"It is not impossible," Riku stated, his voice cutting through the fear-fueled whispers, carrying a calm authority that, while not erasing their terror, anchored them momentarily. "It will be the hardest thing we have ever done. We will move faster than we have ever moved. We will leave behind what is absolutely necessary, but we will take what is vital for our survival and the future of this village."
He gestured towards Levi, who stood slightly behind him, arms crossed, his sharp grey eyes scanning the worried faces with an unnerving intensity. "Levi will organize the able-bodied for packing and carrying. His experience in rapid deployments will be invaluable." Levi offered a curt, silent nod, his mere posture conveying a readiness for brutal efficiency that, strangely, offered a flicker of reassurance.
Riku then turned to Honami, who stood beside him, her composure a stark contrast to the villagers' distress. Her sapphire eyes were calm, observant, taking in the scene with a focused intensity. "Honami will oversee the prioritization of resources and planning the most efficient routes. Her ability to analyze complex situations and organize logistics is... extraordinary."
Honami stepped slightly forward, offering the villagers a small, serene smile. "I will do my utmost to ensure a smooth and orderly relocation," she said, her voice gentle but firm, a quiet promise of competence that, while unexpected, had a subtle calming effect.
"Where is Erina?" Riku asked
Couronne said that she's bathing right now
Riku told one of the village girls to conduct this information this to Erina.
"And Igris," Riku continued, lowering his voice slightly, though the name itself resonated with a newfound power since his return, "will provide... rapid transport for essential supplies and assist in clearing obstacles that would slow us down." He kept the explanation deliberately vague, unwilling to reveal the true nature of his knight to the wider village, but hinting at an unseen force.
He knew the villagers couldn't fully grasp the capabilities of these "allies" he had "found." They didn't understand Levi's near-superhuman speed and combat prowess, Honami's exceptional analytical mind operating on a level far beyond their own, or Igris's spectral strength and impossible speed. But they understood desperation. They understood Riku's unwavering resolve. And perhaps most importantly, they understood that Riku had always, somehow, found a way to lead them through the darkest of times.
"We leave at dawn tomorrow," Riku announced, the finality in his voice brooking no argument. "Start packing. Focus on food, water, medical supplies, essential tools, and irreplaceable items like our records and seeds. Everything else... we will have to leave behind."
A wave of frantic energy, tinged with despair, swept through the village. The impossible task was now undeniable reality. Families rushed to their huts, the sounds of hurried packing filling the night air – the rustle of cloth, the thud of objects being thrown into bags, the hushed, worried voices of parents trying to comfort frightened children.
Riku didn't waste a second. As the villagers began their frantic efforts, he pulled Honami and Levi aside, away from the chaos. "The time limit is twenty-four hours," he stated flatly, revealing the true, terrifying deadline. "Less than two full days. We have no room for error. This is an A-Rank System mission. Failure means the village is discovered by high-tier entities during the relocation. We cannot fail."
Levi's eyes narrowed, a grim understanding settling on his features. "Twenty-four hours. That's... challenging." It was the closest Levi came to admitting something was near impossible.
Honami's expression remained calm, but her sapphire eyes gleamed with intense focus. "Twenty-four hours. A rapid, highly coordinated effort will be required. We need to create a detailed manifest of essential items, prioritize packing order, map out the fastest and safest route considering the terrain and potential threats, and establish a strict marching order. Every second will count." Her mind was already operating at a furious pace, breaking down the overwhelming task into manageable, logical steps.
"Exactly," Riku said, a sense of relief washing over him as their extraordinary capabilities began to align. "Honami, I need you to work with the elders and Couronne. Create that manifest, organize the villagers into groups based on carrying capacity and necessary roles. Plan the route, identifying potential bottlenecks or dangerous areas. Levi, work with the scouts and the stronger villagers. Organize the packing teams, establish a rapid loading system, and prepare to clear the path ahead."
"And me," Riku added, his gaze distant, his mind accessing the most crucial System asset for this impossible move, "I will handle the most critical transfers. The things we absolutely cannot leave behind, the things that would take too long to move conventionally."
He didn't need to explain further. His Inventory. The spatial void capable of instantly storing cubic meters of material with zero weight and perfect preservation. It was the ultimate cheat code for a mass evacuation under an impossible deadline. He couldn't store everything, the 30 cubic meter limit was still a factor, but he could take the absolute essentials: critical documents, rare seeds, the generator they had just built, vital medical supplies, perhaps even dismantled parts of the telescope.
The air in the communal hut crackled, not with the gentle hum of the new electric lights, but with a raw, palpable fear. Two days. The words, a death sentence whispered from Riku's lips, echoed in the stunned silence. Moving the village was a task that belonged to the slow, deliberate rhythm of seasons, a grinding effort measured in weeks of back-breaking labor. Two days was a cosmic joke, a cruelty the System, or fate, had decided to inflict.
Panic, a cold, insidious tide, threatened to sweep through the gathered villagers. Faces, moments before alight with relief at Riku's return, twisted in disbelief. Murmurs rose, frantic questions tumbling over each other.
"Two days? How can this be?"
"My home... we can't just leave everything!"
"The children! The journey will kill them!"
Couronne, her face mirroring their terror but her voice a desperate anchor, turned to Riku. "Riku, please! It's impossible! We need weeks to prepare, to build new shelters, to find resources!"
