The lasting plains part 1

“Are you sure you want to do this alone? I can spare some people from my regular squad to go with you” Erin had arrived right when it was time to leave, his timing impeccable which made Asato question if he was being acted somehow.

Even if Erin was alone, it felt far too much like an ambush to him which made me wonder if he was even safe inside his home or not.

“No, Erin there is no need. Don’t be an idiot” Asato replied, trying to keep himself in check but failing due to the unreasonable attitude of the other. Really, why was he so immature all of a sudden?

Was he doubting Asato now? What gave him the right?

“Alright, don’t be grumpy now. I was just asking” Asato would like to tell you that he was not being grumpy. He was the right amount of pissed off as well as offended here on behalf of himself.

The way was he being questioned as if this was the first time he was doing this? Erin should know better than that. Erin knew how good Asato was in handling everything.

It couldn’t be that the charms around his identity were fading? Surely not now after this soon.

Not that he could ask anyone since people were not even aware that they were there. In case this was not the sense, it would just expose him which was not something Asato was willing to gamble on.

“Anyway, keep your pets away from here if you don’t want to lose any more of them” Asato could see his advice not being appreciated on Erin’s face.

The face had gone slack but also closed off than any time before on the journey. There was sudden ice in that gaze. It felt like it could freeze the one it was facing.

And then it was all gone from that gaze in the next second.

“Fine, I’ll keep my team away and inform others to not trespass too” that was all Asato wanted from Erin right then. An assurance that things would not go south just because he was not there for the time being.

The way to travel to the Ester city was through another transportation alleyway which was opened outside the mansion grounds in case it got tracked back. Unlike the ones which opened up between dimensions and were untrackable backwards, the one inside the same dimension could be followed back.

Thus, Asato decided not to risk his address at all.

The feeling of travelling through the portals was nauseating but also something he was well versed with. So, once he crossed it toward the new location, he felt nothing but the usual feeling of a spinning world.

Once his head stopped spinning, he took in his surroundings. The place he had been dropped inside was a clearing with an empty canopy hole of about 10 m diameters with forest on all sides. The grass was lush and varied in shades of green.

The circumference of the clearing was marked by rocks that looked to have a smooth surface, probably seasoned for sitting around the clearing.

This place looked like a perfect spot for a camp setting and yet it was fully deserted in nature. How auspicious of such a place to be deserted so fast. It almost did not make sense at all.

Red eyes took in the fluffy white which were hopping around the clearing.

The clearing had been left alone long enough that even the rabbits had started to inhabit it and come gazing here? What a waste of space this was.

Asato moved toward the rabbit which was sitting near him without any moment and even as Asato drew near the fluffy body, there was no moment inside the fluffy body.

The rabbit was asleep and that was not the only rabbit. Almost all the rabbits present in the vicinity seemed to be asleep. Asato moved his hands to pick up the nearest one before a yelp stopped him.

Red eyes moved from the fluffy body toward the other end of the building where a female stood, her face ghostly white and her body seemed as if she was not even breathing.

The fluffy body near him twitched a little and Asato observed the female’s complexion getting even worse as the rabbit moved closer to Asato before she inhaled sharply again as his hands almost made contact with the rabbit.

Asato left the rabbit alone and made his way toward the female that stood just outside the clearing.

Her complexion improved the more he moved toward her and the outer he moved outside the clearing. Clearly, it was clear to Asato now, her anxiety had something to do with the rabbits in the clearing behind him.

“Hurry, please lock the clearing away before those monsters wake up” there was urgent panic inside that voice which made Asato almost burst out into a giggle.

Generally, he did not find anyone’s fear to be funny, but right at that moment, it felt really funny to him.

But he complied before turning toward the female.

“I was not aware someone like you would be so afraid of rabbits of all things? Before when I met you, I was not sure if anything could even scare you at all” Asato had recognised this person, not through her figure, but her energy.

Both her voice and form were more feminine right at that moment, but that had not been so beforehand. This girl was quite a tomboy in her youth

“Hey, rabbits are scary in their own right with their teeth, but these especially are a menace. These have mutated and killed more than half of our team here” the female’s voice held an acidic tone.

Behind him, one of the rabbits stirred which caused the female at his side to flinch. The screen came up right in time as one of the rabbits jumped right at the pair, acidic green leaving the huge deformed teeth inside the deformed mouth.

It was a horrifying sight to see and yet so fascinating.

“What are you doing here?” Asato asked the female, finally now that things have slowed down a lot.

“What am I doing here? Or what I am doing in the human world?” the female asked with a teasing tone but seeing how her humour was not being appreciated calmed down at once.

“Erin posted me here. According to reports, there was a monster here that should not be possible. We have lost quite a few people already here but ever since my posting here I had found no clues of that said monster anywhere” the female replied.

The party of two began walking toward their destination, the camp where the rest of the forces were staying.

“And those rabbits?” Asato asked, his voice holding a lot of curiosity.

“Dungeon monsters. They ventured too close to the camp so we had to take measures. Besides, they’re too dangerous for newcomers inside the camp” Her words brought new clarity to the situation.

This was a trainy site location, no wonder they were having so much trouble handling even the smallest of the problems.

And if there really is any monster here, then there was no way these rookies would be able to handle it at all, much less get solid proof.

The camp was in a hurry and despite all the time which had passed, it looked no better than a hastily put together place at all. Most of the people going around the place seemed not to be older than 25 at the most.

Fresh blood.

And yet despite all this poor preparation, Asato could spy a well-developed area outside the main camping site. The favouritism over family background was prevalent here too which was a sad sight to see.

But Asato had expected this for there really was no cure to inequality in the system right now.

“I’ll inform the chief in charge that you are here. Please wait right here” the female left Asato standing right in the middle, his gaze following her vanish inside the near building which was the best organised.

While she was reporting, Asato decided to take a look around the camp. The campfire area was well established with proper measures and despite the hazardous arrangement of the camp, nothing actually seemed to be letting water inside.

However, the reinforcement on the side of the camps was loose which could result in a lot of death if there was ever an attack on the camp. Asato decided to enforce the near ones which lacked certain good strokes at the crucial seal design.

Steady hands added a few more required strokes in the needed place and Asato could feel the flow of energy getting better the more it got reinforced.

Before the female was back with their chief in tow, Asato was back in his place. It seemed like he had never left his place at all.

“Welcome to the Ester camp. Mister Asato, I was told that you would be arriving today” the chief bowed to him and he bowed back in return before straightening his body back up.

“It’s nice to meet you too. Can you get me caught up with the situation inside the camp fast? I’m afraid I don’t have too much luxury of time to stay here” Asato kept his voice straight and cold, as professional as he could make it out.

From the way this person was dressed, he seemed to be someone who was not used to authority much at all. Most high ranking people in remote places were not usually used to authority and it could cause problems.

However, from the sigh and the lowering of shoulders, Asato could guess that this would not be the case here at all.

“Let’s discuss inside. Open places are not good for such talk” Asato agreed with the discretion. This person had a good head on his shoulder at least.