After that little argument between Arisa and Zena, they buy a lot of meat skewers. And After they full their stomach they went back to the inn.
Just as the Gate front Inn came into view, they encountered some soldiers of
the count's army who had just returned from patrol.
"Ah, Zenacchi!"
"Lilio! And Iona and Lou, too!"
Finishing up their roll call in the plaza in front of the main gate, Zena's
three escorts came over to us.
They must have fought another wyvern or something, because Iona and
the others had scratches all over their heavy armor. The large-framed woman
called Lou was missing one of her shoulder pads.
Rushing over to them, Zena hurriedly began to cast a healing spell with
her Wind Magic.
"Master, I'll go ahead and bring our baggage inside." Said Arisa.
"All right"
Arisa and the beastfolk girls split up at the entrance of the inn, heading
toward the room and the barn respectively.
Since Zena couldn't talk while she was chanting the healing spell, I spoke
to Lilio and the others in her stead.
"Looks like you had a rough time. Did you run into another wyvern?"
"If wyverns showed up that often, I'd have quit being a soldier by now" Lilio joking
Lilio shook her head and sighed. So that kind of gesture is the same here as it
is in Japan.
"No, today we had an encounter with a monster called a giant fanged ant" Iona explain what happened.
"Damn that rat bastard! If I see its lousy face again, I'll make roasted
skewers out of it!" Lou angry.
"So was it an ant or a rat? I wish you'd be clear about this"
"Before we ran into a pack of giant fanged ants, we happened to see a
ratman cavalryman invading our territory. Lou thinks that he may have been
the one who led the ant monsters to us, hence her anger" Iona clarify further.
So the ratman had used a technique called MPK *Mob Player Killer* from MMORPGS by
grabbing the attention of monsters and leading them toward other players.
Seemed like the kind of move that could lead to war between Seiryuu
County and the ratman.
"He was wearing a distinctive red helmet, so if I catch him, I'll bring him
straight to the gallows!"
The completion of Zena's healing Wind Magic spell interrupted Lilio's
blustering.
"##### Healing Breezes"
"Thanks, Zenacchi"
"You're welcome"
Zena smiled warmly at the trio as they thanked her, then turned her
attention to healing the other wounded soldiers.
"Aaah!"
A young girl's scream arose from the courtyard of the inn.
/That was little Yuni's voice. Did she just saw a snake or something?/
But Satou still worried, so he run toward the source. But for whatever reason,
Lilio and company followed him.
"Gotchaaa!"
"Master! Look what we did, nanodesu!"
Tama came racing toward us, carrying something in both hands above her
head. Next to her, Pochi held a slim piece of firewood in one hand.
The three soldiers drew their swords in unison.
Alarmed by the sudden bloodthirst directed toward them, Pochi and Tama
stopped in their tracks.
"Don't worry, it's dead" Satou told the them as he checking the thing on Tama hand. Then He turned to Tama.
"Where did that ant come from?"
Yes, the prey that Tama was carrying toward us was the corpse of a giant
flying ant.
"We beat iiit!"
"It jumped down at us from the top of a carriage, nanodesu!" The two flailed excitedly as they answered Satou question.
The dead ant, which Tama tossed to the ground, was covered with dents
that suggested it had been hit with a blunt object and had a hole in its head
where Liza must have stabbed it with her spear.
"Master, there do not seem to be any others lurking about" Carrying her spear over her shoulders, Liza appeared with a report.
Yuni
was close behind her.
Clearly frightened, the trembling little girl was clinging to Liza's
overcoat.
'Hmm…the variety is a little different, but could this be related to the
enemies the soldiers fought?'
'Host, look at your map, and use maximum range. I'm afraid this will be a problem'
So Satou
opened up his map to check the forest that spread outside the main gate.
…Red. The red dots of light that signified enemies were approaching
from within the forest in countless numbers. Satou immediately command Liza and the other.
"Pochi, Tama, go and fetch your short swords. Arisa, bring Lulu here.
Liza, grab the clothes that we used to make the bed in the barn"
"Yes, nanodesu!"
"kay!"
"Okay"
"Certainly, master"
At my instructions, the four of them promptly ran off. I thought Arisa, if
not the beast folk girls, would ask me why, but she simply did as he requested.
Surprised by Satou sudden actions, Iona looked at him uncertainly.
