Fighting Together

There were still a few days until my meeting with Turgis's head of

state, so we were having Kuu show us around the nearby cities.

Going to unfamiliar places, seeing how the locals lived, and identifying

the similarities and differences between them and our own people was fun.

Whenever we found something new, we met the discoveries with

excitement.

"Oh, what's this?" I commented. "I've never seen this kind of fruit

before."

"Big Brother, they're selling some weird animals over here!" Tomoe

called. "They're small and cute."

"Let me see... Wait, Tomoe, doesn't it say there that they're for eating?"

"People eat them?!"

Tomoe and I looked around with great enthusiasm, while Juna and

Roroa smiled.

Those easygoing days continued, but today was different.

Today, there were two days left before the meeting with the head of the

republic.

It was still early in the morning, but Kuu rushed over to the room where

we were staying. He was out of breath, and looked like he'd been in a hurry.

Behind him was Leporina, looking just as winded.

"Hah... Hah... Ka-Kazuma..." he panted.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "You're totally out of breath."

When I invited them into the room and asked Aisha to fetch some

water, Kuu raised a hand to stop me, and tried to get his breathing under

control as he said, "It's fine... I don't need water. Before that, I have a favor

to ask."

"A favor?"

"For now, can you get all of your people together in this room?"

Seeing a serious expression on Kuu that I'd never seen him make

before, I gathered my traveling companions, despite some misgivings.

There were nine of us gathered in the four-person room: me, Aisha,

Juna, Roroa, Tomoe, Hal, and Kaede, along with Kuu and Leporina. Having

nine people made it awfully cramped, but he had said "everyone," so there

was no helping it.

"So, Kuuie. What'd ya have in mind, gatherin' us all here?" Roroa

asked suspiciously.

He was the son of their head of state, so I thought it was a bit much to

be calling him Kuuie, but... given the tense situation, I decided to pretend I

hadn't heard it.

Kuu stood up and bowed his head to all of us. While we were all still

taken aback by the suddenness of it, Kuu desperately said, "I'll keep this

brief! Please! Lend me your bodyguards!"

"P-Please do." Leporina hurriedly stood up as well, and bowed her head

like Kuu.

"I'm sorry to get foreigners caught up in this! But still!" he cried.

"Calm down, Kuu," I said. "Just what happened?"

"Ah... R-Right."

Kuu finally calmed himself. With a big, deep breath, he slapped his

own cheeks, maybe as a way of psyching himself up.

"The thing is, a previously undiscovered dungeon has been confirmed

to exist near a mountain village that's around two hours north of here by

carriage. It seems it was a rocky mountain, and when there was a landslide,

the entrance to the dungeon appeared."

A dungeon.

I was used to them being a thing in RPGs, but in this world, a dungeon

was understood as a labyrinthine place with its own ecology. They were

also the only place outside the Demon Lord's Domain where monsters

could be found. But the monsters found in such places all had intelligence

on the level of wild beasts, and they were nothing like the sentient demons

found in the Demon Lord's Domain. There were a fair number of these

dungeons on this continent.

This was what I knew about dungeons so far:

They came in a wide variety of types, and were inhabited by lowintelligence monsters.

The deepest point contained what was called a dungeon core.

For as long as the core existed, monsters would continue to appear, no

matter how many were defeated.

If the core was destroyed, the monsters stopped appearing... and so on.

The connection between monsters and dungeon cores was still

unknown.

However, the destroyed dungeon cores could be used as jewels for a

Jewel Voice Broadcast.

In addition to the cores, there were also cases where other out-of-place

artifacts and overtechnology could be found.

There were even groups that made it their life's work to study the

artifacts. The House of Maxwell, which Genia the "overscientist" belonged

to, was one of them.

The existence of such artifacts had caused an insane amount of progress

in this world's technology.

In addition, there were adventurers like Dece and Juno who made their

living exploring the dungeons, and nearby towns that profited off such

adventurers gathering. With the various demands overlapping, dungeons

were considered dangerous, but also potentially profitable.

Kuu told us, with a look on his face like he had bitten into something

unpleasant, that one of those dungeons had been discovered just two days

from here by carriage.

"Now, I'm sure there are things to be gained from a dungeon," he said.

"However, that's something we can only discuss once the safety of the

people in the villages near the entrance is secured. You never know what's

in a newly discovered dungeon, after all."

"So, something came out, then?" I asked.

"Yeah. I hear ten ogres, or something like that, came out."

Ogres or something like that, huh...

Ogres were oni. In Japanese mythology, oni were a symbolic

representation of those who didn't conform to the system, and were

depicted as powerful and terrifying, but somehow tragic. However, in

Western mythology, they were man-eating humanoid monsters, and were

often barbarians or demi-humans. From what I was hearing, these ogres

sounded like the latter.

