Chapter 115:
The Invasion Begins
“THANK YOU for your help, everyone!”
After a long journey, the members of the Crimson Vow had returned to their old faithful inn and were now partaking of an evening meal. On this occasion, they had decided to take their time and enjoy a sumptuous feast.
“We’ve now provided a new source of income for the orphanages of this country and those nearby… Er, I mean, set up a brand-new information network!” Mile announced.
The others did not seem especially perturbed by this slip of the tongue. They had known from the very start that Mile’s true aim in working with the orphanages was to help support them. The goal of “gathering information” was merely a front—though it would not be entirely unhelpful to have the restaurants be sources of intel. Most importantly, though, running an orphanage was hard, and Mile was making the orphans’ lives significantly easier.
The food situation at the orphanage had already been greatly improved by Mile’s contributions…but the day might come when she was no longer around to help them. There was always the possibility of her making a fatal error on the job. While she could mow down most monsters like they were nothing, a human opponent could still get the drop on her. She might find herself faced with an overwhelming force or an enemy who struck at a weak point. Even weak humans could potentially take down a juvenile elder dragon—it had happened in the past. (Of course, it had taken the power of several thousand soldiers and a great number of large ballistae…)
Then there was the possibility of facing an enemy whose identity was fully shrouded…
In short, it was best to have some contingencies in place. This was something that her companions understood.
“Obviously, we can’t have something at every orphanage in the land. But with branches at least established in all the capital cities, the orphanages in other towns might take note and try something similar. I did at least tell the staff at the orphanages to pass along the fundamentals of running a stall if any other orphanages came to consult with them.”
Orphanages were a nonprofit enterprise. It was very likely they’d be happy to help each other out, rather than viewing them as rival entities. Mile knew that they all shared the same mission: keeping the children who needed them fed and safe.
“Now, Reina and Mavis, we can get back to living as normal C-rank hunters, working hard toward your goals of reaching A-rank.”
Mile knew there wasn’t much point in simply roaming the land at random. She already knew what the elder dragons’ goal was, and chances were exceedingly slim that she might stumble upon a dimensional rift in the short window during which it was open. By now, she was also aware that there was nothing left within the ruins of their forebearers besides Scavengers and golems. And so, though she knew there was a small-scale reconnaissance mission coming in from the other world soon, they had a moment of respite for now. At this point, at least, there was nothing that the Crimson Vow could do about something that was so far beyond their scope.
As for the others…
Despite what she says, thought Mavis, chances are quite high—almost certain, in fact, that they will be attacking in the near future.
They’re definitely coming, thought Pauline.
We’d better prepare for battle, thought Reina.
They’re definitely on their way! Those Wonder Trio girls are coming for Mile!!!
They were on high alert.
***
It had been a few months now since the Crimson Vow returned from their trip to set up the restaurant chain. In that time, Mile had taken a long break to check in on the status of each of the orphanages, give them pointers, and troubleshoot any issues. By now, she could be certain that all of the children at each of these orphanages would have more than enough to eat, with or without her help. By using her extreme high-speed parabolic cabalite maneuver, she was able to move great distances in a short time, so long as she was traveling alone. Even orphanages to which Mile had not directly offered her assistance had begun raising their earning potential, finding endeavors that would take full advantage of their greatest asset—free labor and physical space. In other words, businesses like the food stall, where employee salaries were usually among the highest contributors to operating costs.
Well, if anything ever happens to me, the orphanages around here should be fine. And at least now I can say that my being reborn into this world really did have some meaning. If I meet that overseer of a god again when I die, I’ll be able to hold my head up high.
Now, to continue to live a life that I won’t regret—a life lived for my own sake…
And to have all the fun I can in this world!
***
“Miss Mile of the Crimson Vow? I have a delivery for you.”
One day, the Crimson Vow received one of their regularly scheduled deliveries from the guild, brought to them as usual by one of the children who loitered around the guild hall, hoping to earn a bit of pocket change. Getting three half-silver to run deliveries around the capital was a pretty sweet deal for the kids—especially when many destinations were not even that far from the guild hall.
This piece of mail was one of the regularly scheduled reports that Mile had requested of each of the orphanages where she helped set up stalls. The report and the postage to send it represented the full share of the earnings that Mile expected from these endeavors.
