“Hazards neutralized. This way.”
After leaving that Gangnam.
The soldiers and I began moving toward the place where the 3rd Battery had been stationed.
With her reconnaissance having become overwhelmingly sharper than before, Jeong Sua identified hazards in advance.
And the escort-team members—chosen only from those in the reconnaissance squad who specialized in covert movement—avoided the monsters’ eyes and removed those hazards.
Thanks to that, even in this dangerous Seoul, we were able to move while fighting only the bare minimum.
“......Legion Commander.”
And as we moved toward the 3rd Battery like that.
“Is it really okay to trust that monster?”
“Hmm.”
A few soldiers escorting me gathered their courage and spoke to me.
“The monsters we saw in there...... no matter how we look at it, they didn’t seem normal.”
“Well, that’s true.”
If anything, it was grotesque enough to rank among the worst of every monster I’d met so far.
Compared to # Nоvеlight # those bastards, I almost felt like monsters like the Green-Mane Tribe looked handsome.
“And we’re supposed to trust something like that.......”
“Hmm.”
At that.
I recalled the conversation I’d had with that ‘doctor.’
*****
“Capture the monster here for you?”
What it offered as the ‘price of treatment’ was that we capture a monster alive.
And after hearing that proposal, I tilted my head and answered.
“Shouldn’t you be the one doing that yourself?”
The monsters that filled Gangnam.
Their numbers were one thing, but their level was also exceptionally high.
Not to the point you could compare them to our unit members.
But for most awakened people, even handling a single one of those monsters would be a serious struggle.
‘And if you factor in those numbers, it’s overwhelming violence.’
To begin with.
It was a bastard that had claimed all of Gangnam—vast land—even within Seoul.
That ‘doctor’ in front of me had to be a monster with power strong enough to count on one hand, even in Seoul.
But.
{As the Legion Commander surely knows, I am a doctor.}
“So?”
{A doctor is a profession that treats illness, not a profession that fights.}
But.
In response to my question, it said—
{Combat is not my specialty.}
“.......”
How should I put it.
It said something I was pretty familiar with.
‘Seems like it’s in a similar position to me.’
It had built up a certain degree of combat power.
But since combat wasn’t its main job.
It wasn’t truly confident in full-on fighting.
“The monsters outside looked pretty strong.”
{Those children are the results that came out while I was conducting research for my goal. More precisely...... they’re failures.}
“......Failures?”
{I couldn’t exactly throw them away, so I use them as errand-runners and assistants for now, but since they are works that failed while trying to achieve my goal, originally they weren’t made for combat.}
“Even so, with that many, you could easily crush most enemies.”
{Perhaps. But as I said, I am a doctor.}
It let out a sigh.
{To be honest, I am not confident in combat. As for strategy and tactics, I am a complete layman.}
“.......”
{Just to protect my body, merely having this many troops prepared here is enough. But offense requires tactics. Neither I nor those children have advantages in that regard. Even if we somehow beat down a powerful enemy by sheer numbers...... the efficiency would be abysmally low. So.}
“You want my help?”
{Efficiency matters. Wouldn’t it be better to receive help from an expert, if possible? And besides.}
And then.
After saying that much, it—
RRRIIIP.
Showed me that grotesquely torn face, the same one I’d seen during the examination, and said,
{Through this deal, I also wish to establish friendly exchanges with a large-scale group originating from the native species.}
“.......”
Like I’d felt before.
That face that looked horrifying beyond words......
Was probably a smiling expression.
{I have many things I wish to do. If I can open trade with a group the size of the Legion, achieving my purpose will likely become easier as well.}
In other words, that bastard was—
{I look forward to working well together, Legion Commander.}
Wearing a warm, friendly smile.
Proposing that we get along.
*****
After going through that conversation.
I accepted the proposal and decided to move on the 3rd Battery.
And if I had to describe what I felt from that conversation—
“I’m not blindly trusting it.”
“Excuse me?”
[Taste Bud Enhancement] didn’t pick up anything off about it.
Most of what it said was probably true.
However.
Even if it was friendly for now, there was no guarantee it would stay that way later.
I didn’t know whether it was something I could trust.
But.
“Still.”
From that conversation.
There was one thing I learned.
“That bastard is pretty rational.”
“......?”
“Rarely so, even among the monsters I’ve met so far.”
I’d met a lot of monsters up to now.
Some of them could communicate.
But.
[Ariella] was a monster that viewed humans as an inferior species and wanted to make us into her troops.
The [Pope] was relatively rational, but in the end it was an existence that intended to submerge this entire land.
And [Borjin] had traded with us only to save its species—originally it had been a shaman that enslaved humans.
‘Just because it can communicate doesn’t mean it “speaks the same language.”’
On the other hand.
That bastard was different.
‘There’s only a cultural gap....... The conversation I had with it was rational.’
It genuinely.
Had concluded, after considering efficiency, that it was better to assign the work to us.
And it even wanted, if possible—
To form friendly relations with humans who knew a lot about this land’s information.
‘If anything, it’s more rational and makes more reasonable judgments than most human factions I’ve met.’
And.
If the other side was that rational and reasonable.
“Then I can predict its actions to some extent.”
“Ah......!”
It was a monster that cared about efficiency.
It would also think that turning hostile toward us was a loss.
‘At least while it’s thinking that way, there’s a low chance it’ll suddenly act unpredictably.’
Well.......
It was definitely disgusting and grotesque.