"Around the same time that the guys from the village who found it

rushed to the capital to report on their discovery, a little over ten ogre-like

creatures crawled out and attacked the village," said Kuu. "From what the

guys who got away said... they saw them eating people indiscriminately."

"Eating people..." I murmured.

If the ogres were attacking people indiscriminately, and eating them, at

that, it was no different from an attack by dangerous beasts. Unlike a war

waged for a purpose, there was no room for negotiation, and we could only

exterminate them like we would animals.

"Naturally, we're putting a force together to put them down ourselves,

and we've put in a request with the guild for adventurers to slay the

monsters that came out of the dungeon, but... time is of the essence," Kuu

said. "Once a beast has a taste for human flesh, it's sure to attack people

again. These things are going to be the same. We don't know when they'll

attack another village. I dunno if they're ogres, or what they are, but I'm not

letting them do what they want any longer."

Kuu looked more serious and heroic than I had ever seen him before.

He was completely different from the Kuu who was always aloof, and

laughing. It was his anger at the people of his country being attacked. Kuu

had acted like being the son of their head of state meant nothing to him, but

in that anger, I felt like I could see the pride of one who stands above

others.

"I see," I said, nodding. "You have to prevent any further casualties."

"Yeah. That's it, Kazuma. I want you guys to help!" Kuu said and

bowed his head once more. "We can travel to the village quickly from here.

Also, I know you've got capable bodyguards on hand. Particularly the dark

elf girl, and the red-headed guy. If they'd come, it'd be reassuring. Do you

think you could ask them to?"

Emotionally, I wanted to help, but... I'd be risking the safety of my

family, so I couldn't say yes so easily. I wanted a little more information.

"Aisha?" I asked. "Just how strong are ogres?"

"Well, they have the strength to crush boulders with their bare hands,

but even ordinary soldiers could defeat one if they surrounded it with ten

men. I could do it alone," Aisha added with a confident snort.

"It sounds like there are more than ten of them," I said. "Can we fight

that with the strength we have on hand?"

"If it's around ten, I don't see us failing. Madam Juna, Sir Halbert, and

Madam Kaede are all superb combatants, and Sir Kuu is quite skilled

himself."

"I see..."

In that case, if we could confirm the situation on the ground, we could

help.

"Got it," I said. "Let us help."

"You mean it?!" Kuu cried.

"This is a problem that could happen in any country. It's practically a

natural disaster. Now isn't the time to be worrying about whether it's

Friedonia or Turgis."

"Thanks! I owe you one!" Kuu seemed relieved to have our help.

I added, "However, I want you to bring me, too."

"Darling?!" Juna shouted.

"Darlin'?!" Roroa cried.

Before they could say any more, I raised my hand to stop them. "I can't

fight, but my magic is suited to scouting. Let me help."

"If that's how you want it... Okay," Kuu said. "I'm counting on you."

"Yeah. We'll get ready to go immediately, so wait outside for us."

Kuu said, "Be quick about it," and left the room with Leporina in tow.

Once we had heard the sound of their footsteps leaving, Roroa confronted

me.

"Hold on, darlin'! Are you outta your mind?! Goin' to a dangerous

place like that?!"

"I'm opposed to it, too," Juna objected. "If anything were to happen to

you, sire, I..."

From the fact she was referring to me as "sire" not "darling," I could

see she was seriously concerned.

Roroa continued. "You're not strong like Big Sister Ai, now are ya?!

Why can't ya just wait here?!"

"Listen, I'm well aware I'm not strong, but I want you to let me go." I

plopped my hand down on top of Roroa's head. "I don't think Kuu was

lying, but to prepare for the possibility of a trap or any other unplanned-for

event, it'd be convenient for me to be next to our greatest combat asset. If

I'm going to be loaning out my family and vassals, I need to make sure

they're returned to me."

"Well, maybe, but..."

"Besides... I think this is a good opportunity for me to learn about what

monsters are like."

"Learn about monsters?" Roroa asked.

"Yeah. Since coming to this world, I've seen vicious creatures through

the eyes of a Little Musashibo I was making work as an adventurer, but

when it comes to monsters, I only have secondhand knowledge. Thinking

about the future, I'd like to actually see them and gauge the threat they pose

for myself."

There might eventually come a time when I would have to face demons

from the Demon Lord's Domain. If that happened, I might get tripped up if

I approached it with the naive thought that it would be okay because they

were intelligent. In addition to the demons, there were apparently scads of

monsters in the Demon Lord's Domain, too, after all. That's why I wanted

to take this chance to learn about monsters.

"Of course, I'm going to secure my own safety as far as possible...

Inugami."

"I am here." Inugami suddenly appeared from the shadow of the door

Kuu and Leporina had left through.

