CH 198

Request of the Imperial Princess

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After passing through the Irosun Great Forest, the road to Volzard was about halfway to the end.

Today would be a relatively safe route through the breadbasket, and tomorrow there would be the difficult passage called the Rivarre Pass, but since the bandits had just been annihilated, there shouldn't be much to worry about.

That being said, Lau-san also told us to be very careful, as it seemed that bandits would spring up like bamboo shoots after the rain.

We planned to return to Volzard in the evening of the next day after passing through the Rivarre Pass, so let's concentrate on escorting them again ... Just when I was thinking that, Hirt, who was the liaison with Seraphima, returned.

"Wafuu, Goshujin-sama, Seraphima has a request."

"A request? For me?"

"Wau, a big monster is coming and they're in trouble."

"A big monster, it's not a Griffon, right?"

"Yeah, it's bigger and heavier."

"It's bigger and heavier ... ?"

Even though it was said to be a big, heavy monster, I could only imagine what kind of monster it was because I only had knowledge about monsters from manga and anime.

[ Kent-sama, you should think of this as a request for help from Barshania. ]

"Does Emperor Constant also agree?"

[ I don't know about that, but if it's a request from Princess Seraphima, it should be considered a request from the country. ]

"Reinhardt, do you know what the big and heavy monster is?"

[ Well, I can't say anything with that much information, but when it comes to the Salamander that Kent-sama defeated before, i can only think of legendary class monsters like Dragons and Cyclops. ]

"Legendary class ... Griffon was a fairly rare monster, wasn't it?"

[ That's right. As Donovan-dono said before, something might be happening in the southern continent. ]

For the time being, I explained the situation to Augusto-san and received permission to go to Barshania.

"I hear that Barshanian soldiers are well trained. If it's a monster that can't be handled by Barshania, it's possible that it may even bring disaster to Volzard in the future. Anyway, find out what the situation is and report back."

"Yes, I will continue to use the former knight Basten as your guard, as well as the Undead Lizardmen, so please don't worry."

Baldini, who shared the room with Augusto-san, looked uninterested, but said nothing.

It's helpful that he didn't get involved like he did in the beginning, but I was worried that he was becoming more insidious.

When I went to tell Angelina-san that I was going to Barshania, she puffed out her cheeks and gave me a quizzical look.

What's with that, she's older than me, but she's really cute.

"Even if you say you're going to investigate the monster situation, isn't it that you're actually going to flirt with the Princess of Barshania?"

"Y, you're wrong. If a monster that even the soldiers of Barshania couldn't deal with comes to Volzard, wouldn't it be troublesome? So, I'll investigate the situation ..."

"I wonder if that's true ... Hey, what kind of girl is the Princess of Barshania?"

"Eeehhh ... Seraphima is a year older than me, but at first glance, it feels like she's about two years younger ... How can I say it, it feels like she's a work of art."

After talking about Seraphima's appearance, her Idiot Parent, and her Idiot Brothers, Angelina-san, after some thought, allowed me to go to Barshania.

"It can't be helped ... Because Volzard wants to build a good relationship with Barshania. But, it's not good to put aside Riche and give special treatment to that Seraphima girl."

"Yes, I know that, yes ..."

So, unfortunately, there is no hug or 'iiko iiko' this morning.

Following Hirt's guidance, the destination of the shadow movement was not Chowsk, the gateway city to the desert.

What's more, it was like a first-aid station, and many injured soldiers were groaning in pain from their wounds.

[ It seems that there was a considerable battle. ]

"That's right. Anyway, I have to find Seraphima and ask her about the situation."

Seraphima was working with medics to care for the wounded.

I came out from a distance so as not to startle her and called out to her.

"Sera, can you tell me what happened?"

"Kent-sama! So you came."

Seraphima jumped into my chest with light steps.

The gesture of hugging me tightly is so cute ... Rather, it's not the time to be all 'dere dere'.(TN:'Dere dere' is lovestruck, etc.)

"In the seaside town of Leinef ahead, a Gigas appeared and the city was destroyed. My father and older brothers have embarked on subjugation, but it's as if they're in a situation where they can't do anything."

"A Gigas is the monster in question, huh."

"Yes, they are more than five times taller than adults, they cannot be damaged by normal magic, and they can be damaged by compound magic by a group, but they recover quickly

"Alright, anyway, I'll think about it after seeing the real thing, but before that, let's treat the seriously injured. Let me examine the most serious patients first."

