So I'm A Spider, So What, Vol. 12

1
Table of Contents
Insert
Title Page
Copyright
Observations by Future Historians: Prologue
White 1
Sanatoria
Huey
Ronandt
Kunihiko
Asaka
Aurel
Merazophis
Phelmina
Wald
Sophia
Wrath
Hawkin
Agner
Jeskan
Bloe
Balto
Yaana
2
Julius
White 2
Observations by Future Historians: Epilogue
Afterword
Yen Newsletter
3
Download all your fav Light Novels at
Just Light Novels
4
5
6
7
Copyright
So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 12

Okina Baba
Translation by Jenny McKeon

Cover art by Tsukasa Kiryu
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product
of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
KUMO DESUGA, NANIKA? Vol. 12

©Okina Baba, Tsukasa Kiryu 2020
First published in Japan in 2020 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo.
English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through
TUTTLE-MORI AGENCY, INC., Tokyo.
English translation © 2021 by Yen Press, LLC
Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The
purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works
that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of
the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the
book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your
support of the author’s rights.
Yen On
150 West 30th Street, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Visit us at yenpress.com
facebook.com/yenpress
8
twitter.com/yenpress
yenpress.tumblr.com
instagram.com/yenpress
First Yen On Edition: July 2021
Yen On is an imprint of Yen Press, LLC.

The Yen On name and logo are trademarks of Yen Press, LLC.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by
the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Baba, Okina, author. | Kiryu, Tsukasa, illustrator. | McKeon, Jenny, translator.
Title: So I’m a spider, so what? / Okina Baba ; illustration by Tsukasa Kiryu ;
translation by Jenny McKeon.
Other titles: Kumo desuga nanika. English | So I am a spider, so what?
Description: First Yen On edition. | New York, NY : Yen On, 2017–
Identifiers: LCCN 2017034911 | ISBN 9780316412896 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN
9780316442886 (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316442909 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN
9781975321826 (v. 12 : pbk.)
Subjects: CYAC: Magic—Fiction. | Spiders—Fiction. | Monsters—Fiction. | Prisons—
Fiction. | Escapes—Fiction. | Fantasy.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.O44 So 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017034911
ISBNs: 978-1-9753-2182-6 (paperback)

978-1-9753-2183-3 (ebook)
E3-20210618-JV-NF-ORI
9
10
11
12
13
14
The Great Human-Demon War.
Battles between humans and demons have been going on for
centuries, but only one clash is known as the Great Human-Demon
War.
There’s no need to be a scholar of history to know how unique this
battle was.
Humans and demons, each fighting for the very survival of their
respective races. It is small wonder that this alone is worthy of being
called a Great War.
Many details are unclear, as few extant records remain due to the
subsequent chaos, but it is widely accepted that each side mobilized
forces numbering in the seven digits.
Some theories even suggest that the total number of people involved
in the conflict reached eight digits.
The biggest battle in recent memory until then was the Tragedy of
Zatona, and even then, the combined numbers of both the Ohts
Alliance and the Sariella Army totaled less than six digits. Sariella was
a powerful nation and fielded a formidable military. To challenge
them, their neighboring rivals formed a coalition and mustered a
massive army.
Considering their populations at the time, it’s clear this would have
been considered a relatively large-scale battle.
And yet, the Great War easily dwarfs it in scope.
15
In spite of all this, the Great Human-Demon War lasted a surprisingly
short time.
Given the number of soldiers mobilized, it would be natural to expect
the fighting to go on for many months, perhaps even years.
In reality, it lasted a few scant days.
Again, due to the lack of surviving documents, the precise number of
days is unclear; however, historians agree that the Great War ended
after ten days at the most.
A conflict of such enormous scale ended almost as soon as it had
started.
But what is truly terrifying about the Great Human-Demon War is not
its scale or its brevity.
It is the percentage of casualties.
The precise number is once again unknown, due to the dearth of
explicit figures, but the most commonly accepted theory is that at
least half of each side’s numbers was killed.
And that is the minimum.
Extrapolating from the surviving demon population after the war’s
conclusion, it’s safe to say that at least that many were killed in
battle.
Some scholars even propose that it may have been as high as 70 or
80 percent.
In other words, out of a seven-digit number of participants, no less
than half died in the span of just a few days.
This is clear evidence of the sheer ferocity that characterizes the
Great Human-Demon War.
16
Of the few remaining documents from the time, the words recorded
in one soldier’s diary have become quite famous. Most will have
heard this somewhere before:
“All hope is lost. What remains is only despair.”
17
The time has come at last!
Yes, it’s finally time to show off the tactical command center I made
all by myself!
“Uh, White…what the hell is this?”
The Demon Lord looks shocked all right.
Balto follows her in and scans the room with an equally
dumbfounded expression.
Heh-heh-heh.
Whaddaya think? Caught you by surprise, didn’t I?!
Check out the wall of monitors I set up.
Each one displays a live feed of the various fortresses where our
armies have been dispatched.
How is that possible, you ask?
By using my mini-mes, of course!
I sent my tiny palm-size spider clones to every single fortress.
That’s right—my clones are essentially serving as super-high-tech
self-propelling cameras!
And everything they see gets displayed right here on a monitor in my
tactical command center.
It can even pick up sounds and voices.
Which means the Demon Lord can get up-to-the-minute info from
the battlefield, even when she’s all the way over here!
18
This world has skills and stuff, but they haven’t developed
communication technology comparable to what you can find on
modern-day Earth, so this tactical command center will totally
revolutionize the battlefield!
Ahhh, it’s so scary.
The depths of my genius are so infinite, they scare even me!
“Okay, uh, cool. I guess I shouldn’t think too deeply about it.”
The Demon Lord sits down in the commander’s seat in the center of
the room.
…Um, I feel like you could stand to react a teensy bit more
dramatically here.
Like, stammering B-but how?! or something.
Even Balto’s giving me more of a reaction. He’s still frozen in the
doorway.
“Balto,” the Demon Lord calls to him. “How long do you plan to
space out over there?”
“I-I’m terribly sorry!”
At that, Balto quickly returns to his senses and hurries into the room.
Still, his eyes keep darting around the room, so he clearly hasn’t
gotten over his shock.
See, this is what I’m talking about!
That’s the kind of reaction I was hoping for from the Demon Lord!
Why’s she just casually accepting it like it’s no big deal?!
“…If we react to every little thing White does, we’ll never get
anywhere, got it?”
“…Of course.”
19
Balto finally manages to collect himself after hearing the Demon
Lord’s extremely heartfelt warning.
…Well, that definitely doesn’t make me feel like my efforts have
been totally blown off or anything.
Nope. All good here.
Got that? Cool.
“All righty. I guess I’ll just chill out in here and watch everybody work
their butts off, then.”
The Demon Lord smiles faintly as she scans the monitors.
On each of the many screens, the battle is just about to begin.
20
21
A fight to determine the fates of demons and humans alike.
“All right, White. You’ve got this, yeah?”
I raise a hand in acknowledgment.
Then I use Teleport to leave the room.
Guess I’ve got my own work to do.
22
23
THE FORT OKUN BATTLE THE KEY POINTS!
Welcome to White Explains It All!

As you can see, the fort Boobs is supposed to attack is surrounded
by mountains!
That’s right: mountains!
The dangers of mountains cannot be overstated!
Obviously, it’s common sense that whoever holds the high ground
in a battle has the advantage.
It’s easy to shoot arrows and stuff from a high place into a low
place, but the reverse is waaay harder, because now you’re fighting
against gravity, too.
What’s worse is that foot soldiers have to push uphill to attack, so
they’re bound to get tired quickly.
Can you imagine huffing and puffing your way up a mountain,
then having to fight the moment you finally reach the top? That’s
gotta suck.
Common wisdom says the attacker should outnumber the
defender three to one for a confident attack on a fortress, but when
that fortress is nestled in the mountains, it gets about a million times
harder!
That’s why lots of castles and stuff on Earth are built in high
places.
It’s definitely not just ’cause royalty prefers to look out from high
places!
I’m pretty sure! Totally!
So how is Boobs planning to bring down a mountain citadel?!
We’re about to find out!
24
“Lady Sanatoria, battle formations are complete.”
“Mm.”
I scarcely even respond to the report from my aide.
There’s no need to tell me what I already know.
My command, the Second Army, is positioned on a hill where we can
see one of the key positions of the humans: Fort Okun.
Fort Okun is built quite close to the Mystic Mountains, so it is
protected by terrain nearly as treacherous as the mountain range
itself.
From our vantage point, we can clearly see the sheer cliffs that block
our way like walls and the imposing fortress that seems half-fused
with its rocky surroundings.
As the stronghold that has repelled demon invasions for countless
years, it’s obvious at a glance just how difficult it would be to take it
down.
Hardly an encouraging thought for yours truly, since it is my mission
to do just that.
But this isn’t even a particularly tough assignment.
The humans have often had to endure invasions by us demons
throughout history, and so they’ve built up nigh-impregnable
defenses.
In other words, regardless of the invasion route, we’re in for a bad
time.
25
Or to put it another way, we’re screwed no matter where we go.
Honestly, what a headache.
As I heave a sigh, my aide surreptitiously looks away, his face
somewhat red.
He’s been my aide ever since I became a commander, yet he still
doesn’t seem used to being around me.
You see, I come from a line of what they call succubi.
We possess a rare skill called Salacious that we hone and use as a
weapon, helping our family to maintain its noble rank for
generations.
As the name implies, Salacious is highly effective on anyone attracted
to the opposite sex, and any behaviors that might entice the target
only enhance the skill’s effects further.
The members of my family played to our strengths, thoroughly
cultivating every aspect of our mannerisms to make us look as
bewitching and seductive as possible.
As a result, I tend to give off a certain allure without even trying, to
the point where some of my all-male battalion complain that it’s too
much of a good thing.
The main effect of the Salacious skill is brainwashing. It’s a skill that
allows the user to control others as they please.
Though, sad to say, the effect has its limits.
The brainwashing automatically wears off after a certain amount of
time, and I can’t exactly force my will on others, either.
If I give an order that the target has a strong aversion to, it can even
break the brainwashing effect entirely.
Yet, in spite of all these restrictions, the success rate of the
brainwashing is also quite low.
26
It’s a terribly unwieldy ability, and to top it all off, the skill is
incredibly difficult to level up.
People often question whether it’s even possible to trust someone
with the power to brainwash others, and…well, it’s a fair concern.
Many men are always worrying that I’m going to brainwash them,
too.
Which is exactly why most people don’t attempt to acquire or train
the Salacious skill.
But my family has gone against the current.
You could say we found a very specific niche to fill.
Still, having a brainwashing-related ability often means being the
subject of undue suspicion.
That’s why, I’m told, my ancestors have been bending the knee to
the Demon Lord, and to other nobles as well, for generations.
They spread the word themselves that ours is not a particularly
strong ability and made it common knowledge that we would never
brainwash someone for nefarious purposes.
My ancestors went around fawning and bootlicking like you wouldn’t
believe, projecting the idea that they were to be used, not the other
way around.
So, after generations of that, we scraped together enough influence
and authority to call ourselves a noble family.
In the present day, the succubus line is actually known better for
their subservience than their Salacious skill.
You must admit, it’s quite amusing that the representative of such a
family is someone who doesn’t hold an ounce of loyalty toward the
Demon Lord.
But maybe that was inevitable.
27
The previous generation’s Demon Lord was killed, and the next one
disappeared not long after.
How could anyone maintain a sense of loyalty without a demon lord
to revere?
Especially when the one currently sitting on the throne is some no-
name little girl who appeared out of nowhere. Who would accept her
wholeheartedly simply because she claims to be the Demon Lord?
And right as we were enjoying a time of peace, she suddenly declares
that she’s restarting the war.
I let out another sigh, this time laden with sorrow.
Not far away, I hear someone gulp.
My aide shoos them away silently.
At first, this aide used to get adorably flustered by everything I did,
but lately he’s been spreading rumors to the soldiers that just
looking at me could poison them. Can you believe that?
Talk about rude.
And he’s even started asking me things like, “Could you please try
to uphold military regulations and discipline?”
Why should I? I never wanted to join the military in the first place.
The army’s job, of course, is to fight the humans.
But that was in the era of demon lords of past generations. Since the
throne was more or less vacated, our focus has been on rebuilding
our territory.
And that was for the best.
It’s far easier to deal with monsters and criminals than to wage war.
If nothing else, it meant a commander like me was much less likely to
die.
28
But that’s certainly not the case in an open conflict with the humans.
If I make one wrong move, it could easily cost me my life.
And obviously, that’s the last thing I want.
Which is why I attempted to put an end to the cause of the war.
Namely, the current Demon Lord…
But that was a big mistake.
Crunch. Crunch.
The noise still echoes in the back of my mind.
Nereo, the Ninth Army Commander who tried to oppose the Demon
Lord with us…he was eaten by the Demon Lord before my eyes.
A political purge.
The gruesome chewing sounds from that encounter are still stuck in
my ears, even now.
That was the moment I realized what a deadly enemy I’d made.
A monster.
I had moved against the one person I never should have crossed.
By the time I realized that, it was already too late. I had no choice left
but to try to ingratiate myself with this Demon Lord.
Who would’ve thought that I’d end up on the same path as my
ancestors after all?
Honestly, you’ve got to laugh.
But there’s no other option—it’s either that or be killed.
I have to cast everything aside, especially my pride, and lick her
boots—literally, if she tells me to.
But I doubt a little bowing and scraping will be enough for that
monster to let me off the hook.
29
In truth, I was doomed the moment she became the Demon Lord.
Because her goal isn’t to win the war—it’s for as many demons to be
killed in the war as possible.
No, not just demons. Humans, too.
Essentially, she only cares about the number of lives lost, with
winning or losing being secondary.
If demons and humans wiped each other out entirely, she wouldn’t
be able to ask for a more favorable outcome.
In other words, our only job is to kill as much as possible and be
killed in return.
When you put it that way, I’m really only deciding whether I want to
be killed by the Demon Lord or fall in battle against the humans. It
might just be a matter of whether I die sooner or later.
The worst part is that this war against the humans still seems to offer
a higher likelihood of survival than defying that horrifying Demon
Lord.
And even then, the chances are slim…
But I’ll attack Fort Okun as best as I can.
I don’t have any clever way of putting this, but it looks like the
definition of an impregnable fortress.
Attacking it head-on would make for a tough battle—that’s for
certain.
Impossible? I wouldn’t go quite that far.
But whether we win or lose, it’s inevitable that we would suffer
some serious losses.
If we attack head-on, that is.
“Here they come.”
30
As I watch, a change begins to occur.
But it’s not the fortress. It’s on the surface of a mountain nearby.
The mountain is moving.
Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that’s not a mountain at all.
It’s a swarm of countless monsters.
The mountain is covered in them so completely that you can’t even
see the surface.
And the swarm is heading straight for Fort Okun.
These monsters are called anogratches.
But they’re also known by another, more sinister name: revenge
monkeys.
A single anogratch is hardly a major threat, but the real danger lies in
their group behavior.
Swarms of anogratches form strong bonds. If a single one of them is
killed, the rest will go after the offender with all their might.
Even if it means every last one of them is wiped out.
Once someone has provoked a swarm of anogratches, it can only end
in one of two ways: wipe out the entire swarm or sacrifice the
person who set them off.
But if anogratches attack a place where a large group of people is
gathered, anyone who kills anogratches to defend themselves will
only make themselves new targets of the swarm’s thirst for
vengeance.
And as this spreads, eventually everyone involved will become a
target.
In which case, the fighting will simply continue until one side is
completely wiped out.
31
So now the people in Fort Okun must either defeat the entire swarm
of anogratches or be wiped out themselves.
On top of that, this happens to be the monkeys’ breeding season.
At their height, the swarms of anogratches that overflow from the
Mystic Mountains become the greatest threat that demons face this
time of the year.
And it just so happens that I captured one without killing it and had a
brainwashed soldier carry it inside the fortress.
The results are playing out right this very moment.
The horde thunders down the mountain and across the plain,
charging straight toward the fortress.
Attack Magic shoots out from the fort, whittling away at the
monkeys’ numbers.
As if that will do them any good.
There are still plenty more where those came from. The anogratches
already cover the entire mountain face, and they still keep coming.
The monkeys are quickly clambering over the walls of the fort,
pressing onward even as their comrades are shot down.
Overwhelming numbers.
When I imagine what would happen if their vengeance was directed
toward us instead, I can’t help but shiver.
A rather cruel fate, if I do say so myself.
“Looks like it went off without a hitch.”
“Yes, ma’am. Perfectly executed.”
My aide and I nod at each other.
I never intended to bring Fort Okun down with the Second Army in
the first place. It’s simply far too risky.
32
Instead, we merely watch as the first wave of anogratches crests the
fort’s walls.
At this point, our victory is already assured.
Once those monsters get inside the fort, it’s only a matter of time
before the entire thing comes down.
“And without a single loss for our side.”
“As you say. Although now we will not be able to approach the fort
for some time.”
I suppose that’s true.
That the fort simply belongs to the anogratches instead of the
humans now—we still can’t carelessly attempt to attack it.
But that doesn’t matter one bit.
“A trivial concern. Besides, our goal here was never to take the fort
for ourselves. This is perfectly acceptable.”
“That is very true. I must say, that was an ingenious move, ma’am.”
“Oh, you flatter me.”
I did use the Salacious skill to brainwash an enemy soldier into
bringing the anogratch into the fort, but even without that, we still
could have found another way to sneak it inside.
This strategy didn’t require me to succeed.
I do think of myself as a rather competent commander, even among
my fellow demons.
But in the end, it’s only the smallest of edges.
I don’t defy definition like the Demon Lord.
There’s a limit to what an ordinary individual like me can do.
And yet, even so…
33
“I’m sorry, Demon Lord. I’m afraid I have no intention of meekly
going along with your wishes.”
If I defy her, I’ll die.
If I obey her, I’ll die all the same.
The only reasonable decision is to obey her as best I can while
looking for a way out.
If I simply do as she says, eventually she’ll have no further use for
me, I’m sure.
“You may think it inappropriate behavior for a demon, but I have
achieved my mission nonetheless. Perhaps you’ll let this one slide?”
I know it’s a selfish wish, but the best I can hope for is that she’ll
overlook my insolence.
As I hang on to that slim hope, I continue to watch as the
anogratches overrun Fort Okun.
34
35
36
THE FORT DAZARRO BATTLE THE KEY POINTS!
Welcome back to White Explains It All!

As you can see, the fort our little Shota is supposed to attack is
surrounded by rivers!
That’s right: rivers!
The dangers of massive amounts of moving water cannot be
overstated!
Did you know that it’s super hard to cross a river?
If you’re finding it difficult to imagine, maybe pay a visit to a
countercurrent pool or something.
Try to cut across that without getting swept away and see how
well you do.
And since we’re talking about an army here, that means
everyone’s gonna be carrying weapons and armor and all kinds of
other stuff.
Depending on the depth of the water, sinking and drowning are
real threats.
Horses and supplies will get swept away by the current, too.
Even with stats, you can’t afford to underestimate the power of
Mother Nature.
Plus, they’ll be defenseless while they’re trying to cross, meaning
the enemy can snipe at them as much as they please.
That’s how you end up with two armies just glaring at each other
from opposite sides of a river.
Neither of ’em wants to make the crossing!
37
Looks like our pal Shota is going to try to attack the enemy with
long-distance magic instead of attempting to ford the river.
Go, go, Shota! Don’t lose, Shota!
38
Sixth Commander of the demon army.
This is the role that I have been assigned.
I know better than anyone that it’s hardly a suitable role for
someone of my stature.
By demon standards, I’m very young.
And I have an extra-youthful appearance, so people always look
down on me.
Demons live longer than humans, and some grow faster than others.
I seem to be the sort who ages slowly, given that I still look like a
child.
Supposedly, our family line has some elf blood from a few
generations back, so maybe that has had an effect on my growth,
too.
I say “supposedly” because it’s hard to believe that an elf would
really have a child with a demon, considering the typical elven
contempt for other races.
But our family line has long been blessed with a high affinity for
magic, just like the elves, so maybe there’s some truth to it after all.
And the slowness of my growth is highly unusual for demons, which
only makes the elf theory even stronger.
My younger brother is much the same, so the trait probably runs in
the whole family, not just me individually.
39
My classmates and upperclassmen often made fun of me in school
for how I looked, and even the underclassmen didn’t take me
seriously.
And a slowly developing body means that my physical stats are slow
to grow, too.
I invariably lose in any kind of hand-to-hand combat, which has been
a great source of embarrassment.
However, that holds true for only purely physical battles. With magic,
it’s a different story.
In a contest of pure magic, I’m confident that I’m stronger than any
other demon.
Such pride comes naturally to the count of a prominent magical
family.
To uphold that pride, I’ve always used my magic to turn the tables on
anyone who mocks me.
And once word of my power spread, it wasn’t long before I was
named one of the commanders of the demon army, the highest rank
a demon can be awarded.
Now the same people who once slighted me have to serve me.
That definitely feels good.
But at the same time, I know I’m not really worthy of being a
commander.
The only reason I became one is because there wasn’t anyone more
qualified.
Frankly, I wasn’t selected for my personal merits—I was merely the
most acceptable choice by process of elimination.
40
The truth is, the demon race is desperately short on manpower,
since we lost many of our best and brightest in the war against the
humans.
There are few surviving veteran leaders aside from Commander
Agner of the First Army, and most of the other current commanders
were once young novices who distinguished themselves through
service during the long years of the previous war.
But even then, there weren’t enough, so they had to choose
someone from a newer generation who seemed promising and
appoint them as a commander.
Namely: me.
In other words, I’m just a stopgap measure.
Of course, I was chosen because of my abilities—there’s no denying
that.
But compared to the other commanders, I have far less strength and
experience.
I do think my magic abilities are on par with the other commanders,
but if in a real fight, I’m sure I would be the weakest of all of them.
And since I don’t have a great deal of experience, I’m still inept at
managing an army.
I know that people call me things like Kid Commander behind my
back.
During my time in school, I could silence any teasing with my magical
prowess, but now that I hold the role of commander, that alone isn’t
enough to convince everyone.
I doubt people will stop mocking me until I catch up to the other
commanders.
But for someone as young as myself, that’s easier said than done.
41
No matter how shameful, I have no choice but to bear it.
And then the current Demon Lord appeared.
It seems that demon lords, by nature, have the urge to wage war
against humanity.
Older generations of demon lords certainly did, to the point where
the most recent Demon Lord who disappeared may be one of the
few exceptions.
But when that Demon Lord disappeared, it was actually a stroke of
good luck for the demon race.
We had sustained serious losses in the long battle against the
humans, to the point where we no longer had the resources or
personnel for a war.
This lack of bodies is the reason I became a commander at such a
young age, so I have mixed feelings about it.
Since the Demon Lord disappeared, the demons were able to
establish a temporary truce with the humans and focus on
rebuilding.
However, the current Demon Lord is undoing all that effort.
In fact, she’s clearly not thinking about the future of the demon race
at all.
The previous Demon Lords continued the war with the humans, too,
but this particular Demon Lord doesn’t seem to have any concept of
moderation.
Previous Demon Lords always took the overall state of the demon
race into consideration and marshaled forces accordingly, but the
current one doesn’t care about any of that. She seems to fully intend
on gathering up every last demon and sending them into battle with
the humans.
42
Most of the commanders disapproved of this.
Even I could tell what would happen if we went down this route, so
of course I was in agreement with the others.
And of course, the commanders wouldn’t just sit around and wait for
our destruction.
Sure enough, a secret plot to overthrow the Demon Lord began to
brew.
I thought this was the perfect chance, so I joined in on the coup
d’état without hesitation.
What better way to build a reputation for myself than by bringing
down the Demon Lord leading our race along the path of
destruction?
We had a good chance of winning I thought.
The Demon Lord looked young.
No doubt she was just getting carried away with the thrill of being
recognized as Demon Lord and trying to do the impossible.
What an idiot.
I discreetly joined the revolutionaries and carefully started sending
soldiers to join Sir Warkis’s Seventh Army.
The plan was for Warkis to gather the rebel army and attack, at
which point I would move the Sixth Army in support.
Miss Sanatoria’s Second Army was cooperating as well, so we were
ready to bring down the Demon Lord’s stronghold from the inside
and outside at once.
Balto’s Fourth Army was supposed to defend her, but he didn’t seem
to want to serve the Demon Lord, either, so we doubted that his
soldiers would stay loyal to her.
43
If we reached out to them, no doubt many would be willing to
change sides.
Since the Ninth Commander Nereo, who was in charge of personnel
management, was also on the rebellion’s side, it was easy to shuffle
people around.
We assembled our forces discreetly so that the Demon Lord wouldn’t
notice anything unusual, and soon enough, our rebel army would be
complete.
By then, it would be too late to stop the coup d’état.
…Or so we thought.
The next thing we knew, the rebellion had been utterly crushed.
I witnessed the exact moment the mastermind, Sir Warkis, died by
his own sword.
And shortly thereafter, all the commanders who’d been participating
in the rebellion received a warning from Sir Agner.
It was then that I realized we had failed.
Sir Agner, the most seasoned of the commanders, universally
considered the strongest of all demons, was siding with the Demon
Lord.
I didn’t understand why he would do such a thing.
But that alone was enough to convince me that the rebellion was a
lost cause.
Sir Agner’s influence was simply that immense. With him as an
enemy, our chances of success were slim.
I had placed my bets on a losing horse.
Now the only thing that mattered was finding a way to recover
somehow.
44
Just as I was beginning to panic, I was summoned by the Demon
Lord.
It was then I learned exactly why Sir Agner had chosen to obey her.
I wasn’t the only one she’d summoned.
Sir Nereo, Miss Sanatoria, and me—the commanders who were
working with the rebellion in secret.
Compared to Nereo’s undaunted attitude and Sanatoria’s usual
relaxed smile, I’m sure I looked pathetically shaken.
I was trembling with fear that we would be sentenced to execution,
but instead, the Demon Lord simply told us that the Commander of
the Ninth Army was being changed.
It seemed anticlimactic.
The Ninth Army has long been little more than a name.
Its commander, Nereo, was in charge of all matters dealing with
personnel, so the majority of his efforts is devoted to that and not
his near-nonexistent army.
The Demon Lord announced she was going to appoint a new
commander and make the Ninth a proper army.
That was all.
I’d come into the meeting worried I might be executed, so I was
relieved to hear this.
But a moment later, I would realize how wrong I was to think the
danger had passed.
Terribly, horribly, unforgettably wrong.
The Demon Lord spoke.
“Which means we won’t be needing the current Ninth Army
Commander anymore.”
45
And with that, she casually disposed of Sir Nereo like a tool that had
outlived its usefulness.
A mere execution would have been kinder.
No person should be subjected to what I witnessed that day!
To be devoured without a trace…
No one should have to die like that, and no person should be able to
do such a thing.
The Demon Lord might look like a little girl, but on the inside, she’s a
foul beast.
Considering how long I’ve suffered because of my own youthful
appearance, it’s unthinkable that I misjudged the Demon Lord for the
same reason.
From that day on, we were plunged into hell.
Where did we go wrong?
That’s obvious. We never should have tried to defy the Demon Lord.
We were fooled by her appearance, mocked her seemingly stupid
plans, and foolishly assumed she was nothing more than a young
idiot who had let her ambition go to her head and was going to mess
up everything.
But we were wrong.
It’s all too clear to me now.
The Demon Lord knows exactly what she’s doing and is deliberately
trying to send us all to hell.
She is truly a heartless beast.
A horror who enjoys nothing more than watching us struggle, suffer,
and die!
She could kill me on a whim at any moment.
46
I have to do as she says, serve her devoutly, and do anything I can to
improve her opinion of me however I can…
“Then kill a lot and die a lot.”
Those were her orders.
So we have to kill as many of the enemy as we can.
Otherwise, we’ll all be killed instead!
“Sir Huey! We can’t take any more! We have to retreat!”

My aide is insisting that we retreat.
We’re attacking Fort Dazarro, one of the anchors in the humans’
defensive lines.
The Sixth Army was ordered to take it down.
Frankly, the balance of power is not in our favor.
In fact, it’s going even worse than I imagined.
My troops, the Sixth Army, are chiefly magic users.
This is partly because I myself specialize in magic, but mages are also
more effective in large groups, which is why I deliberately organized
my troops with a heavy emphasis on magic.
The role of a mage in war is to decimate the enemy army with the
trump card called grand magic, a special kind of group-cast spell that
causes damage on a massive scale.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the amount of grand magic an army
is able to cast can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat.
And in order to cast it, multiple magic users need to use the
Cooperation skill to work seamlessly together.
Hence the importance of having a large amount of mages, enough to
use grand magic.
47
Ever since I was appointed as a commander, I’ve been increasing the
number of mages under my command by teaching any promising
soldiers I found and even negotiating to recruit soldiers with an
aptitude for magic from other armies.
Thus, I believe the Sixth Army now boasts destructive power equal to
that of any other force.
Unfortunately, that means our frontline soldiers are noticeably
weaker than most, and so there is a distinct danger of the enemy
breaking through their ranks and reaching our all-important mages in
a field battle.
But when laying a siege, we can really put our destructive power to
work.
As long as they didn’t sally out of their fort to attack, we could keep
hammering them with grand magic from a safe distance until we
annihilated the entire fort itself and secured our victory.
I was sure of it.
So why is everything going so horribly wrong?!
“Damn it!”
“Lord Huey, we must retreat!”
As I curse, the aide repeats his plea.
The Sixth Army is in such dire straits that we have little choice.
My aide’s panic makes it even clearer how desperate our situation
has become.
We should’ve been able to win this.
It was a contest for magic supremacy, after all!
Yes, our opponent was using long-distance magic as well.
48
They challenged us to a battle of magic, the Sixth Army’s greatest
strength.
At the time, I chuckled to myself.
I was certain that we could win.
And yet!
How can we be losing?!
We still haven’t been hit with a single grand magic spell.
Although we haven’t been able to land any attacks, either, since they
keep crushing our attempts somehow.
Hitting the enemy with grand magic is truly the key to winning a
battle.
Naturally, it takes a great deal of time to prepare, and the large
amount of magic power involved makes it immediately obvious that
grand magic is about to be used.
The goal, then, is to protect one’s own grand magic while preventing
the enemy from using it.
Occasionally, grand magic is even used to distract the enemy.
That’s how central its use is in battles like these.
In that sense, we are evenly matched.
They interfere whenever we try to use grand magic, but we’ve been
defeating their attempts, too.
That means neither side has been able to utilize their most powerful
attacks.
In other words, we’ve simply been shooting normal magic back and
forth.
So why is our side the only one taking losses?!
49
Demons have higher stats than humans!
In a magic shoot-out, surely the side with higher stats should win—in
this case, ours.
But the reverse is happening instead.
It doesn’t make sense.
What’s going on here?!
I’m told the enemy general is a human mage called Ronandt.
He’s a legend among humans who has allegedly lived since the days
of the previous Demon Lord.
I did not believe I had underestimated him.
But still, I was confident that we wouldn’t lose in a pure contest of
magical strength.
And yet—and yet!
I grind my teeth.
At this rate, the Demon Lord will kill me.
“We can’t…retreat.”
“But why?! If this continues, we’ll just keep losing more troops!”
“We just can’t!”
If we retreat without producing any success, the Demon Lord will be
furious.
I’ll be killed.
Eaten.
No! I don’t want to die like that!
I have to produce some kind of results, no matter what it takes.
Which leaves only one option…
50
“We’re going to use grand magic. Back me up.”
“There’s no point trying to use grand magic now! We must retreat!”
“Just do it.”
I’ll cast grand magic with my own hands to crush the enemy.
Otherwise, there’s no way to turn the tides of battle.
But while I’m trying to prepare, no one else is moving a muscle.
These dimwits!
“Hurry up and help me!”
I stomp a foot in frustration.
Just then, something in my head snaps.
“Eh?”
Then, before I can figure out what’s going on, my consciousness
fades to black.
51
52
“Aren’t you a sight for old eyes.”
“Good to see you again, Master.”
It has been a long time since I last saw apprentice number one, also
known as Julius the hero.
We haven’t been face-to-face like this in many years.
Thanks to interference from the Word of God Church, I’ve scarcely
been allowed anywhere near him.
What an irritating lot.
“Glad to see you looking well, eh?”
“You too, Master. It’s amazing that you’re still active at your age.”
“Who do you think I am, boy? I’ll be out and about until the day I die,
fool.”
“You haven’t changed one bit.”
Apprentice number one chuckles demurely.
When I first looked after him, he was still rather innocent, but he’s
done a lot of growing since then.
“Julius… Ah, and Elder Ronandt. When did you arrive?”
A boy enters the room without even knocking—Hyrince, I believe his
name is? One of my old apprentice’s friends.
“Just a moment ago.”
“He teleported in out of nowhere. I keep asking him to stop scaring
me like that…”
53
“If you can’t even detect incoming teleportation, you still have a long
way to go, boy.”
I ignore his complaints.
We have to meet secretly like this, or the Church won’t get off my
back.
“Guess the old man hasn’t changed, huh?”
Hyrince sighs, though his general impertinence hasn’t changed much,
either.
“So, did both of you need something?”
“Indeed. But your bratty friend Hyrince can state his business first.”
My business isn’t anything important—just a touch of meddling,
really.
It can wait.
“Bratty, huh? I guess that’s fair if it’s coming from you, but still,
c’mon.”
“What’s wrong with calling a brat bratty? If you’ve got a problem
with it, let’s see you get strong enough to defeat me first.”
“Give me a break, please.”
The brat flashes a grin, then turns serious.
“Elder Ronandt, this information is technically top secret military
information, so…”
“Very well, child. I promise I shall not repeat anything I hear in this
room.”
I’m sure the brat was hoping I would leave, but he should know
better. Given how long we’ve been acquainted, this much should be
obvious.
Sure enough, he quickly shrugs and begins his report.
54
“The scouting party didn’t return at the appointed time. It’s safe to
assume they’ve been wiped out.”
At this, my first apprentice’s face turns grave.
The troops stationed here on humanity’s first line of defense are no
ordinary soldiers.
They’re as elite as it gets.
Even so, their scouting party failed to return with any information—a
clear sign of just how dangerous the enemy is.
“Hrm. How many groups have failed to return?”
“All of them.”
What a mess.
It’s even worse than I thought.
Before a major battle like this, scouting parties tend to split into
smaller groups before gathering information. That way, even if one
group is caught and killed, the others can still bring back anything
they find.
But this time, not a single group came back.
Which means that the enemy’s intelligence network and detection
capabilities were superior to all the scouts’, and on top of that, they
were strong enough to wipe out the elite scouting parties with ease.
It’s also likely they have enough numbers to attack several scouting
detachments at once.
Surely, the scouts had ways to contact one another even after
splitting up. They must have been trained to quickly withdraw if any
of the other groups ran into trouble.
But since that didn’t happen, they must have been taken out at the
same time.
55
The detection skills to locate the scouting parties.
The combat strength to destroy them.
The enemy has soldiers capable of both and has them in great
enough numbers to at least match the scouting parties.
“Sounds like this will be a bloody battle,” my apprentice murmurs.
He must be dwelling on the scouting party members who were killed.
“Apprentice.”
It’s time for me to knock some sense into him once again.
“Knowing you, I’m sure you’re thinking of the soldiers who were lost,
but that’s a waste of time. Better to think about yourself instead.”
“Master! What do you mean, a waste of time?!”
Normally, my apprentice’s voice never wavers, but he’s sensitive
when it comes to the life and death of others.
“I’m saying that the deaths of the scouting parties are not what you
need to focus on right now.”
“Master, there are some things that aren’t okay to say, even for you.
If you keep it up, I’ll get really angry.”
“Oh-ho? And how do you plan to act on that?”
The brat flinches at my threat.
My apprentice doesn’t show any fear, but I know that’s just an act.
“You say that you’ll get angry with me, hmm? Surely, you do not
think you could defeat me in a fight?”
I put more emphasis into my voice, keeping it low and even.
Did that audible gulp just now come from my apprentice or the brat?
“Do not get ahead of yourself, boy. There is always someone
stronger than you. Even if you are the hero.”
56
With that, I relax my threatening aura and rap my apprentice lightly
on the head with my staff.
“The same is true of the scouting parties. They did their job to their
best ability and died in battle. It is not wrong to lament their deaths,
of course. But it is wrong to feel as if you are somehow responsible.
You do realize that even a hero cannot save everyone all the time,
yes? Or are you so foolish as to think that you should’ve joined the
scouting parties? Even when that would have been the most
disrespectful thought of all, acting as though those who perished
were not worthy of the duty. Surely, the great hero would not dare
think such a horrible thing?”
At that, my apprentice looks lost for words.
He hangs his head in silence.
Apprentice number one has always been like this. He tries to take on
everything, even burdens that are not his to bear.
When someone falls in battle, the blame lies with them alone and no
one else.
But somehow, this boy feels guilty unless he’s able to save every
single person.
He seems to still not understand that would be impossible for
anyone but a god.
“Julius.”
For once, I call him by his name.
Slowly, he raises his head.
“On the battlefield, you must think only of yourself.”
If you get distracted by anything else, you could die in a battle you
might have otherwise survived.
57
“There is always someone stronger. You know that as well as I do,
yes? And only the strong can protect others. But you are weak, too
weak to even defeat me.”
“That’s easy for someone as strong as you to say, Master…”
Julius retorts half-heartedly, and I chuckle.
“I am no exception, either. You know there are those who are
stronger than me, too, hmm?”
Julius has encountered the master before, too, so he must
understand.
Such power is far beyond the reach of any mere human.
“Do you understand? If things get dangerous, you must flee without
a second thought. In the end, you are still the hero, yes? A hero who
flees is far less of a problem than a hero who dies. You must get that
into your head.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there to protect Julius.”
What is this brat babbling about?
“Hardly reassuring when coming from one even weaker than my
apprentice.”
“Oof, that’s harsh!”
I’m sure he’s reacting so absurdly in an attempt to lighten the mood,
trying to cheer up my apprentice so that he doesn’t go into battle
still forlorn.
I admit the brat is a good friend, even if his strength is lacking.
“Ha-ha. I guess I’ll take you up on that.”
“Good. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Sure enough, my apprentice’s mood recovers a little.
58
“Still, Elder Ronandt, you came to check in on your darling
apprentice, huh? Guess you’ve got a kind of cute side.”
“Th-that was certainly not my intent!”
What is this idiot blathering about?!
I thought he was a good companion for my apprentice, but clearly I
misjudged him after all!
“Aw, look, he’s blushing.”
“I certainly am not! Honestly! I’m leaving now, you brats!”
“Okay. Thanks for today, Master.”
“Harrumph.”
I use Teleport to make my exit.
That was just a few days ago.
“The enemy army is in full retreat.”

