The 'festival' at Metropolis-D had finally come to an end. People had gone home or were busy Climbing. As for Josh, it was time for him to go back to Metropolis-C. That is when he noticed that the young Dumpling Maker was still there.
"Hey, you. Would you happen to have a driver's license?" He asked, hopeful.
"Me? No, I don't. I came here to make money on the cheapest bus I could find. Besides food, I can't afford much." He looked away while sighing.
Josh tried messaging Armin, but the man was busy. Then again, perhaps it was time for Josh to learn to drive. Then he would go to the DMV's equivalent in this world and— as if! He gently tapped on his UW.
Ring-Ring-Ring!
"Hello, Markus! I need a tiny little favor!" Josh initiated the call.
Then, one thing led to another, and he was soon driving a bright and very cheap yellow flying car happily. (Next morning)
The feeling on takeoff had been the best! He had felt his body press on the seat as if a pancake. The excitement had been through the roof, and it had given him the feeling to be a kid with a brand new toy!
Even now, he was still enjoying the drive so much while singing loudly (and off-key) to some random pop music song. He was proud to admit that he was getting at least 10% of the lyrics right, which wasn't that bad for his first time!
Next to him, there was his ashen companion that kept making a fuss. It was one silly complaint after the other! But, Josh was in such a great mood that even that couldn't damper his happiness:
"Please stop singing! My eardrums are about to burst, and my brain is about to turn into mush! If you can't sing, please don't! This is literal torture!"
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it."
"Why are we going so fast? The engine is literally burning up. I can smell the smoke from here!"
"Don't worry. It will be fine. It's because it's a used car, probably."
"Watch where you're going! We're about to crash into another ship, again! Please just activate the driving AI!"
"Don't worry. I'm already getting the hang of it. Plus, I'm actually enjoying driving."
"I enjoy living! Also, why the heck are we going to Metropolis-C with a goddamn Black Legion armada in the first place?! Are you trying to attack someone?!"
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"Don't worry. It looks cool."
"No, seriously! Didn't you say you were going to visit a few friends?! Is that how you usually do it?! Can't we just go quietly?!"
"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll think this looks cool."
"I'm not worried about that! What if we get shot down by the Metropolis defenses?! What then?! They literally just changed the system after the last attacks from—"
"Hey, stop complaining, or I'll drop you on the side of the road!"
"Please do that! I don't want to play any part in this madness!" The Dumpling Maker shouted, making his stand clear.
"Oh? Are you sure?" Josh asked innocently sounding.
"YES! This is clearly overexaggerated. I don't know what you told Sir Markus, but I'm sure he's gonna be pissed once he finds out! There is no way visiting friends warrant such a crazy use of resources. That's misappropriation!"
"Oh, okay. I thought you'd want to hitch a ride since we're going to Dimensional Legion's Climber's School after this. My bad." Josh apologized.
"What?! Seriously?! That's the destination?!" He cried out in shock.
"Yep, guess I forgot to mention it. Anyway, I'll drop you off—"
"I'm staying! My butt is stuck to the seat for some reason. Ah, but don't worry about me. Let's just keep going. I don't want to slow you down!"
"That's the spirit! Now, let's sing, be merry and increase the pace!"
An audible GULP was heard. "S-sure. Let's be merry-AH that's way too fast!"
That is the moment when the Dumpling Maker embraced the insanely bad driving, the questionable journey, and even the horrifying singing, all for his dreams.
****
The bright yellow cheap car was speeding through the air. Right behind it, there was an incredible fleet composed of a few dozen warships. They were all large, coated in black, armed to the teeth, and seemingly ready for intergalactic war.
From time to time, they flew over farms. The occupants would then get the shock of their lives as they saw, felt, and definitely heard this armada pass through. They would raise up their eyes toward the sky and think to themselves, 'WTF!'.
Some thought that the world was ending. They had heard about the attacks on Metropolis-C, then about the monsters in Metropolis-H, and now this! Was there going to be a world war once again?
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Not a single soul understood the true meaning of it: a madman had requested military help for his own benefit and had actually obtained it. The small car was hard to discern, and even the top guilds wouldn't have been able to warrant such support.
The scene was even more shocking for the inhabitants of Metropolis-C. Markus had called in advance ahead of time to inform the MTA of the fleet's arrival. Allistair had then relayed the information to people, but many hadn't gotten the memo yet because of limited time.
