Chapter 142: Sakuraile-style Firefighting

It’s freezing!

It was all well and good leaping out on Kohaku-san’s back, but braving this wintry sky in just normal clothes was pushing it. Damn it, I should have worn my down jacket!

“K-Kohaku-san, stop for a second!”

『Hm, what is it?』

The cold was so unbearable I had Kohaku-san stop running for a moment so I could put on the unstylish prototype down jacket I’d been keeping dead-stock in my [Inventory Storage].

Ugh, I should have put a fashionable one in there too…

It took me less than forty seconds to throw it on, and then I leapt back onto Kohaku-san’s back.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Thanks to the down jacket, the cold was somewhat bearable. However, between the First and Third Districts was a Knight Order checkpoint, and those without permission couldn’t pass.

If I properly explained my status and the situation, they might let us through, but we didn’t have time to waste here.

『We are leaping over. Hold on tight.』

“Eep…!”

Kohaku-san cleared the high district wall in a single bound. As expected of a Divine Beast, a high wall was just a hop for him.

Having trespassed into the Second District, we continued sprinting through the town at full speed.

“Hii!?”

“Why is there a tiger!?”

“Somebody help!”

The people walking through the town panicked upon seeing Kohaku-san. Oops… Yeah, that was bound to happen…

『This is troublesome. We shall go from above.』

“Eh?”

Before I even had time to ask what he meant, Kohaku-san sprinted up the space between two houses using triangle jumps and climbed onto the roof of a three-story building.

From there, he leaped from roof to roof, heading straight for the scene of the fire.

The Third District is where commoners, albeit wealthy ones, live. The buildings are different from normal ones, having various countermeasures implemented.

Fire-resistance enchantments are one of them. If the fire is put out, the building itself might remain. But what about the people who failed to escape in time…!

Dashing across the roofs of the Second District, we finally reached the Third District.

Leaping down from the roof, we headed straight for the fire scene, which I assumed was Pamela-sensei’s apartment.

“A-A tiger!?”

“Hiii! Don’t eat me!”

Ignoring the panicking people, by the time we reached the scene, the apartment was blazing so fiercely that extinguishing it already seemed an impossible task.

This can’t be… With the fire raging like this, it’s already…!

『It is fine. It seems she is not dead yet.』

“R-Really!?”

I found a sliver of hope in those words, declared by Kohaku-san as he glared at the roaring apartment.

『It appears she is staving off the flames and smoke with water and wind magic. But even that will not last much longer. Hm?』

“W-What is it?”

『Did you call him ‘Chara-o’ (Playboy)? It seems that man dove inside. He is heading towards the music teacher.』

Chara-o…? The playboy, you mean Jeremy-sensei!? Don’t tell me he dove into this fire!? What a reckless thing to do…!

W-What should I do! Is it because I told him when I shouldn’t have!? Did I accidentally trigger a route where not only Pamela-sensei but Jeremy-sensei dies too…!?

Anyway, the fire. I have to put out the fire immediately! But how!?

“Can’t you put this fire out with your power, Kohaku-san?”

『My forte is the power of wind. I am weak with water. It is not impossible for me to blow the fire away, but I would blow away the building along with it.』

Then there’s no point even if you put out the fire…!

Ah, what if I summon a store with [Store Summoning] and use the water from the outside tap… No good, there’s no wide-open space around here to summon my store. I could summon the onigiri shop or the kitchen car, but the onigiri shop doesn’t have a tap, and the water tank in the kitchen car doesn’t hold anywhere near enough water to extinguish a fire.

Think…! There has to be, there has to be some way…!

I accelerated my thoughts dizzily while glaring at the burning flames.

◇ ◇ ◇

By the time I noticed, the fire had already spread.

After returning from the Philharmonie Ducal House, I wiped myself down with boiled water and then did a little bit of my daily instrument practice.

This apartment was enchanted with soundproofing, so the sound inside wouldn’t leak out, and it also blocked out noise from outside to a certain extent.

The rent was quite high, but there were no better facilities than this, so I decided on it immediately.

Thinking back on it now, I never imagined that would be my undoing.

Just as I got into bed and started dozing off…

“Fire!”

I was jolted awake by that scream. The soundproofing enchantment wasn’t functioning.

I thought, “No way,” but smoke was already beginning to fill the room, and flames were rising past the window. The building, this apartment, is on fire!?

“Ah, [Aqua Shade]!”

I cast the magic on reflex, and a thin, hemispherical defensive wall of water enveloped the bed and me.

This magic dissipates if you move, but it has excellent fire resistance. It can even block a few [Fire Arrows].

