At the entrance of the Veldani Mountains.
Though it was supposedly still winter just a few kilometers away, the moment we stepped into the mountain range, an unpleasant heat began to seep in.
“This is as far as I go. The horse can’t go any further.”
“Alright, then please wait in a nearby village.”
“Yes.”
The coachman was freed.
Watching him head back with the carriage, I was honestly jealous. I wished someone would pull me out of this hell too…
Amazingly, Lobelia and Theseus hadn’t spoken a single word to each other since their last conversation.
In that stifling atmosphere, conversation inside the carriage had all but vanished.
Even the ever-cheerful Yuna had gone silent, which said it all.
“So we’re walking from here on?”
“Yes, we have to. The coordinates… Immun should remember them.”
“Just trust me.”
Immun declared boldly.
All I felt was anxiety.
***
The Veldani Mountains were a volcanic region.
The only volcano left on the continent and once considered sacred ground by the dwarves.
Now that the dwarves are gone, it’s merely seen as a dangerous zone.
So what exactly did the Scriptwriter prepare in this mountain range?
I didn’t have the luxury to think that far ahead.
“An ambush?”
“Seems like it.”
“It’s been strangely quiet lately.”
Lobelia, Yuna, and I each gave our reactions in turn.
Honestly, we’ve lasted quite a while. It almost feels like we’ve been on an extended vacation up to this point.
A suspicious man stood atop a hill, with a hood pulled low over his head.
But his outfit, meant to cope with the heat, made him look much cooler than Theseus.
…Though maybe that wasn’t the most important thing right now?
“This is why I can’t stand people from the Cradle…”
Immun muttered with a tense expression.
Theseus remained silent.
Even while walking through this sweltering volcanic region, he simply obeyed Lobelia’s command. His face and body were completely covered with a hood and cloak, saying nothing.
“So, who the hell are you supposed to be?”
“I should be the one asking that. What business do you have in the Veldani Mountains?”
“Oh, various reasons.”
“Is that so? Then that’s unfortunate. Because now that you’ve run into me—”
Even from just a brief conversation, I could tell. This guy hadn’t come looking for us specifically.
He was like a bandit who respawns on the roadside. He just happened to cross our path by chance.
It was a bit depressing to see someone show hostility over such a random encounter.
Maybe if we’d taken another route, we wouldn’t have run into him at all.
I glanced over at Lobelia.
With a walking trouble magnet like her around, things like this were inevitable.
And right then, as I looked away—
“……”
My eyes met Lobelia’s.
She was looking at me with a face that practically screamed, This is your problem.
No, come on. Sure, I get caught up in a lot of incidents, but I’m not the protagonist here.
This is clearly Lobelia’s fault.
“Well, I don’t really care what a royal is doing here. Isn’t this a great opportunity? You’ll just get in the way later, so I’ll kill you right here and now.”
“Ha!”
“……?”
I laughed out loud, deliberately.
Everyone turned to look at me, but I couldn’t care less.
“You heard that, right? Your Highness is the target.”
“…You look pleased, Johan.”
“Ahem.”
Anyway, this proves it. It’s not my fault.
Good grief, what a troublemaker.
Just being around her draws in every kind of disaster imaginable.
This is exactly why I never wanted to get involved with Lobelia.
“What a lunatic…”
“Yep, you could say that.”
Even as the attacker muttered insults at me, I couldn’t help but laugh.
What mattered more than some random extra trying to ambush us… was proving my innocence.
“Doesn’t matter. Third Princess, remember this. The one who’ll kill you… is the Gear of Ex Machina. Rack Gear, Farel!”
“Ha! Did you hear that, Johan?”
This time, Lobelia looked at me and muttered.
Wait… is she saying this is my fault again?
Just because the guy’s from Ex Machina and calls himself a Gear?
Utterly ridiculous.
“Just because he’s from Ex Machina doesn’t mean he’s related to me. It might even be Immun’s connection. No….actually, I’m sure of it. He’s the one who got the coordinates in the first place, not me.”
“Now you’re shifting the blame to me? Well… I suppose if that makes things easier for you, go ahead. I’m the adult here, so I’ll endure it.”
It’s not about “go ahead”… it really is your fault. This one’s on Immun.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Well, we’ll catch him. Seems like he doesn’t know his place. A few good hits, and he’ll cough up the loot.”
