Chapter 120: Vanguard in the Abyss
After that, I was so focused on building the embankment that two days flew by in a flash. Thanks to everyone gathering and brainstorming, we managed to come up with something pretty good.
However, it’s just an embankment. It can be easily climbed over, so the Magic Tool Craftsmen are currently working on countermeasures. Using Magic Stones would make it easy to prevent intrusion, but right now, they’re discussing whether it can be done without Magical Power.
In the midst of all that, I once again brought the Light Magic Tool with Mizuki’s special usage limit to the Empire’s magic tool shop. When I entered, Kai was already waiting, and he immediately stood up.
“Yo, how’s it going?”
“Yes, we were doing better than expected, but our response to external threats was still lacking, so we were grateful for the extra time.”
Kai said that since then, he’d been working without sleep, either tied up in strategy meetings or writing official letters.
“Good work. Do you think you’ll need this?”
“Ah, the one from that time… Are you sure it’s alright to bring this out?”
“Well, it has the same restrictions as last time. It’s designed to break on its own if used for too long.”
He showed his understanding with an “I see,” and then explained other concerns. If it became known that a cure existed in this land, an investigation would surely be launched. The country would demand disclosure of information, and then they would investigate us, he said.
“Therefore, if it’s alright with you…” he began, looking apologetic.
It was about whether we could accept them into the village, under the pretense that they had been executed. The Ignat Family had settled on executing them, but if they could be cured, then that changes things, he said.
“Ah, if they’re going to move to the village permanently, then that’s fine. We’ll get more residents, it’s perfect.”
“Are you… really sure about this?”
“Huh? We’re just saying they were executed, right? Is there a problem?”
When I asked why he looked so apologetic, he explained that besides them being from an enemy nation, accepting those who suffered from an epidemic is something people would inevitably be reluctant about.
“Well, we know it’s okay because of Prince Riley’s case. Ah, but first, we need to confirm if it’s the same illness. We’ll have to try using the Magic Tool to see if it’s effective, I guess.”
Since the symptoms are visible, it’s easy to tell if they’ve made a full recovery.
“This is a huge help. Some of my subordinates were also infected…”
As I listened to him, it turned out they had set up a campsite outside the town with the checkpoint and were quarantining them there.
“So, can I just go over there and bring them back with me?”
“No, while we would be very grateful if you did, the number of people is just too large…”
According to him, the number of infected had increased significantly since he’d heard about it in town, easily exceeding a thousand. I looked surprised, wondering how the numbers had gotten so high when they had only just arrived, but apparently, in the early stages of infection, it’s just mild skin irritation. Moreover, it spreads from the point of contact, often from the hands, so even a handshake can transmit it. Ugh, this is far more terrifying than I thought… Well, if we can take them, I don’t mind even if there are a lot of them.
“And also… what should we do about the relatives who won’t leave their side?”
“If they want to come, just let them come along, right? Well, we’ll have to make it clear to them that they can’t go back, though.”
“Understood. Then I will head to the campsite immediately and, as the coordinator, lead them to the vicinity of the mountain range. Please give me a little more time.”
After Kai ran off, Yuri and I discussed how to transport them.
“It would be safer to treat everyone and observe them first, wouldn’t it? The others would probably be confused too.”
“Yeah, probably. But I wonder if they’ll try to run away as soon as they’re cured?”
It’d be a real problem if they ran off after being treated. If they go back to their hometowns, it’ll be revealed that they were cured. And there are so many of them…
“Then, shall we temporarily connect the Tunnel here as well?”
Yuri explained that if we bring them inside the Tunnel, it would be easy to prevent them from escaping. If we tell them we’ll treat and quarantine them there before heading to the village, they should understand.
“I see. That’s the safest bet, huh? But it’ll consume a lot of Magical Power again…”
“Indeed. However, if this succeeds, we’ll have enough people for the village to be properly established. You probably won’t need to dedicate much effort to it anymore.”
Right. We’re getting about a thousand people who can use Enhancement Magic. If we leave the basic governance to Ignat, public sentiment should be fine too. Yeah, that should be okay.
We still have a good amount of Slime Jelly left, and this time it’s just digging. Let’s get it done quickly.
