CH 132

Coastline

***---***

It was completely dark when I returned to Volzard.

The bonfires were still burning on the ramparts, and the garrison continued to take turns guarding the Devil's Forest.

My genus had finished subjugating the invading Orcs and collected the magic stones, but the corpses hadn't been cleaned up.

Because of that, Goblins and Kobolds had gathered to scavenge the Orc corpses.

"If we don't proceed with the disposal of the corpses, it looks like they'll be attracting new monsters."

[ Let's carry them deep into the forest. ]

"Yes, please."

I asked Reinhardt and the others to clean up and went to the aid station.

In this attack, it seemed that there were many casualties in Volzard due to the Orcs' stone-throwing attacks.

The staff at the first aid station who struggled to treat them seemed to be finally taking a rest break, including the chairman and Manon

"Good evening everyone, thank you for your hard work."

"Kento!" "Kent!"

So as not to surprise them, I stepped out a short distance away and called out to them. The chairman and Manon, who had been looking a little tired until then, rushed over with smiles on their faces as if flowers were blooming.

The two of them hugged me without paying attention to the staff's gazes, and I hugged them in turn.

Hmm, I, am popular.

"Kento, are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine because I was in a safe place."

"Kent protected us this time too, didn't you?"

"It's not just me, everyone protected Volzard."

I told the two of them to wait a little while, and gave the staff the cookies I had bought from Mesudori Pavilion.

They're a little pricey, but the very delicious Mesudori Pavilion cookies were very popular here as well.

Yeah, I'm sure the two girls will continue to be in their care in the future, so it's important to take care of them.

I was invited by the staff to join them for tea.

This time, I talked about how Orcs attacked Lastock at the same time, how we were able to protect the residents thanks to the conversion of the garrison into a fort, and how some of the Orcs reached the inland Bamata.

"Then, did Resenburg suffer more damage?"

"Yes, the small settlements between Lastock and Bamata probably would have been annihilated if attacked ..."

A small village without any defenses being attacked, if it were replaced with Volzard, they would be able to climb over the ramparts and the Orcs rampaged in the city.

The staff member who asked me also had a clouded expression, as if imagining such a situation.

"But, you warned them many times about the danger of a maximum outbreak, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but it seems that the warning didn't work because of the faction dispute over the succession to the throne."

As Manon said, Camilla had repeatedly warned of the danger of a maximum outbreak and requested assistance.

However, the First Prince's faction and the Second Prince's faction kept each other in check, and they overestimated the existence of the river and didn't take effective countermeasures.

They were also informed that a large horde of Minotaurs had attacked, but considering that a horde of nearly 200 Minotaurs was an abnormal situation, moreover, considering the number of Camilla's forces, there was no way they should be able to repel them, and it seems that the information wasn't trusted.

"Did all of Kento's genus exterminate the large group that entered Resenburg?"

"No, there were soldiers gathered at Count Gleisner's place, so it seems that the Count took command and repelled them."

The horde approaching Bamata had nowhere to hide like in the Devil's Forest, so even the stone-throwing Orcs were exposed to attack, and it seemed that the Orcs were at a disadvantage because they didn't have shields.

Also, unlike Volzard, thanks to the large number of soldiers, the high density of attacks was also a factor that was able to repel them.

Basten and the others also helped out from the shadows.

"But, with the Orcs invading the mainland, isn't Resenburg going to be in trouble from now on?"

"It depends on how many Orcs survived ... But, the danger will increase."

If it's a skilled adventurer, it's not difficult to defeat Orcs alone, but Orcs are dangerous monsters for ordinary citizens.

During the first actual battle, Yagi and the others were surrounded by Orcs, but in the end they were unable to defeat even one.

If a group of about 10 people were to take on an Orc, it would be possible to drive them away, even if they couldn't be defeated.

However, if a small village was attacked with two or three of them gathered together, there was a high possibility of causing damage.

"It's a story of the other side of the Devil's Forest, and it's Camilla's country that gave us a terrible experience, but I don't want innocent women and children to suffer ..."

When I told them about the casualties caused by the Orcs throwing stones at the Lastock garrison, the committee chairman seemed to be in pain.

Since Camilla and Count Gleisner were scheduled to have a meeting tomorrow, I left the relief station after promising that that I would ensure the safety of the citizens on the spot when they asked me.

