Ch.417Late-Arriving NPCs. (5)

-CLANG! THUD!!

“Ray, it wasn’t Mr. Owell.”

“Ugh! Y-you people!! You’re the ones who made Behemoth!!!”

The situation I’d been dreading.

Ray, who had suffered more than anyone and felt more pain than anyone, suddenly jumped up and tried to draw her sword. I held her back with one hand, and she began screaming at Mr. Owell as if wailing.

She hasn’t completely lost her reason. If she had, she would have charged bodily at him the moment I stopped her from drawing her sword, and blown him away. Mr. Owell’s level is only 42. If Ray were to charge at him with her body in rage, without even swinging her sword, he would die instantly. Even I wouldn’t be confident in completely stopping Ray if she decided to headbutt at full force while holding Ira in her arms.

“Because of you people, Gorr! My family died! Why, why did you create such equipment to resurrect Behemoth?! No, if you made it, you should have managed it properly!! If you couldn’t, you should have at least told other countries!! What’s the point of telling us all this only after everything is over?!”

“…I have no excuse.”

[No, I’m not dead yet.]

Seeing Gorr telling me through the status window to calm Ray down, I let out a sigh. Sigh.

“Ray, Gorr is begging you to calm down. This person is telling us everything to help us. Please be patient.”

“Jack!!”

-Squeeze.

“Uh?!!”

What stopped her from shouting even after my whisper was Ira’s touch, who was in my arms. Ira was shaking her head at Ray, her violet eyes gleaming.

“Sister, Gorr will survive. We need these people.”

-CRUNCH!!

Ray was gritting her teeth so hard they might break. She probably understands. It’s just that someone’s death—the fact that one of our companions has vanished—is leaving a bruise on her heart. Even someone as stupid as me can understand that perfectly.

Perhaps Ira’s voice, who had been crying alongside her, reached Ray better than mine. I set Ira down on the floor, and she immediately hugged Ray around the waist, moving her away from the dining table to a corner of the living room.

As long as Ira is by her side, Ray probably won’t lose control again.

“We won’t charge for Gorr’s repairs. That’s not even close to enough. If we were to hold you responsible, we could demand compensation not just for Neti’s reconstruction, but also for injured civilians and damages to the Ponia-Siltra-Neti allied forces. Plus the restoration funds for all the villages that monster destroyed as it moved. On top of that, you’ve been in cahoots with the Church State, which is clearly in league with demons. Even if you deny it, your entire city would become an enemy of the continent.”

“…Yes, I understand. But I also believe you know that’s something you simply cannot do.”

“Haaah~?!! The nerve of you! Your creation fell into the hands of madmen and killed people, erased villages, and destroyed cities, and you say we can’t do that? Why?! Because your city is so special?!”

“I agree with my sister on this. Forget about not charging for Gorr’s restoration—you should compensate us and others, and apologize too. If Gorr hadn’t stopped it, the young students of Neti would be having funerals by now.”

Ray isn’t the only one who’s angry. Ragni, who had been listening quietly, along with Chikuyo and Miho, started severely criticizing her as their emotions heated up. However, Ragni, who had been giving her the coldest stare, sighed and continued speaking.

“But if our three countries demanded compensation from you, Aiti would immediately side with the Church State. From the citizens’ perspective, if countries with no alliance demanded compensation and tried to uproot their nation, they would naturally resist. Besides, how many people would even believe that ‘you resurrected Behemoth’?”

“…Yes, and as I mentioned, although the Big Man holds the chairman position through citizen support due to his achievements surpassing any other elder, the opposition is too strong. Even if he argues against siding with the Church State, he won’t be able to stop it by numbers alone. In the end, after a power struggle with the elders, he would only face purging.”

-BANG!

“No!! Didn’t you just say earlier that you’d deliberately cause accidents because you couldn’t bow to magicians, elves, and beastkin?! And now such a country would kill its own people and join hands with nations that use magic and divine power?!”

When Chikuyo, having heard both Ragni and Mr. Owell’s explanations, slammed the table in genuine disbelief, Mr. Owell flinched as if truly frightened. Sigh, earlier today I wanted to punch that face, but now I just feel sorry for him.

“A-as a manager of the same country, I feel ashamed. But with just the chairman’s followers and my power alone…”

“That’s enough. Chikuyo, stop now. Anyway, the fact that you’ve told us this much shows you don’t intend to be at odds with us. So, my next question is: what’s your purpose in inviting us to Aiti?”

From what I’m hearing, they never intended to charge for Gorr’s repairs from the beginning. The earlier cryptic situation was just them testing us. If so, there must be a reason for calling outsiders like us to the city under the pretext of entering their dungeon. When I asked this question, she composed herself and began to answer.

