205

Chapter 205 — In the End (7)

“I trusted the Archmage and made the recommendation, but I still wonder whether everything will truly be all right.”

The Lord stood beside the window with the great sage who had come to visit again.

Beyond the window, the coastline the reconnaissance unit had headed toward was faintly visible through the darkness of night.

“If you have dealt with mermen before, then you know… their claws are extraordinarily sharp. Misjudge the distance even slightly and they can cut through a horse’s ankle or slice open a person’s leg.”

In truth, what the Lord had hoped for was that the Hero herself would step forward.

There was some hesitation over whether it was appropriate to make use of the Hero for something like this, but that concern was not heavier than the lives of the Lord’s soldiers.

The Lord thought of the two soldiers who had lost a life and a leg on reconnaissance, and of the two elite troops the city had lost at a time when it was already suffering from a shortage of manpower.

Yes.

If it meant protecting valuable soldiers, the Hero or anyone else could be put to work as much as necessary.

Though the Lord could not openly ask for it while being mindful of the Temple.

“I understand your concern, my Lord, but I do not believe you will regret hiring the Demon Knight. I am not saying that merely because he accompanies us on our journey.”

“Is that so?”

“For this sort of work, he may even be better than the Hero.”

If the great sage was willing to guarantee him to that extent, then fine.

The Lord decided to ease the worry somewhat.

“Still, his fee was higher than that of other Adventurers. I did not expect the Guild itself to name such a price before even consulting him.”

“These days, he accepts small jobs as well because he is matching his schedule to ours, but ordinarily, he does not take this sort of… comparatively peaceful request very often.”

“Peaceful work……”

“Only when compared with demon hunting. Compared to ordinary work, things here are hardly peaceful either.”

“True. That is fair.”

In any case, it was too late for regret.

No power in the world could instantly call back people who had already been sent out.

“Have the Demon Worshippers still said nothing?”

“Unfortunately, no. They seem to believe there was a traitor among them and have been raging about it… but they do not actually know anything for certain.”

Even their own side was suspicious of how quickly the investigation had been carried out.

How much more suspicious must the Demon Worshippers, who had suffered the consequences, be?

They had immediately begun shouting that none of this made sense and that it had to be the work of a traitor.

The problem was that they could not name any particular individual or group as the suspected traitor, so for now it remained nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

“We are also auditing the people who led this purge and cross-checking the progress of the investigation……”

The Lord felt sorry for the soldiers who had worked since dawn, but it could not be helped.

The purge operation had only been reported to the Lord the night before it was carried out.

Before that—in other words, everything that had occurred before the operational plan was formally submitted—needed to be clarified.

There was no room to overlook the potential danger of a Demon Worshipper’s pawn merely out of consideration for the soldiers.

Even someone who betrayed their own faction was still an enemy if their intentions were unknown.

“So far, we have found nothing unusual.”

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, there were no discrepancies between what the centurion had said when submitting the operational plan and what had been uncovered during the follow-up investigation.

An anonymous letter had arrived denouncing Demon Worshippers.

The source and authenticity of the information were suspicious, but several people already under suspicion of being Demon Followers were named in it, so an investigation had been ordered just in case.

Before long, the contents of the letter were confirmed to be true.

Thus, the operational plan had been submitted.

There didn’t appear to have been any corruption or wrongdoing in any of those stages.

“Ah, even when a letter like that comes in, you act without reporting it to the Lord?”

“How many denunciations do you think arrive in a year? I cannot personally receive reports on every one of them. Normally the centurion handles them, and only cases whose investigations produce firm results are brought to me.”

This case only reached the Lord because it concerned Demon Worshippers.

Had the targets been ordinary criminals, it likely would not have been reported at all.

“In any case… immediately after I received the operational plan and summary report, I became suspicious and had everyone involved watched until the operation was carried out. None of them secretly met anyone.”

And they had not been watched openly.

People specialized in surveillance had been assigned.

It was too early to make a definitive conclusion, but it did not seem as though the city guard itself had been infiltrated.

“We are also investigating the person who sent the denunciation… but since it was passed through several different errand runners before reaching us, I doubt much will come of that either.”

