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It took a little while for Fiona to come back to her senses .

She tried to approach Harold and ask him what this all meant, but of course, Harold was not the one who offered the answer .

【”As you can see, someone has been modifying the tunnels . ”】

【”...Weren’t these reinforcements always here?”】

【”If that was the case, what would have been the point of camouflaging the brick walls?”】

【”Well, that’s . . ”】

In her mind, Fiona was aware that this was undeniably strange, so she did not argue back .

However, that did not mean her line of questioning was over .

【”If not our town, then who did this?”】

【”We have some suspects, but we have yet to find proof or understand their goal, so I’ll abstain from sharing any preemptive conclusions . ”】

‘Yeah, it’s almost definitely Justus though‘ thought Harold as he listened to their conversation, but he kept that to himself, silently proceeding through the tunnels .

After some time, the man holding the lamp stopped walking .

【”It’s here . ”】

This passage did not seem any different from the rest of the mine . There weren’t any forks in the road or any oddities to be seen .

And yet, the man took out a silver wedge from his breast pocket and hammered it into the wall .

【”What is that?”】

【”It is a magic item . If you give it mana, well...”】

As soon as the man said so, the rock wall vanished like it had been torn away .

【”As you can see, it eliminates all magic-induced effects within a precise range . ”】

【”...It seems quite valuable . ”】

【”I happen to know a magic items enthusiast . ”】

The man’s answers were evasive . That was what Fiona seemed to be thinking . However, she did not press him any more than necessary .

As one would expect, she was more curious about what was going on with the tempered tunnels .

A hidden passage had appeared .

At first glance, it seemed to be just a tunnels branch among others, but after walking further ahead, the structure of the passage changed, taking on an appearance that was, without a doubt, man-made .

【”Just what is happening...”】

Seeing this installation, Fiona could not help voicing out her surprise and shivering a little .

From Harold’s perspective, this modern sight was not surprising as he had already seen Justus’ laboratory, not to mention his time in Japan .

But for Fiona, who barely ever left Barston, this might have been her first time witnessing something like this .

Moreover, what made this even worse was the fact that this modern structure was placed inside the mine . Her shock was understandable to Harold .

【”Snap out of it and walk . Hurry up . ”】

【”Ah, p-please wait for me!”】

However, understandable or not, Harold did not stop walking for her, for his goal was beyond here .

There was no longer a need to hold a lamp as the ceiling already had fluorescent lights, maybe thanks to some sort of electrical system .

The group’s footsteps echoed in the cold passage .

Going back to the discussion Harold had with Elu, there had been no living beings other than monsters in the tunnels so far, but that did not mean these were unmanned installations .

In order to be able to deal with anything that could come, Harold raised his guard even further .

Affected by Harold’s nervousness, Fiona and the man kept silent . The atmosphere became tense .

The straight passage felt awfully long, but after a while, the group reached a corner at last .

The man exchanged a look with Harold and gave him a silent nod .

This likely meant that the scene the scouting team had reported was waiting ahead .

Once he confirmed there was no human presence around, Harold turned the corner .

The first thing that caught his eye was a large glass screen that was probably more than 4 meters wide .

It was built inside the long wall of the circular passage as a window to the other side .

There was also a door that seemed to be the entrance to another room .

If someone came out from there, the group would be instantly found .

(We can’t stay too long . )

While thinking of such things, Harold walked up to the glass to gaze upon the sight waiting below .

There stood an enormous gathering of monsters, akin to the one back in the Sumeragi territory .

The report claimed there were only about 5000 of them, but there could be even more given that they were all crowded together .

【”Iiih...!”】

They’re gonna be a pain to deal with... While Harold was thinking that, Fiona, who stood next to him and looked at the window, let out a small scream .

The fact that she held back from outright screaming showed she had guts .

Even so, her firm expression did nothing to hide the blue shade taking over her face .

Seeing her like this, Harold thought of something .

(If I add fuel to the fire, can I work her up enough that she’ll collaborate with us to evacuate the locals?)

This idea was devilish enough that it could have been uttered by the original Harold himself .

Although it came from good intentions, it also came from the evil seed of being willing to do anything to survive in this world .

【”We don’t know the purpose behind this yet, but the monsters are probably the reason why the tunnels were modified and this whole installation was secretly built . ”】

This was a half-truth .

There was probably some motive related to the housing of the monsters, but what Harold was really keeping his eye on was the energy portal . The presence of such a complex facility showed that this whole situation probably had to do with the energy portal, as he expected .

