Jiro and the other testers began their battle with the dragon.
The spectators were greatly excited as they watched.
For those involved, it was a complete irregularity, but for those watching from the outside, it was an event and something to be enjoyed.
However, there were other beings watching from a distance.
“You’re as strict as ever with them. Isn’t a dragon too much for them yet?”
“I don’t think so. Besides, I spoil them when I need to. And if Jiro is here, I judge they can defeat it.”
“I see, a clumsy form of affection? Perhaps that’s your flaw as a demon, Evia, your inability to express it clearly.”
“Many have told me so.”
The president’s office, what the company calls the Demon Lord’s throne.
“Would you like a drink?”
“No.”
In this room, the Demon Lord and her attendant demon watched the scene not as spectators, but as evaluators.
The Demon Lord, seated in a luxurious chair, offered wine to her loyal attendant as always, but she refused with a slight shake of her head.
“You’re always so cold. You’ve always been like this.”
The Demon Lord, unconcerned by an attitude that might be considered rude depending on the time and place, smiled instead of showing any displeasure, and was rather pleased by her loyal demeanor.
Her gaze then shifted from Evia to the scene of the event venue and the interior of the dungeon projected onto the wall of the room.
The event venue, crowded with people, seemed to provide a much-needed respite for the busy employees.
In contrast, the scene of the testers fighting the dragon was a space that could only be described as a battlefield.
However, to the Demon Lord, it looked no more than a child’s play area.
That’s why she could remain relaxed, as if watching a play.
Evia, standing behind her, wore a stern expression, a stark contrast to the Demon Lord’s cheerful smile.
“I read Jiro’s project proposal, but it seems you’ve changed the content quite a bit. It’s no longer a simple race, but a harsh survival competition. It’s a typical change you would make, but it’s completely unexpected for Jiro. In his mind, it was meant to be an event for testers and employees to relax and interact, with a little added excitement. But that’s all ruined by your plan.”
Although Evia stood behind him, the Demon Lord could sense her emotions as she watched the video.
Play is permissible, but idleness is not.
To her, this battle with the dragon was just a game.
Preparing a dragon incurred considerable expense.
However, she had rationalized it as a necessary expense.
“So, what’s the meaning of all this?”
The Demon Lord asked Evia about it, perhaps pretending not to understand what she already knew.
“Jiro needs to know that he is special. And that the pretense of friendship ends here.”
Evia stated the facts plainly. Jiro, reflected in her eyes, was struggling to rally the testers, but it wouldn’t be enough.
The current testers were too disorganized to conquer and improve the dungeon.
The company’s policy of respecting individuality had shown its drawbacks here.
The efficiency of dungeon conquest was declining day by day, along with the morale of the testers.
Changing the policy was possible, but it would be meaningless.
What the Demon Lord desired was a dungeon that could withstand the onslaught of a hero.
To create such a dungeon, internal opinions and rigid thinking would not suffice.
To introduce new blood, she had taken risks, stabilized dimensional space, and invited testers with the potential to become heroes.
Although many things had not gone as planned, it had been proceeding reasonably well.
And it was still continuing.
However, that didn’t mean she would continue to use testers who were declining.
If they continued like this, even if new testers were brought in, the same problems would repeat themselves on the current foundation.
“Fortunately, they have the aptitude. All that’s left is…”
“To make them realize it, I presume.”
“Yes.”
What the current testers needed was not an unattainable monster, but a human being to serve as a benchmark.
Simply bringing them together wouldn’t be enough.
What was needed was a hero who could attract people.
Another side END
Side Jiro Tanaka
“What do we do, Senpai?! Everyone’s in a panic! I mean, it’s understandable since we’re fighting a dragon, but still!!”
I understood Kaido’s urge to scream.
But…
“Are you talking to me while understanding my current situation, you idiot?!”
I didn’t think that was something to say while I was in a tug-of-war with a dragon.
Right now, I was locked in a full-strength struggle with the dragon’s right foreleg and an ore tree laid horizontally.
If I let go, I felt like I’d be crushed flat, but I managed to brace myself and answer Kaido’s yell.
And the reason only Kaido and I were fighting was that, currently, only my party, Himusumi’s duo, and a few other testers were managing to fight.
More than half of them were in disarray in the face of this threat.
Part of the reason for their confusion was that I had brought this dragon with me.
“Senpai!”
“I know, damn it!”
I didn’t have the luxury to entertain useless thoughts.
Reacting to Kaido’s yell, I unleashed my magic power, pushing the dragon back for a moment before leaping away.
Immediately after, the dragon’s other right foreleg came crashing down.
And this was another reason for the current situation.
“The supervisor’s demands are too much. Preparing two dragons, are they a demon?”
“Senpai, the supervisor is a demon.”
“I’m not talking about species!”
Two dragons stood imposingly in a space as large as the arena.
Facing such a powerful enemy, I grumbled at the person who had created this situation, looking at the second Earth Dragon that appeared, unrelated to the one I had brought. But Kaido’s words momentarily made me falter.
However, the oppressive aura emanating from the eyes of the two dragons immediately tightened my resolve.
“What about the chaos behind us?”
“Kitamiya-chan and the others are trying to contain it now, but it’s not going well.”
“Damn it, there’s a limit to what two people can do to suppress them.”
Currently, I was drawing the primary attention, and Kaido was creating distractions to somehow draw the attention of both dragons.
In the meantime, we were trying to form coordinated efforts among the other testers.
“Why is this a dead end?!”
“Are there any other exits?!”
“How should I know?!”
“Hey! Aren’t you a thief? Open the lock quickly!”
“I don’t know! It’s magically locked! You mages should do something about it!”
An argument broke out in front of the iron bars, which seemed to be the only exit.
And…
“There’s no way! There’s no way we can win against that! If that’s the case, then maybe!!”
“Don’t give up! What good will it do if you disappear now?!”
“That’s right! This is a chance to earn experience points, gozaru!”
“Can’t you try to persuade them a little more earnestly?!”
“That’s asking too much of a communication-impaired person, gozaru.”
“Where’s your usual confidence directed at me?!”
“Calm down, take a deep breath.”
“Y-yes.”
“Here, have some water.”
“Thank you.”
“Treat the injured children quickly!!”
Kitamiya grabbed a tester who was about to put a blade to their throat and held them back, while Minami hesitantly tried to persuade them.
Beside them, Himusumi was tending to their hypoventilating partner, and Katsu was offering water.
Amelia was providing support to testers injured by the dragon’s attack.
The Impact of the first dragon had been too great.
Just as they were trying to regroup, another dragon appeared.
Taken by surprise, many testers lost the will to fight before the dragon, making it necessary to allocate forces to organize them.
As a result, we’ve ended up in this desperate situation.
Judging from the sounds coming from behind, it would probably continue like that for a while.
“Tch, Kaido!”
“Here! Take this!”
If we could maintain this stalemate, the other testers would recover.
I couldn’t afford to harbor such optimistic thoughts.
Once humans decide something is impossible, they fix it into a fixed notion.
I couldn’t help but click my tongue at the atmosphere that amplified this feeling.
I stepped forward as if to cut through, warding off the Earth Dragon’s foreleg with a swing of the ore tree and then leaping back. A spell cast without a moment’s delay obscured my vision for an instant, but with that massive body, there was no fear of losing sight of it.
The sensation of running the ore tree along with the dragon’s scales was hard, but it wasn’t unbreakable.
Feeding on that feeling, I began to consider full-power operation.
“It’s hard. Kaido, how much longer can you hold out?”
“Ugh, I’m out of magic power.”
“I see.”
It was understandable that Himusumi, who had been casting spells at full power, would run out of energy.
Think, how can we break through this current situation?
“Kaido, switch places with Minami. I’ll hold them off while you do.”
“Understood.”
We went in opposite directions.
I moved forward, and Kaido ran backward.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!”
With a cry of effort, I generated a shockwave with my charge, grinding away at the dragon’s body and forcing it back.
While engaging in battle, I pondered the intention behind this event.
Originally, the supervisor’s purpose was supposed to be an event for testers to interact.
Why did it turn into this?
“Leader! I’ll provide support, gozaru!”
“You got it!”
With Minami’s buff magic, which came as I switched, I felt my body lighten further, and I leaped onto one dragon to attack the other.
With a clank, a hard sound echoed.
“Graaa!!”
I shattered the opponent’s scales.
Recoiling in pain, I stepped forward to pursue the Earth Dragon, which was stomping its heavy feet. As I landed on the ground…
“Its tail?!”
“Leader!!”
However, at the perfectly timed moment, the other Earth Dragon swung its tail horizontally, blowing me away before I could even touch the ground.
Defeated in mid-air, I was propelled by inertia, crashing into the wall, and then pinned under the rubble created by the impact.
The sound of rocks grinding against each other filled my ears, and my vision darkened.
“Ah! Damn it!”
However, the damage was not significant.
I stood up, pushing aside the rubble, and quickly crawled out.
Then, what I heard and saw was the dragon’s war cry and the testers, now in even greater chaos due to my absence, who had been their buffer.
“Hey, hey, haven’t you guys been testers for a long time?”
Kaido and Amelia leaped forward, trying to draw some attention. Kitamiya unleashed magic to slow them down. Katsu offered his shoulder to someone to help carry the injured. Minami conjured barrier after barrier to buy time.
The difference between those who could move and those who couldn’t created a sense of exasperation, and something else welled up.
A snapping sound.
“…”
If I had to name it, it could only be described as something close to anger.
Was it directed at the confused testers, or at myself?
I slowly took a step forward and walked towards the chaos.
“Forgive me, but please hold on a little longer.”
Though they likely couldn’t hear me, I spoke to my party members who were fighting.
Without questioning whether this action was right or wrong, I stepped in front of the confused testers.
Ah, what was I thinking?
My mind, clear about what needed to be done, ignored reason and silenced the distracting noise of the testers shouting “This is in the way!”
Instead, I took a deep breath.
And then…
“SHUUUUUUUT UUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!”
I let out a roar that seemed to reset the emotions of the testers.
The chaos in the area subsided with my single shout.
But it was temporary.
They were simply stunned, not understanding what had been said.
“You’ve been screaming your heads off, but that’s no way to defeat a dragon! You should be able to figure that out with your brains! Are you children?!”
My roar, combined with a monkey’s cry, immediately overwhelmed the testers’ consciousness.
The hesitation to act because I was thinking too much about others ends here.
“Grab your weapons! Cast your spells! Listen up! From now on, I’m going to teach you how to defeat dragons!”
I suppressed the atmosphere of the place with my shout, unleashed my magic power to the fullest, and spread the roots of the ore tree.
“Now! It’s time to work!”
I will not hold back in this battle.
Jiro Tanaka, 28 years old. Has a girlfriend.
Girlfriend: Suella Hendelberg
Memoria Tris
Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Full-time Employee)
Magic Aptitude: 9 (Quasi Demon Lord Class)
Role: Warrior
Quote of the Day:
I’ve broken through.
This is all for now.
Thank you for your continued support of this work.
