“Huh? What’s your problem?” Ranta glared at Haruhiro. “You got something to complain about?”

“...Not really.”

“Well, I do.”

“Huh?”

“About you, Haruhiro,” Ranta flipped the golden nose ring with his thumb, catching it in the palm of his hand. “Man, I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“Misunderstanding? Huh...? What’re you on about?”

“In other words, it’s like this. I hope you don’t want to be a hero or something like that, do you?”

“A hero?” Haruhiro asked.

Since it was coming from Ranta, he had to just be spouting nonsense. That was what Haruhiro thought at first. However, once he mulled over the words, he felt a weight quickly building in his stomach.

A hero.

I’m no hero.

I’ve never even thought I want to become one. I haven’t—but...

I really don’t want to be a hero, not in the least. It’s just...

Just—What exactly?

“Earlier...” Ranta said, lowering his voice. He was trying not to be heard. Could he possibly have been trying to be considerate somehow? Even though this was Ranta? “...the way you were moving was weird, man.”

“...No, it wasn’t.”

“No, seriously. It was strange. If I were to go further, I’d say you were the only one acting strange. It was like you were going at a slower pace, I could say. Maybe that’s not it. That’s not quite how I’d describe it. Or maybe it is. Well, either way, doesn’t matter. I know what you were up to. You were trying to take them down with one blow, weren’t you?”

Haruhiro just shrugged a little, giving no answer. He did his best not to show any change of expression, but he was sweating inside. Because Ranta was dead on.

This was Ranta. How had he figured it out?

“It’s not like you, Haruhiro, you know that? Hmm? You ought to know your place. Okay?” Ranta slapped him on the shoulder.

Haruhiro had a strong urge to knock Ranta flat, but he refrained.

Even if I told you, there’d be no point. Would you understand? You, Ranta? I don’t think so.

Ranta couldn’t possibly understand how Haruhiro felt.

Haruhiro had nearly died. He had meant to give his life so his comrades could escape.

True enough, his comrades had been fine, and Haruhiro hadn’t had to die. On top of that, he had even taken down Death Spots. It had gone great.

The result had been great, but he couldn’t just say, “All’s well that ends well.”

After all, he had just gotten lucky.

Had he not happened to see the line that time, Haruhiro couldn’t have killed Death Spots.

But I did see it, so what was wrong with that? I shouldn’t take it lightly like that.

If he got in a similar situation again, would he leave his fate to the heavens then, too?

He couldn’t do that. Well, what could he do, then?

There were two things.

One was to avoid getting into a life or death situation again. Of course, he intended to be careful not to.

Then there was the other option: Make it not a fluke. He just had to make it so he was able to see that line at all times.

But, it doesn’t work like that. Even Barbara-sensei said, “Sometimes I see it, sometimes I don’t. It’s not something you can see by focusing, after all.” It’s unreliable. It’s a mistake to try and count on it. I know that.

But maybe, Haruhiro might have been thinking, it wasn’t a fluke at all. I might have some sort of talent.

—If I do, that’d be nice.

“Haru?”

“Huh?”

When he looked up, Merry was crouched down next to him.

“Wh-What? Huh? I-Is something up...?” he asked.

“I should ask you the same,” Merry said, laughing a little. “Worried about something?”

“Nah—”

If this hadn’t been the third level of the Cyrene Mines, and Merry had been the only one around, would he have opened up to her and been honest?

Even then, he might not have.

“It’s nothing,” he said.

“I see. Well, that’s good, then.”

The look on Merry’s face told him she didn’t think it was good at all. Haruhiro felt a dull pain in his chest, as if he had done something wrong.

It’s kind of unfair, you know. All of this stuff.

Choco.

That name at least, I remember. Just the name? No. That’s not it.

Those big eyes. The slight bags underneath them. Those pouty lips. Her hairstyle. That bob cut.

I know her.

“Uh, hey.”

But what should I say to her?

Do you know me? Like that? If she did, she would be acting like it. This doesn’t feel like a meeting between old acquaintances.

But, she was looking at Haruhiro. Everyone had forgotten what had happened to them before coming to Grimgar. Maybe she had forgotten, too, but there was something tugging at the back of her mind. Like there was for Haruhiro. If so...

The short haired girl stepped between her and Haruhiro. “...If you’re here, you must be a volunteer soldier, too, right? Did you need something from us?’

“No, it’s not that I need anything.”

“Well, goodbye, then.”

“Ah... Right.”

“Let’s go, Choco.”

“Okay.”

They walked off quickly.

As they did, Choco turned back just once. Their eyes met. However, she soon turned away again.

Did they think I’m creepy?

If so, it’s a bit of a shock. No, not just a bit. It might be a major shock.

“...Choco,” Haruhiro whispered, and then thought, If she could hear me, she’d be even more creeped out.

Is she that same Choco?

“It’s a coincidence... right?”

“I don’t have a problem with it.... But, wait! Haruhiro! You’re in favor?! What’s brought this up?!” Ranta exclaimed.

“Not ‘up.’ You mean ‘on,’ right?”

“Shut up! You’re such a pain! It doesn’t matter, really! You’re a coward to the core, so if you’re voting in favor, what are you plotting—No, don’t tell me! I’ve got it! I’ve got you figured out! I’ll bet it was clear that you’d lose the vote even if you voted against, so you figured it’d rock the boat less if you voted in favor, or something lame like that! Bullseye, right?! That’s so like you!” Ranta slapped Haruhiro repeatedly on the shoulder.

That hurts, you know, when you slap me like that. Hold back a little, will you? You’re making me mad. Why do you have to be so ill-mannered? Is it because you’re Ranta?

“...Don’t just decide that,” Haruhiro said, brushing Ranta’s hand away. “That’s not what I’m thinking at all. Besides, if I hadn’t approved, we wouldn’t have had a majority.”

“Don’t be so picky about every little thing,” Ranta scoffed. “What are you, a magnifying glass?”

“Magnifying glasses don’t speak.”

“See, that’s called being picky.”

“You’re too imprecise.”

“I don’t sweat the small stuff, so call me magnanimous!” Ranta exclaimed. “It means kingly! Because I’m fit to be a king!”

“No, it doesn’t quite mean that,” Merry coldly corrected him.

With an “Urkh...” Ranta fell silent, though only momentarily. He recovered in no time. “—Well, what, then?! Haruhiro! What did you vote in favor for?! Spill your guts! Come on, puke!”

Yume grimaced. “That’s filthy...”

“...Yeah... His very existence is...” Shihoru said, looking at Ranta as if he were something unclean.

Hold on, his very existence is? Haruhiro thought. Little harsh there, Shihoru? Well, Ranta doesn’t seem to care, so it’s fine, I guess. Still, it’s impressive he can just take that. If she said that to me, it’d get me down, and I probably wouldn’t recover for a while.

“I’d like to know...” Moguzo took a sip of his beer. “I’d like to know your reason for it, too... maybe? I thought you were opposing it because you were concerned for all of us. You know... since you’re our leader.”

“He’s garbage at it, though!” Ranta knocked back his beer, then guffawed heartily.

“That’s not true,” Moguzo protested. “Haruhiro-kun is trying his hardest for us!”

“Yeah, yeah! Moguzo’s right! Haru-kun’s doin’ a great job!” Yume added.

“...I think so, too,” Shihoru put in.

“Agreed,” Merry finished.

“What’s this?” Ranta shouted. “Ganging up on me?! Well, I don’t care, it doesn’t matter to me one bit! Bring it on!”

Haruhiro covered his mouth with his hand. Oh, man. Oh, man. I must have the dumbest grin on my face right now. Somehow, they have a higher opinion of my work than I expected...? Well, Ranta’s opinion was a bit off. Then again, Ranta himself is a bit off.

But this isn’t the time to feel all giddy about it.

Haruhiro coughed politely. “There were various reasons...”

Like being worried about Choco.

He didn’t know much about Choco’s party, but he was sure they weren’t hyper competent rookies like Team Renji. If they were, the other volunteer soldiers would have talked, and Haruhiro would have heard about it.

Haruhiro’s party wasn’t particularly strong, but if an even more inexperienced group was planning to join an operation to attack an orcish keep, that was just reckless. It was clearly way too dangerous.

That said, even if they joined the operation as well, that wouldn’t mean he could protect Choco. After all, they weren’t in the same party. But if he were close by when something happened, he might be able to help a little.

I can’t say that, though.

I can’t tell my comrades that, of course.

Besides, Choco being there was just an added bonus.

More than anything, Haruhiro had decided they should accept the order for their own sakes.

“First, there’s the reward,” he said. “The fact that we’ll be getting one gold between the advance payment and the rest of the payment is a big deal. If it’s not wrapped up in a day, from the second day on we’ll be given a stipend of 30 silver a day. Also, there may be special compensation awarded in the field, too, right, Ranta?”

“Yeah,” Ranta said, shrugging his shoulders. He was probably trying to look cool, but he didn’t. “If we take down strong enemies, like their commanders, I guess. Sounds like there’s a lot of stuff like that.”

“Well, I don’t think we need to actively aim for them if it would mean pushing ourselves,” Haruhiro said, slapping his hands down on the table. “—That’s the point.”

“Hmm?” Yume asked, screwing up her face and tilting her head to the side. “What’s the point?”

“You know, for this order, we get paid just for participating in it, right?” Haruhiro asked. “Even if we can’t accomplish—or don’t accomplish—anything, we’ll receive the fixed payment. If things look bad, we don’t have to do anything crazy.”

“You gutless coward!” Ranta flipped him the bird and stuck his tongue out. “You loser!”

“Call me whatever you want. I don’t care in the slightest.”

“Haruhiro, you weakling!” Ranta shouted.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“You piece of shit!”

“...Come on, man.”

“You’re small, too!” Ranta added.

“That’s got nothing to do with this!”

“Small...?” Yume asked, puffing up one of her cheeks and tilting her head to the side.

“...Y-Yume, he means...” Shihoru began.

What was Shihoru trying to explain to her in a whisper? Haruhiro couldn’t say he wasn’t curious.

“Anyway,” Haruhiro said, scratching his head.

He had agonized a lot before coming to this decision. Finding out Choco’s party would be participating in the operation had just given him an excuse. It had only been that, an excuse; it hadn’t been the deciding factor. This was the decision he’d come to after all that agonizing.

