秘密入口

At the port, the deputy commander named Ravel was waiting for us there with a disturbed expression and pulled Dan, Cass-san, and me to the commander\'s room. 

Inside, only Ravel-san and Glover-san were present while the rest of the people were made to empty the area for some reason. 

Dan whispered to me as we both sensed the tension drifting around the room.

"Hey... what the hell did you do this time, Allen?"

"I’m all clean... and what the heck, wasn\'t I beside you all this time? If anything, it must be because of your mischief."

"Don\'t spout bullshit. You\'re trying to drag me into the mud."

I mean, nothing has been explained yet, but I unwittingly rebutted Dan as he labeled me as the troublemaker from the get-go.

\'Haa—\' Glover-san saw this and let out an exhausted sigh, his expression tired.

"It\'s all so... hard to talk about that I don\'t know where to begin."

He prefaced with that remark, and with a heavy tone mixed with some stuttering, he began to explain the situation.

"Starting from the site\'s situation... An explorer named Drois seemingly fainted on his work spot from consuming all his mana, and his wand ended up piercing through the eggs. This spurred a chain hatching, and now they are in an emergency trying to deal with it. I learned this from the periodic information relay we were set to receive at noon via magic bird."

" "An accident?!?!" "

Dan and I let out baffled shouts at the same time. Glover-san narrowed his eyes, seemingly ascertaining something as he stared at us.

"......The situation had been chaotic for a while, it seems, and we didn\'t receive any further contact. Then we got another report at 3 PM as scheduled, but the information relayed was \'We\'re still processing the chain hatching’ which surprised me. I could understand if they said they failed to stop it. But, they\'ve been at it for about three hours already… There\'s definitely something else going on, don\'t you think so?"

Glover-san made his statement as one of his brows shot up, his gaze directed my way. I didn\'t get what all that meant, so I just replied with \'I think so.\'

"...It\'s just that a while ago I finally got a detailed report, and... it left me speechless after grasping all the details. 

Apparently, just as it seemed like they were going to fail and were about to begin the extermination plan, a flock of blue flamingos that were supposed to be gathered around Shalom Lake suddenly flew to Charrock Wetland and began to prey on the Hellrowcast. It\'s truly a turn from a horrifying moment to a mystical one. Strange, no?"

Immediately, Dan and Cass-san cast accusatory glances at me. 

"The strange turn of events made the chaotic processing of the eggs post-hatching a breeze, allowing them to progress considerably. While it almost turned the site upside down, it could have been much worse with the number of Hellrowcasts after hatching being estimated to be somewhere around 12 million."

"W-Woaahh! I-It\'s truly a goddamn *miracle*, ain\'t it?!"

I pumped my fists with a deliberate tone of delight. 

Yet, Glover-san\'s expression remained stony as he said \'There\'s more...\'

"After preying on the Hellrowcast for around 3 hours with frantic movement, the flock of blue flamingos settled on the gourd-shaped lake south of Charrock Wetland. 

Their pace fell once again after losing the support of the blue flamingos, and so they finally transitioned to the extermination phase. But, the situation took another surprising turn...... Can you guess what it is?"

Continuing with his stony expression, Glover-san stopped his words at the climax scene of the site and threw a quiz at me.

"W-Who knows? I can\'t even begin to guess......."

I did have a rough guess, but to preserve Golver-san\'s suspenseful build-up, I tilted my head with a serious expression. As a professional in Japan, I know better than to spoil the punchline of their boss’ story.

"......The Hellrowcaust probably disliked the presence of the blue flamingos, so they moved to the northwest instead. All the experts who had followed the military said that it was an unprecedented phenomenon.

The imperial army, who was about to cross the border, fell back in panic to deal with the approaching horde. They shifted their frontline further back from their border and are taking measures to surround the Hellrowcast. 

Basically, the Kingdom was expected to keep the Empire\'s army in check while also tackling the 20 million Hellrowcast— that is, if the situation didn\'t worsen even further. But the threat of the Empire\'s army has receded, and now we\'re left to deal with just six million Hellrowcast. That’s the turnaround that had occurred in the last 6 hours. For the Kingdom, it was a miracle among miracles......"

