Editing Godhorn Tech:Volume3 Chapter8 (section)

===Meanwhile at Horn Fortress 7===

“Oh, we really changed some things, huh?” said Ginger Sandstrike, using his shovel as a cane and looking to the distorted horizon even though he couldn’t actually see anything there. “I didn’t think we could have such an affect, but we really did influence the outcome.”

“Horn Fortress might be destroyed if Miyabi dies, so we had better have some influence.”

A dancer’s outfit fluttered in the sea breeze.

Iris Tempinvy, a dancer (and recovery magic researcher), had been sent to the front line after treating the Necromancer’s wound. Without her, Miyabi’s party might have succumbed to their wounds after the Huge Eye attacked them in the desert nation.

The blond and dark-skinned “guardian” gave her a cynical smile.

“And here I thought we would be trapped here forever ‘just in case’ he needs us eventually.”

“Do not even joke about that!”

Iris’s eyes widened.

People were willing to do whatever it took to survive. Their greatest motivator was not dreams or ideals; it was anxiety and fear. When they looked back, they saw a stone structure nicer than a royal castle in the center of the island. That was the result of all the additions they had made here. There had been no plan in its construction, so the boxy rooms sticking out from the sides did make it somewhat ugly.

They had standard facilities like a clinic, a smithy, and a potion mixing lab and they also had odder choices like a blueprint library and a fish tank for rare but small fish they could use for potion ingredients. They had simply built everything they could think of that Miyabi’s party might need out there.

At first, the Lucifer Horn had only circled overhead without ever coming close, but not it would sometimes descend toward the ocean when it had nothing else to do. Ships could not visit this island, but they had still built a wooden pier in order to access the Lucifer Horn.

The bomber was now letting them perform maintenance and load bombs. It acted arrogant, but it also let them do whatever they wanted. Almost like a cat curling up in an old lady’s lap near the fireplace and asking to be patted. The group at Horn Fortress may have seen a side to the Lucifer Horn that Miyabi was unaware of.

On the other hand, their building was missing one thing necessary to call it a castle.

It had no defensive weapons, arrowslits, or murder holes.

“It sure is peaceful here,” said Ginger in a somehow rusty voice, making Iris wonder what kind of life he had lived before coming here. “This place doesn’t even have the weapons needed to defend itself. Thanks to the barriers surrounding us and the miasma coming from the cracks, we don’t have to worry about robbers or armies. There are some Beast Novae on the island, but they’re more like a source of food and materials than a threat.”

“Oh? Why do you sound so disappointed?”

“I’m not really.” Ginger, who would be decently handsome if he kept his mouth shut, twisted his lips up in a grin. “I’m just a cynic, so when I see a 100% peaceful environment, I can’t help but assume there’s something sinister lurking below the surface. I mean, what would you think if you were introduced to ‘a city of eternal peace where all social problems have been solved and everyone is guaranteed happiness’?”

“Hmm… I would want to move there, but I would wonder what the odds were of being chosen.”

“See, you’re trusting. ''That spiel would make me suspicious.'' Now, what if someone was selling you ‘a hyper dangerous dragon that never, ever betrays its master – definitely didn’t eat its last master!!’ ”

“Sounds like the perfect home security system. Wouldn’t be long until there was one in every house.”

“Okay, wow. I underestimated you. Ah ha ha. You are ''really'' trusting!”