Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Search (3)
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A massive explosion rocked the depths of the midnight forest.
Blinding flashes of light and flames erupting with menacing roars.
Nearby birds took to the skies in unison, fleeing in terror.
Anne, from the E-grade mercenary corps tasked with escorting their client Louise, had just checked the site of the blast.
The explosive potion Louise had thrown had indeed caused a tremendous detonation.
But contrary to its ferocious momentum—which seemed like it could shred dozens of trolls—the blast was all show, with no real power behind the spectacular fireworks.
The flames scattered into the air and vanished, leaving only faint scorch marks on the ground.
"...It's weak!"
"What? Come on, how am I supposed to carry anything stronger than this? What if it goes off in my bag?"
The silver lining was that the visually intimidating explosion had scared off all the monsters.
The pack of trolls encircling them hesitated to charge, merely watching warily.
It would have been ideal if they'd fled in complete panic, but the trolls had merely pulled back to create distance, observing the situation.
They'd likely rush in the moment they realized there were no more of those things.
"How many more of those do you have left?"
"One."
...What now?
Anne glanced back at her friends trailing behind.
They were all exhausted, and even at their best, these were monsters they couldn't hope to fight.
"Throw the last one... and then we just run."
"Sigh. What a mess, trying to save a few coins."
Hearing Louise's sigh, Anne let out a small one of her own.
This mess was the result of greed on both sides, so there was no pointing fingers now.
Coming to a dangerous place like this all because of those damn flowers.
She should have flat-out refused, but hearing the price first had been a fatal mistake.
They say mercenaries who get greedy beyond their station die quick.
Still, she hadn't expected to die this soon. She'd thought they'd pull it off once, at least.
-Kyaaang!
As Anne wallowed in brief regret, a commotion suddenly erupted from one side of the forest.
In the midst of their tense standoff, a frantic troll cry pierced the air.
"What was that?"
Are they about to charge?
Everyone turned tense faces toward the sound, but the trolls had their backs to them, staring elsewhere.
A hazy red flash flickered through the underbrush, and one troll went flying.
Anne spotted a figure approaching them through the dim moonlight filtering into the shadows.
Seeing it, Anne murmured without thinking.
"It's a person...!"
A red-haired mercenary cleaved through a troll with a single stroke, sweeping the surroundings.
As all the trolls' attention snapped toward him, several more mercenaries slipped through the gap he'd created.
Spotting that all four were alive and well, Ian addressed the one among the dazed group who looked the least like a mercenary.
"May I have your name?"
"I'm Louise."
It matched the name Ian remembered. She was the client they'd come to rescue.
"We're from the Labyrinth Mercenary Guild."
"Phew. Premium service really does deliver, huh?"
Louise exhaled in relief, flashing a smile.
As Ian finally checked on his client's condition, Tanya spotted the people she'd been searching for.
"Anne!"
"Huh...?"
Anne, catching her breath in relief, looked up curiously at the sound of her name.
A familiar voice—one that shouldn't be heard in a place like this—from a friend.
"Karen! Ceria!"
"Tanya?!"
"What happened? Why are you here...?"
Not just Anne—the other mercenaries whipped their heads around too.
Thinking it was a hallucination, only to find Tanya standing right there.
They approached her as if entranced.
But the four reunited friends hesitated, at a loss for what to say first in the sudden turn of events, merely staring blankly at each other's faces.
Ian spoke to Tanya and her friends.
"Hold on a sec. I get it's a happy reunion after so long, but let's save the rest for later."
It was a touching moment, but they were still surrounded by a horde of monsters.
Lia was buying them time for now, but the noise was drawing even more trolls from the surroundings.
Lia had her limits too—she couldn't fend them off forever.
"Mika. Cast barriers on these folks too."
"Got it. Come here."
Mika extended her staff toward the four Ian indicated.
It wouldn't help much in combat, but at least it would shield them from stray arrows after the trouble of rescuing them.
"All done!"
"Let's get out of here."
As Mika cast protective spells one by one, Ian tallied the monsters closing in around them.
The weakest point in their encirclement was, as expected, the direction he and Lia had broken through.
"Lia! Found them! Moving out!"
