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Chapter 33. Fireworks In The Wilderness

Now, I find myself outside the town with Cherina and her aide, Melvin. 

We've just left the city, arriving by carriage at a distance where the city gate is just visible. 

The time is dusk, and the sky is a deep red.

"This should be a good spot... Now, Akira-sama, start with this." 

Melvin, who was driving the carriage, stood next to me, hand on the hilt of his sword. 

He's intimidating.

What he handed me was an Aerial Tool.

"What's this?"

"It's an Aerial Tool for the Light Blade."

Just looking at it, I have no idea what kind of Aerial Tool it is. 

I guess it should be fine as long as I manage it properly. 

It would be troublesome if I accidentally dropped it and it got mixed up with other Aerial Tools.

"Oh, this is it."

It looks similar to the cleaning Aerial Tool in both weight and appearance.

"Do you remember the effects of the Light Blade?"

"Well, let me think... I believe it creates a sword of light and launches it for an attack."

"..."

Cherina remains silent. If I'm wrong, correct me. My memory isn't something I'm confident in.

"Now then... Yes, please attack that large rock over there."

Cherina points to a rock about my height.

I see many rocks around, but this one is particularly large and easy to notice.

"So, I should use the Aerial Tool, right?"

She nods.

"Well then..."

Let's see, I remember that the Light Blade shoots multiple swords. 

At least one should always come out, so several would get launched. 

A single shot means it's a one-time thing. 

So, having multiple shots means firing them rapidly in succession. 

I can't quite imagine the Light Blade, but it's easier to picture something like a machine gun from a movie.

Yes, that's it. I tried to pass through the town, but the police interfered, and the protagonist of a famous movie, who started a war alone to pass through, had a huge machine gun. 

Wait, did he have the machine gun in a later installment? 

The strong image is of him with a bare upper body, bullets hanging in a cross from both shoulders. 

Never mind the details. Let's go with that image.

I aimed the Aerial Tool at the rock.

Then, treating the Aerial Tool itself as a gun trigger, I squeeze it.

What I envisioned was a bullet, not a sword.

A lead bullet sliced through the air at high speed, piercing forward while rotating rapidly.

If I pull the trigger, it should release around 500 bullets per minute. 

Anyway, it's a weapon of madness that can turn a small building into stone in an instant.

Perhaps influenced by the strong impression from the movie, in an instant, the Light Blade pulverizes the large rock, creating a cloud of dust.

"Hmm. Just as I imagined."

I am, after all, a boy. 

I have a desire to shoot guns and such. 

Please don't say things like I'm too old for that.

However, despite wanting to try this weapon, can it be bought and sold without a license in this country? 

Such tools should be under the police's control. Or maybe the military.

I want to try various things, but since I've completed the task assigned, let's hear their opinions.

If they say it's lousy, I'll be disheartened.

When I turn around, Cherina is standing still without a word, and Melvin... for some reason, he has crouched down and has a look of horror on his face. 

It's as if he lost strength in his hips.

"Cherina?"

I call out to her while shaking her shoulders without any resistance. She collapses backward without resistance.

I quickly catch her before she hits the ground. What happened?

"Hey, Cherina!"

Did she notice? Huh, I got a little nervous.

"Are you okay Cherina? What happened?"

Did you two see a ghost while I was playing?

The reason why there are so many ghost sightings is because of this.

"Uh... it's not a hallucination..."

Huh, is this the pattern where we actually saw a monster?

Cherina shakes her head and looks up at me.

"A... Akira-sama. Do you understand the significance of what you just did?"

"Huh?"

Wait, isn't this about a monster?

"Oh! Could it be that in this world, unmarried women should not touch men or something? Sorry!"

I hurriedly sit Cherina down, but she maintains a poker face.

"No, it's not about that... it's about the Light Blade! You could have left it as it was."

The latter part was spoken quietly, and I couldn't hear it well, but it seemed to be about the Light Blade.

"Oh. Did I use it wrong? Maybe it wasn't meant for an attack. But if that's the case, you should've explained it properly..."

I unintentionally put up a defensive line, feeling strangely cautious. My small-mindedness is showing.

"...Normally, when you use the Light Blade... Melvin! How long are you going to stay crouched? Get up and show him an example!"

Melvin, who was completely pale and slumped over, shakes his head wordlessly. 

But when Cherina glares at him with red eyes, he trembles like a newborn deer and gets up, approaching me.

When he tried to hand me the Aerial Tool, his body and face visibly twitched, which I pretended not to notice.

If they were going to show me an example, they should have done it before. 

That way, I wouldn't have used it strangely.

Melvin still glaring at me resentfully, sets up the Light Blade Aerial Tool.

"O Light Blade, born in the void, shatter my enemies... Light Blade!"

Whoa, what's with that chuunibyou-style wording!?

Ignoring my indifferent surprise, three light blades, about the size of the one-handed sword Melvin hangs at his waist, materialize around the extended Aerial Tool. 

Without hesitation, they fly towards a nearby rock. Then, the blades shave off the rock's surface at 3 different points, and the swords break into fine light particles.

I see.

So, it wasn't about breaking the rock. It was about creating a beautiful destruction effect with those particles.

"If you had said that from the beginning..."

I take the Aerial Tool from Melvin again (he had a fearful expression when I approached. How rude) and create three light blades just like him. 

This time, I aimed to throw them at the rock, but I changed the method a bit, thinking it would be boring.

Speaking of particles, they remind me of game effects—those beautiful particles scattering uselessly when attacking enemies in action games.

Moreover, for Japanese people, let's add a touch of a summer tradition that everyone has seen at least once.

The light blades that had already flown towards the rock are adjusted upwards in trajectory and then sent straight up.

Since the speed is fast, I quickly detonate the light blades, creating particles mixed with fireworks and action effects.

For an impromptu performance, it's not bad at all.

But unlike fireworks, it's a bit lonely without the explosive sound. 

After all, fireworks are meant to be enjoyed with the sound too.

Also, the dusk isn't ideal. Enjoying fireworks should be done after the sun has completely set.

The colorful fireworks sparkling in the night sky are truly an art.

"Is this better now?"

I was quite satisfied, but when I turned around, Cherina looked astonished, and Melvin seemed on the verge of tears.

How rude.