Chapter 138
In Ireves, where not only the center but parts of the east and west had been breached, the fighting had already become a melee. However, losing command did not mean they had completely turned into a rabble. The players had been freed from the unfamiliar situation of acting in organized groups under NPC command.
"As I thought, it's best to fight with the usual crew!"
"Here I go! Fire Lance!"
Compared to a well-disciplined army, the strength of a single party was insignificant. However, many of them could now demonstrate their full strength because they were free to act on their own judgment instead of being confined by the unfamiliar behavior expected of an army.
"Don't let the Wayfarers outdo us! Protecting the city is our duty!"
"Ooooooh!"
The NPC soldiers were also fighting desperately. Their numbers were only on the scale of platoons or companies, but that made them more maneuverable in the current situation. If they merely flailed around, they would be killed, after all. Even so, they would normally have been thrown into confusion, but the players, now free to fight in their natural manner, had inspired them and raised their morale. Despite the breach in the city walls, there was strangely no sense of despair in the air.
These factors combined to produce fierce battles atop the walls and directly below them. Meanwhile, the number of monsters that had entered the city was surprisingly small. The event's defeat condition was the city's fall, defined as the destruction of a majority of the five 'Guardian Towers' where the noncombatant NPCs had taken shelter. Thus, the city was being defended by the narrowest of margins.
"Spearmen, ready! Archers, mages... fire!"
"Aye!"
The performance of a large-scale clan like 'Sengoku Ransei' was particularly remarkable. In terms of sheer numbers, there were NPC units of a similar size, but theirs was an exceptionally large group for players. Freed from the responsibility of maintaining overall command, leader Tarozaemon-no-Jo could now direct only the personnel he was able to control like a single living creature. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was making the greatest contribution here.
They had taken up positions in the middle of a broad street, skillfully blocking any monsters trying to reach the city. The spearmen in the vanguard formed a hedge of spears to stop the enemy's charge, and arrows and magic pierced those whose momentum had been halted. The monsters that survived were swiftly finished off by the more seasoned fighters. Under Tarozaemon-no-Jo's precise orders, this work was carried out steadily and efficiently.
"Hi there, handsome old gentleman."
"Ngh!?"
At that moment, a shadow lunged at Tarozaemon-no-Jo, who had been devoted entirely to directing the battle. Startled by the ambush from above, he instinctively raised the military fan in his hand and blocked the attack. The attacker immediately leaped away, spun once in midair, and landed on the shoulder of an orc standing outside the encirclement.
The fact that the attacker had gone out of her way to call out despite launching a surprise attack suggested that she had never seriously intended to kill him. Nevertheless, she had undeniably attacked him. Thus, Tarozaemon-no-Jo demanded to know who she was.
"Who are you? A player!?"
"Good guess. Sorry about the other day?"
"I see... You're that player from back then!"
"Heh heh, correct."
The attacker was Toji, one of Izam's companions. She and Tarozaemon-no-Jo had a history from the fortress defense battle. The splitting attack she had launched had rendered their desperate charge meaningless.
Tarozaemon-no-Jo did not know that Toji had proposed the operation. However, he had guessed from her words that she had been involved. To put it plainly, Toji could be called his sworn enemy.
"So, is that piglike warrior your companion?"
"That's right. Whether he's reliable... I couldn't say."
"Huh? Isn't that a little harsh?"
"You were nearby, so I figured I'd say hello, at least."
Ignoring Eiji's mild protest completely, Toji explained herself. Although they had grown stronger, their levels and numbers were nowhere near enough to fight 'Sengoku Ransei'. So she had genuinely intended only to greet Tarozaemon-no-Jo, knowing full well that he would take it as nothing but provocation.
"How dare you show your face here!"
"Your lot wiped us out!"
"I'll take you down right here!"
"Stop."
The players, believing they had been provoked, shouted out, but Tarozaemon-no-Jo quietly restrained them. He knew that if they pursued Toji, their numbers and coordination would give them a high chance of defeating her. However, if even a few of them left this position, the likelihood of monsters getting into the city would rise. For the sake of the event as a whole, he could not take the bait of such a cheap provocation.
"If we lose our heads here, we'll be playing right into their hands. Besides, there's no guarantee that another companion of theirs isn't waiting at the end of the chase, is there?"
"Y-You're right..."
"We will hold this position to the death. That policy will not change."
Of course, Tarozaemon-no-Jo had his own feelings on the matter. But he had placed victory above those emotions. It was the obvious choice for a leader, and the fact that he could make it so readily showed that Tarozaemon-no-Jo was well suited to the role.
"Oh, you're not coming? Then we'll go play somewhere else."
"...By all means. I hope you don't accomplish too much."
"Of course you'd say that. Well then."
"Uh, um... let's both do our best, okay?"
Leaving Eiji's harmless greeting behind, the two slipped away into the monster horde. The members of 'Sengoku Ransei' watched their backs with a tangle of emotions.
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Shiitake and the others, carrying the map data they had received from Usuba, robbed their target shops without hesitation. At shops dealing in weapons and armor, they stole every type of equipment used by their group, and they had already collected magical tools ranging from useful items to novelty items chosen simply because they looked fun.
"It's bothering me that Nanako and Moss-san still haven't arrived, but this is our next stop for now."
Their next destination was an alchemy-related shop in a back alley. Shiitake intended to steal whatever 【Alchemy】-related items she could find.
"There aren't any NPCs inside, are there?"
"I'm sure they've evacuated. That's how it's been everywhere else, hasn't it?"
Shifune looked worried, but Wool was optimistic. At every shop they had visited so far, the NPCs had already evacuated to the 'Guardian Towers'. Wool knew that the 'Guardian Towers' existed, so seeing every place completely deserted led him to guess that the NPCs had already fled there.