There were always more than ten members of the Black Cats posted

nearby, watching over us unnoticed. It had been that way ever since our

departure for the Star Dragon Mountain Range.

I handed something over to him and gave him an order. "You were

listening to us, right? I want you to send some of the Black Cats to scout out

the site now, and confirm that the situation and number of monsters matches

what Kuu told us. I'll leave the choice of members to you. If there are more

of them than we can handle with our number, report back to me with this

wooden mouse. If that turns out to be the case, I'll feel bad for Kuu, but

we'll have to back out."

"By your will."

Inugami took the wooden mouse possessed by my Living Poltergeists,

then vanished as suddenly as he had appeared. He was getting more and

more like a ninja, wasn't he?

"Hrm... Well, if you're gonna be stayin' in a safe place, I guess it's

fine..." Roroa murmured.

"We'll have to accept it," Juna agreed.

I smiled. My thorough safety measures had made Roroa and Juna

reluctantly accept that I would be going along.

"Have no worries!" Aisha declared. "We'll wipe out those monsters

immediately. We'll not let them lay one finger on His Majesty. Right, Sir

Halbert, Madam Kaede?"

"Sure thing!" Hal agreed. "I was just thinking I wanted to test out my

new weapon, too!"

"Geez, Hal..." Kaede muttered. "But if it's a royal command, we'll

follow it, you know."

Aisha proudly thumped her chest, and Hal and Kaede nodded. What a

reliable fiancée and comrades I had.

Now that our direction was decided, I gave each of them their

individual orders. "Roroa and Tomoe will stay in this town. We'll leave

some members of the Black Cats to guard them."

"Well, even if we did go, we'd only end up bein' a hindrance," Roroa

said.

"Stay safe, Big Brother," Tomoe added.

"Sure. I won't do anything dangerous, so just trust me and wait." I

placed a hand on each of their worrying heads, and patted them gently. "The

rest of the group will go with Kuu to put down the monsters. I will keep in

contact with the Black Cats, and scout ahead from the rear. I'll ask Juna to

be my bodyguard."

"Leave it to me," Juna said.

"Aisha, Hal, and Kaede, you'll put down the monsters with Kuu. But

don't push yourselves. If you think it's dangerous, pull back immediately.

That goes for if I detect more enemies than anticipated during my scouting

and give the order to retreat, too. I won't stand for us losing a single person

here in another land!"

"Yes, sir!" Aisha exclaimed.

"Gotcha!" Hal said.

"You can leave it to us, you know," Kaede confirmed.

Hearing everyone's replies, I gave the order.

"Now then, everyone... Let's go!"

""""Yes, sir!""""

In the carriage on the way there, I explained my magic to Kuu and

Leporina.

Obviously, if I told him about the limitations or the area of effect in

detail it would take a long time, so I only told him what he needed to know.

"My magic transfers my own consciousness into objects modeled on

living creatures, like mannequins, and allows me to control them freely. For

instance, if I transfer my consciousness into this wooden mouse, I get an

overhead view of... well, just assume I can see what the mouse sees."

"Wow, that's one hell of an ability!" Kuu said, impressed at seeing the

wooden mouse moving around on my hand almost like it was the real thing.

"Oookyakya, if I had an ability like that, I could peep on the women's bath

all I want!"

"You had to go there immediately?!" I exclaimed.

"Young master, you're embarrassing me as your subordinate, so please

show some self-control," Leporina protested with tears in her eyes.

Unlike the pensive look on his face when rushing into the inn, Kuu was

already back to his usual self.

I ignored them and continued. "That's why, if I send this wooden

mouse out to scout, I can get an accurate picture of the situation without the

other side knowing. The problem is, if I don't know what direction the

enemy is in, I can only send it to patrol the area around us."

Maybe Aisha could, but I couldn't do something like sense the enemy's

presence. If I knew the direction the enemy was in, I could send one out

immediately, but until then. I'd have to have them spread out in the area

around us to patrol.

That said, once sightings came in from the Black Cats we'd sent on

ahead, I'd know the right direction immediately. However, I couldn't let

Kuu and Leporina know about the clandestine unit operating under my

orders.

"In that case, we can have Leporina look," Kuu said as if it was no big

deal. "Leporina and her fellow white rabbits have good ears. Even in forests

with poor visibility, she can sense what direction things are moving in by

the sounds they make."

"I only know the direction of the sound, and if it's a single source or

many, though," Leporina added.

Oh, that paired well with my ability. Leporina could narrow down the

direction, and then I just had to send out the mouse.

Then I received a message.

"Inugami reporting in. Target sighted."

The report from Inugami and his men came into my mind through the

separated portion of my consciousness.

"We have visual confirmation of five from here. The targets are ogres.

However, Your Majesty... their form is somewhat warped."

