Chapter 53

Volume 4 : The Collapse of The Kingdom of Leone

Episode 1: Toward the Counterattack

Two weeks have passed since we left Spica City, and we’re approaching the border of the Leone Kingdom.

Brad-san is driving the carriage, while I, Mom, and the Roy family of three are riding inside. The other members of the 【Shadow】 are entering the kingdom through separate routes.
The purpose is to establish multiple small bases within the kingdom, allowing for quick travel using my teleportation magic.

Since it’s now known that I’m alive, staying in one place would attract attention, so by moving from base to base, we can avoid standing out and have safe bases to escape to if we’re discovered.

To cross the border, we’re undergoing an immigration inspection.
Brad-san is posing as a carriage driver, and we’re disguised as a family relocating from the Empire to the Leone Kingdom.

Mom is disguised as an old woman with illusion magic, while I’ve taken on the appearance of Roy-san’s younger brother.
Disguising myself as a boy helps ensure no one suspects that I’m Celestia, allowing us to pass through immigration more easily.

Just as expected, the immigration inspection went smoothly, and we successfully entered the Leone Kingdom.

Our destination is 【Cherimo City】, a rural town about a month’s journey by carriage from the royal capital, near the dungeon known as the 【Cherimo Magic Tower】.
Rated at difficulty level A, it’s an ideal place to search for a familiar.

Our first priorities are to find a rental property to use as our base and to register with the adventurer’s guild before heading into the dungeon.

Now, our counterattack against the Leone Kingdom begins.
We’ll steadily build our strength, and I’ll absolutely crush this country!

➖➖➖Selen’s Perspective➖➖➖

Hearing through telepathy that Celestia safely entered Leone Kingdom gave me relief.
She said that Lady Carmen was disguised as an old woman, and Celestia as a young boy, passing through immigration.

I wish I could’ve seen how they looked.

Although we’re separated, we keep in touch via telepathy, making her feel close, but truthfully, I’d rather be by her side.
Once I graduate from the academy, I might entrust the Empire to Slaine, create an organization like the 【Shadow】 here, and join Celestia to assist in bringing down the Leone Kingdom.

And so, Selen, having decided her own path, began to work toward creating an organization to support Celestia in her mission.

Episode 2: Establishing the Base

Upon arriving in Cherimo City, we immediately searched for a rental house to serve as our base.
Properties that can accommodate around ten people were plentiful, and we quickly found one.

The reason is that, due to the dungeon, there’s high demand for rental homes as clan bases.
We rented a house slightly removed from the city center, thus securing our base without issues.

From there, I used my 〘Space Magic〙 to expand the interior, creating separate bedrooms, a dining hall, a conference room, and more, marking our setup as complete.

「Does the house expansion look alright like this?」

「Yes, it’s more than adequate!」

「We’ve secured the base, but how are we going to enter the dungeon?」

「If Lady Celestia enters the dungeon in disguise, she can then use Transfer Magic to bring us all in.」

「Understood. And I’m disguising as a B-Rank adventurer, correct?」

「Yes, the B-Rank adventurer, 【Riggs】. Here is the profile and details for your review.」

After reviewing the information I was given, I attempted the disguise and had them verify the result.

「This is perfect. With this, there should be no issue entering the dungeon.」

「Alright, I’ll enter the dungeon tomorrow and get a preliminary look at what we’re up against.」

「That will be all for today.」

「Okay, thanks for the hard work!」

After the meeting about tomorrow’s activities concluded, Mom and I went to our room.
Once we settled on the sofa, she gently pulled me into a comforting embrace.

「Celestia, you did well. Expanding the interior must’ve been a lot of work, right?」

「Not really! Thanks, Mom. The long journey must’ve tired you too.」

After showing our appreciation for each other’s efforts, Mom and I took a bath to wash away the fatigue from our travels.
Then, I did my 〘Daily Gacha〙 before going to bed.

『Gacha… 〘Alchemy A-Rank〙』

※Ability to combine materials and create various items.

Episode 3: Cherimo Magic Tower

The next day, I headed toward the 【Cherimo Magic Tower】.

Disguised as 【Riggs】, I showed my fake ID at the entrance and managed to get in without any issues.

Since it’s a magic tower, I climbed up from the inside.
From the outside, it only looked about ten stories tall, but it seemed to have some kind of Space Magic making it larger on the inside.

