“President! I’ve found Instructor Fushio!!”
As soon as I heard Valse-san’s report, I grabbed the telepathic magic tool permitted for emergency contact and shouted in a loud voice.
“!? You’ve done well! The fact that you found him means he’s still alive, right?”
There was a few seconds’ delay in response, but the President reacted immediately.
I thought it was a mistake to contact him without confirming due to the suddenness of the event, but when I glanced at Valse-san, she gave me a thumbs up in response.
“All I can say is that I could sense him, but I don’t know the details. However, since I can sense him, the possibility of him being alive is high.”
It’s strange to use the expression “alive” for an undead instructor, but if there’s a reaction, there’s still hope of saving him.
“I see, no, you’ve done well. Keep him detected without cutting the signal. I’m heading your way immediately.”
“Understood.”
My mood shifted from a relaxed state to a concentrated one, as if I had suddenly entered combat mode.
I unconsciously adjusted the flow and quality of magic power transfer to make it as smooth as possible, and interrupted my dungeon duties temporarily. After the telepathic call ended, I asked Valse-san for details.
“What’s the situation?”
“His power is incredibly weak, not comparable to what I felt before, but he’s smart. He’s continuously emitting his unique magic so that he can be detected. That’s how I found him.”
“So, being alive is confirmed. What about the other circumstances?”
“Unfortunately, all I can tell is the coordinates. It’s more of an indication of direction than actual guidance. I’m currently organizing the search from when he was moving around and trying to find the shortest path.”
However, all I got was spatial coordinate data. I had no idea how he was enduring it or if he had any injuries.
He’s simply surviving by some means.
That’s all I know.
“How long will it take?”
“I don’t know the exact time, but I don’t think it will take three days.”
“Three days?”
That’s another three days to find the shortest route.
I believe the instructor can endure it.
But I’m worried if something fatal might happen during that time.
I don’t know if this time should be considered long or short.
“Can it be shortened?”
“In chaos, there’s no concept of time or distance, so even if we pinpoint the coordinates, we need a special method to measure the physical distance. If you’re okay with approximate information and want to save time, I can do it faster, but?”
“No, haste makes waste. I’m sorry. I was in a hurry. Just do your best and provide accurate information rather than speed.”
“I’m glad you’re a contractor who understands.”
I confirmed if it could be shortened just in case, but as expected, the answer was no.
That’s true.
If it could be shortened, she wouldn’t have given me a three-day limit. Valse-san’s estimates are generally accurate.
If she could do it faster, she would tell me.
As she said, it’s not good to cut corners here and reduce the success rate when we finally challenge it.
I was rushing because I had found the instructor.
I took a deep breath, switched my mindset, and calmed my hasty feelings.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No, if you can provide me with magic power, I can proceed on my own.”
“Understood.”
The only help spirits can offer is providing magic power.
With this feeling, I might make mistakes doing other work.
I thought I should have some coffee to calm down.
I didn’t know how long it would take for the President to arrive, but knowing him, he might drop everything and come.
Considering that possibility, I moved to where the coffee maker was and decided to brew not only for myself but also for the President. Then,
“Ah, one of each, milk and sugar, please.”
I heard a voice behind me without sensing any presence.
Even though I’ve gained enough strength to beat the instructor, I still can’t match the President.
Without a word, I made coffee according to the order and handed it to him.
“You’re here surprisingly fast.”
“Yeah, I came in super express.”
As I took my black coffee and turned around, I saw the President sipping his coffee with a smile.
“You haven’t caused any trouble for Evia, have you?”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. I wouldn’t burden her, a pregnant woman, at this point.”
“Instead, I expect Lunaria is busy?”
“Hahaha! Isn’t reading the room as an adult about not mentioning that?”
The President, who was busy, and I had a casual conversation, like drinking canned coffee in front of a vending machine with colleagues.
The President, smiling, drank the coffee, which he was particular about the beans, with delight.
“Besides, I’ve explained the situation. I’ll turn a blind eye this time.”
“Is that so?”
“So, shall we discuss the detailed situation? It’s getting difficult to restrain the nobles who want to dismantle the Undead King’s army. Moreover, deserters are starting to emerge from the Undead King’s army. They’re so noisy about not dividing the territory for a general who’s no longer here.”
However, with that gentle smile, the President spoke of the harsh realities of the world.
Greedy nobles seem to be starting to exploit the situation, taking advantage of the instructor’s absence.
Should I call it looting in the midst of a crisis?
The instructor’s territory is mainly occupied by the undead army.
Therefore, there is an abundance of labor that does not feel fatigue or stress, and does not need to eat or drink.
So, the abundant food-producing areas that can work on farms 24 hours a day without rest are listed as special products that leverage this.
Many nobles desire this.
Some people, who displease the nobles, say that the food made by the undead is dirty. But they are a minority.
Think calmly.
If they were flesh-possessing species like zombies or ghouls, it would be understandable, but with skeleton soldiers, who are just bones, there’s no dirt or anything.
In fact, the main force of the undead army is bones.
