第２０７掘：蘇る過去は帰り道の邪魔 (Part2)
"...Nn. Riel is right. I haven't heard from Milly yet, so it should still be fine."
Despite Riel and Kaya telling me that, I just couldn't settle down. In fact, everyone present was telling me the same thing.
"At this rate, I wonder what you'll be like when the child is actually born."
"But, this side of Yuki-san is also cool!!"
"Well, let's take some photos and videos."
Jessica and Ria were beaming as they filmed me, but I wasn't in the mood to scold them for it.
Ugh. Lilishe said it would be a safe delivery, but I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, and even on Earth, people could die from complications after birth. I need to cast my recovery magic on her as soon as possible... Calm down, it hasn't even happened yet.
While I fretted and kept watch over the enemy's movements, there ended up being no activity.
『Reporting. The main enemy force appears to have retreated into the dungeon immediately. The Magic Sword users were not sighted. It is likely that their magic could not manifest due to the skill-sealing effect.』
『This is the Supply Raid Team. As planned, we successfully forced nearly half of them into the dungeon and drove the rest back.』
The reports were problem-free. Well, the slime army was set up to seal their skills and melt any equipment used to climb. A few managed to scale the walls through sheer physical ability, but they were kicked back down by the goblins waiting above. The Supply Raid Team also had no issues; they ambushed the units that were lingering and wiped them out in one fell swoop. The units we intentionally left alone would retreat, adding credibility to the report they’d bring back to Enaria.
And then, the long-awaited three hours passed.
"Alright, let's get back to Weed, quickly!! Goblin squads, continue to maintain a rotation for surveillance!!"
"Please state your orders first..."
"I can't help it, Jessica!! I'm worried, I'm just so worried..."
*BOOM!!*
"Huh?"
"That sounds like an explosion."
An explosion occurred about 200 meters behind us, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Waiting for three hours was the right call. As expected of Yuki."
Jessica praised me, but I wasn't happy in the slightest. Still, I couldn't just ignore it, so I decided to go check it out.
*Ugh, seriously!* Why does fate have to get in the way of Seraria and me?!
"God, I will not forgive you."
『I have nothing to do with this, you know!!』
"It's even worse if you're just watching."
『I-It was a coincidence!!』
*Tch.* So she was peeking. While I pondered what kind of retaliation would be most effective, I peered into the blast site. It didn't look like there were any fragments of explosives left behind.
"What is this? It just exploded out of nowhere? Damn it, and I need to hurry to Seraria..."
My frustration spilled out naturally. What was the cause? Can't we just say a gas pocket exploded and call it a day?
"Now, now, calm down, Yuki-san. We have to investigate it for now."
"The influence of spreading magic power to grasp the area... this is the first time something like this has happened."
"Everyone, please stay alert. We don't know what might happen..."
As we all leaned in to look at the crater and talked, a voice echoed from the center of the blast.
"Fear not. You shall die here."
From the smoke emerged a headless knight clad in luxurious armor a size larger than a human's, and it swung its sword.
"Are you the cause of this?! You're in my way, get lost!!"
I crushed the strange, incoming blade with my bare hand and... wait, doesn't this look like a Magic Sword?
Eh, whatever. I abandoned the thought and delivered a punch powerful enough to knock someone unconscious.
"Im... possible."
"Shut up. Stop spouting lines for the loser and just hurry up and collapse."
Since it didn't have a head, I just tapped its shoulder to finish it off.
"Alright, leave this guy to the goblins, we're heading back!!"
"Wow, how pitiful."
The gazes of everyone around me stung, but it couldn't be helped. I had to get back to Seraria even a second sooner!!
"Wait for me, Seraria!!"
I started running, as I didn't even want to spend the time it would take to get into a vehicle.
"Um, Yuki-san? You could just use the ring to return instantly, right?"
"Ah."
It can't be helped. I was in a panic, after all!!
Listen, seriousness is useless in the face of a gag. That has been proven by reality. When someone takes an absurd action, people can't react!!
Still, that Dullahan was about on the same level as the goblin squads led by Steve. Well, it was just unlucky that it appeared in the wrong place.
He’ll probably get to finish his monologue once things have settled down after Seraria’s delivery.