Chapter 127 - Chapter 4: Preliminary Investigation
After the fox extermination was over and I reported to Hans-san, I was told to go to Adolf-san's place. I decided to go back once and go with Marcelo-san.
"Are we going to the Eastern Plains?"
"I wonder. You know the Royal Army is going to the Western Plains soon, right?"
"Was it for bandit suppression?"
"That's right. Centered on the Western Plains garrison, reinforcements are being sent from Nakanohara and Uminohara too. It seems the total force exceeds a thousand men."
From what I hear from the two mages, it's no longer bandit suppression but a war.
They are apparently letting the enemy know of their advance on purpose, calculating that the enemy will flee. Those who surrender will be caught for serious crimes and face imprisonment, but those who resist will be killed. It'll be easier if they split up well.
"During that time, only the Jaegers will be the barrier against monsters. To conduct a large-scale operation in the Eastern Plains, wouldn't they be short on manpower?"
Surely, it's not like we are the reinforcements. Certainly, there are three high-level mages and one who just became a mid-level mage. Looking at magic alone, the combat power is significant, but even so, there are only four of us. It would be far from being called reinforcements.
"I'm glad you came. Well, please take a seat."
Those who came this time were Marcelo-san, Paul-san, Beatrix, Bonnie, and myself. Lyudmila is busy with farm work, and Angelica-san is tending the shop.
"What are we doing this time?"
"You know there was a flatland between the Nakanohara mountain fortress and the Eastern Plains mountain fortress? It's been decided to develop that area, but there seem to be several caves. I want you to investigate them. If there are monsters, please exterminate them along with the area around the caves."
"What kind of monsters are there?"
"So far, only bats have been found, but we don't know what might come out."
What if there's another dragon? We struggled that much even though Roberts-sama and James-sama were there. We wouldn't be able to defeat it by ourselves.
"I heard they're building a fortress to the north of that flatland, is it going well?"
"Half of the Nakanohara Jaegers are involved. It seems to be going well so far. Above all, if that fortress is taken, the talk of development will vanish. In other words, the investigation will also become unnecessary."
According to Adolf-san, once the northern fortress is completed, they will first build a fortress on the flatland, and part of the Jaegers will move in.
This investigation is apparently a preliminary investigation for that construction.
"It can't be made into a fortress without water."
"Yeah. I know. For the northern fortress, they made a reservoir on the southern slope to store snowmelt water. It should last for a while. For this investigation, I want you to check the moisture conditions inside the caves as well as for monsters."
"Just in case, may I bring Robinson and the Goblins?"
Speaking of which, there was a cave expert. Right now, they're digging the second water pipe. Actually, the civil engineering work Henry-sama and the others were doing was that, with Goblins digging from above and humans from below. If Eleanor-sama were there, she could turn the dug-up soil into blocks after digging the hole. Apparently, she was quite useful.
Adolf-san and the captain of the Royal Army have already told the Nakanohara Jaegers about the Goblins. Most of the information on the northern region was brought by Robinson-san and the Goblins. Apparently, several people have already gone to the nest and are teaching combat and scouting techniques.
"Fine. However, please limit bringing both to half the week. Vigilance in the north is necessary."
"In that case, I shall provide transportation with the bowl."
"That would be a help."
"Is it that urgent in the north?"
"No, not really, but just in case. Since it's getting warmer, monster activity will become more frequent."
The reward became one gold coin per person per hole. For the exterminated monsters, the prescribed subjugation reward would apparently be paid.
In the discussion with Robinson-san, it was decided that the Goblins' share would be for one human, no matter how many were sent. Among us, we've decided to split the spoils between us and the Goblins, including Robinson-san, so I want to work hard to exterminate monsters that are useful to the Goblins.
After a week of preparation, we set out.
I feel bad for the Goblins, but since we have to avoid being seen, we had them get inside barrels.
We move from Nakanohara to the Jaegers' mountain fortress with [Teleport], barrels and all.
"What's this! Where'd you guys come from!"
A lookout bandit greeted us.
Thank you for your hard work every single time.
"Long time no see. How are you?"
Beatrix apparently pushed through like this last time too, except for the first time.
"Oh! Long time no see. Have you been well? I heard, you were knighted in Medioland, weren't you?"
They already know. Even in Nakanohara, only the vigilantes should know, but as expected of a first-class scout group.
