Chapter 389

(389) Letter from the royal army

Translator: Tseirp

“You’re kidding me, it actually happened!?”

“It’s because you were saying those stupid things!”

The other guards scolded the guard who said it would be great if minotaurs appeared . Even though now wasn’t the time to say such things .

Minotaur – a monster that appears close to the lowest floor in intermediate dungeons .

It wasn’t a monster that would typically appear here .

At that moment, a minotaur raised the greatsword in its hand to cut down a guard .

“Charm . ”

After Carol cast her spell, the minotaur suddenly changed its swing and sliced at its fellow minotaurs .

“Nice one Carol . ”

I drew White Wolf Fang and jumped into the midst of the minotaur herd .

“Rotational Slash!”

And disconnected the torsos of five minotaurs .

Then, I sheathed my katana and cut down the final minotaur that Carol was magically manipulating with a quick draw (Iai) .

“A-amazing – he cuts down minotaurs as though he is trampling on mini slimes . ”

Was trampling on mini slimes an idiom like taking candy from a baby?

The fight was not over .

A golden minotaur with a height of 5 meters appeared from a hole that was only 2 meters wide .

It made me think of a jack-in-a-box .

I didn’t sense any sign of it climbing the stairs .

Did it come up while erasing its presence? Or did it spring up from the stairs?

“Baronet-dono – it’s dangerous . That is not an ordinary minotaur . It is a King Minotaur . ”

“Yeah, I know . ”

Since I fought one in Belasra before .

It wasn’t enough to be considered a threat .

Furthermore, with its height, I didn’t have to worry about collateral damage .

“Boost Fire!”

The King Minotaur’s head turned black from magic and the smell of charred meat flooded the area .

“I can no longer eat grilled meat . ”

I heard that voice leak out from a guard .

【Ichinojo leveled up】

【Advanced Blacksmith skill: 「Revision」acquired】

【Sacred Pract.i.tioner skill: 「Healing Magic VI」has skilled up to「Healing Magic VII」】

【Magic Civil Officer skill: 「Log Record」acquired】

【Magic Civil Officer skill: 「Conversation Record」acquired】

【Magic Civil Officer skill: 「Status Record」acquired】

【Recipes acquired】

It seemed that the battle was over for the time being .

Revision looked like a handy skill .

The skill would increase the probability of good effects appearing when using Remake .

The newly learned Healing Magic was called Resurrection and it seemed that it would recover HP as well as abnormal conditions at the same time .

Log Record, Conversation Record, Status Record was a skill that allowed me to note down on paper the log, conversation, or status I have checked for the past month .

“Ichino-sama! Look at that!”

Carol noticed something and pointed into the dungeon .

The dungeon walls emit a faint light . Thanks to that, there was no need to bring torches when we explore dungeons .

However, it was nothing less than frightening when the light gradually approached us . It was clear that something was wrong .

Then, the light spread to the dungeon walls and the ground outside .

At the same time, carrots and mushrooms seemingly sprung out of the ground .

“The monsters are sp.a.w.ning out of nowhere!?”

“Evacuate the citizens!”

They seemed to be weak monsters as the guards were defeating them but the monsters kept sp.a.w.ning .

“Master, what is happening?”

“I believe … a part of the town is turning into a dungeon . ”

Was that even possible … what was going on?

“Emergency! The dungeon has overflowed and monsters are sp.a.w.ning!”

A man shouted as he ran over but when he saw the beginner’s dungeon,

“Oh no, it’s the same here too!”

He shouted .

“Hey, you! You mentioned dungeon overflow, does that mean it’s the same for the intermediate dungeon as well?”

“Ye-yeah! No, it’s actually worse there . There are venomous monsters too so there have been casualties – although the guards have sealed them in for now . ”

The monsters appearing here were all weak monsters after all .

But if the King Minotaur was allowed to rampage undeterred, there probably would have been casualties .

“You guys escape as fast as you can! The Frenzy Curse is already over, right? Then it should be okay to leave town!”

“ … Is everyone leaving town?”

“Yes . ”

I bit my lower lip .

I considered if I should stay back to help subjugate the monsters but,

“Carol, grab onto me! Haru, follow me!”

I said and carried Carol on my back as I rushed to the main gate .

Many citizens were leaving through the main street so it was difficult to run .

“Master, let’s go by the rooftops . ”

“Right – Carol, clench your teeth!”

“Yes!”

We leaped onto the rooftops and ran on the path that wasn’t a path .

We were like ninjas – although I recall actually becoming an Apprentice Ninja once .

Then, we arrived at the top of the town wall .

Luckily, the guard on watch was the man we knew but even without him saying a word, the current situation was worse than we imagined .

