The New Gate

Book 19: Chapter 1 (3)

Shin and his group flew to the place they used to move the soldiers when they set up the wall.

It would have been fine to fly all the way to the capital, but they thought it would be nice to at least talk to Reiner and Lourie, who had fought with them.

They would want to know the results as soon as possible.

Perhaps, because so much time had passed since Shin and the others had left, there was no sign of the Church Warband in the vicinity of where they had arrived. There were no familiar faces among the remaining empire troops.

“It’s not as if they stayed behind to see if the wall was OK.”

There was no indication of any monsters in the surroundings.

However, the soldiers that Shin saw were all fully equipped, with both weapons and armor. From the map’s reaction, he could see that they were forming a three-layered circular formation.

“The 3rd Division of Imperial Guard, huh? If it’s in preparation for the monsters coming over the wall, I don’t see why not…”

As Shibaid pondered, Shin had his own doubts about leaving troops to deal with high-level monsters in a deliberate state of readiness.

The hordes of monsters on the other side of the wall had been swept away by Shin and his group.

Thinking about it was not going to get them anywhere, so Shin and his group attempted to make contact with the 3rd Division of the Imperial Guard.

Schnee, Shibaid, and Milt, who belonged to the Church Warband, were here, so I asked them to report what had happened on the isolated island, and they responded immediately.

When we asked them about the report, they told us that Wolfreet, the divine beast that had recently brought down one of the forts, had appeared.

“What a surprise to hear a Wolfreet came by while we were gone.”

It seems that the knights of the Church Warband, who were preparing to retreat to the nearest fort, were the first to spot it. It did not attack, but it looked up at the installed defenses.

Since it was well known that Wolfreet was a mighty fighter, they did not make any moves either. The commander of the 3rd Division told us that, after a while, they ran off somewhere.

“I thought they might be hostile to us because they had attacked the fort, but that did not seem to be the case. It didn’t feel like they back down because the odds were against them either.”

Shin nodded.

“I agree with you. The flames were blue, so it must have been a unique monster. They must be stronger than normal ones, and they can set ordinary soldiers on fire just by walking around. If they wanted to fight, this area would have been burned to the ground by now.”

It was an opponent who could take down a defensive fort without difficulty. In a proper fight, it was highly likely that both the Imperial Guard and the Church Warband would have been destroyed.

“I’m concerned about the fact that they were looking at the wall. Did they want to destroy it?”

Milt tilted his head.

“If so, shouldn’t they have dealt one hit to see how strong it is? Wolfreet’s skill structure is that of a hardcore fighting type. The unique monster is also a powered-up version of that, and nothing much should have changed. I don’t think you can gauge the toughness just by looking at them.”

Since Wolfreet was a popular monster, information on his skill structure and behavior patterns was studied in great detail by volunteer players, known as the verification team.

Wolfreet sometimes detected traps set by players, but this was based on the five senses, such as smell and touch. Wolfreet’s fighting style was to smash barriers used by players and obstacles created by magic skills named “~Wall” by brute force.

“Some monsters can sense the strength of barriers created by skills or magic without attacking. The Wolfreet that appeared this time may be one of them.”

Schnee offered her opinion.

Schnee, who had fought many monsters, seemed to know something that Shin and Milt did not know, a behavior that had not existed in the game days.

“Schnee, have you fought a Wolfreet after “Dusk of the Majesty”?”

“No,” she said.

“Many of the monsters known as divine beasts are rarely seen in public. The story I just told you is simply from my experience. But it is hard to imagine that a divine beast cannot do what ordinary monsters can do.”

“That’s true.”

So far, there has only been one sighting.

The wall itself was deployed over a wide area, so if someone just want to observe it, it shouldn’t make any difference where they look from.

“There’s just so much we don’t know.”

I felt that when one mystery was solved, a new one would spring up.

“Yes, yes. So much for pondering. You have better things to do now than to think about something that is not here.”

