Power

Another location, Ilya's room.

As soon as Ilya sat down, Helly — the woman seated on the cushion across from her — shifted her legs into fins, proving that she was a Mermaid.

"The Siren" was the name of a winged mermaid who ruled an island floating in Akradist's waters and the surrounding sea. She was also the queen of Mermaid Island.

Helly had slipped in among the evacuees heading to Lunéville in order to deliver a message to Ilya.

Originally, mana could only be recovered by absorbing a magic source. However, because Mermaid body fluids had the effect of instantly restoring mana, they fetched quite the hefty sum as miracle drugs.

The organizations that had handled those drugs were currently silent thanks to Ilya and the Siren dismantling them, but there were still plenty of people whose eyes lit up with greed at the sight of a Mermaid, so it was only natural that she had slipped into the crowd to hide.

Even so, Helly seemed to have something on her mind, and lowered her gaze as though embarrassed.

"I wanted to visit you as soon as I could, but there were so many eyes on you, Ilya-sama…"

By that, she was referring to the Branch Vice Manager and his subordinates.

The cause of that was Ilya herself.

"I am truly sorry that you had to come despite the dangers."

"D-don't be absurd! Ilya-sama is forever beautiful…!!"

Mermaids had the trait of loving anything beautiful, regardless of whether it was male or female. In that respect they were similar to Dragon God Jean, but they differed completely in their strong sense of chastity. They simply loved, cherished, and adored.

As a beautiful elf made by a god to be loved by everyone, Ilya was naturally no exception.

"The public duty among the Miko has turned into quite the competition this time. Everyone, every single one of us, wants at least one glimpse of Ilya-sama—"

On top of that, she felt deeply indebted to her, so it was no wonder she'd become so talkative.

However, considering that the girl had taken a risk just to come to a human settlement, Ilya couldn't very well let her chatter on forever.

"I'm glad we could see each other as well. You said your cherished compatriots had sent you, so I take it there's some pressing matter? May I hear your message?"

"Ah, y-yes!!"

With that, Helly took out a harp made of a hard, transparent material that looked crystalline.

By channeling mana through it using [Playback: Sound], a derived skill of [Performance], the harp recreated another's voice — in this case, the Siren's.

[Heya Ilya-chan, long time no see! You doing good? I am～. Being queen is hard!]

Another notable trait of Mermaids was that they were avid gossipers. They were almost only ever silent when they were listening to someone's song.

Just as Ilya started to regret remembering that so late, now that they'd gotten down to business, Helly's expression shifted slightly.

[Right, you might already know, but the monster in Akradist's waters right now… isn't actually a monster. She's a divine beast. You know her too, it's Mut-chan.]

Mut-chan. This was the nickname Ilya had given Bahamut, a hatchling Leviathan — a scaled lord of the seas.

Another piece of Ilya's black history had just resurfaced, but this wasn't the time to dwell on it.

No way… another Evil God?

Her conjecture was cast aside by the Siren's very next words.

[That child accidentally bit the World Tree at the bottom of the sea, so now it looks like there's some ritual item piercing the inside of her mouth. Right. It's like that irritating feeling you get when there's a fish bone stuck in your throat!]

It was a bit disrespectful to Helly, who was performing with a serious expression, but Ilya's tension had already vanished. On top of that, she felt it was the Siren's fault for using such a strange comparison.

Above all, the Siren's complete lack of malice was what made her so hard to deal with.

[We managed to calm her down somehow, but she'll fly right back into a rage if anyone gets close to her so it's really bad. And now there's been other people coming around irritating her!]

Those other people were probably the subjugation parties.

Since Akradist had judged her to be a normal monster, it was only natural that they would eventually send out a considerable force to subjugate her.

Right as she thought that—

[So Ilya-chan, please. Help that child. No… please, lend us your power.]

Unlike before, the harp played an earnest, heartfelt voice before the performance came to an end.

She really was a handful precisely because she acted this way artlessly, with no awareness of how it came across.

Helly looked drained after the performance, so Ilya handed her some water. When the girl looked up at Ilya as she accepted the glass, her eyes were practically pleading. She probably wouldn't be able to get anything down her throat until she heard Ilya's answer.

So Ilya spoke to her.

"I have received her request. I will provide my utmost help."

 

*

 

Not long after that, the arena was completed.

It still had no furnishings or equipment installed inside, but just seeing the facilities was enough to draw a fair number of tourists.

Paying them no mind, a youth went straight to the branch and pushed open its doors.

"I'm here to pick him up!"

Among the many people surprised by the youth's sudden appearance, one person was particularly astonished.

The one the youth had come for was none other than the Elder — the man who was still being given the cold shoulder by Ilya every time he tried to speak to her, and who had been doing his best to vent his troubles by playing board games.

"Y-York!?"

What Ilya had arranged to finally pry the Elder loose was York's arrival.

Leaving the trembling Elder aside, York walked straight over to Ilya and gave a short bow.

"Ilya-sama, despite being nominated directly, I have been delayed… this York has no honor."

 

 

 

 

It felt as though York's attitude had grown even more formal than before.

(I wonder if something happened with the Water Dragon? I hope it didn't inspire him to do something strange.)

Oblivious to Ilya's musings, York single-mindedly continued to apologize and repent.

"—I will accept any punishment."

"I don't intend to punish you, but I do have a favor I'd like to ask."

Both the Elder and York looked surprised.

But they were different flavors of surprise — one of suspicion, the other of delight.

Paying neither of them any mind, Ilya took a commission slip down from the bulletin board.

The commission had been issued by the Eredist Branch in the eastern part of Akradist. Its contents were to subjugate a giant monster rampaging in the Ford Sea.

Whereas Spirits were "beings born when attribute elements existing throughout the world transformed into life upon receiving the Spirit Source — the origin of vitality," Great Spirits were "beings born when a Crystal Pillar producing and releasing an attribute element took on life, connected to the very foundation of the world."

Even a Divine Beast at the summit of all that lived within water would be unable to do anything with water against Undine, an existence that could be said to be water itself.

The other thing that would be needed was enough power to halt its massive body.

"Gabriel, Pasha."

Calling those two over, Ilya showed the commission slip to the three of them. The Elder had been acting selfishly before, but he couldn't misbehave so brazenly in front of York and was now as meek as a lamb.

"Would you three please accept this commission?"

"Eh?"

"Alright."

"Eh!?"

"Understood."

"Eeeh!?"

The only one who couldn't follow what was happening was Pasha.

Even though Gabriel and York had already agreed, that didn't mean Ilya was going to leave Pasha in the dark.

Without finishing the registration, Ilya took the three of them to a private room on the second floor to explain the commission's contents.

"There is currently a monster causing damage in Akradist, but to be precise, it isn't a monster. It is a Divine Beast."

""" !! """

All three were taken aback, but Ilya judged that their reaction wasn't from confusion but from grasping the gravity of the matter, so she continued.

"Consequently, what I would like to ask of you three is not to subjugate it, but to protect it. After speaking with a mermaid who lives in the nearby waters, I've learned that the Divine Beast bears no ill will. It seems the cause of its unrest is a Sacred Tool lodged in its body."

"I see. The sea… so Undine's power can be brought to its full potential in water."

Nodding at York's remark, she was hoping for Undine's direct assistance.

[I am well aware, oh Child of God.]

—Undine cut her off before she could even ask.

Ilya had hoped that by phrasing it as a request, she could ease the overly deferential relationship Undine kept toward her. Instead, it backfired in the form of an even more splendid display of loyalty.

Even if she tried to admonish her now, there was a good chance it would only cause unnecessary trouble.

"Thank you."

Bowing, Ilya then turned towards Gabriel and continued talking.

"Gabriel, please stop the Divine Beast's movements."

"… Alright."

Gabriel hesitated just a little.

As a member of the Demon God's family, Gabriel had grown extraordinarily strong through the grace of his demon elements.

The sheer number of things he'd accidentally destroyed with that strength was no small amount, so his hesitation came from a habit of not using it against anything he didn't consider an enemy. That was why, even though he'd taken a fair number of subjugation commissions during his time in Lunéville, not a single one had been a capture mission.

Ilya, who had roamed in search of a way to suppress her own power, understood his feelings on the matter well.

"Pasha, please use your magic and sacred magic to heal and strengthen the Divine Beast."