“Rather than try to pull off some glorious display of heroics, it’s better if we all make it out of this safely,” Haruhiro said. “That’s what I think. But our line of work isn’t so easy that we’ll be able to get through it without taking any risks whatsoever. If we want to live longer in this harsh environment, we have to get stronger. We need to build up more experience. They say you’re not a real volunteer soldier until you’ve killed an orc. So there’s going to come a time when we have to challenge ourselves to face orcs. In that case, why not do it now? During this operation, we’ll have other volunteer soldiers with us, so it’s not a bad situation to do it in, right?”

Shihoru gulped.

Yume said “Ooh,” her eyes widening with excitement.

Moguzo looked intently at Haruhiro while Merry listened quietly.

“Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh...” Ranta suddenly put on a villainous smile. “Wahahahaha! Gwahahahaha! Haruhirooo! Your really are a hoooooooopelessly, seriously, pitifully pathetic chicken, huh?! Aren’t you embarrassed to even be alive? Hmmmm?”

“...Right back at you. I’m amazed you can live with yourself with that awful personality of yours.”

“Awful personalityyyyyy? Huhhhhhhhhh? What are you talking abouuuuuuut? I just tell it like it is, you knoooooooow?”

If I see that line the next time I’m behind Ranta, I’ll Backstab him without hesitation.

Well, for now, I have to hold back. Yeah. Okay. Patience, patience, patience, patience. If I give him the time of day, he’ll just get worse. Ignore him.

“Besides,” Haruhiro said aloud, “say what you will about us, we’re the party that took down Death Spots. And the keep this time is called Deadhead. The names are close. I dunno, don’t you think it’s a sign? It could be.”

“Wow!” Moguzo’s huge body bent backwards. He must have been surprised, but he ended up surprising Haruhiro, too. “N-Now that you mention it, you’re right! Death Spots and Deadhead... I never noticed...!”

Yume looked excited. “Whoo. Yume, too. Yume, too. That’s right. Death Spots and Deck Rot, they’re real similar. But Death Spots sounds like date spot, too, huh?”

“...Not Deck Rot, Deadhead, okay?” Haruhiro corrected her, as if out of some sense of duty. “‘Death Spots’ and ‘date spot’ are kind of close, though... Anyway, are you against it after all, Yume?”

“Hmmmeow,” Yume said. “If everyone says they’re gonna do it, y’know, Yume’s gonna think it’s okay to try it, too.”

“How about you, Merry?” he asked.

Merry nodded with something resembling a smile. “If that’s what everyone’s decided, I’m okay with it. I’ll just do everything I can to keep you all alive.”

“M-Me, too!” Moguzo thumped his chest. “My role’s different from Merry’s, but if I do my job right, it helps to protect everyone! I’ll do it! I’ll work hard!”

“Well, then,” Ranta grinned. “It’s unanimous. Everyone’s hugely in favor, right?”

Ranta, the man with a smile that pisses people off. Oh, how I envy that gift of his.

No, not really.

Like I ever would.

Haruhiro lifted his porcelain mug full of mead. “Let’s go with that.”

For Haruhiro, both the Wild Angels and Team Renji were so far above him as to be out of reach. Each person had their own station in life. They had their business; he had his.

Haruhiro’s eyes met Choco’s. He greeted her with his eyes, and she gave him a little nod in return.

Behind the main force, in the very, very back of the detached force, that was where Haruhiro and the others had taken up their positions. If you went by their experience and ability, well, it was a suitable spot for them.

Choco’s party was a little bit ahead of Haruhiro’s.

How am I supposed to feel about that? Nah, it’s fine, really.

From what Haruhiro could tell, the pleasant warrior who had a face that probably made him popular with girls seemed to be the leader of Choco’s party. They had formed into a ring around Mr. Pleasant, who was chatting away merrily, so there was little doubt about it.

There was also the girl with the short hair who had been with Choco when he first met her. Ms. Short Hair was a mage.

Other than that, there was a man in priest’s clothes and a couple guys in what looked like warrior equipment. One of the warriors was pretty tall, but Mr. Tall seemed moody, like he’d be hard to get close to. The other warrior was always laughing like an idiot. Laughing Man also seemed to be making a lot of passes at Choco.

Choco looks kind of bothered by it. Cut that out, man. You’re pissing me off.

Not that me being pissed off means anything. They’re comrades in the same party, while I’ve only talked to her a bit, after all.

“...Hahh. Hahh. Hahh...” Moguzo’s breathing was weirdly rough.

Was he excited? Or rather, he was probably feeling tense, like you might expect. He kept taking his helmet off and putting it back on at high speed, after all.

Haruhiro slapped Moguzo on the back as hard as he could.

“Moguzo!”

“—Ow?!”

“What’s up?” he asked. “Feeling tense?”

“Huh? Ah, y-yeah... J-Just a little. No, a lot...”

“Well, I can’t blame you there,” Haruhiro said. “We’ve never been in an atmosphere like this before, after all.”

“B-But, Haruhiro-kun, you’re not that tense... are you?” Moguzo asked nervously.

“Do I not look it? Well, that’s... not entirely untrue.”

True enough, Haruhiro wasn’t feeling very tense. In fact, he wasn’t feeling tense at all. He was calm. Though, in the end, it had taken him a long time to get to sleep, so he was a bit tired.

Yume let out an odd little laugh. “Haru-kun’s always unsweatin’, y’know.”

“U-Unsweatin’...?” Haruhiro repeated uncertainly.

“E-Erm...” Shihoru quickly stepped in to explain. “I think she means he doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and tries to be magnanimous, maybe...”

Yume cocked her head to the side. “Magnanimous?”

“Let me say right now,” Haruhiro added, just to be sure, “‘magnanimous’ doesn’t mean ‘kingly,’ okay? It’s read ouyou, but it can’t be written with the kanji for king-like. That wouldn’t even be a proper word...”

“Ouyou...?” Yume thought for a moment, then turned her palm towards him. “Oh!”

“O-Oh?” Haruhiro went along with it and clapped his hand against Yume’s.

Then, Yume held out the opposite hand. “Yo!”

“...Yo?” Haruhiro pressed his hand against Yume’s and it ended up with them having both hands pressed together.

What is this?

Yume held both of Haruhiro’s hands tight. “Oh! Yo!”

“...Yeah. Yeah...?”

“This’s it, y’know,” Yume said. “It’s what comes to mind when you say ouyou.”

“Th-This... does?”

“Hrm. Yume’s not sure herself, but it’s kinda like this?”

“Kind of, huh...” Haruhiro kind of glanced in Choco’s direction.

By coincidence—yes, he was sure it was coincidence—Choco was looking in his direction. She quickly looked down, though. It felt kind of awkward.

“...Um, Yume,” Haruhiro said. “Can we let go now?”

“Ho? Sure. Guess so. Ah, Haru-kun, Haru-kun!”

“Huh? What?” he asked.

“Just now, Yume was thinkin’, Haru-kun’s hands, they sure are warm. Why’s that?” she asked.

“Dunno...”

Haruhiro tried touching his left hand with his right. Was it really warm? It felt normal to him. Though, maybe it wasn’t something you’d notice yourself.

Moguzo was still taking his helmet off and putting it back on. It didn’t look like his nervousness would be cured so easily. Even so, Haruhiro couldn’t just leave him be. He was about to call out to Moguzo again when Merry beat him to it.

“Moguzo-kun.”

“Yesh?”

—Wait, what’s yesh supposed to be? What’s a yesh?

Moguzo had a look on his face like he’d just run into a deep-sea fish on land.

Merry put a hand on his shoulder. “Take a deep breath.”

“A d-d-deep breath... Uh—Hooooooooooo... Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—Urkh, i-it hurts...”

“Gently,” she said. “Calm down.”

“Y-Yeah. Hoooooooooooooo. Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

“One more time.”

“Hoooooooo. Hahhhhhhhhh... Ah! Th-That calmed me down a bit... maybe.”

“Normally, breathing is something you do unconsciously,” Merry said. “Because of that, if you focus on breathing, you can gain control of your feelings, and of other things as well. That’s what I do when I can’t calm down.”

“Th-Thank you, Merry-san. I’d gotten really rattled, and—”

“You know, probably...” Haruhiro began.

Would it be best not to interject? Haruhiro hesitated a bit, but it was a good opportunity, so he wanted to say this. Honestly, it was something that had been nagging at him all along, and he was concerned about it.

“We’re relying on you pretty heavily, aren’t we, Moguzo?” he asked. “I think that’s got to put a lot of pressure on you, doesn’t it?”

“...Huh? Ah, no, n-not really...”

“But, to be honest, I think we’re going to keep relying on you from here out,” Haruhiro said. “You’re a warrior, and the party’s tank, so that’s part of it, of course, but that’s not all, you know. Moguzo, you’re seriously reliable. That’s why I want you to build up more and more confidence. I mean, if we think about whose growth is most apparent in our group, who’s leveled up the most, that’d have to be you, Moguzo. I’m sure everyone feels the same.”

“You dolt!” Ranta jumped up like a monkey. “If anyone’s leveled up to the max, it’s me, duh! If I’ve leveled up 30 times, Moguzo’s leveled up, like, 25, maybe!”

“That’s awfully humble, coming from you,” Haruhiro said.

“Whaaaat?! I-Is it...? Then, well, it’s 50 level-ups for me, and around 25 for Moguzo!”

“What, you’re not lowering Moguzo’s number, just raising yours...?”

“Well, duh!” Ranta shot back. “I’m the man who’ll rule the world, you know?!”

“...The people all around us are laughing at you,” Shihoru said with a cold sneer on her face.

“Whaaaat?!” Ranta cried. “That’s cruel! You’re serious!”

“Yume, yeah, she thinks Moguzo’s real amazin’,” Yume agreed. “We wouldn’t get nowhere without Moguzo. He’s our meat shield!”

“Meat shield...” Merry’s face twitched a little.

“Fwah? Is it no good callin’ him a meat shield? Yume meant it as a compliment, though.”

“No, um, actually...” Moguzo shook his head, then nodded. “I’m happy about it. I don’t know how to say it, but if I can be everyone’s meat shield, I want to be.”

“Yeah!” Ranta put an arm around Moguzo’s shoulder. “I’m counting on you, partner! No, meat shield!”

“I-I think I’d prefer to be called partner...”

“Hm? You would?” Ranta asked.

It pissed Haruhiro off to see Ranta getting carried away like that, but Moguzo looked a lot more relaxed than before.

Haruhiro was relieved, too. Without any hyperbole, Moguzo was the core of the party. It was no exaggeration to say that whether the party could perform well or not depended on Moguzo. So long as Moguzo was fine, things probably wouldn’t change even if Haruhiro wasn’t around. Basically, it was all a question of how best to use Moguzo.

