Chapter 22 (1/2)

In a forest not far from the royal capital.

Kaede and I were being guided by Jonathan.

”To the public I'm the president of a shipping company, but in reality I'm a secret agent working directly for His Majesty. There are only a few people who know that, and Count Roane is one of them.”

As we went deeper into the dimly lit forest, the sunlight filtered through the curtain-like trees.

Monsters watched us in the shade of the trees and grass, and slimes and insects fought for power in the trees.

On the other hand, the aroma emanating from the flora and fauna was quite relaxing.

If there wasn't chaos waiting for us ahead, I could have taken a nap with Panda as a pillow.

It is also good to take a break while using Kaede's lap as a pillow.

”Master... Are death ants really that dangerous?”

”What?”

I am surprised by what she just said.

I can't believe there is a person in this world who doesn't know of the Death Ants.

It has always seemed to me that Kaede is a bit unbalanced.

She has the air of being well educated, but doesn't know things that are considered common knowledge.

Even children should understand the dangers of death ants.

How did she become a slave in the first place?

Was she kidnapped from somewhere?

When this is over, we should talk properly.

”Stop. This is ant territory.”

”I guess this is the part where you'll go back.”

”Don't feel bad. Unlike you, I'm not strong enough to stand up to them.”

After that he said, ”I'll be waiting for you outside the forest.”

It is not normal to bet the fate of a nation on just two adventurers.

What on earth did Count Roane write in his letter? If I had not lived up to his expectations, this country would be finished.

And the king too. How dare he put me in a situation like this?

Besides, this is the work of a hero.

I am just a simple adventurer. I simply want to travel and recover from my traumatic past.

Why didn't they go after Sain?

...Well, it's not worth complaining at this point, I've accepted it.

”Master, are you feeling bad?”

”Don't worry, I was just thinking about how we're going to kill the ants.”

”Kyui”

”I see you're worried about me, too.”

Panda rubs his body against my face.

I also felt a strange sensation against my legs, so I looked down and saw Kaede rubbing her tail on me.

Maybe she's doing it unconsciously. She has a motivated face.

”Master, are those death ants?”

Black creatures were hidden behind the bushes in front of us.

Their size is about one meter, and what appeared to be one of these ants was lying dead.

As Jonathan said, the nest seems to be near.

”It's hard to find a burrow when there are a lot of trees.”

”Then leave it to me.”

Kaede took out her two iron fans and spread them out.

”Twin Tornado!”

Two tornadoes formed and spun all over the place.

The storm ripped the trees from their roots and blew them skyward.

The death ants also flew along with the trees one after the other.

An empty, circular space was created in the forest.

”Come forth, Ice!”

The temperature dropped sharply in an instant and the surrounding ground froze.

The ants that managed to cling to the ground instantly became ice sculptures.

”Master, the cleaning is complete.”

”Well, that's refreshing...”

The exposed burrow is in the center of the space.

Thanks to my lovely slave, I was saved from the trouble of looking for it.

Still, I feel she has overplayed her hand.

Won't Jonathan or the king complain later?

”It's still small. It's barely enough to get people in.”

The ant burrow is a little more than one meter in diameter.

It is large enough for two ants to enter.

Hmmm, what's going on?

”Shall I cast a spell?”

”No, we shouldn't do that. It's pretty deep in there, so even if we could probably take out the upper levels and some ants, we still wouldn't be able to reach the queen at the bottom.”

”Then how about using the fire magic you've been practicing? You can burn them to death from above ground.”

The heat ray? No, it's impossible, I don't even know where the queen is.

It will be harder to kill them if I start casting magic blindly.

And we must obtain proof that we killed the queen.

There will be no reward for just saying I killed her.

How about using Rosuke to get in there?

However, although he is strong, his intelligence is not so high.

Even if I ordered him to kill the queen, he wouldn't be able to distinguish between her and the soldiers.