Chapter 118: Valley of the Abyss part 2

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Translator: Soafp

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After dismissing the horses and taking a brief rest, it was time to use Space Kick to move to the other side. But can one person really carry someone else this distance?

“Ashera, El, if you feel even the slightest danger, go down to the bottom. Using Space Kick to ascend is easy. Don’t be stubborn.”

“Got it.”

“Understood, Nii-sama.”

Those words were also a reminder to me. I’m not naive enough to believe in this world’s map blindly.

Still carrying Halva, who seemed to be in low spirits, I realized the contrast. Halva was quite tall, around 180 centimeters, while I’m about 160. It would look like child abuse in modern Japan.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, I couldn’t see the bottom… How deep was this valley?

The other side was barely visible… Maybe about 10 to 15 kilometers. Just a rough estimate.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the air.

Before coming here, I consulted with El on how to carry Halva. Whether one person carries while the other replenishes magic, or if we should just pass Halva.

As a result of our discussion, we decided it would be best to alternate carrying Halva between El and me.

About ten minutes into the Space Kick journey, El kept glancing at me with concern. Ashera and Mother seemed to be chatting about the sandwich.

What’s with this atmosphere? The three men were filled with a sense of desperation, while the two women were laughing about the sandwiches.

I couldn’t help but chuckle as I glanced at El. Halva must be wearing a similar expression, even though I couldn’t see his face.

I feel like some of the tension in my shoulders has eased.

“El, I’m still okay, but can we switch?”

“Yes.”

El and I attempt to pass Halva to each other, but below us lies a bottomless abyss. Halva, not accustomed to being airborne, looks pale and tense.

Feeling sorry, I forcefully pass Halva to El.

Halva clings to El, almost in tears… Sorry, Halva.

Passing Halva to El makes me feel lighter. I raise my altitude slightly to check the opposite shore. We might have gotten somewhat closer, but the opposite shore still seems far away.

My magic is down to about two-thirds. A third gone in ten minutes… When I receive Halva after ten minutes, I’ll have to decide whether to descend or continue.

Glancing at Ashera, she seems relaxed. It’s natural, given the difference in weight between Mother and Halva.

Ten minutes have passed since we switched.

“El, let’s switch.”

“Got it.”

At my words, Halva looks like it’s the end of the world.

I forcibly detach Halva, who’s clinging to El, and carry him on my back.

I might have handled him a bit too roughly. Halva’s back is trembling.

Ashera and the others are still chatting away happily, showing no signs of tension. “I want to go to the clothing store in the royal capital,” they said casually.

It’s about time to decide whether to continue or descend.

The opposite shore seems much closer now. When I look back, it seems about the same distance away.

About halfway, perhaps…

“El, how much magic do you have left?”

“Two-thirds… Maybe about three-fifths now.”

“I’m about the same. Ashera, how about you?”

“I still have about two-thirds left.”

“Got it.”

It’s a delicate balance… Even if we manage to reach the other side, it’s going to be close.

Magic isn’t something you can use until it reaches zero. If your body senses danger, it’ll force your magic to run out, and you’ll lose consciousness.

Running out of magic while in mid-air means certain death.

Honestly, it’s going to be tough if I reach the other side and then lose consciousness due to magic depletion.

Considering this as a necessary expense, we decide to descend into the valley. Halva seems to have reached his limit as well.

“I think we should descend into the valley. It’s risky to reach the bottom and then be unable to handle anything due to exhaustion.”

Everyone nods in agreement with my words.

“Alright then, Halva, let’s conserve magic. We’ll free-fall. Close your eyes and hold on tight.”

“Eh? Uh… ahhhhh!”

Halva’s voice is buzzing in my ears. He’s clinging onto me so tightly, there’s no way he’ll fall.

Free-falling is quite fast. It takes about ten seconds to slow down.

The valley below us has a river flowing through it, but it appears barren. Perhaps because sunlight can’t reach it easily. There are no large plants growing here.

We land in an open area and I set Halva down.

Halva is on all fours, breathing heavily.

Was it that scary…? I didn’t think he’d be that frightened since I’m used to it. Sorry.

El and Ashera soon descend as well.

Mother lets out a “Whee!” but she’s smiling.