"Jeanne is a noble of Medioland, so you have to treat her politely."
"Haha. Priestess-Knight Jeanne-sama. I hope you are in good spirits. Welcome."
Damn it, he's half-grinning. There's no such job title as Priestess-Knight. Shall I poke him in the head with my knight's staff?
We left the cell and opened the barrel lids. Six Goblins came out. Wearing matching Green Marble draped over one shoulder, they all had bows and quivers. Quivers filled with Holy Water arrows.
"Yo, you guys came too. Oh, there's one more. Did you make your debut?"
He called out to the newcomer.
It seems he can already tell them apart.
The newcomer, who had the words translated, was nodding nervously.
They're kind in these sorts of ways, aren't they?
"Hey, no need to worry. The Dragon Killer Priestess-Knight Jeanne-sama is with you. If anything happens, she'll protect you."
Hmm. As I thought, bandits are nasty.
Robinson-san. You don't need to translate that.
The Nakanohara Jaegers participated as guides. It seems they're short on field personnel, so it's Captain Lewis himself.
I thought it would be the first time for the Jaegers to ride in the bowl, but it turns out they had ridden it during the morning markets and the May Festival before I knew it. As expected of a first-class scout group.
"Hi, Jeanne. You've finally decided to join the Jaegers. I welcome you."
As usual, he's troublesome.
It would have been better if he had been surprised by the bowl.
When I set Chururi on him, he ran away holding his head while being pecked.
One more person from the Jaegers is participating. He's a veteran and the one who first guided us with Lewis-san when we did the Demon Lord's army remnant extermination. He seems to be the adjutant.
When he beckoned, I approached, and he whispered in my ear.
"Aren't Angelica-san or Hanna-san coming this time?"
Every single one of them...
It's work, so bear with me, the eighth-ranked.
"They're not participating this time. But today's bento is the one Angelica-san made."
"Really! I-I see. I'm looking forward to it."
When he went to tell Lewis-san happily, he gave me a nice smile.
As expected of the Ogre... no, Madonna Angelica. She has completely dominated the stomachs of the Nakanohara Jaegers. Perhaps anticipating this, she had given me a large number of bentos.
By the time we were guided to the first cave, at the request of the nice middle-aged men, it became an early bento, and after that, we went on a reconnaissance of the surroundings with the smiling bandits.
First, it was aerial reconnaissance with Chururi and the small birds Robinson-san gathered.
"Foxes and boars."
"Then let's leave them be."
Robinson-san and Paul-san discussed it and decided to prioritize the cave exploration. Just as Adolf-san had said.
The two from the Jaegers were dumbfounded.
"Amazing. I had heard from Adolf-dono, but to think it was this much. Can you really use wild birds freely?"
"We need bait, though."
"What about inside the cave?"
"If there are bats, let's first ask them about the situation inside. If there are no animals we can use, it's the Goblins' turn."
"I see. You guys, don't push yourselves."
Lewis-san was patting each of our shoulders, pan-pan.
"If anything happens, run back immediately. We have the Honorary Captain of the Nakanohara Jaegers, Priestess-Knight Jeanne-dono, with us. No matter what's there, we can get by just watching."
He was saying it with a perfectly serious face to the newcomer.
When I took out Chururi's cage, he ran away.
There are apparently four notable caves, and the first one we were guided to was in a small rocky mountain cliff near the southern mountains. A short distance from the cliff was a forest, which connected directly to the mountains.
The height of the rock was about three stories. The width was about a hundred paces. For my stride, it might be two hundred paces. The south of the rock was a cliff, but an opening was visible in the middle of the gray-striped rock surface.
In the Jaegers' simple investigation, the cave was like a crack in the rock, and after slipping through, the inside was surprisingly wide. It went downward and might be quite deep.
"The entrance is small, and there's nothing around, so I don't think there are any Orcs. I confirmed normal bats flying in the evening."
If there are bats, there probably won't be any [Revenant] bats. All that's left is to go inside and explore.
We asked the Jaegers to monitor the outside and immediately went inside.
I entrusted Chururi and the bag of caterpillars to Lewis-san.
"H-hi, Chururi. Let's definitely be friends. I fought alongside Jeanne, you know. So, you and I are allies."
He immediately became friends with her.
We went to the entrance on Paul-san's bowl... it has almost no rim, so it's a plate...
