The G's, the family of the Great Givellion, were starving.
　They migrated in search of prey, but many of their own kind died in the process.
　They starved to death for lack of food, and continued to feed on the corpses of their comrades to stave off hunger, and the size of their herds gradually decreased.
　Most of them die without ever reaching adulthood. If this were a human being, it would have been a horrifying sight. But Gs are insects.
　When they fall, they become food, helping to satisfy the hunger of their own kind.
　It is an instinct they have acquired in a world of the weak and the strong, and their purpose is to live and procreate.
　Basically, they have a nest called a herd, and they move in groups to search for food.
　When they feel death is near, they immediately return to the herd to feed their mates. They were such creatures.

　However, as the herd grows, it is natural for them to split up.
　This is a phenomenon commonly known as nest separation, and it occurs in order to leave more offspring. Of course, this also includes the food situation.
　A large herd requires a large amount of food, and the food situation of the [Great Givlion] herd had already collapsed to the point where they could not secure any food.
　At this rate, they would die without leaving any offspring. Unlike the Great Givellion, which can produce tens of thousands of dependents from a single egg, the other Gs are limited in the number of eggs they can lay.
　In order to leave more offspring, the Gs who are in the commander class of the flock started to act at once.
　This is where the large scale nest separation occurred. The final decision to do so was made by the [Great Givlion].
The Great Givlion requires a large amount of food by itself. There was a limit to how long it could continue to feed on its dependents. More than anything, I'm beginning to change.
　Knowing the harshness of the natural world, he had to leave behind offspring even if he were to disappear.
　The Gs that accept this order run up the mountain, or start moving in the direction they came from, and some spread out in small groups.
　The only ones left now are the [Great Givellion] and a few of its dependents.
　The Great Givlion begins to move with its remaining dependents. However, one of his legs, which had turned white, was shattered and he was left there.
　Soon, the Great Givlion will be reborn. He needed to move to a safer area until that time came. He understands this instinctively.
　He knew that after he changed, he would no longer be the creature he had been.
　However, he did not realize until the end that he had received interference from the outside.

　...

　One night after the defensive battle at the Thrist Citadel, the time for battle has come again.
　The battle was still going on after the previous day's confrontation with a large group of demons. However, the momentum was weaker than the day before, and the knights and mercenaries alone could manage to intercept them.
　The mages of the Mage Order also repeated the battle from the previous day, taking turns, and seemed to be more exhausted than the knights.
　Some of the knights also used range magic, but they didn't have the magic power to cast it as many times as the mages. After all, they were exhausted from the previous day's battle and were currently in a state of grogginess.
　If it had been a war between humans, we would have been able to prepare in advance, but demons running amok is a natural disaster and cannot be predicted. In the end, we have to make do with the supplies and equipment we have.
　Just like earthquakes and typhoons, there is no way to be fully prepared. Although we have prepared our military, we are still short of supplies for defensive warfare.
　Isolated in a city for days on end, the inhabitants may run out of food, and a long siege would be disadvantageous. In order to break through this, the Great Givlion, the cause of the outburst, must be defeated or it will never end.
　However, it was a problem even if he reached the city.

"......, so, Mr. Ad. Let's go take down G's master now.
"No, Mr. Xellos. ....... I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.　It is true that we need to destroy the source of the problem, but isn't that too much for our forces?
"It's only reasonable if it's done recklessly. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.
I'm not sure what to do.　I've just been through the Extreme Breakthrough, so there's a level difference. ......
I'm sure you'll be happy with the results. I think that the current me can fight the Demon Lord class in earnest.
I don't trust that. ....... I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.

You can't trust the annihilator's "help me a little".
When I was in Sword and Sorcery, I was tricked by that one word and wandered around the line of death many times.
　It's a wonder I didn't come back from the dead, and there were many times when I actually thought, "Oh, I'm dead ...... for real.
　The Xellos were still better, and the worst was when I followed the [chemo-laboon].
　I can't even begin to describe the horror I felt at that time. I don't know how many times I shouted, "Kill him! It was such a troublesome situation.

