Don’t You Ever Forget. Potatoes… Are Part of the Nightshade Family – Part 04

Sera said the last time she saw Eu was when Eu entered the apartment building.

We were looking up at the newly built eight-story apartment complex when we heard a loud roar. It came from a corner room on the sixth floor. Thick white smoke was billowing out of it.

“There!”

I tried to enter from the front, but Sera spread her leaf wings again.

“We’re flying!”

Carrying Haruna and me, Sera took off. I could feel the supreme softness pressed against my face, but neither of us cared.

Eu… Eu! My mind filled with the silver-haired girl.

We slipped through a window into the room, and it was a disaster.

Walls and floors were charred. A white tiger and a polar bear-like panda lay on the floor, both filthy and their uniforms torn.

At the corner of the room sat Big Teach, tied up and gagged. In the center, Eu dangled, held by the neck with both hands, her feet not touching the ground.

The one holding Eu’s neck was none other than the King of the Night.

Since he actually worked part-time, maybe it wasn’t strange for him to live in such a lived-in apartment.

A broken glass table. Scattered bottles and magazines. What happened here?

“After ruining my precious home, unwelcome guests show up. What a pain,” the King of the Night said with a sinister grin. Eu gripped his hands tightly, struggling.

“Let her go!” I growled.

“No chance. If I let go, she’d just run back to the Underworld. Right?”

Eu just shot him a sharp glare.

Words were useless. Sera raised her leaf sword, and Haruna sprinted to Big Teach’s side.

The King of the Night wore a look of annoyance as dark blue mist filled the room.

Trying to escape, huh? I had to stop him within five seconds.

Eu swatted at the mist, and it dispersed. Her gauntlets could apparently nullify magic. Nice.

“Eucliwood, don’t do anything reckless.”

Sera’s sword pierced the King of the Night. He couldn’t vanish into the mist anymore.

Nice one, Sera! Cut his legs off next!

“Because of you, I have no choice but to use the Magiclad Weapon to escape.”

Those words shocked both Eu and me.

The mist gathered, forming an object that clearly looked like a time bomb. Holding Eu tight, the King of the Night burst out a window.

“Sera!”

Before I even shouted, Sera was already chasing after him. Eu reached out her hand toward me.

Wait for me. I’m coming right now.

“Ayumu!” Haruna cried out just as I planted my foot on the window frame.

I turned to see her face, on the verge of tears.

“Big Teach… has a bomb attached to her. What do we do?”

Haruna rarely expressed helplessness. Damn it.

Thump, thump, thump. My heart pounded wildly in my chest.

Kyouko’s words flashed through my mind. Chasing Eu was my own self-centered desire. Eu didn’t want that.

I closed my eyes, clenched my teeth, and turned toward Big Teach.

As I tried to remove the gag and untie the rope, Haruna barked, “Idiot! Do you want it to explode?!”

“Ayumu, what are you doing?” Big Teach asked.

“Sorry. Bomb first, then the rope.”

“That’s not what I meant. Why didn’t you go after her?”

“To save you,” Haruna tried to explain, but Big Teach ignored her.

“You’re meant to save someone else, not me, aren’t you?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not trying to help you. I just couldn’t leave Haruna alone.”

Big Teach chuckled. “You sound just like Haruna.”

“Besides, Sera’s chasing after her too,” I said. “So, what do we do about these?”

“Haruna, what do you think?”

“I could defuse it in five minutes.”

The digital timers on the bombs showed less than ten minutes remaining on both.

“That’s cutting it close,” I said. “All right. Haruna, give me instructions. If I can shave off a minute, we should make it in time.”

“Great idea. First, draw a magic circle with your mana.”

“Never mind. You got this.”

“What? That’s like the absolute basics, you dunce. Go to hell!”

Haruna wrapped both hands in ruby-red light and placed them on Big Teach’s hands.

“I’m borrowing your mana, Big Teach.”

Wearing a steely look, Haruna muttered an incantation under her breath. Best not to disturb her right now.

“All right. I’ll teach you, Ayumu,” Big Teach said. “Hold your hands palm-up.”

