Chapter 163
"Amazing!! Look, Liberta-kun!! A beautiful wheat field!!"
On this day when the lingering summer heat remained, I received a request from His Excellency Duke Edelgard.
To be precise, it was a quest order from His Majesty relayed through Duke Edelgard.
The request was to stop the Hopping Soldiers' stampede or at least minimize the damage by taking appropriate measures.
While thinking "it's finally come to this," thanks to Duke Edelgard's various negotiations with His Majesty, we wouldn't be handling this with the kingdom's knights but rather with the familiar knights and soldiers of House Edelgard.
Looking outside the carriage, the scenery visible through the window as we're escorted by cavalry.
At this time nearing harvest season before autumn arrives, beautiful wheat ears have ripened.
Indeed, this view is incredible.
"So this is the wheat field that supports this country"
The entire area is wheat fields. I've seen this scenery before as it was the battlefield for the FBO era raid event "The Glutton of Late Summer," but there's definitely a difference in atmosphere between the game and reality.
We proceed straight down a road overlooking such wheat fields, but...
"Hey, Liberta-kun""What is it?""Can't we see some different scenery?""Not for a while yet""Eh?"
There's no way the granary region supporting the country would end so quickly.
Mountains can be seen in the distance, while wheat fields stretch across our field of vision.
Along the way, there are villages and warehouses where farmers harvesting wheat live, but otherwise it's nothing but wheat fields as far as the eye can see.
After watching this for over an hour, Amina began showing signs of boredom.
"......We should reach the interception point by today, but this scenery will continue until around evening""No way""We're under orders to respond urgently, so breaks will be kept to a minimum too"
The current time is still a bit early for noon.And with the current season, the days are still fairly long.
If we're talking until evening, that's quite a long time.
Amina, who struggles with staying still, dislikes remaining inside the carriage during long-distance travel.
She can't meditate with closed eyes like Claudia, read books without getting carsick on rough roads like Nel, or simply wait quietly like Ingrid.
Her only enjoyment was watching the scenery, but even she eventually grew tired of seeing nothing but endless wheat fields.
"Hey, Liberta-kun, tell me something interesting""Something interesting?"
Flying through the sky for a change of pace might have been nice, but acting independently during group movements would cause trouble for Duke Edelgard, so that's not possible either.
Cramped and bored.
To distract from this, she wanted me to tell her something.
"Hmm, well then, how about I tell you about the Hopping Soldiers we'll be fighting?""Eh? Didn't we already discuss that before boarding the carriage?""That was something different. What we talked about earlier was establishing defensive lines with the soldiers, stopping the stampede, and then storming the dungeon once the wave subsides - just strategy talk. What I'll tell you now is about the Hopping Soldiers' nature""Their nature?"
For a moment, I considered telling Japanese manga and anime stories like fairy tales, but that didn't seem right.
Might as well make it relevant to what's coming.
"Right, right. While this applies to most insect-type monsters that move in swarms, Hopping Soldiers have particularly notable characteristics"
I'd explained their combat style, skills, and countermeasures, but hadn't had the chance to share these trivia details.
"What kind?""Oh, Nel's interested too?""Yes, since we'll be fighting them soon, I think it wouldn't hurt to know more"
It was Nel who showed interest in the topic.Closing her book with a snap, she turned her gaze toward me.
A diligent response typical of her.
Quite the contrast to Amina, who radiated rejection at anything study-like.
"The role needed to guide the swarm when forming groups and attacking isn't so much a leader that commands, but rather just a guide to direct the swarm"
I emphasized how this differs from a boss.
"Hopping Soldiers are omnivorous, devouring not just edible things like wheat but trees, plants, and flowers - stripping areas bare until they become wastelands"
Perhaps calling them mini-bosses would be appropriate.
"But that threat only exists when they swarm, and the guides show the swarm where to feed"
These guides are subtly troublesome.They look nearly identical to regular mobs, making them hard to distinguish, and have no particularly distinctive abilities.
"These guides emit scents only Hopping Soldiers can detect near the front of the swarm to lead them. Now, Nel, here's a question"
They only possess the olfactory sense to detect food sources and the ability to emit scents marking those locations.Neither of which humans can perceive - even beastmen with their keen noses can't detect them.
"If in the initial attack only these guides were taken out, what do you think would happen to the swarm?""...Would new guides emerge?""Unfortunately, they're not that capable. Having reserves would just scatter directions - some smelling food here, others there - causing the swarm to disperse, so there are very few guides"
When such indistinguishable individuals are accidentally eliminated:
"The correct answer is swarm dispersal. Until the boss arrives, they scatter everywhere, freely ravaging everything - becoming a disaster""......"
Before I knew it, everyone was listening to my explanation.
"Individually, Hopping Soldiers aren't particularly strong, so the more they scatter, the weaker their combat ability becomes - yet inversely, the damage spreads faster"
In raid battles, enemy elimination efficiency is crucial.
