Slime Reincarnation

Chapter 33: Consulting Magistrate Naise as Well

"So, how bad is it? For real."

Guild Master Zoria’s gaze was sharp.

"How bad?"

"I’m talking about the stampede! How much time do we have?"

"Almost none, I’d say?"

"Uwooooooh! Why?!"

"I mean, if you ask me ’why’..."

"Is it that certain? You’ve never even seen a stampede before, right?"

"Well, I assume you haven’t either. Just to be safe, I went to Caso Village to warn them. The village chief’s great-great-great-great-great-grandfather’s acquaintance apparently saw it in some old documents. According to what Garley Cusso (108) left behind, there were continuous small quakes like rumbling, and then after a big shake, a massive wave of monsters came pouring out."

"Who the hell is that great-great-great-great-great-grandfather’s acquaintance?"

"That’s Garley Cusso (108)."

"Never heard of him!"

Bang bang bang!

The door was suddenly pounded on.

"What is it!"

The door flew open roughly, and a guild staff member burst in.

"Guild Master, it’s terrible! The C-rank party has returned from the labyrinth with serious injuries!"

"What?!"

Zoria shot up with a horrified expression.

"Who are the ?"

"They’re one of the top parties in this frontier adventurers’ guild. It’s a six-member team: swordsman Burn, warrior Giim, priest-warrior Eight, spirit user Dietrich, thief Treezipper, and mage Sullen. They have excellent party balance and reliably complete high-difficulty requests."

"Ehhhh~? So the ’Jutou’ in their party name is written as ’Cursed Island’?"

"That’s right. You figured it out quickly." fгeewebnovёl.com

"And is there actually a cursed island around here?"

"No, there isn’t even a sea or a lake, let alone an island."

"Then why call it Cursed Island?!"

"No idea. Apparently their leader Burn received divine revelation from the gods one day."

Who exactly is this guy? Is this another reincarnator thing? If it’s just a bad joke, there might be copyright issues, so I should probably hammer in a thick five-inch nail just in case.

"So, are their injuries okay?"

Zoria asked worriedly about their condition.

"They’ve been taken to the clinic for now. Burn and Giim are heavily injured. According to the mage Sullen, monsters suddenly exploded in numbers deep inside the labyrinth, and they were caught in such fierce fighting that retreating was nearly impossible..."

"If the vanguard is heavily injured, we can’t count on them for defense during a stampede. What about the types of monsters that appeared?!"

"Most of them were orcs and goblins, but the sheer number was abnormal. There were also ogres among them..."

"Ogres!"

Guild Master Zoria’s face filled with shock.

"Are ogres that dangerous?"

In most light novels, ogres are portrayed as "oni" — bigger and stronger than goblins or orcs, often classified as higher-ranking monsters. I wonder how it works in this world.

"A single goblin is E-rank, an orc is D-rank, but an ogre is C-rank by itself. When multiple appear, the danger level goes up by one rank each."

Ah, exactly the ranking I expected.

Goblin < Orc < Ogre.

They’re different species, not exactly the same family, but these three have similar vibes. They’re all somewhat humanoid too.

"...Huh? Come to think of it, weren’t the Fang Wolves rated C-rank?"

I think the guards mentioned that.

"...Yeah. A single Fang Wolf is C-rank. Since you command an entire army of them, they’re treated as B-rank threat level."

"Don’t just arbitrarily label them as a threat."

"But right now, I can’t think of any allies as reliable as them."

Zoria grinned with a fierce, wicked smile.

"I don’t know how well we’ll be able to meet your expectations, though."

Knock knock.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

In response to the Guild Master’s arrogant reply, Vice Guild Master Salina entered with a slightly furrowed brow.

"Excuse me. I have brought Magistrate Naise-sama."

"Pardon the intrusion."

The person who entered behind Salina was a young man dressed in relatively expensive-looking clothes.

"Naise-dono, sorry for making you come all this way."

Guild Master Zoria replied in a greeting that was hard to tell whether he actually felt sorry. He gave a slight bow, but it didn’t look particularly apologetic. That was probably just how Zoria was.

"Magistrate? He’s quite young," I casually said what I was thinking.

I had no information about what important people in this world were like, so I should have been more careful with my words, but it was too late now.

"Well, yes. Being on the frontier means we’re short on manpower. So, you’re the rumored Great Mage?"