The Goblins went first. Then Robinson-san, myself, Paul-san, and Beatrix, with Bonnie and Marcelo-san at the rear.
We slipped through along the narrow crack in the rock with our bodies sideways.
Beatrix, whose chest was getting stuck, was struggling. In times like this, it's convenient to be the same as Lyudmila. I feel like it's only in times like this, though...
And then, we came out into a space that could be called a room. It was like the crack had widened, long and narrow vertically.
So as not to startle the Goblins, I weakened the light intensity and illuminated the ceiling with [Light], and a huge number of house centipedes were swarming. I involuntarily felt a chill down my spine.
Ones the size of a human torso when their legs were spread were scuttling around. Since they were running from the light, they might have become monsters.
I wondered if the Goblins would catch and eat them, but they shook their heads.
"Lately, we don't eat bugs. We can hunt, and we have income from the construction. Thanks to that, we've managed to avoid getting sick."
That's a good thing. They're on good terms with Dune too, so I hope they'll work hard as guardians of the lake.
"Then, let's take them down."
It immediately became the first practical use of [Flame].
There were many of them and they were fast. Since it was inside a cave, it wouldn't cause a forest fire. Burning them was best.
Everyone evacuated to the crack once, and Beatrix, who was at the front, thrust her right hand toward the ceiling and began chanting.
"[Flame]!"
Fire burst from her right hand and burned the entire ceiling.
The things falling down bota-bota were probably the burned house centipedes.
As expected of mid-level magic. It was settled in one shot.
"That's that, then."
"Indeed."
Paul-san and Marcelo-san nodded to each other.
Apparently, this was a nest of house centipedes that had become monsters.
We went outside once to devise a plan.
"Captain Lewis. This is probably a house centipede nest."
"House centipedes? Then is it okay?"
"No, they've become monsters. There were ones about this big."
I made a circle about the size of my own torso with both hands.
"There might be even bigger ones further in. We'll check just in case."
"But will we get a reward for defeating house centipedes?"
"I don't know. But those guys eat bugs just like spiders, don't they? If they get big, they might attack people or livestock."
Spiders are a great enemy of humans. If a large nest is made, it becomes an uproar where the army is mobilized. In fact, that investigation was what led to our meeting with the Goblins led by Robinson-san.
"Paul-san. The Goblins say that house centipedes that grow too large attack animals. So, while they leave them be when found in the wild, they kill them while they're small when found in a nest."
"Then it's decided. We can worry about the reward later. Let's exterminate as many as possible."
House centipede extermination, huh. If possible, I didn't want to do it. Or rather, I didn't want to see it.
"Jeanne will illuminate, I'll stop them, and the remaining three will deliver the finishing blow. Something like that?"
"That's right. We'll need Jeanne to illuminate them properly."
Marcelo-san was laughing mischievously.
He seems to know that I'm not good with them.
What if our eyes meet the moment I illuminate them?
They might show up in my dreams...
According to the Goblins, giant house centipedes hide in the shadows of rocks and attack suddenly.
Apparently, it's dangerous for normal scouts.
First, we decided to look for bats and check the situation inside.
We went to the previous room, and when Robinson-san pointed his right hand toward the crack leading further in, two flew over.
When we showed the bats various sizes of house centipedes—how well she can draw them—and a picture of a human for comparison that Beatrix had drawn on the fly, it seemed there was a big one inside.
Vertically, it's human-sized. If it spreads its legs, its width is more than five times that of a human.
This is already a size that must be defeated.
Since we had to let the bats evacuate, Robinson-san gave instructions to the two that had flown over, and they went inside once and came out with about ten others.
Of those, he kept only one attached to his right shoulder.
"That's quite few. There should be more."
"It seems they were taken by the house centipedes."
"Then we have to defeat them."
If we defeat the house centipedes, the bats might become [Revenant] bats. I don't know which is better.
"We can communicate with the bats. We can't with the house centipedes. First, it's house centipede extermination."
I see, so that's how it is.
If we manipulate them well and let them soak up the sunlight, they might stay as bats for the rest of their lives.
"How are we going to defeat it?"
"How many more times can you use [Flame]?"
"Maybe once."
"Then, first, blast it with [Fire Ball]. Let's have Marcelo deliver the finishing blow."
The entrance was a crack, but as we went further in, it gradually became wider. We could manage to switch places between front and back.