"Kay, will do—… huh? Umm… you said you want me to strengthen it?"

It wasn't just Pasha — Gabriel and York looked equally perplexed.

The reason for their confusion was that, while they would indeed be protecting it, restraining a strengthened opponent would be difficult.

Taking their surprise in stride, Ilya explained her thinking.

"I want you to increase the Divine Beast's strength after gauging the gap between its strength and Gabriel's. You know Gabriel's strength best, and you are the only one who can read the Divine Beast's strength."

"O-okay…"

Given Pasha's weak tone and downcast eyes, she probably felt pressured.

"Gabriel will be doing his best to adjust how much strength he uses too, so you'll be fine. Just think of it as insurance in case something goes wrong, alright?"

"… Pasha. I believe in you, so believe in me as well."

"O-okay!"

Ilya smiled at the fairy that now looked noticeably energetic.

(The power of love is great ☆)

The last remaining problem was the Sacred Tool lodged in her mouth, but considering that Bahamut's god elements were weaker than her parents', that wasn't something they needed to be too cautious about.

She judged that, since her god elements were of a low rank, she wouldn't be able to use the original method of wielding the Sacred Tool… in other words, because Bahamut's elements ranked too low to invoke her ability to interfere with information itself, she wouldn't be able to interfere with the three of them.

Assuming they all agreed to go, Ilya turned back to York to recap.

"Pasha will be support and both Undine and Gabriel will restrain the Divine Beast. York, you must retrieve the Sacred Tool."

"Understood."

Once she had finished confirming what the commission entailed, she received the three's registration cards and processed their acceptance.

Possibly because the chaos there hadn't yet settled down, no one appeared to have accepted the subjugation commission at Akradist's guild yet — which was fortunate.

"Here are your registration cards."

[Miko-sama, what should I be doing?]

[Please be Gabriel's support, Gnome.]

With that, she suddenly had an idea.

[Also, take care of the Sacred Tool's burial.]

[Are you sure?]

Hearing Undine's voice, she nodded.

"Please sink that Sacred Tool down to the bottom of the sea."

Sacred Tools were what the corpses of the ancient gods — the plethora of Beast Gods, Bird Gods, and Fish Gods — had transformed into. Many could be found within timeworn ruins and altars, the places where those gods had died and withered and where their God Elements had merged with other Elements.

If they didn't feel like stepping back onto the world stage, it would be better for them to simply sleep in peace.

That this was merely her own arrogance, Ilya knew all too well.

"Since there is nothing in the commission concerning the Sacred Tool, you may handle it at your own discretion. However, please do not forget the influence a Sacred Tool wields."

Not just York, but even Gabriel and Pasha nodded solemnly in response.

As far as Ilya knew, fewer than ten people had been born with the mutation that allowed them to carry God Elements outside of the Dragon and Demon Gods' families.

Even so, most of them had lost interest in the world itself after being persecuted for the immortality their God Elements bestowed, or harbored powerful destructive or self-destructive urges.

The various Sacred Tools held many peerless abilities. Some could manipulate the weather without needing any mana, some could conjure a thousand blades with a single swing, some could strike while ignoring their target's physical defense and skill assistance… even setting aside the question of usage restrictions based on God Element rank, giving such people Sacred Tools was simply far too dangerous.

By contrast, Ilya knew of a person named Orion. He was a beastkin who had mutated the ability to wield God Elements — an unusually rare type.

Setting aside the matter of dealing with them, now that the first part was settled, they met up with Helly, whom Ilya had asked to wait outside.

When she introduced Helly to the three who would be her guards, Helly showed only a hint of confusion.

There weren't many of them, and neither Gabriel nor Pasha looked the part of a fighter, so that was to be expected. Or so Ilya thought, but the real source of her dissatisfaction turned out to be something else entirely.

"U-umm… Ilya-sama isn't going to come with me…?"

"…"

Thinking back on it, she certainly had given off that impression with how she'd spoken.

"These are friends I trust. If they weren't here, I would be going myself."

"… Is that, so…?"

Her dissatisfied expression hadn't gone away.

"Just as the Siren relied on me, I trust their power and will be relying on them. Even if it won't be my direct power… I believe knowing them can also be considered a kind of strength. Or do you not trust those whom I trust?"

"Eh? Ah, no! Of course not!"

Even as Helly said that, Ilya couldn't see a way to dispel her dissatisfaction.

What was she dissatisfied about? Catching Ilya pondering that, Helly looked away with red cheeks.

"… Umm, when I heard that Ilya-sama would be accompanying me, I was so happy…"

(So that was it～)

Once she understood the problem, Ilya was at a loss.

"I am sorry that I am unable to meet your expectations."

She preferred girls to boys, but she had no intention of acting on it.

Seeing Ilya bow as she spoke, Helly panicked.

"Not at all! It's just, she didn't say it outright, but Seiren-sama was hoping to see you…"

She didn't seem to be exaggerating.

Ilya felt the most peaceful use for the Crystal Pillar of Wind sealed in her room — which she'd received as compensation for the reward from Nina and the others — would be putting it to use on Mermaid Island, which had no barrier. She'd intended to have it delivered, but it might be better for her to take it there herself at some point.

Mindful of that, she was careful not to promise anything she couldn't deliver.

"I'd love to listen to all of you sing again."

"We'd love that!"

Helly brought her face up close to Ilya's. Her eyes were a little scary.

Pulling back slightly, Ilya handed her an envelope.

"Sorry, but could you please deliver this letter to the Siren instead?"

"C-certainly! Even if it costs my life, I'll—"

"Please prioritize your life."

She felt her sentiment hadn't been conveyed properly.

Helly nodded, looking slightly discouraged, but managed to pull herself together right after, looking up to Pasha and the others and bowing respectfully.

"Then, again, everyone. I am Helly, please allow me to guide you on your way to Bahamut."

"Sure."

"Pleased to be working with you."

"I'll be relying on you."

Their unexpectedly uncoordinated responses left her feeling anxious.

However, hiding her anxiety just as Ilya might have, Helly smiled at the three of them.

"No, no, I'm the one who should be saying that. Please treat me well on the way to Bahamut. After I bring you all to Bahamut, I'll be returning straight home, so I won't be able to accompany you on your way back. My apologies."

"… Could I have a moment?"

Once everyone nodded to show their consent, Ilya spoke.

She wanted to tell them to stop repeating "Bahamut" over and over, but that wasn't her real purpose.

"Pasha, Gabriel, please escort Helly."

"I-Ilya-sama?"

"Helly, even if you made it here, the journey must have drained you considerably."

What had been drained wasn't just mana but also her vitality and endurance.

Mental fatigue wasn't a status, but it was an important factor in concentration.

"Even if Bahamut were safe, the Siren would grieve if anything happened to you."

"Ilya-sama… but, the island…"

"Please, don't worry about that. As you can see, Pasha is a fairy and came from the country of fairies. Gabriel knows the island where the demon god lives."

Both of those areas were concealed, separated from the rest of the world.

They were the same as Mermaid Island.

Realizing that, Helly smiled in understanding.

"Could I presume upon your offer, then?"

Seeing Helly bow, Gabriel and Pasha nodded back.

"Sure thing."

"No helping it～"

Pasha shrugged her shoulders.

"Before we leave, do you have any questions?"

Seeing no one come forth with a question, Helly nodded and turned back to Ilya.

"Well then, Ilya-sama, I must be off."

"Alright. Take care of yourself."

Just before Pasha and Gabriel turned to leave, Ilya stopped them. Helly was already a fair distance away, so it should be safe to tell them now. What she was about to say wasn't something she wanted Helly to hear.

"Regarding your role as her escort, I've already transferred the payment into your accounts, so you don't need to come back to report in."

"" Eh? ""

"This is my own selfish request. If they ask you about the escort payment on the island, please answer along those lines."

Naturally, the bewilderment didn't leave their faces.

They'd effectively been told 'you don't need to come back', even though they hadn't yet achieved their original goal of getting a hint on the slate's location, so their reaction wasn't unreasonable.

Ilya could have explained everything to them then and there, but she figured if the Siren didn't put in a good word for them without knowing Ilya was involved, all of the two's perseverance up to now would have been for nothing.

By the time she realized it, Helly and the others — puzzled at Pasha and Gabriel not joining them — had stopped outside the gate.

