Assaulting the Obelisk (1)
Thanks to the efforts of Erinn, Ser-Aria, and Clara, clearing out the monsters was over in no time.
Once the Behend Kingdom army realized that Erinn toppling the walls had simply been part of the process of wiping out the monsters, they kept expressing their gratitude to us over and over.
"You have our deepest thanks! If not for the Hero and her party members, who knows what would have become of us…!"
The man who introduced himself as a four-star general of the Behend Kingdom—General Fredrik—bowed at the waist on behalf of everyone as he offered his thanks.
A four-star general was an incredibly high rank. Compared to the Korean military, that was the same number of stars as a full general… Back when I was in the army, I couldn't even look someone like that in the eye, and here I was receiving his gratitude. It felt strange.
Erinn gave General Fredrik a slight nod and spoke.
"If we don't take down that Obelisk, something like this could happen again. We might need some troop support—you'll cooperate with us, right~?"
Talking like that even in front of a four-star general. This girl really did live however she pleased.
"Ah, of course. But wouldn't it be better to finish securing this area first?"
"Who knows when more monsters might come pouring out~?"
Huh?
Erinn was fretting again about monsters bursting out. Of course, given enough time they would start spilling forth once more—but not right away.
I was certain of it. In Dungeon in Evil, the Obelisk had a set interval before monsters regenerated.
In turn terms, it took twenty turns before the monsters invaded again, and on Extreme difficulty clearing the Behend Kingdom monsters usually took about eight to ten turns. As long as you set out for the dungeon within roughly ten turns, you were fine.
There was no turn system here, but it still translated to the idea that it would take time before the monsters reappeared.
She just didn't know that…
"Erinn, Letisia still hasn't fully recovered."
"I can fight just fine now~? Unlike a certain someone, my stamina isn't scrub-tier♡"
I had no comeback. It was true that my stamina stat lagged far behind hers.
Even so, just because she'd received treatment didn't mean her condition was completely restored, and there was no need to introduce unnecessary variables.
"…And more monsters aren't going to come out right away."
Erinn tilted her head slightly at my words. I couldn't exactly explain the turn system to her and make her understand…
"We already took out the monsters that looked like officer-class on both your side and ours, and we cleaned up this many of them. They must have burned through a considerable amount of their forces. If you figure they still need monsters left to guard the Obelisk, they won't be able to move immediately either."
"Hmmm, and if you're wrong~? What if they decide this is their chance, abandon defense, and throw everything into a total offensive~?"
"No way."
I answered without hesitation.
"The Obelisk belongs to the Magic Legion Commander. You think his subordinates would give it up that easily?"
To his subordinates, the Magic Legion Commander wasn't just a superior officer—he was practically the creator who had made them.
Would the ones who served him fail to protect a creation their actual creator had personally fashioned? That very point was reflected in the game, which was why the next invasion only began after a set number of turns.
"It's not like that doesn't make sense~♡"
"What else is the problem now?"
"If what you say is right, scrub, that means later on the area around the Obelisk is going to be crawling with monsters again, doesn't it~? Doesn't that mean we can't afford to go any later~?"
"That's why we have to pick the timing carefully. We can't drag it out so long that the monsters pile up, but we also have to avoid pushing ourselves too hard."
Erinn simply stared at me. Wondering why she was looking at me like that, I met her gaze—and she suddenly let out a snicker. What was so funny?
"So when do you think would be good? Use that scrub brain of yours and think~♡"
"…Wouldn't it be best to set out the moment Letisia recovers?"
"Then shall we go ask her~?"
"Whatever."
I headed with Erinn toward the temporary tent where Letisia was resting. We couldn't exactly leave the wounded lying out on the ground, so we'd borrowed one of the army's tents.
When we stepped inside, Freya was nowhere to be seen—only Letisia lay on the cot.
"Ah."
Letisia gave us a small nod.
"You're here?"
"How's your body feeling~?"
"Yes. I'm fine now."
Erinn gave Letisia a quick once-over and spoke.
"Then about the dungeon—we can head out tomorrow, right~?"
"Yes. One day of rest will be enough."
After bleeding that much, one day was enough? Was she actually superhuman? Worried she might be pushing herself, I asked.
"You're not forcing it, are you?"
"Freya treated me, so the wounds are all healed. A little sleep and my stamina will bounce right back."
That settled it, then.
Suddenly I felt a gaze and glanced sideways. Erinn was staring fixedly at Letisia and me.
"You two seem pretty close these days~?"
"Huh?"
"Pardon?"
