“My Lord, there is a communication from Lord Reinhard.”
Jin, who was back on Hourai Island, received the message via manacam.
“This is Jin. What’s up?”
“Jin! I’m so sorry about today!”
Jin let out a breath of relief. If it was just an apology, then there was nothing to worry about.
“If that’s all it is, don't sweat it. I’m not bothered.”
“Mattheus didn't mean any harm. He just... well, he had a bit of a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
Jin tried to think of what could have possibly gone wrong, but nothing came to mind. “What did he misunderstand?”
Reinhard gave a forced laugh before speaking the awkward truth bluntly.
“He thought you and I were... in a romantic relationship.”
“Whaaaat?!”
“Haha, it's pretty funny, right?”
Jin wasn't laughing. He had never imagined such a bizarre misconception was even possible.
“I—I assume the misunderstanding is cleared up now?”
“Of course.”
“...Then I guess it's fine.”
“Anyway, I'll make sure nothing like that happens again starting tomorrow.”
Reinhard chatted for a few more minutes before ending the call.
“I’m exhausted...”
Feeling mentally drained, Jin decided to soak in the hot spring once more to unwind.
“Phew.”
Stretching his limbs out in the hot water, he murmured to the steam.
“Almost at the Shouro Empire. I can’t wait.”
＊ ＊ ＊
“Gyaah!”
“It’s a revolt!”
“The prisoners are escaping!”
Earlier that afternoon, the administrative building of the Inado Mine had descended into chaos.
The criminals were kept in check by criminal identification collars, which inflicted intense pain on the wearer when hit with a specific magical frequency. Generating that frequency required a specialized magic tool.
To prepare for emergencies, two of these magic tools—the Dominators—had been installed. Yet somehow, both had been rendered useless before anyone noticed.
“Hyahaha! We're free! We're finally free!”
“Move it! Head north!”
“Don't go south, whatever you do! I heard the army is stationed that way!”
Fifty-two criminals descended the mountain, armed with pickaxes, hammers, and clubs. After about twenty kilometers, they would reach the main road. South led to Toka Village; north led to Kaina Village.
They found food at the rest stations along the road and devoured it greedily, but fear of pursuers kept them from lingering. They pressed north.
Driven more by lust and greed than simple willpower, the fifty-two men climbed toward the pass with bloodshot eyes. From the peak of Togo Pass, they looked down at the river below. The moonlight shimmered off the Erme River.
On the far side lay a quiet, rustic village.
“There it is! The village!”
“Hoo-rah! Food! Women! Warm beds!”
“Let's go!”
“Out of my way! I'm getting there first!”
The criminals charged down the pass with feral energy.
In Kaina Village, the people slept on, unaware.
＊ ＊ ＊
On Hourai Island, the security and surveillance magi-brain dedicated to Kaina Village, Koushin, had sent its report fifteen minutes prior.
In Kaina Village, it was well past midnight, with the dawn still a long way off.
On Hourai Island, it was the dark hour before daybreak.
Laojun hesitated for a moment over whether to wake Jin, but since Jin had gone to bed early the previous night and this concerned the defense of Kaina Village, Laojun decided to alert him.
『Intruders detected.』
『Advancing toward Togo Pass.』
『Speech reconstruction complete. Intruders identified as criminals serving labor sentences. Objective: Raid Kaina Village.』
『Entering defense perimeter in approximately one minute.』
『Barrier activation sequence ready.』
“Good work, Laojun.”
『I am honored. My Lord, I intend to use this opportunity to verify our defense mechanisms. I will not neutralize the intruders all at once. Do I have your approval?』
“Yeah, that’s fine. As long as Kaina Village remains safe.”
『Understood. Please, My Lord, observe the proceedings at your leisure.』
Jin didn't need to lift a finger. He simply watched the images transmitted by Koushin, listened to the updates, and watched as Laojun executed one maneuver after another.
『Fifty-two intruders have reached Togo Pass. They are entering the defense perimeter.』
Just as the bulk of the criminals began their descent:
『Test 1: Activating Stun barrier.』
A barrier with a Paralyze effect, positioned on the village-facing side of Togo Pass, flickered into existence.
＊ ＊ ＊
The criminals scrambled down the path, competing to be the first to arrive.
The ones who had been lagging behind due to exhaustion started their descent late...
“Gyah!”
“Gah!”
They stumbled into the Stun barrier and collapsed. Eight men were down instantly.
However, those racing ahead were far too focused on the village to care about the screams behind them.
With glinting, bloodshot eyes, they continued their frantic dash down the mountain path.
『Test 2: Selective Laser Cannon fire.』
“Eh?!”
“W-What was that?!”
Startled cries broke out. In the blink of an eye, the pickaxes and hammers they held had simply evaporated.
Confused as they were, their greed-fueled momentum was too great to stop now.
『Test 3: Induction Radiator, short-burst emission.』
“Gyaaah!”
“Hot! It's burning!!”
The criminal identification collars around their necks were made of metal. When they suddenly superheated, the men fell into a panic.
The effect stopped after inflicting minor burns, but it was enough to unsettle them.
“What the hell is going on?”
Spooked, the group finally slowed down.
However, the thought of a "helpless" village full of resources within their reach pushed them forward again.
『Test 4: Stealth attacks by Land units W through Z.』
“Gih!”
“Geh!”
“Guh!”
Muffled cries rang out from the rear as men collapsed one by one.
“What is it? What's attacking us?!”
In the pitch-black darkness before dawn, the Land units were invisible behind their stealth barriers.
In the dark, the fear of an unseen enemy is overwhelming.
“U-Uwaaaaaah!”
The survivors bolted toward the bridge crossing the Erme River.
In their panic, logic had failed them; they saw the bridge as their only path forward.
The five lucky souls who hadn't been knocked out yet reached the bridge. At that moment:
『Test 5: Bridge Trap.』
Both ends of the bridge disconnected.
The structure no longer functioned as a bridge, leaving the five men stranded in the middle.
Below them was the Erme River. While the river was narrow here, the water was deep and the current was swift.
“D-Dammit!”
One of the bolder men dove into the water. A second man followed suit.
The remaining three lacked the courage to jump and stood there in a daze until...
“Gih!”
With short gasps, they crumpled. The Shock barrier built into the bridge had done its work.
『Test 6: Direct anti-personnel combat.』
“Phew... I actually made it.”
“Looks like it’s just the two of us.”
“All the women and food belong to us now!”
Rationality had clearly abandoned them. Strong as they might be, two men could never occupy an entire village.
As they stood dripping on the riverbank, two monstrous silhouettes loomed before them.
“『Intruders, surrender immediately and no harm will come to you.』”
The warning fell on deaf ears.
“Shut up!”
With a roar, they lunged at the shadows.
“『Eliminating threats.』”
Land A and Land B moved with fluid precision, throwing the men with techniques resembling judo hip tosses.
“Gyeh.”
“Gweh.”
The two let out sounds like squashed frogs and lost consciousness. They had been dropped on their backs; even without knowing how to take a fall, they would survive.
『All intruders neutralized. Test concluded. Tests 7 through 10 and X will be reserved for another occasion.』
And so, in the silent hour before dawn, the attackers were entirely subdued without a single villager ever knowing they were there.