Chapter 287
The damage beyond the royal palace was fairly extensive, roughly proportional to how loud the crash had been. Fifteen or sixteen buildings had collapsed. They were nothing more than empty shell structures, but it appeared that the ground had subsided, causing everything to sink inward.
Fortunately, no one lived here yet, so there were no casualties. The collapsed area was also filled with rubble, meaning it had not left a gaping hole. It was a blessing in disguise.
"What caused this? Had their durability decreased because they were old?"
"No, my friend. Something is beneath the rubble. I believe it caused this."
From underground? Could there be a mole-like Hellbeast capable of digging through the earth, one that had come here to avoid the ash? If so, we had to gather our forces and fight it immediately!
As I fretted inwardly, part of the rubble began collapsing little by little, accompanied by the sound of something striking it from below. I instinctively raised my arms to shield myself from the dust and debris, then Kirilz and I prepared for battle.
The sound alone made it clear that this was no ordinary matter. In addition to my comrades, including Jigoro, who had not yet departed, Centaur and Scar warriors gathered one after another. The fact that I did not need to summon them, combined with how reassuring their presence was, eased my tension somewhat. With this many people, we could probably defeat whatever emerged from the hole as soon as it appeared.
As we waited, the rubble collapsed with a hollow thump. Kal, who had been hovering above it, was the first to charge.
"GROOOOOOOOOOOAR!!!"
I learned later that the children who had been playing with Kal as usual had been frightened by the initial explosion. As a result, Kal had become fiercely angry at the enemy that had frightened Kal's friends.
Kal plunged into the dust with a roar that reverberated through my bones, but soon burst out of the cloud with something clamped in Kal's jaws. The thing Kal was carrying was... someone we all knew well.
"Aaaaaah!? Wait, Kal-chan! Stop!"
The thing Kal had been carrying was Shiitake, wearing a white coat stained with dirt and mud. In other words, this commotion had not been caused by an enemy attack, but by our own comrade, Shiitake.
All the warriors who knew Shiitake relaxed; only Kirilz and the Scars, who did not know her, remained tense. Shiitake alone continued screaming. Kal was biting the hem of her coat, after all, and having it swing around from Kal's mouth must have been terrifying.
After causing such a commotion, I hoped she would learn her lesson this time... but she would probably forget all about it as soon as the danger had passed.
Perhaps the shrieks, which were more than a little foul for a woman to be making, had grated on Kal's nerves. Kal slowly landed and opened those jaws, releasing Shiitake. However, rather than gently placing her on the ground, Kal raised that head high and snapped open its jaws, making Shiitake splat face-first onto the ground.
"Oof!? Ouch... no, it doesn't hurt, but—pfft!?"
"Is Kal taking out some pent-up anger by harassing her? Kal's anger runs deep."
To add insult to injury, Kal deliberately whipped up a powerful gust of wind when taking flight. Kal had probably gone to see the children. I would go soothe Kal later.
The wind knocked Shiitake over again and covered her from head to toe in dust. She rose to her feet with the unsteady gait of a newborn fawn, then coughed and brushed the dirt from her white coat.
"Woohoo! We did it! We actually made it to our destination!"
"Hey, Shiitake. Hate to interrupt your excitement, but you will explain this properly so everyone here can be satisfied, right?"
I asked, doing my best to remain calm, as Shiitake raised both hands and shouted in triumph. Those who did not know her were still glaring at her with piercing looks, probably because Kal had acted hostile toward her.
"Izam! Listen! Shiitake here accomplished a major project together with everyone from the Metallica!"
"With the Metallica...?"
As the excited Shiitake patted me on the shoulder, a gigantic metal hand extended from inside the hole she had emerged from. It carefully moved the rubble aside, widening the opening, and then a piece of heavy machinery resembling an excavator climbed out.
The arm resembled that of an excavator, but it had three spherical joints, and its tip was shaped like a human palm. In place of tracks, insect-like segmented legs protruded from both sides.
While I was marveling at its unique shape, about ten more assorted machines came trundling out. Overwhelmed by the sight, everyone could do nothing but gape at them.
"We're here?"
"Success?"
"A huge success! Great job, everyone!"
Part of one of the machines popped open, and liquid metal oozed out. When it fell to the ground, the metal transformed into a humanoid shape and stood up on two legs.
