Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 6 (26 page)

The outer wall stood an impressive ten meders high, even higher in the areas where the towers once stood. The wall itself was more than thick enough to withstand the strongest of attacks—perhaps with the exception of a powerful blast of magical energy. Even top-class adventurers would have difficulty cracking it. The castle was located in an open area and very easy to attack. This wall was the main reason it had lasted so long.

“Get some clay over here. Reinforce everything that’s fixable.”

Night had already fallen, the moon shining brightly overhead.
Apollo Familia
was hard at work making their final preparations for the War Game that would begin in a few short hours.

One hundred ten of them had arrived three days ago and had been working around the clock to make sure the castle was ready. That was almost all of their
Familia
. Working in groups, they had made repairs to the castle itself as well as set up hidden stores of spare weapons and items in various places inside the structure.

“Humph, pointless…Why bother?”

The fortress’s main tower stood above the wreckage of the other towers in the very middle of the castle. Hyacinthus watched the other members of his
Familia
work from the top floor.

The time limit for the Castle Siege War Game had been set at three days.
Apollo Familia
would win if either he was alive after that time or if the enemy general—without a doubt, Bell Cranell—was defeated in combat.

It was their role as the defender to make sure the castle was ready, but it was obvious that they could win without all this fuss. Hyacinthus had heard that the enemy ranks had increased as of late, but they would face no more than five combatants. What point was there in having more than one hundred warriors repair a castle when they could crush their enemy outright in a head-to-head battle?

“Lord Apollo, why? Why a castle siege…?”

Hyacinthus was very confident that he could win without all of these favorable conditions. Did his god not trust him and the rest of the
Familia
? The man was feeling underappreciated, as though Apollo had forgotten what he was capable of.

The disgruntled man walked away from the window and took a seat on the throne at the back of the room. The throne itself had been there when
Apollo Familia
first arrived, but they had made a few modifications. Very comfortable, the back of the ornate chair was an enlarged version of the
Familia
emblem, a burning sun with a bow and arrow. The rest of the room was decorated with artwork and had been cleaned spotless because Hyacinthus had ordered everyone under his command to make the space pleasing to the eye.

Leaning back on his throne, Hyacinthus begrudgingly laughed through his nose.

“What a boring game…”

“—Yeah, Hyacinthus would say something like that…”

The short-haired woman, Daphne, grumbled to herself as she looked up at the throne room from her post on top of the solid castle wall.

Rakia had made a few strange modifications when they occupied the castle. Their god must have really enjoyed showing off because the main tower had many complex designs built onto its surface. It had a luxurious feel to it despite being the castle’s last line of defense. Seeing her own
Familia
’s emblem attached to the top of the main tower made her want to laugh out of sheer absurdity. That hunk of metal was so big it could probably be seen from Orario.

Daphne sighed to herself and continued with her own assignment. It was her job to motivate the other members to hurry up with the wall repairs. The hard part was that most of them shared Hyacinthus’s opinion of the upcoming battle and couldn’t wait to watch it unfold. Despite having more than one hundred workers under her command, making sure that there were no weak points in any of the walls of the castle had been frustrating beyond belief.

Also,
Ganesha Familia
had arrived at Shreme a few days before Daphne and the rest of
Apollo Familia
in order to clear out the group of thieves and marauders that had been living in the castle. Since they’d been ordered not to damage the castle in any way before the War Game, the eviction had been carried out by digging holes under the wall and catching the squatters by surprise. They’d captured every single one of the criminals in less than a day. Daphne made sure that they filled in the holes before returning to Orario.

“Daph…”

“Cassandra?”

Magic-stone lamps lit up the top of the wall in place of the torches of old. Cassandra approached Daphne, nervously calling out to her.

She came to a stop in front of one of the lamps, only half of her face illuminated in the light. She embraced her own trembling body with both arms as if she were afraid it would fall apart.

“It’s no good…We need to get far away from here.”

“Huh?”

“The castle, the castle will fall…”

Daphne’s expression turned to annoyance as she listened to the nonsense coming out of Cassandra’s mouth.

“Another dream? You know it’s too late to do that now. Get it together.”

“Please, please, Daph, believe me…!”

Cassandra desperately begged her friend to take her prophetic dream seriously even though there was no way it could come to pass.

Daphne ignored her and continued inspecting the wall, but Cassandra was much more persistent than usual. The long-haired girl’s shoulders slumped as if she were debating whether or not to keep trying, before freezing on the spot.

Surprised by the sudden silence, Daphne turned around to face her. Cassandra’s face was pale and gaunt as if she were moments away from death, eyes transfixed on a spot below them.

