How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 271

Episode 271

302. The Stolen Center (2)

A simple world’s end?

That’s a joke.

From the start, destruction itself would be a means to an end, and there would be advantages to be gained from it.

‘There aren’t enough clues…….’

The most desirable thing would be to secure someone who might be involved and find out by interrogating them, or something.

“……Aileen!”

While I was deep in thought, I heard a rather loud voice in my ear.

Surprised, I turned around and saw Cruse calling me.

“Wh…… What’s wrong? Did a monster pop out or something?”

“No. It’s not that. Aileen? How can you be distracted while working!”

Cruse pointed out, looking dumbfounded.

Ah, right, I was distracted for a moment.

“That’s glowing.”

“Oops, oops, oops…….”

Flustered, I focused on calming the glowing ore cluster as quickly as possible.

The spirit stones, which were resonating with the summoning circle laid out on the floor of the carriage and glowing, barely calmed down as the flow was cut off when I lifted them.

I was organizing information while doing work at the same time, but I almost made a mistake.

“……I hesitate to ask, but do you have to do the summoning here and now?”

“You have to make preparations in advance for whatever might happen later.”

Besides, I hadn’t tried summoning a spirit in a while, so this was the perfect time.

‘In addition to the blessing I received last time…… I’ve also maximized the potential of spirit magic, so I need to give it a try.’

It’s uncertain what kind of spirit will come out, and I have to rely on luck to some extent, but I believe it will go well.

“Come to think of it, I don’t often see the ritual of summoning a spirit.”

“Ah…… Come to think of it, it’s my first time doing it in front of Cruse.”

It’s not something to brag about, but I hope you enjoy it.

“Anyway, it seems like I’m fully prepared, so all that’s left is to summon.”

Now that I’m ready, there’s no reason to delay.

I immediately started injecting spirit power again and activated the summoning circle more reliably.

Come out! Come out!

Please come out, incredibly strong spirit!

The moment I desperately wished and put unnecessary desires into the summoning circle, the light of the summoning circle reached its maximum.

“……I wonder what will come.”

I poured in this much spirit power.

Even if the attribute overlaps with the spirits I’ve already contracted, wouldn’t it be okay?

Whatever it is, I just want a guy who can give me strong power right now.

As I wished and wished, the light finally reached its limit.

“……Huh?”

“……What is this?”

Both I and Cruse, who was watching my summoning ritual, made dubious noises at the same time.

The light seemed to rise slowly.

Then it shot out of the carriage and flew away over the sky.

Farewell, human!

For a moment, that hallucination was just my imagination.

Even I was dumbfounded by this.

“……Huh? Did I fail?”

“……Do they usually run away like that when they fail?”

Cruse asked, looking strange, as if he was somewhat unfamiliar with spirit magic.

I also found it strange.

Normally, if it failed, the light would scatter and disappear.

It doesn’t fly into the sky like that.

Above all, the feeling is somewhat different from failure.

A feeling that something was caught.

I felt a somewhat frustrating sense of incongruity.

“……Could it be.”

Just in case, I checked the summoning circle again.

Then, after mobilizing all the means I currently had to search, I noticed the identity of the incongruity and clicked my tongue.

“Looks like I had some bad luck.”

“……Indeed. Did I get caught unlucky?”

Cruse muttered, seemingly understanding the meaning after hearing the nuance of my words.

Within the Empire, there would be a barrier to prevent teleportation or intrusion using space-based abilities.

Then what about summoning?

“Basically, spirit magic itself doesn’t seem to interfere much…… but there seems to be a restriction on summoning spirits that are not contracted.”

Perhaps because the connection between me and the spirits that are connected to my line is clear, unlike the existence that is not contracted, it is ambiguous.

“That’s really unlucky.”

The summoning didn’t fail.

It just takes time.

Perhaps due to the influence of the barrier, the summoning process is often compared to buffering [like waiting for a video to load online].

Also, because it was a rather elaborate summoning, it became heavy.

To put it bluntly, it got twisted.

“Also, the spirit power injected was quite large, so the capacity of the spirit being summoned will be large as well.”

Therefore, summoning takes time.

I picked up the spirit stone, which was still emitting a strange color, and sighed.

“Can’t you know the result?”

“I think I’ll know when this summoning loading is finished.”

Since I’ve already done it, I have no choice but to wait.

I put the summoning stone in my arms for now.

“……Um, Aileen? Something flashed inside the carriage, but is it okay?”

Yoon Han’s anxious question came from the driver’s seat.

He seemed quite curious, perhaps because he didn’t understand the situation.

“I wanted to do some experiments. Well, nothing particularly problematic happened, so don’t worry.”

“That’s a relief. ……And there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“What is it? I don’t want to hear bad news.”

“It’s not that, but we should be arriving at the capital soon.”

Then the speed of the carriage gradually slowed down and eventually stopped.

We’re almost there, but we can’t just charge in like this.

“……Okay. First, let’s discuss what we need to do.”

* * *

Anyway, after a short series of twists and turns, we were able to arrive at the capital of the Forelos Empire.

The center of the Empire.

The capital, Pokellanias.

A city named after the founder of the Empire, Emperor Pokellanias.

‘……The problem starts here.’

We are not on a sightseeing trip right now.

“Normally, I would be excited to see the prestigious capital…….”

“I know, Aileen. We’re not going to play.”

