Disaster Classification

Monsters… well, there are actually all kinds.

Some monsters are beneficial to humans, while others bring nothing but harm.

Water Sheep, for example, are useful in every way and quite valuable.

And the stronger a monster is, the more hostile it tends to be toward humans.

"This has to be disaster-class, doesn't it?"

Alexia murmured.

Disaster classification.

It's one of the designations for monsters that, if left alone, would cause catastrophic damage.

When a classified monster appears, city defense forces are mobilized and adventurers are required to assist.

Alexia seemed to have assessed this as that level of threat.

Orleans was completely terrified, clinging to my hem and not letting go.

The sight of the deer being killed had been that shocking.

"Is this the monster Evalin was talking about? You said it was a Mosquito Monster?"

"That's right. Though I didn't expect them to have multiplied this much."

"You have them contained with a barrier, correct?"

"Yes. With this type, if even one gets out, they'll multiply on their own."

I see.

As an initial response, it was perfect.

The problem was that it had been mostly left alone since then.

Evalin had apparently thought they would naturally die off if she sealed the mine, but looking at the current situation, that didn't seem likely at all.

They were devouring the forest and continuing to multiply endlessly.

"By the way, is there any chance this barrier could be broken?"

"It's a barrier I cast myself, so it won't break easily even from powerful magic. If it were physically overwhelmed with pressure, I'm not sure though."

"Physically overwhelmed? You mean those Mosquito Monsters multiplying until they fill the entire barrier? Ugh."

I agreed with the "give me a break" look on Finn's face.

This was… this seemed like a problem that the Kingdom should address at the national level.

But Her Majesty Tianis and Chancellor Anatia and the others were currently swamped with work and had no time for such things.

The military wasn't functioning properly yet either.

Ideally, we would handle this with just our group.

Since it was a mining town, there was no work for adventurers, so there was no Adventurer's Guild branch here either.

"Have you ever investigated inside?"

"Only once. When I checked, a stream that runs down to the foothills was the source."

"So that's why you thought the mine was the cause."

I wanted to check that stream, but if we entered, the swarm of Mosquito Monsters filling the sky would attack us.

"Alexia, can you do something with magic?"

"I think fire magic could manage it, but… I wouldn't have the luxury of worrying about forest fires. Honestly, it'd be faster to just burn the whole area down."

"I see."

Fire is highly effective against insect-type monsters.

No matter how many Mosquito Monsters there were, with Alexia here we should be able to handle them.

I looked again at the interior of the barrier.

The soil had been contaminated by the monsters' influence, turning purple and melting into a viscous sludge, perhaps from rotting.

The trees were barely standing upright, with more leaning than not.

The animals were probably almost completely wiped out inside the barrier.

Thanks to the barrier, the effects weren't spreading outside, but no matter how much magical power an elf has, she can't maintain it forever.

It would be better to purify it all at once.

"Evalin-san, let's exterminate the monsters inside the barrier with fire. If we leave things as they are, it will become irreversible."

"Burn the forest?"

"If you don't cut away the rotten parts, the rest will rot too. At this point, it would be easier in the long run."

"Is… is that so?"

"Whose property is this forest anyway? Is it Kingdom territory?"

I thought about Elza's words for a moment.

In terms of sphere of influence, it was the Kingdom's.

There were no nations beyond the great northern forest.

But whether they actually controlled it - not really.

Development hadn't progressed much, and with the threat of emerging monsters, it had been left alone.

Though there were settlements scattered about, it was an untouched wilderness.

That was probably why Evalin had been living here.

"It doesn't belong to anyone. Since no one lives in this area, no one would complain."

"Then let's burn it."

"Hey, are you really going to burn it…?"

"Do you have any other options? You understand how terrifying those monsters are, don't you? That's why you put up this barrier in the first place."

Evalin had seemed reluctant to burn it, but she understood the threat of the Mosquito Monsters.

Now that the possibility of the monsters dying off naturally was gone, she should understand that using fire magic was the best approach.

"How large is the barrier?"

"About six hours to walk around it."

"That's quite large… You immediately sealed off an area that size with a barrier?"

"I did, but what of it?"

She said it with a blank look, as if it were nothing.

It was an incredible feat.

When I asked Elza and Alexia about it, they said creating a barrier of this size was impossible.

And she'd done it on the same day to keep the monsters from escaping.

Elves really were amazing. The word "exceptional" seemed appropriate.

"With enough people and tools prepared in advance, it wouldn't be impossible, but… even then, one day would be the limit. The powerful barrier that protected the Royal Capital took a long time to create and used precious magical tools. There's definitely no mage alive who could do something like this individually."

"That's something only an elf could pull off."

"Hmph."

She looked pleased at being praised.

Honestly, I thought if she had just burned everything after containing it with the barrier, the problem would have been solved, but she probably hadn't wanted to set fire to the forest.

It had taken until now for her to finally agree.

A mass of Mosquito Monsters gathered and rammed into the barrier.

Perhaps they found the barrier confining?

There was a dull thud, but the barrier didn't budge.

They repeated it over and over.

Dead bodies fell off with each impact, but they didn't seem to care.

It was an eerie sight.

As if a terrible malice had taken physical form.

We decided to withdraw for now and return to the cottage to strategize.