kscans

Chapter 242 - The Siege of Miglutt, and Levante's Resolve

The city of Miglutt was formed with the government building and the ruins of the Great Temple that Laciel destroyed on a central hill, surrounded by four administrative districts. I rushed to Marina’s side. From the window of her study in the Star Union estate, I could see the city streets of one of those districts. Rows of reddish-brown roofs stretched out, and beyond them, a low, trapezoidal hill was visible. On top of it sat a massive white building that reflected the sunlight—Miglutt’s central government building. But that very symbol of the city was now spewing black smoke that seemed to cover the sky. Flames were visible too. It was a marble structure. The inside was probably on fire. They must have already breached the interior.

"What foolishness…"

Marina whispered, her shoulders trembling.

"Maryanne…"

She had said the representatives of the Four Regent Families were gathered there. I had to save her, no matter what. Just then, my thoughts were cut short by the clang of swords from below. I looked down to see dozens of armed soldiers climbing over the iron-railed fence. Knights from within the mansion rushed out to stop them, and the skirmish quickly escalated into a group battle. Another explosion erupted, blowing a section of the fence away. More soldiers poured through the gap. The defenders were quickly overwhelmed. I gritted my teeth, watching the scene unfold. This mansion wasn’t built for combat.

"To think they would attack this mansion…"

"Are these Zeno’s men?"

"Yes. That is their armor."

Marina’s lips were pressed into a hard line as she looked down at the scene. The battle unfolding was a group engagement. There was no place for adventurers here anymore. It was a shame that most of our allies, who had been gathered at our house this morning, had already dispersed. But if Zeno was mobilizing an army to take over the city, his targets would be the government building, the estates of the Four Regent Families, and military facilities. There shouldn’t be attacks anywhere else. If he had moved a large army, Marina would have had intelligence on it much earlier. So the force Zeno had mobilized couldn't be that large. In any case, it seemed best to head for Maryanne’s rescue now. I turned around, and was surprised to see Famu, Mizuki, Myra, and Marmi standing right behind me.

"Aira is at the magic school. I have to check if she’s safe. Also, the Crystal Core Mash brought is at the church. It would be terrible if it were targeted."

Myra clutched her hand to her chest. She was right. We had to regroup with them as soon as possible.

"Right. First, we need to go get Cecily and Aira."

"If they are inside the magic school, they should be fine. That place has a degree of autonomy, and it’s home to some of the world’s most powerful mages. It won’t fall easily, even if attacked,"

Marina answered.

"But this is Zeno’s rebellion, isn’t it? In that case, couldn’t there be people loyal to him who have infiltrated the school?"

"That is…"

She hesitated. She didn’t have a grasp on the situation. Her own husband, Augustus, was at the government building. She must have been worried. We needed to repel the attackers at the mansion as quickly as possible, assess the city’s situation, and decide on our next course of action.

"Master."

Famu moved closer to me.

"Please let me go look for Sam."

Hearing her words, Mizuki also looked up.

"I have to go meet Yuki and stop this war."

"Both of you, wait. All we know is that the government building was attacked and this mansion is under siege. We don’t even know if Yuki or Clovis are involved."

As I said that, Marmi pulled on the hem of my clothes.

"…I don’t think Zeno and Clovis are acting independently. To take control of Miglutt, they have to eliminate the threat of the otherworlder heroes in this city."

"The special skill users?"

Marmi nodded. Those abilities ranged from useless powers like summoning massive quantities of condoms to powers that could block any attack, and even invincible powers like Goddess Summon that could overturn any disadvantageous situation. She was right. Even if Zeno succeeded in taking over the city, if the otherworlder heroes here launched a counter-attack, it would be difficult for ordinary soldiers to stop them.

"But would the otherworlders fight for the city? I think they’d run."

If I didn’t have any attachments, I would have thought of running first too.

"…It’s also possible they made their move because they had a way to eliminate the threat of the otherworlder heroes."

"Come to think of it, Yuki’s special skill, Koku Sanzo, was said to be able to hold up to three special skills from enemies he defeated…"

It was impossible for someone to acquire a special skill that another person already had. However, like Ito, who created clones of himself, it was possible to use the same special skill. It was unclear what "defeat"

meant specifically, but if Yuki had managed to acquire Goddess Summon, he would become an invincible existence when combined with the defensive abilities of his partner, Oi. With that in mind, it was possible Zeno was focused on suppressing the city’s leaders, while Clovis was moving to eliminate the special skill users in the city.

"…Patricia is at the house. She serves me. So I have to protect her, no matter what."

Marmi turned her back and headed for the door. I grabbed her hand.

"Don’t go alone. If you’re going, all of Levante is going!"

She turned around and looked up at me. Her gaze was like a glare. I flinched involuntarily at the sharp look from someone who rarely showed her emotions.

"…I have Wake. After that, I have to protect the Star Union Family as well. I’m leaving the party."

"No. Can the two of you handle a group of attackers? If we’re going, we’re all going."

"…You’re the one who can’t use Goddess Summon until tomorrow morning, Mash. You should stay here. Once Cecily and Aira come back, there won’t be a place for me in Levante anyway."

Marmi lowered her eyes and looked away.

"Don’t be ridiculous! Right now, you are Levante. We act together!"

