SING CRIER CH.31 - Outer Worlds 「«Glitz»! 」 I hear the faint shout of a child outside. Sitting up in my seat, I peek out through the carriage's wood-latticed window. Off in the distance, on a path surrounded by flood farms and fireflies,

I spot peasant children, playing with a melon-sized ball of shimmering light. It flies nearly weightlessly and without drag as they hit it back and forth. ...It's amazing that they can play even at these darkest hours of the night. 「 ... 」 「 Lüzr. 」 I flinch from the window. Turning my attention to the carriage interior, I first notice Alph-Goz across from me, fallen into a deeper sleep. With her crossed out, I can only face the carriage's third occupant, dressed in an aristocratic black and wearing a thick patterned veil over her face. 「 Yes? 」 「 Do you feel any better? 」 I rub the back of my neck, while the clip-clop of horse hooves fill the pause. 「 ...Somewhat? I still don't quite feel like Hero material, 「 but -- I can understand now why The Goddess might have chosen me. 「 Uh... why do you ask? 」 「 Giii... Who wouldn't want to know how The Hero is faring? 「 The fate of the world is everyone's business to know, isn't it? 」 「 Oh, I... I guess so. 」 I gently angle the dimmed lantern at my side to view its fuel compartment, and find its reserves half-empty, realigning my lost sense of time. 「 ...Alph-Polimion? 」 「 Don't call me that. 」 「 Uh- sorry, Polgysia? 」 「 Yes? 」 「 This is going to sound... weird but, 「 is it possible that Alph-Marie could be... wrong? 」 「 ...Wrong in what way? 」 「 Wrong about me being The Hero, I mean. 」 She tilts her head to one side. 「 I suppose even Alph-Marie's clairvoyance has limits. 「 We all saw her surprised when she learned the twins were alive- 」※¹ 「 So it is possible- 」 「 However... she has allegedly never been wrong when naming The Hero. 「 As a baby, she identified a known Hero out of a crowd of nobles before even learning 「 the meaning of the word. She later successfully identified an unknown Hero as a 「 toddler and again as a young teen, so while it is possible she could be wrong... 」 「 Best not to count on it... 」 「 Right. 」 I breathe out and lean my head against the window. It's not that I... hate the idea of being The Hero. I do want to help people in need and grow my talents to that end, but... I don't know, maybe I just don't want to lead? Or maybe I'm just lacking confidence... 「 Lüzr, when you first joined The Highlanders, 「 were you surprised to learn some things weren't as the legends described? 」 「 Hm? Oh, uh... very surprised. I grew up on stories of The Highlanders, 「 so having those tales confirmed, denied, debunked, unglorified... 「 well, it was a very sobering experience for me. 」 「 ...Hm. 」 「 I mean, regardless, I'm still glad to have learned the truth. 「 If anything, the truth has made me appreciate everyone even more, 「 because now I can see that their achievements were accomplished not just by 「 some distant imagined characters, but by people, and all their attached flaws. 」 「 Right -- and don't you think the same applies to the legends of old heroes? 」 ...Ah. That's where she was going with that... 「 Many heroes have come before you, just like you. 「 They probably thought the same things and had the same worries. 」 「 Right... right, that makes sense. 」 I look back out the window, at the myriad fireflies lighting the endless dark. 「 Nobody's born ready. 「 I just... have to hold out until I am. 」 『『 Setsuna! 』』 We grab both her shoulders and pull, prompting her to reel back. Mere moments later, a looming shadow grows over the cavern's exit. Boom. A colossal mass of scales and spikes slams against the cave opening, loosening dust and stone over our heads before itself succumbing to gravity. The scaled monster's distant landing seconds later rumbles the cave a second time. 『 ...Do monsters always fight this late at night? 』 『 Always hungry. 』 That goes double for us. It has been way too long since we've eaten... We're not sure if it was adrenaline or our Eldritch Serendipity putting it off but, now that the threat to Agehatate has passed, our stomachs are next in line. Setsuna must be hungry as well... 「 ... 」 Think quick... hmm... What's... the order of operations here... Food first? Yes... that sounds right. Avoiding the Starvation debuff is critical priority. Unfortunately, our serpent summon has timed out, and although we still have our ravenling with us, without mana, all its capable of is limited movement. Which means we'll primarily have to rely on Setsuna's power and our monster trigger to get the job done. Second priority is finding or making a safe haven, securing a route back to Agehatate is third, and after that... rest. Right, and in the morning we'll reevaluate the plan depending on how things go. No need to panic, we've gone through this before in Sal'venakai. Okay... phew... We can do this. Agehatate prepared us for this day. This is the restart! Round 2! 『 ...Setsuna. 』 Our kraken companion turns to look at Crier, who is holding her hand over her stomach hoping to convey hunger. She looks Crier up and down, then glances at Sing, who swallows air, also in an attempt to convey hunger. Setsuna blinks... then nods awkwardly. Nodding seems to be something she's learned recently; from Agehatate, most likely... Carrying us in her tendrils, she cautiously inches towards the twilight of the outside, resisting the cave river's pull -- threatening to eject us at the slightest slip. ... How are we getting down from here...? At the exit is, of course, another waterfall, however, this one pours into a pool of questionable depth. The jagged rock formations in this canyon don't lend any confidence... If we can get down however, it looks like there's a wide forest to take refuge in. We definitely need to minimize the time we spend exposed to the sky, there are too many monsters flying about... Ah, wait a minute, a monster fell down these falls just a minute ago, right? The cave rumbled when it landed, but it seems to have gotten up and left. Even if there were jagged rocks when it fell in, surely they must be flattened now, right? Hm... but even if we realize that, it's not like we can convince Setsuna to jump if she doesn't find it safe. It definitely seems like she's hesitant, she's still surveying the environment... Are there any alternative routes before we resort to playing charades...? 「 ◕! 」 A high pitched chirp. We look down at Setsuna, who stares straight down at the waterfall. Or... through the waterfall? At the water? She looks back at us. We tilt our heads. We don't get it, but, if she's thinking about jumping, that was going to be our idea anyway, so... We nod. She immediately lurches over the edge, dragging us underwater with her. 『『 ?! 』』 We scramble to hold our breaths, squeezing our eyes shut in the process. For a brief second, we feel the sensation of falling, but it comes to a sudden stop, and not with a splash. Actually, it just feels like mist now? We gasp for breath, rub our eyes -- then look around. ...Ah. So there was something like this here... Behind the falls stands a columned rock formation, one that's rather steep, but with segments that are evidently grippable for Setsuna's tendrils. Before we can give any response, she immediately begins navigating her way down, clinging to the formation and holding us airborne. She doesn't move as gracefully as she does in the water, but it's still a somewhat brisk descent. Setsuna's... kind of amazing. ...It only takes a minute or two for us to reach a safe height from the ground, the realization of which prompts Setsuna to leap into the pool below the falls. This time, we take a deep breath. 『『 ...Fwah! 』』 Gasping for air upon our resurfacing, we immediately begin scanning for threats. The only thing we catch however, are various small critters fleeing into the dark of the underwood. 『『 ... 』』 We look up at the waterfall. ...Setsuna could probably climb back up there? The entrance to the cave lies on a small overhang, that would probably be the biggest obstacle... but it might be possible if Setsuna stretches? We suddenly hear a whistling sound, faint, distant, from further above the waterfall. From the top of the cliff face? There, we see an ultrathin line of purple light blink for a split second. ... Ah...? 『『 ?! 』』