“Hey, now!” Bri-chan called, clapping his hands. “All of you darlings, pay attention! Gather around me, right now! I’m going to give a rundown of the plan! Okay? Quickly now! Hurry, scurry!”

“Next, for an outline of the operation.” Bri-chan began playing with his sword with one hand. It was a fairly heavy sword, but he handled it easily. “We will begin the attack at dawn. The main force will attack the main gate, while the detached force will split into two groups to handle the east and west sides. Okay, you there, don’t get scared! It’s fine. Because the detached force’s role is purely to keep the enemy in check and to act as a diversion.

“The detached force will move first. We will begin the attack from the east and west. When the enemy tries to defend themselves, the main force will rush up to the main gate and quickly break through. I said we would be splitting into two groups, right? Twenty parties will go to the east. I’ll be commanding this group, so we’ll call them the Green Storm Force. You get it, right? Their name comes from my fabulous hair color. Seventeen parties will go west, and I’ll leave Kajiko in charge of them. So, their name will be the Wild Eagle Force. Well? Not bad, don’t you think?”

Kajiko raised one eyebrow. “Yes. It’s not bad.”

“I’ve already thought about how the forces will be divided,” Bri-chan said. “Okay? I’ll just point out who’s in the Green Storm Force. Ready? Okay, you, and you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, and then, Renji.”

“Yeah,” Renji said.

“Your party is with me. Disappointed, aren’t you, Kajiko?”

“Who’s disappointed?” Kajiko glared at Bri-chan. “Are you looking to get killed, Britney?”

“Heavens, no. If I got killed, I wouldn’t be able to take good men in my arms, now would I?” Bri-chan said, showering Renji with his passionate gaze. “Right? Re-n-ji!”

Renji was completely impassive. If he could stay expressionless after a look like that from Bri-chan, that was amazing all by itself. Even Haruhiro, who wasn’t involved, had gotten goosebumps from it. To be blunt, that look had been repulsive.

Bri-chan let out a disturbing giggle before turning to look at Haruhiro. “Also, you.”

“...Ah. Yes, sir,” Haruhiro said.

“Lastly,” Bri-chan said, pointing at Mr. Pleasant from Choco’s party. “You. That’s twenty parties. The rest of you are in Kajiko’s Wild Eagle Force. Understood?”

The volunteer soldiers each gave their own response. It didn’t sound like anyone was going to object. Even if they didn’t like it, it would have taken a lot of bravery to stand up to Bri-chan. After all, he was terrifyingly creepy.

“Kajiko, you had a timepiece, right?” Bri-chan asked.

“Yeah,” Kajiko said, pulling a sparkling silver pocket watch from her chest and showing it to him.

“Oh, my.” Bri-chan looked like he had been about to display what looked like a pocket watch in his hand, but had thought better of it. “That’s a nice piece you have there, darling. Oh, gosh. Mine just seems like a piece of junk in comparison.”

Kajiko laughed nasally. “The truth is, it is a piece of junk, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you do have a mouth on you,” Bri-chan said. “It’s old, so it’s expensive, you know? I have my doubts about its accuracy, though. Anyway, if you have a watch, the timing should be fine. I’ll tell you what the starting time is later. Now then, how the operation will progress. Once the operation begins, we take whatever camps we come across as we advance towards the walls. Crush any camp that has orcs in it. If we dawdle, the orcs may come out of their camps to surround us, so crush them as fast as you can manage. That is the first stage.”

Moguzo gave a powerful nod. He really should have conserved his energy, though, so that he didn’t get too psyched up.

Bri-chan used his sword to point at the wall. “The second stage is when we reach the walls and launch our attack. The enemy will likely respond with archers, but according to the thief team sent out as scouts, there are around 200 orcs on guard. Their numbers aren’t that impressive, so there’s no need to be scared. That said, if you get hit in the wrong place, it could kill you instantly. We’ve prepared shields, so...” Bri-chan gestured with his chin towards a pile of board-like objects piled up at the side of the road. “Before we set out, each of you take one. You can treat these shields as expendable.”

“Well, that’s generous!” Ranta gave him a big grin, but Bri-chan ignored him.

“...Anyway, we’ll be attacking a wall with no gates, so we’ll be putting up ladders to climb right over. Of course, we’ve prepared the ladders for that, as well. On that note, we need people on ladder duty. Their job will be to carry the ladders until we arrive on site, assemble them, and raise them against the walls. My Green Storm Force and the Wild Eagle Force will each have four ladders. While I’ll let Kajiko decide who her ladder teams will be, the ones to have the honor of being the ladder team for our Green Storm Force will be...”

Haruhiro had a bad feeling.

He didn’t know why, but even though every time he had a good feeling about something he turned out to be wrong, if he had a bad feeling it was guaranteed to be right.

This time was no exception.

Bri-chan pointed at Haruhiro, then to Mr. Pleasant, one after the other. “Your party and your party will do it.”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?” Ranta screwed up his face until his lips rolled back. “Why do we have to do it? We already have to carry shields! Like we can carry big, heavy ladders on top of that!”

...Ranta, man, you’ve got guts.

Before Haruhiro could say anything, Bri-chan drew his sword and pointed the tip of it at Ranta’s throat. “I am the commander here. You don’t like it? Leave. After returning your advance, of course, okay?”

“...I-I’m not giving back the money! Actually... I can’t.” Ranta lowered his eyes, letting out a little laughing snort. “...Already spent it all.”

Haruhiro nearly fell over. “—Already?!”

“Oh, shove it! It was money I earned, so it was mine! I was free to do whatever I wanted with it!”

“Well, yes, but...”

“Well then,” Bri-chan tucked his sword point under Ranta’s chin, giving him a little poke. “Do as you’re told. If you disobey me and try to run off, you’ll be a fugitive from that moment onward.”

“A fugitive...?! Th-That’s so cool! Wait, no, it sounds like it might be a little dangerous...?”

Shihoru shook her head back and forth. “...Not ‘might.’”

The look Merry gave him was reminiscent of an ice statue. “It’s absolutely dangerous.”

“Now, listen here,” Bri-chan pulled back his sword and gave it a little spin. “The ladder team has a very important job, you know? They have to do everything they can to avoid combat before we reach the fortress, but when the time comes, they charge up to the walls and raise the ladders with a bang. It’s a cool job.”

“...Cool,” Ranta repeated the word to himself, as if carefully considering it, then his face broke into an ugly smirk. “—Well, if that’s how it is, you know? There’s no other choice. Guess we’ll do it. I mean, for such an important job, you’ve got to be as big a man as me, or it’s just not gonna happen, right?”

“We’ll be doing it, too, though,” Mr. Tall from Choco’s party said, openly taking a shot at Ranta.

“Shut up!” Ranta said, glaring hard at Mr. Tall. “That’s one thing, this is another! Besides, you’re my junior, dammit! Don’t get in the way when your senior is having a good time, octopus-brain!”

“I’m not an octopus.”

“What are you, a squid, then?!”

“...Fine. Whatever.”

“Wahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I won! Victory is mine!”

Ms. Short Hair from Choco’s party was looking at Ranta the way one might look at a cockroach from a distance. “...You’re the worst.”

Haruhiro covered his face with his hands. “Please, don’t embarrass us any more...”

Regardless, Haruhiro and Choco’s parties needed to carry four ladders. He’d have liked to play the reliable senior and take one more than they did, but that wasn’t going to be possible. Two ladders each seemed reasonable.

The ladders were long. By combining two ladders that were a little over two meters long, they would create super long ladders that were over four meters long. In other words, they actually needed to transport eight ladders that were each a little over two meters long.

Haruhiro, Ranta, and Moguzo would each take one. The three girls would take one between them. That seemed about right.

Choco’s party was composed of four guys and two girls, so it looked like the guys would each be carrying one.

They needed to carry the shields in addition to this, so they were all looking at some rather heavy labor. Somehow, it felt like they were going to be exhausted before they even arrived.

“Now then,” Bri-chan said, bending over and thrusting his butt out. “Entering the fortress and sweeping it clean of enemies is primarily supposed to be the job of the main force, but I’ll go over the enemy’s forces just so that you’re all aware. As I said before, we anticipate 200 orcs, the majority of them belonging to a clan called the Zesh. They dye their hair black and have red tattoos on their faces. Their equipment is mostly standardized, too. They use a sword with a single-edged blade called a gahari, shields with fur on them, red helmets, as well as a bow and arrow. As you would expect from a group that’s come to the front line, the Zesh clan are not weak. However, the orcs in the camps are of various clans, and the bonds between them shouldn’t be strong.”

The challenge would come in the time it took to get the ladders up on the wall. The detached force’s job would be to keep the enemy in check, to be a diversion. If they put up the long ladders and made it so they could climb the walls, that would make the enemy worried.

When you thought of it that way, being on the ladder team really was a big responsibility. They had to avoid battles, or, in other words, they didn’t have to fight, which was probably why the job had been given to volunteer soldiers as low down as Haruhiro and Choco’s parties, but, if they failed, it would mean big trouble.

“The keeper is Zoran Zesh of the Zesh Clan,” Bri-chan said. “Zoran-chan is well-built enough that you should be able to tell it’s him at a glance. We have intel saying he fights with a two-sword style. The twenty or so orcs who are Zoran-chan’s closest associates are all supposed to be very skilled. On top of that, it looks like there are a small number of sorcerers. Orcish sorcerers are lightly equipped. They don’t wear armor or helmets, so they’re easy to pick out, but I think a good number of you will never have faced one, so be careful. Orcish sorcery is centered around psychokinesis and insects. It’s quite different from magic: they don’t chant spells or make elaborate gestures, so it’s quick. They’re dangerous, so if you see a sorcerer, prioritize taking them out. Other than that... Right, right, the smoke signals.”

Yume tilted her head to the side. “Smoking kills?”

“Yes, someone’s collapsed... They’re coughing up blood. Now they aren’t breathing. Could it be... They’re dead?! Who could the culprit be?! Who was it?! This was caused by—Wait, no, that’s not what we’re talking about! Gosh! Look what you made me go along with! What are you going to do about it? Nobody even laughed!” Bri-chan shouted.

“Could it be you’re gettin’ mad at Yume? Maybe?” Yume asked.

“...I’m not mad. There’s no way I would ever be so petulant, is there?”

“You aren’t, huh?” Yume said. “Oh, but, Bri-chan, sorry. Yume, she might’ve gone and done that thing. She may’ve detailed the conversation.”

“Listen now, we don’t have time for you to detail the conversation,” Bri-chan said. “You have to derail it. Well, no, you don’t have to do that, okay?”

