Chapter 113

(Elu’s POV)

As he walked through the deserted corridor, Elu made a conscious effort to restrain himself from running ahead, to arrive even a second faster.

He wasn’t embarrassed to be seen running like a madman; this hesitancy was merely a manifestation of his efforts to remain calm.

The situation was critical, which made it all the more necessary to see the bigger picture and calmly work towards a solution.

(But I can’t seem to come up with anything good right now.)

Elu did not hit upon any good ideas along the way, from beginning to end.

When he arrived in front of the room he was seeking, he simply stood still and took a deep breath to calm his agitated and impatient mind.

He tried to project the image of his usual self, to not let his emotions show. But before he could knock on the door behind him—

【”What do you think you’re doing standing in front of someone else’s room?”】

【”Woah!”】

Elu exclaimed in an uncharacteristic yet genuine surprise, spinning around in a jump to look behind.

This was the person Elu wanted to speak to.

Harold stood there, looking at Elu with a questioning gaze.

【”Y-you seem lively.”】

【”I’ve been asleep for five days, and you say I’m lively? What’s that? Sarcasm?”】

【”No way, I’m not suicidal enough to think of provoking you.”】

Elu wouldn’t go so far as to say Harold was dangerous, but he understood his immense power.

Harold was a more reasonable person than his manner of speaking suggested, but if Elu were to accidentally awaken the wrath behind that moderation, and end up as a target of that overwhelming power, he could probably bid farewell to his life.

While Elu did have the resolve to give his life for the sake of his ultimate wish, he had no intention of meeting such a meaningless end.

【”Humph, whatever. I’m assuming you came because you have something to say?”】

【”I hope you won’t mind, there is a pile of things I absolutely must report.”】

(So many things it will make you sick.) Elu added to himself.

The room had one bed, a table, a carpet, some chairs, and nothing more. It was almost too simple, but it was fitting for the discussion to come.

This conversation was not going to be of the cheerful kind.

Again, expecting cheerfulness or a smile from the man sitting across the table wasn’t very realistic.

All Elu had ever seen from him was scorn and sneers.

【”Well then, I must ask. I have bad news, terribly bad news, and slightly bad but not very interesting news. Which would you like to hear first?”】

【”You don’t have a single piece of good news? Looks like you’ve lost your touch.”】

【”You don’t judge an information broker’s job by how pleasing his words are to your ears. What matters is the accuracy of the information.”】

Harold let out a long sigh.

It was clear that Harold actually wanted to complain, and that was understandable. He had been seriously injured, unconscious for five days, and now that he could finally move again, this conversation came as another blow.

Even so, these were all direct consequences of Harold’s own actions. He had no right to complain to Elu.

【”Before we begin, I’d like to let you know that Liner and the others have not been arrested for the attack on Harrison’s mansion.”】

Although the team had gone on quite the rampage, they had a just cause—they wanted to get back their stolen property. Even if that wasn’t the case, if something went wrong, then the family names of Erica Sumeragi and Francis Arkwright, who was royalty, would be powerful cards to play.

Well, given that the victims of the attack were from the military and not the knight order, and given that Liner and the group hadn’t really been questioned or investigated by anyone since then, then, according to Harold, it was safe to assume Harrison had been discarded the second something went wrong on his end.

【”Not that I think you were worried about it, but I had to say it.”】

Harold knew the possibility that the group would break into Harrison’s mansion. Even so, he had never addressed the aftermath. Perhaps thanks to his conjectures or his ability to read the future, he somehow knew there was nothing to worry about on that end.

The only instructions Elu had received was to stop the attack if it happened and to seize the weapons Harrison had gathered.

For that purpose, Elu had been collecting as much information as he could to gain trump cards that could help everyone on site, starting with Harrison himself, during negotiations. This was a difficult task, but it had gone smoothly.

(I wonder how much he predicted. Did he know it would turn out this way or…)

Initially, Harold was not supposed to personally interfere with the fight at all. However, the group had acted faster than expected, leaving him with no other choice than to get involved.

Elu had no way of knowing how many of the events that had transpired had been part of Harold’s expectations, and how many had come as a real surprise.

【”We’ve successfully taken away the remaining weapons from the mansion. All that remains is for you to hand them over in due time… That was your plan, right? How are you going to do that now?”】

【”The plan is still on. I never said there was any need for me to personally hand them the weapons.”】

【”What a nice way to phrase it.”】

If he had built mutual trust with the group, it would have been much easier for Harold to hand over the weapons himself. But his battle with the group had destroyed that possibility.

Given that Lifa was somewhat familiar with Harold’s circumstances, the group was probably not fully hostile to him, but the leader of the party, Liner, would likely not let go of his distrust, which might cause some discord.

