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.

Yeah, no, I can’t. Haruhiro was about to tell that lie, because it seemed like Merry would treat him gently if he did. 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 fully on. 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.

“...Moguzo?” When Haruhiro called his name, Moguzo slowly got to his feet. “Wh-What was that for?”

Haruhiro calmed himself, letting out a sigh. That surprised me. For a moment there, I was really panicking. I thought something happened that we can never let happen. There’s no way it would have, though.

“Don’t scare me like that, Moguzo,” he said.

“Sorry, sorry.” Moguzo let out an embarrassed laugh and scratched the back of his head.

Still, he sure is bleeding a lot, Haruhiro thought. With all that blood, it’s impossible to tell what kind of face he’s making. But, well, it looks like he’s fine somehow.

“Thank goodness...” Haruhiro murmured, closing his eyes.

He covered his face with his hands. I think I’m gonna cry.

“Really, thank goodness...”

Seriously, I don’t know what I would have done. If that ever happened, we’d be screwed. So screwed.

It’ll never happen, though.

Like, no way. It couldn’t. Not a chance.

“Thank goodness...”

I think I’m gonna cry. Wait, no, I already am. My hands are wet. The hands covering my face. That’s just how relieved I am. Seriously, what a relief. Thank goodness. Just thank goodness. Honestly—Honestly, I thought he was a goner. I think I vaguely remember having a dream like that. Though, I don’t know when I’d have had time for a dream like that. I wonder. Was it something like a prophetic dream? Like, maybe I had a dream like that last night? A dream where he wasn’t okay? That’s so weird. Having a dream like that. It’s weird. Anyway, thank goodness. Moguzo’s covered in blood, but, still, thank goodness. If nothing else, I’m glad he’s all right.

“Thank goodness...”

Haruhiro heard a voice. His own voice. He moved his hands.

Dark. It’s pitch dark. A room. It’s our room in the volunteer soldier lodging house. Was I sleeping? I was asleep. That means...

He didn’t want to think it. But... he wanted to check, had to check, so he sat up.

There were two bunk beds in this room. Ranta used the upper bunk of the other bed.

Ranta’s there. He’s snoring. And on the lower bunk—He’s not there. No one is. It’s empty.

He’s not there.

Moguzo’s not there.

He isn’t anywhere anymore.

“Yeah, I know, right?” Haruhiro said. “But, I mean, I’m a guy. It’s hard for me to be close with her.”

“I don’t think that just being the same gender means we’ll be able to be close...” Shihoru said quietly.

“Is that how it is?” Haruhiro asked.

“You... know what I’m like,” said Shihoru. “If I were bubbly like Yume, maybe it would be a different story...”

“Hmm,” he said. “I don’t think being bubbly will always help though, you know? I mean, Yume’s fine. She seems like she could get along with just about anybody. So long as it isn’t someone like Ranta.”

“...Ranta-kun might be an exception,” Shihoru agreed.

“That guy’s an idiot. Seriously. What the hell is he doing, overeating like that? I don’t get him.”

“...He was probably eating soruzo, don’t you think?” Shihoru asked.

“Huh?”

“This is just a guess, but... maybe he was trying to eat Moguzo’s share, too...”

“Ahh...” Haruhiro tugged at his hair. I see. That was it. I didn’t understand a thing. I wasn’t seeing anything. It was Ranta’s way of paying his respects.

Haruhiro laughed just a little. He felt a pang in his heart.

“Yeah, you’re definitely not an unpleasant person, Shihoru,” he said. “It’s amazing for you to be able to understand another person’s feelings like that.”

Shihoru shook her head. Then, she crouched down. “I think... Merry,” she said, forcing the words out, “she has more regrets than any of us. She’s in the most pain. Because she’s the priest...”

Haruhiro nodded. He felt that he understood that much. After all, it’s her second time.

Merry had lost a comrade, multiple comrades, once before. The weight of that responsibility had changed her and Merry wasn’t the same person she had been before that.

After teaming up with Haruhiro and the party, she had finally started to show a smile every once in a while. But just when she’d started to, she had lost another comrade.

On top of that, Merry was a priest. As the one who had light magic that could heal wounds, she was the party’s lifeline. That was to say, she was in a position where her comrades’ lives were her responsibility. It would be little wonder if she blamed herself entirely for what happened.

It might have been presumptuous of him, but right now Haruhiro was more worried about Merry than anyone else.

“...I just hope she hasn’t gotten any strange ideas,” he said out loud. Now that he’d said that, he worried about it all the more.

That was why, when he heard footsteps, looked up, and saw a figure in white clothes there, he felt an incredible sense of relief.

“Merry!”

“...Why?” That was all Merry said before turning heel and walking the other direction.

“—Huh?” Haruhiro gasped. “Wait, Merry, you’re running?!”

“H-Haruhiro-kun, we have to go after her!” cried Shihoru.

“Ah! Right!”

Luckily, Merry wasn’t very fast at running away. Actually, Merry wasn’t steady on her feet at all. She wasn’t so much running as somehow managing to keep going forward despite being ready to fall over.

When Haruhiro caught her, she immediately brushed his hand off, but Merry didn’t try to run any further. Maybe she couldn’t have run even if she’d tried.

Merry turned her back to Haruhiro and Shihoru, collapsing to her knees. “...What? Do you need something?”

“‘Something’—yeah, we kind of do,” said Haruhiro. “But, wait, Merry, have you been drinking?”

“Is it wrong for me to?” she mumbled.

“Well, no, there’s nothing wrong with it,” he hesitated.

“...Leave me alone,” she mumbled. “Don’t concern yourself with me.”

“I can’t just leave you alone,” Shihoru said, crouching down next to Merry. “I can’t do it.”

“...Why not?” Merry demanded.

“Because... it bothers me. Seeing you in this state... I can’t just pretend I don’t know anything.”

“...I didn’t want to be seen,” mumbled Merry. “Not like this. Why are you here?”

“We came here... to see you, Merry,” said Shihoru.

“I... don’t want to see you, at all.”

“We don’t feel the same way.”

“I don’t want to see you!” Merry shouted.

She was coherent, but Merry was obviously very drunk. Well, of course she wouldn’t want them to see her like that. That was natural. Haruhiro didn’t want to see Merry like this, either. It might have been better if he hadn’t. But he had. He couldn’t pretend otherwise.

“Merry,” he said.

“...What?” she asked unsteadily.

“Eight o’clock, in front of the north gate,” he said. “Maybe you’re not going to be able to make it. Looking at you now.”

Haruhiro tried waiting. No matter how long he waited, Merry gave no response. She didn’t say a thing. Instead, she stood up and walked away. It looked like she planned to go back to her lodging house.

Shihoru tried to follow Merry. Haruhiro stopped Shihoru, and called after Merry.

“We aren’t done yet. It’s okay to stop and stand still, but we have to move forward.”

Merry went inside without responding.

“Wh-Whaaat?!” Ranta yelped. “C-Can’t you do something?! Hey, wait, if it’s a general rule, that means there can be exceptions, right?! I was born special, so I must be an exception, obviously!”

“The only exception is for small children,” she said coldly. “That means mothers with children are fine.”

“Alrighty then! Fine, from today forward, Merry, I’m gonna be your son! It’d be weird to say I’m your real son, though, so we’ll say I’m adopted, yeah, adopted! How’s that! Now, there’s no problems, right?!”

Haruhiro muttered, “There are nothing but problems with that...”

“Shut your face, Parupiro! It’s not for you to decide! Now then, Merry, you’re my momma starting today! Welcome to the family, Momma!”

Merry patted Yume on the back and sighed. “I think I’ll go home...”

“Noooo!” Yume cried, squeezing Merry tightly. “Merry-chan, don’t go! When stupid Ranta opens his mouth, you don’t have to pay attention to a thing he says! You know Ranta’s just a numskull and a nincompoop.”

“Who’re you calling a nincompoop?” Ranta shouted. “Especially when you’ve got tiny tits!”

“Don’t call them tiny!” Yume flared.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you’ve got tiny tits!”

“Well, Ranta, you’re way flatter than Yume, so there!” she shot back.

“I’m a man, damn it! I wasn’t competing with you on breast size to begin with!”

“Well, what are you competin’ over the size of, then?!”

“Huh?! Well, obviously...” Ranta looked down to his crotch, then glanced over at Haruhiro. “...Right?”

“No, don’t look to me for agreement here...” said Haruhiro.

“Hrmm?” Yume tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“Um...” Merry said, squirming uncomfortably in the tight grip of Yume’s arms. “...I won’t leave. So, for now, could you let go of me?”

“Whuh?! Was Yume hurtin’ you? Sorry ’bout that.” Yume let go of her. “Yume, she’s pretty strong, y’know. Lately, her arms’ve been gettin’ real beefy, and she’s gonna have a six-pack one of these days, she was tellin’ Shihoru. If that happens, Shihoru was sayin’, maybe if Yume’s chest muscles grow, her boobs might get bigger too.”

“...Y-Yume,” Shihoru stammered. “That’s enough about that...”

“Nwuh? Why?”

“It’s not something to talk about in front of the boys...”

“It’s not?” Yume asked.

“Ha!” Ranta laughed nasally. You’ve got no delicacy, Yume. That’s your problem!”

“Yume doesn’t have any telepathy, but neither do you, Ranta!” she shot back.

“As if I would! Besides, it’s not telepathy, it’s delicacy! Delicacy!”

Good grief, things sure have gotten lively here, Haruhiro thought, scratching the back of his neck. But, well, thanks to Ranta and Yume, the mood has lightened up.

First, Haruhiro talked to Merry about business. They decided they would all go to the Volunteer Soldier Corps Office after this to fill out the paperwork. Then they’d need to take their 60 gold worth of military scrip to the Yorozu Deposit Company, convert it to gold, and divide up the money. He figured it would probably be a good idea to deposit The Chopper, as well.

“—So, the question is, what we do from here on?” Haruhiro asked, keeping his tone as light as he could manage. The reality they were facing was a harsh one, and they were all feeling like they might be crushed under its oppressive weight. He didn’t want to make things any heavier than they had to be. “I’ve thought things over a bit, you know. For now, why don’t we try going to Damuro?”

“Ooh,” Yume said excitedly. “That means gobbies.”

“Heh!” Ranta frowned and crossed his arms. “For us now, don’t you think they’re a little out of their reach, trying to take us on?”

“...I think you mean ‘out of their league’...” Shihoru murmured.

“Hm? Did you say something, Shihoru?” Ranta asked loudly.

“Never mind...” she said. “Forget it... I know there’s no cure for stupidity...”

“Hey, I definitely heard that one, you know?” Ranta complained.

“Damuro...” Merry said, casting her eyes downwards.

“They’ve been calling us the Goblin Slayers all this time, after all,” Haruhiro said it jokingly, but Merry’s expression didn’t lighten at all.

It’s too much to expect it right away. It’s going to take time. Take it step by step. Rushing things won’t help.

“We’ve been frequenting the Cyrene Mines lately, so we’ve gotten used to kobolds, but if we go there, we have to go down at least three floors,” he said. “I think that’s risky. I hear the temporary state of emergency in the Old City of Damuro seems to have been lifted, and we know almost every nook and cranny of the place. If we choose our locations well and don’t overextend ourselves, I don’t think it should be that dangerous.”

“The way you think is as passive as ever, huh, Haruhiro?” Ranta asked, with an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders. “But it’s okay, I guess? I think it’s not a bad idea, for now, at least.”

“Wow, Ranta-kun isn’t complaining for once...” Shihoru murmured.

“Who do you take me for, Shihoru?” Ranta shouted. “I’ve always been a guy who tells it like it is, you know? If it’s good, I say it’s good. If it’s bad, I say it’s bad. If I have something to say, I say it! If I want to do something, I do it! In other words, I’m a real man!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Haruhiro muttered.

“Haruhiroooo! No, Parepiruroooo! Don’t try to just let what I’m saying drift by!”

“If anything, I’d like to throw you in a river and let you drift away,” Haruhiro said.

“Fine by me! Bring it! Just you try! If you can throw me in a river, do it, damn you!”

“Nah, I’ll pass,” said Haruhiro. “It’s too much of a bother.”

“Ba-boing.” Ranta sprung forward in a straight line. He might have been trying to act funny to get a laugh out of them, but obviously no one so much as giggled. Ranta, however, was undaunted and tried it again a few times. “Ba-boing. Ba-boing. Ba-boing!”

The repeated attempts not only didn’t get a laugh, they were only making everyone less and less amused, so it was impressive that he could keep doing it without his heart breaking. Ranta started working funny faces into his ba-boing jump routine.

Yume let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head.

Merry was looking at Ranta with pity at this point.

Shihoru shuddered. “...So creepy.”

“Ba-boing!” Ranta shouted. “Ba-boing! Ba-boing, ba-boing, ba-boing!”

Ranta looks happy, Haruhiro thought. He enjoys it when people are creeped out by him. Is he a masochist? Still, Shihoru has been poking fun at Ranta an awful lot today. Maybe she’s thought about it and has some reason for it.

Haruhiro ignored Ranta, looking instead to Yume, Shihoru, and Merry. “Does anyone else have an opinion?”

“Yume thinks she’s okay with it,” Yume declared.

“...I think it’s fine, too,” said Shihoru.

“Me, too,” Merry said, bringing a hand to her chest and taking a short breath. “I’m fine with it.”

Things weren’t like they were before. Of course they weren’t. Haruhiro and the party had lost someone they couldn’t afford to lose. There was no one who could replace Moguzo. Not anywhere. It wasn’t possible.

Was there nothing that could to begin to fill the great, all too great, holes that had been gouged into, and between, the members of the party?

Well, if not, what should we do? Haruhiro wondered.

He didn’t know right now. However, he knew that not knowing the answer didn’t make it okay to leave things as they were. If he didn’t know the answer, he had to seek out and find it.

Haruhiro nodded.

“Let’s go.”

He opened his eyes.

The scenery before him hadn’t changed in the slightest, to the point that it was cruel.

In this unchanging world, Haruhiro and the others would need to change themselves, little by little.

“Let’s meet in front of the north gate, ten days from now at eight o’clock,” he said.

“T-To me...?!” Ranta asked.

“Yeah.” Renji patted down his ash gray hair, sighing. “I’m not that interested anymore, though.”

“...Because of Runrun Paradise?”

“No. Because of how you act.”

