Sword, Magic and Academic Society

Vol. 1 - Chapter 181 - Rustling Hearts

The border zone where the boundaries of the Yuglia Kingdom and Rosemieur Empire mashed together was wrapped in a tense atmosphere.

It was after the Empire learned about the Hellrowcast mutation outbreak in the Yabure Barony — a region in Marquis Grauksh’s territory that directly shared a border with the Empire — that they decided to concentrate their army near the border region under the pretext of an 'unforeseen situation.’

Since their army would have to march by the border region to gather their forces against the Hellrowcast outbreak, Yuglia had to notify the respective nations sharing a border with the affected territory.

It was equivalent to showing one's wound to the enemy, though it was impossible to move such a large army in secrecy in this war of extermination otherwise. The centralization of such a huge army at the border without prior notification would undoubtedly be taken as a sign of war.

The Empire suggested providing Ice Mages as well as the necessary magic tools from the nearby region via diplomatic channels, but the Kingdom turned down the offer.

They might have accepted it under any other circumstance, but with the border region being little more than a countryside, improving the number and quality of the said region would only do more harm than good. Past precedent had taught them that a hatched swarm of Hellrowcast would often move in the direction of warmer climates and resource-laden regions.

It could also be that the said mages could turn out to be spies. It would be a disaster if they hastened the hatching instead and caused damage to the Kingdom.

But that said, after the Kingdom's foundation was weakened, the situation could also have unfathomable risks even for the Empire. So while their sabotage might be unlikely, the Kingdom had too much to lose to wager on this gamble.

Seeing as how they were embroiled in a crisis, the Empire probably didn't expect Yuglia to accept their offer either. But none of it mattered to them as all they sought was an excuse to station their army near the border. They could always say 'We tried to aid them for a humane cause, but Yuglia turned us down’.

The Kingdom tried to protest against their behavior, but as it could be guessed, with the real motive being obscured by an 'official cause', any words were as good as harping to a pig. Above all, the Kingdom believed it wouldn't be surprising if they breached the border for an impromptu reason once they learned that the Hellrowcast swarm had started to move to the south, the heart of the Kingdom.

Veiling themselves with a righteous reason, the air ran thick with tension more than ever.

???

"Huh? We won't be joining the action site?"

It was after we had breakfast — which was just a simple ham and cheese sandwich — at the inn that I asked about our next action plan while sipping on post-meal coffee, but then Cass-san informed us we wouldn't be joining the others.

"Oh, and Allen, you too are under the care of the Second Legion along with Dan right now. So as for helping out, no, that isn't your task. If anything, there's already enough Ice Mages and other personnel there helping out, so we're not really needed there."

Cass-san mentioned the main reason, but then his expression shifted to a solemn one.

"And according to our information, the Rosemeiur Empire is in the middle of converging their army at the border under the pretext of 'Promptly dealing with unforeseen circumstances.' The situation can change at the flip of a coin. The Kingdom's first priority is to keep the future generation from being engulfed in the flames of war, and we may truly have a situation if the Empire learned that Allen Rovenne is frolicking around the border region. They would rather nip you in the bud before you could blossom, and become an eyesore for them.

We're still far from the border, and although we've set up alert lines including the routes from the sea, a fishing port like this isn't exactly secure. So you're going to come with us to the Second Legion’s military port 30 km south. Once Aldol Engraver joins us after they finish processing the eggs, he, along with the other mages, will take the land route to arrive at our location. We’ll then depart for the Royal Capital via ship. Glover-san will be staying behind to command the navy."

......I see, so they feared that the hatching site would be engulfed in a war.

Well, my winning style was certainly a bit… immodest in the Rising Star Cup match, but I doubt a major power like the Empire would be fuming mad about it enough to want my blood at all costs. But the battlefield was also an unpredictable place where anything could happen.

I wanted to satisfy my curiosity by checking out the Hellrowcast's mutation as an explorer, but it would be tactless of me to waltz into the site nonchalantly.