“Okay, let’s see… This one’s from Marlane. They used the normal guild post instead of hiring a hunter or express courier, so it must not be anything notable,” said Mile, tearing open the envelope. “Right, here’s what they say: With the new types of monsters growing in number, the Mercenaries’ Guild has been aiding the hunters and the army in exterminating them. The forests have grown dangerous enough to make some of the newer hunters balk at venturing in, but the lives of normal citizens are largely unimpacted. The meat on these newer monsters is bland and not especially fatty, but there is a savoriness to it, and it has a good mouthfeel. The leaner meat has a nice texture, and when you cook the cartilage up so it’s still crunchy, it’s not half-bad… Wait, the rest of this is just their reviews of the new monster meat! I wonder if they’ll be all right with those monsters starting to wander around closer to the cities? There have been similar reports from the other capitals.”
“In the last report from Trist, they wrote about a new type of orc stew or something, didn’t they?” Pauline teased.
“It’s not a stew!” Mile snapped. These reports were very important to her, and she would not tolerate anyone making light of them.
“It would be one thing if there was a major incident, but there’s not much that we can do about the threat level just creeping up slowly all over the place, is there?” said Mavis. “Then again, I’m not sure there’s much we could do about a major incident, either…”
She had a point. No matter how much of a reputation the Crimson Vow had built for themselves, they were still nothing more than a C-rank party comprised of four young girls. If there was anything they could handle alone, a single elder dragon could do the same job much faster. That or some king or lord’s army. Again, the Crimson Vow was but a single party of four. They could do nothing about events happening simultaneously in separate locations.
“We’ll have to leave it up to the various governments. Like I said when you were going on about your intelligence network, Mile, there’s not really any point to you getting your hands on all this information first,” chided Reina.
“Wah…” Mile slumped in dismay. Perhaps she did have some attachment to the worries and responsibilities she had borne in her previous life…
***
LADY MILE, IT SEEMS YOU HAVE AN UNEXPECTED GUEST. WILL YOU ACCEPT THEM?
“Huh?”
“Hm? What’s up, Mile?”
“Oh! Uh, nothing! Eh heh heh…” Mile said, evading the question. She had not meant to vocalize her reply to the nanomachines.
Wh-what is it? And since when are you all my receptionists?! That’s Lenny’s job, isn’t it?! she replied internally. It was a justified objection—the nanomachines had never announced her visitors before.
WELL, YES, THAT WOULD BE THE CASE IF THIS WERE A NORMAL VISITOR—A HUMANOID OR A DEMON OR A BEASTPERSON OR SOME SUCH—BUT THIS VISITOR IS A BIT UNUSUAL, SO THEY ASKED FOR US TO ANNOUNCE THEM.
So this is someone a bit out of the ordinary… In that case, I suppose I should probably go to meet them alone?
The nanomachines were silent.
Say something!
ACTUALLY, BASED ON PREVIOUS INCIDENTS, IT MIGHT BE BEST FOR OTHERS TO BE PRESENT AS WELL.
What?! Are you saying that they aren’t a person, a demon, or a beast?! And yet it’s someone who all of us can meet, even given my secrets?
Again she was met with silence.
Clearly, you’re saying this is up to me to decide. But from the way you’re talking, I’m assuming that you’re “strongly suggesting” that I bring company…
Mile thought for several seconds and then replied, Please bring them to our room.
ROGER THAT!
“Apparently, we have a visitor. They’re going to meet us here,” Mile announced to the group.
“Wait, since when?! Who is it?!” Reina exclaimed.
“Not sure. We won’t know until they get here.”
“You can’t just have some mysterious figure coming to a girls’ room!” Reina screamed.
“Would you expect anything less from Mile?” Mavis sighed.
“That is a very Mile move,” agreed Pauline.
“Very well,” shrugged Reina, resigned. “Bring them in, then!”
At that very moment, a little bird flew through the open window, alighting upon the table.
“Wait—the visitor is a bird?!?!” Reina squawked. At this rate, Lenny would probably show up to scold them for being a nuisance to the other guests. Mile quickly erected a sound barrier.
They all stared fixedly at the bird.
There are protrusions at its joints. Are those rivets? It’s angular, with a shiny metallic surface. They’ve made no attempt to disguise the fact that this is a robot… Actually, this looks just like that robot bird Chika, from Lightspeed Esper—
“Uh, something isn’t right about this bird, is it? It sort of looks metallic…”
Just as Mavis said this, the bird cocked its head at a 45-degree angle and a beam of light shone from its eyes. The light coalesced into an image suspended in midair—an image of the bird itself, which bowed its head neatly.
‘Good. Afternoon.’
“Oh Goddess!!! It talks!!!” three members of the Crimson Vow cried.
“Who the heck are you, Swanee?! If the face on the screen is the same as your face, why even bother with the projection?! Just talk out of your own mouth!!!”
Mile, of course, had a totally different objection.
“Wh-wh-wha-what is this thing?!”
“I-I-Is it an emissary from Hell? Or an angel…?”
“I-I-If we caught that thing, we could sell it for so much!”
