Chapter 139: End of the Annual Festival

After defeating the Giant Spider Crab, Isamu and the others hunted down the remaining remnants of the Rugged Spiders that had appeared together.

“There! One went over there!”

“Got it!”

Led by Gascoigne and the mercenaries from the Eriksen family, they continued to hunt down the remnants one after another.

Since they had originally reduced their numbers to about half, within less than five minutes, all the visible monsters had disappeared into smoke.

Isamu had secretly hoped that the Giant Spider Crab might be some kind of magic giant or golem, and might not disappear. But like the Rugged Spiders, it had vanished into smoke without a trace.

Although disappointed, Isamu had one revelation.

He had always felt that he saw a black light at the moment when ruins-type monsters disappeared, but because it was a momentary and small light, he hadn’t been sure.

However, perhaps because the Giant Spider Crab, which was much larger than any ruins-type monster they had defeated before, he had clearly confirmed that it emitted a black light.

He asked Annemarie, who had rushed over immediately after the battle to see the moment when it turned into smoke, but she said she hadn’t seen any black light.

(So it’s almost certain that magic forces are at work here… If Annemarie couldn’t see it, it must be magic light. And if it’s that color, then it must be the yet unconfirmed dark attribute…)

As he stared absently at the spot where the Giant Spider Crab had disappeared, now just a small swamp, he was approached from the side.

“What’s wrong, Isamu-dono? Are you hurt somewhere?”

Turning towards the voice, Parfum was slowly walking towards him.

“Ah, Parfum-san. No, I’m just a bit tired, and I was just thinking it’s strange how even such a big guy disappears in an instant.”

“Indeed. Considering the struggle we had, I don’t think the Goddess would be angry if it left something behind…”

Parfum, who hardly ever changed his expression, seemed to smile a bit.

Was this man’s idea of a joke, Isamu wondered, but he quickly returned to his usual poker face.

“…By the way, your last move was magnificent. I thought I heard ‘Full Enhancement’ and ‘Mudification ‘, am I correct?”

“Yes, those are the ones.”

“I see. Honestly, I had forgotten that such magic existed, and it wasn’t supposed to be such a dramatically effective magic… You managed to use it beautifully. Impressive.”

“Haha, thank you very much. I don’t have much magic power, you see. So I’m thinking that if I can somehow use magic that others don’t use, maybe I can compete a little.”

Parfum, unusually talkative, responded, and Isamu replied while feeling surprised inside.

“I see. At least in this battle, Isamu-dono’s lack of magical power was not at all apparent. I imagine you must have made quite an effort. Thanks to that, we were able to achieve victory against such a formidable enemy without any casualties. I’m grateful.”

With a light bow, Parfum said.

“Please raise your head! It was because everyone worked together that we won, not because of me.”

Isamu, who was surprised because he suddenly bowed his head, hurriedly replied while waving his hands.

“Haha, you’re humble indeed. Oh yes, I’ll return this magic sword to you. It’s a splendid magic sword. Not only is it sharp, but it’s also very easy to use because the balance isn’t affected even though it’s embedded with a magic stone. I envy the knights of your prestigious family who get to wield such a sword.”

Saying so, Parfum returned the Enhanced Sword, handle first, to Isamu.

“Thank you very much. I can’t give it to you right now, but shall we arrange it sometime in the future?”

As he received it, Isamu was about to say, “Even if it’s just flattery, I’m happy,” but he hurriedly chose different words.

Upon closer inspection, Parfum’s nostrils were slightly swollen. In addition, his evaluation comments on his usually silent magic sword were longer.

Overall, probably…

“What, really!? Th-Thank you very much. I hope that story will come true someday… I see. Haha, the possibility of me wielding a magic sword has come up. Haha…”

While expressing his gratitude, Parfum muttered such things, and  after, he returned to his own knights.

Regardless of whether they were prestigious or not, Isamu thought, knights longed for magic swords, he was reminded once again.

Later, they received the magic sword back from Gascoigne as well, and confirmed that there were no oversights in the investigation. Then, he heard the sound of several horses’ hooves from above the cliff.

“Are you okay? What happened!?”

Pulling their horses close to the edge of the cliff, Selfers appeared, looking down as if peering.

Without delay, Count Eleonora Eriksen and the three frontier Margraves also showed their faces.

When Isamu and the others identified the location where the ruins-type monsters had appeared, Selfers and the others had been patrolling the first level.

Since the investigation team is made up of knights from multiple factions, it was decided that it would be better to avoid having the head of only the brave faction participate. 

Of course, they had also sent messengers when they identified the location, but because the situation had suddenly escalated from excavation to a battle with the Giant Spider Crab, they had hurriedly joined.

“Oh, Selfers-san, everyone. Um, we just had a bit of a battle with the Giant Spider Crab… Um, it’s a large ruins-type monster, and we just defeated it a moment ago. Everyone’s okay.”

Looking up, Isamu explained the situation roughly.

“What!? A large ruins-type monster!? Darn it, they disappear when you defeat them… Did I miss it? Well, it’s fine. I’m going there now.”

With a truly disappointed expression, Eleonora said, then turned on her heel. The other heads also disappeared from the edge of the cliff in the same way.

About twenty minutes later, they explained in order to the heads who had joined them what had happened.

Not only Eleonora but also the three frontier Margraves wanted to hear all the details about the battle with the Giant Spider Crab, but Selfers who couldn’t bear their inquisitive behavior anymore finally stopped them.