“Oh, of course.” Ranta stood up with an awkward laugh, quickly giving himself the sniff test to make sure he didn’t stink.

No, wait. He’s not a girl. He’s a dude. Like, the dude to end all dudes. I don’t need to do this. Or rather, he makes me a million times more nervous than any girl.

“Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uhmm... Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What did you want to talk about?” Ranta stuttered.

“Come with me.” Renji pointed the way with his chin, then started to walk.

Ranta cried, “Yes, sir!” and took off after him.

Renji took Ranta to a small, cramped bar on the edge of Celestial Alley. It was truly cramped, but the interior was neat, with a good stock of bottles and casks of wine behind the bar. There were no other customers. It was probably too early for that. Later in the night, people would gather here to enjoy a quiet drink. That was the kind of place this had to be. In other words, it was no place for Ranta.

“Th-This is a good place,” said Ranta. “Ha ha ha, ha...”

“Brandy, any kind, for two,” Renji ordered without asking Ranta. Their drinks were ready quickly. There was a brown-ish liquid in a short glass.

Ranta said, “Don’t mind if I do!” and took a swig. He nearly choked on the stuff, but he somehow managed to endure. “Th-This stuff is strong...”

Renji gave a low snort, then downed his glass in one shot.

—Whoa. Damn, he’s cool...

“How’s it going?” Renji asked.

“Huh? Oh... Well, so-so... you could say. You know what happened to us.”

“Moguzo, huh,” said Renji.

“Well, that’s how it is...”

“I misjudged him,” Renji said. “He was a big deal.”

Renji’s meaning wasn’t clear. Moguzo had been big? What did he mean by that? That he’d been stronger than he’d thought? Or that it was a big deal that Moguzo had died, or something like that? Either way, Renji was acknowledging Moguzo.

—Man, you’ve got Renji acknowledging you now, partner, Ranta thought proudly. Not that being recognized after your death does you much good, though.

“But, well, he’s gone now,” Ranta said. “It’s not going to do us any good to moan and complain about it. We’ve got to get by on our own now. That’s how we’re taking it...”

“What about Haruhiro?” asked Renji.

“What about him? There’s not much to say,” Ranta said. “Well, he’s trying hard in his own way. Not that he’s much of a leader.”

“True enough.”

“He can’t be like you, Renji-san,” Ranta added.

“Cut it out with the -san.”

“Righto. Renji it is.” Ranta took a little sip of his brandy. “This is good stuff, if you take it a bit at a time. Still, it’s strange to be here, talking to you like this. You alone?”

“Work is work,” said Renji.

“And you wanna keep it separate from your time off?”

“Yeah, kinda,” said Renji.

“If you’re with people all the time, they get annoying,” Ranta agreed. “You wanna be alone once in a while.”

“Even you feel like that?” Renji asked archly.

“I’m fine all by myself, y’know?” Ranta said. “I don’t really get lonely. In this business, you can’t go it alone, though, so I need comrades. A group.”

“Want to join mine?” Renji asked.

Ranta nearly nodded, and then—Hold on, wait, he thought. What?

What did Renji just say? “Want to join mine?” No. That can’t be it, right? “Want a jumbo lime?” No, that’s not it.

“Want to join mine?” That was what Renji had said.

“...Huh?” Ranta asked, dumbfounded.

“Right now, we’ve got five,” said Renji. “There’s room for one more.”

“Oh—because Protection works on up to six, right?” Ranta asked.

“Thieves won’t work on another thief’s turf,” said Renji. “It’s part of their code of honor. I don’t need a hunter who can’t use a bow or a mage with no firepower, either. Your priest is worthless, too. She let Moguzo die.”

“That’s not...!” He felt the blood rushing to his head. But... why should Ranta have to stick up for Merry? Because she was his comrade? Even if she was, he had to call a spade a spade. That was Ranta’s stance. He didn’t want to play at being friends.

“...Well, yeah,” said Ranta. “Her skills aren’t bad, but Merry screwed up. She screwed up royally.”

“Our Chibi may not look it, but she’s useful,” said Renji.

“That seriously, seriously shocked me,” said Ranta. “I dunno... she just didn’t look like she’d have it in her. But if she’s supporting your party, she must be amazing.”

“Ranta.” That was probably a first. Renji hadn’t called him Curly, he’d called him by name. “You’re going to become useful. When I saw you at Deadhead, that’s what I thought. But Haruhiro can’t use you properly.”

Renji had been watching?

Ranta had seen Renji and his group. Renji was the one in it who was really, really incredible. Still, that was just because Renji was a crazy man who’d jump into danger like it was nothing and mow down enemies. Ron and the others were plenty amazing themselves. They had been with Renji all this time, and lived. That was special in and of itself. It was hard to believe that they hadn’t been volunteer soldiers for any longer than Ranta and the others.

Him, in that party.

If that were to happen—he was sure he could fight much, much harder. Without having to worry about his comrades, he’d be able to use his skills left and right to keep the enemies at his mercy. That was how a dread knight was meant to fight. Not how he was now. He had to worry about all sorts of stuff. There were too many limitations. If only they still had Moguzo.

If his partner were there, he could have focused on fighting like a dread knight. Of course, that wasn’t possible anymore. If he considered the party, Ranta had no choice but to become the tank. He wasn’t suited for it, but he could do it. Ranta meant to come up with his own ways of doing it, too. Even if that meant having to kill who he really was, he had no choice.

Is there really no other choice...? he wondered.

“I’m a selfish guy,” Renji said, downing his second glass of brandy in one gulp. “I take care of those who can be useful to me. I don’t care about anyone else. In the end, I think most people are the same. If you live for others, it just means you die for them, too.”

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Ranta said. “They say I’m selfish and egotistical.”

“Let them.”

“You think I can get strong?” Ranta asked.

“If I’m the one using you,” said Renji.

“You want me to be your pawn, is that it?”

“Bingo.”

Renji wasn’t lying. At the very least, he thought Ranta had potential. He was trying to poach him. For Team Renji.

Seriously? Ranta thought. I’m going to crack up laughing. This is amazing. Is luck finally on my side? So, what do I do? With an offer like this, I don’t even need to ask that, do I? The answer is obvious. Right?

But what is that something? How do these two even know each other? Are they acquaintances somehow? Kuzaku’s our junior, so that’s hard to imagine. Still, I can’t be sure they aren’t. Merry goes out drinking alone at night, so could they have met one of those times? And then, something happened? If something happened, it would have to be—that...?

Merry’s looking down and gripping her staff. Kuzaku, on the other hand, he’s acting like he feels awkward, but not really. Like, “It wasn’t really a big deal.” Like, “It happens all the time?” Like, “It was a one-time adventure”... Adventure...?! What’s that?! Did they do it?!

Haruhiro slapped and rubbed his own chest, blinking repeatedly in confusion.

Yeah. Well, y’know? Whatever Merry does, that’s her business, right? I have no right to stop her, or even to pry, yeah? Kuzaku’s a tall guy, and for as gloomy as he looks, his face itself isn’t bad. If you look at him the right way, he’s pretty cool. Maybe. Not that I’d know! I don’t know if a dude’s face is hot or not! I can’t make that call! I don’t even want to! Like I care!

Okay. I’ve calmed down now. I’m fine now.

He was calm. Haruhiro’s mind was as cool as ice, and as silent as standing atop a frozen lake.

“—So? What? Were you just passing by? That’s not it, is it?” Haruhiro asked.

“Yeah, no. It’s not.”

“Well, what is it then?” Haruhiro demanded.

“...You’re kind of scary today, huh?”

“Am I?” Haruhiro asked. “I don’t think so. Well? Are you going to answer my question?”

“I’m here to ask a favor again, I guess you could say,” Kuzaku said.

“Huh...?”

“The party. I’m asking you to let me join.”

“Wha—” Haruhiro said.

“You were saying,” Kuzaku said. “Saying something about not being able to decide alone. That if the others were around, you could ask their opinions, or something like that. You guys seemed like you’d be gathering somewhere.”

—He’s annoyingly persistent, Haruhiro thought. I turned him down, right? Like, I gave him a pretty clear no, didn’t I? He said “I see” in response, right? That was supposed to mean, “Okay, I get it, I’ll give up,” wasn’t it?

Haruhiro felt something like irritation and hostility swirling inside him, but he let it sit for a moment. He couldn’t just unleash it on the guy as it was. It wouldn’t be good. He was the leader. Maybe it was because he was the leader that he couldn’t do that. He wasn’t sure, but a voice inside Haruhiro was ordering him to smooth things over and keep up appearances.

“...I said that, yeah,” Haruhiro said. “I did. I said that, but that’s got nothing to do with this.”

“How so?” Kuzaku asked.

“Huh? Well, you know... that’s that and this is this.”

“What is ‘this’?” Kuzaku asked.

“Th-This is...”

Oh, crap, Haruhiro thought. I’m not thinking straight. I’m not keeping up appearances at all. What’s going on here? Am I losing my cool? Like, totally? I can’t deny that...

“Haruhiro, man.” Kuzaku glanced over to Merry. “Did you talk to your comrades about me? If you did, some of them might be in favor of it, right? I wouldn’t know, though.”

“...No, I didn’t,” Haruhiro said.

“I...!” Merry sounded shrill, but she coughed to clear her throat. “...I-I might not... be in favor of it, really...”

Haruhiro grinned. “See!”

“What do you mean, see?” a rude voice broke in.

“Huh?! What do I mean—” Haruhiro jumped back in surprise. “Whoa! Ranta?!”

“No need to act so surprised,” Ranta said. “Is there something wrong with you, man?”

Ranta, Haruhiro thought. When did Ranta get so close to me? He’s right beside me. No, it’s not just Ranta. Shihoru and Yume are here, too. They look surprised. I’m the one who ought to be surprised here.

“Whaaaat?” Ranta said, digging the earwax out of his ears and narrowing his eyes. “Who’re you, pal? No, I know that face. Hm...? One of our juniors, yeah? Huh? Man, didn’t you die at Deadhead? Are you a zombie?”

“I’m still breathing. Pretty sure I’m alive.”

“Whoa there,” Ranta said. “You’re acting pretty uppity for one of my juniors. You wanna go? I’ll take you one-on-one.”

“Nah. I’ll pass. No reason for it,” Kuzaku said.

“Ho ho,” Ranta laughed. “So that’s how you’re gonna be. That’s how you’re gonna be, huh. You may be a liiiittle taller than me, but you’d better not look down on me, got it?”

“A little, huh,” Kuzaku said.

“It’s more like a lot,” Yume said, comparing Ranta and Kuzaku’s heights. “He’s got twenty centimeters on you, don’t you think?”

“You idiot, it can’t be that much!” Ranta blustered. “Where’re you even looking, you moron?!”

“I think I’m probably 191 or 192 centimeters,” Kuzaku said.

Shihoru snickered. “Ranta-kun can’t be as tall as 171 centimeters. Maybe you’ve got more than 20 centimeters on him...”

“I am, too!” Ranta shouted. “I’m easily over 170 centimeters! Of course I am! I’m over 180! And what’s this big oaf doing here, anyway?!”

“No, before we get to that—” Haruhiro looked to Ranta, Shihoru and Yume in turn. They all seemed unwilling to look him in the eye, as if they felt guilty about something. That was how it felt to him. “Why... Why are you so late? Didn’t we agree to meet up by the north gate at eight o’clock? I don’t expect Ranta to respect that, but you two...”

“Yeah, about that,” Ranta nonchalantly revealed something Haruhiro couldn’t believe he was hearing. “Thing is, I’ve got an invite from Renji. He was asking if I’d join Team Renji.”

“Oh...” Haruhiro nearly fell over. “Huh...?”

“Yume and Shihoru got one, too, y’know,” said Yume.

“Too...?”

“They were sayin’ we could join the Wild Angels. Kajiko-chan tried to recruit us.”

“—Ka...”

Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Oh, crap. Haruhiro felt weak in the knees and ankles. I’m gonna fall over. Seriously. No, not over. Down. Into the depths of hell.

“H-Haru...!” Merry moved in to support him, so he managed to stay on his feet, but he felt like he might not be able to go on like this. No, not might—he couldn’t.

What was it for? he wondered. What have all our struggles up until now been for? What have we worked so hard for? Don’t they care? Does all our hard work mean nothing? No matter how hard we strive, we can’t make something work if it’s not going to work, is that it? I mean, we were a group of rejects, after all.

No—someone had decided they needed Ranta, Shihoru and Yume. Ranta. That Ranta. And it was Renji, of all people. This meant Haruhiro was worse than Ranta. It meant that Haruhiro was the real reject.

Merry, too. But Merry was a priest. If she just kept her mouth shut, someone would call her to join them. There was an overwhelming difference in the level of demand for a thief and for a priest.

Haruhiro’s future looked bleak. There was nothing but utter darkness. He was in the darkness.

“Whoa...” Kuzaku looked at them, furrowing his brow. “Looks like you’ve got other problems before deciding whether to let me in.”

He’s right, Haruhiro thought. He’s so damn right. I don’t have time for him.

“...Sorry. Thanks, Merry.” Haruhiro moved away from Merry, taking a deep, deep breath.

Now, then, he thought. What am I going to do? From here on out. I need to think about what I’m going to do with myself. I know. I was never volunteer soldier material to begin with, so maybe I’ll take up a trade. Find someone willing to take me on as an apprentice. It sounds like hard work, and I doubt I can handle doing business. But, if I work at it diligently, maybe it’ll work out. It’s not like I’ll die if I mess up, so it’s easier. Easier than this.

“Huh? You want to join up?” Ranta looked Kuzaku up and down, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. “A paladin, huh. I see.”

“Ohh.” For some reason, Yume slapped Kuzaku on the arms and shoulders, as if testing how hard they were. “What’s a pallydin do?”

“...Well, fight with a sword, and stuff?” Kuzaku was taken aback. “Also, we can use light magic, so we can do some healing. We can’t heal ourselves, though. Other than that, we can defend with a shield.”

“They can do all sortsa stuff, huh,” Yume said.

“Sortsa...? Well... I dunno about that,” said Kuzaku. “I don’t think so.”

“...Basically, you’re a tank... right?” Shihoru asked hesitantly.

Kuzaku gave a vague nod. “Yeah, something like that.”

“You’re not very clear on that!” Ranta said, scoffing. “If you wanna join our party, you need to be clear on this stuff. How else are we supposed to decide?”