That was probably not a desirable outcome for Harold.

【”Whether I do it or you do it, the result will be the same. It doesn’t matter.”】

【”I hope you’re right… Anyway, I guess it’s time to move on to the main subject. I’ll start with the slightly bad news. It has to do with Liner and the group.”】

Harold’s gaze urged Elu to speak faster.

【”You said there is a risk of a large group of monsters marching to Travis. You also said that Liner’s party and the knight order will deal with them, but… there might not be enough time for that.”】

【”What’s that supposed to mean?”】

【”The monsters have been extremely active. I wouldn’t be surprised if they made their move right now.”】

Harold’s information had allowed Elu to roughly know which direction the monsters would come from.

Based on that intel, Elu had mobilized Frieri and made use of the Griffert information network to find the monsters in advance, before the day of their attack.

This strategy met with success about ten days before this.

The situation seemed to be the same as what happened in the Sumeragi territory in the past, but this time around, the monsters stayed hidden.

There was a massive ruin where access was restricted by the kingdom due to the many high-level monsters running rampant there. A member of Frieri had slipped past the surveillance of the royal army, and had managed to see the monsters with his own eyes. He said it was quite shocking to see perhaps ten thousand monsters gathered there.

【”This is not a setback; Liner and the rest of the group should arrive in Travis in time. How are things on the knight order’s side?”】

【”They’re very serious about the situation. They even went so far as to prepare some men to evacuate people in empty boats in case something happens.”】

【”…So they managed to confirm their suspicions regarding Justus?”】

【”I don’t know that for a fact, but it’s very likely to be the case, given that they apparently entered the doctor’s laboratory and found it basically empty. It’s like they found the snake’s shed skin but not the snake itself.”】

The horde of monsters started becoming active just when Justus disappeared. Though the knight order could not do much more than rely on guesswork to understand the link between the two, they were bound to become more vigilant.

【”Even if they found the lab, I doubt that man is the type to leave evidence behind.”】

【”Maybe he did something about his written documents, but there’s no way he could have erased the facility itself.”】

A special type of equipment was necessary to experiment on humans. Unless Justus had blown up the laboratory to smithereens, there would be some evidence remaining.

Moreover, the fact that Justus had allowed the knight order’s intervention to happen at all meant that his plans had advanced far enough that their pursuit was a trivial matter to him.

【”…In any case, this is still within the range of my expectations. It’s not at the level of being considered bad news.”】

【”Hmm, I’ll move on to the next one then. Another large horde of monsters has appeared somewhere else.”】

Even Harold could not remain indifferent upon hearing that information. His movements stiffened as if he was taken aback.

Elu had not expected him to react that badly. Apparently, Harold’s ability to predict the future was not perfect.

【”…Is this the ‘terribly bad news’ you mentioned?”】

Harold asked, after a long silence.

Elu’s answer came clearer and faster.

【”Unfortunately, this is just regular bad news.”】

【”Tsk.”】

Harold clicked his tongue and began pondering. That was the kind of man he was. No matter how desperate the situation, he never stopped thinking.

Then, as if instantly shifting gears, he began asking for the information he needed.

【”How many monsters does that horde amount to?”】

【”About 5,000, judging from sight alone. That’s fewer than the horde heading towards Travis.”】

Even though these numbers were lower, they could not be disregarded. It would be difficult to deal with them directly.

But difficult or not, if nothing was done about them, the consequences would likely be disastrous.

After all, there were two large hordes of monsters in two different locations at the same time. There was no way these were unrelated. Something was going on.

【”Although I’ve shared that information with the knight order in your name, that puts them in a delicate spot. They’d have to take personnel away from Travis to deal with that.”】

【”Still better than doing nothing.”】

【”You’re probably right. But that brings us to the terribly bad news.”】

As he said so, Elu pulled out two maps from his bag. The first was a map of the entire kingdom, the other a map of a single town.

Elu first opened the kingdom map on the table.

【”The second horde was found hidden in a town called Barston, in the northwest of the kingdom.”】

Elu began explaining, tracing the map with his finger.

Barston was a town even more deeply rooted in nature than the town where Lifa and Harold had met, Athis.

According to the latest records, there were about 3,000 people living in Barston, but that data was from many years ago. The numbers were probably even lower now.

【”As you can see on the map, the town is nestled in the middle of the mountains. Preparing empty boats in case something happens is not an option there.”】

In other words, whether it was to defend the town or evacuate the residents, it would be difficult to transport people and supplies in and out. It was not a realistic solution.

The only way to keep the people safe would be to use a certain plain south of Athis, but that was 43 miles (70 km) away from Barston in a straight line. Though not very realistic, it was the clear choice for an evacuation.