When I moved to the guild, it was just after the damage was caused by the Orcs, so there were several employees other than Donovan-san who were still working.

As usual, there were piles of documents on Donovan-san's desk.

"Good evening, Donoan-san."

"Hmm, Kent, have you cleaned up over there?"

"Yes, there was damage, but Lastock wasn't wiped out."

"Did the Orcs over there throw stones too?"

"Yes, they crossed the river while being supported by stone-throwing, and some of them reached the direction of Bamata."

"Did they cross the river ... It became an embarrassment."

"Yes, it's okay if it's Goblins, but it was Orcs."

Donovan-san had a sour expression, as if he was thinking about the situation in Resenburg.

"Donovan-san, about the Orc corpses, I wonder if I should move them to the back of the forest."

"About that, can't you throw them further away?"

"Further away is it?"

"Aahh, right ... Is downstream of the river that flows in front of Lastock, where it meets the sea, difficult?"

"Well ... I wonder if it would be possible if I have someone go there and use them as a landmark ..."

Donovan-san was worried because, even though it's in the depths of the Devil's Forest, dumping a large number of Orc corpses could naturally attract a large number of monsters.

The continent where Volzard and Resenburg are located is connected to the southern continent where monsters live by a thin piece of land.

In the past, there was a war with the neighboring continent through that land, which led to the first Hero summoning.

After the Hero became a Maou and was eventually subdued, the land was covered with trees due to a large outbreak of tree monsters, Trents, on the neighboring continent, forming the Devil's Forest on this continent.

"In other words, they will be thrown into the sea on the other side of the Devil's Forest."

"That's right, if you go that far, the chances of Volzard being hit by a maximum outbreak should be minimized."

"Okay, I'll get to it right away."

"Please."

Hiding in the shadows, I decided to have Nero run first as a landmark.

"Nero, did you hear the story?"

"Nya, should I go down the river in Lastock and go to the sea, nya?"

"Yeah, if you stay there, we can use Nero as a landmark."

"Okay, nya, leave it to me, nya." (TN:Fun fact, Nya, or にゃ just looks like a picture of a cat, which is why it's the SFX for a cat's cry, a lot of choices are based on the pictures created by the word rather than the words themselves.)

After having Nero run, I called Reinhardt.

"Reinhardt, we're changing the disposal site."

[ Is something wrong? ]

Reinhardt seemed to be convinced when I told him the results of the discussion with Donovan-san.

[ I see, certainly in that place, the risk of attracting monsters to Volzard disappears. ]

"Let's carry them all together, just like we did when we cleaned up the goblin corpses that had piled up under the ramparts during the last maximum outbreak."

[ Then, let's collect the corpses in one place. ]

When Reinhardt and I moved to the depths of the Devil's Forest, there were already piles of Orc corpses.

Because I subdued them by raining stones form the sky, all the corpses were badly damaged, and to be honest, I wanted to look away.

However, since I was the one who took their lives, I'll take care of them until the very end.

Divided into five portions, I temporarily stored the Orcs' corpses in the shadow space and called out to Nero.

"Nero, are you there yet?"

"Of course, nya. If it's Nero's legs, it'll take no time, nya."

Using Nero as a landmark, I moved downstream of Lastock to the coastline.

The coastline on the Lastock side was lined with sheer cliffs, and the river passed through a deep valley and formed a sandbar before flowing into the sea.

When viewed from the top of the cliff, the area connecting the contents was also a landform with steep cliffs that appeared to have been raised by crustal movement or something and had been eroded by the wind and waves.

On the surface of the sea illuminated by the moonlight, white triangular waves crashed violently against the quay.

The wind was blowing, but the waves seemed to be caused by the current, and they were swirling here and there.

I thought that if the sea was close, it would be nice to have a thriving fishing industry, but it would be difficult to set sail in this rough sea.

"It's kind of a wild landscape."

[ That's right. This is the first time I've been to the sea around here, so I didn't even imagine the scenery was like this. ]

The scenery near the coast looked completely different across the river.

On the other side of the river was a dense forest, and on this side was a grassy plain with white rocks.

[ There's a big difference in the scenery. ]

"Maybe this area used to be the bottom of the sea."