‘But our unit has already taken in even worse monsters than that as unit members.’
If the first existence from beyond the world I’d met had been something like that.
Maybe I never would’ve opened trade with a grotesque monster like that.
But not anymore.
“It’s just how it looks...... isn’t it a species difference, a cultural difference, that kind of thing?”
There could be a gap between humans and other species.
And we already had experience cooperating even while carrying that gap.
So I decided that responding to this deal wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
And so now.
[Authorized personnel only.]
“This is it.”
To pay the price of that deal.
We arrived at a military base in Seoul.
“......Legion Commander.”
And.
The soldiers looked at the base with anxious expressions and said,
“How do you plan to take this place?”
“Hmm.”
Well.
It was nice that I’d accepted the deal boldly and come here, but.
The problem was.
The price of that deal...... was honestly not easy.
‘A monster that’s taken over a military base.’
Up until now we’d been lucky, and we’d cleared most military bases we encountered, but.
The truth was.
Even now, there wasn’t a single monster that had settled into a military base that was easy.
‘The only reason we were able to beat the lizards that joined our unit...... was because we were on defense, and because we were able to identify the enemy’s weakness quickly.’
The lizards’ hide was still thick and tough enough to be a core material in our officers’ equipment.
Even thinking back, it was close to a miracle that we were able to defeat the lizards back then.
‘Same for how we took down the spider queen in the ammunition battalion.’
Not because we were amazing.
But because the soldiers who had been guarding that ammunition battalion resisted them even while burning up their own lives.
If there had been only a few more mature monsters, we never would’ve been able to retake that ammunition battalion.
‘And taking down the tank battalion’s ‘Geyser’...... and [Ariella], too.’
We won because they had a penalty: they couldn’t leave their base.
If those bastards could leave the base and freely spread their domination ability, it would’ve been a nightmare.
But because they couldn’t leave what they’d occupied, they couldn’t even launch a preemptive strike on us.
That allowed us to identify their weakness first and stab it.
‘And clearing the military bases in Gangwon, too...... in the end, it was because of Taehun’s prophecy-like advice.’
If all those conditions hadn’t conveniently lined up for us.
We’d probably be one of the zombie hordes shambling around somewhere in Gangwon right now.
And now.
“We don’t have any information about Seoul.”
We had no information on the enemy.
“And if that monster gave up on clearing it...... it’s not going to be a weak one.”
There was a low chance the other side had gotten weak by luck.
If we were in a situation like the first time we headed to Seoul—bringing only the absolute elite—maybe it’d be different.
But in Seoul, a frontal fight was out of the question, and the soldiers we brought this time were specialized only in covert operations.
On top of that, my body condition was bad enough that the doctor had called it “rags.”
Yeah.
If you looked only at the situation.
Clearing that military base was something that looked far too dangerous.
But.
“Well.”
I looked at the soldiers.
And I gave them a light smile.
“I’ve got ways. Leave it to me.”
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t accept that deal without thinking, you know.”
Even if the conditions looked unfavorable.
I had a method I’d thought through, in my own way.
“Then!”
And.
I turned my gaze toward the unit members to put that plan into action.
But then.
In that moment.
“So...... it’s like this again.”
I.
Noticed something strange.
No, how should I put it.
It wasn’t that strange, exactly...... but.
“Reconnaissance Squad Leader Jeong Sua?”
The reconnaissance squad leader.
And the person in charge of the escort team that had come here with me.
“Your expression...... what’s wrong?”
“Ah.......”
Jeong Sua’s face.
Was extremely dark.
*****
To be honest.
I’d already thought Jeong Sua’s expression looked a little dark.
Because I’d had plenty of chances to see her expression on the way to the 3rd Battery.
But.
Reconnaissance in Seoul isn’t an easy thing.
A task where you feel enormous responsibility, difficult and exhausting.
I thought she was just focusing as hard as she could, and I let it go.
‘But now we’ve arrived at a relatively safe place.’
Even though there was no reason for her face to be that dark.
“Are you feeling unwell? If something’s wrong, we can fall back to a safe place first—”
“N-no! It’s not that.......”
Her expression.
Showed no sign of improving.
‘What’s going on?’
How should I put it.
To me, Jeong Sua with that kind of expression felt unfamiliar.
Because our first meeting had been a little strange.
Jeong Sua seemed to think she’d received an immense favor from me.
So she held a lot of goodwill toward me.
And maybe because of that.
Even though her attitude was extremely respectful.
When she talked with me, she usually wore a fairly bright expression, but.
“It’s...... not that.”
Now, it wasn’t.
She avoided my gaze, with a strangely anxious face.
“That’s not the face of someone who says it’s nothing.”
“......It really is nothing.”
This place was relatively safe, but.
It wasn’t the kind of safe you could stay in for a long time.
“Reconnaissance Squad Leader Jeong Sua.”
Normally, I would’ve asked what the problem was after we succeeded in this operation.
In a place where safety was secured, but.......
“Tell me why.”
Right now.
I wanted to know what was causing that expression.
“Benefactor. It truly is noth—”
“Don’t misunderstand. This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”
“.......”
At my words.
Jeong Sua hesitated like she was thinking for a moment.
Then she opened her mouth carefully.
“......It’s just.”
And.
The reason that came out of her mouth was—
“That even this time...... the benefactor solves it for us, too. That thought came to mind.”
“What?”
To me.
It didn’t make any sense at all.
