Slime Reincarnation

Chapter 35: Let’s Sortie to Protect the Town

"You’re saying you’ll take them on with just your own forces!?"

Zoria raised his voice loudly.

Well, it did sound like I was claiming I could somehow deal with ten thousand monsters by myself, so it was only natural he’d be shocked.

"And when you say ’take them on,’ you don’t mean defending from behind the town’s outer walls — you mean going out into the plains and facing them head-on!?"

Zoria pressed on with an expression of utter disbelief.

"That’s exactly what I mean."

"Isn’t that basically suicide no matter how you look at it?"

Even Deputy Magistrate Naise seemed to think it was too much and voiced his doubts.

Yeah, fair enough... Even I have to wonder how realistic taking on ten thousand actually is.

But if ten thousand monsters descend on this town, the peaceful life everyone has enjoyed until now will be destroyed. I can’t allow that. No matter what.

...After all, I’m just a no-cheat slime guy. Thinking I can somehow handle ten thousand monsters might be nothing but arrogance. It might not even work...

But even though I’ve only been here a short time, I’ve come to like the people of this town. I also like the people from Kasso Village. If that’s the case, I have to eliminate this threat so they can keep living with smiles on their faces.

"I don’t know if it will work, but... since they’re coming in a relatively straight line, it’s not like I don’t have any ideas. That said, just in case, I think you should still prepare to fight a defensive battle using the outer walls."

"The way you’re talking, it sounds like you’re saying the monsters won’t even reach the town if it goes well?"

Zoria stared at me.

"Yeah. My intention is to let not a single monster through."

I declared confidently. (Pretty cool, right?)

When I glanced beside me, Irina was watching me with serious eyes.

...I had assumed she’d be clasping her hands in front of her chest with hearts in her eyes, but... Well, it would be problematic if she started making those "Kuu~" noises right now.

"What exactly is your strategy?"

Naise was the deputy magistrate who had been managing this town. Being a practical man, he probably couldn’t accept the plan without knowing the concrete details. However...

"Something like my super-secret ultimate magic?" ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"What the hell is that?"

Zoria looked exasperated.

"We cannot entrust the town to you with peace of mind like that..."

Deputy Magistrate Naise also frowned.

"Of course, if you truly save this town, we will have to prepare a reward commensurate with that achievement. Especially since you would be saving us from an unprecedented crisis of ten thousand monsters. The reward would be enormous. And you would also receive the status of a hero who saved the town. But all of that requires the result of actually repelling ten thousand monsters."

The result of repelling ten thousand monsters...

Those words carried deep and heavy meaning.

It was about proving my existence — showing what kind of being could repel ten thousand monsters.

Unlike the muscle-brained Zoria, Naise was the deputy magistrate responsible for the town.

He would need to make a reasonably accurate report about this Stampede to the lord and the royal capital above him. How would my existence appear in that report...?

"Regarding that, I have a consultation — or rather, a proposal."

"What is it?"

"What is it?"

Zoria and Naise spoke at the same time. These two actually got along surprisingly well.

"I want to keep my abilities and what I can do somewhat secret. That’s also why I proposed handling this with just my own forces. But even if I go out to intercept them and come back saying ’I defeated the monsters,’ if there are no monster corpses left at all, would you be able to confirm that the subjugation was actually completed?"

"N-No monster corpses left at all...?"

"That is... fundamentally, it would be difficult to judge the request as completed..."

Exactly. Without the ten thousand monsters as evidence, it would be hard to prove.

"But in reality, a large number of monsters are heading straight for this town. Interception is mandatory... However, the only ones here who accurately know the scale is ten thousand are us. In that case, while the actual processing might be tricky, we should be able to handle the report somehow, right?"

"...What do you mean?"

Zoria looked at Naise with an expression that said he didn’t understand.

"In other words, we report it as a somewhat large overflow and handle it accordingly, while concealing the fact that the scale was ten thousand. And we keep your existence hidden as well."

"Correct."

I lightly tapped the floor with my mage’s staff.

"...But that would mean hiding the result of repelling ten thousand monsters. You would receive neither reward nor honor, you know?"

"Hey, are you telling me to work for free!?"

Zoria, the Guild Master of the Adventurer’s Guild, turned a stern look toward Naise.

I liked how straightforward Zoria was in moments like this. Since I was technically registered with the guild too, I also couldn’t accept adventurers working without compensation.

