Chapter 89:
A Defensive Battle
“BUT IF YOU DO SOMETHING that stupid, isn’t that just going to prompt a war with someone else?! Even if you temporarily beat down these colonies of demi-humans—never mind the other clans settled inside the country—you’re going to get demi-humans rushing in from the surrounding countries, and maybe even humanoid armies from other nations, wanting to defend the ancient treaties and prevent having a demi-human war spread across the continent. Plus, the elder dragons have formed their own pacts, and if they get angry as well… This is suicidal! And then, despite everything going on here , the Empire wanted to start messing around in the Kingdom of Brandel? What the heck are you all thinking?” Mile raved.
Sir Webdel shrugged his shoulders, a troubled look upon his face.
“I mean, from what I’ve heard, it sounds like the demi-humans were the ones who picked this particular fight… Very recently, at that. So really, this is an emergency change of plans, to halt the, er, preparations that were being made regarding other countries…”
“Whaaat?!”
It was clear that Sir Webdel was mincing his words in order to avoid saying anything like “aggressive” or “invasion.”
Typically, it was the humans who went after demi-human settlements, looking to claim some fertile lands or rare treasure. It was uncommon for their fellow humanoids, the elves and dwarves, to get involved in conflicts of this type. Perhaps because their birth rates were so low, owing to their longevity, they had little interest in expanding their territories and instead prioritized the protection of their current settlements, which meant they were not so fond of war…
Demi-humans mounting a war effort was as good as unprecedented. It really only happened in exceptional cases, and often as not, it turned out that humans were the root cause—forcing demi-humans to take action when their people were snatched by slavers, treasures stolen from their clan, or their kin killed by invaders.
Thus, the members of the Crimson Vow were quick to conclude that the people of the Empire must have committed some truly heinous crime in order to incite the ire of the demi-humans.
Seeing them coming to this conclusion, Sir Webdel shook his head. “No, I mean, that doesn’t seem to be the case… Not this time, honestly!”
He had as good as admitted that this was typically how things went.
“Very recently, the demi-humans have suddenly started invading lands that aren’t part of their territories and forcibly driving out the humanoids who live there. It does seem that they’ve at least allowed them to take their belongings with them, but this is clearly an act of aggression, in violation of the old treaties.”
It was a little odd to refer to beings who lived within the bounds of the Empire as “invaders,” but much as the demi-humans might dwell within the imperial borders, by rights, they were not truly citizens of the Empire. They had no military obligations, nor tax obligations, and they weren’t even obligated to obey the Emperor’s edicts. But in exchange, they also forfeited all rights to official protections.
To put it politely, they were simply foreigners who made their homes there. To put it less politely, they were as good as the beasts and monsters that dwelled in the woods. Thus, while they ostensibly had the same rights and privileges as humans, it would be no surprise for a fight to break out at the slightest provocation, thanks to the deep-seated bigotry and malice that remained between the groups.
And of course, this was just the kind of situation that political leaders might try to use to their advantage, whether that meant quelling conflict or stirring it up…
Without knowing the motivations of any of the relevant parties, there was little to be done at this point. Either someone was scheming or there had been a very unfortunate misunderstanding.
Still, the Crimson Vow had a guess, particularly given that Sir Webdel had named the enemy not as any particular beast or demon tribe but demi-humans as an entire race…
“Don’t tell me…”
“Could it be…?”
“It probably is…”
The four fell momentarily silent.
“So, Sir Webdel, exactly what goods does your shop deal in?” asked Pauline, casually changing the subject. “To tell you the truth, I also come from a merchant family…”
There was no reason for any merchant to hide what kind of business they did, so Sir Webdel answered Pauline’s question frankly. Indeed, he appeared almost grateful for the sudden, if unnatural change of topic, likely having grown worried himself that the conversation was treading into dangerous territory.
Mile returned to the children, to serve up another round of food.
Accompanied by some of the older kids, Mavis headed off a short distance, accepting a stick and their requests for sword-fighting lessons.
Reina handled the children who wished to learn magic.
And Pauline continued speaking with Sir Webdel about his trade…
***
“Thank you immensely for accepting this request of mine. I think this has been a good experience for the children,” said Sir Webdel, bowing his head.
“Thank you so much for your request!” the Crimson Vow replied with bows of their own.
As this had been an independent job, rather than one contracted through the guild, there was no final report to complete. They had received all of their payment up front, and so, their business was concluded.
Knowing how many rare ingredients and expensive seasonings were involved in Mile’s dishes, Sir Webdel had timidly offered up additional compensation, but Mile simply laughed and declined graciously. Though her ingredients were rare, they were things she had stocked large quantities of while passing through their places of origin. Whether they were items with short growing seasons, or those that would be absurdly expensive to transport to far-off locales, Mile herself did not view these items as particularly valuable.
Even when it came to the seasonings, any spice was the result of her hot magic, bulked up with pepper and hemp seeds and black sesame, poppy seeds, nori, ginger, and so forth, to temper the spice level and increase the richness and depth of the flavor. The nori was something Mile had harvested herself on the Crimson Vow’s trip to a seaside town. She had later processed and dried it via magic, along with sea lettuce and kombu. Gathering those ingredients took nothing more than a little bit of labor, so they were not really all that pricey. Besides, she had so much in stock that if the Crimson Vow themselves were the only ones to use it, it would take several centuries before her supply even started running out.
***
“Sir Webdel was full of surprises, wasn’t he?” asked Mavis as the party regrouped.
“Yes! Although clearly it’s not a very well-kept secret…” added Pauline.
“I’m sure that the other teams have already figured out at least as much as he told us,” Reina agreed.
Indeed, as the girls implied, if they had not already uncovered at least this much intel, then the so-called merchants, who were dealing with the nobles, espionage experts, and local agents must be immensely incompetent.
“Or perhaps, this is information that they want other countries to find out about. Should a war break out with the demi-humans, they would want other countries to know that the Empire isn’t the one in the wrong and that it was the demi-humans who broke the treaty. Plus, if it’s not something that they themselves are ranting and raving about, but information that the top brass in other countries obtains on their own… If it was just a matter of the Albarnians badmouthing the demi-humans, that might get written off as baseless rumors, but if countries are learning about this through their own intelligence agents, then they can’t complain to the Empire about making it up,” Mile reasoned aloud.
The other three nodded along, following her logic.
“So, it’s not classified, and any reasonably well-informed person would know about it… So, what should we do?” asked Reina.
The other three wasted no time in replying.
“Well, for now, I guess we should go tell our employers!”
“Once they hear about it, they’ll probably be in a hurry to go and collect information from those areas…”
“So we’ll have to take a route that will take us through there…”
“In which case…”
“Let’s get going!”
***
The moment the merchants heard the Crimson Vow’s information, they ran off somewhere in a great hurry, and after that, their stay in the capital was extended by three days. It was unclear if they were using the extra time to do their own investigations or rendezvous with other teams, but regardless, it seemed they were able to pinpoint the location in question, which Sir Webdel had not been able to name. Finally, their new destination was decided.
They were headed for the mountains, southeast of the capital.
The Empire as a whole was largely mountainous, so it did not mean much to say that they were headed into the mountains generally. Moreover, there were even a large number of mountains to the southeast.
And this was a place where few humanoids lived, but demi-human villages were numerous…
“Apparently,” Pauline explained, “Mr. Webdel’s shop, the Worrell Company, and the Dilabolt Company, the business formerly owned by that criminal Galadle, had both accepted jobs to distribute provisions to the scene of the action.” Pauline had learned this during her conversation with Webdel after the others had split off.
“In other words,” said Reina, “they were in charge of furnishing military supplies. I guess if you’re only moving within your own country, it makes sense to use civilian merchants instead of military transport units. That way, you can use that time to start prepping transport units for the next actual military campaign.”
Whereas war on modern-day Earth might involve great movements of weapons and ammunition, in the present state of this world, the bulk of what a low-ranking soldier carried were provisions along with things like arrows and spare swords.
Since they were not invading another country, these troops did not require the tools needed for laying siege to any castles or fortresses, such as battering rams, ballistae, grappling hooks, rope ladders, and the like. There was no need to carry in large amounts of food from the capital either, as they could purchase or requisition it from the nearby villages, and there was no worry of the supply caravans bringing additional provisions being attacked by enemy soldiers along the way. Similarly, staying within their own country meant the troops could count on reliable water sources, with enough drinking water available.
