Chapter 80. Submerged Fortress City (1)
Three hours remained until arrival at the mission site. I sat in the seat of the tactical vehicle as it sped along. Perhaps because I had just gotten back in after returning from the Joint Mission, the interior felt somewhat familiar.
The scenery outside the window rapidly flashed by. A landscape overgrown with lush green vegetation. It was quite different from the downtown area with its tall buildings and asphalt roads that I had seen until now.
「Mission deployment for urgent requests is carried out swiftly.」
I didn't remember it clearly, but was this a setting that appeared in passing in the part mentioning the Main Houses in the original story? Experiencing it in reality this time, I could feel it. I hadn't known that the mission deployment would proceed so abruptly, without a proper explanation of what kind of urgent request it was.
"Hey!" Just then, a pair of perked wolf ears popped up beside my vision. I turned to see Sirocco looking up at me.
"Hey, what exactly happened at that ruin site called Rhodes? And what's the Academia?"
"You didn't read the mission material I gave you, did you?"
"Yeah. But I wouldn't know even if I read it anyway. I still don't really know what kind of people are in the Empire." Sirocco tilted her head and said. I could easily understand her position. Sirocco had just been assigned a mission immediately after leaving the Beast-kin village, which was cut off from society. In such a situation, it would be stranger if she understood everything in one go just by reading a single mission material full of proper nouns.
"The Imperial Academia is an academic institution that receives full support from the Imperial Family. It's a place where many scholars and students are affiliated, and the 'Expedition Team' is one of its subordinate organizations."
"So something went wrong there?"
"Yes. If a problem arises during exploration by an Academia expedition team belonging to such an organization in Elsyde territory, the responsibility falls back on the Main House. If that happens, the reputation of the Main House might be damaged."
Sirocco rested her cheek on the window frame and made a nasal sound. "Hmm~ Reputation, huh? Is that so important?"
"At least to the Main Houses." Enoch added simply. "There's a reason why powerful mages rampage across the Empire but docilely join the Main Houses and carry out missions."
"Hmm, a reason, huh..." Sirocco thought deeply and then, as if realizing something, lifted her head with a 'ha!', saying, "The meal we had earlier, except for the bell peppers, was super delicious. Could it be that they all joined to eat that...!"
She said that with a serious expression. Joining the Main House to eat delicious food... It was a rather novel idea, but unfortunately, not the correct answer.
"It's because their reputation improves that much. The Main Houses are the focal point of the mages who support the Empire's society and are in a position to maintain order." Enoch glanced at Sirocco and asked. "In the first place, Sirocco, that was the reason you wanted to become a Follower Family, wasn't it? Wasn't it for the improvement of the Beast-kin's treatment?"
"Huh? What's that?" But unexpectedly, Sirocco tilted her head. "I didn't know that?"
"What. You didn't know?"
"Yes! Of course!" Sirocco looked up at me and smiled brightly. "It's much simpler than that. You're strong, so I thought it would be alright to entrust the future of our tribe to you!"
"...Okay. Well."
"Hehe, you can like me a little more than that, you know. Since I, the successor to the Great Chieftain, have acknowledged you?"
Perhaps the reason was much simpler than I thought. After all, if Sirocco had truly believed she was making a wrong choice for the tribe, the Chieftain, who was more knowledgeable about the internal affairs of the Empire than her, would have opposed it.
Suddenly, I briefly glanced at Sirocco. For some reason, she kept looking at me intently. When our eyes met for a moment, Sirocco smiled slightly with a saucy look in her eyes, as if purely happy.
'Anyway. Now that she's by my side, I understand clearly.'
Sirocco's bright smile was full of innocence. It was definitely different from the appearance of her I had seen in the original story, which had been deeply tinged black with guilt for failing to save her tribe. However, her inherent personality, uninhibited and free-spirited, remained unchanged. Similarly. Even though the future she would experience had changed. Her overwhelming potential and abilities were purely Sirocco's own.
If that were the case, the 'training method' would also be no different. Now that I had Sirocco in my party, the methods for 'spec up' would become diverse. Continuing to inherit the sword, of course. I also had to recruit powerful Follower Families like Sirocco and train them in parallel.
'Above all, I still have to hide my sword.'
At least when others were watching, drawing my sword was impossible. But now I had one more card I could show. And a very powerful one at that.
'I'm no longer a lone wolf with no Follower Families.'
Now, it was possible to fight by 'commanding' a squad made up of Follower Families. It was like achieving the goal I had set from the beginning. It was nothing new. In the game, the player also held the position of a commander, directing the characters they had formed into a party.