I also used wind magic in tandem to keep the smoke away. I learned at the ‘Academy’ that the smoke from a fire contains toxins. If you inhale it, you’ll lose consciousness and die just like that.

I managed to protect myself from the fire and smoke, but I didn’t know what to do from here.

I couldn’t move or escape. At this rate, my magical power would eventually run out and I would burn to death. With my magical power, I wouldn’t be able to deploy [Aqua Shade] a second time.

The window was blocked by fire, and the door was half burnt down. The hallway beyond it was filled with smoke, obscuring my vision. All I could do was pray that the Mage Division would rush over and put out the fire.

Suddenly, I pulled the electric guitar leaning against the bed closer to protect it from the flames.

My treasure. The blue electric guitar I received from Lady Sakuraile, the one that taught me a new kind of music.

It’s only been a few months since I met this child, but they were undoubtedly the best days of my life.

I even found myself thinking that if I met the end of my life embracing such wonderful memories, it wouldn’t be so bad.

If I had any regrets, it would only be that I couldn’t perform at the Philharmonie Ducal House, and that I was leaving him behind…

“Pamela! Are you safe!?”

“J-Jeremy!?”

Just as I was about to give up on everything, my fiancé, Jeremy, kicked down the half-burnt door and rushed in.

Finding me, Jeremy immediately slid inside the [Aqua Shade]. Still soaking wet, he held me tightly in his arms.

“Thank goodness you’re safe…!”

“What are you doing here…!”

“Hah, to protect the one I cherish, I’d go through fire and water, as they say.”

Jeremy answered jokingly with an affected wink.

Is he an idiot? Is there really someone who would jump into a fire? Despite the situation, I found it so ridiculous that I burst out laughing.

I’m happy he rushed here for me, and it’s reassuring. But the situation has only gotten worse. It’s still impossible for the two of us to get through this. Because of me, not only myself, but him too…

“It’s alright. The reason I came here is because Lady Sakuraile informed me of your crisis. I believe she is already taking action as well. She’s the [Princess of the Holy Sword], you know? I’m sure she’ll save us!”

“What’s with that, you’re relying on someone else in the end!”

While exasperated by Jeremy’s words, for some reason, an unfounded sense of relief suddenly washed over me.

Lady Sakuraile la Philharmonie. A somewhat peculiar young lady. An extraordinary young lady who wields the [Holy Sword], is accompanied by a Divine Beast, and summons stores from another world.

If it’s her, I’m sure she’ll do something. Like Jeremy, I had come to feel that way too.

◇ ◇ ◇

“All or nothing…! I just have to try it…!”

I decided to try the method I somehow managed to come up with.

It was a strategy full of holes. I’d need Kohaku-san to cover for me.

“Kohaku-san, are there any people in this apartment besides Pamela-sensei and Jeremy-sensei?”

『There are not. There were a few, but they seem to have jumped out the windows.』

Then we might be able to manage this. I relayed the strategy to Kohaku-san and had him time it for me.

For this strategy, I had to get close to the building. Meaning, I needed to get close to that blazing apartment.

I only needed to be close for a second. I summoned the [Holy Sword] and transformed into my Holy Sword mode.

“Here I go, Kohaku-san!”

『Umu, leave it to me!』

Kicking off the ground, I dashed at full speed toward the fiercely burning apartment.

The heat of the flames washed over me, but I couldn’t care less about that. I just pushed forward single-mindedly, getting as close to the burning building as I possibly could.

Finally, right in front of the apartment’s entrance, I brought a part of the blazing building within my two-meter range.

“[Inventory Storage]!”

I activated the protection given to me by the Nine Goddesses. In an instant, the entire fiercely burning apartment, flames and all, was stored away, leaving an empty plot of land before me.

My [Inventory Storage] stores everything inside a container together with it. Therefore, not just the building, but all the furniture and everything else inside was stored as well.

Except for living creatures.

“Uwaaaaaah!?”

“Kyaaaaaah!?”

Because the floor had vanished, Jeremy-sensei and Pamela-sensei came falling from the height of the fifth floor while hugging each other.

“Kohaku-san!”

『Umu!』

Kohaku-san generated a small tornado directly beneath the two falling people, creating a cushion of wind.

Catching the air resistance, the two made a soft, floomp landing on the ground and looked at me with expressions of shock.

It seems they were both safe. I was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. Or rather, Pamela-sensei, why are you holding your electric guitar?

I wonder if things held by the people inside don’t get stored? Well, if everything got stored, they’d both be stark naked. Good thing it didn’t.

“F-Fufu. Just as you said, Jeremy!”

“Right?”

The two suddenly started laughing, “Ufufu, ahaha.” Eh? Are they okay? Have they lost their minds from oxygen deprivation or terror…?