“Huh...?” Merry blinked repeatedly, her eyes darting around from person to person.

Haruhiro’s head was still all fuzzy, so he thought something was strange, but he wasn’t really sure what.

“Hm?” Ranta cast a suspicious glance over towards Haruhiro. “What? You’re acting way too weird. You’re creeping me out, man.”

“...No, I dunno what it is, but... I don’t want you, of all people, calling me creepy,” said Haruhiro.

“I’m only saying you’re acting creepy because you are,” said Ranta. “If you don’t want to be called creepy, then don’t be creepy.”

“What’s creepy is all a matter of perspective. That’s just your—No, that’s not it!” Haruhiro burst out.

“What?” Ranta asked.

“Huh?! No, I mean, Renji... he invited you to join him, right? And Kajiko did the same with Shihoru and Yume. If you were all late because of that, that must mean...”

“Sorry ’bout that,” Yume said.

I knew it, Haruhiro couldn’t help but think. What else was there to think? See.

See. Look at that. That’s how it is, in the end. I was ready for it, so I’m fine, though. Only there’s no way I was ready for it, and I’m totally not fine!

“Yume, to tell you the truth, when Kajiko-chan invited her, she really didn’t know what to do,” Yume said.

“I’ll bet,” Haruhiro said with a forced smile. “I mean, it’s Kajiko. She’s famous.”

“...She was being very kind,” Shihoru said, shrinking into herself. “...She was considerate, and she told us about all sorts of things. The conditions were good, too...”

“For me, Renji told me I was gonna be useful, you know? He didn’t even call me Curly, he called me by name! ‘Ranta’...” Ranta said, lowering his voice. He may have been trying to imitate Renji, but it just looked like he was making a funny face. “‘You’re going to become useful,’ he said! Gahahahahahahahah! People who get it, really get it! My shining talent, that is!”

“I’ll bet,” Haruhiro narrowed his eyes. “I’ll bet. Yep. I never could use you properly. Yeah. I’ll bet that’s it...”

“Yeah,” Ranta agreed. “Renji was saying that, too. He said you wouldn’t be able to use me right.”

“...I see.” Haruhiro ground his teeth. If Renji, the guy who had quickly rounded up people he could use, formed Team Renji, and run straight down the path to stardom, was the one saying it, Haruhiro couldn’t argue back. Haruhiro had no aptitude for leadership. He knew that so badly that it hurt. It was obvious.

“So, that being the case, I had to really wrack my brains over what I was gonna do, y’know,” Ranta said, poking Haruhiro lightly, no, really hard, in the shoulder. “You better be grateful, Parupiroooo!”

“Ow—wait, huh? Grateful? For what?”

“Huhhh? For me! Ranta-sama! I decided to stay with the party, man!” Ranta shouted. “You ought to be so damn grateful that you cry, like, three liters’ worth of tears!”

“—Huh?” Haruhiro said, stunned.

“Yume and Shihoru, too,” Yume said, rubbing her cheeks. “We thought reeeeal hard about it, y’know. Talkin’ it over together. Yume, honestly, she wasn’t so confident about goin’ on like this. She was worried she might end up causin’ trouble for everyone else. Yume was scared. Until this mornin’, she wasn’t sure what she was gonna do.”

“As for me, I couldn’t decide anything by myself...” Shihoru pulled her mage’s hat down. “I thought that was pathetic of me. There might be no place for me... people might be better off without me... That’s what I started to think. I asked myself if I could support everyone... If I was going to carry on with this party, I knew I had to be prepared to do at least that much... And if I joined a stronger group, life might be easier...”

“It might be, yeah, but Yume and Shihoru made a decision,” Yume said, clenching her hands into fists. “To stay in this party where Manato was, where Moguzo was, and where Haru-kun and everyone else still are. Yume and Shihoru wanted to run away. It’s been painful, y’know. But, if Yume ran away, she knew she’d regret it later, and, really—Yume doesn’t want to leave everyone else.”

“Wh-What’s with you?” Ranta was blushing slightly. “Despite how you normally act, you feel that strongly, huh? About me...”

“Of course, Ranta, you’re just somethin’ extra that comes with all that,” Yume added.

“Who’re you calling an extra, you dolt?! I’ll grab your ass and squeeze it, you moron!”

“You perv!” Yume shot back. “You’re worth less than an unwanted extra! You’re worse than garbage!”

Yume and Ranta were back to their usual bantering.

Haruhiro looked to Merry. Merry still looked dazed, as if she couldn’t believe it. Haruhiro probably looked the same.

“Um...” Shihoru bowed her head vigorously, leaning so far forward that it looked like she was hunched over, and her hat fell to the ground. Shihoru quickly picked it up and put it back on, then bowed again. “...Sorry. For being indecisive. But... I didn’t want to lie. If I hadn’t been clear about things, some day it would definitely have created a rift, you could say... or something bad would have come of it, I thought. If I hadn’t come out and tell you about everything... including my weakness, I didn’t think I could move forward...”

“Hmph.” Ranta snorted and crossed his arms, looking away from her. “If you’ve got a chance to take the next step up dangling in front of you, it’s only natural to want to take it. What’re you apologizing for?”

Haruhiro cocked his head to the side. “...Well, then why did you pass up that chance? If you’d felt like it, you could have gotten into Renji’s party.”

“I did it to take the next step up. Isn’t that obvious?”

“I don’t really get it...” Haruhiro said.

“What, you don’t? That’s why you’re a moron,” Ranta said. “Now, listen. If someone offers to pull me up, and I go along with them because they order me to, it’s meaningless. For me, that’s not making progress or anything close to it. Crawling up towards the top using my own strength, that’s what makes things interesting. That’s what I call taking a step up. It’s the one true way to do it. You get it?”

“...Vaguely?” Haruhiro said.

“Don’t just understand it vaguely, understand it completely! Besides, I don’t care if it’s Renji, or Kenji, or Gejigeji, but it’s presumptuous as hell for him to think he can lift me up. If anyone’d be doing the lifting, it’d be me. So, basically, I’m saying I’ll lift you people up a level or two! Try not to do anything that’d embarrass me while I’m at it! That’s your duty! Let’s hear your response! Yes or yes?!”

“Yes or yes...?” Yume asked, puffing up her cheeks and pouting. “If you say it like that, they’re both the same, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, that’s kinda the point!”

“...Erm,” Kuzaku pointed to himself. “What about me?”

“Who cares!” Ranta made a gesture like he was flipping over a garbage pail. “I don’t give a damn about what happens to a big oaf like you!”

“A pallydin, huh,” Yume knitted her eyebrows. “Hrm...”

“...It’s kind of sudden...” Shihoru said, trying not to look at Kuzaku.

Ranta may have been holding a misplaced grudge against him over the height difference thing. Yume and Shihoru didn’t know how to react when it had been brought up so suddenly. Merry didn’t seem that keen on the idea because of something that had happened between them, and Haruhiro didn’t want to complicate matters when they had just managed to sort things out.

“Kuzaku,” Haruhiro said. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t—”

“Please.” Kuzaku bowed very, very deeply. When he put his hands on his knees, leaning forward more than 90 degrees, it carried great intensity.

“—Please. I’m not asking this with half-hearted feelings. I’m serious. In my own way.”

“Well, yeah, I’ll bet you are,” Ranta snorted. “We’ve all got to make a living somehow. But you can’t do it alone. We’re missing a tank right now, and we’re the lowest of the low. If anyone’s going to take you, it’d be us, is that it?”

“...That’s not it,” Kuzaku said.

“Yeah, then what is it?” Ranta demanded.

“I want to join you people,” Kuzaku raised just his face, looking at Haruhiro with upturned eyes. “I was watching you all at Deadhead. Honestly, I didn’t think you were strong at all. If anything, you seemed unreliable. And yet, you helped us, and by the end, you were fighting on the front lines. Me, I almost died, so my memories are hazy, but I could hear things. Your voices, for one. I thought you were amazing. It would’ve been easier to understand if you looked strong, but even though you didn’t, you were still able to put up a good fight. I thought that was cool. I thought I was going to die there. So, I was thinking, I wish I could’ve been like you. Why was I so irresponsible and halfhearted? I wish I’d taken things more seriously. That was what I was thinking. All while I was listening to your voices. I should have died. But when I came to, I was alive. All my comrades were dead, but I was the only one still alive.”

Haruhiro couldn’t look away from him.

Damn it, he thought. This guy’s serious.

He was laying his honest feelings out for Haruhiro and the others. Haruhiro couldn’t just brush that off. If he was going to reject him, he would need a suitable, justified reason that he felt strongly about.

Did he have one? A reason that was good enough to send Kuzaku away.

If he said he just didn’t like him, or that it was too soon after they’d lost Moguzo, would Kuzaku be satisfied with that? Could Haruhiro convince himself that it was okay to have done that?

“I’m cool, huh?” Ranta brushed a hand through his curly hair, then grinned. He didn’t mind the praise—or rather, he seemed to be feeling pretty good about it. “Kinda, I guess? Though, being told the plain truth like that doesn’t make me feel all that happy, you know? But, if you can recognize my coolness, you’ve got some serious potential.”

“No. I didn’t mean just you, I meant everyone,” said Kuzaku.

“Don’t contradict me there! You’re supposed to agree! It’s blatantly obvious that’s better for both of us!”

“A proper tank,” Shihoru spoke hesitantly, “is something we need, I think.”

“Yeah.” Yume crossed her arms and nodded repeatedly. “If Ranta’s the tank, it’ll be a real mess. Gotta do somethin’ about that.”

Haruhiro looked to Merry to gauge her reaction. “...Merry?”

Merry furrowed her brow and bit the corner of her mouth a little. “—If the party needs it. I don’t really care.”

“Buuuut!” Ranta leveled a finger at Kuzaku. “It’s only temporary for now! Temporary! During the probationary period, if you’re not up to our level, or you can’t keep up with the rest of us, or you can’t understand my sophisticated gags, or you don’t worship me, or you don’t pay me tribute, or if any problem comes up that can’t be resolved, you’re fired! Fired! Got it?”

“Don’t just decide things on your own...” Haruhiro muttered.

“Shove off, Haruhiro!” Ranta shouted. “I’m making the decision because you don’t have it together enough to! You need to be decisive from here on, or I’m not going to be shy about taking command! You’d better get ready for that!”

“That’s no good!” Yume clung to Haruhiro. “Haru-kun, get your act together! If Ranta gets to do whatever he wants, it’ll be totally awful! Yume, she won’t be able to stand that!”

Shihoru raised her hand. “...Same here.”

Merry was nodding, too.

“What’s wrong with all of you?!” Ranta shouted, spittle flying everywhere. “I’m doing this to get this indecisive, wishy-washy, good-for-nothing to step up to the plate!”

“I know,” Haruhiro said, stroking his chin. “I get that, man.”

“...Y-You do?” Ranta stammered. “If you get it, well then—”

“There are way too many problems with the way you’re saying it, though,” Haruhiro said. “Though, in your case, you’ve got a difficult personality to begin with, so I guess there’s no point in complaining.”

“Oh, shut up!” Ranta shouted. “Just be quiet! Seriously! Seriously!”

“Kuzaku,” Haruhiro said.

When Haruhiro ignored the far-too-noisy Ranta and called his name, Kuzaku was still bent over and looking up at him.

Maybe he’s a surprisingly decent guy, Haruhiro thought. I can’t say anything for sure. Though I guess it only makes sense that I wouldn’t know. I can find out from here on. If we’re working together, I’m sure I’ll start to see that with time. —That goes for whatever happened with Merry, too. No, I don’t care about that. I need to think about work and their private lives separately.

“I’m not going to put you on probation like Ranta said, but I don’t expect you to really fit in at first,” said Haruhiro. “You’re a paladin, and we’ll be making you act as the tank, so you’ll be carrying a lot of the burden. It’s going to be hard, I’m sure. You may find you’re not up to it. Are you still okay with that?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” said Kuzaku. “It’s good enough.”

“Okay. Well, welcome to the group, then.”

When Haruhiro offered him his right hand, Kuzaku finally stood up straight again and shook his hand.

For as big and bony as he is, his hand is soft, Haruhiro thought. His grip’s not that firm, so he seems kind of unreliable. He’s not very tank-y, you could say. Is this going to be okay?

On top of that, even though Haruhiro had loosened his grip already, for some reason Kuzaku wasn’t letting go of his hand.

“...Um,” Haruhiro said. “Could you let go now?”

“Oh,” Kuzaku said. “My bad.”

“Nah, it’s nothing to feel bad about...”

“Okay!” Ranta pointed northward. “Now that that’s settled, we’re setting out! Come to think of it, we never did decide where we’d go, did we?! I have an idea! New hunting grounds, perfect for getting into a new mindset as we set out anew today! It’s the next generation, new spirit hunting world!”

Yume tilted her head to the side. “Newspirimahuntinword...?”

“...Y-Yume...” Shihoru tugged on Yume’s arm.

“Hoh? Shihoru, what’s up?”

“...I-It’s not that anything’s up, it’s just...”

“Where’s that?”

When Kuzaku asked that, sounding tired, Ranta laughed and said, “Listen, and try not to be amazed! It’s the Wonder Hole!”

—Ustrel.

That name suddenly popped into his mind. Soma had mentioned them.

“If you go through the domain of the three demi-humans into the muryans’ nest, there are ustrels lurking there,” he had said. He’d also said, “Once you’re able to defeat an ustrel, the area you can operate in should expand considerably.”

Ustrels. It was probably deliberate that Soma hadn’t told him any more about them. Haruhiro and the others were volunteer soldiers. Maybe not good ones, but they were volunteer soldiers nonetheless.

When they had first been brought to the Volunteer Soldier Corps office, Bri-chan had told them, “Use your own individual skills and judgment to gather intel and strike the enemy. That’s the volunteer soldier way.”

Soma had acknowledged Haruhiro and his group as volunteer soldiers and let them become his comrades. That was why Haruhiro and the rest would need to learn for themselves.

An ustrel, he thought. This guy. This guy is an ustrel. We’ve got to take this guy out.

In silence, utter silence, the ustrel was steadily drawing nearer.

Should I turn back and get my comrades right now? Haruhiro wondered. But if I move now, I feel like he’ll notice me. There’s still some distance between us, so I should be fine, but I’m scared.

At some point, without realizing he was doing it, Haruhiro had covered his nose and mouth to keep the sound of his breath from escaping.

