The Ancient City (2)
As they drew nearer the village that was their goal, monsters finally began to appear.
"You lot stay back. We'll clear this out quickly."
Freddy charged forward at the head of the knights.
Roy and the other children had yet to properly learn mounted combat at the Knight Academy. That training only began in the autumn term. They were not entirely incapable of fighting, of course—but inserting themselves into the knights' formation would only get in the way of the unit's tactics.
"Yah—!"
The knights drove their horses at a furious gallop. The five at the front—Freddy among them—were the true powerhouses who carried the blood of the Count's house. At the tips of the long lances they had drawn, pure white mana blazed with fierce light. They had activated Aura Blade through their spears.
"Haah!"
—Thud!
—Thud!
They skewered the monsters that tried to block their charge and rode straight through them. The knights following behind showed no less prowess. Monsters that lunged in from the flanks had their heads sheared clean off in a single stroke.
After racing straight ahead for several dozen meters, the knights wheeled their mounts with practiced ease, turned, and charged again. Over and over they repeated the maneuver, sweeping the surrounding monsters away in a zigzag pattern until not one remained.
It was overwhelming. In mere moments the monsters nearby had been annihilated.
Having claimed an easy victory in their first engagement, the knights rode back at a leisurely pace. The attendants, laborers, and other hangers-on waiting in the rear clapped and cheered at the knights' tremendous display of force, making as much noise as they could.
That was the idea. Everything is fine. Nothing to worry about. We travel with the strongest knight order in the territory. No matter what kind of monster appears, this expedition will end without incident.
It was a way of soothing the anxiety that had settled over them now that the expedition was truly underway.
For people with almost no mana, stepping into a dungeon must be terrifying. Especially when so many have already fled to the cities after their villages were wiped out...
The monsters the knights had cut down were odd, misshapen ape-things—short hind legs, broad shoulders, and thick, burly upper bodies. Roy had never seen them before, but the hunter he had hired, a man native to this territory, said they were a common breed called big-fanged gorillas. Easy for the knights to drop, yet they possessed strength greater than an orc's.
To Roy, they were nothing special. Not the sort of foe you applauded yourself for felling a handful of. With the magic weapons at his waist he could have dropped them himself without spending almost any mana at all.
Whatever. Let the knights handle small fry like that. It's not as if they'll drop good mana stones anyway.
What Roy was after were finer mana stones and materials. Trash monsters that showed up in packs never even registered. He wanted something stronger than the enormous ogre from before—stronger even than a corrupted unicorn or a giant worm.
To restore the powerful gear he had forged in his previous life, he would need materials several times better than anything he had obtained so far. Of course they would not be easy to come by. He would have to bring down truly formidable monsters. In his past life it had been the hero and his companions who had hunted the materials he used—beasts so strong that no one else would even dare try. But as he was now, it was not entirely impossible. Even if the thing was a calamity-class monster capable of erasing a village in moments, if he planned carefully and made proper use of his charms and magic weapons, he was confident he could face it.
"Roy! What are you doing standing there?"
The voice that suddenly called out belonged to Anna.
"Hm? Oh—nothing. Just thinking."
"Are we really just supposed to watch like this the whole time?"
"Until we enter the dungeon, yes."
"And once we're inside?"
"Horses will be hard to use in a dungeon. Besides, I've heard the tunnels around here branch off in every direction. Makes sense if it's a giant ancient city. Monsters could come from any side, and twenty knights can't cover every approach. Our turn will come, obviously."
"I see. We'll be all right, won't we?"
"Why? Nervous?"
"No. You're here too."
Watching Anna's bright smile, Roy smiled with her.
Apparently jealous of how close the siblings were sticking, Chloe and Noah came running over. Jack joined them a moment later.
"For now we watch quietly and see how the knights fight. It'll help us. They're veterans. After that we can decide how we want to move. Stay here. I'm going to have a word with Sir Freddy."
"With big brother?"
