Leave a comment

Even though it was morning, the sky was as dark as night, and the relentless wind and rain obscured my vision. Occasionally, the city, shrouded in white mist from the rain and illuminated by lightning streaking through the clouds, would appear, but there were no other clues. The magic stone lamp attached to Arkecius proved almost useless.

“Father…”

Giving up on navigating through the city, I decided to cut through the military port area and head straight for the lake. Since even the military had to recall their mecha soldiers in this storm, there was no chance of Arkecius being stopped. If by chance someone did question me, mentioning Father’s name should suffice. After all, I was just a child, and given that lives were at stake and the military had given up on the rescue, I was heading towards it.

Thankfully, my fears did not occur, and Arkecius continued to walk steadfastly towards the lake through the fierce storm.

Finally reaching the lake shore, the scenery was completely different from what I knew.

The lake water writhed like a living creature, sending murky white waves crashing towards Arkecius. Though capable of moving underwater, I hesitated to dive into the lake.

“Calm down, think…”

Closing my eyes once, I took a deep breath and reminded myself. I had lived two lives, one as Glass, and the other as Leafa for the past nine years. With that experience, I believed rescuing Father was possible. That’s why I took out Arkecius.

Opening my eyes again, a light different from the lightning flashed across the screen slowly. Even with hardly any visibility, the light from the lighthouse reached. By following the light, I could determine the lighthouse’s position. Considering the route the ship Alfe saw would have taken, it would likely have wrecked just before entering the city, and Father would have been involved in the rescue. Therefore, aiming for the lighthouse and heading downwind seemed to offer the highest chance of discovery. Assuming, of course, that the wind direction hadn’t changed.

With determination, I plunged into the raging lake.

The weight of Arkecius’ body caused pillar-like white waves to rise, and the screen of the display went dark. But soon, it switched to the view of the water’s surface. Although the lake shore was tumultuous with waves, the water depth settled around Arkecius’ chest height, almost as expected.

“Please move smoothly…”

It was a good thing I had incorporated the simplified formula I came up with to enable underwater activity into Arkecius’ jet propulsion system. Originally designed to compress and release air using wind magic for high-speed maneuverability, this device had been modified for underwater use by combining water and wind magic to expel compressed water.

Pressing the switch button to channel aether, Arkecius’ verniers responded, and strong water pressure began to spout.

“Target, south. Beyond the lighthouse, heading downwind.”

Repeating it to myself, I continued to expel water pressure from the vernier thrusters while relying on the light to guide me towards the lighthouse. Just past the lighthouse, the wreckage of what appeared to be the shipwreck in the storm was illuminated by its light.

The passenger ship, tossed about as if by the hands of a giant playful child, moved in impossible ways, swaying in all directions and lying on its side, battered by the spray of waves.

Father’s unit should be nearby.

From here on, high-speed maneuvering with the vernier thrusters was unnecessary. I swam Arkecius using the foot pedals in a steady rhythm, meticulously searching the dark and tumultuous lake.

“Father, where are you!? Fatheeeer!!”

My calls through the loudspeaker were drowned out by the roaring wind, sounding like the roar of a magical beast. However, the storm clouds, which had caused the tumult, were gradually converging overhead, surrounding me.

The dark clouds swirled, churning up the lake with multiple tornado-like whirlwinds, battering the unit sideways. Prioritizing stability, I swam Arkecius slowly while focusing my gaze on the screen, trying to find the Karkinos, the unit my father was supposed to be on.

Although visibility was poor, the wind was blowing towards the west bank. The wrecked ship was also swaying back and forth towards the west bank, confirming my observation. Most likely, this ship had been carried here by the currents.

“Is it over there…?”

As thunder roared and lightning streaked across the sky, for a moment, I felt like I saw light shining through the clouds on the west bank. The weather was diverging between the west bank and the lake surface. It didn’t seem like a mere natural phenomenon.

The violently swirling winds seemed unaffected by the direction of the clouds, and the sideways rain fell independently onto the unit. The thunderous roar of the storm seemed to mock my reckless actions, while the lightning flashed as if to show me the scene before me.

Only a “Kamut” or a “Goddess” could conjure such a storm.

It was as if they were saying that retrieving the Ars Magna was a taboo. While the pursuit of truth-related matters had fallen out of favor in current alchemy, it shouldn’t have been expressly prohibited.

“Kamut! Cassius! Are you there!?”

