Consolidating the Foundation (1)

"S-say that again. Right now... w-what did you just say?"

Rien was more stunned than anyone else in the room, demanding the intelligence officer repeat himself.

Even the staff of the Intelligence Division had never seen the model knight, one of the Kingdom's Ten Swords—Rien of the Gale—so completely uncomposed. Yet no one was surprised by it.

"The Abyss of the Army has been destroyed!"

That was why. The news that the Abyss of the Army had been destroyed had just arrived.

One week earlier, ten Great Rifts had appeared across the world. When those rifts first opened and calamity poured forth, the nations—including the Benos Kingdom—had not felt any true sense of crisis.

After all, humanity had prevailed when the Demon King led his legions in invasion, when the Spirit King fell into corruption and rampaged, and when the Demon Dragon Beliel sought to annihilate the world.

Those victories had forged humanity stronger and more resolute. So when the Great Rifts appeared, people were certain they would triumph once again.

It took only three days for that certainty to turn into despair.

The Great Rifts shattered the power and wisdom humanity had accumulated with terrifying ease. The strength that had slain the Demon King, sealed the fallen Spirit King, and pierced the Demon Dragon's reverse scale could not so much as scratch a single one of the ten rifts.

Instead, it was simply swept away and crushed by overwhelming catastrophe.

Even the Hero's party—who had earned the greatest glory in those past victories—returned in total defeat, barely escaping with their lives. Only then did humanity understand.

The Great Rifts that had opened across the world were true calamities that no human power could stop.

And just as all of humanity writhed in despair, the news arrived that the Abyss of the Army had been destroyed.

One of the Great Rifts that had seemed utterly invincible—no, that had seemed impossible even to confront—had been destroyed.

"W-wait, why? How? Did the subjugation force manage it somehow? Was there an error in the intelligence?!"

Rien brightened at the glad tidings that could banish the world's despair and pressed for answers.

"No, ma'am. The subjugation force sent against the Abyss of the Army encountered the army of magic beasts and was annihilated. The Director of Intelligence confirmed it personally through a communication familiar."

"Is that so... Then why in the world was the Abyss of the Army destroyed?"

"That we could not confirm. The communication familiar monitoring the Abyss of the Army was destroyed along with the subjugation force. However... at the site where the Abyss of the Army once stood, a massive explosion crater was discovered."

"An explosion crater...?"

"Yes. We confirmed it through a newly dispatched communication familiar. At first it was judged to be a meteor crater, so enormous was the blast mark."

"Then something exploded and destroyed the Abyss of the Army? Just how vast an explosion would it take to destroy a Great Rift?"

"We have not yet been able to determine that either."

"Hmm..."

At the officer's words, Rien folded her arms and gently bit her lower lip—her habit whenever she sank into deep thought.

"Right! Sitting at a desk like this simply does not suit me."

Having finished her brief but intense deliberation, Rien sprang up from the Intelligence Director's desk and addressed the officer.

"I will go confirm it myself."

"G-General! Y-you cannot! You are currently the overall commander of this Intelligence Division! If you head to the field, the chain of command will—!"

"Bring Akila back. He has rested long enough. Does it make any sense for the Intelligence Director of the Benos Kingdom to be out with a stomach cramp in the first place?!"

"A-ah..."

Faced with the absurd situation of the office's responsible officer suddenly declaring she would charge out into the field, the intelligence officer tried desperately to stop her.

But no one could restrain her now.

"The destruction of one of the Great Rifts means humanity still has hope. Who else but one of the Kingdom's Ten Swords should take charge of a matter this critical!"

Rien was a knight. To her, a knight was one who stepped forward first to face the enemy, and she valued her chivalry above all else.

More than anything, Rien had been born for the field.

"Which territory is closest to where the Abyss of the Army once stood?"

"...The Termin Territory of Viscount Termin."

Having come this far, no words would dissuade her. The officer had no choice but to answer.

"General, shall I arrange a horse? It will take a full week by horseback to reach Termin Territory."

"No. I will run. At my speed I will arrive in a single day."

"I-I see."

"Then I am off."

Having obtained the information she wanted, Rien slammed open the intelligence office door without a moment's hesitation and strode out.

The officers stared blankly at the door she had kicked open, still creaking on its hinges.

"What do we do?"

