Chapter 169 - Chapter 17: First Sunrise
We won safely. The Revenants were muzzled, their limbs bound, and led away.
I picked up the crystal where Fiona was hiding.
I had her come out, and the three of us—Lyudmila, Fiona, and I—squatted there, passing a canteen of water around.
Good grief. When the wild boar suddenly burst in, I wondered what would happen.
"How is it? I had it made by urgently contacting the Royal Capital before we left the Western Plains."
Eleanor-sama stuck out a hoof, proudly showing off her wild boar costume.
It seems she specially ordered it from the royal family's exclusive furrier and had the Paratroop Jaeger Unit bring it. Bringing the wild boar to Eleanor-sama was the first task the Paratroop Jaegers accomplished.
Thanks to their efforts, the beautiful, glossy fur shone, making it hard to believe it was made in such a short time. It must be the result of the royal family's prestige being fully displayed.
The neck part had fur glued on, and when I peeled it back, I could see her face.
"It suits you. It's magnificent."
She must have put it on before departing.
As expected, she probably couldn't give a speech dressed as a wild boar.
"When I heard you had infiltrated first, I was worried, but I'm glad everyone is safe."
"My apologies. As the saying goes, 'honor clumsy attacks.' I rushed ahead." (T/N: 'Honor clumsy attacks' is a play on words, likely referring to a military maxim about valuing aggressive, even if imperfect, action.)
Harrison-san tried to cover for me, but it wasn't that simple.
"No, Eleanor-sama, I was the one who first suggested we charge in."
Eleanor-sama stroked my head with a hoof.
It hurt a little.
"I'm not blaming you. Look, the Teleportation Circle has already been drawn, hasn't it? If the assault had been delayed, it might have failed. It was a good judgment."
I was praised.
Lyudmila, Fiona, and I grinned together.
"But, it looks like ink spilled on that magic circle?"
After Harrison-san explained the whole situation, he praised the three of us greatly.
Next, he said he wanted to meet the ghost of the fortress.
When Fiona called him, the ghost's body had somehow returned to normal, and he was in formal attire.
Eleanor-sama also shed her wild boar costume and changed into a rather luxurious hunter-style outfit.
"I served as the commander of this fortress."
The way he introduced himself and knelt on one knee before Eleanor-sama was truly that of a splendid knight.
"I perceive you to be Eleanor-sama, the former Queen of the Kingdom of Sertoria."
What? He knew Eleanor-sama. It truly is an allied nation.
"To be caught off guard by monsters, you must have been very frustrated. Thanks to your cooperation, we were able to avenge everyone, so please rest assured."
"Ah, such grateful words—"
The rest was choked sobs, and his shoulders trembled.
Eleanor-sama silently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"By the way, there's something I'd like your cooperation with."
Once the ghost of the fortress had calmed down, Eleanor-sama, while putting on her wild boar costume, cut to the chase.
"Please command me anything. I will surely be of service."
"Actually—"
She pulled him aside and began whispering.
"What? This fortress? —That is bold—No, as expected of the one called Eleanor of Tactics—"
I didn't quite understand, but it seemed they were plotting something. Since it didn't seem to concern me, I excused myself to Harrison-san and the Paratroop Jaegers present and decided to rejoin Paul-san.
I heard there were injured soldiers, so I healed them with Amplified Heal. After everyone was safely treated, I went above ground and found Paul-san and Robinson-san among the Gargoyles.
"Oh! You're safe. How was it inside?"
I explained everything that had happened.
"I see. So Fiona has become quite the monster slayer, hasn't she?"
"No. It's because Jeanne taught me beforehand."
"It was a magnificent coordination. The timing was perfect. The enemy didn't notice until the very end."
After everyone had finished laughing, I asked about the Gargoyles.
"It seems Eleanor-sama has some plan. We've been told to stand by for a while."
"Is there still something else?"
"I don't know. If anything happens, I'll wake you up, so drink some wine and rest."
He lit a bonfire and, having brought it from somewhere, offered a bottle of wine. I gratefully accepted it, and Lyudmila, Fiona, and I sat side by side, leaning against the wall, passing it around and resting.
As I was dozing off, I was shaken awake.
"Jeanne. We're going home. Please wake up."
It was Angelica-san.
Paul-san was in a bowl with the Goblins.
I woke up the sleeping Lyudmila and had Fiona enter her crystal.
"Where are Marcelo-san and Robinson-san?"
The Gargoyles had also disappeared at some point.
"Those two seem to have a special mission directly from Eleanor-sama."
"A special mission, you say—"
"Well, well, you'll find out later."
Perhaps she was in a hurry, as I was urged into the bowl.