“First, as I mentioned earlier, the golem’s restoration. We’ll arrange for you to receive it as soon as it’s completed. Naturally, we’ll take full responsibility for everything from accommodations to ensure your comfort. Second, it’s about the power dynamics within Aiti, which is connected to dungeon exploration.”

Ah, is that it? Wait, could it be?

“You’re going to be our sponsors?”

“Oh? You know about Aiti’s dungeon sports?”

“Dungeon spor-what?”

Even Ragni tilted her head in confusion at what she was saying, but I alone understood because of my past life memories. Damn, there was nothing about power dynamics in the game! How are these things connected?

I know about dungeon sports, but not about the power dynamics, so I listened to her explanation. Ragni, not knowing what dungeon sports even were, kept tilting her head in confusion until she finally rested her face on her arm. I’ll explain it to you later. You’re not going anyway. You don’t really need to worry about it.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Even if Aiti controls information as much as Siltra, there’s no reason I wouldn’t help you. If I just understand what dungeon sports are, I’m sure what I know would be helpful.”

“True. Everything you said is correct, so I’ll explain that later. Anyway, so you’ll be our sponsors when we enter the dungeon?”

“Yes! If you accept us as sponsors, the current chairman will be able to overturn the weak council with your help.”

After discussing more about Aiti and Behemoth, she rose from her seat, saying she needed to leave soon or she would arouse suspicion. Anyway, that secretary and Chairman Tork Bigman are on our side. It’s a bit concerning that the latter’s support comes from his perverse tendencies, but whatever works. And so, the secretary who had stirred us up like a storm departed…

“Ah, wait!!”

“Hm?”

“Yes?”

At the entrance, after saying goodbye and as Ragni was about to see her off, Ragni grabbed her and called her back. Hey, is this really okay? If they keep hanging around in front of the house like this, they’ll be discovered quickly.

“This won’t take long. Listen, Ms. Owell. Are all the Aiti craftsmen who came now on your side?”

“What? Oh, no. I selected 50%, 30% are from the opposition, and 20% were randomly selected from civilian volunteers. There’s a high possibility that some from the civilian side have been influenced.”

“…Then, is it possible to process the core with just the 50% of people you brought?”

“The core? You mean Behemoth’s core? Haven’t you processed it yet?”

Ah, I see. If there are people in Aiti willing to work with us, there’s no reason not to use them. Ms. Owell’s eyes widened in surprise at Ragni’s explanation—the most shocked I’ve seen her today. Well, a monster core larger than a mansion would be quite astonishing.

“If you’re asking whether it’s possible or not, yes, it is possible.”

“Then…!”

“But we would need to extract it and move it to Aiti first. Such an enormous core—who knows what accident might happen if it breaks. It’s too dangerous without using a specialized factory. Besides, you plan to use that core for golem operation, correct?”

We told her we wanted to use it for Gorr’s core, and she said if that’s the case, we absolutely need to move it to Aiti for processing. But that size is really problematic. Loading it onto a train would be an issue, and knowing there are more enemies in Aiti… Taking that gold nugget—no, oil field—there, who knows what would happen to us. Just thinking about it gives me chills. Size really is the problem. We asked her to keep the information about Behemoth’s core secret even from the chairman, and then Ragni and I parted ways…

“Hey!!!”

Please, let me rest at home already, PLEASE!!

Turning around irritably at the ear-splitting voice, I saw Avalitia in her human Luxuria form, wearing a white uniform with a short miniskirt and her blonde hair in a ponytail, just like when she was mayor. Why? What the hell are you shouting about now?! Ah, Ragni has come back too!!

“My, my!! Look at this?! Bill hasn’t been able to go home for a month because of you. How long are you planning to keep him?”

“Sigh, I already explained to Devil that this is really important…”

“Haaah~?! You’ve been milking him for a month because you can’t handle a mere monster core?! If you want to guard it, why don’t you go guard it yourselves instead of making Bill do it?!”

“We weren’t just playing around! Why are you being so snippy today? I’m seriously going to hit you! You’re not the mayor anymore!”

“Well, do you have a way to handle a core the size of a house?”

“What? You’re asking a demon about that? Are you really that dense?! Oh, right. Luxuria isn’t here right now, is she?”

Avalitia stroked her chin as if suddenly remembering something, and Ragni and I tilted our heads, wondering what she meant. Can a demon do something with a monster core? Could it really be?

“Of course. It’s not just a simple consumption-type magic stone but a core. I see. I heard it was house-sized and you couldn’t handle it, so I wondered why you idiots weren’t asking Luxuria. But she’s not here, so you didn’t know~?”

With an ominous smile, Avalitia looked back and forth between Ragni and me, then proudly thrust out her voluptuous chest, leaned forward, and whispered in a low voice.

“So, how much are you willing to pay~♬?”

Looks like this money-grubber actually does have some method.