Ch.366Adjustable NPC. (4)

“Oppa~!!”

-Whoosh!

“Oh my! Our little sister is back? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Nope! I worked hard in the dungeons and got stronger!!”

“Oh, oppa is so sorry. Making our little sister do all the hard work.”

“Nuh-uh! Having the unnies with me made it easier!”

It was early morning when the group returned to Helgot Castle after three months. Oh my, our little sister’s level has already surpassed the mid-700s! It couldn’t have been easy to reach that level all the way from the Empire. You must have worked so hard!

“Seriously. It wasn’t just your little sister who suffered, you know? I really thought I was going to die.”

“Huh? What happened?”

“Oppa! The stupid unnie was stupid, so it was hard!”

“What?!! Luxuria, what did you do? Ira says she had a hard time?”

“Eek?!!”

When I glared at her somewhat seriously after hearing that my sister had a hard time, Luxuria genuinely trembled and tried to hide behind Gor… but couldn’t, as her wings were caught.

“W-wait…! G-Golem sir!! You explain too!! I didn’t do anything wrong!!!”

“No. It’s entirely your fault. If Ira-nim says she had a hard time, is it Ira-nim’s fault then? Master, what should we do? Shall I slice her up?”

“Oh my, if you’re going to slice her up, let me do it. There’s a forest behind the castle, that should work, right?”

“Kyaah!! They’re really going to slice me up!! I really didn’t do anything wrong?!! P-please spare m…!!”

“The stupid unnie couldn’t control her magic well, so the things I wanted to make didn’t turn out right. But two days ago, I succeeded and gave it as a gift to my master!”

“I see. Then, Ira, do you dislike the stupid unnie?”

“Mmm. I don’t dislike her, but she’s too stupid!”

That’s what she says, Reia. Put away your knife. Gor, stop turning into slime, it looks a bit inappropriate. It’s not good for Ira’s education. And Chancellor, did you meet Ira again? You left two days ago, did you see her before you left? Are you really a stalker?

“What a waste.”

“Indeed, what a waste.”

-Shling.

“These guys are seriously ridiculous?! What did I do wrong?! I’ve been doing exactly as I was told, haven’t I?! Ah!! I really miss Chikuyo!!!”

“…Huh? Did you become friends with Chikuyo?”

“Hmph!”

I knew Ira was just playing around from the beginning, so I didn’t stop her. But Luxuria seemed to have taken it more seriously than expected, crossing her arms and turning her head away sharply before becoming transparent. Well, she’ll come back out if I call her, and she’ll feel better if I pat her head later. After checking the levels of the returned party members, we started moving toward Ragni’s room…

-Pitter-patter!

“Huff, huff…! M-Master Jack!!”

“”Master?””

“…I told you not to call me ‘master,’ Ms. Kara. But what’s the matter? Why are you running so urgently?”

Her lady-in-waiting Kara, who should have been helping Ragni with her grooming this early morning, met us in the hallway. But her face is extremely pale? Did something really happen? Wait, could something have happened to Ragni…!!

“H-Her Highness! No, Ragni-nim is now with His Majesty the King of Ponia!! And she said to bring Master Jack immediately because it’s really urgent…!”

Usually at this time, I would have breakfast with Ragni and coordinate the day’s activities, but hearing that she had already moved to the main castle where the King of Ponia was, we immediately started moving. If it’s really urgent, taking a carriage would be a luxury.

“Oppa! Should I teleport you to unnie?”

“No, it’s fine for now. When things calm down a bit, I’d like you to show oppa all of Ira’s magic later, okay?”

“Okay!!”

Carrying Ira in my arms and running with the group toward the main castle, the distance that would have taken nearly 5 minutes by carriage was reduced to just 1 minute. Well, that’s natural since I just ran straight, stepping on the castle walls without having to turn or slow down. And inside the main castle…

“Send requests to the Adventurers’ Guild too!! Crystal balls!! Gather all the communication crystal balls you can find!!”

“B-but we’re short on cash! We’ve already purchased 30…”

“Don’t talk nonsense!! If necessary, put it all on Ponia’s tab, no! Just put it all on my name!! I’ll pay everything by next month, so gather everything, even used ones!!”

“Captain! We have a report from the casino in the nearby small country! The number of survivors is still uncertain, and their casino has completely collapsed, so communication is impossible! We’ve already placed a request at the nearest Adventurers’ Guild through that casino!”

“What rank? Were there any White-rank adventurers?!”

“W-well. Most of the White-ranks were in the city for defense. There’s one Gold-rank party, three Blue-rank parties, and eight Red-rank parties…”

“Are you kidding me?! A whole city has been attacked and you’re sending Red and Blue ranks?! Connect to other casinos and gather Gold and White ranks!!”

“Y-yes sir!!”

“Hey! What about the civil officials and escorts coming from the homeland?! More importantly! Where did Chancellor Naika go?!!”

“The civil officials and escorts are now at Count Tomble’s territory, two days away by carriage. Chancellor Naika left for Ponia two days ago. You were there when she left, Captain…!!”