"Well then, shall we head home?"
Paul-san exhaled a pure white breath.
And no wonder, the moon was quite low.
After all, we were on top of a mountain.
The wind blowing wasn't very strong, but it was more painful on the cheeks than just cold.
I was glad I endured the difficulty of movement and wore the wild boar costume over my work clothes.
I felt a sneeze coming on, so I sniffed my nose, and my nostrils stuck together from the cold air, making it impossible to breathe through my nose.
I hastily covered my mouth and nose with both hands, panting for breath.
When I get back, I should make something to cover my face, like Eleanor-sama's.
I warmed myself with Lyudmila's Fire Ball.
As we ascended and moved away from above the fortress, a tremendous sound came from the east side of the fortress.
"W-what is that?"
The ground rumbled.
"Who knows? Maybe an avalanche?"
"Avalanche?"
It's the end of the year, not early spring, so why now, in the middle of the night?
It's so cold.
It wasn't just once, but several times.
It echoed off the mountain slopes.
Avalanches might be happening all over the place.
Angelica-san looked aloof.
It seemed she knew something.
When I stared at her, she said Beatrix and Bonnie might know something.
Come to think of it, I hadn't seen those two since they left on a separate mission. What were they doing?
When we returned to the hideout, no one was there except the lookouts.
I went underground and was sleeping in my bed when Beatrix, carrying Flora's basket, returned with Bonnie.
"Welcome back. There was a huge noise, wasn't there? What happened?"
The two of them, after a brief greeting, dove into bed and fell asleep. Flora also closed her bud.
As Lyudmila and I tilted our heads, Eleanor-sama returned, accompanied by Marcelo-san and Robinson-san.
"Jeanne. Thank you for your hard work. The operation has concluded successfully. There were thirteen injured, all of whom were healed by your magic. If you're not too sleepy, I'll explain."
I was surprised to hear Eleanor-sama's explanation.
The initial plan I heard was to capture the fortress, inform the Primordia scouts, and then abandon it.
That wasn't wrong, and the result was indeed as planned.
However, the scale was different.
"To capture the fortress, we had to stop enemy reinforcements. For that, we destroyed the main road."
Destroyed the main road... She said it as easily as if crushing a mosquito.
"The road passes through steep mountains, so there are several places where it's surrounded by high cliffs on both sides. We used gunpowder to blast those cliffs and completely block the road."
That must have been the sound of the avalanches.
Beatrix and Bonnie were taken along because of their proven track record of using large amounts of gunpowder to cause landslides at the Northern Fortress in the Flatlands with Paul-san.
Flora searched for unstable spots, and a large amount of gunpowder was set. Once set, Flame was used to ignite and detonate it all at once.
I don't know how many sticks of gunpowder were used, but it seems they set them in over twenty locations surveyed the previous night.
The apprentices from the Royal Guard's engineering workshop apparently secured niter by visiting sewage treatment plants across the country.
Beatrix and Bonnie were fast asleep, not twitching at all. Flora's bud also remained closed.
They must have been put through a lot of physical labor.
"And then, we moved the fortress to a different location."
Huh?
What is this person talking about...?
"You know about Teleportation Circles, right?"
As I stood with my mouth agape in surprise, Marcelo-san explained.
"Teleportation Circles activate when you're on them, right? That's how it works when you draw a magic circle normally, but what if you flip it over and draw it correctly from the opposite side—that is, from the back?"
Apparently, if you draw the reverse magic circle on a wooden board, the wooden board moves. The magic circle left behind would drift in the air for a while before disappearing.
"But, didn't Teleport have a weight limit—"
"That's for intermediate Teleport magic. I'm an advanced mage. There's another level above that."
It's called Translate. (T/N: Translate is a high-level spatial magic for mass teleportation, distinct from the basic Teleport.)
It's one-way, and both the exit and entrance are specified at the origin. (T/N: This sentence is a bit ambiguous in Japanese, but the context implies the destination is set at the origin, and it's a one-way trip.)
Because it uses an enormous amount of magic power, the recoil means that the transported object might not retain its original shape at the destination.
Originally, it was a magic used to hurl large amounts of earth and sand from landslides or civil engineering projects into the sea, so it was rarely used. It was scheduled to be used to hurl stones from Nakanohara's water pipe construction at Adolf-san's request. Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama apparently heard about it, and that's how it developed into this current plan.
"Since it causes collateral damage, it can only be used with a magic circle, and even a fixed magic circle becomes unusable after one use. This time, we moved most of the above-ground section, and then Eleanor-sama covered it with earth, so once snow accumulates, there will be no trace left."
He said it with a smile, but for a fortress to move, it must be an incredible feat of magic.
