“H-He… really woke up…!”
The healer murmured in disbelief as he witnessed the deputy leader who had shown no signs of regaining consciousness finally awaken.
The deputy leader really opened his eyes after the healer treated him according to the prescription that Jun had just given.
It wasn’t that Jun possessed medical skills superior to the healer.
It was simply a difference in knowledge. The corrupted Fairy Queen had an ability in the [Incurable] category.
The treatment method was straightforward.
They had to transfer the corrupted power which was preventing the wound from healing to another place.
However, this wasn’t easy through conventional means. The corruption had a powerful contagious nature.
If they simply tried to move it, it would only spread.
So they purified the “Fairy Dust” that would receive the corrupted power by using holy water and also sprinkled holy water on the wound to weaken the corruption.
And so, by placing the purified Fairy Dust on the corrupted wound, the corrupted power would naturally transfer to the dust.
“Hey, are you feeling any better?”
“Cough, cough!”
However, the deputy leader already lost a significant amount of blood, so he couldn’t fully regain his senses even after opening his eyes.
“Potion.”
“Yes!”
When the healer slowly poured the potion into the deputy leader’s mouth, the focus gradually returned to his eyes.
“Wh-Who are you…?”
“I’m a mage. But more importantly, I have something to tell you. The Fairy Queen… it’s awakened, hasn’t it?”
“H-How do you know that…?”
“I already know what you were trying to do. You’re the ones who woke the Fairy Queen.”
“……!”
“Enough with the surprise. Just listen to what I’m about to say. There’s a chance your leader and team members might still be alive.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
Perhaps it was the glimmer of hope in such a desperate situation, but the deputy leader’s gaze became clearer.
“Not everyone in the raid was killed by the monsters, right? You just saw them surrounded by monsters. Isn’t that correct?”
The deputy leader’s eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. He grew startled by how Jun spoke as though he had witnessed the situation firsthand.
Because the events had indeed unfolded exactly as Jun described.
“…Th-That’s right. I barely escaped the encirclement… but the others weren’t so fortunate.”
He didn’t know what happened afterward. He had simply assumed his comrades perished after they got surrounded by an overwhelming horde of monsters.
“You did strike the Fairy Queen, didn’t you? But it probably didn’t die as you expected.”
“…That’s true. But how in the world do you know that?”
Jun took a book out of his bag in response to the question.
“What is that?”
“‘The Corrupted Forest Expedition Journal’. It’s a journal left behind by the ancient beastmen who once explored this forest. You could say it’s the sequel to the ‘Corrupted Forest Exploration Journal’ that you guys found at the Temple of Beasts.”
“……?!”
He was already surprised that the person in front of him knew about the existence of the exploration journal, but discovering that there was a sequel to it was even more shocking.
“How… how did you get that?”
“You don’t need to know that. According to what’s written here, the Fairy Queen can heal herself by draining the life force of living creatures. So, your comrades are probably still alive. She would need their life force to heal the wounds you inflicted.”
“…….!”
This was precisely why Jun believed in the possibility of the raid party’s survival.
They must have had some understanding of how to fight the Fairy Queen.
When the Fairy Queen first woke up, she should have been in a severely weakened state.
If you know the proper strategy, she could be defeated much more easily than the original target, the Forest Guardian.
The Azure Cloud party had likely unleashed an all-out attack based on the information they obtained from the exploration journal when the Fairy Queen first woke up.
But the Fairy Queen isn’t something that can be killed by such methods.
The problem was that the “Exploration Journal” wasn’t a complete guidebook.
If you don’t follow the predetermined route, the Fairy Queen may be severely wounded but she won’t die.
The reason for this was written in the “Expedition Journal” that Jun was holding.
These people probably didn’t know that, and that’s why they were defeated.
Unaware of this, the raid party likely fell to the monsters drawn by the Fairy Queen’s screams.
The sheer number would have been too overwhelming for the raid party alone to handle.
“Anyway, what I want to tell you is this. Your comrades are still alive.”