The front of the main gate was filled with corpses .

Arrows were scattered here and there and countless people were pierced by arrows and fallen on the ground .

“You’re kidding me? The army should be protecting the citizens . Why are they still attacking the citizens?”

I checked the jobs of the fallen people .

The dead would not display any jobs so it looked like everyone was dead . Or so I thought but I saw a single girl with the job 【Commoner: Lv1】 .

I used the Hide skill and leaped down the wall .

Even though I hid my presence with a skill, countless arrows flew toward me but I ignored them . An arrow pierced my shoulder but I almost didn’t feel any pain .

I pulled it out and carried the collapsed girl .

She took an arrow to the middle of her back and she was already no longer breathing . I prayed for her soul as I picked up the person she was shielding with her body and arm .

“ … Sorry, I was too late . ”

When I said that, the child smiled .

It was a baby that was not even a year old . The baby probably has not realized that their mother was killed .

“ … Sorry . ”

I said as I avoided the next volley of arrows and leaped up the wall .

Due to the sudden leap, the baby started crying loudly .

“Baronet-sama –”

“This baby … I’ll leave it in your care . ”

I said and pa.s.sed the crying baby to the guard as I applied Pet.i.te Heal on my shoulder .

“What the h.e.l.l is going on – don’t they think it’s weird?”

I looked at the royal army .

Why were they killing their countrymen so calmly?

Just as I was thinking, I saw a soldier protesting to an officer-like man .

So there were people with normal conscience among them? – I thought before the officer-like man stabbed the protesting soldier in the chest .

“What the heck?”

I couldn’t tell the details of the conversation from where I was .

But was that enough to warrant a stab to the chest?

“Ichino-sama, that officer’s movements seem similar to the monsters charmed by Carol’s spell . There’s a possibility that a portion of the officers has been brainwashed by somebody . ”

Carol said .

“Brainwashed? Don’t tell me the King has been brainwashed too?”

“I do not know . ”

What should I do?

Do I have to stun the whole army with a Pico Pico Hammer tornado as before?

No, the army encirclement was too wide .

Even if I made them unconscious sequentially, the first people I knock unconscious would wake up toward the end .

“If the King was brainwashed, won’t it be resolved if we undo the brainwash?”

Dispel should remove any brainwash .

“Even if the King was not brainwashed, if I took him hostage –”

“Master, please do not act recklessly on your own . ”

Haru said .

“I have to do it . ”

“If master is going, I will go too . ”

Haru insisted .

Her partic.i.p.ation was honestly very rea.s.suring .

It would be difficult for me to avoid arrows from all directions by myself but with Haru, we could avoid most of the arrows .

“Ichino-sama, Haru-san, please calm down . It’s reckless! More importantly, Ichino-sama, there’s confusion at the front of the gate so they can’t shut it . I believe it would be best to move to a remote place and use Siren Song to induce the people to leave this place so please help me . ”

As Carol pointed out, there was chaos at the front of the gate .

I followed her suggestion and moved to a rooftop near the town square and pa.s.sed her a Loudspeaker Talisman .

Carol transformed into her adult form and sang the Siren Song .

Led by Carol’s song, the citizens came to the town square . Luckily this place was far from the dungeons so there were no monsters .

Then .

Somebody appeared on the rooftop .

Who was it – I was wary and was even warier when I found out who it was .

It was Felice, the a.s.sistant Mayor’s secretary .

“Ichinojo-dono, why are you here –”

“I take it you didn’t come here because you knew I was here . ”

“Yes – I have matters with that lady there . I thought that she would appear when there was chaos at the main gate . ”

Carol?

No, only I knew about Carol’s ability to transform .

“I received a letter from the royal army . The other day, when the citizens were leaving town, they received a report that a lady’s song bewitched the citizens . That person is highly likely to be the mastermind of this incident and was told to appear before the king . The mastermind and you – there are records that both parties were using Loudspeaker Talismans . ”

“ – I am not the mastermind . ”

“I prepared the Loudspeaker Talisman for her . It is unrelated . ”

I said but Felice shook his head .

“If you don’t appear, they will take it as retaliation by harboring a national criminal and the army will be dispatched to enter the town – that was written in the letter . ”

What would happen then?

The royal army that didn’t hesitate to fire at citizens . It would be a ma.s.sacre .

“I guess … there’s no choice . ”

“Yes . Thankfully, another person is allowed to accompany her . I will accompany her and advocate for her . ”

“No, I am going with her . ”

The royal army should know that Carol is not the culprit .

Were they aiming for me? Or for Carol?

At any rate, I couldn’t go to the royal army without a plan .

I returned to the top of the town wall and explained the situation to Haru .

We made a plan for what was to come .