Manowa - Chapter 386

◎ Torda Hot Spring Town, Louise Hotel

Yumika and the others’ journey was proceeding smoothly. After leaving Rock Hold Town, the next place the party visited was Torda Hot Spring Town. That is to say, the hot spring town where they first met Louise, where the hotel managed by her was located.

6 days left until the coronation. Louise was planning to spend that day and the next day dealing with hotel business, but once they continued onward, they would likely reach the royal capital in three days’ time.

(At least, that’s what we were thinking, but…)

Yumika sighed inside Louise’s hotel office. Tiara was sitting next to her. And in Tiara’s arms, for some reason, Mefirus had a serious expression.

『Hmm』

「What’s wrong, Grandfather?」

Tiara tilted her head and asked Mefirus. While he usually didn’t talk very much normally, Mefirus’ state had been strange since that morning.

『No, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.』

Mefirus so replied to his granddaugther’s question. After being told that, Tiara could only nod. The cause of Mefirus’ state was the message he received yesterday from Audin via the Ruby Griffon contract.

(All the people who were planning the assassination are dead? Having said that, there’s no guarantee that the assassination risk is gone…)

The assassination danger had already been incorporated into their plans; Mefirus and the others had been thinking that the riskiest times were when they reached the royal capital or when they were in Torda Hot Spring Town. Yumika was always on guard with『Dog’s Sense of Smell』, and Jinrai was being especially vigilant about nearby presences. And now, there was the report from Audin.

(Well, I suppose I shouldn’t purposely say something that could cause them to loosen their vigilance?)

Under these circumstances… so thinking, Mefirus didn’t say anything.

However, even putting that aside, another problem was occurring.

In front of them was Torda Hot Spring Town’s Adventurers Guild branch head, Maia. She had expressly come to Louise Hotel to talk with them about the issue.

「I see. I’ve understood the story, but the important part is that the army can’t go out, right?」

Louise put her hand on her forehead and asked. Louise interacted with Maia as a resident and businessperson of the same city. She wanted to help if possible. However, the issue she had been brought was a troublesome one.

「That’s right. Unluckily, this is happening at the same time as the coronation, so there aren’t enough Tsuvaran troops. So, umm, with the power of Rank S Jinrai-sama, I was wondering if something could be done.」

In front of the White Party (excluding Kazane and Naoki), Maia replied with a somewhat exhausted expression. She might not have slept in the past few days. That was how desperate she was.

The origin of the affair was the discovery of huge lizard-type monsters called Brutuza in the forest to the west. They were behemoth-class giants with a total length of over 15 meters. They had a sturdy shield-like skeletal structure on their heads, and they were known to crush a village or two if they passed through while they were rampaging.

It was said that a herd of 5 had wandered into this area. Right now, they were only hunting in the woods, but they didn’t know when they might head their direction, and unfortunately, it would be difficult to deal with them with just the Tsuvaran soldiers present in the surrounding towns. Since the army was concentrated in the royal capital for the coronation, there were insufficient numbers everywhere, and since they hadn’t caused any damage at the present point, they were being left alone for now.

「Currently, we’ve requested for kingdom troops to be stationed in nearby cities, and there’s a similar ongoing request for adventurers, but that’s the best we can do; we can’t gather a sufficient number of people for a subjugation.」

Maia said. Basically, it was normal for cities to have garrisons in this world. They existed to deal with monsters that adventurers couldn’t deal with, but having said that, there was no way they would be sent on a suicide mission with thin hopes of victory. Considering the rank of the monsters this time, with the diminished number of soldiers in the nearby towns, they concluded that it would be too dangerous to gather their war potential and attempt a subjugation.

「We were told that dealing with them would become possible after the coronation, but we don’t know how long the present condition of no damage will last.」

Dignitaries from many countries had already gathered in the royal capital, so there was no way they would do something that might lead to one of them saying their army was undermanned. Moreover, there was less than a week until the coronation ceremony. The judgement to wait until after that to gather numbers and do the subjugation was by no means mistaken.

「I see. And then, you heard that we’re here.」

After Louise’s words, Maia deeply nodded.

「I’ve heard that a rank S adventurer by themself is comparable to an army. I thought it might be possible with Jinrai-sama’s power, and clinging to that hope, I came here.」

Subjected to Maia’s gaze, Jinrai muttered.

「Brutuzas? It would be another story if it were just one, but five is troublesome.」

「Grandfather, are Brutuzas that strong?」

It was a name that wasn’t heard in Hyvern. Lyle hadn’t known about their existence.

「Mm. They’re not dragons, but giant lizards of the Saurus family. Few types use Breath or fly in the sky, but they’re simply powerful and tough. They’re generally sturdier than Earth Core Dragons. And even among them, Brutuzas have shield-like heads that repel every kind of attack. With five, this town would probably become a pile of rubble in the blink of an eye.」

(If I remember correctly, that monster resembles a triceratops, with a head that’s just like a tower shield)

Yumika remembered fighting that monster in Zexiaharts. Incidentally, Arch had been pounced on and died many times; her winning percentage was zero.

