Someone's Savior
The first thing I did was start building the defensive barrier.
Like I'd already said—
with the eastern cabin destroyed and all the girls gathered in the western one, the Ultra Wave wouldn't happen yet.
But—
Once dawn breaks and the girls start moving north?
That's when the culprit, who'd been waiting for the perfect chance, would trigger the Ultra Wave.
Because the beast only struck when the girls were gone and the boys were clustered together.
That was the moment I had to prepare for.
Turn the western cabin into a fortress.
A fortress strong enough to protect every child, even if a tidal wave of monsters crashed over it.
That was the plan.
Fortunately, I had plenty of time, and the design for the fortress was already complete—
because I'd memorized it all from the game.
But then the problem came from somewhere completely unexpected.
Something that had never happened in the original game.
"...Why should we do that?"
"Yeah, why go that far?"
That was the reaction from the boys when I suggested fortifying the western cabin.
Gid Iemer and Erquado Peanut—
aside from Hekster, they were the little faction leaders who each led a small group of boys.
The two of them glared at me with sullen, distrustful eyes.
"Haa…"
A wave of exhaustion washed over me.
These nobodies…
I was already drained from arguing with Eve,
and now I had to convince these brats too?
I couldn't just say, "You're all about to die, so shut up and cooperate."
"Some random guy shows up out of nowhere and starts spouting nonsense? You think I'm stupid?"
"I get that you're trying to keep us safe, but we're not your subordinates, are we?"
Yeah, talking politely clearly wasn't going to work.
And honestly, I don't even feel like being polite.
God, I just wanted to beat them senseless.
Really beat them.
"..."
As I locked eyes with the two idiots, Kals quietly stepped forward.
"Shan, should I… teach them a lesson?"
Apparently, after roughing up Hekster, he'd developed a taste for it—
he was already rolling his wrists.
"Yeah, go ahead, give them a triple dose of—"
"W-Wait a second!"
Eve suddenly cut in.
Right when I was about to tell Kals to pound them until their faces were unrecognizable.
"Oh, hey, Eve."
"Everything okay? Your teams all safe?"
At the sight of the lovely girl appearing, both boys immediately brightened.
Of course they did.
Pathetic.
Enjoying yourselves, are you?
I sighed and gestured toward Kals.
"Forget it, big guy. Maybe give them the unlimited lesson later instead—"
"Hey! I said wait!"
"What now?"
I frowned, but she stepped between us and said firmly,
"I'll handle convincing them. No violence."
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Wow, you're running the Gandhi meta now?"
"What's a Gandhi?"
"Never mind. You're missing some general knowledge, I see."
"…Anyway."
I crossed my arms.
"And how exactly are you going to do that? You can't just tell them everything."
But Eve only smirked with quiet confidence.
"Don't worry. Think of it as my apology for yesterday's water incident."
"…?"
And sure enough, barely five minutes later—
construction had begun.
All the boys—except a few still out hunting—were hauling rocks with serious determination.
Honestly, even I was surprised.
"What the hell? How'd you do that? Used your looks?"
"That's a pretty rude thing to say, Your Highness."
"I didn't think there was a persuasion route I didn't know."
"Not everything needs a walkthrough."
"…Touché."
She got me there.
Eve smiled faintly and explained simply,
"I just told them the girls were nervous about being defenseless. Then their 'switch' flipped."
"Switch?"
"The idiot switch. You know—the one every boy has."
"…Ah."
Of course.
That simple.
Adolescent boys, hormones raging, suddenly inspired to act heroic the moment a girl looks worried.
Eve had played that card masterfully.
Huh. Not bad.
While I'd been thinking about beating them to a pulp,
she'd gone and pulled off a neat little social hack instead.
That level of finesse made me wonder—
maybe she wasn't as young as she looked.
What is she, really? Thirty? Forty?
…Could be she's even a parent herself, considering how protective she is of the kids.
The thought crossed my mind briefly, but—
Who cares.
I turned away.
"..."
No point in indulging personal curiosity.
I focused instead on the mental blueprint of the barrier and began directing the work.
By the time the sun had fully set and the moon had risen,
the barrier was about seventy percent complete.
That was when Hekster Walt's team finally returned to the camp.
"...Boss?"
"What are you doing here?"
They looked utterly confused at the sight of Hekster grunting and pushing heavy rocks.
But their confusion didn't end there.
"And who are all these girls?"
"Weren't they supposed to be using the eastern cabin?"
To them, the construction project made no sense.
And now, with the girls working alongside the boys, the whole area was bustling chaos.
Ah, my little EXP shuttles have arrived.
I'd been briefing the mages on the spells we'd soon need when I noticed them.
"Hey! Why are you just standing there like totem poles? Get over here!"
"...!"
They flinched instinctively at my shout.
"What are you doing? Done hunting? Then hand over the tokens already."
I gestured with my fingers, and their expressions crumpled.
"That bastard…"
"You think we'll keep wiping your ass forever?"
[Side Event: "Hunting Subcontract" has ended.]
I clicked my tongue.
Wow. So that's how that event ends, huh?
Didn't even matter what had happened in the field—
seeing their boss freely walking around was enough to make them relax.
"Boss, was that thing earlier okay?"
"It didn't trigger, right?"
