Level Eater

To fulfill the lord's command, Joaquin, the vice-commander of the Lyadas Knights with a foxlike beast man appearance and eyes slightly squinted, briskly walked forward. Entrusting all matters related to the lord's security to the commander, he left the reception room, immediately calling his subordinates and hurrying to the location where Bertram and his secretary, claiming to be Gregory, were.

"Finally, the time has come to punch that idiot's face!"

"Vice-commander!? Be careful! Please say that in a softer voice!"

"Hahaha, I won't say not to hit him."

"Well… we've been through a lot, too."

As they spoke, glancing at the subordinates behind him, all of them wore similar expressions. Yes, Bertram, the idiot, had been subjected to countless insults questioning his competence, being called a barbarian who only valued strength and a fool for proposing him as the future lord. However, thanks to the revelations by the third daughter, Laurence, and the evidence provided by the adventurers outside linking him to the criminals, his true nature had been exposed.

"I'd like to treat those adventurers to a drink sometime!"

"Isn't it too early for that? Just by glimpsing into the office, it looked like they were quite young."

"Hah, you trust only what you see with your own eyes. My nose can sense strong ones. They're not at a level you'd expect from teenagers."

While having such a slightly off-topic conversation, they reached the front of the tower where Bertram usually stayed when he wasn't in the main castle. Placing the soldiers he brought with him around the tower, Joaquin formally delivered his message.

"Bertram Lyadas Bruitt and his secretary, Gregory Callahan. Both are under capture orders in the name of Lord Brendan Lyadas Bruitt! Surrender quietly!!"

"……………………There's no response at all."

"This was anticipated. Most likely, they are trembling inside. If there's no response in another five minutes, as he said, we'll resort to more brutal methods. Make sure to inform the others."

"Yes, sir!"

The messengers relayed the information to the knights stationed at various locations around the castle to coordinate their actions. On the other hand, in the basement of the tower, a young man with chestnut hair and a well-featured face was anxiously talking to a man in his late forties wearing round glasses and a neatly trimmed beard.

"Gregory! What do you intend to do, getting caught so quickly! The outside is already surrounded!" (Bertram)

"Please rest assured, Lord Bertram. I anticipated this situation from the moment Iyaruki was killed, so I've already made all the necessary preparations. Honestly, the mayor outside who couldn't even stop a single adventurer was quite incompetent. Once this is over, would you consider placing me in that position instead?" (Gregory)

"Do it! Do it, and do something about this! If I get caught like this, I'll be confined to some remote border for the rest of my life, and you'll be killed!" (Bertram)

"Haha, I would prefer not to be killed. In that case, could you please sign this contract? If you ascend to lordship, consider appointing me as your proxy instead of the incompetent current mayor." (Gregory)

"Signing now of all times!? What a leisurely—fine, give it here!" (Bertram)

The familiar foolish son of the lord, Bertram Lyadas Bruitt, was in a state of panic, signing a contract at such a critical moment.

As Gregory Callahan, the leader of the thieves who had infiltrated the territory, triumphantly danced away with the contract from Gregory Callahan's hand, he rudely grabbed the pen from the nearby desk and signed it.

"Is this good enough?" he said, crumpling the contract and tossing it towards Gregory.

In response, Gregory's eyebrows twitched, but he picked it up with a smile, carefully unfolded it, and confirmed the signature.

"Indeed. The contract has been sealed. Well then, shall we move on to show time?" (Gregory)

"Yeah, whatever! Just hurry up and kill my sister and father! Especially my sister, she always gets in my way!!" (Bertram)

"As you wish." (Gregory)

Saying that Gregory, who had been acquainted with Bertram for only a few years, revealed the most insane smile, one that even Bertram, who had spent a considerable amount of time with him, had never seen.

Unconsciously taking a step back from that smile, Bertram, five monkey-like demons appeared, bowing their heads to Gregory as if in exchange.

"My tools, take this to the top of the highest of the five towers." (Gregory)

"""""Kikiiii!"""""

Faithfully obeying the orders sent with Gregory's contract, the monkeys, taking advantage of the soldiers' distraction, quietly slipped outside, holding something round in their hands.

Watching this, Gregory squatted near a large rectangular wooden box with countless small holes in the corner of the room. He inserted a syringe filled with red liquid into it and injected something inside.

"Hey, what are you doing?! Hurry up, or… Hey! Are you listening?" (Bertram)

"Quiet, Lord Bertram. If you continue like this, you'll miss the moment of the century." (Gregory)

"What do you mean?" (Bertram)

With a puzzled look at the extravagant words "moment of the century," Bertram walked towards the wooden box. It creaked and cracked, and soon cracks formed.

"Hahaha, I truly am a genius!" (Gregory)

"Hey… what's going on here?" (Bertram)

"Now, Lord Bertram. If you don't want to be crushed, you'd better not be under there." (Gregory)

"A-Alright…" (Bertram)

And so, whatever it was continued to increase in volume. Eventually, it reached a height of ten meters and, in one sweep, cleared away the obstructive building covering itself.

BOOM. With that sound, the building was destroyed, and debris scattered in all directions.

"What… what is that!?"

"Where did such a monster come from… Vice-Captain, let's get away first!"

The trained members of the knight order avoided the debris unscathed, protecting themselves by dodging or knocking away the debris.

But a few seconds later, the monster that appeared at the center of the destruction caught the attention of everyone present.

