After traveling for a while, we begin to see Nishino’s group in the distance.
Rikka-chan notices us and waves her hand at us.
“That’s… Nishino-kun’s group, right? Why are they here?”
Chief Shimizu raises her voice in surprise.
According to our plan, Nishino’s group should have been located some distance away from this place, so her confusion is understandable.
“They have someone with detection type skills, so I had them come over rather than loiter around. Ah, I already told them about the situation, so let’s meet up with them.”
“Situation…? No, what are you talking about? You have a lot of answers to give me…”
“I’ll explain later on.”
“Later on, you say…”
I pretty much ignore Chief Shimizu’s perplexed eyes. There’s not enough time to tell them the whole story, and we’re currently undergoing an operation, so I’ll put the conversation on hold for now.
After everything’s over… Nishino-kun will come up with a convenient explanation.
Yup, I’ll have him work hard on an explanation.
“Also, Nijou, isn’t it about time you let go?”
“N-nope. If I let go, I’m afraid you’ll disappear again.”
From a while back, she’s been holding on to the hem of my shirt without letting go.
What are you, a lost child?
“I’m not going to, so please?”
“…”
She releases her grasp albeit hesitantly.
“Kudou-san, thank you for your hard work.”
“You too, Nishino-kun.”
I had him explain a lot of things to his companions before our arrival.
Nishino-kun and Rikka-chan had to come up with excuses as to why I’m joining the group in place of Ichinose-san (also me) who won’t be returning.
Thanks to all their prior explanations, I didn’t have any problem blending in with the group.
I’m really grateful, Nishino-kun.
“Is Ichinose-san at her ‘position’?”
“Yes, there wasn’t any problem.”
This exchange was also premediated to alleviate people’s confusion.
The actual Ichinose-san is currently standing-by somewhere else.
She’s there just in case a bad premonition of mine becomes a reality.
If it doesn’t, she’ll be joining up with our expedition group.
“Shimizu-san, Nijou-san, we’ve been waiting for you. We’ve been told of the situation beforehand by Kudou-san. More than anything, we’re relieved to see that both of you are safe.”
“Eh?”
About what situation?
I look away and take no notice of Chief Shimizu’s inquisitive eyes.
“I’ll explain everything later on. Instead, right now, we should be considering what to do with the operation.”
“…Okay.”
She remains unconvinced but understands that there are more important things at hand.
Chief Shimizu doesn’t bring up the topic anymore.
“As Shimizu-san’s team has been reduced to two members, I would like to ask you two to join ours.”
“So we’ll proceed with the operation?”
“Yes. If we turn back here, all the time and sacrifice would be wasted.”
“…You’re right.”
Attacking simultaneously from three different directions is no longer an option, but Nishino-kun’s group and the City Hall team can still try a pincer attack.
In addition, Nishino-kun ordered two of his friends who remained at the City Hall to join the City Hall team after hearing about the trouble in Chief Shimizu’s group.
As long as they arrive safely, the two teams will be able to exchange “Mails” and cooperate.
In a sense, it might even be easier to cooperate than when there were three teams.
“Will they be alright?”
Nishino returns a positive response to Nijou’s inquiry.
“The two people that were waiting at the City Hall have skills that specialize in escaping rather than in combat. They are also decently stealthy, so… Oh, look over there.”
Nishino-kun points at a certain direction.
We can see two smoke signals in the distance.
“One is from the City Hall team, and the other is supposed to be from my friends. I told them to fire it when they arrive, so they should be safe.”
“So the City Hall team already arrived at their designated spot. Aren’t they much faster than we thought?”
“Indeed. They’re quite capable. We should already hurry up and get ready.”
Nishino nods at Shibata’s words and passes out instructions quickly.
“I’m sure both of you have a lot to say and ask, but please hold yourselves back for now. Will that be alright?”
“…Fine. I’ll also leave the command to you. That will do, right?”
“Yes… I agree.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
Chief Shimizu and Nijou brace themselves and ready their weapons. They have shifted gears.
Each of us looks at one another in the eyes before nodding.