Although she believed they would understand she meant no harm, she patted Pasha and smiled, trying to ease their worry just a little.

"I'm not saying you can't come back to Lunéville, so please don't read too much into it."

"Yeah. Pasha, let's give it our best and finish this commission right away."

Ilya didn't know whether Gabriel understood her intent or had simply not given it much thought, but with him agreeing, Pasha agreed too.

She'd made the best move she could, so the two problems should be resolved without any further issues.

Concluding as much to herself, Ilya saw them off.

"I truly hope you complete the commission safely."

 

*

 

A few days after Helly and the others' departure.

Just as not every day in Lunéville was eventful, the four's journey was going smoothly.

If things kept up the way they had been, they would reach the edge of Divine Beast Bahamut's cognitive range by the following morning.

Thinking about that, Ilya carried on with her daily routine.

"Maaan, it's crazy! Isn't it even cooler than Orbwight's old arena!?"

"Right!? Like, it stands out, but it's not flashy at all～"

Conversations like the one playing out at a nearby table were happening all over town.

The arena had only been completed the day before, so it wasn't surprising.

Even so—

"But you know, it feels a bit like the branch here."

"Ah, I get what you mean dude. Like it's calm or something?"

"Yeah, that!"

Drawing inspiration from the branch's construction — a method borrowed from Ilya's previous life — had been a miscalculation.

Natural enough for a receptionist, she hadn't been involved with the construction at all, so the finished arena had caught her by surprise.

(I never thought they'd go with the Colosseum…)

It seemed they had even adopted a Gothic style for the interior, making for a building that stood clearly apart from the recent trend of using color schemes to express individuality — like the gaudy exteriors that mixed pure white, pure blue, and scarlet.

Viewed as an artistic centerpiece for the tourism industry, it could be called a great success, but the feeling of "we really went and did it" was painful all the same.

"I'm back."

"Ah, welcome back."

Looking up as she gave a reflexive return greeting, she saw Frank.

The folded overcoat in his hand was the uniform of the patrol group (Lunévraus). Ilya knew he'd gone out for a meeting and training, but he was back rather early.

"Did something happen?"

Her concern was put to rest by Frank's smile.

"No. It's just that starting tomorrow, I'll be a proper guard. They sent me back early today so I could get enough rest."

"Is it that time already?"

"The arena finished earlier than expected, after all. There are still a few other facilities that aren't done yet, but that's it, so there's more than enough to get used to."

The arena had five floors in total.

The first floor housed the surface plaza along with the commerce facilities. The players' waiting rooms and equipment warehouse were on the first underground floor. Beneath that, the second underground floor held the plumbing and management facilities. Further down was a prison floor for holding captive monsters.

Incidentally, while it was officially a monster jail, by unspoken agreement it could also be used to imprison criminals.

What set this arena apart from Orbwight's wasn't just the style, but also the ceiling, which could open and close to shield the interior from various weather conditions. It could also be reconfigured into a maze or even host underwater battles — an idea they'd taken from the pool.

The person who'd designed it was playing a game of cat and mouse with something.

The interior was complex enough that people complained about it, which made things a big deal for anyone who had to stand guard inside.

Hearing that, Ilya suddenly thought of something.

"Frank-san, will you be going on patrol as well?"

"Hmm? No, I'll be doing a bit of everything at first, but I won't be going on patrol after that."

(Thank goodness…)

Given Frank and Hector's sense of responsibility, the two of them must have realized it would cut into their time for official business. Ilya didn't want to say anything after it had already been decided, but she was glad they'd settled it without being tied down by patrol duty, easing their burden as much as possible.

"Will you be resting in your private room, then?"

"Yeah, I'll do that… I think I'll get up for dinner, though."

"I'll send someone up if you don't wake up."

She said "just in case", but lately it had practically become routine.

Aware of that, neither of them tried to change the exchange, and they both let out a small chuckle.

"I'll leave it to you, then."

"Yeah. Please, have a rest."

As she saw Frank off, a line of people looking to accept commissions formed, as though they'd been waiting for the chance.

She thought about it every time she saw a line like this, but they wouldn't have to wait around if they just spaced out when they came to accept their jobs.

Maybe it was some kind of psychological thing?

After finishing her reception work while musing about such trivialities, Ilya ate with Frank, helped him with his official duties, and finally went to bed.

 

*

 

 

As the date changed, it was right around the busiest time of day.

A guard standing watch at the gate recognized an approaching caravan.

Up until just a few days ago, the gate had bustled with refugees being received and construction materials being hauled through, but with the construction itself finished, things had settled back down.

When the lead carriage came to a stop, a youth seated beside the coachman bowed to the guard.

The gatekeeper grinned broadly at the charmingly smiling youth with short red hair.

"So it's you, eh? What brings ya here this time?"

"Long time no see. I'm here with a load for one of the shops opening in the arena."

On the back of the registration card he presented was the expected transport commission mark.

"Yeah, looks good here. Let me check it out."

The red-haired youth had been seen bringing all sorts of goods, so the guards all knew his face well.

Even so, that was no reason to disregard the decree the Lord and the Guild Branch Manager had put out, so the guard inspected the contents of each and every cargo bed.

However, judging that there were so many of them a thorough check would cause a horrible traffic jam, the guard limited himself to a quick glance inside each one.

"I caught a whiff of all kinds of stuff — what sort of shop's your employer looking to open?"

"I heard it was some kind of sweet confectionery that uses fruit. Got any ideas?"

"… No clue. I mean, seriously. We've got that guild branch here, man."

At the wryly-smiling youth's question, the guard couldn't help but grin back.

For better or worse, the cuisine this guild branch served was beyond extraordinary. In quality, price, and portion size alike, it was incredible.

Plenty of people had come from all over to open restaurants thanks to the town's recent expansion, but it was a harsh environment to break into.

"I have to stop by the branch, so you'll have to excuse me."

"Yeah, go for it."

And so, several dozen cargo beds were hauled to the arena.

Like the gatekeepers, the town's residents had grown accustomed to the rush from the recently completed construction.

There were people who eyed the covered cargo beds, but not one held any misgivings about their contents, and no one suspected anything amiss.

Lately, work like plumbing inspections and illumination-stone placements was being done inside the arena, so things were steadily moving toward the facility's grand opening.

Almost directly opposite the large front gate that faced the main street was a large transport door with three loading areas set up.

Even with the transport door there, no merchant would go out of their way to circle around behind a building that wasn't even open yet. That also served as proof that no shop had reached the point of needing heavy machinery installed through those entrances.

However, several cargo beds were being carried into that very delivery entrance.

With his face well known in the area, no one batted an eye at the sight of him hauling goods inside as they went about their work.

Several contractors, a lack of recognition by craftsmen.

The trust one gained by maintaining a disguise over a long period.

The youth made use of them, neither too much nor too little.

The installation was complete in time, and now all that was left was to wait for "them" to wake.

"That went pretty smoothly."

"Hm? Yeah, it did."

Hearing the birdkin — one of the coachmen — speak up, the red-haired youth answered in an emotionless voice.

To him, luck had certainly carried them this far, but it wasn't strictly necessary.

Still, since things had gone so smoothly, it would be nice if that held all the way to the end.

"Let's go. We wouldn't want to die in a place as gloomy as this, yeah?"

"No doubt about it."

At the laughter of the birdkin and the other beastkin, the youth's mouth curled into a slight smirk, and he left the arena alongside the coachmen.

"Hoh, already headin' out?"

The soldier from earlier that morning was still at the gate, and he gave the youth a puzzled look.

True enough, it was a little strange that someone would want to leave town without even taking a short break first.

"Gotta head out for my next job… can't do much about it."

"Sounds rough."

After exchanging wry smiles, the youth stopped and turned around.

"I hope you live a long, healthy life."

"Huh? Yeah, you too, man."

With his usual charming smile left behind, the youth set off.

Unable to notice what lay behind those words, the human soldier didn't even get to see the youth's back recede into the distance, rushing off instead to deal with a child who said they were lost.

 

 

 

*

 

Right around that time, Ilya was brewing coffee after having a meal with Frank on the branch's third floor.

Her receptionist duties were in the afternoon, so until then she could spend her time checking on the journey to Akradist.

Ilya saw Frank off as he headed to the arena for his patrol group, then retired to her private room to take a breather.