“Indeed.”
I nod at one of my apprentice’s words.
Ever since I took Julius on as my first apprentice, I’ve shifted my
focus from training myself to raising apprentices.
I have grown old.
My end is in sight, no matter how much I train.
Better, then, to pass on what I have learned in my life to future
generations.
Perhaps one of my apprentices will even go on to someday gain
power beyond that of any human.
A faint hope, to be sure.
59
I gathered applicants from many different lands and put them
through rigorous training as my apprentices.
Most of them were unable to handle my training and ran away
before long…
Of course, that simply gave me more time to spend on the worthy
ones who have remained.
Now they can finally handle the first level of my training.
Some have even learned to use Space Magic.
Still, they have a long way to go yet.
None has surpassed my first apprentice thus far.
Since my first apprentice is the hero, that much is inevitable, but
disappointingly, none has managed to surpass my second apprentice
yet, either.
My second apprentice, Aurel, was originally my helper.
I simply made her my apprentice on a whim because she seemed to
have a knack for magic.
As a result, she’s not particularly motivated.
Even so, her strength is still second only to Julius among my
apprentices, so I don’t know which is more infuriating: the
inadequacy of the others or the fact that she could be even stronger
if she only made more of an effort.
But in any case, the base potential of mages today has far
outstripped that of previous generations.
That much is clear, especially after this battle.
We scored a decisive victory after engaging in a ferocious magical
exchange with the demons.
60
A spell’s power is generally fixed, with very little variation based on
the difference in the user’s stats.
This has long been accepted as common knowledge.
But after my meeting with the master and my later training with the
spiders, I realized that it is indeed possible to increase the potency of
spells.
The key is the caster’s Magic Power Operation skill level.
Until this discovery, it was thought this skill was necessary only to
initially learn to use spells.
But I discovered that if you raise your Magic Power Operation skill
level, you can alter the very structure of your spells and make them
weaker or stronger.
This is a fundamental change in our understanding of magic.
It makes it possible to deal major damage to the enemy without
using large-scale magic, which requires multiple casters and a great
deal of time.
The demon army we faced seemed to specialize in magic, too, but
they were focused on grand magic, the strategy of the past.
That is not enough to defeat the likes of me.
The enemy general appeared to be a little boy, but I finished him off
easily with an enhanced long-range attack spell.
I doubt the demon even realized that he had died.
It’s difficult to tell a demon’s age from their appearance, but given
his looks, he must have been fairly young.
His inexperience was obvious from how he commanded his forces, so
I imagine I’m not far off the mark.
61
To become a general at such a young age, he must have had a great
deal of talent.
It is a shame to see such potential go to waste.
But it would be foolhardy to show the enemy mercy.
As a general myself, I know there are soldiers who have put their
lives in my hands, too.
You mustn’t think less of me for it.
But still, I believe I can at least spare a moment to pray that this
boy’s soul passes on in peace.
“Our casualties are minimal. I was frightened that our forces might
be too understrength, but at this rate, we should be able to defend
the fort after all.”
“It would appear so.”
I nod at my cheerful-looking apprentice.
We were outnumbered, that’s for certain.
The exchange of spells was intense. We were able to win because
the apprentices I’d trained had an edge over the demons’ antiquated
magic techniques, but it was by no means an easy victory.
If it had been anyone but myself and my apprentices in Fort Dazarro,
perhaps this place would have fallen by now to those demon mages.
Our victory came down to nothing more than a stroke of good luck.
If armies of that scale have been sent to the other forts, too, several
might very well fall.
And for some reason, I am still haunted by a sense of unease.
I cannot help but worry that it might be a sign that something
terrible is going to happen.
62
“Do not let down your guard. Our enemies are demons. They are
bound to have stats higher than we humans.”
“Ah! Of course.”
My apprentice reins in that overflowing excitement and regains
some composure.
“Make sure the wounded are treated right away.”
“Yes, sir!”
My apprentices scurry out of the room.
There are more preparations we must make.
I only hope this premonition of mine turns out to be an old man’s
groundless fear.
63
64
MERAZOPHIS’S BATTLE THE KEY POINTS!

As you can see, the fort Mera’s attacking is situated between a
lake and a forest!
And a lake can mean only one thing: NAVAL BATTLE!
Or so you would think, but this world’s sailing technology isn’t
actually very advanced.
I mean, most bodies of water here are home to super-strong
monsters.
If you try going for a swim in the ocean, a water dragon will pop
up to say hi in no time flat.
Lakes are a little better, but if you try to sail on one, you’re still
definitely gonna sleep with the fishes.
Is that scary or what?
Anyway, that means the lake is just a no-go zone for both sides in
this battle.
The fort has the advantage of being able to just ignore the flank
that’s covered by the lake, letting them focus completely on the
land.
Still, you can’t rule out sneaking around to the back of the fort by
using the forest as cover, so the defenders can’t let their guards
down, either.
Both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages given
the terrain.
Guess that means it’s gonna come down to pure strength.
Well, Mera should be fine on that front!
65
I’ve got memories of my previous life, see.
A life where I grew up on a planet called Earth, in a country called
Japan.
Hate to say it, but in that life, I was pretty much your average, run-of-
the-mill high school boy.
Basically the only notable thing about me was that I had a childhood
friend.
It’s not like my childhood friend, Asaka Kushitani, and I were
especially close or anything.
At the same time, it’s not like we didn’t get along, either.
If I had to pick one, I guess I’d say we got along pretty well?
We lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same school
from kindergarten to middle school. We went to the same high
school, too, and even wound up in the same class, although we
didn’t plan it that way or anything.
Basically, we were stuck with each other.
She never came over to wake me up in the morning, and we didn’t
usually walk home from school together, either.
If anything, I usually left for school pretty late, so most of the time,
meeting in the morning wasn’t a thing.
On the rare occasion that I woke up early enough, we’d run into each
other and walk to school together once in a while, but that’s about it.
66
But weirdly enough, I had the vague feeling that I was probably
gonna end up marrying her one day.
For some reason, it just felt relaxing to be around her, like she
understood me even if I didn’t say anything.
Yeah, I knew I was half-assing it, and that if I kept trying to play it
cool, then eventually some other schmuck would probably come
along and steal her away.
But I just kept putting it off, dragging my feet and staying as nothing
more than childhood friends.
It was so casual that we barely had anything connecting us except
the fact that we were childhood friends.
Not like I minded that, of course.
“Normal’s not a bad thing” and all that.
But I guess I did feel like something was missing.
I wanted to go on an awesome adventure in a faraway land.
To have something exciting happen to me, like in a game or a light
novel.
And yeah, I knew that wasn’t gonna happen, ’cause all that stuff is
bullshit.
…Or so I thought.
But next thing you know, I wound up getting reborn in this world.
I’m gonna be honest: I don’t remember dying, and I don’t remember
much about the moment I was reborn, either.
It’s like I was dozing off or something, and next thing I knew, I was a
freakin’ baby.
When I woke up, I was like, WHA?!
67
Like, come on, the last thing I can remember from my old life is just
sitting there in classical lit class, y’know?
Not exactly a thrilling end.
What the hell even killed me?
And then I was a baby somehow.
Who wouldn’t be weirded out after going through that?!
But the reason I didn’t totally panic is that Asaka was lying there
beside me.
Yeah, that’s right.
My classmate and childhood friend, Asaka.
For some reason, she got reincarnated, too. We were childhood
friends all over again.
She looked different—I mean, we were both BABIES—but for some
reason, I could tell right away it was her.
And when I asked later, she apparently had the exact same feeling.
Not much crazier than that.
But more importantly, I figured this had to be fate.
Like the gods were telling us to stick together or whatever.
So while there was this vague distance between the two of us in our
old lives, after reincarnating, we became super close.
Asaka couldn’t forget our old lives and was afraid she’d lose sight of
herself if I wasn’t around.
And having Asaka meant I had someone to talk to about finally
getting to go on a real adventure.
68
The world we were reborn into is some sorta fantasy setting, with
monsters and adventurers—exactly the kinda thing I’d wished for
back in my old life.
So I didn’t hesitate to announce that I wanted to become an
adventurer and travel the world.
If Asaka wasn’t by my side, I dunno if I could’ve been that bold.
It’d be scary as hell to suddenly get shoved into an unfamiliar world
where you don’t know a soul.
Seriously. I’m so lucky to have Asaka.
As soon as I was able to talk, the first thing I did was confess to her.
“I can’t live without you. Please marry me someday.”
I blurted this out in the middle of the day, with our moms watching
and everything.
It was a public confession, but to hear Asaka tell it, it was more like a
public execution.
Okay, yeah. In retrospect, I was getting a little ahead of myself.
Our moms just looked at me funny, saying stuff like, “They just grow
up so fast.”
To be fair, there’s no way they could have known that I was actually
a high school student from another world on the inside.
Maybe it was for the best that they just saw it as a kid imitating a
confession for fun.
Asaka did seem super embarrassed and all…
But miraculously, she gave me the okay on the spot.
In our old life, I always figured I’d have to talk to her properly
someday, but I never found the right timing, so our relationship was
always stuck in limbo.
69
I never imagined that’d change when we got reincarnated or
something crazy like that, but I guess it all worked out in the end.
In terms of dramatic timing, getting reborn together is about as good
as it gets.
Thanks to that, even someone as dense as me managed to be honest
about my feelings, so I kinda thought being reborn wasn’t so bad
after all.
Asaka did seem to miss our old world more than I did, ’cause
sometimes she would remember it and cry and stuff.
Whenever that happened, I just sat with her and comforted her in
silence.
I’m probably the weird one for adjusting so quickly, y’know?
But Asaka’s got a good head on her shoulders, so she pulled herself
together pretty fast.
…Which is a little bit of a shame, since she was really cute and clingy
when she was depressed.
Still, I’m glad she was able to cheer up and all.
I got reborn in the fantasy world of my dreams and managed to
propose to my childhood friend.
Definitely sounds like the makings of a bright future, right?
I knew tons of fun times were waiting for us—Asaka and me,
traveling the world together, having the time of our lives.
I never doubted it for a second…
…until that day came.
“Ooooh, check it out. Here they come.”

“Kunihiko…why do you seem a little excited about it?”
70
As I check out the enemy army from atop the fort, Asaka frowns
slightly at me.
“You kidding me? C’mon! Look at that and tell me it’s not cool.”
I point down at the giant army of demons.
You’d rarely see armed forces in these numbers in this world, never
mind Earth, and now a whole mess of them is marching right toward
our fort.
“Awesome.”
“It’s not that I don’t get where you’re coming from, but you realize
we’re about to have to fight all those people, right?”
Asaka heaves a sigh.
The demons have gathered their armies and are attacking humanity.
Until recently, there was nothing more than a couple of quiet
rumors, but once the guild started assembling adventurers to fight in
the war, it all became very real very fast.
On top of that, participation was mandatory for B-rank adventurers
and up.
C rank and below were given the option to decide for themselves
whether to participate or not, but the guild made it clear that they
wanted as many people as possible to enlist.
Asaka and I are A-rank adventurers, so we don’t have the luxury of
choice.
All the high-rank adventurers are being sent right into battle, even
the ones who normally protect towns and cities from regional
monsters.
That means those places will be temporarily unprotected, but that
just goes to show how bad this war situation is gonna be.
71
If that wasn’t proof enough, they’ve opened up the teleport gates,
which are normally off-limits to ordinary folks, in order to transport
soldiers and adventurers to the battlefield.
Although this is all just me repeating what Asaka told me.
I don’t think about stupid little details like that—I’m just gonna
follow my orders and fight demons.
“Heh! It don’t mean squat how many of ’em there are as long as you
and I are on the job.”
“Kunihiko, don’t get cocky.”
Asaka sighs again, but she doesn’t look particularly worried, either.
A lot of the other adventurers here are high-key nervous—I can tell.
Can’t blame ’em, either. People say demons have better stats than
humans, and there’s a hell of a lotta demons coming our way right
now.
From what I hear, it’s been years since any demons attacked, too.
Before that, there were small scraps every couple of years, but then
even those stopped, so the only humans who’ve ever actually fought
demons are walking fossils at this point.
In other words, this’ll be the first time most human warriors have
ever faced a demon, not just youngsters like Asaka and me.
Adventurers usually fight monsters, and occasionally some bandits or
whatever, so we’ve never experienced battles like this.
Not to mention, most adventurers don’t work well with anyone
except maybe their own party, but now we have to form up in a big
group and cooperate? Yeah, right.
We’re not trained for that kinda crap. Not a chance in hell.
72
But I guess the big shots on our side get that, too, so they pretty
much just told us adventurers to do whatever we want.
We’ve been gathered at the fort’s last line of defense, while the
soldiers who’ve actually been trained for this are on the front lines.
You’re allowed to stick around here and defend the fort if you
want.
Or you can go out on raids to take the fight to the enemy army.
But if you do something crazy and get yourself killed, that’s on
you!
…Is basically the idea.
Even if we don’t do anything crazy, I’m pretty sure lots of people are
gonna die anyway, given how huge the enemy army is.
Which is why just about everyone’s nervous.
The only ones who aren’t are the ones like Asaka and me, who have
total confidence in our own strength, or the veteran fighters who’ve
been champing at the bit to stand on a battlefield like this.
“Kunihiko, Asaka.”
Hearing someone call our names, I turn around.
“Hey, good to see ya, Master.”
“It’s been a while, sir.”
“Yeah, yeah. You don’t look nervous at all, though, Kunihiko. Dunno
if that’s a good thing or not.”
I already had an idea who it’d be before he said anything, but sure
enough, it’s our adventuring mentor, Mr. Gotou.
Gotou’s an A-rank adventurer who’s been looking after Asaka and
me and saving our butts since we were kids. He showed us the ropes
when we first became adventurers, too.
73
“I’ve heard the rumors about you two crazy kids, y’know. They say
it’s only a matter of time until you hit S rank.”
“Yes, just a few more years now.”
“Whatcha think of that, Master?”
“Damn, and you used to be such scrawny kids, too. Where’d the time
go? Now you’re gonna pass me before I even realize it!”
Mr. Gotou sounds just like an old-timer.
Asaka and I have traveled the world as adventurers and taken on all
kinds of tough quests.
That’s how we wound up reaching A rank, and we’ve even hit all the
S-rank requirements except the minimum number of active years.
All we gotta do is keep going as adventurers for a little longer, and
we’ll automatically get S rank.
Which means we’d technically be ranked above Mr. Gotou, but…
“If you wanted to, I’m sure you could hit S rank anytime, Mr. Gotou.”
Mr. Gotou’s crazy strong, even for an A-rank adventurer.
And that’s coming from me, a guy who’s been all over the world, so
you better believe it’s the truth.
We’ve even met a couple of S-rank adventurers out in the field, but
let’s be honest, me and Asaka were stronger than the best of ’em.
But anyway, Mr. Gotou’s no slouch next to any of them, either.
After adding in the power of his magic sword, it’s probably no
exaggeration to say he’s almost in the same league as the top S-rank
adventurers.
His nickname is Lightning Sword, referring to the power of lightning
that lives in that iconic weapon of his.
74
It’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen—they say its lightning is
on par with a grand magic spell.
But there’s a downside: Some dumbasses claim that Mr. Gotou
reached A rank only thanks to his sword.
He didn’t even get that sword until after he hit A rank! Idiots!
“Eh, too much pressure. My strength’s all thanks to this guy here
anyway.”
Mr. Gotou pats the sword on his belt.
I know he’s simply being modest, but saying stuff like that just makes
people even more jealous.
“Besides, I only work in my hometown anyway, so A rank’s more’n
good enough for me.”
“I know I should keep my trap shut if you’re happy with that, but
still…”
Noting my dissatisfaction, Mr. Gotou grins.
“That reminds me, Mr. Gotou. Wouldn’t Fort Okun have been closer
to your hometown?”
Oh yeah, Asaka’s got a point.
The fort we’re at now is pretty far away from Mr. Gotou’s home turf
at the base of the Mystic Mountains. A place called Fort Okun is a lot
closer to there.
And from what I hear, the demons are attacking all the forts on the
border at the same time.
Why didn’t Mr. Gotou go there instead?
“Mm. Yeah, that’s true, but…” Mr. Gotou hesitates and looks around
before continuing in a low voice. “This stays between us, but they’re
gathering all the real strong adventurers here. See?”
75
Mr. Gotou gestures with eye movements toward a few of the other
adventurers.
Following his gaze, I realize that every last one is a top-class
adventurer, famous enough to have a nickname.
“How come?”
“…Because the soldiers here are weak,” Mr. Gotou whispers even
more quietly, sounding frustrated. “The guy in charge of this fort is a
buffoon who only became a general thanks to his social status. So
obviously his troops are no good, either. Which is why they made
sure to station extra-strong adventurers here.”
“Seriously? What the hell?” I can’t help raising my voice. “I thought
the empire was all about strength! Why would they put some bum in
charge of a fort?”
“In the old days, sure, everyone used to work together because of
the constant threat of demon attacks. But ever since that danger
went away, I guess there was some internal conflict.”
Asaka and I both sigh openly.
“The decline of the Vicow house was especially tough. You’ve heard
about how the heirs and heads of the family died one right after the
other, yeah? If they were still around, things might be a little better
in the empire…”
“…You seem very well-informed about all this.”
As Mr. Gotou explains the situation in the empire, Asaka looks at him
curiously.
“Nah, not really. I hear this sort of stuff whether I want to or not. The
amount of info that’s leaked about ’em is proof enough that the
empire’s in shambles.”
Mr. Gotou scowls and shrugs.
76
“And it’s ’cause of that mess that I wound up out here.” He pauses
and studies the demon army. “But this assignment ain’t so bad.”
“It’s not?”
“Sure. I told you the general here’s an idiot, yeah? Worst case, he
might’ve used us adventurers as sacrificial pawns by sending us out
to keep the demons busy, then shooting at the ensuing melee or
something. He’s just putting us off to the side like we’re in the way,
so we got off easy.”
“Yikes…”
In other words, this general is so inept that he might’ve gotten us all
killed?
Lucky for us that we don’t have to do what he says, then.
Technically, we’re under his command, but he told us adventurers to
do whatever we please. He must’ve figured out that was for the best.
Huh? Hold up. How would this dumbass general be able to reach that
conclusion on his own?
“Ah, this only got set up thanks to his much smarter aide making all
those arrangements.”
Mr. Gotou’s timely explanation clears up my confusion.
He adds that this aide doesn’t have any personal ties to the general
and was sent by the imperial court mages.
Unlike the general, this guy seems to know what’s up, which basically
makes the aide the one who’s really in charge.
On paper, the general’s still technically the head honcho, so this guy
is having trouble getting things done.
“And why do you know all this?”
77
“Oh, I just happen to know the aide, that’s all. She damn near
chewed my ear off complaining about the general over drinks last
night.”
“I suspected as much. So you’re getting all this information by
cozying up to some big shot, hmm?” Asaka shakes her head at Mr.
Gotou. “And you said ‘she’—is this person a woman?”
“Huh?! Wait, oh man, are you and her—?!”
“What?! No! ’Course not!”
I thought maybe Mr. Gotou was finally gonna get some romance in
his life, but seems like I was wrong.
Not surprising, I guess, since he’s pretty much given up on marriage
at this point.
“She’s practically a child compared to me. I ain’t thinkin’ about
gettin’ hitched at my age. Though I gotta admit it would’ve been nice
to have a partner picked out early on, like you kids.”
He looks warmly at Asaka and me in turn.
I hear a snort of annoyance from someone in the group.
Since we were chatting away in the middle of a bunch of tense
adventurers right before battle, I knew we were sticking out like a
couple of sore thumbs, but I guess that line pissed off some of the
forever-alone types.
Glancing around, I see a good amount of guys glaring at us like we’re
ruining the moment.
Guess we better shut up. If we keep chatting like this much longer,
they’re probably gonna really start complaining.
“Hmm?”
But among all the glares directed at us, I sense that one gaze is
different from the rest.
78
Following it to its source, I find a little kid in a robe.
I can’t make out a face with the low-hanging hood in the way, but
someone that short and tiny has got to be a child. What’s a kid like
that doing here?
“Damn, that doesn’t look good…”
The thought gets pushed from my mind when I hear Mr. Gotou
murmur in a stunned voice.
“What the hell?” I blurt out.
I just laid eyes on something so bizarre that I couldn’t help it.
We’re not the only ones who are shocked—pretty much everyone
else around is staring at the same thing with their jaws on the floor.
In a word, it’s a spear.
A huge jet-black spear suddenly appeared above the demon army.
“Dark Spear?! No, wait! Is that a Black Spear?!”
Black Spear, as in a Black Magic spell, the advanced version of Dark
Magic?!
Isn’t that a grand magic spell?!
And even if it is, how’s that thing so damn huge?! I can feel my
insides churning!
“Asaka!”
Just as I call out and start moving, the giant Black Spear shoots
toward the fort.
I draw the magic sword at my waist, charge it with magic, and fire.
My magic sword has the power of lightning, just like Mr. Gotou’s.
It’s a katana-style magic sword, made from the parts of a lightning
dragon we defeated.
79
At the same time, Asaka starts casting a spell.
Her staff, sorta like my sword, is made from the parts of a wind
dragon we defeated, so it’s a magic staff that enhances the power of
Wind Magic.
My lightning attack and Asaka’s wind spell both crash into the Black
Spear.
Those aren’t the only ones, either—another spell, probably the Light
Magic spell Light Beam, shoots out from elsewhere inside the fort
and hits the spear, too.
The three attacks all counter the Black Spear, but it’s not enough to
cancel it out.
BOOM.
From where I’m standing, I’ve got a clear view of the moment the
Black Spear blows a huge hole in the front wall of the fort.
It’s gotta be at least thirty feet around, I think?
What’s left of the wall is already crumbling.
“What in the…?”
Mr. Gotou mutters under his breath.
Big picture, the damage isn’t too catastrophic. The fort has several
walls.
Even if one is damaged, we can just abandon it, retreat to the next
one, and keep fighting.
This does mean that we can’t use that wall to attack the enemy
without fear of retaliation anymore.
Those guys are out of our range.
No normal magic can reach that far. The Black Spear that just flew at
us defies known logic.
80
Especially since it managed to blow through three different counter-
spells from our side and still damage the damn fort.
If me, Asaka, and some other person hadn’t put up some resistance,
it probably would’ve wreaked even more havoc.
What’ll happen if a couple more of those come flying at us?
We’d be toast in no time flat.
“We gotta go out there and take ’em on.”
The enemy is way beyond our firing range, but somehow, we’re in
theirs.
That means we’re gonna have to charge ’em and close the distance.
Since everyone’s gone dead silent, my voice echoes loudly.
“You mean out there? Are you crazy?” The adventurer who snorted
at me speaks up, looking pale. “Didn’t you see that thing?! How are
we supposed to stand against that?!”
“That’s why I’m sayin’ we gotta go out there and do something about
it!” I shout at the wavering adventurer. “Let’s go! Anyone who can
fight, come with me!”
With that, I run out of the fort.
Most are too damn scared to follow.
In spite of what I said, I’m guessing most of ’em can’t fight right now
anyway.
But that’s fine.
As long as Asaka is by my side, that’s all I need.
“…We might’ve taken this all a bit too lightly.”
“Yeah.”
The two of us talk as we run.
81
Me and Asaka are strong.
The only times we’ve really come close to eating it were when we
fought the lightning dragon and the wind dragon. Other than that,
we’ve won every fight without a problem.
When we heard we’d be fighting demons, we weren’t too worried.
I figured there was no way they could be worse than those dragons.
Even if we lost the battle, I kinda just assumed that Asaka and I at
least would survive.
Seeing that Black Spear changed all that in an instant.
There’s a real possibility we could get killed here.
But if Asaka and I run away now, then humanity’s gonna be doomed.
You can bet I’d lose some sleep over that one.
So we might as well fight for all we’re worth, am I right?
I can see the demon army coming into view.
Their spears are at the ready to fend us off as we come toward them.
“Yaaaaah!”
Charging on in anyway, I activate my magic sword’s power and bring
lightning down around me.
The furious bolts toast a bunch of demons, sending them flying.
Then Asaka’s wind spell sweeps the rest of ’em away.
In this world, high stats can make you crazy powerful, enough to take
on an army.
And I’m pretty sure Asaka and I are way past the limits of a typical
human.
The most legendary human warriors have stats around 1,000, but
Asaka’s and mine are more than double that.
82
Demons’ stats are supposedly higher than humans’, but it looks like
they’re not much stronger than the two of us, if at all.
We can take ’em!
Which must mean that Black Spear was cast by a whole bunch of
people together, right?
…Nope.
Even using Cooperation to cast a spell, all the people involved have
to have the right skill to use it and be at the proper skill level, too.
Black Spear is a Black Magic spell, the advanced version of Dark
Magic.
You gotta be really good at Shadow Magic to even get Dark Magic, so
I seriously doubt that a whole slew of people all managed to reach
Black Magic.
No, there’s probably only a handful of users in the whole world who
know that skill.
So what the hell is going on here?
“Ngah…uraaaaaaaaaah!”
Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in my chest, I focus on just
blasting as many enemies as I can.
Nearby, I can hear similar lightning striking other enemies.
I guess Mr. Gotou must’ve followed Asaka and me into battle.
Maybe we’ll inspire some of the other adventurers to join, too.
We gotta take a stand, right here and now.
So we can crush whoever cast that Black Spear before they can whip
up another one!
As soon as that thought flashes through my mind, I sense a huge
amount of magic power swelling from deep in the demon ranks.
83
Another huge jet-black spear appears.
“Kunihiko!”
“I know!”
As if we’d just stand here and watch!
Ha! Thanks for showing us exactly where you are, stupid!
“Let’s gooooo!”
I unleash my magic sword’s lightning toward the source of the Black
Spear in one powerful arc.
It blows away any demons in its path without a trace, flashing as it
reaches the base of the Black Spear, and vanishes.
At the same time, the Black Spear melts into thin air without
shooting forward.
Got ’em!
But just as I start grinning, I realize it’s too soon to assume we’ve
won.
As the dust clears, my smile quickly vanishes.
My big attack hit the target dead-on—but the caster is still standing
there looking cool as a cucumber.
“Seriously?”
That one word is doing a whole lotta work right now.
There’s the shock that he withstood my attack without a scratch.
Then add in the dread of knowing that the Black Spear was created
by just one caster, not a bunch working together.
And most of all, it’s the fact that I recognize this man.
There’s no way I could ever forget him.
84
He’s the bastard who showed up when I was a kid, destroyed my
delusion that our lives were gonna be fun forever, and taught me
what hell looks like in this world.
It’s the man who wiped out the entire clan who raised us.
“Who woulda guessed we’d meet again in a place like this!
Merazophis!”
My mortal enemy who I’ve never once forgotten is standing right
before my eyes.
85
Sometimes, nightmares can come to life.
…I’m sure this strange thought was just my way of trying to escape
reality.
Kunihiko and I are special.

