Just when I thought I could relax, an Abyss Howl showed up after the dragon’s trial .
He arrived here using a single-use tool Rorono made that functioned as a Transfer array . This allowed the Abyss Howls to come to me like this in times of emergency .
And the emergency this time, according to Kuina’s message, was that “Rorono-chan’s in danger” .
For her to be that panicked, it surely can’t be trivial .
And so, I spoke to the [Time] Demon Lord and asked him for permission to set up a Transfer array within his dungeon so that the Abyss Howl could take me home swiftly .
Thankfully, Dantalian approved .
The Abyss Howl worked as fast as it could, but I just couldn’t help but feel impatient as it drew the point-of-origin Transfer array we were going to use .
After what felt like an eternity, it was finally done .
“Be safe, Rorono . ”
Whispering that prayer, I, along with Duke and the Abyss Howl jumped to Avalon .
The destination Transfer array was in the basement of my estate .
In case something unforeseen was to happen within the city, most of my top monsters were to meet in a room in the basement that could serve as a command room . It had all kinds of equipment prepared, like communications as well as surveillance equipment .
It was almost like being in the crystal room in the deepest part of my dungeon .
When I opened the door…
“Kuina, reflect . You shouldn’t have jumped to a conclusion right away . ”
“I’m really sorry, Rorono-chan, but if anyone saw you like that, they’d misunderstand too . ”
…Rorono, who was supposed to be in danger, was pressing her knuckles to Kuina’s temples .
Meanwhile, Kuina was teary-eyed and profusely crying .
“Because of your lapse in judgement, not only did you waste that mobile Transfer array—which I worked hard on—you’ve also summoned master to come home even though he’s in the middle of undertaking the dragon’s trial . You lack calm, Kuina . Reflect on that . ”
“Uuuuuuu, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean itttttt . ”
Kuina was actually in a bit of pain . Even her prized tail was in bad shape .
After all, despite Rorono being a production-type monster, she still had extremely high physical strength as well as the skill [Herculean Strength] . It was more than enough to hurt Kuina .
I don’t know what happened, but at least it seems that Rorono’s safe . That’s a load off my chest .
“Why don’t you two tell me what happened first?”
“Oto-san!”
“Master,”
When my two daughters saw me, they ran up to me right away .
“I understand the situation now . When an adventurer controlled by a Demon Lord used a mysterious item, a large number of monsters suddenly appeared in the city . Am I correct?”
Monsters aside, adventurers were free to come and go in Avalon .
The rationale behind that was that they were just adventurers, so the threat they presented was small and manageable .
Unfortunately, that was taken advantage of today .
An unknown seal was carved in the said adventurer . When that seal shone brightly, a lot of monsters poured out .
It sounded like it was a magic spell that was similar to [Storage] or maybe even [Transfer], but I had never heard of magic spells that could replicate those things .
My next guess was that it was a Demon Lord’s skill . If so, it was a truly troublesome skill because it would essentially turn humans into pack mules for transporting monsters .
The point where this ability would shine the most was perhaps when that Demon Lord allied themselves with other Demon Lords . And with the monsters of several Demon Lords pouring out of the humans, even a dungeon with as much defense as Avalon would be put on the back foot .
But then again, in the attack just now, there were only about 20-30 monsters—most of which were C ranks—making me think there was some kind of limit to that ability .
I would be happy if that was the case, but that might be too good to be true . If they intended to kidnap Rorono, they would need a force of at least 10 times the previous one to get past the Ocean Singers, Abyss Howls, and golems protecting Rorono .
“Mhm . Each of those enemy monsters headed to my workshop . It would have been easy to defeat them, but the humans in Avalon would have been caught in the middle . Obviously, that was not ideal… but then I remembered that they were after me, so we gave them a false target . ”
“You’ve prepared something like that?”
“Mhm, a moving doll . Its appearance is exactly like mine . It even gives off the same scent as well as touch as me . And to a point, even the same magic power signature . It’s very hard to tell us apart at first glance . ”
By giving the moving doll to the enemy monsters, they would think they had accomplished their mission and leave Avalon as soon as possible . And thanks to that, a battle didn’t have to take place .
“It not just a doll though . So long as it’s not in another dimension, it would periodically send signals telling us where it is . Soon, we will know the enemy’s headquarters . ”
“Ohh, that’s interesting . What is the maximum range it can support?”
“Up to 200 kilometers . ”
By “another dimension”, that included a Demon Lord’s dungeon .
Because each dungeon room of a dungeon was on a different dimension, communication devices that used radio signals couldn’t breach through .
Even so, it was more than enough to know the doll’s location before it entered a dungeon . Because then, we would be able to confirm who the enemy Demon Lord was .
Of course, there was also the chance their dungeon was more than 200 kilometers away, it would at least give us clues .