Warped? I was able to see the dolls I was controlling from an overhead

view, but that also meant I could only see the area around them. Because the

Black Cats were monitoring the targets from a distance, I couldn't see them

myself, so I could only imagine based on the report.

"Their faces and size match ogres, but their arms are massive and

touch the ground, resulting in them walking on all fours," said Inugami. "I

hear many monsters are bizarre in form compared to those told of in

legends. Most likely, this is one such subrace."

A subrace of ogres... huh. I made the mouse he was carrying shake to

indicate I understood.

The arrangement was that Inugami and his people would stake out the

dungeon the ogres had appeared from for now. That was to prepare for a

situation where more monsters crawled out of there, and because I couldn't

have a unit of spies doing anything that stood out too much.

Even so... it caught my attention that many of the monsters that resided

in dungeons had bizarre forms.

The large number of monsters and demons that showed up after the

appearance of the Demon Lord's Domain. They were distinct from the

many strangely shaped monsters that inhabited this continent's dungeons.

What was the difference between them? Was there even one to begin with?

In order to get a full picture of this world, I may need to turn my eyes to

that, too.

It was a vague feeling, but that was the sense I got.

While I was thinking that, we reached the mountain village said to have

been attacked by the monsters.

It was a hamlet with only about ten buildings, but it looked like it had

been hit by a typhoon. None of the buildings were burned, but almost all of

them were collapsed or had holes in the walls. If there was one difference

from a typhoon, it was the splatters of blood that could be seen here and

there.

The lines of blood that looked like someone had been dragged were

especially disturbing.

"Damn... First, we search to see if anyone's here!" Kuu said, gritting his

teeth.

We all looked around to see if there were any survivors. However, we

couldn't even find the bodies.

Those who could escape had fled, and those who couldn't must have

been devoured or dragged off.

Having confirmed there was no one left in this village, we gathered

again and began our search.

"Leporina," I said. "Can you tell what direction the monsters are in?"

"I'll try." Leporina perked her rabbit ears up, and twitched them. A few

seconds later, she added, "There are five at two o'clock, seven at three

o'clock, and noises indicating the presence of several others."

"I hear ogres move in groups," Aisha explained. "The five and seven

are likely ogres."

The several others were probably the members of the Black Cats posted

throughout the forest.

I sent the wooden mice in the directions Leporina indicated. Then,

when they had gone about eight hundred meters from the village, I

confirmed five ogres, and another kilometer away, there were seven of

them.

Like in the report I had received from the Black Cats, the ogres did

indeed have a bizarre form. Their arms were bizarrely fat and big, making

their bodies extremely unbalanced.

From manga and games, I had an image of ogres as fat macho guys

with horns wearing straw skirts and swinging clubs around, but while these

ogres definitely had ogre heads, they wore no clothing, carried no weapons,

and their bodies were covered in long hair. They were like what you'd get if

you crossed an oni with a gorilla, and resembled the ijuu I had seen in the

youkai encyclopedia I had read as a child.

The wooden mice crept closer and confirmed both groups were sitting

in a circle and feasting on something. I had a bad feeling, so I decided not

to look, but I caught a glimpse of one of the villag... No, best not to think

about it.

The gorilla-like ogres with their bloodshot eyes were devouring their

food with reckless abandon. The only thing I got from them was they were

intensely hungry.

Good thing we didn't bring Tomoe...

If I were only considering my objective of learning about monsters,

Tomoe's ability would have been useful. But I could tell just from looking.

There was something different about these guys. They were only thinking

about eating.

When it came to humans and animals, once their stomachs were full of

food, they calmed down. However, these ogres were eating, but they didn't

show any signs of satisfaction whatsoever. They were like starving ghouls

out of hell. If Tomoe could understand what they said, she'd probably faint

in shock. It was a pretty harsh sight.

While forcing down the nausea, I informed everyone of what I had just

seen.

Hearing my report, Kuu slammed his fist into the ground as if to take

his frustrations out on it. "Those bastards! I'll never forgive them!"

Hal crossed his arms and said, "Is there a distance between the two

groups? It'd be a pain if they joined up."

"Defeating a divided force is basic strategy, you know," Kaede, who

was Ludwin's staff officer in the National Defense Force, agreed. "If

possible, I'd like to dispose of the smaller group quickly."

Kaede placed five and seven stones on the ground, then dug a trench

between them with a stick.

"I'd like to lay a trap between these two groups. One that will let us

delay the seven if they notice something is wrong with the five and rush to

their aid, and that will maybe injure them if we're lucky."

"Do we have time to be laying traps?" I asked.

"I can easily use my magic to make pitfalls, if nothing else, you know.

That's why I'd like to sit out the fight with the five, and instead focus

keeping them separated. If possible, I'd like to have an archer who could

aim to injure and weaken them..."