It must feel like riding a roller coaster.

“From here, let’s move to the opposite side and climb up using wall-running. Wall-running consumes much less magic than spatial kicking.”

Everyone nods, but Halva’s face shows clear reluctance. Was it that terrifying?

To conserve magic, we run with minimal body enhancement to the opposite side of the cliff.

The formation is Halva at the front, El on the left, Mother in the middle, me on the right, and Ashera as the rear guard.

From above, it looks like a cross formation, similar to the Imperial Cross in Romancing SaGa.

El is on the left because he holds his shield in his left hand. Ashera is the rear guard as usual, keeping everyone in her magical sight to reduce any potential risks.

We run relentlessly for a while. Eventually, we arrive at the opposite side of the cliff without any major issues.

If we had known, we could have just run through the valley from the start and then ascended while also firing Condense Ray…

It’s pointless to dwell on it now. It’s time for lunch, so it’s best to take a break before climbing up.

“It’s just climbing up from here. Let’s have lunch and take a break.”

Everyone nods at my words… It’s kind of ironic, but it seems like I’m the leader here.

I don’t want to leave it to “Ice Witch,” and Halva can’t give orders to Mother or El… I guess it’s still me after all.

Being a leader isn’t exactly a fond memory for me.

In my memories of Japan, it was like being a middle manager, with “quotas imposed from above and being resented from below.”

(I intended to live a “easier life” in this world… but now I think about it, “easier life” means “mental ease.”)

“Ease” here refers to “peace of mind.”

Things like “unreasonable arguments from hindsight” or “perfect plans that tolerate no mistakes” are honestly things I’d rather not deal with.

Well, in this world, anyone who says such things is considered “crazy”… I guess Japan was “soft” in that regard.

In this world, if you say the same things and intimidate your subordinates, you’ll be “ostracized” or worse, eliminated.

My thoughts have drifted off…

I sat on a stump that was just right for sitting, took out the sandwiches made in the morning from my backpack, and noticed Ashera sitting on the same stump.

Ashera stared at the sandwiches I took out.

“If you prefer these, shall we exchange?”

Ashera shook her head.

“It’s fine if we eat them like we did earlier, half each.”

“Uh, yeah…”

Ashera and I took a bite or two, then exchanged sandwiches and ate them.

It felt like we were a newly dating couple, enjoying the indescribable sweet and sour feeling. But I could see black magic rising from Halva… I shouldn’t have magical eyes, though…

Looking around, it seemed like a wasteland. Occasionally, when the wind blew, sand danced in the air, leaving us covered in sand.

After about 30 minutes, I asked everyone:

“I think we should climb the cliff from here.”

Everyone nodded seriously.

“El, Ashera, how much magic do you have left?”

“I still have about 3/5 of mine.”

“I’m still around 2/3.”

“I see. I have about the same as El. If things go bad, I can fire a Condense Ray…”

For some reason, except for El, everyone seemed momentarily surprised. Maybe they weren’t used to transferring magic.

“Alright, let’s go.”

I carried Halva on my back and aimed to climb the cliff using Wall Run. El followed close behind, running along the wall.

Ashera, in the end, couldn’t manage Wall Run. Right now, she was carrying Mother with Space Kick.

Descending took only 10 seconds of free fall, but climbing up was tough. We spent about 5 minutes running along the wall to climb the cliff.

The top of the cliff was a grassy plain. It was winter now, so the grass was withered, but in spring, a carpet of grass would surely cover the ground.

In my mind, it resembled the Mongolian grasslands. I’ve never been to Mongolia, so it’s just imagination.

“Though we’ve just had lunch, let’s take a break as planned. Halva and Mother, you’ll keep watch.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

“El, Ashera, we’ll take a nap to replenish our magic.”

“Understood, Nii-sama.”

“Got it.”

El and Ashera looked at me. I feel like I’m always the last one to fall asleep…

Mother and Halva soon fell asleep. To save magic, El and I used an air conditioning spell.

I took out the map from my backpack to check the direction. Despite its importance, the map was crumpled and barely recognizable.

It’s been 13 years since I came to this world. I remember the representative stars of Japan, like the North Star.

I looked at the stars, hoping fervently, “May we make it in time…” as a shooting star streaked across the western sky.