Chapter 308

In Libelhight, Tatsuro and his companions visited four towns.

In the order they visited, their names were Airimo, Imatekon, Tichi, and Yaturlutta.

Thanks to stopping by these places, if Tatsuro ever acquires Spacetime Magic and becomes able to use teleportation, he should be able to travel to locations approximately one-fifth of the way from Heldamdo’s side to Casapisti’s side of the border in Libelhight.

First, Airimo.

The landmark memory here is a giant hole spewing hot air.

As soon as they entered the outer walls of this town, the temperature was noticeably higher than outside.

And it was a peculiar town, with pipes about ten meters long and thirty centimeters in diameter protruding from the red ground everywhere.

“This town’s a bit hot, huh… What are those pipes?”

“No idea. But since hot air’s coming out of them, I think they’re serving as some kind of heat exhaust.”

“That’s probably why the town’s temperature is so high.”

When Ai raised her question, Tatsuro used Dispel Magic to briefly investigate and shared his findings, to which Leah, wiping sweat from her forehead, responded.

By the way, thanks to their title effects, Tatsuro and Ai had adapted to the heat, so after initially feeling it, they quickly became unbothered.

However, even though the pipes were positioned to avoid obstructing passersby, the sheer number of them sprouting from the ground was utterly abnormal.

They had planned to move on after a short stop, but curiosity got the better of them, so they decided to investigate at least this much.

Tatsuro, along with Cardina, used a combination of darkness and Dispel Magic to discreetly trace the source of the hot air, heading deeper into the town without being noticed.

Their impression was as follows:

“There are a lot of strange buildings.”

“It’s like… they’re unsettling to look at.”

There were some ordinary box-shaped or triangular-roofed houses like those in Heldamdo, but even those were often painted in shocking pink with gold glitter scattered on them, or small houses entirely covered in gold leaf, exuding intense self-expression.

There were also bizarrely shaped structures, like twisted objects stabbed vertically into the ground, or houses resembling giant versions of triangular log pyramids that made one wonder, “What kind of primitive built this?” The townscape was a chaotic jumble of buildings with no unity or harmony whatsoever.

Holmes didn’t have a single identical building either, but its townscape felt like a work of art. Tatsuro realized anew the importance of aesthetic sense when buildings are constructed without thought, resulting in such a mismatched mess.

“There don’t seem to be any restrictions on buildings here—oh, that house…”

“What’s with that house?”

Leah’s eyes caught a house made of eight cubes, starting with a large perfect cube at the bottom, topped with a slightly smaller cube, and then an even smaller one, and so on.

“There are floors that aren’t properly connected. A strong gust of wind could topple that thing… In our country, such architecture would be unthinkable—oh, that one over there has durability issues too…”

“It’s like a competition for the most eye-catching thing.”

A building a few dozen meters away also seemed at risk of collapsing due to an insufficient number of pillars relative to its structure.

“If we ever stay at an inn in this country, we should check the building’s durability first.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“The guy at the gate was boasting about freedom, but this is just too much, right?”

“If an accident happens, who’s going to take responsibility?”

Since none of the group had lived in this country, no one could answer, and they continued deeper into the town.

The answer, by the way, is “self-responsibility.” Due to the emphasis on freedom, all responsibility falls on the individual, and neither the country nor the town is involved. If a building collapses and someone dies, the building’s owner bears all the blame, with no protection or support from the country or anyone else.

“Huh? Is it getting even hotter?”

“Even though we’re supposed to be adapted, it feels hot. That’s probably what’s happening. Leah, you okay?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m managing.”

As they ventured deeper, fewer people passed by, and the temperature kept rising. Though it had been cooler than Heldamdo before entering Airimo, Tatsuro’s analysis revealed the temperature had reached 39 degrees Celsius.

Thanks to her title, Leah had become somewhat golem-like as a dwarf, making her slightly more resistant to heat and cold than an average human, but this temperature was still harsh.

So Tatsuro hurriedly used a combination of Wind Magic and Ice Magic to create a cool airflow around them, lowering the temperature to 25 degrees in their immediate vicinity.

“Ohh, it’s nice and cool now!”

“Thank you, big brother.”

“No big deal. Even if we’re adapted, it’s not exactly comfortable.”

While their title effects made them immune to the heat, they still found normal temperatures more pleasant.

With their surroundings now as comfortable as an air-conditioned room, their pace quickened. Then, from the other direction, two men of medium build approached, clad in armor on their heads and upper bodies, with swords at their waists.

They were clearly suffering from the heat, fanning themselves with what looked like fans and walking sluggishly.

“Are those soldiers patrolling the town? They’re wearing the same armor and swords.”

“Probably. But they don’t seem very motivated.”

“Well, outside our little bubble, it’s like 40 degrees. If I had to walk around in armor in this heat, I’d be like that too. Honestly, I’m surprised they haven’t collapsed.”

“Yeah, I’d totally run away.”

As the group collectively turned their gaze toward the two men, the soldiers finally noticed them just before passing by and called out.

“Hey, are you adventurers?”

“Yup, all of us are.”