Once again, I forced a bright expression and raised my fists in delight despite the somber atmosphere.

"O-Oh gosh, that\'s so l-lucky of us!! You know what, I finally understand the meaning of the phrase my best friend — it\'s Dan by the way — said: Nature is something you can never predict, you can never be its ruler... 

We mere humans are just a speck of dust in front of the grandeur of nature! It\'s just that the wind has suddenly started to favor the Kingdom... though it\'s unfortunate that the temper of nature has fallen onto the Empire. Having said that, this is going to be the first Hellrowcast incident where the people of this continent will avoid a heavy tragedy!"

Hearing my reply as I strongly held onto Dan\'s shoulder, Glover-san had a speechless expression for a moment, before he staggered and fell over his desk.

The next remark came from Cass-san who was cradling his head in his hands.

"D-Do you have the faintest idea what you\'ve done, Allen?! Can you imagine what would happen if others came to know that we deliberately guided the Hellrowcast to another nation?! Your face will undoubtedly be plastered on the first page of the international wanted list! A full-color feature! Five pictures from every angle! Do you understand what that means?! Why didn’t you at least consult us beforehand? No matter the reason, this \'deed\' isn’t something a child should have to bear!”

Seeing as Cass-san launched into his absurd reasoning, showing his concern for me, I firmly countered.

“Ahaha, you sure know how to make a joke, Cass-san. How did you think that was all deliberate? Sure, I swirled the wind with murderous intent, a bit pissed seeing as my fish got stolen, but I didn\'t foresee that the whole flock would instead follow after what seemed to be their boss and fly north... 

Everything — the fishing, the fish theft, and their northward flight — was just a series of coincidences. The responsibility lies with nature itself.”

I asserted this with conviction.

“...So we are witnesses now, huh?… That’s why you insisted ‘I absolutely need to go see the blue flamingos now’ and that ‘You don\'t have to follow us, Cass-san\' despite all my efforts to keep you here—”

With half-closed eyes brimming with tears, Cass-san started to spin even more nonsensical head-canons. 

—*Bang*

At that moment, Deputy Commander Ravel slammed his hand on the desk.

"......Stop with the nonsensical reasons, Cass. It\'s impossible for us mere humans to guide the group of blue flamingos! Allen Roveene is right, we\'re mere specks of dust against the grandeur of nature. 

And before that, did you *forget* that you were at the base port all along, training with our members to learn about the new sailing method? You *never* even went to see the blue flamingos, right?"

Ravel-san pushed to rectify the whole script with bloodshot eyes. I promptly protested.

"What?! But I was going to brag about visiting the lake with my friends. It\'s why I even borrowed the portable \'Camera\' from the base to record there—"

But Ravel-san didn\'t pay a single heed to my words, and instead snatched the recording apparatus from my hand, interrupting me, and, despite it costing a fortune, smashed the camera onto the floor.

*Crash!!*

"Nooooo! Not the favorite angle I spent so much effort on!"

Nevertheless, even as I screamed in despair, Ravel-san repeatedly stomped on the broken device with grudge-filled eyes as if it had been the cause of his parent\'s death while echoing his earlier words.

“*Huff*… *Huff*… You never went out to see the blue flamingos, right?”

Oh no, this is bad. It\'s the same as being stuck in the default canon option in a game where you must choose \'Yes.\'

Reluctantly, I nodded.

As an awkward silence enveloped the commander\'s room for a moment, Glover-san, who had been slumped over the desk, slowly lifted his head.

“Revol is… right. For now, we’ll proceed in that direction publicly… However, since there are likely a fair number of witnesses, and there’s no certainty that it won’t leak, we can’t risk covering it up at the scene… At the very least, we’ll have to report it to His Majesty and Captain Olina… I guess. Ugh, my stomach hurts.”

