“Nord Nordis! Evia Nordis’s younger brother! I’m the demon who was punched by you, disciplined by my sister, sighed at by father, and had my mother arrange a job for me!!”
The man on the holo-display projected from the magic stone was indeed someone I recognized. However, I couldn’t quite recall his name. Racking my brain, I managed to retrieve the information that he was the supervisor’s brother, but I had been dealing with too many intense characters lately. His name just wouldn’t come to me. I was curious to see how he would react if I simply greeted him familiarly and proceeded with the conversation, but I figured it would cause trouble later. So, I just asked him directly, and he quickly lost his temper.
A snapping sound was heard, and then I was yelled at.
“Do you have any idea how much I struggled while you were living the good life?! My sister said she’d knock some sense into me, so I was forced into infantry unit training, the kind that even families producing knights hesitate to join, pushed in through a recommendation slot! Those hellish days! My superiors would push me to the brink of death from overwork with their perfect sense of timing, training where we had to build camaraderie to the point where I didn’t know when I’d be stabbed in the back! Those days when I almost fell for a guy! If you had just let me have my way back then, I wouldn’t have gone through all that! Waaah! Do you get it?! Do you understand how I felt having feelings for a man?!”
“Do you get it?”
“You ought to get it!”
“Don’t be absurd.”
Even though I honestly said I didn’t understand, it was hard to respond when he demanded agreement. Moreover, he was acting like I was the cause of it all, but wasn’t the real culprit the relative who made him participate in that training? Specifically, his mother. And then again, it was your own laziness for not training your body. Still, where had the by-the-book demeanor from the initial screen gone? His emotional instability was remarkable. One moment he’s yelling, the next he’s crying, then he’s screaming with teary eyes – he’s so erratic.
“Damn it! Of course, you wouldn’t understand! You probably can’t grasp the feeling of dipping one foot into romance between men!”
“I have no desire to understand.”
“I didn’t want to understand either! Do you know the despair I felt when I learned that my training buddy had a fiancé and was actually in love with me?! Do you know what it’s like to complete training, thinking you’ve forged an unbreakable friendship, only to be invited to his house to meet his father, only to discover it was a trap?! Do you know how I felt, basking in the relief of finishing training, looking forward to being invited to the house of someone I thought was a good friend, only to be proposed to by a man?! On top of that, do you know how I felt when the fiancé, the one who should have stopped him, tearfully accepted, declared it true love, moved everyone, and was blessed by his family?! I almost went with it for a moment!”
“You almost went with it?”
A strange story was unfolding, but should I stop it here? From experience, when people are overwhelmed by emotion, the conversation flows more smoothly after they’ve completely vented. I have some time to spare, so maybe I’ll let him spill it all. It’s not because I’m interested in what happens next, of course not. It’s not because I’m agreeing with Himik, who is listening with great interest. It’s not because Gray-san and Mait-san occasionally muttered that they’d heard of such things once.
“Do you know the hardship I faced afterward, after I resisted?! The moment I refused, curses rained down on me from everyone! ‘Have you forgotten that time we swore our love?’ they said! I have no such memory! It was the first time! The first time anyone said that to me! I was so sad! When it was said by someone I thought was my best friend! I ran away with all my might! He was the top-ranked trainee, but I still managed to escape!”
“Wow, that’s impressive!”
The content of his story was a tale of being on the verge of either ending as a man or being reborn as a new man, but it seemed he had been training diligently behind the scenes. That man who used to rely on his tools back then managed to escape from someone who was a top-ranked trainee. I could genuinely admire that. However, listening to this story, it’s hard to judge whether his relatives were understanding of his inclinations or if they were deeply steeped in something unusual. The more I hear, the more I suspect that such tastes might have existed in his family for a long time. Even if it wasn’t my fault, I’ve started to feel a bit sorry for him.
“I thought I’d go home and lock myself in my room, but Father dragged me out! I argued with Father about locking myself away, and after an hour, he caught up to me too! I used my meager allowance on teleportation magic, but he caught up on foot! That line ‘This is the power of love’ gave me goosebumps! What is he?! What kind of strength is that! He fought evenly with my father, who was a former general, when he suddenly burst in! My father was a general in the past! Even if he’s retired and in the rear, fighting him evenly, what kind of nightmare is this?! If my sister hadn’t returned, I would have married him! I hate such declarations of love! And he’s still alive even after being blown away by my sister! How tough is that?! That Orc!”