"30 km south means... the Roma Port near the Shalom lake, right? Alright."

As it was near his hometown, Dan showed an understanding expression.

"Hmm, have you visited there, Dan? What kind of place is it?"

"Ah, the port is just north of the Corrida Strait that we visited during our summer vacation for Deareise fish. The port holds strategic importance for the Kingdom, and the harbor is cluttered with a staggering number of military ships. It's an impactful sight.

This season is also the time for the Blue Flamingos to gather at Shalom Lake, making it a popular scenic spot. I also once came to see them along with Gramps and Mother."

A nostalgic look came to Dan's face as he wistfully answered my question.

Blue Flamingos, huh? I remember reading about them. They were wild birds with peculiar, peacock-blue feathers. Even among birds, they had quite distinctive ecological habits. During mating season, their partner selection was often influenced by the profoundness of their blue sheen, and they grew up sucking on a milk secretion called Flamingo Milk.

They were omnivorous by nature, and there had been cases of the birds growing mana stone, turning them into monsters. Otherwise, they didn't harm humans that much.

As migratory birds, they would travel around based on the season, and by virtue of their beauty, they were considered one of the three extraordinarily beautiful birds of the Kingdom.

Ever since I read about them in the Canardia Monster Encyclopedia, I made a mental note to see them at least once. Coco, too, shared the same dream.

"......Well, now that we’re free until Al comes back, you should guide us, Dan."

I requested Dan and giggled to myself, imagining the frustrated expression Coco would have when I bragged about this to him.

???

Al returned to the site after three hours of napping and a meal.

Hugo confirmed his arrival and sorted out the overall data.

Up to this point, Caprine had disposed of 15,000 eggs, Magic Researcher Ruruce from the Royal Capital had a headcount of 12,000, and Al had taken out 10,000 eggs.

For the rest of the staff, Conpe, a Magic Knight from the Knight Order, had taken out 8,000, Shagora, a B-rank explorer from the Dosperior region, disposed of 5,000, while 3,000 were destroyed by the rest of the mages and magical tools.

It was a rough approximation, but overall, they had disposed of at least 80,000 eggs out of 400,000. It was a tide in their favor. A single egg gave birth to approximately 100 Hellrowcasts, and considering that their initial guess was 40 million of them, eliminating 800,000 Hellrowcasts was a boon for them.

2/3rd of the first day had come to pass, and the hatching was guessed to start in 36 hours at the very least.

Maintaining their current pace should allow them to dispose of more than half of the eggs before time ran out.

However, the second phase was far from such an ideal scenario. Everyone started in their tip-top state, but after 16 hours of work, they would have to act carefully from now on while keeping an eye on their mana, thus significantly slowing their pace down.

The many unfavorable factors would even bring down Al's pace despite him being capable of mana compression, much less the others. Plus, the magical tools they brought from the Royal Capital and the Dosperior region had also been used up.

By including the other mages and magical tools that they were planning to bring in from the nearby regions, Hugo estimated that the overall disposable of the eggs would reach——

"Roughly... 20 million, huh?"

Hugo murmured out loud, and Ravel, his aide, nodded in affirmation from the side.

"......Sure enough, we can only do this much due to the support from the Royal Capital. At least we now have a better chance of controlling their reproduction after their hatching. If fortune favors us, the hatching might be delayed by one more day as well. We can then make quick work of the remaining Hellrowcast...... Ahaha, if only, eh?"

“It would be perfect if that did happen...... But I doubt we’ll have such fortune. We need to keep ourselves alert for the worst situation. Seriously, this mission really has no breaks for me, goddamn."

While his heart was hoping for a fortunate situation to happen, the reality of the situation that he could only watch from afar had Hugo annoyed. He shifted his gaze at the horizon in the direction of the border the Kingdom shared with the Rosemieur Empire— the sole factor that made him swallow this bowl of irritation quietly.

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