“Damn it! Escort the civil officials with minimal personnel, and tell the rest of the escorts to ride fast horses! Tell them to ride without rest! I don’t care if the horses die!!”

“Urgh, yes sir!!”

It was beyond a chaotic marketplace. It looked like a scene from a disaster movie.

What is this? That knight captain had always shown the image of a friendly neighborhood uncle since I first met him, but now he’s giving orders to his subordinates while emanating killing intent that suggests he might behead anyone who doesn’t listen. For now…

“Captain. Sorry to bother you when you’re busy, but the princess, Ragni called me to the main castle…”

“Ah! You’re here!! Those behind you must be your companions?!”

“Ah, yes. I already know about the situation in the Empire…”

“Then! Go up right away!! Both His Majesty and Her Highness are in the usual meeting room! Go there immediately!!”

The captain, who usually enjoyed starting conversations with “You must have had a hard time as a mountain keeper” and discussing worldly matters, ended our conversation so briefly that I wondered if it was the same person. He patted my shoulder, urging me to go upstairs quickly, and immediately began issuing orders to others. What is this? What happened? An attack? What’s really going on?

“…A surprise attack, presumed to be from the Holy Nation. The enemy’s objective seems to have been to strike at supplies. Half the city was blown away. Survival uncertain… Master. It seems Aigram has been attacked.”

As I walked upstairs in a daze, Gor answered my unspoken question. What? Aigram was attacked? That place with the demon mayor, by the Holy Nation?!

“…That can’t be.”

“Mmm? Gor, does that mean Neity was attacked too?”

“No. Among the conversations I’ve heard, mentions of Neity only concern whether to report to the Chancellor or not, and observation reports coming from there. There’s no mention at all of Neity, where Ira-nim’s friends are, being attacked.”

“Phew~!”

Looking at the map, Neity and Aiti share a border, with Aigram and the Holy Nation positioned on opposite sides. Ira seemed to know this, so she was worried that if Aigram was attacked by the Holy Nation, Neity might have been attacked too. As expected, my sister is a kind child who thinks of her friends!

While clearing my head by praising Ira’s kind heart as if escaping reality in this chaotic situation, we quickly arrived at the meeting room. I immediately knocked and identified myself.

[Come in!]

With the King’s permission, given in a truly urgent voice rather than his usual gentle tone, I entered right away.

There was Ragni, who had returned to her adventurer attire that emphasized her attractive physique, facing the King with a pale expression. Of course, representatives from other small countries were also present.

“What’s happening? I heard Aigram was attacked?”

“Yes, Aigram, which was responsible for supplies and under the protection of nearby small countries, was destroyed overnight.”

“Three days ago, when we informed them that matters here were being concluded, there was no mention of the Holy Nation invading. That’s why we could proceed with the planned dissolution of the Empire. But…”

According to an emergency crystal communication from the Adventurers’ Guild, yesterday at dawn, a village near Aigram observed several house-sized hammers falling on the city. The Guild, thinking this was nonsense, sent several Blue-rank adventurers directly to Aigram.

“Indiscriminate bombardment by military holy magic. That’s what it looks like. The survivors… the situation is hopeless.”

Even from a distance, they could see that more than half of the neutral city’s walls had been blown away, and the proud high-rise buildings of the trade city under protection had all been turned into rubble. The individual adventurers, not even a full Blue-rank party, just observed this from afar, returned to the village, and reported it as is.

“…They had that level of holy magic prepared, and Aigram said nothing?”

“Yes, nothing at all. Right now, we’re hiring Gold-rank and above adventurers who are nearby to gather information, and we’re communicating with Neity without sparing crystal balls. But they haven’t reported any military forces capable of launching such holy magic. In the worst case…”

“Aiti couldn’t have sided with the Holy Nation. That’s absolutely impossible.”

I understand what Ragni and the King are worried about, but that’s not it.

They don’t have good feelings toward magic and holy magic, which are individual abilities. Especially, unlike magic achieved through self-development, they not only lack emotion toward divine power obtained merely by praying to a god, but they actually abhor it.

Well, in the game, there were some individuals who deviated and connected with the Holy Nation, but at this point, there’s no way they would be moving in earnest. No, even if something changed and they did move in earnest, they wouldn’t have the power to help the Holy Nation’s army invade Aigram via Aiti.

“…Hmm. If you say so with such conviction, I’d like to believe it’s true, but.”

“It really doesn’t make sense. Jack, you know that if the Holy Nation moved a large army through the Empire, they couldn’t have gone undetected, right? Moreover, if they didn’t go through the Empire but went around through Aiti.”

Having said that, Ragni pointed with her command baton at the image of a massive mountain located at the edge of the continent on the large military map.

“…The Dragon’s Mountain Range.”

[The Dragon’s Mountain Range] The land of the final raid that opens after clearing ep.7 Holy Nation, before entering ep.8.

That would mean they went through there. But.

“That’s simply impossible. It would be far more realistic to say that either Aiti or Neity has sided with them.”

Even the King of Ponia dismissed that idea, saying it was absolutely impossible.