"Of course, I don’t think it can be completely without reward, but... if we hide the scale of ten thousand, we obviously cannot offer a reward matching that. And since there will be no monsters left to confirm the result, we won’t be able to officially recognize you as the hero who prevented the Stampede..."

"How exactly are you going to make the monsters disappear? Are you going to blast them with some huge spell and turn them all into charcoal?"

"As Naise says, I understand that hiding the scale makes it impossible to give a reward befitting the defeat of ten thousand monsters. I wasn’t interested in becoming a hero in the first place, so that’s fine. What remains is how to confirm that I defeated the monsters from the stampede, and whether you two will give me your word that you won’t tell anyone about me before I head out."

"What?"

"...So you believe that if the lord or the king learns of your existence, it will become troublesome."

Naise let out a sigh.

"Why?! You’d be the hero who saved the town! This is a disaster on a scale where the king himself might grant you a reward in the royal capital!"

"That’s exactly why I’m saying I don’t need it, Zoria."

"But why?! Any man would dream of rising up as a hero! This is your chance, Yabe!"

Zoria spoke with powerful conviction. His words, coming from someone who had likely walked the righteous path his whole life, carried real weight.

But...

"Well, you know. To the people in power, an unknown force appears ominous. They tend to overthink things like ’Where will that power be directed?’ and so on. So it’s safer if they never learn such a power exists in the first place."

"..."

Zoria fell silent. He must have realized how suspicious I looked — completely covered in a robe, never showing my true form, and boldly declaring I would intercept ten thousand monsters.

"...If I were the king of this country, I’d appoint you as the court magician."

Zoria gave a small, bitter smile. It was the kind of smile that showed he had sensed the risk my existence posed.

"If the margrave or the kingdom ever tries to do anything shady to you, I’ll take your side. After all, even if no one else knows, you’ll still be the hero who saved this town!"

This time Zoria flashed a mischievous, cheeky grin like a kid who just thought up a prank.

"I believe he told us part of his secret precisely so that wouldn’t happen."

Now it was Naise’s turn to smile bitterly. It seemed my feelings had gotten through to him properly. All that remained was how he would evaluate my existence.

"We will report only the results to the lord and the kingdom and do our best to keep your involvement hidden. Of course, if someone sharp notices, an investigation will likely occur. In that case, we’ll say the Adventurer’s Guild provided assistance, so I’ll ask you, Zoria, to cooperate with a suitable explanation."

"Me!?"

"Who else could do it...?"

Naise replied in a dumbfounded voice to Zoria’s surprise.

"By the way, I just noticed..."

"What is it?"

Both I and Zoria turned our gazes to Naise.

"Is she alright with this?"

Naise pointed toward... Vice Guild Master Sarina, who was still half-buried in Logan and happily fluffing him.

"Uwoh!?"

"Sarina, you were there the whole time!? Come to think of it, I was so focused on the conversation that I completely stopped sensing your presence."

"Fueh?"

Sarina finally lifted her face from Logan.

"Logan, you were being fluffed the entire time? You could have said something."

『I thought Boss was having a very important discussion...』

Logan looked slightly troubled but had been considerate. Sorry about that.

"So, assuming we give you our word, what do we do about her?"

Naise asked me with a meaningful smile.

As Vice Guild Master, Sarina should follow the Guild Master Zoria’s instructions, right?

"Sarina, about that..."

Sarina interrupted Zoria before he could finish.

"Lord Yabe is a wonderful person. That’s all. That’s more than enough for me. Fluffing is justice! There’s no way the master of Sir Logan could be a bad person!"

Sarina passionately declared.

...Well, I’m grateful, but this is probably thanks to Logan, huh?

"Woof! (I’m honored!)"

Logan replied with a smile. Having a capable subordinate really gives a different sense of security.

"Then, one last thing... We absolutely need to confirm with our own eyes that the threat to the town has been completely eliminated. Therefore, if you truly cannot bring back any monsters, please take Guild Master Zoria with you. As he said earlier, Zoria trusts you and has even declared he would support you over the lord or the kingdom if necessary. So even if he sees the cards you don’t want to show, he won’t do anything that would harm you. How about it?"

Naise asked. Yeah, that makes sense. They can’t feel at ease without visually confirming the monsters’ disappearance. With Zoria... I can probably explain it away as lost magic or some special skill. If he doesn’t buy it... I can always bribe him with fried chicken.

"Oooh! Leave it to me! Yabe, I’m entrusting my life to you!"

Zoria slapped me heartily on the shoulder (or the area around it).

Well, I’ve gained an escort, but it’s time to sortie out to protect the town!