"It's finished..."
"It's over..."
"It's over..."
"it's finished……"
After completing a tense and big job, Mile and her companions felt a little exhausted.
"With this, the combined forces facing the monsters in the east will be able to focus on annihilating them without retreating midway. Now, all that's left is for the people holed up in the fortress city to do their best and hold out until the joint forces arrive..." (Mile)
"So maybe we can avoid causing any major damage. But in order to do that..." (Mavis)
Reina finished what Mile and Mavis had said.
"So, it's necessary that we defeat the majority of the high-ranking monsters, right...?" (Reina)
"Well then, shall we continue now? Let's practice long-term combat with more powerful magic!" (Pauline)
And everyone responded to Pauline's words.
"Ohhh!!" (Other 3)
"...finally, it's tomorrow, isn't it..."
"Tomorrow, right...?"
"That's tomorrow, isn't it...?"
"Tomorrow..."
The four members of the Crimson Vow were sitting on the beds at the inn and having a leisurely conversation like this.
That aerial footage was broadcast across the entire continent. Since then, things had progressed rapidly, and although the joint forces that had been facing off against the hordes of monsters in eastern Aubram Kingdom had defeated most of them after days of fighting, the damage was immense. Leaving the monsters below C-rank that had been missed in the hands of the Aubram Kingdom forces, local mercenaries, and hunters, the forces managed to regroup and head towards Albarn Empire, but their progress was so slow that it looked like they would not be able to make it in time for the monsters appearing in the empire. If the people holed up in the fortress city could somehow buy themselves some time, it would be possible for them to be rescued in time.
And just as planned, the Crimson Vow arrived at the deserted small town of Krotto on a hill and was allowed to stay at an inn where there was a sign at the entrance that read, "Welcome Crimson Vow party. Please feel free to use the rooms, food, etc. as you wish. Everything is free of charge."
They trained every day during the day. They continued to practice in order to get used to the increased magical power that came with increased authority levels, and to conserve their magical power and stamina as much as possible so that they could endure long battles. Mile had also developed a sort of liquid diet to help them replenish hydration and nutrients while fighting.
And those days had passed, and the next day was finally the day that the Nanomachines predicted would be the "Day the dimensional rift would open." The passage to Hell would open before noon of the next day...
"Well, all things considered, it was a fun life as a hunter, right?" (Reina)
"Yeah. Thanks to Mile, we never had any problems with food, baths, or toilets, right?" (Mavis)
"Far from being inconvenient, this is a standard of living that exceeds that of nobles and royalty! If Mile-chan opens an inn, she'll be able to earn one gold coin per night!" (Pauline)
Saying this, Reina, Mavis, and Pauline laughed.
"To be appointed as a Holy Knight by the god Angel-sama, let alone a knight appointed by His Majesty the King, is probably the first person in the world to have had such an honor... Moreover, our first mission is to fight hordes of monsters from another world in order to protect the world, it's like something out of a heroic tale from some myth. This is truly the dream and aspiration of every knight in the world! It will surely become a legend and be remembered for generations to come. I never thought I would be blessed with such good fortune... Thank you, Mile. I appreciate it!" (Mavis)
"...I, too, was living a life filled with resentment and hatred, but because of you I've become such a spoiled brat! You'll have to take responsibility!" (Reina)
"My mother and younger brother were rescued, and I even managed to take back the store that my father left behind... And, raising the funds to set up my trading company went better than I expected... So I won't let you get away, Mile-chan!" (Pauline)
"...Ahaha.... Ahaha...." (Mile)
For the past few days, they had been training during the day and sitting on bed at night, talking about the fun times, the sad times, the hard times, the people they had met here and there, laughing and reminiscing, but this night would be the last time. None of them had any intention of dying, but still, there was nothing they could do about the sheer difference in numbers. And it was almost certain that Mile would not retreat until she had defeated the majority of the monsters above B-rank.
...Why? That's because she's Mile. And Mavis was probably in the same boat. So, both Reina and Pauline went along with it. There's nothing strange about this. They were comrades bound by soul, Crimson Vow, and their friendship was eternal...
"It's about time to go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow..."
And so, the final night comes to an end...
[Morning~! Morning~! Morning~!] (Nano)
(Oh, good morning, Nano-chan. Thank you as always!) (Mile)
As her authority level increased, Mile started using Nanomachines as an alarm clock. Well, she had used it that way before, but not every day.
"Hmm... morning, huh..."
Perhaps because Mile started to stir, the other three seemed to wake up as well. The sun hadn't risen yet and it's still dark, but since they went to bed early last night, no one seemed sleepy.
"Here you are" (Mile)
"Th-Thanks..."
The four of them sat on the bed and had a simple meal of hot tea and sandwiches that Mile had taken out of her item box. Generally, it was a fool's tactic to have too much food in your stomach before a fight. It would slow down your movements, reduced your chances of survival if stabbed in the stomach, and so on. However, today was a test of endurance. Being full was out of the question, but they decided it would be better to eat a little.
Afterwards, they tidied up in the toilet and bathroom on the second floor that Mile and her companions used, then stored everything except the clothes, armor, weapons and items they were wearing... Micros, energy drinks, etc... into Mile's item box, and were ready to go.
"...Okay? Well then, let's go. Hunter party Crimson Vow, sortie!" (Reina)
"Ohhh!!" (Other 3)
...Reina was in command until the very end. And Mavis had already accepted it as normal...
Author's Note
My summer vacation, during which I was able to concentrate on working on publishing my book, is over!
Updates have resumed. (^^)/
As I previously reported, the browser game "Angelic Link" (abbreviated as "Enkuri"), for which I was in charge of world view supervision and side story, has finally had its official release date decided!
August 19th, which means this Thursday!!
Thank you very much. (^^)/