A hot air balloon was prepared.
Simply to ascend the Tower of Babel.
‘A rocket or missile would work too, but those all cost taxes or mana.’
There was also the method of entering Illinois’s gun barrel and launching vertically using its ascent rocket to reach Babel.
Alternatively, I could’ve contacted President Luigi and had him build rockets to be launched at each Babel Tower, turning them into my personal transport pods.
But I chose not to go that far.
The first reason was, quite literally, because it felt wasteful.
A single hot air balloon was enough to reach Babel. There was no need to spend so much money or consume mana unnecessarily.
It’s not like Babel is some sightseeing spot—everything inside it will be a battlefield.
Click.
The livestream on my smartphone was turned off. The attention had been drawn sufficiently. If the worst happened, airing it live could very well become a traumatic stream for the viewers.
And the second reason—
“Elaine. What do you think? Any signs of sniping or bombardment coming our way?”
“I don’t sense any mana yet.”
Elaine, who boarded the hot air balloon with me, had set up a mana detection field around us, but no traces of “assassination” targeting me had been detected.
“No missiles coming from a submarine, no snipers shooting at us, no S-rank villains launching attacks or anything like that?”
“That might happen elsewhere, but it seems they genuinely believe Master is going to clear their S-rank Tower for them.”
I was wondering if some country like Australia or one of its neighbors might try to pull something like Ironblood’s stunt—but unfortunately for them, no such attempt was made.
“Shame, really. I’m out in the open in this balloon, practically begging to be sniped.”
If anyone tried something like Ironblood’s antics, I was fully prepared to respond with magical bombardment or hacking to turn them into “Ironblood” themselves.
But nothing happened.
The balloon simply continued to ascend toward Babel.
“Is it because Illinois is holding position below us?”
“That’s unavoidable. Illinois… has to remain here.”
As Elaine mentioned, Illinois stays on the ground.
It wasn’t because I planned to unsummon her after entering Babel and then re-summon her inside.
If an all-out war broke out, I’d deploy Illinois immediately. But for now, she remains as our insurance on the surface.
To clear Babel?
No.
“In case S-rank magical beasts pour out of an S-rank Tower, Illinois can respond from her docked position, so we can ascend Babel without too much worry.”
Not for Babel—but to neutralize the potential variables that might spill from other S-rank Towers.
I thought about it.
What if, while I’m inside Babel, either due to its influence or because it was planned all along, S-rank magical beasts start pouring out?
If I conquer Babel and return only to find that Australia has been completely destroyed—despite having just reclaimed the skies of the southern hemisphere—I’ll end up getting bashed unfairly.
I wouldn’t mind.
But I wouldn’t like it if my summons were blamed.
That’s why Illinois is on standby in the rear this time.
The rest of us will enter Babel via hot air balloon.
“…Still, are you sure we won’t get sniped or something?”
“It doesn’t seem like it. Unless…”
“Unless?”
“Unless some of the high-ranking folks do have such intentions, but the S-rank Hunters capable of sniping us have no such will to do so.”
Elaine stared intently toward the east.
Perhaps she sensed some “presence” over there, something she didn’t feel the need to mention explicitly to me.
“I see. Then that’s fine.”
A deep breath.
“Let’s go—to Babel. The SS-rank Tower we must conquer.”
Six Babels remain.
We need to clear them as quickly as possible—then live in a world without Babels.
‘Six months until release.’
A peaceful world, where one can make a living just by playing games.
* * *
Splash, splash.
In the middle of the vast ocean, spreading endlessly like an open sea.
On a jet ski, painted blue to blend into the waves like camouflage.
“Wow, he’s really going up there.”
A blonde woman in a skin-tight outfit, carrying a giant anti-materiel sniper rifle over her shoulder—easily over 3 meters long—rose from the swaying jet ski and clicked her tongue.
“He was practically asking to be shot… Heh, but if I had fired, I probably would’ve gotten blasted by a counterattack and lost my abilities on the spot.”
Crackle.
A signal came through the in-ear mic hooked onto the woman’s ear.
[What are you doing?!]
“Watching humanity’s hero ascend to reclaim our skies.”
[What?!]
“I thought about it and realized—why should I follow your orders?”
At her words, the person on the other end of the mic was left speechless, only letting out an awkward laugh.
“Go ahead, leak the intel. Even if I disappear for a bit, get plastic surgery, or completely wipe my past, it’s no big deal.”