“If Yume doesn’t have to do that, what should she be doin’? Yume wonders about that.”

“Let it go! Just close your mouth and let me talk! I don’t mind girls like you, but you’re throwing me off balance here, so be quiet! Please! Zip your lips!”

“Zip.”

“Okay. Now, back to the smoke signals. When Deadhead Watching Keep is under a large scale attack, they use smoke signals to alert Riverside Iron Fortress. I’m sure the signal will go up right away this time, too. But, the attack will be starting over there at the same time. Even if they call for them, reinforcements won’t come. That’s why you shouldn’t panic even if you do see a signal go up. Well, that’s about it, I suppose. I know I’ve talked a lot, but as long as we don’t make some incredible blunder, we should be able to win this. The keeper, and the bounty on any famous sorcerers, will likely have nothing to do with our detached force. Either way, it’s not going to be a difficult battle. You kids without much experience can put your minds at ease, too.”

Bri-chan seemed to be directing those words at Haruhiro and his group specifically. Even if they couldn’t put their minds at ease, Haruhiro was starting to feel that it might not be as bad as he’d thought. Just maybe, carrying some ladders and shields the six kilometers from here to Deadhead Watching Keep would be their biggest difficulty.

“That said!” Bri-chan went on, suddenly taking on a dangerous tone. “We’re up against our natural enemies. With No-Life King dead and gone and the undead suppressed, the orcs are the largest faction in the frontier. Let your guard down, and you won’t get off with just a slap on the wrist. You could die quite easily, you know?”

Haruhiro gulped.

Boost them up, then let them down. That was what Bri-chan was doing, huh?

Still, it might be an effective strategy. In fact, Haruhiro had been getting a little optimistic, so being knocked down from that high had put him in a good state of readiness, both mentally and physically.

Bri-chan’s pink tongue licked his black lips. “Well, there you have it. Get your butts in gear and let’s go, my little kittens.”

“Ohhhhhh, crap, crap, crap crap!” he shouted.

“Whoooooooooa! This is scary!” Ranta yelled.

“Hunnnnnnnnnngh...!” Moguzo grunted.

“Eeeeeeeek!” Yume screamed.

“...E-Everyone, do your best...!” Shihoru called.

“It’s fine! We’ve got shields!” Merry hollered.

Don’t stop, Haruhiro thought. We can’t stop. If we stop walking for even a second, we probably won’t be able to move forward anymore. All at once. We have to do this all at once.

While screaming something in a loud voice, they charged forward, feeling like they might trip at any moment, then brought the ladder up on the spiky wall.

The volunteer soldiers roared as one. The air shook and trembled. It was like a cry of victory. The rush was even more intense than when he’d killed the orc.

How’s that? How’s that?! I did it! I really did it! Look! Look at that! Is this what they call a rush of endorphins?

“Move...!” Renji shoved Haruhiro aside. He was trying to climb the ladder. He didn’t have a shield. Even though there were orcs with bows right above.

Isn’t he afraid? Haruhiro thought. That takes some serious guts.

“Hold on, Renji!” they heard Bri-chan shout. “There’s no need to be in such a rush!”

Again, the air shook and trembled.

It didn’t come from here this time, Haruhiro thought. Where did it come from? Was it Wild Eagle Force on the west wall? Or was it—either way, those weren’t human voices. They were probably orcs. An angry roar. That mass of sound made the heavens and earth rumble. Could it have been...

“From the main gate?!” Haruhiro screamed.

“Zeel, mare, gram, fel, kanon.”

Adachi used the spell Freezing Blood to freeze an orc’s feet. Despite that, the orc still continued to stumble along.

“Zeel, mare, gram, terra, kanon.” Without missing a beat, Adachi began chanting his next spell.

It was Ice Globe. The ice elemental instantaneously froze the water in the atmosphere. The resultant sphere of ice smashed beautifully into the orc’s face.

It looked painful. The orc dropped to his knees.

Without a moment’s delay, Sassa moved up.

She went past the orc. Immediately after, Sassa buried her dagger in the orc’s neck.

So you can pull off a Backstab like that, too? Haruhiro thought. What a combo. Well, we aren’t doing bad, ourselves.

“Ohm, rel, ect, nemun, darsh!” Shihoru stopped an orc with Shadow Bond, Merry gave it a good hard whack with her priest’s staff, Yume stabbed it with her machete to make it back off, then—Moguzo.

“Hunghh...!”

He didn’t use the Thanks Slash. He stepped in, sticking his arm out straight in a one-handed thrust. It was First Thrust.

The orc’s throat was basically pulverized. Of course, that meant its neck was broken. There was no way it would be getting back up.

Haruhiro looked around the area. Were there any enemies?

None.

The orcs were all collapsed on the ground.

“Dammit...” Ron shook his bloody sword. “We didn’t need your help.”

“What was that?!” Ranta closed in on Ron assertively, but one glare was all it took to make him shrink back at the speed of light.

“...I-I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Wimp...” Merry muttered.

“Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy... Kehehehehehehe... Wimpy, wooly caterpillar... Ehehe... Caterpillar, caterpillar, caterpillar, caterpillar...”

“...An actual caterpillar would be more useful, don’t you think?” Shihoru asked.

It doesn’t stand out, but Shihoru can be pretty mean, Haruhiro thought. I agree with her, though.

“Since caterpillars’re cute, y’know,” Yume nodded.

That, I can’t agree with.

“You helped,” Renji said.

Man, even Renji’s voice is cool. It’s low and husky. It’s intimidating, but there’s a vague sadness there. When I hear him saying we helped, with that voice—Honestly, it’s just overwhelming.

It frustrated him, so Haruhiro tried to feign calmness, shrugging. “We owed you one.”

“Now we’re even,” Renji said.

“...Are we?” Haruhiro asked.

“Yeah,” Renji said, looking to Moguzo. “You. I could use you.”

“Huh...?” Moguzo’s eyes darted around rapidly, then he pointed to himself. “—Whaaa?! Y-Y-Y-Y-You mean me...?! N-No, that’s not... Uh, I-I’m not that impressive...”

What did he mean, he could “use” him? That may have bothered Haruhiro a little, but both Renji and Moguzo were warriors. “It takes a warrior to know one”—he didn’t know if there was an expression like that, but a warrior had to know a lot about what it meant to be a warrior. What was more, he was being recognized by Renji, the guy who had the attention of more volunteer soldiers than anyone else. Moguzo had to be proud of that.

Moguzo really is amazing, Haruhiro thought. Our Moguzo is amazing.

“Regardless,” Adachi said, adjusting the position of his glasses, taking on a calm and sarcastic tone, “it seems the prize isn’t here. Should you be taking it easy now, Renji?”

Renji didn’t respond. In place of a response, he turned towards the stairs. That was when it happened.

“Hey! Below!” someone said.

Someone. Not from Team Renji or Haruhiro’s party. Not here.

Haruhiro twisted his head. “Below...?”

Renji took off at a run.

“Haruhiro!” Ranta slapped Haruhiro on the back. “We’re going, too!”

What could it be? Weird. My heart. It’s pounding like crazy. Below. What’s happening below? Below. Wait, below...?

They descended the spiral staircase.

It felt like his ears were plugged. Strange. Why? Why was he so shaken? He didn’t understand. What was the reason? The cause? Haruhiro had lost his head to the point where he couldn’t make sense of anything.

He was unsteady on his feet.

Even so, his body had to keep moving.

Downwards.

To the first floor.

They were dead.

Volunteer soldiers.

So many of them.

There was a large number of corpses.

There were orcs. Why? Where had these guys come from? It was more than just one or two. There were a ton of them.

In the middle, there was one orc bigger than all the others. The orc wore a deep, venomously deep, red suit of armor and helm, with hair dyed black and gold spilling out from underneath it. What was more, he used a two-sword style. He was built incredibly tough, carrying two scimitars that screamed danger, one in each hand, of course.

Zoran.

Zoran Zesh.

There was no doubt about it. He matched every distinguishing trait Bri-chan had told them. This was Keeper Zoran, the head of the Zesh Clan, who had a one hundred gold coin bounty on his head.

Zoran was using his scimitars to cut people down.

That’s Mr. Pleasant, Haruhiro realized, recognizing one of them. From Choco’s party.

Mr. Pleasant might have been trying to block Zoran’s scimitar with his sword. However, he didn’t make it in time.

“Ahh!” Mr. Pleasant let out a scream that sounded a little stupid. Both his arms were severed at the same time.

Then, without any delay, his head.

Mr. Pleasant’s head went flying.

It happened so easily.

What is this?

What’s going on?

Where’s Laughing Man? Mr. Priest? Ms. Short Hair, the mage? They’re not here.

No, there they were.

They had fallen.

All of them, chopped to pieces.

Mr. Tall was just barely holding on, fighting with his back to the wall against an orc who wasn’t Zoran. Next to him, Choco.

Choco was here.

Mr. Tall was trying to protect Choco. However, he was clearly taking a beating, and he couldn’t fully protect her.

Strong. Those orcs were strong. They were nothing like the orcs they’d gone against so far.

It wasn’t their equipment—it was something about the way they were built, or even the air about them. They were totally different. These were the keeper and his close associates.

There were a number of unarmored orcs with pots of some sort hanging from their hips that looked like mages. No, not mages—they were called sorcerers, right?

Team Renji was already attacking the orcs. However, there were more than ten of them, probably around twenty, and the first floor was wide and open. Needlessly so.

How were Mr. Tall and Choco?

“—Urkh!” Mr. Tall had locked blades with one of the keeper’s associates, but he must have been kicked in the belly or something, because he had doubled over.

Hey.

No.

You can’t do that.

You can’t be doing that.

Choco had her dagger in a fighting stance. With both hands on the hilt, she had the blade pointed towards the orc.

The blade’s tip quivered. She was terrified.

No. That isn’t going to be good enough.

“Choco!” Haruhiro screamed, starting to run.

In that moment, it felt like Choco looked at him. Probably, she did try to look.

The orc’s sword sank into Choco’s shoulder. It went in really deep.

The orc kicked her to the ground, tearing his sword free and immediately swinging it down at her.

“Sto—”

Once.

Twice.

Three times, the orc swung his sword down.

Choco.

Ahh!

Choco.

How? Why? This can’t...

No.

Haruhiro clutched his head. A voice came out on its own. He didn’t know what was going on, he really didn’t know himself what the voice was. He didn’t know.

What the hell was this?

