Volume 3 Chapter 135 Post-Battle Arrangements
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Just in case, I’ll send three Wing Cain. They’ll likely need to stop for food along the way, so it’ll probably take a few days to reach the Guild staff stationed at Erynys’ ancient temple. But once they arrive, the request for personnel to join ‘Lion’s Companion’ will be shared with all Guild branches. I think suitable Adventurers near your location will start gathering within two weeks.”
”Sorry, I’m counting on you.”
Rean handed over three sturdy wooden tubes containing letters.
Kian gave them to the three waiting Wing・Cain, who took off immediately.
From the entrance of the ancient temple, they soared into the clear midday sky, accelerating rapidly.
As Kian watched them depart, Rean spoke up, sounding worried.
”Isn’t setting the meeting point at the ancient temple too difficult for Adventurers to reach, Kian?”
”You’re looking for monster-hunting specialists, right? They’re not clueless mercenaries. They’ll use beast-repelling scents or figure out a safe route to get here. If they can’t even manage that, what use are they as allies? They’d just slow you down, and you’d be better off alone.”
”I don’t care who the replacements are. As long as they’re minimally competent, even someone with Ninini’s combat ability is fine.”
”You’re something else…”
Kian lowered his eyebrows at Rean’s words.
The wind blowing in from the marsh ruffled the golden hair of the young man, whose beauty had captivated every woman in East End. Rean seemed oblivious to the absurdity of his own statement and calmly waited for Kian’s response.
”Rean, what do you think of Ms. Ninini? By Sarah’s standards, she’s a useless cat, but Ms. Ninini is overwhelmingly stronger than most combat-focused Adventurers, even as a scout.”
At the very least, her combat experience and skill with tools and traps make her more valuable than Serena. Setting her as the minimum standard is already too high.
This area falls under Ramsey’s Adventurer branch, but excluding Owl-managed mid and advanced-rank Adventurers, you’d be waiting for hopefuls like the ‘Falcon Brigade’ Kian once clashed with.
But how many such groups exist?
It’s best to aim for someone with basic monster knowledge, reconnaissance skills, and the ability to plan routes—combat ability can be secondary.
”So, don’t expect too much from new members. You talked about hitting a big score to rescue Ms. Lyritisse and Ms. Ninini, but if you charge in recklessly, everyone but you will likely die.”
”…Say, do you think Ms. Sarah could lend a hand?”
”Have you forgotten what Sarah said? She’d definitely refuse. Even if I asked, she’d never join you. And I’d never entrust my precious Sarah to someone like you.”
As Kian said this, Rean crossed his arms, looking troubled.
”No good… If not Ms. Sarah, then you could come instead.”
”That’s not something you ask someone you once kicked out of your party.”
”Is it really impossible?”
”It is. I still have the second quest from Izerland’s princess to complete. I don’t have time to indulge your reckless adventures.”
”I see… Hmm… That’s a problem.”
”If you want high-combat allies that badly, why not join Umar’s group? He plans to stay here until he gets permission to investigate the gate. You’d have unlimited hunting opportunities, and if you prove useful to Umar, you might negotiate to borrow someone like Demete or Katyusha.”
”That’s a great idea!”
Kian had meant it half in jest, but Rean nodded seriously and turned back toward the ancient temple’s corridor.
Kian called out to the young man as he disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.
”Your quest to gather your party members is still ongoing. You can hunt as you please, but do not, under any circumstances, jump into the gate alone.”
”……”
Rean, whether he agreed or not, simply raised his hand lightly and said nothing.
He is a man of absolute freedom.
He would really like to bind him with a magic contract to keep him in line, but considering the cost of his armor and other factors, he cannot. To some extent, he had no choice but to leave it to his autonomy.
”Sir Kian”
Now, a warrior monk who arrived in place of Rean bowed respectfully.
He does not remember his name, but he should have been serving Umar for a very long time.
Wearing black monastic robes, his back was quite bent, and his limbs were quite thin.
The man, who might be even older than Umar, continued speaking while lowering his eyes to avoid looking at Kian’s face.
”Demete and Lady Sarah are calling for you.”
”Understood. Sarah should be tending to Ninini, so she’s probably on the left side of the temple.”
”I will guide you.”
Guidance was not really necessary, but there was no reason to refuse.
By the way, Kian decided to ask the man if he could purchase supplies for Linca.
”Do you have any extra sweets, tea, or plain clothes from Azrael?”
”How much do you think we struggled to leave Azrael? There’s no way we would have any extras.”
”You must have come here using a dragonfly, right? You should have been able to load a lot of supplies.”
”Master plans to stay here until the gate investigation is complete. It could take weeks or months. We also need to deal with the Beastmen Alliance investigation team, so we cannot waste any supplies.”
”I see. Regarding the investigation team sent by the Hairkin Races tribal council, what does Father plan to do? I assume they are just coming to confirm the facts of what Barghest did, but is he going to kill them all?”
”It seems you do not know the first thing about negotiations. It is foolish to oppose the Beastmen Alliance. If Yelmar also goes against our alliance, we shall break the contract and turn our fangs towards you.”
”Hmm. But I don’t think there is anyone around Umar who is good at negotiations…”
”That is not something you need to worry about.”
”That is true. For now.”
He plans to enter the world of dreams tonight and report the outcome of the situation to Maribel and Priscilla, but knowing Maribel, he expect she will push the request to Kian to temporarily preserve the gate to the Hairkin Races tribal council.
In that case, they will have to discuss matters such as the dwelling of the Beastmen, how much to lower Ramsey’s defenses, how far the Beastmen will retreat, and how long they will maintain their inviolability.
It would be nice if Maribel could send a proxy politician, but it is extremely difficult for an amateur to cross the Great Forest. Then the discussion would turn to passing through Ramsey, guarded by Owl, but if he mentions negotiating with the Beastmen Alliance at that time, Owl will surely not allow it.
Still, he does not know exactly what he is doing right now.
It is undoubtedly true that he has been tasked with the unreasonable demand of protecting Ramsey alone from Maribel, and he is spending day and night staring at maps.
Considering the military plans he has and the many sacrifices he has made, even Maribel cannot accept “let’s stop fighting for now and have a discussion.”
Not only Owl, but also the surrounding border lords will likely have doubts about the military capabilities of Maribel and her government.
’The messenger will arrive, and it seems the Beastmen will be faster.’
(Of course. The other party is 2 or 3 days away by horse.)
Whether a negotiator comes from Izerland or not, if things continue like this, it will likely fall to Umar or Kian to respond to the investigation team of the chieftain alliance that will arrive here first.
If they can afford to put Ninini’s life support, the gate, and the clarification of the spell formula on the back burner, it seems like the best option would be to leave everything to Sarah…, but it’s not good to rely on Sarah for everything.
(There’s no way I, an adventurer, can handle politics…)
’It’s not politics, but negotiations, I suppose. I think it’s time for your silver tongue to shine.’
(The tribal council has no intention of negotiating in good faith. If they don’t close the gate, they’ll demand that we lift the defenses of Ramsey. If we refuse, an elite unit will be sent, and this place will be taken over, along with Umar.)
’It would be difficult for just Lady Sarah and you to handle it.’
(If it’s just Sarah and me, we can manage somehow, but the other members will be almost completely wiped out.)
’What if we use Linca?’
Kian’s thoughts raced in an instant.
(That’s an option. If it’s Linca, no matter how strong the opponent sent is, as long as her ‘Penetration’ isn’t neutralized, we can easily take control. And I can hold off anyone who could deal with her.)
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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