However, explaining this to Fiona would be meaningless and would only serve to make the matter more difficult to understand, so Harold did not bring it up .

【”W-why would anyone do this?”】

【”Like I just said, we don’t know what the goal is yet . But, well, you can probably make a guess from the situation, can’t you?”】

Fiona did not say anything, but her eyes were complaining, asking “What do you mean, exactly?” .

If the people knew that something like this was lying under their town, it would be a source of great fear and anxiety . However, as a member of the town council, Fiona would have to bring the information back to them regardless .

【”The only reasonable guess is that these monsters are going to be used for an above-ground invasion . The expansion of the tunnels was probably done so they’ll be able to pass through . ”】

【”T-then...”】

【”It’s exactly what you’re thinking . Barston will probably be the first target . ”】

Harold couldn’t tell if he was imagining it, but it felt like Fiona’s face had turned even paler than before . She could barely stand .

Though he did feel sorry for her, Harold was opting for a calculating mindset at moment .

He believed that by sufficiently agitating Fiona now, he would be able to persuade her to collaborate with him later on .

At that moment, something suddenly caught his eyes .

Down at the bottom of the cave on the other side of the glass, where the thousands of monsters were wriggling around, there was a giant door meant to serve as an entrance for the monsters .

However, aside from that one giant door, there was a regular, human-sized door placed 10 whole meters (30 feet) above the bottom of the cave .

What felt the most out of the place in that picture was the path that led to said smaller door . It seemed quite dangerous .

A lone wall had been carved into a set of stairs with no safety measures save for an iron fence on the side meant to prevent accidental falls .

No matter how Harold looked at them, these stairs had clearly been boorishly installed after the door was built .

The high position of the door could certainly serve to keep the monsters out of reach, but would Justus really build something so crude?

【”Is something the matter?”】

【”...It’s nothing . There is no meaning in staying longer, let us hurry and return . ”】

Though this was worrisome, Harold was not going to understand it unless he went inside the cave, and now was not the time for that .

Given that Fiona was barely standing on her feet, Harold entrusted her to the man from Giffelt and took the lamp in his stead as they all traced back their steps in the tunnels .

Though he held his sword in his right hand the whole time in case the group was attacked due to their intrusion, their escape ended up being anticlimactically easy .

The whole round-trip had taken about 4 hours .

【”Hey, you . ”】

【”...What is it?”】

These were the first words the exhausted Fiona had uttered in a long while .

Harold would have recommended that she take some rest if not for the emergency of the situation, but right now, she had a job to do . If she had to whip her exhaustion away for it, then so be it .

【”What are you planning to do?”】

【”What I’m planning? For starters, I’ll have to inform the others of the situation... No, actually, if I announce it out of nowhere, it will only bring confusion . Maybe I should get the mayor to contact our town’s lord, and then we’ll come up with a pretext to start evacuating the people...”】

Fiona started looking for a solution, muttering her options to herself like her mind’s gears were beginning to turn .

【”If you follow the procedures, how long will take to start the evacuation?”】

【”...A month, at least . ”】

【”You don’t say . ”】

【”Miss, to be honest with you, it’s highly likely that it will be too late by then . ”】

【”Why do you think so?”】

【”We actually know of other places where monsters have been gathered . Based on those experiences and on what we’ve seen here, this group is particularly active . It seems like it will start moving within a month . ”】

【”But that’s...! What should we do then?!”】

【”As Barston’s leaders, you should immediately evacuate the town and then seek protection from your town’s lord . If you don’t make it in time, I’m afraid your people will die . ”】

The man made his answer very clear .

Nevertheless, it was likely going to be difficult for Fiona to make such a decision .

After all, she did not have the authority to evacuate anyone in the first place .

【”If that gets your panties in a bunch, then you better gather your town’s representatives and share what you found out here with them . ”】

【”Do you think that will be enough to evacuate everyone immediately?”】

【”Obviously . ”】

【”...A meeting will be held in our town’s assembly hall around tomorrow afternoon . ”】

【”Good . This should go without saying, but now that you’ve seen what you’ve seen, you stand by our side, understood?”】

【”I know...”】

“Condescending as ever . ” Fiona would probably have thought something along those lines before her trip in the tunnels, but she no longer seemed to have the leeway for such thoughts now .

With heavy footsteps, she disappeared into the town .

With this, Harold had managed to take care of the day’s preliminary preparations, as well as the ones that were supposed to come further down the line .

The best Harold could do now was pray that the situation would stagnate until the arrival of the reserve group of mercenaries .