That was seriously dangerous. It’s a wonder that everyone is still alive. A miracle. If we had made one mistake anywhere—no, we did make mistakes. Lots of them, probably. Then again, regardless of whether we made mistakes or not, if our luck had gone bad, someone would have died. Once one person died, it would all have fallen apart from there. A second and a third would have died, and in no time, we’d have been wiped out. It was luck. We got lucky. That’s all.

Retreating.

Even now, he wasn’t sure if that had been the right call. If one of them had gone down while withdrawing, they would have been wiped out, or close to it. It had been pure chance that that hadn’t happened.

It was a good thing it hadn’t, but Haruhiro couldn’t take credit for that. They had just gotten lucky.

“...What do we do?” Ranta asked in a whisper.

No one answered. What would they do?

What do we do? Haruhiro thought. Hold on. It’s impossible. We can’t fight anymore. We’re totally outclassed. Even Renji and his party are struggling. Not just struggling; they were on the verge of going down. They may already have.

Haruhiro raised his face. When he did, he realized he’d been looking down.

All of his comrades’ gazes were focused on him. Why was that?

—Oh, right.

Was it because he was the leader? Because Haruhiro was the leader of this party? Did that mean he had to make a decision about what they were going to do?

Well, even if they ask me, I can’t decide that, he thought. Don’t be ridiculous. Don’t push this off on me. I don’t have the power for that. The responsibility is too heavy. I can’t do it, okay? I mean, too many have died. There are a ton of people who’ve died. It’s scary, okay? All of this stuff. Just stop it already. Dying—

She did die, didn’t she, he realized. Choco died, too.

Are all of us going to die? Renji, his party, and then us? Everyone?

We’ll die, just like Choco.

We can’t do it.

It’s already over. I want to say that to them, but I can’t decide anything. I don’t want to anymore. Stop it. I can’t take being leader anymore. I don’t care. Do whatever you want. You can all do whatever you want. Don’t look to me for anything. Don’t expect anything. I can’t bear that burden. I can’t, okay? Well, I guess we’re gonna die. We have no choice but to die. There’s nothing we can do about it. If you don’t like that, then someone else make a decision. Put out some ideas. Say, “Why don’t we do this?” Tell me what we can do.

I can’t say it.

If he said that, it was plain as day what would happen. The party would fall apart.

—Ahh, he realized. No, It’s not like that. It’s not.

That wasn’t it.

In the end, this was all about him.

Even in this desperate situation, he wanted to keep up appearances. He wanted to look cool. He didn’t want his comrades to give up on him in dismay. Haruhiro wasn’t an upstanding leader, and he probably couldn’t become one. Still, he didn’t want his comrades to think of him as the worst leader ever. He didn’t want everyone to hate him. He didn’t want to be given up on. Until the very end, he wanted them to think of him as a comrade.

There’s a limit to how pathetic I can let myself be, he thought. Giving up... it doesn’t get lamer than that. It’s just too awful. But in the end, was this all I could manage? I’m not Manato so, well, I guess it was.

“...I’ll go scope things out,” he said.

Haruhiro and his party were huddled together a small distance up the spiral staircase. If they stayed here, they’d continue to hear the sounds of battle and voices, but they wouldn’t have a good idea what was going on.

They were probably here because they’d rather not know. No one made any attempt to move.

Haruhiro felt the same. However, it was better than staying here, exposed to everyone’s greedy—well, that word would be a bit unkind—clinging gazes that pleaded for him to do something. Besides, it wasn’t like he wasn’t feeling morbidly curious.

Haruhiro went down the stairs and poked his head out. He clenched his teeth.

“...Renji.”

Team Renji was still fighting hard. Ron and Chibi-chan were bloody from fighting to protect Adachi and Sassa, while Renji’s epic duel with Keeper Zoran Zesh was still ongoing. Zoran was hardly scratched, while Renji was in such a state that you couldn’t even tell where his injuries were, but he was still on his feet, constantly moving to avoid Zoran’s two swords.

Epic. Yes, epic was the only word to describe it.

As for other surviving volunteer soldiers... there were still maybe five or six. The orcs had hardly taken any losses.

But how had it come to this in the first place...?

When they had first descended to the first floor and then climbed the stairs to the watchtowers, Zoran had been nowhere to be seen. Had he been hiding somewhere?

There were doors on the first floor leading to places other than the stairs. All of those doors were open. That meant that volunteer soldiers had at least checked them for orcs. But they’d never found Zoran.

Perhaps there was a secret basement or something. Zoran and his men could have hidden there, then come out when the volunteer soldiers went up to the towers. That could be it.

Zoran’s attendants, including the three sorcerers, were around twenty people in total. Their strength was clearly a full level or two above the other orcs the volunteer soldiers had encountered today. They were a group of elites.

Team Renji was five people, and there were six other—no, five other volunteer soldiers. Then there were Haruhiro and his party, for another six. The enemies outnumbered them, and they were probably stronger on average, too.

But is this... is the difference in strength a hopeless one? Haruhiro wondered.

It wouldn’t be long before the remaining volunteer soldiers were struck down, and then Renji and his party would fall one after another, rendering the situation hopeless. But now? Right now? At this point in time?

—At this point in time... he thought.

Assets. Not all of our strategic assets are here now. Kajiko and her Wild Angels probably haven’t come down from the watchtower yet. Their force had a total of eighteen people. Even if they’ve lost a few, that’s still around fifteen. Kajiko seemed tough, so maybe it’ll be possible to turn things around when they come.

What about Bri-chan? He said something about checking on the main force. The detached force was originally supposed to serve as a diversion and to keep the enemy in check, with the main force breaking down the main gate and then taking the fortress. They’ve been delayed due to some unknown issue, but the main force ought to be here eventually. When they arrive, we’re guaranteed to have the upper hand.

Do we wait until then? If we hide out in a watchtower until the main force arrives—No. We don’t know when they might arrive, and if all of Team Renji goes down before then, that’d be bad. If that happens, the enemy is sure to search the keep for any remaining humans. Even if we’re up in a watchtower, they’ll find us eventually.

We can’t rely on the main force.

But I want to count on Kajiko.

Then should we stay here until Kajiko comes down? It’s a question of whether Renji and the others can hold out until then. To be honest, I want them to hang in there somehow. I don’t want to take any more risks.

We stay here. Renji holds out. Kajiko comes. The tables are turned. That would be ideal, but there’s no guarantee it will happen.

I want to save Team Renji, too, of course. Our party might be inconsequential small fry next to Renji, but we arrived in the same group. Renji and his party are being pushed to the brink. If I know that—no, more than know, I’m watching that—and then I do nothing, I’ll have trouble sleeping at night afterward.

Besides, as assets in combat, we need Renji and his party to stick around.

I don’t know how good Kajiko and her Wild Angels are, but if Team Renji and the other volunteer soldiers get wiped out, they’ll have equal numbers, or even be at a slight disadvantage. Zoran’s crazy strong, so I can’t imagine Kajiko’s guaranteed to win a fight like that. If Kajiko and the Wild Angels lose, our lives will be at risk.

How long have I been thinking for? I don’t know. But there’s no time to dawdle around. That much is for sure. I’d better hurry. We’ll decide what we’re going to do.

If he did nothing, Haruhiro—no, Haruhiro and everyone else in his party—would die. That meant they were practically half-dead already. When he thought of it that way, it made things easier somehow.

Choco. I may be seeing you soon. When that happens, let’s have a good long talk and recall the things we’ve forgotten one at a time.

Haruhiro went back to his comrades.

“Sorry, guys,” he said. “I know it’s scary, but let’s keep trying a little longer. We’re going to help Renji and the others. We’ll focus solely on the sorcerers. Aside from their sorcery, they’re nothing special.”

He left out the “I think.” He deliberately chose to assert it as fact. He felt like that was being deceptive to his comrades, but also to himself. But for some reason, he didn’t have a guilty conscience over it.

“One of those sorcerers is probably that Abael guy,” he continued. “He’s worth 50 gold coins. We can’t get Zoran, but we can kill Abael. Let’s take it. Our 50 gold.”

“Fiiiiifty! Gold! Yeahhhhhhhh!” Ranta shouted.

It was a good thing Ranta was so simple. With gold coins spinning in his eyes, Ranta rushed down the stairs.

Haruhiro slapped Moguzo on the back. “Come on, Moguzo. We’re counting on you.”

“Mm-hm!” He gave a manly response, which surprised Haruhiro a bit. Moguzo then followed after Ranta.

Haruhiro nodded to Merry, Yume and Shihoru.

Is this all right? he wondered. It is.

When they finished descending the spiral staircase and set foot on the first floor, they immediately spotted a sorcerer.

They would take them out one by one.

Haruhiro pointed at Sorcerer A. “That guy!”

Zoran and his orc attendants didn’t even pay attention to them. Haruhiro and the party charged forward as a group. Sorcerer A noticed Haruhiro and the others. He tried to open his pot, but it was too late.

“Anger!” Ranta skewered Sorcerer A’s throat with his longsword.

We’re off to an auspicious start, Haruhiro thought. But we can’t let it go to our heads. We have to keep our heads level, and stick to killing them one by one.

One of the orc attendants came at them, but Moguzo let out a battle cry and blew him away.

A sorcerer, Haruhiro thought. Found one.

“Him next!” he shouted, pointing at Sorcerer B.

As soon as he did, the orc attendants started to converge on them.

They’re onto us, Haruhiro thought. Well, even if they are, we have to finish the job.

They didn’t engage with the orc attendants. Moguzo howled and charged forward, cutting open a path, while Haruhiro used Swat to let him dash past them.

“Ohm, rel, ect, nemun, darsh!” Shihoru shouted. She used Shadow Bond to stop an orc attendant, while Merry cried out and smashed another orc attendant’s shield with her priest’s staff to force it aside.

“Star Piercer, meow!” Yume shouted as a series of throwing knives made the orc attendants back off and—

Wait, meow? What are you meowing for? Haruhiro thought. Oh, whatever.

Ranta was the first one to get close to Sorcerer B. This was where that technique showed up.

“Exhaust Plus!” Ranta did an about face in front of Sorcerer B, then leapt backwards.

From Sorcerer B’s perspective, the human who had come to attack him suddenly turned tail, then the next thing he knew, there was a butt flying at him. It must have been quite the shock.

Sorcerer B was hit full on by Ranta’s hip attack and nearly fell over.

Now, Haruhiro thought.

He dashed past Sorcerer B’s side.

Here. When he buried the dagger he was holding backhandedly into the nape of Sorcerer B’s neck, he felt it connect with something. He’d stolen Sassa’s best move, a Backstab as she passed by the enemy.