“Wow, that’s impressive for such young folks. Wait… aren’t you hot coming this far?”

“We’re fine ‘cause we’re adjusting it with magic.”

“With magic? —Whoa, that’s amazing!”

Instead of explaining further, Tatsuro expanded the range of his magic to include the two men, cooling them down.

The men promptly removed their head armor, pulled towels and water bottles from their shoulder bags to wipe sweat and hydrate, and thanked them cheerfully.

“Man, thanks! You’re young, but you’re real pros to be adventurers with skills like that. If we could do something like this so easily, we might’ve landed better jobs.”

“Don’t say that, man. It’s depressing.”

Their tone turned a bit whiny at the end, but they were still smiling.

Since the two seemed easy to talk to, Tatsuro decided to ask about the town.

“Um, as thanks, could I ask why there are so many pipes spewing hot air in this town?”

“Oh, that? Well…”

According to the men, deeper into the town, there’s a massive hole constantly emitting hot air. If left unchecked, the temperature around it would become unbearable, so they covered it with a lid and dispersed the air through various pipes. That’s the origin of the pipes, but it also caused the town’s overall temperature to rise.

Tatsuro and the others thought, “Why build a town in such a place?” and “Why not vent the heat outside the town walls?” But there was a reason for that too.

“Those pipes are also a weapon for the town.”

“A weapon?”

Apparently, there’s a tool that connects to the pipes, allowing the hot air to be directed at enemies. Even low-level civilians can wield it to fight decently. They’ve used it to drive off bandits and repel invading monsters. During a time when Heldamdo and Libelhight were at odds and war broke out, this town even held off Heldamdo soldiers using this method.

“But as a trade-off, the town’s always swelteringly unbearable.”

“So, it gets even hotter up ahead, and there’s nothing but the big covered hot air hole. We don’t think you’d do anything, but we’d be in trouble if someone tampered with the lid. Sorry, but we can’t let non-authorized people go any further. Could you turn back?”

“Oh, I see.”

Tatsuro nodded as if accepting the soldiers’ words—while glancing at Nana.

Understanding his intent from the look, Nana joined Tatsuro in using a combination of Curse Magic and darkness magic to create a black, glowing orb in front of the soldiers.

“But since we’re here, we’d love to see that hole. We won’t break or tamper with anything. Can we pass?”

“…Huh? Oh… yeah, that’s fine, right?”

“…Yeah, it’s probably okay. Go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

“Whoa, their eyes look kinda glazed. Is that okay?”

“Once we’re out of sight, they’ll return to normal as if nothing happened.”

Since they’d come this far, Tatsuro wanted to see the rare hole and used Curse Magic to subtly influence the soldiers’ thoughts, making them believe it was okay to let them pass.

As a result, the moment the soldiers saw the black orb, their eyes glazed over as if under hypnosis, and they let Tatsuro’s group pass without objection before walking off.

Feeling a bit guilty, Tatsuro used Spirit Magic to keep the soldiers’ surroundings cool for a while before heading toward the wind hole.

The deeper they went, the higher the temperature climbed, now reaching 52 degrees.

Even in such conditions, Tatsuro’s magic kept them comfortable as they progressed, eventually spotting a large manhole-like structure.

Tatsuro and Cardina used Detection Magic to probe what lay beneath, confirming the target hole was further down.

Without hesitation, they opened the lid and descended into the manhole.

Below was a vast underground space, with a circular lid about thirty meters in diameter at the center, glowing red like magma, and several familiar pipes extending upward to the surface.

“What an incredible space. The temperature here’s about 83 degrees.”

“Ugh, just being here feels like getting burned. Won’t that lid melt? It’s glowing like molten iron.”

“It seems to be made of a special alloy with both heat resistance and durability. It should last another twenty years or so as is.”

Answering Ai’s question while using All-Seeing Eye, Leah explained while still intrigued, about the alloy’s composition and ratios, while also taking notes.

Once that was done, they called Jeanne out, and everyone took a commemorative photo in front of the lid.

“Keeping a record of the places we’ve been in the smartphone like this means we’ll be fine even if we forget or can’t recall clearly.”

“We could make an album when we get back. Alright, Tatsuro, smile!”

“Heh.”

As Ai aimed her smartphone at Tatsuro, he deliberately made a goofy smile.

“Pfft! Smile normally!”

“Gotcha!”

The moment Ai laughed naturally at his goofy face, Tatsuro snapped a photo of her smile.

Ai pouted and puffed out her cheeks, which Tatsuro found cute and kept snapping more photos in burst mode.

When Ai, annoyed, tried to delete the goofy-faced photos, Tatsuro fiercely protected them.

Watching the couple flirt right in front of her, Leah commented:

“You don’t have to flirt in a place like this…”

“These two being lovey-dovey anywhere is just perfect!”

“Peewee”

“Neigh!”

“Totally.”

“They’re as predictable as ever…”

Even with magic shielding them from the heat, this was still a dangerous area for Leah.

She wanted to leave quickly, but Tatsuro and Ai kept flirting for another ten minutes.