第１３３掘：経過報告 (Part1)
### Dig 133: Progress Report
**Progress Report**
**Side: Yuki**
"Brother. Brother. Can you hear me?"
"Yeah."
I am currently facing a super-dreadnought level problem: how to somehow make Ria mine.
The trouble is, I can’t feel any clear response from her. There is nothing more difficult to deal with than this.
Look, whether it’s dungeon management, city administration, or warfare—all of these results come naturally from the progression of events, or rather, if you are fully prepared, you can pull the results toward you. It doesn't matter what the opponent thinks.
But in Ria’s case, both of us—no, Ria herself must be the one to desire it.
How am I supposed to guess her heart? And even more so, there is no way to make someone truly fall in love with you, rather than just doing it out of obligation!
"Hey, you! Don't you dare ignore my Kiyu when he's talking to you!!"
"Whoa!?"
Covil’s voice snapped me back to reality.
"You send my boyfriend to the battlefield, and then you're all spaced out during the report! It makes me so mad!!"
"Now, now, calm down, Covil."
"Kiyu, it’s no use. You have to tell that brother of yours properly!!"
"It can't be helped, Covil. Brother is in a position where he has to handle countermeasures and command on multiple fronts, and he has the situation with Ria-san on his mind, too."
"But, but—!!"
Before I knew it, my younger brother Kiyu had gotten involved with Covil.
I found out when I gave the order to send Kiyu out to intercept the Ranks forces. Covil, who was with him, had been outraged and attacked me.
I didn't intend to kill her, so I just took a light blow.
That was when I learned about the relationship between the two.
When Kiyu restrained her—or rather, hugged her—she calmed right down.
I could understand the sentiment, and since he’d been training his abilities in the dungeon, I decided to let Covil join the military as Kiyu’s adjutant.
Even if he is a doppelganger of mine, he has his own ego, and he’s bound to fall in love. I have no intention of denying that. In fact, I was happy for him.
Well, I can’t use him as a shadow anymore, so I’ll have to use other doppelgangers in the future.
Besides, Kiyu has already made a name for himself rampaging in Litea. He wouldn't work as my body double anyway.
"It’s okay, Covil. I won’t die from something like this. I will definitely come back to you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I’ve decided to spend my life with you, Covil."
"I can't think of anyone but you, Kiyu!!"
Honestly, it’s annoying.
Is there anything more irritating than watching people be lovey-dovey?
No, regular flirting is fine, but stop with this dramatic dialogue.
"Hey, hey. I get that you two are close, so please, give me the report."
"Geez! Geez!! We were in such a good mood, read the room, Yuki!"
I read the room, which is exactly why I interrupted.
Knowing Covil’s personality, if I pointed that out, the conversation would just drag on, so I held my tongue.
By the way, they apparently *are* doing what couples do. I thought the size difference was too great, but since the Fairy race is composed mostly of magical power, they are apparently quite sturdy.
Of course, cross-breeding with humans is possible. So, being with Kiyu is fine.
Well, that leads to a different gestation period than humans, but that’s irrelevant right now.
"Sorry, Brother. I’ll report again."
"Yeah, go ahead."
"As planned, we deployed our Weed troops at the border of Roschur. We lay in wait for the Ranks forces. As reported earlier, the deployment was completed about an hour ahead of schedule."
"I heard that. So, how did the coordination with Taiki-kun go?"
"Yes, I contacted Taiki-san via call. We agreed that the Hero faction would move ahead of the main body, leaving the royalist faction behind. That made about 4,000 troops our operational target."
Hmm, I see. Even Taiki-kun apparently couldn't bear the thought of dragging his allies into a rain of artillery fire.
A good move, separating the allies from the enemies.
"We confirmed their advance at 0600 today. Since the enemy entered the kill zone, we attacked and succeeded in annihilating them."
"Well, that’s to be expected. If 4,000 people are moving in a single mass rather than being scattered, they’re just targets."
"Exactly. Nowadays, even tanks can predict routes and be hit with pinpoint accuracy, so a mass of 4,000 was just a target. We used 132 mortar rounds for saturation fire. There were no survivors."
"132 rounds? You could have finished it with ten."
"Looking at the results, yes, but we had 30 mortars in the battalion firing simultaneously, so it was only about four rounds each."
"Ah, right."
That makes sense. No way they’d fire 132 rounds from a single tube.
The goal this time was annihilation. If anything, that might have been too few to be certain.
"Anyway, as planned, we will now head into Ranks along with Taiki-san."
"Be careful. Irregularities can happen anywhere."
"Leave it to me!! I won't let anyone lay a finger on Kiyu!!"
"Yeah, Covil. I’m counting on you for that. Kiyu is stubborn, so if you think it’s dangerous, drag him back if you have to. Of course, make sure you come back safely, too. I’d hate for my brother’s wife to die in battle."
"Yeah, I got it. Tee-hee, 'wife.' You officially approve, Brother!!"
You only call me 'Brother' at times like this...
"Don't forget to rendezvous with Prince Teague of Gartz when you pass through. He’s the guarantor of your legitimacy."
"I know. The three countries suppressed by Gartz and Ranks will declare their support for Taiki-san, and we’ll force them to publicly acknowledge Ranks' atrocities, right?"
"Yeah, otherwise it’ll be framed as Taiki-kun going rogue. And it gives the Ranks royals time to escape."
"We will crush them for sure."
"Speaking of Taiki-kun, don't you dare tell him about our problems here. With his personality, he’d want to provide some kind of support."
"True. As you said, we’ll keep it top secret and talk about it after things are settled. If we told him now, we’d probably end up turning back."
"Covil, you especially need to be careful."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"If you spill the beans, your marriage to Kiyu will be postponed indefinitely."
"I won't say a word!!"
I hope Taiki-kun will be alright.
"Kiyu, as planned, whittle down Ranks and Taiki-kun’s enemies as much as possible. But don't push yourself."
"Yes."
"Covil, I’ll say it again: don't you dare push yourself. I really can't laugh if my brother's wife dies in action."
"Yeah, I won't push myself."
"Alright, I’m counting on you."
"Understood."
"Got it."
With that, the report from Kiyu ended, and the call cut off.
"Now, the next problem is Rumel..."
I opened the feed from the scout familiar.
Before my eyes was the Demon King’s army, still struggling to make headway.
And the Rumel army, a mixed force of 30,000 volunteers and regular soldiers, holding them back.
It must be infuriating for the Demon King’s army; they’re being stalled by an opponent one-tenth their size.
They haven't achieved any results in two weeks, and their casualties have reached 100,000 out of 300,000.
In modern times, losing 30% of your committed force means total annihilation.
But in this era, the concept of military strength is different, so I suppose they can't afford to retreat.