Chapter 207
★ Lef Magitech Empire: Red Gate Front Line ★
This reinforcement force, consisting of an order of knights and ten thousand cavalrymen, brought great relief to the people of the Lef Magitech Empire and the adventurers fighting at the Red Gate front line, but the arrival of such a large force also caused quite a commotion.
After all, there were horses as well as people.
Because they had prioritized speed and used cavalry, the entire force could not fit at the front-line base, so the army of the Holy Kingdom of Kurvane set up camp on a distant hill.
The Keithgran Federation's advance force of three thousand had taken up position on the opposite hill, and with another ninety-seven thousand on the way, the area's grass and trees might well be eaten bare by the horses.
Incidentally, the Light Sky Knight Kingdom had planned to send a thousand troops, but once the scale of the support grew so large, they decided it would be a matter of honor to send only a thousand and increased their force to ten thousand, matching the Holy Kingdom of Kurvane.
"I had no idea, since I'd never been to war before, but I guess this is what it looks like when you do it on this scale... No wonder so many people die."
Dantes said this while watching more than ten thousand soldiers build their positions from afar, and Lulsha replied,
"Still, it's a blessing. The sheer size of our forces directly translates into pushing the front line forward."
"True enough. Right now, even if we cut down monsters nonstop during the day, we have to retreat at night. If we can attack while building the front-line base, our progress will accelerate dramatically."
"..."
"What's wrong? Why the long face?"
"...Actually, I've received orders to deploy, too."
"Huh? You? You mean you're going to swing a sword around on the front line?"
Lulsha burst out laughing at Dantes's question.
"No. My job is dungeon exploration."
"Why are we talking about dungeon exploration now?"
"It's obvious that the 'Labyrinth of Nine Emotions' is involved in the Red Gate's appearance, isn't it? The mural from the 'Labyrinth of Awe' that Reiji-san left behind suggests as much. That's why we're going to enter the labyrinth and investigate whether we can control the Red Gate."
"Ahh... I see."
"If possible, I would like Silver Scales to come too..."
"Sure, no problem. Right?"
He asked for agreement because he knew who was approaching from behind them.
"Of course!"
It was Mimino.
"Once we can control the Red Gate, we'll be able to go search for Reiji-kun."
"Heh. You all really do care about Reiji-san."
"Reiji-kun is Dantes and Non's benefactor, and their irreplaceable..."
Mimino began, but...
"Companion? Hmm, that feels like it's not quite enough."
"If anything, I'd say he's your son."
"We're not that far apart in age! More like brother and sister!"
Mimino shot back with a pout, and Dantes laughed.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry—oh, looks like the meeting over there has ended."
He was pointing at the deck of the airship "Beauty Under the Moon."
Among the cluster of important-looking imperial figures, including the Emperor, was Aba.
Walking alongside them were Duke Grengide, whose blue hair stood out, and Count Syries, an astonishingly handsome man.
"...Hey, shouldn't we tell that count about Reiji?"
Dantes and the others had heard what Reiji had done in the Holy Kingdom of Kurvane. Reiji had never once spoken ill of the count.
Dantes thought the count would surely want to hear about Reiji as well.
"Absolutely not."
Mimino immediately rejected the idea.
"I will never, ever tell those people from Kurvane who drove out such a cute, clever, and devoted Reiji-kun anything about him."
"Hey, Mimino... Reiji cared a lot about that count's daughter. Rumor has it they've brought the young lady along, too. Maybe they came all this way because they're worried about Reiji in their own way?"
"No! I will never, ever tell them!"
"Come on, Mimino..."
"No!"
Mimino folded her arms and turned away with a huff.
Dantes had noticed that Mimino's attitude hardened even further the instant he mentioned the words "young lady."
(Ah... that was a slip of the tongue.)
Reiji had cared about the count's daughter. He had praised her to the skies.
Whenever that happened, Mimino would wear a sullen expression.
(Mimino probably felt that, after being protected by Reiji, the young lady should have protected him in return—even that "young lady.")
Dantes understood how Mimino felt.
But, after all, the young lady was only twelve.
What good would it do to expect so much from a twelve-year-old? He kept that thought to himself.
(Still, I don't see the young lady herself anywhere.)
There was no sign of the girl on the deck.
★ Beauty Under the Moon Cabin ★
The young lady had been escorted to the cabin by a Lef.
A knight from the Holy King Knights had accompanied her, but she told him to wait there, then knocked on the door and entered.
Inside was a Lef in a white coat. The middle-aged doctor said,
"Oh... A human guest? That's unusual. The patient just fell asleep."
With that, he went to examine the next patient.
Only Eva and the patient were left in the room.
The room was not very large, and the bed took up a considerable portion of it. The girl sleeping there was about five years older than Eva.
"So this is... Larc-san, the person with the special gift maintaining the current front line..."
It was their first meeting.