Episode 15. Central Agras (1)
Echo Base Airport.
Dante boarded the plane with Alicia.
“and… … but uncle What is this plane?”
It was a new model that was different from what I had ridden before. The sides of the aircraft were all made of glass, so the outside could be seen clearly.
Alicia was also looking around the inside as if it was her first time riding it.
“It is a tourist model. I came here for a test drive through someone I know.”
“Tourism?”
“Recently, a project to restore old historical sites is underway. After that, the tour will begin in earnest.”
“ah… … .”
want to go.
I wouldn’t have even dreamed of it before.
But don’t you have a sponsor now?
‘If it’s hundreds of billions… … Can we go on a tour of the ruins?’
It’s nice to feel open.
I thought it would be nice to just float in the sky like this without going to the ruins.
‘Floating Island. Would I feel like this every day living there?’
After watching, Alicia sat down next to Dante.
“Is this your first time at Central?”
“uh.”
“The jump is.”
“It came up to 0.6 seconds.”
A 100-meter runner takes an average of 4.5 steps per second and jumps over 10 meters.
Alicia’s current 100-meter run time is 4.6 seconds. It was twice as fast as world-class runners. Even without using mana, the basic skill was good in the second half of 11 seconds.
Alicia continued.
“Even 0.6 seconds isn’t bad. If I use mana, I run about 20 meters per second, so in 0.6 seconds, you can shorten the distance by 10 meters in an instant.”
“Will it be good enough? but. If so, will it be more than dropping out of the academy?”
Alicia burst into laughter at Dante’s clumsy vocal mimicry.
“I really can’t live, my dad. Is it the same for you?”
“uh. but how long did it take you Until it becomes what it is now.”
“Just one day.”
“… … day?”
oops.
Ray, who was listening, laughed.
Alicia gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes.
“Mr.
“Yanmar. You have to be honest.”
“mister!”
“I think it took about four years, maybe?”
Alicia groaned and burst into exasperation.
“Oh no! Why are you talking about other people’s dark history? I’m really annoyed!”
Ray smiled mischievously and closed his eyes.
Alicia continued as if resigned.
“ha… … that’s right. It took 4 years. Are you okay?”
Dante, who was expected to laugh and tease, did not laugh.
he asked with a serious expression.
“Do you think I can become like you in 4 years?”
Looking at his expression, Alicia made up her mind.
I really need to let you know.
“I was a mess at first too. I had no control at all. came up So I ran for 12 hours a day, every day for 4 years. And yet it doesn’t work. What did you do?”
“How did you do it?”
“Recipe Revealed! Two shoes. I released a monster in the gym.”
Dante was slightly annoyed.
How come you wanted to be serious, but are you talking bullsh*t again?
“It’s bullsh*t.”
“Really. Really, mister?”
Ray nodded, closing his eyes.
“monster? Is that possible?”
“Echo Base is such a place.”
Bringing live monsters into the base is, of course, illegal.
Even Dante had heard of it.
They say monsters are caught alive at Echo Base. Stories about illegal arenas where monsters and ordinary people are confined and fought.
But of course I thought it was a rumor.
But is it real?
First of all, even Ray confirmed the truth, so let’s be fooled.
“What kind of monster was it?”
“Bloody Rabbit.”
red rabbit.
It is a carnivorous monster that grows up to 1 meter in height.
A monster that has a large number of objects and is easy to hunt, and is widely consumed by Earthlings.
However, the fact that hunting is easy means that it is based on skilled superhuman standards. Unless you were a superman, there weren’t many people who could survive with a bloody rabbit one-on-one.
Dante was frankly dumbfounded.
“No, anyway. How can you think of that?”
“Someone gave me advice. Leave the monster behind you and run.”
“and… … What kind of lunatic would give such advice?”
“Uh hey, are you crazy? That crazy Uruu dad. yeah.”
A moment of silence passed.
Dante spoke in a hoarse voice.
“damn! Say that quickly!”
“Kya! I lost my pad.”
“sorry.”
“are you okay. I also really thought my dad was crazy back then. I wasn’t normal either.”
After Alex and Saisha died.
Carum and Alicia were actually half mad. So, it was not unreasonable for both of them to think that each other was crazy.
Ray, who had been listening, interrupted the conversation.
“It was in my time. There was a monster chasing class in the academy regular course. We weren’t chasing the monsters, the monsters were mainly chasing us. Karum would have been bitten, too.”
“Really? and… … daddy awesome He said he had never been bitten by me.”
Alicia, trembling with a sense of betrayal, continued.
“Anyway, I released a monster in the gym. and I ran However, the legs do not move. In the end, that bastard woofed my butt! bitten off How fast is a skinny bastard… … It’s terrifyingly fast. Hit the butt! The moment you get bitten Oh! wow… … You want to be f*cked.”
“Yaya! If that’s the case, just relax. Do I really not care?”
“No no. I’m trying to fix my habit of swearing too.”
Mom was a perfectionist.
The children who grew up under it developed mental illness without realizing it.
From noble mtl dot com
After Saisha died. Alicia chose to do only the things her mother loathed.
This was anger toward the mother who abused and left irresponsibly, and it was a message to the father who neglected on the pretext of being busy.
A series of actions made Alicia feel a sense of release as if her heart were being pierced. But I didn’t intend to live like this forever.
“anyway. So you looked at your father with a pitiful expression? Daddy was watching. At that time, I knew my dad would come running and kick the rabbit.”
“however?”
“Even though blood is flowing from his hip, he won’t budge.”
“Uncle?”
“At that time, my eyes met with my father, and it was this kind of look. If you can’t overcome this much, your gaze tells you to just look around.”
“Ah, no way.”
“Of course, I really didn’t mean to let her die. Will it?”