Okay, I should be careful with Orcs from now on. The Demon Lord’s Army’s prized rookie is a monster. I should make a note of it later. Just in case, so I don’t make a mistake in how to handle the situation. However, I never expected that Orcs, who are often depicted as natural enemies to women, could also be natural enemies to men… Otherworlds are indeed profound. And this guy has led a turbulent life in such a short period.
“Pant, pant, pant, pant. Do you get it now? My hardships?”
“I see. It must have been tough.”
I felt genuine sympathy for Nord, who was gasping for breath after his outburst. Although, the fact that he was fighting the supervisor and stayed alive had more impact than his life story – I’ll keep that thought to myself. Honestly, I’m curious about the circumstances that led him to be on this screen, but I also need to move our conversation forward.
“So? What do you want, you who caused the reason for me to be thrown into hell?”
“Strictly speaking, I don’t need anything from you, but can you contact the supervisor?”
“My elder sister? State your business. Otherwise, I can’t forward the contact to her with my authority.”
As I expected, after he’d vented everything he wanted to say, his mind circled back, and he became calm enough to listen. His sarcasm was evident, but he was the one who brought up the business. What he said was far from adequate, even laughable, but his demeanor was textbook bureaucratic procedure. Since his response was reasonable, I should just state my business.
“I found an angel. What should I do?”
“Huh? What are you saying? Don’t mess around. Judging by the reaction of this communication orb, you’re in a dungeon town on the Anatalis Continent. There shouldn’t be any angels…” “Here.” “You’re kidding me!? Seriously!?”
If he didn’t believe me, I decided to show him. I turned the communication orb towards Himik, and Nord let out a startled scream.
“Strictly speaking, she’s a fallen angel. But isn’t that reason enough to contact the supervisor?”
“A-and six wings, too. Isn’t that a legendary being? You’re not hallucinating, are you?”
“If I had the free time for that, would I be using the military communication network?”
I denied his words with a sigh as he continued to doubt even after seeing the real thing. If I were to affirm Nord’s statement, it would be like calling the emergency services for a prank. I wouldn’t do that even if I had the time.
“R-really, if that’s true, you’ve stumbled upon something incredible, haven’t you?”
“That’s why I’m contacting you. I have other detailed reports to make, so hurry up and do the necessary procedures.”
“O-okay. Just the outline is fine for now. Tell me the circumstances.”
“Will do.”
Initially, I had used polite language, but the impact of the situation quickly led me to adopt a more casual tone. However, despite the informal tone, I calmly relayed the essential points.
“If that’s true, it’s a big deal.”
“I can submit physical evidence!”
Skipping the details of entering the dungeon, I simply explained how I met Himik and arrived here. Nord’s expression had shifted from his initial disbelief to one of intense seriousness. He seemed skeptical, so I offered again to show him proof, but he shook his head, indicating it was unnecessary, and urged me to continue. As expected of the supervisor’s brother, his capabilities were indeed high. While he had a tendency to waste his potential by indulging in laziness, he acted quickly once he decided to do something.
“I’m not so incompetent that I’d doubt you at this point. I’ll connect you to my sister immediately.”
“Huh? Hey, I can’t hear you.”
“S-splice… comms… error…”
Just as I thought we were finally making progress on resolving the issue, the image began to glitch.
“Guild Master, is it malfunctioning?”
“It shouldn’t be, nya.”
“Master, didn’t you spill water on this orb the other day?”
“It wouldn’t break from something like that, nya!!”
The image and audio on the other end became intermittent, like a TV with signal interference. Finally, it cut out.
“It’s dead.”
The other side of the screen went completely blank, showing only a light green magic panel. The magic had been flowing continuously, but there was no sign of recovery.
“Master, a barrier has been erected around this town. What should we do? Should we pierce through it?”
“Please stop with such violent ideas. “Nyan!? A barrier!?””
