“Count! There’s something strange about the vibrations from the mountain lately. Many residents have reported hearing strange howling sounds...”
“Yawn. It seems the mountain beasts are causing a ruckus. If I place a large order for pelts from the hunters, things should improve.”
“Yes. I’ll take care of that for now.”

A grim report had come in one day.
Count Arien responded with a yawn.

How serious could the mountain vibrations really be?
Could anything be more terrifying than that massive earthquake that almost overturned the entire Arient territory?
It surely couldn’t be anything significant.
Count Arien decided to dismiss it lightly.

Then the next day.

“Count! It’s a big problem! Hunters have testified to witnessing monsters in the mountains!”
“Monsters in the mountains? Ha ha! That’s a joke not even a dog would laugh at! My father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and even my great-great-grandfather never heard of monsters coming from that mountain! Beyond the mountain lies the Vermont territory; are they actually releasing monsters from there?”
“Uh?”
“...Huh?”

That was... plausible!?
The expressions of the butler and Count Arien shifted subtly.
With all the rumors about experiments and heinous acts occurring in Vermont, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were releasing monsters.

“Ha, what nonsense! My gracious younger brother would never do such a thing!”
“Y-Yes. That’s a wise statement.”

No, don’t doubt it.
Who saved Arient Construction from the brink of bankruptcy? Vermont.
Who continuously provided work to Arient Construction, which was on the verge of going under due to being unable to pay interest? Vermont.

Ah, my brother.
I was foolishly caught up in outdated prejudices and harbored wrongful thoughts.
Count Arien shed tears of repentance and reflected deeply.

“I must have misheard. There’s no way monsters could emerge. Tell the hunters that if they want to prove their words are true, they should bring back a monster’s corpse.”
“Yes. I will do that.”

In the dark mountain night, it was clear that someone was too scared and embarrassed to admit they had simply freaked out about a monster.
That explanation was the only logical one.
Count Arien quickly concluded this and decided to ignore it again.

However, three days later.

“C-Count! It’s bad! Reports of monsters appearing are flooding in!”
“What!? Are they all hallucinating this time...?”

Jumping up!
Count Arien’s words trailed off.
Outside the window.
He could see the lush forest of the distant mountains shaking and collapsing with his own eyes.

“Ah!”

A massive wave, too numerous to count, like a giant tide.
Ants. They were ants.
As Count Arien’s face turned pale at the sight of a huge swarm of ants rushing towards them like a tide, he shouted.

“Immediately bring the residents into the castle! If even a single cripple is left behind, there will be severe punishment, so be aware!”
“Yes!”
“And, request support from the palace... No. First from Vermont!”

If those things get into the castle, it would be a massacre.
The Arient territory would be doomed!
The Count trembled with fear but could not let go of a glimmer of hope.

“Brother. I ask for your help once more...!”

Aslan from Vermont, known for his many escapades.
Perhaps he might have a clever solution to break this situation.
Praying that it would be true, Count Arien hurriedly threw on his outerwear and dashed outside.

“Yulia! Hurry! They said it’s urgent!!!”
“Uwaah! I was eating a snack, what is this...!”

With a rush, Yulia was pulled out by Charlotte.
She was dressed casually, wearing just a coat and hat.
With crumbs all over her mouth, it seemed she had indeed been snacking.

“It’s an emergency.”
“T-Then I’ll bring Dirt Dirt too!...”
“Call him.”
“Dirt Dirt! Come here!”
[Kyah! I don't care about human matters...!]

In that moment, Yulia opened her mouth, letting out a sound like a shriek.
She was unleashing her magical essence.

[Kyah! My body moves on its own!!!]
“Dirt Dirt, you’re here!”

With a rush.
Kicking up clouds of dust, Dirt Dirt came running from a distance and jumped right into Charlotte's arms.
What a lucky guy.

“Let’s depart.”
“What about the knight sister?”
“She left first. On horseback.”

Sylvia didn’t have the luxury of waiting for us and had gone ahead.
Riding a horse would definitely be faster than taking a carriage.
Having buffered her mana, she would surely be of some help for the initial response.

The carriage carrying me, Charlotte, Yulia, and Dirt Dirt began to speed down the night road, leaving the mansion behind.

“Phew. So what’s happening exactly?”
“There’s a massive monster outbreak on the mountain, and the Arient territory is in danger. I’ve heard that giant ant monsters have appeared in large numbers.”
“A monster outbreak...!”

Charlotte and Yulia’s eyes widened.
Startled, their mouths fell open.
There was no surprise there.
A monster outbreak is an unusual disaster.

