Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 210
Chapter 210: The Song of Farewell
The sky above stretched out in a beautiful, clear blue.
According to the news, despite the continuous rain over the past few days, there had been no damage at all, as if by some miracle.
Thinking back, this had always been the case with past disasters too.
The television broadcast showed El working tirelessly, and I had seen countless times how her mysterious powers protected people.
So this time as well, it was probably thanks to her extraordinary abilities that things turned out fine.
Although it had been a tough ordeal, the lives of the people who had suffered under the Calamity of Lust had finally returned to normal.
After receiving word through the communication network that school would be closed today as a precaution, we wasted no time logging into ?Astral Online?.
“Well, it’s finally time to head for the wastelands,” I said.
Now that we had defeated the Great Calamity, there was nothing more for us to do in this kingdom.
Sitting up from the massive, first-rate bed that had been provided for us by the royal family, I stretched lightly as my feet touched the floor.
After finishing their own stretches, Kuro and Inori joined me in stepping out of the guest room, where Arisa was already waiting for us.
“Good morning. You’re heading out already?”
“Yes. What about you, Arisa-san?”
“You’re going to the land of the Oni, right? I’ll be meeting Haruto at a village on the way, so I’ll travel with you until then.”
“I get to see Dad?!”
“Yes. Haruto is looking forward to seeing you too.”
It seemed the time had come for the three of them, Kuro and her parents, to reunite at last.
Seeing Kuro’s excitement made me happy as well.
With Kuro practically skipping with joy, we made our way to the royal chamber to bid farewell to King Tobia and Queen Sara.
When we stepped outside the castle, Laura was waiting for us, having prepared a carriage to send us off.
It was a vehicle pulled by a *Bicorn*, a two-horned horse I had seen before in the Dragon Kingdom.
Climbing into the passenger section at the back, we set off toward the town.
Inside the gently moving carriage, Laura began recounting the events of our journey across the sea, as if reliving each moment.
“Honestly, during our sea training, there were so many times I thought I was going to die.”
“I’ll be honest, too. Underwater horror is my absolute weak point, so back then, I had mentally prepared myself to die at least a dozen times.”
“Whenever it looked really dangerous, Arisa-san would casually step in and save the day. Just glaring at the enemies and making them cower, it’s practically cheating,” Inori added.
Meanwhile, the subject of the conversation, sitting beside Kuro, puffed out her chest proudly with a self-satisfied grin.
Looking back now, if it weren’t for that leveling session, we might have struggled far more or even been wiped out when facing the knights of Helheim later on.
In games, it’s often said that leveling up solves most problems, but underwater battles with giant monsters? Never again, if I can help it.
When I shared this thought with a wry smile, everyone except Arisa nodded in agreement, their faces serious.
“Speaking of which,” I added, “we heard a lot about the ghost ship, but we never actually got to see it.”
“Now that you mention it, we didn’t…” Inori murmured thoughtfully.
?On that topic, there is only one possible explanation. The ghost ship respawns every hour. Once defeated, it relocates to another area. In other words, it’s likely that someone else defeated it before you arrived.?
What an annoying mechanic, I thought as I listened to Lucifel’s explanation in my head.
Then it hit me. I glanced at the one person who might have done something like that.
The black-haired spear wielder, noticing my stare, admitted it honestly.
“Oh, about that… Sorry, but I kind of sunk them all to pass the time.”
“KNEW IT WAS YOU!!”
I couldn’t help but shout in response.
Arisa just laughed, sticking out her tongue in a playful *tehepero* pose. [1]
Seriously, if even ghost ships encounter someone terrifying enough to scare off giant monsters, their bad luck is almost tragic.
This overpowered beta player, everything she does is on a ridiculously massive scale.
For a moment, I felt a twinge of regret that we hadn’t been able to get any items from the ghost ship on this journey.
But Kuro, who had been listening to the conversation, seemed visibly relieved beside me.
“…Mama, good job,” she said softly.
“Kuro’s not a fan of horror, huh? Back in the Forest of Spirits, you got so scared you hid behind my back.”
“Scary things are scary! It can’t be helped…”
“Ah, my daughter is just too cute!”
Kuro, pouting at being called out for disliking horror, was lovingly patted and fussed over by Arisa, who clearly found her adorable.
Looking back, it was impressive how many things had happened during this journey that had lasted over a week. Remembering it all, we eagerly chatted about the fun moments we had experienced at sea.
??But, as with all enjoyable times, it passed by in the blink of an eye.
Just before crossing the border of the country, the carriage came to a stop. We thanked the driver and stepped off one by one.
“So, you’re leaving now,” Laura said softly.
“Yeah,” I replied. “There are still four Great Calamities left, including the Demon Lord as the final boss. As much as I hate to say goodbye, we need to keep moving.”
“…I understand,” Laura said, her voice wavering slightly. “Now I truly understand how Aria-sama and Alice-sama must have felt.”
She was likely holding back tears. Her large eyes brimmed with them, her expression tight with the effort to keep herself composed.
But then, wiping the tears away with her fingers, she smiled brightly, mustering her strength.
“If you ever need help, call for me anytime. No matter where you are in the world, I’ll come running for you and your companions.”
“Of course,” I said. “And if you ever find yourself in trouble, don’t hesitate to rely on us.”
“That’s right! We’re best friends,” Inori added with a cheerful smile.
“If the time comes, I’ll just teleport over in an instant,” Kuro chimed in.
Thanks to teleportation crystals, we could instantly travel to any place we had visited before, regardless of the distance. It meant that no matter where we were, meeting up again would always be possible.
“Someday, I’ll come back to hear your singing again.”
“Yes. By then, I’ll have honed my skills even more,” Laura replied with a determined nod.
Exchanging parting words, we turned our backs and began walking toward the next map, the wastelands where the land of the Oni awaited.
Without looking back, we walked straight ahead. Suddenly, from behind us, Laura’s beautiful singing voice reached our ears.
In her song was a heartfelt wish???a prayer for the success of her friends as they embarked on their journey.?
“Such a beautiful voice,” Kuro remarked.
“Yeah,” I agreed with a soft smile.
“After all, she’s the greatest songstress in the world.”
With those words, I reached out and held the hand of the girl always by my side.
Together, we continued toward the wasteland where the next Great Calamity awaited.
Note:
[1]
The tehepero pose is a cute and endearing pose commonly used in anime and manga. It typically involves a character lightly hitting their head with their fist, sticking out their tongue
https://www.cbr.com/anime-tehepero-explained-examples/