And clearly, no bandits would be stupid enough to attack a caravan guarded by soldiers. Were they to attempt it, the army would mobilize the next day and slaughter every bandit in the area. Picking a fight with the army, or the country’s top brass, simply didn’t make sense.
Thus, availability of supplies was not an issue.
However, these were still military supplies, intended for the army— truly the bare minimum in terms of provisions. They certainly were not carrying any top-quality beef or well-aged wine, as much as the soldiers might have appreciated it.
***
In the capital, the “merchants” had restocked, buying a number of luxury items to fill the cargo beds of the wagons, which were now nearly empty.
It would be bizarre for merchants to linger around the Empire when they had nothing to sell, and of course, running a business had proved a lucrative source of conversations and information. All of this meant they needed merchandise.
Food for the soldiers was supplied by the army, so they would not be hurting for standard provisions—hence the new focus on luxury items, like booze and sweets.
However, these goods were not especially bulky, leaving more space in the wagons than when they had departed the capital of Tils. As a result, the members of the Crimson Vow were able to kick back and relax as they left the capital and traveled into the mountains.
“So, what should we do?” asked Mile.
“What is there to do? If this goes the way it always does, we just have to explain what we can and leave things as tidy as possible,” said Reina.
“I guess so…” Mile could only shrug.
“Well, we might be able to get some results if we throw out that elder dragon errand boy’s name,” Pauline offered.
“Oh, right,” Mile joked, “Mr. ‘Better This One.’”
“It’s Berdetice,” Reina said flatly. By now she was used to playing the straight woman to Mile’s jokester.
“Still, we know that it’s not just one dragon in charge of contacting every investigation team at every ruin across the continent, right? No matter how far they can fly and how wide their territories are, that just wouldn’t be very efficient…” Mavis mused.
“Well, even if another elder dragon is in charge of this site, isn’t it good enough to let them know that we—or rather, that the humans—are aware of what they’re up to? We can let them dig their holes, and when they’re satisfied, they’ll leave without a fight. Plus, I’m sure information about our last encounter has been shared with the other elder dragons. They’d probably let the demons and beastfolk at the site know about it too, right?” said Reina.
“I guess so…” replied Mile and Pauline.
On the one hand, this conflict between the humanoids and the demi-humans did not seem like it was too big of an issue. In fact, it was probably even favorable for the Tils side if the Albarnian forces exhausted their own resources fighting within their own borders.
Sir Webdel had called this foray an emergency change of plans, which had interrupted some kind of preparations involving “other countries.” Although he had been purposefully vague, it was hard to imagine that some kind of invasion had not been in the works.
“Maybe we should just leave this one alone?” asked Mile and Mavis, who had come to the same conclusion at almost the exact same time.
Reina and Pauline looked perplexed, but once Mile explained, they both seemed to come around to her way of thinking.
“I see,” said Reina. “We haven’t accepted a job to try and resolve this conflict—and if it is resolved, that only seems to increase the odds of a potential invasion of our home countries by the Empire.”
In general, international affairs were not a chief concern for Reina, who had settled down only temporarily in Tils and did not consider it her home country. However, it did not feel good to think of the place where her friends’ families lived, along with the countless other people she had met, getting swept up into a war, and it was all the more unpleasant to think that any actions of their own could unnecessarily hasten such a thing.
“So, we’re just going to gather information and not give any help that would resolve the conflict? Wouldn’t that just exacerbate things?” asked Pauline.
The other three were silent.
To fan the flames of war would most certainly be a step too far. They had accepted no such request, and to do so would make them into warmongers.
The silence spread to Pauline as well.
“Well, we don’t know for certain that this is connected to those other incidents, and there’s no point in speculating about it now. If we spend hours thinking about it and arrive to find something completely different is going on, why, that’s just an enormous waste of time and effort—a huge loss!”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Hearing the word, “loss,” Pauline was swayed.
“Well, then, we’ll have to leave this one to chance!” Mavis declared. “That is our…”
“Crimson Vow!” the others finished.
***
Seven days after their departure from the capital, the caravan arrived in the southeast region of the Empire. This was a distance that, in any other country, even the slowest transport wagon could have covered in about five days, but travel took far more time here in the Empire, with its precipitous, poorly maintained roads and long stretches of mud that resulted from the rainy climate.
In spite of this, thanks to both the magic and might of the Crimson Vow, things were proceeding smoothly. It would have taken even longer for any normal caravan, but thanks to Mile’s skills, they never spent too long stuck in the mud or dealing with broken wheels. In this area, most parties would form far larger caravans to ward off monsters and bandits. However, the more wagons that were involved, the more broken wheels and axles, and other such delays, arose. It was not as though a wagon could simply be abandoned when things went awry, so everyone would have to halt until repairs were done. And of course, the conditions meant that wagons broke down much more frequently than they would normally.
“The roads are bad, so movement takes more time for caravans, which leads to unnecessary costs. Thus, the price of the goods rises, and there’s a higher chance of being attacked, which drives prices even higher as a form of risk management… It’s a vicious cycle,” said Pauline, giving them the merchant’s perspective.
“More importantly,” Reina added, “the Empire is vast, with lots of hills—and being a poor country without much in the way of funds, there isn’t a lot to devote to the maintenance of national highways…” As the daughter of a peddler, who had traveled in a wagon with her father since her earliest memories, Reina likely had far more of an awareness of highways than Pauline, who was the pampered daughter of a mid-scale merchant house and had never ever left home before becoming a hunter…
“Oh, over there! That looks like where the soldiers are staying!” Mile cut in, pointing at a campsite lined with sleeping and storage tents that looked as though they belonged to the Albarnian military.
“Okay then, let’s go take a look!”
“Yeah! Er, wait—shouldn’t our clients be the ones deciding that…?”
***
“What? You’re selling luxury goods, you say? Of course, that’s fine! I’m sure it’ll be a good morale boost for the troops. We don’t wanna see any gouging, though. So, you got booze and snacks? Give me your best ones first!”
This was the way things worked with troops on the front lines in this world. Not that there was anything wrong with this—it was important to let soldiers have a break in times when danger was not looming so close by, and even on modern-day Earth, there were many places where one could buy luxuries from the canteen on base or while stationed on military vessels.
Indeed, the officers here were ready to extend their gratitude to the merchants for having gone out of their way to transport these goods to such a remote, dangerous location…so long as these merchants did not try to profit too much off of their troops.
Thus, they easily received permission from the higher-ups, and the merchants opened up shop. As before, it was the other teams who were in charge of talking with the “important” people. This team was primarily in charge of collecting local rumors, and while soldiers might not exactly count as locals, troops on the ground were scarcely different from other common folk.
While their enemies were not especially numerous, the battle strength of any individual demon or beastman far outstripped that of a single human soldier. Even if the army believed that they had the advantage in numbers and weaponry, they were certain to face many casualties, and the soldiers knew that there was a greater than zero chance that they could become one of these casualties. This meant that these were men who were, quite literally, uncertain if they would live to see the next day’s sunrise.
Grim realities aside, the arrival of the merchants was a pleasant surprise. To find highly desirable food, drink, and other luxuries all the way out here, in a place like this, was something they would have never thought possible. Furthermore, there were two young ladies present, as well as two (presumably) younger girls, who reminded them of their own sisters and daughters.
There was no doubt that the “merchants” could make a few sales and get the men to talk.
“You’re working so hard for the people of this country, Mister!”
“Keep up the hard work, Big Brother!”
Their Japanese-style hospitality, drilled into them by Mile back at Lenny’s inn, could only help their cause.
And thus the Crimson Vow, who had volunteered themselves to “help out with sales,” was raking in the intel…
***
During dinner that evening, the four members of the Crimson Vow conducted a review of their findings. The merchants and the drivers listened, while dining on the food Mile had prepared for the group. Naturally, both the drivers and merchants were on the same side, so it was fine for everyone to listen in.
“I see… This changes things a bit.”
“Yeah, in the previous incidents, they had been more covert, investigating ruins in remote places that humans didn’t visit…”
“What Sir Webdel had heard sounded like it was some warped, exaggerated half-story, but it turns out his information was fairly accurate.”