‘Monsters are inherently rare.’

Monsters.
This term refers to animals transformed by mana.
Ordinary animals tend to avoid areas with high concentrations of mana.
However, if they are exposed to high mana levels for extended periods due to unavoidable circumstances, they mutate into monsters with ferocious temperaments.

If there were just one or two, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
But the problem arises when the entire group of animals turns into monsters.
At that point, a swarm of monsters arises, leading to disaster, which is referred to as a monster outbreak.

“Where on earth are so many monsters coming from...?”
“If Dirt Dirt lived in the mountains, wouldn’t he know something? ...Right?”
“Dirt Dirt! Do you know anything?”
[Kyah!]

Charlotte grabbed Dirt Dirt and shook him.

[I wouldn’t let monsters rampage in the place I live!] “You don’t know? Then who would? Think a bit harder!”
[If I say I don’t know, then I don’t know... Oh. If you mention ants, there might be something I remember.]
“What is it!?”
“Tell me! Hurry!”

Bam bam!
Charlotte and Yulia pulled Dirt Dirt and asked.

[When I hibernated, there was a colony of ants below where I slept. They kept popping up and bothering me, so I sealed off the entire colony with a barrier.]
“Wait a moment. If I remember correctly, a barrier is made from high concentrations of mana.”
[That’s correct, human.]
“...”

A barrier is a solid wall made of mana.
The colony of ants surrounded by it must have been exposed to high mana levels for a long time.
So...

“Dirt Dirt, it was because of you!!!”
[...].

Dirt Dirt’s barrier had triggered the monster outbreak.
Charlotte shouted while holding Dirt Dirt.
Dirt Dirt turned his head away, looking away.

[Why is this my fault? If the barrier had stayed intact, the monsters wouldn’t have escaped anyway. It’s not my fault that I left the mountain and couldn’t maintain the barrier, is it?]
“If you had just told us! Why are you blaming us when you didn’t say anything!?”
[...I forgot.]
“Hey!!!”
“Enough. Let’s stop arguing about who’s right or wrong and focus on resolving the situation for now.”

To calm the escalating dispute, I opened the window.

Grrrrrr!
Like an earthquake, the overwhelming sound of the black ant swarm engulfed the ground.
They quickly covered the village of Arient, destroying everything in their path without leaving a trace.

“From now on, we must fight against them.”
“Uh...?”
“Ah...”

Charlotte and Yulia’s mouths dropped open.
.
.
.
“Have all the residents of District 5 been evacuated?”
“Ah, no! Districts 1 and 2 have confirmed evacuation, but Districts 3, 4, and 5 are still...”

The butler’s words trailed off.
A vein pulsed on Count Arien’s forehead.
Damn it! The monsters had already pushed into the village, and evacuation status was still like that!

Districts 1 and 2 were closer to the castle, so their evacuation was quicker.
But the most populated districts were the three on the outskirts.
That meant that they hadn’t even managed to evacuate half yet.

“Why is this taking so long! At this rate, my territory’s residents will all die! If the residents die, we won’t be able to pay taxes...!”

He still hadn’t repaid the debts owed to Vermont!
He was struggling just to pay the interest!
If he lost a lot of residents here, the Arient territory would be completely ruined!

A miracle! He needed a miracle!
He desperately needed it!
Count Arien’s hands trembled with urgency.

“Right now, we’re mobilizing all employees and soldiers, but it’s still not enough. About half of the guards left the Arient territory for training a week ago, and it will take at least three days for them to return...”
“Damn it! What do you mean you’re short on manpower!?”
“Count! Look over there!”
“...!”

At the sudden call, Count Arien turned around.
He saw a line of residents keeping order and heading towards the back gate of the castle.
Wasn’t that towards District 5?
There shouldn’t have been any guards around there yet; who was leading the residents so orderly?

“Who on earth is evacuating them?”
“It’s a knight from Vermont! And employees from Vermont Security are leading the evacuation!”
“Evacuation lines are also coming from Districts 3 and 4!”
“Oh my goodness!”

Again! Again!
Was he indebted to Vermont once more!?
To be honest, when he first heard about them wanting to start a security company, he had laughed inwardly.
He had wondered how such a business could succeed.
But who would have thought that he would be the first to benefit from it!

“Ahhhh! Brother...!”

In the arrival of the long-awaited miracle, Count Arien knelt and wept.
Were those tears of gratitude for Vermont’s kindness?
Or were they tears of despair about how much more Vermont would take advantage of this situation?
There was no way to know.