"Then Leporina can go with you," said Kuu. "She acts like a moron,

but she's a capable archer."

"You didn't have to call me a moron," Leporina protested, but she still

followed the order.

That more or less gave us our battle plan. While Kaede and Leporina

were delaying the arrival of the seven, Aisha, Hal, and Kuu would wipe out

the five with their full combat potential. I, myself, would only be in the

way, so I'd be supporting them at range using the Little Musashibo (Small)

with Bowgun Equipped I had brought.

Juna was to be on standby as my bodyguard and strike commando.

When the operation started, Kuu gave an order. "I'm sorry to get you

people from another country wrapped up in my country's problem. But for

now, please, lend we your strength! Let's get this impromptu combined

force going!"

""""Yeah!""""

Though we were a small, hastily thrown together team, the first joint

battle between the Kingdom of Friedonia and the Republic of Turgis had

begun.

In order to defeat them all before the seven arrived from elsewhere, we

decided we would first hit them with a surprise attack with the greatest

power possible. The goal was to make sure at least one went down in the

initial strike.

And among us, the one with the most power was... Aisha.

"Hahhhhhh!"

With a war cry, Aisha swung her greatsword.

Caught unaware by the assault, one of the ogres was bisected without

being able to do anything about it. The other four panicked when they saw

one of them had gone down.

Then Aisha, Hal, and Kuu sprang on them.

"I'm sure you know this, redhead, but we don't have much time!" Kuu

shouted.

"I know, whitehead!" Hal shot back.

Wait, Hal, he's the son of their head of state, okay?

Kuu was holding the cudgel decorated with a golden centipede that we

had seen in Taru's workshop. Hal was holding two short spears, but the

bottoms of their shafts were bound by a thin chain. Was that the new

weapon he said he'd bought at Taru's place? I believe it was called the Twin

Snake Spear.

"You punks are gonna pay for what you did to our people!" Kuu spun

his cudgel around like a windmill, then weaved nimbly through his

opponent's onrushing arms to accurately whack the ogre's forehead, solar

plexus, and other vital points. "Too slow! Here, you can eat this, too!"

Most likely, that cudgel was strengthened with an enchantment. Every

time the cudgel struck flesh, there was thumping sound. The ogre held the

place where it had been struck and winced in pain.

Compared to Kuu's style of infighting, Hal was working at medium

range.

He wreathed his right hand spear in flames, and threw it at the ogre.

When the ogre evaded it, the spear stuck in the tree behind it. That moment,

the flames burst. There was a loud roar and the tree exploded into pieces.

The ogre closed in on Hal, unintimidated, and raised up its huge arms.

"Oh, crap!" Hal cried.

Before it could swing down, Hal pulled on his remaining spear.

That pulled on the chain connecting the spears at their base, and the

other spear smoothly returned to his hand. Hal crossed the two spears and

blocked the ogre's downwards blow.

"Urgh... Yeah, I'm not doing so hot, taking it into battle without any

practice," he groaned.

While he slid his crossed spears and redirected the ogre's arms to the

right, Hal spun his body, and landed a flaming backwards roundhouse kick

on the ogre's flank. The ogre's body, which was easily over two meters tall,

was thrown back about five meters.

Hal cracked his neck, and looked at the ogre. "Sheesh... I'll have to

train to be able to use it quickly."

Hal grinned, then threw his left spear at the ogre this time.

The ogre tried to dodge it again, but Hal used the remaining spear and

chain to change its course. The ogre was unable to avoid it, and it struck its

right shoulder.

"Blow up!" Hal shouted.

The flame-wreathed spear blew away the ogre's right arm.

While Kuu and Hal seemed to be holding the advantage in their battles,

Aisha was fighting two ogres alone. Despite that, there was no sign

whatsoever that Aisha was in trouble.

Warding off all of the ogres' heavy blows with her greatsword, she

followed that up by slashing them. As time passed, the number of gashes

carved into the two ogres' bodies increased.

"So inexperienced. This isn't even a warm up," Aisha said as she cut

off one ogre's fat arm at the shoulder.

All three of them were doing an amazing job fighting.

Incidentally... for my part, I was watching them from a distance.

That was so I could keep a watch on the seven that were being delayed,

as well as keep an eye out for any signs of further enemy activity in the

surrounding area.

While I would occasionally see an opening and have my Little

Musashibo (Small) with Bowgun Equipped take a shot, the ogres' thick

muscles kept getting in the way, so my supporting fire wasn't doing much

more than harassing them.

"Everyone so strong," I murmured to myself.

"Of course," Juna said. She was standing beside me as my bodyguard.

"Aisha and Sir Halbert are among the best warriors in our country. Sir Kuu

is strong, too, I might add. I'm not sure I could beat him."

"Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, you were one of them, huh..."