(Those are certainly tough, aren’t they? And it’s not simply an issue of power, but player skill as well)

Because it was an opponent that couldn’t be defeated if it was challenged from the front, player skill was more important than level. Since I wasn’t skilled at the game, I couldn’t handle them with Arch… Yumika thought.

「Oi, Yumika.」

At that time, she heard a voice for some reason.

「Yumika, are you listening?」

「Uh, ah, yes. Master?」

Then Yumika realized she was being called and raised her face.

Thereupon, everyone was looking at Yumika.

「Umm, what is it?」

Yumika asked while blinking in surprise, and Jinrai opened his mouth.

「As expected, with 5 Brutuzas, we can’t handle it with just us. Please check if Kazane can come and whether or not we should do this.」

「Aah, I see. That’s right.」

Understanding what Jinrai was saying, Yumika opened a Window and prepared to send an email to her best friend. With『Return Stake』, they could come this distance. The issue was the current situation of Kazane and the others.

◎ Minshiana Kingdom, Kazane Magic Hot Spring Town, Residential Area

「Alright, alright. Ok, stop there.」

Thumps sounded as the ground shook. At Kazane’s signal, the giant swayed and stopped.

「OーK. Sit to finish.」

And it slowly sat down. Then, its legs collapsed, and the『house』gently reached the ground.

「This is like a fairytale.」

Kimberly was watching and muttered that.

If he said what he saw a moment ago without change, it would be that a house came walking from the mountains and sat down. Even for a resident of a world of swords and magic like Kimberly, it was completely out of the ordinary, but there was a reason Kazane had no choice but to do this.

This is something obvious, but Golem Maker made forms out of rock and soil. And when it came to building a large number of houses, naturally, the soil in that place alone was insufficient. The insufficient soil was being transported from the direction of the mountains a short distance away, and Kazane was making legs on the houses with Golem Maker to directly transport them here.

Thanks to that, a corresponding amount of Magic Power was also being consumed, delaying the work. But even with that, she had already completed 36 buildings since yesterday. They were simple one story structures with a living room, kitchen, and two bedrooms, but that was the structure of a typical house in this world.

By the way, a communal bath with hot water was prepared yesterday, and the residents from Uumin were entering it in turns.

「I’m running low on Magic Power. Once I’ve made 3 more buildings, I’ll take a break.」

After Kazane’s words, the surrounding people shouted「Ooh!」

Those people were laborers who were former members of Outer, and once Kazane placed a house, they furnished them with the items arranged nearby. Since there was nothing else he could do, Naoki was also mixed in with them, and he had shouted the loudest.

「Well then, shall we go?」

The cocoon and Tatsuo were already on Yuuko-nee. Kazane mounted next to them and was about to go to the place with soil to make more houses,

「Huh?」

She said and looked into blank space. A Window that was invisible to the surrounding people had opened there.

『Urgent email… is it?』

Tatsuo, who was next to Kazane and could see her Window for some reason, said that.

「From Yumika? What is it?」

So saying, Kazane opened the mail Window.

And written there was a message checking whether or not they would participate in the request to subjugate the Brutuzas.

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Summoning Fighter

Title: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King, Liberator, Guardian

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Draghorn Tonfa x2, Dragon Eating Ogre Army Armor (True), Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, White Magic Accumulator (Revised) ×2, Rainbow Necklace, Rainbow Dragon Ring, Angel Bracelet

Level : 39

Health: 155+20

Magic Power: 363+520

Strength: 78+45

Agility: 80+39

Endurance: 44+20

Wisdom : 75

Dexterity : 53

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』『Golden Dusk「Dragon Exclusive」』『Mirror Shield』『Rabbit Speed』『Flare Mirage』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Kick Decapitation Wave』『Warrior’s Memory: Lv2』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog’s Sense of Smell: Lv2』『Golem Maker: Lv4』『Aegis Shield』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition: Lv2』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link: Lv2』『Optical Camouflage』『High Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Hand Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『Sturdier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Devil King’s Intimidation』『Stone Minotaur: Lv2』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『Space Expansion』『Pseudo-Silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』『Arms Creation: Black Flame』『Ingredient Connoisseur: Lv2』『Dragon Pheromone「Dragon」』『Boost』『Monkey’s Strong Arm』『Two-sword Style』『Boobies Plus』『Living Armor』『Alarm』『Six-sword Style』『Mental Attack Complete Protection』『Spider Web』『Wire Cutter』『Flexible』『Magic Power Absorption』

Naoki: 「When I was in Hyvern, a tough request like this would come to the guild about once every few months. Well, at my rank, I couldn’t accept them, though.」

Kazane: 「It’s tough. In this world as well.」

Naoki: 「You’re saying that like it’s somebody else’s problem, but we’re a rank S party, so setting aside whether or not we’ll accept, we’ll definitely be summoned for them?」

Kazane: 「Ah」