Ten minutes have passed since the battle with the Chimera began.
Aside from the wounded monster in front of us, our only remaining enemy
was Milena, who was in front as if protecting it.
On our side, Lucy and the others were observing the man-beast combo.
They were tired but not badly injured.
"I'm going to draw Milena's attention to me. I'll leave the finishing blow of
the monster to you two."
"Affirmative."
"Fufu, same as usual, eh?"
The three jumped out in unison as soon as orders were given, with Tilda and
Anastasia moving around from the left and right and Lucy on the front.
"Ms. Milena, I'm afraid I will have to ask you to bear my company for a
little longer."
Lucy was the first to come in contact. She spoke this as she locked swords
with the Zaintert older sister.
Although her muscular strength has increased due to her ferocity, Milena's
skills are the lowest of the group, being the perfect all-rounder. Thus, Lucy
made her an easy opponent to deal with. There's also the fact that Lucy had
a lot of experience dealing with her sister Lacy, who is basically an
improved version of her in combat.
Watching her opponent's movements, Lucy put her entire focus on the
beastified Milena.
In the meantime, the other two attacked the wounded Chimera.
As always, Tilda was the first to take initiative.
"First, from the front!"
Holding her spear upwards, she stood directly in front of the Chimera and
launched a powerful thrust.
However, despite being the size of an automobile, the Chimera was quick,
dodging the attack by jumping to the side.
But Anastasia's magic was waiting for him there. A sharp, spiky ice pillar
quickly closed in on the spot where the Chimera was about to land.
But the Chimera just swatted it with its snake part, knocking the ice away.
"Looks like this head can't do the same tricks as the other. If so, we'll take
care of you first!"
Tilda charged in.
With two heads, the lion one in front and the snake one behind, the Chimera
has few blind spots, but only the front seems to have the ability to cast
magic.
Tilda rushed to distract the lion side.
While at it, Anastasia fired a series of magic spells on the snake side
behind.
One of them was a fog magic spell, which clung to the snake's head,
robbing it of its vision.
There was also a plant-related magic spell that spouted vines through the
cobblestones, blocking the tail's movements.
"I'm not good in close combat, but…!!"
Finally, she cast a spell that created an obsidian greatsword and swung it,
severing the snake head, which also served as the Chimera's tail.
"Gah, guuh…!!"
Because the other head's consciousness was cut off, the lion part of the
Chimera's movements stopped, perhaps in bewilderment.
Tilda did not miss that chance.
By the time the Chimera realized it, she was already within reach of a few
steps.
Instinctively, it showed its fangs as if to devour, but Tilda had already
drawn her spear.
"This… is the end of you!"
Tilda unleashed a high-speed thrust.
It was so fast it pierced the monster's brain before it could even hit its
counterattack.
Life disappeared from the lion part of the Chimera's eyes, and its huge body
dropped on the cobblestones with a thud. If y ou are able t o re a d this me
ss age, yo u a re re ad ing from an una utho r ized ag r egate si te. Re ad at
my Wo rd Pres s at sta bbi ng wit h a s yr i nge. hom e. bl og to s u pp ort
me and my tra ns lat ions.
"All that's left is… to wake you up!"
Due to her distance from the monster, Milena remained in a berserk state
even after the Chimera's death. However, there is now a delay in her
movements.
Using this chance as Milena is engrossed in her fight with Lucy, Anastasia
poured cold water on her from behind.
"Agh, ughhhh!"
Milena reflexively shrank back and dropped her sword.
Lucy utilized this chance to kick the fallen weapon away and secured
Milena.
"It's all right now… and it looks like Yuushin is safe and sound as well."
Lucy looked at me as I observed the battle from a safe distance.
I joined the girls as I carried Lacy, who had already been treated
beforehand.
"Yes. Well, somehow, I'm still in one piece. But aren't you worried that I
might be in danger?"
"If it was the Yuushin of before, then I would have. But I believed that you
would be fine. After all, you have always returned to my side."
Lucy smiled at me as she said this.
I don't think I had a chance to win head-on, but what on earth made her so
sure of it?
Maybe she started believing me on the incident of the Lich where I charged
bravely?
For now, let's not try to think about unnecessary things.
After all, there are still residents who have gone berserk.
"The Chimera is one thing, but it's going to take a lot of work to restore all
the inhabitants of this town to normal."
"And we will still do it, Yuushin. I will fulfill my responsibility now that I
have responded to Samria's call for aid."
"Understood. I will also tell the soldiers to exercise caution."
After leaving the weakened and bound sisters in the care of the military
doctors, we returned to the mobile headquarters.
The constant influx of inhabitants had ceased before we knew it.