“By the way, if they tried to dismantle the doll or a day have passed after it left Avalon, it is set to explode . It has as much explosive power as can be fit in a humanoid sized body . At point blank range, even Kuina would be in trouble . ”
“Why does Kuina have to be the example!?”
“Because you’re sturdy and you’re the most familiar to me . ”
“Rorono-chan, you’re mean!”
Teary-eyed, Kuina protested so .
“It’s that strong, huh . ”
“Aghh, you too, Oto-san?”
This time, Kuina was also puffing her face .
A bomb that had enough power to heavily injure even Kuina certainly was reliable . It was enough to kill most average A rank monsters and even Demon Lords . If it detonated in the center of an enemy formation, the damage to them would truly be major .
“When did you make such a thing?”
“Quite a while ago . It was in preparation for the possibility that our enemies would target your [Monsters of the Covenant] . As such, I have also made dolls resembling Kuina and Aura . ”
“Interesting . Mind showing them to me?”
“Mhm, alright . It’s in my workshop, so please follow me . ”
At any rate, Rorono was safe .
And apparently, it was greatly thanks to a Dwarf Smith . That same Dwarf Smith was about to explain in more detail what happened .
She had noticed that the attacking force was too small if their true intention was to kidnap Rorono . So much so that if they ever succeeded, it would all come down to miraculous luck .
And so, she theorized that the attacking force was most likely an expendable force sent to assess how we were going to protect Rorono .
So, in order to not only suppress the damage to Avalon as much as possible but also to not expose our hand, the decision to give the enemy a fake was made .
It would be most welcome if we could identify the Demon Lord behind the attack . If that happens, we would immediately go to [War] and eliminate them .
If we couldn’t formally go to [War], we could always simply dive into their dungeon and break their crystal .
As I currently was, I believed that to be more than possible .
They had dispatched monsters to Avalon as well as stolen property from us in the form of the Rorono’s doll .
In other words, the other side raised their hand first and we were only exacting what we were due .
“Master, you seem lost in thought…?”
“Oh, yeah… I’m just thinking how amazing my monsters are . ”
The reason we did a great this time was because the Dwarf Smith thought of this strategy and also because Rorono made the doll that fooled the enemy monsters .
“…Oto-san, Kuina’s very sorry . Kuina misread the situation and thought Rorono-chan’s been kidnapped . Plus, Kuina wasted the valuable mobile Transfer array thingy . ”
Teary-eyed once again, Kuina apologized like that .
“No, it’s fine . You were just doing your role . You wanted me to know that Rorono was in danger as soon as possible, right? I can’t fault you for something like, now can I?”
I replied like that and then patted her head .
Even though we won this time, it was unlikely the enemy Demon Lord would give up just like that .
Of course, it would be ideal if that Demon Lord was somehow caught up in the explosion Rorono’s moving doll was going to cause, but that might be asking for too much .
What could their next move be? Well, whatever it is, we’ll smash it too .
“Dwarf Smith, has the corpse of the adventurer who released those monsters been preserved?”
“Yes . The Ocean Singers have used their magic to freeze and preserve the corpse . There should be no trouble for Duke-sama to resurrect the adventurer later and interrogate him . ”
It was possible we wouldn’t get any information at all, but it was worth the shot .
After that, we headed toward Rorono’s workshop .
We were currently looking at the dolls that resembled Kuina and Aura .
“Woah, it looks exactly like Kuina . …Amazing, this feels just like Aurchan’s chest . ”
For some reason, Kuina grabbed the doll Aura’s chest and began moving her hand .
But still, the dolls were surreal .
“You’ve made them so well . Can you make a doll of anyone?”
“If I tried, I could . Obviously, there’s one of master too . ”
“Could you show it to us as well?”
“……no . Not right now . ”
Before Rorono turned her head, I saw that it grew bright red .
Could the reason she can’t show it be because it’s broken? I have a feeling asking more would be like stepping into a landmine . I better just keep quiet .
Nevertheless, the dolls for Kuina and Aura were so convincing, even I had trouble telling them apart . No wonder the enemy monsters couldn’t either .
Moreover, if the dolls were this exquisitely made, they could serve purposes other than just being a decoy .
But it’s better to drop the issue because that’ll mostly be just a waste of Rorono’s efforts .
“Master, the signal transmission from the doll has ceased . It’s still within the maximum range, so it’s more likely that it had entered a different dimension . ”
Rorono then took out her tablet and opened a map .
A certain point in the map was glowing red .
“Great job . I’ll go consult Marcho about it tomorrow . She should know whether there’s a dungeon there . If there is, she might also the Demon Lord it belongs to… Once we’ve confirmed those, we’ll go crush them . “
Though it was an unsuccessful attempt, the fact of the matter was that they aimed for my important daughter .
For that crime, I’m going to make them pay . That is unless they’ve already been blown up by the Rorono doll .
Chapter end
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