I tried to pull her arm, but Marmi pushed back.

"…Even if I were somewhere else, you wouldn’t worry about me like you do for those two, would you?"

"Of course I would!"

"…Then why don’t you worry about Patricia in the same way?"

"Because she’s with Hyakka and the others…"

It wasn’t just Patricia. There was also Claire from the Mateo Trading Company, Yanan of the Earth Dragon Race, Kalpana and the nomads, Rinko and Airi, the members of Nekono Konekoneko, and the high priestess Elisha. The thought of any of my connections being targeted filled me with an anger and焦り that felt like it would drive me insane. Marmi looked down and shook my arm free.

"…If they’re trying to eliminate the otherworlder heroes, their first target will be that house. In any case, I’m going to bring Patricia back."

Just as she was about to head for the door again, Marina blocked her path.

"Wait. This mansion is under attack. What do you intend to do by bringing Patricia to a place like this?"

Multiple whooshing sounds tore through the air, followed by the sound of shattering glass. Several arrows were now sticking out of the study’s ceiling. Peeking out the window from the shadows, I saw soldiers with crossbows reloading their weapons. It seemed there were about four hundred soldiers besieging the mansion. Against them, there were only two hundred defenders. They had already given up defending the garden and had retreated to fight from within the mansion. But the mansion seemed too large to defend with that number of people. Marina’s study had been serving as the command center, but since it was on the top floor, both messengers and commands took too long. Marina decided to move to a lower floor.

"Mash, I need you and your group to guide the non-combatants to the upper floors for evacuation."

I nodded at Marina’s words.

"Shizuka and Reeni, I need you to guide people on the upper floors. Toratsuna, I want you to protect them."

"The siege line is thin. If it’s just us, we can break through and escape,"

Toratsuna whispered in my ear.

"I can’t just leave Marina and run. But if you guys want to escape, I’ll help."

Honestly, I wasn’t keen on getting involved in a fight between humans.

"Mo, where are the people in this mansion who need to be evacuated?"

"…There’s a place where the kitchen staff and other servants gather."

"Alright, let’s hurry."

I led Levante through a stone corridor littered with glass shards. The mansion was built in a square shape around a central courtyard and was five stories high. Being made of stone, it wouldn’t be easily destroyed. But with large windows designed for letting in light, it wasn’t built with defense in mind. Soldiers lay in the garden, and it was impossible to tell if they were friend or foe. Currently, the defenders were shooting at the enemy soldiers who were trying to enter the garden from the windows. The enemy soldiers were also hiding behind the gazebo and the garden’s stone borders, firing back with crossbows. The battle had reached a stalemate. I was worried about the others too. But to get to them, we had to break through this siege. I still couldn’t bring myself to order Famu and the others to turn their weapons on people, like we had against the pirates.

"Mash!"

I was startled by the call and stopped in my tracks. An arrow flew past where I had just been. I quickly moved away from the window, out of the enemy’s line of fire.

"We are in the middle of a battle, you know?"

Myra’s tone was sharper than usual. Under these circumstances, it couldn’t be helped.

"Sorry."

I apologized, and Myra blinked once. She reached out and took my arm.

"Mash, I think it would have been fine to go with Toratsuna’s idea."

"We can’t just leave Mo’s mother behind and run away."

"That’s it. Please don’t forget that we are just adventurers. What can we do in this situation? And is it really okay to leave Shizuka and Reeni in a place like this? Staying here won’t fulfill any of Levante’s goals."

"Are you telling me to run away, Myra?"

It was true that if we broke through the siege, we would be free, and if we could meet up with Kalpana and the nomads outside the city, our safety would be guaranteed.

"No. Mash, you have saved us from many dangerous situations. Even when you were hesitant at first, you looked at the situation and made the right call. You are without a doubt my hero. But right now, you can’t use your special skill, can you?"

"So what if I can’t summon Laciel with Goddess Summon!"

"Behind your decisiveness and ability to make tough choices, there was always the belief that Lady Laciel would sort things out in the end, wasn’t there? You say you have no faith, but you believe in Lady Laciel. That’s why you’re lost right now, unable to think of anything, isn’t it? Aren’t you just letting yourself be swept away by the situation?"

Myra stared at me, and I averted my gaze. But where I looked, there were Famu, Mizuki, and Marmi. Their mouths were set in firm lines as they watched me. They had their own worries, but right now, they were worried about me.

"You’re right, Myra. I should have been protecting you all first, but I’ve lost sight of my priorities…"

"I don’t expect you to protect me right now. Because right now, the weakest one here is you, Mash. We will protect you. No matter what the outcome may be."

Myra said with a smile. I spread my arms and hugged all four of them.

"No matter what happens, Levante sticks together. No matter what happens, the five of us will get through this!"

"Yes!"

"Master."

"…Yeah."

"Got it."

Their replies were all different. But that was fine. We were all different, and that’s why we could be together.

"Alright, first, let’s evacuate the non-combatants to the upper floors."

My resolve didn’t change the situation. But I felt like my head had cleared a little. Even if we escaped, if the city was taken over by Zeno’s forces, we wouldn’t be able to save the others. First, we had to get through this crisis. If we could do that, we could establish a base for a counter-attack and assess the situation around us. We headed for the kitchen.