Sorcerer B crumpled.

“We’ve taken out two sorcerers!” Haruhiro bellowed.

Hearing that, Team Renji and the surviving volunteer soldiers seemed to come back to life, pushing back against the enemy.

It’s the flow, Haruhiro thought. The flow’s on our side.

Don’t let your guard down, don’t get carried away, Haruhiro kept telling himself. Still, he also felt that if he let this chance slip by, he’d regret it. Which was the right answer? He didn’t know. But the situation would continue to change while he agonized about it. He didn’t have time to worry about making the wrong choice.

“We can win!” he shouted.

We’re going to ride this flow.

“We can win!” he shouted again. “Push through!”

Look, he thought. Once the flow is on our side, things like this happen.

“Eryeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...!” a voice screamed.

There it is, he thought. That scary voice. Kajiko. It’s Kajiko and her group.

The Wild Angels came down from the watchtower with Kajiko at the lead. In their first charge, they didn’t so much cut down two of the orc attendants as demolished them. That was the kind of impression they left.

They could do this.

This was going to work out. This was the pattern for a total victory. That was what he thought, but...

As the Wild Angels swarmed onto the first floor, the third and final sorcerer, who must have been Abael, let loose that flamethrower again.

That wasn’t all. Abael also threw something.

A rope? Haruhiro thought. No. It’s moving. Snakes. Those are snakes. More than just one or two of them.

The sorcerer threw a large number of snakes at the Wild Angels’ feet. There were screams. The Wild Angels were panicking.

Then Zoran Zesh abandoned Renji and charged in, slashing, slashing, and slashing like crazy. It was over in an instant. Four, then five of the lady warriors were mowed down.

“Don’t falter!” Kajiko shouted, trying to stop Zoran.

They traded blows. Kajiko’s sword intertwined with Zoran’s twin blades. Sparks flew.

She backed down. Kajiko did. But it wasn’t so much that she’d backed down herself, as that she’d been forced back.

“Damn!” she screamed. “We can’t take any more losses! Everyone except Mako, Kikuno, and Azusa, withdraw for now!”

It seemed Kajiko intended to have the rest withdraw, keeping only the most experienced with her. Renji chased after Zoran, trying to get a slash in, but it was easily deflected.

Zoran’s treating him like a child, Haruhiro realized. Treating Renji like a child. Nah, Renji is injured. He’s short of breath, too. He must be exhausted. Someone should do something about his wounds. It looks like Chibi-chan is treating Ron with her light magic. Light magic. The Heal spell can cure wounds from a distance. A priest. We have one. A priest other than Chibi-chan.

“Merry! Use your magic on Renji!” he shouted.

“Heal won’t work if he’s moving! It targets an area!” she yelled back.

“It targets an area...” he murmured.

I see. Heal is a spell that makes healing light shine on a specific place. Until the light heals your wounds, you need to stay put there. Renji’s fighting Zoran. There’s no way he can stay still in one place.

“Still, we’ve got to let Renji rest a little!” Haruhiro called.

“Me! I’m your man!” a voice shouted.

That wasn’t Ranta. It was Moguzo.

He seemed to be stressing his manliness. I’m your man, he’d said.

Moguzo roared and howled as he charged fiercely into Zoran.

Those hits are incredible, Haruhiro thought. They’re fast. Each and every blow is heavy. He’s like Death Spots. Zoran’s on the defensive now.

Renji immediately tried to attack Zoran.

—Come on! What do you think Moguzo’s fighting so hard for? Haruhiro thought, grabbing Renji by the arm.

“No! Come get healed!” he shouted.

“...Out of the way,” Renji snapped.

“I’m not moving! Merry!”

“Right!” Merry rushed over while making the sign of the hexagram, then held her palm up towards Renji. “—O Light, may Lumiaris’ divine protection be upon you... cure!”

Bathed in the light of Lumiaris, Renji seemed to have resigned himself to it and didn’t move. Merry directed her palm to the wounds on Renji’s head, shoulders, and sides, healing them as she went. She healed and healed, but there was no sign of it ending. His breathing was ragged, and he was looking pale. Renji had bled out too much.

Ranta was fighting an orc attendant. Yume was with a different orc attendant. Yet another orc attendant started attacking Shihoru. Haruhiro hurriedly intervened, using Swat to buy time.

“Enough!” Renji struck down the orc that was attacking Haruhiro with one swing of Ish Dogran’s sword, then took off running towards Zoran. “I’ll take over, you dull-witted oaf! That’s my prey!”

“No! Don’t try to handle things all by yourself!” Moguzo cried.

Moguzo quickly shifted to the left of Zoran, leaving an opening on the right. Renji filled in that gap as if being sucked in and it turned into a two on one fight.

“I’m not a dull-witted oaf!” Moguzo added.

Moguzo attacked, swinging The Chopper around left and right. He continued his assault without ever giving his enemy a moment to catch his breath.

Renji made the sword of Ish Dogran dance, too. Moguzo was sturdy while Renji was flexible. Moguzo had power while Renji had skill. That was how it looked. It was all Zoran could do to use his twin blades to fend off both of their swords. It seemed like it couldn’t possibly be true.

But it was. This was real.

“Yeah! That’s right!” Haruhiro shouted. “You’re no dull-witted oaf! You’re doing great, Moguzo!”

He was like a totally different person. No. Maybe this was Moguzo. Moguzo had probably often been called slow, or dull-witted, and a lot of other nasty things. It had probably happened before he’d come to Grimgar, so he may not have remembered it, but he had internalized those insults, and Moguzo had lost confidence in himself. But by fighting alongside Haruhiro and the others, he had become a great, almost too great, central pillar of the party.

Without Haruhiro there, the party could function so long as Merry or someone else took over as leader, but without Moguzo they’d be in trouble. None of them could replace him. Everyone felt that way; they all relied on Moguzo.

Moguzo must have sensed the trust his comrades had for him, and now he was fully aware of it. He was building confidence, and was finally able to show off his abilities.

This must be Moguzo’s natural level of ability. Renji had misjudged him. Moguzo should have been brought onto Team Renji.

However, Renji’s loss was their gain, as that meant Haruhiro and the others were able to have him in their party. In fact, perhaps Haruhiro ought to be grateful for the good fortune that had brought Moguzo and the rest of them together.

“I don’t like fighting alongside men, but...!” Kajiko butted in, attacking Zoran from behind.

Zoran leapt to the side and ran.

That Zoran was running away.

“The bounty’s an even split!” she called.

“Get lost!” Renji shouted.

“Rarrrrrgh...!” Moguzo added.

Kajiko, Renji, and Moguzo all chased after Zoran.

They could do this. This might work out.

The moment Haruhiro thought that, Ranta caught on fire, tumbled to the ground, and flipped over. “Whoa! Gwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!”

It was the sorcerer. Sorcerer Abael.

Abael had caught Ranta with his flamethrower, then immediately turned and run off.

That guy’s fast, Haruhiro thought. What’s more, he faithfully follows a hit-and-run strategy. Thanks to that, he’s hard to catch.

“Merry, go to Ranta!” he shouted.

“I know!” she called.

“Yume, defend Shihoru!” he added.

“Meow!”

“What’s ‘meow’ supposed to mean?!” He didn’t really get it, but she was staying next to Shihoru, so it must have meant “yes.”

“Ohm, rel, ect, palam, darsh!” Shihoru used Shadow Complex to confuse one of the orc attendants, but it wasn’t enough to make a difference. The orcs still had more than ten of the attendants, plus Zoran and Abael, while they had the five members of Team Renji, the six members of Haruhiro’s party, the four members from Kajiko’s Wild Angels, and three other volunteer soldiers—

Huh? We’re winning? If you only look at the numbers, we’re winning, aren’t we? Haruhiro thought.

But then Abael caught another volunteer soldier with his flamethrower.

“Arrrrgh...!” The volunteer soldier screamed, bursting into flames and then falling to the ground.

Someone’d better heal him, or he’s in danger, Haruhiro thought. Wait, that volunteer soldier is wearing the priest uniform. It’s burning, though. If he’s a priest, can he heal himself? Probably not when he’s like that. But neither Chibi-chan or Merry can afford to go heal him.

“It’s Abael!” Haruhiro called. “We’ve gotta finish that guy!”

Moguzo, Renji and Kajiko were preoccupied with Zoran. Ron couldn’t leave Sassa, Chibi-chan and Adachi.

“Mako-san, Kikuno-san, Azusa-san!” Haruhiro shouted. “Go after the sorcerer first!”

He happened to remember their names, so Haruhiro tried calling out to the women from the Wild Angels. They were each facing an orc attendant on their own. One of them, a woman as big as Kajiko who looked like a warrior, was heartily beating down an orc attendant.

Perhaps that was the moment Abael had been waiting for. He swiftly moved up closer to her, opening the lid on the pot he carried.

Bugs, Haruhiro remembered. But before Haruhiro could warn her, the bugs ambushed the large woman.

“Eeeeek!” the woman screamed, trying to brush the bugs off of herself.

It was reflexive, no doubt, so it was hard to blame her, but this was bad. She needed to run or something and fast. This time, Abael didn’t withdraw immediately. He was closing in on her, trying to do something.

Hey, wait, couldn’t this be an opportunity...? The moment that thought occurred to him, Haruhiro was running.

Abael was carrying a short, metal mace. He used it to strike the woman in the knees, then followed it up with a hard blow to the head. The woman was wearing a helmet, so it wasn’t clear if it was a fatal blow or not, but she slumped to the ground.

Abael turned around, looking in Haruhiro’s direction.

—Damn, Haruhiro thought. He noticed me.

“Gashgrasha!” Abael shouted and swung his mace.

It’s short, I can dodge it, Haruhiro thought, but his body reacted in an exaggerated manner. He threw himself to the floor, rolling over and then getting up, but by that time Abael was already fleeing.

“He’s fast!” Haruhiro cried.

After he started to give chase—

Is this really all right? Haruhiro wondered. I don’t know whether it’s good or bad. But if I let him act freely, he’ll only do more damage. We’ll be taken down one by one, and our numerical advantage will eventually vanish.

It’s scary, though.

Could someone like Haruhiro stop an enemy like that?

I certainly don’t think I can handle him on my own. I mean, look at that.

Abael turned towards him, and Haruhiro dove to the floor once again.

It’s coming, he thought, and he was right. It was flames. A flamethrower. Had he reacted even a moment slower, Haruhiro would have been burned to a crisp.