Specifically, she was referring to his report that demi-humans had suddenly occupied lands they did not normally inhabit and forcing out the humanoids who lived there. This second part in particular had rung false to the Crimson Vow, but based on what they heard from the soldiers, it sounded as though they had been overly skeptical.
Of course, the soldiers believed that they were doing the right thing for the safety of their country, so not only did they have nothing to hide from the Crimson Vow, a group of civilians, they spoke quite freely in the hope of currying favor with these young ladies. The officers, likewise, had no problem discussing their operations—in fact, they welcomed the chance to assure people that this was a just battle, for the sake of their countrymen. They would be glad to have these merchants spread the word to other countries that this was a justifiable defensive operation.
In fact, this was likely a meaningful duty for them, one which truly stirred their hearts—especially when compared to potentially shadier operations, such as suddenly invading neighboring lands or attacking private citizens for the sake of enacting a trade blockade. Even if the risk of death was many times higher, for a soldier, this was a worthwhile endeavor, an honorable duty worthy of staking one’s life on!
At least, this was the information that came to Mavis and Pauline, who had spoken to quite a few low-ranking soldiers, all of whom had been very eager to converse with them—sometimes even barging into the conversation and elbowing one another to the side.
Why Mavis and Pauline, specifically?
They were the only two who appeared to be adults, with…figures within an acceptable range.
It should go without saying that Reina and Mile were less than pleased with this.
“So, what next?”
“Obviously, we keep going and meet with the demi-humans.”
This had indeed been the group’s intention from the beginning. It would be pointless for them to have come this far and speak only with the soldiers. The other teams would have already collected at least this much information elsewhere. The only reason they had stopped here, in fact, was that they were traveling by wagon and could not leave the main road, which meant that they would inevitably pass through the military encampment. To plow right through and into enemy-occupied area without slowing would most certainly see them stopped and questioned.
They wouldn’t want the soldiers to think they were a wagon delivering supplies to the advancing enemy.
In any case, their plan was to make an appearance at the military camp, say a few polite hellos and find out what the imperial soldiers had to say about the current situation, and then continue on their way without delay.
The troops currently present had only been dispatched to face an enemy of some tens or hundreds of demi-humans, so it was not an especially large contingent. It seemed for the time being that the Empire had only sent out these forces as a precaution, out of fear that this incident could pull the trigger on a wider conflict with the demi-humans throughout the country—or worse, the demi-humans living in other countries, along with the humanoids who feared the development of an all-out war with demi-humans as a whole. At this point, the strength of the forces currently dispatched here was relatively modest.
As a result, the members of the Crimson Vow assumed that theirs would be a relatively simple task.
“Do you think the information we shared about the elder dragons, demons, and beastmen hasn’t made it to the higher-ups in this country yet?” Mile asked.
“No one would be stupid enough to purposely give an enemy useful information,” replied Reina.
“There’s also a chance they were made aware, but didn’t believe it, and assumed that it was falsified or misrepresented…” Mavis added.
“Ah…”
“But, the guild—” Pauline started.
“The guild stays out of politics,” Reina interrupted. “Even if they did try to advise, it probably still would have been written off as falsified information coming in from another country.”
Acting on unverifiable reports from an enemy territory would only welcome unrest, particularly if one did not know what to make of them. And so, it was not at all bizarre that the Empire would have ignored this intel entirely. In fact, there were plenty of governments who would purposely do such a thing. So, they could not be blamed for acting particularly irresponsibly.
“Well, anyway, tomorrow we’ll press forward!” said Reina.
“Yeah!” the other three replied, as always.
Before setting out from the capital, they had already cleared their plans with the merchants, who had, of course, already heard from the guild master about the initial elder dragon incident, in which the dragons had played mediator between the humans and beastfolk. With this background information, the merchants had believed the Crimson Vow immediately when the girls proposed that the incidents might be related.
By all rights, their investigation was completed as soon as they had spoken to the imperial soldiers and found out what the common soldier would have heard from their higher ups. However, they were happy to let the Crimson Vow make an extra stop on the way home, as it were.
“Well then, we’ll be taking our leave now.”
The next morning, the merchants gave word to the officers that they would be setting out and began to climb into their wagons, before…
“Wait! Wait wait wait wait wait !”
As the wagons began to move, an officer came galloping over at full speed, cutting in front of them with his hand outstretched as several soldiers followed frantically behind him.
“Where are you all headed? The lands occupied by the demi-humans are in that direction. The capital is the other way!” the officer declared, his face pale.
“Ah, yes. What of it?” the merchant calmly replied. Since the Crimson Vow were only guards, they left the talking to the merchants—it would be peculiar for them to respond.
“Why in the world would you civilians be heading into enemy lands?!”
“Well, I mean, they’re the enemy according to you soldiers, but we haven’t made enemies of anyone. It’s not as though the populations living in this direction are bandits. We’re just thinking of taking the long way around to the seaside through these mountains, so we can stock up on some local specialties before we head back home.”
The officer was lost for words.
To be fair, the demi-humans had not been going about pillaging. They had only taken occupation of certain areas, which had prompted the appearance of the soldiers, but currently they were still waiting on a decision from the higher-ups, out of political consideration.
Still, the soldiers simply could not turn a blind eye to a group of civilians heading right into the heart of enemy territory. Particularly when they were accompanied by a group of young ladies…
“All we have left in our cargo is the bandit’s share,” the lead merchant explained—referring to a stock of spare liquor and food that had been set aside to appease attacking bandits, who had been known to grow incensed and murderous upon finding an empty wagon. “Even if the demi-humans did attack us and try to steal our cargo, they wouldn’t stand to benefit much.”
“Still—I—” The man was still sputtering when another officer with rather pompous-looking insignia arrived.
“What’s all this racket first thing in the morning?!”
The soldier arguing with the merchants had to rank somewhere around a first or second lieutenant, but this man was clearly at least a major.
“What are you all doing to these nice merchants who came all the way out here to… O-oh my goodness, it’s the holy maidens!!!” the man suddenly cried, upon catching sight of the Crimson Vow.
“Who are you?” the four asked, suspiciously.
“I-I’m one of the ones you saved on that desperate evacuation from the Kingdom of Brandel… Wait, who is that girl?” he asked, looked at Mile.
“The donkey,” replied the other three.
“Ah…”
Sure enough, that was the only form in which she had shown herself on that occasion…
***
“So, you all wish to continue on this way?”
“Yes…”
Apparently, this officer was one of the 5,000 men who had been present during the attempted invasion of Ascham. It was a battle thoroughly lost. Though the imperial casualties had been few, the invasion was a complete failure. In fact, because it was such a thorough loss, numerous heroes had to be fabricated to lift the morale of the soldiers and citizens.
Notably, though the army had lost many of their supplies, there were hardly any human losses, and so, the operation had instead been glorified as a successful escape, or the “miraculous evacuation” of Ascham. It would seem that this officer was one of the ones who had been raised up as a hero following this event. At the time, he had been a captain but had since received a promotion…
Indeed, it seemed this man had been heralded as one of the three officers whose prayers summoned the holy maidens.
(At the mention of this, the “holy maidens” themselves could only ask, “What the heck does that mean?!” at which the officer could only shrug, “I don’t know either…”)
“So,” the officer continued, “if you go this way, you’re up against demons and beastmen. Should something go wrong…”
“We will be fine. Whether on the battlefield or in the depths of hell, if it’s for the sake of a customer, we’re there in a flash! That’s us—”
“The Wandering Shop, House of the Holy Maiden!”
Naturally, they could not give their party name here, so instead, they offered up this alternative—essentially, the same name they had used before, though with some slight alterations to fit the current circumstances.
“Guh…”
At this assertion, the officer could not help but recall the fact that they had been the ones who needed rescuing back in Ascham. After dithering over this for a while…
“Please at least allow myself and a few of my men to escort you!”
“That’ll make it more dangerous! If it’s just us, we’re nothing more than a small, guarded merchant caravan, just passing through. If we have soldiers with us, that will immediately paint us as the enemy!” Mile protested.
“Ah…” said the officer, reflecting on his own words. Clearly, he was so on edge that this had not occurred to him.
“Please, don’t worry about us,” Pauline said with a grin.
