Since it was going to require a large number of pets, I decided to leave Rir in charge of guarding the Demon Forest this time and, bringing four other pets – Orochi the serpent, Yata the raven, Byaku the monster cat, and Seimi the water spirit with me, as I went to the site.
Actually, I had already visited the area around the Rogard Empire once before and had set up several dungeon doors at some places, so I went to the one closest to the Ascalad region, which was my destination.
Thank goodness I had prepared a couple of big dungeon doors in addition to the normal-sized ones.
"Guys, the enemy this time seems to be bugs. I don't like them, so I'm counting on you guys."
Orochi and Yata were excited to be on duty at my words, and behind them Byaku squealed as if to say, "Don't get hurt in the heat of the moment," while Seimi said, "It's been a long time since we've been outside~," just going at her own pace. The inception of this chapter's publication is linked to N0v3l.B1n.
Sorry, I rarely take them out of the Demon Forest, so they must have been a little bored.
Among our pet army, Rir stood out as the strongest one, so he would always be picked up.
Especially since my evolution a while ago and Rir's growth along with it, there was a big gap in power compared to the four.
Rir told me that Orochi, who tends to engage in head-on combat, and Yata, who was quite serious, were the ones needed to be monitored because of their combat style, so I decided that I would be moving along with them.
By the way, Byaku, of course, also had skills to be a front liner but lately, he was growing in the direction of supporting others. I was not sure about Seimi's growth though.
It was not that Seimi did not like her combat position, or that she was sad about her growth. She was simply not thinking about it, probably because of her race being of the spirit type, and was only following her own pace most of the time, so I couldn't tell what her future prospects would be.
Well, as long as they did things as instructed, I had no problem with them at all.
And among the four of them, Orochi and Yata gave a lot of opinions, and Byaku made the final adjustments.
Seimi was completely left alone – or rather, she was more like an observer.
***
"After this one is over, I'll train with you guys for a while. I don't mind going out. We can leave the dungeon guarding to Rir."
"Sh~~"
"Kaa~~"
At my words, Orochi and Yata let out a squeal as if to say, "It's bad for Rir-sama."
"No, in fact, Rir and you four have a big difference in ability, and I'm not the only one who feels bad about that. It might be a good opportunity for you guys to train a little more on how to work together in Rir's absence, so let's do that."
If I compared my strength to Rir, Rir would probably be on the stronger side. Meaning, if we were to engage in a direct match, I would probably lose.
While we were discussing this and moving on in a hurry, we heard the sound of battle in the distance.
I jumped up high in the sky together with Yata, then spread my three pairs of wings to see what was ahead.
The sight was immediately reflected in my vision.
"Wow…gross."
The bugs covered the land, gnawing on everything in their path.
They looked like ants, but with a thicker torso and a more vicious face.
Their jaws were especially nasty.
They had jaws like a crocodile that could chew up anything.
However, they were giving a kind of impression… that they were artificially made in some way.
Their legs were… gears? Some of them were flying, but the shape of their wings looked as if they were made by human hands.
Race: Insect Living Golem
Level: 82
They were quite strong.
Each one was just barely strong enough to survive in the Demon Forest, but there were so many of them.
Even in this world, where quality mattered more than numbers, if the numbers were of a certain quality, they would still naturally become a threat.
Especially if they were outside human types, they would be difficult to deal with.
"Golems… they are artificial after all. They did mention hitting a nest when they dug up the ruins… but, from the looks of it, it was probably some kind of ruins defense mechanism that they hit, and these creatures were similar to that Asura Golem. But I've never heard of living golems before."
Those golems were tearing the mountains and forests surrounding the ruins, and now, they had reached this place and were closing in on a fortified city with large walls.
Right now, most of the soldiers from that stronghold were deployed outside to prevent the bug's approach, but it would only be a matter of time before the bugs breached the city walls.
I see. Although they could solve the problem by themselves if given time, they were forced to rely on me because it was only a matter of time before bugs could reach that city.
And as I approached that city, my ears picked up a distant yell.
"–! Re, report! A group of demons has appeared from the rear! Their estimated strength is disaster level!"
"What? No, perhaps it's the Emperor's company, as reported by our Lord?"
"I, I don't know! But there is a man flying in the sky above us, he seems to be from the demon race!"
"…Be on the lookout, just in case! But if it really is His Majesty, we can't afford to be rude! It's difficult, but until we get confirmation, don't let your guard down!"
Ah, I feel sorry for making them so wary of me.
"You guys, go ahead first… Well, if any of the soldiers look like they're in trouble, your priority is to help them. Byaku, Seimi, your priority is to heal the wounded."
I gave a spirited command in order to let the pets go ahead of me, as there was no way they could be mistaken for an enemy.
I was now alone, so I hurriedly and gradually slowed down so as not to look like I was about to assault the soldiers, and landed in front of the tent where the nervous soldiers were, and where the commander was probably staying.
"I'm Yuki. I've been called to come and support you. Who's the commander here?"
Then, one of the humans stepped forward with his face a little tense.
"I am the captain of this group. May I call you Emperor, Your Highness?"
"Oh, yes. But since we've never met each other before, there's no way for me to prove it."
The person who seemed to be in command shook his head with a wry smile.
"No… I can tell how powerful you are just by the way you are leading such an extraordinary group of monsters, Your Majesty, Yuki, thank you for your help."
As the commander bowed his head, the surrounding soldiers also did the same.
Your Majesty, Yuki…
What should I do? I almost burst out laughing hearing that.
If I laughed at this moment, it would definitely affect my image, so I tried not to move my cheek muscles and replied to them.
"Well, you don't have to thank me. This was originally part of my job. –Okay, you guys stay back. We'll take care of the rest."
"You, you will take care of it, your majesty?"
"Yes. I'm going to use a ranged attack, so back off, or you're going to get caught in the middle of it. I don't want you to be killed in the line of duty by an ally's attack."
As I said this, for a moment my face seemed to have looked like someone on top as I thought about what was going on, but everyone simply froze.
"Ah, jeez. –You guys, you heard me! Hurry up and call all the soldiers outside the city back inside!"
With that instruction, the soldiers all moved briskly in unison, withdrawing their troops one after the other inside the city walls.
Hmmm, I would never be able to acquire the kind of dignity that he, the commander, was showing me.
Well, it's not like I wanted to be one, so it didn't matter.
–Now, let's get rid of bugs.
The very sound they made as they moved was disgusting, but…ugh, this was work, after all.
I've got to do this.