Chapter 136
After we’d been moving for a while, Nishino-kun and the others came into view.
Rikka-chan noticed us and waved.
“Isn’t that Nishino-kun’s team? What are they doing here?”
Chief Shimizu exclaimed in surprise.
Well, they were supposed to be much farther away.
It was only natural that she’d be surprised.
“One of his friends has a detection-type Skill. Rather than wait around, we had them come meet us. Oh, I’ve already explained what happened, so let’s join up first.”
“What happened...? Huh? No, wait, what do you mean? There are so many things I want to ask you...”
“I’ll explain later.”
“Later? You can’t just...”
I mostly ignored Chief Shimizu’s questions.
There wasn’t time to explain the whole situation.
This wasn’t the time for that, so I’d just have to gloss over it for now.
I could think of a good excuse after it was all over... Nishino-kun could. Yeah, I’d leave that to him.
“...And Nijo, could you let go of me already?”
“N-No! I feel like if I let go, Senpai will disappear again...”
She’d been clutching the hem of my shirt and refusing to let go this whole time.
What was she, a lost kid?
“It’s all right, okay?”
“...”
Nijo finally let go, though she seemed reluctant to do so.
“Good work, Kudo-san.”
“You too, Nishino-kun. Thanks.”
For explaining everything to everyone so smoothly.
It seemed Nishino-kun and Rikka-chan had explained everything well, from why I, as Ichinose-san, was leaving my post to how I’d be joining their group.
They’d apparently explained it all beforehand, too, so the switch went smoothly.
Thank you so much, Nishino-kun.
“Has Ichinose-san taken up her position?”
“Yes, no problems.”
This was another exchange we’d agreed on ahead of time to avoid confusion.
The real Ichinose-san was still waiting somewhere else, by the way.
Just in case. If my unpleasant suspicion turned out to be wrong, we planned to have her join us right away afterward.
“Shimizu-san, Nijo-san, we’ve been waiting for you. Kudo-san told us what happened. I’m glad you’re both safe.”
“Huh?”
They gave us a look that clearly asked what was going on, but I smoothly ignored it.
“I’ll explain all that later, too. For now, let’s think about what to do with the plan.”
“...All right.”
She wasn’t satisfied, but she understood the situation.
Chief Shimizu didn’t press the matter any further.
“—So, with only the two of you left on Chief Shimizu’s team, we’ll have you join ours.”
“So we’re going ahead with the operation?”
“Yes. If we call it off now, all the sacrifices and time we’ve spent will have been wasted.”
“...You’re right. Yes, exactly.”
A simultaneous attack from three directions was no longer possible, but we could still catch them in a pincer attack with Nishino-kun’s team and the City Hall team.
On top of that, two of Nishino-kun’s friends were supposed to join the City Hall team.
After the trouble with Chief Shimizu’s group, Nishino-kun had hastily sent the remaining students who’d been waiting at City Hall to join that team.
If they made it there safely, we’d be able to communicate by email, which might actually make coordination easier than it had been with three teams.
“Um... Are those people going to be all right?”
Nishino-kun answered Nijo’s question, assuring her that they’d be fine.
“The two who were waiting at City Hall have Skills geared more toward escape than combat. They’re good at moving stealthily, too... Oh, look over there.”
Nishino-kun pointed in a certain direction.
Two plumes of smoke were rising from that direction.
“One is from the City Hall team. The other was supposed to go up when our friends joined them safely, so it looks like they’ve reached their positions without a problem.”
“So the City Hall team’s already in position, too? That’s a lot faster than I expected.”
“Yeah. They really are capable. We should hurry and get into position, too.”
At Shibata-kun’s words, Nishino-kun nodded and quickly gave out instructions.
“I’m sure you both have a lot of questions and things you want to say, but we’ll have to leave those for later. Is that all right?”
“...Understood. I’ll leave command to you, then. Is that all right with you?”
“I-I’m fine with that, too.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Chief Shimizu and Nijo changed their expressions and readied their weapons.