Just then, guidance came from the driver's seat.
"Lord Enoch, we are almost at the operation site, Rhodes. You should be able to see the area outside the window now."
Hearing that, Sirocco, who inadvertently looked out the window, widened her eyes with a small gasp.
"Woahhh!"
Watching her, Enoch also glanced outside. The scenery outside the window came into view. Above a vast lake spread out under a clear sky. An island rising from it.
─There, was the appearance of a colossal fortress city.
Above the surface of the lake, which shimmered in the midday sun. Giant walls and towers, which must have protected the city built on the island in the past, stood tall. Walls that were broken in places by time. Stone structures covered in moss and trees, soaring towards the sky. It was a fortress city left as a ruin of the past.
However, the ground of the island where the fortress city was located seemed to be sinking, and parts of the fortress, which had become quiet ruins, were submerged in water. Only the towers and walls of the vast fortress rose above the water's surface.
「Ruin Site of the Submerged Fortress City: Rhodes」
Just like the name in the original story. Rhodes was a submerged ruin site.
A submerged area sinking below the lake. A place with an overwhelming atmosphere of unique ruins.
Meanwhile, Sirocco, who was sitting in the seat next to me, perked her ears and wagged her tail excitedly. "Hey, look at that! There's so much water! Our tribe's village only had rocks and sand flying around!"
"Indeed."
However, unlike Sirocco. Enoch's gaze, focused on the tall walls of Rhodes, was sharp. Although it was five years before the original story's timeline, Rhodes was a place I had visited multiple times while playing. In the original story, "Ruins" were areas classified as a kind of farming stage. While not part of the main story, they were places with a relatively high play presence. Relics, ancient artifacts, Unique Magic Gears. Besides these, it was a stage where miscellaneous rewards necessary for training were dropped. Naturally, Rhodes, being one of them, was one of the maps I had played until it was worn out.
'But I know it well from playing it so much.'
He had never seen a Sword Saint's sword, or anything similar, anywhere in Rhodes during his farming sessions. That was the problem. How could I find another Sword Saint's sword that I couldn't find even after visiting it multiple times in the original story?
***
The vehicle crossed the temporary iron bridge heading towards Rhodes. The long bridge extended over the lake. The vehicle stopped in front of the Rhodes fortress. We arrived faster than expected.
As I got out of the car, I heard the brakes of another vehicle stop. I glanced over and saw Dionil and his Follower Families getting out of the tactical vehicle next to ours. Perhaps because their number of personnel was large, they had moved in a different tactical vehicle altogether.
"Hey." Suddenly, Sirocco poked my arm.
When I turned around, she pointed to the side.
"Why are their faces so crumpled?"
To suddenly say someone's face is crumpled... I wondered what kind of expression it could be to be described like that. But seeing Dionil's squad members that she was pointing at, I immediately understood. Their expressions were as if they had bitten into something unpleasant. Perhaps they were acting like that because Sirocco had openly mocked them in front of the Executive Officer.
"Leave them be. They probably need to go to the bathroom."
"Hmm. All of them? That's a serious problem then."
Besides their expressions, there was something unexpected. Regardless of the expressions of Dionil's squad members. They no longer bothered to pick fights. Compared to a while ago, it was a rather refreshing change of pace.
'Or maybe they're just scared of Sirocco.'
After all, she was a Rank 10, and moreover, a Beast-kin who had a bad reputation until now. In many ways, Sirocco was an entity difficult to approach easily.
"Haaah~"
...Of course, seeing her yawn so casually next to me, it didn't seem like that was the case at all.
"Enoch. We are ready." Just then, Dionil approached me. Behind him, his Follower Families were wearing black tactical robes. Counting them, there were about ten or so.
"If your side is also ready, let us move. The primary objective, the expedition team's base camp, is right ahead."
I nodded lightly.
「Academia Expedition Team's Base Camp」
The place where the urgent request came from. I had seen similar camps set up by expedition teams in other areas in the original story a few times. Assessing the situation there was the priority.
"You must be the direct descendants of Elsyde!" Not long after walking, a camp with large tents, messily stacked boxes, and temporarily installed metal equipment appeared. "W-Welcome. We've been waiting!"
A rather old man with a monocle. Amidst the members in unified uniforms with the Imperial Academia Expedition Team insignia, bustling about. He rushed forward in a hurry to guide us and introduced himself.
"I am the chief of this Imperial Academia Expedition Team. Gelitun Torosis."