Typically, Pauline’s response was a little different from the others. But Mile simply chose to ignore it.
“It’s just an automaton, a type of golem. It’s a non-combatant type, like the Scavengers. The image is a type of illusion magic,” Mile explained.
Her matter-of-fact description immediately calmed the others. Knowing that this bird-creature was an artificial construct was more than enough to satisfy the other hunters, who already knew about the golems, Scavengers, and Mavis’s left arm. This bird was just another entry in that series of odd things. Even the image floating in the air did not particularly faze them if they thought of it as an illusion spell—they were already accustomed to seeing optical magic like Mile’s invisibility and transformation spells on a daily basis. And hearing the bird speak was not especially odd once they considered that beastfolk and elder dragons could talk.
“All right, so to what do we owe the pleasure? And why is it you’ve brought monsters in from your world, rather than the intelligent life-forms you’ve created?”
The nanomachines had been the ones to make introductions for this character, so it was clear that it meant the Crimson Vow no harm. Mile was on her guard, of course, but she was not especially worried. These invaders from another world had gone through the trouble of making contact with her. She wasn’t about to let a chance like this slip through her fingers.
AH, ACTUALLY, THIS BIRD HAILS FROM THIS WORLD. IT HAS TIES TO THE SCAVENGERS YOU MET WITH BEFORE. YOU DO REALIZE THAT IT WOULD NOT BE AWARE OF YOUR EXISTENCE OR OURS WERE THAT NOT THE CASE, YES? THE ONLY ENTITIES AWARE OF US, THE NANOMACHINES, ARE THE SCAVENGERS WE PREVIOUSLY MADE CONTACT WITH VIA DATA EXCHANGE, AND THE NO. 3 AUXILIARY BACKUP SYSTEM OF THE ECONOMICAL AUTONOMOUS BASIC DEFENSE CONTROL SYSTEM.
Wait, seriously?!
Once she thought about it, Mile realized it would make no sense for extradimensional beings to know about Mile, let alone bother tracking her down to make contact.
‘Slow_Walker. Wishes. To. Make. Contact, Custodian.’
“Wait, did you say, ‘Slow Walker?’ Like someone who walks slowly? Are we really introducing a new character at this point?!”
The mecha-bird had no reaction to Mile’s jab.
“More importantly, I suppose you are related to those guys, if you’re referring to me by that title. Is this Slow Walker character one of mine as well?”
Mile wondered if this so-called “slow walker” was one of the skittering, six-legged Scavengers—perhaps one who been removed from the line of duty because of some kind of operational fault slowing their movement. But the Scavengers possessed both the means and the materials of their own manufacture, which meant the other units could simply have repaired a broken one. Perhaps there was a reason they hadn’t, such as there being damage to the motor control centers of the unit’s electronic brain—the kind of damage where attempted repair would affect other sectors. That said, there wasn’t much point in such wild speculation at this juncture.
“Has some problem arisen that you need me to address? Or does it simply wish to make a scheduled report, or update me on repairs at its operational base and other locations?”
‘Slow_Walker. Wishes. To. Make. Contact, Custodian.’
“Ah, I see. You aren’t as sophisticated as the Scavengers are—you’re just a messenger.”
Given that the bird’s utterances had yet to show any variance, Mile concluded that it was only capable of basic replies.
“Will it be coming to see me? Or will I need to go to its location?”
‘Will. Guide. You.’
“Sure. Could you wait a few days, though?”
‘Will. Wait.’
The bird didn’t appear to have any form of long-range wireless communication. Though it did seem capable of some basic conversation, it was likely simply providing preprogrammed automated responses to anticipated questions. Perhaps its flight capabilities took up so much of the capacity of its small body that its makers were unable to give it much of a brain, making it incapable of the sort of advanced thought and reasoning that the Scavengers possessed.
Apparently having deemed that its mission was complete, the mecha-bird took off from the table and flew to the top of a storage chest, where it perched prettily. Mile appreciated its consideration—it would be pretty inconvenient to have it occupying the table the whole time. That said…
“Shouldn’t you be going back to make your report?! Are you really just going to sit there and wait for us?!”
Given that the bird’s mission seemed to be to retrieve Mile, going back without her would be a dereliction of duty. And of course, for a mechanical being of infinite life span, a few days’ time was a paltry sum, a rounding error at worst.
“Well, I suppose you can’t defy your orders. You are a robot, after all.”
Mile had some sympathy for creations bound by rules.
“Um. Perhaps you’d care to explain…?”
Mile may have finished her conversation with the bird, but now, the other members of her party were ready and waiting with their questions.
***
“So, you’re saying that the Scavengers and the other entities like them, which are left over from some ancient civilization, granted you some authority over them because you’re a descendant of that civilization?”
