Chapter 676 - Second Story: The Demon Realm of Former Septanaquila
"And then, and then, listen!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening."
"When I reported to Father in the audience chamber that I got the Earth Dragon's silver badge!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"My brothers, both of them, were just stunned!"
"That's natural. After all, you stood shoulder to shoulder with the elite Paratroop Jaegers."
"Yes! That's right!"
"And look, there were even some Paratroop Jaegers who couldn't get it, right?"
"Yes!"
"And you learned magic too."
"Yes, yes!"
Miana was also so happy that she couldn't stop grinning. She's drinking and drinking while talking. Honestly, it wouldn't be strange if she collapsed at any moment.
The adult First Prince is looking worriedly at his high-spirited sister. Surely, it's his first time seeing Miana like this.
After reporting to the King, we proceeded to the formal awarding of the silver badge to Miana by the King, and the awarding of participation awards to us, and then it was a banquet at the usual place. This time, the First Prince and Keira are participating for the first time. Instead, Henry-sama wasn't there. Apparently, he had some business.
Keira seemed to think a banquet at the royal palace was impossible, but this is Sertoria, which is tolerant of other races. The condition was limited to human form, but that's the same as usual banquets, so there's no problem. Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama, since it's a private banquet, seem to want to invite Violet eventually and are looking for an opportunity.
The First Prince is a model-student type. Fortunately, unlike the current generation, he doesn't seem to walk around town like a delinquent. He is a devout believer in the Goddess and apparently goes to church every week. A fine person. He will surely become a kind person like Jennifer-sensei. Even in his first meeting with Keira, he took the hand of the extremely nervous Keira and gave a knight's salute. Of course, he had been told about her being of the Demon Race and the circumstances of their meeting, under a Vow of Silence. When told that the women's group—Eleanor-sama, Magdalena-sama, and Miana—had already introduced Dune and Mel before the banquet, and that the Headmistress, Jennifer-sensei, and the Archbishop of the Royal Capital Great Church and Bishop Harris also knew of Keira's existence, he replied, "Then that is a relief." Honestly, not only Keira but everyone in the Class of 175 was nervous, but he accepted her easily. This was truly appreciated. The Sertorian Royal Family is safe for the next generation too.
Eleanor-sama and Magdalena-sama are also all smiles, as their assertions turned out well. Above all, the fact that Miana fought desperately is an undeniable fact, and that is probably what makes them happiest. Her days of struggling as the manager of Shop No. 4 were not for nothing. After all, she deals with old men almost every day. Mary, who is next to the two of them, is also proud that her student, whom she trained, satisfied the two former soldiers who value spirit above all else. Miana was also eager to learn new magic... and advanced level at that!
"A wonderful achievement. To think Miana would win the silver badge and newly learn mid-level magic. Above all, when I heard that she bravely challenged alone with a knife in her hand during the final training, as your grandmother, I cannot tell you how happy I was."
"Exactly. From now on, when there are official events at the royal palace, you must wear that badge on your chest. Just as you are doing now. I am truly proud to be your mother."
Unfortunately, we all have bronze badges. Still, Keira looks quite proud, so it's probably fine.
"The mages of the Class of 175 also safely learned magic. The future is something to look forward to."
As usual, we had the bowl flown to Finis.
Those scarecrows were powerful, as expected of something the Earth Dragon made with magic. Especially regarding magic defense, they were apparently between rank D and C. And for physical defense, they were set the same as a human wearing chain mail. In other words, they were quite strong. Thanks to that, everyone gained a decent amount of combat experience.
As a result of receiving the oracle, Miana learned Ice Cube, Lyudmila learned Glaciate, Mary learned Camouflage as aimed... though it's unknown how one can learn Camouflage using ice magic... and Beatrix learned Curve, which is a rare magic. It seems to be the result of her struggling to see if she could throw the scarecrows made by the Earth Dragon with Clump Stone if the material was stone.
This can be called a great success. By the way, I came up empty. After all, Holy didn't work.
"Miana might have had some parts that were a bit unsatisfactory, but she really did her best."
Oh no. A trap. Eleanor-sama hadn't forgotten that Miana said she wanted to learn advanced magic before the training. Moreover, Miana is probably more drunk than ever before. Magdalena-sama's smile is scary.
"But Miana is happy too, right?"
I said it while winking to avoid the trap, but...