I couldn’t resort to the effective “45-degree chop” often seen on old TVs to fix it, and as I was pondering what to do, Himik suddenly brought up a violent suggestion. As I turned to ask for an explanation, the Guild Master, even more panicked, opened the window and looked up at the sky.
“It’s true, nya!! A dispersal barrier has been activated, nya!!”
The sky visible through the window was covered by a lattice-like light. The night sky, previously empty, now had a new overlay, creating an almost fantastical scene. However, it seemed we didn’t have time to enjoy it. The reason the communication orb was unusable was apparently due to this dispersal barrier.
“Mait-san, Gray-san, what is this?”
“A dispersal barrier? Originally, it was a final defense line to prevent monsters from overflowing from a dungeon during a rampage from escaping the town. It’s a barrier that functions like a prison, preventing things from getting out, rather than protecting from external enemies.”
“Hmm, they’re going this far to find that one.”
Mait-san identified the nature of the barrier, and Gray-san figured out the reason it was erected. It seemed the enemy wanted to prevent Himik from leaving, even to this extent. So, with Mait-san’s explanation, I understood the barrier’s effect. And I could also guess what would happen next.
“Are they planning to search the entire town thoroughly?”
Using a human wave tactic in a closed space – a roller operation. Would they mobilize personnel from inside the dungeon, or deploy reserve forces? Was this action taken because they determined Himik wasn’t in the dungeon, or was it a preemptive lockdown? Either way, someone with the authority to create this situation had lost patience and intentionally created a confined space to narrow down the search area.
“Guild Master.”
“What is it, nya?”
“How long will this barrier last?”
“I’m not sure of the specifics, but it’s a large-scale barrier generated using the continental ley lines, nya. It’s not something that will disappear in a week or so, that’s for sure, nya.”
The energy source was not battery-powered but kinetic. I considered hiding somewhere peaceful and waiting for the time limit to expire, but it seemed that wouldn’t work. In that case, doing nothing would put us at a slight disadvantage.
“What’s the direct way to get out?”
“Only the feudal lord can activate this barrier, nya. Of course, only the lord or their proxy can deactivate it, nya.”
“In that case, the simplest way to leave this town would be to break through the barrier.”
The chances of leaving through legitimate means were low. Therefore, the options were limited to examining methods from least to most probable. Among those, the most probable and feasible method would be…
“Then it’s my turn.”
Naturally, Himik, who could currently unleash the most firepower, stepped forward.
“By the way, can that barrier be broken?”
“Of course.”
“And what’s the price for that?”
This patterned exchange with the dysfunctional angel was becoming predictable. I knew that doing something meant she would cause some kind of trouble.
“To pierce through that level of strength, I’ll have to exert considerable power. So, I’ll be blowing away a portion of the ley lines used by the barrier.”
Ah, I knew it. Himik’s power always came with a catch.
“Don’t, nya!! The ley lines here affect the harvest of the surrounding farmlands, nya! If something like that happens, the ley lines will be disrupted, leading to continuous crop failures, nya!”
“So I’ve heard. In that case, you become the last resort.”
“Hmm.”
And while the extent of the damage was unknown, judging by the Guild Master’s reaction, it was clearly not a situation that could be laughed off. For now, Himik would remain on standby.
“Well, that certainly narrows down our options. Hmm?”
As the choices dwindled and I was about to select from the remaining few, my eyes caught the sight outside the window. And at the edge of that scene, something caught my attention.
“Say, Guild Master, is that also a device for dealing with dungeons?”
“Nya? The countermeasures for dungeon rampages are the army soldiers and the barrier, nya. What are you talking about, n-n-nyaaaat’s that!?”
It must have been something so shocking that it could make a cat’s fur stand on end. It seemed to be slowly rising now, but if my eyes weren’t mistaken, it was clearly a robot. Moreover, it was a bulky, intimidating-looking robot, the kind a villain would pilot. Fighting an angel, it certainly fit the visual.
“Do they need such a large robot to deal with an angel?”
A colossal golem, disproportionately large for use in a confined space, was beginning to reveal itself before me.
Today’s Quote:
Sometimes you need to act before receiving instructions from your superior.
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