“…You know all this and yet you’re helping us?”
“What do I gain by killing you here? The important thing is survival.”
Of course, Jun was just as frustrated with the current situation.
But letting anger cloud his judgment and missing a chance to survive would be the height of stupidity.
Obviously, I’m not the only one who thinks this way. The ones outside probably care about their own lives just as much.
Unless it was a sworn enemy who had killed his parents, survival required some compromises.
“But you won’t escape the hammer of justice. Keep that in mind.”
“…Understood. Better to roll in prison than rot in the grave.”
“Can you move now?”
“It’s tough, but it’s not impossible.”
“Good. Then let’s head outside and convince the others.”
***
The people in the camp, who had fallen into a state of confusion, soon noticed the deputy leader standing on the platform and rushed over.
Perhaps it was the fear of death that drove them, as they looked ready to draw their weapons at any moment. In fact, when one of the mercenaries actually pulled out his sword from its sheath, Colton who was nearby shouted out.
“Let’s at least hear what’s going on first! Hey, deputy leader! What exactly is happening right now?”
Then the other mercenaries glared at the deputy leader with a look that suggested they too wanted to hear what was going on.
Even if they were going to die, they at least wanted to know the reason, which was their honest sentiment.
“First of all… I sincerely apologize for the current situation. I’m truly sorry.”
“Are you kidding me? Do you think we’re here to listen to some apology?”
“That’s right! Explain what’s happening right now!”
Whether it was due to the killing intent of the enraged mercenaries or the injuries he had sustained, the deputy leader’s already pale face turned even whiter.
“Cough! F-First of all, the current situation arose because the sleeping Fairy Queen has awakened.”
With that, the deputy leader calmly explained everything that had happened so far.
From the moment the Fairy Queen had awakened, up until the current situation.
***
The mercenaries were furious.
It was only natural.
They had activated a hidden stage without consulting them at all.
Originally, in order to activate the hidden stage, it would have been proper to send an official application to the home country, reach a sufficient agreement, and prepare for a long time.
However, in the Azure Cloud party’s current state, even if they submitted an application to the Empire, the chances of approval were nonexistent.
In fact, they might have only ended up losing the information they had.
If they had sold that information to a higher organization, they could have made a decent profit and gained some reputation as well.
But the Azure Cloud party had ruled out that option.
This was a situation that even Jun was unaware of. It was an internal matter inside the Azure Cloud party after all.
It wasn’t that they needed the interest of their existing noble sponsor, but rather they were dissatisfied with the sponsor itself.
According to the deputy leader, the noble family that had been sponsoring the Azure Cloud party was a barony with a fairly long history.
The problem was the ambition of the current baron, the head of the family.
He had demanded reckless expeditions from the Azure Cloud party in order to reap the maximum profit with minimal investment, which had resulted in the loss of skilled members and difficulties in recruiting competent new talent.
This situation had persisted for several years, and the leader of the Azure Cloud party Benjamin Briston harbored deep resentment toward the sponsoring noble.
If things continued as they were, even selling their most valuable information wouldn’t guarantee a future.
And so, they decided to take on a task so significant that even the baron’s family would find it burdensome.
If they succeeded, finding another noble sponsor would be a piece of cake.
“Fu*king hell…”
A mercenary’s muttered curse summed up the current situation all too well.
The killing intent in the mercenaries’ eyes was intense.
Even Colton who had helped Jun earlier seemed extremely angry now.
He had already heard the general situation from Jun, but hearing it directly from the person involved brought a completely different impression.
“I can only feel a deep sense of guilt, so much so that I can’t even show my face to you all.”
The only reason the mercenaries hadn’t drawn their swords immediately was because the deputy leader had disclosed every piece of information without hiding anything.
If he had come up with any kind of flimsy excuse, the situation would have been very different.
Therefore, to move them, only a rational decision beyond that was necessary.
Jun’s persuasion brought the best possible outcome for the deputy leader.
Colton who barely suppressed his anger asked,
“So! Is there any way to resolve this situation?!”