Abael ran away again. Haruhiro quickly resumed his pursuit, but the gap had widened between them.

Y’know... this may be hopeless, he thought. It’s not looking like I can do it.

I can’t catch him, and even if I did, what am I even going to do? I’m worried about my comrades, too, but if I take my eyes off Abael for a second, I feel like I’ll lose sight of him.

As Abael ran, he seemed to be peeking back occasionally to check on Haruhiro.

—I’ll lose sight of him. Haruhiro stopped.

“Osh!” An orc attendant took a swing at him.

Haruhiro dodged the orc attendant’s blade, turning around and taking the calculated risk of running straight towards another of the orc attendants. He made a sudden turn just before he entered his new opponent’s reach, and the two orc attendants almost ran into one another.

While that was happening, Haruhiro got away from them. He looked around, making sure not to stop moving as he did.

—Lose sight of him? he thought. Not a chance. The first floor’s big, but it’s only so big. If I look for him, I can find him in no time.

Despite that, Abael would vanish. He would disappear, then suddenly reappear. Of course, he couldn’t actually vanish. He left their field of view, then mixed in with the other orcs, making it look like he had vanished. Then, once they forgot about him, he would launch a surprise attack.

Haruhiro had given up on Abael. That was what he needed Abael to think. For Abael, Haruhiro would disappear. If he did that, Abael would go on the attack again.

Haruhiro wasn’t looking at Abael anymore—or so he pretended.

Looks like Abael plans to go towards Ron and his group, he thought. Either that, or the two Wild Angels who were now alone together. Or possibly Moguzo, or Renji, or Kajiko. It’s difficult to tell from the way he moves.

Is that how he gets up close to his targets? I’ll imitate him. No—I’m a thief. I’ll steal that from him.

A moment later, he had figured it out. That’s who Abael’s next target is— the one who’s being protected by Ron and Chibi-chan while he uses Kanon magic to disrupt the orc attendants and give them frostbite. It’s Adachi.

Abael locked his sites on Adachi, preparing to catch him with a blast of flame, but Haruhiro went for a Backstab right before he could.

Abael gasped and twisted out of the way at the last moment. Haruhiro’s dagger only managed to gouge Abael’s left arm.

Haruhiro had screwed it up, but Abael didn’t fight back, he ran away immediately.

Does he only fight when he’s at an absolute advantage? Haruhiro thought. He’s committed to that. I don’t know whether to call that cowardly or clever. He’s cunning.

Abael had probably seen through Haruhiro’s plan. Haruhiro had stolen Abael’s methods and copied them, but the cat had to be out of the bag now. The same trick wouldn’t work again. If he let him get away now, Abael would grow more cautious and there might not be another opening to take him out.

“Exhaust Plus!” Ranta screamed.

“Ubogeh?!” Abael exclaimed.

For a moment, Abael must not have known what hit him. Most people wouldn’t expect a human buttocks flying at the side of their head at extreme speeds.

The solid hit from Ranta’s hip attack sent Abael pitching forward.

Still, how does Ranta have such ridiculously good timing sometimes? Haruhiro wondered. It’s too good. You’re creeping me out, man. Anyway, I don’t need to be able to see that line to be able to kill Abael now.

Haruhiro took every possible caution, choosing to use Spider instead of Backstab. He grappled Abael from behind, putting him in a pinion. He then shoved his dagger under the orc’s chin, violently slitting the orc’s throat open before immediately leaping away.

“Smirk!” Ranta said aloud.

Is he an idiot? Haruhiro thought. Well, yes, I know he is, but still.

Ranta swung his longsword down diagonally, slamming it into the back of Abael’s neck. It may not have decapitated the orc, but it went about halfway through.

He kicked the orc to the ground, then followed up with another strike. Not satisfied with one, he went for a second, then a third. Abael stopped moving.

“Yes! 50 gold!” Ranta screamed. “Oh, also, a vice, too!”

That’s Ranta for you, Haruhiro thought. He never breaks character. You almost have to admire the guy. Well, I won’t. There’s no way I would.

“Now it’s just Zoran!” Haruhiro called.

There are still orc attendants left, but Zoran Zesh comes first. With the danger Abael posed gone now, and them fighting Zoran three on one, we can do this.

“Moguz—Whoa...?!” Haruhiro exclaimed.

Just as he’d been starting to cheer, Zoran leapt. It was a forward somersault.

Kajiko tried to take a swing at his back but missed, while Renji and Moguzo who were in front of him leapt backwards.

“Wha—?!” Kajiko yelled.

“Urkh!” Renji yelped.

“Oh...?!” Moguzo gasped.

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!” Zoran roared.

Then the orc spun. His forward somersault had used a vertical spin, but now he was moving forward while whirling around like a top. His spin was horizontal this time.

It was fast. With incredible momentum. It wasn’t that Renji and Moguzo didn’t do anything. They backed away. But they couldn’t get back far enough. They both tried to block Zoran’s twin blades with their swords and were sent flying.

Zoran wasted no time in attacking Moguzo. It was a relentless onslaught. When Renji tried to step in and help, Zoran immediately turned towards him and attacked. After forcing him to back off with a powerful slash, he wailed on Moguzo with his twin blades.

“Eryeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” Kajiko attacked Zoran from behind. But Zoran took a swing or two at her as he turned around, bouncing her back, then attacked Moguzo again.

Moguzo. Moguzo. Zoran persistently focused his attack entirely on Moguzo. When Renji tried to get between them, he used his forward somersault and spinning slash combo to make him back off, then returned to Moguzo.

Why? Haruhiro wondered numbly. Why is he so focused on him? Moguzo can barely block anymore. His armor is all dented. His helmet is crushed. He’s being ground down. Moguzo is. Second by second. Of course I want to do something. But what can I do?

Perhaps emboldened by Zoran’s attack, his attendants pushed in closer, chanting, “Osh, osh!” One of the attendants attacked Haruhiro. He was defending himself with Swat, but this guy was strong. Haruhiro felt like his dagger was going to be sent flying.

“Parupiro!” Ranta shouted.

Ranta came to his aid right in the nick of time, which got Haruhiro out of a jam, but Ranta’s calling him “Parupiro” was not okay. Ranta had saved him, though.

“Gah!” Kajiko screamed. Zoran got in a hit with his sword, and Kajiko’s helmet came off. Her face was covered in fresh blood.

“Get back!” Renji yelled at her.

I dunno if that’s Mako, or Kikuno, or Azusa, but she’s dragging Kajiko away, Haruhiro thought. This is no good. It’s no good at all. I was sure we had it this time.

He’s too damn strong. Zoran Zesh. Ish Dogran was like nothing next to him. He’s a monster.

But somehow—I dunno. There’s something strange, you could say, or something that bothers me. His balance.

Yeah. It’s his balance. The balance of what? His body. Left and right. The balance between his left and right. Left—he spins left. When he turns around, Zoran always turns to the left. And yet, when he does his spinning slash, it’s the opposite. He spins right. Why? It’s weird. Something about it bugs me.

“Paroporo!” Ranta screamed. “Quit standing there like an idiot!”

This is no time to stand around like an idiot, Haruhiro thought. Well, yeah, he’s right. I’m not Paroporo, though.

Ranta was right in what he was saying, but Haruhiro kept thinking.

This is important. I get that feeling.

Those twin blades. Is Zoran left-handed? Left-handed? Why did I think that?

It’s because they’re stiff. His movements. When he moves his left arm, it seems more fluid than his right. His right arm moves up and down less, like it’s stiff. Either that, or like it’s under some weird stress.

Like he’s trying to cover something.

If, for example, he has an old wound on his right shoulder or right side, could that be what’s causing it? Even if it was unconsciously, he’d naturally try to cover it.

Well, so what?

Renji and Moguzo, who were desperately confronting him from up close, probably wouldn’t notice it. Haruhiro had only noticed it by chance because he was watching from a distance.

Again, so what? he thought.

“Ranta!” Haruhiro called.

“Huh?!” Ranta asked.

“Do you want 100 gold?!”

“Damn straight I do!” Ranta yelled.

“Then be a decoy!” Haruhiro told him. “You’re the only one who can do it!”

“Ha! Looks like you’ve finally figured out how to use me properly!” Ranta hollered. “What do you need done?!”

Haruhiro gave him a brief explanation. Ranta’s role was dangerous, but simple. With a dread knight doing it, even if it didn’t work, just attempting it wouldn’t be that difficult. The problem was Moguzo and Renji.

“Moguzo! Renji!” Haruhiro shouted. “He has a habit of turning to the left when he turns around, and his right side is weak! He’s got an old wound there or something! Let Ranta take the front! You two get behind him!”

Would they get it? Even if they understood, could they do it? There was no guarantee.

Haruhiro looked over towards Merry and the others. Merry and Yume were working together to stop an orc attendant and protect Shihoru. Shihoru used Shadow Bond to stop another orc attendant in his tracks. It was good just knowing they were alive.

—Choco, Haruhiro thought. Choco’s fallen. She’s dead.

Once you die, that’s the end.

Let’s end this.

I’m going to settle things.

“We’re doing this, Ranta!” he shouted. “Are you ready?!”

“Hell yeah!” Ranta hollered. “It’s 150 gold!”

“That’s your response?!”

Haruhiro ran. Zoran followed Haruhiro with his eyes while continuing to rain harsh blows on Moguzo and Renji. He was perceptive. Haruhiro was trying to circle around behind Zoran.

He’s seen through me, Haruhiro thought. But how about this?

“Hey, loser!” Ranta came out in front of Zoran. “I can handle you all by myself, you damn loser! Did you hear me, loser? Loooo-ser, loooo-ser, loooo-seeeer!”

He stood in front of Zoran, pointing his sword at him and striking a grand pose. It was all according to their script, but still, how crass.

Still, with Ranta taking it that far, Zoran had to know he was being insulted, even if he couldn’t understand the words. Maybe that was what made him snap. Zoran used a forward somersault, followed by a spinning slash.

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!” Zoran roared.

“Exhaust!” Ranta wasn’t blown away. He blasted himself backwards, evading Zoran’s spinning slash, or flying out of range of it. “Ha! Moron, you’re so obvious, you loooo—whoa, Exhaust...!”

Ranta had gotten carried away and Zoran had chased after him in a rage. It would only take Zoran an instant to cover the distance that Ranta could fall back using Exhaust.

Still, Haruhiro had been right. Moguzo and Renji were both more powerful in combat than Ranta, of course. In a one-on-one fight, Ranta would absolutely lose. Even so, those two weren’t superior to Ranta at everything. Ranta had things he was better at than they were.

