4 days before the release of the Invidia Overlord.

Mira's PoV:

"...and that's what happened, ssu~." 

After hearing the goblin's story out, the same story that I and Blot rushed back from the shogun's place for, I couldn't believe my ears.

"Could you explain it just one more time, please?" - Mira

"Yes..., of course, ssu~."

The un-named goblin told us his story yet again. How Zaria launched an attack on this strange building pumping out black ooze from the Demonic Sea, the attack failed because the yakuza jerks had been allied with some other black ooze, then a meteorite fell from the sky and crushed the building, THEN some sorta lightning dome appeared outta nowhere and trapped everyone in the area around the ruined building, except for this guy who was blown away because of the meteorite impact. 

"...my head's starting to hurt." - Mira

"And here I thought that Filyn was a loose cannon." - Blot

I'm not as familiar with the big boss as Blot is, but I don't think he's wrong. 

"And the reason for all this is...?" I asked the old geezer behind me.

"Hmm..., maybe the Thunder Spirit Lord decided to descend from her mountain to have some fun?" replied Ling the geezer Loong.

"The what-now?" - Mira

"The Thunder Spirit Lord. There is one living among these mountains. Do you not know about them?" - Ling

"I know. That's why I was asking." - Mira

Spirit Lords. Even a half-spirit like me knows about them. They are the greatest spirit creatures that exist with a racial rank B, only surpassed by the A-ranked True Spirits. However, the True Spirits are more like forces of nature without egos, therefore it's uncertain if you could classify them as "living creatures".

The Spirit Lords have almost the same amount of power, but their abilities are limited by the fact that they have a semi-physical body that can be harmed. Except for that, they can easily be passed as A-rank creatures, or maybe even above that. The sole disadvantage they have would be that they are limited to their racial attribute, but...

"I could be wrong, but I doubt there are any other beings on these mountains that could create and maintain such a barrier from a distance for such a long time." - Ling

Yeah, I was afraid he would say that. Because it's the truth. Spirit Lords are practically exempt from paying for abilities related to their attribute. Not to mention that a lightning storm is scheduled to hit the mountains by..., about a few hours from now. Being on the bad side of a Spirit Lord is one thing, but a Spirit Lord who is getting super-charged by natural elements? Impossible. Please don't let it be that...

"And hey, can't you just teleport them out of there?" I asked Blot, our resident dimension walker.

"I have already tried various methods, but I simply cannot connect to the space inside this barrier. The technique used to create it is likely related to spatial magic, and the power used on it is far greater than what I have in my possession." - Blot

"Tch. The so-called right hand of Babel isn't as tough as the name suggests." - Mira

"I cannot say I can deny you there. However, the only one who refers to Babel as a "force of evil" is Filyn herself. But we are closer to a radical force of good. Even Filyn only finds it enjoyable to "dish out some hurt", as she calls it, to parties that are "evil" than ourselves. Even if she cannot force herself to admit that." - Blot

"Meaning she's a "tsundere", or whatever they're calling it on this continent?" - Mira

"I'm not familiar with the slang those young people use, but as a local, I would say you're not wrong there." - Ling

Slang or no slang, we're still clueless about how to get those guys out from there. 

"We have a report!" said a monster subordinate that came running to us. "A strange figure has appeared by the entrance of the Treasure Tower!" 

"...just what is making them look so "strange"?" - Blot

"Sir! They seem to be a young female, but they are surrounded by lighting and they are dressed like the thunder gods told of in this country's legends." - Monster subordinate

"...yes, that is her," replied Ling to our judging gazes. 

"I see. If that is the case, it seems we need to visit her. Miss Mira, would you mind coming along when I introduce us to this lord of the mountains?" - Blot

"Of course, I would. Rather, what good would I be there?" - Mira

"The two of you are fellow spirit-humanoids. Maybe that will soften this wild lady a little. Remember, not everything needs to be a battle to the death." - Blot

"If you say so. Doubt it will work." - Mira

Nodding with a satisfied smile on his face, Blot proceeded to snap his fingers, and..., we suddenly moved to an area close to the Treasure Tower. 

"At least warn people when you're doing that!" - Mira

"My apologies," said Blot with a light bow. Geez. 

I looked around and saw that no one else was transported with us. Blot probably doesn't want to alarm the Spirit Lord, but..., honestly, couldn't he be one heck of a kidnapper? I didn't even have time to react before we moved, and Blot didn't show any sign of preparing his teleport ability, whatever it is. 

Garami once told me that she had Identified this guy's stats, but..., did she see the true strength of this guy? Because I feel that what Garami said she saw pales compared to the real deal. Honestly, this guy's terrifying in his way.

"Miss Mira. This way." - Blot

Whatever his deal is, he sure doesn't fail acting like a gentleman. That's just upping his creepiness in my eyes.

It's not difficult seeing where the Spirit Lord is from here. There are lots of sparks in one area close to the Tower. No need for three guesses here. You'll get a bingo on the first one.

"That's strange..." - Blot

"What's up?" - Mira

But before we could reach our sparkly "friend", Blot turned in a different direction for some reason.

"I thought I could hear something from over there." - Blot

"Better check it out then. Nothing's more irritating than having your plans fail because of something unexpected." - Mira

"True words indeed." - Blot

We went to check what was catching Blot's attention, but what we found was...

"Mice?" - Blot

"Nice ears, bigshot." - Mira

More specifically, it's Mountain Mouse. I think they're related to Greycave Rats or Slum Rats. I loved chasing the latter kind when I was a kid.