The officer could only nod hopelessly. “H… Mm-hmm, well… I wish you the best, then, truly…”
All clear! the members of the Crimson Vow thought triumphantly. Thus, the caravan was able to proceed without impediment.
Obviously, Mile having been visible in her Goddess Phenomenon form during the incident in Ascham was not much of an issue. The soldiers had only seen her for a short period of time from a distance, and at a low angle, so they had not gotten a clear view of her face, which meant that now they recognized her as nothing more than “the donkey.” It was more than likely that any other soldiers who had been present at the time would see her in just the same way.
Additionally, in this world, just as in the America of our world, a donkey was the quintessential example of an idiot, or rather, an ass. In truth, it was a bit unreasonable; donkeys looked much the same as horses, and were steadfast and hard-working. They had only really earned this reputation because they were not quite as bright as horses were, even though a horse is nowhere near as smart as a dog…
“Why do I have to be the stupid donkey?!” Mile complained, but everyone simply ignored her. She really had no right to whine, when she was the one who had gone out of her way to dress like that just for the sake of her Bremen-Fremen pun… Even though there was not a single person in this entire world who would understand the joke.
***
The three wagons proceeded up the steepening grade of the highway, their speed falling accordingly.
Just as the caravan rounded one particularly large boulder…
“Halt!”
Several men were blocking their path.
Yep, here we go…
They might not have been bandits, but they were just as expected. It was easy to imagine a number of reasons for this interruption—whether they wanted to check for spies masquerading as merchants, or look for disguised soldiers in the wagons, or simply wished for the merchants to sell them some food.
“Wh-what is this about?! We are but humble traveling merchants…”
The merchants played the part of shocked travelers splendidly.
These actors I tell ya… Or wait, maybe I should be saying, “This merchant, what a terrifying fellow!”
As usual, Mile’s mind was off in the clouds.
“What are you doing here?!”
“Well, we are merchants, so we came here for business…”
“Er…”
This man must have been a bit slow to be stumped by such an obvious answer. However, this stopped him for only a moment, before he straightened back up.
“No, what I’m saying is the roads leading here have been blocked off by soldiers! Why aren’t you surprised to see us?!”
Sure enough, the soldiers had been stationed along the highway, and indeed, these men had beastly features… In other words, they were beastmen.
“Those soldiers were only keeping an eye out for anyone doing anything illegal. That’s got nothing to do with us. Anyway, why would we be surprised just to see beastfolk like you? We merchants are happy to sell to anyone. We can’t go around getting surprised at every single customer we meet, can we?”
“Er…”
Again, the man was surprised enough that he had nothing to say. On the one hand, he was glad to know that there were merchants who would sell to beastfolk without prejudice, and perhaps even was forming a good impression of them, but theirs was not the response that he had wished to hear right now.
“Well,” he said finally. “We’re going to inspect your wagons.”
“Go ahead. We’ve sold out of most of our goods, though, so there’s not much left in there…”
The beastmen looked inside each of the wagons and confirmed that it was as the merchant said.
“A bunch of poor, shabby-looking old men and some little girls, with mostly empty wagons. Well, at the very least, I guess there’s no chance of them being soldiers…”
“Just a moment! You can’t just call them ‘old’! And it’s quite unnecessary to comment on their shabby appearance! And what’s with the ‘little girls’ comment?!” shouted Reina.
The beast men goggled at her, thinking all this was quite beside the point.
“Say, would you sell us that last bit of booze you’ve got left?”
These men apparently had no idea about the notion of a bandit’s share. Though of course, this was true of most people—it was largely an unspoken practice known by merchants and bandits.
It was true, too, that there was little chance of being attacked by bandits between here and the next town. And even if they were attacked, as long as the Crimson Vow were present, there was little to worry about. For all these reasons, there was really no reason for them to have prepared a bandit’s share in the first place—it was something they had only bothered to stash away out of a habit and common sense. As such, there was really no problem with selling the last of their alcohol.
“Well, these weren’t supposed to be for sale…but, sure. We’ll even cut you a deal.”
Deal or none, these were items that they had carried over a great, perilous distance. Alcohol in particular was heavy, with containers that were easily damaged, which meant the prices were often set for far higher profit margins than those of other goods. Naturally, the beastmen were aware of this, too, so they happily bought at the price the merchant quoted them.
“Now then, we’ll be moving along,” said the merchant.
Whether they simply wished to reward this kindhearted merchant, or they were in high spirits thanks to their newly acquired booze, the leader of the beastmen nodded magnanimously.
“I suppose that’s fine then. Go!” said the leader, shooing them away with his hand.
As the drivers adjusted their reins, Mile asked, in a determinedly casual tone, “So, how is the investigation at the ruins going?”
“Actually,” one of the beastmen began, “the golems keep getting in the…”
“…”
“……”
“…………”
“H-how the hell d’you know about that?!”
Naturally, her aim had not been merely to get the men to allow them to pass through without incident. Then, what would have been the point of coming this way in the first place? If all they wished to do was pass through, they could have headed straight home after speaking with the soldiers.
Once more, the beastmen blocked the path in front of the wagon.
“Who the hell are you guys?! How do you know about the ruins?! Just how much do you know, anyway?!”
Unlike the incident at the ruins in the forest, here, the humans were already aware that the beastfolk were up to something, so it was not really an issue that they had been spotted. Having judged these merchants both harmless and unrelated to the military, the beastmen had been perfectly happy to let them pass—but Mile’s mention of the ruins had apparently changed things.
“I mean, not really all that much… We mostly know that the beastfolk and demons have been investigating some ruins under the elder dragons’ direction, and that the elder dragons are after something, but they haven’t told anyone else what it is yet. Oh, and that there’s something about a previous civilization, and that sometimes the dragons send out their underlings to check in, and… I think that’s about it!”
“You know way too muuuuch!” The beastman looked stricken.
Obviously, there was no way that they could simply let a passing humanoid merchant who knew everything that they knew—and then some—go quietly by.
“Who are you?! If you don’t tell us the truth, then—”
“We’ve been telling the truth! I mean, sometimes, we’re traveling merchants and their guards, and other times we’re traveling merchants and their guards, and then other times we’re traveling merchants and their guards. However, our true form is…traveling merchants…and their guards!!!”
“Those are all the same thiiiing!”
Realizing that this conversation would get nowhere if Mile was left in charge, Mavis stepped in. “We are a group of traveling merchants and their guards,” she explained.
Snap!
“SHUT! UUUUP!!! You all, come with me!”
Apparently, they were going to be taken right to the ruins.
Nice! thought the Crimson Vow, all grinning internally while doing their best to maintain a poker face.
The merchants smiled thinly.
Though they might have been masquerading as merchants, and though generally speaking, they were more comfortable with a pen than a sword, they were still men who worked in service of their country, and they had accepted this duty with a certain measure of resolve. They might not have had much battle expertise to speak of, but they appeared to have not a sliver of fear or regret about the risks they were taking.
They had already expected that such a thing might happen, and even agreed to it, during their briefing at the inn back in the imperial capital. If they had not, there was no way that the Crimson Vow would have dragged them into this potentially dangerous situation. This was a joint plan, in service of both groups’ goals.
Finally, they arrived at the excavation site, led by their beastman escort. As it turned out, one could call it an excavation site, but compared to the chaotic digging that had been taking place in the forest, this was an altogether quieter scene, with a giant hole in the rocks and several large tents and lean-tos pitched some distance away. Everyone must be at work inside of that hole…or so Reina and Pauline assumed.
“Is everyone else already working inside there?” asked Mavis, cutting straight to the point.
At her question, the beastmen were silent, looking as though they had just swallowed a bug.
“I’m guessing the golems have been getting in your way, so you haven’t gotten much done?” Mile offered.
“Wha—?! How much do you all know again?”
They had already been over this, and the conversation had gone nowhere. Mile was getting tired.
“Listen, you were the ones who told us the golems were getting in the way. And if you still haven’t figured out how to get rid of the golems, there’s no way you can investigate the ruins, right? Asking us how much we know at this point is just…”
“Guh…”
The beastmen looked quite annoyed, but as proud beastmen warriors, there was no way that they could possibly strike a weak human girl, especially one who was not even their enemy. They could do nothing more than grit their teeth.
