Chapter 122 - Exploration

Naofumi:”Be careful.”

Raphtalia:”Okay.”

Raphtalia uses magic to create a ball of light that illuminates the cavern.

I am in the lead while Raphtalia, Firo, Rishia, and the allied forces follow along.

Eyeball-like familiars and caterpillar-like familiars were appearing from the walls of the cave, though they weren’t that strong at fighting.

The problem is this cave……This structure is as complex as a maze……

The walls aren’t living beings but stone and mud.

Naofumi:”Do you know the way?”

Soldier:”More or less, I was assigned to the reserves because I investigated caves in the past.”

Naofumi:”That’s helpful.”

It would take too much time to map this place out from scratch after all.

We spread open the map to confirm the location.

As I thought, the cave has a complex maze-like structure.

The ironic thing is that there is another entrance at the back, where the town was.

Sh*t……

Well, it can’t be helped since I didn’t know. In the first place, it was just Firo and I.

It would be meaningless if I didn’t meet up with the group that is supposed to seal the heart.

The problem is…….it seems that the location of the heart isn’t shown.

Perhaps it could be on the way, unless we can stop the spirit turtle from regenerating, we won’t be able to stop it from advancing.

Doesn’t seem very reliable huh……

Naofumi:”Oh?”

After checking the map, I find a spot that is somewhat bigger than the rest. It would be a good idea to put together a search group and have the rest wait there.

Honestly, too many people would burden our movement.

There’s no problem if there were guys that could match Raphtalia and Firo’s level of performance, but it would be cruel to demand the same as these two from the rest.

Anyway, tricking the allied forces into thinking this is a break would be fine. Let’s go with that.

Deciding what to do, I mark the large space on the map of the cave, and tell the allied forces the goal.

Eventually, the space opened up according to what was shown on the map.

Originally I thought the map was based entirely on guesses, but it might be dependable after all.

It’s good that we have arrived at our desired location, but……

Firo:”There’s some huge demon.”

Within the large clearing is a large demon, which has a presence suitable to being the spirit turtle’s familiar.

It would be useless to compare its huge total length to the other familiars.

Looks like the purpose of its deployment here at the plaza is to remove invaders like us, it’s like that game called Prisoner’s Base.

It feels like a Mid-boss from RPGS.

It’s the spirit turtle after all. This should be considerably stronger than the other small fries.

The problem is the number of them.

We can still keep our composure with just one, but if there are more it would be dangerous for the allied forces.

Raphtalia:”Since this is the case. What shall we do?”

It would be troublesome for another to appear after we defeat this one……Should we just try it?

Naofumi:”Alright, fortunately there is only one, we will defeat it and then observe the circumstances. You guys in the allied forces, pay attention to the rear.”

Soldiers:”Roger!”

Firo:”Okay~”

Rishia:”Fuee……I’ll do my best.”

Naofumi:”Haah……”

As usual, Rishia said those words I warned her about.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Well, it’s not like it’s going to stop all the way just because I warned her.

Right now what Rishia needs is confidence and experience.

It would be nice if she could act like she did with the queen, I want her to become strong, not only from levels, but also from actual combat experience.

With that in mind, you could say that the spirit turtle is the perfect opponent for that.

……Though it’s just a slightly drastic measure.

Naofumi:”Alright, Charge!”

We charge towards the familiar that is occupying the plaza.

This is different from the gorillas and yetis outside…….A turtle-man type? It’s a monster that spans a full 4 meters in length.

Firo:”Teryaaa!”

Firo kicks the familiar’s shell with all her might.

A loud crack resounded and the shell caved in, it was sent flying into a wall and its movements stopped.

Raphtalia:”Yaaaaaa!”

With a flash of her sword, Raphtalia cuts off the familiar’s head.

That familiar is so unreliable.

Rishia was trying to attract its attention with weak magic attacks, and she also supported Raphtalia.

In the case that we are targeted, I have the meteor shield up to defend.

For the time being her understanding of cooperation is lacking. Just a passing mark.

Or rather, the cooperation itself isn’t a problem. We can expand on that after strengthening her body.

The problem is that her abilities are affected by her status.

……What was she concentrating on before?

Raphtalia:”This thing is quite disappointing.”

Raphtalia swings the blood off her sword after confirming the annihilation of the familiar.

It was certainly much weaker than expected.

I mean the spirit turtle was so tough. Was I too cautious?

No, the allied force is behind me. Being very cautious is just right.

