Ch.66Chapter 66. Mole (1)

Chapter 66. The Mole (1)

“Here it is.”

Lakye found the tunnel.

It was smaller than the tunnel in Symphonia, but still spacious enough for one person to pass through.

“Shall I go in?”

– Let’s do that. You two wait here.

We don’t know what’s inside. It’s better if only Lakye goes, since she can take care of herself and escape if needed.

It’s also too narrow for all three of us.

Lakye took the map from Luna and slipped into the tunnel.

“The creature’s bodily fluids seem to be smeared in small amounts throughout.”

– I see.

Tunnel digging is Lakye’s specialty.

She’s the one who dug tunnels in Tibera to hide from the cloud demon.

She endured for dozens of hours in that state.

She’s essentially a tunnel demigod against the tunnel demon.

“Hmm.”

Look at Lakye entering the tunnel, moving diligently on all fours.

She looks quite cute like a mole…

“…Is something wrong?”

Ah, was I too obvious?

Lakye, being half-human, can read my emotions to some extent.

I need to be careful about this.

But it’s too late to recover.

“Is me crawling around that funny…”

The perceptive Lakye becomes dejected.

– Th-that’s not it.

Damn, I stuttered.

“Don’t tell me you thought I looked like a mole?”

– …

“…”

She hit the nail on the head.

I have nothing to say.

Lakye, now silent, moved carefully, or rather timidly.

Her movements became smaller, as if her confidence had plummeted.

“That’s mean.”

She even muttered that quietly.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

– I thought you looked cute like a mole.

Let’s just be honest.

There’s no need to lie all the time. I should be honest at times like this.

Actually, I have no excuse.

“Cute? Me?”

Lakye turned her head sharply to look at Totem #3.

“Not scary or ridiculous, but cute?”

Her expression is enigmatic.

– That’s right.

Does “cute” have some negative connotation?

Weak? Harmless? Looks vulnerable?

Nah. That’s too paranoid.

From a strong woman’s perspective, it could be perceived as humiliating… she might feel that way.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that. Cute…”

She’s chuckling.

I’m glad she seems to like it.

We continued through the tunnel in a warmer atmosphere than before.

Since only Lakye was moving, saying “we” might not be quite right.

About 8-10 minutes passed.

“…It’s blocked.”

– Hmm.

We reached a dead end.

This tunnel is blocked too. I had slight hopes, but it’s disappointing.

Lakye puts her ear against the dirt pile blocking the way.

“The layer is thinner than I expected. We can break through.”

Shoddy construction, perhaps.

Lucky us.

– Let’s go.

Nodding, Lakye threw a few punches at the dirt pile.

The dirt pile, which crumbled under her straight punches, collapsed with a rumble.

…I think I just called this woman “cute” earlier.

– Won’t the tunnel collapse?

“It’s fine for now. Even if it collapses, I can dig us out.”

Then we might as well go all the way.

Now accustomed to it, Lakye crawls quickly with increased speed.

Being underground, there was no sound of cutting through air, but the surroundings changed so rapidly that her speed was extraordinary.

“I see light.”

Just as Lakye said. A small light twinkled at the end.

– Are there any living beings nearby?

“None.”

– Don’t go outside. Observe from the end of the tunnel.

“Yes.”

It would be troublesome if we were attacked in an open space outside.

“I’ll check.”

Reaching the end of the tunnel, Lakye carefully poked her head out.

– How is it?

I’m at Lakye’s waist, so I can’t see the outside scenery.

“No signs of living beings. Just an ordinary wasteland… wait.”

Lakye narrows her eyes.

Did she spot something strange?

“I can see other tunnels. More than dozens of them.”

The tunnel demon.

Was it digging multiple tunnels in the area to observe?

What if it saw our warriors leaving through the gates via the Symphonia tunnel, confirmed our warriors fighting through the Blutan tunnel, and then invaded our headquarters?

Doesn’t that mean it completely understood all our movements?

It’s definitely not a low-level demon. Low-levels can’t move this strategically.

It must be mid-level or a high demon, but I’m not certain.

I’ve never heard of such an active mid-level demon even in the community.

I heard they typically just protect their territory, like that gorilla demon.

