Baronet Erka was trash as a human being, but he was fairly capable as a guide.
Just as he'd warned, starting around lunchtime the next day, the expedition force had to clash with monsters at frequent intervals.
In the depths of the Labyrinth, there were plant-type monsters that took root at chokepoints to obstruct their route, and insect-type monsters that caught the scent of intruders and swarmed to attack—there were simply too many of them.
"Form up for battle!"
This time, the enemy was what looked like around a dozen or so black monsters—variants of sand worms. They wriggled forward from the front, their bodies squirming like maggots as they came.
From far away, they looked sluggish, but because they were the size of houses, they were no slower than a carriage charging straight at them.
The Byeokhyeol Knights at the very front drew their weapons. Soon, the noise of battle rang out.
"We're fighting again. Looks like Sand Worms this time too?"
Rosenitte said indifferently without even looking out the window. With her keen hearing, it seemed she'd reached the point where she could infer the type of monster just from the sounds alone.
Eve was impressed, despite herself.
'They say even a grub has its own tricks—so Roji's got a knack for listening, huh.'
Maybe because she'd been staring at her with that thought, Rosenitte picked a fight with Eve's gaze.
"Why are you looking at me like that again?"
"Because it's fascinating."
"...Not because I'm pretty?"
For some reason, just as Rosenitte's brows were about to knit together in displeasure, Eve added,
"It's just… there's a battle going on, and I realized you're a lot calmer than I expected."
"If I think of it like a monster-hunting tournament, it's not scary at all.
Besides, the carriage will be safe since there are homunculi escorting us in droves."
Rosenitte lifted her chin as if showing off her courage.
And then, it happened.
Urrrrr—!
"W-What is that?!"
The carriage they were riding in suddenly jolted violently, and a tremendous roar battered their ears. From the cliffside above, stone dust poured down in a rush.
'An earthquake? A landslide?'
If it was a natural disaster, staying inside the carriage wasn't necessarily the answer. Eve flung the door open and looked outside. Right then, someone shouted,
"U-Up above! There's a worm on the cliff too!"
Eve lifted her head and gasped in shock.
From a cavern hollowed out in the middle of the cliff, an enormous maggot was staring down at the carriage. It was the same kind as the Sand Worms currently engaged at the front, but its size was far beyond anything reasonable—monstrously larger.
"W-Why is it so big? Is it… a Demon Dragon?"
That was when Rosenitte, peeking her head out, asked stupidly.
In the next instant, the black Sand Worm drew its body in, then unfurled—and launched itself off the cliff.
"I-It's falling!"
The worm's massive bulk was fully revealed, casting a shadow over the expedition force's heads. With a mouth gaping wide like a sphincter, it was a heartbeat away from dropping straight down onto the carriages and wagons.
Being swallowed whole was one thing, but if they were crushed beneath a worm of that size, it would be certain death from sheer pressure alone.
"Your Highness!"
When a member of the Imperial Family faced a life-threatening crisis, the ones who reacted fastest were, as always, the imprinted personal knights.
Mikael and Sylvestian, who had been guarding the rear, immediately threw themselves into motion. Of the two, Mikael was a fraction faster.
Thud.
The carriage Eve and Rosenitte were riding in shuddered with a heavy impact. Mikael had landed on its roof.
Sshhk!
The moment he drew his sword, he unleashed a powerful sword aura toward the sky. A dense mass of force gathered into a crescent-moon shape and struck the giant Sand Worm head-on.
Puh-uh-uhng!
The Sand Worm's body exploded midair. But it wasn't over yet.
As the monster's enormous body shattered, the amount of debris spraying in every direction was staggering. And the Sand Worm Mikael had killed was no ordinary one.
"E-Eggs?!"
It was a gravid female. From within its belly, tens of thousands of eggs burst out.
Yellow shells cracked, and larvae were forced into premature hatching. Mixed with the mother's bodily fluids, they were plummeting down toward the ground.
"Hh—urk!"
At this rate, the expedition force was about to be drenched in a grotesque rain of bugs.
Fortunately, Mikael had a way to clean up.
Click.
He immediately sheathed his sword, raised the scabbard, and activated the Aegis magic stone. A massive defensive barrier spread out like an umbrella, enveloping the entire procession of the expedition force.
Thud! Thud-thud! Splat-splat!
Burst flesh, bodily fluids, and writhing live larvae rained down onto the Aegis barrier. Its surface, once transparent like a quartz crystal, gradually darkened.
After quite some time had passed, Mikael converted the barrier into sword aura and burned away everything stuck to it like filth, leaving nothing behind.
Having finished cleanly, Mikael climbed down from the carriage roof.
"It's over. Please rest assured."
"Good work, Mikael."