It was already determined that trouble would come in succession until Liner and the others would put Justus’ plan to an end, so there was no avoiding that anyway .

(I should be done for today . )

But now, it was time for Harold to give his body and mind some much needed rest, and that was not something to neglect .

【”Hey, take me to the inn . ”】

【”As you wish . Please follow me . ”】

“Now that I think about it, what’s this guy’s name?” While realizing that he had missed the timing to ask that question, Harold headed for the inn where Keith and the others were staying .

Although his wounds had healed, the truth was that his strength and motor functions were not exactly in the best state they could be .

All he wanted to do was wash away his sweat in a shower, fill his stomach, and sleep early .

However, even such small wishes seldom were granted for he who wore the name of Harold Stokes .

When he was about to reach the inn, Harold found a group of people making a fuss outside a place which, judging by the sign at the front, was a restaurant .

(Look at these guys, already drunk in the middle of the day?)

Thinking so, Harold passed by them while looking from a distance .

...Or rather, he tried to pass by them, until he realized that they looked familiar to him .

In fact, let alone just being familiar, they were members of Frieri .

(Huh? What the hell are they doing?)

The members of Frieri had a naturally terrible temper, so the situation was not surprising . However, Harold still could not tell why they would make such a fuss .

(I’ll forcefully subdue them before they cause more trouble . )

Though they had once been mercenaries, their current behavior was going over the line . That being the case, Harold rushed to apply a hasty solution...

...A too hasty solution . If he had taken the time to see the people the Frieri members were quarreling against, he likely would not have stepped in so carelessly .

【”You, what in the world do you think you’re doing...?”】

【”B-boss? No, you’re wrong!”】

【”Wrong about what?”】

【”This is a misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding!”】

Under the overwhelming pressure of Harold’s rising anger, the two men immediately backed off, as expected .

However, despite the cramped expressions on their faces, they still had it in them to voice their excuses .

【”All we did was eat some food!”】

【”And it was really good!”】

‘How did that turn into this?‘ Harold’s eyes urged them to continue .

【”So we wanted to thank the chef!”】

【”That’s right! But we wanted to do it in a cool way, like that one time! So we thought, ‘let’s try to do it... . ”】

―― like the boss did’ .

【”Huh?”】

Their words overlapped .

Though he didn’t like it, Harold had to assume they were referring to him .

At this point, a memory resurfaced in his mind .

Going back to the past, at a time when the number of members of Frieri was seeing a small rise, Harold, as the so-called head of the organization, organized a meeting at a restaurant .

This was meant to serve both as a get-together and as a form of recognition of their work .

Though he had been careful to make a reservation beforehand, a meeting of almost twenty brawny men eating and drinking together was bound to cause a racket .

That being said, it never turned into a rampage either; making it difficult to ask them to be all cautious .

Therefore, when the feast reached its high point, Harold called that restaurant’s chef to resolve the uncomfortable situation .

A noble who brought bad people who were up to no good along with him . That was how Harold would have appeared that day from an outsider’s point of view . He had made the staff of the restaurant quite scared .

When the chef came to him, trembling from fear, Harold naturally tried to keep his words to the point so as not to say anything excessive .

『I suppose that didn’t taste too awful . Take this . 』

While saying that, Harold threw a full bag of gold towards him .

He did figure that was too much money even when including a nuisance fee, but for Harold, who still held the capital from the LP farming and kept his savings through the Sumeragi family, this amount was akin to a simple tip .

Back then, Harold had made himself look like an unlikable upstart of noble descent, but that whole interaction had apparently turned into a cool scene in the drunken eyes of the members of Frieri .

【”The thing is we weren’t good at it, so they got scared...”】

【”Figured as much . ”】

【”Then, we ended up arguing with the staff and some other people around...”】

【”If you’re not used to it, don’t try it, you bunch of idiots . ”】

【”【”Sorry... . ”】”】

Their words overlapped once again .

If they were telling the truth and really had no ill intent, then it was probably the right call for Harold to personally resolve the conflict as their boss .

Thinking so, Harold turned towards one of the people who had been arguing with them .

Much like his subordinates before, Harold’s sneer made way for an ever so slightly cramped up expression .

The man’s once childish traits had turned into an adult’s, but his orange hair that resembled a lion’s mane was still the same as back in the days .

Harold could tell with one look who this was .

【”Y-you are... Harold...?”】

This was a man who had spent quite some time in Harold’s company during his few months in the knight order .

His name was Sid .