"Wouldn't you like to ride ...... [Air Rider], Mr. Ad?
"What ......?
It's the Air Rider that you could never get in Sword and Sorcery. Wouldn't you like to ride it?
What a sweet whisper ....... I want to ride ...... and I'd be willing to go to hell if I could ride that wonderful item.
That's why you're here, Ad. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

　Mr. Ad, you're playing right into the devil's whisper.
　He is also a very crazy player, and he is always on the lookout for rare items.


　When the bait was dangled in front of him, he would jump on it.
　Ad had very simple roots.

"...... Ad-san. He fell easily.
"You know your character very well. You know your character very well. Maybe Faust, inspired by Mephistopheles, is like that.　Ad-san is like a dreamy boy at heart.
Is Mr. Xelloss a very bad man for knowing this and seducing you?
He's not a bad guy. Rather, he's just negotiating with profit in front of him. That's about as sensible as you can get.
...... Does that mean you're a child, Ad?
Or does it mean that Mr. Xelloss is an adult? You can also say that Xelloss is an adult, though with the word 'badass' on top. ......

　One is a college student on the verge of getting married and on the verge of getting a job. The other is a businessman who has been in the field and has a lot of real-world experience.
　It's no exaggeration to say that Xellos is the devil in a sense, because he knows that Ad is honest, but he knows that and dangles profits in front of you.
　In a sense, he may be the devil himself, since he keeps his contracts.
　He is a man who can calculate his own interests and the interests of others. And your own interests are never equivalent to the interests of an addressee.

"That Ad is being deceived: ......
"I'm not being cheated. It's just that the values of Mr. Xelloss and Mr. Ad are not equivalent. You know that, and you're trying to give yourself the benefit of the doubt.
"That's the devil, isn't it?　It's a pretty evil thing to do. ......
That's what business is all about, you know.　I don't know what Xelloss's interests are, but I do know that Ad's interests are his fiancée's whereabouts and the Air Riders. I'm just saying that I want to hire you as an asset by giving you the information you need and the topics that interest you. It is up to you to decide how much value you place on that. If you decide on the spot, you've just lost the negotiation.
"It was a negotiation?　But you know that, Lisa. You have a very dry way of thinking.
I used to be a lawyer, so I have to try to be objective in my thinking. Xellos is tough because you never know what he's thinking.

　Xellos was only here to check on the situation in the Livarde frontier county at the request of the former Duke of Creston.
　He was only participating in the defensive battle because he had been authorized to act freely according to the situation. Ad and the others just happened to be in that force.
　In order to help the situation, he made a good topic of conversation and made a bargaining chip.
　The point is that Ad and the others could have decided whether or not to join the force, but due to the small amount of information they were given, they didn't even have time to think about it, and the Xellos had control of the decision-making process. Moreover, he did it unconsciously, which made it worse.
　Ad and the others were defeated when they didn't notice it. In any case, it was not as if they were negotiating in the sense of everyday conversation.

...... are bad adults, aren't they?
I'm not sure.　If you can act when you need to, then you are a calm adult. We lost because we were fooled by his antics.

　Either way, it's too late for us when we let greed get the better of us and took on the interception of [Givlion].
　Ado's eyes shifted to the 【Air Riders】 and he was buoyant.
　While looking at Ad. Xelloss has a really nice smile on his face. It could be called a devil's smile, if you think about it.

　I'll be back.

　Two 1000+ level mages. That is a level that can fight against a country, so to speak.
　Xellos and Ad are a [Great Sage] and a [Wise Man]. They are of a higher rank than the court mages, and are important enough to cause a commotion if their presence is known.
　Even if they are not aware of it, their power can never be overlooked. The two mages were carefree as they walked through the plains outside the north gate.

I'm not sure what to make of it.
It's not easy to get rid of the smell of blood, because it was yesterday. It looks like the demon corpses have been burned away, but the smell will linger for a while. ......
It's so different from the game. It wasn't this bad in the raids.
"It's not like the monsters you kill disappear. That's the way it is in real life.

