Matthias turned his face forward again.
“Follow behind me.”
He then moved slowly, keeping his shield raised in front. Rose and Helena followed closely behind him.
“I will move along the wall.”
Matthias shifted to the side, placing Rose between the wall and himself. It was an attempt to completely block attacks from behind.
Kieeeek!
The monster crows continued to circle in the air, eagerly waiting for an opportunity.
However, they were utterly helpless against the seasoned coordinated attacks of the Kalmar Mine’s knights and miners.
“1st Squad, establish a defensive line toward the Gallery! 2nd Squad, over there!”
Matthias was the first to issue orders quickly and accurately. The people moved with perfect coordination, as if they were one body.
“This way!”
“You bastards, here! Here!”
The miners used Wisp Velvet lanterns to guide the crows’ movements,
Thwack!
Archers on the distant watchtowers pierced the crows’ necks with arrows. They must have been staffed only with expert marksmen, as every single shot found its mark.
Kieeeek!
The knights handled the crows that weren’t killed instantly by the arrows. They slashed their necks and wings to prevent them from taking flight again.
Clatter!
Meanwhile, under the knights’ protection, the miners moved quickly along the designated tracks.
Slice!
Matthias’s sword did not rest either.
He created a barrier, ensuring no crow could even come close while protecting Rose and Helena.
“Haa, haa.”
Rose caught her breath, which had been scattered by tension and shock. Her heart pounded wildly.
Seeing the monsters of Kalmar Mine firsthand, which she had only heard of in rumors, was astonishing, and the people’s experienced response was admirable.
“I think it’s safe to relax now.”
Matthias wiped the sweat from his forehead. His sword was covered in crow brains and blood.
Seeing that, Rose’s mouth moved on its own.
“Thank you, Sir Matthias.”
Matthias glanced at Rose and replied bluntly.
“If the Madam gets hurt, His Excellency will be sad.”
It was the attitude of a pubescent boy—having done a good deed but not really wanting to receive much praise for it.
“You should be honest with your words. You ran all the way here because you were worried about the Madam.”
Helena chimed in, sticking her tongue out slightly.
“Who was it again that showed up panting just a moment ago?”
Matthias’s face, which had been trying hard to maintain his composure, crumbled at her mischievous smile.
“Miss Lune, I-”
“Be honest, Commander. I’m not really fond of people who push back for no reason.”
“…….”
Matthias’s ears turned red.
He had spoken so smoothly in front of Rose, but he stuttered and couldn’t even retort to Helena’s few words.
‘Oh my.’
Rose realized something as she looked at Matthias.
However, there was a more important matter right now.
“Sir Matthias, can we go to where His Excellency is right now?”
“No, we cannot.”
Matthias immediately hardened his expression and answered firmly.
“It was His Excellency who sent me here. He ordered me to absolutely prevent the Madam from going toward the Gallery.”
“Then, by any chance, which Gallery did His Excellency go to?”
Rose hurriedly recalled memories of her past life and asked.
Please, please. Not Gallery 7. The accident where the mine was buried happened right there.
“Number 13. He is probably building a defensive line with the other knights.”
“Ah…….”
Rose finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. Looking at the map, 7 and 13 were very far apart.
Even if the accident from her past life occurred, its aftermath wouldn’t reach here.
“Thank goodness, then-”
Just as Rose was about to stammer out her words,
Kiiiing-!
A sudden ringing sound reached them, making everyone’s skin crawl.
“What’s that?”
“Huh?”
The moment people reflexively covered their ears in surprise,
Boom!
The ground shook along with a deafening roar that seemed to tear their eardrums.
“Ugh!”
“Ah!”
People hastily wrapped their heads around their arms and ducked low.
“Madam!”
Thanks to Helena grabbing hold of her, Rose barely managed to stay on her feet.
The sound was similar to the Magic Stone Coal explosion she had recently experienced, along with that bizarre vibration just before it burst.
Something with enough destructive power to collapse the Gallery had just exploded.
‘Don’t tell me, this is…….’
Rose raised her body and looked toward the direction of the boom.
“…Your Excellency.”
A foreboding feeling swept over her entire body.
**
Crash!
The rounded body of the Armadillo Lizard rolled toward me. I didn’t dodge it and instead waited with my back against the wall.
“Dodge!”
“Your Excellency!”
The knights sensed my danger and shouted in alarm.
Crash!
Just before colliding with the rolling Armadillo Lizard’s body, I leaped aside.
Smash!
It crashed into the wall instead of me and growled as it rolled across the floor.
Stab!
In that gap, I drove my sword into its soft inner neck. Its body convulsed and then went completely limp.
“Hurry up!”
After quickly taking it down, I signaled the knights and miners over there.
“As expected of Your Excellency!”
“Thank you!”
People cheered and began frantically running toward the outside of the Gallery.
“That guy just now was the last one!”
“Good work.”
I followed behind the people, remaining vigilant for any monsters that might appear.
‘Thank goodness.’
We wrapped it up well without any major casualties.
Most of the powerful monsters burrow through the galleries, so Matthias would have taken care of the minor ones outside.
“I see it!”
“It’s the outside!”
The people confirmed the light and cheered. As everyone ran out with bright smiles,
Kiiiing-!
An unsettling ringing sound came from above.
“Ugh!”