You might think that sounds like a delusion of grandeur, but the
simple fact is that we’re much stronger than any average person in
this world.
According to Kunihiko, gaining overpowered skills when you’re
reincarnated in a different world is apparently a common
occurrence.
I’m not sure whether to take him seriously, since he’s talking about
fiction, but…we really did get special powers, so I suppose I can’t say
he’s wrong.
It doesn’t sit well with me that we’re seemingly playing out tropes
from storybooks or perhaps even being forced to do so.
But these powers really have helped us a lot, so my feelings on the
subject are complicated.
We’ve gotten stronger as adventurers, gathering fame and rewards
so smoothly that it really has felt like a montage in a story at times.
As soon as we reach the required years of service, we’re guaranteed
to hit S rank, the peak of adventurer rankings.
86
Once we hit that level, it might not be an exaggeration to say that
the two of us would be considered higher in status than some lesser
nobles, depending on the country.
In fact, if we wanted to stay someplace permanently, we could
probably acquire a title of peerage if we really wanted to and live in
peace for the rest of our lives.
I’m sure there would still be times we’d be asked to help out as
adventurers, but I can’t imagine we’d have to fight anything as
strong as a wind dragon or lightning dragon very often.
Monsters come in different classes, too. The kinds of dragons I’m
thinking of are S rank, and there are even creatures of legend that
humans could never hope to compete with.
But monsters like that rarely appear and cause trouble.
If they went on a rampage that often, humanity would’ve gone
extinct ages ago in this world.
So as long as we didn’t foolishly venture into any dangerous areas
where those kinds of monsters live, I was confident that the two of
us would never be killed.
That’s just how strong Kunihiko and I have become.
People often tell me that I’m very methodical and reliable.
Sometimes there are comments that I’m cool and mature.
But honestly, I can’t say I agree.
The truth is that I’m a slacker who will do just about anything to
avoid trouble.
I’m only “methodical” and “reliable” to avoid doing any more work
than I have to.
87
And my so-called “coolness” and “maturity” are because I can’t be
bothered to get worked up about every little thing, so I always opt
for the path of least resistance.
Naturally, a dangerous and unstable job like being an adventurer is
the last thing I want.
The only reason I’m doing it at all is to go along with Kunihiko.
I don’t like to be sentimental, but even I couldn’t help but get
emotional about reincarnating and later watching the destruction of
our entire clan.
Kunihiko is the one who helped me get through all that.
Without him, I’m sure I never would’ve gotten back on my feet.
I want to repay him for that. Besides, I want to be with Kunihiko.
That’s why I became an adventurer for him, even if it wasn’t what I
wanted.
I would put up with just about anything for Kunihiko.
…Pretty sappy, if I do say so myself.
I certainly wouldn’t have imagined this in our old lives.
Back then, Kunihiko and I were just childhood friends who couldn’t
quite take the next step into dating.
I always imagined I might end up marrying him someday, but I never
once thought I would be so head over heels for him.
And since Kunihiko always flies by the seat of his pants, I took it upon
myself to form a methodical plan for us.
When we became adventurers, I asked Mr. Gotou to teach us things
so we wouldn’t end up neglecting the basics.
I manage our supplies, carefully assess the requests we take,
research our destinations, and so on.
88
I do it all for Kunihiko.
And it’s for Kunihiko’s sake that I’m participating in this battle, too.
Of course, it was mandatory for B-rank adventurers and above, but
it’s not as if we couldn’t have gotten out of it somehow.
If I really thought it was too much trouble, I could’ve pulled some
strings and found a way to avoid participating.
But the reason I didn’t do that is because I suspected a certain man
would be participating in this battle, too.
His name is Merazophis.
He’s the demon who wiped out our clan.
And Kunihiko’s goal is to someday defeat Merazophis.
He might not say it out loud, but I’m sure of it.
Kunihiko’s gotten stronger than necessary even for an adventurer,
but he still never stops training, no doubt in hopes of getting revenge
one day.
To free himself of the shame of being too helpless to do anything
and being spared after everyone else we knew died.
Of course, there was no way of knowing that we would actually
come face-to-face with him in this battle.
But I’m sure a demon who’s strong enough to wipe out an entire clan
on his own must be fairly high-ranking, so it wouldn’t be so strange
for him to be a commander in a large-scale engagement like this.
If anything, our chances of running into him outside of a major battle
are probably far slimmer.
So I thought it might be worth taking the one-in-a-million chance.
I’m definitely regretting that decision now.
89
A blade flashes past Kunihiko’s face, a hairbreadth away.
If he had leaned back even a second later, the sword would likely
have pierced his head.
The thought makes my blood run cold.
My body is warmed up from running around, but somehow I still feel
a chill on the inside.
Kunihiko and Merazophis are locked in a furious sword fight.
With every swing of Merazophis’s sword, my heart nearly stops in
fear that Kunihiko might be cut down.
My breath comes fast and hot, but I’m freezing cold at the same
time.
I’m scared.
I’ve never felt this scared, even when we fought the lightning dragon
and the wind dragon.
Those battles were about as desperate as this one, but they were
completely different in an important way: the indomitable will of our
opponent.
Dragons are still just wild monsters.
They act according to their survival instincts, and while they were
determined not to be killed, that was ultimately just part of their
nature.
But Merazophis is different.
I won’t lose.
I refuse to let you kill me, no matter what.
His resolve is so intense that I can almost hear the thoughts residing
within his silent determination.
90
The powerful intent in his eyes, the likes of which I didn’t see once in
the lightning or wind dragon, is so strong that I can’t help fearing for
Kunihiko’s life.
I don’t know what kind of person Merazophis is, but I’ve learned one
thing from this fight already.
Merazophis is strong.
Too strong.
And not just his stats, which are undoubtedly high. From his fighting
style, it’s obvious how much training he’s gone through.
91
92
His textbook, flawless swordsmanship is evidence that he’s repeated
each of these motions countless times.
Mr. Gotou made Kunihiko and me practice our sword swings, too.
But I’m sure this man has repeated those far more times than either
of us.
Thanks to our reincarnation cheats, Kunihiko and I have higher stats
than other people, so sometimes it can actually be frustrating that
our techniques can’t catch up to those high stats.
But for Merazophis, it’s the opposite.
He’s the type whose stats have risen to catch up to his incredibly
polished techniques.
His grasp of the fundamentals of combat is incomparable.
I made sure that we studied the basics so we wouldn’t someday get
overly reliant on our high stats, and Mr. Gotou trained us
accordingly.
But Merazophis is on a whole other level.
They say that demons live longer than humans, but I can’t even begin
to imagine how many long years of training it would take to reach
this level of performance.
The lightning dragon and wind dragon were dangerous because of
their high stats, powerful breath attacks, wide-range magic attacks,
and so on, but Merazophis is a completely different beast.
The dragons might have had higher stats, but Merazophis is
undoubtedly more dangerous.
We haven’t been able to land a single attack on him yet.
I start forming magic.
93
Since I’ve been using powers beyond my limits to fire off spells at top
speed, my head is starting to ache, but I ignore it and cast my next
spell.
A compressed shot of air shoots toward Merazophis.
This spell was even able to hurt the lightning dragon—but
Merazophis counters it with a Dark Magic spell that cancels it out.
As soon as the two spells crash into each other, Kunihiko slashes
horizontally at Merazophis’s torso.
But Merazophis blocks that, too, without breaking a sweat.
We’ve both been attacking wildly for the past several minutes—
Kunihiko with his magic sword’s blade and lightning alike and me
with magic.
But Merazophis has expertly fended off both our attacks.
He blocks Kunihiko’s blade with his own sword or dodges it, then
uses Dark Magic to cancel out the lightning or my wind spells.
My pounding head is already paying the price for casting magic
nonstop, but Merazophis is keeping pace with a perfectly calm
expression.
All while carrying on a sword fight with Kunihiko.
He’s fighting two of us at once and doing better than both of us
combined.
He looks like an ordinary human, but clearly he’s a living nightmare,
more powerful than any dragon.
Yes, we faced death when we fought the lightning dragon and wind
dragon.
But our defeat never seemed so imminent as it does now.
94
If our attacks were doing damage to him, then it would be a matter
of who runs out of strength first.
But right now, we’re not causing any damage at all.
My breath quickens.
I have to constantly shift my position to keep up with the constant,
tempestuous movements of Kunihiko and Merazophis, so I’ve been
running around like mad.
For each spell I cast, I immediately have to start preparing the next
one.
My head hurts, and my feet ache.
I can barely breathe.
I’m fighting on sheer force of will alone, but my body could give out
at any moment.
Kunihiko must be the same.
I can tell he’s breathing hard, too, and sweating like a waterfall.
While Merazophis still looks coolheaded as ever.
It doesn’t seem like he’s tiring out at all.
Even if that’s partly just an act, the fact remains that he’s clearly not
as exhausted as Kunihiko and I are.
And as soon as either one of us runs out of strength, this already
fragile balance will fall apart completely.
On top of that…
“Ah?!”
A Dark Magic spell grazes my face.
Launched by Merazophis, of course.
And at the same time, he brings his sword down toward Kunihiko.
95
“Nnngh!”
Kunihiko parries with his blade, but Merazophis’s strength is starting
to overpower him.
Panicking, I shoot a Wind Magic spell to separate them.
Merazophis jumps back easily, still unscathed.
We’ve both been bearing down on him with attack after attack, but
he isn’t focused solely on defense. Somehow, he’s blocking all our
attacks and still finding the time to hit back at us.
If either of us lets our guard down for a second, we could be killed.
So will we collapse from exhaustion, or will his attacks bring us down
first?
As Merazophis looks completely unfazed despite our desperate
attacks, I can’t see any way that we might win.
All I see is our inevitable loss.
What should I do?
We’re still hanging in there for now.
But if this keeps up much longer, we’re going to fail sooner rather
than later.
And yet, if we let this nightmare run free, humanity itself will lose all
hope.
Merazophis is just too powerful.
He could easily take on an army and win.
I frantically calculate in my mind.
…The lives of Kunihiko and me versus all of humanity? It’s not even a
contest.
96
To be honest, I don’t really care about the fate of humanity or
anything like that.
And I don’t think there’s any real purpose in risking our lives here
just to slow down Merazophis for a few moments.
That means the best thing to do is run.
The question is whether Merazophis will really let us get away that
easily.
Frankly, I doubt it.
Unless we can buy some serious time, he’ll kill us as soon as we turn
our backs.
But how would we keep him occupied long enough to get away?
Can we even distract him at all if we haven’t been able to land a
single attack on him?
No.
There’s nothing we can do.
I’ve already hit my limit.
If only we had a little help…
Just then, Merazophis suddenly bends his upper body.
An instant later, a blast of light passes through the space where his
torso was just moments before.
What was that?
Magic?
I glance in the direction it came from, but I don’t see any possible
caster in sight.
It came from the direction of the fort—but it couldn’t have, right?
We’re quite a long distance away from there.
97
If it really did come from the fort, it must’ve been cast by a powerful
mage.
And not only that, but another shot follows right after the first.
Aiming solely at Merazophis, who moves around rapidly to dodge the
attacks.
How could anyone manage to snipe at Merazophis from such an
incredibly long distance without hitting Kunihiko?
I know I wouldn’t be able to.
This is exactly the help we needed.
And yet!
Merazophis is still weaving around Kunihiko’s attacks, my Wind
Magic, and the magic sniper all at once.
He’s strong.
Too strong!
The addition of the sniper means Merazophis can’t counterattack as
much, which allows us to press the attack.
But we still can’t break through his defenses.
In fact, I have the feeling that if we let up for a second, it will all be
over.
It’s like we’re dancing on the thinnest ice.
Even with the extra help, it’s still not enough.
“Hrgh?!”
Suddenly, a Wind Magic spell hits Merazophis square in the back.
But it wasn’t me who fired it.
It was someone else—a child in a robe?
98
The child hit Merazophis with Wind Magic from behind and is already
readying another spell.
I guess they’re on our side.
In that case, I’ll accept their help, child or not.
Besides, while they look small enough to be a kid, that magic was
considerably fast and strong.
It doesn’t seem to have done that much damage to Merazophis, but
the fact remains that it was able to hit him.
None of our attacks has managed to land all this time.
That means Merazophis wasn’t able to dodge this person’s attack.
Only with a four-on-one battle can we finally hope to be a match for
him.
Since the hit didn’t do much damage, our chances of victory remain
slim, but it’s still much better than the situation was before.
This is our only chance.
As soon as I decide that, I stop my constant barrage of magic for a
moment and focus my energy on weaving a bigger spell.
Sensing that, Merazophis changes focus to target me with his next
spell.
“Urgh!”
Kunihiko steps in with a quick slash to stop him.
Merazophis blocks his attack with his sword.
At the same time, the magic sniper and the child attack Merazophis
with more magic.
“…”
For just a moment, Merazophis grimaces.
99
If he redirects the spell that was meant for me, he can cancel out the
other two magic attacks.
He’s pulled it off all this time, so I don’t see why it should be any
different now.
But Merazophis doesn’t do that.
He lets the sniper attack and the Wind Magic hit him dead-on, and
instead of counterattacking with Dark Magic, he uses it to attack me
instead.
“?!”
The sniper’s attack hits him in the chest, followed by the Wind Magic
hitting the back of his head.
And a spear of darkness pierces my stomach.
But!
I finished constructing my magic!
Bearing the pain, I activate the spell.
Tempest Magic: Dragon Wind!
The spell engulfs Merazophis instantly.
“Ngh!”
Even Merazophis can’t dodge Dragon Wind, a spell that’s usually
meant to cause destruction on a huge scale.
And it’s ultra-grand magic, which normally can’t be cast by a single
person.
Ultra-grand magic surpasses even grand magic in power and is strong
enough to take down a dragon.
I know, because this is the spell we used to defeat the lightning
dragon.
100
Surely, even Merazophis couldn’t survive…
“Agh!”
A shout of determination.
The flash of a blade.
Just like that, my most powerful spell dissipates into thin air.
This can’t be happening… Can it…?
Of course he’s not unharmed, but Merazophis is still standing firmly
on two feet.
Even though he was blasted in the chest and hit in the back of the
head with magic right before the Dragon Wind hit, it’s as if he took
virtually no damage from those at all.
How high must his stats be to make that possible…?
We’re doomed.
“AAAAAH!”
Just as the thought sinks in, Kunihiko slashes down at Merazophis.
Immediately, Merazophis prepares to parry.
But an attack from the sniper pierces his hand, and Wind Magic stops
him from moving.
Then Kunihiko’s full-body strike cuts into Merazophis’s shoulder.
“Ngh!”
But while normally this diagonal sword slice should have cut straight
through him, it just sinks into Merazophis’s shoulder and stops.
His defenses are too strong because of his sheer stats.
Kunihiko’s attack failed to deal enough damage.
Merazophis swings his sword and knocks Kunihiko away.
101
Then he puts a hand on his shoulder and bellows.
“Withdraw!”
With that, he turns his back and runs away from us.
That was a clear call to retreat, almost overly dramatic.
So much so that it practically seems put-on.
Kunihiko stares after him in silence for a moment.
Then he comes back to his senses and runs up to me.
“Asaka!”
“Mm. I’m okay.”
“You call this okay?!”
Right now, I’m lying faceup on the ground.
Merazophis’s Dark Magic hit me in the gut.
I’m guessing it blew a hole right through me.
Kunihiko hurriedly pulls out a recovery potion and pours it on the
wound, where it sinks in stingingly.
“Don’t die! Don’t you dare die on me!”
“Don’t worry. I don’t think I’m going to.”
I’m not putting on a brave face—I genuinely feel like I’ll probably
survive.
Stats really are an amazing thing.
Normally, with a hole like this in your gut, you’d die for sure.
But between the HP Auto-Recovery skill and the Healing Magic I’ve
been casting on myself, I think I’m going to make it.
“He let us live again.”
“I know.”
102
Once he figures out that I’m really not on the verge of death,
Kunihiko mutters quietly as he continues treating me.
If that fight had continued, we would’ve lost.
We managed to injure Merazophis, but that’s it.
Each of us attacked him with everything we had.
And even then, the most we could manage was a scratch.
Even if we’d fought with the will to sacrifice ourselves in the process,
I still don’t think we could’ve won.
“I’m no good. I still gotta get stronger.”
You don’t need to get that strong, really.
That’s what I want to say.
I never want to experience danger like this again.
There’s no guarantee that he’d let us live again next time.
They do say the third time’s the charm, after all.
This is now the second time that Merazophis has decided to spare us.
When he wiped out the clan that birthed and raised us, he let us go
free purely on a whim.
And today, it happened again.
Although I don’t know what his reasoning was this time.
“Are you all right?!”
As I’m lost in thought, the child in the robe comes running over.
She really helped us get through this battle. I should thank her.
“Thank you very much. Your support was greatly appreciated.”
“You can thank me later! First, we have to heal you!”
“It’s all right—I can stand.”
103
My wound has mostly closed up.
It’s certainly still painful, so I can’t push myself too much until it’s
fully healed, but I should be able to get up and walk around at least.
We’re still on a battlefield, meaning I can’t just lie around, so I start
to sit up.
I catch a glimpse of the hooded figure’s face: a young girl, looking
wide-eyed and surprised by the speed of my recovery.
I couldn’t tell in the middle of battle because her hood was pulled
over her eyes, but she’s a real beauty.
And judging by her overall appearance, now I understand how she
was able to fight so well.
“Aah, so you’re an elf.”
The girl’s pointed ears give it away.
Elves live even longer than demons, and they’re said to be especially
skilled at magic.
As a result of their long life spans, they age relatively slowly, so this
girl is probably a lot older than she looks.
This girl and one other.
I look to the fort.
I don’t know who it was or what they look like, but there was a mage
supporting us by sniping at Merazophis throughout our fight.
Without the help of these two, we wouldn’t have even been able to
begin to fight Merazophis.
Exhaustion is becoming harder and harder to ignore, but there’s no
time to waste. I push away the desire to simply lie down and sleep.
Kunihiko reaches out his hand, and I let him pull me to my feet.
“How’s the battle looking?”
104
“Seems like they’re retreating.”
Looking around, I can just barely see the demon army pulling back.
And I see the adventurers who were fighting them, too, with Mr.
Gotou among them.
Maybe Merazophis noticed that their battle was going poorly for the
demons and decided to make a tactical withdrawal.
If so, we owe a lot to Mr. Gotou and the others.
“I suppose we should head back, then.”
“Yeah.”
Both of us are too exhausted to fight anymore anyway.
If we tried to chase the retreating demons, Merazophis might
actually kill us once and for all.
No, we should quit while we’re ahead.
“Are you coming?”
“Yes.”
The elf takes off her hood and nods.
“But first, I should introduce myself to you…Tagawa and Kushitani.”
For a moment, I’m so tired that it doesn’t register as strange for her
to know our names.
But then I realize: Kunihiko and I have never used our old family
names in this world.
So how does this girl know them?
“My name is Filimøs Harrifenas. But in your case, perhaps I should
give my old name instead: In my previous life, I was Kanami Okazaki.”
Kunihiko’s eyes widen in shock, and so do mine.
105
Because that’s the name of our old homeroom teacher.
106
Hiya!
It’s everyone’s favorite (BLEEP)-year-old, Aurel!
Yep, my age is a seeecret.
I am the daughter of a noble family, y’know!
Even if we’re damn broke.
But being a cute little noblelady who’s still unmarried at my age, I’m
starting to fall behind the curve here.
According to my life plan, I was supposed to be married by now and
have popped out a kid or two, so what the hell happened?
See, I’m the second daughter of a poor noble family in the boonies of
the empire.
Yep. I’m from the sticks, I’m poor, and to top it all off, I’m not even
the oldest.
At that point, being nobility doesn’t really mean a damn thing.
If I were the eldest daughter, I mighta still been able to get married
off into some other friendly noble fam, but since I’m not, I wouldn’t
hold my breath.
Besides, there’s not a thing to be gained by getting close to a poor
noble family like ours anyway, so I doubt there are gonna be people
lining up for a marriage with us in the first place.
Oh, by the way, my older sister did manage to get married off to
someone in a neighboring country.
107
And my older brother’s gonna take over as head of the family, so I
really gotta get hitched someplace.
But since we’re dirt-poor and all, finding someone is a huge pain in
the ass.
We really don’t have coin or anything to offer, either, so yeah…
That’s why I was shipped out as a live-in assistant so I could raise
some dough and make a few connections at the same time.
It’s not super unusual for a noble family’s second or third daughter
to be sent out as a live-in servant to a higher-ranking house.
You get paid, and if you’re lucky, you might even meet someone
special.
Depending on how good a worker you are, there’s a chance you can
stay on with that family permanently.
’Cept, since I’m from the boonies and I have the mouth of a sailor, I
more or less got thrown out before I even made it through the damn
interview.
I guess I just ain’t got what it takes to act like a proper lady, so I
never get picked for that kinda crap.
But while I was practically going on a damn world tour of failing
every interview, I was lucky enough to run into Mr. Ronandt as a
potential employer.
Ronandt is the number one strongest court mage in the whole
empire, the elite-est of the elite.
Basically, he’s a damn living legend.
But I thought, for a guy that important to hire some chick from the
boonies like me, there’s gotta be a catch, yeah?
Oh, there was a catch, all right.
108
If I had to sum up that geezer in a word, I could go with perv, magic-
obsessed moron, freak, total brute, and so on.
Oops, that was more than one word, huh?
Basically, the dude is unhinged.
But if I ran away from this job, I’d never be able to find work again.
So I bravely held my tears at bay and served the damn weirdo.
Looking back, this is where my life started to get real weird.
Work for the geezer, save up money, and get married to someone
who’s loaded enough to at least make sure I won’t go hungry, even if
they’re a commoner.
That was my highest goal at the time.
Best I can hope for, with my damn dirty mouth.
I shoulda given up on the idea of marrying into a noble family from
the start.
My poor-ass family is barely any better off than commoners, so I
didn’t really mind getting out of the nobility game anyway.
If I can just be a commoner with a half-decent life, that’s good
enough for me, dammit.
And yet, my prime marrying years are pretty much over, and I’m still
friggin’ single.
But maybe not being married is the least of my problems right now.
Why the hell am I on a shitty battlefield anyway?
“Goddamn, this is a real mess.”
I end up grumbling out loud despite trying to rein it in.
How does the second daughter of a poor noble house from the
boonies end up as a court mage?
109
If you’re confused, that makes two of us.
Basically, it’s all that damn geezer’s fault for saying “You have a
talent for magic!” and forcing me to be his apprentice.
Mostly ’cause the hero Sir Julius, who became the geezer’s
apprentice first, barely survived his insane training.
You can’t even call that training at all. It was straight-up torture!
He literally looked like he was gonna die, so I used Healing Magic on
him on the spot, and that’s when everything went to shit.
The old geezer saw me do it and assumed I was good at magic or
something…
But the only reason I knew how to do it in the first place is ’cause
when we were traveling in a carriage a while back, the old man used
Healing Magic to fix up my sore butt, so I thought Hey, that’s pretty
damn handy; I should learn it and practiced in secret.
There wasn’t any real reason for me to hide it, but looking back, I
think young me really made the right call.
Because the moment the geezer found me out, my life turned into a
living hell thanks to the torture he calls “training.”
I’ve tried to escape him tons of times since then, but that old man is
a Space Magic master.
No matter where I run, he always chases me down with
teleportation!
So I figured my only choice was to learn Teleport, too!
But learning Space Magic just wound up making things worse.
The government itself started taking notice, and before I knew it, I
got shoved into a court mage seat and even got a fancy title.
110
All I wanted was a roof over my head and food in my belly. Instead I
found myself moving up in the damn world instead…
All ’cause Space Magic is super rare.
But since I’ve got a personal noble title now, maybe someone will
actually wanna marry me!
Except I’ve been so damn busy with work that I haven’t had time to
even worry about that.
Imperial court mages have a lot of crap to do, y’know!
And even when I’m free, I end up having to teach things to the other
court mages and their apprentices and stuff, for the sake of future
generations or some junk?
One day, I’ll be like, Sweet, I don’t have any work today!
And then the next day, I’m suddenly drowning in more crap I have to
do.
Where am I supposed to find the time to meet someone to marry
now?!
Honestly, though, this war takes the cake.
Why is a sweet young maiden like me giving orders on a battlefield,
huh?
“Ughhh. I just wanna retire, dammit.”
Right now, I’m giving directions to restore a fort wall that got
wrecked.
Luckily, the damage was fairly light, so the other court mages and I
can get the wall back into half-decent shape, even if we can’t fix it
completely.
“Ma’am, could you help us instead of complaining, please?”
111
One of my fellow mages starts whining, but I’m having none of that
crap, thanks.
“I just worked myself half to death, dude. Just lemme rest a little,
okay?”
Damn right.
That’s literally what happened.
In fact, if I had made one wrong move, I really would’ve died.
I was pushing my magic to its limits in that crazy long-distance
firefight, y’know?
Who the hell was that freak?
Since when does the demon army have someone like that?
I hear the guy who messed up our fort’s wall is a demon called
Merazophis or something, but his magic might’ve even been on par
with my master’s, which is ludicrous!
Master Ronandt already falls way outside the normal limits of human
strength, but I dunno if even he could bust the wall of a fort like this
from such a long distance…
Although the scary thing is that maybe he could.
“D’you think my master coulda pulled this off?”
“Surely, this would be madness even for Elder Ronandt…although I
can’t say for sure that it’d be impossible…”
My colleague seems to have the same opinion as I do on the matter.
“I mean, yeah, Master’s pretty wild, but this Merazophis guy seems
absolutely monstrous, too.”
“Ma’am, that makes it sound like Elder Ronandt isn’t human.”
“Well, yeah, he’s definitely at least half given up on being human by
now.”
112
“Ahhh…”
The way that guy simply nodded like it all made sense really goes to
show what the people around Master actually think of him.
But that also means that the guy we just fought was so bizarre that
he might’ve even been a decent match for my master.
Honestly, if those young adventurer kids hadn’t held him off, this
whole damn fort might be a pile of rubble by now. It was seriously
that bad.
My master likes to say, “The truly strong can fight any number of
riffraff with ease.”
Might as well have been talking about himself.
Forget dozens—it’d take hundreds or maybe even thousands of
people to try and take down that geezer.
Since I’ve seen that geezer fight up close, I can understand this
Merazophis guy’s insane level of power to an extent, but that doesn’t
mean I’m happy he’s on the enemy side.
I felt sorta bad for the demons who got sent to the fort where my
master was stationed, but who decided I gotta fight a demon even
stronger than those guys?
Am I being punished for something I did or what?
All I can think of is that time I snuck some poison into the geezer’s
food.
“Bah! You’ll need ten times this amount of poison if you want to
kill me!”
Yeah, he was totally fine…
Is that geezer really human?
Honestly, sometimes I half-seriously think he might be some super-
strong monster in disguise.
113
I mean, the whole reason my life went off the damn rails is ’cause
that monster of an old man set his eyes on me…
“I was supposed to be making out with my super-hot husband by
now…”
“You’re back on that again, ma’am?”
I’m always talking about how I just wanna marry half-decently and
retire, so I think my colleagues are sick of hearing it.
“Ma’am, if you really want to get married, all you’d have to do is rub
that chest of yours up against whatever guy you want, no?”
“You know what comments like that are called? Sexual harassment,
dammit.”
Yeah, my chest is on the large side, that’s for sure.
It’s one of the few things I can be proud of, but it also comes with a
lotta problems.
Like creepy stares from lots of dudes and some major back pain to
boot.
Even that purehearted Sir Julius always glances at ’em whenever we
meet…
“Well, the real problem is there aren’t any guys I wanna marry.”
“I think your standards are just too high, ma’am.”
“Nnngh!”
I can’t argue with that, since it’s kinda true.
Especially since Julius happens to set the bar extremely high.
Good looks! Perfect pedigree! Great personality! Power to spare!
I know it doesn’t make sense to compare other people to someone
like that, but it’s hard not to when you know an actual hero.
114
The one downside is that being the wife of a hero sounds like a huge
pain.
But compared to that…
The guys usually around me are all mages who are a buncha weirdos,
especially the geezer.
I look at my colleague’s face and heave a huge sigh.
“Ma’am, isn’t that a bit rude?”
“Whatever. I’m allowed to sigh at grown-ass men who call a younger
lady ‘ma’am.’”
That’s right. All the other court mages, not just this guy, are older
than I am!
But they all call me “ma’am” for some reason!!
And not even to be rude—they seriously mean it.
For imperial court mages, your magic power decides your position.
And since I’m second only to the geezer in strength, that means I get
almost as much respect as he does.
I guess some people might fancy the idea of a buncha older guys
falling all over themselves to heed your every word, but really, it just
means I’m surrounded by damn magic-loving weirdos, okay?
Not exactly the kinda guy I’m looking to marry…
But most of my days end up being spent with these guys from
morning till night.
I hardly ever meet anyone new, and even if there’s someone who
catches my eye a little, I rarely get a chance to talk with them.
Besides, most of those people are already engaged or married to
boot.
The best ones always get taken early, y’know?
115
Next thing you know, everyone half-decent’s already spoken for, and
there’s hardly any damn singles left who’re near my age.
…I might seriously be screwed at this point.
“Aaargh! Aren’t there any awesome guys who’re my age lying
around somewhere?!”
“Hmm. I mean, I can think of one…”
“Huh? Who?!”
Is my colleague gonna throw me a bone here?!
“You know—Sir Hero.”
“Argh…”
Makes sense.
But that isn’t an option.
“Sir Julius is way outta my league, dude.”
“You think so? But you seem to be pretty close with him, so I do
believe you have a chance, ma’am.”
“Like hell I do. Me and him aren’t a good match.”
“Why do you always sell yourself short like that, ma’am?”
I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that Sir Julius, who’s a
prince and the hero, could do a hell of a lot better than some poor
noble girl from the boonies.
Besides…
“Besides, me and Sir Julius just aren’t like that.”
I know he’s super amazing and all, but that makes it even harder to
see him as more than a friend.
“Sir Julius is a light, dammit. A light that draws people to him. All
kinds of folks end up gathering around him and decide to walk
116
alongside him of their own free will, y’know? That’s what makes him
a hero. A legend.”
Yaana the saint once said that he’s like gentle sunlight or something.
But I don’t think so.
He’s way more intense than that, like a fire blazing wildly in the
darkness.
You know it’ll burn you if you get too close, but people can’t help
moving toward him anyway.
And then they sacrifice themselves in his name.
Now, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.
It just shows how much charisma Sir Julius has, to the point that
people want to dedicate themselves to him.
“But I just wanna live in peace, so that light’s a little too damn bright
for me.”
Sir Julius is noble and all, but staying by his side kinda seems like a
heavy burden to bear.
Personally, I think he could stand to take it a little easier, y’know?
But he’s always been super uptight, ever since he was a kid, so I
don’t think he’d be able to change the way he lives at this point.
“So being a step behind him as a friend is the right place for me.”
“I see.”
“I just hope he’s not doing anything too crazy in this war…”
But knowing Julius, he’ll end up doing something reckless no matter
what anyone says to him.
“But that sort of sounds more like a worrying older sister than a
friend, don’t you think?”
117
“I guess you could call it that.”
“How fitting for you, ma’am.”
“Ugh.”
I can’t say he’s totally wrong, so I just quietly give my colleague’s
back a shove to send him off to finish fixing the wall.
Right now, I’m more worried about whether Merazophis is gonna
attack again than my stupid marriage prospects.
Between those three adventurers and me sniping at him from here,
we managed to chase him off, but I dunno if it’s gonna go that well
again next time.
He seemed totally fine even after I landed a direct hit on him. I aimed
right for his heart, too…
I doubt there’s a lot more freaks like him out there, but either way, it
seems like this battle’s gonna be harder than I thought.
So much for the rumors that the damn demons being in such dire
straits that we were even getting refugees at the border…
I don’t think folks like Master and Sir Julius are gonna go down easily,
but I wanna make sure they know to be extra careful.
But I guess I’m in no place to worry about other people right now.
Better get down to business.
118
I have to get stronger to protect the young miss.
How long has it been since I made that resolution?
Along the way, I somehow gained the position of Fourth Commander
of the demon army.
I’m sure it’s primarily because I’m an acquaintance of the Demon
Lord.
But in spite of my becoming their commander due to that
connection, the Fourth Army has been loyally following my orders.
To them, I am just an unknown man who showed up with the Demon
Lord and suddenly became their leader.
They would be well within their rights to doubt me. I am not even a
demon but a vampire.
I have been hiding that truth and living as a demon, so I am sure
even my identity is still a mystery to them.
So I feel nothing but gratitude to my men for treating me as their
commander nonetheless.
Technically, I did need to put in the work to earn this position.
Originally, the Fourth Army was commanded by Sir Balto.
However, he was so busy with his work that his younger brother, Sir
Bloe, was generally in charge.
I joined the Fourth Army under Sir Bloe’s command and quickly
worked my way up the ranks.
119
When Sir Bloe became the official commander of a different army,
everyone remaining moved up a rank, myself included.
From then on, my rank continued to go up, and by the time Sir Balto
officially retired from his post as commander to focus on his political
responsibilities, the Demon Lord Lady Ariel personally appointed me
as the new commander.
It’s open knowledge that Lady Ariel brought me to the demon
territory.
Thus, I imagined that many people would object to a newcomer
becoming commander so quickly.
But to my surprise, there were no complaints from either the other
commanders or the rank and file of the Fourth Army.
I thought it strange, but Lady Ariel simply smiled.
“You really don’t give yourself enough credit, Merazophis,” she said.
And, “There’s nobody more qualified to be a commander than you.”
Although Lady Ariel claims I do not give myself enough credit, it is my
belief that she gives me far too much.
The truth is, I am nothing more than a humble servant.
Even if I’ve been reborn with the unusual race of a vampire, my
fundamental nature has not changed.
For an ordinary human such as myself to become a vampire, there is
little change other than gaining a bit more power.
And even that is nothing more than strength borrowed from the
young miss, who is a Progenitor vampire.
It does not reflect any excellence on my part.
But when I said all this, Lady Ariel simply warned me: “Too much
modesty just comes off as obnoxious, you know.”
120
…The truth is, I know she’s right.
With my power, I am more than capable of being a commander.
Those around me are simply accurately gauging my value.
But there is a part of me that does not want to admit this.
For most, I imagine being valued highly would be cause for
celebration, not denial.
But there is a reason that I feel I must react in such a way.
I am afraid of letting myself get too comfortable.
Many things have gone wrong in this life of mine.
Of course, I’m sure many people feel the same way.
Like countless others, I ran into quite a few obstacles as an ordinary
person.
The first of these was unrequited love.
The woman who I served, now the deceased mother of my young
mistress.
As her servant, I fell in love with her, a love that was doomed to
failure.
She was already loved and in love with her fiancé, who of course was
the young mistress’s father.
Given my position, and out of respect for their relationship, naturally
I could not act on my feelings, and so the curtain fell on my first love.
And the next great obstacle I encountered was their deaths.
My love would never be fulfilled, but I wanted the woman I loved to
be happy, at the very least.
Thus I served her, and eventually her husband as well.
And yet, both their lives were taken in an act of senseless violence.
121
I still feel deep hatred toward the Church of the Word of God, who
backed them into a corner, and most of all Potimas, who took their
lives with his very own hand.
But I was not strong enough.
I did not have enough power to save them.
These two are the biggest obstacles I have been unable to overcome,
but I have encountered a great deal of smaller ones, too.
Many times have I stumbled due to my lack of ability and lamented
my own incompetence.
In short, I have spent my life running into one insurmountable barrier
after the next.
Thus, I am unaccustomed to being respected by those around me.
My lord found me dependable, but hardly in any manner that earned
me a reputation.
I have never been given a role such as commander that puts me in
charge of many others, nor have I ever been assessed as someone
worthy of such a role.
That was why I was afraid that such high praise would go to my head,
tempting me to rest on my laurels.
What if I start to feel that this is good enough?
That I’ve worked hard enough already?
I am still not nearly strong enough.
I decided long ago to dedicate this life of mine to the young miss, so
it’s all the more important that I am ready to protect her from
danger.
But her enemies are terribly powerful, and such meager strength as
mine cannot shield her from them.
122
Potimas, the leader of the elves.
The Word of God religion, who drove my lord and lady to their
deaths.
Both are far too powerful for me to do anything about alone.
But still, I must hone myself so that I can at least begin to resist
them.
I never wish to experience again the powerlessness I felt when I lost
my lord and lady.
And yet, it is difficult not to lose heart.
I am an ordinary person.
No matter how hard I might struggle, I can never reach the strength I
desire.
I know the incredibly powerful people around me are rare and
exceptional, but I am still ashamed that I cannot muster even a
fraction of their power.
And what is hardest of all for me to accept is that the young miss,
whom I am supposed to protect, is quickly leaving me behind.
The young miss has grown a great deal.
She was but a baby when we resided in Sariella, and still only an
infant when we journeyed to the demon realm, so I thought she
would remain a child even after we arrived.
But now, the young miss is beginning to grow into a beautiful young
woman, resembling her mother.
When I was still human, an elderly person once told me that children
grow up fast.
I thought the young miss was still a child, but she started to climb the
stairs to adulthood before I even realized it.
123
Not only in her appearance but in strength, too.
The young miss is already so powerful that I could not hope to match
her.
I am far weaker than the person I am meant to protect.
That knowledge weighs heavily on my heart.
And when I see how much she’s exceeded me, so far that I can never
catch up no matter how much effort I devote, a part of me is
tempted to give up on moving forward at all.
I am a coward.
Truly, a pathetic coward.
Even if I cannot reach her—no, especially because I know I cannot
reach her—I must not stop striving for greater heights, or the gap
between us will only grow more.
Even now, when I’m running with all my might, the gap is already
widening.
So I must not allow the praise and acknowledgment of others to
dampen my resolve and commitment.
I cannot content myself with the way things are.
I absolutely must not stop trying to catch up to her.
Even if an ordinary person like me can never catch up no matter how
hard I might try, I still cannot stop walking forward.
Coward though I am, I must always stay steady.
Especially after what I just experienced.
“I still have a ways to go.”

After our retreat, I admonish myself back at the camp.
I failed.
124
My wounds have already closed up. They were light to begin with.
If I kept fighting, I likely could have won.
But I am the one who decided to retreat.
I gave up on victory and chose failure of my own volition.
Because the sun was out, the weakness of vampires such as myself.
Because there were several reincarnations among our opponents.
Because the other adventurers were stronger than I expected, and
my army was being pushed back.
Yes, I can think of any number of excuses.
But that does not change the fact that I failed.
I was fighting the reincarnations who were survivors of the clan I’d
destroyed with my own two hands long ago.
That young boy and girl have grown quite strong.
Not nearly to the extent of other reincarnations like my young
mistress and Wrath, but those two are likely far beyond the realm of
the ordinary. I believe the pair I fought today was still quite
formidable.
I could not completely defeat them.
Since they are reincarnations, I knew I was supposed to hold back so
I wouldn’t kill them—but the truth is, I wasn’t holding back.
I fought to the best of my ability, but I still couldn’t bring them down.
My stats and skills alike were unquestionably superior, but
somehow, they still held their own against me.
The boy’s swordsmanship was skilled, his footwork sharp and
precise.
Even his blinking and breathing were methodical.
125
He used the powers of his magic sword at just the right moments,
never leaving an opening for me to exploit.
The young girl was perfectly in sync with the boy, too.
She managed to constantly pressure me with a hail of attack magic
without ever getting in the boy’s way.
The way she wove her spells was smooth and flawless, and they
were quite powerful.
Truly, I cannot help but envy their natural talent.
I have no such thing myself.
Each swing of my sword is unsteady, and my command of magic is
laughable.
To cover my shortcomings, I train without rest.
I practice swinging my sword over and over in a desperate attempt
to steady my hands.
I cast one spell after another, hoping the next will come together
more smoothly.
Repetition, repetition, repetition.
And if I finally manage to pull it off perfectly, it’s merely the product
of dogged practice, not talent.
But if I cannot do as well in live combat as in practice, it is all for
naught.
I cannot stand still in battle, like I do when I practice my swings.
If I pause in the middle of fighting to construct a spell, I only make
myself a tempting target.
So I practice while moving around, as well.
Once I started doing that, I simply became even more aware of my
lack of talent.
126
I stumble. I falter.
There is nothing to do but correct these failings.
To take another step forward, to start over.
Even if I sometimes take a step backward and must start over yet
again.
Those with natural talent may find it easy to handle such things, but
it is not so simple for me.
My only choice is to keep practicing until these things are second
nature and carve the memory of every action into my body.
But even that is difficult for me.
On occasion, I’ll manage a sword swing that I’m satisfied with.
But other times, I cannot re-create it no matter how many times I
try.
Sometimes, I can do something perfectly one day but not the next.
As I test things out, there are even occasions when I can’t cast a spell
correctly.
All this experience doesn’t necessarily add up to progress.
I’m sure the truly strong, like Lady White or the young miss, cannot
relate to such struggles.
Since they are constantly moving forward, they know not what it is
for an ordinary person to stumble, stop, or even slide backward.
“Why can’t you do this?”
They have no idea how cruel those words can be.
I’ve finally reached the point where I can wield my sword and magic
simultaneously, but not yet to the point where I can seamlessly shift
from one movement to the next.
127
If something unexpected happens, my reaction is inevitably delayed.
I am sure the likes of my mistress or Lady White would never fail to
make a snap decision in such situations.
Simply another thing that illustrates the difference between those
with talent and those without.
I only managed to retain the upper hand in this most recent battle
because my stats and skills were simply higher.
Because I lack any talent myself, it is easy for me to identify: The
reincarnation boy and girl have both been blessed with far more
natural ability than myself.
Their capacity to hold their own in a fight against me, even though I
was theoretically stronger, is proof enough of that.
Quite worrying.
Today’s battle ended with only minor injuries, but who knows how
the same engagement might turn out in a few years’ time?
The difference in our natural abilities will translate into differing
rates of growth.
If people make the same amount of effort over the same time, the
ones with more talent will grow more.
Thus my only choice is to work even harder to close that gap, but
time moves at the same rate for everyone and waits for none.
The amount of time one can spend training is limited, too, which is
one of the few cases in which the playing field is even regardless of
one’s natural talent.
Even so, life is still unfair.
Compared to those of us without talent, who must make more
effort, those with talent are given the same amount of time to make
as much effort as they choose.
128
I know it is no use to bemoan things I do not have.
And yet, I cannot help thinking, If only I had some talent…
The thought never fails to drag me down.
Perhaps that just goes to show how big of a shock this most recent
loss was to me.
To calm myself down, I examine my stats with Appraisal.
And in my skill column, I see the word Perseverance.
Perseverance…a skill that Lady White once had.
It is one of a small amount of special skills known as ruler skills.
I do not know why one as lowly as myself would be given such a skill.
But I admit, it does seem fitting.
All I know how to do is persevere.
For one such as myself, without natural talent, there is no other way.
Endure, persevere, and press on.
That is the only way I can keep moving forward.
As I gaze at this skill, I begin to feel that perhaps I can persevere and
move forward again after all.
Even if I know I cannot catch up to my young mistress and the others
as they run on ahead.
Even if the other talented youngsters who are running to catch up
with me now will someday surpass me.
I shall grit my teeth and keep on running as well.
129
My name is Phelmina.
Just Phelmina.
There was a time once when I had a family name as well, but no
longer.
I was born into a distinguished demon family and wanted for nothing
in my life.
My father is the head of the ministry of finance as well as the Tenth
Commander of the demon army, a rock-solid position by any
measure.
To be precise, I should say he was the Tenth Commander, but it was
still the case when I lived with my family.
There was no actual Tenth Army, so it was a paper title, but it still
paid well enough that our family was quite affluent.
But while we wanted for nothing, my family was accordingly harsh.
Those who stand at the top must be in possession of the
corresponding amount of strength and spirit.
I’m sure all noble demon families raise their children with such
beliefs, not just mine.
The rumors that my family is far harsher with its children than the
others are entirely unsubstantiated.
Rote learning, training, etiquette lessons.
From a young age, that is how I spent my days, and I believe I
became a proper young lady who would not shame my family name.
130
At least, I used to believe that.
Because after a certain incident, my family disowned me…
Under cover of my hood, I cast a stealthy glance at the person next
to me…
“What?”
…only to be noticed right away.
This person, who is now frowning at me, is Sophia Keren.
She is the cause of my expulsion from my family.
Even now, just thinking about what happened makes my blood boil.
“Oh, nothing.”
“I see.”
A brief exchange.
We are not close enough to carry on a friendly chat, nor is now the
time or place for it.
Right now, we are hiding in a forest, waiting to ambush the enemy.
Looking around, I see other members of our white-cloaked band
hidden around the area.
Since all of us are using a high-level Stealth skill, it would be nigh
impossible to see any of them without knowing beforehand they
were there.
This small group of exceptionally talented soldiers is the Tenth Army.
When my father was in charge, the ranks were solely filled with our
family’s private soldiers, most of them of little use in battle.
But those days are over.
131
When my father stepped down from the position of commander and
a new one took his place, the Tenth Army was reborn as a small but
incredibly elite force.
Compared to the other armies, ours is scarcely even a tenth of the
size.
But each individual can fight as well as a hundred from any other.
I would even be willing to wager that we could hold our own in a
head-to-head battle with one of the other armies.
That is how powerful the Tenth Army soldiers are.
The most terrifying part is that these elite soldiers were trained over
the span of just a few years.
I can hardly pass judgment, since I am one of them.
But the other armies do not know the true strength of the Tenth
Army.
It hasn’t been long since we were established, and we are quite small
as armies go, so we haven’t yet had a chance to demonstrate our
power.
But we’ve been working that much harder behind the scenes, under
the orders of our commander: gathering information, carrying out
assassinations, and other various missions.
As such, people seem to assume that we specialize in this sort of
subterfuge.
They’re not entirely wrong, but in reality, that is merely one aspect
of our talents; we excel just as much in normal combat.
Sadly, we haven’t yet had a chance to prove this.
Nor will today be an exception.
132
The other armies are all boldly invading the human territory, but we
are still lurking in the shadows.
I am sure the fact that we cannot boldly display our prowess in battle
is the reason for Sophia’s foul mood, too.
Sophia has a powerful desire to be in the spotlight, and she also
simply loves fighting.
However, in a way, this is the most important battlefield of all.
Which is exactly why we’re here.
“……”
Pure silence.
The entire Tenth Army shifts to take their positions and make ready.
Our senses, sharpened by our skills, have detected footsteps of
people moving through the forest.
So we still our breathing and wait.
Since all our members have the Silence skill, no one will detect us
from our breathing or heartbeats, and the Odorless skill will prevent
us from being detected by smell, too.
In addition, we’ve undergone all manner of training to avoid
detection.
The only possible way to spot us would be with a skill like
Clairvoyance.
There is no real way to defend against it, but with skillful use of skills
like Stealth and Concealment, we can minimize the risk to a certain
extent.
I doubt our target is constantly using detection skills, so as long as
they do not know we are here, they almost certainly will not spot us.
133
And as we quiet our breathing, we wait for our targets to pass
underfoot.
We do not look in their direction, for even the slightest of motions
might be enough to alert them.
The footsteps come closer and then begin to pass by our hidden unit.
Judging by the sound, there are likely about a hundred of them.
The only paths through this forest are animal trails, so it’s hardly
suited to marching through with a large amount of troops.
Consequently, it’s that much harder for anyone to monitor it.
Such is the nature of the no-man’s-land that lies between the human
and demon realms.
There are human forts positioned anywhere it might be possible for
an army to march through.
The areas in between are known as no-man’s-land, where small
skirmishes between humans and demons frequently occur.
This forest is one such area.
And it would appear that while the majority of the demon forces are
marching into battle, the enemy has been planning to pass through
the no-man’s-land to invade demon territory instead.
As the Tenth Army, our job is to annihilate that incursion.
Our other members have been positioned at the other sections of
the no-man’s-land as well, tasked with destroying any enemies who
attempt to make their way through, as well as any humans who
already lived in those areas.
But the main thrust is right here.
I hold my breath and wait for the signal.
Before long, it arrives.
134
A thread so thin that the eye can scarcely see it is wrapped around
my finger.
I feel a tug.
On that signal, all of us jump into action at once.
We emerge from our hiding places and attack the enemy as one.
My specialty is a throwing weapon called a chakram.
I hurl it past Sophia as she charges straight ahead, and it embeds
itself in the skull of my target.
A moment later, Sophia slashes at another enemy, and after that, the
rest of the members strike as well.
Our first surprise attack is a complete success, leaving our victims no
time to defend themselves.
We press the attack against a stunned enemy as they try to figure
out what’s happening.
Less than half of them are able to counter the second wave of
attacks, so it deals a significant amount of damage as well.
Only when we begin landing our third round of attacks does the
enemy finally understand that they’ve been ambushed and begin to
defend themselves.
By this point, they’ve already taken heavy casualties.
The fact that they were advancing down a narrow trail in single-file
works in our favor as well.
We struck their thinly stretched line from both sides in a pincer
attack, dividing them up and defeating the isolated elements.
Besides, it’s difficult to move on the narrow trail even at the best of
times.
There’s no hope of mounting an organized defense here.
135
The fighting will come down to a pure contest of individual strength.
Unfortunately for our enemies, our initial attack has already thinned
their numbers, and they still haven’t recovered from their confusion.
Not to mention our sheer strength.
Truly, I do not see how we could lose.
“Ambush! We’re under attack!”
“What?! Damn it!”
While the enemy panics, the Tenth Army soldiers simply attack in
silence.
“POOOTIIIMAAAAS!”
Correction: all except for one, who’s bellowing as she swings her
broadsword.
“So you were waiting for us, hmm?”
Standing opposite the bellowing Sophia is an elf man with a nasty
gleam in his eyes.
Our primary target: Potimas Harrifenas.
Him plus the elves under his command.
“You have my permission to use your weapons. Kill them.”
Potimas gives an order in a calm yet piercing voice.
Immediately, the elves begin to change.
Some of them transform their hands to reveal something called a
gun barrel.
Others draw similarly shaped weapons or produce glowing blades in
their hands.
Right away, the guns begin to chatter as they spit out bullets.
136
But since we expected all of this, we react without panicking.
Some of us create magic walls to shield ourselves, while others
predict the paths of the bullets and dodge them.
“Wha—?!”
As the elves recoil in surprise, it’s time for our counterattack.
Even Potimas seems taken aback by this development, judging by
how his expression becomes fractionally darker.
That’s right—we know all about you.
How you elves use strange weapons called machines.
Because the Tenth Army Commander is none other than the master
herself.
“Hmph!”
Sophia’s broadsword bears down on Potimas, who blocks it with his
right arm.
I’m sure that arm is made out of some kind of machine or something,
but Sophia’s sword cleaves through it easily.
“Tch.” Potimas clicks his tongue. “I have no choice. Anti-Technique
Barrier—”
The elf leader’s words cut off mid-sentence.
Because his head and neck have abruptly been separated by the
person who suddenly appeared behind him.
“…Would you mind not interrupting just when things are getting
good?”
Sophia looks sulky that her opponent has been stolen from her.
But the culprit doesn’t respond, instead silently crushing Potimas’s
severed head.
137
At around the same moment, the destruction of the elves’ forces is
complete.
Zero escapees. Zero survivors. And zero casualties on our side.
As soon as I confirm this, I kneel.
“Mission complete, Master.”
The rest of the unit follows my example and kneels toward Master as
well.
Only Sophia remains standing.
Master simply nods silently without sparing us a glance.
Our master, the Tenth Army Commander…Lady White.
If you were to ask where my life went off the rails, the answer would
be simple.
The day that Sophia appeared at the academy.
From then on, everything was wrong.
Aside from undergoing strict training to ensure I wouldn’t bring
shame on my family name, I lived a life without any difficulties.
Never had I experienced events so far out of my control.
My parents chose a fiancé for me, so I suppose my future was not for
me to decide.
But my fiancé, Sir Wald, was a perfect gentleman, and it is the duty
of any noble to live out whatever future has been chosen for them,
so I wasn’t particularly unhappy with this arrangement.
In fact, I was rather fond of my fiancé, Sir Wald.
But those feelings were more akin to friendship than romance.
Or perhaps, since I knew I was engaged to marry him in the future, it
was an almost familial affection.
138
At any rate, my feelings were not romantic.
And I believe it was the same for Wald.
But this was not an issue; even if we did not have a tumultuous love
affair, I was confident we could build a family on the basis of mutual
respect.
Until Wald fell in love with another woman and betrayed me.
Yes, you guessed it: The woman in question was none other than
Sophia.
When she transferred into the academy, Sophia immediately
captured everyone’s attention.
The high society of demons is a small world.
Since the overall population is so tiny, it stands to reason that the
number of nobles is even tinier.
Naturally, I had met most of the other noble children long before we
entered the academy.
Even if I didn’t know them personally, most were at least
acquaintances or friends of friends, so I had a basic understanding of
their character through word of mouth.
But Sophia was an exception.
Her origin was unknown, and no one had ever met her before.
The only thing we knew for certain was that she was staying in the
mansion of Duke Phthalo before she came to the academy.
As such, the speculations ran wild: “Is she the illegitimate child of
Duke Balto Phthalo?” “Is she the daughter of the previous Demon
Lord who disappeared?” “Is she related to the current Demon Lord?”
Now that we know the truth, it’s obvious that none of those theories
is correct, but at the time, no one knew how to approach the
mysterious new transfer student.
139
So in a way, it was only natural that Sir Wald would be the first to
approach her as a representative of the class, since he has the
highest social standing in our year.
But Sophia turned out to be more exceptional than I expected, and
since Sir Wald is quite competitive, I believe he soon forgot his
original goal in establishing contact with her.
Yes, that’s right.
Despite her horrid personality, Sophia is quite gifted.
And while Sir Wald appears friendly, the truth is that he’s extremely
prideful and competitive.
Since I’ve spent many years with him since a young age thanks to our
betrothal, I know him quite well, but most are easily fooled by his
appearance and flowery words.
Wald has a talent for building up his following by pretending to be
nice while making it clear that he’s superior. He’ll casually mention
his own talents in such a way that most come to believe I can’t beat
this person, while also acting friendly so that they’ll think But he’s so
nice!
Quite a character, I must say.
Although knowing that side of him is exactly why I couldn’t develop
romantic feelings for him.
Still, Wald’s scheme assumes that he is in fact superior to the person
he’s trying to impress.
He comes from a high-ranking noble family and makes a great deal of
effort accordingly.
But Sophia outstripped him in every way.
Sir Wald, who has always been at the top of our class, lost to
someone.
140
Naturally, this lit a fire in him.
It didn’t help that Sophia was obviously smirking and looking down
her nose at him.
Yes, they’re quite a pair, all right.
From then on, Sir Wald’s one-sided battle began.
He started challenging Sophia whenever he got the chance and lost
every time.
Whether it was test scores, sparring practice in our combat classes,
or even dance lessons, Sir Wald fell short of Sophia in every category.
“You really are amazing, Ms. Sophia.”
He would smile lightly and compliment her, but I could tell that on
the inside, his sense of rivalry only blazed even brighter.
I doubt anyone else noticed that somewhere along the line, his
compliments became genuine.
Maybe even Wald himself didn’t realize it right away.
Wald had always come first in just about everything. I don’t think
he’d ever had so much trouble winning at anything before.
On occasion, I didn’t hold back enough and bested him by accident,
which always led him to work that much harder to come out on top
again next time.
That’s the sort of person Sir Wald is.
I know that he constantly works hard to keep up his position of first
place, so I’ve put in effort to stay in second place as well.
Hee-hee. As clever as Sir Wald is, he never noticed that I was
carefully restraining myself to ensure he remained first, you know.
But I still respected Wald a fair amount for his work ethic and lofty
ambitions.
141
I thought that together, perhaps we could help lead the demon race
out of its decline.
We are high-ranking nobles, the leaders of the future.
We could not tolerate failure. We needed to always stand at the top.
But Sophia, who knows nothing of such struggles and difficulties,
continued to win without mercy.
And Sir Wald, who has always constantly won and gained the
admiration of the losers, began to admire the one who was
constantly defeating him.
…Rather simpleminded logic, is it not?
Wald began to spend increasing amounts of his time and money on
Sophia, and it only worsened as the years dragged on.
She was already beautiful when she first arrived, but her appearance
only grew more beautiful and her aura somehow more bewitching.
Most of the male students had long since started serving her.
That wouldn’t be so bad if they were simply developing crushes on
her.
It would certainly not be ideal if all the noble young men around our
age fell in love with the same woman, but it wouldn’t be the first
time boys were entranced by beauty.
As long as they eventually snapped out of it.
But the situation was far more serious than that.
Sophia had sunk her fangs into them.
There are few skills that can induce the Charmed status effect, but
they most definitely exist.
Victims will begin to worship the person who charmed them.
142
And now most of the young men meant to lead the next generation
of demons had been spellbound by one woman and obeyed her
every command.
And that I certainly could not overlook.
Not only that, but when I say she sunk her teeth into them, I mean it
literally.
As it turns out, Sophia is actually a vampire, the stuff of fairy tales.
At the rate she was going, I was genuinely concerned she could very
well take over the entire demon race.
Fortunately, Sophia seems to have no such intentions and didn’t
even appear to be consciously creating the Charmed effect.
But she was still dangerous, so I consulted with my father to find a
way to deal with her.
Unfortunately, she caught wind of my plans.
I suppose I might have been in more of a panic than even I realized.
Sir Wald and the others turned on me, showering me in false
accusations.
No, I suppose not all of them were false.
I really was planning to do away with Sophia if I could manage it.
Thus, I was chased out of the academy, and to make matters worse,
my father declared that he was disowning me.
I will never forget his disinterested face when he told me so.
As I later learned, since Sophia is connected to the Demon Lord,
Wald’s father and some of the other nobles came to the conclusion
that I had to be cast out.
Sir Wald himself was behind this manipulation.
143
I have always deliberately held back to ensure that Sir Wald could
have first place, so perhaps I was overestimating my own strength.
Deep down, I thought that if I went all out, I could do anything.
But before I could get rid of Sophia, Wald got rid of me instead.
If you were to consider this a contest, you could say I lost to Sir Wald.
This might’ve been the first time I gave it my all against Wald and still
lost.
There was a time when I hoped that Sir Wald would become stronger
so that I would no longer be able to defeat him even if I tried my
hardest.
But this was hardly what I had hoped for.
Nor did I ever imagine that my defeat would result in my expulsion
from high society…
Even if we were not in love, I thought we at least had a certain
degree of trust in each other.
But I was betrayed by my fiancé, disowned by my family, and
plunged into the depths of despair.
Fortunately, my father did not kick me out without a single coin to
my name; he arranged for some money to take with me and a place
to go.
Namely, the Tenth Army.
Nearly at the same time I was disowned, the Tenth Army changed
hands from my father to its current commander, Lady White, and
began recruiting troops.
My father knew Lady White, since she was his successor, and
recommended me. She was kind enough to take me in, and that is
how I became a soldier of the Tenth Army.
144
Ever since, I have served Lady White.
I feel nothing but gratitude toward her.
I was but a young girl at the time, so if she had not made a place for
me, I am sure I would have died a dog’s death long ago even with the
money my father gave me.
Moreover, Lady White never treated me like a mere child and always
entrusted me with jobs and training.
Those were days of madness—erm, I mean hard work and bizarre,
that is, unique training methods. At any rate, every moment was
filled with…excitement.
Since I was too busy running around all the time to wallow in despair,
I started feeling better before I knew it.
I don’t know if that was Master’s intention, but either way, I was able
to make a complete mental and emotional recovery.
It probably helped that I got so painfully beaten up and broken down
every day that being betrayed by my fiancé and kicked out of my
family seemed to hardly compare.
But thanks to that, my stats got far higher than I could ever have
imagined.
I learned that people can surpass their limits.
Before Lady White took me in, I believed I was training to the best of
my ability as the daughter of a noble family, but I’ve since discovered
through personal experience that while anyone can work hard, not
just anyone can surpass their limits.
My fellow trainees, now fellow members of the Tenth Army, all gave
up a part of themselves to become this strong.
Master calls it power-leveling.
145
The bonds connecting those of us who went through the same hell of
power-leveling are very strong.
And through the course of serving as Master’s hands and feet in the
field, we’ve learned some of the darkest secrets of this world.
As the daughter of a noble family, I thought my future was to help
lead the demon race.
But those plans vanished in an instant, and now I walk a much
weightier path on the heels of my master.
You never know where life might take you, I suppose.
Or when your ex-fiancé who ruined your life, as well as the vampire
who prompted him to do so, might enlist in the Tenth Army
alongside you.
“Sit.”
As Sophia frowns at Master for stealing her prey, Master says a single
word.
Suddenly, Sophia is kneeling facedown on the ground.
“Nnngh…grrr!”
Sophia trembles with the effort of trying to stand, but instead, her
forehead keeps pressing into the dirt.
I’m told this is a curse that Master placed on Sophia as a punishment
that forces her to prostrate herself.
Master placed this curse on her on the very same day that I was
disowned.
In other words, she did it for me!
…Or so I’d like to think, but in truth, it was more likely intended to
teach Sophia some manners.
But for me, that curse feels like revenge.
146
So indulge me in saying this:
Serves her right!
147
148
“Attack!”
On my command, spells shoot forth.
The magic devastates the enemy ranks, wiping out most of them.
“Forward! Don’t let a single one escape!”
But before I can even finish speaking, a white blur flashes past me
and takes down the surviving enemies.
From the looks of things, my second command was unnecessary.
They would never have let anyone escape, even if I didn’t say so.
That’s the Tenth Army for you. Terrifying.
Every single member of this unit is powerful enough to be
considered a legend.
Some of them even stronger than that.
Normally, the upper limit of most people’s stats is said to be around
1,000, whether human or demon.
Only a select few ever reach that peak, and surpassing it instantly
earns you a place among an elite few.
But if that’s true, everyone around me right now is a legend in the
making.
So why am I the one giving orders to such powerful warriors?
Frankly, I’m the weakest member of the Tenth Army.
I was born to a duke’s family, the highest-ranking of all the demon
noble families, yet I cannot beat any of my fellow soldiers.
149
Long ago, if you had told me this would be my future, I would’ve
laughed scornfully.
Well, I’m certainly not laughing now.
I was put in charge purely because I formally studied the art of war in
my education as a young noble, not because I’m strong.
In other words, because I’m capable of giving orders and nothing
more.
When you’re commanding such elite, skilled soldiers, even an
inexperienced leader like myself could hardly mess it up.
To be honest, it doesn’t have to be me.
Anyone can do it.
It’s stressful to command soldiers who are stronger than I am.
My stomach is constantly churning.
To make matters worse, the people I’m commanding are not actually
fond of me.
The reason for that is one of the longest-serving members of the
Tenth Army: Phelmina.
She is my former fiancée…the one who I betrayed and drove out of
noble society.
I fell in love.
And not with my fiancée.
That meant she, Phelmina, was only in the way…
Which is why I broke off the engagement and got rid of her.
A coldhearted move, if I do say so myself.
But I don’t regret it.
150
Even if others denounce me, look down upon me, or think the worst
of me, I will never regret it.
If I was given the chance to go back in time and do everything over,
I’m sure I would make the same choice.
That is how deeply I’ve fallen in love with Sophia.
The only problem is that the rest of the Tenth Army knows exactly
what I did to Phelmina.
And since they went through hellish training together, they have
forged very close bonds, so they don’t exactly look kindly upon me,
since I joined after the fact.
Fortunately, since they’re almost excessively loyal to our
commander, Lady White, they won’t let their personal feelings affect
how they treat me.
Even now, they’re obeying my orders.
That doesn’t change how uncomfortable the situation is, though.
But this is all so that I can be with Sophia.
Even if she’ll never see me the same way…
I first met Sophia when she transferred into the academy.

