NOVEL WEB Chapter 187
Chapter 187. Cleanup
Narashino City was in chaos after the battle with the Ancient Treant. Buildings were destroyed, houses were engulfed in flames, and the Treant rampaged, causing people to scream and flee in terror.
Sakimori observed the scene while casually taking down the Treant. As Shizuku entered the Ancient Treant’s body, some time passed.
Shizuku and her group must have defeated the Ancient Treant. After the Treants attacked people turned into rainbow-colored bubbles and vanished, and something incredible happened. Or rather, it’s still happening.
Looking up at the cause of this incredible event, I thought,
“Is this what they call a bit strange and sci-fi?”
“Is that all you have to say? Is that all?”
Next to me, a fox girl was yelling in my ear, which was very noisy. I understood her feelings, though. What’s with this girl? Wasn’t she a boy just a moment ago? Well, I understand the feeling. I’m surprised too.
After all, there was a flying battleship right in front of me. What is that? During the battle with the Treant, I thought the ground was rising, but it floated up.
“It must be Narashino City’s secret weapon. They called it Rikyu or something. Attack with this snake! Surely they intend to do a bombardment from that battleship. Preemptive strike!”
“Ah, noisy, noisy. Do you think you can fight that thing?”
When I glared at her with a side-eye, she groaned and turned her face away. Well, of course. It’s not convincing.
“Indeed… Then it must have been built for emergency evacuation.”
“That’s also out. Look at the battleship’s armor, it’s peeling off and rusty… I’d believe you if you said it was brought from some scrapyard.”
The battleship was slowly floating upwards. Its armor was in tatters, full of holes. Dirt covered it, sparks flew here and there, and smoke billowed from several spots.
Honestly, it looked like it might crash. The ship was about 500 meters long, a giant vessel, but there were no visible weapons. It wasn’t a battleship.
“Probably, Narashino City’s bigwigs are aboard. For now, why not give it a shot with this snake’s breath?”
“I don’t get what you mean by ‘for now.’ It looks like it could be destroyed with one breath… but don’t you think they might be hiding defensive weapons? Rising at this time is like saying ‘Please destroy us.’ Are you trying to frame me as the culprit?”
I have a feeling that if I sunk it, they’d quickly make me the scapegoat for this mess.
“But they’ll escape? I’ve never seen a flying ship outside of movies. Clearly, it’s an OOPArts Narashino City has been hiding. Wouldn’t it be a waste?”
“It has nothing to do with me. Let politics handle it.”
Watching the battleship accelerate, I did think it was a waste. But more than that, it seemed like a heap of trouble. If I got my hands on it, the outsiders would definitely be noisy. It just looked like a trap box full of classified information.
So, I decided not to care. I asked the fox girl, who was gnashing her teeth in frustration, one thing that piqued my interest.
“What do you think the name written on that hull is?”
The old ship had its name written in large letters.
“It says ‘Haruna’.”
“Don’t shorten it. It says ‘Earth Federation Research Ship, Haruna’. Earth Federation? Is that like the United Nations? Does the UN still exist?”
“Never heard of it. This is the first time I’ve heard of the Earth Federation.”
I nodded in agreement. If the UN was functioning in this situation, I’d be more surprised.
Anyway, it’s cold for early summer, so I wrapped a fox tail scarf around my neck. It seems Shizuku and her group defeated the Ancient Treant, so it’s time to start the cleanup.
Feeling a bit chilly, I wrapped the tail around my neck. I was glad it was a long tail.
“Hot.”
“Don’t wrap the tail! If it’s hot, take it off!”
“I’ve never done a patience contest before.”
The fox girl protested loudly, but if we don’t do a patience contest, she’ll run away. After confirming that the surroundings were beginning to calm down, I touched Kou’s head and gave instructions. With the dungeon conquered and the Treants gone, the commotion quickly subsided. The quick resolution of this chaos is typical of the residents of a military base.
Putting out the burning houses, tending to the injured, and dismantling the now ruined buildings… none of this concerns me. My activities here are basically over. Now, it’s up to the leaders of this city.
[Sakimori-san, we’ve defeated the Ancient Treant. The dungeon master of the unique monster is defeated, so please cancel the summon of all units.]
[Got it. As always, you’re in tatters, aren’t you?]
I immediately realized what had happened when Shizuku asked to cancel the summon. It’s that, right? They fought with the mindset that as long as they didn’t die, it’d be fine.
[Just a bit of poking and they’d fall unconscious. The dungeon master was cunning, it was quite tough. But with my perfect strategy, we managed to defeat it. If there’s any recording, I’d show it to you, Sakimori-san. You can pat my head for now.]
[Understood. I’ll send Serika and Yukihana back to HQ, and the tanks to the Tsukuba Line Fortress.]
I still had enough mana for that. Using all my mana is scary, but I’ve reserved some for my escape, so it should be fine.
