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Act 2 – 17 : Striges’ Tower 2
Shirone and the others, who all ran with the help of the spirit magic of the wind, finally arrived at the Striges tower.
「Eh? What happened to everyone?」
When Shirone turned around, she saw that everyone was already on their knees.
Some even collapsed right on the spot.
「I… It seems… everyone… c… can’t run… that… fast.」
Rember spoke while readjusting his breath.
Gallios who barely kept up stood behind him.
「Aaaah. I’m sorry. It seems I forgot to adjust my pace.」
Shirone apologized to them.
（Even though Chiyuki-san had already told me to pay more attention to the pace of everyone around me.）
Shirone recalled Chiyuki’s advice.
「You should pay more attention to the people around us. Remember, they’re weaker than us in all aspect.」
That was Chiyuki’s reminder to Shirone.
Shirone and her companions were all far more powerful than the people of this world, their strength alike to the Gods. The humans of this world couldn’t even compare to them even if they trained all of their life. That’s why none of the investigation members could keep up with Shirone’s pace.
Thus, she reflected on the fact that she failed to notice that.
( Eh?)
Then, Shirone noticed one figure standing just fine.
That person was one of the Freedom Fighters whose name Shirone had already forgotten. That person, whose head was covered by a cloth, didn’t seem to be exhausted at all, even going as far as nursing Nimri, who barely made it to the tower.
（Hee, not bad. Let’s ask for his name again, but later, I have to investigate the tower first. For not, let’s leave the nursing to him while I take the lead.）
Shirone judged so.
「Can’t be helped then. All of you take a rest for now, I’ll go into the tower first.」
Shirone left that one person to nurse the others as she headed toward the tower’s gate.
The gate was still the same as before.
「Eh? Is this a… barrier?」
Different from when she came before, she felt some sort of magical power swirling around the tower for some reason.
It seems to be a certain kind of barrier that blocked detection.
Unlike Chiyuki, who was always able to have a more in depth analysis of every situation, Shirone wasn’t the kind of person who could do that. However, even with this weakness, with the current situation in front of her, Shirone knew that something was amiss and that the barrier before her was created with extremely powerful darkness magic.
「No way, are they really in this place?」
Although the answer to her question was way too obvious, Shirone couldn’t help but voice her doubts out loud. The Striges she had met before didn’t have this kind of strength, so how had they become this powerful?
「What are you going to do, Shirone-sama?」
Rember approached Shirone with unsteady gaits.
He knew that he couldn’t let Shirone go alone, he had to follow her even if he had to force his tired body.
「I’ll go inside. We infiltrated the top of the tower right away last time, but I’ll go from the bottom of the tower today since I know that the rest of you can’t fly.」
In fact, Shirone and the rest of the Hero’s party had only raided the Striges’ residential area last time, which was located on the top floor. They didn’t stay for long at the time and returned immediately to Rox Kindgom since Nao’s perception magic caught nothing but undead presence after they annihilated every single Striges who resided in the top floor.
That’s why the traps that repelled intruders and the undead were still roaming freely inside the rest of the tower.
（But, seeing that I came to investigate, I guess it’s better start from the lower part of the tower first.）
Because she might find something surprising by doing so, and a glance upon entering was enough to convince her.
「Don’t worry about me, I’ll go ahead by myself and make sure you guys escape as soon as things become dangerous.」
Shirone didn’t forget to notify Rember and co beforehand, she didn’t wish for them to accidentally get killed by forcing themselves to do the impossible and follow her.
Thus, Shirone entered the tower on her own.
◆
（CRAP! OH HOLY CRAP!!）
Kuroki had already forgotten how many times he cursed ever since they arrived at the tower, which was understandable given the situation.
Glorious was staying in this tower.
It all began in the morning, when Rember suddenly came to the Gallios couple’s house.
Kuroki thought that Rember was coming to arrest him after Rena told Reiji and the others about his identity.
But, his guess was wrong.
""
Rember had only come to ask for his help, and of course, he complied without hesitation; Rember’s requests had never been too difficult anyway. However, later on he regretted his hastiness as he soon found out that Shirone would be going with them.
He never expected that Shirone would be leading this expedition; he secretly felt relieved that he decided to cover his face today to hide the red mark on his cheek. Otherwise chaos would have ensued.
Moreover, judging from Shirone’s attitude, Rena didn’t seem to have said anything about him to Reiji and the others.
Just when he was about to sigh in relief, he found himself facing an even bigger problem, one that would really ensue complete chaos.
At this rate, Shirone would end up meeting Glorious. If he doesn’t do anything immediately, Glorious will definitely be killed by Shirone.
Unfortunately, Kuroki couldn’t find a concrete solution even after they arrived in front of the tower’s entrance.
「My apologies… Kuro-dono.」
Nimri apologized to Kuroki.
The one who pulled Nimri when he almost fell midway the journey towards the tower was Kuroki.
Kuroki looked around.
Everyone except him was out of breath.
（The humans of this world are really far weaker when compared to us, I wonder if they can still continue in this situation?）
Kuroki was starting to worry about them.
But, having no other choice, he went into the tower immediately, leaving behind the one who was still out of breath.
He wished that Shirone would care a bit more about them but it was impossible considering Shirone’s personality.
There were many cases in which Shirone had failed to be more attentive to others.
Kuroki recalled his past.
Ever since they were children, Shirone always failed to notice her surroundings once she moved around.
As a result, Kuroki who accompanied her during those times was forced to experience hellish experiences numerous times.
（But thinking about it now… they’re actually good memories of my childhood.）
He guessed that Shirone’s head was filled with the matter of the Striges’ extermination right now. He was also convinced that Shirone would set out to exterminate Glorious once she saw the dragon. Moreover, it wouldn’t be strange if she was later on hailed as “The Dragon Slayer” and a “Hero” if she manages to defeat Glorious.
Upon seeing Kuroki enter, the other people who could still move after that short rest, such as Rember and Gallios, also walked into the tower.
Naturally, they made sure to follow Kuroki.
（Well then, is there something I can do to amend this situation?）
Kuroki’s brain was working at full throttle as he gripped on the necklace he found this morning.