“of course.”
“If you had bitten my neck, would you have saved me? It must have been. Because the hip wasn’t fatal… … .”
For some reason, Dante smiled at the sullen Alicia.
It also seems to have a cute corner.
“So how did it go?”
“I felt dizzy because I was bleeding all the time. The rabbit was glaring at me. If I fell like this, I wanted to bite off this pretty face as well.”
“… … .”
“Don’t curse with your eyes! So I tightened my butt. Did you stop bleeding? Only then did Mana move in the direction I wanted. ass.”
“So now. What you just said is not a novel, but a true story?”
Alicia stood up from her seat with a puzzled expression. Then she pushed her butt out and grabbed the hem of her skirt.
“Look at the butt? I left a scar on purpose. I can’t believe it, so I have to show it. right?”
“Uh, how?”
“Did it turn?”
“What? I said I should show you.”
“What are you saying, you pervert!”
“What are you saying, you perverted bastard! Didn’t I want to see your ass too?”
Ray’s prediction was spot on.
‘There are two guys like Alicia. It’s crazy, this.’
Still, for some reason, a smile spreads across my face.
Ray clapped his hands and stood up from his seat.
“Okay, stop arguing. Dante, you have something to say to me, so come with me.”
“yes.”
Leaving the spirited Alicia behind.
The two went into the break room on one side of the cabin. It was a space equipped with various drinks and snacks, and a standing bar.
Ray gave me a BS ticket lemon tea and sat across from me.
“Do you have any schools in mind?”
“hmm… … First of all, the first priority is Agras National Academy and Stella.”
“Both are good schools. AA (Agras National Academy) is also my parents’ alma mater. Stella has Alicia.”
“Oh, it’s not because of Alicia… … .”
In fact, it was partly because of Alicia.
It would be helpful if there was at least one close senior. But there was another crucial reason.
“Stella is the only one with a campus on Sky Island.”
Ray asked with a puzzled expression.
“hmm… … It’s just Stella. Did you get it right?”
Speaking of the 5 most prestigious superhuman academies,
Agras National Academy (AA)
Stella Academy (ST)
Solomon Academy (SL)
Hanabi Academy (GG)
Ares Academy (BB)
I picked five of these.
Among them, Stella, Hanabi, and Ares were three schools with campuses on Sky Island.
Dante replied scratching his head.
“I can’t because GG is a girls’ school anyway. BB is… … I hate it because it’s a boys’ school. I don’t want to spend my college life in a men’s bath.”
GG and BB were nicknames taken from the slogans of each school. GG stands for ‘Girls Generation’ and BB stands for ‘Boys, Be ambitious’.
“Heh heh, yes? I thought I would be more comfortable.”
“… … Are you serious? Then why did you enter a coeducational school?”
“Yeah… … Because AA tuition is cheap?”
Actually, it was because of my father.
Ray’s conservative father was against coeducation. He declared that he could not provide tuition or living expenses unless Ares Academy, an all-boys school.
That’s why Ray Schultz chose the National Academy of Agras, where tuition is completely free.
‘Well, it’s true that I chose it because the tuition is free.’
Ray took a stack of papers from his bag and put them on the table.
“by the way. The reason I asked to see you separately is because of this.”
“What is it?”
“Your parents’ death insurance money and trust.”
“An oracle?”
“I was keeping the money that Pierre and Elle earned before they got married.”
“… … .”
Dante flipped through the papers one by one with a firm expression on his face. The amount written on the trust deed was 5 billion.
‘This is enough money to buy an apartment on the ground in Charlie’s base.’
Dante raised his head and stared at Ray.
There were many things I wanted to ask.
Ray opened his mouth before Dante could ask.
“Your parents were on a classified mission.”
Dante knew roughly what a classified mission meant. What will happen if you reveal a secret?
“Pierre and L. Are these your two real names?”
“hmm… … That’s it.”
“It looks like they can’t reveal their real names even though they’re already dead.”
“If you insist on finding out, you too could be in danger. darling, so… … .”
“I will find out on my own. Wouldn’t it be possible to find something after climbing to the top of the magic tower?”
Be it the government, corporations, or the Mage Tower.
They were known and never divulged unfavorable information.
Well, isn’t that the same for each individual?
The most opaque institution was, of course, the ‘Wizard’s Tower’. Yet, it receives the least amount of criticism.
[If the Wizard’s Tower collapses, humanity will perish. ]
No one questioned this. That’s why the media and civic groups didn’t bite as badly as the Mage Tower.
Dante also decided not to ask in detail.
It’s not like you can get an answer by asking. If he heard the answer, it was a situation where Ray could be in danger.
“I don’t want to resent my parents. No, I’m going to try. Please answer only one instead.”
“okay.”
“Is it worth it?”
“If that’s the case, I can definitely answer. If the job your parents had been given to me, I would do it without hesitation. However, it was more suited to your parents. He is so much better than me.”
Do you think only Dante, who lost his parents?
Ray felt the same way.
It’s been 25 years since I’ve been with the Prime couple. In particular, Pierre has been a friend of 35 years since childhood.
‘Jerome, Mia… … .’
I call out the name I miss with my heart.
Jerome and Mia were the real names of Pierre and El.
Ray owed his life to Pierre on his first mission after graduating from the academy. It was also the reason he quit his field job and turned to a lawyer.
I don’t want to be a burden to my outstanding teammates.
‘I won’t protect your son, even at the cost of my life.’
Ray continued.
“It’s so important and valuable that it can’t be explained with just ‘valuable’. It’s risky, but someone has to do it and it’s necessary.”
Dante, who had been listening silently, opened his mouth.
“You know what? That the LNP always says something similar.”
“… … what?”
Ray’s thick eyebrows twitched.