"Now… then."

When Ilya used [Clairvoyance] to check on the four, wondering how they were doing, she found them squared off against the divine beast.

They didn't seem to be having any trouble and had managed to restrain it, and there didn't appear to be anything else around them.

(They should be alright…)

Ilya felt relieved.

It was then.

"Ilya!"

Hearing a hurried knock at her door, Ilya ended [Clairvoyance] and went to the door.

Rachelle stood there, her face pale as she clung to Ilya's clothes. She was trembling.

"What's wrong?"

"Monsters, at the arena…!"

Ilya doubted her ears.

The monsters were supposed to be transported in later, since the results of those experiments conducted by other villages had only just been released.

Had monsters been brought in by mistake?

Even if they were rushing to speed things up, there should have been some kind of report about it.

Maybe such a report had been sent to Frank and Hector?

It wouldn't be strange for Ilya, a mere receptionist, not to have received word. That's how it ordinarily would have been, after all.

Using reason to rein in her impatience, Ilya was aware that her mind was settling down.

"Ilya…! Blair…! Blair, he's…!"

"It's alright, don't worry."

The sight of the two being intimate at the Construction Completion Festival came to mind, and Ilya could guess what was in the girl's heart.

Her beloved would be facing the danger of monsters. Rachelle, a non-combatant, could only imagine that danger as life-threatening, so it was natural she'd be shaken.

While calming Rachelle down, Ilya went to meet the patrol group member who had brought the report and was waiting on the second floor. He, too, must have been in the fight — wounds and signs of exhaustion were all over him.

"I-Ilya…"

"I apologize for the rush, but may I ask you to report what is happening?"

"Yeah…"

When his patrol group, led by Frank, had entered the arena, they were assailed by a monster attack.

Unable to let it spill out into the refugee-packed town, the patrol group had been forced to lock down the arena.

He said the reason he'd come to Ilya was also to request reinforcements.

"Understood. Rachelle, take him to rest on the second floor. Give him medicine too, alright?"

"O-Okay…!"

Treatment through medicine — that is, without magic — took a fair amount of time, so she was half-forcing Rachelle to rest as well.

Shifting focus, Ilya immediately explained the commission to the guild members on hand.

"Some of you may have overheard, but Lunévraus is currently engaged in subjugating monsters that have escaped the arena. I'd like those who can serve as reinforcements to go and gather their comrades to come here at once. Further information will be given afterwards, but to avoid causing a panic, please do not head directly to the arena."

Several people immediately spoke up and rushed out of the branch, calling their comrades' names.

Meanwhile, Ilya headed toward the office.

"Desiree-san."

"I suppose emergency fees will be fine for now?"

"Yes, please."

Although it would normally be necessary to calculate the fees based on the monsters to be subjugated, they didn't know exactly what monsters they would need to expect, so they could only go with calculating that afterwards.

"Should I go and find the trader?"

"If you would."

"How reserved of you."

With an unconcerned smile, Claude left the office.

With no way to know which monster species were involved, calculating fees was impossible, so Claude had nothing else he could do at that point. Even though the situation called for as many people on duty as possible given the sheer number of unknowns, she still felt uneasy leaving the task to Claude, a mere clerk.

"Katie."

"What?"

Calling out to the woman standing a little off to the side, she was answered in a tone that suggested Katie had been expecting it.

"Please help Claude-san. Once you find the merchant's trail, infer their destination."

"Got it!"

With her running off, it was now Bard's turn to look uneasy.

The look in his eyes told Ilya he was itching to run off and do something.

"Bard-san, please help transport those wind stones we used recently."

"Seriously…?"

He was visibly disappointed.

"While you're at it, please make sure to bring them into the arena."

"O-Okay!"

(Wow, he looks so happy.)

There was no way he could maintain his former physique on reception and standby duty alone. Ilya wondered whether she should create some sort of opportunity for the staff — him included — to get some exercise.

While thinking about such trivialities, she left the office and headed toward the guild members who had gathered in the dining hall.

"Thank you for gathering despite the urgent summons."

"Ya can drop the politeness, just hurry up anGEH—"

The moment a man raised his voice in anger, he got pummeled by those around him before he could even finish his sentence. Feeling sorry for the man — who must have been new to town — Ilya prayed for his happiness in the next life and decided to pretend it had never happened, for the sake of time.

Distributing simplified sketches of the arena, she explained their strategy.

"First, your top priority is joining up with Lunévraus."

Taking a wind stone that had been packed into a box placed there, she held it up for everyone to see.

"As soon as you do, please distribute these wind stones to them."

"What's that?"

They'd been used in the previous game competition, but few people knew of them, even among Lunéville's citizens.

"These stones have been set so that, by injecting them with mana, you can communicate with someone over a long distance. Please use them to stay coordinated inside the arena, since it's rather large."

The people Ilya was acquainted with accepted even her outrageous claim with a simple 'that's just how it is'. Since they made up the majority of the crowd, even those who couldn't quite swallow it went along and kept listening for now.

"We'll be sending detailed instructions from here. Those who agree to all of the aforementioned commission terms, please allow us to register you."

Finding it too strange, some of the newcomers ended up declining to participate.

Even so, the number who did sign up was by no means small, so reinforcing the patrol group wouldn't be a problem.

While completing their registrations with Bard, Ilya gave him his own instructions.

"Bard, please go ahead of them and give this stone to Frank-san."

"Got it."

"Make sure to keep one for yourself, alright? You might just end up doing the most work of anyone."

Catching the playful glint in Ilya's eyes for a moment, Bard simply smiled back noncommittally.

"Whatever you want."

Without saying anything else, Bard focused on registering people.

Ilya had had the impression Bard was an S, but maybe he was the opposite?

 

 

*

 

Meanwhile, in a hut along the main road, a red-haired youth stood over his fallen subordinates.

Bright red wine dripped from an overturned glass, spreading blood-like stains across the floorboards.

"Wh… y…"

A beastkin mustered the last of his strength to reach out to the youth. The youth simply stomped down on the hand that tried to grasp his leg.

"Why? Obviously, because it's all going according to plan."

Going according to plan was one thing, but things going this smoothly was starting to feel eerie.

The youth's goal was to take advantage of Lunéville's new arena by releasing monsters there to sow mayhem.

The first hurdle was securing the monsters, but he'd cleared that fairly easily through a collaborator.

The second hurdle was getting the monsters into Lunéville.

He'd managed it thanks to his cover as an ever-traveling peddler who came and went from town, as well as the fact that Lunéville's citizens were generally used to peace.

What he hadn't foreseen was the Branch Vice Manager — someone he'd chatted with about this and that — suddenly disappearing. He'd initially thought the man was a hindrance, but the fool's habit of leaking information about the guardsmen and what was going on in town had turned him into a useful acquaintance.

For him, having entered the town without any trouble, the final obstacle was getting the monsters into the arena. All of this was to make it easier for the youth to escape unnoticed, though he'd been ready to release the monsters on the spot if he'd been found out en route.

Now, having safely escaped Lunéville, the youth turned his attention to tying up loose ends.

In this case, that meant having the people involved drink wine laced with poison in order to destroy anything that could connect him to the crime.

He'd also planted suicide bomb stones in their luggage in case something unexpected happened, but since they hadn't detected the poison, he didn't have to activate the rather expensive stones, which made him happy.

It was all for the sake of building a world for humans and humans alone.

"That's what you lot (subhumans) were for."

The amiable smile vanished from the youth's face, his expression turning to cold indifference as he looked over his fallen subordinates.

They were people who had come to resent Lunéville's prosperity after losing their jobs in other parts of Rondéville.

As far as the youth was concerned, nothing of value was lost with their lives. If anything, they'd done something useful by dying for him.

"Goodbye, you ugly subhumans. Surely you'd rather die out in nature than in some dim arena, no?"

A fire lit to ward off the winter cold being left unattended and burning down a hut was hardly a rare occurrence.

The youth began to recite the incantation for the only fire magic he could use, and—

"Oookay, that's enough."

"—!?"

—was cut off by a sudden voice.

The youth was startled to hear a voice when he hadn't sensed anyone approach, but he quickly recovered his composure.

"Th-this place is… I'm sorry. It looks like someone forced them to drink poison, so I was going to lay them to rest…"

Judging by tone and expression alone, most would have believed the youth's tale.

