Chapter 112

The declaration of war came at noon on the 10th, almost as if it had been carefully timed.

From the speakers hidden inside the clock towers across Lindblum, the queen’s voice resounded.

It was apparently almost the same as the written declaration of war she had delivered to the King of Golda. In it, all of the recent sabotage conducted within Lendia, the attempted coup using Marquis Allheus, and even the artificial dungeon incident were all blamed entirely on Golda.

Perhaps the plan was to saddle Golda with all of the domestic unrest simmering inside the country.

Melt and I were listening to the broadcast inside the Grand Guild, while checking the details of the emergency requests that had just gone up.

“Looks like it’s finally started… the war.”

“People are shocked, but some seem to have suspected this might happen.”

“Yeah. The adventurer guild folks, the mercenary guild members, and the alchemists don’t look surprised at all.”

But for the average citizen, this was a thunderclap from a clear sky. Some may have worried about the political situation, but few could have imagined a declaration of war right here at year’s end, just before the New Year’s Festival.

“Adventurers! The guild has just posted emergency requests! We’re recruiting in large numbers, so please check and accept them if you can! Note that only adventurers ranked Topaz or above may take on missions that go to the battlefield! Crystal-rank or lower, please check the rear-support requests!”

One of the receptionists announced loudly from the counter.

Looking over the contents—

“Deployment to the Battlefield”

• Recruiting temporary members for the Holy Kingdom Knights, limited to adventurers ranked Topaz or above.
• Fierce combat is expected, but this war was always predicted to come sooner or later.
• Attacks on Lindblum have already been carried out in secret.
• We are seeking those who will fight for our homeland.
• Rewards: Survivors will receive 100 large gold coins each, and those below Emerald rank will be promoted one rank.
• Depending on performance, Ruby rank adventurers may even be promoted to Sapphire.

“Packing, Transport, and Escort of Supplies”

• Recruiting workers to pack supplies for the war effort and load them onto carriages.
• Escorts are also needed for supply deliveries to the forward base.
• Since the escorts will be knights, this is technically an escort mission, but it can be accepted from Crystal rank.
• Reward: 2 large gold coins including escort duty.

“A hundred large gold coins to risk your life, huh. Hard to say if that’s cheap or expensive.”

“…This is no good. Silent… please.”

“Understood. According to the declaration, they’ll invade through the mountains in five days. Most likely the Scorched Gorge is already functioning as the border. Knights were stationed there from the start, so there’s a chance of clashes as early as tomorrow. Adventurers might get deployed there too.”

They’re probably already scouting to see if the route can be used, and no doubt Golda is doing the same. If the border gate at the gorge is passable, the two armies might already be fighting.

“Melt. The rear-support requests aren’t suited for someone of your rank, so it’s probably best if you stay home for now. As a newly promoted Ruby rank, you’ll also be getting a lot of attention.”

“I see… got it.”

“Let’s go home together. I have to depart soon anyway.”

…Of course, I was worried about Melt.

And yes, I also worried about the safety of the other adventurers.

But more than anything, the rising excitement inside me drove me forward.

On the way home, we passed group after group of adventurers heading toward the Grand Guild.

No doubt they were after those emergency requests.

For adventurers, war is also a time to earn money.

Same for mercenaries.

“The air is so tense… it feels like I’m in a different city, even though it’s the same place… scary.”

“…I’ll leave you plenty of food. Best if you don’t leave the house.”

“Yeah…”

For someone as emotionally young as Melt, this wartime atmosphere must be unbearable.

…I’ll have to end this quickly.

On the way back, we ran into an unusual group entering the city through the south gate.

It was the Killcrawler band, likely coming from the artificial dungeon side.

Leading them was Araza, the leader of the Thirteen Knights and the Killcrawler group we’d met once in Same.

Among them were Rivana’s First Conquest Squad, probably other squads too, and even Busker.

“Ah, Captain Silent!”

“Basker, long time. And I’m not your captain anymore.”

“Ah, right! Did you hear the broadcast?”

“Yeah. I’m already moving on that.”

“…You’re heading to the battlefield, aren’t you?”