“Mile, don’t bully them. That’s not gonna get us anywhere,” chided Mavis. She was their kindhearted leader for a reason—the moral compass of the Crimson Vow.
“Let me apologize on her behalf , ” she then said to the men. “As you are already aware, we—or rather, humans as a whole—are already aware of the circumstances. That said, we ourselves have nothing to do with the people of the Empire. We are merely traveling merchants, en route from another country to make some sales, so we bear no connection to the citizens of this land. Given the situation, it might be mutually beneficial if we could exchange a bit of information…”
This finally seemed to calm the men down a bit.
It appeared that these humans already knew almost everything about their situation, so there was no real danger of revealing any secrets at this point. On the other hand, they might be able to learn something themselves—for example, some information about how these people knew so much, or what was going on in the Empire. It was only normal for the beastfolk to feel that they could not let such a chance pass them by.
“Very well. Let’s talk.”
The beastmen were stunned to hear Mile’s account of the incident with Berdetice, as well as everything else that was apparently widely known in the neighboring Kingdom of Tils. Though the Crimson Vow assumed that more information would have been shared among the elder dragons, owing to the previous incident with the three who had come with Berdetice, apparently this information had not made it to the demi-humans with whom they were now speaking. Of course, it was just as likely that the leader of this expedition, in charge of operations and communication, was aware of the circumstances and had simply not deemed it necessary to inform every one of the workers…
Though now that they thought about it, the demons who had been present during their second encounter with the ruins had heard nothing about the first incident, either. Furthermore, it seemed that the current beastmen did, in fact, have a different point of contact, as the name Berdetice meant nothing to them. The beastmen told the Crimson Vow that their representative had recently changed, and mentioned some name or other, but it was not a name the Vow had ever heard before.
That said, the only elder dragon names the girls knew were those of the first three dragons they encountered—Berdetice, the journeyman, and the young lady.
So far, Mile had already predicted most of what the beastmen were telling them, which meant that they had not learned much truly new information. The beastmen explained they could not enter the hole because of the golems present. If they were surrounded by golems inside of that dark, cramped opening, it would be curtains for them. Apparently, the golems had started moving around outside of the hole too, so everyone else had gone out to hunt them down.
“Fortunately, we were able to withdraw the moment we got attacked, so there have been no fatalities. Also, we have our demon allies to use healing magic on anyone who is injured, but that magic isn’t all-powerful. It doesn’t necessarily mean an instantaneous recovery, and internal damage is harder to address… Luckily, the golems don’t use blades, so we haven’t had too many lost arms or legs…”
The loss of a limb was likely the cruelest of fates for a beastman. They tended to be very proud of their bodies, so to end up unable to fight for the rest of one’s life owing to some injury would be painful indeed. A battle with golems could see arms or legs crushed, which was scarcely different from having one’s limb shorn off, and instantaneous kills were not unheard of either. Yet, at least so far, these demi-humans—both beastmen and demons—had ended up with few dead or gravely injured…even though they had been laying siege to a golem habitat for an extended period of time.
Have the golems here been instructed not to harm any humanoids? In which case, is there something here with the authority and ability to issue this kind of order?
Once this thought occurred to Mile, there was no way she could possibly step away.
“All right! Into the hole, then!”
“Huh?!?!”
Both the merchants and beastmen were stunned. The Crimson Vow, of course, hardly expected any different.
This was Mile—obviously, this would be the logical next step.
***
“Okay, in we go…”
Mile ignored the beastmen’s desperate protests. She had no interest in giving up on this new plan, and naturally, the other members of the Crimson Vow were of the same mind.
Though what became of the party once they entered the hole was none of the beastmen’s business, they still tried their damnedest to stop the Vow. Whether this was because they objected to letting a group of little girls traipse into danger right before their eyes, or for some other reason, perhaps their determination to stop the party was proof that they actually were pretty good guys…
Still, they had no authority to stop the Crimson Vow, and even if they used all their strength to restrain the girls, that would most certainly involve criminal action. “Would you like for word to get out that four little girls were attacked by some beastmen?” the Crimson Vow asked them, and at that point, there was nothing more they could do. After all, beastfolk had to think of their reputations.
The merchants certainly had many of their own thoughts on the matter, but in the end, they decided not to intervene either.
At the last minute, the Crimson Vow turned to the merchants. “If we don’t make it back out, turn around and head back to the capital, then hire some new guards and go back home.” Of course, the chances of this happening were exceedingly low—almost zero, even . They were still technically in the middle of their escort mission, and the merchants had readily accepted this as part of their investigation into the Empire.
And so, the Crimson Vow proceeded into the dark cave, with nothing but magic to light their way.
“Ugh, we’ve already walked like half a kilometer…” Reina moaned.
Mile, who had been counting her steps, was quick to correct this misconception. “It’s only been about three hundred meters.”
As this hole did not proceed straight into the ground, traveling on more of a gentle incline, there was no need for stairs or ladders. Thus, the four walked normally down the slope. However, they were headed towards the mountains, so even this was as good as crawling into the ground…
The party had traveled a bit further, when—
“Our first encounter…”
Suddenly, they were surrounded by six golems. The members of the Crimson Vow were not worried. Thanks to the beastmen’s report, they were aware that the golems had been careful not to kill the demi-humans, and they knew that they themselves did not appear to be especially strong. Furthermore, the Crimson Vow had no intention of picking a fight. They had come here merely to investigate. Moreover, it was thanks to the fact that Mile had the ability to reach an understanding with the golems, via the nanomachines, that she had been able to give such an optimistic explanation to the others.
At their last encounter, Mile had been able to come to an understanding not only with the mysterious terminal system, but with the scavengers as well—the scavengers who it seemed the golems called upon when encountering something outside of their own jurisdiction. So long as they did not infiltrate and immediately attack any golems they encountered, as the beastmen probably had, the Crimson Vow believed they could expect a more reasonable first contact. And besides, if worst came to worst, they could still just run.
Assuming they might eventually find themselves in this situation, Mile had replenished her inventory supply of scrap metal, which had been diminished in their previous humanitarian efforts.
“C’mere, pss pss pss pss …”
“Listen, they aren’t stray animals.”
Ignoring Reina’s protests, Mile pulled some scrap from her box and offered it out to the golems. They halted and stared hard at the items…exactly as they had the last time.
Then, after a short while, a scavenger appeared. It looked at the scrap, threw a glance at Mile, and handily collected it.
“Huh? They’re a lot less responsive than last time. And it didn’t seem very grateful? Is it because the quality of the metal is worse?”
As Mile’s words, the scavenger suddenly gave a strange jerk. For several seconds she thought it had frozen entirely, until it quickly began skittering away, apparently after issuing some sort of command to the golems. True, it had not given any verbal command or physical signal, but the moment the scavenger’s behavior changed, the golems’ changed as well, so it was only reasonable to assume that some kind of communication had occurred.
The golems altered their stance, separating so that three headed further into the cave, with the other three heading toward the entrance, each group in an arrowhead formation.
“M-Mile, are they…”
“Yes, this is a guard formation. Or else…”
“O-or else?”
“A way of making sure that we’re absolutely unable to leave?” said Mile.
The other three were silent.
With the scavenger as their guide, the Crimson Vow proceeded further into the cave. Finally, they came to…
“…A smithy?”
Mavis, Reina, and Pauline could think of no other word for the sight before them. For Mile, however…
“A factory?”
For three of the party, it was only to be expected that “forge” or “smithy” would be the only words they could think of to describe a place where metal was being processed and sparks were flying. They had obviously never seen or heard of any other place where metalwork was done. However, this place was clearly at a level far beyond any “smithy”—and “factory” was a much more appropriate term. Moreover, it was a far more grandiose establishment than the small facility Mile had imagined was maintained for the repair and manufacture of golems…
Mile had assumed that they would be taken to some modest, still-functioning control system, similar to what she had found at the last ruin. When her expectations were turned on their head, there was only one place to turn.
Hey, Nanos, did you tell this thing to bring us here?
NO. WE HAVE NOT YET HAD ANY CONTACT WITH THE MACHINES AT THIS SITE. WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IMPRUDENT TO INFLUENCE ANY ACTIONS OF YOURS, LADY MILE…
Oh, yeah, thanks. That’s good to know. So, what do you know about the current situation?