“Yes… Well, I mean, that’s not unique to me—every humanoid alive is a descendant as well. Intelligent life-forms like us didn’t just pop up overnight. We’re all the descendants of the humans of the far past. I think my role was mostly assigned due to the fact that I was the first one to speak to them, and that my blood is a bit more strongly linked to that of our forebearers, due to some kind of recessive inheritance or something like that.”
“Ahhh!”
Everyone nodded as though they perfectly understood Mile’s point about recessive genes. After all, that would explain why elves and dwarves and such were always saying that Mile had the same smell as them—or not “smell” per se, but at least something that gave them the sense that Mile was their kin. Besides, a blood connection to an ancient civilization would explain why Mile’s magic was so ridiculously powerful. Like all humans, the members of the Crimson Vow tended to believe a theory they arrived at on their own was far closer to the truth than anything someone else might tell them…even if their own thinking had been purposely guided in that direction.
“So I’ve been offering them encouragement, and I’ve asked them to do their best not to cause any harm to humanoids or other intelligent life-forms when possible—barring cases of self-defense. I more or less left them to govern themselves, though. I figured that giving them any concrete direction, when I’m not especially informed, would just cause confusion.”
“Reigning without ruling, basically,” Mavis muttered. Mile nodded at the apt aphorism.
“Guess you’d better go then, huh?” asked Reina.
“Yeah…”
“What are you looking so sorry for?!”
“It’s fine, Mile! We visited those underground ruins as part of our pilgrimage, and the decisions you made were appropriate—both for the Scavengers and golems and for those orphans there.”
“Anyway, what you do, we all do. For better or worse, we shoulder each other’s burdens and prop each other up. After all…”
“We are four allies, bound at the soul! We are…the Crimson Vow!!!”
***
“So we’ve accepted an independent request, and we’ll be heading to the Albarn Empire.”
“Uh…”
The guild clerk stood petrified as Mavis made her strange proclamation with a smile on her face.
“Here’s the crux of the matter: Although this job wasn’t offered to us through the guild, we are traveling out of the country for job-related reasons, so we would like to request that the domestic work obligation period for the waiver of repayment of our student debt not be suspended…”
“What?!”
As one might surmise, Mile had conversed further with the mecha-bird and confirmed their destination was the Albarn Empire. This was not the sort of petition that involved traveling to some far-off destination without so much as a hint of where they were going.
At first glance, it might seem Mile was asking a lot of the guild—but the Crimson Vow weren’t really seeking any kind of special treatment. They weren’t trying to move their base of operations out of the country, just crossing international borders in pursuit of a job they had accepted domestically. Though they had taken on this assignment independently of the guild, the guild wasn’t petty enough as to stop the clock on their term of service every single time a border was crossed. They would usually take a handling fee, but while they didn’t profit from jobs that were brokered directly between client and hunter, hunters taking jobs generally meant someone in trouble was receiving the aid that they needed.
Plus, direct jobs were another way for hunters to earn a living and gain valuable experience, and, when successfully completed, they improved the profession’s reputation as a whole. Not to mention the fact that any money that those hunters earned would be poured back into the local economy. No matter how scant that contribution might ultimately be, it was often the case that a good portion of it was spent on acquiring food and drink at the taverns the guild had a business interest in.
All said and done, this meant that the party’s request wasn’t that absurd. However…
“I’m going to speak to the guild master about this. Wait right here!”
“Whaaaaaaat?”
Of course, things could not be too easy.
***
“And why the hell are you going back to the Empire this time?!”
Suddenly, the members of the Crimson Vow found themselves being yelled at.
“Well, I mean, we received a direct request…placed independently by the client…”
The explanation was redundant, as by definition, all independent requests were placed directly by a client with a hunter. In this case, the Crimson Vow were careful to frame the job as a request from a client who wished to remain anonymous, in order to imply that the substance of the job would be classified. This was not entirely a lie—and anyway, there was no clause that stated that only carbon-based life-forms could hire a hunting party.
“The Albarn Empire is a hostile nation. We still have no idea when they might try to launch an invasion on Brandel, Vanolark, or even Tils! Why would you choose now, of all times, to travel there? The last time was a special request from the palace, but a one-off independent request is another matter entirely!”
What? the girls were dumbfounded by the guild master’s objections.
Finally, Mavis spoke. “And what of it?”
“Huh?”
The guild master would not have been so startled had this rebuttal come from the ever-sharp-tongued Reina, or Pauline, who was known from time to time to spit bile with a smile. But they had come from Mavis. Mavis, who was always clearheaded, thoughtful, and polite…
“With the exception of a hunter intentionally choosing to carry out mercenary work, wars have nothing to do with us. The Hunters’ Guild is typically a neutral entity, and we neither participate nor intervene in warfare. Am I not correct?”
