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Chapter 238 – Ground Crushing
I sent the first round into the light machine gun, and within a minute, something strange happened in the forest ahead. No, the ground began to shake before that. Was it an earthquake? While I thought that, the forest began to wriggle. As if it was breathing, it repeatedly rose and fell, making rumbling noises, and then suddenly, it exploded.
No, “exploded” is not an accurate description. Numerous earth-colored thorns poked out of the vast forest-like chestnuts or something. What in the world was going on? Although I am sure that this is Grande’s work, but
 could it be that each and every one of those countless thorns is being pierced by the Gluttonous Grasshopper?
As I tilt my head, the earth-colored thorns begin to crumble, and the forest begins to wriggle, making noise again. If there is a swarm of Gluttonous Grasshoppers in that forest, it is hard to believe that they would stay quiet in the midst of all that commotion, but not a single one of them flew in. Did Grande finish them off with a single blow?
After observing the wriggling forest for a while, the door to the bunker’s entrance started banging.
“Hey! Open up! What the hell is going on!”
“What a noisy guy
”
I clicked my tongue loudly in my mind. You see, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know any more than what I’ve seen.
“Hey! Are you sure the little girl from earlier is safe? You didn’t leave her to die hiding in a safe place like this, did you?”
Ah, I see
 Do you think I let Grande run into the grasshoppers and self-destruct? I thought I explained that Grande was a dragon, but I guess it’s not so easy to believe that.
“I can only tell what’s going on as I see it! But I think Grande is safe!”
“You think
?”
“If she’s not, I’ll be the one to clean up the mess. Until Grande comes back, I can’t let my guard down for even a second! So shut up and go back to town or else! Sorry to say this, but you’re in my way!”
I yell back at the man outside the door, who is still trying to say something, and glare through the sights of my light machine gun at the forest that continues to wriggle. I believe that Grande is safe, but in any case, I have agreed with Grande to take care of it in the event that she fails to do so. No matter how worried I am, there is no way I can break that rule.
Ten minutes passed as I thought about this, then fifteen minutes passed
 and the wriggling in the forest subsided. The Gluttonous Grasshoppers had damaged more than half of the trees, and a small shadow leaped into the sky from the balding forest. Naturally, I aimed at the shadow, then quickly took it out of my sights. I immediately recognized it as a small figure with dragon wings.
I stowed the light machine gun mount in my inventory and walked out of the bunker carrying the light machine gun, which was now heavier due to its heavy barrel.
“
..”
“
..”
Outside the door, the handlebar mustache knight―Captain Brennan, and his subordinates, Hugh the Spearman and Tellus the Shieldman, are standing in wait. They glared at each other somewhat.
“Are you finished?”
“Looks like it. I saw Grande leaping out of the forest. Right away――”
Boom! And something fell nearby with a cloud of dust and smoke. I knew exactly what had fallen.
“It looks like you’re back.”
“I’m done. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this, and I’ve overdone it.”
Saying this, Grande shook herself and swept away the dirt from her body. Strangely enough, even the dirt-stained clothes became clean. For the Grand Dragon, who is skilled in using earth magic, it seems that dirt is not considered a kind of stain.
After confirming her appearance, I put the light machine gun I was carrying on my shoulder into my inventory.
“It was a flashy move. Are they all dead?”
“Yes, I did not miss a thing. Or rather, I overdid it. I made a mess of the forest. It took me longer to clear the forest than it did to get rid of them.”
“I see
 Well done. Thank you, Grande.”
“Mufufu, it’s no problem for me. You can rely on me as much as you want for this kind of thing. It felt good to use magic with all my might after a while.”
I patted Grande’s head as she walked up to me, and she rubbed her cheek or head against my chest, giggling. This time I wore leather armor because I might be in a battle, which was a good thing. If I had not been wearing leather armor, I might have fainted from the horns that were rubbing against me.
“What did you do with the dead grasshopper?”
“I buried them all in the forest ground when I cleared it. They’ll make good nourishment.”
“I see. That’s very thorough.”
“Right, right.”
Captain Brennan and the others were listening to this exchange between Grande and me with indescribable subtle expressions on their faces. I guess they were having trouble understanding what was happening and didn’t know what to make of it.
“The grasshopper threat seems to have passed, but we need to check, don’t we? Grande confirmed it over there, but we need confirmation over there, too.”
“U-umu. That’s true
 um, really―no, it’s nothing. I don’t think anyone could have gotten caught up in that.”
Did you really take care of everything? He was about to ask but then reconsidered. Certainly, countless thorns popped up from all over that large forest. What if that magic had been unleashed in the city of Curéon? It would be wide-area annihilation magic that would annihilate countless Gluttonous Grasshoppers with a single blow. The town of Curéon might suffer the same fate as those Gluttonous Grasshoppers. In other words, it would be very dangerous for them to offend us.
“We’ll send someone from here to investigate. You―no, do you both want to go to after this
?” [T/n: He used Omae first, then changed it to Anatatachi.]
“The army will be arriving here shortly, so I will set up some quarters around here. Is that all right with you?”
“Yeah, that’s fine, but
 quarters?”
“Yes, that’s right. You know how quickly I built this thing, right?”
“I see
 Is there anything you need?”
“Nothing in particular. The military will be accompanied by civil servants and Adol clergy from the new Merinard kingdom, so they will be in charge of the paperwork. Grande and I are in charge of solving the problems of the new Merinard kingdom. Oh, but if there are any food, condiments, or specialties in the town of CurĂ©on, I’d like to buy them, personally.”
Captain Brennan made a strange face at my offer. After having made up his mind to offer me something, he might have been taken aback by my offer to buy some delicious local specialties.
“How should I put it? You are a strange man, Kosuke-dono.”
“I suppose that’s true. In all the world, Kosuke is the only person who has a dragon like me in his service.”
“Grande, you and I are not master and servant. We are equal partners.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. Mufufu.”
Grande hugged my waist with just the right amount of force. Hahaha, you cute little fellow.
“Ah
 we’re returning to the city to report and prepare for the next meeting.”
“Yeah, be careful. It’s just around the corner.”
With a wave of my hand, I saw Captain Brennan and his group off. Then, when the back of the group had faded away, I put my hands on both of Grande’s cheeks and made her look up.
“Mnh-mnh?”
“Are you hurt? Is there anything wrong with your body?”
“What, are you worried about me? There is no problem at all. In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to use all the magic I can muster, and my body feels great.”
“I see. I’m glad to hear that, but
 don’t overdo it, okay?”
“It’s fine. You worry too much, you know.”
Grande says this in a teasing tone, but she looks kind of happy. Of course, it’s natural to be concerned about such a small body that has unleashed such great magic that you don’t really understand.
Finally, I patted Grande’s head.
“Then I’ll quickly build an encampment, or rather a lodging house, for Danan and the rest of the group to stay.”
“Yes. And a place for me to sleep.”
“Yes, that’s right. Maybe I should remodel or rebuild this bunker
”
If I furnish the interior, it will be livable enough, but if I add a bath or something, it will be a major renovation
 Then I think it would be quicker to destroy it and build the usual accommodations on high stilts.
“Anyway, should we report this to Danan?”
“I guess so.”
I pulled the golem communicator out of my inventory. Danan and the others should have no problem reaching me at this distance. I reported the eradication of the Gluttonous Grasshoppers and checked the number of personnel coming this way. It would be better to build the quarters after that, so there would be no waste.