Extra Story: The Story of a Certain Group of Adventurers 2

It happened a few days before the ultimatum to the three dukes.

I was in a dark room with Hakuya, poring over a big map of this country that was

spread out across the table. There were pawns of various sizes, all shaped like

upside-down "T"s, at various points on the map.

At the point representing the royal capital, Parnam, there was a large pawn and a

medium-sized pawn. In the central city of the Carmine Duchy, Randel, there were

four large pawns. In the central city of the Vargas Duchy, Red Dragon City, there was

a single pawn that was smaller than the others. These T-shaped pawns represented

the forces positioned in each location.

Hakuya was using a long stick to explain each of the pawns.

"The large pawns represent a force of 10,000, the medium ones a force of 5,000,

and the small ones a force of 100. In other words, the number of troops you can

mobilize is 15,000, while Duke Carmine has gathered around 40,000. There were

many deserters from the Army, such as Glaive Magna, but they seem to have made

up their losses from that with the personal troops of the nobles who were engaged

in corruption."

"So, no change to the numerical values, there, huh," I said.

"Correct. Furthermore, according to the information we received from Duchess

Walter, Duke Vargas has done as he declared he would. He has not called up the Air

Force. It seems he intends to go into battle with only 100 of his own troops."

"Hm... Still, if they're Castor's troops, they're all wyvern cavalry, right?" I picked

up one of the medium-sized pawns from beside the map and replaced the small

pawn at Red Dragon City with it. "I've heard a single wyvern knight can do the work

of 500 soldiers from the Army. If we're looking at comparative power, we should

think of them as being equivalent to 5,000 of our troops. Even if there are only 100

of them, we can't afford to underestimate their power."

"I am awed by your astute powers of observation." Hakuya bowed reverently. He

made a big deal of it, but I knew he was probably just flattering me.

"Please, stop. I take no joy in being able to point out how bad the situation is for

us."

"I suppose not," he said. "It appears as though the situation is still worsening,

too..."

With those words, Hakuya placed three large pawns on the southwest border

with the Principality of Amidonia. These three large pawns represented the forces of

Amidonia which were about to invade this country.

"The armies of the Principality of Amidonia are prepared to advance through the

valleys of the Ursula Mountains to invade," he said.

"Their total manpower was 50,000 or so, right?" I asked.

The Principality of Amidonia was only half as powerful a nation as the Elfrieden

Kingdom. Because of that, they could only maintain half the standing army. On top of

that, the Principality of Amidonia shared borders with three other countries in

addition to us, so they had to leave troops to defend against them.

"Given their circumstances, 30,000 is a lot to be sending," I said.

"You can see how serious Gaius is just from that, I suppose," he replied. "He is

ready to win or die trying."

"That's just going to mean problems for us," I sighed. "...What will the principality

do from here?"

"They likely mean to occupy the southwestern city of Altomura," he replied.

"Once Altomura falls, they will sweep all opposition from the surrounding area and

move to secure the grain-producing region. Once they have de facto control of this

area, I expect they will declare it part of their domain."

Gaius was mobilizing his army with the resolve to win or die trying, but then he

was just going to do the equivalent of burglarizing a building while it was on fire.

"For all his resolve, he's not doing much," I said.

"With the manpower Amidonia has, I believe this is the most they could

accomplish," Hakuya responded. "If they get too out of hand, the nobles who have

been taking a wait-and-see approach to your conflict with Duke Carmine would

likely gather to your side, after all."

"I see... What's the strength of our border defense force?" I asked.

Hakuya moved the medium-sized pawn that was in Parnam to the southwest

border. "I have already dispatched 5,000 from the Forbidden Army to the area near

the border."

"We're sending a land force of 5,000 to face a force of 30,000 which will have air

forces as well, huh..." I murmured.

We were outnumbered by more than six-to-one. I had known this would be the

case, but... I didn't feel good about those numbers.

"...How long can they hold out?" I asked.