"...you can never be too careful..." - Blot

Try repeating that when your ears aren't as red as tomatoes. But it's not like it was a complete miss.

"Look here. The rats were attracted by these." - Mira

"Let me see..., wooden crates?" - Blot

"They could be smuggled goods?" - Mira

"That could have been a plausible theory, if they were hidden someplace else than in a mountain range far away from civilization and filled with vicious monsters." - Blot

Oops. He's got a point. We had our monster army, so it didn't feel that difficult getting up here, but this place is essentially a wildlife area out of humanity's reach.

"In any case, these crates are empty and abandoned. The rats may have eaten their contents, or they were empty from the start. Whatever the case, someone must have left them behind because they had no more use for them, but who knows for what reasons." - Blot

Yup. The boxes are as my wallet after a trip to the casino...hmm? This emblem here..., an inversed yin-yang symbol? Instead of the two half-parts making one whole, they are pointing away from each other...

"What is wrong?" - Blot

"No, nothing special..." - Mira

Where did I see this before..., now I remember. It's the same mark as the company providing for the adventurer school I was taken in by when I was a kid. Why's it on these crates? Well, the worst that could happen is that the former owners of these crates stole them from that firm or something. 

Blot also lost his interest in the crates after a quick look at them and we returned to greet miss sparks down by the tower. And we were greeted by quite the sight. A gigantic crystal-based golem was making something like a martial arts arena right in front of the tower.

And directing the golem was a female with dark-green hair and dressed in a yellow-and-black kimono with a lightning motif. Something like a metallic half-circle was attached to the woman's back with several drums attached to it. It's a completely wild guess, but I think we've found our Spirit Lord.

"Excuse me, miss? Are you the one responsible for trapping our comrades in the dome of lightning northeast of here?" - Blot

Now that's a straight ball if I've ever seen one. 

"Excuse ME! Don't you see I'm busy..., who're you guys? How did you get so close without me noticing?" - Thunder Spirit Lord(?)

"Why, we simply walked over here. But please excuse my rudeness, but our comrades' lives may be on the line here." - Blot

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." - Thunder Spirit Lord(?)

I'm already hating this girl. 

"Pardon if I sound repetitive, but could you explain your relationship with the barrier in the northeast? It is similar...to the one over there," said Blot as he glanced toward the tower. Correction. The tower's entrance. Now blocked by a wall of lightning.

"That little thing~? I'm keeping the tower shut so it can be used as the prize!" - Thunder Spirit Lord(?)

"A prize?" - Blot

"Yes, yes~! To celebrate my inclusion as the new Wind representative as the Thunder Lord for Demon King Ballian Bifrons Solomar's 12 Lords, I, Mikazuchi the Thunder Lightning Spirit have started the first Thunder Combat Tournament!!" - Mikazuchi

"The Demon King's-!?" - Mira

Ballian is the current Demon King of Solomar! Our main target outside that Fire Champion! Sure, the former Lord that represented Wind, Springwood, got killed in the Demonic Sea, but when did they have the chance to recruit a freaking Spirit Lord!?

"-! ...now that is great for you, miss. It is an honor to witness such a historical event." - Blot

Huh? Did the shock make his head short-circuit or something?

"Yes, you are~. ...wait, I heard that the boss' enemies were climbing this mountain..." - Mikazuchi

"Now that is a horrifying thought. We, however, are just simple adventurers who were trying to earn some extra income." - Blot

"You are!?" - Mikazuchi

"Why, of course. Do you not know that adventurers like to dress "funnily"?" - Blot

Hey, even if we're looking like a knight and a butler in the middle of the mountain, you don't think she'll-

"Oh, sorry about that! I thought you were those bad guys!" - Mikazuchi

Damn, this girl's an A-rank idiot!

"No, wait a sec! You said that your friends were trapped behind my barrier! And that's where the boss' enemies were!" - Mikazuchi

"*Sigh*. That is the problem. Your "enemies" are not there anymore. They swapped places with our friends through the usage of highly advanced spatial magic." - Blot

...hey, even she's not going to fall..., no. There might be a chance...

"...*innocent dry whistling*." - Mikazuchi

As I feared. This girl is falling for this stupid bluff. Hook, line, and sinker. Even the fishing rod. It hurts me as a Sprite seeing a Spirit Lord being so gullible. 

"Then if you would not mind, could you-" - Blot

"Wait just a sec! I got an idea!" - Mikazuchi

Uh-oh.

"Uh-oh. I mean, what idea are you talking about?" - Blot

"Kukuku. You guys, gather your friends and join my Thunder Combat Tournament! Win, and I'll release your friends. Lose, and you'll be part of my crew to defeat my boss' enemies!" - Mikazuchi

...huh?

---

...little girl. You do know that-.

"That the butler and female knight from before were part of Babel? I'm not stupid, Nian." - Mikazuchi

That is a relief. I was fearing that you had lost your marbles from boredom.

"It was pretty close though! But this is getting better than I first expected!" - Mikazuchi

And that is why? 

"Because how else could I make those guys join my combat tournament?" - Mikazuchi

...while I do agree that they are more likely to play along if they believe you do not know their identities, I fail to see what point there is in having a tournament in the first place?

"Because I want to!" - Mikazuchi

I give up. This girl never had any marbles from the start.

---

Kigal-Note/Monsters/Beast: Mountain Mouse