Chapter 19
Chapter 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Bestia Mountain (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Accepting Olivia's named request, Sion's party followed her toward the Bestia Mountain front lines.
The group traveled not on paved roads, but along bumpy, rugged unpaved paths leading to the front.
"Hoo..."
"Rion, are you all right?"
"I'm fine... It's just been a while since I've walked this long..."
[See? How many times have I told you to get out more? Always cooped up in your room—that's why you're like this.]
Thanks to that, Sion—who usually stayed holed up in her room and rarely ventured outside—was suffering quite a bit.
"Rion, are you out of shape? You can't slack off just because you're young! Health is something you have to maintain in advance, so later—"
[Rion, isn't there any way to shut that girl up?]
"You endure it..."
In the process, the nonstop chatter from the talkative knight turned the journey into a time of torment.
"By the way... how's the front holding up right now?"
After several failed attempts, Sion realized there was no stopping Olivia's mouth, so she decided to steer the conversation toward something useful instead.
"The front? Well... honestly, even looking at it in the best light, the situation is grim."
"Grim... situation...?"
Sion couldn't help but panic at Olivia's face, which darkened rapidly along with her answer.
In Rilteia, Bestia Mountain was a newbie zone for low-level users to grind experience and level up—nothing more, nothing less.
Even if it was the work of a fairly skilled black mage, Sion had assumed an incident in a mere newbie zone could be resolved easily.
On top of that, rumors had spread across all of Prifre that the Hero of the Empire had gone to handle the Bestia Mountain issue, so she'd subconsciously thought, 'Karl will take care of it.'
"Thanks to you, Rion, we've figured out it's a black mage's doing, but we're so busy blocking the magic beasts coming down from the mountain that we can't even investigate. That's the reality of the front right now."
But the situation at Bestia Mountain, as relayed by Olivia, was far more serious than Sion had anticipated.
"Honestly, without the Hero... Prifre would have been turned to ash long ago."
It wasn't that things were easy to handle because of the Hero—it was that they were barely holding on thanks to him.
"I had no idea... it was that bad."
"Can't you get support from other cities?"
[That's exactly what I'm saying. The Empire's forces shouldn't be this soft that they can't handle mere magic beasts.]
Of course, there were a few puzzling points.
The Leonia Empire was one of the undisputed great powers of the western continent. For such an empire to fail at resolving a crisis like this?
Prifre might be a remote rural town on the frontier, but with support from a major city, it should have been a simple matter.
"...The Empire is currently overwhelmed just recovering from the aftermath of the war."
But the Empire had yet to recover from the war against the Demon King.
"Ah..."
No matter how quickly they'd slain the Demon King ahead of the game's timeline, the continent's wounds wouldn't vanish.
Especially for the Empire, which had stood at the vanguard and suffered the heaviest losses.
"Most of the central nobles are just watching each other, not providing proper troop support. Even pulling in forces from the Leonhardt family is tricky in terms of justification."
Relief and aid were only possible if you had the spare resources.
Prifre was an extremely low-priority rural outpost.
No noble in the world would waste precious troops defending such a place.
Moreover, the Leonhardt family had guarded the imperial family for generations.
Dragging those duty-bound to protect the throne all the way to this countryside was practically impossible.
[Nobles never change. They'll ignore thousands of lives just to save a single coin in their pockets.]
"Couldn't agree more."
Having learned the detailed inner workings of the front, Chloe and Lily let out cold sneers.
They had despised nobles from the start, so there was no way they'd see this in a positive light.
"Ugh... This is way more complicated than I thought..."
Sion didn't react favorably either.
She'd come to the front thinking it was just a simple request, but now she had a gut feeling it would balloon like the underground waterway incident.
As far as I remember, there was no black mage episode at Bestia Mountain in the game.
The achievements window had clearly announced the erasure because 'Chloe has no chance of becoming a boss.'
So what about the opposite case?
If this world deviated from the game's flow, new achievements could generate—and that couldn't be ignored.
That absolutely can't happen...!
For Sion, who wanted nothing more than to go home and laze in bed all day, it was an absolute no-go.