A sharp light in the vague shape of a bird suddenly rockets along the line's path, accelerating and accelerating more until it explodes in a controlled burst of glittering purple sparks that arc across the sky. 『 A...Anti-air magic? 』 After two seconds, the arcing sparks begin to pop in smaller bursts of magic, lighting up and damaging airborne creatures that had camouflaged in the night veil of the sky. Most of them are instantly downed and fall from the air in trails of smoke, but a few others manage to scatter and flee, carrying smoke trails away with them. 『 «Asterisk»... 』 It's a flak fire type of magic, only effective at long range. Like fireworks, it's a projectile that explodes after travelling some distance, splitting into many smaller projectiles that also light up and explode, attaching vibrant smoke to any targets caught in the area and making them easier to hit for follow-up attacks. Surely enough, there are followup attacks. Arrows, magic bolts, all manner of projectiles fly from the same direction to take down the remaining stragglers. A coordinated assault. 『 We need to go. 』 『 Setsuna. 』 She appears dazed by the display. We tug on her tentacles to snap her out of it. She quickly shakes her head, then swims us to shore. ...With our feet finally on solid ground again, we begin wringing our hair dry. Setsuna then pulls herself out of the water onto the dirt and vegetation alongside us. 『 Eh? 』 Crier tilts her head and points at the water. Does she not need... to keep her skin wet or something? Setsuna gives Crier a blank stare, raises a spare tendril, then slaps her own pale belly. ...Maybe there's no fish in the river. Then, she intends to forage in the forest with us? Ah, well, hum... that's probably... a good thing? We have little data regarding her land performance other than she can move in quick bursts of speed if needed, but being able to do that on flat stone doesn't exactly translate well to... pointy forests. 『 ... 』 Not that we're in a position to deny her... That «Asterisk» cast may not have raised our Eldritch Serendipity from level twelve, but our death sense has gone off at the last second more than once, it's better to be safe. That group of adventurers that threatened Agehatate... are probably still around... We should act fast while it's still dark out. Crier nods at her. Setsuna nods back, a little too dramatically, but with that settled, we begin pushing into the thicket. The ravenling goes first, then Sing, then Crier, with Setsuna at the rear. 『『 «Identify» 』』 The average level of vegetation in this area seems to be... 24. So we should... expect similarly levelled monsters... ...We climb over roots, fallen trees, duck under branches and squeeze between rocks. Leaves constantly barrage us whilst moss rubs off on our skins. Although we saw numerous critters run in here from the waterfall area, it's clearly going to be too dark for us to spot those small creatures in here... To make matters worse, the few edible berries we've found all seem to contain some kind of toxin too high level to survive, or a debilitating status effect... or both. Also, did we mention the bugs?

Get these things out of our faces! Mega gross! Go to bed! Bleck! Definitely not hungry enough to eat bugs yet! ...Maybe we should go back to the waterfall to try catching those small critters? No no no, even if we ignore the threat of a wyvern swooping down and eating us, those adventurers could spot us from anywhere. White hair and orange krakens kind of stand out a little bit, you know? At least in here, there are luminescent plants to draw your attentio- A shrill caw rings through the forest. ... Something killed the ravenling. 『 S- 』 Crier reaches behind her. Setsuna isn't there. Eldritch Serendipity[LV.21] Crier clenches her fist. Stay calm. Stay... ...calm. Stay calm, this is fine. This is fine. Really. This is perfectly fine. Eldritch Serendipity[LV.22]? That's fine. Totally fine. Feeling of a phantom hand twisting your spine? An intensifying chill that locks your heart in fear? Completely f i n e. You know, it's just... just like old times. Us, having just died, waking up in a pitch black forest, captured by a masked scarecrow coming out of nowhere, and then fighting him and his knives in the dark no more than five minutes later trying desperately not to die a horrific second death. Just like that. Yup, just fine. Anyway, Crier, could you just... yeah, pick up that glowing mushroom. Mmhmm, just hold it in front of your face, and then run your nail over your forehead... Good, good... Blood running well... Okay, now smile! [END]