Swimming the unit towards the west bank, I shouted through the loudspeaker, but my voice was drowned out by the terrifying thunder. Indeed, it seemed like this storm was concentrated over the lake, as if mocking me. I had to press down hard on the foot pedals to avoid being engulfed by the waves. It felt like it was saying, “I can extinguish your life’s flame in an instant.” It wasn’t just my paranoia.

The moment I felt that, a shiver ran down my spine, and my skin prickled. It was the instinctual defense response inherent in a child’s body, warning me that it was too dangerous to continue.

“…Sorry, but I’m not backing down.”

I reassured myself, gripping the control stick tightly and putting strength into both legs on the foot pedals. I needed to stay calm and just accomplish what I needed to do.

I will save Father. For that…

“Kamut! If you’re targeting me, then aim at me alone!”

If this storm was the work of a god or a goddess, they should be watching me somewhere.

“Don’t involve my loved ones!”

I screamed so loud my throat felt like it was tearing, and at that moment, a flash of light burst in front of me. For just a moment, a familiar unit emerged on the white-lit surface of the lake.

“Father!”

It was just a brief moment, but there was no mistaking it. That was my father’s unit—Karkinos—the one I had seen in the maintenance area.

“I’m coming, Father!”

Strangely, the wind and rain weakened slightly, and my vision suddenly cleared. The storm hadn’t completely passed, but I used the vernier thrusters to rise from underwater and headed toward the grounded Karkinos.

The Karkinos stranded on the west bank lay motionless, resembling a rock in the twilight. Parts that seemed to be severed arms and legs were scattered around the unit, making it clear that returning on its own power would be difficult.

“Father! Can you hear me?”

I shouted as I searched for the hatch of the cockpit. Gently scratching the hatch on the chest with the arm of Arkecius, I received no response from inside.

“…kgh!”

Pushing aside the worst-case scenario that crossed my mind, I placed Arkecius’ fingers on the cockpit door. Listening carefully to the creaking sound coming from the audio device, I carefully peeled off the door. Water spurted out from inside, revealing my father’s figure lying in the pilot’s seat.

“Father!”

The raging storm poured onto my father’s body. I carefully maneuvered Arkecius to rescue my father from the cockpit, then pulled Arkecius onto the shore with one hand while covering my father with the other.

Whether he was injured or drowned in the cockpit, my father didn’t move a muscle.

Placing Arkecius’ arm on the ground, I couldn’t stand still any longer. I jumped off Arkecius and ran towards my father, who lay in the palm of the unit’s hand.

“Father, Father! It’s Leafa! I’ve come to help!”

There was a faint sign of life, but it was terrifyingly weak. I secured the airway, placed my palm over his heart, and began sending aether. But no matter how many times I repeated it, my father didn’t wake up. His breathing was so weak that it was hardly detectable, and I screamed in terror.

“Father!!”

Was there nothing I could do with a child’s strength?

Even though I had just rescued him, if things remained like this, my father would—

“Father! Please, hang on, Father!”

I shouted while pounding his chest with my fists. The feeling of helplessness was unbearable. If only I weren’t a child, if only I were more knowledgeable about rescue operations, none of this would have happened.

“Father! Fatheeer!!”

I pounded his chest with all my strength. Then, I felt like my father’s expression changed slightly.

“Fa… ther…?”

Furrows formed on his forehead, and there was tension in his eyelids.

“Father, please wake up, Father!”

Responding to my desperate calls, my father slowly lifted his eyelids.

“Oh, Leafa… Leafa, is it…”

My awakened father reached out and wrapped his arms around my back.

“I missed you…”

With his voice came a strong embrace that felt so powerful and warm, nothing like the person who was on the brink of death just moments ago.

“No, Father, you can’t fall asleep alone in a place like this…”

Being held like this, I didn’t realize how comforting it could be. I didn’t understand just how reassuring it could feel to be in my father’s arms.

“Hahaha, that’s right. I need to make sure I come back to you all safely—”
“Father… Father…”

Feeling an indescribable affection, I returned my father’s embrace. My emotions were a mess. Why had I become so sentimental?

The violent storm that had been raging just moments ago had disappeared, and I could hear the distant calls of the rescue team.

“It’s okay now, Leafa.”
“Yes, Father…”

It was hard to believe that the words and strength came from someone who had been on the brink of death just moments ago. Is this what a father is like? Have I been protected by someone like this all along¹?

1. Silva: I didn’t cry, you did! My eyes are just sweating is all