“N-no, you are…” the guild master stammered, unable to tender any objection. What she stated was posited on the very first page of the guild charter. To deny this was to deny the guild itself, something which a guild master could not possibly do.
“In that case, it doesn’t matter how precarious the relations between Tils and Albarn might be, does it? Even if we are on the verge of war, that doesn’t have anything to do with our jobs as hunters. Plus, our country’s merchants are still doing business within the Empire, and there are plenty of other hunters who cross the borders as their jobs require them to do so, aren’t there? Why is it that we alone should be forbidden from entering the Empire? You aren’t planning something, are you?”
“Uh…”
No matter how politely Mavis usually worked to meet others’ expectations, when it came down to it, she was still the party leader and would readily stand up to a superior on the party’s behalf, even without Reina or Pauline’s intervention. Meanwhile, things looked far more grim for the guild master. The Crimson Vow weren’t stupid, and there was no way he could talk his way out of this.
“Have you issued an order for all hunters to refuse to take jobs that will take them into Albarn? I didn’t see any announcements about that written above the job board.”
“You couldn’t possibly be issuing this order only to us, could you? I suppose we’ll have to check in with the other hunters.”
This world, too, had an idiom akin to “kicking a dog while it’s down.” Pauline and Reina were more than happy to do just that to the suffering guild master.
“Ugh… No, it’s just that…I’m worried about you, since you’re all young ladies. It wasn’t an order or a demand. I’m sorry for not being clearer.”
Even if he had some ulterior motive he was keeping to himself, it seemed the guild master’s objections didn’t come from a place of malice. Maybe he really was just worried about their safety. As long as he was happy to apologize and not interfere with their travel into the Albarn Empire, it was no skin off of the Crimson Vow’s backs. As such, they accepted the guild master’s apology, making sure not to pass up the chance to assert their dominance by demanding a written agreement from him, as an assurance that the clock would not be stopped on their minimum term of service while they were out of the country.
Pauline showed no mercy when it came to matters such as these.
***
“We’ve finished our tour of all the orphanages for now,” Mile mused as they walked back to the inn. “I left them with two normal orcs and three magically frozen ones, so they should all be fine. We made arrangements with the guild and local butchers while traveling, so the orphanages should be able to provide for themselves now, and we also were able to work out any kinks they’d been experiencing. Donating those five orcs was already more than enough, in terms of charity…”
“I guess you are pretty smart and thoughtful when it comes to those kind of operations,” said Reina, as though they were not all often thinking of and supporting the orphans in their own way. Pauline participated by helping with simple cooking tasks and brainstorming ways to spruce up the orphanages, along with providing basic first aid and healing, while Mavis taught the fundamentals of swordplay.
The moment they returned to the inn, they were flagged down by Lenny. “Big sisters! A hunter on horseback showed up just a little while ago with a letter for you. I told them I wasn’t sure when you would be back, so they said that I could sign for you and gave me this.”
Lenny was fairly well known among the hunters who frequented their inn and eatery, and she had a reputation for her honesty and responsibility, even if she could be a bit of a pain when it came to money. Still, everyone knew that there was nothing unscrupulous about her stinginess; it was merely for the sake of keeping the inn fiscally sound. Plus, she provided work for other children by hiring them to draw water for the baths, so she was something of a celebrity among the local orphans and urchins. No one who took the task of delivering a letter or package sent from another town through the guild post would ever hesitate to entrust Lenny with an item addressed to a guest staying at the inn.
“Thanks, Lenny,” said Mile, accepting the letter. It was a report from one of the orphanages, addressed to the Crimson Vow. Mile looked at the sender’s name, finding that it had come from an orphanage in the kingdom of Aubram.
“Hm? But wait, didn’t I just get a scheduled report back from Aubram?”
Mile followed the others up to their room on the second floor, tilting her head in suspicion. She was not so indiscreet as to stand right there in the middle of the inn’s entryway and open the envelope. Once they reached the room, however, she sat down upon her bed and opened up the letter—or rather, the report—skimming over it to find…
“What?! Apparently there’s been evidence of monster stampedes in Aubram. It makes sense—Lenny did say that this was delivered by a hunter on horseback. That means this wasn’t something that they had the leisure of sending to us via the guild post wagon or waiting around for an orphan or broke rookie to deliver to us.”
Her expression soured.
“Someone paid a lot of money to get this to us quickly, over international borders. This must be really bad!” Mile cried, having read only the first line of the letter.
