Chapter 210: The Great Sinner Takes Command

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"'Earth, become a wall and protect me! [Wall]!'"

Changing locations, this is the conference room in the temporary branch office where Giovanno and the others were having a discussion.

The one chanting the earth magic is, of course, the "Earth Sage" Earthcell.

What he's doing is repairing the walls and floor.

The mysterious explosion sound and vibration that resonated earlier.

If you ask if it caused cracks in the temporary branch office... that's not the case.

This building he created with earth magic is fairly sturdy and won't collapse just from a little shaking.

Then why is he doing repairs? The reason is Emi.

After hearing the explosion sound earlier, she reacted first and dashed outside before anyone could call out to her.

With great force... she broke through the wall.

Thanks to that, there is now a large hole in the wall of the temporary branch office, and the floor Emi stepped on has cracks and is slightly dented.

"...Sorry about that, Earthcell-dono. Come to think of it, we never taught Emi, 'When going outside the house, use the door instead of breaking through the wall,' did we?"

Giovanno said with a wry smile.

"Foooh~~~! It's fine, it's fine! Being energetic is the best for kids!"

Earthcell laughed loudly.

"My, my, what a tomboy!"

Yuju smiled carefree.

"No, no, no, she's way too energetic, this isn't just about being a tomboy..."

The only one making a retort is Taiche, who has her hand on her forehead and has a pale face, probably from a headache.

However, even though they're smiling, no one else in the room except Taiche is letting their guard down.

They still don't know the true nature of the explosion sound from earlier, and since then, sounds and vibrations like Zunn... Donn... have been intermittently reaching the temporary branch office.

"Foooh~~~! Repairs complete!"

"Much appreciated, Earthcell-dono."

Now, the large hole in the wall was neatly sealed here.

It's just at the point where the work Giovanno and the others were doing has taken a break.

They had been moving the tables and chairs in the room to create a large space.

Currently, there are more than a dozen merchants staying in this base, and about the same number of adventurers including their guards.

Adventurers aside, many of the merchants lack combat ability.

They were creating a shelter to protect them.

Those in this room don't have an accurate grasp of what's happening in this base right now, but Giovanno was taking command and responding so they'd be ready for anything.

"Now, the accommodation setup here is ready. Next, we'll split up and go around the base to guide the evacuation..."

"Report, report!"

And here, barging into the conference room again without knocking, is the dirty man, Modokin.

"Situation report! The defensive wall has collapsed! ...Moreover, in three places!!"

"What did you say!?"

Earthcell unintentionally raised his voice in surprise!

His right hand unconsciously reached into his pocket... and gripped his treasure.

Cold sweat dripped down, creating a small stain on the newly repaired floor.

"Calm down... steady your breathing... please continue. Without haste, and concisely."

Probably because he had run here with all his might... Modokin was sweating heavily, breathing roughly, and ended up crouching down on one knee.

While rubbing his back, in contrast to Earthcell who seemed to be floating in the air, Giovanno calmly urged him to continue the report with effort.

"Haa, haa... my bad... the locations of the collapsed defensive wall are three places: the east side, north side, and south side. Moreover, monster lure was burned inside the base, and stimulants were burned in the forest, attracting a swarm of monsters."

Yes, as mentioned in the report just now, the defensive wall wasn't collapsed in just one place!

This was information Modokin had confirmed by roughly looking around the base on his way back to the temporary branch office.

"Foh!? In other words, this is the work of humans!? Are you saying this base is under attack!?"

"Tch... could it be the doing of terrorists who advocate anti-Adventurer's Guild...?"

Earthcell's eyes widened in shock, and Taiche furrowed her brow.

The Adventurer's Guild is an international organization.

Backed by its military and financial power, it's expanding to various parts of the world.

Naturally, there are many countries, organizations, and people who are not happy about that for political, economic, or even cultural reasons, and it's not uncommon for such folks to attack the Adventurer's Guild.

"Regarding the culprits, let's shelve it for now. Modokin, please tell me more about the situation with the monsters. How is it being handled now?"

"The place with the most monsters is the east side near Mount Nanga. Miss is handling this alone. Next, we, the "Tea Dragon's Heel," are defending the north side where there are many monsters. The adventurers who were present are handling the south side."

"...Emi is alone?"

Upon hearing Modokin's continued report, Giovanno furrowed his brow for a moment.

The figure of a young girl crossed his mind.

If prioritizing personal feelings, he would want to send more support there.

However, Giovanno knows.

"Which side is in the most danger?"

"The south side. Thanks to Miss rampaging, a lot of monsters are being drawn to that side by the sound. Still, they're not used to it."

"Earthcell-dono."

"Foh!!"

Giovanno sent a sharp gaze to Earthcell.

Glared at by a villain's face filled with fighting spirit, even the older Earthcell unintentionally flinched, pulled his right hand out of his pocket, and straightened his back!