“I see…….”

The informer—presumed to be a Demon Follower—had been almost frustratingly meticulous.

“Let us move on to another subject. This is not a problem whose answer will come easily… and thanks to their internal conflict, we have almost completely cleaned out the diseased growth festering in secret. After capturing this many, I doubt an entire group could still remain untouched.”

“If that is how you see it, my Lord.”

Using the words already spoken as justification, the Lord did not regard the matter entirely negatively.

It was not complacency.

The Lord simply trusted the guard that had been raised under both the current and previous generations.

They would not have allowed Demon Worshippers into the city easily.

They would not have missed many during the screening process.

And even if there were some who had somehow evaded all of that, there could not be many of them.

And most of those would likely have been swept up by this denunciation.

That was the belief.

“Then how have the mermen been lately?”

“Not well. The number of mermen discovered by reconnaissance parties has increased, yet the sea itself remains quiet.”

With that, the Lord and the great sage began a second discussion on a different subject.

In truth, this topic was more important than the first.

“According to records passed down in the city, something enormous always followed whenever this happened… but I do not know what it will be this time.”

“Hmm. Something enormous, you say……?”

“A massive tidal wave… a storm… or perhaps a dragon.”

“A dragon……?”

“The records are ancient, so no one knows what truly happened. Perhaps they mistook a waterspout for one.”

It had not been long since waterspouts were confirmed to be a type of storm.

The theory had only been established after storms were recreated through magic.

Because of that, some members of the educated classes still believed waterspouts were traces left behind by passing dragons…

but the Lord of Bemurchen, at least, had reviewed the theory.

“There are two or three records claiming dragons were sighted, but the complete absence of damage is another piece of evidence. The likelihood of it actually being a dragon is low.”

In that context, the Lord dismissed the possibility of a dragon appearing.

After all, with even the Sea Dragon of the west dead, there was—according to human knowledge—only one dragon left in the world.

And that dragon never descended from the barbarian lands far to the north.

It could not possibly be that dragon.

“Even so, it would be better to leave the possibility open, just in case.”

“Of course. In preparation for such an event, we have continuously researched weapons specifically designed for giant monsters. Due to technological limitations, we have only managed to produce one truly viable weapon so far……”

“Having even one is fortunate enou—hmm?”

“……?”

The Archmage, who had been listening to the explanation, suddenly rose.

Her gaze passed slightly beside the Lord and fixed on something behind.

“Is something wrong……?”

Naturally, the Lord turned as well.

“That is……”

Beyond the square window, the faint light of a signal flare announcing the appearance of mermen could be seen.

It came from the direction of the coast where the reconnaissance unit had gone.

* * *

Earlier, we had dug into the ground to draw water from the stream.

But the moment the ditch had filled, they blocked off the section connected to the stream—for reasons I didn’t know—so that water couldn’t be used for washing bowls.

Apparently it was meant both as drinking water and water for the horses, so contaminating it would be a problem.

That meant I and several soldiers had to personally walk over to the stream to wash our bowls.

A few members of the other squads had apparently finished eating early as well, because they hurried after us.

“Whew. Captain says she’ll let us go as long as we move in pairs, but honestly, walking around with only two people is terrifying.”

Ah…

So that was why they hadn’t moved even though, unlike me, they knew the rules.

They were afraid to go with only the minimum number of people.

“Adventurer, aren’t you scared?”

“Why would he be scared? He’s probably more used to camping outdoors than any of us, Senior.”

“Ah, right.”

“And anyway, Senior, you’re not scared because the night is dark. You’re scared a merman is going to jump out at you.”

“Ah. You got me.”

Flinch.

My body jerked involuntarily at the line that dug directly into my trauma.

Someone confiscate those words from the world.

Every time I hear a line like that, I feel like crying.

“Am I the only one who’s scared? Be honest. You guys are scared too.”

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“It’s not like I’m not afraid…… There have been incidents before, rare though they are……”

“See?”

As an aside, the place where we had set up camp was quite far from the shore.

The nearby water wasn’t connected to the sea either.

Did mermen really come all the way out here?

That was a little surprising.

“…Do mermen come this far inland?”