And so, I returned to the village and first gathered the villagers. I decided to talk to them before bringing the new people, as not doing so beforehand would likely cause distrust. Naturally, they asked me many times if it would be alright. So, I explained various things. It’s a disease where Monsters parasitize the body, consuming it from the inside as they grow, but if we eliminate them with magic that only affects Monsters, only scars will remain. Even so, they couldn’t shake their uneasy expressions, so on top of that, we decided to separate the areas at first.
They showed a degree of understanding, saying that if we separated the areas and could observe them for a long period, it would be acceptable. So, next, we had to dig the Tunnel, but when I grumbled about the Magical Power consumption, Ignat said, “Please leave it to me,” and did everything. Apparently, he had been storing Magical Power ever since we started developing the village, and he managed to complete the Tunnel all by himself. Once the Tunnel was made, my help was no longer needed, so I gave him the Light Magic Magic Tool and decided to entrust him with bringing them over as well.
“Alright, now that I’m free, shall I head to the Abyss soon? I need to report to Pops too.”
“W-Will it be alright? Telling him you’re bringing people from the Empire…”
Ah… Come to think of it, that’s right. Well, it’s on the condition that they immigrate permanently, and they’ll be considered dead over there, right? In any case, keeping it a secret would be the worst thing to do.
So, on my way to the Oldam Dungeon, I stopped by Belfast Castle to report to Pops, and he got pretty seriously angry with me.
“Why would you go out of your way to bring people from an enemy nation? It defeats the purpose of gathering confidential assets there,” he said. “What would you do if they later accused us of abducting their citizens?”
In the end, he strictly ordered me never to grant them permission to set foot in Imperial lands again, even if I grew attached to them.
“Rui, your actions are correct as a person. As your father, there are parts I’m proud of. However, as a leader, you are mistaken. A Lord is also a leader. Please act with that in mind.”
“U-Um, okay. I understand.”
Once that discussion settled down, I was then told that the Armistice Mediation with the Empire was approaching. Apparently, I have to attend as well.
“And also… it seems the princess of Lestall is coming to meet you, scheduled around the same time.”
“Eh, you accepted that? …Wouldn’t it be better not to get involved?”
“We can’t exactly turn away a friendly nation outright. If she comes to the castle, we must offer hospitality. Since you’ll be attending the Armistice Mediation, Rui, you can’t pretend to be out.”
Ah, so that’s how it is…
“Picking a fight is out of the question, but don’t get strangely friendly with her either, okay?”
“It’s fine to just make small talk and be done with it, right?”
“Don’t talk about the village, your schedule, or manufacturing techniques, got it?”
I see. Since she’s coming to see me, I should probably be thoroughly on guard.
“Also, I’d like to speak with former Marquis Ignat once before the Armistice Mediation. Can you bring him here?”
He said that if Ignat has sided with us, he definitely wants to hear about the Empire’s intentions and the Northern Church’s intentions. It’ll probably take some time to bring a thousand people over, so it should be fine. Actually, it’s more important for Ignat to be recognized as an ally, so, sorry, but I’ll ask him to prioritize this. Thinking that, I nodded and replied, “Understood,” to Pops’s question.
Once that discussion was settled, I remembered and reported about the period of increased Monster activity in Silence.
“You stuck your nose into that too…? Even though it’s from one end of the peninsula to the other. Being able to fly is incredible. However, it was wise of you to completely cut ties. That level of caution is just right.”
“Good. So, about that… next is Mildrad, right? I was thinking that maybe we’ll get about ten times the usual number of Monsters here too.”
“N-Now that you mention it, that’s true… Indeed, it wouldn’t be strange at all if that happened. Sorry, but if there’s nothing else, that’s all for now. I need to hold a strategy meeting for that.”
Pops paused for a beat, his eyes asking if there was anything else. When I shook my head, he stood up while asking an attendant to send a messenger.
“The princess of Lestall will arrive in three days. Make sure you’re back at the castle by then.”
With that said, Pops quickly left the room.
So the princess is coming the day before the Armistice Mediation, huh.
“Yuri, I’m counting on you for backup, okay?”
“Eh, me, sir…!?”
Ah, come to think of it, Yuri was originally socially awkward.
“Hmm, well then, I’ll just manage somehow on my own. So just stay by my side.”
“Y-Yes… I’m sorry for not being of much help.”
“No, it’ll probably just be a short chat and then it’s over, so it’s no problem.”