“Everyone! We’ll be entering our enemies’ stronghold, so stay vigilant! You must survive! We will win this battle and all return home together!”
“““OHHHH!!”””
Everyone responds to Nishino-kun’s cry of encouragement.
As I thought, his voice contains power.
He possesses a natural charm which isn’t a skill that attracts those around him.
Enemies might be attracted by our act of shouting, but it doesn’t matter at this point.
We’re already in enemy territory, and our enemies should have noticed our presence as well.
As such, it’s more important to maintain high morale.
The stairway leading down to the Underground Shopping Mall is within our view.
“Enemy Detection” is already picking up numerous signs — and one of them is clearly different from the rest.
(—It’s her. There’s no doubt.)
Queen Ant Alpha, a named monster.
Meaning she’s at the same rank as High Orc Rufen.
While I try not to show it, I become slightly nervous.
“Signal them with the smoke.”
“Got it!”
The smoke signal rises up high into the sky.
“Nisshi…”
“Yeah, I got their ‘Mail’ just now. They are also ready to go.”
“Then.”
“Yes, it’s time.”
Nishino-kun takes in a deep breath before shouting,
“CHAAARGE!”
““““UOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!””””
We break into the Underground Shopping Mall with our weapons on hand.
We are immediately greeted by countless Ants, and it’s not just from the front.
Digging through some of the relatively fragile walls, an army of black Ants appears from every direction.
“Protect the light source! We’ll be wiped out if our lights go out!”
“Understood!”
Some of us are wearing construction helmets and have LED lanterns hanging on our chests.
It’s fine near the stairs, but it will be pitch black where the Queen Ant resides due to the lack of light.
While making sure that our light sources are secure, we gradually annihilate the Ants.
By the way, Nijou and I have the “Night Vision” skill, so we can see well even in the relative darkness.
Using “Shadow Manipulation” and the Orc’s knife, I make sure to kill each of the Ants heading towards us.
Even the Ants that are hiding in corners where we can’t see are being crushed by the items from the Item Box.
I might as well create some walls to serve as barricades. They should be able to hinder the Ants’ movements to some extent.
Since we’re at the Underground Shopping Mall, others would have to consider twice before using tetrapods and heavy machineries that might collapse the ceiling, but I am safe in that regard.
“Terrain Understanding”, one of the skills I recently acquired, can help me deal with that. Regardless of whether I am underground or not, I have a clear grasp over the terrains as long as they’re within my detection range.
I can tell which parts of the grounds are sturdier than the others and drop items accordingly.
(Did Aka push me to take the “Tracker” occupation for this reason?)
Certainly, there’s no skill as convenient as “Terrain Understanding” when it comes to fighting in this Underground Shopping Mall.
Aka always reply with “I know somehow”, but did it foresee this happening? Or was it for a different reason?
Oh, I should be focusing on what’s in front of me.
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“Experience has reached a certain threshold.”
“Kudou Kazuto’s level has increased from 23 to 24.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“Proficiency has reached a certain threshold.”
“‘Night Vision’ has increased from LV4 to LV5.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“Proficiency has reached a certain threshold.”
“‘Terrain Understanding’ has increased from LV3 to LV4.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
“You have gained experience.”
Announcements are constantly ringing in my brain.
The more I kill, the more Ants keep springing up.
(Shoot, I don’t have time to allocate the points…!)
My level went up, but I can’t afford to allocate the point.
As for the points from the previous level-up, I already distributed them while I was traveling here.
I have already gained my fourth occupation as well.
I selected my fourth occupation while considering the future, but facing such a great number of Ants, I start to feel like I should have gone with the choice of becoming an “Exterminator”.
…No, I shouldn’t forget my main target.
It’s to fight against “that” that I’ve come here even at the risk of death.
“Shibacchi! My pesticide ran out! Give me a new one!”
“Got it!”
“Shimizu-san, there are signs of more Ants from the other side!”
“I know! Nijou-san, go support Goshogawara-san!”
“U-understooooooood!?”
“Uryaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“A-amazing. He’s handling the log so well even here where there’s not much space to swing around…”
“Shimizu-san, please help them as well! I’ll handle the situation here with Rikka. Shibata, go support them too!”
“Understood! Hey, Old Man Goshogawara! You got spare logs?”
“I’m fine! Have ‘em here!”
The battle becomes fiercer as time passes.
How many stairs have we descended?
AH! Nijou shouts.
“In front! I can sense the Queen Ant’s presence from the central floor a short distance away!”
Our facial expressions undergo a huge change.
Nishino looks towards me.
“Kudou-san.”
“She’s right.”
My “Enemy Detection” has been ringing since earlier.
She’s ahead.
Queen Ant Alpha’s ahead.
“…What a fearsome aura…”
Rikka-chan says so lightly, but I can hear the unease in her voice.
Clearing away the Ants, we set foot on the central floor.
There, we see the figure of a colossal Ant.
Just as Nijou said, she’s several times bigger than the other Ants.
Her front legs are unusually long and have tips that are similar to a mantis’s sickles. In addition, her abdomen is bulging strangely and has some protrusions that pulse in regular intervals.
So this is Queen Ant Alpha…
She certainly possesses characteristics that live up to her title as the Queen Ant.
Nevertheless, I don’t feel as intimidated as I was when I faced off against the High Orc and the Golem.
There are so many Soldier Ants around Queen Ant Alpha that even the thought of counting them is ridiculous.
“Gyiiiiiii!”
Queen Ant Alpha gnaws her fangs to intimidate the unscrupulous intruders (us).
However, signs of humans begin popping up from the aisle on the opposite side of the central floor.
Could this mean…
“We arrived! It’s here!”
We hear a voice coming from the people belonging to the City Hall team.
Two students are also tagging along.
“So they have also come this far.”
“Yes. Let’s carry out the operation as planned then.”
We still have a good amount of pesticides.
Although we’re slightly tired, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Everything’s going smoothly.
We can defeat her here and now.
Just as this thought crosses my mind, a shiver runs down my spine.
“…!?”
I reflexively turn around and make eye contact with Nishino-kun who is behind me.
“What’s wrong, Kudou-san?”
“Just now… something…”
A bad feeling.
A feeling far worse than what I’m getting from the large army of Ants in front of me.
It’s not coming from Nishino-kun.
It’s coming from behind him, from where we entered… no, it’s from somewhere even farther away…
“Can it be…”
At that moment, the ground begins to shake —- and a rumble is heard.
“Rururu Ruru ~u~u~u~u uu Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo Oo ooooooooooooooooooo!!!”
The violent shaking is accompanied by a furious roar.
Everyone present on the scene, the Ants included, turn their gaze and attention towards the direction where the voice is coming from.
“….Is, is this…?”
“It’s the Golem, no doubt.”
“No way… is it coming our way?”
If it attacks with its gigantic body, the Underground Shopping Mall would easily collapse.
The students begin to panic.
“Calm down everyone! Don’t let the front line crumble!”
“B-but…”
“Everything’s fine! From the sound of it, the Golem is quite a distance away from here! It shouldn’t be targeting us!”
“R-really?”
“Yes, I’m certain of it.”
“T-thank God…”
Nijou puts her hand on her chest in relief. The other students also have looks of relief.
“….”
Nishino-kun and I turn to look at each other while trying not to alert the rest of the group.
“Kudou-san…”
“Yes, it appears that my fears have become a reality.”
The bad premonition and the Golem’s roar both came from the direction… of the City Hall.
***
And—
“Uwaa… it’s as Kazuto-san and Nishino-kun predicted…”
She was at the rooftop of a building which was some distance away from the City Hall.
In her line of sight was the Golem which was moving about very slowly.
‘In the unlikely event that the enemies break into the Safety Zone while the attack force is away, I want Ichinose-san to remain here to deal with the situation.’
“—Is what I was told, but to think it would actually occur…”
“Wan!”
“Furu furu.”
“Kyu!”
Her companions beside her respond to her monologue.
“Let’s show the Golem our newly founded powers.”
And with that, she too, joined the battlefield.