“Hm? Ah. Yes. There’s water here, so they can come if they’re determined.”

Because there’s water……?

“You probably already know this, but mermen die if they dry out. That means they can’t remain active on land for long… but if there are streams or pools like these along the way, they travel around while repeatedly splashing water over their skin.”

“And for people like us, who have to camp near streams so we have water for the horses, it’s a damn nuisance.”

Mermen had a trait like that too……

Then the rule about taking someone with you when washing bowls was probably for the same reason.

I stored the new information away.

That kind of thing had never appeared in the game, so I hadn’t known.

Though I supposed it was also possible it had appeared and I simply didn’t remember.

“Still, this place is beyond the normal range where mermen can leave the sea and operate, and there aren’t any particular water sources between the campsite and the coast……”

Sometimes rain left pools behind, and technically they could also take a roundabout zigzag route using other water sources.

The soldiers grumbled as they explained.

“But this place is still relatively safe. Other campsites get attacked about one time in ten.”

That wasn’t bad information to know.

Considering mermen mostly appeared in the east, I probably wouldn’t need it often…

but you never knew what might happen.

“So……”

“Stop.”

Exactly.

If I hadn’t heard that explanation, maybe I wouldn’t have recognized the presence moving around nearby right now.

“…Stop.”

When I stopped one of the soldiers, someone perceptive immediately followed suit.

The other soldiers looked startled but did the same.

Some of them clearly wondered what was going on, but not one of them kept moving.

“An enemy?”

“Enemy……!”

After I confirmed it, they reacted even faster.

They quickly steadied themselves and brought the spears strapped across their backs to bear.

Within moments, they had formed a formation designed to counter an ambush.

“Follow me at a distance.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we went together……?”

“You would be in the way.”

Would this count as acting on my own?

Then again, the captain and vice-captain weren’t watching, so maybe it didn’t matter.

I stepped in front of the soldiers while considering it.

“Take a torch.”

One soldier offered me his flame.

Click.

But holding a torch made things more inconvenient because I lost the use of one arm.

Instead, I attached my lamp to my waist, switched it on, and strode forward.

Apparently using the light to locate me, the enemy began preparing an ambush.

Beyond the brush that had been cut away to clear the line of sight, something lowered itself deep among the remaining reeds.

“Is it really okay to let him go alone……?”

“For now, let’s wait.”

But did it even count as an ambush once it had already been discovered?

I drew my Zweihander.

Thud, scrape.

As I pulled it free, the blade naturally dropped toward the ground and dragged across the dirt among the grass.

The soil was damp from the vegetation and humidity, so it made a different sound from scraping across dry earth.

“He probably has something in mind—”

And once I’d closed the distance enough, a merman suddenly burst out.

I flicked the Zweihander upward.

Slash.

Without even kicking it with my foot, the blade leapt into the air and cut diagonally through the merman.

Maintaining its momentum, it continued rotating and cut through the second merman.

Legged-type mermen.

In other words, mermen with actual legs.

“It’s mermen!”

There were still more.

I found and cut down the others that were hiding.

The ones who had been preparing to ambush us all charged together once three of them were dead.

Slash!

I suddenly got annoyed and simply wiped them all out with sword energy.

At first I’d been using the blade itself because I wanted to preserve the natural scenery…

but thinking about it, Bemurchen was probably better off without the reeds.

As things stood, the only purpose they served was helping mermen launch ambushes like this.

“You, go back to camp first and—”

Meanwhile, one of the more senior-looking soldiers was about to give some order to the youngest-looking member.

“No. All of you go back.”

I quickly interrupted.

The senses I had sharpened to check whether any mermen remained nearby were now ringing alarm bells.

“Several dozen mermen are coming this way.”

As though the ones here had merely been the vanguard, more mermen were approaching.

* * *

* * *

“Captain! Mermen are coming!”

“What?!”

I had considered staying behind and fighting alone, but something felt wrong, so I chose to retreat with the others.

Looking back, that probably hadn’t been a bad decision.

Judging by the number of presences approaching, I might be fine, but the soldiers would probably have to withdraw to the city.

And if they withdrew, they would obviously take Frederick with them.