【”Is that why you said it’s terribly bad news?”】

【”That’s one of the reasons, but not the main one. Look at this.”】

Elu opened the second map. This was a map of Barston.

【”Barston is by no means a large city; there is no place for a large horde of monsters to hide there.”】

If so, then where and how were the monsters hiding?

The answer was clear on the map.

【”The thing is that Barston was once a mining town that flourished through the mining of rare metals like platinum. Barston’s people used to dig and dig endlessly, to the point where there were tunnels not only in their mines, but even under the town itself. But that was before a certain accident that caused a bedrock collapse.”】

After the accident, Barston began to run out of resources, leading to an economic decline that lasted for several years and was still ongoing.

But of course, the tunnels they had dug in the past still existed.

【”Long story short, the monsters are gathering deep in the tunnels?”】

【”Precisely. Still, you must be thinking ‘But wait, Elu, if these were mining tunnels, how could such a large horde of monsters circulate through there?'”】

【”Cut the crap. Get to the point.”】

【”There is evidence that, after the mines were closed, someone tampered with them. To be more specific, there are large holes deep under the town that do not appear to have been used for mining.”】

【”Are those the monsters’ lairs?”】

【”Something like that. Moreover, by comparing the current layout of the tunnels with old records, we discovered multiple tunnels that shouldn’t have been there. These tunnels were larger than the rest, so much so that it might be more accurate to call them pathways. Most monsters should be able to circulate through those and easily come out of hiding.”】

Monsters are creatures that would not naturally gather in artificially created passageways. They gather in natural places, like the pit back in the Sumeragi territory.

Their presence in Barston was clear proof that these hordes were being controlled by human hands for some specific goal.

【”…There are still some points to be addressed.”】

【”I’ll answer what I can answer.”】

Normally, Harold would respond with “Yeah, you better” or some sarcastic remark, but not this time.

Instead, he immediately started asking questions.

This likely showed how pressing the situation was in his eyes.

【”You said there was evidence that someone tampered with the tunnels. When did that happen?”】

【”We haven’t looked that deeply into it yet, so we don’t really know the details, but judging from the level of deterioration, it was probably about 10 years ago.”】

【”Was there miasma inside? Like back in the Sumeragi territory.”】

【”There was, actually. Most of it was in those large holes, but it did travel quite far in the tunnels before dissipating.”】

【”When the monsters emerge from underground, how will they attack? What kind of scale should we expect?”】

【”I don’t know. They’re being controlled, for sure, but there’s no telling how far that control goes… Oh, I should mention that we’ve found three passages so far that the monsters could come in and out of, so their strategy might be a three-sided attack.”】

Elu’s words implicitly suggested that such an event would be impossible to handle.

That was a natural conclusion given the facts.

If, for example, 500 or 1000 monsters were to emerge from the first passage, perhaps Harold could deal with them himself, but he would not be able to handle those from the other two passages.

The issue was that it would take at least 300 normal people, each with knight-level training, to face those numbers.

And given the crisis soon to come in Travis, it would not be possible for the knight order to gather 600 skilled fighters, knight or otherwise, for a second mission.

【”How long would it take to completely evacuate the town?”】

【”The current estimate is two days. It might take a little longer since a lot of them are elderly people.”】

This meant that if the monsters were to attack in the meantime, it would be too late to start the evacuation.

【”Since it used to be a mining town, they must have had some way to transport their resources to the base of the mountain at some point.”】

【”You’re right, there was a road they once used to transport their goods more efficiently, but it was buried in a landslide a few years ago.”】

Barston was not in a very convenient location, and yet, even after the economic crisis, many people refused to leave. That was because they could easily travel to nearby towns by carriage back then.

However, now that the road was gone, many people, especially the youth, had left Barston.

On the other hand, few of the elderly people who had lived there for years were willing to go. Perhaps their attachment to the land outweighed the inconvenience.

【”…Harold? Is something wrong?”】

Before Elu realized it, Harold had stopped pondering and grabbed the kingdom map. He was staring at it intensely.

Elu figured Harold had found some clue, but he had no idea what it was.

【”Elu, how many days would it take to go from here to Barston on horseback and by carriage?”】

【”It would take 3 to 4 days by horse. By carriage, it could take around seven days, depending on the load being transported. But that’s only the time it would take to get as close as possible to Barston. It would take a whole day more to go up the mountain from there on foot.”】

【”Then, prepare as many horses as you can. Take the Frieri guys with you.”】

【”Right now?”】

【”Gather everything you might need while you still have time. But get going as soon as you’ve gathered enough people.”】

【”Got it.”】

Harold’s ability to act quickly was commendable, but it might take some effort for others to follow.

Then again, Elu had willingly decided to trust Harold, so he just had to deal