Rumors of a mysterious new transfer student preceded her, and
none of us knew how to approach her.
So I decided to talk to her.
My first impression was that she was a beautiful girl.
She looked so fragile, like a porcelain doll.
My second impression was that, contrary to her appearance, her
personality was awful.
151
When I started talking to her, she made zero effort to hide her
annoyance.
I’m the son of a duke, so Sophia was the first person who was ever
openly impolite to me.
To be totally honest, it pissed me off.
I’ll knock her down a peg or two, I decided.
My original plan was to try to befriend her, probe her background,
and figure out the best way to interact with her. But all that was
forgotten as soon as she was rude to me.
She started it when I was only being friendly, so it was well within my
rights to put her in her place.
But it would be a pain if Sophia’s background turned out to be a
problem later.
Many people suspected that she had direct ties to the Demon Lord,
so I would have to mock her carefully enough that she wouldn’t even
notice.
So I figured that first, I would show her who was on top.
Until I found out exactly who that was.
No matter what I did, I couldn’t beat her.
At first, I was shocked to the point of disbelief.
How could I—the eldest son of a duke, the elite cream of the crop—
keep losing to this nasty girl from nowhere?
And whenever Sophia won, she would always laugh at me.
I was furious.
Normally, I was always on top, so I couldn’t accept this girl mocking
me.
152
I was so mad that my real personality threatened to show through
the cracks in my friendly golden-boy act.
So I studied hard, trained harder, and swore that I would win next
time.
And still my losses kept piling up.
I couldn’t believe it.
Why couldn’t I beat her?
Why did I keep losing?
Why, when I was working so hard?!
But as I continued to lose to Sophia, I started to actually respect her
somewhere along the way.
In a romance novel I once read on a whim, there was a line that
went like this: “When one has loved someone, the hate it turns into
when things go wrong only runs that much deeper.”
For me, it was the opposite: The anger and humiliation I initially felt
morphed into respect and admiration.
I had no choice but to admit it: Sophia was just far better than I was.
Once I acknowledged that truth, my heart grew lighter.
When I looked at Sophia with nothing but respect, I could see her
charms more clearly.
I always thought she was beautiful, but she had only become more
so with every passing year.
Her naturally disdainful personality isn’t exactly great, but unlike me,
Sophia never hides how she really feels.
Once I began to see that as honesty and sincerity, I was actually
impressed.
All nobles wear masks of a sort, myself included.
153
We use our words as weapons to jab at one another without ever
revealing our true emotions.
In spite of her awful personality, I liked that Sophia made no effort to
hide it.
She’s so powerfully conceited that she doesn’t care what anyone
else thinks.
In fact, I don’t believe she’s interested in anyone else at all.
When I joined the Tenth Army, I understood why.
If this was the world that Sophia was accustomed to, it was no
wonder that she saw us academy students as boring riffraff.
That’s even clearer to me now that I know her true nature.
For a Progenitor vampire, the kind of being that only ever existed in
fairy tales, someone like me is just another boring face in the crowd.
My position as the heir to a duke’s family is important only to fellow
demons.
Sophia isn’t limited by trivial matters like that, so she doesn’t care.
Ever since I met Sophia, I’ve learned time and time again just how
small I really am.
Especially when I turned on Phelmina.
I have to admit, even I’m horrified that I had no compunction about
shoving my longtime fiancée out of the picture to get a shot at the
girl I really love.
I knew all the guys in the academy were falling heads over heels for
Sophia’s charms; I felt smug that I was in love with her of my own
free will, not because of some status effect.
Yeah, it’s a stupid reason to be smug, I know.
154
But that’s nothing compared to the fact that I took advantage of the
way everyone at school worshipped Sophia to purge Phelmina so
she’d be out of the way.
After all, I even ended up involving her guardians and my father just
to ruin Phelmina’s life.
I must say, though, it went pretty well.
As long as I was engaged to Phelmina, I couldn’t be involved with
Sophia.
Not to mention that Phelmina had decided Sophia’s powers were
dangerous and was trying to get rid of her.
So I didn’t hesitate to get rid of Phelmina instead.
Did I hate Phelmina? No, I don’t think so.
We weren’t in love, but we did respect and value each other.
I’m sure that we could’ve built a good life together, even without
romantic love.
But then I learned what real love feels like.
Once I had a taste of the emotion that borders on insanity, I could
never accept such a tepid future.
I do feel bad for Phelmina, who did nothing wrong.
But not enough to do anything to help her.
What a horrible fiancé I am.
So maybe it’s karma that I’m in such an uncomfortable situation
now.
I should have started working for my father when I graduated from
the academy, but I wanted to follow Sophia, so I joined the Tenth
Army.
I had no idea what I was getting into.
155
The members underwent hellish rituals that could hardly even be
called “training” without batting an eye.
And Sophia joined in without a problem.
As a bonus, my ex-fiancée, Phelmina, was among them.
That was definitely a shock.
I fell far behind the other members as they carried out the truly
insane training exercises, while Phelmina looked at me coldly, and
Sophia seemed incredulous that I couldn’t keep up.
The only reason my heart didn’t break on the spot was because I had
plenty of experience losing to Sophia already.
Without that, I would’ve definitely lost all confidence and gone into
hiding by now.
Even now, that’s barely enough to keep me hanging on.
To be honest, I really have lost just about all my confidence already; I
just haven’t gone into hiding yet.
Unlike my academy days, when I only ever lost to Sophia, I’m at the
bottom of the totem pole in the Tenth Army—and Phelmina, whose
life I once destroyed, is far above me.
The difference between our stats alone has widened dramatically in
her favor.
Despite how it might sound, I’ve been doing all that crazy training
since I joined up.
But since Phelmina’s been doing it since the current Tenth Army was
first formed, she’s gotten way ahead of me.
She used to always be below me, but now she’s leaving me in the
dust.
156
It definitely adds insult to injury, but the last scraps of my pride have
motivated me to fight through the misery and try to improve.
I’ve been working like a madman to catch up.
But Phelmina was always exceptional, and now she’s been doing this
hellish training for years.
There’s no way I can make up the difference between us that quickly.
If anything, it looks like the gap might get even bigger.
Finally, I cast aside all shame and went to Sophia on hand and knee
to beg her to turn me into a vampire.
…I know this might sound like a bad excuse, but I always intended to
ask her eventually.
I want to be with Sophia forever, and the easiest way to do that is for
her to make me a vampire.
Besides, becoming a vampire means I become Sophia’s underling.
This was also a way to offer her my body and soul.
It was almost too good to be true.
There was just one concern that made me hesitate to become a
vampire.
It wasn’t because I would no longer be a demon or anything silly like
that.
I’d already given up on my pride as a noble long ago.
I mean, I tossed aside my fiancée in order to be with Sophia.
Obviously, I’m willing to sink as low as it takes.
I’ll follow my heart, no matter how selfish or irresponsible it might
be.
157
My apologies to my father, but I no longer have any intention of
fulfilling my duties as the heir to a duke’s family.
No, the only thing that was stopping me was my appearance.
They say that vampires live forever, without aging or decaying.
But that’s the problem.
Specifically, the problem is Merazophis, the other vampire besides
Sophia.
He hasn’t aged at all since he became a vampire.
A human his age should be starting to look old, but he’s still perfectly
youthful.
If that means vampires stop aging once they reach adulthood, then
that’s perfectly fine.
Sophia certainly has been growing.
But she’s a Progenitor vampire, a special case.
So do normal vampires age and grow?
That’s why I wanted to wait to become a vampire until I looked like
an adult.
Specifically, when I could pass for the same age as Merazophis, the
apple of Sophia’s eye.
Given the danger that I might stop growing, the safest bet would be
to wait until adulthood before I asked her to make me a vampire.
But I didn’t have the luxury of waiting around anymore.
I had to do something to get off the bottom rung of the ladder, and
fast.
And becoming a vampire would make me strong!
It’s just a matter of sooner rather than later, really.
158
Even if I’m stuck looking this age, it could be worse.
Thus, I pleaded with Sophia until she finally gave in and turned me
into a vampire.
All at once, the whole world looked different.
At the same time, I felt some sort of unbreakable connection to
Sophia.
I was thrilled.
Ah, this is the moment I’ve been waiting for all my life, I thought.
But that didn’t change my position in the Tenth Army.
I’m still at the bottom.
My stats definitely rose when I became a vampire, but not enough to
catch up to the monstrous power of the Tenth Army.
“Well, obviously. It’d be unfair if just turning into a vampire made
you that strong, right? No cheating,” said Sophia. Then she added
dreamily, “Merazophis was frustrated after he first became a
vampire, too. But he was so determined to protect me… Ah, he was
just so cool then.”
How good for him.
Sophia only has eyes for Merazophis.
She made me the same race as her, but the difference in how she
treats us is like night and day.
All Sophia wants is Merazophis, and no matter how much I might
want her, she’s never going to return my feelings.
When I turned into a vampire, I gained the right to be with Sophia
forever.
But at the same time, I might’ve just sentenced myself to an eternity
of suffering that will never bring me the happiness I want.
159
Even so, I have no regrets.
160
So I was forced to go to some stupid school, and as if my days
weren’t stressful enough, I accidentally messed up the whole
academy with this Charmed power I didn’t even know I was using,
and now I’m being punished for it with this bizarre curse.
It doesn’t make a lick of sense!
In the first place, I was already a high school student in my old life, so
sending me to school with a bunch of snot-nosed brats in my second
life was an awful thing to do.
I had to hang out with these annoying kids day after day, and I didn’t
get to see Merazophis at all.
Do you know how hard it was not to go crazy from the stress?
And after a few years of enduring everything, you’re going to
randomly throw a curse on me as “punishment”?
Is that horrible or what?!
Worst part is that I can’t even fight it, because that’s just how the
curse works.
Look, I did think it was a little strange when those stupid boys all
started worshipping me out of the blue, all right?
But I sort of assumed it was puberty or whatever.
How was I supposed to know I was unconsciously applying a
Charmed effect on everyone?
161
To be fair, I probably should’ve suspected something was up when
Mr. Goody Two-shoes and the other boys teamed up to chase Ms.
Class Rep away. That was weird.
Turns out that was also because of Charmed…
Oh, incidentally, Mr. Goody Two-shoes’s real name is Wald, and Ms.
Class Rep is Phelmina.
Wald really does have a nasty personality that he hides under a
friendly demeanor, and Phelmina is ridiculously prim and proper, so
that’s what I’ve been calling them in my head.
Phelmina was always lecturing me, so I did feel a bit smug when
Wald chased her out of school, but the tables turned when Master
cast this stupid curse on me right after finding out what happened.
Well, I suppose I do feel a bit sorry for what happened to Phelmina.
She might be a total nag, but what she’s saying is usually right.
She definitely didn’t actually do anything to deserve being driven out
of school by those boys who worshipped me.
It’s not like I told them to do it, and I certainly didn’t help, but I do
feel a tad responsible, all right?
That still doesn’t justify me getting cursed at all, but I even got
scolded by Merazophis afterward…
“Young Miss, what would your parents think if they saw you the way
you are right now?”
I’ve never seen him look at me so sternly.
“Young Miss, I have no doubt that simply following your vampire
instincts and doing as you please must be satisfying. No one will turn
against you, nor can they disobey you. After all, you yourself made
them that way. Did it feel like a dream? Or did you perhaps think it
really was a dream, with no real-life consequences?”
162
Even if I didn’t mean to, it’s true that I did use that Charmed power.
And it seems that due to changes in my body via secondary sexual
characteristics, I unconsciously targeted men, who I, as a vampire,
instinctively see as prey.
“Your parents had only one request for me: to take care of you,
Young Miss. That is my sole mission in life.”
Those words show just how deeply Merazophis still cares about my
parents.
“They entrusted me with your safety. I will protect you until I die. I
shall never forsake you. And if you make a mistake, I will tell you so. I
will raise my hand as many times as it takes to keep you on the right
path.”
With that, he slapped me lightly on the cheek with his palm.
“I will watch over you to ensure that you live a life that your mother
and father would be proud of, Young Miss. If you do wrong, I will use
this hand again if I must. But please, do not ever make me do so
again.”
That’s just not fair.
How can I do anything but obey when he says things like that with
tears in his eyes?
Ever since then, I’ve been on my best behavior.
And yet!
“Grrrgh!”
Here I am, being forced to my knees.
Master?
Don’t you think you’re using this curse just a teensy bit too often?
163
Unlike Merazophis, you’re just punishing me for every little thing you
can think of, aren’t you?!
It would be one thing if you only used it to discipline me when I’ve
done something wrong.
But is it just me, or are you using it whenever you’re in a bad mood
and feel like taking it out on someone?!
“Pfft.”
As my forehead presses into the ground, I hear someone snort out a
laugh.
PhelminaaaAAAAAA!
Look, I get why you hate me for messing up your whole life, all
right?!
But do you really need to laugh at me whenever I’m forced to kneel
like this?!
Yes, I do feel a tiny bit responsible for what happened, and maybe
even guilty.
But I definitely still despise this girl.
164
165
166
WRATH’S BATTLE THE KEY POINTS!

As you can see, the fort Wrath’s going to attack is surrounded by
mountains.
Basically, it’s a fort built in a basin.
The fort’s not actually on elevated terrain like the one Boobs
attacked, so in that sense it might be easier to attack than that one.
But since it’s still surrounded on all sides by mountains, the only
option is to attack it head-on.
The folks in the fort can see the enemy coming no matter how
they approach, making it easy for them to plan and mount a
counterattack.
With no room for any schemes or clever tactics, the only option
the attackers have is to force their way in right through the front
door with brute strength!
Sounds like a good old-fashioned brawl to me!
…Except, there’s just one little problem.
The person who’s attacking is Wrath.
Can you really see him just obediently setting up siege works and
stuff?
If anything, he could probably bring down the whole fort by
himself, don’t you think?
It won’t be a siege so much as a demolition.
…Yeah, probably best to just let him take care of everything!
167
I won’t call this atonement.
And it’s certainly not justice.
It’s just that I don’t want all the lives I’ve taken to be in vain.
That is the most I can do with these bloodstained hands.
The battlefield is a messy jumble of humans and demons.