"Yes, over here."

I only treated Seraphima's lips when we signed the blood covenant, but she must have understood that I was confident that I could treat them.

The severely injured person who I was guided to had received a strong impact on the abdomen and had internal injuries.

His complexion was pale, and he seemed like he would stop breathing at any moment.

I took two or three deep breaths to calm myself down, and used healing magic while being conscious of controlling the magical power I cultivated through special training with Lau-san.

After repairing the ruptured liver and right kidney, suppressing inflammation in the peritoneum, and revitalizing the patient's general condition, the patient's face regained its complexion and his breathing stabilized.

"Okay, this one's fine, the next patient is ... Sera?"

"Y, yes! This one, please."

Seraphima was watching the treatment in a daze, and the people around her were making a commotion, but now was not the time to worry about it.

After finishing the treatment of about 10 people, it seemed that the treatment of those whose lives were in danger had been completed.

"Thank you very much. I honestly didn't think Kent-sama's healing magic was this good."

"For the time being, it seems that there are no more people in danger, so I'll go see the Gigas after I get some rest."

"Then, Kent-sama, this way ... I'll prepare the tea right now."

While drinking tea, after moving to another room, I listened to a detailed explanation about the Gigas.

A Gigas was a monster that appeared in legends even in this world. It had a stout, humanoid body, and had four fingers and toes, and it seemed that it was a shape where it grasped things with one thick finger and three paired fingers.

The surface of its body was like mud, or like bark, and covered with rough, hard, brown skin, and it seemed that even if you scratched it, it would be repaired while you watched.

"The Gigas manipulates earth-attribute magic to confine its human prey in a dome of earth. It seems that they accumulate more than they can eat at one time, and even now there are people who are trapped in the earthen domes."

"How many days ago did it show up at Leinef?"

"It appeared about eight days ago, and it seems that the people of the city who were trying to escape were captured one after another in the earthen domes. It was the day before yesterday that the horses were sent to the royal castle and the subjugation army was immediately organized and the first battle took place."

It was said that the Gigas was able to repel the attacks of the Barshanian army with its tough skin and powerful regenerative ability.

In that case, I thought of waiting for the Gigas to fall asleep and then attacking it, but when it slept, it curled up around its head and at the same time hardened its body surface with magic.

In that state, even compound magic couldn't damage it, and it seemed that they were practically helpless.

The only fortunate thing was that the Gigas hadn't moved from the city of Leinef where it first appeared, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn't move further inland once the earthen dome that captured the inhabitants was gone.

Currently, I was in the rear camp, about ten minutes away from the city of Leinef by horse-drawn carriage.

The composition of the Barshanian army was the same as when it was trying to invade across the desert, with the direct command army led by Emperor Constant, the knight squad led by the First Prince Gregory, and it was said that the magician squad led by the Third Prince was at the forefront.

"Kent-sama, please lend your strength to my father and brothers."

"Honestly, I don't know how effective the attacks of me and my genus will be, but I'll try my best."

I hugged Seraphima tightly and then dived into the shadows.

[ Kent-sama, I've been scouting ... I'll guide you ... ]

[ I'm counting on you, Fred. ]

While I was treating the injured, Fred was scouting the front line.

The city of Leinef was the southernmost town in Barshania, and fishing seemed to be the main industry.

In the past, when I disposed of the Orc corpses, a huge fish jumped out of the sea, but I wondered if it was okay to engage in fishing.

The town faced a cove, with a sandy beach at the far end of the cove, and a pier for mooring fishing boats was near the entrance of the cove.

The city spread out along the sandy beach, giving it the feel of a port town in the Mediterranean Sea.

It seemed that buildings with white walls and red tiled roofs stood side by side, but now most of them had turned into piles of rubble.

In the middle of the rubble lay something like a gigantic brown rock, which was probably the monster called Gigas.

It seemed to be about 5 meters in diameter, and when I looked closely, it seemed to be sitting in a gym sitting position and holding its head lowered between its legs with both arms.

Around the Gigas, there were many earthen domes with a height of about 3 meters containing rubble.

Maybe, the residents who failed to escape were trapped inside.

The Barshanian army built a position about 300 meters away from the Gigas to block the road leading to the city, and continued to monitor the Gigas, which was believed to be sleeping.

At the same time, they continued to struggle to find a way to rescue the residents left behind from the domes located far from the Gigas.