In wide areas, we'd fly [Fire Ball] around to see how things were, and if nothing came out, we'd move forward.
It's a rough way to do it, but it's better than being ambushed by something hiding in the shadows of the rocks.
Beatrix moved up to the second position, and the Goblins and Paul-san moved to the back.
We passed through several wide areas while adding several lengths of rope, and each time, there were house centipedes. Since the size was about the same as the ones in the first room, I don't think we'd die even if we were ambushed as long as there's no poison, but the thought of something like that sticking to my face makes me shudder.
Besides, what on earth are they eating?
We found out in the fifth room. Unlike the others, it had width.
Until then, they had only been on the walls and ceiling, so Beatrix hadn't been aiming at the ground, but there, they were swarming in a corner of the ground.
There was a strange gichi-gichi sound, so when I illuminated it with [Light], they all started climbing the walls to escape at once. Behind them, about three individuals that were about half-eaten were lying there.
Cannibalism.
Only the legs that had come off the torso were twitching, many of them.
I felt like I was going to throw up. The bento I had eaten with such effort would go to waste.
While I was gagging, I desperately illuminated the place they had fled to, and Beatrix finished them off by firing a succession of [Fire Ball].
"Pull yourself together. It's just house centipedes."
"I'm sorry."
I was scolded by Paul-san.
It was more of a shock to encounter a scene of cannibalism than the house centipedes themselves, but...
"Cannibalism is something even humans do if it comes down to it. You're a priestess, aren't you? Pull yourself together."
Humans? You're lying, right?
"It's true."
Eh?
"Beatrix..."
"I... I-I've heard of it."
She hurriedly looked away and started flying [Fire Ball] at the half-eaten house centipedes to burn the carcasses.
According to Paul-san, there are records in several countries of people eating the flesh of the dead during winters following consecutive years of famine. When we were little, there was apparently a famine for three consecutive years. Because it was during a war, it seems the foreign serfs in particular were quite miserable.
On the continent, it was even worse, with cruel rumors remaining that people killed and ate living infants, let alone the dead.
On this island, because magic can be used, it's apparently quite wealthy compared to the continent, but even so, disasters like plagues, bad weather, and floods from heavy rain cannot be prevented. In addition, there's war and the Demon Lord's resurrection. If those overlap and everyone starves, the poor will die first.
"It's better than the whole family being wiped out. It's all about how you brace yourself."
"The important people in this country and Adolf-san and the others are working hard to prevent those things from happening. You're a priestess, so pull yourself together."
"Yes. I understand."
I was saved by the experienced Paul-san's cheerful voice.
"Alright! Now that that's settled, let's defeat the house centipedes!"
I was rescued by Paul-san's bright call.
As we moved forward, the bats started squeaking kii-kii. It seems the big one is close.
The path ahead is a bit wider.
The ceiling is getting higher and higher, so I don't know how far up it goes.
"Beatrix. Can you split the fireballs?"
"If it's just once, it's fine. But I used a lot of [Fire Ball], so I probably won't be able to use [Flame]. Which one should I use?"
"In that case, Jeanne. We'll fly the Fireflies. Beatrix, prepare the [Flame]."
"Yes."
"Understood."
I let one drift above my head so the house centipedes wouldn't come toward me, and let it shine toward the hole. I flew the other one into the back of the hole with Paul-san's wind magic and increased the light intensity to illuminate the entire surroundings.
The gasa-gasa sound is close.
It seems to be right nearby.
"It's right behind the wall! On the right side!"
If we had kept going as we were, the one in front might have been caught by those long legs.
When I illuminated the right side as Paul-san instructed, I could hear the sound of something scurrying away.
"Beatrix. [Flame]. Burn it!"
Beatrix, having finished her chant, was creating red light in the palms of both hands.
"Okay. Here I go... [Flame]!"
As she stepped forward, she let the flames burst forth.
It was a full-power shot using both hands.
She moved her hands in a figure-eight, making the flames meander up, down, left, and right like a snake.
By the time the magic cut off, something moving was burning. A hit.
When illuminated with the Fireflies, a long torso was burning. Since it was about the height of a human, a single person would easily be caught if it spread its legs.
Whether it fell while trying to climb the wall, several long legs that had come off were twitching biku-biku.
It's no good. I can't get used to it.
An Orc Revenant is much better.