[Wasteland near Allocen’s dungeon.]

"I came rushing in expecting demons brawling each other, and what’s this supposed to be?"

A small girl perched in the saddle of a heavily armored warhorse swept her crimson hair back and grumbled.

Her build was small enough that you’d suspect she was a child, but she was warming up by twirling around an axe twice the size of her own body.

"What’s with the orcs? You said this place was a troll patch. The trolls and orcs duked it out and now it’s just over?" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Y, your Highness. The thing is...."

Beside the girl who had been called Princess, a pale-looking young man sat astride a horse, looking flustered. His chest, clad in light armor, bore a crest of crossed horse and bow.

"Ah, never mind. Trolls or orcs, they’re all demons either way. Doesn’t matter."

The girl yanked on the reins. Gripping the axe handle she’d been twirling one-handed with both hands now, the girl bared her sharp teeth and grinned ferociously.

"Charge. Show them what Dwarven steel can do, kid."

"Like I keep saying, I’m not a kid, I’m the heir of Sagittarius...."

"Listen, kiddo, I used to drink with your grandfather. To me, you’ll be a kid your whole life."

"...Yes. I’m sure that’s how it is."

Sagittarius let out a dry laugh and raised his hand. The heavy cavalry that had already charged ahead were locked in close-quarters combat, their advance blocked by the trolls running rampant.

"Sagittarius cavalry, second wave, advance. Pursue the orcs that fled to the dungeon to escape the trolls."

"Yes, sir!!"

The heavy cavalrymen who had been waiting in the second line drew their swords and spurred their horses’ flanks. A sound like an earthquake began to rumble out, and the heavy cavalry of House Sagittarius charged forward to exterminate the monsters.

"They run nicely. I’m going too."

"Hold on a moment, Princess. Where are you going?"

"My back’s been stiff lately from doing nothing but hammering, you know? I should loosen up."

"You’ll get seriously injured doing that."

If the Princess so much as got a scratch, he’d be the one to catch hell for it, but Sagittarius couldn’t say so out loud. If he did, she’d surely take it as encouragement and gallop right off ahead.

"Don’t you have to confirm how well Dwarven equipment cuts? If you go out yourself, there’ll be no way to confirm anything."

"Hmph."

The Princess lowered her axe and pursed her lips. She looked exactly like a child whose toy had been taken away, and Sagittarius couldn’t help but sigh.

"I received a gift from House Pisces the other day. It seems to be quite an expensive wine, so let’s have a glass at the victory celebration once we return. You may have the entire bottle if you wish. So please, leave this to my men for now."

"Really?! ...Ahem. Fine."

The Princess flushed and hopped down from the horse. With a stature shorter than a horse’s leg, the Princess didn’t even reach 140 cm.

"There’s no reason for me to step in against people who run instead of standing and fighting. You all handle it. I’ll head to the smithy."

"You won’t watch it through to the end?"

"A drink after the work’s done is something special. Heh heh, kiddo. You want me to keep standing next to you?"

The Princess sprang up in place and flicked Count Sagittarius’s forehead with her finger.

"To stand at the side of this Rhodopelli, you’d need to be at least as strong as that Aries fellow, hahaha!"

"...The Holy Sword’s Hero is a monster, isn’t he? A monster. I’d rather just be a regular human."

"Boring man. Eh, whatever. I’m off."

The Princess, Rhodopelli, walked off in the opposite direction. A unit of heavily armored infantry that had accompanied her followed and disappeared as well.

"...Phew."

Count Sagittarius rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh of relief.

"Why did a woman like that have to be the next Dwarven king...? Haa."

The Count drew his sword forward with a deep sigh.

"Charge. Show them what Dwarven equipment can do."

Roaaaarrr!!

The shouts of humans rang out across the wide wasteland.

***

"Of all the lousy timing. How could enemies show up the moment we expanded?"

Hearing the situation Gremory had relayed, I was getting genuinely pissed off.

The troll chariot. Two horsehounds pulling a chariot, with a troll riding behind, hurling spears mounted on the chariot. A composite demon of Allocen’s dungeon.

"Wiped out before Gremory could even attempt recruitment...."

A fantastic monster combining mobility and ranged suppression had been annihilated before we could recruit them. Because of the human alliance’s knight order that had attacked as if waiting for the battle between our legion and Allocen to end.