Filma interrupted as if to switch the mood.

“I guess so,” Shin said.

“Let’s head for the castle.”

My acquaintances have already traveled.

Since we did not know how far they had gone, we decided to fly directly to the capital instead of chasing them.

Since they were sure the Royal Castle will be in touch with them, Shin activated the Teleportation as Filma urged him to do.

Having teleported to a place a short distance away from the capital of Kilmont, Shin and his group materialize a carriage and approach the gate.

They received stares from people waiting in line, but they did not complain, perhaps because Shibaid was sitting on the driver’s seat.

The story of Shibaid, the first Emperor of Kilmont leaving the country seemed to be spreading, and people in line were speculating whether he was the real one or just a look-alike.

“Let us escort you to the castle!”

The knight calls out as we arrive at the gate as if they have been waiting for us.

Shin and his group entered the capital through the gate, which was normally closed to the military and nobility.

As they entered the castle, the knight offered to take care of the carriage, but they declined because it could be converted into a card. They showed it to the knight, and stowed it on the spot.

“You’re back. I’ve heard your report. You all did well.”

When entering the room to which they had been led, they were greeted with words of thanks from the Emperor and the heavy hitters who had remained in Kilmont.

Reiner and the other members of the Church Warband were also there, smiling and nodding at Milt.

“I see this is the monster used for contact. Able to communicate with distant places and only consume one loaf of bread a day. It’s frightening.”

Shin was not familiar with the biology of Petit Slime. But, since Eleven said it can live well enough with it, it must be so.

Long-distance communication was of tremendous value in this world.

Even if Eleven was the only one It can contact at the moment, it’s still worth a lot.

“But you really don’t want a reward? In this case, the magnitude of his achievement is more than just a medal.”

Though Shibaid was a former Emperor and Schnee does not ask for a lot of rewards in an emergency like this, the matter was way too big to be settled with just a single thank-you.

The group had almost succeeded in securing the safety of the wall, dealt with the hordes of high-level monsters, and even reduced the massive ‘floods’ that had been a burden for many years.

The ‘floods’ was not yet completely resolved, but fortunately, Eleven does not need gold, land, or anything else that humans want. Therefore, unless humans were reckless enough to invade, there was no problem.

Eleven even asked us to barter with them if we had anything interesting.

“This case brought a big profit enough for us, too. Look at this,” Schnee said, placing a chunk of orichalcum from the wreckage of the Anguaini on the table.

Zaikuin narrowed his eyes and stared at the lump of orichalcum. There were several other Dragnils with wide eyes.

They know what a lump of orichalcum, which must be the size of three fists, was worth.

“There are wagons full of this same size, and some other magical metals.”

Scheme said.

“Are you serious…!”

A single ingot of orichalcum would move a platinum Jul coin.

A wagon-load of it would be an astonishing story.

In fact, the wide-eyed Dragnils’ mouths fell half open.

“And to top it off, we have a blacksmith who can handle them with perfection. I hope you understand that this is more than enough of a profit.”

“…Well, yes. We don’t know how much they are worth in terms of money, and the value of the armors made from them is immeasurable.”

It was safe to say that no one can handle the orichalcum better than Shin.

Some of the players in the game days were as skilled as Shin, but the number of deaths among production players was small, and even fewer came to this world.

Zaikuin, who knew the identity of Shin, could only nod his head, as he could tell.

“Well, well, guess I can’t even fully show my gratitude. I’d like to offer you all at least a medal, but Schnee here won’t accept it right.”

“Even though Shibaid is involved with this country, we can’t give any special treatment.”

Zaikuin sighs in bewilderment.

No matter how many accomplishments Schnee may have achieved, she never accepted any position, title, or medal in return.

Schnee’s only purpose was to spread the name of herself and the Tsuki no Hokora and make it easier for Shin to find her when he returned.

