With the Silver Buns purified and the cleanup of the Earth Golems complete, a temporary peace had finally returned. I let the exhausted adventurers who had been manning the defense take some much-needed rest. Of course, we couldn't let our guard down completely, so a few were still called upon to stand watch, but as long as they rotated in shifts, it shouldn't be too much of a burden. Besides, I’d already stationed Surveillance Golems near the entrance; they’d handle the brunt of the work.
Now that the battle had settled down, I’d hoped to catch up with Rei and the others, but that proved difficult to do right away. Rei was present in his capacity as the Acting Governor of Cygnil, which meant he was buried in logistics—checking unit strengths and arranging supplies.
"I’m sorry, Tort. I’ll have some time tonight. Tell me everything then."
"Yeah, I understand. Good luck with the work."
"Thanks. Honestly, because of you, I can actually see a way forward now. What's left is just simple post-battle processing. It's nothing I can't handle."
With that, Rei headed back toward Cygnil. Mil and Sally, who had been chatting with Halfa, followed after him.
However, it seemed Dolga-san was staying behind. Instead of following Rei’s group, he approached us.
"Yo! Thanks for the hand back there. You really saved our skins. The name’s Dolga. I’m an associate of the Young Master. I’ve already met Tort and Halfa before."
"And me too!"
"Right, Shiroru as well."
"I'm Lowell. This is my sister, Spira."
"Nice to meet ya!"
Things had been so frantic until a moment ago that we were only just now getting around to introductions. Dolga-san was technically my master in dagger techniques... but since I hardly used daggers these days, it felt a little awkward. I couldn't help it; golems were just too convenient.
"Dolga-san, is it alright if you don't go with Rei?"
"Me? Well, I'm here as your overseer."
"An overseer? I’m not planning on doing anything strange, you know."
"Hahaha, it’s not that I think you’re going to do something bad. It’s just that if I take my eyes off you, you seem like the type to cause all sorts of incidents. I figured it’s better to stick close so I can stay on top of the situation."
What? What did he mean, "cause all sorts of incidents"?
I had no intention of doing anything weird.
However, I decided not to argue. Lowell was nodding along in agreement, and I knew a two-against-one battle was one I couldn't win.
"Well, that's fine. There are a few things I’m thinking of doing, so it’ll be a help if I don't have to keep asking for permission. But please wait a moment. There's somewhere I have to go first."
"Hmm? I'll just tag along, so go wherever you need to."
"Ah, no... I'm going to Lafres."
"Huh? Lafres!?"
When I announced my destination, Dolga-san let out a bewildered shout. Since it wasn't exactly a distance one could travel back and forth from on a whim, his reaction was only natural. Still, to his credit, he regained his composure almost instantly.
"Well, your arrival was pretty abrupt too. I suppose if it’s you, Tort, you can pull it off."
"Um... well, yes. But since I'm traveling alone this time, I can't take you with me, Dolga-san."
I had arrived here via the Dream-Viewing Mirror, but the mirror itself was currently sitting on the other side. My main reason for returning to Lafres was to pick up the Petit Golems and recover the items I’d left behind. I couldn't use the mirror for this trip.
As for how I would manage it—Shadow Leap, of course. Since the Petit Golems were accompanied by Shadow Golems, I could jump to them at any time.
When I explained this, Gald-san wore an expression of total incomprehension for a moment before giving a firm nod.
"I don't really follow the logic, but I get the gist. Basically, you're heading back alone."
"Yes. I'm just grabbing things I forgot, so it won't take long."
"I see. In that case, could you report this attack to headquarters while you're there?"
"Ah, right. I can do that."
Normally, Guild Master Madrus would be the one to report to the Guild Headquarters, but since he was currently in Lafres himself, it would be much faster if I just did it.
"Well then, I'm off."
"Yeah, I'm counting on you."
Traveling via Shadow Leap wasn't exactly instantaneous. From my perspective, it felt like a split second, but to an onlooker, there was apparently a slight delay between my disappearance and reappearance. Crossing the distance to Lafres probably took a few minutes. Still, compared to traveling on foot, it was basically a rounding error.
Once I arrived, I first explained the situation to the Petit Golems. I used the Dream-Viewing Mirror to project Halfa’s location and had the Petit Golems move to Cygnil. After that, I packed up the mirror and the Magic House, and my errands were mostly done. I intended to return via Shadow Leap... but first, I had to contact the headquarters.
I had planned to just give a quick update, but I ended up getting pulled into a meeting with Grand Master Rozeph, which was a bit of an ordeal. But with that finished, my errand was successfully complete. I happened to spot Madrus-san as well, so I advised him that he should probably head back.
It turned out Madrus-san had intended to return soon anyway. Apparently, the only reason he’d been lingering in Lafres was to secure purification magic tools. Since I was already in Cygnil, he didn't need to worry about requisitioning tools from other branches anymore.
With the mission truly over, I used Shadow Leap again, using the Shadow Golem attached to Halfa as my beacon.
"I'm back."
"Ah, welcome back~"
"Whoa?! You already went there and came back?"
Halfa was used to my antics, but Dolga-san was genuinely stunned. Lowell flashed a wry smile at the surprised man.
"Hahaha, you won't last long if you're shocked by this much. I'm sure he's already planning his next move."
"This much, huh? He's powered up significantly since I last saw him. It must be a nightmare keeping up with him."
"Heh... well, I owe Tort a debt of gratitude."
In the short time I was gone, Lowell and Dolga-san had apparently become fast friends. That was all well and good, but...
Lowell!
That's the part where you're supposed to defend me!