I Will Be Unrivaled With The Skill [Sewing]! They Said It Was A Bad Skill, But With Effort, I will Make It A Hit~ - Chapter 104

Episode 104: Strategy

After returning to Trias, Seneca and the others reported the details to the guild. And since they were told by Shimeneme to “rest for now,” they took a break at the lodging provided by the guild.

To be honest, they weren’t really in the mood to rest, but they figured going out to the battlefield in their current state would only cause trouble, so the four of them quietly complied.

Another major factor was Rentulus, who had come to see them on their way back and said, “Your strength will likely be needed again soon.”

After getting a good rest, the four of them were loosening up their bodies when a guild staff member arrived.

“There will now be a meeting regarding countermeasures for the Stampede. Everyone from ‘Moonlit Vow’ has been summoned, so please prepare yourselves immediately.”

The four of them followed the instructions and got ready, heading to the guild’s meeting room.

The city was in a state of commotion, and people were coming and going within the guild, but it wasn’t quite at the level of panic. Seneca and the others had considered the possibility that the operation might begin while they were resting, but it seemed nothing had happened yet.

When they entered the meeting room guided by the staff, they saw a few familiar faces.

“Attalos-san?”

It was Maior who said that.

It was probably just something that slipped out of her mouth, since it was such an unexpected person to see. Others present included Nina, Fabius, and several other adventurers who looked incredibly strong.

Attalos met eyes with Seneca and the others but only gave a slight nod, not saying anything.

Once Seneca and the others had taken their seats, the man in the center began the meeting.

The strategy was explained by Zenon during the meeting.

The overall outline was simple:

Platinum-ranked adventurer Zenon would create a massive barrier covering the city for defense.

Platinum-ranked adventurer Peripatos would defeat a magical beast called the “Guardian,” which was located where the mana vortex was highest.

Other adventurers would support these efforts.

That seemed to be the general plan.

However, there were some very delicate points.

For example, one of the adventurers asked this question:

“If Peripatos-sama defeats the strongest magical beast first, wouldn’t that prevent the Stampede?”

Seneca also thought to herself, “That makes sense.” But apparently, that wasn’t the case. According to Zenon and the others, Peripatos would have to go all out to defeat the “Guardian,” and that battle would cause the surrounding magical beasts to panic and begin a massive migration. In other words, it would be Peripatos who pulled the trigger that causes the Stampede.

If there were fewer magical beasts, it might have been better to quickly take out the strongest ones, but it seems it’s already too late for that.

The next question was also quite logical.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to wait until the magical beasts overflow before taking out the ‘Guardian’?”

“No, that would be a poor choice, since we still don’t understand the cause of the increasing number of beasts. If more appear than we anticipate, we’ll be powerless to stop them. Until now we’ve been waiting until the minimum preparations were in place, but the situation has already become too dangerous.”

Clearly, the situation was not good. A heavy silence settled over the room.

“Adventurers and guards will mainly be assigned to defending the city and conducting sweeps in the Great Forest. Those of you here will each be entrusted with an important role.”

As the discussion deepened, a woman timidly raised her hand.

“Um… I believe you’ll be explaining this soon, but from what I’ve heard, a significant number of personnel are being allocated to the city’s defense. Even with Zenon-sama present, is that much manpower really necessary?”

She didn’t appear to be an adventurer. She was likely from the administrative side and had received information in advance.

“It is necessary. First of all, after Peripatos defeats the ‘Guardian,’ the mana vortex may become unstable and go out of control. While I go to the site to suppress it, the defense of the city must be handled by the other adventurers. Because of that, I must conserve my mana, and considering the possibility of a prolonged operation, I also need to rest.”

Listening to this, Seneca had a question in her mind. The explanation sounded almost like Zenon alone would be enough to defend the city—at least for a short period. Could that really be possible?

“Now then, there is one more important matter to discuss. It concerns the special task force. Under normal circumstances, the efforts of Peripatos and myself would be sufficient. However, the larger the scale of the Stampede becomes, the more uncertainties arise. Therefore, we will organize a special unit that can act freely to manage the situation as needed.”

Seneca was listening, thinking that such a thing could indeed happen.

“The members will be: Gold-ranked adventurer Attalos, Gold-ranked adventurer Rentulus, and the Bronze-ranked adventurer party, ‘Moonlit Vow.'”

“Huh?”

Maior instinctively raised her voice. Seneca was also surprised to hear their name suddenly brought up.

“Command of the unit will be entrusted to Attalos. You may act freely based on your judgment in the field.”

“Understood.”

Attalos responded with a courteous and formal attitude.

“As you all know, Attalos and Rentulus were the ones who quelled the great Stampede in the city of Murus. If the current Stampede reaches a similar scale, I believe their experience will prove invaluable.”

As Zenon explained his reasons for selecting the two, someone interrupted.

“Please wait a moment. I have no objection to Attalos-sama and Rentulus-sama acting as a special unit. But why are students included in that group?”

The one who raised his voice was Bucas, who had taken the promotion exam alongside Seneca. Many others, including Seneca’s party, held the same question, so all eyes turned to Zenon with more intensity than before.

“One reason is that Attalos recommended them. Putting aside any teacher’s bias, he stated that the power of ‘Moonlit Vow’ may be necessary to bring this situation under control.”

When Seneca looked toward Attalos, he had a very stern expression on his face.

“The other reason is the achievements of ‘Moonlit Vow.’ They were the first to report the signs of the Stampede and provided the guild with highly accurate information essential to strategy formulation. As it stands, they’ve already produced better results than anyone else here.”

“B-But, they’re still students.”

“Yes, they are. And yet, we find ourselves in a situation where we must rely on such students. I do feel a sense of shame about that, but this Stampede may threaten the very survival of our nation. Considering that possibility, I’ve come to regard such feelings as utterly trivial.”

Zenon declared this with a firm and resolute tone.

“Maior, Seneca, Gaia, Plautia. I know it’s cruel to ask this of ones so young. But please—accept this request. We need your strength.”

Seeing Zenon bow his head like that, the four of them could do nothing but nod in response.