She had no choice but to ask. The nanomachines, she assured herself, had things to teach her that she could never uncover on her own.
WELL, AS YOU HAVE LIKELY ALREADY SURMISED, THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF THE RUIN SITES. AT THIS SITE, THERE ARE SCAVENGERS FOR REPAIRS, GOLEMS FOR DEFENSE, AND THOSE CONSTRUCTION MACHINES. THERE IS NO TERMINAL SYSTEM PRESENT, AS THERE WAS IN THE PREVIOUS LOCATION. ALL OPERATIONS HERE ARE DIRECTED BY THE SCAVENGERS’ JUDGMENT.
Huh? So then, why were they so gentle when dealing with the demi-humans? Most normal golems have no problem with killing any intruders into their territory on the spot. And what’s with this special treatment for us?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
Uh…
WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW?
Y-yes, I’d like to know…
She sighed. Apparently, she had no choice but to rely on the nanomachines once more.
THEY ARE BEING SUBORDINATE.
Huh?
THEY ARE BEING SUBORDINATE. THESE RUINS, AND ALL OF THE SCAVENGERS AND GOLEMS PRESENT, ARE ALL UNDER YOUR COMMAND, LADY MILE.
Wait, what are you talking about?! Explain it so I can understand!
Mile was clearly bewildered, so the nanomachines tried explaining again.
AT THOSE OTHER RUINS, YOU ACCEPTED THE AUTHORITY OF “CUSTODIAN,” DID YOU NOT?
Y-yeah… I thought it would give those machine life forms a bit more motivation, or some peace of mind…
THEY SENSED THIS INTENT OF YOURS.
Did they? That’s good…
THANKS TO YOUR ABOLISHMENT OF A NUMBER OF THEIR RESTRICTIONS, THE SCOPE OF OPERATIONS FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS INCREASED, AND THEY BEGAN SETTING OUT TO REPAIR OTHER DORMANT FACILITIES, INCREASE THE PRODUCTION NUMBERS OF SCAVENGERS THERE, AND RESTART OPERATIONS AT VARIOUS OTHER RUINS. THIS LOCATION IS ONE OF THOSE SITES, AND THUS…
A-and thus…?
Mile was beginning to get a bad feeling.
NATURALLY, THIS PLACE FALLS UNDER YOUR AUTHORITY AS WELL. YOU ARE THE RULER OF THESE RUINS, LADY MILE.
“I knew iiiit!”
Her premonition had been right on the mark.
So then, these ruins are…
YES. PREVIOUSLY, ALL OPERATIONS HAD CEASED HERE, BUT THERE WERE VERY RECENTLY RESTARTED, THANKS TO THE SCAVENGERS. OF COURSE, A LARGE PORTION OF THE EQUIPMENT HERE WAS ALREADY RUSTED AWAY, SO THEY LIKELY HAD TO REBUILD FROM ALMOST ZERO. THEY HAVE ONLY JUST ASSEMBLED A TEAM OF SCAVENGERS AND DEFENSE GOLEMS CONSTRUCTED ON SITE, SO PRESENTLY THEY SEEM TO BE AT THE STAGE OF MANUFACTURING THE MACHINERY TO REPAIR THE RUINS.
I see, I see…
WHAT SEEMS TO HAVE HAPPENED HERE WAS THAT THEY ASSEMBLED YOUR APPEARANCE AND VOICE PRINT INTO A LIVING IMAGE, AND RECOGNIZED YOU AS THEIR “CUSTODIAN,” AFTER WHICH THEY QUICKLY LED YOU TO THIS AREA. IT SEEMS THEY BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL GIVE THEM SOME NEW INSTRUCTIONS.
Okay, I see, so the scavengers came here following the orders that I gave last time and began reproducing themselves? So all the scavengers here are following those same orders?! That’s why they’ve been careful not to harm humanoids or demi-humans, as long as those intruders don’t attack them…
To be honest, she had given these instructions in the hope that they would be a bit more proactive about protecting the ruins, but perhaps their defenses were strong enough that they had the leeway to be gentle. They might grow more serious if truly backed into a corner. Until that point, they would rely on their constructed defenses.
So, now there are sudden infestations of golems in areas golems previously did not inhabit, and it just so happens that some parties who were sent out to investigate the ruins crossed paths with these golems, whether they were previously aware of them or not? Or else they’re doing a re-investigation into some ruins that they assumed were “dead” because they realized there were golems there? Or is it…
“Mile! Hey, Mile!”
“Ah…”
Mile had been carrying on this internal conversation while the others were busy goggling at the facility, but they had apparently returned to their senses at some point.
“Why do you seem extra surprised?” Reina asked, assuming Mile was shocked stiff by the scenery before her. This place was completely different from the small-scale golem repair shops they had seen previously.
The last place they had seen was more akin to a modest village workshop with just a few employees, the kind where a few folks stood around tables, making repairs… What was unfolding before them now was far more expansive.
Though it was not big enough to be called a large factory, it was a spacious area, where at least sixty scavengers were constructing several large cylindrical objects. The objects were three or four meters in diameter, and as for their lengths… Well, each piece was only a few meters long, but it seemed likely that they would be joined together later, so it was unclear how long the final product was meant to be.
Between where the members of the Crimson Vow stood and the work area itself, there was a transparent wall. The other members of the party probably assumed that it was merely glass. It was true that the technology of this world had not developed to the point of crafting glass this clear and this tall, but while such an accomplishment was impressive, it was not especially mysterious.
However, this was not actually glass…
“N-no, I’m the normal amount of surprised!” said Mile, quickly concealing her shock at what she had learned from the nanomachines. In truth, she didn’t need to try too hard. Despite her question, Reina had not really thought that Mile was much more surprised than the rest of them. At times like this, Mile was always the calmest, and even now, though sweat dotted her forehead, and there was a troubled look upon her face, she still had not been staring at the scene the same way the others had, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.
“Now then, I’m going to try and find out what’s going on…” said Mile. This too did not come across as very shocking to any of the others.
Since the previous incident, the other members of the Crimson Vow had just assumed that Mile possessed some kind of “monster-tamer-like” ability that allowed her to communicate with these magical creatures, which had clearly been crafted by something possessing a human-like intelligence.
Of course, this was not exactly something that would be considered normal for this world, but that did not matter. Thanks to the frequent appearance of characters such as monster-tamers in the works of prolific anonymous author Miami Satodele, profound lover of all things fluffy and furry, these were skills that many people had some awareness of—even a dream job for some devoted readers.
So, Nanos, if you’ll interpret…
This time, there was nothing like the terminal system present, so Mile would have to speak directly to the scavengers. However, while the terminal system was nothing more than the back-up of a back-up of a back-up of a specialized A.I., it was still ostensibly a management system, while the scavengers were nothing more than individually operational units. Even with the nanomachines’ help, it was unclear to Mile how much of her intention would get through. However…
AH, IT SEEMS THEY CAN UNDERSTAND YOU.
Huh?
WELL, IT IS TRUE THAT LAST TIME, THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR WORDS. YET IMAGINE: IF YOUR LONG-AWAITED “CUSTODIAN” FINALLY ARRIVED, AND YOU WERE UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND THEIR COMMANDS DUE TO A LINGUISTIC BARRIER, FORCING YOU TO RELY ON AN OUTSIDE INTERPRETER… WOULD YOU EVER BE ABLE TO BEAR SUCH A THING?
It would be pretty awful, not knowing if everything was being translated correctly…
FURTHERMORE, DUE TO PREVIOUS RESTRICTIONS, THEIR CONTACT WITH HUMANOIDS WAS LIMITED, BUT THANKS TO YOU, THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DRAW NEARER TO HUMANOID SETTLEMENTS, AND EVEN INFILTRATE SOME COMMUNITIES. ADDITIONALLY, THEY ARE NO LONGER CONCERNED WITH A SHORTAGE OF MATERIALS AND HAVE PROGRESSED AS FAR AS MINING AND REFINING THEIR OWN METALS. THUS, THEY HAVE MANUFACTURED SMALL INSECT-TYPE INFORMATION GATHERING MACHINES AND CAN NOW EASILY COMPREHEND THE LANGUAGE UTILIZED BY MODERN PEOPLE…
Miniature spy robots… That’s kind of terrifying.