However, this man… Claude, merely laughed.

"Kukuh, yeah, sure, sure. It loooooks like it."

"… Err, I'm not sure I…"

"I heard everything. Saw it, too. You can drop the act～"

Claude waved a dismissive hand at the youth, who'd been trying to keep up his act.

Seeing how confident Claude was, the youth let out a sigh and looked at him again.

His eyes were cold, with mockery plastered on his face.

"You're human too, yeah? So could you just not get in my way? If you heard it all, you should get it. It's not like I'm planning to do anything to you."

"You know, I can't just overlook what you pulled in Lunéville～"

"… Hmph. Even if you catch me, that won't stop the monsters. You should hurry up an—"

—head back to do something about them.

Those words never made it past his lips.

"… What's so funny?"

He'd seen Claude covering his mouth, his shoulders shaking.

Finally managing to settle down, Claude spoke.

"Sorry, sorry."

Not understanding what the man was talking about, the youth frowned in bewilderment, but the man didn't look the least bit worried… if anything, his smile only deepened as he went on.

"Man, I didn't think you'd fess up so easy. Thanks for the confession, really. You saved me a lot of time."

"… Tch—"

The youth reached for the sword at his waist and dropped into a battle stance.

The distance between them was much too short — attempting an incantation would leave him wide open.

The instant Claude went for his own sword, the youth's blade lunged for Claude's neck. However—

"… Wha—"

It was the youth who ended up surprised.

He only realized his target had drawn his sword at some point when his own blade was knocked aside.

In the time it took to blink, a dull flash of steel ran past, and the youth's sword was severed practically at the hilt.

"Drawing your sword given the distance was the right call, but… trying to defy me at all was the wrong move～"

From Claude, casually tapping the flat of his blade against his own shoulder, there was none of the pressure one felt from strong guild members or powerful monsters.

That being the case, he couldn't picture any way to safely escape this man who just kept smiling leisurely.

(… In that case.)

He just couldn't run away.

The youth reached into the bag at his waist and pulled out a stone.

The worst possible outcome would be him spilling the very information he wanted to stay hidden.

The youth had chosen to take his own life.

"Oh come now～"

Before he could speak the incantation and fill it with mana, the youth's fingers and the stone they held were sliced clean through. The fire elements that had been escaping from the stone vanished.

"G—ah—"

A stunned cry came from the youth as blood spurted from the stubs of his fingers.

Not yet.

Enduring the chill that ran through his body and the scorching pain in his hand, he tried to pull another stone from the bag with his other hand. That didn't work either.

When the youth turned his attention behind him, he saw someone gripping his arm — a dog beastkin girl.

"Oh, nice, Katie."

"…"

"You—"

The youth tried to shout something, but Katie gagged him. With his bag already taken from him, he had no means left to resist.

Claude knocked the youth out with a restraining magic normally used by official knights, bound him, and loaded him onto a horse. At his side, Katie was staring at him intently.

"… What's up?"

"Claude, strong."

"Mmm… well, I know how it looks, but I was just a bottom feeder among the knights."

Claude said it as a joke, but Katie's gaze made it clear she wasn't buying it at all.

Katie, who had belonged to the Thieves Guild, had seen the might of the country's knights and army many times.

Even among them, Claude's strength seemed to rank rather high.

"… So, why did you tell me to wait on standby?"

"Hm? Oh～…"

Looking a little hesitant, Claude scratched his head and opened his mouth.

"I don't know what you and Bard have done up till now."

"… Mm."

Just from the way they carried themselves and how strong they were, he could tell they'd been involved in dangerous things.

"But whatever you guys did, you two are part of the branch's staff now. You don't have to do things like this anymore."

"…"

"You don't have to go back to what you were doing."

Claude looked straight ahead as he said it, as though seeing some other place.

The memory playing through his mind was the war he and Hector had fought in.

Grief bred grudges, grudges invited hatred, people turned inhuman and killed each other.

This time, it was simply self-satisfaction — a way of justifying his having run away from all that.

Aware of that, Claude smiled in self-ridicule, as though trying to wave off his own dark feelings.

"Whaaat, do I look a little cooler now?"

"… A bit."

"A bit huh～"

"But."

Seeing Claude smile so bitterly, Katie continued.

"I want to fight too. So does Bard. Because we, we're part of the team."

They had a right to fight for the place where they could belong.

Her eyes shone with strength as she spoke, her smiling face brimming with resolve.

In that moment, she had none of the fragility she'd shown when she first came to the branch.

"… Really? You're strong, Katie."

No, she had probably grown stronger.

Katie smiled at Claude, who, having thought that, began to sink into self-hatred.

"If we went head-on, you'd probably win, Claude."

"Ah, that's not what I meant…"

At a loss for how to respond, Claude looked up at the sky.

The serene sky seemed to keep his heart from sinking any further.

"… But alright."

With neither self-hatred nor self-deceit, Claude simply smiled weakly at Katie and walked back to Lunéville with her.

 

 

*

 

A short while earlier, back at the branch's reception, the last of the commission registrations were about to be wrapped up.

"… Finished."

Handing the registration card back to its owner, it was time to begin the operation.

"Good luck."

After seeing him off, her real role was about to begin.

Returning to her private room, she soothed Haku, who had woken up, and undid her barrier.

By gradually releasing her mana, she expanded the stone's effective range from the branch out to encompass the entire arena.

She breathed in and out, slowly.

Taking very, very deep breaths, she managed to settle herself down.

She was afraid.

Even while aware of that trembling fear, just this once, she didn't want to falter here and regret it later.

Since defeating them herself wouldn't merely end in regret, she would give this her all as a true last resort so that it wouldn't come to that.

"… Alright."

She pushed [Presence Inference] to its maximum.

She then used [Detection], a skill that perceived everything within its range, centered on the invoker.

Birds, people, objects, beasts, drifting waves, water droplets sent flying by stones, every leaf on every tree, fallen berries on the soil beneath them, the daily affairs of people… her senses spread out to encompass the entire world, registering every object as an object.

Including, of course, every disgusting insect. All of them.

"UGYEEeeeeEEEeeEEEAAAH!"

Goosebumps covered her body and chills ran down her spine as a wave of pain hit her mind.

(No, I can't faint…!)

Choking back her nausea, she restrained her body that wanted to scratch all over, holding herself, holding her heart in check.

"UaaaAAAAaaaH! Ugh, geh, ueeehh…"

Unable to endure it, she cried, snot running from her nose.

She clung to Haku, who was licking her face, and held her close. Right now, the only one who could withstand her at full power was this hatchling.

She had always regretted becoming so ludicrously strong, but right now, having Haku there helped her.

"U-uuu, feh — guu…"

She gradually suppressed the skill's power, narrowing its range to just Lunéville. There was a demon at a location close enough to make her wonder whether it was heading toward Lunéville, but since it moved away, she left it alone. More to the point, she simply didn't have the capacity to worry about it just then.

There were many new buildings in Lunéville, so the number of insects about had decreased considerably. Thanks to that, Ilya somehow managed to steady her breathing and check the situation at the arena.

The monsters in the arena, on a closer look, had been considerably mutated.

(Had they already been brought in before the arena was completed…? No, maybe the merchant placed already-mutated ones there from the start…)

Unable to puzzle it out through speculation alone, Ilya stopped her impatient guessing.

The battle was currently at a stalemate, but the ones having the harder time were the ones being attacked: the patrol group.

The monsters were exploiting the underground's labyrinthine complexity, appearing to enjoy the hunt. Although [Clairvoyance] could let one see things from far away, it wasn't suited to grasping three-dimensional layouts, reaffirming Ilya's decision to use [Detection] instead.

Her old self would have killed them remotely with remote-activated magic. Pushing that thought away, she contacted Bard, who had gone on ahead.

"Bard-san."

[Uooh, ya startled me!]

A familiar voice came from the wind stone in her hand.

 

 

 

 

"When you arrive at the arena, please go down the stairs immediately to your right… Don't forget to erase your presence…"

[Y-Yeah… you holding up okay?]

"… Fufu, please don't worry."

She wasn't going to lose her composure and flatten the entire arena, after all.

"When you reach the bottom, turn left at the second intersection."

[Got it… Wait, are you looking inside the arena?]

