290 - Ignorance is...
Thirty-fifth floor of the underground.
A few weeks had passed since arriving in Beim. The training, which had deployed five thousand men into the labyrinth, was reaching a major turning point.
The lack of time was a significant factor, but it had reached a point where they could no longer advance. The strategy of pushing through with sheer numbers had also stopped working.
However, the most important thing was that they had achieved a certain level of results. They had been able to promote personnel capable of leading company-sized units from among the various platoons.
Many individuals were discovered who could be promoted from ordinary soldiers to platoon leaders. More than that, the fact that the platoons General Broa had kept an eye on had shown results was also significant.
To prepare for the promotions, Unit Two was placing pieces on a map to reproduce the movements within the labyrinth in real time, and—
"...This is impressive. Their breakthrough power here is different from the others. It looks like they'll be more than capable of handling the floors ahead."
When I praised them, General Broa looked pleased.
"I didn't expect this much of a result. More importantly, isn't the Lost Platoon that Lord Lariel kept an eye on doing quite well too?"
The Lost Platoon.
A gathering of problem children who had drifted away from their company and gotten lost during the early stages of challenging the labyrinth. After that, they got lost three more times. Looking at them, I had judged that it would be better to disband the platoon, but due to various timing issues, they had continued to operate as a unit.
I had kept an eye on them in my own way, but I hadn't expected them to grow this much.
"How should I put it... their quirks are too strong. Their personalities are even more intense than the units General Broa looked after..."
Since it happened to be a harem platoon, it was a fact that I had some impure thoughts, like "I wish I had more comrades who could understand my feelings." That's why I had personally rooted for them, but I hadn't expected them to grow to this extent.
General Broa shrugged.
"They experienced growing together as a group twice. It was unexpected that this platoon would reach this level. Their personalities are too strong, so we'll have no choice but to assign them as a strike force."
Hearing the term "strike force," I had the simple thought that it sounded cool while watching the map where Unit Two continued to move the pieces.
Then, crossing my arms, I asked General Broa. From my perspective, the training in the labyrinth this time could be called a success. The objective was achieved, so there was no problem. However, I was curious about how General Broa felt.
"By the way, this training—how do you evaluate the results, General? I personally think it was a success."
General Broa placed both hands on the table, supporting his body without shifting his gaze from the map.
"I don't think it was a failure. However, even if we call it a success... they are the forces of the Walt family, said to be the strongest in Banseime. Just becoming capable of fighting is a success in itself, but considering winning, it's not enough. We gained units with breakthrough power and units with unpredictability. I believe the overall quality has improved. But the opponent has built up something different."
For some reason, the Seventh Head inside the Orb looked pleased.
'You understand, don't you, you brat.'
He was probably happy that the Walt family was being praised, but right now they were enemies. I wished he would think a bit more before speaking.
The Third Head, unlike the Seventh, was deep in thought.
'It means we're no longer in a situation of overwhelming disadvantage. Well, that's a good thing. All that's left is withdrawal, returning to Lufence for reorganization and training. Based on Inis-chan's predictions and our thoughts, we could expect Maisel-kun to move around then... Seventh, is there a prospect of winning?'
The Seventh Head had also once led the forces of the Walt family. He had predicted the timing of when his father would move, and seemed to have gained conviction regarding the general scale and objective from Inis-san's predictions.
'...It's not like Maisel's personality, but I can't imagine him defeating us in the current state to take back Lufence. Allocating that much military power would be difficult even for the Walt family. He probably wouldn't want an exclave, so if we consider the objective to be Lariel's head—a souvenir for Celes—then he'll likely fight, crush us, and head for Central?'
The opponent's objective, predicted from Inis-san's future foresight and the Seventh Head's knowledge and experience, was—my head. Moreover, it was as a souvenir for Celes.
The fact that such a reason is accepted for moving an army might be proof of their madness. However, while they are mad, their strength is the real deal, which makes them dangerous.
'There are several formations that Maisel excels at. I can prepare formations to counter them... the problem is whether the soldiers will be shaken by a special battlefield. Since they won't be able to use the skills and magic tools they usually rely on.'
For that reason, we had conducted training that restricted the use of skills. However, from the Walt family's perspective, it would likely look like a makeshift effort.
The Third Head muttered.
'...If he's coming for Lariel's head, let's think about using that to break the enemy.'