This was because the soldiers and residents, who had regained their sanity
after being bathed in cold water, also cooperated with us in awakening the
rest of the residents.
As long as we leave the front line to the soldiers, even ordinary people can
make the inhabitants return to their senses by dousing cold water on their
faces.
Moreover, the people of this world are generally strong, so it became even
more convenient when they helped.
Douse them with water, then after coming to senses, make them cooperate.
After repeating this cycle over and over, the situation soon reversed. The
number of allies increased, and eventually, the situation tilted in our favor.
There was also the presence of goblins and other monsters, appearing to
have originally followed the Chimera, but all of them were swept away by
the army.
With the increase in numbers, it even became possible to take shifts.
And just like that, alternating between resting and dousing, the battle to
clean up the rampaging inhabitants continued in succession throughout the
night.
◆ ◆
Three days later, the berserk magic that infested the city of Samria was
finally eradicated.
Sealing off the gates, we used human "wave" tactics to carry out the
operation, blanketing the area as if applying paint with a roller.
Of course, by waves, we literally meant bringing waves of water. Well, not
literally, since buckets were used, but it was still enough to make the
distinction.
The cost of it was the city was flooded, but the damage was so minor that
you could immediately neglect it. Th is cha p ter t ran sla tion is m ade p oss
ible by sta bb ing with a s yri nge tra nsla tio ns. Che ck o nly up-to -d ate tr
ans lat ions on my W or dp ress si te.
Our only headaches were the damages caused by the monsters before this,
plus the berserk residents before we arrived.
Thankfully, this was now a light problem, as all the monsters were cleared
out, and the safety of the city was guaranteed once again.
"It's finally over."
I sat in my chair in the mobile command headquarters, looking down at the
map.
From it, Samria was already marked "CLEAR," indicating that it was now
safe and sound.
"It took a lot of work, but I'm glad many residents were able to get back to
normal."
This was said by Lucy, looking tired after three days of hard work.
"We'll take care of the aftermath, so please get a good night's rest."
"Un. I will do that."
She got up and went to the nap room.
Once she started resting, she won't wake up for the next ten hours.
Meanwhile, I faced Jones, the diplomat on the other side of the table.
"The city has not yet recovered from the turmoil, but am I correct in
assuming that your position as a diplomat is still active?"
"Yes, of course. The lords who had come to their senses already granted me
full authority."
He looks at me with a nervous look on his face.
Most ministers and higher bureaucrats, including the lords, are still
undergoing treatment or are missing.
But even though it sounded like it was forced on him, it was still an official
position, and thus he couldn't just be pushed around.
Diplomats who can speak without getting carried by their emotions are
good ambassadors. With this, I have high hopes that my conversation with
Jones will be able to proceed properly.
"I am sorry to bother you, but I want to talk to you for a moment. It is about
the reconstruction of Samria and our future concerns."
Thus, I began my conversation with Diplomat Jones for the benefit of
Krasland.
We may have volunteered for this expedition, but expeditions like this cost
money, food, and soldiers. It is unacceptable if we don't get any deserving
reward from Samria in return.
In this respect, involving ourselves in Samria's reconstruction project is a
good investment.
Hopefully, we can even bring Samria into the economic sphere of Krasland.
Of course, Diplomat Jones will try to preserve the city's independence, but
that doesn't change the fact that they owed us big time.
I spent the next few hours discussing our future projects with him.
It was already night when we finally finished our conversation.
Borrowing wisdom from one of our bureaucrats, I managed to get the
reconstruction process started on terms favorable to us.
It would have been nice if we had a diplomat on our side, but it would take
us several days to bring him in.
Plus, by that time, the overlords of this city would have already recovered,
and they would guarantee to interfere with our deal.
To prevent this, I plan to settle my negotiations with Jones in official
documents tomorrow.
"Anyway, I think that's it for today. Let's hit the bunk for now."
There was still a lot of commotion around us, but I no longer bothered
myself with it.
I went into the hotel room reserved for me to relax.
There was no staff, so there is no service, but it is much better than living in
a tent.
At times like this, I realized that I was also treated like an aristocrat because
I am Krone's stepbrother, even if only on paper.
"I'm too lazy to shower, so I guess I'll just hit the bed directly and… huh?"
As I opened the door, I stopped in place.
Something is moving in my bed.
I didn't turn on the light, so it was dim, but somehow, I could see the
outline.
There were two rounded objects protruding in the sheets.
There were also a pair of triangular-shaped objects poking out of them and
a swaying rope-like object attached to the other end.
After a moment, I realized they were the ears and tail of an animal and
jumped back.
"Who!? Wait. There are still berserk inhabitants left?"
I asked, and the two curled-up objects slowly looked back and faced me.