Chapter 132: Messiah (4)

We followed the guard captain into the interior of the ant nest.

Thud thud thud thud—

The solidly packed dirt path eased the fatigue from our feet.

I had worried about underground living, but it was far more comfortable than expected.

The temperature was perfect—not too hot, not too cold.

Appropriate humidity and clean air.

And not only that.

Whoosh—

A refreshing breeze blew pleasantly, circulating the air.

Well, when we destroyed the zombies’ habitat, the internal environment itself was pretty good.

I said to the guard captain,

“To think you’d come up with the idea of taking over the zombies’ lair and turning it into a village. That’s quite bold.”

“This place was discovered by my great-grandfather. Driving the zombies out of the ant nest was no easy task. Over a hundred people, including my great-grandfather, were sacrificed.”

The guard captain lightly touched one of the mushrooms growing on the wall.

Pop—!

A scarlet light burst from the mushroom cap.

At the same time,

Pop—! Pop—! Pop! Pop! Pop!

The mushrooms lined up along the passage began emitting light one after another.

The tunnel interior was instantly bathed in warm glow.

Soon the guard captain signaled us to wait.

“Could you two wait here for a moment?”

She took out a small awl from her pocket and lay flat on the floor.

Then she poked and prodded the ground with the awl.

Jeanne spoke softly.

……There are traps installed.

Looking closer, I noticed unnatural sections.

The dirt path floor seemed slightly raised.

It looked like a pressure plate covered with soil.

Sure enough.

Clang!

With a heavy noise, the dirt plate sank downward.

The guard captain stood up and said,

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go.”

Right after we passed the trap, she reached into a crevice in the wall.

Clank!

With a heavy sound, the plate slowly rose back into place.

She had reactivated the trap.

“……Do you really do this tedious job every single time you come and go?”

“No. My soldiers and I have memorized every trap location, so we simply avoid those spots on normal days.”

In other words, this was a special service for our convenience.

The guard captain continued,

“You don’t need to worry. I built and installed all these traps myself, so I’m used to it. This way I can also check whether they’re functioning properly and if any defects have appeared.”

The guard captain skillfully operated the traps as we advanced.

The passage leading deeper into the ant nest was lined with all kinds of bizarre traps.

Watching her, Jeanne spoke in a low voice.

“Your craftsmanship is quite impressive.”

“You flatter me. They’re nothing but crude toys made with poor materials and clumsy skill.”

“The Sen family has always produced many clear-minded and dexterous individuals. Most of Ravianglily Kingdom’s groundbreaking inventions passed through the hands of the Sen family.”

“I…… see. I had never heard any family stories before.”

A gentle smile spread across the guard captain’s lips.

But it lasted only a moment.

She cleared her throat and returned to an expressionless face.

Jeanne smiled mysteriously and said,

“On the surface they appear indifferent and upright, yet they hide a tender sensitivity inside. That was another characteristic of the Sen family.”

“……!”

The guard captain’s throat-clearing grew more frequent.

Then Jeanne changed the subject.

“The soldiers here are assigned to the same units regardless of gender. Moreover, even the vice-captain position seems to be held by a man……”

“I understand what you mean, Princess. I heard the Ravianglily Kingdom was originally a strict matriarchal society where women were respected and men were looked down upon.”

The guard captain continued,

“But here, dividing people by such standards is meaningless. We need every capable person we can get. Male or female—it doesn’t matter.”

“I see.”

Jeanne remained silent for a while.

Then she murmured in a small voice,

“In this barren land, an even more ideal Ravianglily has been created.”

Soon we arrived before a massive stone wall.

The guard captain began knocking on it.

Knock! Knock knock! Knock knock knock! Knock! Knock knock!

Then,

Rumble! Rumble rumble rumble—

The stone door rolled aside, revealing the passage.

At the same time, a pregnant woman with a bulging belly walked out.

“Captain! You’re safe! The battle started quite a while ago and there was no news, so I was worried sick.”

“It was a tough fight this time. If these Benefactors hadn’t extended a timely hand of salvation, every soldier in the citadel would have become one of the departed today.”

“Oh my…… Lui…… My husband……”

The gatekeeper soldier swallowed hard.

She had one hand resting on her protruding belly.

The guard captain smiled and said,

“Lui only suffered minor injuries, but these Benefactors treated him. You don’t need to worry.”

“I-I’m so relieved…… Thank you. Thank you so much.”

The gatekeeper soldier bowed to us several times.

Then she hurried off somewhere.

“I’ll let everyone inside know the battle is over!”

She grabbed a long rope attached to the wall and pulled it hard.

Jingle~!

The connected strings shook, and the bell sound traveled deeper inside.

Jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle~!

Faint murmuring rose from the depths of the tunnels.

We couldn’t make out the words, but the voices were filled with joy and relief.

We survived today too.

The sound of hope’s bells spread through the ant nest.

The gatekeeper soldier shook the bells connected to the other tunnels one by one.

But what caught my eye most was—

……She’s too skinny.

The gatekeeper soldier…… or rather, the pregnant woman’s nutritional state was obviously terrible.

Her skin was dry and flaky, her complexion pale.

Her arms and legs were so thin her bones stood out clearly.

The guard captain continued guiding us through the ant nest.

“This area is where we cultivate mushrooms and moss.”

“And this is the livestock pen where we raise rats.”

“Over here in the garden plot, we’re growing several kinds of vegetables.”

Livestock pens, garden cultivation facilities, and more.

The ant nest interior had the minimum production facilities set up.

The problem was that production wasn’t abundant enough for self-sufficiency.

At least the mushrooms and moss were produced steadily.

But that alone wasn’t enough for proper nutrition.

“To be honest, the village’s food situation is quite dire.”

To make up for the shortage, we had to explore outside the citadel.

But food wasn’t easy to obtain even outside.

Most mushrooms were poisonous and inedible, and the majority of plants and animals were varieties humans couldn’t consume.

In the worst cases, we even had to fight zombies.

“As you two know, there isn’t a single edible part on zombies. Eating one would actually poison you to death.”

Soon we arrived at the village square.

Dozens of passages branched out in every direction.

Beyond the second- and third-floor holes, bedroom-like spaces could be seen.

The villagers stared at us with curious eyes.

Not just the adults—even the children had sunken cheeks.

Then.

Tug—

Someone pulled on my pant leg.

Looking down, a girl about five years old was smiling up at me.

Her missing front tooth made her look adorable.

“Are you guests? Right?”

The girl tilted her head as she looked at us.

The guard captain smiled and said,

“Yes. They’re very important guests.”

“Wow! Not just guests, but important guests! That’s amazing……”

Then the girl held something out to Jeanne.

It was a pink mushroom shaped like a tulip.

“Sister, take this! Daddy said you have to give gifts to guests.”

Jeanne took the mushroom and asked,

“Is it okay to give such a pretty mushroom to me?”

The child grinned, showing her teeth.

“Gifts are supposed to be the good stuff! This mushroom is my favorite!”

Her vocabulary was a bit clumsy, as expected from a child.

That made her pure heart touch us even more.

Jeanne gently stroked the girl’s head.

“Thank you. I’ll cherish this.”

“Sister, sister! This one—if you put it in your ear, it’ll look super pretty! But, but. You can’t keep it in too long. It tickles your ear.”

“Like this……?”

Jeanne tucked the pink mushroom behind her ear.

It gave off an elegant atmosphere, like wearing a high-class accessory.

At that moment, the guard captain whispered,

“Princess, that mushroom is poisonous. If it touches your skin for too long, it causes itching. So leaving it in your ear……”

“It’s fine.”

Jeanne answered shortly.

Well, it really was fine.

Death Knights were immune to poison status.

But.

“Princess……”

Guard Captain Hyal seemed to have interpreted it differently.

She looked quite moved.

Then.

Tug— Tug—

The girl pulled on my pant leg again.

“Second guest! Here’s one for you!”

It was a pretty pebble emitting a green glow.

“Whoa, this is pretty good? It’s not that amazing, but still incredible, right?”

When I overreacted, the child giggled.

“That’s right, it’s incredible!”

“You can’t receive something this incredibly amazing empty-handed.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful.

They were coin-sized chocolates wrapped in transparent plastic.

“Wow! What is that? A rock?”

“This is called…… Here, say ‘ah’.”

“Ah……”

I popped a chocolate into the girl’s mouth.

The girl’s expression changed moment by moment.

Her eyes sparkled as she hopped in place.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s chocolate. Go share it with your friends. Save one for your mom and dad too.”

“Yes! Thank you, mister!”

The girl bowed deeply and ran off to her friends.

The children squealed with delight as they started sharing the chocolates.

Then Jeanne spoke.

“Master. Is there any way to help the people here? It’s shameless, but I would like to borrow your wisdom.”

Jeanne rarely made personal requests.

Since she was asking like this, I had no choice but to help.

“There is a way. Let’s see……!”

I rummaged through my inventory.

Then I took out the item I was looking for.

“Ah, here it is.”

Jeanne and the guard captain tilted their heads as they looked at it.

What I pulled out was a yellow, button-like object.

“With this, I’ll make soup that will fill everyone’s stomachs.”

The legendary soup.

It was time to make the button soup that anyone could eat.