Chapter 133
It was ten o’clock in the morning.
I was heading to the underground mall with Nishino-kun and the others to take down Queen Ant Arpa.
There were twenty-eight people taking part in the extermination.
That was nearly the entire force at City Hall.
We split into three groups and headed for the underground mall from different directions.
The group I was in was the student group centered around Nishino-kun, ten people in all.
We split up to keep the Golems’ attacks from concentrating on one group.
Whether we had to run or act as decoys, we’d be more mobile and have a better chance of survival than if we all moved together.
—At least, that was the official explanation.
(The real reason was probably to avoid getting in each other’s way...)
My former coworkers and Nishino-kun’s group had been openly antagonistic toward each other in particular.
There was no way we could expect them to coordinate properly.
The mayor had decided it would be more efficient to operate separately from the start.
(It’s kind of incredible that we can’t even get on the same page in a situation like this...)
Well, I was relieved I wouldn’t have to work with those guys, too.
I felt bad for Nijo and Chief Shimizu, but I just couldn’t bring myself to like them.
...They’d even been looking at Ichinose-san that way, even though it was just my disguise. It really pissed me off.
Oops, I shouldn’t get distracted.
I had to focus.
Anyway, we were currently on our way to the underground mall.
If everything went smoothly, we’d be there in about ten minutes.
Maybe because everyone was nervous, no one was saying much.
I glanced at Nishino-kun, walking beside me. He looked grim.
Was he nervous?
...No, that was the look he got when he was thinking about something.
“Nisshi, what’s up? You’ve had a serious look on your face for a while now.”
It seemed Rikka-chan had noticed, too.
She leaned over to peer up at Nishino-kun from below and asked him.
A glimpse of cleavage and pink underwear... Rikka-chan could be accidentally provocative.
“I-It’s nothing. I was just thinking about the monsters we’re supposed to take down.”
Nishino-kun answered as he quickly turned his face away.
His cheeks seemed a little red. ...He was surprisingly innocent.
“You mean the Queen Ant and the Golems, right? What about them?”
“Actually, before we headed here, I talked to the mayor for a bit. There was something I was wondering about, and—”
Before Nishino-kun could continue, I raised my hand.
“Search has picked up something.”
Everyone’s expression changed at my words.
Nishino-kun and Rikka-chan stopped talking and prepared for battle.
“Eighty meters away. Ants, fifteen. Thirteen regular ones, no higher-ranking individuals, and... two Goblins.”
I gave them the information concisely.
“...Are the ants and Goblins fighting?”
“No, it doesn’t seem like that...”
It felt as if the ants were swarming over the two Goblins.
Could it be...?
“...All right. Rikka, Ichinose, and I will go ahead. Everyone else, follow a little behind us.”
Nishino-kun gave his instructions in a quick whisper, then took Rikka-chan and me toward the source of the response.
We hid beside a wall and watched.
“...!?”
Nishino-kun’s expression changed at the sight before us.
“G... Giii...”
“...Gegya...aa...”
Two Goblins were on the verge of death.
The ants were swarming over them, chomping away with wet, squelching sounds.
It looked like they were “eating.”
“It doesn’t look like they’ve noticed us.”
“Wait. Are they... eating them?”
“Ugh...”
Nishino-kun and Rikka-chan turned pale.
“When monsters die, they disappear and leave behind a magic stone. That’s why they’re deliberately keeping them alive like that.”
Anything severed from a living body stays behind.
Like the monster bloodstains on the washing machine.
What the ants were doing was basically making live sashimi out of monsters.
“...How can you stay so calm?”
“I’m used to it. Besides, I have resistance Skills.”
It was an incredibly gruesome sight.
Without resistance Skills, I would’ve thrown up.
“They still haven’t noticed us. ...If we’re going to attack, now’s our chance.”
“Y-Yeah, you’re right.”
Nishino-kun composed himself and gave everyone instructions.
“...Everyone, let’s go!”
“Understood!”
The students—one of them a middle-aged man—rushed forward in perfect unison.
I raised the gun in my hand, Aka.
While I was disguised as Ichinose-san, I’d decided to fight as a sniper.
There was no problem with ammunition; Ichinose-san had given me some beforehand.
“... (shiver)!”
Aka trembled with determination, as if to say, “I’ll do my best!”
“Giiii!?”
The ants that had been eating finally noticed us.
But it was too late.
“Fire!”
At Nishino-kun’s signal, they raised the Magnum Blasters in their hands.
With a pssshhh, a huge cloud of smoke shot out.
“Giiiiiiiiiiiiii!?”
“Kish... Gii-kii...”
“Gishaaaaaaah...”
The ants, engulfed in the smoke, let out cries of agony.
Nishino-kun and the others didn’t let that opening go to waste.
“Yaaah!”
“Hnnnnnnngh!”
Rikka-chan charged in first, followed by Goshogawara-san, and the other students went after them.
Rikka-chan deftly sliced through the ants, slipping her blade between their joints.
Goshogawara-san crushed them with sheer force using a log. ...That log was amazing.
The other students also rushed at the ants with their own weapons.
Nishino-kun gave appropriate orders from the rear, using Command and Battle Support to continually boost their coordination and stats.
(...This team is stronger than I expected.)
Nishino-kun was the commander, Rikka-chan and Goshogawara-san with the log were the main attackers, and Shibata-kun had medical Skills. The other students were high-level, too, and knew how to use their Skills well.
More than anything, their teamwork was outstanding.
It was easy to see how much combat experience they’d gained against monsters over the past seven days.
That was clear from how quickly the more than ten ants dwindled in number.
(...Wait a minute. Do I even have a role here?)
I hurriedly raised my gun again, but Rikka-chan had already taken down the last one.