“Already thinking about loot? Johan, you’re basically a bandit.”
“It’s just your imagination, Yuna.”
And really, aren’t you much better suited for bandit work than I am?
I bet you’re amazing at pickpocketing.
“Enough! You lot clearly don’t understand the situation! I’ll make you see exactly what kind of being stands before you!”
Maybe he felt left out of our friendly chat, but Rack Gear Farel suddenly shouted.
Where did this guy even get all that confidence from? He seems like someone Immun could probably match one-on-one.
“Hmph! Allow me to show you!”
Kiiiiiiiiiing!!
Farel raised the staff he’d been holding in one hand.
Looks like his gear is in the form of a staff.
Not sure what kind of power it holds, but honestly, with Lobelia and Theseus here, there’s nothing to be afraid of.
Actually, Theseus alone would be more than enough.
Unless the Scriptwriter himself shows up, anyone strong enough to beat Theseus at this point would have to be a well-known powerhouse.
But Rack Gear? A guy who didn’t even show up in the original game?
What a joke.
“Hmph!”
“You…”
But then, I saw what Farel was holding up and my expression froze.
In one hand, his gear staff which was most likely the Rack Gear.
And in the other…
“How did you get the Pinion Gear?”
Another gear. The Pinion Gear.
“So, you knew? What a shame….this time, truly unfortunate. That guy’s dead. I found him at the foot of the mountain range and took his head off before he even noticed me. Stupid fool.”
The gear that should have belonged to the mid-boss from Ex Machina, someone I was very familiar with, had ended up in the hands of an unexpected character.
I don’t know what kind of synergy the two gears might produce, but…
“Yuna! Grab me!”
“Huh…?”
From what I know, the Pinion Gear has the ability to upheave the surrounding terrain.
It causes earthquakes and ground collapses, and these are dangerous powers to begin with. If someone were to use that kind of ability in a volcanic zone like this….
Rumbleeeeeeeeeeeee!!
This whole area was bound to become a total mess.
***
Honestly, I still don’t think I’m going to lose to this Rack Gear guy or whatever he’s called.
But the situation was a little unfortunate.
Whether it was his good luck or just the bad luck of me and Lobelia combining in the worst way, we ended up getting separated.
With this being a volcanic region, even the slightest distortion of the terrain drastically reduced the space we could stand on.
After running around trying to get away, the next thing I knew, we were split up.
“Ugh.”
Told her to grab me…
In the end, Yuna couldn’t catch the hand I’d reached out. The volcano erupted, the ground shook, and we were all scattered before she could.
If that Rack Gear guy or whoever he is comes for me in this situation…
“Not exactly the ideal place to kneel down and beg. The ground’s way too hot.”
I’m not ashamed to beg for my life.
You’ve got to survive first if you want another chance.
“For someone who sounded so confident, you sure gave up fast.”
“I’m a pacifist, you see.”
“That so…”
Immun who’d ended up separated from the others along with me muttered quietly.
Great. Got stuck with the most useless one.
If it had been anyone else, even just one, I’d feel a lot more reassured. Why’d they have to stick him with me…
“I’m here too, you know?”
“Yeah, that’s just so comforting.”
I’m supposed to drag a kid around in this kind of hellish environment? Seriously, I hate this.
Sure, maybe Mephistopheles might be more capable than I thought.
But no matter how I look at it, I just can’t picture this thing doing anything useful. I mean, yeah, she did take down the Worm Gear, but how should I put it?
Feels like we’d be better off if she just didn’t do anything.
“I suppose the others will be fine. His Highness Theseus is incredibly strong, after all…”
“Her Highness Lobelia will do well too. Since she doesn’t have to worry about her surroundings, she’ll be able to go all out.”
Besides, volcanic terrain doesn’t affect her at all.
Isn’t she the one who constantly mouths off to the Emperor and gets smacked around for it?
She’s bound to have high fire resistance.
If anything, this environment will probably backfire on her opponents.
“It’s your lover I’m concerned about. Will that child be alright?”
“Ah, Yuna? Yuna’s, well…”
Immun still didn’t know how strong Yuna really was.
And in this situation, she was the last person I’d be worried about.