"What do you mean, what do we do? We have to bring the Director back. Rookie, go to the infirmary and fetch him."

"Young Master, w-what is that supposed to be?"

How many times today had I already watched Rina's eyes go round and her mouth fall open in pure astonishment?

"Ahh, this? This, you see..."

I never got tired of her reactions. Grinning, I stretched out my palm.

"This is something called an inventory."

"Inventory...? What is that?"

"If I say 'summon'..."

Thud!

"Like this. I can store things in a subspace and summon them whenever I want."

"G-good heavens..."

When a three-meter-tall boar-type magic beast corpse materialized in the direction I had pointed, Rina clapped both hands over her mouth, too shocked to form coherent words.

"Not only did ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you destroy the Abyss of the Army that annihilated even the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠royal subjugation force in an instant... now you can wield a power like this as well. Y-Young Master. Just what in the world happened to you...?"

Rina turned to me, her trembling brown eyes locking onto mine as she asked.

The true answer was, Actually this world is inside a game, and I was a veteran of that game who got transmigrated into it—but of course I could never say that out loud.

"It's a secret. Knowing would only get you hurt."

"Ugh... Understood."

When I gave her the same answer as before, Rina nodded in acceptance, yet her expression hardened.

Seeing the faint shadow that fell across her face, I realized she was worried.

Well, of course. She and I were the only two left of the Termin family. If I kept this many secrets, anyone would start fretting.

Hell, if I were in her shoes and my young master remotely obliterated a Great Rift a hundred and fifty kilometers away, then stuffed thirty-five thousand nine hundred magic beast corpses into a palm-sized subspace in ten seconds flat while hiding half of everything, I'd be scared too.

Rina was a trustworthy comrade and family I would walk with from now on. So, to keep her from worrying, I slung an arm around her shoulders.

Sliip.

"Rina. There are a lot of things I can't tell you right now, but I can say this much."

"...Young Master?"

"I'm on your side. And I'm on the side of this Termin Territory. So you don't have to worry like that."

Having become Offen Termin and inherited his life and memories, Rina was unmistakably family to me.

The news that Father and my older brothers had fallen in battle had been sad, yet it had felt strangely distant—like someone else's tragedy. Probably because I had never actually met them after realizing I had transmigrated.

But Rina was different.

She was the first person I had seen after awakening to my transmigration, and that made her all the more precious.

The one I absolutely had to protect. The only family I had left.

That was Rina.

"No matter what happens, I will protect you."

So I leaned close to her ear and spoke the vow that lived in my chest.

"...Thank you, Young Master."

Whether my sincerity reached her or not, Rina dipped her head slightly and offered her gratitude.

Good. She wouldn't look at me with worry anymore.

Having achieved my goal of putting her mind at ease, I released her from the half-embrace.

Then I walked three steps forward, turned, and issued my command.

"Rina, time to work. Gather every last person in Termin Territory—the residents, the gatekeepers, all of them. Don't leave a single one out."

I had smashed the Abyss of the Army. Now it was time to consolidate the foundation of the territory.

Having received Offen's order, head maid Rina left the mansion to carry it out, yet the rigid set of her face never eased.

"Young Master has clearly made a contract with a demon."

She was utterly convinced that her master, Offen, had struck a bargain with a demon.

"To protect Termin Territory... to protect me... he even sold his soul to a demon..."

Until yesterday, Offen Termin had been nothing more than a frail, bookish young master who knew only how to sit at a desk and study.

Yet the moment he heard that his family had fallen in battle, he began acting like an entirely different person and solved every problem plaguing the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠territory in the blink of an eye.

He destroyed the Abyss of the Army that had annihilated even the royal subjugation force.

He stuffed tens of thousands of magic beast corpses that had filled the entire field of vision into a subspace in ten seconds.

And he could pull those stored corpses out again whenever he pleased.

He had performed feats no mage in the world could accomplish as if they were the most natural things imaginable. This could only mean a contract with a demon.

And not just any demon—an extraordinarily powerful one.

"Since Young Master went so far as to contract with a demon just to protect me... I must repay him with loyalty worthy of that sacrifice."

Rina clenched both fists tightly and pledged her deepest loyalty to Offen from the bottom of her heart.

Woom—

In that instant, a tiny sprout began to bud inside Rina's chest.

It was the harbinger of blooming.