Strictly speaking, we received a request to rescue the princess and left to carry it out.

And we came here.

In other words, that place is the enemy’s main base.

“By the way, Yoon Han? What was the situation in the capital when you last saw it?”

Let’s ask again to confirm.

Yoon Han, who was in the driver’s seat, made a groaning sound for a while and began to speak.

I don’t want to remember it, but I have to give information, so I can’t help it.

“It was terrible. Crimson crystals fell and covered the city, growing like moss and attacking people.”

“Hmm. Hmm.”

“I didn’t grasp everything either. The situation deteriorated rapidly. Those with power resisted, but it didn’t get better.”

I don’t know the circumstances of what happened to the powerful people who had to protect the Empire, but they probably lost or didn’t resist properly for other reasons.

‘Surprisingly weak…….’

Or the enemies attacked with that much caution.

Or they have other intentions.

“Come to think of it…… what happened to the citizens after that?”

Cruse asks, as if she is concerned about that.

In that kind of battle, the citizens would have been caught up in it.

However, we have not heard any news about what happened to the citizens living in the capital as we came here.

“Th, that’s…….”

Yoon Han couldn’t continue speaking either.

He probably thought it would be difficult to give a favorable answer.

Above all, he would feel ashamed for only now worrying about the situation of the citizens.

I can’t help it, it’s natural that he can’t pay attention to anything other than his duty.

I don’t have the heart to condemn that point.

I would do that too.

“First of all, be prepared. There’s a possibility that we’ll be attacked as soon as we approach.”

It might be easier to think of it as an enemy fortress.

“It doesn’t matter. I came along with that in mind from the beginning.”

This side is full of enthusiasm.

No, she looks sharp.

“……Cruse.”

“What is it, Aileen?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

It’s not time to tell you yet.

“I see it!”

It was close enough to be in sight.

I was about to stick my head out of the carriage and check the scenery and prepare myself, but.

“……Huh? Wait? What is that?”

I blinked and had to doubt what I saw.

“Yoon Han?”

“……Yes.”

“What did you say a little while ago? What’s the situation in the capital?”

“Th, that’s…….”

The reason why he was sweating was very simple.

According to him, the capital was attacked by enemies and was devastated and captured.

But…….

“The capital is fine?”

Even from a distance, the walls surrounding the city are high and sparkling.

As if declaring that there is not a single scratch, I can’t say anything when I see its majesty.

“……That can’t be.”

Yoon Han couldn’t speak, as if he couldn’t believe it.

Certainly, as he remembers, the capital should have been destroyed.

But no matter how you look at it, it’s fine.

“It looks like it’s never been attacked.”

Cruse tilted her head and looked at the scenery of the capital, as if she was concerned about our reaction.

“I…… didn’t lie.”

“Calm down, tin can. What did I say? I didn’t call you a liar, did I?”

I never thought he was lying.

What he said is true.

A really skilled con artist would even deceive my eyes.

However, the circumstances he mentioned did not deviate significantly from the information I knew.

That’s why I can believe that it’s true.

“Aileen…….”

“Don’t be impressed, just drive the carriage straight. Rather, this is a more serious matter.”

“Indeed…….”

Cruse groaned as if agreeing.

The capital of the Empire, which should have been attacked and turned into a terrible ruin, is fine.

That itself is highly likely to be someone’s trick.

The safest time is the most dangerous time.

I’m already aware that that’s the way of this world.

“We’ll know whether it’s really a trick or not when we go inside.”

Now that we’re here, we can’t back down.

First of all, we have no choice but to go into the city and check it ourselves.

* * *

As soon as we entered the city, the officer in charge of controlling the entrance recognized Yoon Han and exclaimed in surprise, welcoming him.

“Oh! Aren’t you the Imperial Guard Knight?”

“……Hmm, it seems like nothing’s wrong.”

“Of course. It’s peaceful today too. But it seems like you’ve been away for quite a while? What’s going on?”

“Hmm, it’s nothing.”

When I gave him a look, telling him not to say unnecessary things, Yoon Han just glossed over it and told him to proceed with the entry procedures quickly.

We entered the city without much difficulty, and we were speechless when we saw the inside.

“……This is.”

“……Indeed, is that so? This is suspicious.”

Cruse and I didn’t say much, we just groaned and pondered.

First of all, the impression of the city itself is, as expected, worthy of the name of the Empire.

“It’s practical.”

It is built larger and more splendidly than any city I have ever seen, and the roads are also very elaborate and functionally maintained. Above all, it is wider than other places.

Also, if you look at the fact that even a small drainage ditch is designed so that it is not visible from the outside, you can see how much effort the technical artisans put in.

“I enjoyed seeing the architectural style of the capital before it was destroyed…….”

“You shouldn’t be happy about that, Aileen…… this is no matter how you look at it…….”

“Ahahaha. I know. I know.”

When Cruse and I exchanged meaningful words.

Yoon Han, who was still confused, looked around and finally couldn’t stand it and spoke to me.

“What the hell is going on? It’s as if everything I saw was a lie…….”

“First of all, calm down. Everything you experienced is true.”

“But…… this scenery of the capital is…….”

“Please be aware, you stupid tin can.”

I deliberately spoke somewhat strongly and lightly punched him on the shoulder.

I thought I should tell this clumsy knight, who was staggering and didn’t know what to do, at least this first.

“It’s an obvious trick.”