MV – Chapter 122: The Family and the Minor Villain

Toko, who had slipped into the bridge with poor security, spoke with a slight smirk while shaking his gun. Well, it was a car, not a battleship, so it was easy to enter.

“This is the failure of the Tateno family. It’s beyond the control of a single family now, and we need the power of other houses. Plus, no one from the Underground District is part of the families.” (Toko)

“You don’t need the power of the Underground District? Do you not understand the situation? Look at the scene displayed on the monitor; this area is on the verge of collapse.” (Mana)

Mana was furious at Toko’s words. The lightning protagonist was apparently the culprit. In the game, he orchestrated incidents under the guise of coincidence with the backing of his family and saved people through self-serving acts to play the role of a hero. 

But now he’s confessing? What’s going on? He followed orders from the family, so the game mostly felt like a string of fetch quests and was boring to play.

“You don’t have proof that I’m the culprit, do you? Besides, even though it’s dangerous now, I’ve escaped. As a member of the Surface District, I cannot allow the Underground District to gain influence, especially in terms of military power. My father agrees.”

Toko pulled a communication device from his pocket and threw it to Mana. The phone she caught already had an image of an old man on the screen.

“Isn’t that the deputy head of the Yoroizuka family? How should I evaluate you showing up in this fashion that totally ignores the tense atmosphere?” (Mana)

<<Stop making jokes and make a calm decision as the next head of the Tateno family. What do you think will happen if we rely on the power of the Underground District here? The Surface District, which we’ve painstakingly maintained for a thousand years, will be snatched away right under our noses.>>

“Ha, ‘painstakingly’? You’ve just been holding onto your power. Now, when a force stronger than yours appears, you want to stop it? You don’t think about coexisting? We’re all human after all. Why not create a competitive society? You can’t solve this situation in the first place, right?” (Mana)

“You don’t understand, girl. History proves that when you clash with a technologically superior enemy, you face a disastrous future. Besides, I’m saying this because we have a plan to win. Toko, show her.”

“Got it, Dad. Lady Tateno, do you recognize this gun? This is the Thunderbolt Gun, a state-of-the-art weapon that uses spirit stones. It’s also the reason I survived.” (Toko)

Toko proudly showed off a large pistol resembling a derringer, but no matter how you looked at it, it still seemed insignificant.

“With this weapon, we can wipe out those monsters. Oh, not this one, though. The ones equipped by the national army, using this technology, with spirit armor and machine guns. The elite forces should be able to handle this easily.” (Toko)

So they are apparently different from the other soldiers. Lanpeach had seen that gun before, too. The bullets were ridiculously expensive, yet the weapon was weak. 

It was a mid game store-bought item. Thunder-related gear uses rare materials, so the price is several times that of ordinary magic bullets.

<<You’re listening back there, right, Agent-kun? I commend you for teaming up with the Underground District despite being a nuisance from the fallen Shukou family, but in terms of military power, the Surface District is now close to the Underground District. You’re no longer needed, and I’ve already instructed Toko to shoot if you don’t follow orders. I wouldn’t want to imagine what happens if you get shot inside an armored vehicle, would you?>>

“That’s right. This gun isn’t just for show. If it destroys you from the inside, won’t you have trouble explaining things to the higher-ups in the Underground District?” (Toko)

The old man -head of the Yoroizuka family- and the lightning protagonist Toko looked down at Lanpeach. They probably think he had to stretch himself to borrow this armored vehicle.

Lanpeach growled in frustration at their condescending attitude.

[Kuh, I didn’t expect a branching subquest event. Well played, Mira.] (Lanpeach)

[By retreating for now, we can trigger additional subquests. This is a perfect example of how blindly completing quests isn’t always the best option.] (Mira)

Lanpeach was frustrated by Mira’s brilliance.

A quest had appeared after all. Beautiful, Mira.

[Protect the Snow Bunny from Yoroizuka Toko! Level 3.] 

(Even a level 3 made me happy. There are subquests like this before progressing with the main story. Mira is more of a gamer than I am. She’s a reliable girl who never misses a quest.) (Lanpeach)

“Soldier, what do you think? Nom nom.” (Libra)

“Libra-oneechan, Koume too. Aa~hm.” (Koume)

Libra was munching on some potato chips she had pulled out from who knows where, and dropped crumbs while looking at Lanpeach. She also fed some chips to Koume, who opened her mouth like a baby bird.

[We should retreat here, Pla-san. It’s the best choice.] (Mira)

[But what about this place? Won’t a lot of people die?] (Lanpeach)

[It’s fine. Demon Seeds will first expand its control to a 10-kilometer radius and then stop moving for about a week. After that, it will start growing up to a thousand kilometers. Back in the day, everyone complained about Harkein’s ‘Annoying Herb Strategy’, saying the weeds were a pain to deal with, and it was a real nuisance.] (Mira)

[They have strength beyond mere annoyance though?] (Lanpeach)

[There was already a way to deal with it. Pla-san, you should get strong enough to consider this an annoyance as well. You don’t want to be called a nuisance forever, do you?] (Mira)

[Wait, am I being subtly insulted here?] (Lanpeach)

[Besides, this is an opportunity. The enemy, who knows nothing about the terror of Demon Seeds, will suffer major losses and come crying to us for help to take control of the area. Then we can explore the underground ruins without anyone interfering.] (Mira)

[I see! That way, we won’t get caught or interrupted. Great idea!] (Lanpeach)

(I am impressed by Mira’s cunning. She’s no ordinary girl.) (Lanpeach)