"Hmm, I'm happy, but it's a bit of a shame. I mean, Ice Cube is mid-level. If I was going to learn ice magic anyway, I wanted to learn Blizzard or Glaciate."
Y-You said too much...
Beatrix, who is sitting next to Dune next to me, casually talks to Mary next to her. The topic is about the Class of 175 Shop. After all, they are the managers of Shop No. 2 and No. 3. There's nothing unnatural about the conversation itself. The two of them further talked to Lyudmila, the manager of Shop No. 5, and all three stood up and went over to Matilda, the manager of the main shop, who was far away. They escaped.
"How about it, Miana? Let's do our best one more time with this momentum. There's a suitable place."
As I thought. She fell into the trap. Eleanor-sama's "suitable" must involve a lot of hardship.
"Is Jeanne going too?"
Why pass it to me... No, the members of the Class of 175 with high crisis detection abilities have already moved to another table. The ones who haven't moved are Beowulf, who is directly under Miana, and Will and Bonnie, who are regulars of the Henry Party.
"I-I, well, bears and wolves..."
"Then let's have Jeanne go together. Let's do that."
"It's decided. Then Jeanne, we're counting on you."
Eleanor-sama and Magdalena-sama forced it together.
I didn't know where we were going, but it wasn't right away. I found out the place and time after the bear and wolf hunt in February was over.
The destination is Medioland. The northwestern part of Former Septanaquila. A peninsula jutting out into the sea.
"The ant nest extermination the other day was successfully completed last autumn. From now on, we will enter the investigation and conquest of the Demon Realm, said to be the largest on this island, including the cave where the Demon Lord will be resurrected, which spreads around it. But before that, we want to attack the core of this Demon Realm, subjugate the monsters, and make it the foundation for future conquest. Or so it is said."
As soon as March began, we were taken to the fortress of the Eastern Plains Corps. Prince Roberts and Princess Gladys are heroes. As such, they have an obligation to be the main force in the Demon Realm conquest decided at the Council of Lords the previous year. Their immediate share is the Demon Realm conquest of Medioland and Sertoria, and this was made a joint mission with James-sama. We were to participate in this mission for a short period as an experience. During the winter, the silica digging in the Flatlands is on break. The old men all go back to their hometowns with their wages. Accordingly, Shop No. 4 is free. Since the Boar Hot Spring is also opening, mobile sales will be the main focus. In other words, Miana can participate.
"But Miana. Are you really going?"
Princess Gladys spoke up, worried about Miana, whose face was pale. It's no wonder. It was a promise made while she was grandly drunk. She apparently was aghast when she heard the story from Magdalena-sama the next morning. She herself is wearing the Earth Dragon's silver badge on the left chest of her autumn/winter green marble gear, but it's probably her first full-scale Demon Realm conquest battle. By the way, since it was said that an apron would be good, she is wearing an apron made of autumn/winter green marble fabric on the back of a white cloth. The green marble side is on the outside during monster extermination. By the way, her hair color is not the dull blonde of the shop manager specification, but her natural vibrant blonde.
"Sister Gladys. Since Sister is supposed to act together with Bishop Jeanne, please arrange for her to be in charge of support. Instead, I, a man, will go to the front line."
The one saying cool things is Prince Charles. He became an adult last October and is assigned to the Royal Capital Guard. At this point, he is second in line to the throne. As a result of this prince becoming an adult, Prince Roberts became third. He is a refined, handsome man, with an atmosphere that seems more suited to a priest than a warrior. He feels like he could be a scholar. In fact, the magic he can use is apparently Holy. He himself seems to want to do monster extermination after his Royal Capital Guard mission ends, and hopes to be assigned to the Eastern Plains Corps. He probably couldn't achieve a skip in rank through overwhelming combat skills like Prince Roberts. Well, normally it's impossible.
"I'll have you all rotate to support. I want you to work on missions together with the Medioland Army's support unit."
It's Prince Roberts. He says something helpful.
In town, there are rumors that the situation on the continent has become suspicious since spring began. I don't know the actual situation, but there seems to be some basis for it. One of them is the movement of the heroes. Medioland, adding the two nations of Sertoria and Regnentes, declared a Demon Realm conquest starting from early spring. In other words, while the operation is ongoing, a state of non-aggression with Engrio occurs, so the nations of the Northwest Coast Treaty gain diplomatic peace, and Engrio can go on an expedition to the continent without worrying about its rear. They will surely continue to operate intermittently while watching the situation on the continent.