"Yeah, I’m Yabe the Great Mage. ...I’m the subject of rumors?"

"Yep. Both the Guild Master and the town’s stall street have been talking about you. An unknown powerhouse, extremely wealthy food lover who buys out entire food stalls, and today we heard you’re also a top-class Tamer with 61 Fang Wolves under your command. Your ability as an adventurer is judged to be off the charts."

"Hahaha (Well, the slime species itself is already off the charts!)"

"That’s right! Yabe-sama is amazing!"

Irina’s eyes sparkled as she clenched her fists and passionately declared. Zero persuasiveness though! The only achievements in this town are buying out food stalls and owning 61 contract pendants.

"So? About this stampede — is it really going to happen?"

Naise turned serious eyes toward Zoria and asked for confirmation.

"Salina, what other measures have been taken?"

"Yes. We’ve increased the number of guards for the rotation and sent them out earlier. In addition, we’re currently interviewing the C-rank party and other adventurers who returned from the labyrinth. All reports indicate that the number of monsters inside the labyrinth has increased abnormally, and the labyrinth itself is rumbling."

"I see..."

Zoria crossed his arms with a grim expression.

"Is there no mistake?"

Naise asked worriedly. Zoria finally spoke with a heavy tone.

"Yeah, there’s no doubt about it anymore. The only question left is when and how many monsters will overflow from the labyrinth."

"So that’s how it is..."

Naise’s expression darkened as well.

If a stampede was inevitable, monsters would definitely spill out. They couldn’t be left unchecked. The problems were when they would come out, how many would come out, and where they would head.

"Can’t we just block the labyrinth entrance?" I said what I honestly thought.

"The labyrinth entrance is quite large. Making a door or lid strong enough to stop a monster flood is practically impossible. According to past records, the monsters during a stampede are extremely frenzied and tend to charge forward recklessly. The standard tactic is to gather troops near the entrance and strike them as they emerge, but we can’t spread our forces wide either. There’s a high chance they’ll break through at a single point."

"Then what do you suggest?"

Naise didn’t think the veteran Guild Master Zoria would have no plan, so he waited for his next words.

"This town has outer walls. We’ll set up another layer of barricades in front of them and intercept the monsters here in town."

"So we have no choice but to defend inside the town..."

Naise muttered with faint hope that they might be able to stop the monsters before they approached the town. However, this town did not have a large enough army to face a stampede head-on in the plains. Moreover, even the top adventurers in the guild had suffered serious injuries. The only realistic option was to hold them off with barricades and outer walls while attacking from a distance.

"We should send an urgent messenger to the royal capital. Ideally we’d report the exact scale of the , but we can’t wait that long. At least report the current situation..."

While they were discussing, I noticed the guild becoming noisy. Then came another knock knock.

"Yes?"

Everyone tilted their heads wondering who it was. Vice Guild Master Salina stood up and opened the door.

"Kyaa!"

There stood Logan with Chick Captain on his head.

Logan, how did you even know to come here? And you knocked really well.

"Hey now, bringing contracted beasts inside the guild building is prohibited."

Zoria glared at me. However, Logan would normally follow instructions unless something very serious happened. This meant the situation was urgent.

"That’s right, Logan-chan. You’re not supposed to enter the building..."

Even as she said that, Salina knelt down, wrapped her arms around Logan’s neck, and buried her face in his fur.

You really shouldn’t be fluffing him right now.

"I-Is this the contracted beast Fang Wolf? How magnificent..."

Even Magistrate Naise was astonished by Logan, whom he was seeing for the first time.

Heh heh heh, my Logan is on a completely different level from ordinary Fang Wolves!

Logan confidently walked through the open door into the room.

『Boss! Chick Captain has an urgent report. I determined it was critical and came immediately.』

"Got it. Zoria, Naise. It seems like important information. Is it okay if we hear the report like this?"

"Please do."

"Tell us too."

With their permission, I urged Chick Captain forward.

『The stampede has begun! Monsters are overflowing from the labyrinth!』

"Eh?"

I was speechless, so the other two pressed me urgently.

"What happened?!"

"What is it?!"

"The stampede has started. Monsters are pouring out of the labyrinth."

""Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh!!""

And so, the town defense strategy for Sorerini entered a state of extreme urgency.