There are no tactical formations or organized maneuvers, only chaos.
No amount of stratagems will make any difference here; all either
side can do is try to defeat the enemy in front of them.
And I certainly can’t give any commands on the battlefield.
Whether in this life or my previous one, I’ve never had any
experience leading troops into battle.
Since being put in charge of the Eighth Army, I’ve learned quite a bit,
but the staffers who have been with these troops long before I came
along can give much more precise orders than I can.
Honestly, I’m not cut out to be a commander.
In terms of strengths, I’d be better off fighting on the front lines as a
simple soldier.
But considering the goal of this battle, it’s better that I don’t go too
wild on my own.
If I did, there would certainly be plenty of losses on the humans’ side,
but not so many on the demons’ side.
168
Which wouldn’t be good. We need the human and demon sides to
suffer equal casualties.
So I can’t lead the charge on the front lines, but that doesn’t mean I
can hang back and just give orders, either.
I’m not good at it, for one thing.
And if the Eighth Army soldiers figured that out, they’d lose all
respect for me.
To put it bluntly, the Eighth Army is a bit of a motley crew.
Originally, the Eighth Army existed mostly in name only, with very
few actual soldiers.
But the former Eighth Army Commander gave up the empty title and
is currently focusing on politics.
The handful of soldiers who originally belonged to the Eighth Army
were all merged into other units.
So where did these new soldiers come from? Well, the private
armies of certain demon feudal lords were disbanded and cobbled
together to make a new force.
The former Ninth Army Commander Nereo…he tried to assassinate
Miss Ariel, the Demon Lord, and failed.
Before that, he also assisted the former Seventh Army Commander
Warkis in attempting to start a rebellion.
After their plot was exposed, Nereo’s private army and those of the
nobles who were affiliated with Nereo have all been consolidated
and forcibly enlisted from their respective regions to form the
current Eighth Army.
As a result, their overall morale isn’t exactly high.
Some of them are even downright mutinous.
169
All I’m doing is forcibly keeping them in line.
If they start to believe for even a second that I’m not in control, it’s
over.
I’m sure there would be plenty of deserters. Some of them might
even take that opportunity to attack me.
Since I’ve made a point to show them how strong I am, I’d like to
think that wouldn’t happen, but if it did, I’d probably wind up having
to turn my blade on my own subordinates.
I guess that’d ultimately add to the number of deaths we need, but
obviously I would prefer to avoid that if I can help it.
So in the end, my solution is plain and simple.
If I’m no good at giving orders, I just won’t give them.
Instead, I’ll make this battle so chaotic that orders would be
pointless.
And if I can also ensure there aren’t any deserters, it’ll be perfect.
Easy to accomplish by just setting up some land mines behind the
ranks of the Eighth Army.
That made it clear there’s no turning back.
And if they try anyway, I’ll cut them down.
When I announced that, they were so shaken up, it was almost
funny.
After that, there was only one thing left for me to do: start
destroying the fort.
By throwing magic swords from a long distance so I wouldn’t be
seen.
That means the humans have to run out of the fort to escape, so
they have no choice but to face us.
170
My magic sword attacks can bring down their defenses with ease.
There’s no point trying to hide out inside. That would just cause
more casualties.
And I’m still throwing swords to keep the pressure on.
The demon army can’t retreat, and the human army has to advance.
The only option left is for them to crash into each other.
If they’re basically being forced into combat, there’s no real point in
trying to strategize or give orders on this mess of a battlefield.
As chaos reigns, I keep throwing magic swords at the rear of the
human army and only cutting down the humans who come toward
me directly.
Even with my magic swords, I’m trying to keep the damage to a
minimum.
If I destroy too much of the human army, there won’t be as many
demon casualties.
They are my allies, like it or not, so theoretically, I should be trying to
minimize their losses, but what I’m doing is the opposite.
I’m a cruel commander.
These men are deeply unlucky to be stuck with me as a leader.
I feel bad for them, but I don’t have any other option.
Because that’s what I swore I would do.
As I keep chucking magic swords and taking down the humans who
come toward me, I hear a strangely loud bellow that cuts through
the insane racket of the battlefield.
“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”
It goes on for so long that I have to be impressed by the sheer lung
capacity.
171
The cry is coming from a knight, swinging his sword as he charges
toward me.
Through the gaps in his helmet, I can see that he’s a thoroughly
wrinkled old man.
He looks pretty elderly to me, but he’s fighting more fervently than
just about anyone else here.
And he looks familiar, or at least his sword style does.
It’s the same old knight who attacked me a while back when I was
still just an ogre.
“Harrumph! Such a fearsome aura! I can tell you must be the leader
of this demon army! They call me Nyudoz! Let us have a fair and
honest fight!”
Oof, this guy’s intense…
Once he gets close to me, the old knight Nyudoz starts yelling about
single combat, heedless of the chaos swirling around us.
It seems kind of tone-deaf, to be honest.
We’re way past a “fair and honest” one-on-one battle at this point.
What kind of idiot would try to challenge someone to a duel in the
middle of a chaotic battlefield?
This kind, apparently.
But his stupidity is almost…refreshing.
He’s an idiot, all right, but he’s clearly devoted to his chosen path.
The guy’s living a stupidly earnest life, staying true to his beliefs and
values.
I’m a little…well, more than a little jealous actually.
It’s a far cry from someone like me, who’s been indecisive and
uncertain all my life.
172
“Fine. I accept.”
I only went out of my way to answer him on a whim.
I had the urge to have a “fair fight” with this person, that’s all.
Mr. Nyudoz doesn’t seem to remember that we’ve fought once
before, long ago.
To be fair, I was an ogre back then, and I look pretty different now.
But I’m not going to bother telling him that.
A guy like this probably doesn’t care about the past anyway.
For me, though, I guess this is a chance for a rematch?
That makes me feel a little strange, but it doesn’t change what I have
to do.
“Let us begin!”
Mr. Nyudoz lunges forward sharply.
It’s hard to believe he’s supposed to be an old man, never mind one
wearing tons of heavy armor, from the speed of his movements.
Humans are supposedly lower in stats than demons, but he has
better footwork than your average demon for sure.
How many of the Eighth Army soldiers could move like this?
“?!”
Still, though, he can’t keep up with me.
I’ve gotten a whole lot stronger since I was an ogre.
My magic sword cuts clean through his blade.
It was probably a pretty nice sword, but between my stats and my
handmade magic swords, a single strong slash separates it into two
pieces.
173
My sword flashes toward Mr. Nyudoz’s neck next.
Before he can even attempt to defend himself, his head rolls on the
ground.
This way, at least, I figured he’d die peacefully without feeling any
pain.
It might be presumptuous of me to think about that, but it’s the best
I can offer him.
It seems like Mr. Nyudoz was pretty important to the human army.
The soldiers who witness his death fall back in horror, obviously
shaken.
As soon as that cornerstone crumbles, the rest of the enemy soldiers
go down like so many dominoes.
Just like that, the Eighth Army has secured its victory.
174
“Hawkin. You should sit this one out.”
It’s the night before the big battle when my boss, Jeskan, drops this
on me.
“Can I ask why ya say that?”
“…You know the answer better than anyone, yeah?”
Can’t say nothin’ to that, I guess.
Yeah, I know why.
It’s ’cause I’m the weakest member of the hero’s party…
The five-person party consists of our leader, Julius the hero; his
childhood friend Hyrince; Yaana the saint; plus the boss and me.
As the hero, Julius is top-notch in both magic and swordsmanship.
Hyrince is his shield bearer, a dependable tank who protects the
team from most damage.
Our all-rounder magic user, Yaana the saint, ain’t just limited to
Healing Magic—she can also dish out magic attacks and other
support.
Boss Jeskan is an expert in all kinds of weapons, the best attacker
after Julius.
By comparison, I’m more of a behind-the-scenes guy, so I’m not
much use in battle.
My job is to keep the party running smoothly: sorting through
requests and negotiating rewards, keeping our supplies stocked,
175
travel-related paperwork, maintaining relations with the different
countries, that sorta stuff.
Basically, everything that ain’t about fighting.
Of course, I do support the team in battle with my throwing knives
and magic items and all that.
But I know better’n anyone that I ain’t nearly as strong as the rest of
our crew.
Everyone else is a world-class expert in whatever they specialize in,
but me? I’d prolly lose in a fistfight with the average soldier, tell ya
what.
All I really do in battle is give whatever support I can and use every
last trick up my sleeve to keep things runnin’ smoothly.
“Tomorrow’s battle is likely going to devolve into chaos. And if it
does, I won’t be able to protect you.”
Basically, the boss is trying to flat-out bench me.
I know he’s doin’ it for my own good, ’course.
But still, can ya blame me if it stings a little to hear it out loud?
We’re at war with the demons.
This ain’t like anything the hero’s party’s faced before.
So far, we’ve mostly just fought some real strong monsters.
Usually, one big monster against the five of us.
Since we normally have the upper hand in numbers, that means it’s a
sight less likely that the monster’s gonna target me.
Even if it did, Hyrince would always cover for me, so I hardly ever end
up in danger.
176
But this battle’s gonna be against a big ol’ demon army. Like the boss
says, good chance it’s gonna be a mess, so even Hyrince ain’t gonna
be able to protect everyone.
In other words, I’ll have to fend for myself, but even I’ll admit that’s a
tall order for li’l old me.
“I don’t suppose I can change yer mind?”
“……”
The boss gets even frownier than usual and crosses his arms,
thinking for a minute.
“…Obviously, the person in our party who needs to survive more
than anyone is Julius the hero. But other than him, I think the life
that’s most important to preserve is yours, Hawkin.”
“?!”
Now, that I wasn’t expecting.
“I’m a top-class warrior. Hyrince is blessed with quick wits. Our dear
Yaana was chosen out of all the other sainthood candidates. But that
doesn’t mean we can’t be replaced.”
“Now, hang on a minute, boss. You can’t mean that.”
“Oh, but I do.” The boss takes a long drink. “I’m an A-rank
adventurer. There are S-rank adventurers way above me.”
“But you got to A rank solo, didn’cha?”
An adventurer’s strength ain’t all about rank.
Some folks prove their worth in a party to raise their rank; others do
it with achievements outside of battle.
The boss made his way up to A rank all on his own.
177
There’s a huge difference between someone getting A rank in a party
and getting it all on their lonesome. A solo A-rank adventurer like my
boss here is more than strong enough for S rank.
If he was to join a proper party somewhere, he’d hit S rank in no
time flat, no doubt about it.
He joined the hero’s party before that happened, though, so he’s
considered one of the hero’s followers by society, not an adventurer.
’Course, that means what he does in our party don’t count toward
his adventurer standing, so he’s still A rank.
“That’s true. I’m probably strong enough for S rank myself.”
No more than a handful of near-legendary adventurers ever make it
to S rank.
It’s a height that only the most gifted adventurers can reach.
“But that’s all. There are other S-rank adventurers out there.
Meaning there are other warriors as strong as me or stronger.”
And yet, here’s my boss saying that achievement is hardly worth
squat.
“Same for Hyrince and even Miss Yaana. There are any number of
other candidates for sainthood.”
“But, boss…”
“Of course, we’ve got a lot of experience fighting alongside Julius.
We work well together. Even someone of around the same strength
as one of us wouldn’t be able to swap in that easily. But that’d still
just be a matter of time.”
The boss tilts his glass for another gulp of liquor.
“We’re not truly irreplaceable,” he concludes self-deprecatingly.
“But don’t that mean I’m the most easily replaceable of all…?”
178
The boss just said other S-rank-level fighters could replace him, but
we’re still talkin’ about a top-notch bunch of elite warriors.
Sure, there are other folks around as strong as he is, but that doesn’t
mean they’d jump at the chance to sign up with the hero.
A lot of adventurers have their own tight-knit parties or work for a
specific country.
It wouldn’t be that easy to get one to change jobs.
On the other hand, the stuff I do isn’t really much more than plain ol’
boring chores. No need for any kind of special talent, so just about
anyone could do it.
Without a doubt, I’d be the easiest one to replace in the party.
“Nope. It’s the opposite. After Julius, you’d be the toughest to
replace.”
“You don’t need to try and make me feel better, boss.”
“I’m not, you idiot. Just listen.” He pours some booze into my cup.
“You know Julius isn’t replaceable, right? Why’s that?”
“Well, ’cause he’s the hero, of course.”
“Exactly.”
The boss nods like that’s obvious, which it is.
“But that’s not the only reason. It’s also because he’s Julius.”
“’Cause Julius is Julius…?”
I stare at the boss blankly. If this is a riddle, I don’t get it.
“If the hero dies, the next hero will be chosen right away. But it’ll be
someone else, not Julius. So there’s another hero if this one dies, but
there sure won’t be another Julius.”
“Well, yeah, I suppose so.”
179
“Now, this is just hypothetical, so don’t get mad, hear? But if Julius
died, and you were told to serve the next hero instead, would you
say yes?”
“Hrm…”
That’s a tough one.
I’m serving the hero because he’s Julius, so if I had to switch over to
some new hero I’ve never met before, I imagine I’d have a hard time
accepting that right away.
“Exactly. It’s because he’s Julius.” Then the boss continues: “And it’s
the same for you.”
“Uh-huh…”
“You don’t exactly sound convinced.” The boss shakes his head,
drains the rest of his cup, and pours himself another round.
“Hyrince, Miss Yaana, and I are all more or less tools. I’m a weapon,
Hyrince is a shield, and Miss Yaana’s a potion.”
“Ain’t that a little harsh?”
“Well, it is an extreme comparison. But as I said, we can all be
replaced. But just like Julius, there’s no replacement for you ’cause
you work behind the scenes, and you have connections to all kinds of
people.”
It is true that I have quite a few.
I manage the party’s requests, negotiate with the adventurers’ guild,
the Church, and more, not to mention chatting it up with the nobles
and royalty of wherever we travel to fulfill those quests.
And when I’m managing our supplies and equipment, I get a chance
to rub shoulders with not only many merchants, but also some of the
other folks on the shadier side who I can’t go into detail about.
180
I might be my boss’s slave, but folks ain’t usually rude to me, since I
act under the hero’s authority and all that.
Julius is real friendly, so sometimes he handles it himself, but in
terms of practical experience, I think I got the most business
relationships of any of us.
“But what’s that got to do with anythin’?”
“There’s plenty of other folks who can fight as well as we can. But
relationships are built up over many years atop hard-earned trust.
Even if we put that aside, it isn’t easy to learn how to negotiate and
communicate with others well.”
“I suppose not.”
I might not be a big shot, but I have been working behind the scenes
of the hero’s party for many years.
Even if they put out a call for someone else to do my job, I guess it
wouldn’t be easy to pick up where I left off right away.
“We just have to go to the battlefield and fight, but you’re the one
who takes care of everything that comes before and after. And it’s
only because you do those things for us that we can focus on
fighting. Without a doubt, you’re the one who keeps our party
going.”
“Well, I’m happy to hear that.”
It really is reassuring to hear.
As far as word on the street goes, I’m the only member of the hero’s
party who doesn’t stand out.
Julius is real popular, and Hyrince is a hit with the ladies, since he’s
got stupidly good looks.
Miss Yaana’s earnestness, dedication, and friendliness make her
well-liked, too.
181
And lots of older ladies tend to be fans of my boss.
Meanwhile, all people think when it comes to me is that item guy,
the guy who just throws knives, and even oh yeah, I forgot about that
guy…
Hrmmm? Ain’t that funny. Feels like there’re tears in my eyes…
I know perfectly well that my job in the party ain’t fancy or exciting,
but I gotta admit it does sting a little to be so unpopular.
It wouldn’t be so bad on its own, but some folks even say nasty
things about me…
Once in a while, I’ll hear things like “How’d that guy get into the
hero’s party when he’s just a slave?”
Believe me, I feel out of place enough as it is sometimes.
Everyone else supporting the hero is amazing: Hyrince is a duke’s son
and Julius’s childhood friend, Miss Yaana’s the saint, and my boss is a
skilled adventurer who got to A rank all on his lonesome.
Since I’m the only member who ain’t anything special, people are
bound to scoff at me from time to time.
That’s why it means so much to me that somebody values my work.
“I know very well that every good relationship we’ve got is thanks to
your hard work. Be proud.”
“Sure, I’d like to do that, but I got no reason…”
I don’t got anything to be proud of, really.
I don’t have high social status like Hyrince—in fact, I’m a slave.
I wasn’t chosen out of a whole lotta other candidates like Yaana.
And I can’t shut people up with sheer strength like my boss.
There ain’t a single impressive thing about me.
182
“No reason? That’s rich coming from the Thief with a Thousand
Knives.”
“Please don’t call me that…”
That was my old nickname.
“Why not? In a way, you might be more famous than any of us.”
The boss grins at me.
I guess it’s true that lots of people’ve heard of the old Thief with a
Thousand Knives.
That’s what I was called before I became the boss’s slave.
At the time, I went around stealing from corrupt nobles and
merchants and the like. Then I’d sell off the goods and use that cash
to anonymously buy food for orphanages and stuff like that.
Those stories got real popular with ordinary folk, and eventually
there were even plays and minstrel songs about me.
From there, the story of the Thief with a Thousand Knives spread far
and wide, which is how a lowly bandit like me became famous.
On the one hand, I wound up meeting some huge fans who helped
me during my thieving days ’cause of that, but then again, there
were people who didn’t take so kindly to my fame…
Turns out, being famous ain’t all sunshine and roses.
Once word about me spread, it got harder and harder to move
around without being noticed, and in the end, I got caught while
trying to investigate some nasty group of human traffickers.
They sold me as a slave, the boss bought me, and now here we are.
“Oh, I was young and foolish back then, y’know?”
At this point, the Thief with a Thousand Knives name is more
embarrassing than anything.
183
“Whatever you say—all I was doing was thievin’, really.”
“Well, I think it was admirable. Many a nasty noble and merchant
had their evil deeds exposed because you robbed them, and they
were judged accordingly. And there are plenty of orphans who were
saved by your donations, too.”
“I am pleased about that, I suppose.”
“Then why not take pride in it?”
I smile wearily at the boss’s encouragement.
“Just hard to be proud when I look at Julius.”
The boss doesn’t have any immediate response to that, so I continue.
“Julius is amazing, ain’t he?”
There are many words for praising a person, but there’s no point
being fancy about it.
When I see Julius at work, all I can think is that he’s amazing.
“Watchin’ that kid go at it, I always think, so that’s what a hero’s
supposed to be.”
“True.”
The boss nods in agreement. Nobody’s as worthy of the word hero as
Julius.
He pursues what he thinks is right, no matter what.
Even more incredible is that he’s been doing that since he was just a
kid.
“Compared to what Julius has done, all my deeds really amount to is
runnin’ away.”
I didn’t have the guts to face evil head-on, so I used the less proper
path of thievery to avoid a straight-up fight.
184
I don’t regret what I did, but I’m sure Julius would never do anything
as cowardly as stealing. He always chooses to fight evil directly.
No matter how hard it’ll be.
When I think about that, I get to feelin’ embarrassed about how I’ve
lived my life.
If I fought evil by stealin’, don’t that make me a hypocrite?
Seeing the real thing in Julius just makes me feel like that much more
of a fake.
“I see.” The boss nods, like he gets where I’m coming from. “Well, I
won’t deny your logic. But I can’t say I agree entirely, either.
Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, hmm? Julius is
powerful enough to right wrongs directly. You weren’t, so you did
the best you could with what strength you do have. What’s wrong
with that?”
“I guess you could put it that way.”
Julius is a royal and the hero.
I was just a plain old thief.
That puts us in real different positions when it comes to taking on
corrupt nobles.
I could’ve yelled about injustice till I was blue in the face, but it
wouldn’t have made a lick of difference to the folks in power.
And if I tried to take those nobles on without any tricks or a plan, you
can bet I would’ve been torn to shreds.
“Well, that just goes to show how young and stupid I was, not to
mention weak.”
Even if I couldn’t fight, there must’ve been other things I could’ve
done besides stealing.
185
Now that I’m working behind the scenes of the hero’s party, those
options have only become even clearer.
I don’t have the power to take on corrupt merchants and nobles
myself, but I could’ve convinced someone else to do it.
But such a simple thing never occurred to me, so I just went on
thieving.
Even if I was doing it for the right reasons, stealing is a crime.
The fact that it might’ve helped some folks doesn’t mean it wasn’t
wrong.
“Oh, you’re so stubborn.”
My boss heaves a sigh.
“’Fraid I was born that way.”
“Heh.” Still shaking his head, he smiles a little. “Ah, we’ve gotten off
topic. Oh dear.”
“…Sure you’re not just woozy from drinkin’ too much?”
We’ve got a big battle tomorrow, but the boss has been downing a
whole lot in front of me.
“Bah, you fool! How can I go into battle without drinking first?!”
“Won’t getting drunk affect your ability to fight?”
“I’m not so weak that I’d get drunk on this much liquor.”
I dunno if that’s something to brag about so confidently…
“Drink I shall, no matter what anyone says. Every drink could be my
last.”
“Boss, that’s…”
“Those of us who fight for a living must accept that truth. You
understand, hmm?”
186
“…I suppose.”
Since I’m a member of the hero’s party, I do go into battle, too.
Being weaker than the others, I’ve definitely had my fair share of
brushes with death.
I always knew that if I kept this up, I was gonna die one of these
days.
If I feel that way when I’m usually supporting them from the back as
much as I can, I’m sure folks like my boss who’re fighting on the front
lines are even more aware of death all the time.
“I’m not even sure if Julius will make it back alive, never mind me.
But Julius needs those connections of yours. And in the worst-case
scenario, if Julius dies, you’ll be a huge help to the next hero.”
So that’s why the boss wants me to stay behind.
But…
“I’m still comin’ with you, boss.”
“…No matter what I say, eh?”
“No matter what.”
The boss shakes his head again and drains the rest of his drink in one
gulp.
“Thought you might say that.”
“Sorry, boss.”
Even if it’s only a formality, I’m technically a slave disobeying his
master’s orders, but I can’t back down on this one.
I got my pride as a member of the hero’s party, too.
I can’t be the only one to run with my tail between my legs.
187
As part of the hero’s party, I already resolved long ago to go into
battle no matter how harsh it might be.
“I really am happy to hear ya say I’m that important, boss. But any
strength I got is all for Julius. I might not be Hyrince, but I still can’t
go lettin’ Julius die before me. We’re here because of Julius, every
one of us.”
The boss was trying to say that if something happened to Julius, I
should lend my strength to the new hero, but I dunno if it’d go so
smoothly.
Lots of us are only pitching in because Julius is who he is, and I’m no
exception.
I dunno who the next hero might be, but it’d be a tall order for me to
throw in my lot with them right from the start.
So my best bet is to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t
happen in the first place.
That Julius doesn’t die.
Even if it means that I die in the process.
“So stubborn.”
“Yep, I was born that way.”
Repeating the same exchange we had just moments before, we both
end up grinning.
The boss doesn’t try to talk me out of it after that.
I’m sure he knew from the start that I wasn’t gonna agree to stay
behind.
He only brought it up anyway to let me know that I had the option.
Honestly, a master ain’t supposed to be that thoughtful with a slave.
188
Although that sorta thing is exactly why I don’t mind bein’ a slave if
this guy’s my master.
“Boss.”
“Hrm?”
“Thank ya kindly.”
“Uh-oh. Cut it out, will you? That sorta thing is bad luck to say before
a battle.”
Since thanking folks specially and stuff like that the day before a
battle makes it seem like you don’t expect to survive, it’s seen as bad
luck by most.
But I still felt like I had to say it.
“Boss. If I start to hold you back out there, please don’t hesitate to
toss me aside.”
“Now, look here—”
“My role is to make sure the hero’s party can fight without any
worries, ain’t it? Then it ain’t right if I slow you down instead, eh?”
“…”
“So focus on the fight, not on me. And most of all, make sure Julius is
safe.”
“…Got it.” The boss closes his eyes, crosses his arms, and reluctantly
nods. “Guess we better get some rest, then.”
The boss has finished the last of his bottle, and the food’s all gone,
too.
It’s getting late, so now’s the time when we should retire and start
saving our strength for the battle.
“Suppose so.”
“Hawkin.”
189
As my boss stands up, he utters my name.
“This doesn’t change the fact that you’re important. People need
you. Remember that.”
“…All right.”
With that, my boss leaves the room.
Even I’m not dull enough to miss the fact that he’s telling me in his
roundabout way not to die.
“You too.”
I mutter a final response even though he’s already gone.
190
191
Fate.
The idea that our paths are determined for us from the moment we
are born and we cannot stray from them.
For better or for worse, all things are decided by fate.
What a foolish way of thinking.
But while it is not fate per se, there does exist a certain flow of
events that cannot be disobeyed.
I have spent my entire life fighting against that current.
Namely, I have been fighting to keep the demon race from hurtling
toward destruction in the hopes that some of us might yet survive.
Certainly, I am now one of the eldest veterans among our people,
but of course there was once a time when I, too, was young and
inexperienced.
Even then, the demon race was already on the verge of extinction.
The everlasting war against the humans was driving us to ruin.
The difference in our populations is simply far too large.
Even if demons have higher stats than humans, this war has
continued for so long that even the history books cannot pinpoint
when it first began, so it was inevitable that the scales would begin
to tip in favor of the race with numbers on its side.
If we continued fighting the humans, our loss was only a matter of
time.
192
In fact, even if we did nothing, the demon race was already beyond
the point of recovery.
All we could do was delay the inevitable.
And yet, no one but myself seemed to realize this.
No, perhaps some did realize it and refused to acknowledge the
truth.
The future was already set in stone…
But it has still yet to pass.
This tragedy might be inevitable, but it would not happen in our
generation.
To most, it must have been easier to simply continue on the same
path.
Change is always difficult to accept, no matter the era.
And since the needed changes were based on acknowledging our
eventual destruction, it is small wonder that other demons wanted
to close their eyes to the truth.
Most of all, the Demon Lord would not allow any such change.
The Demon Lord is a puppet of the system.
A sacrifice, one might even say: a villainous scapegoat who must
force the demons to continue fighting the humans.
I do pity those who carry the title of Demon Lord, for they are hated
not only by our mortal enemy the humans but even by their fellow
demons.
However, the demon race cannot ignore the Demon Lord’s influence,
and so it is because of the Demon Lord that the demons are unable
to stop the war against the humans.
193
The fate of the world takes precedence over the fate of the demon
race.
I suppose that is only natural.
The world will continue to exist even if demons go extinct, but
demons cannot survive without the world itself, so it is obvious
which should be prioritized.
It is difficult to accept, as it forces us to walk the path of destruction,
but in the grander scheme of things, that is a trifle.
The demons understand that, which is why we have always obeyed
the Demon Lord, even if many of us were discontent about it.
We had no other choice.
Even I could only seek to minimize our losses while continuing the
war, all the while burying my shameful feelings in my heart.
Was it my fate to simply sit and watch as my race continued
marching toward its own destruction?
As I tried to fight against a current that I knew was irresistible, I was
filled with anger, grief, and finally resignation.
But that all changed when an unexpected new era dawned: one
without a demon lord.
The Demon Lord is the ruler of the demons and, at the same time, a
mouthpiece for the system.
It is the Demon Lord’s sole purpose to inform the demons why they
must continue to fight against the humans.
The truth is that demons are not simply obeying the powerful
influence of the Demon Lord—we are swallowing our bitterness and
continuing to fight because we have learned the terrible truth of the
system.
194
Of course, that is only the case for the highest-ranking demons who
can have an audience with the Demon Lord.
But that is more than enough.
Even now, I still remember the face of the previous Demon Lord,
contorted with madness.
“We must atone…”
The previous Demon Lord repeated this often.
He changed drastically after gaining the title of Demon Lord.
Because of the Taboo Level-10 skill that came along with it, to be
precise.
That Demon Lord looked more haggard by the day, sending us into
battle and even fighting on the front lines himself, as if desperate to
outrun something.
By now, very few people remain who know how gentle that man was
before he became an overwhelming and fearsome demon lord.
But watching those changes firsthand made it difficult to write off
the truths of the system he told us about as mere ravings of a
madman.
Thus, the high-ranking demons obeyed him, and so those below
them followed suit.
We had to, even knowing that it would one day mean the
annihilation of our race.
That is how things were intended to be.
But then that Demon Lord vanished, and without a mouthpiece for
the system leading them, the consciousness of demons began to
change.
195
Many finally realized that we could not afford to keep fighting the
humans.
Until then, the madness of the Demon Lord had pushed us into
continuing the war, but without him leading us, we regained our
senses.
Once there was no longer a demon lord shouting that the world
would be in danger if the war did not continue, it was far more
logical to worry about the more immediate danger before us than
some far-off, hypothetical future.
And so, in an era without a demon lord, we refrained from fighting
the humans more than necessary and focused on the recovery of our
nation.
For once, time was on my side.
That was more than enough to bathe my half-broken glimmer of
hope in a fresh wave of light.
Better yet, the next Demon Lord was almost certainly going to be
yours truly.
With the Demon Lord missing, and knowing that I was the likely
successor, we could focus on healing the demon race for two
generations and improve our survivability a great deal.
Even still, it was simply delaying the inevitable.
And there was also the fearful possibility that I might change as my
predecessor did once I became Demon Lord.
But I prepared for that possibility by instructing my trusted aides to
lock me away and continue working toward the revival of our race if I
was to drastically change. I even prepared a cell for my own
confinement.
I wanted to be ready for every possibility.
196
But then I was stymied by a shock I could never have predicted.
If that alone was the issue, then I could simply call it a miscalculation,
not a shock.
The system’s method of choosing a Demon Lord is unclear.
I was considered by many the most qualified, but that did not mean
there were no other worthy candidates. Balto, for example, could
have been a possibility.
But the Demon Lord who was selected was no one I had imagined.
In fact, it was no one I even knew of at all.
No, that is false. I had heard of them.
As a character in fairy tales, that is.
The most ancient Divine Beast who served the goddess: that is our
current Demon Lord, Lady Ariel.
She was the stuff of legends, someone whose very existence I
doubted.
Even if she once had, it seemed all the more impossible that she
could have survived until modern times.
In fact, she has the appearance of a young girl, so who would believe
her when she suddenly appeared calling herself the Demon Lord?
To be completely honest, my first reaction was one more of
confusion than disbelief.
This unfamiliar child visited out of nowhere, declaring that she’d
become the Demon Lord and even going so far as to claim that she
was actually the Divine Beast from the legends? How absurd.
But she must have predicted that reaction, for she presented me
with an Appraisal Stone and demanded that I Appraise her.
When I saw the results, I could no longer doubt her claims.
197
Her stats, all around 90,000 or above.
Her enormous list of various powerful skills.
They say that anyone whose stats surpass 1,000 is already in the
realm of legends.
Only the smallest percentage of humans ever reach that mark, and
even demons cannot do so easily, though our stats are naturally
higher.
There have been a handful of exceptions, mostly heroes and demon
lords, who achieved twice or possibly even three times that amount.
But I had never seen or even heard of anyone with five-digit
numbers, let alone six.
Her number of skills, too, was several times that of any ordinary
soldier.
But more frightening than even the number was the quality.
The higher a skill level grows, the harder it becomes to level it up
further.
It can take half a lifetime of training to raise a single skill to its
maximum level. Without natural talent, many people cannot manage
it even once.
And there are some skills that are considered impossible to bring to
the maximum, even if one does have the talent for it.
Yet, the number of skills she had at their highest level was
unthinkable.
I was stunned.
I have never doubted my eyes so much as I did that day.
Nor have I ever felt such despair.
198
I did my best to predict and prepare for every possibility in my efforts
to heal our race.
But Lady Ariel being appointed Demon Lord was beyond anything I
could have imagined.
I had just begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But then I
was plunged into the depths of darkness by Lady Ariel’s declaration
of all-out war against the humans.
Past Demon Lords may have been the system’s scapegoat, but they
still defended the existence of the demon race to the end.
But Lady Ariel had no qualms about tossing all that aside.
Lady Ariel was the Demon Lord, without a shadow of a doubt.
And to me, she was also the bringer of despair.
Her sheer individual strength makes her undoubtedly the strongest
being in the world.
The only beings who could hope to stand against her would be
administrators or the likes of Potimas.
With that awesome power, she threatens to chase us demons to our
final end.
If that is not true despair, then what is?
We cannot deny her, lest she turn her fangs on us instead.
Lady Ariel would not hesitate to do so.
From the moment Lady Ariel became the Demon Lord, there were
only two options left.
It had to be one or the other: wage all-out war against the humans as
Lady Ariel demands or attempt to fight the Demon Lord herself.
I chose the latter.
Let me be frank: That was a mistake.
199
Who would I prefer to face: Lady Ariel or the entirety of humanity?
At a glance, some might assume that defeating one individual must
surely be easier than taking on an entire race.
But no. That is undoubtedly wrong.
A demon lord or hero can easily take on an army alone.
That is what it means to have exponentially higher stats.
And Lady Ariel’s stats are easily ten times that of any other demon
lord or hero.
An army? That would be nothing to her.
She could very likely destroy the entire world all on her own.
Even if the demon race was to somehow combine forces with
humanity and challenge her, I cannot imagine how we would win.
If fighting Lady Ariel is the alternative, one would have better odds
against all of humanity.
I understood that, and yet, I still made the wrong move.
I had no choice but to do so.
Even if we did defeat humanity, the demon race will eventually be
destroyed as long as Lady Ariel is still the Demon Lord.
And this is no distant fate for future generations to fret over but a
tragedy very much close at hand.
I continued to fight the current, trying to put off the destruction of
demonkind by any means necessary.
That dark fate, which I once assumed would never occur in my
lifetime, was now looming closer than ever before.
I could not accept that. To do otherwise would be to admit
everything I have done in my life has been for naught.
200
Rationally, I knew it was ill-advised, but this was a matter beyond
reason.
My situation was rapidly approaching checkmate.
I had to do something to try to avoid it, even if I knew it was the
wrong move.
And as I expected, it did not end well.
My last-ditch scheme naturally ended in failure.
In fact, it was even worse than I could have predicted.
I worked to form a rebel army with the former Seventh Army
Commander Warkis at the head, and I even involved Potimas, the
contact who I thought had the best chance of dealing with Ariel.
My intention was to pit them against each other, but the rebel army
was crushed before it could even be fully assembled, and Potimas
withdrew before making any major contribution.
Far from fighting each other, Lady Ariel did not take a single step
outside her castle.
She had no need to.
My plan failed to defeat Lady Ariel—it did not even move her one
iota.
Worse yet, she knew that I was behind the rebel army and Potimas’s
involvement.
With that, the only remaining path forward was to defeat the
humans.
It was a small mercy that I was not killed on the spot.
…Though I am tempted to ask if that was truly a mercy?
As long as I am alive, I can do everything within my power to delay
the demise of demonkind.
201
But that has become harder to accomplish than it ever was before.
As long as Lady Ariel is in charge, our extinction cannot be avoided.
Lady Ariel has lived since ancient times and is likely to survive far into
the distant future.
And this nigh-immortal being continues to force the demon race into
war.
Unavoidable destruction.
I could not stop it; I am not strong enough.
Is there any point in continuing to struggle, knowing that anything I
try to do will end in vain?
Would it not have been a better end to be executed on the spot, my
defeat made final?
There is no point in wondering.
I am alive.
My only option is to continue doing what I think is best.
Change becomes increasingly difficult with age.
Ultimately, I am sure I will simply go on fighting in vain against the
current until I die.
There will be no glorious end awaiting me.
Better, then, to crawl onward through the mud, gnashing my teeth
until my very last breath.
“……”
A certain man stands glowering at the fort in the distance.
“Calm down, Bloe.”
“I am calm, dammit.”
202
Despite his response, Bloe is tapping his foot impatiently.
No one could mistake this for a sign of composure.
“A foul mood will not improve our position. As a general, part of your
job is to set a calm example for your subordinates. Look around you.
Are your soldiers not worried enough as it is?”
Bloe scans the expressions of his men.
Clearly, his restlessness is only exacerbating their anxiety.
A leader’s state is reflected in his followers.
It is important to maintain a composed attitude and expression at all
times.
“…My bad.”
Realizing his anxiety is having a negative effect on his soldiers, Bloe
apologizes awkwardly.
“Well. It’s not as if your troops on the front line can see your pitiful
state anyway.”
“Urgh!”
Bloe snarls to hide his shame.
Bloe’s Seventh Army and my First Army are currently attacking Fort
Kusorion: a notably impregnable fortress anchoring humanity’s main
line of defense and occupying a strategically crucial position as well.
Its importance is plain to see, considering how we are attacking with
two armies, while all the other border forts have been assigned to
one army each.
However, only the Seventh Army is actually attacking at the moment.
In a reckless manner that simply invites casualties, no less.
Of course, there will be a great deal of losses to our side following
our current strategy.
203
Fort Kusorion is not the sort of place that can be conquered in one
day. It has fended off demon invasions for many years, gaining
countless expansions and improved fortifications along the way.
Conquering such a bastion would normally require several times
their number, and even then, the fighting would carry on for months
or even years.
But of course, the demon race does not have the population to field
that large of an invasion force, and our advantage in stats does little
in the face of an array of impenetrable walls.
And we are hardly in any position to commit to a years-long battle.
We have some supplies from subjecting our populace to high war
taxation, but the humans undoubtedly have far more to spare, and
our ability to produce more supplies is greatly limited.
And while we demons have enlisted far too much of our population
to be sustainable as it is, the humans could easily call for aid from
other countries and get any amount of reinforcements.
In short, we have no chance of winning a drawn-out battle.
Hence this short-term strategy.
However, our reckless attack is meeting with considerable
resistance, and the Seventh Army’s losses are already heavy.
Their role is not to clear a path for us with a suicide attack.
No, the Seventh Army’s purpose is to serve as bait to draw out the
enemy.
They will sustain heavy losses but will extract a price from the
enemy.
Meanwhile, the First Army will reserve its strength until this fierce
battle winds down.
204
My heart goes out to the Seventh Army for their sacrifice, but we
have no other choice.
Bloe knows all this, too, which is why he is reluctantly going along
with this strategy in spite of the cost.
The Seventh Army, after all, is composed of soldiers who were
involved in the earlier rebellion.
Since the plot was discovered and crushed long before it could be
put into action, they never actually got the chance to rebel. A minor
quibble, but as a result, their leader, Warkis, was executed, while the
soldiers were not punished.
…At least, not officially.
You can guess how the Seventh Army is truly being treated by the
fact that they’ve been thrust onto the front lines as bait.
Essentially, these would-be rebel soldiers are the living dead, mere
sacrificial pawns.
By entrusting them to Bloe, who has always opposed Lady Ariel, she
has gathered all her dissenters in one unit.
Since Warkis and Nereo were executed, and I have expressed my
submission to Lady Ariel, it should be clear to anyone with half a
brain that to rebel against Lady Ariel is a fool’s errand.
Anyone who failed to understand that is now under Bloe’s command.
This is all very deliberate.
Whether Bloe tries to lead them into a rebellion or is forced to bow
to Lady Ariel, she comes out on top regardless.
If they rebel, she can crush them as an example and use them to
replenish the system’s energy; if they bend the knee, they will simply
be crushed in battle instead.
205
So far, Bloe has been made to keep them all in check, wrangling
them into an army just to sacrifice them here.
He is certainly a skilled leader.
But Bloe is too emotional and has been too open in his defiance of
Lady Ariel.
It is both tragic and fitting that his idiocy has been used against him,
forcing him to lead an army of sacrificial pawns.
But even backed into a corner and given such harrowing tasks, Bloe
has continued to lead the Seventh Army with resolve.
He is a determined man and a passionate one.
Which is why he fears for the sacrificial Seventh Army from the
bottom of his heart, mourns their deaths, and roils with anger and
anxiety.
Hoping that they will draw out the enemy as quickly as possible.
“Bloe. It looks like they took the bait.”
And so I update him as soon as I notice.
“!”
“Get ready.”
Bloe looks up quickly, and I give him a fast order.
Their goal has been accomplished.
But that was only the first step.
We succeeded in luring out the enemy only at great loss to the
Seventh Army.
And the real battle begins now.
We must defeat the enemy we’ve drawn into the open, or we cannot
win.
206
“The hero’s arrived.”
The hero: humanity’s greatest hope.
We must strike him down here and crush the humans’ morale.
I could not defeat Lady Ariel, the Demon Lord.
And now I must make yet another risky wager.
But I have no choice but to gamble, even if the odds are stacked
against me.
Just like Bloe, I am heading toward a disaster of my own making.
207
208
FORT KUSORION BATTLE THE KEY POINTS!

The Colonel and Deadbeat are attacking a fort surrounded
by…nothing!
What? There’s gotta be something, you say?
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
The fact that there’s nothing is what’s so special about it!
A flat field with no special features means that it’s easy for troops
to march through here.
Any spot easy for a big army to punch through is an important
one!
For the human side, it’s a place where they have to hold the line
no matter what. Otherwise, a whole army could waltz right on in.
They’ve gotta defend this place to the death, whatever happens
to the other forts.
That’s Fort Kusorion in a nutshell!
Which is why we sent two whole armies to conquer this very
important fort.
Same goes for the other side—it looks like the humans committed
way more people to protecting this one.
On top of that, they’ve got their strongest fighting force of all at
this fort: the hero.
So in one corner we’ve got the Colonel, who’s the strongest of all
the regular demons, and in the other is the hero, the symbol of hope
for humanity.
Talk about a big showdown.
209
You could even say that this battle will decide the outcome of the
war.
Even I’m on the edge of my seat over here!
…Man, this fort’s got a pretty stupid-sounding name, though,
huh?
210
I became an adventurer solely by chance.
Call it a coincidence if you like.
It just so happened that the fastest way for a no-name brat to earn
money was working as an adventurer—that’s the only reason.
I was born in the middle of nowhere.
You couldn’t even call it a village. It was just a couple of run-down
shacks bunched up in the same shabby place.
There were no walls to keep out monsters, just an almost useless
fence made of some skinny twigs.
If the place was ever attacked by monsters or bandits, we’d all die.
But for some reason, no one ever tried to leave. Everyone assumed
it’d somehow be fine, simply because it always had been.
As if that could possibly be true.
Since I seemed to be the only one who realized that, I left home at a
young age and became an adventurer.
Sure, it was tough getting by at first.
I mean, I was just a kid.
An adventurer’s main job is culling monsters, but kids can’t manage
that kind of thing.
When a monster kills humans, its level goes way up, and sometimes
it’ll even evolve.
That’s why there are rules in place to keep adventurers from dying.
211
The role of the adventurers’ guild is to distribute appropriate jobs so
that kids and newbies don’t take on anything they can’t handle.
Meaning while anyone can be an adventurer, not just anyone can
earn money doing it.
The highest-paying jobs are monster hunts, but kids obviously aren’t
allowed to do those, so I only got odd jobs and errands at first.
I ran around all day long, barely earning enough money to pay for
food and lodging for the night.
And so it went for some time.
It’s not unusual for street urchins to become adventurers like I did.
In most cases, those kids can’t keep up that lifestyle for long and
eventually resort to petty crimes like pickpocketing instead.
Sounds a bit stupid, but with one good pull, a skilled pickpocket
could get the same amount of money it’d take a whole day’s worth
of honest work to earn.
It’s no wonder so many kids end up choosing that path when they
see how much less grueling it is.
Even if not all of them might make it to the next year.
Sure, pickpocketing might be an easy way to make money, but it’s at
the cost of ruining the rest of your life.
Those kids made fun of me for sticking to honest hard work, but to
me they were the stupid ones.
It’s not like I avoided pickpocketing because it’s bad, really. It just
wasn’t worth it.
You might get money in the short term, but odds are you’d end up in
prison in the long run.
212
Lots of them kept doing it anyway, with the groundless confidence
that they’d never be caught, but that obviously wasn’t true.
Just like the folks in my hometown, they assumed they were special,
and I have no idea why.
In the end, my hometown got destroyed by bandits, and every last
one of the kids who were pickpockets got caught.
I never thought of myself as special. I just made a point of avoiding
danger.
That’s the only difference between them and me.
Who’d have thought I would go on to be successful as an adventurer
and end up in the hero’s party?
If you told me that when I was a kid, I never would’ve believed it.
Even now, no one’s as surprised as I am.
I became an adventurer by chance, but as it turns out, I guess I had a
knack for it.
People call me an expert who can use all kinds of weapons, but when
I think about how that happened, I can’t help laughing.
The only reason I’m good with a bunch of different weapons is
because I didn’t have any of my own.
How would having no weapons lead to knowing how to use so many
of them? That’s what most people ask when I tell them that. All it
really means is that I used whatever I could get: hand-me-down
weapons from older adventurers, broken ones that belonged in the
scrap heap, stuff like that.
I didn’t have any money, after all.
Beggars can’t be choosers, so I just used anything and everything in
reach.
213
Since they weren’t bought in a store or anything, nothing I laid my
hands on lasted long, either, so I used whatever I could find for all it
was worth.
Eventually, my earnings started to stabilize, and by the time I could
afford to buy real weapons, I was experienced with all kinds of them.
If the young adventurers who look up to me ever found out the
boring truth, they’d probably be heartbroken.
I’ve heard there’s a fad among the rookies to imitate me by using
multiple weapons.
I dunno if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, though.
The advantages and disadvantages of using multiple weapons are
obvious.
On the one hand, you can react to more situations.
Different kinds of attacks work on different monsters.
Cutting, impact, piercing, shock: Each one is more effective against
certain foes and less effective against others.
If you can keep track of that and use the weapon best suited for your
target, battles get a whole lot easier.
So what’s the downside? Your skills grow more slowly, you have to
lug around a whole slew of bulky weapons, and it’s a pain keeping
them all in good shape.
Obviously, the most effective way to raise a skill level is to pick a
single kind of weapon and keep using it. If you use a bunch of
different kinds, that just means more skills you have to level up, and
you’ll be dividing your experience among them all.
If I had to have a sword fight with an adventurer who only uses
swords, I’d probably be the one to lose.
Then there’s the bulkiness.
214
If you wanna switch weapons depending on the situation, that
means you’ve got no choice but to carry a ton of them around at any
given time.
That’s fine if you got a bag with Space Storage on it or something,
but Space Magic items are really expensive.
There’s not much supply and a ton of demand, so they sell as soon as
they hit the market, even when they’re priced super high.
Then the prices get even higher, so it’s a vicious cycle.
But I happen to have one that Hawkin got for a steal, so I can hit the
battlefield without worrying about lugging around a ton of clunky
weapons.
Until then, I put all that heavy stuff on my back…
I really owe Hawkin for that.
But even with that problem solved, I still have to maintain all these
weapons constantly, and that isn’t cheap.
Weapons are tools that protect your life. If you neglect ’em and they
break in battle, you could be in serious danger, so it’s important to
keep them in tip-top shape at all times.
I had to use tons of broken secondhand weapons when I was starting
out, so I know exactly how dangerous it can be, let me tell you.
Those experiences made me who I am now, but you’re better off
using a proper weapon in the first place.
Wielding several proper weapons costs serious cash.
Buying them and maintaining them, too.
A weapon’s price is relative to its effectiveness.
When you’re an adventurer at my level, you gotta use some decent-
quality stuff.
215
If I use a weapon that can’t hold up to my stats, I’ll have to replace it
after every swing.
Stronger adventurers reap higher profits, but they have to spend
more on equipment, too.
And on top of that, I gotta buy several different kinds of those pricey
weapons.
It can’t just be expensive for no reason, either. I need an artisan I
trust to craft ’em and make sure that’s the person who does
maintenance on ’em, too.
Usually Hawkin takes care of that kind of thing.
When I was investigating a human-trafficking organization on a
certain country’s request, I just happened to spot Hawkin for sale
and bought him, but that’s frankly gotta be the best decision I ever
made in my life.
Without Hawkin, I’d be bankrupt by now…
The reason I joined the hero’s party is because I sensed that I was
starting to reach the limits of my solo career. That’s the truth.
But to the rest of the world, it seems like I reached the limits of my
ability to fight solo and finally went looking for a group who could
keep up with me.
There are a handful of adventurers who work solo, but most of them
don’t get far.
Since this occupation means constantly dancing with death, it’s
simply too risky to strike out on your own.
Unlike a party, where the other members can help out if one of them
makes a mistake, the smallest misstep can mean death for a solo
adventurer, and a foe that would be easy to defeat with teamwork is
far more difficult to challenge alone.
216
All good reasons why most people team up with other adventurers
of similar strength to form parties.
But I’ve always worked solo.
It’s not that I was particularly set on working alone or anything.
It’s just, when I started out, no one wanted to team up with a broke
little kid.
So I kept working solo, and next thing I knew, I had reached A rank,
and there were no other strong adventurers around me.
Just like the reason I became an adventurer, I stayed solo because of
chance and nothing more.
But that was for the best.
With my strength, I can tackle most monsters alone.
I just have to avoid fighting any monsters I can’t handle.
The true limit of what I could accomplish in my solo career wasn’t
decided by any lack of strength.
If anything, it’s because of a lack of money…
Adventurers earn money by defeating monsters, with the amount
depending on the monster’s strength.
But powerful monsters worth a lot of money don’t appear all that
often.
If you go to dangerous areas where ordinary people never set foot,
you can find dangerous monsters of A rank and above, but few
adventurers ever return from those places.
If a solo adventurer like me went somewhere like that, you can bet I
wouldn’t come back in one piece.
Sure, I could maybe survive if I avoided being spotted by any
monsters, but then I wouldn’t earn any money.
217
But it’s not good to overhunt the weaker monsters, either.
It’s important to keep their numbers low, but if you hunt them too
much, you can wreck the fragile balance of the ecosystem and cause
unintended consequences.
Best to keep the culling to a reasonable level.
With my strength, I don’t have to worry about not having enough to
eat, but that strength also requires high-quality weapons that can
hold up to heavy use. Multiple weapons, no less.
I might not be in danger of starving, but it costs a lot of money to
maintain a proper stock of weapons.
It’s not easy to find requests that keep enough money rolling in.
The highest-paying requests involve defeating powerful monsters or
working for a government.
A rank or not, as a solo adventurer, I wasn’t rolling in either kind of
request.
Since there weren’t enough requests appropriate for my strength, I
started falling into the red, which was why I felt I’d reached the limit
of my solo career.
A pretty embarrassing limit, I gotta say.
Again, sorry for ruining the dreams of you young adventurers who
looked up to me…
In any case, investigating that human-trafficking organization at the
behest of some government or other and joining the anti–human
trafficking force was exactly what I needed.
Governmental requests pay accordingly well, and the force was
funded by many nations.
On top of that, the force consisted of elites from all over the world.
218
If everything went well, I might get invited to work for one of those
countries.
With that in mind, I joined the force with Hawkin in tow.
Hawkin was purely worried about the young hero, but my reasons
were much more pragmatic.
And when the force was disbanded, I ended up joining the hero’s
party.
…That was a surprise to me, too.
I only spoke to Julius at the wrap-up banquet on a whim, a casual
urge to give some life advice to the young boy who already carried so
much responsibility.
Through our activities on the force, I got a good idea of young Julius’s
nature.
To be honest, he seemed naive to me.
I’ve experienced a lot as an adventurer, both good and bad, so it was
almost embarrassing to watch someone so earnest and simple…and
concerning, too.
It’s not a bad thing to be honest.
We need people with a strong sense of justice.
But the truth is that the world’s problems can’t be fixed with
sentiments alone.
Real adults have to be able to take the bad with the good in equal
measure.
Those who are overly focused on chasing the good in this world can
get crushed when they’re confronted with the dark and dirty.
219
It’s one thing if they can manage to pretend they didn’t see anything,
but someone whose sense of justice is too strong might get
heartbroken right then and there.
I suspect part of the reason Julius was in the anti–human trafficking
organization force was for him to get exposed to the darkness early
on, so that wouldn’t happen.
That night, I figured I’d give him a little advice while also feeling out
whether he really understood that.
And what do you think he said?
“I learned in my time with the force how easily people can turn to
the path of evil, too. But that’s exactly what my power is for.
“I am the hero, a symbol of hope for the people. An emblem of
justice. And the enemy of evil. I’ll become the hope of humanity and
show them that I’ll never let evil win.
“I am here. I am the hero. That’s what I want to let everyone
know. As long as I do that, I’m sure the future will be full of hope.”
He clearly understood the dark and the light, but instead of turning a
blind eye or being heartbroken, he declared that he would change
the very darkness into light.
So this is what a hero’s supposed to be, I thought.
I understood then why he was the only person fit to be called the
hero, even if he was just a kid.
And next thing I knew, I was offering my services to him.
Even now, I have no idea why I did that.
Or why Julius accepted without hesitation.
One way or another, that’s how I ended up as a member of the
hero’s party.
You never know where life’s gonna take you.
220
But I don’t regret it for a second.
For one thing, a member of the hero’s party doesn’t have to worry
about money.
I’ve been able to fight to my best ability without fear of going broke,
although it’s mostly because Hawkin runs around taking care of
everything.
And being in the hero’s party means a lot of fame, too.
What more could a guy want?
For a kid who started out practically as an orphan, I think I’ve gone
further as an adventurer than I ever could’ve imagined.
I’m perfectly content.
Seems like I don’t have a whole lot of ambition, I guess.
I didn’t even become an A-rank adventurer because I wanted to get
stronger or anything.
I was just trying to make my life a little better, struggling to get out of
poverty, and next thing you know, that’s where I ended up.
As a member of the hero’s party, I’ve got more wealth and fame than
I ever needed, so I’m not looking to get anything more than that.
People say I’m not greedy, but I don’t think that’s true.
I’ve got desires just like anyone else.
I wanna eat good food to my heart’s content and spend my nights
with a good woman.
Having money makes me happy, and it feels good to have people
fawn over me because of my fame.
But if you get too greedy or ambitious, that can lead to your own
doom, so I don’t want anything more than what I’ve got.
221
Julius’s hyper-noble dedication to justice seems a little heavy to me,
but I do think you have to live your life by a code.
Rules are made for a reason, and breaking them usually isn’t worth
it.
I’m not noble and pure of heart—I just never break rules if it’s not
worth the risk.
In that sense, I’m probably the only member of the hero’s party who
isn’t a good and virtuous person.
Actually, no, I guess there’s Hyrince, too…
But I guess Julius probably needs someone who sees things from a
different point of view.
Maybe he even keeps Hyrince close at hand because he realizes that.
Since I’m the oldest and all, I sometimes end up being like the
teacher who guides the other members of the hero’s party.
At first, I didn’t think that suited me, but I’ve gotten used to it over
the years.
So now I sorta feel like their guardian.
But that’s not a bad feeling.
…Maybe I’m getting soft as I grow older.
Back in the day, I probably would’ve died rather than watch over a
bunch of brats.
The main reason I always worked solo is because there wasn’t
anyone else around who was about the same level or strength as me,
but it’s also because dealing with other people is a pain.
Where I come from, gossip and envy were all fairly common.
People sometimes suspected me of picking pockets, although it was
always a false charge.
222
With that unpleasant history, I decided not to team up with anyone
unless I knew I could really trust them.
And when it comes to Julius and the rest of the hero’s party, they’re
so damn nice that there was never any doubt.
It’s like these guys have never even heard of jealousy or envy.
In that sense, I had nothing to worry about, but I wasn’t used to
being in the position of relying on others or even guiding them.
But now I’ve gone so soft that I’ve even considering teaching young
adventurers once I retire.
I’m getting old, all right.
Technically I’m still on the younger side, but as adventurers go, I’m
undoubtedly a veteran by now.
It’s the nature of the job that you can’t do it for all that long.
The gradual weakening and slowing down that comes with age can
make the difference between life and death in battle.
And it gets harder to balance your strength and earnings, just like
what happened in my case.
If you get married and have kids, you obviously have to take care of
them, too.
Once an adventurer reaches a certain age or level of strength, they
usually start to look for a more stable line of work.
Many people even wash their hands of this dangerous job long
before they reach that point.
The time has come for me to start thinking about what I’m gonna do
when I quit being an adventurer, too.
Julius and the others are grown adults by now.
They’re strong enough that they’ll do just fine without me.
223
Once this all-important battle with the demons is over, I’ll begin
looking for a successor and figure out what I’m gonna do with myself
from now on.
I haven’t had much of a chance to form a deep connection with
anyone over the years, so maybe I should look for a good woman,
too.
But I guess I can take time to think about all that after I survive this
fight.
We’ve been deployed to Fort Kusorion.

