
Without a second thought, he lunged forward and thrust his weapon through the opening. The moment he did, a shout rang out. The voice was immediately familiar. It belonged to one of the boys who often hung around Aranea...
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