Afterwards, knights from other families who had gathered after hearing the commotion also joined them, and they conducted a thorough on-site investigation. Since there was a time limit for the joint suppression, the knight order in the royal capital would conduct a thorough investigation later, but for now, it was necessary to confirm the safety and situation for the report.

Using low-power explosion magic and wind magic, they managed to push back the soil and rocks, resulting in a wall emerging from within the cliff.

By the way, it’s better to refrain from including Framboise, as her participation might lead to another disaster.

“Hmm, it seems like this wall-like structure is the edge of the ruins. There doesn’t seem to be anything beyond the wall.”

“Yeah, it feels like there’s no continuation sideways, so it must have been a large room buried in the cliff that gradually emerged as the surface was eroded away.” 

Isamu and Selfers exchanged opinions as they looked at the emerged wall.

“Indeed. It’s a bit disappointing that it wasn’t an unknown ruin, but… it’s reassuring to know that there shouldn’t be any more ruins-type monsters coming out.”

“I also wanted to fight that Giant Spider Crab, but there’s nothing to be done…”

Nazarío Innocenti and Eleonora, seemed more disappointed than relieved.

After further investigation, it was decided to report that the appearance of this ruins-type monsters and its large counterpart was irregular, and there should be no further danger in the future.

Thus, although they were a few hours behind schedule, the joint suppression force returned to the royal capital without any casualties.

After a slightly hurried march to make up for lost time, the joint suppression force entered the main gate of the royal capital one hour later than planned.

At the headquarters of the joint suppression force at the main gate, Crown Prince Jormlang Staleen initially showed dissatisfaction with the delay. Although he didn’t voice it out loud…

However, when he received a report from Selfers about the ruins-type monsters and its large counterpart, his attitude changed completely. He praised this year’s joint suppression as a great success, rarely seen in recent years.

Even in the overall summary by the Crown Prince before the triumphant parade, he highly praised the cooperation between families that had competed fiercely in the Royal Tournament, commending them for successfully defeating a formidable enemy. He also sent his compliments to the Klaufeldt and Eriksen families, who had commanded the frontline.

Isamu and the others couldn’t help but wryly smile at the remarkable turnaround, but they accepted the praise nonetheless.

Following the Crown Prince’s summary, despite the delayed start, the triumphant parade showed great enthusiasm.

“Squeee!! Eleonora-sama!”

“Parfum-sama, look this way!”

“Framboise-sama, you’re as beautiful as ever!”

The voices from the sidelines suggested that Eleonora was the most popular. Following her were Parfum and Framboise, who were highly regarded among the high-ranking nobles.

“Selfers-sama, well done!”

“Felix-sama, look over here!”

Even the Klaufeldt family, which had become famous in just a few days, received some attention.

The popularity is divided between the head of the family, Selfers, and the handsome Felix.

“Gascoigne onii-chan!”

“Mizeroi onii-chan!”

Gascoigne and Mizeroi, who had bonded since the Royal Tournament, seemed to be particularly popular among the same crowd.

“Heh heh, looks like you guys are getting popular, too.”

Seeing them, Eleonora laughed happily, while the two of them exchanged meaningful glances as they moved their horses forward.

Thus, despite some ups and downs, the ten-day Annual Festival ended amidst great excitement. For the Klaufeldt family as well, it had been a fruitful ten days in preparation for the public announcement of Isamu’s abilities.

The day after the triumphant parade, the Klaufeldt family and their entourage took a day off from the joint suppression to rest and bought souvenirs for their territories.

In the evening, the members of the Isamu faction gathered once again at the Silver Dragon’s Scale for a party.

Since knights from various families could also attend, it was held in a standing buffet style, making it very lively and energetic.

Although nominally a celebration of the Klaufeldt family’s victory in the Royal Tournament, to anyone’s eyes, it seemed more like a party to deepen the camaraderie between the families at the grassroots level.

And here, too, Orihime was immensely popular.

The popularity among some knights who had witnessed her performance in the joint suppression had already risen to a considerable extent.

However, as she walked around the party venue, rubbing and cuddling up to the Klaufeldt family’s knights in stark contrast to her behavior during battles, all the knights who saw her were knocked out.

Thus, Orihime succeeded in gaining nearly a hundred new followers overnight.

The morning after the Annual Festival ended and life returned to normal in the royal capital. The rush of nobles returning had begun.

Today, nobles from distant families were gradually returning.

The caravan of Count Bisseling’s family had also completed its preparations and joined the convoy heading towards the north gate of the capital.

The Count’s family caravan was originally scheduled to depart the day after tomorrow. However, this time, they departed today to accompany the Margrave Zabadak, who was heading in the same direction. They departed today to coincide with his departure.

During the journey, Margrave Zabadak, who was delighted to be able to spend some time with Orihime, was envied by the three lords who couldn’t accompany her, and he was in a cheerful mood.

During this Annual Festival period alone, the Klaufeldt family had achieved numerous successes, starting from the commotion at the stalls, demonstrating their strength and the power of magic tools in the Royal Tournament, establishing factions with the Frontier Margrave and the Mercenary Count, and their remarkable performance in the joint suppression.

Thus, their reputation, along with the name of their magic advisor, the wanderer Isamu Matsumoto, began to resound among the royal family and nobles.

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