Despite having expended a tremendous amount of mana, Mikael's face was utterly unfazed. Eve, too, simply smiled calmly, as if she had trusted him all along.
'What kind of mana reserves even are those?!'
But the peace was only their world. Around them, whether Imperial Family, servants, construction artisans, or Homunculus Knights, everyone wore a stunned expression at the sheer volume of Mikael's mana.
Brigitte, in particular, was glaring at Mikael with venomous eyes.
"N-Noona, did you see the barrier area just now? Even if it's a Snomett, doing that once would turn your hair whi—"
"Shut up, Derrick."
"Y-Yes..."
Brigitte took out her irritation on Derrick for no reason and went back into the carriage.
Once it came to this, the annoying work fell to Eve. Eve gathered the captains of the knight orders, received a report on the battle situation, and handled the aftermath.
"Incinerate the monster carcasses so no one comes into contact with them, and even if they aren't injured, anyone who got splashed with monster fluids should wash the affected area with clean water."
"Yes, understood."
"And we can't let fatigue accumulate from constant fighting, so send Byeokhyeol, who took the lead, to the rear. We'll rotate the knights' deployment like this at appropriate intervals. That's all."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After finishing her orders, Eve returned to the carriage. Rosenitte, seated opposite her, voiced her dissatisfaction.
"Every time we fight even once, we lose an enormous amount of time."
"With a large group moving together, inefficiency is inevitable."
"And the carriage is cramped, and I want to get there quickly so I can wash...."
It seemed this journey was becoming hard to endure for the White Rose of the Empire, who had grown up delicately within the Imperial Palace. Eve could see signs that she was starting to whine.
It felt a bit much to ignore her outright, so Eve tried soothing her for the moment.
"We're already planning to arrive tomorrow accounting for delays, so just hang in there a little longer."
"Can't we make them hurry? There's no reason to dawdle over catching some low-grade bug species—"
That was when an odd sound reached them.
Roll, roll. Tap, tap.
Drawn by the sound, Eve and Rosenitte both turned their eyes toward outside the carriage. Something was tumbling down in a rush from the cliffside. Looking closely—
They were live larvae.
"Ah, there are still some left?"
"Maybe they got caught on the cliff when the mother blew apart midair. Looks like they're only falling now—ah?!"
Unfortunately, Eve and Rosenitte's carriage was still in a state with the door not yet shut.
One larva bounced right into the carriage with Eve and Rosenitte.
Rrrroll. Wriggle, wriggle.
A black maggot the size of a forearm thrashed at their feet.
That was when the two delicately raised Imperial women went rigid as boards.
Just then, the larva twisted—and bumped against the toe of Rosenitte's shoe.
"Hii—!"
A strange sound came out of the White Rose of the Empire's mouth. Pale-faced, she immediately acted on instinct.
"Kyaaaaah! A buuuug!"
In that instant, Eve nearly screamed too. Because the prettiest bug in the Empire—no, Rosenitte—had suddenly plunged straight into Eve's arms without warning.
'W-What the—! Someone get her off me!'
Just as Eve cried out desperately in her mind at the sudden misfortune—
"What is the matter, Your Highness, Eighth Imperial Princess?!"
Once again, the personal knight was the fastest. The one who appeared was Sylvestian.
"A-A bug...!"
Sylvestian immediately swatted the baby worm with his scabbard and flung it out of the carriage.
Crunch.
Mikael, arriving right behind, stepped on it and crushed it. And as he did, over Sylvestian's shoulder, he coldly glared at Rosenitte—who was clinging to Eve.
"Yes. A bug."
Coming to her senses, Rosenitte hurriedly sprang away from Eve. Then she sat primly, putting on a sickeningly demure act.
"I-I was just a little startled. I'm fine."
Of course, Rosenitte's condition was none of Mikael's concern.
Mikael stepped into the carriage and moved in close to Eve.
"Are you all right, Your Highness?"
When dealing with the Sand Worm mother, he had been indifferent to the point of coldness—yet now his attitude had completely changed. His gaze and tone brimmed with every worry in the world, so solicitous it was almost reverent.
As if Eve had been rescued from an enormous crisis, Mikael carefully examined her condition. He even went through the motions of brushing and patting at her here and there with his hands—mostly the places Rosenitte had touched.
Eve, a little taken aback, tried to stop Mikael's overprotectiveness.
"I'm fine."
"But the bug touched you."
"It didn't touch me."
"To my eyes, it looked like it did."
His tone held a strange certainty.
"There's really nothing to worry about. More importantly, we need to set out again as soon as things are cleaned up, so go on."
"Yes, Your Highness."
As Mikael closed the carriage door, his icy gaze swept over Rosenitte one more time. It was the look of someone reluctant, as if there were still a pest left that needed exterminating.