Currently, the base settings are HQ, Tsukuba Line Fortress, Serika, and myself. I can teleport freely between them. It’d be troublesome if Serika was seen, so I’ll teleport them.
I turned my shadow into a gate and sent my thoughts to Serika and the others. Thank you for your help. I also wanted to join the battle, but it couldn’t be helped because of the plan.
[When we get back, I’ll start making new equipment, so look forward to it~]
[Wait for us at HQ. Put the reward in Yukihana-chan’s piggy bank.]
Serika, sounding cheerful, and Yukihana, sounding proud, replied with their thoughts. I guess it’s safe to say we showcased the power of the Order of the Jester Knights.
I pulled myself together and sent my thoughts to Kou, then moved to where Karin and the others were. I believe they were having a welcome party. Where could it be?
“Tatsumi, you know where the welcome party in the inner town is, right? Lead the way.”
“Don’t assume I know!”
“I paid you a guide fee, didn’t I? Come on, show me the way.”
I squeezed her tail as I mentioned the 30,000 I’d given her. Grumbling, Tatsumi Kana reluctantly pointed to a location not far off. It was surprisingly close. Since the Ancient Treant was in the center, it made sense the top officials would be nearby.
There seemed to be a large, rugged building. From atop Kou, I could see through the dust that the huge roots of the Ancient Treant had collapsed onto the building, turning it into a pile of rubble.
Is that it…? Is it really? I wonder if Karin is alive.
I swore to give her a proper funeral if she wasn’t. As Kou moved, the dust started to clear, revealing a large group of people near the ruins of the former building.
I spotted a catgirl energetically waving both hands and jumping up and down with her tail swishing. I sighed with relief. She seemed lively, though her clothes were torn and bloodstained.
“Chi-”
Kou moved towards Karin and the others with a voice as cute as a field mouse’s. Now that the Ancient Treant was defeated, Kou seemed to be the only dangerous creature around, but hopefully, it was fine.
Creating a shadow at the building, Kou slithered forward, causing people to panic and flee, but they stopped when they saw him calmly pass by. Ignoring the noisy crowd, I proceeded,
“That was scary-nya! I thought I was going to die=nyanko!”
As I reached Karin, she dashed at me as if to tackle. She must have been quite desperate against the Treant. With her level at 4, and the Treant possibly higher, it must have been tough to defend against its attacks.
“Good job. Here’s a reward.”
Smiling, I wrapped the fox scarf around her neck.
“Fox tail-nyanko?”
“Ah, well…”
I glanced at the fox girl beside me, who had turned back into a fox.
“Kuun!”
She even made fox sounds. This little girl… she has some guts. She twitched her fox ears and looked at us with her round eyes.
“Are there many people with the [Fox Transformation] skill?”
“There are a few, but they exist-nya.”
“Hmm.”
The fox, with its tongue out, tilted its head cutely at us. I’ll figure out who this is later. For now, keep her safely in a cage.
Shaking my head, I handed the fox to Karin. More important matters awaited.
Soldiers, battered and bloody from the fierce battle, surrounded me with automatic rifles.
“Wait, this person is an ally. Isn’t that right?”
The tension between us was interrupted by Colonel Marume, who looked at me calmly, though there was a hint of frustration in his eyes. He must have had a tough time too.
“Yeah. I was busy hunting foxes, Colonel.”
Removing my mask, I switched off the illusion ring’s disguise. I’m not good at acting without focusing on the details.
“Very well. Are there any remaining enemies? From that big creature’s head, you must have had a good view.”
“Yes, Colonel. We managed to defeat the dungeon boss. Because of that, the Treants in the city disappeared. However, there might be an attack from outside taking advantage of the confusion. It was quite the festival.”
Saluting sharply, I replied. I think I’ve done enough to be promoted to lieutenant colonel in just a few hours after arrival.
“Understood. Good job on conquering the dungeon. Next, stay alert for any intrusions from outside the city. With that monster, you’ll be fine, right? I’ll assign you some subordinates.”
“Roger. Nagahide Niwa, on defense duty.”
“Wait! Shouldn’t Nagahide Niwa stay with us-nya?”
Karin, panicking at Marume’s orders, hesitated, so I quietly whispered in her ear.
“It’ll be bad if I stay, right?”
“Ah… because it’ll put pressure on Narashino City-nya?”
“Plus, the city was in chaos as soon as we arrived and the dungeon was conquered by me. You understand, right?”
“Ugh… I also wanted to be on defense duty-nya.”
From this conversation, it was clear the welcome party was canceled.
Patting the dejected Karin’s head, I jumped onto Kou’s head. Colonel, the rest is up to you. I’ll leave a shadowy cat to spy.
I’m a guy who can read the room. So, I’ll leave negotiations to Minamoto Fuuka, who looks pale and shaky.
Honestly, my presence here has lost its meaning. Narashino City no longer has the power to fight the inner town.
Once the defense duty is over, I’ll research the city’s specialties and any shortages.
Amatsugahara Corporation always provides good service to new customers. That’s a promise.