“... (shiver)!” Aka puffed up proudly.
Aka trembled as if to ask, “When do I get a turn?”
...Sorry, Aka. I appreciate you getting all fired up, but it looks like you won’t have a part in this fight.
The first battle ended, while Aka trembled dejectedly.
“Everyone, check for any other monsters! If there aren’t any, we’ll get moving again!”
We collected the magic stones and resumed our march.
Oh, and Shibata-kun made sure to finish off the Goblins who’d been made into a meal.
“Speaking of which—”
After the battle, I waited for a good moment and spoke to Nishino-kun.
“What was it you were about to say earlier?”
“Earlier...?”
“That thing about the Queen Ant and the Golems...”
“Oh, that.”
Nishino-kun nodded, then continued.
“I was just wondering why ‘defeating two designated monsters’ had been added to the Skill’s completion conditions this time...”
“Oh, I was wondering about that, too.”
According to the mayor, the conditions for leveling up the Town Building Skill were:
At Level 2, “secure 10 people, 10 magic stones.”
At Level 3, “secure 50 people, 100 magic stones.”
Apparently, those had been the requirements.
This time, defeating two Named monsters had been added on top of that.
The difficulty had clearly shot up.
“Those conditions are really harsh, aren’t they?”
“They are.”
Rikka-chan, walking beside us, joined the conversation.
“Yeah. But couldn’t we look at it another way? Maybe the conditions didn’t get harder. Maybe they had to get harder.”
“Huh?”
Rikka-chan tilted her head.
“Before we left, I asked the mayor what happened to the monsters already inside the area when Town Building expands the safe zone.”
“What happened to them?”
“Apparently, they were forcibly driven out. The moment the safe zone expanded, any monsters inside the area were forced out to the very edge of its boundary. The City Hall staff helped observe it as it happened, so there’s no doubt about it. The monsters that were driven out tried to get back in, but they couldn’t, as if they’d been blocked by an invisible wall.”
Huh, so that’s how it works.
Maybe it’s like a barrier that forcibly expels monsters and keeps them from coming back in.
“That got me thinking. Maybe the two monsters designated for extermination this time are enemies that absolutely have to be defeated before Town Building can expand the safe zone.”
Rikka-chan once again had a question mark floating over her head at Nishino-kun’s words.
“Um, does that mean—”
“In other words, these two are ‘exceptions’ that can’t be forcibly moved away from this area for some reason?”
That would explain why they’d been listed as targets for extermination.
I picked up where Rikka-chan left off, and Nishino-kun gave a small nod.
“Doesn’t that make a lot of things fall into place? A Queen Ant, for example, spends its entire life inside its nest once it builds one. If that’s a ‘Queen Ant’s trait’ that can’t be overridden even by a Skill’s effect, then it makes sense that the Queen Ant was selected as a target. The list specifically says ‘Queen Ant,’ not just ‘ants,’ after all.”
“I see...”
It might be foolish to apply the logic of ordinary ants to monsters, but it did make sense.
“More than anything, it felt strange that they hadn’t moved their nest even though we’d killed so many ants. If it were me, I’d start moving as soon as the enemy found me. So there’s no doubt the Queen Ant can’t leave that place... No, it’s a monster that can’t move from there. That’s what we should assume.”
“That’s definitely possible...”
“Hmm, I don’t really get it.”
Apparently Rikka-chan’s head had already overheated with a little puff of steam.
“Then what about the Golem? Unlike the ants, it seems like it can move around freely, right?”
Shibata-kun, walking behind us, joined the conversation.
“What are you talking about, Shibata? That one’s even easier to understand. Think about its name again.”
“Huh? ...Um, Guardian Golem Titan, right?”
“That’s right. Ohno would probably have figured it out right away. He was good at this kind of game. Guardian—literally, ‘protector.’”
“Oh!” Shibata-kun exclaimed.
I’d figured it out, too.
“Get it? Titan is probably guarding ‘something’ in this ‘Extermination Zone.’ Since it’s a Guardian, as long as there’s ‘something’ to protect, it can’t leave this area. ...Though I can’t guess what it’s protecting.”
“I-I see... Th-that’s amazing! As expected of you, Nishino-san!”
“It’s nothing special. And knowing the reason doesn’t change the fact that we still have to fight it.”
That was certainly true.
Either way, City Hall had no future unless we defeated those two.
“...Still, it might be useful to know going forward.”
“Huh? Useful how, Nishino-san?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Nishino-kun’s quiet mutter.
I’d heard it clearly.
...Maybe he was thinking along the same lines I was.
Acquiring the Town Building Skill. Establishing a safe zone of our own.
If that was what he was thinking, then Nishino-kun really was someone we could count on.
I’d ask him about it later.
“...All right, enough idle talk. We’re getting close to the enemy’s main force.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The shopping district came into view.
Search was picking up more and more monsters.
“—They’re coming.”
Everyone raised their weapons.
At the same time, the ground rattled and cracks spread across it.
“Kiiiiii!”
Once again, a huge number of ants appeared before us.
“Looks like they were waiting for us.”
“Seems that way.”
“Yeah.”
By now, the City Hall team and Chief Shimizu’s group should have reached their assigned positions, too.
“All right, this is where the real fight begins. Don’t let your guard down!”
“Yeah!”
At Nishino-kun’s command, the students charged forward.
I had to get out in front this time so I wouldn’t fall behind.
Just as I started moving toward a spot where I could snipe quickly—
“...Hmm?”
I sensed something ominous.
What was it?
...Hostility? No, was this “malice”?
I turned toward the direction I’d sensed it coming from.
That was the direction Chief Shimizu and the others were in.
...Why? I had a strange sense of unease.