It’s the most important of all the major forts, making it a fitting place
to be personally defended by Julius the hero, humanity’s trump card.
The enemy knows this, too, which is why they’re attacking so
aggressively.
Our commanding officer shouts orders, and the soldiers hurry into
action.
But even their resolute attempts at defense are being pushed back in
the face of the demons’ almost self-destructive recklessness.
“Down you go!”
I kick a ladder that’s been propped against the wall of the fort.
The demon that was climbing it takes a tumble, too, but another
ladder almost instantly appears just a few paces over.
By the time I knock that one over as well, the first one is already
propped back up again.
There’s no end to it.
Nearby, another soldier deals with a similar situation, but the enemy
proves too strong for him to push the ladder down; a fight breaks out
as the first demon climbs onto the wall.
224
“Hiyah!”
Julius cuts down the demon with one strike.
“Healing, now!”
Little Miss Yaana uses Healing Magic to help the wounded recover.
“Get back!”
Hyrince raises his shield at the outer edge of the wall to repel an
enemy spell that comes flying toward us from the distance.
“Here’s a little somethin’!”
Behind Hyrince’s shield, Hawkin tosses something down at the
soldiers below the wall.
Judging by the resulting screams, it must’ve been some wildly
dangerous item.
We’re holding down our section of the wall well enough, but there
are just too many enemies.
Fort Kusorion is huge. With attacks coming from all sides, there’s no
way we can cover everywhere at once on our own.
“Eek?!”
“Careful.”
The wall trembles, and Miss Yaana stumbles a little.
Julius quickly catches her and finds himself propping her up for a
moment.
At a glance, it looks like they’re embracing, and they both certainly
seem flustered.
But this is the hero’s party.
They’re not stupid enough to do something like that in the middle of
a battle.
225
The two of them quickly separate and scan for the source of the
tremor.
“…That’s not good,” Julius murmurs gravely.
Immediately, there’s another tremor at our feet.
It’s coming from a siege engine shaped like a massive pillar being
smashed into the main gate.
“Dammit! What are the guards down there doing?!”
Hyrince curses, but I’m sure the soldiers aren’t slacking off, either.
They’re doing their best to stop the enemy from ramming the gate,
but the siege engine has too much momentum to be stopped
completely.
The demons draw back to drive the siege engine home again.
Defenders shoot magic at them to try to stop it, but even a direct hit
doesn’t slow them down.
Even as they’re scorched by flames, electrocuted by lightning, and
lose limbs to Earth Magic, the demons crash into the door once
more.
“They broke through…”
I barely even notice that the words are coming out of my mouth.
The demons flood in through the shattered gate.
Of course, Fort Kusorion won’t fall just because a single door was
broken down.
There are more layers of defense inside, and the attackers might
even expose themselves to a pincer attack if they aren’t careful.
So there’s no need to panic just yet, but the fact that the famously
impregnable Fort Kusorion has been breached at all is a considerable
226
shock to our allies—which isn’t good when they were already
intimidated by the demons’ viciously aggressive attacks.
At this rate, our side’s morale could take a serious blow.
“Julius, what’s our move?”
“…Let’s go.”
Julius hesitates for a moment, then starts running toward the front
gate.
“We’re going to take care of things down there! Don’t worry! Just
hold steady up here for now!”
With a brief call of encouragement to the soldiers, I follow on Julius’s
heels.
If the soldiers up here started flagging because we left and that gave
the enemy another opportunity to break through, our efforts would
be completely wasted.
We need them to keep digging in their heels even after we leave.
The hero’s party rushes toward the gate, Julius leading the way.
When we reach the wall closest to it, Julius takes a running jump
right into the fray.
“Haaaah!”
With momentum and gravity on his side, he brings his sword down
on a group of enemies who are clumped up.
A boom echoes off the walls as Julius lands on the remains of an
enemy soldier.
He’s annihilated the whole swathe of demons in a single attack.
Just like that, the enemies who made it inside the gate have all been
wiped out.
227
Julius isn’t satisfied with that, though, and runs out through the
broken gate.
“We’re going, too! Hang on!”
Hyrince scoops up Miss Yaana and jumps down after Julius.
I pick up Hawkin and follow in the same way.
Of course, it did occur to me to just leave Hawkin there. But after he
showed me last night how determined he was, I couldn’t betray his
trust.
I use Dimensional Maneuvering as I land to make sure it isn’t too
rough on Hawkin.
Julius is already locked in battle with the enemy’s frontline troops—
or rather, he’s already cutting right through them.
With every swing of Julius’s sword, another demon goes down.
Their stats are higher than ordinary humans’, but as the hero, Julius
is even stronger.
I’m sure only a handful of the strongest demons could even hold
their own in a fight against Julius.
…But I guess now isn’t the time to stand around being impressed.
“Don’t run off on your own!”
Hyrince catches up to Julius and raises his shield.
I come over to stand at Julius’s other side. “Let’s push them back
right here and now.”
Charging into battle like this, both armies are bound to notice.
Our allies’ morale will improve when they see how dependable the
hero is, while the enemy will falter in the face of the hero’s fearsome
strength.
228
It’s better to set Julius loose on solid ground where he can fight to
the fullest than have him defend a tiny section of the wall.
Julius seems to be in agreement with my plan, as he keeps pressing
onward.
He slashes his way forward through the enemy as easily as if he’s
cutting through an empty field.
I finish off any enemies Julius missed, while Hyrince protects Miss
Yaana and Hawkin as we advance, the two of them supporting with
long-distance attacks.
Our teamwork is in perfect sync.
We’ve never fought in such a huge battle before, but the
cooperation we’ve polished fighting monsters and bandits is working
perfectly here.
The enemy had a lot of momentum before, but now they’re
definitely quaking in their boots.
“Out of the way!” Julius shouts. “We have no quarrel with any who
turns back now!”
But none of the demons get ready to run away.
Why would they?
“Uh, Julius. I don’t think they’re gonna understand human language,
yeah?”
Hyrince’s calm observation is right.
Demons speak their own language, after all…
Julius turns a little red with embarrassment.
An awkward silence ensues, even though we’re smack-dab in the
middle of a battlefield.
“But it did work as a threat,” Yaana suggests encouragingly.
229
“Yeah, and your crazy strength is scarin’ ’em for sure.”
Hawkin is right, too: Even if they didn’t understand what Julius said,
his power certainly requires no translation to be understood.
“It’d be great if they would take that as a cue to retreat…”
Julius makes a hopeful comment, but I’m sure he knows as well as
the rest of us that’s not going to happen.
Even now, there’s a commotion spreading from the back of the
enemies’ ranks.
“Julius, something’s coming.”
I’m sure he realizes that, but I warn him anyway.
The demons open up a path.
And an enemy on horseback appears.
“Hero! Prepare yourself!”
The mounted warrior shouts in human language, albeit a little
falteringly, and slashes down with his sword.
Julius parries the blow head-on, but despite his attack failing, the
fighter on horseback simply pulls his horse aside and gallops briefly
away.
…This guy’s strong.
The fact that he wasn’t defeated in that exchange with Julius is more
than enough proof.
Julius was able to defend himself but couldn’t counterattack.
Even if it was a sudden strike from a fighter on horseback, Julius is
the hero, so the fact that he couldn’t turn the tables instantly means
that the enemy must be powerful.
This has got to be one of the demon elites.
230
“?! Hyrince! Above us!”
Sensing something strange, I call out a warning to Hyrince.
Hyrince moves instantly, protecting Yaana with his shield from
something raining down on her from above.
“Urgh!” he groans.
There’s the dull thud of a weapon crashing against the shield, but
before the echoing dies down, the culprit has already escaped.
The damn thing’s fast.
I put away the ax I was holding and ready my bow instead.
The enemy, a giant birdlike monster, is flying through the air.
And riding on its back appears to be a man in the prime of his life.
This newcomer is bad news.
My Danger Perception gives me a shrill warning: That man is strong.
The warrior on horseback was already a formidable foe, but this guy
is even worse.
“I am Bloe, Seventh Commander of the demon army. Let us do
battle, Hero!”
The demon called Bloe introduces himself in human language and
readies his sword.
“I am Julius the hero. I accept your challenge.”
Julius draws his blade as well.
“Hmph.”
On the other hand, the man on the flying mount looks at Bloe with
something resembling exasperation.
“I suppose I shall introduce myself, too. I am Agner, First Commander
of the demon army. Prepare to perish.”
231
In contrast to that Bloe guy’s stammering human language, this one
speaks quite clearly.
I knew he had to be an elite of some kind, but to think they are both
commanders…
They must have been aiming for the hero’s party, or specifically
Julius the hero himself.
If they can defeat the hero, it will be a huge blow to the human race.
That must be their aim.
But the reverse is true, too.
If we can defeat two commanders in one battle, I’m sure it’ll have a
serious effect on the demons.
Guess that means it’s time for a showdown.
“Julius! You take that one!”
“Right!”
I’m sure Julius can handle a commander on his own.
The problem is the other one.
“Hyrince! Protect Miss Yaana and Hawkin!”
“You know I will.”
“Missy, Hawkin, you’re on support duty.”
“Of course.”
“You got it!”
It’ll be four against one, but that might be our only chance.
Agner starts weaving magic.
I figured as much. The air is the perfect position to launch a long-
distance attack.
232
Our only options are to either counter with long-distance attacks of
our own or figure out a way to bring him down.
Whereas he can attack us however he wants.
On top of that, he can dodge in any direction, including up or down.
As long as he’s in midair, we’re at a disadvantage.
We’ve got to take him out before he can finish his spell!
I nock an arrow to my bow and loose it at once, but at that same
moment, Agner finishes his spell and casts it.
The arrow and spell crash into each other, and of course the magic
wins out.
I take a quick step back to avoid the spell—a black spear that pierces
the earth.
It must be the Dark Magic spell Dark Spear.
What a troublesome opponent.
Dark spells are the opposite of light-based spells and are seriously
dangerous.
They’re stronger than other kinds of magic on a comparable level,
and since they’re made out of something as abstract as darkness,
they’re difficult to dodge.
It’s also impossible to cut them apart completely with any ordinary
sword.
The only option is to block them with a shield, and even then it won’t
work if the shield isn’t powerful enough.
Hyrince’s shield should be able to handle it, but my only choice is to
dodge.
On top of that, he constructs spells incredibly fast.
233
It takes him no longer to cast than it does for me to ready and loose
an arrow—except his attack is inevitably stronger.
On top of that, he’s got the better position, since he’s in midair.
This really isn’t good.
…I guess I might have to get a little reckless.
“Cover me, please, missy.”
I give a nod to Little Miss Yaana, then shoot another arrow.
Agner fires another spell, too, but this time instead of crashing into
my arrow, it flies right toward me.
So fast!
But since I know it’s coming, it’s not so fast that I can’t dodge.
He must’ve timed it to match when I shot my arrow, but the arrow
was actually a feint—it flies off in some random direction.
If I had lined it up properly, the magic might’ve landed a direct hit,
but I was just pretending to aim at him as I started my next move.
I put all my strength into my legs, jump over the spell flying toward
me, and then activate Dimensional Maneuvering.
It’s difficult to control, but as long as you maintain your focus, for a
brief moment you can run in the air as if you’re on the ground.
Using the skill to make footholds beneath me, I sprint straight
toward Agner.
What?!
His spell construction is even faster than I realized!
Dimensional Maneuvering is too difficult to use for making precise
movements.
234
It’s easy to dodge a spell if you know it’s coming and start moving in
advance, but otherwise it can be nigh impossible.
He’s got me!
Bastard! That must not have been his top speed before!
Was he testing me or just getting warmed up?
Either way, he wasn’t fighting at his full strength before.
I’m screwed!
The burst of Dark Magic flies toward me but crashes into a beam of
light that comes flying from behind me: Miss Yaana’s Light Magic!
I’m saved!
Dark Magic and Light Magic are opposites.
Spells of the same level from either are evenly matched, and neither
has physical substance, so they simply cancel each other out on
contact.
Moreover, Miss Yaana has studied the Ronandt method of magic
enhancement, so her spell is more powerful than it normally would
be.
Yaana’s magic will come out on top.
But even as relief floods me, it’s replaced by a sharp pain in my
stomach.
I don’t have to look down to know what happened: His spell just ran
me through.
What a powerful bastard.
His magic actually beat Miss Yaana’s.
Luckily, it seems like her spell slowed it down considerably; judging
by the level of pain, it’s not too grave an injury.
235
Bah, it’s just a hole in my stomach the size of a pinkie finger.
Not enough to slow me down!
Pushing down the pain, I keep using the Dimensional Maneuvering
skill and pumping my legs to quickly shorten the distance between
myself and Agner.
Since I’m too close for him to fend me off with magic now, he pulls
back the reins of his bird monster to fly away from me.
“You’re not getting away!”
I’m not on top of him yet, but I still swing the weapon in my hand.
The sickle and chain!
It goes flying, and the sickle cuts through the giant bird’s wing.
The creature lets out a shriek of pain and thrashes around.
I yank on the chain as I keep closing in.
Agner pulls out his sword, but even he can’t get into a good position
while on the back of a thrashing beast.
In a matter of seconds, Agner and I clash in midair.
I yank hard on the sickle, taking off the bird’s whole wing in the
process.
As retribution, Agner’s sword bites deep into my shoulder.
Seems like he was aiming for my neck, but the bird’s wild
movements made him miss.
Luck was on my side.
But this is still a serious wound.
Agner and the bird both go crashing to the ground.
Unable to control my Dimensional Maneuvering, I fall down not far
behind.
236
“Uh-oh!”
Right before I crash into the ground, Hyrince catches me in midair.
Immediately, Miss Yaana begins casting Healing Magic on me.
“If I gotta catch someone like this, I’d rather it be a cute girl than an
older dude…”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Hyrince jokes, but I pull myself out of his arms and stand.
The battle’s not over yet.
He lost his flying mount, but Agner still landed on the ground
unharmed.
It was worth taking a risk to bring him down out of the sky, but the
real fight’s just getting started.
“Focus. He’s strong, all right.”
At that, Hyrince and the others shift into battle mode.
Facing off against us, Agner calmly readies himself.
237
238
Spurring on my horse, I dodge the hero’s barrage of light missiles.
If I stop moving, I’ll get torched on the spot!
My opponent is the hero, the mortal enemy of the Demon Lord.
I knew it wasn’t going to be easy—but I still gotta beat him.
Unfortunately for me, the hero’s attacks are relentless, as if they’re
meant to crush my last dregs of hope.
He looks like a mild-mannered kid, yet he’s coming in for the kill
without a second’s hesitation.
It’s hard to believe I can survive in the face of all that intensity.
How much hell has this kid been through to get this strong?
The hero fights like a magic knight, primarily using magic, but he also
wields his sword like a master.
From the moment he blocked my attack from horseback with his
sword, I knew he was physically stronger than I am.
But he seems to specialize in magic more.
If I stay too far away, I’ll become the perfect target for his magic.
If I keep close, though, he’s still got his sword.
He has no openings.
Usually, people have their own strengths and weaknesses.
I kinda suck at magic, while Huey from the Sixth is no good at close
combat.
239
The whole point of a one-on-one battle is to figure out where the
enemy excels and where they come up short, keep the fight on your
own terms, and prevent the enemy from using their best weapons.
But the hero doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses at all.
His skill levels have all gotta be crazy high.
Normally, that’d be impossible, but this is the hero we’re talking
about.
Guess that means he plays by his own special set of rules, huh?
You need tons of time to raise skill levels.
When you try to raise all of ’em at once, most people end up just
being half-assed at a bunch of random things.
If you wanna get strong, you’re supposed to pick one and focus on it
to raise its skill level.
Even among us commanders, the only person who’s got a wide
balance of well-trained skills is Agner.
And he’s been fighting since the reign of the Demon Lord from two
generations ago, y’know?
Being around so much longer than the rest of us, it’s no wonder he’s
got more experience.
But Agner is pretty much the only exception to the rule.
It’d be ideal to raise all your skills to a high level evenly, but it sure
ain’t practical.
But the hero is like that ideal come to life.
…Can I really win this?
No, I can’t wimp out now!
I’m gonna win! I have to!
240
With a flick of the reins, I change my horse’s course.
I’m better at close combat, especially when I rapidly string together
powerful attacks.
Kogou from the Third has me beat for heaviest single attack, and
Darad from the Fifth has more finesse than me for sure.
But when we actually spar, I’m the one who comes out on top.
In close combat without any magic, I’d wager I could hold my own
even against Agner.
I know how strong the hero is from that first exchange, whether I
want to or not.
But I won’t stand a chance of winning if I let that scare me.
Keeping my distance is just gonna get me killed by his magic.
My only chance of victory is to force a close-combat fight, where I
excel the most.
“Aaaargh!”
With a roaring battle cry, I charge at the hero.
He readies his sword to meet me.
The fight is on!
And I’m gonna win!
I have to! No matter what!
“In tomorrow’s battle, the Seventh Army will have to be sacrificial

pawns.”
Agner bluntly told me this yesterday.
He said my troops would act as bait to lure out the hero.
Fort Kusorion is particularly secure, even out of all the human forts.
241
There’s no way to bring it down by attacking it fair and square.
So our strategy was to draw out humanity’s strongest fighter, the
hero, and destroy him to crush the humans’ fighting spirit.
It seemed like a risky move to me.
Would we really be able to lure out the hero by putting the entire
Seventh Army at risk?
And even if we did manage that, would we be able to defeat him?
On top of that, if we were able to bring down the hero, would that
be enough to destroy their will to fight?
Would this really be enough to bring down Fort Kusorion?
Agner’s plan seemed to be based on an awful lot of optimistic
assumptions—to me, the whole thing sounded like a huge gamble.
There was no way I could risk the lives of all my soldiers on such a
dubious strategy.
I told him so directly.
“I thought as much. But you’re going to have to do it anyway.
Gamble or not, it’s the only chance we have for victory.”
Agner wore an uncharacteristically listless, self-deprecating smile.
“We’ve been put in a difficult position, you and me both.”
With that statement, Agner looked around.
At the time, we’d cleared out all the men, so no one else was there.
“Could I ask you to step out for a minute? Why, this is just a trifling
chat between two men. We’re not going to make any foolish moves
this late in the game.”
But for some reason, Agner spoke as if someone was standing right
nearby listening in, and he addressed this invisible presence directly.
242
My Presence Perception skill didn’t pick anything up, but Agner
seemed sure that someone else was there.
“Well, there’s no telling whether that worked or not…”
“Mr. Agner? What was that about?”
“Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing you could do anyway.”
I felt a chill.
It was like Agner was saying that someone was watching my every
move, without my ever realizing.
Is something like that possible even for the Demon Lord?
Even now, I have a hard time believing she’s as untouchable as my
older brother claims.
But in that moment, for the first time, I felt a certain indescribable
fear.
“Even I can’t tell whether our observer really left or not. But I wasn’t
going to say anything that would get us in trouble either way.”
Were we being watched by someone even Agner couldn’t detect?
Instinctively, I looked around, which made Agner chuckle drolly.
But of course I couldn’t sense anything, so I just turned back to Agner
in puzzlement.
In response, Agner’s expression sobered, and he began to speak to
me.
“Bloe, you might feel like you’re the only one who’s been put in a
predicament, but you’d be dead wrong. It isn’t just you. It’s the
entire demon race that’s in danger.”
Agner sounded exhausted as he spoke.
He always seemed so calm and grimly determined, so this was the
first time I’d ever seen him in that kinda state.
243
“We demons only have two options left. Defeat the humans and
survive or lose and be destroyed. That’s all it comes down to.”
“It’s not really that simple, is it?”
“No, I’m afraid it most certainly is.”
Win or lose.
Survive or perish.
All or nothing.
I can’t imagine our fate is anything so simple, but Agner insisted it
was just that.
“The bigger the scale of a situation, the more complicated things get.
But there are exceptions to every rule. This occasion is one such
exception. Because the Demon Lord herself desires that simple
outcome.”
The Demon Lord.
Just thinking about that woman makes me scowl.
Everything went off the rails when she showed up.
“Mr. Agner. Why do you serve such a—?”
“Don’t say another word.”
I don’t know why someone as powerful as Agner obeys the Demon
Lord.
If he rebelled against her, maybe things would have been different.
Thinking about that, I started to say something bitter, but he cut me
off.
“…We cannot win. Or rather, I could not win. I was unable to win
against the Demon Lord. That’s your answer.”
Agner’s simple response left me stunned.
244
He couldn’t win.
I’d never heard Agner admit defeat before.
The implications of that are incredibly serious.
“I will not quietly accept our demise, of course. I have simply
determined that this is the only course of action that remains open
to us. We have no choice but to win.”
Agner judged that he couldn’t defeat the Demon Lord, so the only
option left for the demon race’s survival was to defeat the humans.
I don’t want to accept it.
But I don’t have much of a choice.
Not if Agner’s the one saying so.
“We must win by any means necessary. Even if it is a gamble, it is
one we will have to take. It’s not just the Seventh Army at stake. If
we lose, every last demon is likely to be doomed.”
That’s why he needs the Seventh Army to lead the charge.
I could tell that he was determined on this front and nothing I could
say would change his chosen strategy.
We have to win.
It’s not just the Seventh Army and me on the line.
The fate of the entire demon race rides on our victory.
The next morning—namely, this morning—I explained the gist of the

strategy to the Seventh Army soldiers.
These men and women all participated in the would-be rebel army
led by their previous commander, Warkis.
245
Since the rebellion was discovered, the Seventh Army has been
treated poorly and resigned themselves to their current excruciating
position.
Their supplies are given the lowest priority out of all the armies, they
don’t have adequate equipment, and some days there’s not even
enough food to go around.
And now, their orders are basically “go out there and die.”
There’s no way that doesn’t bother them.
And yet…
“If you say so, Chief.”
The soldiers readily accepted their suicide mission.
“We’ve all but died once already. Since we’re living on borrowed
time, we at least want to do something useful before we die.”
“It’s thanks to you that we’ve stayed alive this long, Chief. You saved
our lives, so use them however you see fit.”
“You guys…”
They’re acting like I’ve done so much for them, but it ain’t all that.
Most of these soldiers were incredibly faithful to Warkis.
Plenty of ’em were ready to grab their weapons and die trying to
avenge him.
I calmed them down as best I could and punched their lights out
when I had no other way to stop them.
Sometimes I went around begging for food, borrowing what I could
so that my soldiers could eat, and even went hunting monsters
myself when things got desperate.
But that’s about all I could do for them.
Hardly enough to merit giving me their lives.
246
I’m sure they realize that, too.
They’re fully aware they were allowed to live, but not forgiven.
All this means is that the time has finally come to pay the piper, so
they’re ready to die here.
And all I can do is send them off to their deaths.
So if I don’t wanna let their final moments go to waste, I gotta make
sure I don’t lose, so I can pay them back for trusting a shitty
commander like me!
I strike at the hero with everything I have.

The momentum of my horse, the strength of my body, and most of
all, the intensity of our feelings are all behind this blow.
I have to win!
But in spite of my immense resolve, the hero blocks my blow.
“Tch!”
A part of me was hoping this attack might do it, but I knew it wasn’t
gonna be that easy!
But since he blocked my first attack the same way, I wasn’t really
expecting it to work.
I’m just getting started!
“Take this!”
I swing down with my sword from atop my horse.
The hero raises his own sword to parry the heavy strike coming from
above.
Our blades clash, and both get knocked away.
Since I have a height advantage, the balance of power is tipped in my
favor for the moment.
247
A downward swing has the help of gravity, while the hero has to use
that much more strength to raise his sword.
And yet, we’re still evenly matched.
That just goes to show that the hero’s stats are higher than mine.
But I won’t back down. I can’t.
Not physically, and not emotionally.
If I back down here, we all lose.
The momentum of my sword threatens to drag my body backward,
but I forcibly resist.
I hear a crack from the arm that’s holding the sword in place, but I
gnash my teeth and bear it, then swing down at the hero again.
The hero pulls his sword back, too, matching it against mine.
“Dammit!”
My blade clashes against the hero’s again.
I’m not done yet!
From there, I launch right into a barrage of attacks.
It’s just an artless onslaught of brute strength, technique be damned.
But in a proper sword fight, I’d probably be the one to lose.
I’ve gotta push through with sheer strength!
Our swords clash twice, then three times, but he isn’t giving in.
“Nnngh!”
In fact, I’m the one who’s having trouble keeping up with the hero’s
sword.
Each time our blades meet, slowly but surely, my sword gets a little
slower.
248
If the duel keeps up like this, I’m in trouble.
Disaster is bearing down on me.
“Hiyah!”
Then, with a shout, the hero strikes hard enough to knock my sword
aside.
I swing it back too late and without enough strength.
The hero doesn’t miss that chance.
He raises his sword and levels it at me while I’m still recovering.
I don’t have enough time to get my own blade back into position.
Am I screwed?!
Suddenly, my horse flips around, shifting me over.
Behind me, I hear a loud, dull sound.
“Huh?!”
Losing my balance, I pitch forward off my horse.
I manage to safely roll across the ground two or three times, then
spring back up to my feet with the momentum and spin around.
In front of me is my beloved horse, missing a back leg, collapsed on
the ground.
“No…”
I can guess right away what happened.
My dear companion protected me and willingly took the hero’s blow.
A horse’s legs are its lifeline. Losing even one of them is the same as
accepting death.
249
Someone with high-level Healing Magic might be able to save my
horse, but a glance at the vast amount of blood gushing from the
wound tells me all too clearly that no healer would get here in time.
“…Sorry! And thank you!”
That’s all I can say before I turn back to the hero.
I raised that horse from the very moment his mother gave birth to
him.
He’s my partner who’s been with me longer than any of the soldiers
in the Seventh Army, or even my old comrades in the Fourth.
And he gave his life to protect me.
So I have to make sure his last act of loyalty wasn’t in vain.
Grieving will have to wait.
Right now, I need to focus on fighting the hero with everything I’ve
got!
“Aaaaargh!”
Bellowing, I charge toward the hero.
My exchange with my horse lasted only a few seconds.
The hero’s sword is still low after cutting down my horse.
I know that doesn’t mean he’s defenseless, though. After our fight so
far, I’m well aware that he isn’t that easy an opponent.
The kid specializes in magic, yet he outclasses me in close combat,
too.
But I can’t back down now!
The fate of the Seventh Army, of the demon race—it all rests on my
shoulders!
250
For the Seventh Army soldiers who’ve already died in this battle and
my beloved horse.
For the rebels who died before this fight, like Warkis, and the poor
folks who tried to flee from the Demon Lord’s tyrannical rule, and
those who lost their lives before they could even try to do so.
For everyone who was forced to attempt the impossible because of
that awful Demon Lord and died in despair.
And that’s not all.
See, I know how hard guys like my brother and Agner were working
before that Demon Lord appeared, wearing themselves down to the
bone to try to help the demon race recover from its tattered state.
I grew up watching my older brother devote himself to civil service,
barely even pausing to sleep.
And after all that effort, here we are.
I’m not gonna let my brother’s efforts be for nothing!
My brother, Agner, and then there’s…
In the back of my mind, I see White, always lurking behind that nasty
Demon Lord.
I can’t lose, dammit. I just can’t!
“Huff…argh!”
I take a deep breath, then let it all out with another full-body attack.
The hero parries it easily, of course.
I’m not done yet!
Pulling back my sword, I change the angle and go in for another
swing right away.
He blocks and blocks again. Must go on! Can’t stop!
251
I won’t let up until I’ve used every shred of strength in my body!
“!!”
Next thing I know, I’m holding my breath, and half my vision has
gone cloudy.
I’ve lost sight of everything but the hero, following his sword with my
eyes.
<Proficiency has reached the required level.
Skill [Thought Acceleration LV 4] has become [Thought
Acceleration LV 5].>
Skills work in mysterious ways; for some reason, they go up in real
battle like this far more easily than during training.
Some say that the tension of being on the verge of death promotes
growth, and it’s especially obvious when you’re fighting someone
who’s stronger than you.
Sometimes, that growth can even turn the tides of the battle.
But thanks to my newly leveled-up Thought Acceleration skill, I can
see the hero’s movements all too clearly.
It’s obvious he can tell how I’ll attack before I even begin!
The growth I just experienced only makes the difference in our
abilities even clearer.
I’m frantically swinging my sword with nothing else in my mind or
vision, but the hero can see through my every move. He’s just
waiting for me to let my guard slip!
I can’t reach him!
Even after all this!
But I can’t lose!
How much do you think we sacrificed to get this far?!
252
And yet, and yet!
Though my insides have gone rigid with tension, my breath starts
heaving again.
Gulps of the burned air of the battlefield come flooding in, scorching
my lungs.
I feel my sword swings slowing, my movements dulling, my strength
failing.
I’ve reached the limits of my exhaustion.
“Aaaaaagh!”
I push all that back down with sheer force of will and keep on
attacking.
But…
“That still won’t work.”
“Huh?”
My sword gets knocked aside.
Unable to withstand the momentum, I stumble backward along with
it.
Immediately, I’m met with a barrage of missiles made of light.
The hero’s Light Magic, I realize—just as the powerful attack barrels
into me.
“Guh! Urgh?!”
There was no time to dodge or block or even to think.
So this is how far apart the hero and I are in strength?!
I get blown backward, tumbling along the ground, and land on my
hands and knees.
But this isn’t the end. It can’t be!
253
“Not yet…”
I use skills to heal my wounds.
But I can feel the strength draining from my body in the process.
My wounds are healed, but I barely have any stamina left to fight.
“You shouldn’t push yourself any further. Surely, by now you see
how much stronger I am.”
Seems like the hero can tell what state I’m in, too.
“I haven’t lost yet, dammit! If I crawl home like this, I won’t be able
to face my brother!”
Not just him.
I’d be failing the entire demon race!
“If you have siblings, isn’t that all the more reason to survive?
Withdraw your troops. We won’t chase you down.”
…This damn bastard!
If it was that easy, there wouldn’t be a problem!
“We can’t withdraw, dammit!”
I stand up and charge again.
The rational part of my brain is screaming that I can’t win this battle.
I know that!
The hero is just too strong.
But still! I’ve gotta try and wear down at least a little of his magic and
stamina!
Even if I can’t win, I’ve gotta believe wearing him down might make
enough of a difference for Agner to beat him!
254
My sword gets batted aside easily, and another shot of light flies
toward me.
It’s the same way I went down a minute ago.
But knowing that doesn’t mean I can do anything about it.
I hit the ground again.
“Not…yet…”
I try to stand up again, but the hero drives his sword into the earth
right before my eyes.
If it was just a little closer, it would’ve gone straight through my
neck.
“Don’t stand up again.”
He’s not letting me move.
The hero’s words contained an obvious threat: If I try to get up, he’s
going to cut me down.
“You’re not the only one with burdens to bear.”
Despite his youth, his words carry serious weight.
This should be obvious, but just as we’re fighting for the fate of the
demon race, the hero is fighting for humanity.
He’s here carrying the same feelings and determination that I have.
If we both have equally strong emotions, then this outcome is purely
the result of the difference in our strengths.
My feelings aren’t enough to change things if the enemy’s resolve is
just as strong.
“Damn…it all…!”
My fingers dig into the dirt.
I want to stand up, but I can’t.
255
Why can’t I be stronger?!
Strong enough to beat the hero!
To beat the Demon Lord!
“I don’t know what’s driving you to fight, of course. I’m sure you
have reasons I can’t begin to understand. But if you demons insist on
disrupting the peace with humanity, then I will fight with the
determination to protect my kind.”
The hero’s hand grips his sword tightly.
“Why?” An edge of anger creeps into his voice. “Why did you have to
start a war?! Why do you keep forcing us to fight?!”
At that, my own anger boils over.
It’s not like we’re fighting because we want to, either!
“Because if we don’t, we’re all gonna get killed!”
“Huh?”
The hero looks surprised by my answer, gaping at me with an
expression that doesn’t belong on the battlefield.
Somehow, that just pisses me off even more. My rage takes over,
and I start shouting.
“It’s the Demon Lord! She says she’s gonna wipe us all out if we don’t
fight the humans and win!”
“The Demon Lord?”
“Yeah, that’s right, dammit! Everything’s gone all wrong since she
showed up! It’s not like we wanna fight, either, y’know! But if we
don’t, we’ll all be killed! The demons will be done for! Damn it all!
Why?! Why’s it gotta be like this?! To hell with it all!”
Forgetting about the sword at my throat, I pound my fist against the
ground.
256
My vision blurs with tears.
It’s humiliating, but I’m sure I’m gonna die here anyway.
A guy oughtta be able to bawl his eyes out as much as he damn
pleases in his final moments.
“…So if the Demon Lord was defeated, this war would end?”
“Hunh?! Yeah, if that were even possible!”
When I recklessly blurt out an answer to the hero’s question, he pulls
his sword from the ground.
“Well, I guess I’ll go bring down the Demon Lord, then.”
I can’t help but stare dumbly at the hero in response to that casual
declaration.
“…Huh?”
“If the Demon Lord is the cause of the war, then all I have to do is
defeat her. Besides…” He pauses for a moment. “It’s the hero’s duty
to defeat the Demon Lord, isn’t it?”
His tone is half-joking, but his eyes look serious.
The hero can say that so confidently only because he doesn’t know
how strong the Demon Lord is.
…But is that really the case, though?
Truth is, I don’t really know how strong she is, either.
All I know is she’s gotta be way, way stronger than I am.
But the hero here is way stronger than I am, too.
…Does that mean he might be able to beat her?
Really?
’Cause if so…
257
Suddenly, the ground shakes.
A chill runs down my spine.