[ Hou, this place? ]

"Yeah, I think it was uplifted by a big earthquake or crustal movement."

[ Hohou, such a thing can happen? ]

Reinhardt seemed to be skeptical, but the landscape on this side was a typical karst plateau that we learned about in class.

The dense forest on the other side was probably due to the outbreak of Trents that surged from the neighboring continent and caused the creation of the Devil's Forest.

But, if there is this much limestone, wouldn't it be possible to quarry it and turn it into an industry?

The architecture in this world was hardened with earth-attribute magic, but if cement were further hardened, its strength would increase even further.

Limestone must also have been used for purposes other than cement, so I should do some research when I return to Japan next time.

The more new industries were created, the better the financial situation of Resenburg would be, and it should also help secure reparations.

[ Kent-sama, please dispose of the Orc corpses offshore as much as possible. ]

"Is there something wrong with the nearby area?"

[ If they are washed up on the shore, there is no guarantee that there won't be something that is lured by the smell and crosses the river or the sea. ]

"I see, humans wouldn't be able to climb this cliff, but you wouldn't know if monsters could."

Even if we keep the danger away from Volzard, it's meaningless if we endanger Resenburg.

I put out a shield of darkness in the sky as far offshore as possible, connected it to the shadow space, and threw the Orcs' corpses into the sea.

If it were in Japan, I would get scolded for illegal dumping, but since it's this world, I can take it easy.

Up to the horizon ... Since that's impossible, I divided the Orc corpses into 5 portions about 500 meters offshore and threw them away little by little.

The first and second times ended without incident, but it happened when the third dumping was carried out.

A huge mouth popped out of the sea and swallowed whole the shield of darkness that was sticking out about 10 meters above the surface of the sea.

"Uwaa, what's going on!"

[ It's a tremendously big creature since it looks that size from that far away. ]

"Is that a monster that lives in the sea?"

[ Well, it's the first time I've seen something like that, so I can't say anything. ]

After that I tried raising the position of the shield of darkness to 20 meters and then 30 meters, but I couldn't even see the whole body of the creature that was biting it.

It looked like an ancient fish like a coelacanth, and the moonlit scales shone lapis lazuli.

[ There is a legend that a huge monster lives in the sea, but it seems to be true. ]

"If there's such a thing, I'm afraid we can't take a boat out."

[ Even in Resenburg, there is a harbor if you go further west. ]

"The boats are sailing ships, right? If they were attacked by such a guy, they wouldn't have a chance, would they?"

[ This time, it must have been attracted by the smell of a large amount of Orc blood. It might be fine as long as you don't spread the smell of blood. ]

"Hmm ... For the time being, I won't get on a boat."

[ Buhahaha ... Wise? It's not a bad decision. ]

It would be helpful since I can use shadow movement, but it wouldn't be very pleasant to be swallowed whole.

I returned to the guild, reported to Donovan-san, had a cup of tea, and returned to the boarding house.

The next day, there would be a meeting between Camilla and Count Gleisner in the afternoon, so I went to the Investigation Headquarters before then.

I was a little worried about Kizawa-san's behavior after she returned.

The Investigative Headquarters I arrived at for the first time in four days was wrapped in a tense atmosphere.

Did Kizawa-san do something wrong?

"Good morning."

"Aahh, Kokubu-kun, where is the second returnee?"

Everyone who was present at the Investigation Headquarters gave me a look of anticipation, but when I told them that I hadn't brought anyone with me today, they were frankly disappointed.

"What are you dawdling around for, think about how many more people are left!"

"Stop it, Katayama!"

Is he still holding a grudge over the fact that I didn't hand over the report from the teachers when I first visited the Investigation Headquarters?

Detective Katayama's words made the atmosphere at the Investigation Headquarters even worse.

"Volzard was attacked by a horde of Orcs, and there was movement in the struggle for succession to the throne in Resenburg, it's not like I was playing around. There's no reason for you to complain, so if you want to complain to someone, you should do it yourself."

"Bastard ..."

"Both of you, that's enough!"

As expected, Detective Katayama didn't put his hands on me this time, but even when Sudou-san reprimanded him, he glared at me hatefully.

It seemed that having Kizawa-san come back has increased expectations and pressure from those around.