Which meant I’d end up walking back.

I did not like that.

Even if I had packed two days’ worth of provisions just in case when I learned the request would take me outside the city.

No walking for me.

“How many?”

“At least thirty.”

I hadn’t visually confirmed them, but I was probably right.

Feeling the presences draw closer by the second, I gripped my longsword instead of the Zweihander.

I also repositioned myself between the soldiers and the direction the mermen were approaching from, guarding against the possibility that the mermen arrived first.

“They are within forty meters.”

“…Prepare to retreat! Abandon all unnecessary baggage! Everyone, mount up!”

The captain looked as though she wanted to say something to me, but she didn’t stop to question whether my warning was true.

She was the type who first considered what could happen if it was true and time was wasted doubting it.

“Report every time they close another ten meters!”

Instead, the captain stepped up beside me.

Maybe she intended to buy the soldiers time to escape just as I did.

“Thirty meters.”

I watched the soldiers abandon drinking water, food, blankets, and everything else as they grabbed only their weapons and ran for the horses.

“Damn it, I didn’t even get to eat yet.”

There was something slightly tragic about what a few of them shouted.

Honestly, if they simply told me to handle it alone, I could probably wipe out all of them before they even reached us.

There was no real need to hurry.

I felt a little sorry for them.

“Twenty meters.”

But explaining all of that at length would be awkward, and ignoring the uneasy feeling would also be awkward.

So I simply followed the captain’s orders and reported the distance exactly.

For creatures that didn’t normally live on land, they were surprisingly fast.

“Captain! Adventurer! Your horses!”

The vice-captain brought our horses right up behind us so we could mount immediately.

“Everyone is mounted!”

“Good! Move out!”

By the time the distance had shrunk to roughly ten meters, everyone had mounted.

“Mount first.”

Pitch-black Mana gathered around my blade.

Slash!

If I wasn’t planning to fight afterward, I had much less reason to conserve Mana.

Giving myself a generous margin, I cut through several dozen meters directly ahead in a single stroke.

“…Would’ve been quite a sight in daylight.”

Probably.

Seeing living creatures’ bodies cut into six pieces wouldn’t be very pleasant, but watching the entire field of grass fall at once would have been impressive.

Prrr.

Putting that aside, since I had killed all the mermen that had approached closely in one strike, we now had plenty of room to retreat.

I climbed onto Frederick, who showed no sign of either tension or excitement.

Only then did the captain, who was already mounted, move as well.

“For now, we head toward the city! Adventurer! Are there more enemies approaching?”

“There are.”

“How many?”

Well…

They weren’t close enough for me to count precisely yet.

I could tell there were more, but I didn’t know the exact number.

“…Are you confident you can deal with all of them?”

“Do not ask the obvious.”

Oh…

Good thing I hadn’t spent all my Mana.

Though really, it was more that I hadn’t needed to use that much in the first place.

At my answer, the captain visibly swallowed before shouting.

“Vice-captain! Lead the soldiers back to the city!”

“What?!”

“Everyone, return to the city with the vice-captain! The Adventurer and I will gather more information!”

“But—!”

“Adventurer, slow down!”

“…Ah, damn it!!”

Since the captain, vice-captain, and I had departed last, we were still near the rear.

Breaking away from the group wasn’t difficult.

Our horses gradually slowed.

Frederick snorted and pawed at the ground with one foreleg.

“We eliminate every merman approaching, then scout the coastline. Any objections?”

“None.”

Would it be better to dismount and fight?

Or since we had time before they arrived, should I stay mounted and fire sword energy repeatedly to kill them before they came close?

I considered it briefly, then decided on the latter for now.

If it looked like that wouldn’t work, I could just jump down and fight on foot.

“…Let’s go.”

I followed the captain forward.

Fortunately, most of the mermen had died in my earlier attack, so the remnants could easily be killed from horseback.

“Now all that remains is checking the shoreline……?”

The problem was what we saw when we approached the coast after killing them all.

“…We return immediately!”

Sure, defense battles were usually wars of numbers.

But wasn’t it a bit much for there to be so many of them that the incoming waves themselves were hidden?