A Warrior Exiled by the Hero and His Lover

In a forest not far from the royal capital.

Kaede and I were being guided by Jonathan.

"To the public I'm the president of a shipping company, but in reality I'm a secret agent working directly for His Majesty. There are only a few people who know that, and Count Roane is one of them."

As we went deeper into the dimly lit forest, the sunlight filtered through the curtain-like trees.

Monsters watched us in the shade of the trees and grass, and slimes and insects fought for power in the trees.

On the other hand, the aroma emanating from the flora and fauna was quite relaxing.

If there wasn't chaos waiting for us ahead, I could have taken a nap with Panda as a pillow.

It is also good to take a break while using Kaede's lap as a pillow.

"Master... Are death ants really that dangerous?"

"What?"

I am surprised by what she just said.

I can't believe there is a person in this world who doesn't know of the Death Ants.

It has always seemed to me that Kaede is a bit unbalanced.

She has the air of being well educated, but doesn't know things that are considered common knowledge.

Even children should understand the dangers of death ants.

How did she become a slave in the first place?

Was she kidnapped from somewhere?

When this is over, we should talk properly.

"Stop. This is ant territory."

"I guess this is the part where you'll go back."

"Don't feel bad. Unlike you, I'm not strong enough to stand up to them."

After that he said, "I'll be waiting for you outside the forest."

It is not normal to bet the fate of a nation on just two adventurers.

What on earth did Count Roane write in his letter? If I had not lived up to his expectations, this country would be finished.

And the king too. How dare he put me in a situation like this?

Besides, this is the work of a hero.

I am just a simple adventurer. I simply want to travel and recover from my traumatic past.

Why didn't they go after Sain?

...Well, it's not worth complaining at this point, I've accepted it.

"Master, are you feeling bad?"

"Don't worry, I was just thinking about how we're going to kill the ants."

"Kyui"

"I see you're worried about me, too."

Panda rubs his body against my face.

I also felt a strange sensation against my legs, so I looked down and saw Kaede rubbing her tail on me.

Maybe she's doing it unconsciously. She has a motivated face.

"Master, are those death ants?"

Black creatures were hidden behind the bushes in front of us.

Their size is about one meter, and what appeared to be one of these ants was lying dead.

As Jonathan said, the nest seems to be near.

"It's hard to find a burrow when there are a lot of trees."

"Then leave it to me."

Kaede took out her two iron fans and spread them out.

"Twin Tornado!"

Two tornadoes formed and spun all over the place.

The storm ripped the trees from their roots and blew them skyward.

The death ants also flew along with the trees one after the other.

An empty, circular space was created in the forest.

"Come forth, Ice!"

The temperature dropped sharply in an instant and the surrounding ground froze.

The ants that managed to cling to the ground instantly became ice sculptures.

"Master, the cleaning is complete."

"Well, that's refreshing..."

The exposed burrow is in the center of the space.

Thanks to my lovely slave, I was saved from the trouble of looking for it.

Still, I feel she has overplayed her hand.

Won't Jonathan or the king complain later?

"It's still small. It's barely enough to get people in."

The ant burrow is a little more than one meter in diameter.

It is large enough for two ants to enter.

Hmmm, what's going on?

"Shall I cast a spell?"

"No, we shouldn't do that. It's pretty deep in there, so even if we could probably take out the upper levels and some ants, we still wouldn't be able to reach the queen at the bottom."

"Then how about using the fire magic you've been practicing? You can burn them to death from above ground."

The heat ray? No, it's impossible, I don't even know where the queen is.

It will be harder to kill them if I start casting magic blindly.

And we must obtain proof that we killed the queen.

There will be no reward for just saying I killed her.

How about using Rosuke to get in there?

However, although he is strong, his intelligence is not so high.

Even if I ordered him to kill the queen, he wouldn't be able to distinguish between her and the soldiers.

It would be trouble, but if I could confront her directly, it wouldn't be a bad idea.

"It would be easier if we could turn this den into a dungeon."

"A dungeon?"

There was something about that word that stuck with me.

I'm pretty sure I have a dungeon.

There was a similar description in the status board.

"Can I really do it...?"

I pointed my hand at the burrow and held that thought in my head.

《Notice: It is possible to capture the nest of the Death Ants and turn it into a dungeon.》

Can I really? I guess I can.

To be honest, I was being skeptical.

I will turn the den into a dungeon.

Boom.

A stone box appeared on the floor, and inside was a ladder leading down.

《Notice: Dungeon owners can transfer to all levels.》

For now, we have been transferred to the lowest level.

There were thirty floors, so I selected the bottom most floor in the core of the dungeon.

There, a large ant was standing.

There were ten ants that looked like soldiers wandering around, apparently confused by the unusual situation.

My dungeon has taken over the den.

This is their graveyard now.

"Blizzard Blossom!"

Pish, soldier ants freeze.

But the queen shakes her body and breaks the ice.

Wow

He snaps her mandibles threateningly at us.

Even in this situation, instead of running away, she is showing her anger.

Is it her pride as a queen, or is she simply unaware of the situation?

I draw my great sword and swing it with great speed.

The queen's head bounced off the ground and her massive body collapsed.

This is what happens when you try to fight me directly.

She may be the queen of the Death Ants, but she's no match for a level 300 warrior like me.

I sighed as I picked her head up.

"And the other ants, Master?

"That's right. Can't the owner of the dungeon do anything about that?''

Immediately after, multiple windows open in front of me.

A map of the dungeon was projected there.

It's possible to release some monsters that will devour and kill ants. If we leave them alone for a while, they will be exterminated.

"Are we going home now?"

"Yes."

Transfer to the surface.

I threw the queen's head on the table.

Jonathan smiled.

"You've done it! Just as I expected from a man recommended by Roane, you have lived up to our expectations."

"Thank you very much. By the way, can I ask you something?"

"I will respond to the best of my knowledge."

"Why were there so few ants?"

His expression tensed at my words.

"Because the army sacrificed themselves in exchange for reducing the number of ants. But it wasn't enough. I was pondering what to do, when you came to see me."

"Did the Count know?"

"Yes, he knew. He knew because I had discussed it with him. You should be proud, you have saved the city, the country even. The reward you will receive will be great."

Could it be that this was the Count's reward?

It took me a while to figure it out, but as a result I met a wealthy merchant and met the king of this country.

I will also receive a great reward.

The money was just a bonus. The real prize is to have met powerful people.

"They'll be here soon. Make sure you are prepared."

"Who?"

Tun tun tun tun tun tun

A lot of footsteps echo outside the room.

The door opened vigorously and several knights entered the room.

"Are you two from the Manyu Brigade?"

"That is correct..."

"You will have to accompany us to the palace."

The atmosphere is not very calm.

Did something go wrong?

I got rid of the ants as requested.

Suddenly, one of the knights extended his hand.

"Please allow me to shake your hand! Savior of our country!"

Ah? Aaah?

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh????