“I am ashamed to say that I have finally come to understand why Count Okuno-sama is called a hero.”
Back in the reception room of the manor, the young Lien’s expression was much brighter than before. It seemed that the Dullahan subjugation had the effect of alleviating the young acting lord’s anxiety. The young man praised us enthusiastically for a while.
Feeling rather awkward, I decided to leave the Marquis Manor after a brief greeting. When he offered to reward us, I accepted the standard adventurer’s fee.
It was past noon when we returned to the town, so we decided to have a meal at a nearby restaurant.
We were a large group of nine, and with Geshura, who had a snake lower body, we couldn’t enter a small establishment. However, since I was a Count, we could secure a large private room if we chose a high-end restaurant.
Once seated, the conversation naturally shifted to the events at the Marquis Manor.
“In the end, there didn’t seem to be any agents of the ‘Candlestick of the Netherworld.’ But then, how were they planning to use all those Summoning Stones?”
Larni’s question was answered by Sfenia.
“Since he was disguised as the Marquis himself, he probably intended to have the soldiers use them. It’s not obvious at a glance that they summon Undead, so there are plenty of ways to deceive people.”
“Ah, I see. And on top of that, if they had summoned a Dullahan, it would have been a disaster.”
“They really think of terrifying things. They did the same thing in the Royal Capital, and they’ll probably do something similar again somewhere. Soushi-san, once the ‘Kin of Twilight’ matter is settled, shouldn’t we seriously pursue the ‘Candlestick of the Netherworld’?”
“I intend to. If we can find out the route the Summoning Stones were transported through in this incident, we might be able to track them down.”
“With Soushi-sama’s power, I believe we can find out where they are immediately. We must never forgive those people.”
Freinir’s words seemed to contain not only trust in me but also a strong anger towards the ‘Candlestick of the Netherworld.’
“That’s absolutely right. We need to quickly deal with the ‘Kin of Twilight’ and then take care of them as well,” Karma agreed, and Shizuna laughed cheerfully.
“It’s amusing how the ‘Kin of Twilight’ already seem like they’re no match for us. Before entering ‘Soul’s Guidance,’ the ‘Kin of Twilight’ felt like terrifying demons that we could never hope to face.”
“We have Geshura, and the guys from the other day were reasonable. Besides, if Soushi-san just takes care of that Rendurm guy, it’s practically over.”
Mariane chuckled at Karma’s lighthearted remark, and the other members nodded or said, “That’s right.”
“Even so, it’s still a battle. Let’s not let our guard down and give it our all.”
“This is my first time in a large-scale battle and facing the ‘Kin of Twilight,’ so I’m a bit uneasy. How about the rest of you?”
Sakurahime, who was the only one looking worried, said this, and Karma, who was sitting next to her, put an arm around her shoulder and grinned.
“What are you talking about? You’ve fought against hordes of enemies in Dungeons before. It’s not that different.”
“That’s right. We’re always fighting anyway, so it’s nothing to worry about. The ‘Kin of Twilight’ aren’t as strong as you might think. They’re maybe a little stronger than the participants in the Martial Arts Tournament.”
When Larni said that, Sakurahime looked somewhat relieved.
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. And with the effects of Lord Soushi’s Skills, our power will increase. Indeed, the ‘Kin of Twilight’ are nothing to fear.”
“Right, right. Speaking of Sakurahime’s words, it reminded me that if Soushi goes to the battlefield with other adventurers, they will also be affected by Soushi’s Skills, right?”
When Larni looked at me, everyone’s gaze focused on me. Now that she mentioned it, I had forgotten about that myself.
“They said it had an effect when we fought in Mecalinan, so it will probably be the same this time.”
“Doesn’t that mean it’s going to be pretty amazing? People who participated in the Martial Arts Tournament and even Princess Marishielle will become 30% stronger, right? It’s almost like the ‘Kin of Twilight’ will be the ones to be pitied.”
“That’s going to make Soushi-san’s reputation even higher. Since it’s a Skill called ‘Vessel of the Commander,’ why not just make him a general?”
“Indeed, it would be best for Lord Soushi to take the position of ‘Spirit General’ in Oz.”
“In the Inner Elf Village, we also have a rank equivalent to a general.”
The members were as usual, but if my ‘Vessel of the Commander’ Skill was deemed extremely useful this time as well, I had a feeling that people would say even more things about me.
His Imperial Majesty would probably take that into consideration, but I had truly obtained a Skill that was too much for me. However, if I thought about how it could protect my members, I had no complaints.
The next day, we immediately began our Dungeon exploration of the surrounding area.
There was one B-class and one each of C, D, and E-class Dungeons around the capital, so we cleared the C, D, and E-class Dungeons in one day each.
These classes only served to level up everyone’s existing Skills, but even so, it was important to increase our abilities before the battle. All the bosses on the lowest floors of each class were multiple, and we ended up defeating a total of seven. Thanks to that, our resistance Skills increased dramatically.
The B-class Dungeon had 15 floors, but we wanted to avoid staying overnight in the Dungeon because we didn’t know when the ‘Kin of Twilight’ would come. So, we descended to the 10th floor in one day, returned, got a general idea of the Dungeon, and then cleared it all at once the next day. It was a forced march that a normal party could never do, but ‘Soul’s Guidance’ made it easy. In the B-class Dungeon, two Rare Bosses appeared on the lowest floor, which was a big help in leveling up our high-level existing Skills.
And two days after clearing the B-class Dungeon, the army from the Imperial Capital finally arrived.
Moreover, the commander-in-chief of that army was His Imperial Majesty himself, protected by Princess Marishielle and the Royal Guard Knights.