"Even if they shut themselves up in the fortress near the border, they would be

doing well to last a day," he responded. "The intent is only to buy time, so the

commander has been ordered not to be reckless, and to carry out a staged retreat."

"That's easier said than done... She can pull it off, though, I guess. But even if we

assume the troops are fine with all this... what do you plan to do about the people

living in the area?" I turned a harsh eye towards Hakuya.

Unless they were expecting an ambush, armies would avoid the steep slopes and

advance along roads across flat land. Those roads saw the daily coming and going of

people, and people gathered at them to form towns and villages. There would be

towns and villages at points along the route the armies of the principality would be

advancing through to reach Altomura, as well.

"We don't have long before the armies of the principality strike," I added. "Should

we issue a royal order to encourage them to evacuate?"

When I asked that, Hakuya shook his head silently. "Please, refrain. If we show

we are aware of the principality's intentions, their armies will be on alert. It could

make all our preparations for naught."

"...You're telling me to abandon them?"

"I believe we have no other choice," Hakuya said firmly, his eyes never wavering

from my glare. "Now that you have made the decision to fight, sire, you must be

aware that that means the blood of your people will be shed. As king, sometimes you

must swallow your tears and be prepared to make sacrifices to save a greater

number of people."

Hakuya said this with a serious look on his face. It might have sounded cold, but

he was taking it upon himself to say the things he knew would hurt for me to hear.

So that I couldn't run away from making those choices.

"...Yeah," I said. "I get what you're saying. That's probably the more guaranteed,

safer way. But... is it really the only option?"

He said nothing.

"On this occasion, I don't mind if the method is a little bit rough, or dangerous," I

added.

With a war coming, there was going to be some number of people sacrificed no

matter what I did. Even so, if I didn't work to lower those numbers to the absolute

minimum, that wasn't being safe, it was being negligent.

"I'll take whatever you've got," I said in a strained voice. "Is there something,

anything we could do?"

Hakuya paused for a moment to think. Then... he let out a sigh, shrugging his

shoulders in exasperation. "And here I had thought you had been acting quite kingly

of late, sire."

"I've still got a long way to go if I let compassion get the better of me, is that it?" I

asked.

"If you are aware of that, then very well. Good grief... It seems I have no choice."

For all his complaining, this was the closest I had seen to a smile on Hakuya's face

in some time. It seemed that even Hakuya had some reservations about abandoning

the people along the highway to their fates.

"I do have one idea," he said. "However, this is a rather rough method..."

The plan he proposed was definitely very rough. For the people along the

highway, it was sure to be a real nuisance. Still... it was far better than abandoning

them.

"Let's go with that plan," I said. "There's little time. Contact the adventurers' guild

at once."

"By your will."

◇ ◇ ◇

Unidentified monsters had appeared in the southeast of the Elfrieden Kingdom.

The monsters were bipedal and humanoid, had patchwork, clown-like bodies,

and their heads were on fire. These were monsters that had never been discovered

before.

From their appearance, the monsters came to be known as flame pierrots.

Flame pierrots would appear in groups, attack a village, then use the flames on

their heads to set houses aflame. While it wasn't common for a new species of

monster to appear like this, in a world where there were dungeons everywhere, it

was far from unheard of. These flame pierrots had no doubt been born in some

dungeon or another.

Dealing with new monsters like these was mainly a job for adventurers. So, soon

after reports of the flame pierrots came in, a quest was issued by the adventurers'

guild. "Protect the refugees displaced by flame pierrot attacks," it said.

This quest had been issued by a kingdom under the king's own name. It seemed

that the king's first thought had been to evacuate people from the villages near

where the flame pierrots were appearing. However, the current king, King Souma,

and the General of the Army, Georg, were currently in a state of conflict, so he

couldn't afford to dispatch troops.

By having the guild issue a quest, he had probably hoped to have adventurers

protect the refugees. As a quest issued by a country, it seemed like there would be a

good payout for it, so all of the adventurers accepted the quest and worked to

protect the refugees.

Here, too, there was another party that had accepted that quest.