After shouting to Lia, Ian led the group in a dash.
He'd already scouted the fastest route out of the forest ahead of time, so they didn't get lost.
Rin took point, clearing obstructing monsters, while Lia followed from the rear, holding off pursuers.
They'd escaped the encirclement, fortunately, but the commotion of their retreat seemed to be drawing even more chasing monsters.
Tanya hastily dropped a few smoke bombs, but in the open space with so many pursuers, they had little effect.
"Um... What should I call you?"
"Call me Ian."
Louise, riding piggyback on Ian, spoke to him.
The client was an alchemist, not a mercenary.
Matching her pace would slow them too much, so Ian was carrying her on his back as he ran.
Tanya would have been better suited role-wise, but the height difference made it impractical, leading to this arrangement.
"Alright, Leader Ian. Any plan for shaking these off?"
"Run till the trolls give up."
With Lia and Rin—two C-grades—combat was feasible, but protecting so many people made it unwise.
Fighting unnecessarily while escorting the rescue target risked injuring the client, which would be a huge loss.
"Isn't there a better way? Things look pretty dicey right now..."
"If you're willing to foot a bit more cost, there's a surefire safe method."
It might end up costing quite a bit more than expected.
At Ian's explanation, Louise nodded eagerly in agreement.
She knew rescue costs fell on the client, and now wasn't the time to haggle anyway.
With Louise's approval, Ian fired off the signal flare he'd prepared for emergencies.
A vivid green flare shot straight up, slicing through the brightening predawn sky.
"Almost there!"
Rin's shout came from up ahead.
Soon, Ian could see the forest's edge too.
"Just a bit farther!"
Ian's group sprinted with all their might and burst out of the forest.
The trolls chased them out, but at nearly the same moment, a mounted group kicked up clouds of dust as they galloped to the forest's edge.
"Fire!"
At the command, a volley of arrows rained down on the trolls spilling out of the forest.
The lead pack crumpled under the arrow storm, and the trolls following halted abruptly at the treeline.
Outside the forest was beyond the trolls' territory.
Confirming the large human force gathered there, the trolls glared outward briefly before turning tail and retreating deeper into the woods.
Only after verifying the trolls had abandoned the chase did everyone collapse to the ground.
Allies nearby, huh.
Exhaling in relief, Louise realized the reinforcements Ian had summoned were overly well-equipped and numerous for mere mercenaries.
Checking the group that had just saved them again, she belatedly noticed the banner at the rear.
Labyrinth Mobile Patrol.
"Wait, did you... call in the regular army...?"
Understanding why he'd emphasized costs several times, Louise's face drained of color.
The lead officer on horseback approached Ian.
He was a young, stiff-looking officer.
"Did you send up the signal?"
"Yes."
"If it's official business, may I see your credentials?"
"...Don't have any."
The officer's brow twitched at Ian's response.
Every now and then... people pulled stunts like this under the guise of urgency.
They'd beg for a pass this once since it was dangerous.
He spoke with a weary expression.
"If this was for personal use, we'll have to impose a fine."
The fine would be on Louise anyway, so Ian didn't mind.
Still, it was better if things ended smoothly. Getting tangled with the military might earn him a scolding from the guild.
With that in mind, Ian recalled a certain item in his pocket.
"Proof of identity?"
Ian's gaze scanned the badges on the officer's gear, finding the mark he wanted.
Officers' Academy... 127th class.
Ian pulled a coin from the pouch where he kept important items.
A proof-of-identity coin. Military issue, among them.
During the last invasion, when he'd handled the underground sewers, it was a personal card from the commander who'd taken an interest in him.
She'd said to look her up if interested, but since Ian had no intention of enlisting, he hadn't followed up.
Ian glanced at the class noted on his coin.
Central Defense Force Captain Leona. 121st class.
The young officer's eyes naturally drifted to the coin Ian had produced.
It was far more familiar to him than to Ian—a habitual glance.
Pfft, trying to name-drop a military acquaintance to weasel out, huh.
Defense Force? 121st?
He dismounted swiftly.
"Haha. What a coincidence, running into a senior's acquaintance out here. No injuries, I hope?"
With a bright smile, the patrol's lieutenant clasped Ian's hand.