“She’s the type who isn’t affected by the environment.”
Honestly, it’s the other side I’d be worried for.
***
Rack and Pinion Gear Farel was staring into the void with a look like he’d just seen a ghost.
“What… are you?”
“Puhihihi!”
Seeing the girl casually strolling across molten lava, Farel couldn’t help but feel a strange chill.
“How is that even possible? What’s the trick?”
There was no sign she’d cast any magic.
Yet somehow, she was walking across this deadly terrain like it was nothing.
“So what does that gear of yours do? Is it just terrain collapse?”
“What a pathetic provocation…!”
“I was just asking?”
“Hmph!”
Farel swung his staff.
He had no idea what kind of sorcery the girl was using. But even if she could walk on lava, she couldn’t possibly block out the heat.
Just looking at the sweat trickling down her cheek made that clear.
In that case, he just had to pour it on her.
Waves of lava swallowed the entire space where the girl had been standing.
“Ahahahahaha!!”
Rack Gear’s power was the storm. One that could be controlled with perfect precision.
With that power, even summoning waves at will was possible.
Rack and Pinion Gear were producing synergy, as if they’d been a pair from the very beginning.
A power that collapsed the ground and restricted enemy movement with storms.
With this kind of ability, he felt confident he could win no matter who the opponent was.
But…
“Another power….wind, huh?”
Artificially created waves could never reach a true mage of the waves.
Crack!
Yuna leapt up, riding the surge of lava that shot up as if it would devour her whole, and drove her daggers straight into both of Farel’s wrists.
“Aaaargh!”
She had no intention of killing him right away.
Still, Farel screamed as though he’d never experienced this kind of pain before and nearly collapsed.
“Ah, wait.”
Yuna grabbed him by the collar just as he was about to fall into the lava.
If he lost consciousness and fell in like this, he’d die.
That would be a complete waste of a rare opportunity.
“You go around killing without hesitation, but you’ve barely felt pain yourself, huh?”
“P-Please…”
Pathetic.
Yuna clicked her tongue in disgust at Farel’s cowardice.
Not even a shred of sympathy stirred in her. With cold, sharp eyes, she glared at him and asked,
“I’m going to ask you some questions. If you don’t want to die, you’d better answer honestly.”
“I-I’ll talk! Just please, spare me…!”
Yuna shrugged.
Not even worth responding to. Farel wasn’t in any position to make offers.
If he refused to talk, there were plenty of ways to make him.
In fact, that was her specialty.
“Why did you come to the Veldani Mountains?”
“I-It was the Scriptwriter’s orders…”
However, Farel answered her questions more willingly than expected.
Yuna clicked her tongue, slightly disappointed, and continued her interrogation.
“What was it about? Did he actually tell you anything specific?”
“C-Coordinates! He gave us coordinates and said he’d support our research if we came to that location…”
“Is that so?”
“But when we arrived at the coordinates, there was nothing there! It’s true! Someone must have gotten there first!”
“Nothing at all? Hmm… That’s a bit suspicious. Oh, by the way, how do you use this thing?”
“Th-That’s…”
Yuna dragged every last piece of information out of Farel. The message from the Scriptwriter he’d received, the way to use the gear, and the crimes he had committed.
And after hearing it all, Yuna’s next move was simple.
“Oops. My hand slipped.”
“…What?”
Without hesitation, Yuna dropped Farel into the lava.
“Guess my hands got sweaty from the heat.”
She sighed as she slightly tugged at the hem of her sweat-soaked clothes.
“Looks like Johan was right.”
Whenever she was alone with Johan, she could hear what he was really thinking.
It might have seemed like they were just talking about work during their private moments, but she didn’t mind it too much.
Because it meant Johan could only be honest when he was with her.
In that moment, Yuna recalled something Johan had said not too long ago.
“The Scriptwriter… I think he’s trying to make the gears kill each other.”
The movements of Immun and Worm Gear.
And now, even Pinion Gear who was reportedly murdered by Rack Gear, Farel.
All the gears were naturally crossing paths… and fighting.
Of course, assuming it was all part of some master plan might just be speculation.
But…
“A script, huh… I don’t really get why he’d go to so much trouble.”
The title of “Scriptwriter” was certainly no empty name.
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