No one has reached the top of this tower yet; the highest point anyone has reached is the 48th floor, so it must have at least 50 floors.

Since I was here, I decided to explore a bit.
The lower floors were about D-rank level, so I advanced easily and soon reached the fifth floor’s safety zone, the Safe Area.

Although I could have continued further, I decided to return for today.
After creating a hidden room using Space Magic, I set up a teleportation circle and returned to the base.

「Mom, I’m back~♪」

「Welcome back, Celestia♪ How was the magic tower?」

「I made it to the fifth-floor Safe Area and set up a teleportation circle. The lower floors were easy to get through. Tomorrow, I’ll see how far I can go without having to camp overnight.」

「Alright. Let me know through telepathy if anything comes up.」

After that, we all gathered in the meeting room to discuss the magic tower.
I shared my plan to both train and expand my familiars as I continue exploring.

With tomorrow’s tasks decided, the meeting ended.
I had dinner in the dining hall before returning to my room.

I took a bath and, before going to bed, reached out to Selen-sama through telepathy.

「Are you awake?」

「Yes, I’m awake♪ What story do you have for me today?」

「We arrived in Cherimo City and found a base. Today, I went to the Cherimo Magic Tower dungeon!」

「You already found a base. And what was the dungeon like? Different from Spica’s Magic Cave?」

「I only got to the fifth-floor Safe Area, so it didn’t feel too different. How’s the academy?」

「I’d love to go dungeon diving together again. At the academy, since you’re gone, Group A was disbanded, and they’ve restructured the groups.」

「What happened to Stratos?」

「Stratos left Group A, too. It would’ve been hard to keep working together anyway. Oh, and the Barios family’s title was revoked.」

「I still can’t believe it, but… if they lost their title, then it must be true that they betrayed us.」

「Yes, and the relations between the kingdom and empire have only worsened.」

「I see… It’s gotten late, hasn’t it? I’ll contact you again soon♪」

「I’ll be looking forward to it♪」

After chatting a bit more with Selen-sama, I finally went to bed.

Episode 4: Increasing Familiars

Starting today, I’ll be diving into the Cherimo Magic Tower in earnest.
Brad-san will be staying behind, and it’ll be just me, Roy-san, Yuri-san, and Guy-san heading out.

「Mom, I’m off. Love you lots!」

「Do your best. Love you lots too!」

After a quick farewell and a hug, I teleported us into the dungeon. Confirming that no one was around our hidden room, I stepped outside.

「From the Safe Area to the boss room, it’s a quick walk, so let’s defeat the boss and keep progressing as far as we can.」

「Leave it to us.」

We promptly moved and soon arrived at the entrance of the boss room. Luckily, no one else was there, so we opened the door and stepped inside.
The room looked like a dense forest, and in the center stood a humanoid stag beetle clad in what seemed like black armor that gleamed.

Thinking it might not work since it was a floor boss, I tried using appraisal to see if I could make it my familiar.
The floor boss, called 【Cascade】, surprisingly has a magic core!

「It’s a floor boss, but since it has a magic core up front, I’ll take it down myself, so don’t interfere, okay?」

「Understood.」

I faced Cascade with the intention of making it my familiar.
Firing a Stone Bullet at it, my attack bounced off its hard shell, leaving no scratch.

Enveloping my dual spears with wind magic, I went in to strike, and Cascade crossed its arms defensively, its outer shell taking the blow, but with a loud *wham!* sound, I sliced both arms off.

「Gwaaaaah!」

Roaring in rage, Cascade flailed wildly, but I still lunged forward, piercing its chest with my spear, causing it to crumble lifelessly.
After it vanished, I immediately picked up the remaining magic core, infused it with my mana, and watched as it transformed, gleaming silver, into the form of a silver Cascade.

「I pledge my loyalty to my master.」

「Nice to meet you! I’ll give you the name 【Argent】.」

「I am deeply grateful.」

I’d managed to form a familiar contract with a floor boss by luck. I wonder if new floor bosses will appear after this?
It might be worth fighting a floor boss every day.

We descended to the sixth floor and continued our way through the tower.
The tenth-floor boss room held a floor boss named Orthros, which, to my surprise, also had a magic core, so I formed a familiar contract with it too.

I named the Orthros 【Griel】.
Afterward, we made it to the fifteenth-floor Safe Area and then returned to our base.

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