The commander of the marines in the former navy. She was someone

who had a strength she could compare against others.

"I know I can rely on you," I added.

"Hee hee." She seemed pleased. "But... don't let your guard down,

okay?"

Juna suddenly pulled out a number of knives and threw them forward.

The water-wreathed knives left a trail as they flew forward, then

stabbed into a large boulder that had flown our way at some point, and in

the next instant, the boulder was pulverized. It seemed one of Aisha's ogres

had gotten cornered and started throwing around anything that came to hand

in desperation. One of those things must have ended up coming our way.

"Because the thing to truly be afraid of at a time like this is the stray

arrow that comes at you without killing intent," she finished.

"Oh! Okay..."

As she brushed her hair back and said that, I felt myself falling for Juna

all over again.

When there was only one ogre left, we learned there had been

movement from the other seven.

"Ah! The seven are coming this way! Kaede and Leporina are coming,

too!"

I reported that to everyone, then prepared myself for battle again.

Leporina and Kaede rushed in from over there. They were moving as

planned, but for some reason, Leporina looked flustered. She rushed

straight over to me.

"Wh-What is it?" I asked.

"Hah, hah... K-Kazuma! In addition to the seven, another group is

coming in from eight o'clock! There are five of them!"

A group?! Reinforcements, now?!

But I'd received no report from the Black Cats. Whatever the case

might be, I sent a wooden mouse in the direction Leporina indicated. Then,

when I confirmed the group... I was shocked.

Huh?! What are they doing here?!

I was so surprised, I was at a loss for words. When I came to my senses,

I hid my Little Musashibo doll in the bushes. It'd be bad if those guys saw

it.

"Wh-What is it?! Is it something bad?!"

Leporina had a worried look on her face, so I hurriedly shook my head.

"Oh... It's fine. They're not our enemy."

And then they came out from the other side of the bushes.

You could tell at a glance that they were five adventurers. The

handsome swordsman, the green-haired, boyish female thief, the muscly

martial artist man, the mild-mannered priest with the gentle face, and the

quiet beauty who was a mage. I... knew these people well.

"We've come to support you in response to a request from the

adventurers' guild!" the handsome swordsman known as Dece shouted. "Is

there someone in charge here?"

Whenever I had Little Musashibo go out and play adventurer, this was

the party he often teamed up with.

The swordsman's name was Dece.

The female thief was Juno.

The mild-mannered guy in the priest's uniform was Febral.

The female mage's name was Julia.

The muscle man's name was... Who was he again? He hadn't been

there the first time I'd teamed up with the party... Oh! Augus. It was Augus.

"Hm?"

Then Juno came over to me, and...

"Hey, you. Haven't we met somewhere?" she asked while staring me in

the face.

◇ ◇ ◇

This is just a reminder, but adventurers were people who made their

living clearing the dungeons that existed all over this continent, slaying the

dangerous creatures that sometimes spilled out of them, and performing

tasks like defending merchants and subjugating bandits.

An group of adventurers' final goal was to clear a dungeon and earn

wealth and glory by destroying and bringing back its dungeon core.

Among themselves, they had job names based on the roles they played.

If they specialized in close combat, they were a "swordsman" or

"brawler." If they specialized in long-range combat, they were an "archer."

And if they focused on magic, they were a "mage." In addition, there was

the scouting and commando role played by the "thief" and the healer role

played by the "priest," but these were only job titles, and that didn't mean

they were actual thieves or priests.

They were like Jacks and Jills of all trades whose bodies were their

primary assets, which meant their position in society was not particularly

high, but if they managed to recover something useful from a dungeon, they

could possibly strike it rich, so it was a reasonably popular and

romanticized profession.

Furthermore, due to the nature of their trade, they often worked across

borders, so registering with the adventurers' guild also had the benefit of

simplified checks when entering or leaving a country.

You might think that would make them easy to use as spies, but it also

meant that it was easy for them to draw attention. If an adventurer

carelessly got too close to important secrets, they would surely be put down

without question.

Still, it was true that it was a convenient way of getting someone into

another country undercover, and that was why the Gran Chaos Empire's

Little Sister General, Jeanne, had used it to make contact with Souma in

past.

Now, returning to the story. We turn back to about half a day earlier.

On this day, the swordsman Dece, the thief Juno, the priest Febral, the

mage Julia, and the martial artist Augus left their usual area of operations in

Friedonia in order to visit the Republic of Turgis.

They were here to buy equipment. They needed to procure new arms

and armor to replace the ones they had used up in their adventuring

business, and they all agreed that, if they had to buy them anyway, they

should get Turgish equipment, which was noted for its high quality.

Being contractors who took jobs from others, not only was function

important, but appearance, too.

Because imports were relatively expensive, they had decided to go to

the place where they were made as a means of conserving money.