"… No, I'm just looking at a map. I'm estimating Frank-san and the others' locations based on where they might be."

[Understood.]

Reassessing her impression of him at his unhesitating response, she gauged when to speak up next.

To send him straight to Frank's location, she had to pick the safest possible route while still making him advance as fast as possible.

"Ah, please wait one moment…"

[Huh? Okay.]

Pretending to check the map, she confirmed where the monsters were.

"… I believe I know where he is. Continue straight to the next intersection and take the stairs down there."

[Got it.]

As she kept track of the monsters' general movement patterns while reviewing Bard's destination, the reinforcements from the guild arrived at the arena.

Temporarily severing her stone's connection to Bard's, she used her mana to connect her stone to one held by someone in the group — not just connecting it cleanly, but staging it so it looked like the connection was struggling for lack of mana.

"…—… —?"

[Wh-What!?]

[Was that the stone!? We can just put some mana into it right!?]

The value of a good guess rose with necessity, and this time Ilya was grateful for it.

If they found out she could fill the stones with mana all the way from the branch, it would have raised too many questions.

[Reinforcement group here! We've just entered the arena!]

"Understood… We've received a report from Bard-san, who went on ahead, so everyone will split into units that will exterminate the monsters on the first floor and units that will transport the stones."

[Understood. What will our compositions be?]

She observed the monsters, checking their statuses. There were four species behind the mutation: Ronde Red Apes, Raobra Felis, Laoroa Chyroptera, and Ronde Glyptodons.

Although they were all species that would normally only warrant C-rank commissions even as a group, most of them had risen to B-rank strength due to the mutation.

"Around five people capable of completing B-rank subjugation commissions, please provide backup to the transport team… The rest, please form as many groups as you can, each containing three or more people capable of completing B-rank-or-higher subjugation commissions."

[Understood! Everyone, you got that!?]

[[[ YEAH!!! ]]]

She reconnected to Bard while they were organizing themselves.

"Continue descending to the second underground floor."

[Got it.]

"After that, please follow the outer circumference and proceed to the second intersection."

[Understood.]

Meanwhile, the monsters in the basement sensed that the reinforcement group had entered the first floor, so they hastily changed their movements.

They'd meant to organize an interception group, but splitting their forces when they didn't know how strong their foes were was a terrible move.

(Hey you, stuuuupid, stuuupid!)

She heaped abuse on them in her mind, but that immediately turned into self-loathing.

She was enduring disgusting sensations, so her inner monologue had basically regressed to infancy.

[Ilya, we're done splitting up.]

"Understood… Then I'll confirm each unit's mana, so please call out your unit number in turn."

[Understood. I am the first unit.]

"I have confirmed your mana."

[I am the second unit.]

Excluding the group heading to help out the transport team, there were five units in all.

When she gave instructions to each of them on where to go, Bard reached the intersection.

[Ilya, I arrived.]

"… Understood. Then please go left from the direction you came. The next intersection is straight after that."

[Got it.]

 

In a place far from where the fighting was occurring, Claude and Katie had entered the city from outside the gate. They were dragging along a human male.

Having verified their safety, Ilya let out a small sigh of relief and refocused herself.

"Groups one and two, please continue going straight as you've been. You will be encountering the enemy in the next block, so, group three, please make a right turn there and circle back around to pincer them from the rear."

[[[ Understood. ]]]

[[ What should we do? ]]

"Groups four and five will turn right together with the third group and continue straight after taking the immediately following left turn to suppress the monsters there. Groups one through three will then reinforce groups four and five after they are done. Please."

[[[ Understood. ]]]

She had the remaining group, the transport team, head downstairs using the shortest possible route that wouldn't encounter any monsters.

Immediately after finishing relaying the groups' orders, she began connecting to Bard.

"Bard-san, sorry. I made a slight mistake with your route. Please take a detour to the right to avoid the block immediately ahead of you, then head into the hallway leading to the stairs you passed a little earlier."

[Huh? Understood.]

She was grateful he listened to her, but his uncanny obedience was a little scary.

He was advancing without running into any monsters — had he realized she knew where they were?

(… Whatever. Thinking's a pain. My brain's fried. I wanna puke!)

A voice from the transport team pulled Ilya out of her complaining.

[This is the transport team. We've arrived at the t-junction.]

"Understood. Do you see the door inside the shop to your left?"

[Yeah. I see it.]

"Please go through it and leave through the service entrance."

[Understood!]

Bard and the transport team were making good progress, but the problem was the patrol group.

Frank and the others were having a hard time with the mutated leader of the ronde red apes.

Frank had picked a room with only one entrance to make it easier to defend, so they'd managed to hold a stalemate while preventing surprise attacks, but the current situation left no opening for Bard to slip in.

(… Guess I can't avoid it anymore?)

Losing everything out of fear of a small loss was putting the cart before the horse.

After only a moment's hesitation, Ilya made up her mind and contacted Bard again.

"Bard-san, after turning left and following the wall, please throw one of the stones into the third pathway you see."

[Huh!?]

"Once you do, fill it with your mana and say an incantation."

[No way, I'm horrible at magic!]

"It's alright. You just need to cause the stone to discharge."

[How's that alright!?]

(Yeah, yeah! That's how Bard-san should be!)

Ilya's thoughts aside, these stones weren't cheap in the least, so his reaction could be called the more natural one.

"Please. I understand your concern, but there is a group of monsters there. That stone isn't worth human lives."

[… Understood.]

Meanwhile, the human youth behind this whole mess that made light of people's lives was being interrogated by Claude and — having since joined him — Hector.

(Terrorism… and a demon taking advantage of the chaos…?)

Human supremacists.

It didn't seem to involve the guild, so it wasn't the kind of force-ready threat the Branch Vice Manager had warned her to be careful of. In that case, was this one of Reinhardt's spies?

Having thought that far, Ilya let out a faint sigh. Either way, despite the warning she'd received, his employer — his organization — had brought about this predicament. Daunted by what was unfolding, Ilya received a transmission from Bard.

[I'm there.]

"… Understood. Then please repeat this incantation."

[O-Okay.]

The incantation she gave him was one that added a setting onto the stone. Although it would activate just by being filled with mana, when you applied the same setting Ilya had used to make it function as a communication relay — but with someone else's mana — the stone's original magic would activate and trigger a chain reaction.

"—Link the air there and here."

[L — Link the air there and here.]

"By my will, connect our minds — excite the air."

[By my will, connect our minds — excite the air.]

"—Wave Connect."

[—Wave Connect.]

Bard threw the stone the moment he finished the incantation. It hit the ground where the monsters had gathered with a high-pitched clang.

It bounced once.

Twice.

Before it could bounce a third time, the stone exploded and produced a shockwave.

It wasn't enough to kill the monsters, but it did open up a path through them.

"Now go straight ahead and turn right at the second opening. Enter the room at the end of the passage."

[U-Understood…]

"So you won't be mistaken for an enemy, please place your stone against the door before opening it."

[… Understood.]

Bard's spirits had clearly dropped, but since the situation itself was going well, she let it slide.

Meanwhile, as she relayed the transport team's route, she had the first-floor group clear out the remaining monsters there with retreat in mind.

The fact that there were few monsters on the first floor was a small blessing — it had let her focus on the patrol group.

[Ilya, I'm at the door.]

"Alright. Frank-san. Can you hear me?"

[Ilya…!?]

"Yes. Bard-san is in front of the door. Could you let him in?"

[Got it.]

Now that it was safe to do so, Bard joined up with the patrol group. While she'd finally be able to put the patrol group's strength to use, Bard was the only one with a stone. She'd have to have them link up with the transport team first so the patrol group could split into several teams.

The first underground floor didn't have many monsters either, so the reinforcement group should be able to manage somehow.

Adjusting her plans, Ilya received a transmission from the voice she heard most often in this town.

[Ilya, what should Bard do now?]

It seemed Bard had handed the stone off to Frank.

Bard specialized entirely in covert operations, so it was a natural call given his abilities.

"Please have him accompany everyone in the patrol group until you meet up with the transport team."

[Understood… Are you alright? Don't overdo it.]

"Ah — yes. Thank you for your concern… wait, Frank-san, this isn't the time to worry about other people."

[Right?]

He really did worry about others, even in a situation like the one he was in.

Refocusing on the matter at hand, she needed to prioritize having them merge with the transport team as planned.