I’m being way too wary, he told himself. Calm down. I need to maintain my composure. But I really can’t move.

While I’m wasting time like this, the ustrel’s closing in. He’s faster than I thought, or rather, faster than he looked. Fifteen meters? Ten? That’s how close he’s gotten.

He hasn’t noticed me... right? Haruhiro dropped to one knee, lowering himself further, then stuck his face out just a little. There’s light shining down from above, but not much. He can’t see me... or shouldn’t be able to. The ustrel is walking at a set pace. He hasn’t started walking faster or anything, so he hasn’t noticed me... I think.

I want to pull my face back in. I can’t move. This is no good. I’ve failed. I should have gone back right away. I was better off hiding in that hole. This is bad. He’s close. Damn, he’s close. He’s getting really close. Five meters? Four? Three? Ohhh.

He stopped.

The ustrel made an about right turn, silent as ever. He was going away.

No, but I can’t be sure yet, Haruhiro thought. It’s too soon to be relieved. A little longer. Once he’s a bit further away. Is now good? I can’t say for sure.

Ultimately, once the ustrel’s figure dissolved into the darkness and he could no longer see it, Haruhiro joined back up with his comrades.

“There was an ustrel,” he said.

“Did it look dangerous?” Ranta asked.

Normally, Ranta probably would have charged out before asking that question. Maybe he was maturing a little.

Haruhiro nodded. “Yes, very. He was big, blackish, and carried a naginata.”

“Soma was saying once we can take that guy out, the area we can operate in should expand, yeah?” Ranta said.

“Yeah.”

“In that case, there’s not just one ustrel, there are multiple ones,” Ranta said. “They’re wandering around the muryan nest and deeper in, and we can never know where we’ll encounter one.”

“On top of that...” Shihoru took a deep breath, then exhaled. “...it’s not just us humans. Other creatures are afraid of the ustrels, too.”

“What now?” Yume’s voice sounded stiffer than usual.

Ranta suddenly started chanting. “O Darkness, O Lord of Vice, Demon Call.”

In front of Ranta, something like a blackish purple cloud appeared. The clouds whirled into a vortex, taking shape. It was like a headless torso, with two holes for eyes on its chest and a slit-like mouth beneath. It was a dread knight’s familiar, a demon. It was Zodiac-kun.

“Kehe... Kehehehehe... I came because you called... Kehe... Can I go now?” Zodiac-kun asked.

“Of course you can’t! Whoops—” Ranta covered his own mouth. “Zodiac-kun. No screwing around today. We’re in for a big battle where we’ll have to sink or swim.”

“...Ehehehe... I see... At last... your time’s come to die, Ranta... Ehehe...”

“D-Don’t jinx me like that! Geez!” Ranta snapped. “I-It’s creepy, okay?”

“We’re doing this?” Kuzaku was clearly hesitant.

“I’m fine either way.” Merry sounded tense. When she checked her left wrist, the light of the hexagram had dimmed. It flickered and was about to go out. Merry made the sign of the hexagram.

“O Light, may Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you... Protection.”

In an instant, the light returned to the party’s hexagrams.

Merry took a short breath. “It doesn’t change what I have to do.”

“It may be gone already,” Haruhiro said, closing his eyes.

Are we prepared for this? he thought. I don’t know. I mean, I don’t know anything about the enemy at all. But it’s strange. For some reason, I just can’t see turning tail and running as an option.

“We’ll wait and see for now,” Haruhiro said. “If that guy comes back, we attack. But we’ll pull him into the safe zone. We’re just feeling him out. If things go south, we’ll run. We may end up running pretty fast, but I’m the one who’ll make the decision on that. You absolutely have to follow it. Understood?”

Ranta clicked his tongue. “There you go, acting all self-important. Oh, fine. I get it.”

“Kehehehe...” Zodiac-kun cackled. “Acting so meek, Ranta... You’re gonna die... Kehehehehehe... That’s a death flag...”

“G-Got it,” Yume said, nodding so vigorously that it was noticeable even in the darkness.

“I’ll focus on attacking it with magic...” Shihoru said. “Merry, protect me.”

“Sure,” Merry nodded. “Leave it to me.”

“We’re doing this, then.” Kuzaku lowered his helmet’s visor. “Wonder if I can defend against it.”

“Just do it,” Haruhiro said. “You’re a tank, aren’t you?”

Haruhiro regretted the words as soon as he said them. He thought he might have worded that poorly. But Kuzaku laughed.

“Yeah. Sure am. Not much of one, but I’m a tank, so I’ll do it.”

“He’s incredibly hard to notice, so be careful,” Haruhiro warned them.

Haruhiro took the lead, and they returned to the entrance hole. He poked his face out. He was in for a shock.

—That’s close!

He almost shouted out loud despite himself, but he managed to keep it in. It was there. The ustrel.

Haruhiro was confused now, so he couldn’t trust his ability to eyeball the distance, but the ustrel looked like it was maybe closer than ten meters, but further than five meters away.

Not walking. Just standing there.

Suddenly, Ranta poked his head out next to Haruhiro’s. “—Whoa!”

“You idiot,” Haruhiro muttered.

“I’m going up front!” Kuzaku jumped out.

The ustrel was already in motion.

He was amazing—amazing—just totally amazing. He wasn’t just fast, he was crazy fast. Kuzaku used Block, but it was useless. With a cry of surprise, Kuzaku and his shield were knocked flying.

Ranta got out “O Darkness...!” before he realized he didn’t have time to finish his chant, and used his longsword instead. Not to attack, but to defend.

The ustrel’s naginata. Here it came. Ranta somehow managed to stop it with his longsword. But, of course, he was sent flying. “—Gwah!”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! This is bad! What do we do? Haruhiro thought frantically. This is crazy! Even if I say to run, Kuzaku and Ranta can’t, and the ustrel’s already heading this way. Swat? It’s not gonna work. The naginata. Here comes a thrust.

Haruhiro let out a strange shriek as he leapt aside and rolled. He didn’t really follow what happened, but he apparently dodged. The ustrel slid the naginata in the palm of his hand, quickly readjusting his grip on it before swinging it down.

Towards Haruhiro, of course. He was dead. So dead.

He wanted to shout out in defiance, but he couldn’t make a sound. Haruhiro crawled, trying to get away from it. The naginata scraped the ground.

Daaaamn, he moaned silently. I-I-I-I’m gonna die. I’m seriously gonna die. What is this? What?

With a cry, Yume loosed an arrow from inside the hole. She hit. It stabbed into the right-hand side of the ustrel’s chest. The ustrel turned wordlessly, soundlessly towards Yume. Merry and Shihoru were behind her, too.

No, this is no good, thought Haruhiro. He’d been saved himself, but this was bad.

“Zwooosh!” Ranta let out a strange cry and leapt to his feet before charging the ustrel. He wasn’t just acting recklessly out of desperation. It was probably to draw the ustrel’s attention. But the ustrel didn’t even turn around, thrusting the pommel of his naginata into Ranta’s chest.

Ranta gasped and nearly collapsed, but Zodiac-kun supported him.

“Y-You idiot... Ehehe...” Zodiac-kun cackled.

“Dammiiiiit!” Kuzaku clanged on his shield with the flat of his sword a number of times. The ustrel ignored him completely.

Kuzaku put his shield up in front of him and charged into the ustrel. The ustrel didn’t seemed to care. He made it look like he was going to attack Yume and the other girls, then suddenly turned around. His naginata flashed. Kuzaku couldn’t fully block it.

Actually, the naginata extended further than expected, striking Kuzaku not in the shield, but the left arm. The naginata bit into his arm.

Was it cut off? Or broken? Either way, Kuzaku dropped his shield and fell to the ground, rolling around in pain.

“Gwahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Eeeek!” Yume shrieked, backing away without nocking an arrow. Merry and Shihoru did the same. If they kept going, the hole was behind them. They’d end up going into the muryans’ hole. The hole? Haruhiro and the others barely even had to duck to go into it, but what about the ustrel? The ustrel was around two and a half meters tall. It wasn’t impossible that he could. However, it was smaller than the tunnels the three demi-humans used. If it came to it, it might serve as a place to take refuge.

The muryans’ hole seems kind of iffy as an option, Haruhiro thought. Well, what then? What should I do? First—First, I have to let Yume and the others get away. That. That’s my highest priority.

What could he do towards that end? What could Haruhiro do? Was this his only option?

He put away his sap. He didn’t shout like Ranta and Kuzaku. He raced straight towards the ustrel. His legs were unsteady. It felt strange. His field of vision was narrowing.

The ustrel didn’t turn to face him. Yume and the other girls were already in the muryans’ hole.

When Haruhiro tried to leap on him, as expected, the ustrel went for him with the pommel of his naginata.

He’d seen this move before. He could dodge it, albeit barely. The ustrel’s movements were sharper than anticipated, and Haruhiro was moving sluggishly. Even so, Haruhiro managed to cling to the ustrel’s back.

“Yume!” he shouted. “Get away! While you still can!”

“Meowhuh?!” Yume shrieked.

While Yume stood there rigid and unmoving, Merry urged her, “Hurry!”

“Mmm!” Yume cried.

“Ah!” Shihoru added.

Shihoru led the way, dashing out from the muryans’ hole. The ustrel went to swing his naginata.

I won’t let you, thought Haruhiro. With a backhand stab of his dagger, he hit the ustrel in the side of the head. It bounced off.

It’s hard, this feeling. A helmet? The hood of that raincoat-like garment came back, revealing the ustrel’s head. Is that... a helmet? I dunno. It’s like a metal skull.

“Uwahh! Ahh! Ahhhh!” Haruhiro repeatedly slammed his dagger into the ustrel’s metallic skull. It wasn’t clear if it was hurting the ustrel, but he didn’t seem to like it. The ustrel twisted around, trying to throw Haruhiro off of his back, and elbowed him. The ustrel was unbelievably strong. The pain, or rather the impact of the blows, was incredible.

Shihoru, Merry, and Yume passed in front of the ustrel.

“Suuuuuuuu...”

What was that sound? The ustrel? His voice? His breathing? It wasn’t clear, but the ustrel reached out with his left hand. It looked like the ustrel planned to grab Haruhiro by the head. At worst, he might be able to crush it.

Well, Yume and the girls are already gone, so it might be time to call it quits. Haruhiro jumped off of the ustrel’s back. The ustrel instantly made a turn to the right, and—

It’s coming. The naginata.

“Eep!” Haruhiro threw himself to the ground. It was all he could do.

“Anger!” If Ranta hadn’t taken a reckless stab at the ustrel, Haruhiro would surely have been cut in two by the next attack. But the ustrel used his left arm to knock Ranta’s longsword aside.

“Wha—” While Ranta was off-balance, the ustrel took a swing at him using only his right arm.

Ahh. This is no good, Haruhiro thought. He’s dead. Ranta’s gonna get killed.

“Gehe!” It was Zodiac-kun. Without a moment to spare, Zodiac-kun shoved Ranta out of harm’s way.

Zodiac-kun took the blow for Ranta, being cleaved in two by the ustrel’s naginata.

“...Uh... Uhe... Ranta... Die...” Zodiac-kun muttered as he disappeared.

“After you went and saved me!” Ranta took a swing at the ustrel. “Don’t say that! You, I can summon you again anytime, got it? Rahhhhh!”

“Don’t get reckless, Ranta!” Haruhiro rose to his feet. “We’re pulling him back to the safe zone!”

“Exhaust!” When Ranta leapt back at an incredible speed, the ustrel... did not follow.

Instead of Haruhiro or even Yume and the other girls, the ustrel turned towards Kuzaku, who still wasn’t back on his feet.

“Wai...!” Haruhiro rushed forward, but it didn’t look like he’d make it, and even if he did, he wasn’t sure he could save him.

“Jess, yeen, sark, fram, dart!”

Lightning. Shihoru’s magic. A bolt of electricity fell on the ustrel. His body convulsed and a trail of steam, or smoke, or something rose from it, but had the spell been effective? At the very least, it didn’t seem to have caused any major damage.

The ustrel smoothly turned to face Shihoru and the other girls.

Not good, thought Haruhiro. He was going to target them now. But, thanks to that, Kuzaku had survived.

“Ranta! Draw him to you somehow!” Haruhiro called.

“Sure thing!” Ranta shouted.

“Get up, Kuzaku!” Haruhiro rushed to the paladin’s side. Kuzaku’s left arm was totally out of commission. It was a painful sight to behold. It was cut, broken, and more or less pulped.

Kuzaku, for his part, did his best to tough it out. He got to his feet on his own strength, nodding to Haruhiro. “...I’m fine. I can do this. Sorry. Would you pick up my shield for me? If you can.”

“Your shield?” Haruhiro asked.

“Once I get my arm healed up, I’ll need to use it again. I mean, I’m pretty useless without it.”

“If things get bad, I’m ditching it, okay?” Haruhiro asked.

He picked up Kuzaku’s shield. Was Kuzaku going to be able to keep up with them? It was going to be hard for him, no doubt, but he’d have to.

Yume and the girls were running away. The ustrel gave chase. Ranta was doing what he could to divert the ustrel’s attention, but it wasn’t going very well. The ustrel didn’t even look back, easily parrying Ranta’s longsword using the pommel of his naginata and then his left arm.

“Dammiiiiit!” Ranta yelled. “What is this guy?!”

“An ustrel, duh?!” Haruhiro shouted.

Shouting meaningless nonsense as he moved his legs, Haruhiro started to think. He thought about what to think about. What should he think about?

Would Yume and the others be able to escape like that? He didn’t know. But probably not. Eventually, they’d be caught. Before that happened, Haruhiro and the guys needed to stop the ustrel. Could they stop him?

“Yume! Merry! Shihoru!” he called. “When you’re through the safe zone, get into the three demi-humans’ tunnels!”

There was no response. The three of them were running with everything they had.

Kuzaku was falling behind. Of course he was.

The ustrel occasionally swung his naginata. Yume, who was bringing up the rear, shrieked every time he did. That naginata looked like it might reach Yume at any moment.

The ceiling opened up and it got brighter. They were already at the safe zone.

They called it a safe zone, but there wasn’t anything that clearly defined the limits of it. They were almost in the three demi-humans’ domain. The main tunnel was straight, and there were side tunnels off to each side.

Suddenly, the ustrel accelerated and took a stab with his naginata.

“Ungh!” Yume leapt away diagonally, but the ustrel’s naginata grazed her side and carved into it.