“Pretty much. But I’ll be in a separate unit, under a different request.”

“I see… then I won’t pry. Let’s both make it back alive!”

As I spoke with Basker, Araza came over.

“I hear my men were in your debt before. So… you’re one of the ‘Brigade,’ I take it.”

“You must be Araza, captain of the Thirteen Knights, then?”

“So you knew. Indeed… I sense unusual ambition from you. Let us both return alive. You are… intriguing.”

“That so? I’ll take that as a compliment.”

After a short exchange, we parted ways.

But—

“….”
“…!”
“….”
“Hmm…”

Melt and Rivana were staring each other down.

Well, more like Melt was glaring while Rivana just sort of stared absentmindedly.

Wait, do they even have a connection? …Ah, right. Rivana nearly killed Melt’s friend, didn’t she?

“Melt, let’s go.”

“Ah, okay. …Take care of yourself.”

“Yeah.”

How kind. She really is still Melt.

We saw the Killcrawler group off and went back home. I pulled preserved food out of my item box and stuffed it into the icebox.

“Melt, I’ve stocked up on food. But even once the war’s over, it’ll probably take time before I get back, so this won’t last forever. Prices might go up too, so I’ll leave you some money as well.”

“O-okay… ah, but you know, I’m actually pretty rich too! Right now I’ve got 31 large gold coins saved up! From the dragon we hunted together! I got my share from those materials!”

“Ah, that explains it. Then I don’t need to worry. Melt, just make sure the house is locked up.”

“Of course, you can relax! So don’t you worry about me either—just make sure you stay safe, okay? Don’t get careless, promise!”

“Yeah, of course.”

While adjusting the options in the Sunroom, we exchanged parting words.

“Melt, I’m off.”

“Take care! And bring me back a souvenir… how about a Golda royal?”

“You don’t hold back, do you…”

Laughing at her pitch-black humor, I transferred to the Forest of Dreams, to the ruins of the Mansion of Greed.

That day, the royal capital of Golda was in turmoil, as if a hornet’s nest had been struck.

No—perhaps it wasn’t “as if,” but exactly that.

That morning, the king noticed the abnormality the moment he awoke.

Feeling the touch of a letter slipped into his chest while he slept, he bolted upright in alarm.

When he grasped it and saw the emblem pressed into the sealing wax, the king trembled from the pit of his stomach.

It bore the mark of the Holy Kingdom of Lendia’s royal family: the proud crest of the dragon—an emblem modeled after the legendary dragon Blue Dragon Lindworm, which once ruled the southern continent.

Without even breaking the seal, he trembled and looked around. Yet, perhaps out of pride, he barely managed to restrain himself from calling for help and shaming himself.

Still, the fact remained—an enemy spy had infiltrated all the way into his bedchamber, deep within the castle, and had gone so far as to slip a letter against his unguarded chest before leaving. That truth inspired not only fear, but something greater: rage.

For the message was nothing less than: “We could kill you at any time.”

The king opened the letter. What was written inside was exactly what its very method of delivery implied—a declaration of war.

“Five days from now, we will begin our invasion of the Kingdom of Golda.”

That single sentence was all it contained.

The king trembled with fury—but at the same time, he grinned. As if to say, “Just as I expected.”

He summoned the kingdom’s high officials to the audience chamber.

The general who commanded the knights and soldiers, the arch-magician who commanded the magic corps.

The official who dealt with foreign mercenaries, and a gentlemanly figure named Hus Fan, who had recently been appointed to oversee the newly founded “Arcane Research Institute.”

And alongside them—two students.

One quailed before the atmosphere of war. The other rejoiced, seeing it as the time for his own strength to blossom.

The two, so starkly opposed, were asked how they intended to take part in the coming conflict.

“I’ll head to the battlefield. It’s only there that I can become strong. Isn’t that right, Hus-san?”

“Indeed, it is. You will devour the final sparks of life and grow endlessly stronger. As you are now, you cannot yet rival the Thirteen Knights. But when this war is over… countless lives will have become your sustenance, and you will have gained unparalleled strength.”

At those words, Isaka flushed with excitement. The king, too, placed his hopes upon him.