Dece and the others were all smiling after buying their new equipment,

but then the adventurers' guild issued an emergency quest.

Apparently, there had been a dungeon discovered near a mountain

village, and ogres had crawled out of it to attack that small settlement. The

quest was to "cooperate in subjugating the ogres."

These sorts of emergency quests were issued in the name of both the

guild and the country, and adventurers in the affected area were half-forced

to accept them. They could refuse, but in the event they did, they would

face harsh measures such as being stripped of their status as an adventurer.

"Well, if it's an emergency quest, we can't exactly refuse," Dece

commented. "Let's go, everyone."

"Urgh... I just got this new equipment, and I need to get it dirty

already?" Juno complained.

Their shoulders slumped, as they realized they were getting dragged

into some real trouble.

Even so, they couldn't ignore an emergency quest.

There nothing else they could do, so Dece and the others hurried into

the mountains to join up with the group that was already on location and

dealing with the issue.

◇ ◇ ◇

"...Hey, you," Juno said. "Haven't we met somewhere?"

The female thief had distinctive green hair and was seventeen, maybe

eighteen years of age. Her defiant eyes seemed a poor fit for her childish

face stared hard at me.

Within her party, she specialized in scouting and ambushing, so she

dressed lightly, with hot pants and a tank top with a breastplate over it. But

because of this country's cold climate, she was now wearing a cape over top

of that.

"Your face..." she went on. "I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?"

"Erm..." I said.

I wasn't sure exactly which face she meant. Was it my face on the Jewel

Voice Broadcast as the King of Friedonia, or my face from when we'd

encountered each other in the former slums, or the face of the person inside

the adventurer Little Musashibo...? Oh, wait, I had been controlling that

Little Musashibo remotely. Well, no matter which of my alternate identities

it was, it would be troublesome to explain.

Judging from the wrinkles on Juno's brow, it seemed Juno herself

couldn't recall where she had seen me. In that case, my solution was

decided.

I offered my right hand to Juno. "Nice to meet you. Would you people

happen to be the adventurers coming to support us?"

"Huh? Uh... Yeah, but..."

"Whew, it's a good thing you're here." I took Juno's right hand and

shook it hard.

My plan was to move things along before she figured anything out.

While I was still holding Juno's right hand, I pointed to the last of the five

ogres which the others were working on defeating.

"We also came here to slay ogres and answer the request for aid that Sir

Kuu issued."

"Y-You did?" Juno looked at me blankly.

Whew... It looked like I'd managed to play it off well enough.

"...Darling?" Juna, who had been standing beside me, was looking at

me with a smile.

Even though she hadn't said a word, I could tell what she was

thinking...

"Oh, my, just how long do you plan to hold her hand for?"

"Just what sort of relationship do you have with her...?"

I felt like I was being interrogated. I was like a frog, paralyzed by being

glared at by a snake. No, not just any snake, a giant sea snake. It was times

like this when I could really sense that Juna was Excel the sea serpent's

granddaughter.

I let go of Juno's hand, then turned the conversation over to the party

leader Dece, who had a look on his face like he was wondering what we

had been talking about.

"We've finished slaying these five, but another seven ogres are coming

this way," I said. "I'd like your assistance in subjugating them."

"S-Sure," he said. "Got it. Let's go, everyone!"

"Yeah!" said Augus.

""Yes, sir!"" Febral and Julia shouted.

Juno continued staring at my face, but thanks to Juna subtly inserting

herself between us, we were able to break her line of sight.

Juno took on an irritated expression at someone getting between us.

Juna didn't let her smile break even as the other woman glared at her

dubiously.

Sparks flew between them.

...Why was it? I felt a pain in my stomach.

Well, that aside.

Not long afterward, the seven ogres appeared, but with our original

group of seven being bolstered by the five adventurers, there were now

twelve of us.

Even excluding me, because I was unable to use my Little Musashibo

doll in front of Juno and her party, which meant I had been reduced to a

scouting role with Juna guarding me, we still had enough people to

overwhelm them.

While Dece and Juno were way below Aisha or Hal in terms of ability,

Dece and Augus kept the ogres under control on the front line, Febral

healed their wounds, Juno disrupted the ogres and cut them with twin

poison-coated swords, and Julia finished them with magic.

They used that sort of party-like teamwork to take out two ogres. They

were defeating enemies they couldn't beat alone with the power of

teamwork.

It was a style that differed from soldiers on the battlefield, and it suited

them as adventurers.

Little Musashibo has been part of that...

The Little Musashibo I was making act as an adventurer had often

formed a temporary party with them. His role was the sort of front-line

fighting that Dece and Augus were doing. Even if it was temporary, he had

joined them a number of times, so I was confident he could work in concert

with them.

