Chapter 10

Not long after, Elerina needed to move again. We settled on a position where I could do my university tasks, including the new one just given to me by my professor, while Elerina traveled. There was still a long trip before she returned to the alliance’s bases.

“You're hanging in there?”

“Of course. I did it perfectly fine before.” She drank cold water from a bottle I gave her. “Still, thank you. This made the trips much more bearable.”

“I'm surprised you travel alone. I thought you would bring some companions.”

Elerina returned the bottle to me. “Moving in groups really slows you down.”

“I see…”

Since most of her movements were on foot, I could imagine differences in physical abilities matter much more in her case, especially when considering how fast she is.

“Should we try setting up?”

“Sure.”

She went out of her way to fight by herself so no one could slow her down, so the equipment I’m giving her shouldn’t slow her down, either. First comes the action camera. I had set it up so the one I’m giving her would connect straight to my phone, while the other action camera, the one I’m going to use myself, would connect to her phone. That way, we could see each other’s world without bothering our movements.

I looked for a place in her armor where I could attach the action camera.

“Can you try swinging your arm?”

A single swing made it obvious that I couldn’t attach it anywhere on her body. The camera would either be knocked away or it would disturb her.

“Hmm… How about your helmet?”

Not only would it get me the closest thing to what she sees, it could also serve as extra defense.

“You mean here?” Elerina pointed toward the front part. I nodded. We couldn't attach it to the top, as that would make a pretty obvious sticking point, but putting it in front above her eyes shouldn't affect her stealth capabilities.

Attaching the camera itself was… complicated. The problem is, the camera’s mount wasn't designed to be attached to a random metal helmet. I'm not a blacksmith, nor have I ever worked with metal in my life. I don't want to risk the helmet’s integrity or strength just to get a look.

I did a quick search on the internet. Unfortunately, most of the results pointed towards mounting it on a motorcycle helmet.

“You can merge metals with ground magic.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We just need to find a human that could use-” Elerina stopped and shot up, pulling her bag with her and catching me by surprise.

“What's going on?”

“There's a shout.”

She leaped and landed, before running.

“Wa- wait, I'll survey.”

I turned the drone back on and gave it to her. She threw it into the air and held the remote with her left hand. I looked at which direction she pointed at from the air, then moved the drone there.

A fight was happening before me. Well, not a fight. A carriage lay sideways on the ground. Wooden pieces and metal parts lay all over the ground, its tarp had been ripped apart, its cargo scattered all over the place. A girl leaned next to the carriage, struggling to breath, while a boy lay on the road a bit farther away, blood all over his legs. Next to that boy was another boy, kneeling with his hands on the boy’s legs.

A large monster approached the two boys. The girl tried to move, but collapse. The boy’s eyes widened, while the lips of the boy being healed opened.

Go, run… leave us… was what they say in my imagination. The drone didn't have a microphone, so I have no idea what he actually said.

No, I can't leave you!

Replied his friend. Again, I didn't actually know what they're saying, just my imagination. Still, the tears in his eyes made it obvious how things stand. I couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

The monster came closer. It was in the shape similar to a bull. It prepared to strike, but took a step back as a loud vehicle buzzed its nose.

The drone’s presence irked the monster. I spun the drone around, checking which direction is clear. I then turned the drone back toward the beast, its face filling the screen. Its red eyes stared at me, sending a chill down my bone. I gulped, then maneuvered the drone away from the group. I did another quick turn, making sure the space behind my drone was empty.

I then flew up and down, doing all I can to maintain the monster’s attention on me. From the corner of the screen, I saw a figure approach.

“When you attack, you can let go of-”

A thin, white line slashed through the monster in front of me. In an instant, the bull was split into two. The glow in its red eyes turned black, and its corpse collapsed onto the ground.

Standing behind it was Elerina, blade in right hand, the remote on her left.

“Woah…”

“Thanks for distracting it,” she whispered while sheathing her sword. She turned around and ran toward the two boys.

“Are you alright?” she asked. The boys’ lips moved, I could see that from the drone, but the drone lacked a microphone so I could not hear what the two boys said.

“Alright.” Elerina swiftly moved away. While still holding the remote, she took the girl and brought her to the two boys. I could only watch them from above.

“No problem.”

She stayed on guard as the three healed themselves. I became her eye in the skies and warned her of incoming monsters. These ones came in numbers, but they were nowhere close to as imposing as the bull. She took care of them before they even got close, all this while holding the remote on her left hand.

I was, admittedly, a bit scared at first. She was moving so fast, striking every enemy she could find. I could still see her in my room. It's like knowing that there are monsters just a few centimeters away from me, even if we're in different worlds.

Eventually, I realize there's no reason to be scared. Despite the rather wild maneuvers she made, those maneuvers didn't affect me. Her mastery over the blade made it so that the sharp point didn't get close to me. It looked rather funny, as from my point of view, she did flips and jumps all over the place, sometimes even running upside down.

“Coast is clear.”

“... Coast? There are no waters around here.”

“I mean the area is clear.”

The plains before me didn't have a lot of cover, so the chances of monsters hiding beneath cover was small. There wasn't anything in the sky, either. Elerina sheathed her sword and walked back toward the group of three, who had been recovering. I followed behind her.

“Is everything alright?”

The three answered. Elerina put her right hand on his back and gave me a thumbs up.

Her mouth opened wide all of a sudden, and she glanced at me, panic in her eyes. Using the hand hidden behind her back, she pointed toward the drone.

“A familiar, maybe?”

“Yeah, this is my familiar. It has a mind of its own and disappears occasionally.”

So that's how she decided to describe it, not that she's wrong. The drone would need to recharge, and she couldn't do that in her world. If anyone saw her, saying that it's a familiar capable of disappearing magic would be much more convenient than explaining my existance.

They talked some more. Since I couldn't participate in this conversation, I decided to get some more flying experience. I never flew a drone before, so every second is an added experience. The better I am, the more I could assist Elerina.

All of a sudden, Elerina shook the remote, catching my attention. I hadn't been following the conversation, so I didn't get what she wants. Her right hand was in her bag, and she was shaking it.

“Metal,” she whispered, but I just couldn't get what she meant.

“Ah, it's nothing,” she said suddenly. “I wonder where I put it…”

I flew the drone back, then finally realized that they had been in the middle of fixing the carriage. One of the metal wheels had been reconnected with the axle.

“Ah.” I grabbed the camera mount. She smiled. I put it into her bag, and she brought it out.

“Finally, here.” She took off her helmet, letting her hair flow to her back. She then gave it along with the mount to them. The boy did his work. Within seconds, the mount was connected to the helmet. I put the action camera into her bag, and with my guidance, she attached it to the mount.

While they continued their repairs, we set up the camera. Elerina went a bit further away, so she could speak freely.

“Not being able to speak is hard,” she murmured. I finished setting it up. I had already installed an adapter on the camera, so now it didn't just provide me with a video feed, but with audio as well.

“Sorry for not understanding you.”

“It's alright.”

She returned the drone for recharging.

“Miss Elerina, we're done with repairs,” One of the boys called out. Apparently, their words got translated as well.

“Coming.”

“You're heading back with them?”

“Yeah.”

Elerina headed toward the carriage and the group set off.