“Count, there have been reports of unusual disturbances coming from the mountains lately. The residents are flooding in with reports of strange cries…”
“Hwaaa. It seems wild beasts are rampaging. If we place a large order for pelts with the hunters, things should improve.”
“Yes, I’ll arrange that.”
One day, a foreboding report came in.
Count Ariente responded with a yawn.
How bad could the mountain disturbances be?
What could be more terrifying than that massive earthquake that nearly overturned the entire Ariente territory?
It probably isn’t anything significant.
Count Ariente decided to dismiss it as inconsequential.
The next day.
“It’s a disaster, Count! The hunters have testified that they saw monsters in the mountains!”
“Monsters in the mountains? Ha ha ha! What a ridiculous thing to say! Neither my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, nor even my great-great-grandfather have ever heard of monsters coming out of that mountain! Beyond the mountain is the Vermont territory. Are you suggesting that Vermont has released monsters into our lands?”
“Huh?”
“…Huh?”
It seems… plausible!?
The expressions of the butler and Count Ariente grew strange.
With all the rumors about experiments and evil deeds coming from Vermont, releasing monsters doesn’t seem out of the question.
“Nonsense! My gracious Brother would never do such a thing!”
“Yes, you are absolutely right.”
No. Don’t doubt it.
Who saved Ariente Construction from financial ruin? Vermont.
Who continuously provided jobs to Ariente Construction when it was on the brink of collapse? Vermont.
Ah, my brother. I was foolishly trapped by old prejudices and had a misguided heart.
Count Ariente shed tears of repentance and deeply reflected on his actions.
“I must have heard wrong. There’s no place for monsters to come out. Tell the hunters to bring the carcass of a monster if they want to prove their claims.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
It must be that they panicked and used monsters as an excuse because they were scared in the dark night of the mountains.
Nothing else makes sense. Count Ariente quickly reached this conclusion and decided to ignore the matter.
However, three days later.
“C-Count! It’s happened! Reports of monster sightings are pouring in!”
“What!? Are they all hallucinating together this time…?”
With a start, Count Ariente’s words trailed off.
Outside the window, the distant blue forest of the mountains was visibly collapsing in waves.
“Ah!”
An enormous wave of black, too numerous to count.
Ants. They were ants.
It was a massive swarm of ants rushing down like a tide, and Count Ariente’s face turned pale.
“Immediately bring all the territory’s people into the castle! If even one person is left behind, there will be severe punishment, so be aware!”
“Yes!”
“And request support from the Imperial Palace… No, from Vermont first!”
If those creatures get inside the castle, it will be a massacre.
Ariente territory will be destroyed!
Trembling with fear, Count Ariente clung to a sliver of hope.
“Brother. Just this once, please…!”
Aslan Vermont, known for his many eccentricities.
Perhaps he has a brilliant solution to overcome this situation.
Hoping that it is true, Count Ariente hurriedly put on his outer clothes and dashed outside.
***
“Julia! Hurry up! It’s urgent!!!”
“Eeeek! I was eating snacks, and now this…!”
Swoosh.
Julia, led by Charlotte’s hand, hurriedly ran out.
She was dressed in casual clothes with just a coat and a hat.
Judging by the crumbs on her lips, it seemed she had indeed been eating snacks.
“It’s an emergency.”
“W-Well then, I’ll bring Dirt-Dirt too!”
“Call him over.”
“Dirt-Dirt, come here!”
[Hyaaa! I don’t care about human concerns…]
At that moment, Julia’s mouth opened wide.
A whizzing sound was heard as Julia cast a spell.
[Hyaaa! My body is moving on its own!!!]
“Here you are, Dirt-Dirt!”
Dadadada.
Rushing from afar, Dirt-Dirt came running, raising a cloud of dust.
He jumped into the carriage and snuggled into Charlotte’s arms
How enviable.
“Let’s go.”
“What about Knight Sister?”
“She left ahead of us. She’s riding a horse.”
Sylvia couldn’t afford to wait for us and had gone ahead.
Riding a horse is surely faster than the carriage.
With her mana replenished, it should help with initial response.
The carriage, carrying me, Charlotte, Julia, and Dirt-Dirt, started to speed away from the mansion into the night.
“So, what’s going on? …?”
“There’s a massive monster rampage in the Ariente territory. Apparently, giant ants have appeared in large numbers.”
“A monster rampage…!”
Charlotte and Julia’s eyes widened in shock.
It’s no wonder.