“Yumeeee! Leap Out!” Ranta made a crazy jump, leaping onto the ustrel’s back. The ustrel turned around, slashing at him diagonally as he did.

Ranta slammed against the ground as if he were a ball or something, his helmet coming off from the impact. The ustrel immediately raised his sword. “Iggzo...!”

It looked like he was trying to shout Exhaust, but couldn’t quite manage it. Ranta sprang backwards in a frog-like pose, narrowly avoiding the naginata.

Merry rushed into a side tunnel, practically carrying Yume with her. Shihoru followed.

Good, thought Haruhiro. Nicely done, Ranta. Okay...!

It would be hard to go down the same tunnel as Merry and the girls. Haruhiro took Kuzaku with him and headed for a different tunnel on the opposite side.

“Ranta, you come, too!” he called.

“Yeah, sure, I’m coming! It’ll be easy! As if, dammit!”

Ranta repeatedly fired off his Exhaust, somehow managing to run around and avoid the ustrel’s naginata. Haruhiro wanted to help, but that was a trick only Ranta could pull off. Even if he went out there, he’d probably just get in the way. The best he’d manage was to get killed while buying time so that Ranta could get away. That’d be pointless.

“You can do it, man! Actually, if you can’t do it, who could?!” Haruhiro shouted.

“You dolt!” screamed Ranta. “There you go, telling me I can do it! Everyone knows that already, so don’t say it! Leap Out!”

Ranta didn’t back away, instead he leapt past the ustrel’s side. The ustrel made an immediate right turn, swinging after him. Ranta, however, had already jumped again.

“Leap! Leap! Leapow! Lea! Lea! Lea! Leap Out!”

He leapt, and leapt, and leapt like crazy, and ran away. Haruhiro didn’t know whether to be impressed, or what.

Haruhiro and Kuzaku headed into the tunnel. All of the three demi-humans’ tunnels were a little over a meter high, and maybe seventy centimeters across. If it was low enough that even Haruhiro had to duck to get inside, the ustrel would have an even harder time.

The tunnel went for about fifty meters. There didn’t seem to be any duergar, or bogies, or spriggans. Had they detected the ustrel and taken shelter deep inside? Had Ranta managed to get away?

Kuzaku wasn’t just breathing heavily—he was also moaning, “Ow...Ow...Ow...” His left arm had to hurt. Haruhiro would have liked to join back up with the girls and get him healed, but their tunnel was on the opposite side of the main passage. He couldn’t tell if it wasn’t connected to this one.

“Kuzaku, wait here,” he said.

“...’kay.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Haruhiro left the shield behind, heading back to peek into the main passage.

The ustrel was there.

He was standing there in silence, as if he had been there for decades, right in the middle of the main passage.

What about Ranta? Haruhiro didn’t see a corpse, so had he gotten into a side tunnel somehow?

He knew which tunnel Yume and the girls had gone down. He remembered it. It was pretty much straight across from him. The ustrel was standing in his way, right in the middle of the two.

For now, it looked like the ustrel wouldn’t come into the three demi-humans’ tunnels. However, the ustrel had no intention of letting Haruhiro and the others get away, either. He was planning to kill them when they came out of the tunnels.

Was it best to try and wait him out? If they just stayed put in the tunnels, maybe the ustrel would give up. They could also try waiting for other volunteer soldiers to pass through. They might be able to ignore the three demi-humans, but surely they couldn’t ignore an ustrel.

But, today, there had already been a good number of volunteer soldiers who had passed Haruhiro and his group on their way deeper into the Wonder Hole. While there might be volunteer soldiers returning, there probably wouldn’t be any more coming in. Volunteer soldiers generally returned in the evening or later. It was still noon. That was a long time away. It hurt that he had no way to communicate with Yume, Shihoru, Merry, or Ranta, too.

Even if Haruhiro came to a decision here, it wouldn’t reach his comrades. And then there was Kuzaku to consider.

Haruhiro turned back to where Kuzaku was. Kuzaku’s breathing was still ragged. Actually, it probably wasn’t that he was out of breath. It must have been an injury of some sort.

“Kuzaku, do you think you can run one more time?” Haruhiro asked.

“Yeah... after all... I might die... if I don’t...”

“You okay?” Haruhiro asked.

“Sure.” Kuzaku nodded, taking a deep breath. “I’m good. I can run.”

“Okay, come with me.” Heading back to just before the main passageway, Haruhiro indicated the tunnel Yume and the girls ought to be in. “It’s far, but do you see the one? Merry’ll be in that tunnel. Run there as fast as your legs will take you.”

“...What about you?” Kuzaku panted.

“Me, I’m bait. I’ll lure the ustrel to me first. You take off running once I do.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Kuzaku asked.

“It’s dangerous, yeah,” said Haruhiro. “It’s also our only option. If you don’t get treated soon, you won’t be going anywhere.”

“...Sure won’t,” Kuzaku agreed.

“I’ll leave your shield here,” said Haruhiro. “I’m going.”

“Huh? Already?” Kuzaku asked.

“When something needs to be done, it’s best to get it done quickly,” Haruhiro explained.

I mean, the more I wait, the more scared I’m gonna get, anyway. Haruhiro slapped his chest. He debated whether to leave his dagger and sap or not. If I go unarmed, maybe it’ll be too obvious. But I can run faster barehanded. Don’t agonize over it. Let’s go.

Haruhiro slid smoothly and silently out of the tunnel. The ustrel hadn’t noticed him yet. The ustrel was facing the entrance to the Wonder Hole. Haruhiro used Sneaking to creep along the wall in the direction of the entrance. He figured he’d enter the ustrel’s line of sight soon enough.

When will he notice me? Haruhiro thought, and the question was soon answered. Here he comes.

The ustrel turned in his direction, and began to run without making a noise.

He’s coming. He really is fast. Haruhiro dashed. He felt like his entire body was being pulled backwards. Was it terror? Pressure? He ran at top speed along the wall, and it wasn’t long before the ustrel was right behind him.

What about Kuzaku? There he is. Going slow. This is no time for dawdling. I can’t run the way I want to. He still hasn’t made it to the tunnel he’s headed for. Still not? Hang in there. Just a little further. You’re almost there. He’s in.

Once he saw Kuzaku had made it, Haruhiro rolled into a nearby tunnel.

“—Whoa!”

The ustrel stabbed his naginata into the tunnel after Haruhiro. Haruhiro panicked and crawled. He crawled forward. The ustrel bent over more than ninety degrees, peering into the tunnel.

He’s not gonna come in... is he? Haruhiro tried stopping. The ustrel didn’t move. It didn’t plan to enter the tunnel. But now, I’m trapped inside, aren’t I?

“Hey,” a voice called from deeper in the tunnel. “Heeey. “Heeeeeey! Is someone there? Heeeeeeeeeey!”

“...Ranta?” Haruhiro called.

Ranta appeared. “Oh, it’s just Haruhiro. You alone?”

“Yeah, I am,” said Haruhiro. “How did you even get this far?”

“I came in another entrance, and after wandering around randomly, I came out here.”

“Randomly... I’m pretty sure if we run into any of the three demi-humans like this, we’re done for, though...” Haruhiro said.

Haruhiro and Ranta were both crouched lower than a half-sitting position. If they hadn’t been, their heads would have hit the ceiling. They couldn’t fight like this.

“You stupid moron,” said Ranta. “We can’t worry about every little thing right now. —And, hold on, the ustrel’s right there!”

“Yeah, it is,” Haruhiro agreed. “It won’t come in, though. We’ve got to join up with Yume and the others somehow. I managed to get just Kuzaku over to them.”

“The other side, huh...” Ranta bit his lip. “I’ve got an idea.”

Haruhiro wasn’t keen on following any plan Ranta came up with, but there weren’t any alternatives. Well, maybe there were, but he couldn’t think of them.

Haruhiro went deeper into the tunnel after Ranta. The ustrel was already out of sight. From there, he and Ranta split up. Haruhiro was left on standby. He probably waited for around five minutes.

“Heyyyyyy!” he heard Ranta shout off in the distance.

It was a simple plan. Ranta would go out the tunnel he’d come in through, then draw the ustrel to him. While he did, Haruhiro would go to the other side. Basically, Ranta had volunteered to be a decoy.

Haruhiro rushed back. The ustrel was gone. It looked like Ranta had lured it away. When Haruhiro burst out of the tunnel, he saw Ranta being chased around by the ustrel. Rather than trying to lose him, Ranta was letting the ustrel almost catch him, then using Exhaust to put some distance between them.

Nice work, Ranta, Haruhiro thought. But, of course, I don’t have time to stand around admiring it.

He raced full tilt towards a tunnel on the opposite side. It was a long way to the tunnel Yume and the others were supposed to be in, so he might not be able to make it there. For now, he was happy to take any tunnel he could get in.

“—Huh?! The hell’s with you?!” Ranta shouted.

Had something happened? Haruhiro looked over as he ran, and saw the ustrel had come to a stop. Ranta stopped running, waving his arms and trying to provoke it.

“What’s wrong?!” Ranta bellowed. “Come at me! You scared?!”

“Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...”

What was that sound? A voice? Breathing? He’d heard it before, too. But this time it was much louder.

Ranta must have noticed something was strange, too. He tried to run. Before he could, the ustrel stepped forward, reaching out with his right arm.

It actually extended. His right arm—no, his left arm—no, both arms—grew to about twice their usual length. Then, using his extended right arm, he swung down its naginata.

“Urkh!” Ranta hollered.

Had that right arm been its usual length, Ranta probably could have dodged. Because it was longer now, he couldn’t quite manage it. The ustrel’s naginata chopped Ranta’s left arm off.

“Ran—!” Haruhiro screamed. He made a snap decision, almost reflexively. “Everyone, get out here! We’re saving Ranta!”

Do we stand a chance? Haruhiro wondered. Or don’t we? I dunno. But I’m confident we can do it—I think.

The ustrel’s arms. They had gotten longer. They were long now, incredibly long. Far too long.

If he didn’t let that scare him, Haruhiro was sure he could get in close.

Haruhiro passed by Ranta, who was bleeding as he fell back.

The ustrel. He was insanely intimidating and coming this way. The naginata. It was a sideways swipe.

Yeah, this might kill me, thought Haruhiro. But he couldn’t back down now.

In came the naginata. At the same time, Haruhiro jumped. Forward. He rolled. Was he dead? No, it didn’t look like it. In fact, he was alive. It looked like he’d passed under the naginata as the ustrel swung it.

Haruhiro kept going and tackled the ustrel’s legs. The ustrel’s legs were incredibly short compared to his height, and thin, too. While swinging his naginata up high with his right arm, the ustrel tried to kick Haruhiro. But that was nowhere near as scary as the naginata, as Haruhiro could see it coming. He avoided the ustrel’s right leg, clinging to the left one. By applying severe torque to the ustrel’s knee, Haruhiro quickly scooped his leg out from under him.

The ustrel was flipped over. He struck his back on the ground, but he immediately tried to hit Haruhiro with his left arm. The ustrel had fallen, and this was clearly an opportunity, one he might never get again, but Haruhiro backed off without any hesitation or regret. If he’d hesitated for even a moment, the ustrel would have landed a powerful blow on him with his left arm.

The ustrel used his two long arms to support himself, getting up silently.

Merry and Yume are heading towards Ranta, Haruhiro noted. Where’s Kuzaku? There he is. Is he planning to go get his shield? Shihoru’s with Kuzaku. It looks like both Yume and Kuzaku are fully healed.

“Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...”

There it was again. That sound. What was it this time? His arms—the ustrel’s arms, they were shrinking. Getting shorter. In no time at all, they were back to their original length.

His arms don’t just stretch. Can he both stretch and compress them? Haruhiro wondered. It was so much easier to fight him in long arms mode.

Haruhiro clicked his tongue in disappointment, sidestepping to the left. He moved in a circle. With the ustrel in the center, he quickly moved around him clockwise.

If the ustrel took a step forward, he could probably reach Haruhiro with his naginata. That was why Haruhiro moved further and further to the left before he could. The ustrel would spin in place, and the moment he had Haruhiro in front of him, he was sure to take a swing with his naginata.

This tension. If he let his guard down for even a moment, or tripped on a bump or hole, he’d be cut down. When he thought about dying, he could feel his legs started to quake.

Hurry, Haruhiro thought. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry. Somebody.

“Ohm, rel, ect, nemun, darsh!”

Shihoru. It was magic. Shadow Bond. A shadow elemental flew out, fixing itself to the ground at the ustrel’s feet. The ustrel stepped on it. It sucked his foot in. But it seemed like he might tear free at any moment.

Shihoru didn’t hesitate to cast her next spell. “Jess, yeen, sark, fram, dart!”

It hit. Lightning. The ustrel was struck by a bolt of electricity.

His body convulsed—but that was all. The ustrel tore his foot free, turning towards Shihoru. Shihoru was backing away, looking like she might fall on her behind, when Kuzaku jumped out in front of her.

“I’ll...!” Kuzaku shouted.

In an instant, the ustrel closed in on Kuzaku. The naginata flashed. There was a clang as Kuzaku used Block. Kuzaku braced himself against it. He didn’t just manage to hold his ground. He stepped in, stabbing out with his longsword. The ustrel shifted his body to the side to avoid it, then used his naginata again.

Kuzaku used Block. He was nearly lifted into the air, but managed to force himself down. Not backing down, he moved forward and made a sharp swing with his longsword. The ustrel showed off that shifting dodge again, then the naginata. Kuzaku used Block, then his longsword. The ustrel shifted to dodge then used his naginata. Kuzaku used Block and then struck back.

“Wahaha!” Kuzaku laughed. “This is crazy! Scary! Whoa! What is this?! Damn! What the hell?! Wahaha! No way! Wahahaha! Death?! Gwehehehe!”

Is this guy right in the head? Haruhiro worried. He really isn’t sounding like it, but he’s desperately struggling with terror, with the pressure, and just managing to hold out on the brink.

Haruhiro, of course, wanted to support Kuzaku. But he couldn’t get in close. Technically, he was behind the ustrel, but he couldn’t get in close enough to use his dagger or sap. If he threw himself at the ustrel with reckless abandon, he might be able to manage it, but he couldn’t take that risk just yet. The ustrel’s back felt so distant.