Yeah, I just need to do that thing Ignat often does. If I needlessly create an atmosphere where it’s just Yuri and me, she’ll probably find it hard to stay long. There’s no problem with just talking normally.
“Alright, shall we go hunt in the Abyss?” With that, we left the castle and headed for the Oldam Dungeon.
And so, our usual routine began, but this time, Yuri-san declared she wanted to fight in close combat.
This was on a Floor even higher than the Spider Floor, one where small dinosaurs appeared.
I agreed on the conditions that she would take an Elixir Capsule coated with my Maso beforehand, and that I could stop her at my discretion. And so, the trial hunt began.
We carefully scouted for enemies, and the battle began with just a single one.
I had my Laser Gun readied, constantly maintaining a lock-on.
“Well then, here I go!”
Yuri-san, cloaked in a tense aura, readied her sword and met the charge of the approaching small dinosaur.
First, she tried to kill its momentum with a light horizontal slash from the tip of her longsword, but it leaped up, evading the blow, and closed the distance further.
Huh, if it’s not touching the ground, isn’t it a perfect target…?
The moment I thought that, Yuri-san’s sword reversed its motion and caught the Monster.
Could she actually do this?
Just as I thought that, the moment she struck, Yuri-san’s Maso Sword was repelled.
“Eh?” Yuri-san’s voice cried out.
Its fangs had bitten through her Maso.
“I’m taking it down!?”
“No, please wait!!”
By the time Yuri-san cried out, I had already shot the Monster.
“My bad. I’d already fired.”
“No, it’s alright. It’s true that a reset would have been fine too.”
Saying that, Yuri-san let out a deep sigh.
“Looks like you could manage its speed, huh?”
“Yes. Though those fangs are troublesome.”
Indeed, when she attacked it mid-air, I thought she had it, but it had lunged and bitten with incredible speed.
However, their movement speeds were comparable, and if she used movement magic, she would be significantly faster. So, it wasn’t unreasonably difficult to resist like in the old days.
This must be the result of endlessly hunting Bloody Bears.
Perhaps Yuri-san felt it too, as she continued with a “However.”
“It’s easier than I expected. At this rate, I think I can take on several of them.”
I gave a wry smile at her words, which she delivered while calmly analyzing.
Several Monsters from a Floor close to the Abyss…
Well, for the time being, I’ll have her stick to one-on-one fights, though.
“Alright, my turn next then.
Against Monsters, there’s barely any need for tactics, and if I boost my enhancements, even I should be able to handle them easily, right?”
“Muu, I’m a little worried, but I suppose it can’t be helped. Now then, please say ‘ahh’!”
Eh? I shot her a surprised look, but when she said “Ahh!” again, I opened my mouth as told, and a small ball was placed inside.
“Okay, gulp it down!”
She said with a beaming, lovely smile, so I swallowed as instructed.
When I asked what it was, she said it was an Elixir Capsule. Apparently, she had been practicing how to coat them too, for times like this.
I can do it myself, but somehow, this makes me happy.
“Alright, let’s do this!”
Fired up, I scouted and succeeded in luring out a single Monster.
No carelessness. I’ll go all out from the start—and as I unleashed my full enhancements and also used movement magic, the Monster was cleanly bisected with a single stroke of my sword.
Huh… There’s no resistance at all.
Is this all there is to it? I tilted my head in confusion, but Yuri-san started walking off as if it were perfectly natural, saying, “Let’s go for the next one.”
“No way… a one-hit kill without my Gun or Laser Gun…”
“It’s only natural. Your physical abilities are far superior to mine, after all.”
She praised me, saying my movements had improved considerably, and I was feeling pretty good about it, but then Yuri-san also started defeating Monsters in single hits as if it were nothing.
Apparently, in that first fight, her attack was only repelled because she had aimed directly at its head from the front.
After that, we continued hunting with both of us acting as vanguards until we had annihilated them, completing the subjugation without either of us getting so much as a scratch.
To Yuri-san’s voice saying, “Let’s try going down a little further next time,” even I, who had been dreading close-quarters combat in the Abyss, found myself nodding involuntarily.
Because we had focused on close-combat subjugation, it took longer than usual, and a full day had passed. So, after staying overnight at Belfast Castle, we returned to the village.