[ Hey, aren't those people from the engineering unit who were engaged in desert development in Chowsk? ]

[ Apparently, that might be the case. ]

Maybe the walls of the domes were too hard, but the work of the engineering unit seemed to be progressing slowly.

Inside the Barshanian army's encampment, Emperor Constant sat down on the floor and glared at the Gigas with a bittersweet expression.

On both sides of him were the figures of the First Prince, Gregory, and the Third Prince, Nicolae.

In order to avoid causing a commotion, I put out a shield of darkness within sight of the three of them and then stepped out.

"It's been a while."

"Kent Kokubu, are you here for reconnaissance?"

"Yes, and I gave treatment at the relief station."

"I see ... I heard you had a fight with a Griffon."

"Yes, I feel like I defeated it with the help of everyone from Volzard."

"Can you tell me how you defeated it?"

Emperor Constant didn't show signs of fatigue, but when he asked me for information, he must have been at a loss as to how to subdue the Gigas.

I talked about the fact that the Griffon was clad in powerful wind-attribute magic, the fact that it did not take damage from physical attacks or magic attacks, and the fact that I was able to subdue it with a magic tool that used the principle of the Slave Bracelets.

"I see, I didn't think that the Slave Bracelet would nullify attribute magic."

"Father, I think that method would be effective against the Gigas, but there are no magic tool craftsmen here. At this time, even if we send out production instructions by fast horse, it should take nearly a week to complete."

"Gregory, are you saying that there is another way?"

"No, that's ..."

"Then, prepare a fast horse for the royal capital!"

"Umm, can I have a moment?"

"What's wrong, Kent, do you have a way?"

"Yes, how about I go back to Volzard and place an order with the magic tool craftsman who made the Slavery Bolas for when I subjugated the Griffon? If all goes well, it may be finished in about three days."

"I see, you're faster than a fast horse, and a craftsman who has already created a magic tool once is more reliable. Alright, money doesn't matter. Please order 4 sets of magic tools."

I passed through the shield of darkness and visited Nott-san, at the magic tool shop in Volzard.

I explained the situation to Nott-san's father, Gain, who was a craftsman, and Nott-san's younger sister, Jerus, and asked them to speed up the production.(TN:It's back to Gain, guess Guile was a typo.)

"I see ... It'll be done tomorrow evening."

"Can you make it so quickly?"

"You can't replace a human life ..."

"Thank you very much."

After they confirmed the Minotaur's Horn I took out of the shadow storage as material, I was kicked out because I was just a hindrance to their work.

I also greeted Nott-san and then returned to Barshania.

"It seems that the magic tools will be finished by tomorrow evening."

"I see, maybe we'll make it in time."

Constant stood up and glared at the Gigas as he pondered his thoughts.

The First Prince, Gregory, who was watching his expression, asked.

"Father, it seems that the Gigas will start moving after a while, but what should we do?"

Of course, he must have heard the question, but Constant kept his silence while staring at the Gigas.

"Surround it and watch quietly. No need to interfere!"

"Father, are you going to let the captured residents die?"

"Then, what do you want me to do?"

"Aiming at the area that was damaged by the compound magic of the magician squad, shoot crossbows and such ..."

"Isn't it the same as before? So, how much damage did we do? How much damage remains?"

Looking at the place Constant pointed, he couldn't refute, it seemed that no residual damage was done as a result.

"Certainly, it is possible to temporarily inflict damage with the method you said. But, it has recovered before our eyes. In order to recover, a monster consumes physical strength. If it loses physical strength, it needs to make up for it ... What does it do to make up for that?"

If you could only inflict temporary damage, it would only increase the number of victims.

"Are you thinking that I don't feel anything when I see my country's people being eaten? There's no way that's true! My guts are boiling and I'm going crazy. However, if you just attack unnecessarily, it will only increase the number of casualties. Until the magic tools arrive, I forbid you to interfere in any way!"

At Constant's order as if vomiting blood, no one objected.

"Umm, Gregory-san, are the people trapped in those earthen domes still alive?"

"I don't know. But, it's definitely a pretty tough situation. From here it looks like a hemisphere, but it's a sphere with the bottom half underground. The residents who were trying to escape were rolled up together with the rubble and solidified, so if there were any gaps left, it's possible that they're still alive, but it's also true that too many days have passed."

A week had already passed since the Gigas appeared.

It was said that 72 hours was the time limit for survival at disaster sites, but more than double that time had already passed.

If it was rolled up and hardened, the air flow would be cut off, and survival would be hopeless.