A monster rampage is an uncommon disaster.
‘Monsters themselves are rare.’
Monsters.
The term refers to animals that have been transformed by mana.
Normally, animals avoid areas with high concentrations of mana, but if they are exposed to high mana levels for extended periods due to unavoidable circumstances, they mutate into monsters with ferocious temperaments.
While a few such animals may not pose a significant problem, the real issue arises when an entire herd of animals becomes monstrous.
This situation leads to a plague of monsters, a catastrophe known as a monster rampage.
“Where could so many monsters have come from…?”
“Perhaps Dirt-Dirt, who lived in the mountains, might know something?”
“Dirt-Dirt! Do you know anything? Huh?”
[Kyaaa!]
Charlotte grabbed Dirt-Dirt and shook him while questioning him.
[I don’t know! I wouldn’t have left monsters running amok where I lived!]
“If you don’t know, who would? Try to remember more carefully!”
[I can’t tell you what I don’t know. Oh, the ants… I might have something to go on.]
“What is it!?”
“Tell us! Quickly!”
Thump Thump.
Charlotte and Julia, holding onto Dirt-Dirt, asked urgently.
[When I hibernated, there was a colony of ants beneath where I slept. They kept bothering me by coming out, so I enclosed the entire colony with a barrier.]
“Wait a minute. As far as I know, barriers are made of high-density mana.”
[That’s right, human.]
“…”
A barrier is a solid wall made of mana.
The ant colony enclosed within it must have been exposed to high-density mana for a long time.
So…
“It was your fault, Dirt-Dirt!!!”
[…]
The barrier created by Dirt-Dirt triggered the monster rampage.
Charlotte shouted at Dirt-Dirt, who turned away in denial.
[Why is that my fault? If the barrier had stayed intact, the monsters wouldn’t have escaped. It’s your fault for making me leave the mountain and lose the ability to maintain the barrier.]
“You should have told us! Why are you blaming us for not mentioning it?”
[…I forgot.]
“Hey!!!”
“Enough. Let’s put aside the blame for now and focus on dealing with the situation.”
To calm the uproar, I opened the window.
Krrrung!
The ground was covered by a massive swarm of black ants, making a deafening noise as if an earthquake had occurred.
The ants quickly engulfed the Ariente territory, destroying everything in their path without leaving a trace.
“From now on, we must fight against them.”
“Eh…”
“Ah…”
Charlotte and Julia’s mouths hung open in shock.
.
.
.
“Have all the residents of District 5 been evacuated?”
“N-No! We’ve confirmed the evacuation of Districts 1 and 2, but Districts 3, 4, and 5 are still not completed…”
The butler’s voice trailed off, and veins appeared on Count Ariente’s forehead.
Damn it!
The monsters are already approaching the town, and the evacuation status is still like this!
Districts 1 and 2 are closer to the castle, so their evacuation was quicker.
However, the most populated districts are the outer ones.
This means that less than half of the people have been evacuated so far.
“Why is it taking so long? At this rate, all my subjects will be killed! If my subjects die, we won’t be able to pay taxes…!”
He still hadn’t repaid the debt to Vermont!
He was struggling to pay the interest!
Losing a large portion of his subjects here would spell disaster for Ariente!
A miracle! A miracle is needed!
It’s desperately needed!
Count Ariente’s hands trembled.
“We’ve mobilized all our hired workers and soldiers, but it’s still insufficient. About half of the guards left Ariente a week ago for training, and it’ll take at least three days for them to return…”
“Damn it! How can we be short of manpower!?”
“Count! Look over there!”
“…!”
At the sudden call, Count Ariente turned around and saw a line of residents, orderly making their way towards the castle’s rear gate.
That’s… the direction of District 5, isn’t it?
The guards haven’t even been seen there; who’s leading the residents so orderly?
“Who is evacuating them?”
“It’s… Vermont’s knights! And Vermont Security’s staff are guiding the evacuation!”
“There are also evacuation lines coming from Districts 3 and 4!”
“Good heavens!”
Again! Again!?
Are they indebted to Vermont once more!?
Honestly, when he first heard about their security services, he scoffed inwardly.
He doubted that such a business would succeed.
But now, it seems he was the one benefiting the most!
“Ahhhh! Brother…!”
Overwhelmed by the arrival of the long-awaited miracle, Count Ariente knelt and wept.
Whether his tears were of gratitude for Vermont’s kindness or out of fear for how much more Vermont might extract, he could not tell.
