Chapter 14 Towards the Thunder Mountains (Patreon)

「Ngh… there! Speed boost! 」

「…Erm… nothing’s changed.」

「You’re not sending enough of your power over. You don’t have to be nervous.」

When it comes to training partial reinforcement techniques, as long as your summon one would be able to do it wherever they are.

And right now, she was in the passenger seat of the carriage conducting special training.

The carriage was already past the grassy plains, with the surroundings being that of rocky terrain.

The destination: The majestic peaks of the Nizabel mountain range.

The girls had planned to do their preparations in a town at the foot of the mountain before setting off to challenge the mountain of thunder in the next day.

「Haaaa… this is totally useless…」

Letting out a huge sigh, Rinna leaned onto the backrest.

With this happening and that going on, the special training continued on for about two hours.

In that time, Rei’s body had undergone 0 instances of being strengthened.

After her fainting incident, she hasn’t been able to control her power.

「Shall we take a break? I don’t think it would be productive if you continue forcing it.」

「Indeed. It’s important to get some rest as well.」

「…Mmm, then let’s take a break. Rei, lap pillow」

Rinna lazed onto her side and plopped her head onto Rei’s lap. 

After a few head pats, she already started snoring away.

Rei looked at the opposite seats, seeing Shifle giving Fuu-chan some slices of meat.

Looking at it moving its beak as if there was no tomorrow, Rei started talking to Shifle.

「Fuu-chan really like meat huh. Is he carnivorous? 」

「Indeed. He resides at the top of the food chain. The emperor of the skies! 」

「The emperor… of the skies…」

Looking atop of Shifle’s head, Fuu-chan was perched with sleepy looking eyes looking around aimlessly. 

With that small and round body, one couldn’t tell that it was the emperor of the skies.

「Fuu-chan is…」

「Well aside from that, I’m pretty interested in Shifle too」

「Hmm, about what?」

Rei’s hand which was supposedly patting Rinna’s head ended up in her hair.

At this point, it was already a reflex.

「Does Rei like Rinna?」

「Yea, I really do」

Without a moment’s hesitation, she immediately replied.

It seems like she had completely missed the point of Shifle’s question.

「This… is probably a lack of self-awareness… Rinna though has probably started realizing it herself. In that case it’s probably a matter of time...」

「Erm… Shifle?」

Rei was confused by the little girl who suddenly started whispering in front of her.

　☆☆

The town of Shimbu

It has become a hotspot for climbers and summoners who want to challenge the mountain ranges of Nizabel.

The people would prepare their supplies at the foot of the mountain before heading out for their expedition.

They are people aiming for the gorgeous scenery at the summit, or those who desire to find a strong summon to add into their arsenal.

The girls were staying here for a night, to prepare for the mountain climbing ahead.

And now, at the crack of dawn, those grand peaks stood before them.

「Alright, let’s get going!」

With her trekking pole, Shifle showed her fighting spirit.

Ahead of her finger which was pointed ahead, the mountains, covered by thunderclouds towered before them.

It’s their destination for this journey.

The bolt lizards which they are aiming for are B class summons which mainly reside in the inner regions of the forests.

The vicinity around the peaks is constantly under lightning strikes, meaning taller trees don’t grow there.

Due to the lighting, only the bigger monsters which are resistant to lightning reside there.

「Rin! I’m so excited! 」

「Mmm… yea」

In contrast to Rei, who was raring to go, Rinna looked uninterested.

In the end after that incident, there wasn’t much success in the partial strengthening.

That weighed down heavily onto Rinna.

「Don’t be like that! If you don’t cheer up, you’ll be swallowed up by the mountains! 」

「You seem pretty hyped up. Do you like mountain climbing? 」

「To let Fuu-chan fly up to higher areas, I do so sometimes.」

Shifle seemed proud with her mountain climbing set of climbing hat, trekking pole, ruck sack and long pants and sleeves.

Fuu-chan went on top of her climbing hat.

Still looking at the moody Rinna, something came to Shifle’s mind.

With a snicker and a haughty tone, she suggested something unimaginable.

「Rinna, if Rei were to kiss you you’d be all better won’t you?」

「Wha! What’re you…!?」

「Shifle!?」

Shifle laughed as she headed towards the mountain’s trail, as if she was running away from the two, with their faces flushed red.

「Ahahaha, seems like you’ve cheered up. Now let’s go.」

Rei head became a complete mess, almost like a fever.

Seems like she ended up imagining how it was like to press her lips against Rinna’s.

While shaking her head to rid her head of those thoughts, she took a peek at Rinna, who was beside her.

The pigments of her thin and long hair, her clear white skin, and those soft pink lips of hers, though, her skin which was usually white now appeared to be dyed red.

While she was looking on, their eyes accidentally locked.

The two, trying to hide their embarrassment averted their gaze.

「…Let’s go」

「…Yea」

The two held their hands and started walking.

The weather in the mountains was ever-changing.

The lightning in the mountains were truly something remarkable.

After entering the mountains for less than an hour, the clear skies became overcast, and now, it was starting to rain.

Shifle treaded up the mountain trail with ease, while Rei and Rinna followed behind.

「The weather’s getting worse. Seems like it’s gonna come down anytime now.」

「Though, the thunderclouds are always all over the peaks.」

The thunder resonated through the mountain tops from time to time.

And the girls were still at the foot of the mountain.

It’s a moody forest where trees were overgrown.

It was still quite a distance before they would reach where the bolt lizards were.

「Rin, are you tired? We’ve been walking for quite a bit now.」

「I’m fine. I lived in the countryside, so I’m pretty used to it.」

「I… see…」

Rei, who was looking at Rinna , caught something in the corner of her eye wriggling about on her shoulder.

It was thin, and long, with several legs on it twisting about. Rei’s met its eyes.

「WAHHHHHHH!!! CENTIPEDEEEEEE!!!」

Rei’s shrieking echoed around their surroundings.

As a city girl who was brought up there, a 30cm centipede was too stimulating for her.

「Ohh, you scared me. It’s just a centipede. There.」

Rinna picked up the centipede on Rei’s shoulder and simply tossed it away into the bushes.

「Haaa, haaa… Thanks Rinna」

「You’re welcome. There so need to make such a big fuss over that. In my village there’s plenty of those.」

「I, I, I don’t think I’ll be able to live in the countryside…」

「What happened?」

Hearing Rei’s screams of agony, Shifle who was ahead quickly turned back.

「It’s nothing. There was a centipede on her shoulder.」

「It IS something…」

With her trying to calm her heart down from the pounding earlier, Rei silently objected.

It has been 3 hours since they had started climbing the mountain.

The thickness of the forest started thinning out, and the number of rock faces started increasing.

It was the center of the mountain, and they were reaching the dwellings of the bolt lizards.

「Now, let’s search for our prey here.」

Walking through the mountain trails, it was quite difficult to come across any wild creatures around.

They were now going off the trail meant for people, as they needed to head towards a path without a proper trail.

「Make sure you know where to go back to.」

Of course, they were concerned for any mishaps along the way.

They were in the middle of the mountains, where no landmarks could be found.

「There’s no need to worry. If there’s the need to, Fuu-chan will fly up to the skies to look for a way.」

「Fuu-」

It’s as if it was saying to leave it to him, as he cooed from atop of Shifle’s head.

Rei however, had some doubts on if they will really able to rely on this child.