The other members of the Crimson Vow crowded around to read the letter from over her shoulder. An orphanage, which had little in the way of funding to begin with, had spared no expense in paying the exorbitant postage for this emergency delivery. This was an apocalypse-level event, akin to TV Tokyo changing their broadcasting schedule for a breaking news report or Pauline giving money to charity. It seemed this orphanage thought that it was time to repay the favor the Crimson Vow had done in traveling around to offer the orphanages their support.
The hunters proceeded to read the rest of the letter.
“Here we go,” Mile summarized. “Sudden large outbreak of a new type of monster. Ecosystem imbalances leading to an influx of monsters leaving their natural habitats to move into human-settled areas. Emergency orders issued by the royal and local armies and Hunters’ and Mercenaries’ Guilds…” She paused. “The guild issuing an emergency draft like that is pretty rare. Everyone C-rank and up is compelled into service…”
The others were silent. This was a rare measure, one implemented only once a decade—no, once every few decades—and only in such cases as a stampede of monsters, or a battle against an elder dragon…
“What should we do?” asked Mile.
Just then, there came a knock at the door, followed by Lenny’s voice. “Big Sis, another letter for you!” Obviously, when the addressee herself was present at the inn, there was no need for Lenny to act as proxy.
“Another one, huh? Well, I suppose that happens sometimes, when things come via the guild post,” Mile said, hurrying down to the first floor so as not to keep the messenger waiting.
“Thank you for your service. I’m Mile of the Crimson…” Mile began to greet the messenger, when suddenly she trailed off. There was no mistaking it—she was speaking to the courier himself, judging by the letter he held in his hand. But this person was a hunter, a man somewhere in his thirties. That simple fact left her petrified.
There was nothing strange about a letter being delivered from a guild branch to a home or inn somewhere in town. Normally, such tasks were left to an orphan or some other impoverished child hoping to earn a bit of spending money, but hunters occasionally took them on, too. But the kind of hunter who might take on such a task would be a down-on-their-luck greenhorn who just so happened to be on hand. It wasn’t a task for the man who stood before her—an obviously mid-rank hunter with a trustworthy face and well-worn gear, well past his teenage years.
This meant yet another hunter had accepted an emergency delivery request. Just like the one who had delivered the letter from Aubram that Lenny had received for them earlier that same day. This man was a high-earning individual, one who specialized in the rush transport of letters or documents, who had the skills to not only ride long distances solo, but to defend himself in the case of a monster attack. The letter’s sender would have had to place the job request directly with an individual like this. For a poor orphanage to send their report by such means could only mean one thing.
Mile signed the proof of delivery with great haste, accepted the letter, and rushed back up to the second floor. There was no need for her to pay the delivery fee, as this would have already been deposited with the guild by the orphanage. Then, as everyone peered over her shoulders, Mile opened up the letter and read over it.
“S…seriously?”
This time the letter had come from an orphanage in Marlane. It referenced what they had overheard from local hunters and merchants about the situation in Aubram, as well as an influx of new monster types in their own kingdom. The issue was not that the numbers of these monsters were increasing, but that there was an explosion of them all at once. It was as though they had suddenly popped up out of thin air…
Naturally, the central and local governments of Marlane, plus the Hunters’ and Mercenaries’ Guilds, had all issued emergency requests and drafts, with appeals for support being made to neighboring kingdoms as well. However, both Aubram and Marlane, which shared a lengthy border, were unlikely to be able to support each other, which meant that the only nearby kingdoms who could offer their aid were Trist and Tils.
“Does this mean that the dimension rifts are fixed now?” Mile muttered.
“Huh?” The other three were startled by her speculation.
With the exception of the rift outside of the dwarven village, which had probably been open for quite some time, these rifts typically closed as soon as they opened. However, now it seemed there were other rifts staying open for quite a while—perhaps indefinitely. Perhaps those short-term rifts that were popping up all over the place were only experiments, a measure of trial-and-error in the pursuit of opening a perpetual gate, as that robot-like creature had been trying to do…
So, why was it that those people who had built up the civilizations of the distant past had abandoned this planet? With science so advanced, dealing with a little monster invasion would have been nothing, wouldn’t it? No matter how peaceful their society had been, if there was a concern for their safety, they could have harnessed their knowledge and technological expertise into some kind of weapon. No reason a steak knife could only be used for eating, after all. Perhaps a hyper-long-range outer space laser communications system could have been repurposed into a laser gun, or some such; regardless, with their level of sophistication, crafting weaponry to go up against a monster or two should have been trivial.
This begged the question of why they would have made the difficult decision to abandon their home planet entirely. Was it because they knew that even if they managed to eliminate the monsters seeping in through the dimensional rifts at the time, the same thing would just happen again later? Or was it because they were so kindhearted that they refused to take the life of even a monster?
