Volume 3 Chapter 56: Vomit Under the Night Sky

“Whoa! Master is standing on the water!”

A loud voice jolted me awake.

The throbbing pain in my head amplified the noise, making it feel as though my brain were being rattled around. My stomach churned violently, and a wave of nausea surged through me. The overwhelming stench of alcohol clinging to me left no room for doubt—I was dealing with a severe hangover. Although, perhaps calling it a hangover wasn’t quite accurate; it felt more like the disastrous aftermath of drinking too much.

I knew I had overindulged, but the details were fuzzy. How had I ended up in this state? My memory was spotty at best. I vaguely recalled Elle asking whether I valued her or money more. Naturally, I’d accepted the monetary reward. Afterward, I bought a set of modest clothes as both an apology and a thank-you gift for Fiona and Noel for their concern. To be honest, it was partly for myself too.

Then, I figured I’d repay the Manager with something later and returned to White Road. As I opened the door—

“Ugh…!”

A sharp pain shot through my head, and I instinctively clutched it.

I couldn’t recall anything after that. All that lingered in my memory was a sweet, cloying scent.

Closing my eyes to calm the headache, I exhaled slowly, trying to stabilize my swirling thoughts. Something about the missing memory felt ominous, as though my body itself were rejecting the act of remembering.

Still, I had an unshakable sense that I hadn’t lost anything important. I couldn’t recall what exactly had happened or what I was supposed to be protecting, but a strange certainty reassured me that I had safeguarded whatever truly mattered.

With that, I decided to leave it at that. My hazy memories of returning to White Road must have been a defense mechanism. My instincts were screaming, Don’t think about it. So, I chose not to dig deeper. As long as I was safe now, that was enough—although I still felt like absolute garbage.

More importantly, Master had supposedly been standing on water? I had to see that.

Suppressing the nausea, I forced myself to sit up and look around. Even just moving made me feel like retching, and I clamped a hand over my mouth.

It appeared we were outside the Capital City of Elist, by the shores of Aria Lake—a spot where Letto, Master, and I often went fishing. I had no idea why I was lying outside, but a blanket had been spread beneath me, and another was draped over my body. The surroundings were dark, illuminated by the stars and the moon. Though I couldn’t use mana, a lamp placed nearby provided a faint glow.

Still, when would my mana return? Based on the White Road‘s effects, I’d assumed it would take two or three days, yet I couldn’t even manage basic body enhancement. I was starting to sense the flow of mana again, so I didn’t think it was permanent, but the Transformer clearly wasn’t a magis gear to use lightly.

Not that I’d need to modify a magis gear often, so it wasn’t a pressing issue.

Battling the queasiness, I turned toward the voices.

By the water’s edge, Letto was playing with a flame in his hand, lighting the surroundings as he laughed excitedly. Gulf Cordius stood there, face flushed with laughter, alongside Kreis, smiling serenely. Master, unfortunately, was no longer standing on the water.

Tonight’s drinking session at Gulf’s tavern with the male members of Fierce Lions wasn’t a surprise.

Master being there, though, was puzzling. Then again, it was Master, so it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Judging by the situation, I had likely passed out early in the drinking session. Though my memory was hazy, that seemed to be the gist of it.

As for why I was brought here, one glance at Letto’s face provided an answer.

They were all drunk—very drunk. Expecting logic or reason from drunken people was futile. Letto probably suggested, “Let’s go night fishing!” and they didn’t want to leave me alone at the tavern, so I was dragged along.

I could more or less piece things together. The only thing I couldn’t understand was why Mina was sleeping beside me.

Why was she here? She was supposed to be hanging out with the Manager and the other women—

“…Ladies’… night… sucks…” Mina muttered in her sleep, her face contorted in agony.

“Ah, I see.”

Her words made everything clear.

She had fled.

It was no surprise. Dealing with the Manager and Fiona would be a nightmare for someone like Mina.

The Manager’s sheer arrogance was overwhelming. To tolerate her, one needed either an indomitable will or the ability to shrug everything off like me. Only a superhuman or a shameless slacker could handle her.

As for Fiona, she and Mina didn’t seem to get along. Fiona’s eccentricities often made her incomprehensible.

Noel, the last hope of White Road, had unfortunately adapted to a less favorable dynamic. If it were the Noel I first met, she and Mina might have gotten along. Sadly, people change. If things went too far, I’d step in.

For now, though, I had other things to deal with.

I didn’t know what had happened, nor did I particularly want to find out, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that Mina had been overwhelmed by those women and had fled. I thought that with Elle there, she’d be fine, but apparently, it wasn’t that simple.

Were they still gathered together? Were they having fun? Well, no matter how lively it might be, a girls’ night out that drained Mina’s spirit to the point where she resorted to alcohol couldn’t possibly be enjoyable.

