Chapter 41: Escape

Rene, Tierra-san, and Lies. After being separated from those three, the rest of us were locked inside a sealed room.

...It had everything we needed for everyday life, and there was plenty of space, too. It was actually quite comfortable.

The only problem was that the entrance was locked tight and wouldn't budge. It was closer to house arrest than outright imprisonment, I suppose.

As for Tetoma, only its core crystal had been left with us. Its accumulated parts had been taken somewhere else.

"What do we do, Kizuna?"

"Tierra-san said she'd be fine, but I think we should take action."

"Yeah, I agree with that. If we just sit around waiting, things are only going to get worse."

When I answered Padron's question, he agreed with me.

It wasn't that I didn't trust Tierra-san. Her abilities were the real deal.

But that wasn't a reason to sit around doing nothing.

"Nevertheless, it is also true that we have no means of breaking out of this predicament."

Nanashi was right. Unless we could unlock this thick door, there was no way out.

"Yeah, that's the problem..."

"If you're the next lord, you should be able to come up with something, nya!"

"Then you should put that head of yours to work, too, as the next chieftain. You savage."

"I'm not a savage, nya! I won't forgive you for this, not today!"

"Heh! I'll show you the difference in our ranks!"

...And there they went again.

Padron and Piska's fights had practically become a regular occurrence.

Usually, Tierra-san would casually step in before things got out of hand, but she wasn't here this time.

For now, Nanashi and I managed to calm them down together, but I had a feeling our luck wouldn't last forever. ...So Tierra-san had been helping us out even in situations like this.

"Surely it's not going to open just because we say some kind of password, right? Like... Open Sesame!"

Pahal, who'd been enthusiastically fiddling with the door out of sheer curiosity, suddenly spoke up.

There was no way such a ridiculous password would actually—

『Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!』

At that very moment, a mysterious mechanical sound echoed through the room.

"No way! Did it actually open just now?!"

"No, that's not it! The door's still closed, just like before!"

"Huh? Then what was that...?"

『—Beep-beep-beep—Installation complete.』

The voice came from the blue crystal.

It was Tetoma, reduced to nothing but its core.

『Data decompression. Deployment. Output commencing.』

And then, the core flashed brightly, and blue light began taking shape into something.

Red hair, pale skin, frilly clothes, and a pair of tiny wings on her back... She wore a bright grin, complete with freckles that seemed to be her pride and joy.

Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, she brought to mind a mischievous fairy. She was—

『I'm Minia☆, the city's officially certified guide! I'll be your guide during your stay in the city! First, may I ask what I can do for you today? ...Just kidding!』

—Minia, the very guide who'd been showing us around.

『Honestly, this is such a nuisance! Now people are going to start spreading rumors that my tours might be a trap!』

"So you came here against your orders, Minia?"

『That's right! My mission is to guide people around the city! My job is to make sure our guests enjoy sightseeing in Mikania safely and comfortably! Until you've all returned home safe and sound, I'm your guide!』

Apparently, Minia had put her pride as a guide—or, to use her own words, her "mission"—first and come to rescue us.

Something about converting herself into data and transmitting it into Tetoma's core... I couldn't really understand the technical details, but one thing was certain: she'd risked her own safety to come help us.

That made me incredibly, incredibly happy.

『I see, I see! I've got the situation figured out! I can predict where the three of them are being held! Leave the guiding to me!』

After we explained our current situation, Minia puffed out her chest with a smug little "Hmph!" and declared that she had everything under control.

"But if this door won't open, what good is your guidance going to do?"

『Heh-heh-heh! Don't underestimate Minia! ...There's a legend passed down through this city: an individual who kept guiding tourists into restricted areas and delighting them every step of the way. The cutest guide in the city, with conversational skills unmatched by anyone else! Known to the people as the "Criminal Guide"... Who else could it be but yours truly, Minia!!』

As she spoke, Minia effortlessly unlocked the door.

Amazing... but something about this felt very, very wrong. Maybe Minia was actually quite the troublemaker.

Still, right now, I was simply grateful for her help. We needed to get to where Rene and the others were.

"What do we do if we run into mechanical soldiers along the way?"

"We engage them and break through as quickly as possible! They'll notice our escape soon enough anyway!"

"Heh! Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"So speed is our priority, then. Understood!"

I answered Padron's question as we ran.

If they'd discover our escape sooner or later anyway, there was no point sneaking around and wasting time. We'd follow Minia's guidance and race through the shortest route as fast as possible!

Hang on! Rene, Tierra-san, Lies!