Chapter 345: Chapter 343 – Securing Lands Harvest

「Hmmm... so you could’ve handled that monster easily, huh?」Hikaru said as he secretly shot himself with Healing Magic.

He’d grown accustomed to using the revolver that he managed to land at the perfect spot. However, using Flame Laser to fly through the air and firing Flame Gospel still caused serious recoil damage to his arm. As long as there were forces of action and reaction in the world, this problem would not be going away.

Even without weapons, Ram and Leg looked composed.

「「Thank you.」」

Hikaru blinked incessantly. He couldn’t believe what he just heard.

「Huh?」

「「If we engaged in combat, the defensive squad could’ve suffered serious injuries. One-shotting the enemy is better.」」

「R-Right...」

It was unexpected. They were high-ranking adventurers, and the type to spend money to gather information. Hikaru expected them to say something like “We could’ve defeated that thing easily.”

「I’m just glad no one’s seriously hurt.」he said.

「「What about the bird? You wanna take it?」」

「Better to just dispose of it. It’s contaminated.」

Ram and Leg’s eyes widened.「「How do you know?」」

「Is there anyone in your party who can detect mana?」

「「There is.」」

Ram and Leg called for a carefree-looking female adventurer. She wore the same black armor, or rather forced to wear one.

「「How does its mana look?」」

「Uh... Red.」the girl replied.

「Not black?」Hikaru asked.

「It looks a little darkish.」

「A little, huh...」

Hikaru could see the black streaks clearly. He examined the girl’s Soul Board.

【Soul Board】Lyche

Age: 28 Rank: 29

【Vitality】

..【Natural Recovery】1

..【Stamina】3

..【Immunity】

....【Disease Immunity】2

....【Toxic Immunity】1

【Magical Power】

..【Mana】3

..【Spirit Affinity】

....【Water】2

【Physical Strength】

..【Strength】1

【Intuition】

..【Instinct】1

..【Detection】

....【Mana Detection】1

Oh, one point on Mana Detection, huh? Hikaru thought.

「Wait, what?!」

She’s 28 years old?! She sure doesn’t look like it. She looks the same age as me, if not younger.

Hikaru’s gaze was fixed on Lyche.

「Um, is there something wrong?」she asked.

「S-Sorry. It’s nothing.」

「「Fallen for Lyche? She may look young, but she’s actually—」」

「Lord Ram. Lord Leg. Another word, and I will get mad.」

「「Hahahaha.」」

They get along better than I expected.

「Anyway, if you see the slightest hint of blackness, don’t eat it.」Hikaru said.「You’ve already been briefed about the contamination, right?」

The twins nodded.

The lizards were already being taken care of. Hikaru couldn’t sense any black mana from them. The creatures didn’t grow big because of the dragon stones. They probably belonged to a species of giant lizards.

If only Drake were here. He could tell right away by their scent. What a pain.

Ships reached the shore and people started disembarking.

「「By the way, Silver Face. We’ve got something to ask—」」

Ram and Leg turned around to find the masked boy gone.

「「That’s some impressive covert abilities.」」they said, genuinely impressed.「「No wonder His Majesty the Emperor likes him.」」

Hikaru checked the twin’s Soul Boards.

【Soul Board】Ram Lighthouse

Age: 24 Rank: 35

【Vitality】

..【Natural Recovery】2

..【Stamina】3

..【Perception】

....【Sight】2

【Physical Strength】

..【Strength】2

..【Weapon Mastery】

....【Sword】4

【Agility】n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

..【Power Burst】2

..【Flexibility】2

..【Balance】2

【Willpower】

..【Mental Strength】4

..【Charisma】4

..【Appeal】3

【Intuition】

..【Instinct】1

【Soul Board】Reg Lighthouse

Age: 24 Rank: 35

【Vitality】

..【Natural Recovery】2

..【Stamina】3

..【Perception】

....【Sight】2

【Physical Strength】

..【Strength】2

..【Weapon Mastery】

....【Sword】4

【Agility】

..【Power Burst】2

..【Flexibility】2

..【Balance】2

【Willpower】

..【Mental Strength】4

..【Charisma】4

..【Appeal】3

【Intuition】

..【Instinct】1

They’re twins, all right. What is this, spot the difference? That was Hikaru’s first impression. Huh, their ranks are pretty low, though.

They had high Sword levels—well within expectations—but other than that, only Charisma and Appeal stood out, which would probably explain how they could lead such a huge party.

Hikaru had taken off his mask and was preparing to disembark together with Lavia and Paula. Army officials reprimanded Huge Twins for acting on their own, apparently not following orders. But they received no punishment, since they did save the Vireocean soldiers.

The swallowed soldiers received serious injuries, but none died.

「First and second companies, occupy Lands Harvest!」

『Mighty Dream Maker warriors! Deploy barriers in the perimeter!』

Two companies from Vireocean stepped into the ruins of Lands Harvest, while Dream Maker’s troops proceeded to set up barriers in the city’s outskirts. Using rare magic catalysts to drive off monsters, the barrier was the result of extensive research by the suzerain state of Bios.

Operation Lands Harvest Clean-up took a whole day and night.

Monsters from the forest charged at the adventurers, but the well-prepared army fought them off. As for the giant monsters that were too much to handle for ordinary soldiers, high-ranking adventurers such as Polar Tiger and Huge Twins took them down.

Traps laid by Senkun of Sweet Pleasure, capable of responding to both land and aerial ambush, dealt with any nighttime attacks, making everyone safe. Although, the monsters’ screams prevented everyone from having a good sleep.

By noon the next day, the monsters in Lands Harvest had been wiped out and all the troops at sea were able to land safely.

『Great job out there, Silver Face.』

『Aren’t you tired? They’ve been bombarding you with questions all day.』

『I’m fine. It’s just wonderful to have hope again.』

It was late in the evening when Hikaru came to see Doriachi in his pavilion located in Lands Harvest’s public square. The head of Dream Maker seemed a little exhausted.

Their first battle had gone well without any problems. The arrival in the new continent and taste of victory had everyone excited and in a merrymaking mood.

But the soldiers and military officials were busy reconciling information they had received beforehand with actual data. Doriachi had been in a meeting with the military commanders until moments ago.

『So, why’d you call me?』

Hikaru came up with a way for Doriachi to contact him. All the king had to do was post a code on the information bulletin board—XYZ—and Silver Face would come. Doriachi didn’t know what it meant, and Hikaru didn’t feel like explaining either.

『I would like to hear your opinion.』Doriachi said.『You came to these ruins before, right?』

Hikaru nodded. Back then he had Drake with him.

『Is there any difference compared to that time?』

『Is that what you wanted to ask? I was with Gin and Wakamaru.』

『Wakamaru stayed behind in Ville Dream. I’ve asked Gin about it, but he said he knew nothing. He stayed behind on the boat, didn’t he?』

『To be honest, there’s not much change.』

Doriachi was silent.

『What’s wrong?』Hikaru asked.

The man looked hesitant.『It’s actually making me worry how easy we captured Lands Harvest.』

『I see.』

『I have to keep calm in front of everyone, but I don’t mind expressing my doubts to you.』

『I didn’t know you trusted me that much.』

『You are our country’s valued financer, after all.』Doriachi laughed, but that didn’t seem to get rid of his anxiety.

『I’ll keep an eye out.』Hikaru said.『I’ll let you know if something comes up.』

『Thank you.』

And so Hikaru left the pavilion.

He’s worried, huh?

Despite Doriachi’s fears, two days later, the Quinbland army destroyed the first Root and obtained a dragon stone. While there were a few casualties, everyone was in a treasure-hunting mood.