It was probably because of the magic lessons. Hearing that we looked like we were getting along well was good news for me. At the very least, I couldn't afford to get kicked out of the party until I'd obtained everything I needed.
Yet for some reason, Letisia looked thoroughly flustered and blurted out something that sounded like an excuse.
"It's nothing like that, Erinn."
"I didn't say anything special~? I just meant it was nice that you two seem close."
With that, Erinn lightly turned and spoke to General Fredrik.
"Shall we discuss the details separately, just the two of us~?"
"Ah, yes. Of course."
Erinn left the tent with General Fredrik. Once she was gone, Letisia lowered her head slightly and muttered.
"I shouldn't be doing this…"
"Shouldn't be doing what?"
"…It's nothing."
Letisia let out a small sigh and spoke again.
"More importantly, Allen—how did you take care of it?"
"Ah, that…"
I drew out a faint thread of mana to show her.
"You already know, Letisia. What my mana does to other mana."
"…You used that on it as well?"
"The armor itself was made of mana. It seemed like a mana lifeform created by the Magic Legion Commander."
I roughly explained how I'd dealt with Ogdor. Listening to the story, Letisia looked a little surprised.
"You actually thought to put that to use in real combat right away."
"Well…"
It wasn't as if any other method had come to mind.
"You're surprisingly the type who thrives in actual combat, Allen."
"…Glad to hear it."
"Glad?"
"It means the odds of me being useful to you all just went up."
Then I might even win the bet. Whatever Erinn planned to give me, at least she wouldn't keep ignoring me the way she did now…
"So yeah, I'm glad."
Hearing my answer, Letisia somehow widened her eyes and stared at me.
Had something about the reply not sat well with her?
"……What is this? Coming out with unexpectedly admirable things to say."
"Unexpectedly…"
I'd heard that somewhere before—it was something Erinn had said to me once.
You thought the same thing, Letisia? And here I'd trusted you of all people…
"It's not bad. Allen fighting alongside us."
"…Really?"
"Yes. Truly."
I'd thought the "unexpectedly" comment meant something negative, but apparently not. As long as she wasn't holding that whip, Letisia really was the most normal one of the bunch.
"You'll be commanding this dungeon too, right, Allen?"
"Me?"
Would I?
If that had been the plan, Erinn probably would have taken me along—but since she hadn't, it seemed like she intended to command this one herself.
It wasn't that I had any complaints. With a dungeon as dangerous as the Magic Legion Commander's Obelisk, having the party leader take direct command rather than an inexperienced commander was the right call.
"Yes. Wouldn't it be good if you did it, Allen?"
"I don't know. This time I think Erinn's going to want to do it herself. And I agree that she should."
"Hmm, I don't think so. And since it happens to be the Magic Legion Commander's Obelisk…"
Letisia glanced at me as she spoke.
"If you take command yourself, Allen, wouldn't you be able to put your abilities to more active use?"
"If I just tell Erinn, she'll make good use of them on her own."
"Come on."
Letisia put on a slightly mischievous smile.
"You have to surprise her."
"Do I really…?"
"You do."
Letisia spoke as if it were an absolute necessity. I still didn't quite understand why…
"…Fine. I'll tell her I want to command."
"Tell her Letisia agreed as well."
"If I say that… doesn't that mean I have to ask every other party member for their opinion too?"
"Hehe. Then Freya will agree as well."
I didn't know when she'd arrived, but Freya was already stepping into the tent. For some reason, blood was smeared across her cheeks, hands, and arms.
"…Did you dunk someone?"
"What kind of blasphemous thing are you saying to a Saintess? It splattered while I was bandaging the wounded soldiers."
"Ah."
I'd just said something awful to someone who'd been working hard.
There was just so much blood on her that I couldn't help it…
"But about agreeing—Freya, you also think it's fine if I take command?"
"Yes."
The level of trust felt strangely high.
When I looked at her with a puzzled expression, Freya spoke as if she had a perfectly reasonable basis for it.
"When Allen commands, Erinn seems able to fight a little more freely. Focusing on both command and combat at the same time isn't easy, after all."
"That's…"
Erinn had said something similar before.
But this time might be different. If she hadn't intended that, she wouldn't have gone off to talk with General Fredrik alone.
I'm not sure whether I should even bring it up.
I might just end up getting chewed out for nothing.
"And Allen—I heard from Clara."
"What?"
"That the one who hurt Letisia—you took care of him, Allen."
So she'd heard the story.
"Clara was the one who finished him."
"You set up the process, Allen."
"…That's true, but."