"Has Eila’s reply come yet?"

"Still waiting."

"Damn it."

Gremory had fled into Allocen’s dungeon and crossed through the portal to bring back details about the enemy cavalry. She quickly relayed the battle situation, the composition of the enemy force, and the appearance of the military banner the enemy bore.

’Either a noble house’s private army or the human alliance’s military. Eila would know.’

Eila, with her education as a kingdom noble, would surely be familiar with it. While we waited for the messenger sent to Eila to bring back word, we needed to prepare a response to this newly emerged enemy.

"I figured something like this would happen sooner or later."

A dungeon was, in the end, a forward base set up by the Demon King’s Army to conquer the human world. Naturally, when fighting broke out outside a dungeon, it would inevitably reach human ears.

"There’s no way there’s a traitor in our dungeon... it’s safer to assume the humans have been keeping a close eye on the dungeon, right?"

"Yes. Baroness Virgo has been keeping at least minimal surveillance on Ras Vegas. Given that the dungeon’s location has been discovered, it’s certainly possible."

"Tch, can’t even blame Gremory for picking a field battle against Allocen."

She had simply used the most effective tactic to defeat her opponent. Blaming Gremory because an unexpected variable popped up was a mistake a legion’s leader should absolutely never make.

"When you stir things up in multiple places, more troubles keep popping up one after another."

"Should we close the portals?"

"No. We don’t run from a fight that’s been brought to us."

Turn crisis into opportunity. The human alliance was an enemy we’d have to fight eventually anyway.

"The captain leading the orc riders was Percival, right? Pass this along to Gremory."

I sliced clean through the dead Hagenti’s neck. A system window started shimmering before my eyes, and I checked the new name granted to me with my own eyes.

[Notice: ’Allocen’ Dungeon has been turned into a multi-base dungeon. It has been incorporated as a sub-dungeon under (Gremory).]

[Dungeon Owner: Percival, ★★★★, Lv.53.]

"From today, Percival is [Percival Allocen]."

Percival Allocen.

Amur Orias.

I had turned two of the three dungeons we’d challenged in Seizure Battles into my own multi-base dungeons. Allocen as a sub-dungeon under Gremory, Orias as a sub-dungeon under Flauros.

Rok (Andras)

→Gremory - Allocen

→Flauros - Orias

→Halphas

The dungeons were now linked together like an ant colony in an inverted pyramid structure, and I had to make a quick decision about the new dungeon as well.

"I’ll take Hagenti’s name. But I won’t claim it for myself."

[Notice: ’Hagenti’ Dungeon has been turned into a multi-base dungeon. It has been incorporated as a sub-dungeon under (Rok Grimfang Shek).]

"Hagenti’s dungeon will be sealed off for the time being. I’ll leave only the portal open and return to the main base."

Unlike Halphas’s dungeon, where the master was already decided, the master of Hagenti’s dungeon was still undecided. But the 48th rank was too high to just plop any random subordinate into the master’s seat on the spot.

"We’ll keep it as a trap field laid out in our front yard."

Fortunately, since I’d succeeded in conquering Hagenti’s dungeon while leaving most of the traps preserved, the traps themselves remained fully functional.

"For now, we return to the main base."

I didn’t know where the bastards had come from, but to dare pick a fight the moment our battle ended? Rude bastards pulling the same crap as Halphas couldn’t be left alone.

"I was already pissed enough, and now they want to make me angry?"

The reason I’d issued Seizure Battles in three places wasn’t to expand multi-bases.

To secure high-grade magic stones.

To recruit excellent subordinates.

And the slim chance of finding traces of a Seal.

I’d thrown out a wide-area Seizure Battle on those three possibilities.

But high-grade magic stones came out to a measly two, no subordinates joined our legion aside from the six Minotaurs, and not a single one of the Demon King’s Army’s likely lackeys had shown their face.

’On top of that, the trolls were even slaughtered by the human alliance.’

Even if I hadn’t authorized it, those were beings who had wanted to join the legion even for a single second more. Of all things, ones with a similar name had to make that kind of sacrifice, and it left me feeling unexpectedly conflicted.

"Master, Eila’s report is in."

"Quick. Let’s see, House Sagittarius? Location estimated to be Kaus Wasteland?"