"Did something happen?"
"A giant flying ant like this would never act on its own. Most likely, more
will follow. You should ring the alarm as soon as pos…"
But
before he could even finish his statement, an alarm sounded from one of the
guard towers of the city's outer wall.
"Damn, they're to fast" Satou angry.
"What do you mean?" Iona still confused by Satou.
"An army of flying ant will attack this town. The guard must already seen them from the tower at the gate" Satou explain.
Hearing what Satou said Iona and the other surprised and immediately run toward the gate.
The landlady of the inn and her daughter, Martha, both peered outside as
well, looking anxious. With Liza gone, Yuni had started clinging to Satou's leg
instead, so Satou ushered her over to them.
'As far as I could tell from the information on my map, the giant flying
ants were only around level 3. On their own, they would be much weaker
than the well armed soldiers of the count's forces, only about as strong as a
normal human adult'
'However host, these giant flying ants had sharp claws and an outer shell much
harder than that of an ordinary ant. And on top of that, they could fly. That
was more than enough to make them a threat to ordinary humans'
'Should i just rush out of the city and use Fire Shot to roast
them while they were still airborne?'
But the flying type monsters were faster
than he expected. By the time he had made up his mind, the ants had already
reached the city walls.
The horde of insects aimed to fly straight over the wall into the city at
first, only to quickly change their trajectory and wheel away at the last
second, like a bird that's just noticed a glass window in front of it.
A few of them didn't turn fast enough and crashed into something above
the wall. Even the ants that avoided crashing seemed to have a hard time
flying, and as they slowed, the soldiers on the city wall quickly shot them
down.
"Looks like the anti monster barrier above the wall is working quite well."
Arisa had returned with Lulu at some point while Satou was distracted.
"But they got through, didn't they?"
"Well, it isn't Space Magic. It would take too much magic power to keep
a barrier there like a physical wall at all times"
'But didn't the barrier at the Valley of Dragons give me some physical
resistance?'
'That wasn't important right now host'
"Arisa, you and Lulu take refuge inside the tavern. Stone walls on three
sides'll surround you, so it should be safe there. I'll have Pochi and Tama
protect the entrance, so don't worry" Satou gave Arisa her instructions.
Then, once Pochi and Tama returned with
their short swords, Satou stationed them right outside the inn. Satou used a desk and
the clothes that Liza had brought back to create a barricade, just in case the ants
invaded.
"Pochi and Tama, please protect the entrance."
"Yes, nanodesu!"
"What about goshujin?"
"Liza and I will drive away any monsters that come near the inn"
People who had been working outside the city came rushing in through
the gate. It looked as though some of them were injured. Meanwhile, the count's army was getting into formation in front of the
gate. Zena was using defensive magic to protect them from above, but it
seemed like the number of people was making it more difficult.
After the last straggler, a dog-person slave carrying a large, heavy looking
basket, the main gates slowly began to close.
Like an ill-mannered jerk who rushes onto the train after the doors started
to close, a single ant jammed itself in through the closing gate.
"It's just one monster! Crush it with the gates!"
From inside the guard station by the gate, the voice of the knight Thorne rang out, yelling at the gatekeepers.
But it wasn't just one ant anymore.
In the brief moment that the gates stopped closing, another ant, and then
another, started to thrust themselves through the gap, widening it until the
ants behind them were able to break in to the city.
Along with Zena, the troops who had only just returned from patrol began
to intercept the ant invasion.
Zena's Fallen Hammer spell struck down the ones that tried to take wing upon entering the city; Lilio and the others used crossbows to fell those that
escaped her magic.
Wary of the crossbowmen and Zena's magic, the remaining ants stopped
trying to fly. A ground based battle was more advantageous for the count's army, but
the number of ants was a problem.
A dozen or so managed to get around the troops and started to attack Liza and Satou. The nearby stores, too, of course.
"Master, please leave this to me"
Liza swung her black spear toward the ants. Lunge, parry, strike. She
took out ant after ant with a single blow to each.
Some of them flew at a low altitude toward the horses in the courtyard, so
Satou took them out by shooting pennies at them.
'Hmm, this is a little too easy'
'They're just lvl 3 monster host'
With a bit more ingenuity, Satou felt like he could even hit an enemy that was
behind cover.
