…What the heck?
What's wrong with her?
Tears and snot streaming down her face, the Young Lady was crying so miserably it was almost tragicomic.
He stood there awkwardly, unsure how to respond to such an emotional meltdown, when a familiar voice suddenly rang out.
["…What did you do to the Commander?! Why's she crying like that?!"]
"…"
Commander, huh?
Well, considering the age gap between Esther and the Young Lady, it wasn't entirely inaccurate. But still—only from Esther's point of view.
"Did something happen?"
Something had clearly happened.
Just looking at Esther, who had shrunk drastically and looked faint enough to vanish, made it obvious.
["Something happened? Ahaha. That's rich. You lock us up in a place like this and now you ask 'what happened?' What happened?!"]
Esther shrieked.
Despite having shrunk to a fraction of her former size, her voice still had the presence of a field commander.
'Figures.'
Even setting aside the crying mess of a Young Lady, just looking at Esther's shrunken state was enough to tell him what they'd been through.
'They barely survived.'
He could imagine what had happened.
Esther had probably pushed herself to the limit to protect the Young Lady. And after reaching her breaking point, the Young Lady had been left all alone in this place.
"I didn't lock you in."
["Don't tell me you were trying to protect us or some crap like that. We nearly kicked the bucket together, you know!"]
"You're both alive, aren't you?"
["Alive? ALIVE?! Do I look fine to you?! I've overexerted myself so badly I've practically lost half my body mass!"]
Actually, she seemed to have lost more than just half—but he decided not to mention it.
No point poking the bear.
Then—
"…Esther?"
The Young Lady, still sniffling, sensed something strange and looked up.
And the moment she saw Esther—
She burst into tears all over again.
"Esther! E-Esther…"
["There, there. My poor baby."]
"Huaaang…"
Face smeared with tears and snot, the Young Lady flung herself at Esther.
But Esther didn't have enough energy left to physically manifest.
They both just flailed through empty air.
Flap—flap—
"…"
It was a pitiful sight.
"…Let's go already."
["Wait! The kid's still crying!"]
You're more of a kid than she is.
Sigh…
Even though time was of the essence, he couldn't bring himself to interrupt their melodrama.
It felt like he'd regret it forever if he did.
"Estheeer…"
["There, there. It's okay now. No more crying."]
"Don't leave me again…"
["I won't leave you. Why would I leave you?"]
"You did leave me…"
Watching a full-grown adult—who also happened to be the Commander of the Shadow Order—clinging and sobbing like that…
It rubbed him the wrong way.
'I can't wait any longer.'
Not because he couldn't stand the sight.
But because time was truly running out.
Most likely, wave signs were starting to show on the surface.
Which meant reinforcements might have already departed.
Their easy journey was over. They'd have to walk all the way back to Ark.
'I could ride Horus… but it'd take too long to get here if I called him now…'
He spoke.
"We're leaving."
["Wait!"]
"No."
Ignoring Esther's protest, he hoisted the Young Lady over his shoulder.
"Eek! Wh-What are you doing?!"
"We're heading out."
The Sand Devourer was dealt with.
Janus had eaten its fill.
There was nothing more holding them back.
'Besides, underground is basically Janus's home turf now.'
Unlike Janus, he couldn't breathe underground indefinitely.
But there were workarounds.
'I'll just carry an oxygen tank next time or something.'
Anyway, that was a problem for later.
"Janus."
[Skrit!]
"Let's go."
Skeletal tendrils slowly slithered out.
Now that Janus had devoured the Sand Devourer's heart, the underground was no longer foreign to him.
'First, one last thing.'
He put on a bone mask with sealed holes, and fashioned a similar one for the Young Lady.
Then, he attached a hollow bone tendril to the back—an improvised oxygen mask.
"…It's stuffy."
"Bear with it."
Everything was ready.
Now, all that remained—
Was escape.
['Earth Dive' has been activated.]
It was one of the new abilities Janus had gained after devouring the Sand Devourer.
Just as proof, Janus's bone tendrils swiftly wrapped around the Young Lady and began to move toward the surface.
Slip—slide—
Gone were the dramatic motions of digging a tunnel.
Janus now glided through the ground as if swimming in water.
'Incredible…'
It was a fearsome power.
With this, combined with the abilities he'd already possessed, Janus could truly become the ruler of the underground—just like the Sand Devourer before him.
'I'd love to test it out now… but there'll be time later.'
The Wave was near.
Opportunities would come soon enough.
* * *
"Where are you looking like that?"
At Major Arden's question, Kalakin slowly withdrew his gaze, which had been directed backward.