Regardless, the monsters had come. Just as their forebearers had predicted.
“So, are we going?”
It was Mavis who had raised the obvious question.
“Hm… I’m not sure, honestly,” Mile replied.
“What?”
The other three were startled. They had assumed Mile would want to rush to Marlane immediately.
“I mean, if it was like last time, when neither the kingdom nor the guild were aware of the danger yet, we could go there and hunt up a heap of these aberrant monsters and try to convince them of the danger. But this time, they’re already aware of both the dangers and the sudden population explosions of the aberrant types—the so-called ‘new’ monsters. They are leveraging their country’s forces to deal with them, and I’m not really sure what adding the four of us to that number would do. In cases like these, it’s best for us to focus on the things that only we have the ability to accomplish.”
Her explanation prompted the others to take a step back and reconsider.
“That is true,” started Reina. “No matter how powerful these monsters might be, with enough hunters and soldiers, the existing forces should be able to surround and defeat them. It’s not like we’re dealing with dragons here… If a small hunting party goes into the forest and encounters a type of monster they weren’t anticipating, things can end pretty poorly, but with enough preparation and forethought, in a battle at the time and place of their choosing, a decent-sized force should be able to overcome almost any enemy…”
“You’re right,” Mavis agreed. “There’s no reason for us to go rushing in if we haven’t been hired to do so. Actually, considering that this kingdom is where we’re based, it makes more sense for us to be here, prepared for any harm that might come to this country. It’s only a matter of time until monsters come in across the borders, or new ones pop up within Tils. Plus, sooner or later we’re probably going to see recruitment listings from the upper brass and guild of Tils, in response to the aid petitions lodged by both of those other kingdoms…”
After giving the matter some thought, Reina and Mavis seemed to share Mile’s opinion. It made sense. If you were to suddenly encounter an unexpected foe in the middle of the woods, you might be wiped out. However, if it was an enemy you knew about from the start, and you had the opportunity to choose a strategic position, and gather plenty of firepower on your side… An orc or ogre of any rank would be mincemeat in the face of trained soldiers and hunters equipped with honed weapons. There still would be plenty of casualties, of course, both fatal and otherwise, but such was daily life for a soldier, mercenary, or hunter. Just as no war was ever fought where not a single soldier perished, neither could they expect to escape from a battle against the monsters entirely unscathed.
And so, there was no need for four more hunters to go rushing in to join an extermination that was already being carried out by a country which had plenty of information and resources; even if they did, the added effect would be so little to be practically nothing. The only thing that the Crimson Vow needed to focus on in that moment was…
“This new character, who’s gone out of their way to make contact with us right at this pivotal moment. It’s probably one more part of the defense system that our forebearers left behind for the sake of their descendants. I think we need to go to it and see what it has to say!”
The other three all quietly nodded.
“So, is everyone fine with letting this guy lead us to wherever this ‘Slow Walker’ is?” asked Mile, pointing to the mecha-bird, which was still stationed atop the chest.
“Yeah. I mean, if we don’t, it’ll probably get mad and keep poking us,” Reina said with a smirk.
“Or try to peck our eyes out,” Pauline whispered.
“Eep!” Reina seemed genuinely frightened.
“Well, since we’ve already tied up all our loose ends, I suppose we should head out first thing in the morning tomorrow? We’ll just have them tally up our bill for the inn, and pretend that we took a normal guard job so that Lenny doesn’t try to stop us. Then, we can slip right out,” said Mile.
The others nodded. Having Lenny fuss over them would only delay their departure…
“And is that fine with you?”
The mecha-bird chirped cheerfully in reply.
***
After years of experience with Lenny and her ways, the Crimson Vow were able to successfully make their escape the next morning. It probably helped that they ate breakfast first thing, and then headed out while the inn was still in its busiest hours.
They would by traveling by foot. Having a mechanical bird sitting on their shoulders giving them directions would cause far too much suspicion among the other passengers if they were to travel by stagecoach, and having the thing fly the whole time would be too great a burden for the meager capabilities built into the bird’s small body. Furthermore, based on the distance the bird had given when asked how far they would have to travel, Mile had judged that their destination would be in the Albarn Empire. She had to come to this conclusion on her own based on the distance from their current location, as place and country names decided arbitrarily by humans would mean nothing to the mechanical creature.
As it stood, almost no carriages were headed for the Empire, where the political situation was unstable. It was sometimes possible to hitch a ride with merchant caravans as part of an escort mission, but few merchants were crazy enough to venture into a politically unstable situation, and the pace at which wagons fully laden with goods, making several day-long stops in various locations, would move would be far too slow. The Crimson Vow could cover the same distance on foot in less time. Not to mention that they could not simply abandon their guard duties once they had reached their intended destination and leave the caravan behind.
