Chapter 90
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Sense of the Meeting
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In one corner of the base, boxes hauled up from the basement were neatly stacked in a spacious area cleared of luggage.
They were potions that had recently entered mass production.
Besides those, items that had occupied space on the first floor were being moved elsewhere, and various supplies began piling up in the newly emptied areas.
Rin, who had been quietly watching the scene, turned her head to peer out the window.
The bustling streets carried a strangely familiar yet peculiar atmosphere.
Rows of wagons, several times more numerous than usual.
Soldiers marching through the streets.
Merchants starting to stockpile goods.
Come to think of it, a whole year has already passed.
Rin, having experienced it once before, naturally realized that the time was approaching.
The Labyrinth City's annual event. The monster invasion was drawing near.
Last year, she'd wondered why all the small shops and inns were rushing around so frantically. Now, seeing supplies stack up in their own base, those thoughts resurfaced.
A faint air of tension hung over the city, palpable on her skin.
Rin murmured while gazing out the window.
"It's starting soon... Time flies."
"Huh? Oh... you mean that."
Mika, buried in the sofa, lifted her head, glanced out the window, and nodded.
Passing by and overhearing, Ann asked,
"What are you talking about?"
"Ah... you guys wouldn't know."
"Is that so... We don't know, huh."
A few people made puzzled faces at the conversation between Rin and Mika, with its omitted subject.
They were the rookies who hadn't yet experienced a monster wave.
Ann, Karen, and Seria.
Tanya's friends, recent arrivals to Labyrinth City and new mercenaries. The three had joined as the second party's members in the Ian Mercenary Corps.
Rin nodded proudly, flashing a smug smile.
"War is coming to Labyrinth City soon..."
"Oh... the monster invasion?"
"...Huh? How'd you know?"
"Tanya told us..."
Rin tried giving the rookies a meaningful smile, but they all reacted as if they'd already known.
As Seria answered nonchalantly, Rin shot to her feet and called out to Tanya.
"Tanya! How could you hog the bragging rights!"
"It wasn't bragging; I was just letting them know!"
Tanya replied with a look of exasperation.
With the monster invasion about to start, everyone would have their roles, so she'd explained ahead of time to avoid panic.
Back when Tanya was a newbie, no one had told her anything, so she'd learned everything the hard way. But now, there was no need for that.
...Of course, with everyone listening with sparkling eyes, she might have gotten a little carried away and embellished the stories just a tad.
It was all for work purposes, though.
"Wouldn't it be better if I explained it again instead of Tanya's newbie tales from back then...?"
"You only saw it once yourself. Why act like a veteran compared to us?"
"But... no one in this city has hunted as many slimes as I have."
Everyone gathered by the window, peering outside and chatting.
Suddenly, Rin thought of someone else who hadn't been around back then and turned to call Lia.
Lia had more years as a mercenary, so she must have experienced more invasions.
Curious about what other mercenary corps did, Rin asked her,
"How about you, Lia?"
"Come to think of it, you've been through it a few more times than us, right?"
"Huh? Nothing special, really... That was back when I was still E-rank."
Even Lia's promotion to C-rank was relatively recent.
Before that, when her rank was low, she'd just been assigned to routine supply transport, nothing worth special mention.
"What about when you were C-rank?"
"Then..."
Lia recalled the last invasion.
After reaching C-rank, she'd been assigned to the reserve unit.
Those climbing the walls were usually ranged attackers or durable frontliners who could shove back climbing monsters.
Someone like Lia had little chance to shine up there.
She hadn't belonged to a corps then, so no group to stick with either.
So they'd placed her in the reserves. Officially, the Emergency Reserve Unit.
It was the squad that stepped in if the wall defenses were breached or monsters infiltrated the city. But she'd heard actual combat deployments were rare.
Such breakthroughs didn't happen easily. In truth, it was just a holding area for mercenaries with nothing to do.