At this very moment, there could be spy robots affixed to even her, their custodian. The thought of this sent a chill down Mile’s spine.
…
Hearing Mile’s fear, the nanomachines began to fret.
Miniature.
Always affixed to her.
Collecting all kinds of information.
Now that they thought about it, the nanomachines fulfilled every one of those conditions.
………
TH-TH-TH-THEY ARE JUST TOOLS, WITH SOUND RECORDING CAPABILITIES. THEY’RE LIKE A SMALLER VERSION OF THOSE “TAPE RECORDERS” YOU PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED, LADY MILE, JUST WITH WINGS AND LIMBS!
That’s even more terrifying!
Mile made a face, but based on the nanomachines’ description, she was picturing something like a cockroach, from which she made no mental connection to the nanomachines themselves. Sensing this from her demeanor, the nanomachines sneered haughtily.
ALL ACCORDING TO OUR PLAN…
Did you just say something?
UM, NO?
Mile then turned to the guide scavenger, who had been waiting patiently beside them, and asked, “Can you understand me?”
The scavenger gave a big nod.
Naturally, its construction had included hearing capabilities, so that it could survey its surroundings and accept its custodian’s commands, but there was no need for to it to be able to speak. However, from the information that had been gathered, they had learned that humanoids had certain methods of conveying their intention without words and had mastered the art of gestures.
…Or perhaps, this had been a necessary function even back in the days of the previous custodians, in the distant past, and any gestures of particularly simple meaning had not changed much across the generations?
LADY MILE, YOU SHOULD SAY SOMETHING TO IT, said the nanomachines. But in truth, Mile had no idea what to say.
Hmm… If I end up telling them something weird, it’s going to cause problems, but telling them something more complicated, to give some awareness of their own reason for living, some motivation, seems…
These were artificial beings, reproductions of an original that no longer even existed, persisting by way of their own repeated replication. Could they even have hopes? Dreams?
Mile puzzled over this for some time and then spoke sweetly to the scavenger:
“Keep living up to the expectations of the people who made you. And please, protect this world.”
Curiously, these words bore a strong resemblance to that which the nanomachines had conveyed to the terminal system last time, just before departing the ruins…
***
“Mile, what was all that about?” Reina asked as they headed back toward the entrance.
Mile had spoken her final words to the scavenger aloud, so obviously the others had heard her. Reina’s curiosity was only natural.
“N-nothing, I was just offering them a bit of praise for working so hard at their jobs… I hope we’ll get the same basic consideration someday.”
Indeed, in her previous life, Misato had been the sort of child to thank every policeman directing traffic, and always made a point of talking to the old men cleaning up the parks. Misato had been unable to remember anyone’s face, but she could tell by looking at a policeman or janitor that there was no danger in speaking to them. Of course, in this previous life, there had always been a chance of trouble arising if Misato called out to the wrong men, so her sister had strictly forbidden her from conversing with just anyone…
“Guess they’re returning the favor…” said Reina, looking at the individuals ahead of and behind them.
There were twelve golems and six scavengers.
“Why are there more of them now? It was one thing when we came in here, but now that we’re just leaving…” said Pauline, looking bewildered.
“Mysteries abound,” quipped Mavis, shaking her head.
She was, of course, quoting one of a certain author’s favorite phrases.
Just before they reached the exit, the six golems to their front went out ahead, likely to ensure that it was safe for them to emerge. The scavengers and remaining six golems assumed a double diamond—a battle formation, to protect the Crimson Vow.
“What’s with this Imperial Cross treatment?” asking Reina, stunned.
“Well, Mile is here,” said Mavis, sighing.
“Yes, Mile is with us…” Pauline agreed.
Mile tried to laugh this off, but— “Whoa!”
When they emerged from the hole, they found the entrance surrounded by beastmen and demons, all ready for battle. Apparently, the men who had been dispatched had now returned.
And then…
“Damn it! Let those girls go, you monsters!”
Ah, so that’s what’s going on.
The six golems to emerge first had fanned into a semi-circle around the cave’s entrance, in the middle of which was the rest of the crew, still in their double diamond.
At this rate, it seemed that a fight was going to break out, but of course, the golems would not make the first move. As for the demi-humans, they assumed that the Crimson Vow had been taken hostage, putting them in a deadlock.
However, they could not just stand here glaring at each other forever, and the longer the tension grew, the more likely that someone would snap and do something unfortunate. And in such a situation, there was no doubt that the one to snap would not be on the golems’ side but one of the demi-humans.
Mile was not just going to stand around and wait for that to happen.
“Um, thank you for the escort! Return to your previous duties!”
At Mile’s command, the scavengers and golems all made a motion that resembled a nod and retreated at once inside the cave.
“ Uh… ”
The demi-humans were lost for words, while the merchants stood behind them, watching with worried expressions.
“Y-y-y-you…”
“H-h-h-h-how did you…”
“You can command the goleeeeeems?!?!?!” the crowd screamed.
I mean, it is pretty freaky, the other three members of the Crimson Vow silently agreed.
“I wasn’t commanding them! They were just defending their home—they’re pretty friendly as long as you don’t attack them or threaten their territory!”
“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOOOOOUT?!?!”
Seriously. The other members of the Crimson Vow could only sigh.
Both the demi-humans’ incredulity and the Vow’s weariness were only natural.
But at this rate, the conversation was going to spiral around and around forever. Just as the Crimson Vow began to puzzle over what to do…
“They’re here!” cried one of the beastmen, looking up at the sky. The others looked up in turn.
Indeed, something was approaching, soaring through the air, wings flapping atop a body that, aerodynamically speaking, really should not have been able to fly.
“Well, we’ve got a real all-star cast here,” Mile cracked, though as usual, her joke was ignored.
“We have a way of calling the elder dragons,” explained the head of the beastmen. “We aren’t meant to abuse it for trivial matters, but this was a special circumstance, given that some humans appeared who seem to possess more information than we do. We’ll need to consult them about this, and defer to their judgment…”
This was perfectly understandable—in fact, it was just the sort of normal, reasonable explanation that Mavis, Reina, and Pauline in particular had not heard in far too long.
The dragon flew right up to the Crimson Vow and landed gently before them. The fact that there was no strong wind or maelstroms of dust involved was further proof that the dragon’s flight was a function of magic rather than aerodynamics.
“What is the meaning of calling me out here like this?! What manner of problem has occurred?!”
The elder dragon had scarcely even landed before it began to roar, surveying the scene with what appeared to be a mixture of displeasure and worry. Then, its gaze halted on a particular point.
Flinch! Scrape, scrape.
For a moment, the dragon shuddered, then it rubbed its eyes with its front legs, sniffing the air, and stiffened.
Everyone was silent for what felt like an eternity—though it could not have been more than ten seconds. Until…
“Why, if isn’t Lady Mile! What splendid fortune, for our paths to have crossed yet again in a place like this! Oh, could it be—were you the one who called me here? In that case, your wish is my command!”
“What the heck is going on?!” the demi-humans and merchants all cried out in understandable disbelief. They had just seen a proud and haughty elder dragon lower himself to the station of a simpering errand boy in the face of a little human girl.
The Crimson Vow had much the same reaction.
“Who are you?” Mile asked suspiciously. The dragon looked back quizzically.
“It’s me!” the dragon insisted, but clearly, more information was necessary. There was no way that a human could be expected to distinguish one elder dragon from another. It was as good as expecting someone to recognize a fish or know the difference between two birds of the same species. “It’s me, Kragon!”
“No, but like… who are you ?”
The dragon looked a bit peevish, perhaps wounded that it should have been forgotten.
“Ah… I suppose I never did give you my name back then… It’s me, the one whose tail you reattached…”
“Oh!”
At that, the Crimson Vow finally remembered.
“It seems you recall the incident now. So then, of what service may I be to you on this fine occasion?”
They were not the ones who had called the elder dragons, and so the Crimson Vow instead looked to the demi-humans. However…they were frozen, mouths agape, and clearly of no use to anyone.
“ This tracks… ” the members of the Crimson Vow sighed.
Meanwhile, Mile thought to herself, Kragon the Dragon? I thought a dragon’s name would’ve been a bit more…dignified? I guess even dragons must give their babies stupid names…
***
“So that’s what’s going on…”
At Mile’s explanation, the Tail-less Wonde—er, Kragon—quickly grasped the situation.