As I was deep in thought, Constant spoke to me.

"Kent Kokubu. If their lives ended, could you remain calm if even the corpses of your genus were eaten?"

"No way, I don't think I could stand it."

"It's the same with me. The people are like family to me. The Gigas will definitely be punished. But, to be honest, my means aren't enough. The magician unit, which is the main force of the attack, has been hit by a counterattack and its fighting strength has been halved. Even if I was able to peel off its attribute magic armor, I doubt that I would be able to kill that giant. Given the circumstances, failure is unacceptable. Please lend me your strength, I will kill it no matter what!"

"Understood. If the magic tool will be completed tomorrow evening, then it's fine to assume that the operation will be carried out after the morning the day after tomorrow?"

"Umu, that's right. Do you have any plans?"

"It's not decided yet, and I can't make a decision until I see the Gigas in action, but I'd like to come up with a powerful attack."

"I see ... Please."

"I promise to spare no effort in cooperating as much as possible."

With determination, I shook the thick, hard hand that reminded me of a warrior belonging to Constant who shook hands with me.

About an hour later, the Gigas' huge body, which had not moved even slightly like a rock, began to wobble and its ugly face lifted up.

On other sides of its face with no nose bridge like a frog or a snake, it had large dark-green eyeballs.

"Boooooo ..."

The mouth, which let out a cavernous groan, was devoid of lips and was lined with large, square molar-like teeth.

When it stood up while puffing up the dust, it was over 10 meters tall.

Rather than walking upright on two legs, it seemed to walk with its long arms on the ground like a gorilla.

When the Gigas woke up, it smashed the nearest earthen dome with both hands, searched for the corpse of a resident from the rubble, and threw it into its mouth.

The sound of the bones and meat of the corpse being crushed resounded, and the soldiers of Barshania clamored in resentment, but the Gigas didn't care at all and continued to eat.

"As long as we don't attack from here, will the Gigas not come here?"

"It doesn't seem to at the moment, but I don't know what will happen if it finishes eating all of the domes. If you go a little further west, you'll find another settlement, and there's another settlement a little further into the mainland. We can't rely on hopeful observations such as when it's finished eating, it'll quietly return home."

"Even if you attack, does the speed of movement change?"

"Well, basically the torso doesn't move much, but that's because it has that huge body. Even if a swinging arm hits it, it will flatten a human being."

"I see ... I'd like to see its reaction, so is it okay if I let my genus intimidate it?"

"Hmm ... That's fine, but only intimidation."

"Then, I'll go for a while."

I dived into the shadows and gave instructions to Nero and Zeta-tachi.

"First, Zeta, Eta, Theta. Try to surround the Gigas, and gradually shrink the circle while roaring from time to time. It's like the Forest Wolves we saw yesterday."

"Leave it to me, Nushi-dono."

"If the Gigas attacks, end it there, and return to the shadows."

"What should Nero do, nya?"

"I want Nero to do the same thing around the Gigas' head as Zeta-tachi will do. I want to see how close it will come to attack, and how fast it will attack."

"Okay, nya, that's easy, nya."

"This time, it's just wait-and-see. Do it without letting your guard down so that you won't be hit by its attacks."

First, Zeta-tachi stepped out of the shadows and roared around the Gigas.

"Guruuuuuu ..."

The Gigas, who recognized the appearance of Zeta-tachi, stopped eating and began to be cautious.

Even if Zeta-tachi started going around the Gigas in a circle, the Gigas just watched them with wide eyes and didn't move.

However, the moment Eta stepped on an earthen dome.

"Booaaaaaah!"

It roared loudly and swung its thick arms as if to mow her down.

Of course, Eta quickly jumped back and the Gigas' arm cut through the air, but its unclear whether it originally intended to hit her or just intimidate her.

After that, when I let Zeta-tachi continue to intimidate it, it would only attack if they stepped into the area where the earth domes were.

After having Zeta-tachi return to the shadows, It was Nero's turn.

Recognizing Nero's appearance, the Gigas, unlike with Zeta-tachi, raised its arms to its chest and prepared for battle.

When Nero circled around, it turned not only its eyes, but also its body to warn Nero.

[ Even a Gigas has to be wary of a Storm Cat's attacks. ]

"If Nero shows up, it'll be wary, but if you look at it from a different perspective, if Nero shows up, the Gigas' attention will be drawn."

Even after Nero returned into the shield of darkness, the Gigas remained vigilant for a while.