In the Land of Leadale Vol. 6 Read online

  Caerick later called upon Cayna for help with some magical light fixtures, which she took care of while introducing him and Idzik to Kuu. As they enjoyed a nice chat together, Cayna received an urgent Friend Message from Shining Saber and was shocked to learn a horde of monsters were attacking Felskeilo.

  After rushing over to the east gate and taking care of the dinosaur vanguard, Cayna headed south of Felskeilo to deal with the main enemy forces. Awaiting her was a rush of monsters so powerful it would take several midlevel players to beat just one. Cayna demonstrated her full might as a Limit Breaker and vanquished the horde in the blink of an eye before continuing to the west gate to aid the knights.

  Simultaneously, the southern nation of Otaloquess’s famous attraction, a giant tortoise, had shifted directions and was heading straight for the royal capital. Adventurers and knights alike worked together to try to alter its trajectory, and Exis and Quolkeh got caught up in the mess by happenstance.

  Together with an old man known as Hidden Ogre, they reached the top of the Guardian Tower’s shell and delved into a mysterious TV studio–like building. Inside, the three stumbled upon a production set and answered a myriad of quiz show–style questions. Quolkeh didn’t make the cut, but Exis and the old Hidden Ogre just barely managed to score enough right answers to pass. They successfully stopped the turtle just as it was about to slam into the Otaloquess castle.

  Another strange incident arose back in Felskeilo, and adventurers were forced to fight strange monsters capable of controlling the knights. Thanks to Arbiter’s quick thinking, he and the adventurers were able to (literally) knock the sense back into their knightly frenemies. Cayna soon barged in with Li’l P and quickly took out the monsters possessing the knights.

  Cayna later made plans to meet with Skargo, but the king and queen of Felskeilo somehow ended up joining them as well. She was dumbfounded as the royal couple bowed their heads in gratitude for watching over the prince and princess. Cayna also asked Skargo about Kuu’s memories of the Night Sanctuary but didn’t discover anything of value.

  However, Cayna soon realized she had misheard the name and was quickly able to pinpoint Opus’s whereabouts. He was in a dungeon the two had designed to mess around with newbies; much to Cayna’s surprise, a village now surrounded that same dungeon.

  As soon as Cayna set foot in Otaloquess, she was greeted by a startled Cloffe and Clofia, the siblings who had visited the remote village with a team of Otaloquess scholars. The two of them ended up dungeon diving with Cayna and Kuu, although Clofia comedically fell victim to traps over and over again since avoiding them was tricky without any skills.

  Halfway through the dungeon, monsters too powerful for any beginner started to appear. This gave Cloffe and Clofia the chance to witness Cayna’s might firsthand.

  It was here that Clofia also checked her attitude when she learned Cayna was the Otaloquess queen’s aunt. She tried atoning for her rude behavior by charging straight into a trap but instead wound up in a sticky situation. After saving the werecat girl, Cayna finally reached the bottommost floor.

  Before anything else, however, she had to face a midboss demon. Infuriated by her foe’s careless words, Cayna used a Special Skill to annihilate him.

  Then, at long last, she came face-to-face with Opus in the furthermost depths of the dungeon.

  It was far from a joyous reunion, however. Now hopping mad, Cayna unleashed her greatest attacks in a determined effort to slice Opus in half and, together with Kuu, turned the dungeon’s lowest floor into a pile of rubble.

  “Hah…”

  Keina Kagami vacantly stared out the window and sighed for the umpteenth time that day. The count had to be in the double digits—not that she was keeping track or anything. The ceaseless beeping of her life-support machine quietly echoed in the hospital room, and the faint smell of rubbing alcohol pervaded the air. Her expression was listless, and her eyes held a melancholy gloom. She was exhausted in every sense of the word.

  The weather determined whether the window stayed open, but the nurse would crack it at least once each morning when she came to check Keina’s temperature. The hospital grounds were sprawling with greenery, so a faint, earthy scent would waft inside to invigorate the senses.