While he was coming up with some unnecessary tricks, he
let some of the ant get
close to the Gate front Inn.
"We won't let you pass, nanodesu"
"No entryyy!"
Pochi and Tama stood squarely in the path of the several ants that Satou let go,
trying to invade the inn.
From inside the inn, people screaming can be heard as they saw the ants up
close.
"Take this, nanodesu"
Pochi pulled out the short swords hanging readily at her waist and
struck down the leading ant with a single attack.
As soon as she landed, two other ants brought their claws down toward
her from either side.
"Your guard's dooown!"
Tama hopped onto Pochi's back, using her short sword and buckler to
stave off the attacks.
"Thank you, Tama!"
"Don't worry—be happyyy!"
/Where had she learned that—? Oh, it must have been Arisa/
As the ants drew back their claws, Tama whirled through the air, striking
the one on the left with her short sword.
The recoil sent Pochi flying to the ground, but she sprang back up in
seconds. Stabbing through the head of the ant on the right with her blade.
The two little warriors defeated all the ants in the blink of an eye, earning
them some reluctant praise from inside the inn.
In less than a half hour, nearly all the ants in the plaza had been
exterminated.
There were a few close calls like the one Pochi had, but there were also
times when an ant would suddenly freeze unnaturally in place or start
spurting blood from its eyes and mouth.
This was probably Arisa's Mind Magic. Glancing at her, Satou saw her
making peace signs at me with both of her small hands.
At that moment Satou also noticed a few ants charging the general store
where Nadi worked. Nadi seemed to be hiding in the basement, so she would
probably be fine, but Satou still decided to go help her, just in case.
"Liza, take care of things here?"
"Understood!" As if to emphasize her short response, Liza brought down two ants with a
single sweep of her spear.
Satou made hos way toward the general store, killing the ants that
attacked him on my way. Once he had entered the store and couldn't be seen from outside, he took out
a metal pole from Storage.
He could just kick them, of course, but since it would be hard to fight in
such a cramped space, he randomly chose what seemed like an appropriate
weapon. He didn't use the Magic Gun because it would be to much for the ant and it would make a
bunch of holes in the shop's walls.
Two ants had gathered by the wooden door that led into the basement, so he
kill them down one after the other.
When he shoved aside their corpses, he found that the door was now full of
holes.
'That was close host'
'I knew from the status info on my map that Nadi was fine. But one step slower, she would be in dan danger'
Satou called out
to her.
"Nadi-san, are you all right?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine!"
The stairway had turned yellow with the acid spit by the ants.
Unfortunately, Satou didn't have anything on hand to neutralize the acid.
'I guess I could cover it with gold coins and let them melt over the acid,
but let's save that for a last resort'
'For now, maybe you could break down some rocks or something from
storage and spread that over the stairs, host'
But before they could put their plan into action, a delicate figure suddenly
burst into the store.
"Nadi"
"Boss!"
It was a lone young boy. He had green hair, gathered into a single long
braid like a hero from a kung-fu movie might have, and was wearing a simple
tunic and pants. If there was anything that made him stand out, I'd say it was
his peculiar pointed hat.
"##### Ivy Control"
He cast a spell, and the decorative ivy plants inside the store wriggled to
life, stretching out like tentacles toward the basement. After a short time,
Nadi was carried up from the basement, ivy wrapped around her waist.
'Awesome. Now, this is the kind of magic I'd expect from a fantasy world'
'Did our meteor not an awesome magic host'
'That's more to scary than awesome'
"Thank you very much, Satou-san! And you, too, boss"
"I'm an afterthought?"
"Of course not! I'm very grateful" Nadi gave the stoic young boy and Satou
each a kiss on the cheek. But Satou place his hand before Nadi can kiss him.
Nadi surprised to what Satou do.
"I think he will be angry if you do that Nadi-san" Said Satou while pointing his finger toward the young man.
"Who's he?" the young man asked her brusquely.
"He's a customer who requested help finding a house, and now
my savior, too. If Satou-san hadn't shown up, I would've been eaten by ants
before you arrived."
Turning his head toward Satou, the boy muttered *Thanks* so curtly. Satou wondered if he was thankful or not.
Satou than surprise when he look at the information from the map.
"Is something the matter, Satou-san?"
"No, no, I've just never seen an e… Um, someone with green hair
before"
"Yes, the boss is an elf, a spirit of the forest. Amazing, right?"