Riku met their fear head-on, his gaze a steady, unwavering point in the storm. He wouldn't sugarcoat the impossibility by conventional means. But he would show them the new means, the improbable allies the System had provided.
"Impossible by yourselves, yes," Riku stated, his voice cutting through the rising panic, sharp and clear as a snapped bowstring. "But you are not alone. We are not alone anymore."
He gestured first to Levi, who stood, arms crossed, a figure of grim, unsettling competence. "Levi Ackerman," Riku announced, the name carrying a weight the villagers couldn't fully understand, but the man's coiled stillness, his sharp eyes missing nothing, conveyed a cold efficiency that snagged their attention. "He understands the brutal logic of rapid movement, of sacrificing non-essentials for speed. He will be your organizer, your driver. What takes weeks, he will condense into hours through sheer, relentless efficiency."
Levi offered no smile, no soft words. His gaze swept over the terrified faces, a silent assessment that strangely quelled some of the hysteria. They saw not comfort, but an unyielding force that demanded action, not despair.
Next, Riku turned to Honami, whose serene composure was a stark contrast to the surrounding turmoil. "This is Honami Ichinose," Riku introduced, a subtle warmth entering his voice. "Her mind works faster and more logically than any I have encountered. She will be your guide, your planner. She will determine what is vital, who carries what, the most efficient route, and the precise order of our march. Trust her calculations as you trust my word."
Honami stepped slightly forward, her expression calm, her sapphire eyes reflecting a quiet determination. "The task is daunting, but not insurmountable if we act with discipline and coordination," she said, her voice soft yet carrying surprising clarity. "We must prioritize ruthlessly. Focus on sustenance, medicine, tools, and the knowledge necessary to rebuild. Homes can be remade. Lives cannot." Her logical, almost detached assessment, delivered with such serene certainty, had a strange effect, grounding the panicked villagers in the stark reality of necessary choices.
"Erina is retrieving crucial medical supplies and preparing them for immediate transfer," Riku added, acknowledging the third member of their new ensemble, assigning her a task where her meticulous nature and potential medical knowledge (from her world's advanced standards) would be vital.
"And I," Riku continued, his gaze becoming distant, looking inward at the System interface, "will handle the impossible. The things that cannot be carried, the things that would take weeks to transport conventionally." He didn't mention the Inventory by name, the spatial void a secret held close, but the implication of unseen capabilities hung in the air. "The generator, our village records, rare seeds... the things that define our future as much as our present. They will move with impossible speed."
Panic began to recede, replaced by a frantic, desperate energy. The villagers, spurred by the terrifying deadline and the quiet authority of Riku and his improbable allies, rushed back to their huts. The sounds of hurried packing filled the night – the tearing of cloth, the thud of essentials being crammed into bags, the low murmur of worried voices.
Riku, Levi, and Honami moved through the chaos like the eye of a storm, a vortex of focused action amidst the whirlwind.
Honami, her initial composure unwavering, became a whirlwind of quiet organization. Working with Couronne, whose initial skepticism gave way to awe at Honami's capabilities, she moved among the villagers. Her sapphire eyes scanned their meager possessions, her voice, gentle yet firm, directing their efforts.
"Food and water first! Rations for two days, no more! Medical supplies – all of them! Tools – only the most essential, for building and repair! Seeds – every last one! Records, maps, knowledge scrolls – these define who you are, they must be saved! Anything else... leave it!"
She wasn't just giving orders; she was assessing, calculating, prioritizing with breathtaking speed. Using a piece of charcoal, she rapidly sketched simplified maps on scraps of hide, marking danger zones gleaned from Riku, designating marching order, assigning roles – who would help the elderly, who would carry the heaviest burdens, who would act as lookouts. She was transforming a panicked mob into a rapidly mobilizing force, her calm demeanor infectious, a beacon of reason in the face of absurdity.
"Route calculated," Honami announced to Riku and Levi, her voice calm as she pointed to a line on a new map. "South-west. Terrain is difficult, but fewer known territorial boundaries of aggressive races within a two-day march. Potential choke points identified here, here, and here." She marked three spots with swift strokes. "Villager groups organized by speed and endurance. Able-bodied distributed to assist. Couronne will lead the main body. Scouts will move ahead and alongside. Estimated pace will be slow due to terrain and load." Her efficiency was terrifying, turning the chaos into a series of manageable, albeit still agonizingly difficult, steps.
Levi, meanwhile, was in his element, albeit a profoundly irritating one for him. Dealing with terrified civilians lacked the clean brutality of fighting titans. But the mission was clear, the stakes absolute. He stalked through the village, his voice clipped and commanding, his actions brutally efficient.
"Move! Faster! That pile is useless, leave it! Focus on the bags! How much water? Not enough! Fill every container! Old man, you move with the second group! Stronger ones, form the carrying lines here!"
He wasn't gentle, but his presence instilled a desperate kind of order. He demonstrated techniques for efficiently packing bags, for distributing weight, for lifting and carrying awkward loads. He was a physical force, pushing, urging, clearing paths, his movements sharp and economical. He organized the scouts, instilling a grim discipline, assigning them patrol sectors around the rapidly shrinking village perimeter. He was the unyielding deadline made manifest, a relentless pressure that forced action over despair.