Mina slept fitfully, her exhausted face twisted as if tormented by nightmares. Perhaps she was born under an unlucky star. I felt sorry for her, but there was nothing I could do, and I didn’t have the energy to worry about her right now. My nausea was reaching its limit.

“Ugh…”

I unsteadily crawled toward the water’s edge. Even standing up was difficult.

Letto-kun and the others didn’t seem to notice that I had woken up; they were still laughing a short distance away. They seemed to be having a great time.

In stark contrast, I felt absolutely terrible and proceeded to soil the lake in the dim light all by myself.

“Oegh…”

Normally, I wouldn’t pollute the lake without reason, but I didn’t have the luxury to worry about that now.

It’s fine; this is waste that will return to nature. It might be dirty to humans, but surely not to wildlife.

After I finished vomiting, I washed my face and wiped my mouth with the lake water, making excuses to myself.

I felt a little better, but I could tell that another wave would come soon. The nausea and headache wouldn’t subside for a while.

“Master! Next, do that thing! Flowers Blooming in the Night Sky!”

“Hmph, understood. I’ll need gunpowder. Wait a moment.”

Hearing that conversation, I turned toward Letto-kun and the others. Master was already gone. He had probably returned to the capital to get gunpowder. Master’s Flowers Blooming in the Night Sky is a must-see. Those who haven’t seen it are missing out in life.

However, although Master looked and acted as usual at first glance, considering how enthusiastic he was and that he had shown off a new trick of standing on water, he must be fairly drunk. That’s rare. Today’s gathering must have been a lot of fun. I’m regretting having passed out early.

Left by the water’s edge were Letto-kun, Gulf-san, and Kreis-san, but before I knew it, Kreis-san had collapsed on the ground and wasn’t moving an inch.

Seeing that the other two weren’t worried, he was probably just sleeping. Maybe he had been unusually quiet because he was nearing his limit, or perhaps he’s the type who becomes quiet when he drinks. I’m not sure which, but it’s certain that he was heavily intoxicated.

Gulf-san and Letto-kun were still laughing and chatting. As for me, just talking might cause something other than words to come out of my mouth, so I decided not to join their circle.

As I endured the nausea alone, crouching by the water’s edge, I suddenly sensed a presence behind me and slowly turned around.

There was Mina, who seemed to have crawled unsteadily on all fours to the water’s edge, just like me.

Noticing that I was already there, she grimaced even more, her face an unhealthy pallor indicating she felt awful.

Seeing Mina’s expression, I realized: being a woman, she probably didn’t want to be seen in such a state.

But still, the second wave was already upon me. Or rather, I felt so sick that I couldn’t move even if I wanted to.

It’s okay; let’s both forget about today. Let’s pretend we didn’t see anything.

Without exchanging words, we nodded slightly to each other, and then—

“Uggghhhh…”

“Wooeeehhh…”

Together, we poured our vomit into the lake.

I reached out a hand to rub Mina’s back, and she placed her hand on mine.

We continued to vomit into the lake, rubbing each other’s backs.

And then, it happened.

Something huge descended from the sky, landing behind us with a thunderous crash. The ground shook, and Mina and I tried to turn around quickly—only to vomit into the lake again. Swift movements were impossible for us in our current state.

As we continued to retch, we suddenly felt a hot wind from behind.

“Run! Noel, Mina-nee!”

“What the heck is that…!”

Letto-kun’s panicked voice, as if his drunkenness had vanished, reached us, followed by Gulf-san’s astonished exclamation.

Probably Letto-kun had unleashed some magic, but what on earth was behind us? We tried to turn around again—and once more, both of us vomited into the lake.

“Ahhh! What are you two doing!”

“Hey, wake up! Damn it! Kreis is useless!”

Hearing Letto-kun and Gulf-san’s voices, Mina and I, eyes filled with tears, finally managed to slowly turn around.

And then, seeing the being that stood there majestically, our eyes widened.

It was so enormous that at first only its feet fit within our field of vision. Looking up at it, I gaped, my vomit-smelling mouth hanging open.

It was enormous—humanoid, yet far too inorganic to truly be called human. But its shape was unmistakably human-like: two arms, two legs, and firmly planted feet. If I had to compare it to something, it was like a giant suit of armor.

A towering black armor loomed over me, its singular, glowing red eye blazing within the helmet as it stared—not at Mina and me, but specifically at me.

Cold sweat trickled down my cheek, unrelated to my already miserable condition.

The massive armor reached out with a hand that seemed large enough to engulf me. It was clear it intended to grab me. Was it going to crush me? Despite its size, the speed of its hand was shockingly fast.

I understood what was about to happen, but I couldn’t move. My terrible physical state played a role, but the bigger issue was my inability to use mana for body reinforcement. Without it, my combat strength was practically nonexistent.

