GILF Hunter

Chapter 258: 258 Monster Invasion

A bell tolled from the highest spire in the city.

The heavy, resonating sound shook the streets of Labyrinth, and as if signaled by it, official notices were posted on every bulletin board across the streets.

- Monster Invasion Warning

- Prohibition of City Gate Entry/Exit without authorization

- Price Freeze on all foodstuffs and strategic materials

It was the signal that the monster invasion was imminent.

Tension hung over the streets ahead of the battle.

Silence settled over the roads, but paradoxically, certain places grew even more clamorous because of it.

At the center of that commotion, the Mercenary Guild, countless people were gathering.

In the guild, where general operations had ceased, mercenaries were no longer visible; instead, guild staff and government officials had taken their place.

On one side of the bustling Mercenary Guild.

Ian received a few sheets of paper in a vacant room there.

It was a contract consigning the defense of the underground sewers to the Ian Mercenary Group.

-The Labyrinth Mercenary Guild consigns the defense of the Labyrinth underground sewers to the Ian Mercenary Group until the conclusion of the invasion.

-During the invasion period, the Ian Mercenary Group shall be incorporated into the Defense Force and granted temporary commander ranks.

-....

"Think about it again."

Someone spoke to Ian from the side while he was reading the contract clauses.

"Hello, Mr. Chris."

"I understand being ambitious. But can you handle it?"

It was a guild mercenary with whom he had some passing acquaintance.

Chris, perhaps unable to just let it go after hearing the news, advised Ian to think carefully once more before signing the contract.

In fact, it wasn’t just Chris; people throughout the guild were hovering nearby just to get a look at the face of the D-rank who had taken on a consignment.

Chris’s warning wasn’t just empty worry.

Consignment was a double-edged sword.

Taking on the defense meant you could claim all the glory of success, but...

Conversely, it meant taking full responsibility for any defensive failure.

A price would follow that a D-rank mercenary group could never possibly pay.

"Why would anyone be a mercenary if they weren’t ambitious?"

Watching Ian’s contract alongside Chris was another mercenary he had become acquainted with through a chance opportunity: Rebecca.

Rebecca, who could essentially be seen as the one who brokered this deal, asked Ian.

"Isn’t that right, Captain Ian?"

"You two, stop raining on his parade. Everything is already settled."

Camilla, entering the room with a small box, pushed the two aside.

Once Ian finished signing, Camilla verified the contract, set the item she had just brought onto the desk, and read the contract terms again.

"From now until the emergency warning is lifted, Captain Ian and his mercenary group are incorporated into the Defense Force Central Mercenary Corps command."

What Camilla handed over was not the usual leather pouch used for mercenary guild payments, but a well-crafted wooden box.

"Captain Ian and his affiliated mercenary group shall hold command authority over the mercenary forces in accordance with the Wartime Defense Act."

The contents of that box were military rank insignias.

"Here. Take yours too."

The members who followed Ian ended up receiving insignias with bewildered expressions.

***

Rin followed behind Ian through the underground sewers.

In various parts of the once-pitch-black sewers, numerous torches and lamps had been hung, brightly illuminating the way.

"Is this what ’participating’ meant? Captain, just who exactly are you...?"

Ian had gone to the guild and come back, and now the mercenaries who had suddenly received military ranks were still walking through the sewers behind him with dazed faces.

"No, even I didn’t plan on going this far."

The original plan was simply to enter as participating mercenaries for the sewer defense, secure the best spot, and sweep up as many monsters as possible.

Even Ian hadn’t expected to be handling a consignment starting from the very first invasion.

"...It just ended up this way."

The suspicion in Rin’s eyes deepened as she looked at Ian.

Was ’command authority’ really something you could just... ’end up’ receiving?

Rin looked down at the insignia pinned to her clothes.

She had heard that regular mercenaries usually received ranks equivalent to common soldiers.

Perhaps because Ian was the field commander, Rin, belonging to the same group, had received a rank higher than a regular soldier.

Of course, since it was strictly a temporary rank, Rin, a mercenary, couldn’t expect to be treated exactly like a soldier by the regular troops, but...

The way the laborers and low-ranking soldiers stole nervous glances at them was quite uncomfortable.

Awkward situations where rookie soldiers would get flustered and salute also occurred frequently.

Feeling uneasy, Rin asked Ian if they couldn’t just take them off, but Ian merely replied nonchalantly that they were from different branches anyway, so she should just ignore it and go about her business.