There was their leader, the young and muscular swordsman, Dece, the babyfaced, female thief, Juno, the quiet, affable priest, Febral, and the shapely, quiet

beauty, Julia. This was the party that had once gone on a quest with Little

Musashibo.

This time, in addition to those four, there was the brawny, macho brawler, Augus.

The reason Little Musashibo had joined their party last time was that Augus had

been unavailable and they had been looking for someone to fill in for him.

They, too, had taken on the quest issued by the kingdom.

The closer a village was to the capital, the sooner a group of adventurers had

claimed it, and so, having gotten a late start, their group accepted a mountain village

near the southeastern border. They were now pushing on towards the east through

the dense forest, protecting thirty or so villagers.

So far... All clear. The party scout, Juno, was surveying the area from up in the

treetops.

In the process of protecting the villagers, they had to be on alert for more than

just flame pierrots. There were vicious wild animals, and, in areas where public

order was poor, they also had to watch out for brigands during an escort mission.

Because of that, Juno was jumping from tree to tree like a monkey, surveying the

area.

For pay this good, there haven't been many problems... I'm kind of disappointed,

Juno thought to herself while leaping through the air.

Most of the time, if a quest paid well, it was going to be highly difficult. Even for

quests that appeared to not be so difficult at first glance, if there was a good reward,

you could count on there being something more to it. "Beware anything that seems

too good to be true" was an iron rule among adventurers. Even if the quest came

from a trustworthy kingdom.

However, once they had accepted it, no flame pierrots had appeared, and it was

turning out to be a simple quest where they just went for a walk with some villagers.

When Juno finished her patrol mission and returned, Dece and Febral were

talking.

"I think this quest really is too easy," Febral said.

"Hey, what's wrong with easy?" Dece replied to the more pensive Febral,

swinging his arms in a circle as he did.

Febral was the party analyst and also served as advisor to Dece, the party leader.

"For starters, we haven't even seen the flame pierrots that were supposed to be

the reason for this quest," said Febral. "There's been a lot of talk about how

dangerous they are, but... I can't help but feel it's exaggerated."

"Ah, I've been thinking that, too." Juno said, joining their conversation.

Dece looked to Juno. "What's the situation?"

"All clear. The forest was quiet."

"I see... So, what is it you were thinking, too, Juno?"

"This is an escort quest where we protect people from the flame pierrots, yeah? I

was wondering why it wasn't a subjugation quest against the flame pierrots. From

what I've heard, there aren't many of them. Rather than make all these villagers

move, wouldn't it be faster to wipe out those flame pierrots?"

"I think that's a reasonable opinion," Febral said with a nod, but Dece still seemed

doubtful.

"Doesn't that just mean they're too dangerous to put out a subjugation quest for

them?" he asked.

"If they were, you'd expect reports of more extreme damage than what we're

seeing," Febral replied. "The only damages I've heard of are an empty village or two

burning to the ground after its residents were already evacuated..."

"...Well, I guess that does seem a bit odd," Dece said.

As would be expected of a party leader, Dece knew how to listen to others. When

he thought an opinion was worth listening to, he was open-minded enough to follow

the advice of others.

Dece spoke to Juno, who had her hands behind her head, her fingers interlocked.

"Juno. I'm counting on you to be thorough with your scouting. From here out,

keep an eye out for more than just monsters or animals."

"Roger that!"

With those words, Juno climbed up into the tree again, then jumped away.

After watching Juno go, Dece said, "Febral, go tell Augus and Julia up at the front

everything you told me. I'll stay here and guard the rear."

"Roger."

As he watched Febral run off towards the head of the party, Dece let out a sigh.

Here's hoping this quest stays this good until the end...

That was Dece's fervent hope.

After splitting off from Dece and the others, Juno went back on patrol.

The forest was as quiet as ever, but when she came out onto one of the narrow

mountain paths, Juno's sensitive ears picked up something.

Juno descended from the trees, getting down on all-fours and putting an ear to

the ground. This noise... Is it the sound of hooves?