"I am fully aware that Kokubu-kun also has his own circumstances, but is there any way you can speed up their return?"

"I will consider it, but as I reported last time, it puts a toll on my body, and only one person can be sent back at a time, so there is a limit to how fast I can go."

"In the previous report, you said about once a week, but could you please proceed with the return at a pace of about once very five days, or if possible, once every three days?"

"Hmm ... I'll do it as soon as possible, but in the event that Volzard is attacked by a horde of monsters like this time, I'll have to move to defend the city as well, so I can't say for certain that I'll be able to do it. "

"Is the defense of the city impossible without Kokubu-kun? Since Kokubu-kun wasn't there in the first place, isn't there a system to protect themselves?"

"Of course, Volzard has a garrison, and Resenburg also has knights, but these monster attacks seem to be on a scale never seen before, and if I don't participate in the defense, there will be a lot of damage. If monsters get inside the ramparts, there's a chance they'll hurt my classmates as well."

"I see ... If possible, I'd like Kokubu-kun to concentrate on returning your classmates ..."(TN:I know that you reported that you could work 24h a day 7 days a week, but if possible I'd like you to work 30 hours a day 12 days a week ...)

Sudou-san had a sour expression with his arms folded.

I won't talk to him about it, but I feel that the demands from the people around him are increasing considerably.

Then Kajikawa-san from the Cabinet Secretariat joined the conversation.

"Kokubu-kun, I understand well why the return is not progressing. We would like you to hurry up and return, but if that's not possible, could you accommodate us with some magic stones?"

"Magic stones, is it?"

"Yes, if possible, I would appreciate if if you could get the magic tools as a set. Also, if possible, could you also get the materials for the magic tools?"

According to Kajikawa-san, the demand for magic stones was rapidly increasing among researchers, and the amount I gave last time was no longer enough.

"For the time being, we can't have them provided free of charge, so we will buy magic tools for 2 million Yen each and magic stones for 500,000 Yen each. I'll settle the bill and pay Kokubu-kun."

"The Minotaur horn I gave you before seems to be good as a material for magic tools, but it's expensive compared to magic stones because there aren't many of them."

"Ooh, so that horn was going to be a material, is it about 20 times the price?"

"No, it wasn't that expensive ..."

"Okay, I'll buy them for 8 million Yen each."

"8 million Yen ..."

"It's a substance that doesn't exist on Earth. Even if the price is 50 times higher than the local price, it's still cheap."

I just subjugated a large amount of Orcs, so there are mountains of magic stones in my shadow storage, and I still have more than 100 Minotaur horns.

If they buy all of them, it will be enough money to spend your whole life playing around in Japan.

"Umm ... Is it wrong to use that amount as compensation for the victims?"

"I've talked about it before, but it's difficult to use magic tools, but I think you can do it with magic stones and Minotaur horns instead of reparations."

"Is that true, then, with my reserves ..."

"Wait, wait, if Kokubu-kun puts it out, it's no good. No, even if Kokubu-kun contributes, it has to be in the form of Resenburg contributing."

"Then, would it be okay if I took a video of me receiving it and had something like a document?"

"That's right, I think it can be treated as an item of reparation."

"Understood, the Princess and the faction's heavyweights are scheduled to meet this afternoon, so I will take a video at that time so that I can provide the magic stones and materials tomorrow."

"Thank you, it would be helpful if you could do that. To be honest, the pressure is getting a little stronger. It's helpful to see visible results."

The return won't proceed immediately, but the magic stones and materials are scattered around.

Even if I shoulder it, I think it would be better to finish it quickly.

By the way, let's shoot Camilla's apology video.

When it comes to meeting with Count Gleisner, Camilla will probably dress like royalty.

"Speaking of which, Sudou-san. How is Kizawa-san doing?"

"Ahh, if it's about her, she's being quiet at her house. The person in charge of public security is guarding her, and she's obediently responding to interviews."

"I see ... It's kind of surprising."

"Why is that? She seemed like a polite and well-mannered young lady."

The other investigators nodded at Sudou-san's words.

I can't help but think that Kizawa-san is putting on a fake appearance, but I hope she isn't plotting something.

I returned to Volzard after promising to proceed with the return as soon as possible and to make arrangements so that the magic stones and materials could be used as part of the reparations.