Merry was trying to get started on healing Ranta. His arm had been severed and he was bleeding profusely. It was a critical wound, so Merry would probably use Sacrament. Ranta would soon be able to return to the front line. Yume was trying to come over his way, but Haruhiro called out to her, “It’s fine! Yume, stay there!” and got her to stop. He wanted Yume to be ready if the worst should happen. If the ustrel turned his attention to Merry and Ranta while she was healing him, Yume needed to put herself on the line to stop that.

Shihoru was always behind Kuzaku, looking for opportunities to use her magic.

Haruhiro wished the ustrel would switch back to long arms mode again. But while long arms mode made things easier for Haruhiro, it might not be the same for Kuzaku. The ustrel used his left arm to block Kuzaku’s sword.

Are his arms hard? Or are they armored? Haruhiro wondered. Yume’s arrow stabbed into the ustrel’s chest. How did it feel when I was clinging to him from behind? I don’t think he was all hard and rigid. Is it just his arms that are hard? Maybe it really is armor, then.

At the very least, the ustrel must be wearing armor on his left arm. The ustrel’s offensive power was just as scary as the keeper of Deadhead Watching Keep, Zoran Zesh’s, had been. However, Zoran Zesh had also protected himself by wearing tough armor and a helmet. The ustrel had nowhere near that much defensive power.

“Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...”

There it was. That sound. The ustrel’s arms stretched. Kuzaku got scared and tried to back away.

“Charge in!” Haruhiro yelled at him while rushing in himself. What had Kuzaku done? He didn’t know. He clung to the ustrel, stabbing his dagger into the ustrel’s back. “There!”

The blade went through. But it was shallow, and—

Suddenly the ustrel jumped. It was a vertical jump. He lifted into the air, then landed. The shock of the landing was incredible. Haruhiro couldn’t hold on.

“Wha...!” Haruhiro shouted.

He was thrown off. He fell. Haruhiro braced himself for the landing.

Oh, crap, Haruhiro realized. It’s the ustrel.

The ustrel didn’t use the naginata. He stomped on Haruhiro. On his belly, his chest—that area in general.

Haruhiro coughed and sputtered in pain.

“Heyyyyyyyyyy, youuuuuuuuu...!” a voice bellowed.

Ranta. It was Ranta wreathed in his Dread Aura. He flew in, tackling the ustrel and jamming his longsword into him. The ustrel immediately knocked Ranta away, but there was a tear in the ustrel’s blackish clothing on his side.

Haruhiro desperately tried to crawl away. From his mouth, his eyes, and his nose, he was dripping vomit, tears, snot, and who-only-knew-what other kind of fluids, but he crawled away.

“Haru?!” It was Merry’s voice.

Haruhiro yelled out, “Ahm fahn!” but he was anything but, and thought that, no, he didn’t look fine at all. Well, it showed he still had the composure to be able to think that, at least. Wiping his face off with one arm, he stood up.

Kuzaku was standing in front of the ustrel, while Ranta was on the ustrel’s right hand side. Neither of them were managing to get in close. But somehow, they were managing to either avoid the ustrel’s naginata and left arm, or to Block them. Were they getting used to it? In long arms mode, the ustrel had long reach, and every one of his attacks was heavy, but he couldn’t maneuver quickly. That seemed like it was probably part of the reason.

“If this is how it’s gonna be...!” Yume readied her bow and let loose an arrow.

It looked like it was going to hit. It did. The left shoulder. Then she followed it up with another right after. This time, in the back.

The ustrel looked displeased.

“Jess, yeen, sark, fram, dart!” Shihoru slammed what was now her most powerful Falz Magic spell, Thunderstorm, into him. There was an earsplitting rumble, or rather an explosion. It was usually an area of effect spell, but the ustrel was big enough that multiple bolts of lightning struck it. Even the mighty ustrel didn’t get off with just a few convulsions after that. He spasmed wildly, before becoming still. He didn’t move. He had stopped moving.

“Now?!” Haruhiro shouted and charged.

Is this okay? he asked himself as he did. Is it a bad idea? I don’t know, but it’s too late to think about it now.

Kuzaku, Ranta, Yume, and even Merry, they were all rushing towards the ustrel. They had probably all sprung into motion before Haruhiro had shouted the command. Everyone planned to settle this here. They wanted to finish this.

But that’s not acting based on the situation—it’s more of a wish, isn’t it?

Haruhiro felt a chill.

This wasn’t simply intuition. He had something to back it up. On the ustrel’s face, that metallic skull, the part that was probably the mouthpiece of his helmet, slid upwards with a creak and opened.

“Wait! Hold on! Get away from it for now!” Haruhiro screamed.

Haruhiro started to fall back, and the ustrel began clicking its tongue.

Chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik.

I think that’s probably him clicking his tongue, Haruhiro thought. I’ve never heard anything click its tongue so ominously before.

Deep inside the metallic skull mask, the ustrel was gritting his yellowed teeth and clicking his tongue. He started frothing at the mouth.

“—Uh?!” Ranta shouted, suddenly flying through the air.

That was fast! Huh? A flying kick—it got him?! Haruhiro thought. Then the ustrel swung around his naginata using both hands, knocking Kuzaku’s shield flying.

“Bwuh?!” Kuzaku yelped.

“Aiee?!” Yume shrieked.

Yume got kicked like Ranta. For some reason, the ustrel stopped still after that. It clicked its tongue, its shoulders and back heaving up and down. Haruhiro, honestly, was bewildered. Merry just stood there, too. Shihoru was the only one who didn’t.

“Ohm, rel, e—”

Shihoru tried to use her magic, but before she could finish the chant, the ustrel began to move again.

The ustrel leapt up, kicking Shihoru and sending her flying. Without even managing to utter a sound, Shihoru sailed through the air like an inanimate object. Like a soft piece of trash.

“Shi—” Haruhiro stopped, speechless.

Why can I see that faint line of light now? What’s going on? Why is my body moving on its own? What the hell? This is bullshit.

When Haruhiro started running to trace the line, the ustrel turned to face him.

It’s the legs, he thought. The legs. If we watch his legs, we’ll know when he’s going to start moving.

The ustrel raised his knee high, kicked hard off the ground, and leapt. The ustrel came flying. Haruhiro could see him. The ustrel stuck his right foot out.

Haruhiro moved his body to the left, dodging the ustrel’s right foot. He didn’t just avoid the attack, he brought his sap down diagonally on the ustrel’s right knee. Haruhiro rolled of his own will, and when he got back up, he could no longer see the line.

The ustrel turned to face him. It wasn’t a smooth motion. The ustrel was clearly trying to cover his right leg. That meant he’d done some damage.

But—dammit, Haruhiro thought. I could see the line, but this is all I did? I couldn’t take it down. Though, that said, I did find a lead. The legs. It’s the legs. Watch the legs. Again. Here he comes.

The ustrel raised his left knee high, vigorously kicking off of the ground. Given he used his left leg for the jump, it seemed unlikely that the sap attack had had much effect.

The ustrel came flying. Haruhiro couldn’t see the line, and it was all he could do just to dodge it, but he could dodge it. Haruhiro leapt aside to the left, avoiding the ustrel’s flying kick.

This is where it gets scary! he thought. He was right. As soon as the ustrel landed, he swung his naginata with both hands. If Haruhiro got hit, that would be the end, but if he could predict it—Haruhiro slid under the naginata, getting away.

“Merry, how’s Shihoru?!” he called.

There was no response.

Haruhiro felt dizzy. This had to be a joke. No way. His brain seethed.

I’ll kill him. This guy is dead, absolutely dead. But the fact of the matter was, Haruhiro was closer to being killed than killing the ustrel. The ustrel came flying. Haruhiro was watching the ustrel’s legs, so he knew the timing. The course, too. He could evade it. But only barely. That was the best he could manage.

The naginata swing after a flying kick wasn’t so scary. There was a clear reason for that. The ustrel would kick off of the ground with his left foot, try to kick Haruhiro with his right, and then land on that same right foot. However, with his right knee injured, there was a slight delay before he could move on to his next action.

My opponent isn’t a monster, Haruhiro thought. Well, the guy’s like a monster, but one that can be hurt. Swords and arrows can stab into him. He’s not invincible. It’s just that defeating him’ll be hard. That’s a problem, yes. A major problem. Ahh. Shihoru. Shihoru. Shihoru. I don’t have time to be thinking about Shihoru. I’ve gotta focus on the ustrel.

“Grahhhhh!” Kuzaku rose to his feet. “Dammiiiiiiiit!”

“Watch his legs, Kuzaku!” Haruhiro shouted as he dodged a flying kick. “If you watch his legs, you can tell when he’ll be coming!”

“I live again!” Ranta hopped back up. “I’ll see right through your attacks!”

Chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik, chik.

As soon as it turned into a three-on-one fight, the ustrel gave up on using his flying kick, and the sound of his tongue clicking echoed loudly through the area. His arms contracted.

He’s disabled his long arms mode, but what does he plan to do now? Haruhiro wondered. Whatever it is...

“Don’t get distracted!” he shouted. “So long as we don’t take our eyes off his legs—”

Haruhiro gulped. He’s coming. Here he comes.

This time, the ustrel didn’t jump. The ustrel dashed. With his posture incredibly low, the point of his naginata in front of him, charging.

I’m gonna get run over, realized Haruhiro. I won’t let you run me over.

Twisting his body, he evaded the naginata by the breadth of a hair. But he couldn’t fully dodge. The ustrel’s body hit him somewhere, and while he wasn’t trampled, Haruhiro was sent flying.

“Urgh!” “Whoa!” “Gah!”

After him, Ranta and Kuzaku were knocked flying, too. Haruhiro struck his back and shoulders on the landing, but it was no big deal. The ustrel had raced around, tracing a warped circle as he mowed down the three of them, and now he stopped, his entire body heaving up and down—was he resting?

Haruhiro sat up, looking over towards Yume. Yume was trying to nock an arrow.

Then there was Merry. Merry was—sitting next to the collapsed Shihoru, performing a cardiac massage or something, maybe.

“There it is!” she gasped. “The heart! O Light, may Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you! Sacrament!”

Sacrament? She was using the miracle of light, Sacrament?

Shihoru! Had her heart stopped? Merry had resuscitated her from that state. Then used Sacrament. The spell that, so long as the target was still alive, would heal them instantly. She had already used it once on Ranta, so this was her second time. Her last Sacrament.

Yume shouted “Mrrow!” and loosed an arrow, which stabbed into the ustrel’s chest.

The ustrel slowly turned towards Yume, making that ominous chik, chik, chik, chik tongue clicking noise as he did.

Ranta and Kuzaku both got to their feet, shouting to psyche themselves up. And then...

“I-It’s okay! I’m fine now! S-S-Sorry!” Shihoru was up, too.

“Don’t apologize!” Haruhiro felt like he might cry—or rather, he was already shedding tears. But he didn’t have time to wipe them away.

Haruhiro opened his eyes wide, staring at the ustrel. I’ll watch you. I’ll see through you.

The ustrel raised his left knee.

“It’s a flying kick!” Haruhiro shouted. “Yume!”

“Meow!” Yume curled into a ball like a pit rat and rolled around, making sharp turns to avoid the ustrel’s flying kick. The ustrel landed, then lowered his posture. Had he recovered from the damage to his right leg?

“Next, it’s a charge!” Haruhiro yelled. “Watch out!”

Even as he said it, Haruhiro wanted to shoot back at himself, Yeah, and how are we supposed to watch out?

The ustrel started running. His targets were—Merry and Shihoru. Not good. Shihoru had just finished healing. What if something happened to her again? But he couldn’t stop the ustrel. Not Haruhiro.

“This...!” Kuzaku jumped in the way. Standing in front of Merry and Shihoru, he was ready for a head on collision with the ustrel if need be. Of course, that was risky. Incredibly risky. Too risky, but...

“This is why I’m a tank!”

He was right. As he was running, Haruhiro had silently screamed, Go! at him. He hadn’t needed to say it, because Kuzaku had done it anyway. He’d blocked the ustrel’s charge with his shield.

Then something terrifying happened. It crumpled. His shield did. Kuzaku pushed on, as if he didn’t care.

The ustrel kept charging, too. The tip of his naginata which had pierced the shield slid up Kuzaku’s left arm and pierced through his shoulder. Kuzaku twisted his longsword into the ustrel’s flank. Kuzaku in his helmet and the ustrel with his metallic skull butted heads.

Kuzaku didn’t come out the loser of that clash. He stood strong. Kuzaku tried to pull his longsword free. But it wouldn’t come out.

The ustrel grabbed Kuzaku’s helmet with his left hand, swinging back his naginata with his right.

Not that I’ll let him finish, thought Haruhiro.

Haruhiro hadn’t just been sitting there, gnawing on his fingers in nervous anticipation as he watched. He’d been running. And now, he was here. Right next to the ustrel.

Haruhiro said nothing. He just silently grabbed onto the ustrel, wrapping himself around the ustrel’s right arm from behind. He had put his sap away, but his dagger was in hand. With a backhand grip, he stabbed the dagger into the ustrel’s right shoulder. He stabbed and twisted, twisted and tore.

There was a harsh screeching sound. It wasn’t a scream. No, it was the gnashing of teeth. The ustrel foamed at the mouth, grinding his teeth way too violently and flailing his right arm around. He was trying to shake Haruhiro off.

As if I’m going to let go!

Haruhiro had been thrown by a vertical jump last time, but with Kuzaku’s longsword sticking out of his flank, the ustrel probably couldn’t do that.

Kuzaku let out a war cry, slamming his body into the ustrel and shaking his longsword in all directions. Unable to bear it any longer, the ustrel took his hand off Kuzaku’s helmet for a moment and punched him. His left fist clanged into Kuzaku’s helmet repeatedly.

Kuzaku let out strange grunts—“Fugh! Gwah! Nuh!”—and it sounded like he was in a lot of pain, but he was enduring it. However, at this rate, he might not last long.

That’s your cue, isn’t it? Haruhiro thought. Right, dread knight?

“Leap out! Followed by—Hatred!”

Ranta came at the ustrel from the left, slamming his longsword down on top of the metallic skull helmet—no.

“That’s what you think I’ll do!” Ranta bellowed. “Instead, it’s Tyrant’s Drive!”

Yeah, no, there’s no skill like that, Haruhiro thought. Did you just make it up on the spot? Well, either way, it’s not much of a skill.

