Chapter 113: Reignited
But as if to mock her efforts, Walfred’s growth was terrifyingly fast. And so, starting tonight, her motivation had flagged just a little.
"Whew."
A sigh escaped from her frustration.
Before she knew it, Lauren had arrived at the Financial District Station Shelter. After passing through a simple security check, she was about to head into the shelter’s interior.
"Ah! Lauren."
A familiar voice stopped her in her tracks.
The former representative of the Silicon Alley Shelter and current representative of the Financial District Station Shelter, Chief Jonah.
"Perfect timing. I was just debating whether to go looking for you."
His face, usually so calm and composed, was noticeably flushed today. Lauren tilted her head slightly and asked.
"Why?"
"I spoke with Hunter Walfred, and he had a message he wanted me to pass along to you."
"...! W-Walfred did? For me?"
Lauren’s eyes flew wide open.
Her ice-cold expression had vanished without a trace. With a somewhat nervous face, Lauren waited to hear what Walfred’s message was.
And a moment later.
Words she never could have imagined came back.
"He says he found your sister."
"...What?"
Lauren mumbled, her face gone blank.
Hearing something so completely unexpected had momentarily short-circuited her mind.
But only for a moment.
Quickly coming back to her senses, Lauren blinked her wide-open eyes and asked again.
"Is, is that true? He really found my sister...?"
"That’s right. According to Hunter Walfred, he found Erica at the Central Avenue underground shopping center shelter in Philadelphia and made sure she was safe."
"...!?"
"He also said he told Erica how you’ve been doing, so he asked me to tell you not to worry too much from now on."
The moment she heard that explanation.
Lauren felt all the strength drain from her legs.
"Ah, aaah...!"
She crumpled down onto the track floor.
Overwhelming relief, along with gratitude and joy, burst out of her like a flood.
Then, burying her face in both hands, Lauren broke down crying like a small child.
"Hic! Waaaah, my sister, my sister is..."
Her sister was alive.
If she’d heard it from anyone else, her first instinct would have been doubt. But the source of this information was none other than Walfred. A message from the person Lauren trusted most in the entire world right now.
There was no way it could be a lie.
"Hngh! Hic! Uuu..."
How long had she cried?
After sobbing her heart out, Lauren finally managed to pull herself together. Wiping her tears with her sleeve, she gently closed her swollen eyes.
And she pictured Walfred’s face.
’Walfred...’
Just calling his existence to mind filled her chest to bursting with gratitude.
He hadn’t even found his own niece yet, and still he had gone out of his way, spending his precious time to track down her sister’s whereabouts.
The debt she owed him was so enormous she didn’t even know how she could ever repay it.
’I miss them.’
Her beloved sister, and Walfred too.
She wanted to run to Philadelphia and see them this very second.
And she wanted to meet Walfred in person and thank him face to face. Fierce impulse and longing surged up inside her, but Lauren forced her emotions down.
’No. Not yet.’
She had to become even stronger than she was now.
Only then could she make it to Philadelphia without anyone worrying. And only then could she stay by Walfred’s side afterward, not as a burden, but as an equal.
Which meant she had no time to waste.
She had to grow far faster than she was now and catch up to Walfred.
"Whew."
Letting out a short breath.
Lauren rose to her feet.
"...Chief."
"Yes?"
"Tell me where the monster extermination missions are running right now. Anywhere but South Ferry Station."
There was only one way for a Hunter to grow.
Hunt every monster in sight.
Feeling her briefly flagging motivation roar back to life like a wildfire, Lauren’s eyes blazed.
---
Whoosh! Kra-ka-ka!
Taking the fierce wind pressure head-on.
Atop Elsa’s back, Walfred savored a flight speed unlike anything he had ever experienced.
By his estimate, they were easily going over 60 mph.
Compared to traveling on the ground, the mobility was on a whole different level. It was downright exhilarating.
[Hehe, well? I’m fast, right?]
Elsa was absolutely thrilled.
As if carrying someone on her back for the very first time had her heart racing. So she kept beating her enormous wings, pushing faster and faster.
Watching her, Walfred smiled too.
’If we keep this pace...’
They would reach Key West by tonight at the latest.
His face swelled with anticipation.
But it didn’t last long.
Once their flight time passed the one-hour mark, Elsa’s speed dropped noticeably. Her wingbeats had grown far more sluggish than before too.
’What’s going on? Why are we slowing down so much?’
Was it because the sun was setting?
Because she couldn’t see well as it got darker? Just as Walfred was making those guesses.
Elsa let out a pained whine.
[Ugh, Daddy... I’m tiiired.]
At those words, Walfred understood.
It wasn’t because it was getting dark. Her stamina had simply run dry.
[I wanna rest for today. I can’t fly anymore.]
Fair enough. Even for a dragon, flying for hours with a grown man on her back had to be exhausting.
Especially since Elsa was still young. Walfred chuckled and stroked Elsa’s head.
"Okay. You did great. Let’s head down."
[Yeah! Hold on tight.]
At that signal.
Elsa began a rapid descent.
Whooosh!
As they broke through the cloud layer and lost altitude, the landscape below came into view through the darkening sky.
Terrain like a frozen-solid plain of deep blue.
Seeing it, Walfred’s eyes lit up.
’The ocean.’
So they’d already made it all the way down to the southern coast.
Walfred was struck all over again by just how fast Elsa could fly.
And moments later.
Thoooom!
Elsa touched down safely on the ground.
Walfred hopped off Elsa’s back and looked around. He wanted to get at least a rough idea of where they were.
It didn’t take long to find a building that told him exactly where they’d landed.
[Savannah Station]
A train station buried in snow and ice.
From that, Walfred determined that they were currently in Savannah, Georgia. A spot roughly 85 miles from where they had first taken off.
’On foot, that would’ve taken four days...’
And they’d covered that distance in under two hours. Traveling by air really was fast. Just as he was marveling at Elsa’s flying ability.
Fwaash!
Elsa’s body was wrapped in blue light.
A moment later, Elsa returned to her familiar form of a little girl. Shoulders drooping, Elsa held both arms out toward Walfred and said.
"Ughh, Daddy. Carry me."
"Alright, alright."
Walfred knelt down without a word of complaint.
Elsa scrambled onto his back and was out cold in less than a minute. It was easy to guess just how much stamina she’d burned through.
Letting out a soft laugh at the sight.
Walfred headed for the station office inside Savannah Station. He layered blankets over a worn-out cot to make a bed of sorts, then laid Elsa down on top of it.
"You really did a great job today."
Thanks to her, they’d come this far this fast.
Walfred stroked Elsa’s hair, looking at her with pride. Then he gazed up at the now completely darkened sky.
’Still a bit early...’
Too early to sleep.
The sun had only just set, which meant it was roughly 6 p.m.
Walfred bought a few canned goods from the Hunter shop and finished a simple dinner. Then, as always, he logged into the Community.
And right then.
[A friend request has arrived.]
[Requester: PwincessMargaret]
A friend request had come in from Margaret.
Chuckling at the sight of her nickname, Walfred accepted the request right away.
[Friend added.]
[PwincessMargaret]: Online
As it happened, she was online at that very moment.
But he didn’t have any particular business with her right now, so he deliberately didn’t start a chat. Margaret, however, seemed to have other ideas.
[You have received a 1:1 chat request from a friend.]
[Name: PwincessMargaret]
The moment he accepted the friend request.
Margaret had immediately started a chat.
’What’s this about?’
Did she have something to tell him?
Puzzled, Walfred nonetheless accepted Margaret’s request. A chat window soon opened, and Margaret’s messages came pouring in.