"Ah, we're almost there. See it over there?"
By now, the group had nearly arrived at the front.
Dozens of tents dotted the nearby hilltop, looking hastily erected.
"That's the Bestia Mountain front."
It was the Bestia front line, temporarily established to block the magic beasts spilling out.
...
"So, you're... adventurers here to support the front?"
The overall commander of the Bestia front—and lord of Prifre, Donbar Frisia—was currently steeped in intense displeasure.
"Uhh... I'm Rion..."
"...Mayer."
The reason was the two unwelcome guests brought by the Hero's immature noble adjutant.
"I'm sure these two will be a huge help to the front. I guarantee it, Viscount Frisia."
He was the commander, yet Olivia had brought reinforcements without consulting him—an act that felt like overstepping her bounds.
And if the reinforcements were proper personnel, that'd be one thing.
But no—one frail girl who couldn't even meet his eyes properly, and one girl with a mask flipped over her face, identity unknown.
At this point, he suspected they were mocking him.
"If the lady says so... I understand."
Of course, Donbar's rationality hadn't crumbled to the point of venting his inner complaints outright.
There was an insurmountable gap in status between him and Olivia, after all.
Damn it... We're short on time as it is, and she brings this nuisance.
Donbar was gripped by growing anxiety and unease with each passing day.
His territory, Prifre, was falling apart in real time, yet there was no sign of the Bestia Mountain disturbance ending.
He'd thought it would wrap up quickly once the Hero arrived, but it was dragging on unexpectedly, with damages mounting.
It's all because of these useless rice-wasters!
There was a Hero, yes—but he had no troops to support him.
Even with a capable commander like himself, the regular soldiers of this remote rural town were too incompetent for proper operations.
In the end, the front held only because of the Hero and exceptional commanders like him—it was a sandcastle on the verge of collapse.
The soldiers fighting desperately at the forefront or the Hero himself would surely rage if they heard this, but since they couldn't peek into Donbar's mind, it didn't matter.
Anyway, amid all this, an immature lady playing knight had brought useless parasites.
"Before we discuss details, let's move to the command tent. We can talk there."
"W-Wait a moment, Lady. You're bringing these into the command tent?"
Normally, he'd overlook it for status's sake, but Donbar had no intention of tolerating the lady forcing parasites into meetings—that level of overreach.
"The command staff is restricted to key frontline commanders. Even if they're your guests, Lady, this goes against reason."
A parachute noble bringing yet another parachute?
Nothing wounded Donbar's pride more.
"You're right, Viscount. But these two—"
"Uhh... Lady Olivia, I think Viscount Bombar is correct..."
"It's Donbar."
"Ah, sorry..."
At least she knew her place.
Fortunately, the parasites the lady brought seemed aware of their station.
Conference room...? Looks crowded just from here—why would I go there...?
Of course, it was because Sion loathed mingling with people and felt repulsed by the idea—but Donbar had no way of knowing.
"...You're right. Then we'll gather at my personal tent. You wouldn't object to that, would you, Viscount?"
"Of course not."
Fortunately for Donbar, Olivia's overreach ended there.
Bringing the two to the front irritated him, but staying in her personal tent could be seen as her inviting private guests.
How vulgar.
Was that truly befitting the dignity of a great noble house's daughter?
Inviting adventurers of unknown origin into her own tent.
Donbar inwardly mocked Olivia to his heart's content, but in the end, he too was bound by status, unable to speak his mind.
"This way, then... Oh, by the way, the Hero went to the northern front, so it might be hard to meet him for a while."
"That's a relief... I mean, really."
"...Pardon?"
"N-No, nothing."
Just as Olivia was about to lead Sion's party to her personal tent...
-Ding-dong!
"...Bell toll?"
Suddenly, a bell rang out in the middle of the front lines.
-Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Not just once, but urgently, several times in succession.
"No way..."
In a frontline like this, a bell toll meant only one thing.
A signal for an enemy assault.
"Vice Captain! Enemy attack! Magic beasts are swarming from the mountain!"
"Of all times, when the Hero's away...!"
A magic beast assault had begun on the front lines, bereft of their Hero.