◎ Torda Hot Spring Town, Louise Hotel
Yumika and the others' journey was proceeding smoothly. After leaving Rock Hold Town, the next place the party visited was Torda Hot Spring Town. That is to say, the hot spring town where they first met Louise, where the hotel managed by her was located.
6 days left until the coronation. Louise was planning to spend that day and the next day dealing with hotel business, but once they continued onward, they would likely reach the royal capital in three days' time.
(At least, that's what we were thinking, but...)
Yumika sighed inside Louise's hotel office. Tiara was sitting next to her. And in Tiara's arms, for some reason, Mefirus had a serious expression.
『Hmm』
「What's wrong, Grandfather?」
Tiara tilted her head and asked Mefirus. While he usually didn't talk very much normally, Mefirus' state had been strange since that morning.
『No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it.』
Mefirus so replied to his granddaugther's question. After being told that, Tiara could only nod. The cause of Mefirus' state was the message he received yesterday from Audin via the Ruby Griffon contract.
(All the people who were planning the assassination are dead? Having said that, there's no guarantee that the assassination risk is gone...)
The assassination danger had already been incorporated into their plans; Mefirus and the others had been thinking that the riskiest times were when they reached the royal capital or when they were in Torda Hot Spring Town. Yumika was always on guard with『Dog's Sense of Smell』, and Jinrai was being especially vigilant about nearby presences. And now, there was the report from Audin.
(Well, I suppose I shouldn't purposely say something that could cause them to loosen their vigilance?)
Under these circumstances... so thinking, Mefirus didn't say anything.
However, even putting that aside, another problem was occurring.
In front of them was Torda Hot Spring Town's Adventurers Guild branch head, Maia. She had expressly come to Louise Hotel to talk with them about the issue.
「I see. I've understood the story, but the important part is that the army can't go out, right?」
Louise put her hand on her forehead and asked. Louise interacted with Maia as a resident and businessperson of the same city. She wanted to help if possible. However, the issue she had been brought was a troublesome one.
「That's right. Unluckily, this is happening at the same time as the coronation, so there aren't enough Tsuvaran troops. So, umm, with the power of Rank S Jinrai-sama, I was wondering if something could be done.」
In front of the White Party (excluding Kazane and Naoki), Maia replied with a somewhat exhausted expression. She might not have slept in the past few days. That was how desperate she was.
The origin of the affair was the discovery of huge lizard-type monsters called Brutuza in the forest to the west. They were behemoth-class giants with a total length of over 15 meters. They had a sturdy shield-like skeletal structure on their heads, and they were known to crush a village or two if they passed through while they were rampaging.
It was said that a herd of 5 had wandered into this area. Right now, they were only hunting in the woods, but they didn't know when they might head their direction, and unfortunately, it would be difficult to deal with them with just the Tsuvaran soldiers present in the surrounding towns. Since the army was concentrated in the royal capital for the coronation, there were insufficient numbers everywhere, and since they hadn't caused any damage at the present point, they were being left alone for now.
「Currently, we've requested for kingdom troops to be stationed in nearby cities, and there's a similar ongoing request for adventurers, but that's the best we can do; we can't gather a sufficient number of people for a subjugation.」
Maia said. Basically, it was normal for cities to have garrisons in this world. They existed to deal with monsters that adventurers couldn't deal with, but having said that, there was no way they would be sent on a suicide mission with thin hopes of victory. Considering the rank of the monsters this time, with the diminished number of soldiers in the nearby towns, they concluded that it would be too dangerous to gather their war potential and attempt a subjugation.
「We were told that dealing with them would become possible after the coronation, but we don't know how long the present condition of no damage will last.」
Dignitaries from many countries had already gathered in the royal capital, so there was no way they would do something that might lead to one of them saying their army was undermanned. Moreover, there was less than a week until the coronation ceremony. The judgement to wait until after that to gather numbers and do the subjugation was by no means mistaken.
「I see. And then, you heard that we're here.」
After Louise's words, Maia deeply nodded.
「I've heard that a rank S adventurer by themself is comparable to an army. I thought it might be possible with Jinrai-sama's power, and clinging to that hope, I came here.」
Subjected to Maia's gaze, Jinrai muttered.
「Brutuzas? It would be another story if it were just one, but five is troublesome.」
「Grandfather, are Brutuzas that strong?」
It was a name that wasn't heard in Hyvern. Lyle hadn't known about their existence.
「Mm. They're not dragons, but giant lizards of the Saurus family. Few types use Breath or fly in the sky, but they're simply powerful and tough. They're generally sturdier than Earth Core Dragons. And even among them, Brutuzas have shield-like heads that repel every kind of attack. With five, this town would probably become a pile of rubble in the blink of an eye.」
(If I remember correctly, that monster resembles a triceratops, with a head that's just like a tower shield)
Yumika remembered fighting that monster in Zexiaharts. Incidentally, Arch had been pounced on and died many times; her winning percentage was zero.
(Those are certainly tough, aren't they? And it's not simply an issue of power, but player skill as well)
Because it was an opponent that couldn't be defeated if it was challenged from the front, player skill was more important than level. Since I wasn't skilled at the game, I couldn't handle them with Arch... Yumika thought.
「Oi, Yumika.」
At that time, she heard a voice for some reason.
「Yumika, are you listening?」
「Uh, ah, yes. Master?」
Then Yumika realized she was being called and raised her face.
Thereupon, everyone was looking at Yumika.
「Umm, what is it?」
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login