Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~

At the carriage depot, several large stagecoaches are parked. The carriages are attached to sturdy horses wearing metal horse armor. Each carriage is packed with intimidating people that I would normally never want to get close to.

Their appearance, their features, and their aura. Everything about them shows that they are no ordinary people. Some of the people there have gentle features, but I know that they can be the most frightening. What is fortunate is that even though there are a lot of people with dangerous aura around them, they are all quiet, and not a single one of them is acting violently. What happened last night is unusual after all.

I was a bit nervous when Kaiser suddenly decided to split up to enter Code, but it seems like there will be no problem getting in the carriage.

I show my card and join one of the lines. Saya and Kaiser have already lined up in another carriage. Fortunately, the people who have been bothering me yesterday don’t seem to be there. I breathe a sigh of relief, follow the line, and get into the carriage.

At the appointed time, the carriage starts to move. Contrary to its rough appearance, the carriage barely shakes at all. It seems that only a select few are allowed to enter Code, so they must have been very considerate.

There is a tense atmosphere inside the carriage. I don’t know anyone here, and it would be a hassle to be involved in something. As I am meditating with my arms crossed and my eyes closed, I suddenly hear a voice.

“O-Oi, we’ve arrived! You’re awfully bold to sleep in a carriage on the way to Code, dude.” (?)

“Hh?! ………… I-I wasn’t sleeping, okay? I was just closing my eyes.” (Cry)

“Don’t tell such an obvious lie! You were clearly asleep!” (?)

Hearing what he says, I panic and look around.

Before I knew it, everyone in the carriage had gotten off. I thought I had closed my eyes for a second, but it seemed my consciousness flew away. It is the driver of a carriage who calls out to me. I thank him and get out of the carriage with my back straightened. The coachman points in one direction and tells me where to go.

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“Come on, line up there. They’ll get you right away.” (Coachman)

“!! Oooh…… This is…… amazing.” (Cry)

I cannot help but exclaim in admiration. The place the coachman is pointing to is a pillar.

There are several pillars, each a few meters wide. On its surface is a door where the line leads out from there. 𝗳𝖗𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝐛𝗻𝐨𝘃𝐞𝖑.𝖈𝐨𝐦

A shadow had formed. I turn my head and look up at the sky.

――And then, I encountered it.

The coachman next to me looks up at it as well and explains it to me.

“Yes, that’s, Code. The only time it comes down here is when someone is being let in from the ground.” (Coachman)

It is――A huge structure.

A structure that completely blocks out the sunlight and covers the entire sky. It looks like an island or an ark. The top of the pillars are connected to the structure. However, it doesn’t seem to be supported by the pillars.

It is just too large to be supported by just a few pillars.

Code, the highly mobile fortress city. A city of an Advanced Physical Civilization reigning over the skies.

The pillar is the entrance to Code, huh. I have experience with flying cities thanks to the 【Lost Inn】, but the civilization at the core of Code is clearly different from the look of it. So human technology was so advanced that it could create a city like this, huh.

If only I had been able to take a look outside while the carriage was moving, I would have been able to see the shape of Code floating in the sky. Even though it is such a rare opportunity to have such an experience, it is such a shame that I missed it.

But…… The scale is bigger than I expected. One of the most famous Relics from the Advanced Physical Civilizations Era is the one called “Float (Floating Fortress)”, but this is clearly not of the same caliber as a fortress.

Infiltrating a city like this and protecting the Royal Family… Isn’t this a terribly difficult request? (No, shit)

That’s why they are sending three Level 8s. Now I really want to go home, but I can’t even go home by myself.

Fortunately, the other two are extremely capable. All I can do is support them, I guess. At the very least, I have to make sure I am not holding them back in any weird way…………

I say goodbye to the driver and get in line.

Near the entrance to the tower, there are strange, full-body armored humanoid figures standing motionlessly.

So those are…… The famous mechanized soldiers. All-purpose soldiers created by an Advanced Physical Civilization. In Treasure Shrines of an Advanced Physical Civilization, it appears as a Relic or as a Phantom, the pinnacle of Advanced Physical Civilizations. Moreover, there are more than ten of them as far as my eyes can see.

Don’t tell me it is really possible to create mechanized soldiers by using Code?

Although they are all called mechanized soldiers, their abilities seem to vary from generation to generation, but the strongest ones are said to boast combat abilities that rival those of High-level Hunters. If they can assemble a large number of mechanized soldiers that have the powers of High-level Hunters, which are not so common even in Zebrudia, the holy land of Hunters, then it might not be wrong to say that Code is the strongest country in the world.

However, if everyone who came in the carriage were to join Code, that would mean that several dozen people had been invited to join the Code just this time. According to the information Kaiser has gathered, they are planning to create an army, but what would they expect flesh-and-blood humans to do when they have so many mechanized soldiers?

Thanks for reading! Here is an extra chapter thanks to Brian! So Code is the materialization of Laputa. I have never been a big fan of Ghibli movies. I just saw Spirited Away and Totoro when I was a kid. Still remember how Spirited Away traumatized me XD

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