“Noil-kun!!”

“Idiot…!”

Just as the massive hand was about to reach me, Letto-kun shouted, and Mina tackled me, knocking me out of the way. The giant hand swiped through the air where I had just been.

The impact of falling brought a surge of nausea and a pounding headache, and I gritted my teeth to endure—but I couldn’t. I turned my head to the side and vomited.

“Urghhh…”

“Ugh… Sorry… Uwehhh…”

Mina, lying on top of me, couldn’t hold it in either. Given her state, moving like that was bound to make her sick. Honestly, I was impressed she managed it at all, even as her vomit landed on my stomach. This wasn’t ideal, but I could accept it—except now, there was no way I could dodge the next attack.

I wasn’t in any shape to move, and neither was Mina.

“Uooooohhhhhh!!”

Gulf-san let out a ferocious roar as he swung his Lion’s Fang down onto the extended arm of the massive armor, shielding us. The metallic clang echoed through the air as his sharp, powerful strike landed with perfect form.

It was the kind of blow you wouldn’t expect from someone who had been drunk moments ago. Gulf-san’s strength, having risen to D-rank without relying on magis gear, was undeniable.

But—the massive armor’s arm didn’t budge. Instead, Lion’s Fang, the weapon that delivered the blow, shattered.

Gulf-san’s eyes widened briefly, but he gritted his teeth and quickly adjusted his grip on the broken weapon. He thrust it into the joint of the armor’s arm, aiming for a weak point.

“Damn it!”

But even that seemingly flawless strike was useless. The armor remained unscathed, and this time Lion’s Fang was completely destroyed.

Clicking his tongue, Gulf-san abandoned his broken weapon and grabbed onto the armor’s arm, shouting as he did.

“Letto! I can’t do it! Do something!!”

He flexed his muscles, attempting to pin the giant armor’s arm—but he couldn’t.

“Whoa?!”

The massive armor plucked Gulf-san off its arm like one might flick away a bug. Then, with an effortless motion, it flung him into the lake.

“Gulf-san!! Damn you!!”

Letto-kun clasped his hands together, aiming two fingers at the giant armor. A sphere of flame formed at his fingertips.

“Cannon Flame!”

A fiery projectile shot toward the armor’s head, blazing like a meteor, the heat so intense it felt as though it could scorch the heavens. The wave of heat caused Mina and me to vomit once again.

As Letto-kun dropped to his knees, breathing heavily, blood dripped from his nose. The flames subsided, revealing—

“No… way…”

Letto-kun’s voice was filled with disbelief.

The armor’s head was completely unscathed. It hadn’t changed at all.

“Fire didn’t work…?”

‘…Incorrect. Resistance… to magic.’

A cold, emotionless voice echoed from the armor, making Letto-kun’s eyes widen.

“That’s… impossible…”

He collapsed on the spot, likely exhausted from the immense strain of his attack.

Now, there was no one left to stop the massive armor. Its attention was clearly focused on me.

“Mina, get away from me,” I croaked, nausea surging as I vomited again. By this point, there was nothing left in my stomach but bile.

I had no idea why it was targeting me, but it seemed uninterested in anyone else. As long as they didn’t interfere, it probably wouldn’t harm them. Even Letto-kun, lying unconscious, was ignored.

But Mina gripped the front of my shirt tightly and shielded me with her body.

“Don’t… even joke about that… I still… haven’t properly thanked you for… saving Sophie…”

Her voice, weak yet filled with determination, came from right next to my ear. I also heard the sound of her vomiting.

I wanted to push her away, but in my current state—and without mana—I couldn’t match Mina’s strength. Even at full strength, I wouldn’t stand a chance in a contest of raw power.

‘…Enough. Tiresome. Done.’

The voice from the armor declared, and before I knew it, both Mina and I were captured in its massive hands.

Surprisingly, the grip was gentle. At the very least, we weren’t being crushed. The armor stared at us with its single glowing eye before murmuring:

‘…Dirty. Smelly. Worse than a cat.’

“What…? Gugh!”

Before Mina could weakly protest, we were plunged into the lake. The armor began to wash us, scrubbing us thoroughly. We vomited several more times, but by the end, we were significantly cleaner. Soaked to the bone, but still better off than being covered in vomit. I couldn’t help but feel a little touched that Mina never let go of me, even during the ordeal.

‘…Better.’

The massive armor’s voice carried the faintest hint of satisfaction. With a nod, it leapt high into the air.

The sudden sensation of weightlessness overwhelmed us, and both Mina and I, unable to bear it, spewed our vomit into the night sky, sparkling like shooting stars.

Amidst it all, the massive armor spoke in a voice filled with affection—or at least what seemed like it to me alone.

‘…Let’s go home, brother.’

Hearing those words, my eyes widened in shock as I vomited yet again.