There’s something in the air, something more staggering than I’ve
ever felt before, something strong enough that it might actually
crush me.
“Wh-what the hell…?”
I can’t stop my body from shaking.
This…this can’t be real.
Even the hero widens his eyes and stares over my shoulder.
I don’t dare turn around.
But I know I don’t have any choice.
As I slowly look over my shoulder, I see the answer to my question.
It’s an unbelievably giant monster.
Its eight legs bear deep into the ground, and eight eyes leer down at
us from far above.
I know what this is.
258
259
I’ve never seen one in person before, but everyone’s heard of this
walking natural disaster. It’s the stuff of fairy tales and nightmares.
And its name is the queen taratect.
In terms of the danger rankings humans give to monsters, it’s a
legendary-class monster, the sort of catastrophe that no amount of
humans could ever hope to defeat.
How did something like that just appear out of nowhere?!
In spite of my confusion, the queen taratect is already moving.
It aims its mouth toward Fort Kusorion, and the world suddenly turns
sideways.
At first, I can’t tell what just happened.
Or maybe I simply don’t want to.
Next thing I know, a whole chunk of Fort Kusorion is just…gone.
Along with all the Seventh Army soldiers who were attacking it.
“Wh…at…”
A murmur of disbelief escapes my mouth.
I’m too confused to think straight.
But things are only getting faster.
The queen taratect starts moving forward.
It’s headed straight toward Fort Kusorion—or rather, what’s left of it.
But there are still plenty of humans left there.
Most of them are standing atop the ruined fort, staring at the queen
taratect in shock just like me.
“Run!”
260
Suddenly, a voice shouts from close by, echoing across the hushed
battlefield.
“I’ll buy some time! Run away!”
With that, the hero starts sprinting toward the queen taratect.
Is he stupid or something…?
It should be obvious at a glance that nobody’s gonna be able to beat
that thing!
But he’s still fearlessly charging toward the giant monster, while all I
can do is stare.
I’m so stunned that I haven’t even managed to get up.
Except someone is standing at my side.
I notice the feet first, then look up to see White, the Tenth Army
Commander.
I barely know anything about her, her strength, or her abilities—
aside from the fact that she’s deeply connected to the Demon Lord,
of course.
But I do know one thing about her: she can use Space Magic.
The queen taratect’s sudden appearance…White’s Space Magic.
The two click together in my mind.
“Don’t tell me you summoned that thing?”
Shouting despite myself, I jump to my feet and move toward her.
Looking startled by my attitude, she leans away.
Space Magic requires a huge amount of skill points to acquire—
enough that you’d have to give up on learning anything else.
Most Space Magic users don’t have any other high-level skills; they
rarely have any other skills at all, for that matter.
261
In other words, Space Magic is probably White’s only specialty.
It’s not that I don’t know her other abilities; she simply doesn’t have
any.
She’s probably no stronger in battle than the average person.
I’m guessing she was made a commander because Space Magic is so
useful and valuable, but there’s no way she should be on such a
dangerous battlefield.
Besides, White’s Tenth Army itself plays more of a supporting role.
I don’t know what they do or how they do it, but they’re probably
the Demon Lord’s intelligence-gathering force.
White must use her Space Magic to send them to other areas to
collect information.
The Tenth Army’s assignments and where they’ve been deployed for
this part of the war haven’t been shared, which only further proves
my theory: They only work behind the scenes.
So why is the commander of a noncombat unit here all alone?!
Oh, I’ll tell ya why!
Because she was forced to teleport that queen taratect here!
On the Demon Lord’s orders!
She’s gotta be out of her mind to send a powerless noncombatant
like White to bring that beast here!
“You idiot! What if you die out here, huh?!”
White tilts her head at me, as if she has no clue what I’m talking
about.
Her unconcerned attitude just makes me even angrier.
In order to teleport something, the caster has to have a hand on it.
262
In other words, White must’ve been touching the queen taratect.
You’re telling me she came so close to that thing?!
One wrong move and she would’ve been dead meat for sure.
A little lady this delicate could probably get blown into next week if
that thing even moved a muscle!
“Why the hell didn’t you refuse such a dangerous mission?!”
Looking even more confused, White puts her hand to her forehead in
a thinking pose.
There’s nothing to think about here!
You’re really gonna put your life on the line so easily just ’cause it’s
for the Demon Lord?!
She’s always like this, dammit.
I got no idea what the relationship is between the two of them, but
everything this girl does is for the Demon Lord’s sake.
That blasted Demon Lord…!
How the hell did White wind up working for the likes of her?!
And of her own free will!
I don’t get it, but I’m sure she wouldn’t say a word even if I
complained about it.
“Dammit!”
I curse to vent my frustration before turning on my heel.
“You get outta here right now!”
Even that damn Demon Lord can’t control a nightmare like the queen
taratect. It’s impossible.
She must’ve just used White to bring a wild queen taratect to the
battlefield!
263
Which means it’s gonna attack anything in its path.
Sure, it destroyed a big chunk of Fort Kusorion, but it also blasted a
bunch of my Seventh Army soldiers in the process.
This thing can’t tell the damn difference between an ally and an
enemy.
I gotta gather up the surviving Seventh Army guys and get them
outta here, stat.
…If it’s even possible, that is.
Am I really gonna be able to get away from that monster in one
piece?
“Bloe.”
As I head to collect my soldiers, White calls out and stops me.
…I think that’s the first time I’ve heard her say my name.
“What is it?”
“Retreat.”
White reaches out her hand toward me.
No way… Does she want me to teleport away with her?
“…I appreciate the thought, but ’fraid I can’t do that.”
The woman I’ve got a thing for is offering me her hand.
But unfortunately, I can’t accept it.
“A commander can’t run away before his troops do, yeah?”
I’ve got a responsibility to lead my surviving soldiers.
“Go ahead without me. I’ll be right behind ya.”
With that, I break into a run without waiting to hear her answer.
264
There aren’t any enemies close by us, so I’m sure she can get away
safely with Teleport.
I’ve gotta gather up my guys and get them outta here.
…I can’t die like this, dammit.
Losing to the hero’s one thing, but there’s no way I’m gonna let
myself get stomped to death by a damn queen taratect!
I’ll make it back alive—I swear!
And then I’m gonna punch the Demon Lord’s lights out.
No matter what happens, I refuse to do as she says anymore.
I’ll show her what true resistance looks like.
Just like that hero who went barreling toward the queen taratect,
knowing full well he can’t win!
First things first, though! I gotta survive and get outta here!
Steadying my resolve, I step forward to run toward the ruins of Fort
Kusorion.
BRRRRRING!
But then a strange sound from beside me stops me in my tracks.

What the…?
265
Please answer!
With a silent prayer, I hold the magic tool called a “smartphone” to
my ear.
This small, slate-shaped magic tool is a communication device the
Demon Lord gave to each commander.
It allows you to talk to someone with Telepathy from much farther
away than any normal magic tool, or so I’m told.
And right now, I’m using it to try to call my younger brother, Bloe.
Yes, it’s partly because the Demon Lord ordered me to do so, but
most of all, it’s out of concern for his safety.
Trying to keep my fraying emotions in check, I remember the
conversation with the Demon Lord and Lady White from just
moments ago.
All eyes were on the image displayed by one of the “monitors.”

It showed the battle at Fort Kusorion and Bloe’s imminent defeat.
“Well, that’s no good.”
The Demon Lord’s detached observation pierced my chest.
Bloe was fighting the hero, and it was clear at a glance that he was
losing.
Anyone could tell that his defeat was simply a matter of time.
And that defeat would undoubtedly mean his death.
266
The thought made my heart hammer in my chest in alarm.
“Oh? Good timing, White.”
I didn’t notice right away due to my distress, but White had
teleported back into the room.
“Kinda looks like Bloe’s gonna die at this rate,” the Demon Lord
remarked to her lightly.
To me, the death of my younger brother would be a crippling blow.
But it was clear from the Demon Lord’s tone that his death would
mean little to her.
I wondered if there was any way to turn the tables, but watching the
battlefield from afar, there was nothing I could do.
Nearby, Sir Agner was locked in battle with the hero’s comrades, so it
was doubtful that he would be able to rush to Bloe’s aide.
“Hrmmm. I thought Agner would be able to hold his own against the
hero, but maybe I was giving him too much credit?”
“Agner’s fighting hard. The hero’s party is just really strong.”
For a moment, I couldn’t tell who had spoken.
Only belatedly did I realize that Lady White had spoken on Sir Agner’s
behalf.
“Wha—? …Whoa, I thought I was hearing things. White, did you just
speak up for Agner or what?”
The Demon Lord seemed just as startled as I was.
Lady White hardly ever opens her mouth, so of course it was a
surprise.
On the rare occasion she does speak, it’s usually to utter a single
word, certainly never a sentence or two like the ones she just clearly
stated.
267
I’d never even heard her speak for so long.
At the Demon Lord’s inquiry, White fell silent again.
“Huh. So that’s what you’re into, huh? The fatherly type?”
The Demon Lord’s expression looked conflicted.
White quickly shook her head, her hair whipping around violently.
Evidently, that was not what she’d meant.
“I know, I know. It was just a joke.”
The Demon Lord grinned innocently.
In that moment, she looked like nothing more than a little girl teasing
her friend.
You would never imagine that she’s a demon lord intent on bringing
about the destruction of the demon race.
But the smile quickly vanished, her eyes narrowing.
Following her gaze, I immediately noticed that Bloe has been brought
to his knees by the hero, on the brink of his own demise.
“Bloe?!”
I cried out before I could stop myself.
But instead of taking Bloe’s life right away, the hero was talking to
him.
“Well, I guess I’ll go bring down the Demon Lord, then.”
“…Huh?”
“If the Demon Lord is the cause of the war, then all I have to do is
defeat her. Besides…it’s the hero’s duty to defeat the Demon Lord,
isn’t it?”
The hero’s voice rang out from the monitor.
“Wow. Say it to my face, why don’cha?”
268
On hearing this, the Demon Lord allowed a wicked smirk to spread
across her face.
“Let’s move on to the next phase of the plan, then.”
There was no mercy in her eyes, just the look of a coolheaded
destroyer.
As soon as the Demon Lord gave the order, Lady White disappeared
via Teleport, and a queen taratect materialized right next to Fort
Kusorion.
“Welcome back… Hmm? Where are Agner and Bloe?”

Lady White teleported back in, and the Demon Lord looked at her
quizzically.
She had returned alone.
Even though their conversation beforehand had indicated that White
was going to retrieve Sir Agner and Bloe.
White simply shook her head.
The monitor showed the hero fighting the queen taratect, so there
was no way to tell where Bloe and Agner were or if they were safe.
Once again, my mind filled with dread.
“Huh? What, are they dead?”
In response to the Demon Lord’s question, Lady White shook her
head again.
I wished they wouldn’t do things like that.
It was a relief to know he was safe, but that exchange was bad for
my heart.
“Hrm? What’s up, then?”
“Agner’s still fighting.”
269
First, White reported on Sir Agner’s situation, although her “report”
was only those three words.
I didn’t know the details, but I suppose that meant Sir Agner was still
in the heat of battle, so she wasn’t able to retrieve him.
“And Bloe?”
“Evacuating soldiers.”
“Aaaah. I bet he told you he’d stay behind to make sure his troops
get out safely, huh?”
A nod.
That is exactly the sort of thing Bloe would say, but as his older
brother, I wished he had just escaped with Lady White.
“Uh…hoo boy, really? If those two get killed in this mess, what was
the point of tagging in the queen taratect in the first place?”
The Demon Lord furrowed her brow in consternation.
…What exactly did she mean by that?
If I took those words at face value, it almost sounded like she had the
queen taratect sent in for the sole purpose of rescuing Sir Agner and
Bloe.
But would the Demon Lord really do such a thing?
Surely not.
“Hey, Balto.”
My thoughts were interrupted by someone calling my name.
“Yes?”
I carefully maintained a calm expression as I responded.
“Would you mind giving Bloe a little call?”
270
Which brings us to the present.
With a legendary-class monster like the queen taratect on the loose,
Bloe could be killed at any moment.
It’s a race against time.
If he doesn’t answer this call, then he might already be…
Staving off the rest of that thought, I focus on praying that Bloe will
pick up.
“Uh, is this thing on?”
“Bloe!”
My prayers are answered—I hear Bloe’s voice.
“Big brother?!”
“Yes, it’s me! Bloe, are you all right?!”
“Yeah, somehow.”
He sounds better than I expected; I breathe a sigh of relief.
If he can talk like this, that means he’s not in the middle of a fight
and certainly hasn’t already been caught in the crossfire and killed.
Then I need to tell him right away.
“Bloe, Lady White is coming back for you. Leave your soldiers and
return with her.”
“Hunh?!” Bloe snaps, sounding infuriated. “You’re really tellin’ me
to just ditch my people and get out of here?”
“That’s right.”
In spite of his rage, I can’t budge on this point.
My one and only little brother’s life is at stake.
“Sorry, brother. I’m not gonna do that, even if it’s on your order.”
“…I thought you might say that.”
271
Bloe’s always been this way.
He shows his compassion at the strangest times.
That’s why his subordinates respect him so much, but there’s a time
and a place for such things.
“Bloe. The Seventh Army soldiers are former rebels. You shouldn’t
worry about them.”
“Former, yeah? But they’re my soldiers now. That’s a more than
good enough reason to worry about them.”
Damn it! What about how I feel?!
“Even so! …Bloe, please. You’re far more important to me than any
of them…”
“Brother…”
My younger brother’s life means much more to me than any soldiers
whose faces and names I don’t even know.
Perhaps giving my relatives preferential treatment makes me a
failure as a leader, but those are my honest feelings.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…You really insist on staying there?”
We’re not so distant that I can’t figure out what Bloe is apologizing
for.
I know exactly what he means, whether I want to or not.
In the end, Bloe can’t abandon his soldiers.
“Yeah.”
“I see. Then be careful not to get caught in the battle between the
queen taratect and the hero. And make sure you come back alive.”
No amount of persuasion on my part will change Bloe’s mind.
272
All I can do now is pray for his safety.
“Got it, brother.”
“The hero’s going to be killed by the queen taratect, I’m sure. Don’t
do anything as embarrassing as stumbling into the middle of that
mess and getting yourself killed, all right?”
I try to keep my tone jocular.
“…Listen, brother.”
And yet, Bloe’s voice sounds strangely serious.
“What is it?”
“You seem pretty damn sure that the hero’s gonna lose to that
thing, huh?”
“Hmm? Well, of course.” I have no idea what Bloe is doubtful about.
“The queen taratect is the strongest monster among Her Majesty’s
spawn. Surely, even the hero cannot defeat it.”
“It’s…what?”
Bloe exhales in disbelief.
“Bloe? What’s wrong?”
“…Her spawn?”
“Ah…ah, I see. So you didn’t know. Yes, the queen taratect was
created by the Demon Lord.”
I thought I had taught Bloe just how terrifying the Demon Lord is, but
evidently, I never mentioned that she rules over the entire monster
race of taratects.
That explains why Bloe seems so shocked.
“…Brother.”
“What is it?”
273
“…If it’s her spawn, does that mean the Demon Lord herself is
even stronger than the queen taratect?”
“Of course,” I respond instantly.
With skills like Creature Training, it is possible to control a monster
stronger than the user in certain cases.
But Kin Control is different.
In that case, the controller is always stronger than the spawn being
controlled.
The moment the kin becomes stronger than the controller, the
effects of Kin Control no longer apply, so it’s impossible that the
Demon Lord’s kin could be stronger than her.
“…Ha! So that’s how it is!”
I can tell from the note of despair in Bloe’s voice that he finally
understands just how terrifying the Demon Lord is.
“You finally understand?”
“Yeah, unfortunately. Damn it all!”
Bloe roars in frustration.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
I really do mean that.
If he finally sees how strong the Demon Lord is, then perhaps his
attitude will improve a little.
“The hero said something about defeating the Demon Lord, but such
a thing is impossible. Her Majesty’s strength is far beyond
comparison to even the queen taratect.”
I doubt the hero will even be able to beat that giant monster.
Despite his bravado, he’ll die before he ever even reaches the
Demon Lord.
274
“…So there’s no choice but to obey the Demon Lord, huh?”
“That is our only option. Which is why we’re fighting now.”
This is the only path left to the demon race.
Everything, including the fate of the demon race, rests on this battle.
But right now, I’m more worried about Bloe than the entire demon
race combined.
“Bloe. Just make sure getting yourself back alive is your top priority.
Understood?”
“Yeah. I’ll give it my best shot.”
Something about that response fills me with anxiety.
“All right, I better get going.”
“Ah, wait! Bloe?! Bloe!”
I try calling out his name, but I don’t hear even a hint of Bloe’s voice
in response.
275
There’s a reason it’s called falling in love.
“I see. So the Demon Lord is saying she has no more use for me,
then…”
As I stare in shock at the queen taratect that suddenly appeared, I
hear a quiet mutter come from Agner, the enemy commander we’ve
been fighting.
Agner is extremely powerful.
He’s skilled enough to cross blades with Jeskan while still keeping up
a hail of magic aimed at Hawkin and me in the back.
That forces Hyrince to protect us, which leaves Jeskan on his own.
Jeskan has managed to survive with help from my Healing Magic, but
even if I can cure his wounds, I can’t restore his stamina.
He’s slowly getting worn down, so Hawkin has been using various
tools to try to keep Agner on his toes, but even that hasn’t been
enough to tip things in our favor.
We don’t have our main attacker, Julius, but it’s still four-on-one.
Yet, somehow, we’re barely a match for him.
In fact, he’s the one wearing us down.
I’ve never fought anyone so strong before.
I know some powerful people like Julius and his teacher, Elder
Ronandt, but we’ve never been on opposing sides.
This is the first time I’ve ever been in a fight to the death with
someone like that.
276
And it’s terrifying.
Far worse than any fight with a monster.
In those situations, I never lost heart because Julius was there.
So if we held out long enough this time for Julius to come back, we
could still win.
That was the only thought that kept me going all this time.
But now this…
The queen taratect’s breath attack lands a direct hit on Fort
Kusorion.
Nothing remains in its wake.
Nothing and no one…
Not the sturdy outer wall, the fort itself behind it, the people who
were defending it, or even the people who were attacking it…
“This can’t be real…”
My own voice sounds distant, as if it belongs to someone else.
I’ve never seen anything like this before.
Whether we’re fighting monsters or people, we always fight to win.
No matter how hard the battle, we’ve always been able to see a path
that leads to victory.
But this time, I can’t even envision us defeating that thing.
If the enemy is that much more overwhelmingly powerful, it’s not
even a fight anymore.
It’s a slaughter.
Certainly, I’ve seen many a slaughter before.
Namely, at the hands of Julius himself.
277
Monsters and people alike have been slaughtered by the hero.
They did everything they could to resist, of course.
But some things just aren’t possible.
There are opponents who simply can’t be defeated.
And it’s all too painfully obvious that the queen taratect before my
eyes is one such enemy who could never be defeated.
What we’re doing is fighting, not wholesale destruction.
But in the face of such destructive power that can blow away an
entire fort, no amount of humans could ever make a difference.
I can heal the injured, but I can’t revive someone who’s been
obliterated without even leaving a trace.
Jeskan is talented with a multitude of weapons, but given their size,
he wouldn’t be able to leave anything more than a scratch on that
giant creature.
No matter how much money Hawkin spent on any number of items,
he definitely couldn’t destroy a fort.
And Hyrince’s shield would be annihilated along with Hyrince
himself.
So this is a legendary-class monster.
So this is despair.
I’m amazed I’m still standing.
Suddenly, I notice the dull sound of metal clashing nearby.
“Don’t just stand there spacing out!”
Hyrince scolds me, and I feel like my eyes have suddenly been
opened.
I can’t believe I got scolded by him!
278
“I am not spacing out!”
“Get to work, then!”
I snap at him automatically, but he yells back in a strained voice.
His tone tells me that things are even worse than I realized.
That instinctual thrum of danger immediately brings me back to my
senses.
Then I realize that right nearby, Hyrince is locked shield to sword
with Agner.
“Whaaa—?!”
They’re still fighting in this situation?!
What? Ah, oh dear!
Jeskan is on the ground, covered in blood!
Agner must have hit him while I was still in shock.
“Boooss!”
“Idiot! Stay back!”
Hawkin starts to run toward Jeskan, but Agner’s eyes swivel over to
him, away from Hyrince.
If he jumps in now, he’ll be killed!
“Hawkin, no!”
Hawkin doesn’t heed our warnings and runs forward.
Immediately, Agner leaps away from Hyrince and closes in on
Hawkin.
“Guh?!”
279
Hawkin has his knife ready, but if even Jeskan was barely able to
keep up with Agner’s swordsmanship, there’s no way Hawkin will be
able to block him.
Hyrince chases after Agner, but he’s not going to catch up in time.
It’s down to me!
I weave Light Magic and shoot it toward Agner right away!
But Agner apparently saw it coming, and he counters it with Dark
Magic.
The moment our spells are expended, Agner slashes down at
Hawkin.
“Gwah?!”
The sword cuts clean through the knife and bites deep into Hawkin.
The knife splits apart like a stick, and a wide gash opens up on
Hawkin’s body.
“Gotcha!”
“Hngh?!”
White smoke billows out of Hawkin’s gaping wound, straight toward
Agner.
Engulfed in the smoke, Agner closes his stinging eyes.
There must’ve been blinding ash in Hawkin’s armor!
As Agner stumbles back, Hyrince catches up to him and strikes him
hard with his shield.
Hyrince’s shield has high defense abilities, and it’s incredibly heavy,
so it makes a good blunt weapon, too.
And across from Hyrince, Jeskan has dragged himself to his feet,
despite his wounds, and run over with his ax.
280
This wasn’t planned, but since the blinding ash is working, it’s a
perfectly timed pincer attack.
Surely, even Agner won’t be able to dodge or defend against this!
“Gaaah!”
With a roar, Agner catches Hyrince’s shield with his bare hand and
Jeskan’s with his sword.
He blocked them both?!
But…!
“Ngh?!”
My Light Magic lands a direct hit on his back.
His posture crumbles, and Hyrince and Jeskan both attack again
without missing a beat.
This time for sure…!
As soon as I think that, though, there’s a burst of darkness.
Huh?! How is this possible?!
Agner set off Dark Magic on the spot, sending himself as well as
Hyrince and Jeskan flying.
“Aaargh!”
Hawkin was nearby, so he gets knocked back, too, rolling across the
ground.
It looks like Hyrince managed to block with his shield just in time, but
Jeskan was already gravely wounded, so he’s crumpled on the
ground after getting hit by the explosive force head-on.
If I don’t heal him right away, his life will be in danger!
And yet, Agner is still standing.
281
He was in the very heart of the explosion, so he took the brunt of the
impact, yet he hasn’t gone down.
Agner sustained a fair amount of injuries himself in our fierce battle
before the queen taratect appeared, and that’s on top of his self-
destructive spell just now.
He must be terribly wounded, too. I can see from here that he is
bleeding in several places.
And yet, his wide-open eyes, despite being bloodshot from the
smoke, are just as full of the will to fight as ever.
Hyrince immediately moves between Agner and me, sword and
shield at the ready.
I can’t heal Jeskan unless we get through Agner somehow.
What should I do?!
Then I see Hawkin moving out of the corner of my eye.
He has a potion in his hand and is sneaking over to Jeskan so that
Agner won’t see him.
I don’t know if a potion will be enough to heal Jeskan’s wounds, but
right now I have no choice but to trust Hawkin.
All I can do is keep Agner’s attention over here.
“Why…?”
Without thinking, I speak in a quavering voice.
But it’s not just an act; it’s how I really feel.
I don’t understand why we have to do this right now!
Doesn’t he see the enormous thing behind us?!
“It is a hero’s job to defeat the Demon Lord, I’m told.”
Agner suddenly smiles.
282
“What?”
“That is what the little hero proclaimed, at least.”
I’m confused. Is he talking about Julius?
Does that mean that even while he was fighting the four of us, Agner
was monitoring Julius, too?
What an incredibly powerful man.
And how humiliating, too.
That means that he considered this fight with us nothing more than
the opening act before a showdown with the hero.
He fully intended to defeat us and then fight Julius—and he was so
confident it would play out that way that he’s been keeping an eye
on Julius this whole time.
During his battle with the four of us.
What could possibly be more mortifying?
“Well, there is your answer.”
Heedless of my feelings, Agner continues, nodding toward the queen
taratect.
“It’s a statement from the Demon Lord. Go ahead and try, if you
think you can. Heh…”
He sounds amused, and yet somehow, his smile is a little sad.
The queen taratect is a message from the Demon Lord, telling Julius
to go ahead and try to win?
That almost makes it sound like the queen taratect is the Demon
Lord…
“Are you saying that’s the Demon Lord?”
“Surely not,” Agner replies dismissively.
283
Of course it isn’t.
A monster like that could never be the Demon Lord…
“It’s just one of her spawn.”
…Huh?
“Naturally, the Demon Lord herself is far stronger.”
……What?
“Now then, hero. If you cannot even defeat that creature, then you
are a far cry from challenging the Demon Lord.”
Agner chuckles, just as a loud roar goes up in the direction he’s been
looking.
“Julius?!”
That sound announced the start of the battle between the queen
taratect and Julius.
“That idiot!”
Hyrince shouts in a panic.
I can’t blame him. It’s too reckless to try and take on a monster like
that, even for Julius!
“So he intends to accept the challenge? I suppose that is the course
of action befitting a hero. But I cannot say it is a wise decision.”
Agner’s observation is exactly right.
“But I must admit, I respect his determination.”
For a moment, Agner wears a gentle smile unlike any expression I’ve
seen on him thus far.
Seconds later, though, that expression disappears, replaced with one
of sympathy.
“But he cannot defeat the Demon Lord. No one can.”
284
His words almost sound like they’re based on experience.
…I remember what he murmured earlier: “So the Demon Lord is
saying she is through with me, then…”
Could it be?
“Have you challenged the Demon Lord before?”
“The Demon Lord is the strongest of all demons. That is all there is to
it.”
Though he didn’t directly answer the question, his bitter smile seems
like a confession that he was once defeated by the Demon Lord in
the past.
“So what did you mean when you said she ‘has no more use for
you’?”
I blurt out the question before I can stop myself.
“Exactly what it sounds like. That thing appeared while we were still
in the midst of battle. In other words, the Demon Lord has decided
to bury you and me all at once.”
I didn’t expect him to answer, but he readily explains his reasoning.
Agner has been abandoned by the Demon Lord.
“Then why are you still fighting?!”
If his leader is casting him aside, why would he bother to keep
fighting us?
He no longer has any reason to do such a thing.
“For the sake of the demon race, of course.”
“But hasn’t the Demon Lord abandoned you?!”
“Your point being?”
“Huh?”
285
I don’t understand Agner at all.
“I have dedicated my life to the Demon Lord because I determined
that was the only way to help demonkind. To throw me aside or
destroy me is the Demon Lord’s prerogative. I cannot deny her that.”
That way of thinking and that unshakable resolve make me shudder.
We’re speaking the same language, but I still can’t comprehend his
words.
It’s impossible for me to imagine being so defeated that you’d allow
your ruler to kill you.
So that means Agner is willing to throw away his own life on this
battlefield?
“I was ordered to conquer Fort Kusorion and to defeat the hero. So I
must not stop fighting until I accomplish those goals.”
Agner raises his sword again.
“Now, I believe I have let you buy more than enough time.”
I gasp.
Looking behind him, I see that Hawkin has reached Jeskan and used
the potion on him.
But Jeskan’s still not in any state to fight.
“And I afforded myself enough time for my own wounds to heal,
too.”
That makes me realize that, just as we were trying to buy time, he
was going along with it to earn himself a respite as well.
He must have an HP Auto-Recovery skill or something that healed his
wounds.
It was a temporary truce on the basis that it was mutually beneficial
for both parties.
286
Now that his wounds have healed, Agner’s next move will be…
“Hyrince!”
“I know!” Hyrince breaks into a run at the same time as Agner starts
moving.
He’s going after Hawkin and Jeskan, who’s still on the ground!
Agner runs toward the two of them, intending to take them out once
and for all.
Hawkin and Jeskan are across from Hyrince and me, with Agner
between us.
Which means that since Agner is running at them, his back is toward
us.
But…
“I can’t catch up!”
Hyrince isn’t fast enough to catch Agner. He’s not slow, of course,
but his stats are geared toward defense.
Besides, Agner has the tactical advantage in terms of basic abilities
anyway.
We can see his unprotected back, but we can’t catch up.
In that case…!
I shoot a Light Magic spell at his back.
We can’t catch up physically, but my magic can!
And yet—Agner dodges to one side without even a backward glance.
?!
How does he keep doing that?!
Does he have eyes in the back of his head?!
287
Usually, magic is near impossible to avoid.
Even a master of combat would have difficulty dodging something
that moves faster than an arrow.
But Agner does so with ease.
It’s not humanly possible, though I suppose he’s not human.
But he won’t be able to dodge this next blow, I’m sure!
Hyrince swings his arm with all his might and hurls his shield.
That shield is more than just plain defense: Sometimes it’s a blunt
weapon, and at times like these, it becomes a heavy projectile.
Of course, a shield bearer letting go of his shield is practically suicide,
so Hyrince rarely resorts to it.
That’s what makes it such an unexpected secret weapon.
Just as Agner catches up to Hawkin, the shield flies straight toward
his head!
But right as it’s about to hit, he leans to the side and deftly avoids it.
How?!
By this point, I’m beginning to suspect Agner might really have a skill
that allows him to see behind him.
At the very least, it’d be best to assume that he has a skill that lets
him keep track of everything going on around him.
In other words, surprise attacks from behind won’t work.
“Rrrgh?!”
But even he wasn’t quite able to react in time to a surprise attack
from the front.
Hawkin’s knife plunges into Agner’s leg.
288
He dodged my magic and Hyrince’s shield, but he couldn’t also avoid
Hawkin’s knife on top of that.
“Hawkin?!”
But it comes at a price: Hawkin takes a direct hit from Agner’s sword.
Blood flies everywhere.
It’s not like last time, when he deliberately took a hit to release the
blinding ash.
This time, the sword cuts deep into Hawkin’s body.
“…Well played, sir.”
Hawkin collapses.
“Dammit!”
Hyrince charges at Agner, but he’s already raised his sword, ready to
parry.
Without his shield, I doubt Hyrince can keep Agner occupied for long.
“Aaargh!”
But to my surprise, Hyrince bears down on him and makes Agner
stumble back.
Still bleeding, Jeskan manages to drag himself to his feet and slash at
the staggering Agner with his sword, too.
“Guh?!”
His movements clearly losing their polish, Agner suffers a hit from
Jeskan’s flaming magic sword.
But that seems to be the last of Jeskan’s strength; he collapses back
onto the ground.
“Heh! Not bad for a last-ditch effort, eh?”
Even as he falls, Jeskan manages one last grin.
289
Lying next to him on the ground, Hawkin wears a similar grin.
When I see the knife still gripped in Hawkin’s hand, I realize why
Agner’s movements have suddenly failed him.
It’s a magic blade Julius received from Elder Ronandt, imbued with
Paralysis and Lightning attributes.
That must be what’s slowing Agner down.
“Finish it now!”
“You got it!”
Jeskan shouts, and Hyrince calls out in response.
His sword strikes Agner as the latter is still staggering from Jeskan’s
attack.
The blade pierces Agner’s chest.
“Ngh! Don’t think you’ve won yet!” Agner bellows.
He instantly mounts a counterattack.
“Huh?!”
Hyrince immediately blocks it with his gauntlet but lets go of his
sword in the process.
Agner jumps forward, and Hyrince steps back.
Fortunately, Agner’s attack is slowed by the paralysis and his
wounds, so it doesn’t look like there’s much strength left behind it.
Hyrince seems unharmed.
“Gah!”
Agner coughs up blood, but he’s still standing.
“How foolish…but I must…still fight…”
He starts to steady himself again.
290
What incredible persistence.
What is driving him to go so far…?
“For…the demon…race…”
Agner raises his sword.
Hyrince is unarmed, but he braces himself nonetheless.
“……?”
But several moments pass, and Agner still hasn’t moved.
Hyrince walks up to him.
“…He’s dead.”
Agner ran out of strength and died while still standing on his feet.
…What a terrifying foe he was.
We’ve never faced such a strong opponent with an equally strong
force of will.
Even in death, he’s still holding his sword at the ready…
Wait, this is no time to be impressed!
“Hawkin! Jeskan! Are you okay?!”
I run over to the two of them on the ground and start using Healing
Magic right away.
“‘Okay’ might be a stretch, but I’m alive.”
“Same here.”
Jeskan and Hawkin respond weakly.
But there are smiles on their faces.
“Well, boss, did I come in handy?”
“You sure did. We only won because of you.”
291
Hawkin grins proudly at Jeskan’s words.
It’s true; if it weren’t for him, we never would’ve beaten Agner.
The blinding ash and the paralyzing knife. Those were two major
openings Hawkin created for us at the risk of his own life.
Those were the keys to our victory.
I’m sure if we had fought him head-on without Hawkin, we would
have lost.
“But this is as far as we go.”
Jeskan pulls himself up into a sitting position.
“Little Miss, Hyrince, don’t worry about us. Just go.”
Jeskan points toward the massive queen taratect.
Julius is still fighting over there.
“But what about your injuries?”
“They’re a little better thanks to your Healing Magic. We’ve got
potions, too, so we won’t die. But we won’t be back on the front
lines anytime soon. Not me, and not Hawkin.”
Of course not.
Their wounds are anything but minor.
In fact, if anything, those injuries are…
“We’ll heal ourselves up with potions and get out of here so we don’t
slow you down. Hyrince…you’ve got to go get Julius and bring him
back.”
“Right. I got it. Let’s go, Yaana.”
“W-wait!”
“Just go already!”
292
“Yeah, don’t pay us any mind.”
Jeskan shoos us onward with a flap of his hand, and Hawkin smiles
and waves weakly, still prone on the ground.
Hyrince grabs my hand and drags me away from them, interrupting
my Healing Magic.
“Wait! Hyrince, wait!”
Ignoring my protests, Hyrince keeps moving.
“But Jeskan and Hawkin are…!”
“I know!!”
Hyrince shouts so forcefully that I start to tremble.
“…I know,” he repeats more quietly. “But I can’t just ignore their last
wishes.”
Ah…
So Hyrince realizes it, too.
Jeskan and Hawkin are fatally wounded…
Those aren’t the kind of injuries you could heal with a potion.
In fact, they are so serious that even my best Healing Magic might
not be able to save them.
As the saint, I’ve been focused on healing for so long that my health
assessments on the battlefield are rarely wrong.
Which means that if I used all my strength, I might still be able to
save them.
By sending Hyrince and me to Julius anyway, they’re telling us to
save Julius instead of them.
Jeskan and Hawkin are both prepared to die for this.
“……Mmmph!”
293
I can’t stop the tears from falling.
Those two are our precious comrades, dependable guardians, and
irreplaceable family.
Though we are all equals in the hero’s party, they are the eldest, so
they looked after us like father figures.
Since I was raised in a church, they were the closest thing to parents
I’ve ever known.
And now part of my family is going to die.
My body trembles uncontrollably, although it isn’t cold outside.
I can’t keep my thoughts straight, and my vision grows hazy.
For a moment, I can’t tell if this is a nightmare or reality.
But there’s no point trying to avoid the truth.
This is really happening.
We’ve lost two of our beloved comrades.
As the saint, I’ve encountered death many times before.
I’ve had patients who died in spite of my healing.
I’ve taken the lives of our enemies while serving in the hero’s party.
But though they were physically close by, those people were still
strangers to me.
Somewhere deep down, a part of me believed that would never
happen to us.
As long as we had Julius, everything would be fine.
I had entrusted my safety to that assumption.
There had been very few fights that posed a serious threat to the
hero Julius’s life, so I believed such a fight would never come.
294
Julius himself was confident that day would come someday, which is
why I desperately prayed that it wouldn’t.
There were a few close calls, like the battles with the greater wyrm
or the earth spirit, but we had never encountered a fight that spelled
certain doom before.
So I was sure this battle would be fine, too.
At least, that was what I wanted to believe.
But now, Jeskan and Hawkin…
And at this very moment, Julius is fighting the queen taratect.
It’s a legendary-class monster, the same danger level as the phoenix
that once gravely injured Hyrince.
Even Julius can’t defeat a monster like that.
He’ll die.
The image of Julius lying lifeless on the ground flashes across my
mind.
I’m scared.
No, no, no, no!
Julius can’t die! I’m scared!
After losing Jeskan and Hawkin, I can’t possibly bear to lose Julius,
too!
I put more strength into my faltering footsteps and keep running as
Hyrince pulls my hand along.
This is no time to look away from reality.
I have to do something.
I have to save Julius.
That’s the moment Julius comes into view.
295
“…Ah?!”
My breath catches in my throat.
Julius is covered in wounds, his armor in tatters.
But he’s still holding his sword at the ready, squaring off against the
queen taratect.
He’s alive.
Part of me is relieved, but his dire state makes me worry that he
won’t be for long.
On the other hand, the queen taratect still looks completely healthy.
I can’t spot a single serious scratch on it, and its massive form is just
as terrifying as when it first appeared.
As I look on, the queen taratect raises one of its front legs and brings
it down toward Julius.
“Julius?!”
My cry is so completely drowned out by the ensuing boom that it
doesn’t even reach my own ears.
Just a single step.
It pierces the very earth, sending up a cascade of dirt and dust.
Julius tumbles across the ground.
It wasn’t a direct hit—Julius dodged the queen taratect’s leg.
But the shock waves alone are enough to send a human flying.
A chill runs down my spine as Julius tumbles to a halt.
I can’t help worrying that he might never get up again.
Luckily, Julius stands right away, so my fears were for nothing this
time.
296
But if he keeps fighting that queen taratect, I can only assume that
worry will become a reality sooner rather than later.
This isn’t a fight—it’s a slaughter.
Julius doesn’t have even the slightest chance of winning. The
outcome was clear from the start.
I have to find a way to change that.
“Julius! Get back!”
“?! Hyrince?! Yaana?!”
Hyrince steps in front of Julius and readies his shield.
Normally, taking shelter behind that shield is deeply reassuring, but
against the queen taratect, it’s hardly any better than a thin wooden
plank.
I stand next to Julius and start healing him immediately.
“You can’t be here! Both of you, get to safety right now!”
“Idiot! You’re the one who needs to run! I’ll buy some time! Yaana,
grab that idiot and get out of here!”
“Ah! …All right!”
I hesitate for a moment, but in the end, I agree to Hyrince’s
command.
He said he’ll buy time, but I don’t see how Hyrince could possibly
slow down the queen taratect.
But he’s still willingly putting his life on the line to give us a chance.
I can’t afford to waste valuable seconds wondering whether it’s the
right choice.
We’re the hero’s party.
Our top priority has to be the life of the hero, Julius.
297
Even beyond that official sense of duty, though, all of us want Julius
to live.
Jeskan and Hawkin even sent us to save Julius at the cost of their
own healing.
I can’t let their sacrifice go to waste.
And I have to do it for Hyrince, too, as he’s putting himself at risk
right now to buy time.
“Julius! Let’s go!”
I grab Julius’s hand, but he doesn’t move.
“I can’t run away now!”
With that, he turns to face the queen taratect again.
It’s impossible. And insane.
Anyone can see that there’s no way to defeat that thing.
It wouldn’t even be a fight.
Why would you knowingly run toward your death?
That would be the same as dying in vain.
“Julius! You have to run!”
“No! I’m the hero! I can’t run away!”
“It’s because you’re the hero that you have to run! You’ve got to
survive!”
We don’t have time to waste on this.
Even as that thought flashes across my mind, Hyrince disappears
from before my eyes.
Moments later, a gust of wind blasts toward us.
I cover my face automatically.
298
And when the wind dies down and I look forward again, the queen
taratect is right in front of us.
“Ah…”
Where is Hyrince…?
I don’t know what happened.
But the queen taratect must have done something, probably swatted
him away with its leg.
Which might mean that Hyrince took the hit for us and got blown
away.
Is Hyrince all right?
I’m worried about him, but first I have to do something about the
situation at hand.
Julius is still trying to press forward.
I use all my strength to pull on his hand, still gripped in mine.
When I first met Julius, my initial feelings were of sympathy.

Almost like I was recognizing someone of my own kind.
As a candidate for sainthood, I underwent training at the church
from a young age.
Did I have promise from the beginning? It’s hard to say.
I was somewhat talented, but there were plenty of other candidates
who excelled more than I did.
But since I was the same age as Julius, I was chosen as the saint over
far more qualified candidates.
I never thought I would be chosen, so at first I was thrilled by the
unexpected boon.
299
But I would soon learn what it meant to become the saint over my
more talented seniors.
That it meant standing above the other candidates who weren’t
chosen.
I had to live up to all their expectations.
Soon I realized how much pressure that entailed.
Like me, Julius is under the immense pressure that comes with being
the hero, so I instinctively felt a kinship with him.
But during the fight against the human-trafficking organization, I
learned just how different it is to be chosen as the hero by the gods,
as opposed to being chosen as the saint by other humans.
Julius is a true hero.
He despises evil, seeks justice, and presses onward down his thorny
path without hesitation.
And he’s not fighting because he feels he has no other choice, like
me. He’s doing it because it’s what he wants to do.
I became the saint because I followed the teachings I grew up with,
while Julius became the hero because of who he already was. It may
seem the same at a glance, but they could not be more different.
So the next emotion I felt toward him was intense admiration.
The admiration that a fake feels after laying eyes on the genuine
article.
If I was with Julius long enough, maybe my artificial sense of justice
would become the real thing.
That would make me happy.
Although in truth, the days went by too quickly for me to think about
such things.
300
Spending every waking hour fighting at Julius’s side was exhausting
and fulfilling.
Because Julius always fights for what’s right.
He’s always pursuing what he believes in.
Although he might second-guess himself from time to time, Julius
always does his absolute best to keep pushing forward with all his
might.
I was so busy trying to keep up with him that my head constantly felt
like it was spinning.
But staying by his side was also rewarding, because I knew I was
doing it all for the people and for Julius.
And somewhere along the way, that admiration became love.
Even I’m not sure when exactly that happened.
There was no dramatic moment where everything changed. I just
realized one day that I was in love with Julius.
I always wanted to be with him, to walk beside him.
So I do realize, you know, that Julius doesn’t intend to marry anyone.
He knows how I feel, and he won’t respond to my feelings.
Isn’t that just awful?
Leading me on with no intention of ever returning my feelings is
downright cruel.
But I can’t hate him for it, because I know he thinks it’s a kindness.
Julius is always lamenting his own weakness.
He thinks that if he was stronger, he might be able to save more
people.
301
And because of his so-called weakness, he says he’s bound to do
something foolish and get himself killed someday.
If Julius was to get married, then he would leave that person
heartbroken and alone when that fated time came.
That’s why he said he’d never get married.
Which is typical of Julius, I think.
No ordinary person would behave that way.
After all, that way of thinking doesn’t leave any room for Julius’s own
happiness.
If you ask me, Julius is a true hero to a fault.
The hero is humanity’s last hope. An agent of good to guide people
to happiness. A warrior who keeps fighting for that cause no matter
how much it hurts him.
When does Julius himself get to be happy? Never.
He’s self-sacrificial by nature.
So he thinks he’s going to be the first of us to die.
But…oh, Julius.
Don’t you know?
There are so many people who want you to live, who want you to be
happy.
Just like you wish for other people’s happiness, we’re always wishing
for yours.
Which is why I want you to live.
I yank on Julius’s arm, pulling him behind me.