Needless to say, they were the Metallica. The Metallica bounced around Shiitake in delight. I might have been able to piece together most of what had happened by then.
"Don't tell me... you dug a direct underground passage from 'Mepo Town' all the way here?"
"Bingo! Man, this is going to make things so convenient!"
Shiitake had worked together with the Metallica to dig an underground passage all the way to this location. Having a direct route to 'Mepo Town' was incredibly convenient, and creating it was unquestionably Shiitake's achievement.
However! Just consult someone first, even if it is only a single word! Had you done that, we could have discussed the location and removed the buildings beforehand, preventing this whole collapse! You really are something else...
In any case, I had to dismiss everyone who had gathered. I flew over to those with weapons drawn and explained that the newcomers were harmless, assuring them that everything was fine while apologizing for the commotion caused by my comrade.
Most of them lowered their weapons after hearing my explanation and apology, but some did not seem convinced and continued glaring suspiciously at Shiitake. After seeing Kal's reaction, they apparently could not possibly believe she was an ally.
Realizing that I could not dispel their suspicions about Shiitake immediately, I redirected their attention to the Metallica. It was understandable that they were suspicious of her, but since she was someone the Metallica trusted so completely, I asked them to accept her for now.
The last of those who still harbored doubts lowered their weapons. However, this was less the result of my persuasion than an attempt to save face for me, the benefactor who had provided them with homes. I would have Shiitake make a visible contribution to them soon.
"Ah, I'm exhausted. We'll save the lecture for later... How did you dig all the way here? I heard the Metallica's Tactical Shells were difficult to operate for long periods..."
"Heh heh heh! We reformed the Metallica's way of thinking!"
"A reform of their mindset?"
According to Shiitake, the Metallica's technology could only be described as incredible. However, they had apparently only made the things they wanted to make, rather than creating things suited to a particular purpose. Their technological prowess was so great that they could substitute something else for almost anything.
For example, suppose we decided to expand 'Mepo Town.' We would prepare heavy machinery for the task, whereas they would use Tactical Shells. Since Tactical Shells were versatile weapons that could be controlled exactly as their users wished, they could also be used as heavy machinery.
Since the tinkering-loving Metallica had any number of popular Tactical Shells at their disposal, they had simply decided that using one as a substitute was good enough. Shiitake noticed this and explained the importance of creating tools specialized for their intended purposes.
Large machines designed for only one specific purpose had apparently been unfamiliar to them. The idea shocked them, but it also stimulated their creative drive.
At that point, Shiitake had a flash of inspiration. She decided, of course, to have them build heavy machinery and use it to connect 'Mepo Town' with 'The Secret City of the Mist-Crying Princess.' Since she acted as soon as she had an idea, she immediately presented her proposal to the Metallica.
The Metallica happily accepted her proposal. They were thrilled by the idea of creating a dedicated machine for a specific purpose, but they had never been able to come up with a purpose themselves until then.
From there, everything apparently proceeded smoothly. They quickly created heavy machinery for excavation, transporting earth, paving, and so on. To compensate for their short operating times, they even used vehicles to transport personnel, allowing them to dig all the way here.
"By the way, the 'Soil-Melter' and 'Enhanced Dynamite' that Shiitake made were useful too! Though we misjudged the amount at the end and blew the surface sky-high! Gahahaha!"
Ah, so Shiitake was responsible for the major collapse. All right, she really did need a lecture. I would have to create an opportunity to scold her naturally.
"Shiitake, why don't you give me the full story with Iris present? She'll be the happiest of all to hear that we've connected to 'Mepo Town.'"
"Sounds like a great idea. I'll go get he—oh, and I already talked them into joining the fight against the Hellbeasts! Take care of the rest!"
Shiitake headed off to fetch Iris with a clumsy skip, casually dropping that important piece of information at the very end. She had apparently not only connected the underground passage, but also handled diplomacy with the Metallica. She was undoubtedly capable, but Iris was probably scolding her by now, so I decided simply to be grateful.
Now, putting that aside, I had to explain the current situation to the Scars, Centaurs, Dark Elves, and Metallica. That was my responsibility as the landlord.
Our forces had increased yet again, but explaining the commotion was giving me a headache. I wanted to get back to making Undead Puppets as soon as possible... I indulged in such escapist thoughts as I took Kirilz with me to visit the Metallica first.