The creature resembled a mammoth, with giant fangs, tough skin like steel, and a long trunk. However, it had three small eyes arranged horizontally on its forehead and five large, wide-open eyes in their proper place.

The creature swung its hard trunk, completely collapsing the tower with the impact, and then dashed straight toward where the lords were.

And on its back were two men.

"Gregory! Amazing, isn't it? I've never seen such a toy!" (Bertram)

"Yes, indeed. This is a monster that shouldn't exist anymore." (Gregory)

"That's Bertram and Gregory! Everyone, don't let them escape!" (Brendan Lyadas Bruitt)

Vice-Captain Joaquin heard the voice keenly, spotted the two riding on the back of the large monster and began giving instructions to the other members.

The members, without showing fear, bravely confronted the battle.

The lord, who learned from messengers about the chaos unfolding within the castle grounds, turned pale and clasped his head.

A giant monster suddenly appeared and wreaked havoc, and now it was heading towards them. It was indeed a dire situation.

Fighting the urge to abandon everything and leave it all to his daughter, the lord quickly issued orders to the person behind him as soon as he was alone.

"Take command of the entire army and defeat the monsters! I no longer care about the fate of my sons!" (Brendan Lyadas Bruitt)

"Yes, sir!"

As the captain of the knight order accepted the mission and prepared to leave the room, another messenger rushed in.

"Urgent news! Depris is massively spawning within the castle! Bipris is likely lurking somewhere! If this continues, it will flow not only through the castle but also towards the town!"

"What!? Why all of a sudden?" (Brendan Lyadas Bruitt)

The captain, who was about to leave, halted, and upon returning to the room and looking out the window, he saw the large bee-like monster Depris flying everywhere.

Upon seeing this, he grimaced, as if he had bitten a bitter insect, and quickly directed his subordinates to defend this area, search for the queen bee Bipris, eliminate the flying Depris, and deal with the mammoth-type monster heading towards them. He commanded them to split into four units and disperse.

"Wow, things are really chaotic now. Are we going to be okay?" (Ai)

"It's not going to be okay, is it? We were about to face a single monster with the entire army, but now we're scattered and overwhelmingly short-handed. I'm scanning with magic right now, but there are several times more Depris than we faced." (Tatsuro)

"Do you know where the queen bee is?" (Ai)

"With so many Depris, it's hard to pinpoint. They're the same type of monster, despite the size difference, and their reactions are quite similar." (Tatsuro)

"Ugh…" (Ai)

Just when the end seemed to be in sight, the situation was overturned. They had come this far after much effort, and they wanted a certain victory.

So, Tatsuro proposed to Ai.

"Hey. We—" (Tatsuro)

"We're going too, right?" (Ai)

"It seems you've seen through it." (Tatsuro)

I'm Tatsuro's girlfriend, after all!" (Ai)

After nodding at each other, they stepped forward again to address the lord.

"Um…" (Tatsuro)

"What—No, sorry. I understand you're concerned about rewards, but now isn't the time for that." (Brendan Lyadas Bruitt)

"No, it's different. We want to help with defeating the Depris, searching for Bipris, and eliminating the large monster. Can we do all of that?" (Tatsuro)

"What? You two are taking on all three tasks? Don't make such big claims. How can just two—" (Brendan Lyadas Bruitt)

"We can't do everything. We haven't seen the large monster yet, so we can't say for sure, but we think we can manage the other two." (Tatsuro)

At that point, it seemed the lord had no intention of listening further. Though young by Japanese standards, Tatsuro and Ai appeared even younger in this world, and their words seemed childlike.

However, Gillian, who had been silent until now, stepped forward.

"My lord, I regret to inform you. These individuals here are the ones who slew the infamous man-eating ogre Iyaruki, and they did so with a considerable number of subordinates." (Gillian)

"If I recall correctly, you're Gillian, right? Hmmm… What do you think, Reginald?" (Brendan Lyadas Bruitt)

"Yes. My son may have a foolish side, but he has had an eye for people since he was little." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

Listening to these words, the lord closed his eyes as if lost in thought and then opened them again.

"…I see. Even if you can't handle everything, considering the increase in powerful forces, indeed… Very well. Move within your capabilities. If you achieve significant results, I promise additional rewards." (Brendan Lyadas Bruitt)

"Thank you." (Tatsuro)

As Tatsuro said this and bowed, a telepathic message came from Ai.

{It feels weird to say thank you when we're the ones doing the work.} (Ai)

{Well, he's an important person, and it's safer to respond with humility. It helps avoid unnecessary trouble.} (Tatsuro)

{Yeah, I guess.} (Ai)

Ai, with a somewhat dissatisfied expression, quickly shifted her focus despite her feelings.

Then, Marikka stepped forward.

"I'll help too, along with Yorn!" (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Marikka, you're someone who will carry the future of the town of Lyadas. Try not to get into too much danger…" (Laurence)

"It's okay. Um… It's okay, Lord… It's okay, Laurence-sama. Dealing with Depris is nothing for my Yorn." (Marikka Shurjaniemi)

"Your eyes don't seem to listen no matter what I say… Father." (Laurence)

"Oh well, I permit it. Besides, if you help with clearing the town of monsters, your reputation will only rise."

With a somewhat indifferent and tired expression, the lord gave his permission.

So, Marikka decided to join the Depris extermination, and Tatsuro and the others, along with Ennio, headed outside.

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