She has never belonged to any country, has never had any deep involvement, abandoned every treatise, and has gained only fame. This attitude, which has lasted for hundreds of years, was known to the world.

However, this attitude was a problem for countries that wanted to express their gratitude in a sincere manner.

Even if they wanted to show their gratitude in a form that words alone could not convey, she would not receive it.

“In normal circumstances, I would have welcomed you with the whole country’s hospitality. But it can’t be helped. If we hold a party to celebrate now, it might cause unnecessary trouble.”

Kilmont was one of the largest countries on the continent.

Therefore, there were many aristocrats and people with various ideas. Many of them tried to sneak past the king and the upper echelons of society and make secret contact.

“We have other things to do. I am sorry, but we cannot stay too long.”

Shibaid spoke to Zaikuin.

“Is it related to this case?”

“No, it’s something else. There’s no immediate danger, so we just gave priority to this case. But we can’t just leave it out forever.”

Shibaid spoke about Hades in a blur.

The fact that he was working with Schnee also helped to give the impression that there was something going on. It’s safe to assume Schnee was traveling all over the continent. She sometimes has multiple cases, and no one seemed to doubt Shibaid’s word.

Shin apologized in his heart, as he could see that Shimaia, who apparently had a crush on Shibaid, was visibly discouraged.

Although Shibaid has been loyal to Shin since they joined forces, I wish he would pay attention to such things.

He has no intention of making his own support character serve him for the rest of his life.

“Well well, It’s a bit frustrating that I can’t do anything for you all after you’ve helped me out so much.”

“I don’t want to have to deal with this kind of thing again and again. I’m sorry, but I need you to take care of the rest.”

What Shibaid meant by “take care of the rest” included dealing with the people who would contact him to get information about Schnee. Or rather, more than half of it.

Diplomats from other countries were demanding disclosure of information simply because Schnee was involved.

This time, not only Schnee, but Shibaid was involved, and even had other associates.

With so many witnesses, there was nothing to stop the information from leaking out. There will be more contact from other countries than ever before.

Zaikuin laughed, saying that it was always more difficult for the people who were helped.

Then, after a detailed report and some discussion, they quickly said their goodbyes.

Zaikuin corrected his posture and said with a serious expression on his face to Shin and others.

“Last but not least, if you need our help, we will be there for you. Just remember that.”

Zaikuin was not the only one who corrected its posture. The leaders of the Kilmonts, the captains of the various military units, and the members of the Church Warband were also looking at Shin and his group with serious looks on their faces.

“There are many things we cannot do on our own. We will rely on you in times of need,” Schnee replied as a representative of the group.

Shin nodded, noticing Zaikuin’s eyes on him.

After leaving the room, Shin and his group started to ready for their flight to the Bayreuth Kingdom.

Milt seemed to want to follow them, but since she was a member of the Church Warband, she could not just suddenly leave.

Milt said that she would join them after completing the formalities since she was said to have worked hard enough to atone for her sins, but it seems likely that she would not be able to make contact with Hades in time.

To avoid being accosted by the airheads on the way, Shin and his group disappeared with skill Hiding as soon as they started moving. Naturally, they had permission to do so.

After exiting the castle without anyone noticing, they moved along the wall to the gate and then stepped out from the shadows onto the street with a nonchalant looks on our faces.

As they passed through the gate and were thinking about teleporting at the right time, Shin received a message.

It was from Berett.

The Vice-president of Golden Company, Berett, had been sending him investigation reports on a regular basis.

The search for the guild house whose whereabouts were still unknown, had been slow, even with the information network of the Golden Company. The letter was so full of apologies that Shin felt rather flattered.

He opened the message to see if there had been any progress this time.

“… Sorry guys. I have to take a little detour.”

Shin looked over the message and told Schnee and the others that he had changed his destination.

The message was about the guild house number three, the “3rd Moving Base Miraltrea” and the “Golden Merchant” Reed’s masterpiece that was being made there.

◆◆◆◆