After finishing training, regarding the next plans.
Three days after Stella and the others had safely completed their training, achieving the minimum level of strength to avoid dying in the future, Zem and Jero were seen off as they returned to the main base. I was dumbfounded by Crew, who had left a note and disappeared without a trace. I kicked out Will and Filo, who were trying to stay in the mansion, and we gathered in the conference room for the first time in a while to discuss our future plans.
The topic was regarding our future plans.
I had decided and informed them beforehand, but I had to change the plans due to various information I had gathered, so this was the time to convey that.
“Alright then. First of all, Stella, Rio, and Fon, good work on your training. Lulu, thank you for your various support, I appreciate it again.
So, the reason I gathered you all today is that I have to report that we will be changing our plans from what I had previously told you.”
And so, after breakfast, I gathered everyone in the conference room and began to speak, spreading out a map with the locations of Disaster Classifications marked on it.
It wasn’t a particularly serious report, and they seemed to understand that it was just a slight change of plans, so I explained it casually.
“As I think Stella has shared, the behavior of the Other Races has been strange recently, and the Other Races living near the Disaster Classifications are also experiencing abnormalities.
After gathering information and examining the contents, I determined that it was not an issue that could be ignored, so I decided to change the plans we had initially made.”
As I said that, I pointed to a spot on the map, the Ushi of the plateau.
“Initially, we were going to kill the Ushi, which seemed the easiest ecologically, even though it was the furthest away, then kill the Ogre here, and then decide the order of the Other Races. I’ve changed that to dealing with the Disaster Classifications of the Other Races first.”
“Mm.”
“What’s wrong, Rio?”
“From where?”
“From the race that seems the most dangerous at the moment.”
“…The Elves?”
“I’m curious about your reasoning, but yes, that’s right.”
The Harpies were the ones who seemed the safest to leave alone.
The Dwarves were the ones who couldn’t move because they couldn’t understand the situation.
The Elves were the most dangerous and needed to be dealt with.
So, we would move in the order of Elves first, then Harpies, and finally Dwarves.
Well, the order after the Elves would change depending on the situation, and if the Ogres started an invasion or the Ushi started moving, we would deal with it accordingly.
“The Wyvern of the Harpies and the Flame Boar of the Dwarves have unknown strengths, but it seems that there wouldn’t be much of a problem even if we left them alone, assuming their strength is excessive.
However, I have determined that the phenomenon occurring with the Night Beetle of the Elves, or rather, with the Elven race, would become an irreversible situation if left unattended.”
Even if the Wyvern is a Disaster Classification, if it has lost its wings, it is not a great threat. It is possible that it could create wings with magic, but even then, it would not be a threat.
If we were to consider it a threat, it would need to have the strength of the Golden Dragon, who was a Demon Lord’s Army Executive. And if it had that much power, even without wings, the Great Canyon would have been reduced to a huge crater by now, so that’s not likely.
The same goes for the Flame Boar. Even if it manipulates lava because it is in a volcano, and attacks with lava flows while erupting the volcano, it wouldn’t even be damage, so it’s not a problem.
It would be extremely troublesome if it became the volcano itself, or if it evolved into a pseudo-spirit by sublimating its body, and at worst, I would have to fight while preparing for death for the first time in a while… but it’s probably fine.
It is thought that it will cause a rebirth phenomenon like Gugi, but in this regard, it is not a big problem if we kill it the moment it is born.
In the first place, the biggest threat of the rebirth phenomenon is that it is a first-time kill because it is uncertain whether it will occur. On the contrary, if we know that a rebirth phenomenon will occur, it is not a threat.
Besides, we can kill it if we kill it before it awakens, synchronizes its consciousness, and fully adapts, and we can kill it unless it stops time or manipulates causality, so it’s fine.
Therefore, the biggest concern at the moment is the phenomenon occurring with the Elves. If this is, as we speculate, due to the influence of a Demon Race of the highest rank or higher, or the influence of an overwhelmingly superior being in the world, then that’s fine.