"Yeah. It's nothing serious—just wait here. I'll be right back. Noah, you stay put too."
So you felt it as well?
Roy smiled quietly to himself. Yes. Nearby he could sense the presence of a mana vein. It was seeping up, little by little, from deep underground.
He went looking for Freddy. He could not simply barge into the adults' conversation, so he waited for some time. When he simply stood there in silence, Freddy spoke first.
"What is it?"
"I have something to tell you, and something I want to ask."
"No need to drag it out. Speak."
"...It's something better said in private."
"It's fine. Everyone here is from my father's old party—people who have served our territory for years and can be trusted."
Roy stepped closer and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"I can't. Not in front of this many people—not when it's about what you drank yesterday..."
"...!?"
Freddy jerked as if shocked and clapped a hand over Roy's mouth.
"How do you know about that—"
"Which is why I asked to speak with you alone."
"...Understood. Come with me. I'll be having an important conversation with this one for a moment. Once the mana stones are recovered, prepare to move out again."
"Yes, Captain."
Roy and Freddy walked some several dozen meters away from the rest of the party. At that distance, even someone trying to eavesdrop with magic would have a hard time of it.
"How do you know about that?"
"Didn't the Count tell you?"
"Father? Tell me what?"
"That I've been researching how to mass-produce the thing you drank."
"What? Is that even possible?"
"No. Not yet. But I'm working on it."
"Someone as young as you..."
"Age doesn't matter."
When Roy answered with complete confidence, Freddy thought of the rumors surrounding the boy in front of him. The spirit's power he had seen the day before last, the stories about the charms—this was clearly no ordinary child.
"In any case, congratulations. Your mana capacity nearly doubled, didn't it?"
"...You really do know everything."
"That's what I'm saying. Which is why I have a proposal for you."
"A proposal?"
"Yes. I know the purpose of this expedition perfectly well. Clear as many of the dungeon's monsters as possible so that, at the very least, none of them climb up into the villages—that's the goal, correct?"
"That's right."
"I'm tagging along for the purpose I just mentioned—to make that thing."
"There's a clue underground that would make it possible?"
"I can't say for certain. But I know where the odds are highest. My spirit told me."
Roy was trying to turn the knights' destination toward the heart of the mana vein. Of course they would still have to wipe out any monsters that appeared along the way. He could not afford interruptions when it came time for his experiments.
Freddy understood what Roy was saying at once. He also saw why the boy had brought this up with him.
"You want my help."
"That's right."
"And the payment would naturally be that item."
Roy nodded. Freddy sank into thought.
Only the day before he had drunk Dragon's Breath. And he had been stunned. After nearly ten years with no growth whatsoever, the mana in his body had more than doubled overnight.
Mass-produce that? If it's truly possible...
Afraid he might be left waiting all day, Roy spoke up quickly.
"You don't need to overthink it. I doubt I can create a miracle identical to the one found in an ancient dungeon. But if I can produce even something with a tenth of the effect, wouldn't that still count as a considerable achievement?"
"Mm. Fair point."
Roy's plan did not end with this single trip. The Bacon Territory held countless mana veins, and he meant to visit every one of them over the summer holiday. Permission for that would not come easily, of course. So whether it was the Count—the current lord of Bacon—or Freddy, the heir apparent standing in front of him, there was nothing to lose by getting on good terms in advance. He might even need to put the knight order to work like his own limbs for the entire summer.
Ah. That might be pushing it a little far.
In any case, since the Count had already marked Freddy as the next lord, growing closer to him could only help.
Still—more cautious than I expected?
Freddy seemed to be weighing the matter with real care. But there was no way he would refuse the bait. Only yesterday he had learned just how deep and intoxicating that taste could be.
"All right. I accept your proposal."
Of course he did.
"Then I'll be counting on you."
In the end, this expedition too seemed to be falling into place according to Roy's plan.
"I'm the one who should be counting on you. I hope that research of yours produces some real results this time around."