Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 176: Out of the mansion

“Well, let’s conclude the conversation for now. You should take a look around the island until mealtime. Eins, I leave the tour to you.”

“Aight, Master. Let’s go.”

After finishing my meeting with Aiwass, I was urged by Eins to step outside the mansion. Without waiting for my departure, Aiwass gazed into the crystal ball, raised his staff, and began using some kind of spiritual art.

Although he had referred to himself as a hermit, it seemed that Aiwass led a busy life as a researcher. He had probably taken the time to talk to me specifically. I didn’t want to be a bother, so I obediently followed Eins.

Once outside, I could finally see the entire mansion for the first time. However, the sight before me was even more astonishing than when the crystal ball had spoken. The reason was…

“Wait, is it floating…!?”

“Yeah. The master’s mansion is flyin’ in the sky. ‘Cause otherwise, in a place like this tiny island, it’d cover up most of it, right?”

The reason was that the mansion was floating. I knew Aiwass’s abilities were far beyond mine, but the fact that I had been up in the sky all this time was beyond unexpected. Even if I were to tell Tigar and the others the truth when I got back, they probably wouldn’t believe me.

As I wondered how I would descend to the ground, Eins led me to a place at the edge of the mansion that resembled a pier. There, an oval-shaped disc was hovering, and it seemed like we would use this to descend to the ground.

“Incredible… As someone without much knowledge, I have no idea what kind of methods are being used.”

“Hahaha! Well, that’s right. Master ain’t just the most knowledgeable one on this planet; he’s also the seventh most knowledgeable bein’ in the whole darn universe, ya know!”

“The seventh…? That’s an oddly specific number.”

As I said this, I recalled the name of the organization Aiwass had mentioned, “The Seventh Pillar”. It seemed like Aiwass had a particular connection with the number “seven”.

Eins and I boarded the floating disc in the sky. Despite being suspended in mid-air, I half-expected it to be unstable once I put my feet on it. To my surprise, it felt as solid as the ground beneath. I could probably make it wobble if I intentionally rocked it with my feet, but there was no need for that, so I refrained. I was sure Eins wouldn’t appreciate it either.

“All right, then, let’s get down, keeping safety in mind, Drei.”

“Eh, let’s speed it up, big brother!”

“…This one is talking too?”

This being the second time around, I wasn’t as shocked, but it seemed that this disc was capable of conversation as well. More importantly, it referred to Eins as “big brother” suggesting it recognized him as a sibling.

However, they didn’t look like siblings in any way. Moreover, what were Eins and his kind? They didn’t appear to be living beings, but for some reason, I could sense fighting spirit and spiritual power from them. Well, I might as well muster up the courage to ask.

” Eins, would it be alright to ask about you guys?”

“Huh? Yeah, sure thing. We’re creatures created by master. We may look like this, but we’re proper creatures, we are.”

“Our master calls us Luminous Crystalline Life Forms… right, big brother?”

“Why you soundin’ all unsure over there… Well, you got it right, though.”

Luminous Crystalline Life Forms… It was the first time I had ever heard of such creatures. Moreover, it seemed that the one who created them, Aiwas, possessed an extraordinary intellect and technology. His claim to being the “seventh most knowledgeable being in the universe,” as Eins had mentioned, might not have been an exaggeration after all.

“Good thing I got it right! So, brace yourself, ’cause we’re going for a wild ride!”

“Hey!”

As I marveled at the situation, a shiver ran down my spine as Drei suddenly accelerated and began its rapid descent toward the ground. Eins and I held onto the railing installed on Drei to prevent ourselves from falling. While experiencing that peculiar sensation of weightlessness when free-falling from a great height, we sped towards the ground.

Descending from the floating mansion in the sky allowed us to view the mansion from a different perspective. A black dome-shaped hemisphere was attached to the bottom of the mansion, and spiritual circuits were carved into it. Most likely, it was responsible for keeping the mansion afloat, but I didn’t have the knowledge to know if that was indeed the case.

While observing the mansion with my compound eyes at the back of my head, I cast a glance ahead with my front eyes, closely tracking the rapidly approaching landscape. This island, known as Rakis Island, apparently had a significant difference in elevation between its north and south sides, shaping the island into a triangular cone with its northern tip as the vertex.

The southern, lower-elevation side stretched with grasslands and sandy shores, while the higher-elevation north was shrouded in dense forests. I wondered if my favorite sweet fruits grew here. If they did, I certainly wanted to try them.

The whale carcass was still lying on the sandy shore. Not far from it, something that could only be described as two giants more than anything else was moving. Their surface color resembled that of Eins, so perhaps they were also Luminous Crystalline Life Forms like him. He would surely explain it to me later.

In the central part of Rakis Island, there was a village inhabited by the island’s residents. The houses here weren’t the familiar brick structures I was used to; instead, they were all wooden houses with thatched roofs. Just this difference alone made me feel the distinction in culture compared to the Empire. The attire and accessories of the people also differed significantly.

It appeared that both men and women of adult age had tattoos on their faces, arms, and other areas. These tattoos featured geometric patterns, and there were several fixed designs. These tattoos were more than mere decorations; they must have held some deeper meaning.