　If you walk around, you can see parts of the demon lying around, burnt alive, and G eating them.
　But there are far fewer of them than when they attacked yesterday.

Cockroaches that are over a meter long are just plain creepy.
Why is it that cockroaches are creepy even when they're small, and even creepier when they're big? I've seen big praying mantis and beetles before, but never cockroaches.
It's strange, they're the same insect. ....... I wonder why G is the only one that can't ......".

　It is a strange thing that human beings can touch butterflies and beetles without hesitation, but moths and cockroaches are intensely disgusting.
　Although they should be classified as insects, the difference in appearance is extreme.



Well, there are people who don't like butterflies either.
Some of the study notebooks have been using plant covers lately because they think insects are creepy.
Some plants are creepy too, though. There are some creepy plants, though, like rufflesias and flytraps.
What about cordyceps?
That's a mycelium. It's used in Chinese medicine, but does it really work?
"Isn't the seahorse the same?　I wonder if it's really effective?

　There are many herbal medicines and high-class foods that may or may not be effective when eaten.
　Even an unidentified slime mold-like object was believed to have immortality and was eaten.
　There are cultures and customs that have been cultivated, but as a matter of fact, in times when there was no scientific proof, many plants that had no effect were valued as medicines.

In the fantasy world, I wonder what it would be like?　Does it have any kind of effect?
"Well, there is a mushroom called [Parasite Mush] that is similar to cordyceps, but I wonder if it can be used as a material for body-enhancing drugs.
Is it edible?　I wonder if it has any effect in Chinese medicine.
"Well, it's also useful as a herbal medicine in this world. I've seen it sold at high prices in material shops.
I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea. Low-grade potions cost twice as much as solitaire potions. ......
"How poor is your country? If the distribution situation is that bad, then the economy must be in a terrible state, right?
It's terrible. Orphans are shoplifting, and the unemployed are everywhere. If it weren't for Porta, half of them would have starved to death.
"Ah~...... those rocky potatoes?

　The reason why Ad and the others were treated as heroes was because they improved the food situation in the village they happened to arrive in.
　There were nomadic villages in the mountains, but most of their food was wheat grown in the early spring, but the harvest was small.
　They managed to earn enough money to buy food by selling cheese and other products, but the income was very small. In the poor rural areas, life was extremely poor.
　The village was relatively wealthy because of its specialties such as wool and dried meat, but it was not much better than other villages and life was not easy.
　Therefore, Ado and his friends told the villagers that they could use the potato-like plant "Porta" that grew in clusters as food, and began to grow it together with other villages.
　They succeeded in securing a valuable source of protein by boiling the hard skin, which was as hard as a rock, in water to soften it. Thanks to his efforts, he came to be regarded as a hero of national salvation.
　As a side note, to be precise, [Porta] is not a potato. The stalk does not die all year round, but reproduces from the seed potatoes that form at the base.


If you boil the stems, you can get sugar.　It's cold in the high mountains, and they produce sugar to prevent freezing.
"What?　I've never heard of that before!　Seriously?
Well, it's a small amount, but it's high quality sugar. The large leaves can be used to make paper, and it's the perfect material for magic paper, and I think it was the ideal plant because there was no place to throw it away.
"Xelloss-san, ......, how do you know so much about it?
I'm not sure what to make of it. I remember making a lot of sugar and paper and selling it to make money. That brings back memories!
"There's a true advisor here!　Mr. Xelloss, will you come to the Kingdom of Issaras?　I think that country is going to be in trouble for a while!
"Huh?　Mountainous countries are cold, and they can make money from mining development, so they should be fine.

　The old man didn't want to go to a region where the air was thin and cold.
　The old man didn't want to go to a cold region with thin air. He looked very uncomfortable, wondering why he had to go to a country where life was so difficult after having a home.
　He is aware that he is a hypocrite, so he is not willing to work there at all even if he helps with the fund-raising activities. It was a mistake to expect a volunteer spirit from this man.