When Ranta’s sword was already swinging downwards on the diagonal, he pulled it back in closer to his hands, then swung it again almost horizontally. It wasn’t the top of the ustrel’s helmet he was targeting—it was the mouth. What was more, Ranta didn’t use the blade of his sword—he used the flat of the blade to whack the ustrel’s gnashing teeth hard.

Grash!

That wasn’t a voice, it was the longsword bouncing off of the ustrel’s teeth. Anyway, his teeth were unbroken. Just how tough were those things? Still, the ustrel reeled backwards.

Perhaps thinking, This is my chance, Kuzaku pulled his longsword out of the ustrel’s side. He must have been hoping to stab it in a few more times.

Haruhiro panicked. “You...! Are you stu—!”

The ustrel immediately jumped.

How can you jump that high? That doesn’t even make sense! Haruhiro wanted to protest. That was how incredible of a jump it was. Haruhiro’s body swung upwards.

Man, the impact when we land is going to bad, he thought. He tried to prepare himself for it, but it was even worse than he imagined.

It didn’t feel like he’d fallen off, so much as that he was being thrown upwards. His brain shook inside his skull, and he was left disoriented. Even in that state, Haruhiro didn’t let himself get shaken off. However, he might not be able to manage that any longer.

The ustrel began flailing around erratically. On top of that, he was running around all over.

It’s no good. I can’t do this anymore, Haruhiro thought as he was finally thrown into the air.

Will I die? he wondered for a moment. No, no, no, no. I won’t let myself die.

It was times like this that the countless times he had experienced being thrown by Barbara-sensei came in handy. Haruhiro braced himself for the landing. As he was getting up from it, the ustrel nearly charged into him and sent him flying again, but he somehow avoided it.

Haruhiro shouted “Get away! Get away!” as he ran. He hurt all over, but for now he needed to put some distance between the ustrel and him.

Eventually, the ustrel stopped moving.

There was the sound of labored breathing. The ustrel was leaning on his naginata, his shoulders heaving with each breath.

I guess even the mighty ustrel gets tired, thought Haruhiro. No. That’s not all.

The ustrel’s blackish garment was cut and torn, revealing the brown skin and the wounds beneath it. A viscous liquid that looked like spoiled oil poured out of those wounds. Was that the ustrel’s blood? When he looked down, Haruhiro saw that his dagger and his entire body were covered in that liquid.

It wasn’t just exhaustion. Haruhiro and the party’s attacks were actually having an effect.

Our formation is broken, Haruhiro thought. Technically we’re surrounding the ustrel, but that’s only a coincidence. Merry and Shihoru are the only ones who’ve stuck together, where the rest of us have split up.

So... do we run?

The moment that option crossed his mind, the ustrel raised his left knee. Haruhiro shouted, “It’s a flying kick! Ranta!”

Instead of replying, Ranta used Leap Out to dodge the incoming ustrel.

The moment the ustrel lands, he’ll face to the right, and raise his left knee—or not, Haruhiro thought. Will he lower his posture and charge, then? No. He’s not moving.

The ustrel was wheezing, his breaths heavy and labored.

Could it be that he’s pretty winded? Haruhiro wondered. Should we all rush him? It’s a hard call. I feel like the ustrel could show off hidden reserves of strength. We don’t have Sacrament anymore, either.

In the mere two to three seconds that Haruhiro hesitated, the ustrel steadied his breathing once more.

He was charging in. Towards Haruhiro.

Haruhiro let out an “Oh...”

This time, the naginata that was usually thrust outwards during charges was instead wound back.

Is he going for a swing? Haruhiro thought frantically. It could be a jab with the pommel, too. What should I do? Hard to decide. I’ll have to go. Go where?

I’m going. Haruhiro was headed for the ustrel. The naginata. It’s coming.

Right before that, or at precisely the same time, he slid. Into a sliding kick. The ground was basically bare rock, so he couldn’t slide very well. Despite that, he managed to jump as far as the ustrel’s feet.

Haruhiro managed to catch the ustrel’s left and right shins, or rather he collided with them. As for what happened when he did, he wasn’t able to find out immediately.

The next thing he knew, Haruhiro was rolling across the ground.

Both my feet, or my legs as a whole, they hurt so bad I’d think they were broken—or not? Well, they don’t hurt, but more importantly, they won’t move. I can’t make them move. What is this? I can barely feel them. Where’s the ustrel? He’s there. Of course he’s there. He’s fallen over.

Ranta and Kuzaku were rushing over, trying to get in a shot on him while they could. But the ustrel was trying to get up. Which would it be? Who was faster?

It was the ustrel. Using his naginata as a crutch, the ustrel stood up. Ranta and Kuzaku each got in one slash on him, but the ustrel didn’t go down. Not only that, he swung his naginata around savagely. Ranta and Kuzaku were forced to back down.

Yume shouted “Take this!” and put an arrow in the ustrel’s left shoulder, but it didn’t even faze him. Meanwhile, Haruhiro couldn’t move.

What’s going on? This is—

As he started to wonder, Merry and Shihoru raced over. Without giving him the chance to object, the two of them dragged Haruhiro away.

I’m grateful and all, but I’m not an object, okay? Haruhiro thought. Guess I can’t blame them.

“M-Merry, h-how’s your magic...?” he asked, halfway to passing out.

“I can use Cure a few more times!” Merry responded immediately.

Maybe we should run away, after all, Haruhiro thought. But how...?

“O Light, may Lumiaris’s divine protection be upon you... Cure!”

When Merry treated him with magic, feeling soon returned to Haruhiro’s legs. Thanks to that, the pain came back, too. It was intense enough he couldn’t shrug it off, so it might have been a pretty serious wound, but Merry would treat it for him—or she should.

She’s going to heal it... right? Even as Haruhiro endured the pain, Kuzaku was knocked flying by the ustrel’s charge, and Ranta dodged it, getting in a shallow hit as the ustrel passed by. The ustrel stopped some distance from them, wheezing as it took a break.

Yume cried “Meow!” and shot at the ustrel again.

Was Kuzaku okay? He got up on his own. The ustrel was definitely getting weaker.

“We can beat him.” Haruhiro nodded.

That’s right. We can do it. But we can’t get carried away. We can’t afford to be optimistic. We need to avoid accidents. Instead of trying to take him in one go, we need to steadily wear him down, harshly and mercilessly.

The ustrel began to move. Kuzaku cried out as he was knocked away, while Ranta dodged like before, getting in another blow, if only a light one. The ustrel stopped right after that, and, as he was wheezing, Yume shouted “Mrrrow!” and shot off an arrow at him.

It sadly missed, but Ranta and Yume each knew what they ought to be doing.

Yeah, that’s the way! Haruhiro mentally cheered them on.

The light vanished from the hand Merry was holding up towards Haruhiro. His treatment was finished.

Okay. I’ve gotta do this, so I will. I’m so gonna do this, Haruhiro told himself, leaping to his feet.

“We’re taking him down!” Haruhiro shouted. “Focus on evading, but strike back when you think you can! Ranta, Yume, keep it up! Kuzaku, quit getting hit so much! Watch how he moves closely! You need to figure it out already! The enemy’s getting pretty weak!”

“Gwah!” Kuzaku yelped.

Only moments after he’d finished saying something about it, Kuzaku failed to avoid the ustrel’s charge and was sent flying again.

Ranta used Leap Out to jump past the ustrel diagonally, getting a cut in on him with a satisfied shout. The ustrel kept charging forward, then came to a sudden stop.

Yume went “Mrrrow!” and fired an arrow, this one piercing the ustrel’s back.

Kuzaku was trying to rise to his feet, but he was having a hard time of it.

“Merry, help Kuzaku!” Haruhiro called. “Shihoru, stay by Merry’s side!”

“Okay!” Merry called.

“Right!” Shihoru added.

Haruhiro ran with all his strength, deliberately choosing to stop in front of the ustrel. He took a deep breath. The ustrel lifted his left knee up high.

A flying kick, huh? Come at me.

He came.

Compared to how things had been at first, the ustrel’s speed had dropped considerably. He wasn’t scary at all. Haruhiro maintained his composure, dodging the ustrel’s flying kick. When he turned around, the ustrel took a swing at him with his naginata.

I can see that, too, Haruhiro thought. It’s slow. So slow. Maybe I can get in close? No, I won’t push my luck.

While Haruhiro easily dodged and swayed around the naginata, Ranta shouted “Take this!” and took a swing at the ustrel. The ustrel blocked it with his left arm, but it was a weak hit. Ranta held his ground without being knocked away.

“Sparkle!” Ranta shouted, and if his eyes had had a sparkling function, they no doubt would have sparkled magnificently. Of course, they had no such function. “Hell Devil Execution!”

Again, there’s no such skill, Haruhiro thought.

All Ranta did was use his natural stamina to swing his longsword around erratically. That was all. There was no way that would work against the ustrel. When the ustrel had had more energy, he would have knocked Ranta’s sword away, and that would have been the end of it. But now, things were different.

The ustrel used his left arm and naginata, which he was choking up his grip on, to block Ranta’s longsword. He blocked, and he blocked. He was stuck on the defensive. Ranta was pushing the ustrel backwards. He was pushing him into a corner.

There’s no point in telling Ranta not to get cocky now, Haruhiro thought. I mean, he’s Ranta, after all. In that case, I’ll do something before Ranta runs out of steam!

Haruhiro quickly got behind the ustrel. When he was staring at an enemy’s back like this, it was strangely calming. The ustrel had a broad back. With a few arrows sticking out of it. Three, to be precise.

There, maybe, Haruhiro thought as he chose a target. Ustrel or not, he was still a humanoid creature, so even if Haruhiro couldn’t see the line, he more or less could tell where to hit.

If something looks like a vital point, I’ll trust that it is, Haruhiro thought. If I’m wrong, well, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Backstab. I can do it.

Closing in smoothly, he thrust a dagger into the spot he’d chosen. It didn’t feel like a bad hit, and the ustrel’s entire body trembled for a moment, so maybe it had—no. Haruhiro jumped away from the ustrel at once.

“Ohgoagogogogoahgoahohgaohgaohgogagagagagogoggooohgogoohgogogooh!”

“Wha...?!” Ranta yelled.

The sword Ranta had used to block the ustrel’s naginata was flung off somewhere. The way the ustrel moved had suddenly changed. If it were to be described with not one word, but two, it was violent and erratic. On top of that, it had stopped gnashing its teeth and started howling.

“Uwahhhhhhhhhh?!” Ranta shouted. “Haruhiro, man, what’d you do?!”

The ustrel chased after the now-barehanded Ranta while howling madly. Ranta used a mixture of Leap Out and Exhaust to run away. He kept running, occasionally taking a scratch from the ustrel’s naginata. Somehow or another, he was managing to escape with his life for the moment.

It had been the Backstab. No doubt about it. This had been the effect of that Backstab. Someone had once said that a wounded animal was the most dangerous, And the ustrel was backed into a corner. He was working up his last reserves of strength, trying to kill his enemies. In other words, Haruhiro and the party. If he couldn’t do that, the ustrel was finished.

This was where the battle would be decided.

“He’s just delaying the inevitable!” Haruhiro shouted. “We’ll outlast him! Hang in there, and grind him down!”

“Mrrrow!” Yume fired off an arrow into the ustrel’s butt.

Ranta screamed. He was probably trying to get over to his longsword, but he just couldn’t make it there. “H-H-H-Help me, you moron!”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve got this!” Kuzaku was back on his feet after Merry used Cure on him.

Well, that’s good and all, but he’s sounding weirdly high-strung there, Haruhiro thought. Is he okay?

Okay or not, Kuzaku plowed into the ustrel’s side. When the ustrel swung his naginata at him, Kuzaku swung his longsword at it with two hands, stopping it with a loud clang, then pushing it back.

Kuzaku bellowed, “Aw, yeahhhhhh!”

“Ogoagoahhhh!” the ustrel howled, slamming his naginata into Kuzaku. He hit him with it again and again.

Kuzaku was unyielding, he howled back, “Gahhh! Gwahhh! Zahhh!” as he knocked away the naginata with his longsword. For now, he was managing to deflect it, but if he missed even once, it would be over.

Honestly, I’m too scared to watch, Haruhiro thought. But if I call out to him carelessly, I could do more harm than good. Right now, Kuzaku’s concentration is insane. I don’t want to break that.

Ranta picked up his own longsword. “We meet again, my Excalibur!”

What’re you calling Excalibur? Haruhiro thought as he moved around to get behind the ustrel.

Yume was nocking an arrow, but with Kuzaku and the ustrel locked in fierce combat, she couldn’t line up a shot.

Haruhiro and Merry’s eyes met. Merry immediately held up two fingers. Two Cure spells left, that meant.

Shihoru took a step forward.

“Jess, yeen, sark, fram, dart!” she chanted, drawing elemental sigils with her staff.

Lightning. The thunder rumbled, and a bolt of electricity pierced the ustrel. His body convulsing, he looked like he might fall. He managed to stay on his feet, but Kuzaku used that opening to launch a counterattack.

“Gah! Gah! Gahhh!”

His swings were a mess, and he was clearly getting in too deep. Still, it worked out well. As Kuzaku’s sword pushed in and the ustrel’s naginata pushed back, it was as if their hilts had locked together. They weren’t actually locked, because a naginata doesn’t have a hilt guard, but it looked like they had. The hilt of Kuzaku’s longsword and the fist the ustrel was gripping his naginata with were jostling against one another. Regardless, they were in a stalemate.

Now’s our chance! was one thing Haruhiro didn’t have to tell anyone.

“Meow!” Yume fired an arrow, hitting the ustrel in the right shoulder.

“Leap Out, followed byyyyy—Satan’s Blooooow!” It was an impressive sounding name and all, but all Ranta did was jump at the ustrel and slash his left shoulder.

Haruhiro jumped onto the ustrel’s back. The metallic skull helmet covered the neck, too, but Haruhiro knew the ustrel had no armor covering his chest, his back, his torso, or his shoulders. Haruhiro jammed his dagger in right underneath the rim of that helmet. He stabbed him eagerly, then immediately backed off.

“Gugohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” the ustrel screamed.

“—Wha?!” Kuzaku was pushed back and knocked on his rear.

Oh, crap, that’s—not that bad...?

The ustrel didn’t try to hit Kuzaku while he was down. He stumbled, his huge form swaying, unsteady on his feet, as he planted his naginata’s pommel on the ground.

Have we done it? Haruhiro thought. No, it looks like that’s not quite it.