  In most cases anyway.

  “Haaah…”

  Keina sighed so much that she could add it as a hobby on her résumé. Anybody was bound to point this out if they hung around her long enough.

  But Keina’s only company in the hospital room was her special support AI, Kee, who was integrated into her life-support machinery. There were numerous reasons why sighing had become her favorite pastime, but the current culprit was mostly likely her uninvited guests.

  It all started when her doctor invited people around the hospital to come and chat with the bedridden young girl. To be honest, this was probably an invasion of privacy, although that never occurred to Keina.

  Waves of patients with nothing better to do visited her in shifts. They ranged from friendly, able-bodied children to nosy, doting seniors. If Keina was more assertive, she could have told the children to stay in bed or ask the elderly patients to get plenty of rest. However, once the shock of losing her parents had finally subsided, she had a hard enough time dealing with her own situation.

  The children innocently blathered on about their own interests and tried to win her over whenever she didn’t share their enthusiasm. The seniors were usually long-winded. They would pause to give her sweets, but these were often left in a pile on her bed since she couldn’t eat them anyway.

  This repetitive series of forced conversations needlessly exhausted her. In truth, Keina wished she always had the perfect response—she was simply too afraid to speak. She could hardly move as it was, and the anxiety over what to do if they grew bored left a huge impression on her. The situation could have been easily resolved if only Keina had more confidence, but someone pushed into such a mental corner didn’t have the room to realize her problem wasn’t entirely dependent on others.

  “Hey there! Sorry for bargin’ in. How’s it going?”

  “Wha—?!”

  Keina couldn’t jump since her body was paralyzed, but her heart definitely skipped a beat when a friendly voice suddenly entered the room. It pounded in her rib cage.

  “…I-it’s you.”

  “Oops, guess I startled you. Sorry about that.”

  Although the door was well within view, Keina had been so distracted she never saw him come in. Embarrassed he’d caught her in such a state, her face and ears turned crimson.

  The man flashed a bright, impish smile. He was Keisuke Kagami, the younger brother of Keina’s father; they shared the same last name, but his was written with different kanji. He seemed to get a kick out of startling people, and she always wished he’d just cut it out already. No matter how many times he pulled one over on her, she was injured and could only give so much of a reaction.

  He usually brought along his daughter, Ako Kagami, who also worked as his secretary. However, a different woman was with him this time. Keina tilted her head curiously.

  “Sorry I didn’t bring Ako with me today. I’m here for business purposes instead of personal ones.”

  “Huh? Business?”

  She didn’t understand how this explained her cousin’s absence. Perhaps this woman worked a similar kind of job. She was waiting behind Keisuke as she removed a thick stack of documents from an equally thick A4-sized envelope.

  “You still use paper?” Keina asked.

  “Well, there hasn’t been an official announcement yet. We secured a budget, though, so no harm in setting up shop. We’ll launch sometime in the next couple months.”

  “‘Announcement’? ‘Launch’?”

  Keina’s confusion deepened as Keisuke continued to beat around the bush.

  “Mr. Kagami, the young lady doesn’t appear to understand your explanation. As our representative, you ought to… I would appreciate it if you refrained from such indirect language.”

  Unable to idly stand by, the woman offered a gentle rebuke. Keisuke lightly rapped his head.

  “Right, right, sorry. We’re establishing a VR gaming department, Keina. I was wondering if you could play a beta version and report any bugs.”

  “By beta…you mean the game isn’t done yet?” Keina asked.

  “How rude. The prototype is complete. We simply don’t have any players yet,” the woman replied.

  “More like we haven’t picked anyone to play.”

  “I told you already—er, as you might recall, we’ve been running simulated data as part of our research.”

  “Replacing a real person with AI won’t get us honest feedback.”

  “Um, excuse me? Hello?”

  Sensing the pair was seconds away from an all-out argument over the game’s prototype, Keina forced her way between the two. For all she lacked in physical mobility, she seemed to make up for it with her ability to read a room. Further proof of how accustomed she’d become to her days of endless conversation.