The proportion of bones is high, about seventy percent bones and thirty percent other.
Moreover, precisely because they are undead, they will diligently respond to farm work that is tough, dirty, and dangerous.
In a sense, they are ideal labor.
The drawback is that their intelligence drops dramatically compared to when they were alive, so lower to middle-ranking undead can only be assigned simple tasks.
However, they are obedient to orders and show considerable success during harvest and cultivation.
That’s why those who desire them are endless.
And there are many who treat them as consumables precisely because they are undead.
Undead also have human rights, and the instructor, who had the authority, protected them, so it was fine until now, but that balance is about to collapse.
The President is concerned about this.
“What’s the deadline?”
“Much like Nōraifu, you can say there isn’t much time. Even now, they are continuously recruiting through various means, both openly and covertly. If it completely collapses once, even I will have difficulty stopping it.”
I thought it was typical of the President to say “difficult” instead of “impossible,” but the situation seemed worse than I imagined.
“Well, it’s better because you and Raidou are hinting at our involvement, so they can’t do it openly.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
However, the current situation is only manageable because of the feints from me and Instructor Kio.
Interests are truly important, but why is it?
Does it only seem like a family inheritance dispute to me, who is strict about money?
“However, finding the instructor is one thing, but if there’s no way to save him?”
Moreover, there’s a shortage of time everywhere.
Negotiations are on the verge of war, Instructor Fushio is in dire straits, and his territory is on the verge of collapse.
How many dire situations are on the verge of crisis?
If there was a sure-fire way to win, I’d like to be taught that wisdom immediately.
As someone unfamiliar with chaos, if there’s a way to accompany him, it would probably be to search for materials from the Sage’s Library that Amelia has.
Of course, I’ve already requested her to do so.
However, it seems Isal has no information about chaos.
After all, they only have a vague understanding of chaos as being like the darkness of the Demon Lord’s Army, and only holy weapons like holy swords or divine swords can dispel it, or something along those lines.
“Regarding that, there is a way.”
This Demon Lord’s Army has magic swords, but no holy swords.
Or rather, to be precise, my honest feeling is that I don’t want to use weapons that consume human souls.
However, if the limit for several concerns to become reality is running out, it’s quite a bad situation. I started to think if I should ignore my feelings and compromise, when the President said there was one method.
“That is…”
“Yes, Jiro-, could I borrow your wife’s power for a moment?”
“Eh? My wife, you mean…”
When he said that something was related to my wives, I tilted my head.
Hmm, borrowing my wives’ power.
Evia doesn’t need my permission.
Suella and Keiri too.
Those three are still affiliated with the Demon Lord’s Army, so they can be commanded as subordinates.
However, he’s asking for my permission.
That means it’s not those three.
Then it must be Memoria or Himik.
“Himik?”
“Yes, that’s right. Among our prisoners, there are several seraphs, but Himik is the only one I can ask for assistance.”
“I considered your subordinates, Kaido-kun’s twin angels, but their position is delicate. Frankly, I still don’t trust them.”
Just now, I was thinking about holy swords and divine swords.
The logic that holy power can cut through chaos means that a holy being like an angel should be able to dive into chaos.
“You trust Himik?”
I don’t want my wife to be involved in a dangerous situation.
Even if it’s to rescue our mentor, the instructor.
I can stake my own life, but I can’t stake the lives of my precious wives.
My eyes narrowed, and my fighting spirit leaked out.
“Whoa, don’t misunderstand. I’m not asking you to entrust the rescue of your precious person, who is in danger.”
“Then, what do you mean?”
“It’s not wrong to say I want to borrow the power of an angel, but this involves state secrets in a way. If possible, I want to keep the number of people who know to a minimum.”
The President said, with a wry smile, to calm down in response to my attitude.
I was admonished by his words and suppressed my fighting spirit for now, but I wasn’t letting my guard down.
“And to answer your previous question, regarding your wife, I will answer ‘Yes.’ I have a good eye for people, after all. Otherwise, I couldn’t have become the Demon Lord. The difference between your wife and the twin angels is simply how well they’ve assimilated.”
“Assimilated?”
“Ah, as long as Kaido-kun is in the Demon Lord’s Army, they won’t be hostile. However, they won’t be allies either, maintaining a twilight position. That means we don’t know how they will behave if Kaido-kun, the wedge, disappears.”
“Is Himik different?”
To say the least, if something happens to Kaido, it’s the same for me.
If something happens to me, Himik might leave too.
“I don’t think that’s a concern.”
“May I ask why?”
“Ah, it’s reached my ears that she’s now a regular at the shopping street. At first, it seemed awkward, but now she’s become an acquaintance as a regular. It’s quite difficult to doubt her when she’s assimilated so well.”
However, it felt both embarrassing and happy to have the President answer my doubts with a laugh.
Today’s word:
Casual things can lead to miracles.
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Pandora Pandemic Panic – Pandora’s Box Has Been Opened Again, But We’re Fighting Back with Various Things at Our Secret Base!!
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