“My ears!”
People stopped in their tracks and painfully covered their ears.
I also reflexively covered my ears and thought. It was an unfamiliar ringing sound, yet somehow familiar.
‘Don’t tell me.’
The moment I realized the identity of the sound,
Thud!
I forcefully pushed the people in front of me who had stopped.
“Whoa!”
The moment the people crashed into each other and collapsed forward,
Boom!
Something exploded from the ceiling.
Along with a deafening roar that threatened to rip my eardrums, my vision turned white. An impact that felt like the world was flipping upside down struck my whole body.
Rumble!
The ceiling split open and rocks began to cave in.
“Ugh!”
I covered my head with my hands and backed away quickly,
but Smack!
I couldn’t avoid it entirely and ended up taking a heavy rock to my forearm.
Rumble, boom!
Huge boulders plummeted to the ground, shaking the inside of the Gallery as if an earthquake had hit.
Pitter-patter, swoosh-
Large and small stones and grains of sand poured down like rain.
“Your Excellency!”
“No!”
The people’s screams faded away beyond the pouring boulders. Even that was quickly severed, and pitch-black darkness swallowed me.
“Ugh.”
Because the ground was still shaking and rumbling, I couldn’t stand. Stumbling backward and protecting my head was the best I could do.
Thud, pitter-patter.
Swoosh-
I stood amidst the violently wailing cave for a long time. How much time had passed like that?
“…….”
Finally, the surroundings became completely quiet.
I lowered my arm and looked ahead, but I couldn’t see anything.
“Is anyone there?”
I called out just in case, but no answer returned.
Neither an answer from anyone who stayed behind with me, nor the painful groans of someone crushed by rocks, nor the commotion beyond the pile of stones could be heard.
Fortunately, it seemed I had prevented anyone from being crushed by those rocks. If they had been crushed, a gruesome death toll would have occurred.
“Mmph.”
However, a terrible pain throbbed in my left arm. Instead of using this arm that was hard to move,
Rustle.
I rummaged through my pocket with my other hand and pulled out a hard metallic rod.
It was a Magical Device that Rose had secretly slipped into my sleeve. I gripped the rod and infused it with mana.
Flash!
A silver light spread from the inside of the rod, driving away the darkness.
‘Useful.’
In a narrow Gallery like this, there was a risk of gas explosion, so instead of lighting a fire, they used a magic stone lantern.
But the one Rose gave me served the same function while being much smaller and easier to carry.
Step.
I carefully surveyed my surroundings while holding the rod.
The wall created by the collapsed pile of stones was extremely thick and looked difficult to break through. Stone dust occasionally fell from the ceiling, but there were no signs of an additional collapse.
“Mmph.”
Shining the rod, I saw that below my elbow, the middle part of my forearm was twisted at a grotesque angle. Beneath the swollen skin, the sharp cross-section of a bone was bulging out.
Fortunately, it hadn’t pierced through the skin, but leaving it like this would only make it worse.
“Huu.”
The pain grew stronger and stronger. Before I knew it, cold sweat had soaked my temples.
Tap.
I took off my glove and bit down on it. Then, I wedged my left arm into a crevice of the protruding rock on the wall.
I planned on using the principle of a lever.
With my right hand, I grabbed my injured wrist, put my weight into it, and pulled it hard all at once.
Snap!
The sound of the displaced bone forcibly finding its place echoed through the narrow space.
“Mmph!”
My vision flashed white. I could feel every nerve in my forearm screaming.
But I clenched my teeth and endured it. I opened my eyes wide and checked whether the sensation in my fingertips had returned.
“…Huu, hah.”
I dropped the glove to the floor, practically spitting it out. I caught my ragged breath and fumbled around.
Among the debris of the collapsed Gallery’s support pillars, I found two sturdy wooden blocks that matched the length of my forearm.
Riiip- snap.
Squeak.
Finally, I tore my shirt even more to make a support connecting my neck and arm. When I fixed my injured arm to my chest, the throbbing pain subsided a little.
‘It’s been a while since I broke a bone.’
Sweat rolled down my cheek to my chin, but a smile spread across my lips. The pain actually made the sensation of being alive more vivid.
After finishing my first aid, I leaned against the wall and sat down. I looked at the collapsed ceiling and thought.
‘It’s definitely Magic Stone Coal.’
The distinctive ringing sound and flash of the Magic Stone Coal that had exploded upon hitting Rose’s carriage. That was what had just come from the ceiling.
It was definitely planted there, aiming for the timing of my visit to the mine.
‘This kind of thing didn’t originally happen.’
The carriage ambush incident was like that too; events that were different from the flow of the original story I knew were happening little by little.
However, I wasn’t worried.
Rather than fear and anxiety, it was nothing more than annoyance at having more things to deal with.
‘Uncle is being really annoying.’
Now I had one more reason I absolutely had to attend the Royal Harvest Festival. I would declare war right in front of everyone.
After finishing my thoughts, I began tapping the rock wall with the end of my scabbard.
Tap, tap, tap.
In a regular rhythm that the rescue team outside could hear.
In this situation, conserving my stamina was better than moving. It was also important to broadcast my position to the outside.
Tap, tap, tap.
They will definitely come to rescue me. Matthias and the knights.
And,
‘Rose.’
My little squirrel.