At his question, the other mercenaries also looked at the deputy leader.
Though he had just managed to postpone their anger, if there wasn’t a solution now, they would soon draw their swords and pin the deputy leader’s head to the camp’s fence.
And fortunately for the deputy leader, there was indeed a solution.
“From this point on, this man here will explain,”
When the deputy leader stepped back, it was Jun who came up to the platform.
As the shabby-looking mage climbed onto the platform, a few mercenaries quickly recognized him.
They remembered Jun from the strategy meeting before the raid began. He had left quite the “memorable” impression on them.
“The burden?”
“That mage knows how to solve this?”
“They’re not just using him as a meat shield, are they?”
As the mercenaries were on the verge of adding Jun’s head to their grim collection atop the camp’s fence, Jun quickly read the expressions on their faces.
Their bloodlust is practically radiating.
But by now, Jun had been living in this world for a year.
To survive, he had studied the mercenary way of life more diligently than anyone else, and he knew exactly how to turn the current atmosphere around.
Get ready.
He raised his arm toward the sky.
Fire!
He unleashed the spell he had prepared long before stepping onto the platform.
[Lightning Whip]
It was the same lightning-type magic he had used effectively several times within the dungeon.
Crack-crack-crackle—!
When the whip of lightning shot out with a deafening roar, the mercenaries’ eyes widened in shock.
They couldn’t believe that such power could come from a low-ranking mage.
The best way to deal with mercenaries filled with distrust was through overwhelming force.
***
“You all must have a lot of questions, so I’ll save my introduction for later. For now, focus your attention here.”
The mercenaries’ gaze shifted from the afterimage of the lightning whip to Jun as his voice commanded their attention.
“This is an ancient book called the ‘Corrupted Forest Expedition Journal’ that was discovered during the Black Forest raid. Think of it as a strategy guide.”
A strategy guide.
Setting aside their preconceived notions about Jun, the mercenaries murmured among themselves about the strategy guide he had brought.
“Is it similar to the ‘Corrupted Forest Exploration Journal’ that the deputy leader mentioned earlier?”
“It sounds like it’s divided into two volumes…”
“Does it really contain a way for us to survive?”
While the mercenaries speculated, Jun pointed to the book and spoke.
“The reason we can’t escape is because of the barrier created by the raid dungeon. But this book details a way to break that barrier. We need to defeat the Forest Guardian—more precisely, we need to destroy the forest’s essence that the Forest Guardian harbors.”
In fact, this wasn’t much different from the original raid objective.
In a normal raid, the Forest Guardian was always the target.
However, since no one here knew the exact source of the barrier blocking the entrance, they naturally assumed that defeating the Fairy Queen was the only solution.
But given the skill level of those gathered here, defeating the Fairy Queen was an impossible task, and they had resigned themselves to death.
“So, you’re saying that if we defeat the Forest Guardian like before, we can survive?”
“That’s right. But it won’t be easy either. It will be difficult to kill the Forest Guardian with just the people gathered here.”
The mercenaries, who had regained some composure, calmly reviewed the current situation.
Like Jun had said, it was nearly impossible for them to defeat the Forest Guardian on their own.
On top of that, the Forest Guardian had been further strengthened by the Fairy Queen.
“…But I heard the raid party was annihilated. So how?”
“That’s the bit of good news. There’s a possibility that the raid party is still alive.”
“Is that really true?”
In response to the mercenaries’ questions, Jun repeated the same explanation he had given to the deputy leader earlier.
After hearing the whole story, the mercenaries’ faces reflected more unease than hope.
Though the hope of survival had emerged, they now found themselves in a position where they had to save the very people who had put them in this danger.
For mercenaries, who were typically hot-tempered, this was a bitter pill to swallow.
“But we can’t just sit around and die together, can we? I understand your anger, but isn’t it better to survive even if it means rolling in the mud? Or are you planning to die here?”
Jun’s words were decisive.
No matter how furious they were, these people valued their lives above all else.
As long as there was a way to survive, they had no reason to turn it down.
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