I don't think it's a good idea to bring in trouble just because you're a wise person. Don't you think that we should make some effort on our own?
No, that may be true, but the people of that region are also desperate.

　As for Ad, it seemed impossible for him to lend any more support to the Kingdom of Issaras.
　The hardliners might be quiet now, but they might start to move again in a while. I wanted to increase the authority of the moderate faction before that happened.

"I don't know, when this area used to be a different country, they attacked us from upstream by boat. Wasn't it a dictatorial military state?　Isn't this a country where the military faction is dominated by the 'if you don't have the land, take it' mentality?
I'm not sure.　Well, ...... is definitely a country like that, but there are also decent people.
I can't believe it. They built a pillar to choke the flow of the Auras River before, but if it wasn't for that, they would have invaded here.
"You built that thing, Xelloss?　The hardline generals were in a very bad mood. The hardline generals were very unhappy. They were stomping their feet in hostility.
"Ad-kun ......, I think it's best not to give out that kind of information. If you slip up, you'll die.　Well, I'm sure the duke of this country has already taken care of that.

　I'm sure he's already taken care of it.
　It's not surprising that he can get information about other countries if he has such a wide information network. You never know where your eyes and ears might be lurking.

Anyway, let's get going.

　As if to end the small talk, Zeroth dragged out the【Azi Dakha】from his inventory.
　The sharp-edged form of this jet-black [Air Rider] is truly vicious.


　When Ad saw it, his eyes lit up like a child's.

"[Air Rider]. It's a fantastic item that every hard player has wanted. I never thought I'd see the day when I could ride it. ......
"...... Would you like to try driving it, young man?
What?　Are you sure?　Are you sure?
Just for old time's sake, a little bit of fun, huh?　Well, according to my calculations, the flight limit is about five hours with the reserve tank connected. ......

　The old man seduced Ad with a suspicious tone.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

You can use the throttle on a motorcycle to move forward, just as you would on a moped, but when you are an Air Rider, you can step on the foot pedal to move up and release it to move down. You can only use the throttle for forward movement, but it's the same.
It's easy to use, isn't it?　But how do you switch this system on and off?
When the left and right [shield blades] fall outward, the control crystals automatically switch to the flight unit's connection. It's surprisingly easy to make since it's just a switch that turns on and off.
I'm not sure if this consumes a lot of magic considering its weight.　Flight magic is not very fuel efficient.

　Flight magic, the example I'm going to use here is Zeroth's Wings of the Dark Bird, but this kind of magic that goes against the laws of nature tends to be relatively fuel inefficient.
　It generates a repulsive field against gravity, and requires a large number of magic formulas for ascending and descending, advancing and retreating, adjusting speed, and all other aspects, as well as magic formulas to control them.
　Each one of them uses a large amount of magic power, but when the magic formulas overlap, they become a single system. It requires a huge amount of magic power that cannot be provided by an individual's magic power.
Air Riders are basically the same, and of course they consume a lot of magic power. The amount of magic consumed to transform it into energy and the speed at which it can be filled with the needed magic are not enough.
　Of course, just like any other vehicle on earth, it will stop for lack of fuel.

Well, I've taken some precautions, but it's not a hand I'd like to use. You see that bracelet thing on the left grip, connected to the cord?
Oh, so it converts the rider's magic power into power. A mage would use a live battery.
It's only used in emergencies, though. If you're an ordinary mage, it'll consume all your magic power in no time and you'll crash.
I'm not sure why you needed to convert it to a ...... [Air Rider].　I think a normal motorcycle would be fine.
It's romantic. It's romantic. If you're a man, you know what I'm talking about, the passionate fury of the soul that wants to make dreams come true!
It's weak. Do you think it would be profitable if we made it available to the general public?
You'd better not.　If you're not careful, you'll become the second Winchester.