When Zoran launched his forward-somersault-and-spinning-slash combo, Moguzo and Renji couldn’t avoid it. They were forced to block with their swords. It hadn’t just happened the first time. It had happened repeatedly.

Moguzo and Renji were by no means slow. Even if they knew it was coming, they couldn’t get out of the way. Zoran’s combo was just that fast, and its reach was long, which made it dangerous. Despite that, Ranta had shown he could dodge it.

The way his Exhaust skill worked played into that, but, at the very least, when it came to dodging that combo, Ranta the dread knight was superior to Renji and Moguzo the warriors.

“Gahhhhhhhhhhhh! Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!” the orc roared.

“Exhaust! Exhaust!” Ranta bellowed.

Zoran was getting mad. He couldn’t even hit someone like Ranta, so it was easy to see why that would make him angry.

Thanks to that, Haruhiro was able to get behind Zoran. Moguzo and Renji were both chasing Zoran along with Haruhiro.

“He spins to the left, remember!” Haruhiro called.

If they were going to attack, it should be from the right. Compared to attacking from the left or from right behind him, Zoran’s sword would take just slightly longer to reach them.

“Wah ha ha!” Ranta hollered. “You’re not good enough to beat me!”

As Ranta incorrigibly continued his provocations, Zoran howled and executed a combo. A forward somersault, then a spinning slash.

Ranta escaped with Exhaust yet again.

Just as the spinning slash was ending, Renji came at Zoran from his right side. His attack was quiet, swift, sharp, and fierce. He seemed to creep in, yet he closed the distance rapidly, then swung his blade.

Zoran reacted with a spin to the left, of course. Using the sword in his left hand, his back hand, you could say, he swung to the outside to deflect Renji’s sword. It was so close.

Making it by a hair’s breadth, Zoran’s sword blocked Renji’s.

But it was different from before. While Renji’s blade may not have reached Zoran’s body, it pushed Zoran’s sword aside.

Though, that said, Zoran was a dual-wielder. Zoran quickly swept Renji’s torso with his right-hand sword. Renji had probably put everything he had into that one strike. He’d abandoned his defense.

He couldn’t dodge.

“Guh...!” Renji gasped.

It must have been thanks to his armor. He didn’t get cut in two. Still, it was a direct hit. Renji was mowed down.

It’s a failure, Haruhiro thought. It didn’t work.

Haruhiro slowed down and was about to stop running. Moguzo, however, didn’t.

“Thanks...!”

But Moguzo was being reckless. It was his Thanks Slash, or Rage Blow. He dug his feet in, swinging down diagonally and slashing with all his might.

It wasn’t a surprise attack. Zoran was ready for it. He waited for the opportune moment, not even bothering to use his swords to catch the blow. Zoran’s blade was faster than Moguzo’s.

He first struck Moguzo’s right shoulder. Then his upper right arm, left forearm, and right hip. Then, he went for the head. The left side, then the top of it.

Plated armor and helmets are that sturdy, huh? Haruhiro thought with relief. He can’t cut through them. But even if he can’t cut through, there’s no way Moguzo’s fine after that. There are huge dents all over his armor.

Still, even though there’s no way he’s fine, Moguzo’s not going down. He won’t even take a knee. He’s standing there like he’s dug his feet in hard. Oh, I see.

Steel Guard.

The heavy armor skill that uses armor and defensive items to their fullest, and then some, by bouncing back enemy attacks.

However, no matter how I look at it, those attacks aren’t being bounced back. He’s taking a one-sided clobbering. Can he withstand that? No matter how tough Moguzo is, he can’t take that for long. In that case...

There was only one thing for Haruhiro to do.

His body was already moving on its own.

Haruhiro was a thief. He was a coward who was always watching his opponents’ backs, always thinking about how to get behind them, and now was no different.

Zoran was focusing on Moguzo. He must have been wondering why this human just wouldn’t go down. It was strange. Wrong. Just maybe, he was feeling a creepiness from it. He may even have been being driven by irritation and impatience.

Haruhiro charged in towards Zoran’s back.

The line? I can’t see that thing, he thought. It doesn’t matter. However, I do have a vague sense of where to strike. Zoran’s wearing some high-quality red armor and a helmet, but there’s a slight gap between the two. Maybe I can get in through here?

Zoran was tall, so Haruhiro held his dagger with a backhanded grip, then swung down. He aimed for the seam between his head and back.

He stabbed.

In that moment, Zoran’s body stiffened.

Haruhiro pulled his dagger free, getting ready to stab again, when Zoran’s left arm came at him and he was knocked away.

“Thanks...!” Moguzo bellowed.

As Haruhiro was rolling across the floor, Moguzo unleashed his Thanks Slash and landed a hit on the tip of Zoran’s shoulder. Zoran kicked Moguzo away and might have been trying to make a temporary retreat.

I won’t let you. Haruhiro clung to Zoran’s right leg.

Zoran immediately stomped on Haruhiro’s head with the heel of his right foot, knocking him senseless for a moment.

When he came to, Kajiko was showering blows on Zoran. Ron was nearby, too. Adachi unleashed Kanon magic on Zoran. Chibi-chan bludgeoned Zoran with her staff.

Ranta slashed him. Shihoru used Shadow Beat. Yume hit Zoran with her machete. Even Merry was there using her priest’s staff to clobber Zoran.

Because of the blow to his head, Haruhiro was feeling a little out of it.

Huh, that’s a little weird, he thought. Everyone is wailing on Zoran as if they were possessed. Well, I can’t blame them. We’ve had a terrifying experience. A lot of people have died. Seriously, that guy was so terrifying it’s not funny. Now Zoran’s cowering on the ground, not resisting.

Is he still alive? I wonder. What about his attendants? It looks like some of them tried to save Zoran, but they got taken out. You know, there aren’t a lot of attendants. No, that’s not it—there are a lot more of us.

The rest of the Wild Angels and some volunteer soldiers who had been hiding came out. They surrounded Zoran’s attendants one by one and beat them to death.

Haruhiro touched the back of his head. He wasn’t bleeding. But his face was all wet. It looked like his head, nose, or jaw had hit the floor when Zoran had stomped his head, and he was bleeding from that. It was hard to breathe, so maybe his nose was broken.

“Enough.” Renji stood up, pushing his way past Kajiko, the members of Team Renji, and Haruhiro’s party.

Ranta yelled something and tried to stop him, but Renji just punched him.

Renji grabbed the Sword of Ish Dogran. No one had time to stop him. He swung down, decapitating Zoran.

“It’s over,” he said.

The room was silent.

“Woooooo!” someone cheered.

The few remaining attendants shouted something before charging the Wild Angels, only to be slaughtered.

“Haru!” Merry rushed over to him. “Are you okay?!”

Haruhiro nodded. He tried to say something, but he couldn’t speak.

“150!” Ranta cried, jumping into the air in joy. “150 gold!”

“Renji struck the killing blow!” Sassa tried to protest, but Kajiko shouted, “It’s an even split!”

I don’t really think I care, Haruhiro thought. Well, no, I do care. I mean, it’s a fortune. We could learn new skills, or we could move out of the lodging house and rent at a place with doors that lock, or we could order new equipment; there are a lot of things we could do with it. Our defensive gear in particular is getting pretty battered. We need to get it fixed or replaced.

Oh, but I’m not thinking straight.

It looked like the orc attendants had all been killed. Shihoru was crying tears of relief and Yume was hugging her, saying, “There, there. You did great. Just great,” as she patted her on the head.

“Can you get up?” Merry asked him.

Yeah, no, I can’t. Haruhiro was about to say that lie, because it seemed like Merry would treat him gently that way. But he didn’t.

“I can manage, yeah,” Haruhiro said, getting up. “Though, really, before you help me...”

Why’s he just standing there? Haruhiro wondered.

Everyone was dancing, chatting, having their priest treat them, or doing something, but Moguzo was just standing there.

There’s something weird about it, Haruhiro thought.

Moguzo wasn’t holding his sword. His arms were slumped at his sides.

It’s incredible that he’s standing at all, though, Haruhiro thought. I’m amazed he can stand. That he managed to stay on his feet. Especially in that state. Like, his helmet, it’s not just crushed, it’s not even on completely. There’s blood dripping off him here and there, too.

Suddenly, Moguzo slowly fell over. Like when something big and heavy suddenly loses its support and collapses. That was the sort of fall it was.

Merry gulped.

Haruhiro called his name. “...Moguzo?”

Afterword

I am, thankfully, able to make a living writing novels.

For some reason, I’ve received a steady stream of offers from different people, which has put me in the privileged environment of being able to support my lifestyle just by writing the manuscripts that I need to work on. It keeps me fairly busy, but if I set my mind to it, I can make as much time for myself as I’d like, so the reason I constantly keep writing is because I enjoy writing.

When I find myself without work to do for a day or two, rather than play through all of the games I’ve bought and set aside, I think of how to make the ideas I’ve been incubating into novels.

There’s basically no distinction between work and play for me. I’ve never had many friends to begin with, so for me play meant playing video games by myself, so writing novels by myself is a kind of play, too.

Of course, the experience of writing novels isn’t always fun. It can be painful, difficult work. However, even with video games, there are times where you just can’t beat them and you struggle. The joy of overcoming those challenges and beating a game, that feeling of release, is incredible.

It’s the same with novels. When you go through hardship to finish writing them, it’s very rewarding.

I am half—no, more than half—making my living by playing around. I often run into difficult situations while writing, but I’ve overcome them many times before, and I take the relatively optimistic view that I’ll continue to overcome them. Even if I make a mistake, it’s not like I’m fighting on the battlefield, so it’s not going to kill me, and I’m sure I’ll have chances to redeem myself. Well, I’ll get by somehow.

I no longer play games the way I once did. This is probably the reason why. For me games were, at least for a time, the only kind of play I knew. But now I play by writing novels. Thanks to that, I don’t have time to play games.

That said, I’m sure there are kinds of excitement and new experiences that I can only find through games. That’s why, to this day, I continue to look for information on games. I buy the ones that interest me, play them for a bit, and then get a little disappointed when they don’t live up to expectations. Still, I can never stop looking forward to my next experience with them. I’m sure I won’t stop until the day I die.

I’ve run out of pages.

To my editor, K, to Eiri Shirai-san, to the designers of KOMEWORKS among others, to everyone involved in production and sales of this book, and finally to all of you people now holding this book, I offer my heartfelt appreciation and all of my love. Now, I lay down my pen for today.

I hope we will meet again.

Ao Jyumonji