The noise was coming from not far away. There was more than one of them, and

the noise was loud.

For now, all she heard was the sound of hooves. Taking into account that she

didn't hear wheels, as well, she judged that the sound was likely coming from

horsemen... a group of heavy cavalry, at that.

There's heavy cavalry galloping along this mountain road?

Suspicious, Juno decided to scout in the direction of the noise. But, before

heading off to scout...

"Awoooo!" she howled, imitating the cry of a grey wolf.

This was a message to Dece and the others. "Abnormal situation detected. Be on

your guard," was what it meant.

Having done this, Dece and the others would stay alert. If something happened to

delay her return, they would probably come to rescue her.

Juno remained even more silent than before, jumping from tree to tree as she

searched for the individuals making the noise.

After some time, she heard the rustling of armor in the distance. Juno hid in the

shadows, surveying the area around her.

When she did, as expected, she spotted a group of heavy cavalry galloping along

the mountain path. There were five of them in total. Each of them wore black fullplate armor.

What're they doing here?

While Juno was suspiciously observing them, the emblem on the shields they

carried caught her eye.

That crest... It belongs to the Principality of Amidonia. Then... are they horsemen

from the principality?

This was Elfrieden Kingdom territory. It was strange for horsemen from the

Principality of Amidonia to be here at all. Adventurers wandered the continent in

search of dungeons and quests, so their loyalty to any given state was weak.

However, because they wandered the continent, they were very knowledgeable

about the relations between different countries.

The principality is supposed to be hostile to the kingdom, she thought. If

principality horsemen are out here... has the Elfrieden Kingdom been attacked by the

Principality of Amidonia?

She recalled there having been talk of the Principality of Amidonia massing its

forces on the border.

The adventurers' guild had a system that allowed a country that was under

attack to pay a certain amount of money to conscript all adventurers inside their

territory. Because of that, adventurers working in the kingdom had been keeping a

close eye on the movements of the principality, but the guild received no request for

support from the kingdom. Because of that, she had thought nothing would come of

it.

Incidentally, Souma had canceled that contract with the guild, declaring it a waste

of money for the same reasons as hiring mercenaries, but the adventurers

themselves hadn't been informed of this.

Judging from their numbers, they're a scouting party. In that case, is the main force

nearby?

If the soldiers came across the villagers the party were escorting, it was going to

be very, very bad. The party might be fine against five horsemen, but if they came at

them in large numbers, the party didn't stand a chance. The villagers might be

dragged off as prisoners of war, but they, the ones escorting them, might just be

killed. Even so, if they abandoned their quest and fled, they would find themselves

on the guild's wanted list.

Juno let out a little sigh, trying to set her feelings aside. For now, I need to stall

them.

Juno hid in the foliage, hiding herself as she gradually approached the five

horsemen. Then she took a stone into her hand and threw it at the head of the horse

running at the head of the group.

Whack.

"Neighhhh!"

"Whoa?!"

Having been hit in the side of the neck with a stone, the lead horse reared back.

The surprised principality soldier was nearly thrown from his horse.

His comrades clustered around him. "What happened?"

"I just suddenly lost control of the horse..."

"Did it get stung by a bee, or something?"

"Dunno. I think something came flying this way, though..."

While the principality horsemen were talking about it, Juno circled around

behind them. Then, once again, she threw a stone at the horse that was at the rear of

the group.

Whack.

"Neighhhh!"

The moment she hit it, the horse that had been at the rear jumped and ran wild.

"Whoa! Hey, calm down!"

"What?! Is there something here?!"

The horsemen looked around restlessly. With two of their horses having been

startled by something in short succession, they seemed to have become very

cautious.

When she saw that, Juno was relieved.

Good. That ought to bring their pace down.

The more cautious they were of their surroundings, the slower they would

advance. Now she just had to join up with Dece and the others, then get the villagers

to hurry up. With that in mind, Juno was turning around to leave when it happened.