"I am Dionil Elsyde, commanding this support mission. Please explain the situation. If it's an urgent mission, time must be pressing."
"That is correct. We do not have much time. We cannot afford to waste any, so I will get straight to the point." The man turned to look at Rhodes. "Suddenly, Magical Beasts appeared inside the Rhodes Ruin Site, where there was originally no threat."
"Magical Beasts?" Hearing that, Enoch's eyes narrowed. In the original story, the 「Rhodes Ruin Site」 was certainly a PvE stage where combat mobs and gimmicks appeared. Naturally, it was also an area where a large number of 「Magical Beasts」, one of the player's hostile forces, appeared.
Should I say the timing was ironic? Perhaps this earlier period than the original story was when the Magical Beasts had taken root in the Rhodes Ruin Site. One of Dionil's Follower Families behind him sighed. "Huh, I heard that Magical Beast activity is increasing throughout the Empire recently. Even in a place like this..."
"Magical Beasts are naturally unpredictable. Especially in places where humans don't tread, it's not strange for them to appear at any time. Overlooking that was our mistake." The chief sighed deeply. "Due to rushing the exploration on schedule, we made the mistake of not properly conducting Magical Beast investigations or setting up countermeasures. We are truly sorry for causing trouble to the Elsyde Family."
But there was no point in dwelling on what had happened. Dionil calmly asked beside him. "What do you need us to do?"
"Due to the appearing Magical Beasts, the advance expedition team is isolated underground in the ruin fortress and contact has been lost. It seems there's interference with communication magic underground."
"Number of isolated personnel?"
"Six people. Since they were dispatched with light equipment for a short-term preliminary investigation, they won't be able to last long."
"Understood. It's a rescue operation." At those words, the faces of Dionil's Follower Families behind him darkened. A rescue operation was a highly difficult operation. They had to conduct combat and safely rescue non-combat personnel who were practically cargo. And they even had to break through the Magical Beasts' offensive.
"Our Academia will also provide support to the best of our ability if you decide on a plan for the rescue operation."
Having said that, the chief bowed deeply. Just then, Dionil turned his head towards me.
"Enoch. Originally, this operation was assigned to me and my squad."
"And?"
"My squad will search separately from you and your Follower Family's squad. You have no objection, right?" Combat formations made up of Follower Families were usually referred to as a 'squad'. In other words, he was suggesting separate action. Dionil frowned and added. "Above all, your squad doesn't have members with defensive magic or detection magic to protect the rescued personnel in this mission."
Enoch roughly nodded at those words. Sirocco was clearly a very powerful mage in direct combat. However, she couldn't use detection-type magic. It was a different field entirely.
However, Dionil had no idea. The fact that what Enoch wanted was precisely separate action.
Whether he knew it or not. Dionil continued to chatter diligently with a serious expression.
"Therefore, my Follower Families and I will move separately. We haven't worked together on operations before. Awkwardly accompanying each other would only be a hindrance."
Enoch replied without hesitation. "Let's do that. Then, good luck."
"Wh-What?"
"Why. Is there a problem?"
"...You suddenly decided to join the mission. But now that you're here, you don't even want credit? I can't understand you."
Enoch almost chuckled without realizing it. It seemed Dionil thought his goal was simply merit. But that guess was way off the mark. He had no intention of intervening in the rescue operation anyway.
'The goal is solely the Sword Saint's sword.'
In the first place, according to the Official History of the original story, Dionil and the squad of Follower Families he commanded suffered no casualties in this Rhodes rescue operation. Of course, this was a past event, five years before the original story. There was almost no information about it in the game, and I didn't know the details of the internal situation during the operation either.
But at least one thing was certain. This meant Dionil's rescue operation would end successfully without any major problems in this mission. In many ways, not getting involved would be the right answer.
And that was the most important point.
'In the meantime, I have something else to do separately.'
Enoch turned his head and looked at the vast ruin site of the Rhodes fortress. Swallowing the feeling that made his mouth water unconsciously, he calmly surveyed the farming area before him.
Rhodes, a location that also appeared in the original story. Somewhere in this half-submerged ruin site, there was another Sword Saint's sword that he absolutely had to find. He just had to find it and bring it back.
However, just as Enoch was thinking that.
A piercing scream echoed from afar.
"Kyaaaaak! Save me!!"
Everyone's gaze quickly turned in that direction. And in the next moment, countless shouts from a distance chillingly pierced everyone's eardrums.
"Magical Beasts are attacking the base camp!!"
As always. Things wouldn't always go according to plan.