The Seventh Head understood the Third Head's words.
'Normally, there's a possibility he'd avoid overextending. However, if he's mad for Celes... it's possible.'
It was ironic. Even though fighting the forces of the Walt family was because of Celes... the Walt family, driven mad by Celes, could make that their weakness. The strongest army in Banseime, possessing both strength and breakthrough power—
"The delicious bait is me, huh."
Hearing my mutter, General Broa looked up, so I shook my head and told him I was just talking to myself.
Stretching on the spot, I became concerned about the situation in Lufence.
"Once I return, it'll be paperwork hell. Sigh, I hope nothing has happened over there."
When I said that, General Broa laughed in agreement.
—Inside Lufence Royal Castle.
The underground passage used by the royal family for escape.
It also served as a waterway, and in such a passage, there was a group running and splashing water. It was a group of nobles centered around the House of Count Bagdia, fleeing from something.
Several knights had prepared light with magic in their left hands, and the soldiers were running while glancing behind them.
Near the front, Laybel, surrounded by guards, had a panicked expression.
"Don't mess with me. Don't mess with me... I only made a proposal. Treating a mere gathering as an uprising—"
The nobles of Banseime who were in Lufence Royal Castle. Laybel and others had planned a banquet—not exactly a friendship party—gathering those who had primarily surrendered to Lariel. They had held drinking parties several times before that, and had obtained permission.
However, when the building that served as the banquet hall was suddenly surrounded, they were suspected of treason and almost detained. They had intended that from the start, but they were in the stage of moving cautiously and laying the groundwork around them.
At this stage, they hadn't spoken of treason. They had simply gathered those who were dissatisfied and were expanding their social connections.
From there, depending on the situation, they could have formed a large faction even if they tried to curry favor with Lariel. They were at the stage of considering various things, such as defeating Lariel to become independent, or using it as a souvenir for Banseime.
"Count, we should be able to exit from ahead. In the escape route I confirmed previously, the exit is almost—"
When a guard knight, who didn't have proper armor since he was attending a banquet, said that, he collapsed and Laybel was splashed with water. The guard knight stopped moving, and when those around him illuminated the knight with light, several arrows were stuck in his head and vital spots.
Seeing the guard knight floating in the water, Laybel drew the sword at his waist.
They stepped forward to protect Laybel. The guard knights pointed their swords toward the exit of the passage. If arrows were flying, they could only come from there.
A group clad in hooded robes appeared from the depths of the passage without any light, holding bows and arrows. A light occurred in the center of that group. It was a light illuminating the surroundings via magic, and the figure of the green-haired Miranda emerged.
She was wearing armor, and in her right hand, she held two daggers, their blades held between her fingers.
"Hii. It's a dead end from here. Too bad for you."
Behind the group dressed in black, fully armed knights were waiting. A dozen members of the musketeer unit led by Baldor were also present, pointing their muzzles.
Laybel looked at Miranda.
"...You, do you know what you're doing? If you kill me, the other nobles won't stay silent. Besides, I am—"
"—Want to say you're close with Lariel's other fiancées? You're such an optimistic person. I'm here because I was asked by those very girls. They're busy with external affairs, so it's a nuisance. Well, it's probably not suited for someone like Aria, so naturally, the role fell to me."
When Miranda said that and laughed, a shiver ran down Laybel's spine. In addition to goosebumps, cold sweat poured out, and he gasped.
(I have to get through this no matter what... a forced breakthrough is impossible. In that case, I'll surrender and induce carelessness...)
Laybel was accelerating his thoughts, but the group dressed in black around Miranda fired their arrows. The surrounding knights and soldiers fell one after another.
"W-Wait!"
Then, one of the guards cut down a flying arrow and released magic from his left hand.
"Fire Bullet!"
When a small fireball attacked one of the people in black, they cast off their robe, revealing their hidden appearance. There, the figure of a dark elf appeared.
Seeing that, Laybel muttered.
"W-Why? You are the... in terms of factions, the... of Novem..."
Miranda spoke with a lack of interest.
"I borrowed them. There's a rat increasing the trouble during a busy time, so I was asked to exterminate it. When I said I wanted manpower, they provided it immediately."
Laybel knew Lariel's fiancées, who could by no means be called close. In particular, he had researched that there was distance between Novem and Miranda. Despite that, he couldn't believe they were cooperating.