Rather, the stories Lia had heard from the three about the underground sewers sounded more intriguing to her.
"What about us this time?"
"Our ranks are higher, so probably somewhere else..."
"All on the surface?"
Everyone turned to Ian to ask about this year's plans.
Ian, receiving the question, fell into brief thought.
He'd been pondering the same thing himself.
"We'll split into two groups this time."
Their numbers had grown significantly, but ranks varied. Lumping them in one area would be inefficient and impractical.
Forcing them together would leave half idle anyway.
So, Rin's party would go to the surface as planned.
Ann's party would assist in the underground sewers.
Of course, it wasn't guaranteed just because Ian wanted it—the guild's detailed defense plan for the year would decide.
Everyone nodded at Ian's explanation.
Even Ann's group tensed at the thought of being thrown into that underground sewer duty they'd only heard about.
The other members, having heard previews from the labyrinth incident about what to expect this invasion, looked quite tense too.
While they shared stories from last year's invasion, a sound came from the entrance.
Someone knocking on the door.
Tanya, who had been in the kitchen, checked outside and spoke up.
"Captain. We have a visitor."
It was a familiar face to Tanya, so she promptly opened the door and ushered the guest inside.
Chris, entering, gave Ian a brief nod in greeting.
Thanks to collaborating on this invasion's duties, he and Ian had been meeting steadily lately to discuss plans.
Chris glanced around the room briefly and muttered,
"Even here, the numbers have really grown. Feels like just yesterday it was only the two of you."
Chris eyed the corps members crowded on the first floor.
A thriving mercenary corps changed daily, but this place truly required double-taking every visit.
They'd stood out from the start, but still, he hadn't expected this much growth.
Chuckling softly as he walked, Chris spotted the boxes stacked in one corner of the base.
Every corps stockpiled supplies this season, but one item stood out for its massive quantity.
Potion crates.
Approaching, Chris looked at the boxes and asked Ian,
"Is this the stuff?"
"Yes. We finished them up recently and have them ready."
"Quantity look sufficient?"
"We'll make do."
Ian pulled a bottle from a crate and handed it to Chris.
Chris took the potion and examined its contents. Clear red liquid sloshed inside the vial.
Given its critical importance, he'd naturally received the recipe in advance and a full explanation of its effects.
No matter the emergency, they couldn't distribute unidentified items to mercenaries and soldiers.
Chris stared at it for a long moment.
It was effective, but made from ordinary ingredients—a simple potion.
The city's fate hinging on something like this...
"If this has no effect, we're done for."
"It will."
Seeing Ian's confident tone, Chris sighed.
"Plenty in the guild oppose this plan."
They'd shared Ian's materials ahead of the meetings, but opinions were split.
"Your plan pulls heavily from defense forces. If that warning of yours doesn't pan out, it just amps up the risk on the main walls unnecessarily."
"I know it's aggressive, but it's the best way to minimize casualties."
If they could secure official budget or personnel allocation, things would simplify. But for now, it was a stretch.
Chris nodded reluctantly.
"Meetings start next week, so it'll be decided there."
"Let me know once it's set."
The guild was set to hold pre-invasion strategy sessions soon.
Though called preliminary, they were essentially daily operations meetings right up to invasion eve.
Requests and changes from city hall and the military kept coming until the last minute, so wrapping up early for rest was out of the question.
Ian figured he wouldn't see Chris for a while.
At Ian's words, Chris looked at him like he'd said something absurd.
"What are you talking about? You have to attend too."
"Pardon?"
Ian flinched, looking up at Chris.
Thinking he'd misheard, Ian asked,
"Aren't the meetings only for guild staff...?"
Before Ian could finish, Chris handed him something.
A temporary guild affiliation badge.
Ian took it, speechless, and stared at Chris.
He'd wondered why Chris visited so suddenly today. Apparently, to deliver this.
"You weren't planning to dump this on me and skip out, were you?"
Chris gave a wry smile as he spoke to Ian.