But there are many strange points if it’s a high demon.

If it had come directly instead of just sending worshippers, our headquarters would have been destroyed.

It wouldn’t have just spied like this either.

So it just checks things out and leaves? Does it lack confidence in its power?

There are too many possibilities to pinpoint.

This is getting complicated.

Could it be related to those sea monsters that came by ship?

Something is happening, but it’s all beyond my grasp.

Would I get answers if I asked Malak?

…What would he know? Let’s stop these useless thoughts.

“I’ll check the map.”

Lakye took out the map.

Right, first we need to confirm where we are.

“We came straight to the left, and there’s a wasteland, so I think this might be Polaris.”

Polaris.

A region near Blutan.

It’s also where golem magic scholars secretly gathered for their final project.

And it’s where the Imperial Arena, rumored to contain a hidden piece, is located.

It was a place we couldn’t avoid going to anyway.

– Polaris, huh.

Our next destination is set.

– Let’s go back.

***

I returned to the Tribal Alliance with the three women.

Now everyone is gathered at the altar discussing future plans.

“So there was such a facility in Polaris… There was also a magician skilled in golem magic in Symphonia before its fall. He said he had to leave on national orders, so this must have been it.”

Rachel pushes up her glasses.

There is indeed a magic tower in Symphonia.

That’s where Harry got the rock golem.

“Then the rock golem…”

“You said you found it in the magic tower, right? It’s definitely his work.”

Rachel nodded at Harry’s question.

The rock golem that magician left behind has been a great help to us.

– I see.

Focus on repairing headquarters, or eliminate the cause that made repairs necessary?

Opinions were largely divided into these two options.

“I exchanged magical letters with a friend who worked there. A friend of 40 years. He wouldn’t have lied.”

Harry was the most vocal advocate for going to Polaris.

Besides dealing with the tunnel demon, his point was that the results the golem scholars poured their hearts into creating might be of great help for humanity’s salvation.

He seemed to have the intention of recovering his friends’ remains as well, but he didn’t show it much.

A seasoned attitude that doesn’t appeal to emotions. Is this what experience looks like?

“I don’t mean to disparage the golem scholars, but isn’t there a possibility they didn’t produce results?

Venturing into enemy territory inevitably brings many dangers. We’ve discovered Polaris, presumed to be the tunnel demon’s base. We now know their whereabouts. I don’t think we need to act hastily.”

Rachel represented the opinion to repair the headquarters.

“So you’re waiting for them to attack again? That seems too passive to me.”

“We’ve already been ambushed once. I think we need to move more cautiously this time.”

It’s turned into a debate time between Harry and Rachel.

Both opinions have merit. They’ve nicely scratched the issues I’ve been pondering.

But they’re both overlooking one thing.

That there’s a hidden piece in Polaris.

Imperial Arena, Necromancer’s Tomb, Skull Mountains, Castle Grua, Assassin Guild Headquarters.

These are the places with hidden pieces revealed by user Pumopumo from George’s raid party.

Looking through the community, there was hardly any mention of the Imperial Arena.

I might be able to obtain it.

If the skill seems mediocre, I can give it to Noah.

– We’ll subjugate Polaris.

They say offense is the best defense.

It’s better to eliminate threats quickly.

Listening to the leadership debate, I’m also convinced the tunnel demon isn’t high-level.

Why would a high-level demon just send worshippers? It would have plenty of mid and low-levels under it.

It’s probably just a mid-level with unusually good initiative and some brains.

Now that we’ve obtained the wide-area debuff blessing, we can try a siege battle.

With the fair voting result of one vote per Tribal Alliance leader and my 100 votes, the subjugation of Polaris was decided.

Unlike other regions, Polaris has no villages or cities.

There’s just one enormous arena placed in the center.

We don’t need to formulate strategies and conquer it piece by piece like Symphonia or Blutan.

While Kanto and the warriors attack the arena, Lakye can find and kill the tunnel demon, and that should be it.

“So it’s decided. Now I need to go back into the tunnels like a ‘mole’ again?”

Lakye, leaning against Totem #1, slightly raised the corner of her mouth.

That joke though.

– We leave in three days.