　Men are sad creatures.
　A man is a sad creature. The moment he has the power to make his dreams come true, he will act according to his passionate spirit.
　It could be an adventure, a harem, a nation-building project, or a giant robot.
　Like children imitating heroes in the park, these men run toward their dreams, following their souls. Some of them fail along the way, but that is probably the result of pursuing dreams that are not worthy of them.
　However, if the dream is a modest one, most things can be achieved through hard work. This is especially true for the development of vehicles.
　Zeroth and Ad have already done that. This is the production of the "Azi Daqaha" and the "Light Wagon".
　These were manufactured for personal use, but they are useful tools that can be spread throughout the country once the production lines are set up. It will make a great contribution to the economy.
　However, as the economy develops, various policies must be taken to improve infrastructure such as transportation networks and to prevent human accidents. The benefits to the merchant are tremendous, but before we get there, various problems will come to light, and we will have to deal with those problems on a national level.
　Even today, there are still many accidents involving personal injury in carriages and other vehicles, but most of them favor the nobles and merchants, and those involved in the accidents are blamed. There is no apology or compensation for the bereaved families, and the result would be the same even if carriages were replaced by cars.
　The tools that these two men made are still too old for this world.
　The lever-action Winchester rifle that dominated the western frontier was a useful tool, but the Winchesters who made their fortune with it went in a strange direction. There is a difference between a car and a gun, but in this age where royalty and aristocracy control politics, a car is sure to cause a lot of trouble.
　There is still no insurance in this world. There are no traffic lights and no crosswalks. In such a world, a vehicle that can go over eighty kilometers per hour is too dangerous.
　It would be a running weapon.

How about a steam car?　I don't think it would have been very fast.
Well, it's only as fast as an old-fashioned cultivator. It uses magic stones for combustion, and water is supplied by ........ We may have to introduce a licensing system.
The more useful something is, the more it needs to be regulated. The more useful something is, the more it needs to be regulated.
Let's give it a try: ....... I'll leave the rest to some duke or something.

　If I wanted to, I could make not only a cultivator but also an airplane.
　Xelloss is quite versatile, but he doesn't seem to have any intention of taking the initiative in selling it.
　However, some duke had prepared a patent application behind his back so that no one else could have the right to sell the magic that Xellos had improved.
　He doesn't know that this is why Zeroth's pocket is booming. He is now richer than most noblemen.

Why don't you get in the car, then?　I'll drive if you want.
"Ugh. I don't want to go to ......G. But I do want to ride the Air Rider. d*mn it, I've made up my mind!



　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　As soon as the lever in front of the magic tank is pulled, the left and right blades and shields fall to the left and right.
　Flight preparations were complete.

Tandem with Xellos: ....... I would have preferred to ride with Yui if I could. ......
"You can't do that with a baby in your belly, let's give up and go crush some goblins. I'll see you when this is over. ...... Speaking of which, you've got no sense of direction.
Please. Please take me to Yui's place. ......
You're on your own on the way back, okay?　I've got a lot of work to do too.

Air Riders are also known as flying bikes.
　What's so sad is that men have to ride tandem with other men.
　And we're not headed to some tourist spot or on some highway for touring, but to the Great Plains where the cockroaches writhe. And they attack you in flight.
　Letting out a sigh of regret, Ad stepped on the foot pedal under his feet.
　For a moment, the floating sensation he felt in the elevator ran down his spine.

"Whoa?　Whoa!　I'm flying. ...... Really?　I'm serious!
You're floating.

　Ado is so excited to see [Azi Daqaha] leaving the ground.
　He was excited like a child.

Don't make any mistakes, okay?　I don't want to commit suicide with other men.
I don't want to do it either!　I'm flying ...... in the sky.

　Then, Ad twists the throttle as hard as he can in a state of buoyancy.
　This is a great way to make sure that you don't end up in a situation where you're not the only one.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
"Stance back, quickly stance back. ...... Oh!　I'm falling, I'm seriously falling!

　The accelerating [Azi Daqaha] snaked its way through the sky like a rampaging horse trying to shake off the two men riding on its back.