“Ogoh!” The ustrel lifted up his naginata, spinning his body around.

“Whoa, get back!” Haruhiro leapt backwards.

Kuzaku screamed, rolling and scrambling to get away. Ranta pulled back, too. Yume, Merry, and Shihoru were at a distance to begin with, so they were fine.

The ustrel spun around seven times, then slumped against his naginata, exhausted. They watched for some time, but he showed no signs of moving.

He’s probably resting, Haruhiro thought. That’s bad.

“Attack!” he shouted.

As everyone ran in to attack, the ustrel started whirling around again.

Once they hurriedly ran away, the ustrel ran out of strength after spinning around seven times, and leaned on his naginata.

I’m not letting you rest any more, Haruhiro thought fiercely. He shouted, “Let’s go!”

Ranta and Kuzaku each got in a hit or two, Yume got in one arrow, and Haruhiro himself got in a good hard whack with his sap. At that point, the ustrel started whirling around again, so they fell back. This time, it didn’t make it to seven spins, only six. It looked like this was pretty hard on the ustrel. At this point, Haruhiro didn’t even have to give the signal anymore.

Haruhiro and the others would attack, each of them getting in one or two hits, and then the ustrel would do his big spin. They would fall back, counting the number of rotations. One, two, three, four, five, six times around. What a hard worker. They didn’t bother thinking those sorts of unnecessary things before charging.

They cut him, whacked him, shot him. The ustrel spun around, forcing Haruhiro and the others to temporarily withdraw.

Three, four, five, and he looked ready to spin out of control on the sixth.

Making a point of not thinking We can do this, or, Just a little longer, they would close in on him, almost mechanical in their attacks. They attacked and attacked.

The ustrel howled, so they all leapt back and braced themselves, but no big spin came.

Haruhiro and Ranta traded glances.

Ranta wanted to go. Haruhiro was quick to shake his head. He wasn’t about to get reckless after coming this far. He tempered caution with more caution. No matter what, he wasn’t going to let anyone die here. That was his top priority. It was okay to let some opportunities slip by. He would just have to take advantage of the next one.

Haruhiro looked at the ustrel. He felt the urge to blink, but he resisted it. The ustrel was putting more of his weight on the naginata than his own legs.

The ustrel’s mouth opened wide, with a wheezing sound and a thick blackish fluid leaking out. He seemed so small, somehow. The ustrel had been so big, yet now he looked small.

First, his knees gave out. The ustrel sandwiched his naginata between his legs, getting into a sitting position, and then the metallic skull mask faced up at them. An orange tongue lolled out, and a moaning sound escaped, then stopped. After that, the ustrel moved no more.

Haruhiro used Sneaking to approach the ustrel from behind. When he got to about a meter and a half away, the metallic skull helmet suddenly turned towards Haruhiro, and he thought his heart might stop.

Oh, crap, he thought. That was scary. Is he coming? Is he? It’s fine. Even if he comes at me, I can get away. I’m ready for it. No problem. I can cope. Besides, I don’t even see any sign the ustrel’s breathing.

Haruhiro bit his lip. He took a short, deep breath. “Finish him!”

The moment he shouted it, Ranta, Kuzaku, and Yume rushed towards the ustrel. After that, it was just longswords, machetes, and more cutting up, smashing, and beating down the ustrel.

Haruhiro participated, too. Merry and Shihoru did not.

Even as they swung their weapons with all their might, Haruhiro—no, everyone, including Haruhiro—was perfectly calm. Their objective was clear. To terminate the ustrel. To utterly eradicate the threat he posed.

Even when the ustrel slumped to the ground, they kept at it for a while. It certainly didn’t feel good. But it was necessary. Stopping to take his pulse, to make sure he was dead— they didn’t have time to take it easy like that. They had to thoroughly kill him.

Once the ustrel was utterly destroyed, everyone stopped.

After all of that, I’m exhausted. I don’t feel like talking, Haruhiro thought. If I say so much as a word, it feels like my soul might escape with it. I’d die if my soul escaped like that.

“...We did it.” Ranta exhaled deeply, leaning back and waving his arms around. “We did it! We did it, damn it! We killed that ustrel good! How do you like that, you piece of crap?!”

“That sure was nerve-rackin’...” Yume slumped to the ground. She was drenched with sweat, her hair clinging to her face. She looked haggard. It was so bad, you had to wonder how many pounds she’d lost from just this one fight alone. “No more of this...”

“I...” Kuzaku was sitting on his haunches, his head hung. “I... I thought... I was gonna... die...”

“Haru.” Merry signaled him with her eyes. She used a gesture to tell him that she and Shihoru would watch the area.

Haruhiro nodded, meaning, That’ll help. Seriously, it will.

That was crazy, he thought. We were walking on thin ice there. Seriously thin ice. Does it feel like a victory? Not in the least. Is this a win? It’s not a loss. That much I can say for sure. No, the ustrel’s dead over there, so it must be a win. And not by a wide margin, either. If we had to do this ten times, I can’t say we’d win every one, but we’d probably win six of them. There were a number of crises, but we managed to work through them somehow, and we’ll do even better next time. If we assume that, this time, we won a battle we had a sixty percent chance of winning, next time, we should be able to bring our odds up to seventy percent. After that, it’ll be eighty. Then ninety. As we repeat the process, we can get to the point where we’ll more or less never lose.

Experience. This was what it meant to build experience. And the experience gained from fighting the ustrel could be put to use in their battles with other enemies.

In fact, if they hadn’t been through the fight to the death at Deadhead Watching Keep, they would have panicked just from encountering the ustrel, which could easily have gotten them wiped out. No, not could, it definitely would have.

Getting stronger wasn’t just learning skills, acquiring new equipment, building stamina, and strengthening their muscles—it was more than that.

They had to experience things. They had to use their own heads and bodies to learn the terror, the harshness, the pains and difficulties. Then they had to overcome them.

True, Haruhiro and his comrades were not strong. No matter how they trained, Haruhiro, for instance, could never become like Renji. However, with each experience like this, they might not get closer to Team Renji, but Haruhiro and the party could grow in their own way. If they had different experiences from Renji and his group, they would gain different knowledge, different specialties, and expand their abilities differently. Even if they were inferior ninety-nine percent of the time, just that once, they wouldn’t lose. It was fully possible that they could turn out like that.

Potential.

It’s there.

We still have potential.

Moguzo. Even now that we’ve lost you, there are still things we can do. Lots of them, in fact. If anything, there may be things we’ll only have to do because we’ve lost you.

If you could have always stayed with us, that would have been for the best. But just because we’ve lost you, that doesn’t mean it’s all over. I feel bad for you, and it makes me feel very sad, very lonely to say this, but we have to move on. We can keep moving forward.

Haruhiro put a hand on Yume’s shoulder. “Good work. A whole lot of your arrows hit their mark today. After all the times you’ve talked about how bad you are at it, you were amazing.”

“...Yeah.” Yume looked up at Haruhiro, holding his hand tight. It wasn’t just sweat. She had tears in her eyes, too. “Yume, she couldn’t just keep sayin’ she was no good at it. Yume needs to do the things Yume can do, y’know. It’s not about needin’ to try hard—Yume, she wants to try hard.”

“Yume, I know you’re trying hard,” said Haruhiro.

“Well, yeah, but Yume can do much, much more.”

“I’d say it’s okay for you to take it a little bit at a time, don’t you think?” said Haruhiro. “You don’t have to do everything at once. We’ve got a long time to work on it.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Yume furrowed her brow and bit her lip.

If Haruhiro and the party continued on like this, they would likely make it through to tomorrow somehow, but that wasn’t true for everyone.

The world was neither equal nor fair. Someone had once said the only thing that was equal for all was time. But that wasn’t true. While time may flow equally for all, ours can easily be snatched away from us. This was something Haruhiro and the others had no need to remind themselves of, because they knew it well.

Haruhiro gripped Yume’s shoulder firmly, then let go. He had nothing to say to Ranta. He slapped him on the back and Ranta gave him a “Heh.”

“Shihoru.” When Haruhiro called out to her, Shihoru shrunk her neck into her body and looked at him apologetically. No, I haven’t even said anything yet. “Your timing with those spells was good. It helped us out a lot.”

“There’s a lot of room for improvement...” Shihoru said. “Actually, I still don’t have enough firepower...”

While she may have looked timid, Shihoru had the bravery to face her own weaknesses. That meant that even if she was weak, she could become stronger. In Shihoru’s case, it would probably be better to urge her to improve than to console her.

“Yeah,” Haruhiro said. “The way things stand, your magic can’t be the decisive blow against more powerful enemies. I think you could pursue that as a goal.”

“Yes,” she said meekly.

“There’s no need to be so meek...”

“S-Sorry...”

Shihoru bowed her head, and Merry gave her a pat on the back.

It’s kind of nice, seeing them like that, Haruhiro thought. I’m not jealous or anything. When I see girls who are close to each other, it’s strangely calming. When it’s a guy and a girl, that’s more awkward, though.

Merry was looking at him, so Haruhiro gave her a smile. Merry smiled back just a little.

This isn’t bad, either. I feel like Merry and I can really communicate. Only as comrades in the same party, but still. When it comes to anything more than that, or other than that—I’m not so sure. I don’t feel like we could. Not that we have to. We’re comrades in the same party, after all.

Haruhiro turned to Kuzaku and offered him his hand. “You’ll have to buy a new shield, huh.”

“...Guess so.” Kuzaku extended his hand, Haruhiro took it by the wrist and pulled him to his feet.

Still, is this guy big, or what? Haruhiro thought. When you’re tall and thin, it’s a real asset. Even if your face is pretty normal, you still look relatively cool.

“Unlike before, you actually did your job as tank,” Haruhiro said. “I’m gonna demand more and more of you from here on, so expect that.”

“I’ll do it,” said Kuzaku. “Whatever I have to. So I don’t die—actually, so I don’t let anyone else die, either.”

“I’m counting on you.” Haruhiro poked Kuzaku in the ribs.

Maybe I ought to make a rule against romance within the party, he thought for a moment. If people within the group hook up or have a break up, that could cause a lot of trouble, so it might be a good idea.

With a glance to the ustrel’s remains, he looked up into the narrow slit of sky visible from inside the canyon-like Wonder Hole.

Here, in this Wonder Hole, we’re going to get stronger, Haruhiro resolved. We’ll build up a ton of experience, gain more and more strength, and—this one would get me laughed at, so I won’t ever say it out loud—but someday, we’ll get to the point we can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Soma.

I swear we will.

Afterword

When I opened my eyes, I was in the middle of a battle. It seemed that I had fallen asleep at some point. The controller was still in my hands. When I restarted the battle, I noticed one of my party members was dead.

Why are you dead? I don’t remember, I thought. I’ll have to bring you back to life. Well, whatever.

I was just slaughtering weak monsters to level up, so I could handle losing one person.

Would you usually die, though? Fighting enemies of this level? I’m sure, in my hazy semi-conscious state, I must have neglected to heal while continuing my mass murder. When I looked, my surviving party members were pretty low on health, too.

Ahh. There goes another one. Well, whatever. Battle’s finished.

Two people were dead, and one of them was the one who could cast the revival spell. I could also have used an item to revive them, but that would be a waste, so I used magic to warp back to town. I revived them, healed them, and now what? I had money saved up, but I’d more or less bought everything I wanted already. When I thought about it, there was no need to be such a cheapskate about using the items.

Guess I’ll go level some more, I thought. Nah, I think I’ve done enough. Time to advance the story, I guess. Wait, where do I go and what do I do next, anyway? What was I supposed to be doing?

I’ve had similar experiences—or actually, practically the same experience—time and again, cutting into my sleeping hours to do it. Did I waste my time? I don’t think so. I mean, if not for the time I spent doing that, I wouldn’t be writing this book, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, right now.

Out of habit, or to escape, or in search of pleasant, mind-numbing work, I was idly spending my time leveling up. Looking back to a time long before then, I had seen a new world inside video games.

With the advance of technology, open-world games and 3D action RPGs like Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are now made all the time, inviting me back into that world I feel such nostalgia for, but at the moment, my greatest hope is reserved for VR headsets. I am certain that a VR headset will immerse me in newer and more different worlds. I am hoping the next-gen gaming experience will be able to win against the act of writing novels, something which plays out inside my head and stimulates all five of my senses. But, I dunno. Novel writing is difficult and, at times, painful, but it really is fun.

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.

Oh, that’s right, please support my other series, What’s Wrong with a Hero Being Jobless?, too.

Ao Jyumonji

Chibi-chan’s Cooking

Hel...lo.

I’m... Chibi.

I have another name... but everyone calls me Chibi... so Chibi’s fine...

This happened one day.

When we were all eating dinner one night, Renji-kun said... “This tastes awful,” and he scowled. It was really awkward... Well, no, it wasn’t awkward, but everyone was on edge, like, oh, this is going to be bad... but Renji-kun, he just went quiet, and he finished eating.

So... from that day on... I decided I was going to start secretly practicing my cooking.

When I thought about it, Renji-kun... I’d never seen him eating heartily, like he was enjoying a meal, but since he has to eat anyway, he’d probably prefer it if it tastes good...

But, me, I’d never cooked before, and I was bad at it... Knives, I couldn’t use them so well, and I would cut my fingers a lot.

The vegetables, they ended up covered in blood.

But, I’m a priest, so I could heal the cuts... I’m glad I became a priest, like Renji-kun told me to.

When Renji-kun gets hurt, I can heal him... I was happy about that, from the very beginning, and it helped me here, too.

So, I practiced my cooking lots, and I got better, just a little, so for lunch... I brought a sandwich I’d made for Renji-kun, and worked up my courage.

“Uh... Uh... uh... um...”

I gave it to Renji-kun, and he said, “What’s this supposed to be?” He took a quick bite, then... scowling, said, “It tastes like blood.”

When Renji-kun said that, I thought I was going to die.

Actually, I thought, I wish I could just die.

I thought it would be better if I died.

But, Renji-kun, he didn’t eat just the one sandwich, he ate two, then three... He ate all of the sandwiches, really quickly...

“Keep at it, Chibi,” he said. And he patted me... on my head.

It made me so happy.

I thought, I could die happy right now.

I thought, I should die right now... I mean, I don’t think anything better than this could ever happen to me... I want to die right now.

But, Renji-kun’s here, so I don’t want to die, just yet... maybe.

That’s my story.