Chapter 138. The Mercenary Corps' Current State.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the Advisor was adjusting to life on Earth. Not that there was much to adjust to — he hadn't exactly had the chance to experience Earth's civilization yet.
"Advisor, we discovered a civilian residence nearby, but..."
"There wouldn't have been any survivors."
"..."
Even without a shared language, meeting the people of this dimension and trying anything was the only way to find clues about the Commander. At the very least, what they'd gathered so far confirmed that the continent called Europe wasn't the one the Commander had called home.
"The Commander's appearance was distinctly similar to the martial artists of the Eastern Continent."
"If that's the case..."
"When we examined the undead and the corpses here, one thing was clear — this is not where the Commander lived."
"..."
"Finding survivors in this place is our top priority."
If everything went according to plan, they could ration their stockpiled food with strict calorie limits and stretch it for at least a year. But when does any plan ever go exactly as expected?
"What's the soil quality like?"
"Yes, there was a former farmer among us. After checking, they reported the soil has sufficient nutrients and isn't overly hard — cultivation should be possible."
"Prioritize anything that stores well long-term."
"Understood."
At present, the Yong Mercenary Corps had organized into squads and was steadily expanding their territory. They'd encountered a few special entities, by undead standards, but everyone here was a veteran who'd crawled through hell and back. They all returned without a scratch.
"Anyway, I wonder what that bastard is doing right now..."
"Are you perhaps talking about the one you gave a bit of teaching to, Advisor?"
It almost sounded like the tone of someone thinking of a person they missed — but judging by the edge in their voices and their expressions, it was absolutely not that. It was the look of someone silently vowing to make sure the bastard didn't walk away a second time, if they ever caught him.
"I sincerely hope he's alive. I raised a brat who used to beg and scrounge for food on the streets, fed him, and he dares to run off with the Yong Mercenary Corps' assets?"
All assets of the Yong Mercenary Corps belonged to the Commander. That wasn't just the Commander's own decree — it was the unanimous consensus of the entire corps. Most of the people here were those who had nearly died, or had been right on the verge of death. Naturally, they'd lived bleak lives with no future to speak of.
He didn't just give them jobs and food so they wouldn't starve — he even went so far as to grant them his teaching.
But perhaps because the Commander had lived in a nation without a king, he was the kind of man who thought it was only natural to pay a fixed wage even during rest periods.
"What about the mages?"
"They're being assigned only to the minimum necessary tasks."
In a dimension with a completely different language system, the mages were the most critical personnel. Should they encounter survivors, their assistance would be indispensable.
"However... for a while now, we've been sighting unusual demon beasts."
"Demon beasts?"
"They fly in the sky, but they are neither wyverns nor gargoyles."
The Advisor studied a sketch of the demon beast drawn by a temporarily organized ranger unit. It was thoroughly peculiar. The part that seemed to be the face was sharply pointed, and the wings, unlike those of any other demon beast, were angular and rigid.
"The demon beast in question made no wingbeats at all."
"Hmm... this is probably..."
— Old man, where I lived, huge metal objects flew even without mana stones or mana circuits.
— Is that the "science" you spoke of, Commander?
— Yeah. Over a hundred people could ride in them, traveling between continents. And it didn't even take a day.
— Huh... well, I've never seen it so I wouldn't know, but if that's truly the case, it's astonishing.
— It's true...
"The problem is, if it can travel between continents, finding one nearby would be difficult."
"Shall we track it?"
"No. I've heard it moves at a speed that would make a wyvern laugh. We'd only exhaust the corps members for nothing."
The roads here were well-maintained in most places where people had lived. So, to spare themselves the trouble of cutting through mountain paths, they used the roads as much as possible while searching for traces of survivors.
They found signs of habitation, but between the already-rotted food and the thick layers of dust, it was clear a considerable amount of time had passed since the undead had overrun the place. Even if they'd wanted to gather information by looking at newspapers, it was impossible — they couldn't read the language.
"It is extremely inconvenient that interpretation magic works, but translation magic does not."
As the Advisor of the Yong Mercenary Corps, the time to make a decision had come. He assembled all corps members for a major announcement.
"I intend to select a small group and travel to a location quite far from here."
A location far from a major city like their current one was safe from the undead threat, but by that same token, finding survivors was difficult.
"Naturally, I will be going as well."
The corps members, every last one of them, expressed their desire to join. But there was no knowing what dangers lurked beyond the place where they'd made their base. Even after the Advisor laid out the situation plainly, the corps members stubbornly refused to change their minds.
In the end, he selected members who excelled in their respective fields: combat, tracking, survival, and assassination.
"We currently lack any means of communication. If we do not return after one month..."
"..."
"Consider us dead."
"...!"
Because they'd be away for an extended period, they packed a fairly large amount of luggage before setting out. Fortunately, an artifact enchanted with subspace magic lightened the load considerably, even if its capacity wasn't vast.
"Advisor, do you know which country the Commander lived in?"
"I only know it's called Korea."
He thought it was a small mercy that they at least knew the name.