  “What’s up, Keina? Got any questions?”

  “I’ve got nothing but questions… The first of which is: Who is this?”

  Realizing their faux pas only after it was brought to their attention, Keisuke and the mystery woman looked at each other and let out a simultaneous “Oh.”

  “Ah, right, guess I should’ve done that earlier.”

  “Indeed. I understand your eagerness to give this young lady an ounce of freedom, but at least allow me to introduce myself.”

  “You were itching to tell her, too, y’know.”

  “Mr. Kagami, didn’t you get straight to the point the moment you entered the room?”

  “Agh, gimme a break! Quit bringin’ up ancient history!”


  Keina then realized that her uncle got along better with this mysterious individual than with his own wife. Nevertheless, she couldn’t let the pair carry on forever, so she interrupted once again. Their chemistry was obvious, but Keina wished they would stop bantering already and explain what was going on.

  “Guess I’m full of apologies today. She’s the project coordinator for—”

  “‘Project coordinator’? Don’t sell me short. I’m in charge of design and development. My name is Rin Kuzuhara. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Oh, I see. You’ve probably already heard, but my name is Keina Kagami. Nice to meet you.”

  “Mr. Kagami and his secretary have told me a lot about you. Our meeting today feels like some sort of fate. I hope we’ll forge a long-lasting friendship.”

  “Yes, me too…”

  As Keina spoke with Rin Kuzuhara, she felt an indescribable nostalgia. There was a twinge in her chest, but neither arm moved to clutch at it. The sensation reminded her of a captivating sunset she had seen as a child while walking home after playtime.

  Keina questioned where this sentimentality was coming from and cast her eyes downward. However, she returned to her senses when her uncle asked what was wrong.

  “Ah no. It’s nothing.”

  “Right. If there’s anything you want, just say the word, ’kay?”

  “I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m fine, really.”

  “Both you and Ako are still kids to me. Don’t be a stranger now.”

  Keisuke tousled her hair.

  “Hey, you’ll mess up my hair!” she said with forced cheer so he wouldn’t press her further.

  After all, Keina had been given whatever she wanted since the moment she entered the hospital. And once she realized why, she stopped wanting anything at all. Both her minders and Kee were mostly likely keeping an eye on her.

  Her hospitalization was already putting a strain on her uncle and cousin. Keina vowed to be sensible and understanding so as not to cause them further concern.

  “Might I continue?”

  “Ah yes. Sorry about that.”

  Rin Kuzuhara, who had been quietly observing the touching uncle-and-niece moment, gave a small cough and took the opportunity to interrupt. Realizing she’d been unwittingly disruptive, Keina pulled herself together and listened carefully.

  “Allow me to explain. First, this project is a VR game at its core. All you need is the proper equipment and a role-playing mindset. Specifically…”

  Keina hung on Kuzuhara’s every word as the woman spoke of a game so immersive it would allow her to soon forget all her real-life troubles.

  As the silence continued, three human figures held their breath and remained perfectly still, their eyes focused on a singular point. The siblings Cloffe and Clofia, and the black-haired elf maid Siren, who quietly stood at a slight distance, stared fearfully at the piled remains of a cave-in.

  They were on the twenty-eighth floor of a dungeon. Their location? A previously massive, stalactite-riddled underground cave Clofia had fallen into after getting caught in a trap. The word previously was key here since the ankle-deep water was now gone without a trace. There was also a spawn plank with the image of a lizardman on it. Since the plank needed water to produce monsters, there was no indication the monsters would respawn. Now that the lake had dried up, it was no different than a relief sculpture.

  This scenario was all thanks to the massive sword that had pierced the ground from below and torn part of the floor to shreds. The water from the underground lake poured into the new hole, and the giant blade vanished after chopping up the bottommost floor. The weapon didn’t stick around for long, but the damage it left was immense.