...They were supposed to be mercenaries with the exact same career length who submitted their applications on the same day.

Rin watched Ian chatting with a Defense Force officer as if he had run into a neighbor from the next house over.

Just what did he do before this?

Rin, Mika, and Tanya watched that scene and exchanged glances with identical expressions.

It had been several days since the Ian Mercenary Group began roaming around the underground sewers.

Inside the sewers, defense construction was in full swing ahead of the monster invasion.

Because the floodgates had been completely closed for the work, the waterways were exposed to the bottom, and lights were lit everywhere in the once-gloomy and silent sewers.

Countless laborers and soldiers moved back and forth carrying supplies.

Due to the noise of the construction, the underground sewers were as clamorous as a marketplace.

Barricades were installed in corridors according to the plan, and numerous crates containing defense supplies were moved to pre-planned strongpoints.

The members, carrying copies of the map Ian had duplicated and handed out, followed him daily through the sewers to memorize the paths.

Arriving at an intersection marked on the map, Ian verified the actual terrain, picked up an orb from a crate, and handed it to Rin.

"Here. Throw it."

"Huh? But there’s nothing there."

"It’s practice."

Ian pointed toward the center of the exposed waterway. It was one of the locations marked as an attack point on the map.

"Do... do we really just use this for practice? Do you know how much these cost?"

"It’s better than making a mistake in actual combat. Don’t worry, there’s plenty of supply."

Hesitantly taking the orb, Rin launched it toward the spot Ian indicated.

The orb, shattering upon impact with the floor, sparked a small flame before gradually spreading outward, turning the sewer floor into a sea of fire.

Ian checked if the range and duration of the prepared orb matched the expected performance and nodded.

If the actual performance had differed from what he knew, he would have had to modify the plan slightly, but fortunately, the specs were identical.

"Rin is already good at throwing so it’s fine, but you two should practice whenever you have time."

Mika and Tanya, watching from behind, nodded with tense faces.

A short while later.

While Mika, who was a total failure at it, was receiving a lecture on throwing posture from Rin, Ian called Tanya aside.

"Tanya. Your role is the most important in actual combat."

Ian spoke to Tanya, lowering his voice.

Tanya nodded as if she understood.

"Yes! It’s about replenishing supplies at the strongpoints so we don’t run low, right?"

"No, there’s something more important than that..."

Ian had Tanya take out her map and drew a path directly onto it.

It was a location Tanya also knew: the secret room hidden in the underground sewers.

Then Ian pointed to the crates stacked at a nearby supply point.

"I’ll give the signal when things are winding down. When I do, move the crates marked with red here into the secret room and hide them."

"Pardon?"

Tanya looked at the crates Ian pointed to. They were crates filled with expensive orbs.

Seeing Ian lower his voice, Tanya caught on to the implication.

He meant for her to embezzle them.

Tanya swallowed hard with a nervous expression.

"Aren’t these items we’re supposed to use for the defense...?"

"Just record them as having been used during the defense."

Orbs were consumables by nature; once thrown, they broke and vanished.

’Consumed during battle’—that single phrase would make those items disappear from the world completely.

However, there would be a minor change: the Ian Mercenary Group’s inventory would gain a few more orbs of unknown origin.

Seeing Ian’s calm and detached expression as he explained, Tanya realized she had been chosen as the operative for the kind of secretive conspiracy she had only heard about in stories.

Being entrusted with such an important task meant that Ian trusted her that much as a member, so should she be happy?

Tanya’s heart hammered at an incredible speed.

"Don’t worry about the amount for the defense; there’s plenty."

"W-won’t we have to return them afterward...? Won’t they be suspicious if the remaining inventory is too low?"

Ian shook his head slowly.

"Tanya. A budget isn’t something that’s supposed to be left over."

It wasn’t simply for Ian’s personal gain...

This action contained reasons that were far too complex for Tanya to understand, involving various tangled interests and such.

In any case, since it was something Ian told her to do, she had to follow orders.

Still, being the one who had to execute the task, Tanya asked with a face that couldn’t hide its anxiety.

"Um, what if... what if someone sees me moving them?"

"Give them this then. They’ll let you go."

Ian held out a small pouch to Tanya.

They’d just let her go? Was it a permit...?

Tanya peeked inside the pouch.

It wasn’t a permit, but it was an item that served the same function.

"...."

It was gold coins.