They’d switched gears.
Everyone met each other’s eyes and nodded.
“Everyone! The enemy’s main force is just ahead! Don’t let your guard down! We’re all coming back alive! We’re going to win and make it home!”
“Ooooooooooh!”
Everyone answered Nishino-kun’s cry.
His voice really did have power.
He had a charisma that drew people in, quite apart from any Skill.
I wasn’t worried about his shouting attracting the enemy.
We were in enemy territory. They already knew where we were anyway.
In that case, keeping our morale high was more important.
The stairs down to the underground mall came into view.
Search had already picked up an enormous number of presences.
And among them was one presence that was unmistakably different.
(It’s there. No doubt about it.)
Queen Ant Arpa.
A Named Monster.
In other words, it was on the same level as that High Orc, Rufen.
Whether I liked it or not, the tension was mounting.
“Set off the smoke flare.”
“Yes, sir!”
Smoke from the flare rose high into the sky.
“Nissy...”
“Yeah. I just got an email, too. They’re all ready over there.”
“Then...”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
Nishino-kun took a deep breath, then—
“Move in!!!”
“Woooooooooooooooooooooo!”
We readied our weapons and entered the underground mall.
A countless number of ants immediately came to greet us.
They weren’t just in front of us.
The black swarm burst through weakened walls, appearing from every direction.
“Keep the light sources protected at all times! If we lose our light, we’ll be wiped out in no time!”
“Understood!”
We had helmets with work lights on them and LED lanterns hanging from our chests.
The area near the stairs was still fine, but the Queen Ant was farther in, in the darkness where no light reached.
Everyone kept their light sources secure as we exterminated the ants.
Nijo and I had the Night Vision Skill, so we were fine.
Using Shadow and the Orc’s Cleaver, I made sure to take the ants out one by one.
I also crushed ants with my Item Box when they were somewhere nobody else could see them.
I should make some makeshift walls, too.
That ought to hinder their movements at least a little.
Since we were underground, carelessly using things like concrete wave breakers or heavy machinery could cause a cave-in, but that wasn’t a problem.
My newly acquired Skill, Terrain Awareness, took care of that.
I could see the terrain within my Search range as clearly as if I were holding it in my hands, aboveground and underground alike.
I could tell exactly where the ground was weak or sturdy, and where and how I could drop things without causing trouble.
(...Did Aka make me pick Tracker for this?)
There couldn’t be a more useful Skill than Terrain Awareness for fighting in this underground mall.
Aka had said it was “just a feeling,” but had he somehow predicted this?
Or was there another reason?
No, never mind that. I need to focus on what’s in front of me.
≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫
≪Your experience has reached a certain threshold≫
≪Kazuto Kudo’s Lv. has increased from 23 to 24≫
≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill Night Vision has increased from Lv. 4 to 5≫
≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫
≪Your proficiency has reached a certain level≫
≪Your Skill Terrain Awareness has increased from Lv. 3 to 4≫
≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫≪You gained experience≫
Announcements rang out constantly in my head.
No matter how many ants we killed, more kept appearing.
(Damn it, I don’t have time to assign my points...!)
I’d leveled up, but I didn’t have the time to spare for that, either.
By the way, I’d already taken care of the points from the last level-up while we were on the move.
I’d already acquired my fourth Job, too.
I’d chosen it with what lay ahead in mind, but facing this absurd number of ants made me wonder if I should’ve picked Exterminator instead.
No, that guy was the real target.
That was why I’d made all these preparations, wasn’t it?
“Shiba-chi! I’m out of insecticide! Give me another one!”
“On it!”
“Shimizu-san, there are ants coming from that direction, too!”
“I know! Nijo-san, go support Goshogawara-san!”
“R-Right—whoa!”
“Hrrrgh, take this!”
“I-It’s amazing he can wield that log so well even when there’s no room to swing it...”
“Shimizu-san, go help them, too! Rikka and I can handle things here. Shibata, support them!”