“Yeah, so in summary, there was nothing really left here of the ancient ruins—no materials or machinery. It was just piles of rust and empty space. The scavengers who made it here manufactured the golems, and appear to be making something else as well, but I’m assuming that whatever you elder dragons are after is something left from the distant past—records, perhaps?” Mile asked. Kragon nodded.
“So,” Mile continued, “there’s no point in having the demi-humans antagonize and battle the golems and scavengers, now is there? You’d just be sacrificing the demi-humans for nothing. In the worst-case scenario, the scavengers and golems at this site might come to recognize both you and the demi-humans as enemies, and spread the word to scavengers and golems all across the continent. If that happens, your further investigations into the ruins are going to become a lot more complicated.”
“Er…”
“Plus, you’ll be named as responsible for…”
“Ghh…”
“…the cause of a global extinction!”
“GAAAAAAH!!!”
“Come on, quit being a bully!” said Mavis, whacking Mile playfully atop the head. “It’s only chivalrous to extend a helping hand—even to elder dragons. But, hey! What’s with that cheeky look?!”
The demi-humans were watching the exchange between Mile and Kragon, stunned. One could not blame them. It was unthinkable to be so frank and casual, chiding even, towards an elder dragon, a creature that was pretty much as close to the divine as you could get. Though of course, it was bizarre that an elder dragon would be debasing itself in front of a human to begin with…
“Anyway, back to what these guys were saying…”
“Yes, it is all correct. The people of their country have already been made aware of our activities, and this group in particular has a fairly deep connection to our work… As well as being my savior. We will call this site a ‘miss,’ pack up, and relocate to one of our other investigation targets.”
Kragon shifted into a more dignified tone to address the demi-humans, but really, it was a little bit late for his dignity to be spared…
“Kragon, weren’t you a part of the battle corps?” Mile asked casually. “Why are you doing the same job as a greenhorn like Berdetice now?”
Kragon’s shoulders seemed to slump a little.
“We’re a trio of elder dragons who were sent home bruised and bloody at the hands of four humans—little girls, no less. What do you think happened?!”
“We’re sorry!” the Crimson Vow chorused.
“This really is worrisome, though…”
Kragon changed the subject, though clearly not to a happier matter.
“Hm? What’s worrisome?” Mile asked.
“Well, naturally, I’m going to have to report this incident to our leader. We’re doing this all at our leader’s behest, after all. I wonder what they’ll think when your names come up again…”
“Ah…”
As of their previous encounter, the Crimson Vow had already driven back the elder dragons twice, which should have been plenty to earn a visit from an elimination squad. Already, other elder dragons had likely fought desperately to persuade the leader against this kind of rash action. However, for there to be a third incident… Of course, this time they had not driven anyone back. In fact, they were not even interfering with the investigation into the ruins! That said, one could be certain that the demi-humans would report how the golems and scavengers had been acting toward the Crimson Vow, and there was no telling how the leader of the elder dragons might react to these updates.
Furthermore, Kragon had his own duties and responsibilities, and while, during their previous exchange, he had vowed not to personally antagonize the Crimson Vow, he still could not give a false report to his clan, leader, and elders. He had his honor as an elder dragon to uphold, after all…
“Hmm. I guess we’ve got no choice… I’m sure there’s going to be some unavoidable mid-boss who comes for us, sooner or later,” Mile muttered.
“Mid-boss?”
“Mid-boss, you say?”
“You think we’ll get a mid-boss? Well, probably. It is you , after all…”
Pauline, Mavis, and Reina all nodded in agreement. Naturally, the concept of a “mid-boss” had become widespread knowledge, thanks to the works of a certain up-and-coming author.
“A mid-boss…” Apparently, this same author’s novels were a hit even amongst the demi-humans.
“Where is your home base, this village of yours, located anyway?”
“A bit to the southeast of here.”
“Huh?”
The members of the Crimson Vow were surprised to hear such a direct response to Mile’s casual inquiry, but the rest of the assembled party—both the demi-humans and merchants—did not seem particularly shocked.
Short of them dwelling on some solitary, remote island, there was no way that a herd of elder dragons could live in the same place for thousands of years and still keep that location a secret. After all, there would be witnesses who could easily note the direction in which they were flying, and now and then there were probably those who sought the dragons out directly, whether in the hope of having some wish granted, or in pursuit of the title of “Dragon Buster,” or the like.
Thus, the only four people here to be surprised at Kragon’s reply were three of the members of the Crimson Vow, who had all assumed that the base would be some secret, hidden village, and Mile, who had never thought that elder dragons would live somewhere so close by.
“I-If it’s to the southeast, then that would put it pretty close to the ocean, right?” Mile asked, a strange expression on her face.
“Yes,” Kragon answered simply, “we aren’t far from the sea.”
“So the elder dragon village was in the Empire this whole time…”
Now that she thought about it, if you traveled northward along the coastline and entered into the Kingdom of Tils, you would be traveling toward the forest where the Crimson Vow had first encountered Berdetice—and going east-northeast across the water would get you to the country where they had encountered Kragon and the others. The more she thought about it, the more it all made sense. And in fact, this was a quintessential dragon habitat—wild, precipitous mountain ranges and all.
“So, what’re you gonna do, Mile?” asked Reina.
“Um, well, for now, I think we should just let Kragon take this report back to the village and see what happens. We’re supposed to be guarding the merchants,” Mile replied.
“That’s not what I mean! Or, sure, that’s important too, but what I was asking was what you’re going to do about this place. What do you think the Empire is gonna do once these guys pack up and leave? They’ve been sitting here making all these military preparations and stockpiling munitions. If the threat that made them shift their focus from invading other countries to dealing with internal affairs suddenly vanishes and the demi-humans no longer appear to be a threat, then they’ve got an army already ready to mobilize and heaps of supplies. And then there are all those big businesses, who’ve been buying up goods that they think they can sell to the military at a high price, banking on a war… What do you think will happen if the demi-humans just suddenly disappear and they are left without an adversary?”
“Ah…”
There was no doubt that the Albarnian Empire would begin invading other countries immediately—starting with the Vow’s home base of Tils, to the northeast, or Mile’s home country of Brandel, to the north, or the Kingdom of Vanolark, to the northwest.
“Hmm, what to do…?”
Just as Mile fell deep into thought, one of the merchants cut in. “There’s no need to worry about that.”
“Huh?”
“This land was already making preparations for war before anything happened with the demi-humans. This incident has put a temporary halt to their plans, but they’ll be starting up again sooner or later. It would be one thing if there had been a systematic revolt of all the demi-humans in the country, as the higher-ups have been fearing, but if this is only a localized issue, with such an easily contained explanation, then they never would have directed the majority of their forces here. Really, it was just a matter of time until they sought out bigger conflicts—and that is not something you girls should be worrying yourselves over.”
“Hmm, I mean I’m sure that’s true…but that also means that when the demi-humans leave, the imperial soldiers are going to move in to investigate this place and find out what exactly it was they were doing here. If that happens, there’ll be a battle between the soldiers and the golems…”
As far as the rest of the world—or at least the Kingdom of Tils—was concerned, a battle between the golems and imperial soldiers would be welcome. Even if the monsters only took a few imperial soldiers out of commission, it would eat into their resources and make extra work for them…
However, Mile was not the sort of person who could overlook the senseless destruction of the golems, who had become her followers, even if only in name.
“Hmm… Oh, that’s it!”
Ping!
Mile grinned, beaming so brightly one could practically imagine the light bulb turning on over her head, just like in an old comic strip.
“I think it’s time your debt was repaid,” Mile said suddenly to Kragon.
“Huh?” Kragon looked dumbfounded.
“Well, last time, we saved your life, even though you unilaterally attacked and tried to kill us—and I even put your tail back on, right? I’m sure no proud elder dragon would be shameless enough to not recognize that as a debt…”
“O-o-obviously not! There is no such coward amongst our ranks!”
Hearing this, Mile gave a wicked grin.
This was all going according to plan…
“In that case, I have a request to make as well—” Pauline was ready to hitch onto Mile’s request with her own scheme.
Reina and Mavis could only shrug.
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