"I'd like to ask you to repair the defensive wall. Is it possible?"

"If it's temporary repairs! However, without the base's large rocks, it will take time!"

"Then please do it in the order of south, north, and east. Your efforts will likely be the key to resolving this situation. Modokin, sorry but please go around the base once and evacuate those who can't fight to this room. After that, assist Patchino. As for the adventurers, please ask them to participate in defending the south or north."

Giovanno fired off instructions one after another!

With his chest out, his back straight, and with dignity.

His voice resounded well in the conference room, where there was no sound other than the occasional heavy bass that shook the base.

It was a voice filled with fighting spirit, yet calm, and even felt somewhat cold.

"W-Wait a minute!"

But Taiche hurriedly interjected!

"Are you saying you're going to leave Emi-san alone!? That's not right, is it!? She's a 9-year-old!"

"..."

Upon receiving those words, Giovanno fell silent for a moment.

Along with the heavy bass sound of Zoom... the building shook again.

In terms of feelings, this man with the villain's face wants to fully agree with Taiche's words.

However, he can't do that.

The combat power in this base is not that much.

In order to protect this place... they can't waste personnel.

Besides, Giovanno knows.

And he believes.

"Modokin."

"Yeah?"

"This vibration that's been resonating... it's Emi's doing, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Miss is quite enraged and not holding back. It's dangerous for us to get close too. That's why Patchino also moved to the north side."

"Wha...!"

Taiche is a born-and-raised office worker.

She can't grasp the combat ability of the other party just by facing them like Yuju, and she has never seen Emi fighting.

Therefore, when it comes to the ability to appropriately allocate combat power in this situation, the man with the villain's face has the upper hand.

Giovanno knows Emi's strength well.

And he believes she will never lose.

"So, that's how it is. There's no change in the instructions. Well then, Earthcell-dono, Modokin, I'm counting on you."

"Understood!"

"Roger!"

The two hurriedly dashed out of the conference room.

The ones left in the room were Giovanno, Taiche, and Yuju, the three of them.

Along with the sound of zonn, the building shook again.

"Now, as for Yuju-dono, since you're Taiche-dono's guard, you can't leave this place, right?"

"Well, yeah, that's ordinarily the case."

Yuju scratched her cheek and made an awkward face.

"Then, here, I'd like you to watch over the evacuees along with guarding Taiche-dono. Is that possible?"

"I allow it."

Yuju tried to send a glance to her employer, but without waiting for that, Taiche said that without hesitation.

"Taiche-dono, those of us who can't fight will gather the evacuees here. It may be outside your duties, but could you lend a hand?"

"Well, that's a given, right?"

"Then, let's move to the entrance. To welcome the evacuees."

Saying that, Giovanno immediately left the conference room and began striding down the hallway.

Taiche and Yuju hurriedly followed him.

"...You're quite accustomed to taking command. Earthcell praised your leadership in his letter. I can see that very well now."

"I'm honored by your praise."

"...However, I cannot agree with the decision to leave the defense to a young girl. Isn't that too heartless?"

"It's my nature."

Taiche still couldn't accept Giovanno's decision, which could be seen as abandoning Emi to fight alone in a sense.

Without even turning his face to her who was following behind, Giovanno simply returned words in a matter-of-fact manner.

He didn't argue back.

Even though the words were barbed, he didn't return any sarcasm either.

Because Giovanno understood Taiche's feelings.

Giovanno knows Emi's strength well.

And he believes she will never lose.

However, he also thinks this.

Making cold-hearted decisions because it's necessary.

Isn't that the same as when he was a wicked count?

After meeting Emi and the others in the demon realm, he somehow felt like he had been reborn.

However, that was a misunderstanding.

In the end, he hasn't changed at all from the time he was called a great sinner.

After all, no matter where he goes, he is a great sinner.

Several merchants had already gathered in front of the entrance of the temporary branch office.

They probably evacuated on their own.

Among them was the figure of a young boy, probably traveling with his parents for peddling.

Spotting that figure through the glass window of the entrance door, Giovanno unintentionally held his breath.

Seeing the frightened and trembling boy, he was reminded of his own past deeds, and his chest tightened.

However, he had to change his mindset.

Shaking his head, shaking off the self-loathing that bound his heart and weighed down his body, he ignited his fighting spirit.

Protect them.

Protect this base.

The warriors who are defending.

Giovanno, who can't fight.

However, the feeling of wanting to protect everyone is the same.

Giovanno forcefully opened the entrance door, made the best smile possible to reassure the evacuees, and shouted!

"Everyone, I'm glad you're all safe! Now that you've come this far, you can rest assured! Come, quickly come inside!"

As usual, it was a wicked smile that would make children cry if they saw it.

However, that figure, seemingly filled with confidence and fighting spirit, certainly captivated the hearts of the evacuees!

It's painful to write around here because there's no action.

It makes me keenly aware of my own lack of writing ability.