While area attacks could wipe them out quickly, that's precisely when guides might get taken out, causing immediate dispersal.This reduces area attack efficiency, slowing elimination - a vicious cycle.
"Th-that sounds really bad, doesn't it?"
Amina, imagining Hopping Soldiers scattering everywhere, turned pale.
"Bad, but coming from their natural enemy Amina, that's rich""Natural enemy? Me?""To be precise, bard-class jobs are optimally suited for such raid battles"
But such worries are unfounded.
"Before song skills that can attract attention across wide areas, the guides' scents get instantly overwritten. The Hopping Soldiers would swarm toward Amina with their entire being""Ugh, I didn't want to hear that either""We explained this in the strategy, didn't we?""We did, but I thought you'd form shield walls to protect us like in the shopping district battle""We'll defend and take them down, but the numbers will be incomparable to that time. That's why we have these troops"
Before Amina's superior skills, the guides' elimination is trivial.Rather, her skills are so powerful they'd attract all Hopping Soldiers.
The troops accompanying us from Duke Edelgard number five hundred.
The commander is none other than Lotus.I didn't know she could command troops too.
"Ugh, hearing that makes me kind of scared""Don't worry. If we defeat them all, there's no problem"
While NPC defense forces are randomly placed each time, five hundred is on the lucky side.
With supporting archer and magic firepower, the battle becomes easier.
"But Liberta, if Amina's skills overwrite the enemies', why bring this up? Seems unnecessary""Ah, but here's the thing. What if Amina's song gets interrupted for some reason?"
Moreover, understanding this ensures Amina's placement remains secure.
Whether this importance is understood affects our movements.
"The enemies don't just come along the ground. They can briefly fly using wings on their backs. Carelessly, they might reach Amina's stage""So a momentary gap could be key to escalating damage"
Amina is crucial to this raid battle.
We must protect her while repelling enemies to have any chance of winning.
"As Claudia says. Initially clustered together, that swarm behavior forms first impressions. But when creatures suddenly act differently, humans freeze momentarily. That instant can bring fatal wounds. But knowing why prepares us to respond"
But simply winning isn't enough.
We must protect the wheat fields while winning.
"That way, at least we won't lose"
If the wheat suffers major damage, food prices will rise.That would worsen the kingdom's public order, affecting our lives and activities.
"I seeee~"
Amina crossed her arms, nodding "un un," but how much she actually understood remained unknown - typical Amina.
"Good, since Amina seems to understand, let's dig deeper""Sorry, I only got a little so please stop!?"
Trying to confirm by pushing further with study talk, she frantically stopped me.
As expected, she'd only pretended to understand.
"Got it, got it. Study session over, calm down""Really?""Yeah"
Patting the head of Amina who'd jumped to cling to me, I soothed her as she looked up to confirm.
Boys are weak to those upward glances.
"Then! Let's talk about something more fun!""Before battle, it's pointless to exhaust ourselves"
Packing in more information might cause Amina's brain to overheat.
Best avoid that.
"Fun topic... fun topic..."
So as Amina wished, I thought of fun topics but...
"What would be good?""Liberta""Give me a break!? Recently I've been running around with everyone's leveling and preparing for this battle, so I haven't gotten any entertainment news"
Come to think of it, I really hadn't gathered that sort of information lately.
Under Nel's gentle gaze, I made excuses while seriously considering discussing Japanese subculture when:
"In that case, how about consulting Liberta-sama about the recent matter?""Recent matter?""Ah, Lady Esmeralda's?""Yes, something about her fiancé recently acting cold and distant"
Ingrid offered a topic.
"Is that really something a guy like me should hear about?"
Just from the opening topic, it felt like something out of a shoujo manga.These kinds of discussions feel awkward for men to join.
"Hearing the male perspective might provide useful reference"
The male perspective... meaning I should think of reasons men become cold and distant?
"Eh?"
Everything that came to mind seemed inappropriate.
First is cheating - the classic youthful recklessness of falling head over heels while ignoring reality.Or rebellion against an arranged engagement - typical shoujo manga developments.
"Did Esmeralda say anything?""No details. The other family said it's just adolescence with no particular reason, leaving her confused""Adolescence, huh?"
She's definitely hiding something there.
Behind Ingrid's words, I sensed family circumstances, making cheating seem more likely.
"Incidentally, is Esmeralda's partner the serious type?""Yes, the very picture of honesty and sincerity""Ahh..."
Hearing more, I couldn't help but look upward.Serious types start stubborn but, once shaken, easily succumb to temptation.
Outwardly firm but fragile inside - positively called hardcore, negatively inexperienced with women.
Finding fresh, nearby romance, they'd seriously immerse themselves.
The more I heard, the more it resembled villainess engagement cancellation plots.
"For now, I think consulting Duke Edelgard and investigating would be best"
Somehow feeling not entirely off-mark, I could only offer this safe response.