"Then you and Clara took care of him together. It wasn't Clara alone."
Freya spoke on.
"That monster in the armor—even Erinn couldn't react to it easily."
"…It was ridiculously fast."
Clara, whose agility stat far outstripped Erinn's, had barely been able to respond.
"If you hadn't neutralized him, Allen, that side would have been in real danger too. Letisia might not even be talking to us this normally right now."
"…That's true."
Letisia admitted it frankly.
"I couldn't react at all. At the very end I barely managed to raise my mana and save my life—that was all."
The two of them praising me left me a little embarrassed, and I scratched my head. It wasn't as if I'd reacted either. I'd simply released my mana, and the mana-forged armor had warped on its own.
"So there's no guarantee there won't be something like that in this dungeon either. That means it's important we pass through while neutralizing enemies like that with Allen's power."
"You heard about that too."
"Everyone knows by now, don't they? There's nothing left to hide."
With that, Freya approached Letisia.
"No more pain anywhere?"
"No. Thanks to you… thank you, Freya."
"It's nothing. Mm, more than that—Allen."
Freya glanced at me and asked in a strangely careful tone.
"…You're not having a hard time with anything, are you?"
"Out of nowhere?"
You all being weird is what makes things hard, actually.
"Ah, I just wondered. Listening to party members' worries is part of a Saintess's role, after all."
…Is it? I had no idea when Saintesses had become counselors, but it was a kind-hearted thing to do.
"Nothing in particular."
"…Really?"
"Yeah."
I didn't have any worries big enough to dump on someone else.
How to get Ser-Aria to quit drinking, maybe? But that was something no one could solve no matter who I told, so better to keep quiet.
"Then I'll go see Erinn for a bit."
"Ah, yes."
I should go ask. I had no intention of being stubborn about it, but since the party members had opinions, I at least needed to bring it up. If she said no, I'd drop it cleanly.
That had definitely been the plan, and yet…
"Me?"
"Then who else~?"
Erinn giggled.
"I finally put you in charge and you're already sick of it~? Hopeless♡"
"It's not that I don't want to do it…"
The permission had come so easily that I was left without words. The moment I relayed what I'd been told, Erinn answered as if she'd intended to leave command to me from the start.
Then why hadn't she taken me along when she went to talk with General Fredrik?
Just as I was about to ask, Erinn struck first.
"I spoke with the general, and he says they can be ready by tomorrow~ He'll attach an anti-monster unit to us~."
"…That's good news."
"Yeah, it is~ Unlike a certain someone, they aren't dragging their feet, so that's a relief~♡"
That "certain someone" better not be me.
"How many troops?"
"Around five hundred. Any more than that and the wounded make it hard to pull people~."
"Not a small number."
"You think that when we don't even know how many monsters are around the Obelisk~?"
Ah. So they still hadn't gotten a clear picture on this side.
Once the Obelisk that appeared in the Behend Kingdom launched a single invasion, only a minimal garrison remained.
We had just finished repelling and cleaning up that invasion, so even by tomorrow there wouldn't be that many monsters left at the Obelisk.
Thinking of the numbers from Dungeon in Evil, five hundred soldiers from an anti-monster unit would be…
"Enough to buy time, at least. In the meantime we clear the dungeon."
"……Hmmm."
Ah.
I'd spoken too coldly. Looking back, it was the kind of remark that treated human lives like pieces on a board.
Did I start thinking of this like a game without realizing it…?
I'd been making judgments and talking based on game information for so long that I'd slipped into that kind of mistake. It wasn't as if I were some lunatic who valued human lives less than scraps of paper.
Erinn's odd reaction made sense. I was about to correct myself when the words that followed from her made me freeze.
"…Yeah. At least when it comes to cold-bloodedness, you're no scrub."
"……Huh?"
"Do well with command this time too. Don't prepare like a scrub~♡"
With that, Erinn spun on her heel and walked off. Where was she going now?
"…So she's leaving command to me, then."
Maybe I'd earned a certain amount of trust by now. It meant I was being useful in my own way.
"Hard work never betrays you, huh."
I clenched my fist lightly. Just as Freya and Letisia had said, this dungeon might be far easier to clear with my traits and skills. Maybe even easier than in the game.
When and how to use that power was entirely up to my judgment.
So I went over the information in my head once more. The Obelisk that had appeared in the Behend Kingdom—its dungeon structure, the monsters' characteristics, their patterns, all of it.
……Right.
I finished thinking. Having sorted out where and how I would use this ability, I set off with a somewhat lighter step.