Because she had turned suddenly, the branches rustled slightly. That vibration,

unfortunately, startled a bird perched on the branch above Juno and it took off. With

the loud beating of wings, the principality soldiers looked in Juno's direction.

"Is there something over there?!"

"Oh, crap...!" Juno fled at once.

Making a snap decision, she took off in the opposite direction of the way she'd

come. She couldn't lead these guys back to where the villagers were.

The horsemen chased after Juno. "Don't let her get away! Make sure you capture

her!"

Juno could hear the voices shouting from behind her. Juno fled through the areas

where trees were densely packed, making use of tight turns to try to shake her

pursuers, but horses were faster on land. The horsemen deftly controlled their

horses, diverting around the dense trees to pursue Juno.

Dammit... These guys just don't give up!

Juno wasn't convinced she'd get out of this alive. As an adventurer, Juno had no

particular loyalty to the kingdom. However, they weren't likely to care about that. If

she was caught, there was no telling what they might do to her. The thought sent a

chill down her spine.

Huff... huff... Someone, save me...

It happened just as she was praying for salvation.

She saw flickering flames ahead of her. Six of them, in total. If she could see them

so clearly from this far off, they had to be pretty big fires. Juno nearly came to a stop,

despite herself. Then, "Whoa!"

An arm suddenly reached out and pulled Juno into the bushes.

"O-Ow...!"

Pompf.

Juno started to scream, but something soft covered her mouth. Now that she got a

better look, there was a round-ish, puffy thing in front of her. When she saw it, Juno

let out a little cry.

"Y-You?!"

Juno knew this thing. That roly-poly body. That face wrapped in white silk with

acorn eyes peering out. The wicker basket on his back, the large prayer necklace he

wore, the naginata in his hands.

This was the one known in rumors as the Kigurumi Adventurer, Little Musashibo.

"You're Mr. Kigurumi! What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed.

In response to Juno's question, Little Musashibo brought a round hand up to

cover his mouth.

"..." (Little Musashibo was saying, "Be quiet, please. They'll find us.")

Find us? My pursuers are right there... she thought.

"..." ("It's okay. Just look," he said, gesturing for Juno to look.)

Hmm?

After going through one of their usual conversations, where they managed to

communicate somehow, Juno poked her head out of the bushes in time to see the

flames from before passing by. They had patchwork bodies, tattered clothing,

zombie-like movements, and flames blazing from their heads.

The flame pierrots...

Juno instantly recognized them as the new monsters that had been reported to

the guild. However, when she looked at them closely, something seemed wrong.

Their movements were strangely jerky, almost like they were marionettes.

While she was thinking that...

"Ahhhh!"

"Wh-What are these things?!"

...the principality horsemen who had been pursuing her started shouting.

Once they saw the flaming aberrations moving towards them with a click-clack

noise, the horsemen had bigger things to worry about than their scouting mission.

They had nothing to gain by staying here and fighting these unknown monstrosities.

Notifying the main force about the existence of these things came first.

"Tch! We don't have time to deal with these guys. We're heading back!" the leader

shouted.

The horsemen retreated. Juno breathed a sigh of relief, but she wasn't out of

danger yet.

Now, she had a swarm of flame pierrots near her. Juno drew her short sword, so

she would be ready to fight at any time.

Pompf.

Little Musashibo placed his hand on Juno's head.

It was so sudden, Juno's eyes went wide. "H-Hey, Mister?! What do you think

you're doing at a time like this...?"

"..." ("It's okay now. The danger has passed," he said, patting her head.)

"The danger has passed...? But, those things are still here!"

"..." ("Never mind them. Let's hurry back to Dece and the others," he was saying.)

Then, Little Musashibo lifted Juno up, throwing her into the wicker basket on his

back.

"Whoa! This again?!"

Ignoring Juno's protestations, Little Musashibo plodded off. Juno was bewildered

for a while, but once she came to her senses, she rested her chin on Little

Musashibo's head.

"...This is the second time you've saved me now, Mister."

"..." (Little Musashibo gave a thumbs-up.)