"Yes. It’s a place known to have had exchanges with the Dwarven Kingdom since ancient times."

"Damn it. We incorporated the elves, and now the dwarves are kicking up a fuss?"

Unlike the elves who maintained a stance of neutrality, these were ones who actively had a foot in both camps with humanity and the Demon King’s Army. I’d cast my nets in every direction, and instead of catching the magic stones and Seals I was hoping for, I’d hooked a massive contingent of humans.

"Shaitan, where are all our reserve forces right now?"

"Standing by at the main base."

"All right. Brief them on the situation and send them all to Allocen’s dungeon. Leave dungeon defense to Rastujad."

I yanked out one of Halphas’s horns.

"Endless war, you rotten bastards."

The human alliance army, and the dwarves.

From this moment on, they were officially our enemies.

***

At that hour, on the slope of the Goddess Church’s main cathedral. Before the staircase of ten thousand steps.

"Is this truly a place that worships the Goddess?"

Brug stood dumbstruck before the countless steps stretching out of sight to a peak he couldn’t see. The Saintess methodically equipped her cold-weather gear and warmed up her body.

"A long, long time ago, the Goddess descended from the sky, and to commune with her more closely, a temple was built where she came down. That’s the main cathedral as it stands today."

"I was expecting something a bit more, you know, grand."

A magnificent ancient castle standing atop a barren snowy peak, perhaps. Brug had been quietly hopeful, and he flicked at the holy sword Taurus hanging at his waist. The holy sword had begun emitting a soft glow the moment they started approaching the snowy mountain.

"Will the Goddess truly appear before us?"

"Yes. She’s been telling me to come for a while now, so don’t worry."

"If you say so."

"Saintess...?"

A salt-and-pepper-haired old man trailing behind the two of them called out to the Saintess, his teeth chattering. Frost had settled on his half-bald head.

"Yes, Cardinal."

"Do you really intend to climb all ten thousand steps with just the two of you...?"

"He’s a trustworthy escort, so don’t worry."

"Why not use the portal...."

The Cardinal pointed down the snowy mountain at a city built like a fortress. There, the spires of a magnificent and ornate cathedral rose high into the sky.

"Going to see the Goddess by means of magic would be disrespectful to her."

"But still...."

"It’s a staircase I’ve climbed every day since I was a child. Don’t worry."

The Saintess lifted her leg and smiled lightly. As the slight glimpse of her ankle revealed black stockings, the Cardinal swallowed hard and traced a holy mark across his chest.

"May the Goddess’s grace be with you. I shall meet you at the main hall."

"May the Goddess’s grace be with you."

The Cardinal, ultimately unable to bear the cold, descended the mountain. He chose the easier route of going up via portal rather than climbing ten thousand steps.

"What a weak man."

"There’s nothing to be done about the cold."

"If you have even a bit of divine power, this cold is nothing. The less divine power you have in your body, the more you feel the cold. This snow isn’t natural snow."

"...Then?"

"Yes. That man has zero divine power. He’s just a politician."

The Saintess muttered as she climbed the steps.

"He’s been a Cardinal since before I was born, holding the cathedral in the palm of his hand. Since the rise of the Demon King’s Army, he’s been the leading figure of the alliance faction, arguing that humanity must unite as one."

"His name?"

"Querbels. Querbels Narcist."

"...Just hearing it leaves a bad taste."

Brug climbed the steps while guarding the Saintess’s back. Steam rose from his mouth, but like the Saintess, Brug felt no cold whatsoever.

"Come to think of it, I haven’t heard your name. What is your name?"

"You haven’t told me yours either."

"Brug. The name’s Brug."

"...Now? Is that your real name?"

"Watching you up to this point, you’re the first person besides my brother I’ve felt I could trust."

"...I’d love to meet this brother of yours someday."

The Saintess removed her hood. Maybe because they were nearing the temple, the frost that had settled on the Saintess’s hair was sparkling in silver.

"...Yera. My real name."

"Hm?"

"I told you, didn’t I? Hmph."

"...I really didn’t catch it."

The Saintess put her hood back on and continued up the stairs. Brug followed silently behind her, repeating the name to himself.

’A name that reminds me of my brother.’

Today, more than usual, Brug missed him.