"—Please continue going straight ahead."

[Understood, I see them!]

After guiding them to the transport team, she had the group distribute the stones.

Meanwhile, it was decided that Bard would take on the role of scout.

The purpose, of course, was to accurately pin down the monsters' positions.

[Ilya, can this stone transmit to anyone other than you?]

"Eh? Oh, yes. As long as they're within the stone's range."

It would have been more accurate to say "as long as they're within range of Ilya's mana."

However, that would have ruined the pretext she'd set up by claiming they could only communicate with other stones.

Since Bard — and Frank, who must have been standing right beside him — didn't know much about magic, they didn't doubt her claim, and the discussion continued without any further questions.

[In that case, we'll cooperate between ourselves from here on. Don't overwork yourself.]

"But…"

[We'll come back in one piece, don't worry.]

"… Alright… I understand. Please, stay safe."

As long as the situation doesn't get too dangerous — she added in her mind as she agreed.

(… I don't want to make Rachelle sad.)

Piling up excuse after excuse, Ilya decided to set that aside for now and focus on understanding what was happening.

It wasn't just understanding either — she also began trying to figure out their objective.

She hadn't used [Detection] until now because it would force her to sense all those insects — even if only for a moment — so if she missed this chance and had to start over by perceiving the entire planet again, she could easily imagine using the memory of doing so as an excuse to never do it again and be forced to fall back on some other method.

"Uguuh…"

"Pii…?"

"Sorry… uu…"

"Pi!"

Given permission to do so, Ilya clung to Haku as though to rely on the young dragon.

 

 

 

*

 

Meanwhile, with their communications with Ilya done for now, preparations for a counteroffensive were steadily being made.

Everyone's eyes seemed to shine as though they wanted to vent their frustration over everything up to this point.

"… Was that alright to do?"

"Hm? … Yeah."

Hearing Bard, who'd been waiting for his orders as a scout, Frank smiled wryly.

"It's just… it's the first time I've heard her sound like she was in pain. I can't keep making her push herself."

"I agree, but… Ilya's advice is like a guiding star, isn't it?"

Now that he mentioned it, their surroundings did feel more ominous since they'd cut communications with Ilya.

Was that what happened when you willingly let go of good luck?

"… Worrying about her's fine, but it'd be super uncool if we ended up injured now because of it."

"… … Well said."

Exchanging smiles that couldn't quite be called cheerful, Frank handed Bard his stone back as the scout looked over his equipment one last time.

"We're making it back in one piece."

"Obviously."

This time exchanging an eager smile, Bard set out.

Those who hunt and those who are hunted — a fight where the line between the two blurred had begun.

 

*

 

By the time Ilya was able to focus in on objects by category, the operation had moved into cleaning up the monsters left in the arena.

In the end, the cooperation forged through skill triumphed over the kind brought about by instinct.

That reminded her — when she stretched her perception range out to Akradist, she ended up sensing all sorts of unnecessary things too, and realized the area she could actually filter down was, at best, within Lunéville's city limits.

She pulled her range back almost immediately, but from what she had perceived, the group she'd sent had successfully removed the Sacred Tool and the matter of the Divine Beast appeared to be resolved.

Meanwhile, in Lunéville, another problem cropped up on the heels of the last one: the monsters brought to the arena had drawn other monsters in from the surrounding area, and new ones were closing in.

"Sigh…"

She lashed her chill-and-nausea-drained body forward like a whip and pushed herself to her feet. Heading downstairs to report to Hector, Haku came pattering along after her.

Haku peeked at Ilya's face, trying to make sure she was okay. Ilya broke into a smile, touched by the hatchling's concern.

"I'm fine."

"Pii."

She picked Haku up and walked down the stairs, where she ran into Hector.

At that moment, the last monsters at the arena had been taken care of.

All that was left was to find and take care of any that had escaped the arena.

But taking into account their exhaustion, she decided to count out the patrol group and the transport team.

Ilya decided to invite Hector to her private quarters on the second floor to discuss the issue.

"The arena has mostly been secured, and all that's left is to clean up the rest."

"I see… and the casualties?"

"There were several injuries of varying severity among the patrollers and the reinforcements, but no loss of life."

Hector leaned back in his chair, relieved by the news.

"I guess that's a silver lining."

"It is indeed."

But there was still much to be done.

Hector's face hardened once more, urging her to continue.

"Right now, there are several monsters headed towards Lunéville."

Ilya took a sheet of paper out from a drawer before writing out which monsters were attacking and what their movements were.

Fortunately for them, the monsters were the slow type and there weren't any villages in their path. That meant that as long as they were prepared, it wouldn't be too hard to deal with the monsters.

Hector relaxed slightly after coming to the same conclusion.

"Perhaps it would be best for us to counterattack only after our preparations are complete so that they don't continue summoning more reinforcements."

"That's true… But even if they call more monsters, it'll take time, and the root of the problem has been taken care of. So now, the priority should be on eliminating the monsters as soon as possible."

"We'd also have to choose the right people."

With the discussion nearing an end, Hector took a deep breath.

There was a tinge of a resigned smile on his face. Ilya wondered if Hector himself realized he was smiling.

"Monsters really are troublesome things. The more people there are, the more they bare their fangs. They mutate and call more of their kind. We can't study them in enough detail."

"Yes, they truly are troublesome."

Those were the strengths of monsters — beings designed to be the antithesis of other living things.

But at the same time, without those very traits, they wouldn't be such a menace to life.

"But we can come together to defeat enemies stronger than us. In that way, the whole group is greater than the sum of its parts. That ability, I believe, is a more troublesome characteristic."

Cooperation was what had allowed Lunéville to continue to survive such threats.

"Yeah… that is indeed true. Unfortunately for the monsters that came to save their kind, we are also trying to protect our kind."

"Exactly."

How like Hector to put it that way. I couldn't say it better.

A faint smile appeared on Ilya's face.

But on the other hand, a slight disagreement could quickly turn trust and friendship into suspicion and hatred.

If, in the process of figuring out through trial and error, people ended up quarreling, Ilya couldn't just intervene as she did with guild commissions.

I hope they don't do anything rash.

With her [Detection], Ilya had caught a glimpse of what the human supremacists were trying to do. That knowledge led her to make a silent prayer.

 

 

 

*

 

On an island in Akradist.

The currents were made to prevent anything from drifting onto the island. In addition to that, there was an illusion spell to conceal the island, and a curse to disorient anything in the air. Lastly, the inhabitants coordinated with the sea creatures to defend the isle.

Ilya and the Siren, the queen of the merfolk, had worked together to create a paradise for the merfolk of the island.

Since then, it had been many years since even a single outsider had set foot on the isle.

"Welcome, Pasha-sama, Gabriel-sama."

As the Siren welcomed them to her domain, the fairy and the demon boy gasped in admiration at the merfolk lined up in a row. Their feet doubled as fins in the water.

The Siren boasted dazzling silver hair and clear aquamarine eyes.

Beyond her physical appearance, the air of majesty she radiated erased any doubt that the two stood before the queen of the merfolk.

"She looks like Ilya."　

Gabriel's remark provoked a response from none other than Queen Seiren herself.

"I knew it! I knew you were Ilya-chan's friends."

"Huh?"

Gabriel let out a stupefied sound, watching the queen's imposing aura dissipate in an instant. He looked up to see a sloppy smile plastered across her face.

"Q-Queen Seiren. C-Couldn't you just keep it in just for a bit more…?"

"But I don't wanna～! Ilya's friends are my friends too! No way I'll act like they're strangers!"

Deciding she wouldn't be able to convince her pouting queen, the merfolk who appeared to be the prime minister looked to Helly, who was standing near the guests.

Helly nodded in reply, and presented a letter to the prime minister.

When the prime minister saw the signature, she immediately handed the letter to the Siren.

"Queen Seiren, as previously stated, they cooperated to cure Bahamut and also escorted your humble subject here. In accordance with the great deeds they have done for us, we must rewar—"

"Ah, wait a minute."

Gabriel interrupted Helly. Pasha also stood up on Gabriel's shoulder, her chest puffed out with pride.

"We're fine! Ilya already gave us our reward!"

"Oh, is that so～?"

The fairy's boisterous remark made the Siren bring her hands to her cheeks with an awkward smile.