"What are you doing here?"

"..." — Little Musashibo didn't say anything to answer Juno's question. No—he

never had said anything, but even Juno couldn't sense his feelings this time.

However, as she looked at his back, she felt that she could sense something like

sadness.

Juno scratched her head, then started bopping Little Musashibo's back

repeatedly.

"..." (S-Stop, please," he said, flailing his arms around.)

"Hmph!" she said. "If you want me to stop, then cheer up. Things don't always

work out in life, but still, just surviving is a victory. It means you still get to eat

tomorrow."

"..."

Little Musashibo said nothing in response. However, his footsteps seemed a little

lighter now than they were before.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Just surviving is a victory... huh."

Juno had gotten a little rough, but she had probably been trying to encourage

him. Juno's words had certainly reached Souma, who had been controlling Little

Musashibo and the flame pierrots from far away in the capital.

This was the plan Hakuya had come up with to save the people of the southeast

from the principality.

By using Souma's power, Living Poltergeists, they would have a bunch of bizarre

dolls go around as a new breed of monster, the flame pierrots. They would use them

to attack towns and villages along the route of the principality's army and force

them to evacuate. Then they would issue a quest to the adventurers' guild. This

would lend the story credence, and they could leave escorting the refugees to the

adventurers.

In fact, he had even used the flame pierrots to burn some of the now-unoccupied

towns to the ground. From the perspective of the people whose villages were being

torched, it was a terrible inconvenience. He did intend to compensate them later, but

he was still burning down their homes, no doubt filled with precious memories, for

his own benefit.

Little wonder Hakuya had warned him in advance that it was a rough plan.

Despite that, Souma had still chosen it. He had thought it was better than leaving

the unsuspecting people to be tyrannized by the armies of the principality. He had

weighed his options, then made his choice to save what he could and cast away the

rest. His actions were certainly not praiseworthy.

It had weighed on his heart, but Juno's words had lifted his spirits a little.

"She's right. If they don't survive, I wouldn't even be able to apologize later."

Whispering those words to himself, Souma walked out of the Governmental Affairs

Office.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, around that same time, Julius, who was with the main force of the

Amidonian army, was looking at the report he had received, puzzled. The

appearance of a flame monster... It was hard to take at face value.

There are reports that towns and villages along the army's path have burned

down...

When he'd received the report, he had thought that some soldiers must have run

wild, running ahead of the army to engage in pillaging. They were aiming to annex

this region after the war, so it wouldn't serve their interests to alienate the local

population too much.

Just as Julius had been thinking he should warn the entire army against this, he

had received a report saying that those towns and villages had burned down a

number of days before the principality forces had arrived. While he was glad it

hadn't been caused by rampaging soldiers, why had the towns and villages burned

down?

The next thing that came to Julius's mind was scorched earth tactics. In other

words, he suspected that the people had burned down the towns and villages along

the Amidonian army's route to keep them from replenishing their provisions locally.

In that case, it would mean the kingdom had predicted exactly what they were up to.

If so, it was dangerous to advance now, and Julius should advise his father Gaius to

retreat.

Still... It's too poorly done to be a scorched earth strategy.

With it being the end of the ninth month of the year, they were in the middle of

the harvest season now. If they were using scorched earth tactics, they should have

razed the fields and destroyed or poisoned the wells, too.

Yet all that had been burned down were the towns and villages themselves. The

fields were left untouched, and the wells were still usable. The principality forces

could still resupply in the field. Furthermore, they had found valuables in the

burned-out towns. This had to be proof that the residents had evacuated in a hurry.

In the end, he came to the conclusion that the towns and villages in this area

must have been attacked by monsters or brigands. Because of that, Julius did not

advise Gaius to do anything.

The report of fire monster sightings is not inconsistent with the conditions at the

site... But, still.

Was it not all a bit too convenient? That was how it felt to Julius.

I can't help but feel there's something off about the kingdom right now.

—It's pandemonium.

While he looked off into the northwest, that was what Julius thought.