“Aight, we’ve arrived!”

“Drei…. didn’t I tell you to slow down?”

“S-sorry, big brother. Just couldn’t help myself, ya know?”

While I didn’t have enough time to observe the island from above, I didn’t see any issue with it. However, Eins was scolding Drei who had descended at high speed. I didn’t think there was any need to scold him that much, but I also felt like it was wrong to meddle in a sermon between siblings.

After giving Drei a good scolding, Eins finally let him go. Drei, with no facial features like Eins’s, looked somewhat exhausted as it floated unsteadily. It seemed like he was reflecting.

“Well, for now, I’ll cut ya some slack about that. Head on over to Sechs and Sieben’s and lend ’em a hand with the haulin’.”

“Aight…”

Without cracking a single joke, Drei replied with a feeble voice and flew off towards the south. I didn’t know who Sechs and Sieben were, but from their mention of “hauling” I had a hunch it had something to do with the whale that had devoured me. There were two giants near the whale, and I assumed those were their names.

Before I could look into it further, a group of people came running toward us. They were the island’s children. They must have witnessed Drei flying through the sky and had likely seen Eins coming. The children rushed towards Eins with radiant smiles on their faces, waving their hands.

“Big brother Eins! “

“Let’s play!”

“Oooh! you guys are in high spirits!”

The children clung to Eins’s legs, tugged on his hand, and excitedly urged him on. It seemed that Eins was well-liked by the island’s residents. Eins himself didn’t seem to mind it, and he responded to them in a kind and gentle voice.

However, some of the children gazed up at me intently. It wasn’t so much a look of caution as it was a sense of curiosity mixed with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It felt oddly familiar, like the way it was when I first joined the special operations squad.

“What’s the matter, young man? Am I catching your eye?”

I lowered myself to the ground, making eye contact, and tried to speak as gently as I could. In response, the young boy approached me tentatively and began patting my arm, which was encased in an exoskeleton.

“It’s tough! Just like Eins, big brother!”

“Do you not like it?”

“Not at all! It’s cool!”

“Hey, hey, does the claw on your cheek move?”

“He has a tail! It’s all smooth!”

Once one child had warmed up to me, the others also gathered around. It became a roughly even split, with me and Eins each engaging with about half of the children. I gave Eins a subtle nod, silently asking if I was okay to interact with the children, and he nodded repeatedly. It seemed like he wanted me to engage with the kids.

I decided to play along with the children’s requests. I gave the boy who had initially approached me a piggyback ride, gently pinched the child poking at the pincers on my cheek, and let the kids who were curious about my tail sit on it. What I had honed in the special operations unit wasn’t just combat skills.

“Thanks a lot. I’m confident about my stamina, no doubt ’bout that, but when there’s too many of ’em, I can’t handle ’em all, ya know?”

“No problem. My team had little kids too. I’m just putting that experience to use.”

As I gave the piggyback ride, I found myself thinking about Lappy and the other children. I think they were saddened by my disappearance. Lappy, in particular, had been considering me like her father, according to Tigar. She must be quite down.

I felt an even stronger urge to return as soon as possible. Guided by the children, we walked towards the islanders’ settlement. There didn’t seem to be any defensive structures like fences or moats around the settlement, which could only mean that there were no threatening creatures or hostile forces on this island. It truly seemed like a tranquil and peaceful place.

“I just realized, is there no farmland here?”

“No. Gatherin’ from the woods and fishin’ in the sea, that’s plenty to get by, ya see.”

“Oh, Sire Eins! You’re right on time, I tell ya!”

“Come on over this way, please!”

As we entered the village with the children, a few men rushed towards us with looks of urgency. It seemed like something might have happened. Eins and I gently laid the children down and followed the men.

Eins was led to a large building in the center of the village. Inside, a young man was groaning in pain. It seemed like he had a broken leg.

The wound was in pretty bad condition, with the broken bone piercing through the skin. A demon or someone with combat training could endure the pain and heal using their fighting spirit, but for islanders unfamiliar with battles, it must have been excruciating.

“Aaah, it’s done snapped clean. What happened?”

“He was tryin’ to fetch the laundry that got carried away onto the roof, but that’s when a mighty gust o’ wind came blowin’, and he tumbled right down!”

“Sire Eins, please, you gotta do somethin’!”

“Leave it to me. Though, I gotta make sure he stays still, else treatin’ it’ll be a heap harder. If he starts wrigglin’ during the healin’, that bone might end up all crooked-like.”

“In that case, let me help.”

Seeing Eins troubled, I decided to lend a hand. However, there was only one thing I could do. I injected the young man with a non-lethal paralyzing poison from the stinger at the tip of my tail.

There was no way he had developed any resistance to the paralyzing poison, and the young man, who had been groaning in pain just moments ago, started to breathe peacefully. Eins seemed surprised that I used the stinger, but he must have realized that the young man being calm and more easily treatable was the most crucial thing. He proceeded to provide precise instructions to the islanders while treating the broken bone.