“No, we can’t let it in. There’s still time; it mustn’t come inside…”

A small line of horse-drawn carts carrying the last of their supplies was approaching the wall just outside the gate. The girl watched, horrified, as the gate opened.

“Heey! Wait up, will you?!”

Luan yelled at the top of his lungs, chasing the last cart as he watched the castle gate start to close.

The driver of the last cart ordered his horse to gallop to cover the distance, forcing the prum into an all-out sprint just to make it inside the gate before it shut completely. A dull thud sounded a moment after he slid between the massive iron blocks.

“Why, why would you shut it when I’m
still out there?
” the small prum man asked in a pathetic, panting voice to the exceptionally large animal person standing at the gate controls.

The large man just laughed. “Hee-hee, so you were there, Luan. You’re so tiny! Couldn’t see you at all.”

The lower-class adventurer known as Luan Espel looked much younger than his age, almost like a child. Other members of
Apollo Familia
treated him like the bottom of the barrel because of the combination of his rank and his appearance. That was why he’d been assigned to bring supplies to the castle at this late hour.

Prums were often discriminated against because of their short size and unintimidating presence. “Come on,” he retorted as other members of the
Familia
joined in the laughter.

“…Quite a large shipment you brought in.”

“Three days’ worth of weapons and rations. Best to be ready, you know?”

The animal person laughed again, saying that he was being a little too careful considering their opponent. The large man didn’t even look at Luan as he started to inspect the shipment.

In moments, other members of the
Familia
were unloading box after box from the carts and taking them to the castle’s already well-stocked storage rooms.

“Aaah…”

Cassandra watched it all unfold from her spot on top of the wall.

Daphne had never seen her friend like this. Although she felt something was wrong with the girl, Daphne turned to leave.

“Wake up, we have work to do!”

Cassandra watched Daphne’s back pass in and out of the light of the magic-stone lamps. She took a deep breath and let out a long, heavy sigh.

Then she whispered in a shaking voice like a prophet who’d seen the end of the world.

“It’s too late…The Trojan horse is inside the wall.”

“What took you?”

“Sorry.”

“Are your preparations in order?”

“Yes. My goddess upgraded my Status already.”

“Great. Now, here’s the knife I promised you. The cutting edge is way better than the first one, I guarantee it.”

“Thanks.”

“Sir Welf…What about
those
?”

“Ready and waiting. Didn’t have much time, so I could only finish two.”

“…Um, Welf, are you sure this is all right?”

“Yeah…I’ve stopped compromising allies for pride.”

“?”

“Never mind…Yo, you can take these now. But I warn you, they were very rushed so I’m not sure about their full power or how long they’ll last. Don’t waste them.”

“Understood.”

“Well, then…Everything is going according to Lady Hestia’s plan.”

“Yep. And tomorrow—we take down the castle.”

“Yes…Let’s win this.”

Several voices went unheard under the cover of night.

War Game versus
Apollo Familia
. Classification—Castle Siege.

Victory condition: defeat the enemy general.

The long night was almost over.

The city was bustling.

The War Game everyone had been waiting for was finally here. There was an atmosphere of energy and passion not normally seen within the city wall.

Every bar opened early; workers at restaurants and food stands stood ready for the incoming onslaught. The reason this game had received so much attention was due to a few gods demanding that posters be hung all around the city as advertisement. These deities wanted as big of an audience as possible to build tension. The posters themselves were dominated by
Apollo Familia
’s burning sun and bow emblem. Since
Hestia Familia
didn’t have any kind of symbol, a white rabbit had been painted into the corner.

Almost no adventurers even considered prowling the Dungeon on a day like today. Instead, they were jam-packed into their favorite bars with even more adventurers coming in every moment. As for the workers and citizens who managed to get the day off, they made their way to Central Park. Not a single one could contain their anticipation as they waited with bated breath for the opening bell.

“Test—test, one…two…Ahem. Gooood morning and good day! I’ll be providing blow-by-blow analysis of today’s events, the chattering fireball himself,
Ganesha Familia
’s Ibly Archer! Some of you may already know me as the Fire Inferno Flame. Remember that name!”

A temporary stage had been built in the front garden of the Guild headquarters. A dark-skinned man claiming to be a commentator for the War Game stood at the front of it with a magic-stone voice magnifier clutched in his hand. A large crowd had already gathered in front of him.

“Joining me today to add his own insights into the festivities is none other than Lord Ganesha himself. Lord Ganesha, a word, please!”

“—I am Ganesha!”

“Yes, thank you very much for that!”

A god wearing a large elephant mask climbed up to the stage at Ibly’s prompt and struck a pose as he yelled at the top of his lungs. The god received a round of applause.