"What are you two staring at? You enjoying the show?"
The boys, now recovered and relaxed, started asking Hekster if he was okay and barking orders at the other kids nearby.
Their previous submission—the kind beaten into them by Kals—had completely vanished.
But then—
"Shut it, you idiots."
"Huh?"
"What did you say, boss?"
"You heard me! Shut your mouths and move those damn rocks already!"
All four froze.
"Wh-what's with you?"
"Did it hurt that bad where you got hit earlier?"
Instead of answering, Hekster smacked each of them on the head and whispered something under his breath.
A second later, their faces twisted in disbelief as they turned to look at me.
I had no idea what he told them.
But one thing was clear—Hekster Walt was a surprisingly competent leader.
"We're sorry, sir."
"We didn't know…"
Whatever he said, it had them bowing instantly.
I couldn't help but be curious about his secret technique.
Either way, the result was what mattered.
Three different hunting tokens dropped into my hand—
Small Lizardman Archer ×3, Inexperienced Kobold Squad Leader, and Corrupted Grol Warrior.
[Team member "Kals Aledro" has achieved the ritual objective.]
[Team member "En Aledro" has achieved the ritual objective.]
[Team member "Shark Lobren" has achieved the ritual objective.]
That meant, aside from me and Baruel, the three had now met the conditions for completing the Ritual of the Red Wind.
Once their hunting objectives were done, the kids could officially leave the field—
head north to Aulrax's fortress, report to the officers there, and wrap it all up.
That alone would count as a successful completion.
But of the sixty or so kids here, not a single one was leaving.
Even those who'd finished their targets on the first day had stayed to help with the next hunt—
for the sake of their teammates.
And it doesn't look like anyone's seriously injured either.
Thanks to that, the western cabin was now bustling with every familiar face from the camp.
All working together to build the defensive wall.
None of them knew the truth about the Ultra Wave.
They just thought they were fortifying the camp, laughing and chatting as they stacked stones.
Good. If anyone had tried to leave, I'd have to worry about them too.
I'd promised Eve—
this quest would end without a single casualty.
And while I was at it, I'd take every last bit of the reward for myself.
A storm of level-ups.
Just thinking about it made my heart race.
Night fell, heavy and black.
"Perfect."
I nodded at the roughly finished wall.
A sturdy ring of stone over two meters high now surrounded the cabins.
This should hold for at least thirty minutes.
Thick logs from nearby trees formed the supports,
while boulders moved and set in place with magic were bound together with layered reinforcement spells.
When the time came, Tyrbaen would use her magic again to strengthen it—
Woodroot Defense Technique.
This time, I'd instructed her to balance strength and duration carefully to maximize efficiency.
"Alright, next…"
I lifted my gaze toward the forest cloaked in darkness.
They should be returning soon.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, silhouettes emerged from the woods.
"We're back, team leader."
"—Everything went exactly as you said."
"Damn it, why did I get drafted for this again?"
Shark, Baruel, and Hekster.
Each carried an empty oil drum.
"You covered everything properly?"
"Of course."
Shark's reply was firm.
But beside him, Hekster let out a deep sigh and looked at me uncertainly.
"Hey… are you sure about this?"
"About what?"
"What do you mean, 'about what'? You're seriously planning to burn down the forest?"
I couldn't help but laugh at his irritated tone.
First a pacifist, now an environmentalist?
"Got a better idea? The monsters are going to pour out like maniacs. What else do you suggest—go out there and solo them?"
The plan was simple:
keep the kids fortified here and lure the monsters into a wall of flame.
Crush their advance under waves of fire.
"So what's with the sudden moral objection, kid?"
"No, that's not what I meant!"
"…?"
Surprisingly, Hekster shook his head, looking genuinely frustrated.
"You said the Ultra Wave makes the monsters go berserk, right? You really think burning part of the forest is enough to stop that?"
"..."
"They'll just crawl out from underground! And when the flames die down, then what? That's what I'm asking!"
To my surprise, he was seriously thinking ahead.
Actually analyzing the situation.
"Huh. You're using your brain? Didn't expect that from you."
His face twisted with irritation again.
I chuckled.
"Good question, though. Of course, this isn't the end."
The wall and the fire—these were just defensive measures.
They'd buy us time against the endless Ultra Wave, nothing more.
Now that they were ready—
"It's time we prepared our offense."
"Offense? Who are we attacking?"
"You idiot, who else? The one who started this nightmare!"
Once the Ultra Wave began and the defense line was holding—
"I'll strike the source directly."
A direct hit on the origin point.
Point-zero assault.
That was my plan.
Hekster blinked, confused.
"But… how?"
He couldn't imagine how anyone could launch an attack while monsters flooded in, fire raging around them.
I simply smiled.
"You'll see."
After all, the Shield of Balance Kals had been carrying—
was precisely for that moment.
And right on cue, Eve stepped out of the cabin, holding an identical shield.
She met my eyes and nodded.
"You two ready? Let's go."
I nodded back and started walking into the forest.
This is the final step.
Once these shields were awakened—
transformed into true Shields of Balance—
and dawn arrived…
The Wave would begin.
It wouldn't take long.
Neither would my level-up.
Can I really hit level 30 this time?
…The thought alone made my heart race.