“Then we cannot afford to lose Isaka, can we? If all that’s required is death nearby… then he must be conserved for now.”

“Yes, precisely. And if my hypothesis is correct, the lives lost return to the earth. Normally, they are drawn to the world’s center and vanish. But—death inside a dungeon is different. The dungeon core absorbs them, and the overflowing lives spill back out as the dungeon’s riches. I implant the workings of a dungeon into humans, transforming that overflowing life not into wealth, but into power. Isaka is now a living dungeon. So long as he remains in this kingdom, the entire kingdom itself is like a dungeon. Without ever stepping on the battlefield, he will continue to grow stronger.”

It was a forbidden art, attainable only by one who deeply understood both the workings of dungeons and the workings of the world.

Isaka, having been made its subject, could no longer even notice that his very thoughts were being distorted. He only rejoiced at Hus’s words.

“So, I won’t be going to the battlefield immediately, then? My role will be to build up power and overturn the stalemated war in one strike, won’t it?”

“Exactly. You are the secret weapon—the final weapon. Now then… Inami, what about you? With your magic, you are already capable of contributing greatly at the front lines.”

At that question, Inami wavered.

She feared the danger before her. Yet at the same time, as if she were the protagonist of a story, she longed to shine gloriously upon the battlefield.

As she hesitated, a saving voice reached out.

“Inami, it would be best if you didn’t leave my side. Besides, the castle still needs forces left to defend it. You’re already stronger than this country’s soldiers.”

“Mm. Indeed. I would prefer you remain in the castle as well. …We remain on guard, but there is the chance that he may come through the Great Forest of Dreamhill.”

“He… you mean the Summoned One who abandoned us so quickly? I’ve never met him directly, but is he truly that formidable?”

“Yes. By the time this war is over, perhaps even Isaka will have the strength to face him. But for now, no matter what, it would be impossible. That is why both Inami and Isaka must be preserved.”

As king, he wanted to keep powerful pieces close at hand, to secure his own safety.

As Inami, she was more than content with safety—and above all, with the position of being the heroine protected by the strongest Isaka.

And meanwhile, Hus thought to himself:

“If he is truly that powerful… might he not be of greater use than even Isaka?”

The true intentions were still unknown. But one thing was clear: he sought a powerful vessel.

Was it really right for Silent, for Shizuma, to show themselves before this man?
Shizuma did not yet have the knowledge or experience to predict what would happen as a result of unleashing his power—

“That’s right. I cannot do it alone. That is why I need the help of you, the one who alone has succeeded! You understand the true risks of wielding power! That is why you left behind those words, isn’t it?”

“…Yes. But now that I am completely merged with everyone, I can see clearly. ‘Leaving those words behind was a mistake.’ You are far too dangerous… your ideas, your thoughts, your very purpose.”

“No, no, no, that’s merely the knowledge of ‘the me from the game era,’ isn’t it? Please, trust me, Lady Sheele. I am only making these proposals for the sake of my lord! Even this time, the final decision rests solely with my lord!”

In the darkness.
Two silhouettes at a floating round table.

Sheele, and the other man.

“You alone were able to summon our lord into this world… it was because you had our lord’s deep trust and the immense power hidden within you. That is the miracle you achieved! I want you to bring about that miracle once more!”

He was the character once called a fanatic by Shizuma.
It seemed he was now begging Sheele to summon their lord here, so that he might converse with him.

Sheele pondered. Should she really allow this vicious, frenzied man—so consumed by his faith in something—to meet Shizuma?

“…Then promise me this. Once your objective is achieved, you will surrender your body to Shizuma. Because your methods… they only bring her sorrow. I cherish her, I cherish Melt just as much as Shizuma does. If you dare to needlessly wound her, then even if it is impossible, I will kill you with my own hands.”

“Ahh, what a wondrous love! Why, it is a form of faith in itself! And I would never deny another’s faith. I will respect it. So please, be at peace, and summon our lord.”

Sheele made her choice.
She would let this fanatic meet Shizuma.
Because she believed that doing so would lead to Shizuma’s happiness—

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