330 – Edge of the World

The wind feels pleasant as it blows past me.
Looking behind, I see the forest I left far away, shrinking into the distance.
It’s the first time I’m able to fly to my heart’s content like this.

I left the Lithovar village without a destination in mind.
The Lithovars don’t know much about the area outside their forest, and thinking about it now, I regret not spending more time learning this world’s geography from Adofu.

But at my current flight speed, I can fly far above human lands.
It might be easier to find a place to live than I thought.

Even though I haven’t got a destination in mind, there’s one thing that I have decided.
That is to show myself above human settlements as I fly.
That should divert the attention of those who would go after the Lithovars to me.
I did ask the 『Starved Hunters』 beastman swordfighter, Nell, to report about me, but this makes doubly sure.

I see streets far below.
The humans are only visible as dots, but I wonder how I look to them.
Are they screaming and pointing at me?

『Hey, that thing’s gonna fall.』

My partner says, and I finally realise that the claw that I’m gripping the treant with has grown slack.
Inside my claw, its branches are rustling in fright.
S-sorry sorry… For that matter, isn’t that a bit of a cruel way to refer to it?

She glares at the treant as though asking why I brought it along.
I look away, pretending not to notice.

By the way, Aro is riding on my head.
Her hands are strengthened with earth, allowing her to hold on tightly.
She should be fine even if I sped up a bit.

The masked spider, the petit nightmare, made a web on my partner’s head, so it should be fine… But when I glance at her, I don’t see the petit nightmare anywhere… Hey, partner, where’d the petit nightmare go? You didn’t eat it, did you?

She indicates backwards.
I look back to see the petit nightmare flying through the air at great speed.
I do a double take.
Looking closely, I see the glint of something in front of it.
It’s a spider thread faintly shining in the sunlight.

…I-it’s not going to fall, right? That looks kind of dangerous… If the spider in question is enjoying it, then I guess it’s fine, but isn’t it shaking a lot? It’d be terrible if it was dead when we arrived, so please stop.

After a few hours of continuous flight, I finally pass beyond the long series of roads.
As I am now, I get the feeling that I could fly around the world in just a week.
Not that I know how big this world is in the first place…

A mountain range extends past the roads.
A boundless ocean sprawls out behind the mountains.
These mountains might be perfect to rest in.

…No, it might not be a bad idea to go a bit further and take a look at what’s on the other side of the ocean? The people living on the other side probably won’t hear about the uproar over the ouroboros.
Distant shores could be ideal for avoiding needless contact with outside.
An isolated island would be fine too.

I pass over the mountains and continue on.
A few more hours pass, and I start to feel an emptiness in my stomach… It might be best if I search in earnest, then turn back if I find nothing.

I fly with that in mind until I feel a sudden sense of discomfort.
No, I might have been feeling something was off all this time.
The horizon that was a distant haze is finally visible.
The reason why becomes clear as I get closer.

The sea ends part way through.
It turns into a huge cliff.
No… I suppose I should call it a waterfall.
But it’s nothing so small.
A new word is necessary for this.

The seawater relentlessly plummets down into a mysterious gigantic blue hole.
The bottom of the hole isn’t visible.
The massive quantity of water just falls without end.
As I watch, I feel as though I’m being sucked in.

For a moment, my head goes blank.

A mountain of questions fall on me.
Where does the bottom of the hole lead? How is the endlessly falling water being replenished to keep the sea levels constant? If this world isn’t round, then the what are the stars, and how does gravity work?

There’s a large island next to the gigantic waterfall.
It are grassy mountains, cliffs, and enormous trees.
It’s a weird-looking place.
There aren’t any traces of people.
It truly is a place worthy of being called the edge of the world.

Th-this place… It really is fine, right? Would turning back be better? This is definitely a bad place.
B-but… I’m A-rank, so it should be fine? I haven’t had many prey as of late that gave me a decent amount of experience points, so I was thinking that a place with monsters that could put up more of a fight would be better, but… Hmm…

After resolving to escape at the first moment if things turn bad, I slowly lower my altitude.
It’s okay.
As I am now, I can fly away quickly even in the worst case.