“Got it! Hey, old man Goshogawara! Do you have another log?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got one ready!”
The battle grew even fiercer.
How far had we gone after descending the stairs?
“Ah!” Nijo exclaimed.
“I-It’s up ahead! I can sense the Queen Ant from the central plaza just a little farther on!”
Everyone’s expressions changed.
Nishino-kun looked at me.
“Kudo-san...”
“Yes, there’s no doubt about it.”
My Search had been picking it up for a while now, too.
It was up ahead.
Queen Ant Arpa was just up ahead.
“I can practically feel how dangerous it is...”
Rikka-chan’s tone was casual, but she seemed tense, too.
Fighting off ants, we stepped into the central plaza.
A black ant, far larger than the rest, was there.
Just as Nijo had said, it was several times bigger than the other ants.
Its front legs were unnaturally long, with scythe-like tips like a praying mantis’s.
Its abdomen was grotesquely swollen, and the protrusions scattered across it throbbed with each beat of its pulse.
So this was Queen Ant Arpa.
I see. It certainly had the presence befitting a queen ant.
But its intimidation was a little less than that of a High Orc or a Golem.
Countless Soldier Ants and other ants stood guard around Arpa.
“Giiiiii!”
Arpa clicked its mandibles.
It seemed to be threatening us, the unwelcome intruders.
Then I sensed people in the passage on the other side of the central plaza.
Could that be...?
“We made it! Is this the place?”
A voice rang out.
It was the City Hall team.
The two students who’d joined them were there, too.
“Looks like they made it here safely, too.”
“Yeah. Let’s carry out the plan as scheduled.”
We still had insecticide in reserve.
Even though we were a little tired, this much was no problem.
Everything was going smoothly.
We’d defeat it right here.
The moment I thought that, a chill ran down my spine.
“...!?”
I turned around reflexively.
Nishino-kun, who was behind me, met my eyes.
“...What’s wrong, Kudo-san?”
“Nothing, just now... I thought I sensed something...”
There was an ominous presence.
An ominous presence far worse than the vast army of ants before us.
It wasn’t coming from Nishino-kun and the others.
It was farther behind us, in the direction we’d come from... No, it was coming from even farther away—
“This can’t be...”
And right after that,
The ground shook—and a roar echoed through the air.
“―――RrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
A furious roar rang out amid the violent shaking.
Everyone there, even the ants, had no choice but to turn their attention and their gaze toward the direction it came from.
“...Th-This is... Could it be?”
“There’s no mistake. It must be that Golem...”
“No way! Is it coming here!?”
If that enormous creature attacked us, this underground mall would collapse in no time.
The students grew unsettled.
“Everyone, stay calm! Don’t let the formation break!”
“B-But...”
“It’s all right! Judging by how the sound carried, it appeared a long way off! There’s little chance it’s targeting us here.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it.”
“Th-Thank goodness...”
Nijo breathed a sigh of relief.
The other students also looked relieved.
“...”
But Nishino-kun and I exchanged a glance, making sure not to let everyone see our unease.
“Kudo-san...”
“Yes. Our unpleasant suspicion came true.”
Because the source of that ominous presence—
The direction that monster’s roar came from—
―――was City Hall.
And then—
“Wow... It really happened just like Kazuto-san and Nishino-kun predicted...”
On the rooftop of a building a short distance from City Hall,
she stood there.
Her gaze was fixed on the slowly moving Golem.
‘If the enemy has a way to break through the “safe zone,” they might attack City Hall—here—while our main force is away. The odds are low, but just in case, I want you to stay here, Ichinose-san.’
“...That’s what he said, but I can’t believe he was actually right...”
She sighed, but the next moment, a sharp glint entered her eyes.
“Well, it can’t be helped. We’ve come this far, so we have no choice but to do this—let’s go, everyone.”
“Woof!”
“...! (trembling)”
“Kyu!”
Her companions waiting beside her raised their voices in response.
“Let’s show him our new power—our Skills!”
And she, too, headed for the battlefield—.