But if this is a phenomenon caused by a different reason only for the Elves, then we cannot leave it alone. Or rather, to be honest, it felt similar to the phenomenon that occurs in animals parasitized by fungi. And if this is the case, it is a matter that must be dealt with as quickly as possible at the same level as the Demon Race, so I want to confirm it.
I don’t want to do other things while harboring unnecessary anxiety, and I can’t concentrate while leaving it alone.
“So, our next plan is to head to the Great Forest where the Elves live.
Since it’s quite a distance, and I don’t think it’ll be over just by killing the bugs that are eating the big trees inside the Great Forest, we’ll prepare supplies and a carriage, and head there while stopping by villages and towns along the way.”
“How long do you expect it to take to arrive?”
“It will take four days to arrive at the village nearest to the Great Forest. From there, it will be difficult to travel by carriage inside the Great Forest, so we will travel on foot… I expect it will take two days to arrive at the Elven settlement around here.”
“Hmm… then we’ll need a high-quality carriage.”
“We have more than enough money, so can I leave that to Stella?”
“Please leave it to me.”
I expect it to take about a week one way, and I want to settle things locally within a month at the longest. There are various reasons, but the biggest is that I want to prepare for the possibility of a large-scale invasion by the Demon Race that I asked the Avenger and the fanatic to carry out.
Before that, I want to kill at least three more Disaster Classifications, and I also want to expand our interactions because the more forces we can mobilize in case of emergency, the more helpful it will be.
“Since there will be various preparations, let’s set about three days as a preparation period for now. Of course, if the preparations are completed in one day, we will depart immediately, and if the preparations are not complete, we plan to extend it by about one day.”
“Is that alright?”
“What is it?”
“What kind of preparations will we be making?”
“Mainly preserved food and animal repellents, and spare weapons. I think we could hunt for food in the forest… but this time, there are some elements of anxiety, so I want to prioritize securing preserved food.”
“I see. Do we not need forest exploration equipment?”
“If you think it’s necessary, I’ll leave the preparations to you. However, exploration equipment is inconvenient in various ways, and it’s too distinctive from the Elves’ point of view, so I don’t recommend it much.
Survival kits, insect repellents, poison removal kits, and collection inspection kits are good to prepare. You should be able to carry them without having to put them in a storage bag, and there will be opportunities to use them in the future.”
“Understood.”
“Leader, I have a question regarding the travel route.”
“What is it?”
“Is there a reason why we are taking a detour instead of a straight route? If you don’t want to spend that much time, I think it would be better to go straight.”
“Ah, that’s to gather information along the way.”
“…About the Elves?”
“It’s about all Other Races, but mainly the Elves. There is a lot of information that the Elves have disappeared after saying that they are returning to their original residences, so this route is the result of investigating the routes where the most carriages pass by and minimizing it.”
“I see. How much will you investigate?”
“Just casually. We won’t go as deep as we did the other day, but we’ll just casually ask if they’ve seen any Elves, and if they have, if they’ve talked to them, and what kind of things they talked about.”
“I see, I understand.”
It is possible that they may be returning on foot via a straight route, but if that’s the case, it’s just a matter of being wrong, so it’s not a problem.
The problem would be if we hear information and they have a clear abnormality. In that case, we would have to change our travel plan and head to the Great Forest as soon as possible, and confront the abnormality at the Elven settlement.
“Anyway, that’s all for today’s sharing. After this, you can rest or prepare as you like… Fana.”
“What is it?”
“I’m going to go talk to the Knight Commander. There are a few things I want to ask.”
“Understood. Shall we go right after this?”
“Yeah, I don’t have any particular plans.”
They might have already sent Knights Order personnel to the Elven settlement. If so, there should be a report, and I would like to hear that report if possible.
If there is no significant report, then that could mean that there is an unusual abnormality occurring, so that is also a possibility.
“Okay, that’s all. You’re free to do as you please after this, Fana, let’s go.”
“Okay, I’ll go change, so wait for me.”
“Then, I’ll go outside first.”
“Understood, I’ll head there right away.”