This created two reactions. There were the ones that had seen the news and were aware that this was nothing more than a 'mobilization exercise' and the ones that were completely freaking out.
"What the fuck is this?! What is happening?! Why are you guys so relaxed?!" A man losing his mind called out to another calmly sipping coffee on the side.
"The Dark Legion is apparently making a surprise air show to train. Something about patroling to remind our citizens and enemies of our strength. It's probably related to the other recent security measures." He shrugged relaxedly.
"Wow, okay. Still, this timing feels so weird and—" He stopped talking abruptly, flabbergasted.
He then began rubbing his eyes as if he was seeing something unbelievable. But, after seeing the fully armored war fleet, was there anything more surprising? The man by the side found it peculiar.
"Are you alright, man?" He asked, worried about the man's sudden silence.
While still rubbing his eyes, the man pointed toward the armada. "Look right there. Is that a goddamn yellow car, or am I going crazy?! Did it fly in there by mistake or something? But how?!" This really didn't make any sense.
But then the previously calm guy noticed something and began shaking. "Oh god! Look at their trajectory! The whole fleet is following that shitty-looking car! Who the heck is driving it?!" He cried out slacked-jawed.
"Wait, does that mean their leader is driving it?! Someone that can literally ride any damn ship he wants is riding THAT?! Voluntarily too, right?! Why?!"
"Holy shit. It takes a very special mind to do something like that. There is definitely something wrong with the guy, and….actually, I'll shut up. Whoever is in there is awesome!" He changed his discourse in sudden realization.
"Ah, you're right! Whoever is in there is amazing!" His companion shouted loudly while making sure everyone nearby had heard that part.
****
Meanwhile, in the biggest ship of them all, a tall mature-looking military man was trying his best to refrain from laughing out loud. At his side, another man with the same military uniform was frowning.
"Are you finding this funny, Roderick? Does it please you to put me in such an embarrassing situation? May I remind you that if it wasn't for your intervention, we wouldn't be here in the first place!" The man was frowning, extremely displeased.
"Hahahaha. This is actually funny. Don't worry, general Gaiden. I know how this looks, but he's neither a fool nor a clown… he's… It's hard to explain, but I guarantee you won't regret taking part in this expedition. Trust me!" Roderick patted his chest confidently.
General Gaiden, the man in charge of the fleet, found the whole thing ridiculous, but he stopped complaining. This looked like a monumental joke and a waste of time! But, both the land troops general and the leader of Metropolis-D supported the man. There had to be a reason, right?
But, Gaiden couldn't help but feel doubt again as he looked at their trajectory. "Where is he leading us? Wasn't our destination supposed to be Metropolis-C?" He asked suspiciously.
Roderick looked at the navigation instruments before exclaiming in realization: "We're heading to 'Very Happy Farms'! I'm sure of it!"
'Very Happy Farms', was it? Gaiden, of course, knew about it. Some believed it to be related to Dimensional Legion, while others thought it was a scam. Some even affirmed that Draconic was linked to it. They had saved the farmer there, but it could have been just on a whim too.
"We'll know soon. Do you want me to call Josh to have him explain?" Roderick offered.
General Gaiden nodded decisively. He would have done so earlier if Roderick hadn't insisted that they could simply trust him over and over. The man called in speaker mode so they could both hear it at once.
Ring-Ring-Ring
The call connected:
"♫♪♫♪ I'm gOnNa rEaCh tHe sTaRs aNd— Oh, what's up? — I'm gOnNA FlY AwAy lIkE A BiG MeTaL BiRd tHaT JuSt wAnTs!!! ♫♪♫♪"
Click!
Roderick decisively ended the call. Whatever was happening over there was a disaster: it was a sound attack that was horrible enough to render anyone insane! The men looked at each other.
"Was that…singing?!"
"I believe it was….but…."
"Yes, it was very …powerful!"
They nodded as they knew what the other meant. Josh singing pop music was truly memorable. That is when they resolved to acquire some of his recordings. They could use it when interrogating criminals.
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Then again, they would have to be careful with that. After all, this couldn't be considered anything but inhumane. But that would be for later. They were about to arrive at their destination...
Creator's Thought
Loud singing is an acquired taste. It may sound foreign to an untrained ear, but is awesome once embraced. The proof was the Dumpling Maker. He was happily singing along toward the end of the trip. See! It's not me who's wrong it's them who don't know art!