Glover-san remarked, then pressed on his temple while continuing \'There\'s one more thing... I must tell you.\'

With a pained expression, he dropped a shocking news.

"......Your friend, Aldol Engraver... has been seriously injured."

◆◆◆

Al didn\'t hesitate at that moment.

He had a strange premonition of what he was trying to do and what the outcome would be.

“You idiot! Get back!!!”

Hugo shouted angrily from behind, but Al kept running straight toward Dongo without slowing down.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the mana stone at the tip of Dongo\'s wand with one hand.

“Uoooooohhhh!!!”

The white glow of the mana stone gradually changed to blue, decreasing in intensity.

At the same time, frost began to cover Al\'s left arm.

Dongo dropped to his knees in shock, his expression twisted in agony as tears streamed down his cheeks.

“W-Why did you... a chosen person like you could have done well had you not bothered with me…”

Al stared into Dongo\'s eyes while suppressing the rampaging mana stone through sheer will.

"You\'re a kindhearted person, Dongo-san, and I’m sure you’ll become a good father. I have three sisters… though it seemed like my father had always wanted a son. However, I don\'t have any memory of him."

He squeezed his words while channeling his mana into the mana stone. 

His arm visibly adopted a shade of bluish-purple, starting from his fingertips to his arm. Everyone present had pained expressions on their faces.

"Wha— it can\'t be! Al-kyun, why in the world are you—"

Ruruce, who belatedly arrived at the scene, let out a mournful scream.

"...Damn it. This big moron... What the hell are you all dawdling for?! Hurry up and deal with the eggs now that *Al* has cleared the path!"

Confirming that everyone had returned to their task, Hugo quietly drew his sword and approached Al.

"What are you doing? Stop right there! He— You haven\'t even seen Al-kyun\'s talent completely! He’s destined to be a great mage who’ll be far, far better than me!"

Ruruce tried to stop Hugo, but he shook his head firmly.

"I know, it\'s obvious from his act. He used his remaining mana in a tired state to override the mana attribute, and he’s even suppressing the outburst of mana...... He would’ve grown to be a historical figure... if it hadn\'t come to this."

Hugo grabbed Ruruce\'s shoulder, a distressed expression on his face, as he uttered his words with intensity.

"Step aside. He\'s going to die."

He pushed the silently weeping Ruruce and approached Al, calling out to him as he raised his sword upward.

"...We must deal with it now before it\'s too late. Your nerves should have no sensation left but... are you prepared?"

With a pale face, Al slowly shook his head.

"I’m... ready, but there\'s… still... one thing left. I’m sorry Hugo... pushing you to deal with this unpleasant situation...... Please take care of the rest..."

He then touched the water surface of the wetland spread beneath his legs with his beloved wand clasped in his right hand.

"The daughter of Undine... one of... the four pillars of the Great Spirits... he said it was Brizeria of the Sub-Frost... —«Ice—»."

Al murmured in a soft voice audible only to Hugo, and a split moment later, the mana stone from Dongo\'s wand turned into fine powder within Al\'s left hand and scattered around. Immediately, a cold wave of an unprecedented level spread out from the tip of his beloved wand.

The stagnant water of the wetland, along with the eggs, froze within tens of meters around Al.

"...Allen is... definitely going to... scold me."

Having squeezed every last drop of his mana, Al fainted on the spot.

"......This is one heck of a magic you\'ve been researching...... and you\'re really a moron of the highest level. What\'s with that content expression... Goodness."

Hugo channeled his mana to his legs and forcefully extricated himself from the frost bindings.

"......I was mistaken. You do have it already in you, Aldol Engraver."

Hugo heaved a sigh as he swirled mana inside his body. And— with a swift stroke, he swung his sword down. 

Fresh blood splashed in the air, dying the muddy ice red. 

E/N - Well, I didn\'t see that coming with Allen scaring the flamingos away only to solve everything. But I really should have though. And Al will most likely need a *hand* in the next chapter. Ehhh… Ehhhhhh… T/N - Or I would say in chapter (s) to come.