And so, considering both travel time and convenience, the Crimson Vow decided it was best to go it alone.
The mecha-bird chimed from its perch atop Mile’s shoulder, making the motions of preening itself. Apparently, it was trying to pretend that it was a normal animal.
“Listen, if you’re trying to convince people that you’re a real bird, you’ve already missed a few steps! Like, maybe you should have done something about the fact that you’re obviously made of metal, that you’re completely smooth with not a single feather, that you’re angular in a way that no organic life-form has ever been, and that those rivet heads are sticking straight out of you!”
“Yeah, having the rivets stick out like that disrupts the air flow, which would make it way less aerodynamic…”
“That’s not what I was talking about!” Reina wailed.
To be totally frank, there was pretty much nothing particularly realistic about this mecha-bird. There was absolutely no point in its faux preening when not a single pinion sprouted from its skin. Given its construction, it was more or less unthinkable that this thing could even fly by flapping its wings. It probably had some manner of anti-gravity-based propulsion system.
This thing looks worse than Lopross after it peeled off its exterior in battle to show its golden body beneath… It really does look just like Chika. If anyone actually thinks this thing looks like a real bird, they had better get their eyes checked out… Then again, the only real choices you have for that here are getting an apothecary to give you some eye drops or asking a mage to do some restorative magic on you…
Mile sank into her thoughts as the bird continued to give directions via chirps. The Crimson Vow continued following the bird’s directions, until…
“There’s nothing up ahead but a sheer mountain range!”
“And in front of it is a dense forest, full of crazy high-rank monsters…”
“We can’t fly through the air like you can!”
“And also…we already know that you can talk, at least a bit? Why aren’t you just giving us the directions verbally? At least tell us some roads to travel along!”
One after another, the four hunters lambasted the poor bird, which cheeped in reply.
“And don’t go trying to act all shy now!”
“You can’t make any expressions with that metal face, and all you’re capable of is answering basic questions. How is that you’re so crafty?! Your processing distribution makes no sense at all!”
Both Reina and Mile had further complaints for the mech.
“I mean, it is sort of cute. Isn’t that enough?” asked Pauline, who somehow seemed to be taking a liking to the bird.
“Ah ha ha!” Mavis, meanwhile, just laughed, having no opinion one way or the other.
“Oh, I get it. She likes this bird because it doesn’t fly away when she gets near it, unlike normal little birds and animals which run away whenever they sense evil intent—er, never mind! Forget about it! I said nothing!!!”
There went Mile, stepping right onto the tiger’s tail…
***
“Okay! Enough, please! Uncle!” Mile wailed, which seemed to finally satisfy Pauline’s wrath.
“Honestly… I’m not the sort of person who animals would avoid!” protested Pauline.
“Oh, you’re right!” Mile immediately shot back. “It’s not just animals but human children, too!”
“Mile!!”
“Ah.”
Reina and Mavis had tried to stop her, but they were a moment too late.
“Eee hee hee…”
“U-um, Pauline?”
“Heh heh heh heh…”
“I, uh—”
“Eh heh heh heh heh heh heh…”
“Gaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
***
The bird cheeped.
“I guess we’re here?”
Finally, the Crimson Vow arrived at their destination. As usual, they had moved from A to B far more quickly than the average traveler would; all of their luggage was safely stored in Mile’s inventory, and they had spent every night camping rather than stopping at inns, which allowed them to keep moving from dawn to dusk, as they needed no time for pitching tents and very little for preparing food. The location the bird had guided them to was not the caves they had visited before but somewhere else entirely.
They stood at the mouth of a cave deep in a remote mountain range. The cave looked like it had been dug out not so long ago and was just large enough for a rock golem to travel in and out. Six Scavengers stood in a row before them. It was impossible to tell whether they had met any of these individuals before. Mile could barely even distinguish among the faces of fellow humans, but even the other members of the Crimson Vow had no chance of telling these identical robots apart.
The Scavengers had four arms and six legs upon their metal bodies and were about equivalent in size to a large dog. The forest urchins had nicknamed them Mr. Skitters, which was apt insofar as the Scavengers moved quite quickly. There were six rock golems present as well, but they only seemed to be acting as security for the entrance, rather than forming part of the reception committee. Typically, these individuals would probably be patrolling the area on various independent duties, but for now they were all gathered here.
“I’m guessing they keep the entrance this small to keep humanoids and monsters from finding it?”
“Once again, we’re getting the VIP treatment!!!”
It was yet another warm welcome for the Crimson Vow…
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