Please... let it be a country well-known enough that any survivors here would recognize it...
The appearance of the people here was starkly different from the Commander's. The worst-case scenario was that the distance between the Commander's homeland and this place would require intercontinental travel.
A little less than half the time they had promised the corps members had passed, stretching well beyond a day or two. They handled demon beasts — orcs, goblins — and dealt with the undead, along with a few slightly peculiar variants, as they pressed forward.
As time slipped by without finding a single survivor, the Advisor began to feel a creeping sense of urgency.
"Hah... how far have we moved?"
"Heading north, we've covered a distance comparable to the span between one kingdom and another, by Titan's measure."
"And still, not a single survivor..."
Even if they turned back now and returned to the Yong Mercenary Corps headquarters, there was still considerable leeway. They could retrace their path at high speed without needing to gather information as they were doing now.
Just as not only the Advisor but the other corps members as well were all beginning to feel that urgency, the member in charge of tracking shouted out.
"Advisor! We've found traces of survivors."
At those words, every face brightened. Immediately afterward, they displayed their professionalism, securing the perimeter in every direction.
"The fire was extinguished not long ago. It even looks like they roasted and ate raw meat, and considering the nature of the undead, they buried the traces in the ground."
"Hmm... their cleanup was clumsy."
"Yes, which actually makes it more believable. Doesn't it look like ordinary civilians, not professionals, hastily erasing their tracks to avoid the undead?"
"If so, then their heading..."
Everyone looked in the same direction. The survivors had passed through the route they were following not long ago. It had rained recently and the ground was muddy, so their footprints remained — not yet fully dried.
"We increase our speed from here. Focus solely on inferring the survivors' direction. Pay no attention to anything else."
By the time they'd nearly caught up, the sun was setting and night was closing in.
"We'll bivouac nearby and make contact when daylight returns."
They spent the night eating simple preserved food, avoiding even the faintest firelight. When dawn broke, they approached slowly, dogging the survivors' trail.
"They may suspect we're bandits. First, I and two corps members capable of interpretation magic will make contact. Everyone else, maintain distance and keep eyes on the situation."
The survivors were a mix of children and adults. The children clustered in the center of the group while the adults gripped weapons — edged tools, clubs — and watched the treeline.
When the Advisor and his corps members closed in from behind, deliberately making noise, the survivors shielded the children behind them and raised their weapons, eyeing the newcomers warily. A tense standoff settled in without a single word exchanged.
"【Are you survivors?】"
"What's he saying? Is he a foreigner?"
"Did they come from a country that doesn't use English?"
"That can't be. This is an island."
The Advisor glanced at his corps member and nodded. Since the group might feel threatened, he carefully employed interpretation magic to attempt communication.
"Are you survivors?"
"What the... he can speak English."
"We came because we wanted to ask something."
To show they had no intention of attacking, the Advisor and his corps member raised both hands and spoke slowly.
"Do you know of a country called Korea?"
"Korea?"
"Their features are similar to ours, and they're saying Korea?"
To gather information and offer goodwill, he opened his subspace and produced food. Still half-doubting, the survivors slowly approached, took the food, and murmured among themselves.
"God, are those people Awakened?"
"We don't know for sure... don't trust people too easily."
"Awakened"...? Do they call those who can handle mana "Awakened" in this place?
Considering that mana-users were called martial artists on the Eastern Continent, it wasn't difficult to understand.
"Yes, we are Awakened. We are simply looking for someone. If you just tell us what you know, we will leave immediately without causing any harm."
"Huh... I don't know what kind of person you're looking for, but we have nothing. If the person you're looking for is Korean..."
He listened as they filled in the details. Korea was the right country. The unfortunate part was that it was an incredibly distant one — they'd have to cross not just a continent but an ocean.
The Advisor pressed his fingers to his forehead. A disaster. Even if they stayed with these people, there was no way to reach Korea. He bowed his head in thanks, gave them a little more food, and prepared to return to the Yong Mercenary Corps headquarters.
"J-just a moment..."
"...?"
"If it wouldn't be too forward... would you like to travel with us?"
The Advisor and his corps member were caught off guard by the sudden invitation, but the companions of the survivor who'd spoken up were just as startled, immediately breaking into urgent whispers.
"What are you doing, bringing that up? We don't know what kind of people they are!"
"They have that level of ability, and they just gave us food without attacking!"
"..."
"Anyway, we outnumber them... no matter what happens, we can deal with it."
After conferring amongst themselves and apparently reaching an agreement, the survivor who'd first spoken up turned back to them.
"We're currently heading to the palace...!"
"Palace...?"
"Yes! If the person you're looking for is Korean, maybe you could come with us and get some help."
The Advisor weighed the situation. Even if these people harbored ill intentions, it was possible to subdue them all without taking a single casualty. What he hadn't yet grasped, however, was the scale of military power held by this palace they were heading toward.
The Commander definitely said... his dimension has no monarchies...
Right now, they were the ones in a hurry. After a brief deliberation, the Advisor decided to join them.