"Uncle, if possible, could you not assign me to the front line?"
"Don't worry. You will be assigned to the aerial support team together with us and the Paratroop Jaegers who act with us. It's the very front line."
I stand corrected. It wasn't helpful at all.
Since it's not incognito, we stay one night in the Medioland capital and go to the site. Thanks to James-sama's consideration, the movement was in James-sama's medium-sized bowl, which met us at the border. Since there was another ultra-high-level mage, it was an ultra-high-speed movement.
The breakdown of the support unit is: from Regnentes, Harris-san. Participation from Sertoria includes Prince Roberts, Princess Gladys, and Hughes-sama as the Royal Army, plus two bowl users from the Paratroop Jaegers. As the support unit, Prince Charles and Miana from the Sertorian Royal Family. From the Class of 175, Beatrix, Beowulf, and me. The self-proclaimed private organization Henry Party consists of seven people, including Harold-sama and the newly non-regular Stephens-san... another victim has appeared. It's quite a number of people. Moreover, when we went to the fortress near the site around noon, Price-sama was leading the Medioland Royal Capital Great Church's monster extermination team.
"Oh, Harold. Are you participating too? I'm worried that if you don't show some filial piety to your Okugata-sama once in a while, she might divorce you."
It's Price-sama, a non-regular of the Henry Party. He immediately started pestering Harold-sama.
"We have a bond that you, a lifelong bachelor, wouldn't understand. There are various things you don't know."
How nasty. Among the things he doesn't know must be the fact that the ultra-secret weapon Lyudmila uses Dark.
"Speaking of which, your Okugata-sama sent me a letter. She said she was worried because you are participating in various operations despite being an old man after retirement."
"Hmph, minding other people's business."
Despite saying that, Harold-sama is grinning happily.
"Ah, my apologies. The letter worrying about you was from your son. From your Okugata-sama, it said she was sorry for causing trouble."
"W-What?"
These two really love bickering.
After the greetings were over, we had a strategy meeting. A large map was spread out on the table, and James-sama gave an explanation. The period is roughly one month. In other words, until April. Even though it's in the northern mountains, by April, the snow will have melted considerably. When that happens, the monsters that had dispersed will return to their original places. The monsters will become active. He wants to achieve certain results before that happens. Actually, he probably wants to continue longer, but to prepare for the situation on the continent, they have to return to their home base once. What happens after that seems to depend on the results achieved during that period and the situation on the continent. By the way, I will return once in the middle because of the recovery of the Northeastern Forest. Miana, the manager of Shop No. 4, will return together. Regarding that point, they will apparently temporarily connect this fortress and the Eastern Plains Corps fortress with a Teleportation Circle.
Looking north from the window, a mountainous area can be seen. That mountainous area is the Demon Realm targeted for conquest this time. The Demon Realm itself is narrower than the Northeastern Forest and is surrounded by plains. The coastline of the plains has several deep and narrow inlets, typical of the north. At the back of those inlets, there are usually port towns. The hinterland of the ports is also plains, and there are several towns and villages inland. The fortress serving as the base this time is one of them. In winter, food becomes scarce even in the Demon Realm. As a result, monsters not usually seen appear at the outer edges of the Demon Realm in search of prey. Consequently, the central part becomes thin. The goal is to strike there.
"There are three rows of mountain ranges lined up like a trident. As you can see on the map, they are connected by a wide mountainous area in the south. In the north, there are several large lakes, and usually, they don't come past the northern shores of these lakes. However, in winter, they cross the northern shores and advance further north. It is known that monsters are widely dispersed throughout March. Especially now, when they are fully spread out, is our chance."
I see. There are ways to attack like that. It's different from the bear and wolf hunts I've done so far.
"We will attack the two gaps between these trident mountain ranges from the air. Among the monsters, Cerberus and Orthrus have been confirmed as the strongest, and Wyrms have also been confirmed. They are C-rank. They are quite strong, so do not over-pursue."
Hearing the names of powerful magic beasts, Prince Charles swallowed hard. It seems he has grasped the situation.
But, C-rank right off the bat? As expected, the north is different. However, since magic beasts are the main focus, there must be a Teleportation Circle somewhere. It must surely connect to the largest Demon Realm on the White Island, located to the south of here.