Seeing the clamor rise in her court, she clapped her hands.

"Then let us have a party to celebrate Mut-chan's recovery! How about it, you two?"

"Um, but we were… "

"It's fine. Doesn't Ilya-chan always say rushed soup makes for a poor soup?"

The two guests could only stare back at the Siren in confusion.

"Oh? Was it 'haste makes the long way round'?"

Yet again, no response.

Was this what they referred to as someone going at their own pace?

Unable to turn down the queen's invitation due to the circumstances, the two of them ended up attending the impromptu banquet.

There were fruits and vegetables harvested from the isle and seafood dishes using the merfolk's special techniques and knowledge. Even Gabriel, despite his experience with the most exotic delicacies from all around the world, couldn't find the words to describe how delicious it all was.

The Siren had been seated on her throne at the start of the banquet, but as the party went on, she ended up singing raucously with her subjects and made her way over to Pasha and Gabriel.

"Are you enjoying the party?"

"I-It's not bad!"

"Heehee. You're cute even with a little pot belly～"

The queen giggled, dodging the blushing Pasha's furious blows. A lively ditty drifted in from the other side of the room.

"If that wasn't enough to satisfy you, I suppose there's no helping it…"

The two immediately sensed the change in the queen's mood.

Pasha didn't sense any hostility from her, and Gabriel's caution turned into confusion.

The Siren smiled wryly at their reactions.

"I apologize for the slip of the tongue. Allow me to thank you once more for escorting Helly here."

"I-It was no problem at all! Onee-chan paid me to do it, after all!"

Pasha responded in a fluster, since the queen of the merfolk was bowing to her.

"That is true. Which is why I would like to give you some information."

"" … Huh? ""

The Siren lowered her gaze as she began to speak.

"In the dark depths where the light does not reach… in an eastern temple guarded by six sea dragons, a fragment of the seed said to dispel an ancient curse lies sleeping. That is an old legend passed down within my bloodline."

"What does that mean?"

"Hmm… Are you sure you want me to say?"

The impish smile reappeared on the Siren's face.

Pasha, although irked by the smile, mulled over the words she had just heard.

The dark depths where light does not reach… sea dragons… temple… an ancient… seed fragment… ancient… ancient… ancient language!? If I remember right, "seed" was the ancient word for "stone"!

"An ancient curse, like yours, Pasha."

Gabriel noted, calm and collected.

Pasha looked back at the Siren.

The queen merely smiled, not saying anything more.

So Pasha decided to ask a question.

"Why did you tell us that? What do you know about us?"

"Hmm, I wonder?"

Irritation bubbled up at the Siren's evasive answer, but it vanished when she saw the letter the Siren held up.

It was the letter Helly had handed to the Siren, so the sender could only be one person.

"… What's with that 'no need to come back' anyway…"

Her voice trembled, as though with rage. But it was a different emotion entirely.

Pasha suddenly looked up and yelled.

"Next time we meet, I'mma be so big you'll be surprised!"

Her exclamation drew the attention of the merfolk around the halls.

Realizing what she had just done, her face reddened again, this time for a different reason. She quickly hid behind Gabriel's back.

Gabriel smiled at how adorable she'd been.

"Do your best."

The sight of the two brought a smile to the Siren's face. She could see why Ilya had decided to lend them a hand.

There was a small commotion when Pasha hurled a spell at a mermaid who had tried to flirt with Gabriel, but on the whole the banquet ended in high spirits.

The Siren offered to help Pasha find the temple the next day, but the merfolk around her quickly objected. So the Siren offered to send other merfolk along with Pasha instead, but the fairy declined.

Pasha could cast a spell to breathe underwater, and Gabriel claimed he could spend a whole day underwater if he put his mind to it. Unable to support them directly, the Siren made do with giving them hints about the temple's location to at least make the search easier.

"Looks like they've left."

"Looks like it～"

Since the merfolk's cooperation was needed to leave the island, the Siren watched as a few of her subjects pulled the boat that carried the guests away.

 

 

 

—Pasha and Gabriel are searching for the stone slate they found in that temple. If you absolutely have to thank them for escorting Helly, telling them what you know about it might be the sort of thing that'd please them.

Maybe she'd been considering their intentions, but leaving the call up to the recipient in the end was so very Ilya in her stubbornness.

"Queen Seiren?"

One of her subjects spoke up, concerned by the queen's distant gaze. The Siren turned around and smiled.

"Ilya might be coming to set up the barrier, so we gotta do some major cleaning!"

""" Huh? … Huh!? """

The word "cleaning" made the merfolk start to whine. Then their brains caught up with the rest of the sentence.

Thanks in part to the laid-back nature of the merfolk, they were quite willing to leave things a little messy.

However, the overly diligent and tidy Ilya would most likely try to clean up the dirty beaches and houses.

 

Which would mean less time for Ilya to spend with the Siren.

One by one, the merfolk began cleaning up. The Siren smiled wryly at the thought as she turned toward the sea.

She could no longer see the small boat, and could only sense the merfolk she had sent returning to the island.

—I cannot promise it, but I will try to come.

A wry smile crossed the Siren's face at how her heart leapt at just that single line, and — while being scolded by her companions for slacking off — she headed to clean up the manor that yesterday's banquet had left in disarray.

 

 

 

*

 

The chaos had finally calmed down, seven days after it started.

At least, on the surface.

"The human supremacists' goal, you say?"

Frank and Hector nodded at Ilya's question.

The three of them had met to discuss future plans in light of the information from the young human they'd captured.

According to him, the monsters had begun mutating over the course of a week.

An investigation that had reached Lunéville a few days ago had concluded it would be fine as long as they captured the monsters within two weeks, so they'd decided to re-investigate, factoring in the cause of the discord.

Nine times out of ten, this sort of thing was the work of demons.

Because demons possessed [Spirit Sight], they could tell who held malice toward whom even without possessing them.

That alone made it unsurprising if a demon had lent its power to the youth in order to use him.

What she didn't understand was: why Lunéville?

Demons might be weakened during the daytime when the Light Source was strong, but for them to have stopped controlling the monsters partway without even confirming the outcome made no sense to her — and naturally, there was no way this wasn't tied to the Evil God.

"Honestly, the supremacists have been getting more and more active lately. As for this latest incident, I can't quite see the whole picture if it was just to sow chaos."

Hector furrowed his brows as he said it, paying no mind to Ilya who was internally hanging her head at how troublesome it all sounded.

In the end, the fact that they couldn't trace the youth back to the mastermind was likely what kept gnawing at him.

Ilya tried to think up some advice that fell within the scope of common sense.

"Currently, of all the countries in the world, only the Sacred Reinhardt Empire supports human supremacy."

"Are you saying that Reinhardt is sending terrorists?"

"I wouldn't go that far… but I've heard that things have grown quite tense between them and the Coalition."

The vice-branch head addressed his superior not by title but as "Frank" — a sign of their closeness.

However, from how Frank appeared lost in thought, he was still keeping some of his deepest thoughts from anyone but Ilya.

Possibly to gauge Ilya's reaction, the report was full of uncertainties, leaving any course of action up in the air.

"Were they aiming to prevent the guild from gaining power by shutting down the arena?"

"Aiming for Rondéville, a country still young as a multiracial nation… no, but then…"

Going down one rabbit hole after another, the two guild officials jumped from idea to idea.

Judging their discussion wouldn't end any time soon, Ilya decided to pour them some more tea to shift the mood.

"It feels like we're about to spiral into paranoia, doesn't it."

Ilya's words made both of them look up with a start.

Realizing they had been looking but not really seeing, the two glanced at each other and exchanged sheepish smiles.

"That is true. Right now, all we can do is prepare for the worst, and hope for the best."

"Yeah. There's no need for us to strike first. We just need the strength to protect ourselves."

The conclusion had been reached more easily than expected, and the two exchanged another wry smile, prompting Ilya watching them to smile as well.

Lunéville would be fine in the hands of these two.

They put her at ease.

(… The strength to protect, is it?)

She repeated the words in her head.

"Ilya, could I have a— what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

Ilya smiled at Frank before pouring him another cup.

If demons or the Evil God decided to mess with her town, not even she would keep still.

(The strength to protect… that sounds like a good goal.)

Ilya's smile widened further as she dove into the conversation, taking in the pleasant atmosphere.