[Will the academy survive? What’s the plan?] (Libra)

(I am also impressed by Libra’s carefree attitude. She’s just an ordinary girl now.) (Lanpeach)

[It’s a necessary cost. The poor academy, overrun by monsters… But you can study anywhere if you want to. Besides, no civilians will die, right?] (Lanpeach)

[The growth rate is just about as fast as a brisk walk, so civilians should be able to escape. And it can’t be helped since they can’t fight Demon Seeds. Later, I’ll ask the bunnies to recover any rare items left in the academy.] (Mira)

[Wow, neither of you feels any guilt.] (Libra)

[There’s a quest waiting. Even if one or two academies get destroyed, you can gather materials and help with the reconstruction quests later.] (Lanpeach)

[And the area’s liberation will also be a quest. With that, we can score big. No doubt we will get a Dora Dora and a Haneman —don’t really know much about mahjong though.] (Mira)

What a wonderful future. It is great that the academy is of an unordinary size so, luckily, the surrounding homes of civilians probably won’t be affected. Even if there’s damage, the Tateno family will most likely compensate them. Besides, the houses around the magic academy belong to wealthy people.

It’s all good things, is what they thought, as the two gamers smirked while watching the magical plants growing out of the botanical garden.

So, he reluctantly agreed to the threats from the Yoroizuka deputy head, but before that…

[Instant]

Time stopped, turning the world monochrome.

“Sorry, but I’m confiscating that gun. What if it hit Koume?” (Lanpeach)

In this place where silence dominated, with anything and everything frozen, he aimed his Ice Magnum at Toko’s Thunder Gun.

When time resumed, the process was erased, and only the result appeared. In other words…

“Gahhh! M-My hand is frozen?! How…How did this happen?!”

In an instant, his gun and hand were sealed in ice. Toko screamed as he stared at his frozen hand, trying desperately to break the ice.

The people around, except for Libra, Mira, and Koume, had shocked faces as they watched Toko writhe in pain, unable to comprehend what had happened. Even though they are decently strong people, they saw no gunshots or bullets… It was natural for them to be surprised.

“I wonder why he’s frozen.” (Lanpeach)

He mercilessly kicked Toko in the chin, making him pass out.

Maybe he went too far. He spun once in the air before collapsing with a thud. 

Lanpeach casually took the smartphone that was showing the deputy head of the Yoroizuka, from Mana, while watching him fall.

“I understand, Deputy Head Yoroizuka. We’ll withdraw. It’s just weeding anyway. It would be tiring. No need to hire expensive professionals.” (Lanpeach)

“The hiring fee will increase in price to heavens and beyond for each day that goes by, so be careful.” (Mira)

Lanpeach and Mira smiled boldly, and the face of the Deputy Head Yoroizuka turned grim, but he still maintained his calm and smiled back. 

<<Very well. These are not soldiers of the Yoroizuka family. They are the national army’s soldiers. Let us show the Underground District the power that comes with the name of ‘elite’. The strength of the army led by me, a lieutenant general of the national army!>>

He was an overconfident old man confidently setting up his own death flag. It would be best to stop him, but he won’t give up  if he doesn’t agree, and that would be the end of it. On top of that, it’s harsh that he’s not the head of the family. He’ll probably be cut loose if he fails.

[People like that are common. I’ve seen plenty of them. They usually come crying to me after their army is wiped out. But I’m kind, so I end up forgiving them if they pay me a hefty reward.] (MIra)

[Well, let’s just hope the soldiers don’t die. And then, I get some EXP.] (Lanpeach)

[You’ve completed the quest: Protect the Snow Rabbits from Toko. You’ve gained 15,000 EXP.]

Lanpeach danced inwardly after getting EXP in one go. It might just be the last dance anyone would want to see in the world.

[With this much EXP, the battle against the Demon Seed should be a breeze. And we need to be well prepared since we’ll be exploring the underground ruins afterward.] (Mira)

[So you are suggesting we teleport to the colony?] (Lanpeach)

[Considering the expected strength of the Surface District forces, they’re likely to keep fighting for around five days without giving up. There’s a lot we can do in the meantime.] (Mira)

[Waah! Don’t take away my identity! Soldier, rely on me. Let’s liberate either the restaurant street or the casino street next!] (Libra)

[Koume too! Koume ish going too! Going on an outing with Papa-shan!] (Koume)

It seemed like Koume, clinging to his leg, had learned to use contact telepathy.

That being said, the casino definitely sounds appealing.

“Alright, let’s return for now and get everything ready! Retreat to Lanpeach City!” (Lanpeach)

“Ehhh~? We barely fought-usa yo. Geez, roger-usa!”

“Work’s done for today-usa.” 

“Can we eat roasted sunflowers-usa?”

“I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep.”

The rabbits hustled back inside, signaling the end of the operation.

“I already sent word, so everyone will probably evacuate…but are you really not going to intervene?” (Mana)

“Sorry. After such a firm refusal, there’s nothing I can do.” (Lanpeach)

The minor villain who had instigated the quest lied without a care, and Mana’s shoulders drooped in resignation. It was clear she didn’t want the damage to spread. But there’s not much that can be done when the lieutenant general of the national army refuses.

“Let’s prepare the forces to deal with the Demon Seed. Don’t worry, I am here after all.” (Mira)

“I’m here too, so everything’s under control!” (Libra)

And so, Lanpeach returned to Lanpeach City for the time being, but…

“Feels like I’m forgetting something…” (Lanpeach)

He tilted his head, trying to recall what it was.

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