[You…!]
“Or should I just move to America? I could just hand over all the information I have to the U.S. and live there. After all, aside from that one S-rank Tower facing the Canadian border, the rest of North America’s pretty safe now, right? Hahaha.”
[…Hey.]
The voice on the other side began to change—more serious.
[Are you seriously going to America?]
“Huh?”
[Take me with you.]
“What are you talking about?”
[I’ve got some money saved up. I’m hitting my limit following the orders from up top. I can’t see any future, being ordered to keep killing and stealing from the Master by a bunch of old, out-of-touch fogeys.]
“So…?”
[It’s a request. Kidnap me and take me to America. If you kidnap me, they won’t be able to approach you so easily either.]
“Hmmmm… and what’s in it for me?”
[I’ll give you… a photo of the Master.]
“!!”
The woman’s eyes widened.
“What did you say?”
[I managed to get a photo from his military days. A private photo from a fellow recruit, showing the Master in his fresh-faced 20s.]
“Ah… damn, I really shouldn’t… but…”
[Well? You once said, didn’t you? That if the Master ever called, you’d rush to his side immediately—]
“He’s saving the world. Later, he’ll be the hero who saved the entire planet. If I’m going to have my first time, it might as well be with the greatest man alive.”
The woman giggled and grabbed the handle of the jet ski.
“There are a lot of women who think like me, you know? Not just the fake girls jumping out of 2D games, but real women who want to dedicate their lives to the Master.”
[A what?]
“Let’s just call them… devoted fangirls. If the Master desires it… hehehe, we could even have kids, you know?”
[…But without his summoning ability, isn’t he just a regular guy?]
The person beyond the mic grumbled bluntly. The woman snickered as she pulled down her goggles.
“So what if he can’t summon? Women like us can fill in the gaps.”
Vroom.
The jet ski’s engine roared to life as the woman spun it around.
“For the hero who will save the world.”
* * *
Vrrrmmm.
We entered Babel.
The Australian sector—that is, the Babel covering the southern hemisphere including Australia and Antarctica.
The moment we stepped inside, I realized.
“No one’s here?”
“Yes. It seems they’ve all moved elsewhere.”
Elaine placed her hand on the sword at her hip, scanning the surroundings, but quickly shook her head, certain there was no one nearby.
“Considering how worried I was coming up here, it feels surprisingly… normal. The entrance to Babel and everything.”
Drei pulled out a radar-like device from her chest and spun it around.
She scattered mana around to check for detection responses, but no red dots appeared on the radar.
“Hmm….”
“How about we just enjoy the view, Partner?”
“You mean enjoy the look?”
Kiharu, not in her usual cat-swordsman form but in her humanoid form, grinned broadly as she slung something over her shoulder.
It looked like a rusty pipe—or maybe an antique crowbar—but it was actually a newly released 5-Star limited-distribution weapon for 5-Star Kiharu.
Despite being a free distribution weapon, its performance far exceeded even that of premium limited 5-Star weapons, leading players to joke:
A character with her own unique system who’s stronger than the game’s final bosses, and even her free weapons are broken?
Two reasons.
One.
She’s a summon of the Master.
Two.
She’s secretly at a final boss level.
The answer was both.
“Kiharu. As a goddess, can you unleash your full power?”
“Of course. I can’t release absolutely all my true strength, but even as a healer, I have enough firepower to match Drei.”
Kiharu spun the weapon around and made a mock swing.
“Relax, Partner. My healing starts by eliminating the enemy before the allies even get hurt.”
“So, the true healer is the one who removes the root cause of the wounds?”
“Exactly. And… you really can relax. The developers secretly built a special effect just for the Master into me, and it works perfectly.”
Kiharu pointed her thumb proudly toward my heart.
“I can bring the dead back to life just by existing.”
“Good. Then… over there—huh?”
“Master. Enemies ahead.”
In front of us.
Kiharu showed open hostility toward a group of Hunters.
“They are—”
“WAAAAAAAAAGH!!”
Blonde, black-haired, and people of various ethnicities all mixed together.
They—
“IT’S A MANNNNN!!”
At the sight of a male—me—their eyes went bloodshot, and they charged like maniacs.
As if they were trying to devour me alive.
“Kill the men! Capture the women and violate them!”
“What the hell is this? Melting Arctic?”
Correction.
They were charging in to kill.