The Guild had worked with the merchants to turn this match into a holiday of sorts. Many people from other cities around the world would come to Orario to watch the battle, meaning more customers for the merchants. At the same time, the Guild used this opportunity to advertise Orario’s image and draw more adventurers into the city.

But, of course, no one was looking forward to the War Game more than the gods.

“Woah, they’re livin’ it up out there!” said Loki with her face plastered to the window, looking down at the crowds.

Many deities had gathered on the thirtieth floor of Babel Tower. All of them were on the edge of their seats, overflowing with excitement. Hestia and Apollo, the two gods at “war” in this battle, were among them.

The ones not present in Babel Tower had chosen to watch the game in the bars among the people or with their followers from the comfort of their own homes.

“Lord Hermes…are you certain I am allowed here?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. The only ones who would care aren’t here anyway.”

One very uncomfortable mortal woman was among the gods and goddesses inside the wide confines of the thirtieth floor. But Hermes laughed off Asfi’s concern. She tried her best to make herself as small as possible as Hermes reached inside the front of his shirt.

“…Should be about time.”

The damaged pocket watch he withdrew showed three minutes until noon.

Hermes lifted his chin toward the ceiling and took a deep breath.

“Well then, Uranus, we need your permission to use our ‘power.’”

Hermes’s powerful words echoed around the chamber. They were answered a moment later.

“—Granted.”

The response spread throughout the city, the heavy syllables heard everywhere from the Guild headquarters to the bars to the crowd gathered in Central Park.

Deities all around Orario cracked their knuckles and set to work.

“
^__________
!”

Mortals far and wide gasped in amazement as hundreds of “windows” appeared all over the city.

The gods were only allowed to use one specific type of Arcanum—the “Divine Mirror.” Any god or goddess could use their power of clairvoyance to show what was happening at a different location at any time. It went without saying that it was to increase their enjoyment of life on Gekai.

This way, every deity in Orario could watch the War Game alongside their children, even though the battle would take place far from the city.

“Now that the mirrors are in place, I’ll set the stage once again! Today’s War Game is a Castle Siege battle between
Hestia Familia
and
Apollo Familia
! Both factions’ combatants are already in place and waiting for the signal to begin!”

Magic “windows” of various sizes filled the bars, the Guild’s front garden, and Central Park. Each of the circles hovered in midair, showing different angles of the castle,
Apollo Familia
’s oversize emblem, and the surrounding prairie. A roar of excitement erupted from the crowd as Ibly raised the voice enhancer back to his lips and started giving background information.

“All bets in—?! Won’t accept any once things get under way!”

Ibly’s voice echoed through all the bars in the city. The owner of one such establishment raised his voice to cut through the din of his patrons as well as the commentary. Merchants and adventurers alike were laying odds and making bets on the outcome of the War Game between
Hestia Familia
and
Apollo Familia
. Their favorite ale in one hand and large amounts of money in the other, the patrons made their bets and took their seats in front of one of the many “windows.”

“Team Apollo and Team Hestia, outnumbered almost twenty-five-to-one…”

“But the odds are twenty-to-one in
Apollo Familia
’s favor…Lower than I thought it’d be. What idiot bet on the little guys?”

Two adventurers sitting side by side at the table looked over the information they were given at the betting counter. Team Apollo was the overwhelming favorite and betting on them should be the smart thing to do, and yet there were some who had put money on Team Hestia.

“Gotta be those deities over there…”

Gods and goddesses were known for going after the jackpot rather than making safe bets. The two adventurers looked at three in particular with blank stares as the deities became more and more enthralled with the mirror in front of them. “Uahh!” “It’s time, it’s time!” “Come on, lucky rabbit!” Tickets in hand, all three were shaking with anticipation and praying with all their might.

Meanwhile, at another bar…

“What’s this? Borin’ as hell if everyone bets on Apollo…”

Another bookie looked around the bar, a bit disappointed. At that moment, a human adventurer walked up to the grumbling dwarf and set down a large bag of coins on the counter.

“—one hundred thousand on the rabbit!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

“Are you serious? Hit your head or something, Mord?!”

“Anyone else willin’ to ride
Hestia Familia
’s luck? Aha-ha-ha!”

The excitement level in the bar doubled as the tough-looking human placed his bet. The man smirked at his companions’ looks of disbelief—for he had once attacked Bell with seething hatred on the eighteenth floor of the Dungeon. Mord sat down on the nearest chair, folded his arms, and thrust his chin forward with unwavering confidence.

Every corner of the city had been whipped into a frenzy. Their furor would boil over at this rate.

