Chapter 66: The Mountains

We continued along the empty road, then turned right and left the coastal route.

We were still in town, but there wasn’t a single pedestrian, nor did any of the buildings seem occupied.

“Another ghost town.”

Just like in Kumamoto.

“Looks that way… And there are signs of fighting here and there.”

As Ayaka said, we occasionally passed damaged buildings.

“Isn’t this kind of scary?”

“So this is what the border between human and demon towns looks like…”

It was the first time Takamiya-san and Kitaura-san had seen one.

Come to think of it, neither of them had visited a human town yet.

“I’ll warn you now: this place isn’t too bad. The area around Mount Aso and the Onga River between Kokura and Hakata are almost entirely ruins. We’ll probably cross more borders like this on the journey, so brace yourselves.”

Elvis warned them.

“I remember seeing photos like that…”

“It really is the apocalypse…”

“The route we traveled was peaceful, so it didn’t feel real.”

That was true.

“I deliberately chose routes like that. From here on, however, it won’t always be possible—especially if we’re going to Shikoku. Keep your guard up.”

“We will.”

We continued through the ghost town until the car stopped at an intersection with dead traffic lights.

“This is where Riku-san was dropped off. Turn left here, and the road leads into the mountains.”

As Sis Linda said, the road to the left was level here, but mountains rose in the distance.

“Elvis, do you know what time Riku arrived?”

“The goblin said just before noon. Walking from here to Izumo by this route takes twelve hours.”

Elvis showed us his tablet.

It did indeed say twelve hours on foot.

“If he walked without stopping, he would’ve arrived late last night, but…”

“Surely he stopped somewhere to sleep.”

I would have.

A mountain road at night would be terrifying.

“It’s already eight. Suppose Riku-san left here at noon and stopped to rest at eight in the evening. Even if he woke and resumed walking, he shouldn’t have reached Izumo yet.”

That sounded about right.

“Sis Linda, let’s go.”

“Understood. I’ll slow down from here. He may hide if he sees this car approaching, so make yourselves as visible from outside as possible.”

Ayaka and I had hidden whenever a car approached in Kumamoto too.

“All right. Let’s open the windows.”

“Ayaka, move over beside Takanashi-kun. We’ll watch this side.”

Takamiya-san and Kitaura-san leaned forward, and Ayaka shifted over to my side.

It was a little cramped, but finding Riku took priority.

“We’re ready, Sis.”

“Then let’s go.”

Sis Linda started the car and turned left.

For a while, we followed a level road.

“Mountains and rice paddies… This reminds me of Kumamoto.”

“It does. Sis Linda, what do we do if the Self-Defense Forces find us? Run?”

“Why not simply tell them we’re searching for someone? Elvis-san, please shrink. I’ll hide my highly sensitive horns as well.”

“Sure.”

She really didn’t need to add that part…

After traveling over level ground for a while, we entered the mountain road.

There were settlements here and there, but no sign of anyone living in them.

“Should we call out? Hina?”

“Rikuuu.”

“That was quiet.”

Well, it was Kitaura-san.

None of us had particularly loud voices.

“Yuu-kun, release your mana. Riku will recognize it.”

“All right.”

I released the mana I’d been suppressing.

“Whoa! That’s incredible!”

“Yuu-san truly is amazing… I could eat you right up.”

Please don’t.

We kept going while I emitted mana, and eventually a large mountain came into view.

There were mountains all around us and no people, though I could see what looked like a ranch.

“There’s certainly plenty of nature.”

“It looks like bears might come out… Riku would probably be fine, though.”

Riku was a healer, but he also had offensive and enhancement magic.

He wouldn’t lose to a bear.

“Still, he’d definitely stop once the sun went down. There are no streetlights, and this place must get pitch-black.”

“Yeah. We could reach him at any moment.”

We continued searching, but still couldn’t find him.

Then the road began descending.

At the bottom, we entered a small settlement.

“This is where I’d spend the night.”

“The distance fits too. I’ll stop.”

Sis Linda parked, and all of us got out.

There were a fair number of houses, but no sign of people.

“Yuu, try calling.”

“Rikuuu!”

My voice wasn’t very loud either.

“Hmm… I can’t sense anyone, can you?”

“Neither can I.”

Ayaka and Takamiya-san, who could both use Presence Detection, exchanged looks.

“He may already have continued toward Izumo.”

“Yes. Even if we overlooked him, we can wait just outside the city. Why don’t we keep going?”

That made sense.

“Let’s head for Izumo.”

“Understood. Elvis-san, please shrink from here on.”

“Sure thing.”

Elvis nodded and became tiny in an instant.

“Oh… A miniature goblin.”

“He’s kind of cute.”

Kitaura-san picked Elvis up and set him on her shoulder.

“Now it’s my turn to transform. Spin-a-rooney!”

Sis Linda spun around once, and her goat horns vanished.

Without them, she truly looked like an ordinary human woman.

An exceptionally voluptuous, sexy one.

“All right, let’s go.”

We climbed back into the car and set off.