Firo:”Yup. It was only a little bit hard.”

Raphtalia:”Firo did you kick the hardest place intentionally?”

Firo:”Because everything else is soft~”

Raphtalia:”That’s wasted movement.”

The two of them are having a silly conversation.

It’s like a conversation between a genius and a prodigy.

Rishia:”The two of them are very strong.”

Naofumi:”Rishia.”

Rishia:”Fuee—–I’ll make that my goal!”

Hrmm……Put in the effort and strive to get there, don’t just say it.

This has comepletely become a habit.

Naofumi:”As for reinforcements……it doesn’t seem like there are any.”

Raphtalia:”Seems that way.”

Apparently there is no trap that causes us to defeat the thing endlessly.

Soldiers:”Amazing……”

Our group of allied forces exclaims this to us.

For us who fought though, I’d say it was weak, but……

What is the average level of our forces?

If it’s around level 60 I’ll cry.

Shadow:”Hero of the Shield-dono.”

Shadow appears. Speaking of which, where were you?

The knife in her hand was drenched in the blood of familiars, so it looks like she was fighting somewhere else.

Naofumi:”What happened?”

Shadow:”I am investigating this place according to the plan degojaru.”

Naofumi:”Right……I mean, why did you come?”

Shadow:”As per the plan, I was assigned to guard the allied forces degojaru. Other than that, the queen told me to ask Hero of the Shield-dono for orders degojaruyo.”

Naofumi:”That’s fine.”

To have shadow guard the allied forces……For the time being this guy can act as a military unit.

Are the familiars of the Spirit turtle that strong?

Well…… I should regard the allied forces as a special unit that seals the spirit turtle.

I’ll calculate where I should assign our combat ability.

Naofumi:”Alright! To each of you from the allied forces, I intend to search for the spirit turtle’s heart with this place as a base. It is important for everyone to protect this place. We will begin the search.”

Allied Forces:”R-Roger that!”

The tension is gone as the allied forces cautiously begin to rest in the plaza.

It seems they have become considerably fatigued from the extreme tension and continuous fighting.

I didn’t expect that they would fight till they were this tired……

Is it the shield’s influence?

Or is it just that Raphtalia and Firo are strange?

In any case, without thinking about various things we won’t be able to reseal the spirit turtle.

Naofumi:”Shadow……Do you know the average level of the allied forces?”

Shadow:”The average level of the military units for sealing the heart of the spirit turtle is 65 degojaru.”

……It’s not as bad as expected.

What? Is the difference with growth correction this big!?

Since Rishia’s stats are so low, is this the standard without growth correction?

No no, I expect that’s not the case.

Since Itsuki’s reason for dismissing Rishia is because she is weak.

……That Rishia at least has some war potential now thanks to the Firo costume.

Should I ask the old man to make more Firo costumes? There are only two pieces of material required.

Mass production of the Firo costume huh……

I wonder if it’s possible by plucking Firo’s feathers.

Firo:”!?”

Suddenly Firo’s feathers stand on end restlessly like a wave.

Raphtalia:”What’s happening?”

Firo:”Something strange is in the air!”

I didn’t say anything and she still noticed.

……What a sharp fellow. It seems plucking her feathers is impossible.

Naofumi:”Shadow is stronger than that fellow though.”

I know since we fought together a little back on Cal Mira Island.

Having a unit that is on Shadow’s level is extremely convenient, they should be useful.

Shadow:”Temporarily, our assassination unit will enter the battlefield degojarukara, we are knowledgable on levels and martial arts degojaru.”

Naofumi:”Then take half of the shadow corps to defend, and the remaining half to search.”

Shadow:”Understood degojaru. That being said, right now there are considerably less shadows degojarukara, please don’t expect too much degojaru.”

Naofumi:”I know.”

The shadows tailing the other heroes are missing……They probably can’t move due to the situation, or dead in the worst case scenario.

To that extent the allied forces should be more dependable when including them.

Anyway, the strategy has been decided.

There is still a long way to go. We will look for the heart as the allied forces take a break.

Naofumi:”Rishia, you wait here and fight with the allied forces if demons appear.”

Rishia:”U-Understood!”

Naofumi:”Raphtalia and Firo, you two are searching with me. Firo use your nose. I’ll be relying on you.”

Firo:”Okay~! I’ll do my best~!”

Raphtalia:”Roger.”

We left Rishia behind and we advanced towards the caves that started to diverge.