"…It's nothing."
"Are you waiting for Carl Marcus?"
He didn't particularly deny it. In fact, anyone could see that Kalakin was waiting for Carl Marcus like an anxious puppy.
"Do you resent our decision?"
"…I already understand that it was inevitable."
In the end, the support unit gave up searching for the Young Lady and Carl Marcus. Given the signs of an impending Wave, they judged that the entire support unit was at risk of being annihilated if they continued.
Of course, the decision to abandon the Young Lady there was not taken lightly, and the person responsible for this decision would undoubtedly face not just simple disciplinary action but also the wrath of the El family.
Nevertheless, the captains made this judgment because, even if they had to sacrifice themselves due to the El family's anger, their final duty as soldiers was to save their troops.
"Still, it's natural to feel some resentment. No matter how rational the decision, emotions are a different matter."
Major Arden lightly lit a cigarette. Cigarettes were quite a luxury even within the Ark, so no soldiers in the truck showed any discomfort about him smoking.
"Carl Marcus will return."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because that's the kind of man Carl Marcus is."
Kalakin felt somewhat uneasy about Major Arden's blind faith.
"Besides, somehow, it doesn't seem like Carl Marcus would die in a place like this. He's a man destined to do great things for the Ark."
Kalakin agreed on that point. Considering the unbelievable feats Carl Marcus had accomplished so far, it would be stranger not to think so.
"Ah, look over there. We're almost there."
At Major Arden's words, Kalakin turned his gaze. Beyond his sight, the familiar and massive walls came into view.
Ark.
Finally, they had arrived.
* * *
[Gigik!]
The excited Janus swiftly swam through the ground, and soon I was able to face the light of the surface after a long time.
Puhwaak─!
[Gigit!]
As soon as the surface light appeared, Janus, following my pre-given orders, retracted all bone tentacles and the bone mask, then disappeared from sight. It would be troublesome if other soldiers in the Ark saw Janus.
"Cough! Cough!"
While the Young Lady coughed, I looked around and realized this wasn't the pit I had initially jumped into. It seemed that after moving around so much underground, we had ended up quite far from the original spot.
'The support unit is nowhere to be seen. Are we that far away? Or did they leave first?'
The answer came soon enough. Not far from here, I spotted massive craters resembling those made by meteors.
'That's where we first fought the Sand Devourer.'
However, there was no sign of the support unit there. They had already left.
'Tsk.'
I acknowledged that it had been a long time for the support unit to wait, but to think they would actually leave the Young Lady behind...
'That shows how urgent the situation was.'
Indeed, looking beyond the horizon, ominous signs suggested that the Wave could strike at any moment.
We needed to hurry as well.
"Esther, bring Horus."
[" …Can't you call him remotely? I'm exhausted."]
"If I could, I would."
Unfortunately, the distance was too great to signal Janus. Esther had no choice but to go herself.
[" …Tsk."]
Despite clicking her tongue, Esther didn't delay her task.
Srrr──
Esther's form blurred. It meant she had set off immediately to fetch Horus.
'Then... considering the time it will take Esther to go and return, we should start moving.'
I looked back.
"Let's depart immediately."
"…What about the support unit?"
"They seem to have left ahead."
"What?"
The Young Lady's face was filled with shock. Given the recent events, her mental state seemed quite fragile.
"It must have been an unavoidable decision. Staying behind could have led them to be swept away by the Wave."
"…I know."
"You don't look convinced."
"I said I know!"
Her voice rose but soon softened again.
"…Sorry for yelling."
"I don't mind."
"That's a bit annoying in its own way."
What does she want me to do?
"Carl Marcus."
"Yes?"
"…This time, um, well... ahem. Why can't I say this properly? So... um, th-thank you."
Her face flushed red with either embarrassment or shame.
"…I don't forget debts. The same goes for gratitude. I'll definitely repay you for this."
"Do as you wish."
Her eyes narrowed, resembling those of a flounder.
"…I made a big decision to say this, and that's your reaction?"
"Then what should I do?"
"You could have responded a bit more coolly. Like, 'I only did what I had to,' or 'I'll help you anytime,' something like that."
"What nonsense."
What kind of image does she have of me to expect such lines?
"Enough, let's hurry. Horus will come, but we don't have time to waste."
"What's Horus?"
"A flying mount."
"…Huh? What's that?"
"It's something."
Indeed, terms like "flying mount" might be a bit complex for the Young Lady to understand.
"Carl Marcus."
"What now?"
"…From now on, call me Isabel. That's my name."
The Young Lady—no, Isabel—said that and then trotted ahead.