"D-Did you deceive us? You let us swim to lure us—"
Miranda answered immediately.
"No. I hate Novem, and I hate the others too. But, that doesn't mean I'll kick them down in a situation like this. I won't pull their legs either. Because, right? It would trouble Lariel. If it were just a slightly noisy rat, I would have fed it and left it alone... but you tried to take Lariel's place, didn't you?"
Miranda's face became expressionless, and she swung her right arm horizontally. Then, daggers flew and pierced the heads of the two knights in front of Laybel.
Watching the two knights in front of him collapse, Laybel laughed slightly.
"...I misread the situation. If I had known, I would have seriously courted you."
He was serious. Despite hating them, Laybel valued Miranda and the others, who acted for the goal, for Lariel, and could sometimes cooperate. And he had come to know that Lariel was more unguarded than he had imagined.
"If I had known... well, it's too late now."
To the speaking Laybel, Miranda shrugged.
"If you had been a bit more patient, one of us might have contacted you. Too bad, Count... you made the wrong judgment."
Miranda raised her right hand, and then brought it down. Arrows and bullets were fired, attacking Laybel and his group.
Deploying a Magic Shield in front of himself, Laybel laughed.
"But do you think it'll end with just this!"
Saying that, he gripped the hilt of his sword and started running, and the knights and soldiers following Laybel chased after him. Miranda smiled.
"I like that kind of stupidity. It feels like a 'boy'... but this is the end."
As Miranda slowly closed her right hand starting from the pinky, several spears appeared from the walls of the passage. It was as if traps had been prepared from the start, but those spears were all prepared with wires via a skill.
When the followers were pierced by the spears and separated, Laybel ended up charging at Miranda and her group with only a few people. As Laybel tried to swing his sword down at Miranda, Miranda drew a dagger from her waist, blocked Laybel's sword with the dagger in her right hand, and then slashed Laybel's abdomen with the dagger in her left hand.
Because Miranda canceled the magic in her left hand, the surroundings became dark. And when the light was lit again, Laybel was floating on the water—
Returning to Lufence with the army that had finished training, I looked at the mountain of documents piled up in my office.
The Third Head, watching that sight, said
'This is why I want to have a modest territory and lounge around without getting promoted, because this kind of work increases. Well, Lariel can't turn back anymore.'
Touching my face with my right hand, I looked down slightly. I knew it, but there was too much work. However, it was also a fact that it was better for me to be there when participating in the training.
I wanted to believe in the benefits of Experience, which seemed to be constantly active, and if the monsters in the labyrinth were increasing rapidly due to a lack of adventurers, there was also the purpose of managing the labyrinth.
I understand it wasn't a complete waste.
In the office, there was Unit One in armor and Monica, holding hands with both hands, testing each other's strength.
"To sell yourself to the chicken coward while I was away, you're a dirty one."
"Master cannot be satisfied with a piece of junk like you. Hurry up and hand over that position."
I can hear strange creaking sounds from both of them, but is it okay? To such a Monica, I said
"That's enough. Also, was there any movement while I was away?"
Then, Monica kicked Unit One away, straightened her posture, and turned a smile toward me.
"There were some minor problems, but thanks to the efforts of Lord Launo and Lord Baldor, everything was resolved without incident. Some unstable elements had mixed in, but they've been dealt with successfully. Therefore, we are preparing to give conspicuous rewards to Lord Launo and Lord Baldor. Since the chicken coward has returned, I thought we could hold a ceremony together with the knights who are being promoted after their training."
Wasn't it a major incident? Well, I'm glad it was resolved safely.
"Baldor is capable. I'm always being helped by Launo-san too. In that case, I'll use the ceremony to appoint him as a knight. So, who was moving?"
Monica remained smiling.
"People centered around some of the nobles of Banseime. It served as a good tightening of discipline."
Don't say such things with a smile. It's scary. Thinking that, I rotated my shoulders and headed toward the desk piled high with documents.
Monica tried to approach with a smile, but Unit One's arm flew over and pulled her away from me.
"Y-You inferior product!!"
"I'll turn you into scrap right here, you piece of junk!!"
Perhaps to avoid bothering me, Monica and Unit One started fighting in the hallway. Since their faces are identical, can't they get along better?
Or rather—
"Sigh, why are the women in my household so bad at getting along?"
I couldn't help but mutter that.