“I hope you’ve said your last good-byes to Bell Cranell?”

“…”

High above the whirlwind of tension and street level, Apollo approached Hestia inside Babel Tower.

The god’s hair had been perfectly set for the occasion. He approached Hestia’s seat with a smug grin plastered on his lips. Hestia didn’t respond, only turned her back to him with her eyes glued on her own personal mirror.

“My, my,” said Apollo with a shrug. He started back to his own chair, calm and extremely self-assured.

“We are just seconds from noon!”

The commentator’s voice filled the thirtieth floor.

Waves of cheers ran through the garden in front of the Guild headquarters.

“Here we go…”

“Yes…”

Eina and Misha talked quietly as both girls watched the large Divine Mirror floating behind the stage.

The eyes of adventurers, bar owners and staff, merchants, and gods all focused on the images inside of those “windows.”

And then…

“The War Game—has begun!”

Loud, deep bells rang out to signal the start of the battle.

At that moment, inside the castle ruins…

The ringing of the bells that signaled the start of the War Game wafted through the windows from afar.

Compared to the thrilling atmosphere in Orario, the battlefield itself was underwhelming.

Since this was a castle siege, the time limit had been set at three days. The vast majority of
Apollo Familia
believed that their opponent’s strategy would be to wait until the last day when their concentration would be lowest because they didn’t have the numbers to attack the castle head-on. As long as they kept their eye out for any probing attacks, they should be fine right where they were.

The mood inside the castle walls was relaxed.

“Hey, Luan. Go take a lookout post.”

“Wha……Why do I have to?!”

Luan the prum’s superior ordered him to leave the meticulously cleaned and decorated inner sanctum. “You’ve got good eyesight, right? Since you can’t fight, go do some laps around the wall like you did yesterday. Might as well be useful while you can.”

The castle itself was deceptively wide, big enough that one hundred people would have difficulty maintaining a constant visual around its entire circumference. They would always be shorthanded somewhere. Luan didn’t want to leave the comfort of the inner castle, but he begrudgingly obeyed the order.

He could hear the others laughing at him as he closed the door to the chamber and climbed the stairwell leading to the top of the wall.

“Hey, Luan. What are you doing here?”

“…Looking out.”

Two archers on patrol spotted him immediately when the prum emerged on the north edge of the wall. The two chuckled to themselves as soon as they heard those two words, knowing exactly what had happened. Luan turned his back on the two of them and looked out at the northern plains.

There was almost nothing out there. Sure, there was a random tree or boulder here and there, but no place for anyone to hide. The grasslands spread out from the north and out to the east. A river ran past the castle to the south and the edge of a forest was visible to the west. A gust of wind passed through the prum’s hair as he narrowed his eyes toward the north, when he heard voices coming from behind.

“Magic is really the only threat.”

“What’re you worried about? This big guy’s got a few presents for anyone who shows up.”

An animal person stroked his longbow and bared his fangs in a long grin, completely brushing off the other archer’s warning.

The power and range of all Magic was determined by the length of its trigger spell. The defensive wall was so thick and sturdy that only a really powerful type of Magic would have any hope of doing damage, let alone cracking it. Magic with a long trigger spell would be the enemy’s only option.

Any mage who wandered within range of their bows would be greeted by a rain of arrows long before they could finish reciting their trigger spell. The animal person wasn’t worried in the slightest.

“Keh,” coughed Luan in disgust, knowing that the two of them had everything covered. He had been given a pointless errand.

It was then—

The prum’s eyes caught something moving in the distance.

Someone walking through the grassland to the north straight toward the wall…A vaguely human figure completely covered by a cloak.

“H-hey!”

“What’s that…?”

It was very strange attire for anyone to be wearing. Most likely, the person had a hooded cape on underneath a long cloak that hid everything above the ankle. The archers took notice of the hooded figure as well.

There was no doubt it was an enemy. However, the enemy warrior was alone and not casting a spell. The hooded figure was walking slowly but surely in their direction. Luan’s eyes opened in fright at the mysterious warrior’s aura of calm, which smoldered like hot coals buried under ash. The breeze made the figure’s cloak sway, the flapping sounds reaching the sentry’s ears.

All three of them stood, watching the figure come within one hundred meders of the castle wall.

The hooded figure chose that moment to make its move.

Whoosh!
It spread its arms out wide, outer cloak flying open, exposing what was hidden underneath.

Two thin, feminine hands held on to scarlet and violet blades—twin magic swords.

“Huh?”

Luan’s eyes became as round as the full moon as he watched the two long blades swing forward at the same time.

An overwhelming mass of magical energy was reflected in the eyes of everyone present on the north edge of the wall.