I turned my palms up like she said.

“Look at your index finger. See the first joint, then the second joint?”

“Yes.”

“So, where’s the next joint after that?”

“The base of the finger.”

“Bzzt. Wrong. The correct answer is: look at the back of your hand.”

I flipped my palms over. Yeah, the joints were a bit further down. So, those lines on the palm used in palm reading were actually joint lines.

“And?”

“You lack attentiveness and judgment, so you can’t dismantle the bombs.”

“Not even just disabling it a little?”

“If you mess with it using human knowledge from this world, it goes boom.”

She sounded pretty relaxed about it.

“Is this a Magiclad Weapon too? It looks nothing like the one inside Tomonori.”

“This is a magic bomb. I can’t make Magiclad Weapons.”

“What? So they’re different?”

“Magic bombs are objects infused with an offensive spell. Magiclad Weapons, on the other hand, are made by packing tons of spells for mass destruction into humans without any magical talent, like you.”

“I’m not sure I get the difference exactly.”

“Magic bombs work once, with moderate power. Magiclad Weapons can cast the most powerful magic spells almost forever.”

“So this bomb isn’t that powerful?”

“It contains the strongest explosion spell there is. I worked hard on that. You know what they say: you can do it if you try.”

“I knew it,” Haruna said. “That cursed magic bomb you made wasn’t a failed product. It was all you could manage, wasn’t it?”

“Correct. That’s my Haruna.”

“Wait, there’s one core thing I’m not getting,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“Who made the Magiclad Weapon then?”

“My friend did. The Life Orbs too. But officially, I’m credited with making them.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re a guy?” Haruna said.

“Right again. You really are a smart student.”

“What does that mean?” I asked Haruna.

“Villiers champion female supremacy. Men can’t use magic, most are perverts, and they’re only about twenty percent of the population. Nobody would listen if some guys claimed they developed Life Orbs.”

“But you did, didn’t you, Big Teach?” I said.

“Because it’s an amazing thing. A ground-breaking invention. It must be shared with the world.”

“All right, done. The spell shouldn’t activate now.”

“Oh? Nice work, Haruna,” I said. “And we have about… a minute and twenty seconds left?! You said you could do it in five minutes!”

“I overdid it.” Big Teach chuckled.

“That composure means you’ve got a plan, right?” I said.

“Actually, I have a Life Orb right here. With this, we won’t die.”

What the hell? So we were safe from the start? Was that the same Life Orb she took from Kyouko?

Man, so even if I didn’t stay behind, and both bombs went off, it wouldn’t have mattered. No, wait a second.

“How wide is the blast radius on this bomb?” I asked.

“It contains the strongest explosion spell there is, you know? In this world’s units, the effective range is about a one-kilometer radius.”

“Can the Life Orb really handle every person in that range?”

“Nope. I said we won’t die, didn’t I?”

“We can’t have that! Is there anything else we can do?”

“Cast a flying spell on me, Big Teach,” Haruna said. “I’ll fly up with the bomb. Then, I can set up a barrier and let the Life Orb do the rest.”

“That won’t work. Levitation’s jump distance is only about 800 meters.”

By the time she finished explaining, twenty seconds were left on the timer.

“I’ll go,” I said. “Haruna, hold my phone and wallet.”

I tossed my stuff to Haruna, gathered power in my legs, and headed for the window. If I kicked off the wall at 600%, I could jump at least 200 meters.

“Ah yes, you’re immortal,” Big Teach said. “Will you be fine even if you turned to dust?”

“There’s no time to worry about that now.”

“You’re right. Then, I’ll use everything I have. Here, take the Life Orb just in case.”

“Aight. See you later, Haruna.”

Haruna didn’t answer. Her cowlick twitched nervously.

A small blue light, about the size of a pinky finger, left Big Teach’s hand and entered my chest. I didn’t feel anything.

Carrying the bomb, I leapt.

After about 200 meters, an updraft lifted me higher. It felt like my throat and lungs were being crushed.

And then, the world turned white.