In addition, most of the alchemists in Ireves were on the battlefield. They had been called out to repair the city gates, throw items created with 【Alchemy】, and provide support with magic. The half-trained apprentices had evacuated to the 'Guardian Towers' along with the ordinary NPCs. So there shouldn't have been anyone who was both an alchemist and still in a shop... or at least, there wasn't supposed to be.
"That's right, that's right. Don't worry, Shifune-chan. Well then, excuse us!"
"...Welcome."
"!?"
The three froze when a greeting from a shop they thought was empty answered them. They had plenty of questions, but Shiitake was the first to recover.
"Well, hello there, old woman. Why are you still here? Things are a real mess outside the city."
"Heh heh heh... What a surprise. Is a monster worried about this old woman?"
Perhaps Shiitake's words had struck her as funny, because the old woman, apparently an alchemist, continued laughing for some time. Once she had calmed down, she spoke.
"There isn't any particular reason. I'm a worn-out old crone, you see. I'm no use in a fight, so they never called me up. And my legs are bad, so I wouldn't have made it to the 'Guardian Towers' in time. If that's the case, I'd rather die in my own home."
"Oh, I see."
"So you're going to kill this old woman, are you? Then hurry up and do it. I may not look it, but I'm actually quite frightened."
Hearing that, Shifune and Wool realized something. If they looked closely, the old woman's hands and body were trembling faintly. Though she appeared brave and carefree, she was frightened just like a real human being.
"No, no, killing isn't our goal. How about we make a trade instead?"
"...A trade? With monsters?"
"Why's that so surprising? They say there are several monster nations on other continents, and there are countries like that in the southern part of this continent, too."
"I've heard the rumors, but... are they really true?"
"Apparently. It's not something I experienced myself. I just know someone who was there."
The acquaintances Shiitake was referring to were none other than Eiji and Toji. Until the event began, they had used a city-state whose primary inhabitants were orcs as their base of operations. So while Shiitake did not know the details, she could state with certainty that such a place existed.
"Besides, weren't there monsters among the players... I mean, the Wayfarers here, too?"
"Now that you mention it, I did hear something like that. And when you put it that way, if they can speak our language, they're good enough as business partners. There are plenty of human thugs around here who can't be reasoned with."
The signs of fear had almost completely disappeared from the old woman. That was probably thanks to Shiitake's way with words. Or perhaps the friendly Shiitake and the old woman had simply hit it off.
"So, what kind of trade do you want?"
"Well, first I'd like to buy some ordinary 【Alchemy】 equipment. I'll pay, of course."
"【Alchemy】 equipment? Don't tell me... are you an alchemist?"
"That's right. I'm practically a material myself, though! Ahahaha!"
"You said it! Heh heh heh!"
Apparently, the old woman had enjoyed Shiitake's self-deprecating joke. It would be fair to say that her fear had now disappeared completely.
"Selling is fine, but do you have the all-important Zel?"
"I do. Don't ask where it came from~"
The money Shiitake possessed consisted of the small amount distributed during character creation and what she had stolen from the fortress and along the road to this place. There was no way she could call it clean, honestly earned money.
"Hmph. I don't care. There are more scoundrels than respectable people in this neighborhood. Go on, pick something out."
"Thanks, Granny!"
For a while, Shiitake and the old woman chose items, rejecting one thing after another. After five or six minutes, they finally settled on their purchases. The two of them completed the sale, both looking satisfied.
"Say, Granny, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Is there anyone around here who's been stockpiling all sorts of things, and whom nobody would pity if their stuff were stolen?"
The old woman let out a deeply exasperated sigh at Shiitake's question. Shiitake had not even tried to hide what she was after.
"You really are something... Well, never mind. Fine, I'll tell you. The people around here who fit that description are the Carone Family."
"Hmm. What kind of people are they?"
"In short, loan sharks. Their interest rates are absurd, and their collections are brutal. They sell whatever they seize as collateral for next to nothing, then bleed the borrowers dry until they die, demanding that they pay back the rest. There's even a rumor that they handle the Thieves' Guild's laundering."
"Oh, they sound like they've amassed quite a hoard~"
The old woman continued, as though to rebuke the extremely delighted Shiitake.
"Don't go thinking up anything foolish. They almost certainly haven't gone to the 'Guardian Towers'. They live in a fortress-like mansion and even employ skilled bodyguards. You'll only end up getting yourselves beaten."
"I see... You're right. Well then, here. Take this."
"Could that be... one of your thorns?"
"That's right! I thought it might be something rare."
"It certainly is, but..."
What Shiitake gave the old woman as payment for the information was one of the thorns growing from her umbrella. Her Race, the Poison Walk Needle Mushroom, was exceptionally rare on this continent in particular. Materials from it almost never circulated, and the old woman had only ever read about Shiitake's needles in books.
"Ah, fine. This is too much for what I gave you, so I'll tell you one more rumor."
"A rumor?"
"I don't know whether it's true or not, but they say the family divides up what they've hoarded and stores it in several warehouses. They probably keep the most important goods nearby, under tight security, but the warehouses in the warehouse district might be almost completely unguarded right now."
"Ooh! Nice one, Granny! We'll check it out! By the way, aren't you going to flee? We could take you to the 'Guardian Tower', if you want."
"Well... if those other two don't mind the inconvenience, I'd appreciate it."
Shifune and Wool silently nodded when the old woman and Shiitake looked at them. They had the map, so they already knew where the warehouse district was. With the information from the old woman, they could get a fairly good idea of where to look.
Besides, the two of them were not so lacking in tact that they would refuse. To be honest, they had not had much of a role in this shop, so they had been reluctant to butt in. Wool quietly hoisted the old woman onto his back and set off.