At that moment, Julius’s face is full of shock.
302
I wonder what my expression looks like right now.
I know I’m no beauty, but I hope my face is glowing in my final
moments, at least.
I hope I’m wearing my best smile.
The queen taratect’s giant leg bears down on us from above.
Julius, please live.

Be happy.
Ah, but…
Despite myself, there’s a part of me that hopes I’ll leave a mark on
Julius’s heart forever.
I’m a selfish woman, aren’t I?
They call it falling in love because it brings your thoughts and wishes
down to new lows.
I’m still falling, lower and lower.
But you know, I’ll never regret falling in love with you.
303
304
For every meeting, there is a parting.
My first parting was losing my mother.
She was never especially healthy, but after she gave birth to Shun,
her condition rapidly deteriorated until she passed away.
“Is it possible the true queen had a hand in it?”
There were rumors to that effect, but I don’t believe my father’s first
wife would do anything so careless.
I can’t exactly call her an ally, but I do have a certain faith in her.
For better or for worse, she is a key figure in our government. She
only takes actions that she thinks will benefit the kingdom.
…And to be honest, I don’t really need to know the truth about how
my mother died.
I just didn’t want to hate anyone for it.
I was terribly sad about the loss of my mother, and I didn’t want that
sadness to turn into hatred for someone else.
Not the true queen, despite the rumors.
And not Shun, who had in a sense been born at the cost of my
mother’s life.
I didn’t want to hate either of them.
Especially Shun. Hating him seemed like it would be rejecting the
final proof that my mother lived, and that frightened me.
A hero should never hate someone for personal reasons.
305
That sort of feeling wouldn’t make my mother proud.
I kept on reminding myself of that, and so I was able to simply grieve
my mother’s death without resenting anyone for it.
If there was one person I was angry with, it was probably myself for
not being strong enough.
If only I was stronger, maybe I could have saved my mother.
That feeling has stayed with me ever since.
When I saw the people who lost their families to the human-
trafficking organization.
People whose parents were killed by monsters.
The coffin that contained Mr. Tiva’s body.
“People live and someday die. We cannot change that. Nor can we
choose how we will die. But what we can choose is how we live. It’s
not how he died that’s important but how he carried himself in life.
Thinking about what you can do for the dead, what you could’ve
done for the dead, is nothing but a form of arrogance. All the living
need do is grieve the dead and remember how they lived.”
Those were the words of my teacher, Elder Ronandt.
I constantly find myself wishing that I was stronger, and every time, I
remember his words.
Everyone will die someday.
That means there will inevitably be partings.
I’m sure my teacher has experienced far more partings than I have;
there’s no way to avoid them.
I think he was trying to tell me that I should accept them when they
come, instead of dwelling on regrets, and keep on living life to the
fullest.
306
But for me, living my life as best as I can means that I don’t want to
see someone die before my eyes.
If they’re in reach, I want to save them.
In fact, if they’re not in reach, I’ll find a way to save them anyway.
Even if it means hurting myself in the process.
That’s how I want to live my life.
I’m sure my teacher would be angry if he heard me say that.
But I just can’t change the way I live.
I’m sorry, Master. I’m probably going to die young.
“Hrm. All right, this is an order from your master. You are
forbidden to die before me. Understand? And when I die, you have to
cling to my casket and cry even harder than you did today.”
Master, I might not be able to obey that order after all.
So if that time comes, you’ll have to scold my casket instead.
You stupid apprentice! you’ll say.
Yes, I accepted my death long ago.
But…I didn’t want to let anyone else die.
That’s why I decided that I would be the first.
I swore I would be, and yet…
Before my eyes, Yaana disappears from sight under the queen

taratect’s leg.
I can’t process what I’m seeing.
Yaana was at my side just a second ago.
I can still feel her warmth where she grabbed my arm.
But…but now…
307
Now I don’t see Yaana anymore.
She’s gone.
Even though she was right here.
She was here…
Instead, I only see the queen taratect’s leg.
Which means Yaana must be under there…
“I have to save her.”
My own murmur startles me back to life.
That’s right.
Why am I just standing around in shock?
I’ve got to save Yaana.
It’ll be fine. I can still rescue her.
She’ll be okay. She has to be!
Falteringly, I try to stagger toward the queen taratect.
“What the hell are you doing?! Snap out of it!”
Then someone grabs my hand from behind.
My head is shoved downward, forcing me to the ground.
The queen taratect’s leg passes just above my head.
Another sweeping attack.
Even with my high stats as the hero, a single hit might very well kill
me.
Realizing I just narrowly escaped death, I finally start to regain my
composure.
“Hyrince?”
308
“Hey! You finally snapped out of it?!”
It was Hyrince who pushed me down.
He’s on the ground, too, having just barely avoided the queen
taratect’s attack.
His forehead is bleeding, and his breath is ragged.
Even his shield has been bent out of shape, crumpled from the
enormous impact it took.
Looking closer, I notice that his left hand is twisted at an unnatural
angle.
Hyrince stood in front of the queen taratect to let us get away and
took an attack from it head-on.
It looks like he managed to protect himself with the shield, but even
then, it did some serious damage.
“Hyrince?! Your arm!”
“No time to worry about that right now! We’ve gotta get out of
here!”
Hyrince pulls himself up with his unbroken right hand and yanks me
to my feet by the collar.
“Wait a minute! I have to save Yaana!”
“?!”
As I try to dig my feet in, Hyrince’s face twists with despair.
And then he says it.
“Yaana’s already dead!”
The undeniable words I can’t bear to hear.
It’s as if time has stopped.
I must have already known. I just didn’t want to admit it.
309
Yaana…is dead.
The queen taratect…stomped on her…and crushed her to death.
“She gave her life to protect you, so you’ve got to survive!”
Hyrince grabs my shoulder and pulls hard.
Then he jumps back with me in tow, sending us to the ground again.
The queen taratect’s leg whooshes by where we were standing just
moments ago.
The same leg that crushed Yaana.
In that instant, something breaks inside me.
“Julius! Can you stand?!”
“Yeah.”
I hear a cold voice come out of my mouth, though it doesn’t sound
like mine.
“Julius?”
“Hyrince, you go on ahead.”
“What the hell are you…?”
“I’ve got to kill this thing.”
Hyrince catches his breath at my sudden intensity.
I stand up and raise my sword.
“Julius! This is crazy!”
Hyrince tries to stop me, but it doesn’t matter.
A hero isn’t supposed to hate anyone for personal reasons.
But from this moment on, I’m not fighting as the hero. I’m fighting as
Julius Zagan Analeit!
I shove Hyrince back.
310
Then, just as the queen taratect’s leg comes sweeping sideways
again, I duck down and avoid it.
The queen taratect is massive.
Because of that, its movements are clumsy.
It’s insanely fast for its size, but if I know an attack is coming, I can
dodge it!
“Julius!”
Hyrince shouts my name from behind me, but I keep pressing
forward.
Using Dimensional Maneuvering, I sprint into the sky until I’m right
next to the queen taratect’s main body.
I’m aiming for the base of its leg, where its joint is attached.
Its exoskeleton is probably too tough for me to even leave a scratch.
But if I attack the joint…!
CLAAAANG!
But my sword is deflected without mercy.
Forget the exoskeleton—I can’t even dent the joint, where it should
be weaker.
Why?!
Why am I so powerless?!
I despair at how feeble I am.
But there’s no time for that: The queen taratect’s massive abdomen
is hurtling toward me.
It’s trying to crush me with its body!
Given its enormous size, that would be all too easy.
311
And because of that size, its attack radius is so large that I can’t
dodge it!
Unable to avoid the queen taratect’s body slam, I am pushed down
to the ground.
But right before impact, I use Earth Magic to make a cavern just large
enough for me to safely escape.
I slide into the opening to avoid getting crushed.
The queen taratect, probably assuming it finally finished me off,
stands up again.
I crawl out of the ground and run.
It’s strong.
Legendary-class monsters really are horrifying, though I already knew
this.
Like the Nightmare of the Labyrinth and the phoenix.
All the legendary-class monsters I’ve encountered have been
gigantic, and this one is no exception.
Our fight so far has made the queen taratect’s strength painfully
clear.
Most of its power comes purely from its high stats.
Its attacks with its giant legs are simple, but that’s more than enough
to be a lethal weapon.
And its defense is so high that none of my attacks can touch it.
Simple as the issue is, it limits my options severely.
Essentially, I need an attack that will pierce its defense.
And since my attacks couldn’t touch it, in spite of my status as the
hero, it’s painfully clear how impossible a task that will be.
312
But I can’t back down now.
I won’t!
Yes, I know that Yaana’s death was my fault.
Because I insisted that I wouldn’t run away, Yaana died protecting
me.
My stubbornness, my sense of duty as the hero—that’s what killed
her!
Because I was weak, because I wasn’t strong enough!
I know that running away is the best chance to ensure that her
sacrifice isn’t in vain.
But if I did that, I would never forgive myself.
Yes, I do hate someone.
I hate myself for being helpless.
And I hate this queen taratect for killing Yaana!
“Do you want to use it?”
Just then, there’s a voice directly in my head.
Instinctively, my eyes flit to the other sword at my waist.
The voice belongs to the Light Dragon Byaku, who lives within that
sword.
The Sword of the Hero.
It’s a weapon that only the hero can use, which can apparently
defeat any opponent but can be used only once.
Byaku is asking if I want to use that sword now.
“…No.”
To be honest, I can’t say it isn’t a tempting offer.
313
The queen taratect is a terrifying monster.
It’d be incredibly difficult to fight it on my own and win, but if I use
the Sword of the Hero, I might be able to defeat it instantly.
When I acquired the Sword of the Hero, I vowed to Byaku that I
wouldn’t use it.
At the time, I thought that using this sword to defeat one creature or
one person, accomplishing that with a power that wasn’t my own,
would never be the path to true peace.
That hasn’t changed.
I still believe that the only way to create true peace is through
persistent effort from the people living in that age.
But right now, I’m not going to use it for a different reason.
“If I use it now, I can’t use it on the Demon Lord.”
The queen taratect was sent here by the Demon Lord.
According to that demon general who called himself Bloe, the
demons are being forced into battle because of the Demon Lord.
He said they would be wiped out otherwise.
I get it now.
If she’s strong enough to control a queen taratect, it’s no wonder
they would have to obey her.
In other words, the Demon Lord is the cause of all this!
I can’t even imagine using the Sword of the Hero on anyone else.
“I know I was high-and-mighty about it before, but I will be using the
Sword of the Hero after all. On the Demon Lord.”
It seems there is hatred in me.
For my powerless self.
314
For the queen taratect who killed Yaana.
And most of all, for the Demon Lord who sent the queen taratect
here!
The Sword of the Hero loses its power after a single use.
If the Demon Lord can command the queen taratect, I’m sure I can’t
beat her.
I’ll need the power of the Sword of the Hero.
…I’m so weak.
Too weak to accomplish anything on my own.
I couldn’t even protect the girl I loved…
It’s pathetic, but that’s why I have to use any help I can get.
“When that time comes, please lend me your strength!”
“…Very well, if that is what you wish.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. But what do you plan to do about this,
then?”
The queen taratect looms before me.
“I plan to win.”
Honestly, I have no idea how I’m going to make that happen.
But even so, I have to win.
“If I lose, I’ll apologize on my hands and knees to Yaana on the other
side.”
Maybe that would be all right, too.
Win or lose, I won’t have any regrets.
With that decided, my mind clears up a bit.
315
But I still have no intention of losing.
I’ll avenge Yaana. Whether that’s what she would have wanted or
not.
I’m fighting because that’s what I want to do!
Not as the hero but as Julius Zagan Analeit.
“Here we go!”
I start forming magic!
A few cheap tricks aren’t going to do the job.
I need to use all the power I have!
Holy Light Magic: Holy Light Beam.
The Holy Light Beam hits the queen taratect head-on.
Its massive body might be a giant weapon, but it’s also a giant target.
But its defense is too high for that to be a serious problem.
Even a direct hit from my Holy Light Beam doesn’t leave a mark.
I knew that’s how it would turn out, though.
You won’t see me getting discouraged that easily!
The queen taratect’s eight eyes swivel toward me.
Then one of its legs vanishes.
It didn’t really disappear—it just moved so fast that it was near
impossible to follow.
“Ugh!”
I dive to the side just in time to avoid a direct hit.
Even then, a shock wave erupts like a huge explosion went off right
next to me, slamming into my body.
But I have no time to worry about that.
316
Another leg just vanished.
Despite its massive size, it’s unbelievably fast.
Trusting my instincts, I move to one side.
A gust of wind barrels past me.
It must be because the queen taratect has swung its leg again.
I move my own legs and keep running around, knowing I could be
crushed if I move a second too late.
But I have no way of winning if I just keep dodging.
As I run, I start casting a new spell.
Then I unleash another Holy Light Beam.
I’m aiming for its giant eyes!
The eyes are a weak point for any living being.
Even with the queen taratect’s unbelievable defense power, its eyes
must still be vulnerable.
Sure enough, the queen taratect dodges for the first time, even
though it’s ignored all my other attacks thus far.
It deftly avoided the Holy Light Beam that would’ve hit it right in the
eyes.
That must mean that if I can hit its eyes, I can damage the queen
taratect.
The time between the initial casting of Holy Light Beam and when it
lands is incredibly short, so it usually doesn’t miss.
That said, it takes a while to construct, so it can be easy to anticipate
when I’m preparing it.
Just now, though, the queen taratect dodged my Holy Light Beam
after it was fired.
317
Which means the queen taratect is as fast as the Holy Light Beam or
even faster.
It’s not that it wasn’t able to avoid my attacks up until now. It simply
didn’t dodge them because it had no reason to bother.
The only way I can damage the queen taratect is to stop its
movements somehow and hit its eyes with all my might.
…Stop this massive thing from moving?
Is that even possible?
No, I can’t get intimidated now!
I knew going in that my chances of winning were slim!
The queen taratect is a living creature, too.
It’s not invincible, nor is it immortal.
That means I can beat it.
I can, and I will!
The queen taratect’s eight eyes fix on me.
For the first time, I can see an emotion in those eyes.
Irritation.
Thus far, it’s been fighting me almost automatically, without showing
any interest at all.
It looks like the real fight’s about to begin.
Just as I start to brace myself, I’m suddenly sent flying.
“Guh?!”
Blood sprays from my mouth.
I can’t even tell what just happened.
318
All its attacks thus far have been frightening, too, but none was so
fast that I failed to process what was happening.
Does that mean it’s been holding back all this time?
But why?
As my thoughts churn wildly, the queen taratect slowly starts
walking.
Deliberately slowly, as if to show off its enormous form.
“Nnngh!”
I jump to my feet.
In response, the queen taratect slowly raises its leg high in the air.
As if it wants to show me what true despair looks like.
To be honest, it really does feel like this is as far as I can go.
I even glance at the Sword of the Hero at my hip, wondering if I’ll
have to use it after all.
As that leg comes down, I’m almost certain that I’m about to die.
But I don’t.
A huge barrage of spells strike the queen taratect in the side.
“Huh?”
Who in the world did that?!
Looking in the direction the magic came from, I see a large group of
soldiers charging this way on horseback.
The soldiers who were at Fort Kusorion.
“Why?”
I thought I told them to run…
“Protect Sir Hero!”
319
“We’re here to help!”
“Just use whatever you’ve got!”
Galloping around on horses, the soldiers keep casting spells.
Magic like that won’t hurt the queen taratect.
But, perhaps annoyed by it, the gigantic monster lowers the leg it
was about to bring down toward me.
“What kinda soldiers would we be if we made the hero do
everything?!”
“Sir Hero saved my child! This is my one chance to pay him back!”
“We’ll show ’em what humans can do when our backs are up against
the wall!”
The soldiers shout as they charge forward, as if they are letting out
all their fear.
“They all came running to help you.”
“Hyrince?!”
Somehow, Hyrince is standing at my side.
“But I thought you ran away?”
“Moron! As if I’d ever leave you behind!”
Hyrince raps me on the head with his broken left hand.
“Same goes for everyone else. They couldn’t just run away and leave
you here. Everyone is hoping and praying for you to live—don’t you
get it? That includes Yaana.”
“……”
How am I supposed to respond to something like that?
After all, I’m being selfish right now.
320
I’m fighting as an individual, not the hero.
“I can’t make everyone go along with my selfishness…”
“Sure you can. You always put yourself last, y’know? No one’s gonna
mind if you wanna be selfish for once in your life.”
Hyrince assures me that it’s all right, even though it means dragging
so many people into a desperate life-and-death battle.
“You’re gonna win, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then get it done like a real hero!”
“Right!”
The queen taratect starts moving again, as if it were waiting for our
exchange to end.
But it turns toward the charging soldiers.
“Oh no!”
The giant beast’s mouth opens.
It’s going to use a breath attack.
The same attack that destroyed Fort Kusorion!
I jump between the queen taratect and the soldiers.
“Julius?!”
Quickly, I form a spell.
“Listen up, Julius. If all you want to do is use magic, skills are
plenty for that. But if you truly want to master magic, that isn’t good
enough. How do you normally create and unleash spells? Be aware of
that, and ask yourself how you can do it stronger, faster, and more
accurately.”
That’s what my master taught me.
321
So I try my best to be mindful.
How am I using magic, and what do I want it to do?
Right now, what I want is a sturdy shield that will protect everyone!
“Instead of trying to bear the brunt of its power, I simply changed
its direction.”
I remember something Mr. Tiva once said.
“If your opponent is too strong, you won’t accomplish much by
trying to block their attacks head-on. At times, you must create an
opening by redirecting their strength.”
This must be what he meant!
I tilt the shield of light I’ve created at an angle.
When the queen taratect’s breath attack comes roaring out, I deflect
it with my shield.
“Nnnngh…!”
The impact is intense.
It’s too strong for me to fully deflect it.
At this rate, it’ll break through!
“If you can’t do it on your own, we’ll just have to do it together,
right? Even if you’re not strong enough alone, we’ll be strong enough
as a team. Take what just happened. You might not’ve stood a
chance if you were alone, but we were with you. That’s why we all
made it back alive. You’ve got friends who want to fight at your side,
see? So try to depend on us more.”
“Hyrince!”
I call out the name of the dear friend who said those words.
“On it!”
Right away, Hyrince runs over to support me.
322
He must be in pain, since his hand is broken, but he still pushes with
all his might.
“Aaaaah!”
With Hyrince’s help, I push back the breath until it changes direction
and bounces off harmlessly into the sky.
The queen taratect recoils, looking taken aback for the first time.
“NOOOOW!”
The soldiers seize that opportunity to charge forward on horseback.
With the queen taratect’s high defense, that probably wouldn’t
cause it any pain.
But as the dozens of knights charge at once during the monster’s
brief moment of hesitation, even if it doesn’t cause any damage, it’s
more than enough to knock those legs off-balance.
The queen taratect stumbles a couple of steps.
It’s a small opening but a clear one.
“Go!”
“I’m on it!”
Hyrince pushes me forward, and I use that momentum to leap up
high.
Using Dimensional Maneuvering, I whirl through the air, filling my
sword with holy light.
The queen taratect glares at me.
I choose one of its eyes and stab my sword into it with all my might!
“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
The queen taratect’s screech of pain rattles the very air.
I finally managed to do some damage to it!
323
All I did was crush one eye, but that’s more than enough!
“Magic items are made to be used, y’know? Ain’t no point dyin’ to
conserve ’em.”
“Weapons are part of your strength, too. What’s wrong with using
them to win?”
Hawkin’s and Jeskan’s words play back in my mind.
Right, this is the perfect time to use that!
I reach down and draw it from its scabbard.
No, not the Sword of the Hero.
It’s a short sword.
A magic sword known as an “exploding sword.”
The last of the ten magic swords that my master gave me!
Like the Sword of the Hero, they can be used only once.
I thrust this one deep into the queen taratect’s wounded eye.
“Haaaah!”
Then I cast a Holy Light Beam to drive it in even deeper!
There’s an explosion.
And then a moment of silence.
“It’s coming down?!”
The queen taratect’s massive body slowly leans to the side.
I hurriedly move away from it.
Seconds later, the enormous monster crashes to the ground, creating
huge tremors in the earth.
“…Did we…win?”
Hyrince murmurs in disbelief.
324
I slowly raise my sword to the sky.
“Y…YAAAAAAAAH!”
One of the soldiers raises a cry of triumph.
I keep holding my sword aloft, acknowledging the cheers.
Don’t cry yet!
As long as people are watching, I have to keep being the hero.
Later, when I’m alone, that’s when I’ll cry my eyes out.
But I think I can at least be allowed a scream.
“AAAAAAAAAH!”
I did it, Yaana.
While everyone celebrates the defeat of the queen taratect, Hyrince

quickly walks away.
Noticing him, I silently follow.
Then Hyrince stops.
Just as I move to join him…
“Don’t come any closer!”
…he shouts to stop me in my tracks.
“Hyrince…is she…there?”
“Yeah…”
“Then I—”
“Don’t! Julius, don’t you dare come over here!”
She’s right here.
But Hyrince won’t let me see her.
325
“Please. I’m begging you—don’t come over. Don’t look. I’m sure
Yaana wouldn’t want you to see her like this, either…”
Hyrince’s voice is choked with barely suppressed sobs.
Yaana is hidden behind him, his broad back blocking my view.
But Hyrince is begging me not to look.
That alone is enough for me to imagine what sort of awful state she
must be in.
And I can’t bring myself to ignore Hyrince’s words and go see for
myself.
I’m not…brave enough…to look.
…What kind of hero am I?
How can I call myself a hero if I couldn’t even protect the girl I
loved?!
Tears start to well up in my eyes, but I force them down.
Not yet.
I can’t cry just yet.
“?! Julius!”
Thanks to Hyrince’s warning cry, I just barely manage to block the
blade that’s coming toward me.
“Tsk!”
I hear someone click their tongue nearby and immediately swing my
sword in that direction.
There’s the shrill clash of metal on metal as our weapons collide.
It’s none other than Bloe, the demon general I was fighting before.
He jumps back, his surprise attack ending in failure.
326
“You seriously still want to fight?!”
The queen taratect is dead.
That must have been the demons’ big secret weapon.
Since we defeated it, surely their morale is broken by now.
So why does he still want to fight?
Looking behind him, I realize the demons have gathered in this spot.
And by the looks of it, they’re still raring for a fight.
Hearing the commotion, the human soldiers come over to gather
behind me, too.
“Take your soldiers and leave. I don’t want to fight anymore.”
I tell Bloe to withdraw.
He must have realized in our last fight that he couldn’t beat me.
Since his surprise attack failed, he has no way of winning.
And the last thing I want right now is more battle.
“Please. Don’t make me keep fighting on a grudge.”
If we fight right now, I’ll take out my hatred on these demons.
They might be victims of the Demon Lord, too.
Which is why I don’t want to fight them.
“We’ve gotta fight now!”
Ignoring my earnest feelings, Bloe readies his sword.
“Hero! You’re crazy strong; I’ll admit that! But it’s still no use! If you
had such a hard time against one of her spawn, you’ll never beat the
Demon Lord!”
Bloe starts ranting in the language of demons, as if he can’t keep
forming sentences in human language anymore.
327
“You can’t win, dammit!”
His voice is full of bitterness.
“I’ve gotta kill you here and now for the sake of all demons!”
Then he charges toward me.
I’m sure he has his own reasons for not giving up.
But I do, too, you know!
I can’t let myself get killed now after Yaana died to protect me!
I knock Bloe’s sword aside and use the backswing to slash into his
body.
Bloe collapses in a spray of blood.
“Damn…it…all… Why…?”
His halting last words come out in demon language, but I can guess
at their meaning.
I can sense the anguished feelings behind them.
But I can’t show mercy to an enemy who’s attacking me.
Looking away from Bloe’s body, I turn toward the remaining demons.
“I’ll say it one more time. Leave now!”
I give them a final warning.
If they still insist on coming at me after that, then I’ll have no
choice…!
But then a single girl steps out from among the demons.
A girl who’s so pale white that it sends a shiver down my spine.
“Listen closely, Julius. Humans are weak. Incredibly weak. Most
humans are even weaker than I am, which is why they look at me and
say that I’m strong. But I’m only human, too. I’m strong by human
standards, but that’s all.”
328
Out of nowhere, I recall something my master once said to me.
“To those with true strength, the power of mere humans is
nothing.”
I’ve experienced that for myself before.
Long ago, when I witnessed with my own eyes the feared monster
known as the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.
For some reason, I feel that same fear now.
Then the girl opens her eyes…
329
A scarf flutters to the ground, its owner gone.
330
“……”
In the command center room, the atmosphere is downright
oppressive.
The Demon Lord’s expression is grim.
Balto isn’t here.
He’s already been informed of Bloe’s death.
After saying he wanted to be alone for the time being, Balto left the
room.
All who’s left are the Demon Lord, Güli-güli—aka Black—and me.
Yes, that’s right. The mysterious Ninth Army Commander, code-
named Black, is actually Güli-güli!
Okay, now isn’t the time for joking around like that, I know.
The dark mood filling the room is mostly coming from Black here.
“…I have no right to complain.”
Finally, slowly, Black speaks.
“If you’ll excuse me, I believe I need a moment.”
With that, Black leaves, too.
Well, I can’t blame him.
I’m sure he has some thoughts about how things went down.
The Demon Lord watches Black leave, then lets out a heavy sigh.
“…Nothing ever goes to plan, y’know?”
331
“…Uh-huh.”
Frankly, this battle was a total failure.
We had several important goals, and we accomplished almost none
of them.
“So the commanders we lost are Huey, Bloe, and Agner…”
The Demon Lord murmurs the names of the commanders who were
killed in action.
Of the three, I’m not too broken up about Shota aka Huey, but the
loss of Agner is tough to swallow. He was a very capable man in
many ways.
And then there’s Bloe.
He was annoying and all, but I didn’t hate him.
“…So, White. Why didn’t you bring back Agner and Bloe?”
The Demon Lord’s doubts are understandable.
If I really wanted to, I could have forcibly extracted those two and
brought them back.
Depending on your point of view, it might look like I let them die.
“Principle.”
“Mwuh?”
“On principle. Agner and Bloe were fighting with their lives on the
line. Ready to die. It didn’t seem right to stop them.”
Agner and Bloe both knew they would almost certainly die, but they
still saw the battle through to the end.
I couldn’t bring myself to tarnish that conviction.
Their intense determination reminded me of Araba’s final moments.
I didn’t want to interfere.
332
“Gotcha.”
The Demon Lord doesn’t press the matter any further.
Huey’s death was a minor accident, but we didn’t plan to let Agner
and Bloe die, and we could have prevented it.
But we didn’t.
Their deaths were a serious miscalculation.
But there was an even bigger one.
“I never imagined the hero would manage to beat the queen.”
“…Yeah.”
The biggest unexpected disaster was the hero defeating the queen
taratect.
No, the fact that he won isn’t a problem in itself.
In fact, we sent it so the hero would defeat it…only after using the
Sword of the Hero.
“I still can’t believe he won without using the damn thing.
Considering the differences in their stats and strength, was that a
miracle or what?”
“Mm-hmm.”
I can’t blame her for complaining.
There was no way the hero should’ve possibly been able to beat the
queen, no matter how hard he tried.
He would have to use the Sword of the Hero for any chance of
surviving the battle, or so we thought.
That sword is extremely dangerous.
It’s a divine sword that our old pal D left in this world that can kill
even a god.
333
It’s one use only, but it wouldn’t be safe to leave a dangerous
weapon like that just lying around.
So when I learned that it had fallen into the hands of the current
hero, I decided to force him to waste it.
That was the purpose of the queen, since it’d be no problem if he
defeated that one.
The main goal was just to harvest the energy released by the Sword
of the Hero.
But somehow, he managed not to use it.
Talk about a serious miscalculation.
“Well, we didn’t lose anything major, so I guess it’s fine,” I say aloud.
“We can always make another queen. It was just a fake queen
anyway.”
That thing wasn’t a real queen taratect.
It was one of my clones.
Thanks to my years of training, my mini-mes have evolved all the way
into maximum-mes!
Heh-heh-heh!
They’re not quite as strong as a real queen but certainly close
enough to take the hero down easily.
Or so I thought…
Sure, I held back so the hero would get a chance to use the Sword of
the Hero, but who would’ve thought he would actually win without
it?
Unreal.
“So. Our attempt to meddle with the system failed, too?”
Urk!
334
That particular failure is kinda my mistake, or at least my lack of
ability.
Earlier, when I killed the hero, I was trying to alter the system at the
same time and erase the very existence of heroes forever.
In other words, to remove the Hero title.
The Hero title has a special effect against the Demon Lord title.
It’s set up so that the Demon Lord can never defeat the hero, no
matter what.
I tried to interfere with the system to get rid of that nasty title, but it
ended in failure.
There is a good reason for that, but I can’t make that excuse to the
Demon Lord…
So I think I’ll just keep it to myself and call this a mistake on my part.
“Which means a new hero has been born somewhere, hmm?”
The Demon Lord heaves an even bigger sigh.
The Hero title is an inherited one.
When one hero dies, someone else in the world becomes the hero.
That means there’s not much point in killing the hero, since whoever
it is, the main danger is the fact that they can defeat the Demon
Lord.
But still, I don’t think we have to worry too much.
“There’s no way the next hero is gonna be like that one. For sure.”
At my firm statement, the Demon Lord just goes “uh-huuuuh…”
What’s with that iffy look she’s giving me?
“White, you really admired that hero, huh? You weak to a pretty face
or what?”
335
“No. It’s not like that, okay?”
Why do I feel like we just had a conversation like this recently?
“I’m kidding. But yeah. I kinda get what you’re saying. That was a
good hero.”
“…Mm-hmm.”
I watched that hero through my clones for a long time.
He had a pretty tough life, but he never stopped living nobly.
I can’t imagine a hero that impressive is gonna come along again
anytime soon.
The Demon Lord fiddles with the scarf that the hero was wearing.
“White, take a look at this. Apparently, it’s made of spider thread.”
She must have used Appraisal or something to inspect the scarf’s
materials.
“I heard it traded at a high price among humans, but can you believe
the hero was wearing it?” She snickers sarcastically. “Unreal.”
Wow, seriously?
Talk about a coincidence.
So the hero facing off against a spider demon lord was wearing a
scarf made out of spider thread all along.
“So what should we do with this?”
I don’t think we need to do much of anything with it, but you do you.
Then a wicked smile spreads across the Demon Lord’s face.
“Wasn’t the hero’s younger brother a reincarnation? Let’s give this
back to him, then.”
With that, the Demon Lord starts imbuing the scarf in her hand with
magic.
336
I guess she’s putting some kind of effect on it.
“Yep, yep. A little present for the hero’s little brother, full of the
Demon Lord’s divine protection. Pretty slick, don’t you think?”
Uh, no, that seems in pretty poor taste to me actually.
“Ahh, I’d love to see the look on Yamada’s face when he gets this…”
The Demon Lord grins with excitement, but I gotta say, that’s a
pretty nasty move.
Poor Yamada…
It wasn’t until later that I would learn that Yamada himself was
chosen as the new hero.
337
The Great Human-Demon War is said to have ended in victory for the
demons.
Many forts fell into the demons’ clutches, and the hero, the humans’
last hope at the time, was defeated.
The hero of that time, Julius Zagan Analeit, is widely considered to be
the most noble hero in history, thanks in no small part to the many
records left by his younger brother Schlain, which extoled his
countless achievements and virtues; there are many other extant
documents that describe his accomplishments as well.
The previously quoted excerpt from a soldier’s diary is said to have
been written after the soldier witnessed Julius the hero’s death
firsthand.
In this Great War, humanity lost their greatest hope.
But those who are familiar with the events that followed are likely
well aware:
Even this momentous battle was nothing more than a preliminary

skirmish.
Truly turbulent times.

No, such hackneyed words cannot fully describe what would become
a critical turning point in history.
And that time was fast approaching.
338
AFTERWORD
It’s twelve o’clock. Noon.

No, wait, it’s Volume 12. That’s right.
Good afternoon, I’m Okina Baba.
Or good evening, for those of you joining us at twelve o’clock at
night.
For some reason, the number twelve sort of evokes the sense of an
ending.
There are twelve hours on a clock and twelve months in a year.
But have no fear!
This series isn’t over yet by any means!
I don’t know…I just felt like I should probably make that clear.
Especially since several stories came to an end in this volume.
I won’t say too much so I don’t spoil the story, but I wonder how you
readers felt about how they lived their lives?
How will those who survived carry on their will?
That’s the kind of volume this is.
Although I guess it’s not really a spoiler, since the outcome was
already mentioned in much earlier volumes!
In that way, I think this volume is the kind of story where you warmly
watch over their final moments even while knowing how it’s going to
end.
Sniffle…
339
I hear there are some authors who cry while they’re writing, and I
think I sort of understand that feeling now.
I didn’t cry, though.
Huh? Come on, you should’ve cried?
Well, I can’t help it. I’m a heartless brute.
Would an author with a heart subject their protagonist to such a
difficult dungeon?
Ha-ha-ha.
Although I did almost cry about something else.
Yep. I almost cried because I was too busy.
Why was I so busy, you ask?
Well, I’ll tell you right now!
Ta-daaa!
The So I’m a Spider, So What? anime will be airing in 2020!
Yaaaay! Clap-clap-clap-clap!
It’s been a long wait, I know.
But the anime’s finally been scheduled to air in 2020.
I’ve been hard at work on that, which is why I’ve been so busy.
But thanks to all that, we’ve come this far at last!
Woooo!
So the anime will start airing in 2020!
The release has been delayed quite a bit, but it’s finally happening.
Anyone who’s been waiting in the nude all this time has probably
reached enlightenment by now.
340
That’s how long I made you all wait.
But! Since you waited so patiently, we’re doing our best to make
sure it lives up to your expectations.
Wow…
The anime adaptation was first announced in 2018.
And theeen…
2019 ended, and now we’re in 2020.
But now, finally! Finally!
The time has come at last.
So feel free to keep your hopes up as you wait for more information
about the anime broadcast!
And! To go along with the anime release, we’re planning to publish a
collection of reference materials in So I’m a Spider, So What? EX!
Like any reference book, it’ll contain character profiles, as well as an
explanation of the Great Elroe Labyrinth and lots of other fun
goodies.
It’ll also include some of the store-exclusive short stories from
previous releases and a few brand-new ones!
Please feel free to use it to brush up before you watch the anime.
Phew, that was a lot of announcements.
2020 will definitely be the year of the spider!
Finally, let me say my usual thank-yous.
To Tsukasa Kiryu for the wonderful illustrations as always.
Really, thank you for all that you do!
And sorry for making so many characters!
341
I hardly ever describe the characters’ appearances in the text, so that
job always falls to Kiryu.
Even for the anime character designs, my contribution was basically
just saying, “If Kiryu likes them, then it’s fine with me.”
I really am sorry!
But! This heartless brute of an author plans to keep taking advantage
of your kindness for as long as I can!
Thank you as well to Asahiro Kakashi, who creates the manga
adaptation.
The manga wound up being used as a reference for the anime, too!
Seeing that get incorporated really convinced me all over again that
Kakashi truly is amazing.
I’ll be depending on you lots more from now on, too!
Then there’s Gratinbird, who makes the spin-off manga.
This bizarre story is already surreal enough with a spider protagonist,
and now this artist is stuck with the work of turning four copies of
the protagonist into an even more surreal gag manga.
Whoever thought of this plan is seriously a genius.
And Gratinbird is equally a genius for pulling it off.
The manga is so funny, I can’t help laughing out loud, so please give
it a read.
Thank you to everyone who’s involved in the anime adaptation, too.
2020! It’s finally airing!
To my editor Ms. W and everyone else who helped put this book out
into the world.
And to all of you who have picked up this book.
342
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
343
344
345
Thank you for buying this ebook, published by Yen On.
To get news about the latest manga, graphic novels, and light novels from Yen Press,
along with special offers and exclusive content, sign up for the Yen Press newsletter.
Sign Up
Or visit us at www.yenpress.com/booklink
346
Download all your fav Light Novels at
Just Light Novels
347

So I'm A Spider, So What, Vol. 12

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

So I'm A Spider, So What, Vol. 12

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

Just Light Novels

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 12

Translation by Jenny McKeon

KUMO DESUGA, NANIKA? Vol. 12

English translation © 2021 by Yen Press, LLC

Yen On is an imprint of Yen Press, LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBNs: 978-1-9753-2182-6 (paperback)

“All hope is lost. What remains is only despair.”

Welcome to White Explains It All!

Welcome back to White Explains It All!

“Sir Huey! We can’t take any more! We have to retreat!”

That was just a few days ago.

“The enemy army is in full retreat.”

Welcome back to White Explains It All!

“Ooooh, check it out. Here they come.”

Kunihiko and I are special.

I’m definitely regretting that decision now.

“I still have a ways to go.”

I first met Sophia when she transferred into the academy.

Welcome back to White Explains It All!

The battlefield is a messy jumble of humans and demons.

Welcome back to White Explains It All!

We’ve been deployed to Fort Kusorion.

“In tomorrow’s battle, the Seventh Army will have to be sacrificial

The next morning—namely, this morning—I explained the gist of the

I strike at the hero with everything I have.

A chill runs down my spine.

But then a strange sound from beside me stops me in my tracks.

All eyes were on the image displayed by one of the “monitors.”

“Welcome back… Hmm? Where are Agner and Bloe?”

When I first met Julius, my initial feelings were of sympathy.

I yank on Julius’s arm, pulling him behind me.

Julius, please live.

Before my eyes, Yaana disappears from sight under the queen

While everyone celebrates the defeat of the queen taratect, Hyrince

Even this momentous battle was nothing more than a preliminary

Truly turbulent times.

It’s twelve o’clock. Noon.

The So I’m a Spider, So What? anime will be airing in 2020!

Just Light Novels

You might also like