"An elf? But his ears?"
"Ugh. No"
At Satou words, the store manager frowned and turned away like a sullen
child.
His behavior seemed immature, but apparently, he was the ripe old age of
280.
The young man is an elf with Yusaratoya Bolenanas his name.
"Oh, come on now, boss. Don't be angry. I'm sure Satou didn't know about it. Even green hair is his first time seeing it. And Satou-san, did you referring to the long-eared race that their ears like bamboo leaves?"
Nadi attempted to smooth things over with her boss, looking to me
pointedly for confirmation.
Satou nodded quickly.
"The first hero who founded the Saga Empire called the long-eared folk
'elves,' so even a thousand years later there are many people who
misunderstand the term."
"I see, so the first hero had made the same mistake…"
'…Hmm? Wait, this was more than a thousand years ago right?'
'A Japanese person from such a long time ago wouldn't know the word
elf…'
'Was the flow of time here different from earth?'
"That's why confusing elves with long eared folk is generally frowned
upon"
"Is that so? I didn't know, but ignorance is no excuse. Please allow me to
apologize for my rudeness"
Nadi gave Satou a smile as I thanked her and bowed my head deeply in
apology to the manager.
"Mm-hmm. It's fine"
"C'mon, boss. When you say it like that, it doesn't seem like you forgive
him at all"
"Show him"
After exchanging words with the taciturn store manager, Nadi lifted his
long hair aside to show Satou his ears, which were normal aside from a slightly
pointed tip.
The elf casually batted away her hand, but he didn't seem particularly
offended.
Given their familiarity, they're maybe a couple or
even married.
"Well, Nadi-san, I'll come to discuss the houses again soon"
"Certainly. Thank you very much for today"
Saying his goodbyes to Nadi and the elf, Satou left the store.
***
By the time he made it outside, the battle in front of the gate had already
ended.
All the monsters that had gotten into the city had been exterminated, and
the soldiers and other brave warriors had gathered to start getting rid of the
ants' corpses.
"Satou!"
The sharp-eyed Zena spotted Satou right away and came rushing over.
She must not have been used to running in a skirt, because she tripped on
it just as she reached Satou and stumbled forward. Satou quickly reached out an arm
and caught her before she fell.
"I'm sorry…"
"Are you all right?"
Zena was hanging on to Satou arm now, which felt rather pleasant for him.
/I wouldn't have minded staying that way a little longer, but I could feel
the gazes of her soldier escorts painfully boring into me/
So Satou helped her
steady herself and drew back.
According to Zena, there hadn't been any serious casualties, civilian or
military.
Even the injured had only minor wounds, and priests who'd heard the
alarm and come running had already started treating them. Leaving the healing to the expert priests, Zena and her company were apparently going to go scout outside the city along with the srmy.
"It's too bad that you won't get to have the day off now"
"It's unfortunate that I have to leave in the middle of our outing, but Wind
Magic is very useful for detecting enemies. And we have to leave quickly. It
would be terrible if any of the surrounding villages were attacked!"
Zena also explained that the other villages did have an anti-monster defense
system called *barrier posts* but they weren't as powerful as the barrier
above Seiryuu City's walls.
I saw Zena off as her squad set out with some light cavalry in tow.
Apparently, other magic soldiers were mobilizing as well, and more units
would soon be departing.
Liza called out to me from in front of the Gatefront Inn, so I headed that
way. And a man that appeared to be a soldier was standing nearby.
"Are you this one's master?"
"Yes. My name is Satou"
Satou accepted the small pouch Liza handed to me as he answered the man's
question.
Checking inside the bag, Satou found a few cores from giant flying ants.
"Monster cores must be sold to the local government immediately. Hand
them over, please"
"That's fine with me, but shouldn't tending to the injured and cleanup
come first?"
Finding it suspicious that the man was in such a hurry, Satou checked his status
in the map display. And Satou found out that he's from the accounting department of the count's
army.
"That's someone else's job" he said shortly, then try snatched the bag away
from Satou hand.
But with the difference of power, he failed to snatch it.
"Are you really from the army?" Ask Satou.
"Of course! Who do you think you are?" The man angry.
"If you really from the army. Why did you didn't know about me?" Satou tilting his head in confusion.
"Why should i know about bumpkin like you!"