He had been asked to formally join the party, too, but I couldn't afford

to let one of my consciousnesses be constantly devoted to adventuring, so

I'd politely declined.

To think I'd encounter them in this country... I pondered. Was this mean

to be...?

"Fate is a fickle mistress, and misery acquaints a man with strange

bedfellows..." I murmured.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Juna asked.

"Nope, not a thing." I shook my head.

What had at some point become the last ogre took Hal's flaming spear

in its flank, which created a big hole when it exploded.

Now we'd exterminated all the ones in this area.

There was no report of more enemies from the Black Cats watching the

entrance to the dungeon, so this was mission accomplished.

"You all did great," Kuu said. "Kazuma and company, and you

adventures, too. I thank you on behalf of the people of this country."

Kuu and Leporina both bowed their heads. He was speaking formally,

no doubt because he was the quest issuer.

Then Kuu raised his head and smiled at Dece and the others with a

laugh. "You really saved us. We'll tell the guild the quest's complete. And

about your part in it, too, of course. Go to them for your reward."

"R-Right," said Dece. "Understood. We'll be going, then."

Dece and the others bowed and turned back down the road they came.

When they were almost out of sight, Juno seemed to panic about

something and raced back over on her own.

Oh, crap! Had she figured something out?

She stood in front of me, and thrust a finger in my direction. "I

remember now! You—you were the guy in Parnam's refugee camp!"

Oh, that's the one she remembers, huh...

It seemed she recognized me not as a king, or as the one inside Little

Musashibo, but as the guy she'd happened to encounter in the refugee

camp. I wondered how I was going to dodge the issue, but I had a feeling

that trying to lie while she was staring at me so hard would backfire.

I put my hand on top of my head and bowed slightly. "Ohh... Thank

you for that time..."

"I knew it! I've wanted to ask you all this time! Back then, I never gave

my name, but you called me Juno! How'd you know my name?!"

"That's..."

What was the best way to answer that? I couldn't say it was because I

was Little Musashibo and I had often worked with her party... right?

But, huh? Was there a need to keep that secret? It would be problematic

if they learned I was the king right now, but if they found out I was

connected to Little Musashibo... that wouldn't really be a problem, right?

"Well... The truth is—"

"Hey, Juno! We're leaving you behind!" Dece was calling her from off

in the distance.

Juno ground her back teeth, then thrust her index finger towards me

again. "Next time we meet, I'm getting answers out of you!"

Leaving those words behind, Juno ran over to the rest of her group.

"Next time we meet... huh."

I was fine with telling her, but I'd ended up keeping the secret, after all.

To be fair, I was always in the center of Parnam, and I didn't go out to

the castle town that often, so was I ever actually going to meet Juno in the

flesh ever again?

While I was wondering that, Kuu clapped his hands. "Now then...

Leporina, Kazuma, there are no more ogres left outside, right?"

"Right," Leporina said. "I don't hear any more groups moving around."

I concurred. "I sent my wooden mice after the individual sound sources,

and can confirm that there are no ogres left near here."

Kuu nodded. "In that case, it should be fine now. The army should be

getting here anytime now, so we can leave guarding the dungeon to them.

You were watching the entrance, just in case, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "Looks like there's been no movement there."

Though, if I were to be wholly accurate, the ones watching it were the

Black Cats. There had been no more reports, so it was probably fine.

Kuu considered for awhile.

"Then can I get you to watch until the military arrives?" he asked

finally. "If any more monsters come out, we'd have to deal with them."

It spoke well of him, as one who stood above others, that his position

was that every caution should be taken until things were fully secured.

Naturally, I wholeheartedly agreed to do it.

"Roger that," I said. "I'll keep watch until the military arrives."

"I'm counting on you. Okay, shall we get going back, too, then? Man,

I'm sorry. Getting you caught up in our problems like this," Kuu said with a

grin. "I'm really grateful, you know? Let me pay you the same reward we'll

be paying the adventurers."

But I shook my head. "No, this was within the realm of international

cooperation. I don't need any compensation."

"Huh? I don't feel right leaving it like that..."

"You don't? Hm... If you insist, then could you ask your father to be

willing to make all sorts of concessions to my country in the coming talks?"

I asked jokingly.

Kuu laughed and threw his arm around my shoulder. "Oookyakya,

that's not happening! When it comes to negotiations with other countries,

my people's livelihoods are involved. I may be grateful, but we can't make

concessions there."

"Ha ha ha, really? That's too bad, then."

"You don't mean that," Kuu grinned. "If you do, then try to look a little

more disappointed."

We looked at one another and laughed.

Aisha and Juna watched us with smiles.

"I don't know how to say it, but they're just so young when you look at

them like this," Aisha said.

"Hee hee," Juna giggled. "It's relaxing, somehow."

I felt a little bit embarrassed.