  Some time had already passed after the deadly sword disappeared, but it didn’t seem like anyone would rise up from below. The werecat siblings were worried sick about Cayna since she had charged in there alone. As they shuddered at the terrifying thought that the sword might have injured her, time began to move once again.

  Rubble from the cave-in stirred, and an instant later, multiple objects blasted away the debris like a fountain and floated effortlessly in the air. The objects in question were small red arrows, their minuscule forms carrying detritus of every size. However, the twirling junk was made of a heavyweight metal impossible to produce with modern technology, and the siblings realized their peril when the chunks directly overhead started crashing down on them.

  The hail of litter was so widespread there was no time to seek escape. Cloffe could feel their luck fading fast; he pinned Clofia beneath him without a second thought, his body and heart united to save his sister’s life at the cost of his own.

  However, the expected wave of pain and agony never came. Cloffe soon heard a heavy, screeching thud and felt a gust of wind follow shortly thereafter. When he cautiously opened his eyes, he found all the rubble falling to the floor around Clofia and him as if purposefully avoiding them. Neither sibling had a scratch on them.

  “Don’t you have something to do before giving up?”

  “Huh?”

  Siren was smiling gently next to them even though she had been a distance away moments earlier. She cleared the dust with a graceful wave of her hand.

  Cloffe and Clofia had escaped unscathed because every piece of debris that Siren touched scattered in all directions. Her casual intervention just as the siblings were about to be crushed was nothing short of incredible. Nevertheless, Siren held her composure without the slightest inclination to gloat. Exhausted from their brush with death, Cloffe and Clofia collapsed to the ground.

  Suddenly, the source of the crimson arrows that nearly sent the werecats to an early grave dreamily fluttered up from the hole.

  It was the fairy Kuu. She turned back toward the cavity, huffing and puffing at the two people following close behind her. Kuu, of course, wasn’t the least bit aware of the near-fatal disaster she’d caused. Whatever she lacked in stature she made up for in pompousness, and then some.

  “Sheesh. You were only supposed to be the sub, but you’re basically a mini Cayna,” the demon Opus complained as he came into view.

  Or more accurately, he rose out of the hole with Cayna over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She dangled limply, her eyes swirling.

  Cloffe and Clofia hadn’t exactly failed to notice her—they were just too terrified to rush to her aid. But soon their concern won out, and they started making their way toward her on their hands and knees.

  “Hmm?”

  ““……?!””

  The moment the werecats’ strange behavior caught Opus’s suspicious gaze, they froze in their tracks. Then his gaze turned pitiful.

  “Who are these weaklings?”

  “‘Weaklings’…?!”

  “What did you say?!”

  Their outrage at being deemed weak dispelled the siblings’ paralysis, but they were soon struck by an intense pressure that kept them rooted in place. The pair nervously wondered what this demon intended. They were also dying to chew him out for treating the queen’s aunt like luggage.

  “They appear to be Lady Cayna’s companions.”

  “What?”

  As Opus stared at Cloffe and Clofia with growing hostility, Siren broke her silence to provide additional information.

  “Cayna came all this way with dead weight? She must enjoy making her life harder.”

  “Compared to you, Master, anyone would appear that way.”

  The scorn and disgust on Opus’s face deepened. He wasn’t being hostile, but it was clear how he felt about Cayna bringing along two (in gamer terms) “newbies.” He asked himself what in the world she was thinking and wondered if Cayna had imposed some kind of challenge on herself.

  Meanwhile, Cloffe and Clofia tried to rescue Cayna from her presumed kidnapper while still under the weight of his condescending gaze.

  Tried being the operative word here.

  Opus sniffed derisively and prepared to intercept the inferior fighters.

  However, that was as far as things got.

  Refusing to stand by and watch, an interloper stepped in. With a sound like a driving rain, a legion of crimson arrows rose to the top of the cave.

  The interloper was, of course, Kuu. Hands on hips, she floated between Cloffe, Clofia, and Opus and puffed out her cheeks.