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Chapter 244 Part 1

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Translator: “Hakou”                             Editor: “Weasalopes”

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It’s a beautiful day today.
After breakfast, I went out to the garden and watched the turtle swimming in the pond.

「How should I get him to hangar?」

What I’m contemplating now is how to carry Zaratan.

『There was a response when I tried casting cure injury magic on the Old lady』

When I discussed this matter with my familiars, the long-lived and knowledgeable turtle told me that he would like to take a look at it.
I had to carry the turtle to the eastern outskirts of the royal capital without putting too much strain on him.

「Wait a minute…」

There, a certain possibility struck me and turned my head to the head of my familiars who was sitting on a branch of the medicinal tree.

「Zaratan was actually really big, wasn’t he? Is it safe for him to leave the garden forest?」

His size was about 200 meters if I remember correctly. Imosuke replied to my question.

『He will return normal』

『Like, booooom』

Dangorou, at my feet, continued. He even curled up and came out right after as if impersonating what would happen.
Don’t “booom” me. This is a serious problem that will cause serious damage to the city.

「If you knew that, you should have told me」

With a sigh, I leaned my head against the trunk of the medicinal tree.
He must have noticed my unusual behavior. The turtle turned and swam toward me.
When it reached the shore, it stretched its neck and blinked twice.

「Apparently, you will return to your original size when you get out of here. So there’s no way I can take you to see the Knight now」

The turtle glances over the branch. The manager of the garden forest shakes his head as he looks at him.

『It’s impossible』

I can hear what Imosuke said as well. I guess that means he doesn’t have the power to affect the outside world.

「I won’t be able to work if I can’t ride the Old lady」

I cross my arms and rotated my head, making a crackling sound. Then a wave of questions from Zaratan came to me.
What does the response to the cure injury magic have to do with the fact that I can’t ride my Knight? What do those two things have to do with each other?

「It will require a magic power to move a Knight. I do that by pouring my magic from the cockpit」

The turtle nodded, while the caterpillar and dung beetle didn’t seem to quite understand.

「It’s scary to use magic when you don’t know what it will do, right? And besides, it might even be alive」

The turtle closes its eyes and stops moving. After a few moments, he opened his eyes again.
Zaratan stated his thought with a 『this is just a guess, but…』.

「Can’t I use the magic I used to heal your tail, you ask?」

That was a B-rank cure injury magic.
The Old lady almost exploded even when I used C-rank magic. There is no way I can activate that.
The explanation that followed was that it should be fine to cast magic up to the level used by the magician who used to ride it.

(I’m pretty sure they said that if it’s D-rank magic or below then it should be fine)

I remembered what was written in the book with the black leather cover that the turtle in front of me had given me.
It seems that, like me, the mysterious stone statue had lent the writer of the book the Akashic Magic.

「So in short, nothing bad will happen as long as I use only up to D-rank, huh? If that’s the case then it’s just the same as before」

He said that as long as I followed these rules, there should be no danger. I asked him why, but he just replied with a wave of troubled expression and would not tell me.

(I’m curious, but let’s leave it at it)

The great spirit beast, who is much older than me and seems to be very knowledgeable and wise. There must be a reason why the turtle didn’t tell me why.
Maybe it’s something that I, a human being with little knowledge, can’t understand even if he explains it to me.

(For now, it should be fine to do things as I always do)

Just figuring this out was a big deal.
The herbivore mechanic who is conducting another inspection in the Knight hangar near the eastern gate. Let’s ride it again if there is no problem with the result of that inspection.

「Thank you, that was helpful」

I thanked the turtle, whose head was half submerged in water.

***

Northeast from the royal capital, just beyond the Kingdom’s border. Located to the east of the Kingdom and north of the Eastern country.
There is a valley with hot springs, and although only a few, there are people living here. However, this place does not belong to any country.

『The valley of lilies』

That’s what people call this place, because it is the home of the international mercenary knight order, the Lily Knights.
A clear stream runs through the center of the valley. On both sides of the stream, stone buildings stand side by side, and a number of bridges have been built to connect the two sides.
There is steam from the hot spring water rising from various places, and thickets covering the slopes of the valley. When it’s time for fall, the autumn leaves are sure to be a spectacular sight.
This scenery was something befitting of a 『Hot spring resort』.

「Ngh!」

A large building in the hot spring resort. A slender woman who was stretching in one of the rooms couldn’t endure it anymore as she let out a squeal.
There was a big translucent balloon on the floor. She leaned her back against what Tauro would have called a 『Balance ball』 and let her long chestnut-colored hair hang down to the floor.

「Fuu」

She returns from her upturned position and exhales slowly.
She is the knight commander of the Lily Knights.
Her slit eyes and long eyelashes suit her well. Even the long, large scar under her right eye can be said to be her accent.
Her age is about the same as the Mature Viscountess of the Empire. For that reason she never skipped a day of anti-aging exercises.

「Hm?」

Just when she was about to do one more set, the balance ball shrank with a faint sound. Realizing that there was a hole somewhere, the leader clicked his tongue lightly.
She stood up, hung the deflated balance ball in her hand, and left the room.

「I’m sorry but can you fix this for me?」

The commander went to the Knight’s hangar, which was connected to the building.
Almost every Knight had left the hangar, so it was empty inside. The person she approached was a middle-aged woman who seemed to be tending to her tools.

「Again, Onee-sama?」

The muscular female mechanic shrugged her shoulders with a dumbfounded expression. She then inspected the balance ball she received and shook her head.

「Aah, this one is already at the end of its life. The fabric is weakened all over, and even if I did fix it, it would tear somewhere else soon」

Then the edge of her mouth curved sarcastically.

「Onee-sama is too rough with it. You need to be a little gentler with this guy」

The commander understood what she was trying to say and frowned.
The surface of the balance ball had wart-like bumps all over it. She was using it as a comforting tool.
However, it was nothing to be embarrassed about since everyone who was using the balance ball with warts was using it for the same thing.

「Then get me a replacement」

She said in a hushed tone and held out her hand, but the gorilla mechanic gave her nothing. What she gave her was only another words.

「There’s none」

The commander returned with a skeptical look.

「I’m sure we had some more though?」

The middle-aged woman turned both palms to the commander and exhaled heavily.

「The other girls took them all while Onee-sama was away. I can’t blame them, it’s a popular item after all」

Without letting the commander open her mouth, she continues.

「In the first place, why had you not brought some yourself? Since you went all the way to the north part of the Kingdom」

The commander who felt at disadvantage frowned.
Balance balls are made from the drops of demon beasts. However, there are few places that sell them.
If you want one, you have to go hunting for it yourself.

(That demon beast is a pain to deal with)

This thought made the wrinkles between her brows deepen even more.
They hide in the sand of the desert and only show themselves on the surface when they’re going to attack. However, that too only lasts seconds before they dive back into the sand.
If your first swing is delayed even just a little, you won’t be able to hit its main body. You will only end up slashing at the sand pillar.

「You’re free now anyway, are you? Why don’t you go hunt them and visit the Yellow Lily Squad while you’re at it? I’m sure they’d be happy to see you」

The commander’s expression remains reluctant as she can’t deny the word 『free』.
The Lily Knights have four squads: red, blue, white and yellow. They are all out, yet there are no major changes in the situation of the war.
Frankly speaking, she had nothing to do. This is also probably the reason why the warty balance ball was put under more strain than usual.

「Guess I’ll go then」

She turned to her own pearl white B-class Knight with a sigh. The middle-aged female mechanic was waiting for her and began the preparation for departure.

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