Chapter 171: Chaos Dives Deep and Silent 4
Margrave Comsas had gone out to deal with the refugees as if fleeing from Erica, but he was thankful it had been the right decision.
The residents were anxious and exhausted.
Not from the distance, but exhausted from enduring the fear.
To maintain order, hope is necessary—the hope that following the rules will lead to salvation.
Anxiety and exhaustion easily shatter that hope.
It was fortunate, albeit by chance, that he, the Margrave, could show his face there.
He was well aware that his face alone held no such power.
The important thing was the presence of someone with the status of Margrave.
A place where a person of authority exposes themselves is a safe place.
That’s what the common folk tend to think.
Comsas felt relieved seeing the faces of the residents receiving Healing Magic from the Church’s Healer Faction.
He was also satisfied by the sight of adventurers offering words of encouragement to the injured waiting their turn for Healing Magic.
The residents of my town are truly good people.
He felt a sense of nostalgia, remembering how he himself had been halfway on their side during his adventurer days.
His increased responsibilities didn’t allow him to remain there, but in return, they had granted him the Authority to give them even a small measure of relief.
Comsas grabbed Bival and Shara by the scruffs of their necks as they tried to approach the injured, exercising his Authority to tell them to get lost, feeling satisfied with his current self.
After surveying the efficiently working members of the Healer Faction and the residents listening obediently to instructions, Comsas decided to withdraw, figuring he would just be in the way.
He didn’t know why his attendant Butler wore such a proud expression, but well, as long as he remained quiet, it was fine.
That’s why, when Comsas heard those words, he thought it must be some mistake.
He saw Erica, who had drawn her sword within the camp.
In my current mood, I could speak calmly with Erica.
Thinking that, he approached Longdagger, which turned out to be a mistake.
“Something’s coming from below! Get away from the fountain!”
Hearing the sudden shout echo, Comsas thought, What are you talking about, Longdagger?
He couldn’t understand.
But he understood the next words.
It was the voice of the young Guild Staff member who had led the refugees.
It was a voice that could even be called desperate—no, perhaps urgent?
In any case, the Guild Staff member shouted.
“You idiots!”
Words unfitting his timid appearance flew out.
“It’s ‘that’ Longdagger telling you to run! Don’t just stand there gawking! Hurry up and get away!”
The first to react were the adventurers.
“Whoa, this is bad.”
An adventurer nearby muttered this, then used loud shouts and gestures to move the refugees away from the fountain.
Adventurers dragged those still unable to move away from the fountain, ignoring their complaints.
“Anyone who can use Barriers, form a shield!”
“Seriously!? This is something Longdagger is telling us to run from!?”
“Shut your mouth! Shout from your ass!”
Adventurers roared as they erected Barriers in front of the residents.
So now they say ‘shout from your ass,’ huh, Comsas mused, impressed. In my day, it was ‘from your gut.’
The next to react were the Knights, turning serious eyes towards the fountain.
Was their hesitation to draw their swords because they couldn’t fully believe it? Or were they concerned about alarming the already agitated residents?
What? What was happening?
Comsas couldn’t keep up with the situation at all.
It could be said he was dumbfounded.
To those around him, he appeared calm, watching the fountain with stern, wary eyes, but inwardly he was so confused he couldn’t even form a complaint.
“Damn it! We should have fled outside the city!”
The Guild Staff member who had shouted earlier said this as he dashed past Comsas.
True, that way they could get away from both the Majin and Longdagger.
It was just as Comsas was thinking this.
He noticed the ground was vibrating.
He sensed his Butler beside him lowering his stance.
“Please be careful, My Lord.”
“Right.”
Something was coming, at least.
Comsas resignedly increased the intensity of his Physical Enhancement.
It was the next moment.
Along with a ground-shaking rumble that resonated in his gut, the fountain blew away.
Literally blew away.
It really blew away, seriously blew away, blew away into smithereens; a precious asset of my city blew away.
No way, you idiot.
A massive amount of debris, and a comparable mass of water, shot towards the heavens like a pillar.
If it fell back down, it would be a catastrophe.
The instant he thought that.
An explosion occurred in mid-air.
I don’t get it anymore. I don’t understand a single thing.
Thankfully, however, the majority of the massive amount of debris was reduced to small fragments by the explosion.
Perhaps the wall of water cushioned it, as even the fragments sent flying by the explosion lacked momentum.
And then Comsas noticed.
The shadow in the air.
A Majin? He thought for a moment, but denied it upon seeing the perfectly human-shaped shadow.
But there was no mistaking the shadow that burst out from the still-airborne water, as if chasing the first one.
The water blown up with the debris was still in the air—Comsas shuddered at the speed of this Chaos.
The unmistakable shadow was, for some reason, carrying a person under its arm.
It shouted.
“Baldo Barrel! Take care of the idiot!”
The person who had been carried under its arm was tossed through the air.
Why are you there?
Comsas simply, frankly thought this.
Didn’t you go SPLAT! from the sky and disappear into a hole in the ground?
It’s good that you’re not dead.
It’s harder to believe you could die.
But even so, emerging like this is just too much.
What are you, some kind of…?
Jack-in-the-box?
Or maybe fireworks set off by some cheerful idiot?
The Adventurers Guild Master (Baldo Barrel) catching the thrown person in mid-air—Why are you here too?—Comsas thought, yet he couldn’t bring himself to be surprised.
The idiot (Shin Longdagger) shouted.
“You die here! I’ll kill you!”
Those words were undoubtedly directed at the mysterious figure who had appeared first.
That one shouted back.
“You’re persistent, Longdagger!”
Those are my lines.
Comsas thought this, facing the Chaos that pursued him relentlessly.
Stunned, he remained speechless before the Chaos unfolding in front of him.
And then, a deep breath—.
“From this moment on, I revert to being an adventurer.”
“Why might that be?” his attendant Butler, waiting beside him, inquired.
“Because a Margrave who looks like he’s about to bite someone’s head off just doesn’t cut a dignified figure.”
Indeed. The Butler recalled the threat his master had previously made to Longdagger and understood.
Facing the Chaos swirling before him, the Margrave drew his sword.
“Those who uphold order, follow me!”
The Butler joyfully followed his master’s back.
*** Author’s Note ***
I never said it would stay submerged quietly.