Its activation was dangerous, so they used the voice of a Gargoyle controlled by Robinson-san.
"Where did the fortress go?"
There must be a destination. Since the destination can vary quite a bit, did they just dump it in the sea?
"We sent it flying to the Flatlands. We had the ghost knight from the fortress guide us, set explosives in relatively sturdy places, and made it somewhat fragile before moving it, so it's probably a mountain of stone materials now. It's perfect for reinforcing the Northern Pass fortress. Some of it can even be used for the stone walls on the Class of 175's land, they said."
I see. If it's the Flatlands, a little deviation should be fine.
Surely, the Jaegers must have restricted access.
But, is this what you call 'conquest'?
"Oh? I said 'capture.' I didn't say 'conquest.'"
Eleanor-sama was smirking.
"I also said 'capture,' didn't I? Did you mishear?"
Marcelo-san was also smiling mischievously.
Capture... I see. So they 'captured' the fortress.
And turned it into stone materials...
Thinking about things on such a scale is just ridiculous!
Well, that's fine. Getting stones for stone walls for free is appreciated. Moreover, Robinson-san apparently controlled the Gargoyles and brought them back.
I recall that good quality ones fetch ten gold coins. Since there were fifty, that's a whopping five hundred gold coins. The Class of 175's share will exceed two hundred.
We're rich!
I should add more than just three fields, and gather enough sheep to become a full-fledged rancher. I'll lead a flock of sheep in our fields, where clover blooms and bees fly. Oh, and I mustn't forget the pigs.
"Out of fifty Gargoyles, eighteen were destroyed in combat. Of the remaining thirty-two, two undamaged ones are our share. Twenty-five are for research, and the remaining five are for special rewards to Harrison-san and the Paratroop Jaeger Unit."
At Marcelo-san's words, the bees, sheep, and pigs flew out of my head.
Well, it never works out that well.
Still, counting two Goblins as one person, with the reward, it's over twenty gold coins per person. We also get stone wall materials. The blood-soaked ghost also ascended peacefully. I shouldn't complain about luxury.
As for what happened later, rumors spread that the fortress attacked by a horde of Gargoyles had somehow disappeared, and the mountain pass leading to the fortress was completely blocked by several large-scale landslides, making it impassable for a year. Several bear hunters apparently witnessed it.
People, starting with Primordia, rumored that it must be the work of the Demon Lord.
Volunteers from various countries joined the Kingdom Army, which was confronting the Demon Lord's army, and the King and others had a hard time dealing with them.
And the captured Revenants. The three in the basement and the one in the southern fortress were imprisoned with all their magic sealed.
The remaining one was persuaded by Wilson-san and began working as his subordinate.
"The sun has risen."
After seeing off the returning Paratroop Jaegers, I was dozing off when one of the hideout's lookouts informed me.
Come to think of it, it's the first sunrise of the year.
Since we're here, I asked Lyudmila and Fiona for help, woke up the three sleeping girls, and the six of us went to see it.
When we went up, it was already bright.
I didn't know what it was, but something was sparkling in the air.
When I asked a Jaeger, they told me it was diamond dust.
After making a fuss about the sparkling air, we all formed a circle.
"Please take care of us again this year."
Protagonist's acquired monster subjugation reward: 95 gold coins, 22 months.
Chapter 7 End
Chapter 7 has ended.
Thank you very much for reading this far.
During the submission period, I received bookmarks and evaluations. I'm happy.
It's thanks to all of you who are reading that I've been able to keep writing nearly a million characters without losing heart. I can only express my gratitude.
Now, this chapter was a ghost chapter. Fiona's active chapter, isn't it? She will become a permanent member of the Associate Class of 175, so please look forward to it. Also, as I reported in the activity report, I realized I had made the mistake of constantly writing Emily-sensei as Amy-sensei. I am very sorry for this oversight. Originally, I had planned to have both Emily and Amy appear. However, I thought it would be confusing and readers might not be able to distinguish them, and I myself might make mistakes, so I scrapped Amy and changed her to Mary. In the setting materials created separately from the manuscript, there is a character draft, and it clearly states Emily. Perhaps because of lingering attachment, Amy appeared quite a lot. It's possible I should have just stuck with Amy-sensei. As a result, perhaps many update notifications were sent out, leading to an increase in PVs. I regret and apologize to everyone who checked. I apologize again.
Next, for future plans. Chapter 8 has already been written. In fact, Chapter 9 is almost finished. So, the current submission pace can be maintained. On Wednesday, a short story. This will be a slightly expanded version of something that was published at the time of submission and then deleted as a rejected piece. And from Friday, Chapter 8 will begin. Please look forward to it.
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