“So, you couldn’t hold our enemy until I arrived? Is that it?”
“My apologies.”
I was being glared at by the instructor on a battlefield that had been spectacularly messed up.
If I had to describe the Oni’s mood in one word, it would be displeased, and not just a little.
Even though his arms were crossed, veins were protruding from his biceps, showing how much strength he was exerting.
His face was already imposing, but with the added element of displeasure, the subordinates who were handling cleanup at the scene as reinforcements seemed to be acting like they’d encountered a vengeful god, maintaining complete detachment.
Moreover, his magic power was seeping out little by little, making him even more unapproachable.
The rescue request signal I asked Suella to send, coded in red, signified an emergency, a call for immediate dispatch of forces equivalent to my own.
Following that, Suella ran as a messenger to the instructor who was finishing off the unit that was supposed to be retrieving refugees. She relayed the message, and by the time he rushed here, having swiftly dealt with the situation, I had let Himusumi escape. So, this couldn’t be helped.
Without hiding my blunder, I bowed my head honestly.
“The enemy focused on escaping, and I grew careless.”
The opponent was one step ahead. They had accurately judged the critical moment for escape, secured their options, and made sure their escape route was clear.
In this regard, I had misjudged the enemy’s strength, I suppose.
“Tch, I came all the way here because I heard there was someone with some fight on this side.”
Lecturing is the act of teaching someone who doesn’t understand their mistake. The instructor, understanding my lapse, clicked his tongue and suppressed his anger.
He seemed to be angry unreasonably, but in reality, he rarely got angry without cause. This was his way of handling things. This allowed us to move on to the next topic.
“Why did you send a rescue request in the first place? If you let him escape, it means the enemy was weaker than you, right? Why did you need my power for a battle you could win?”
It seemed the instructor felt the same way. Although his displeasure didn’t disappear, he showed a willingness to listen to the incomprehensible nature of my actions.
“To put it plainly, it was a gut feeling.”
“Huh?”
Normally, I would have to provide evidence at this point, but my basis was purely instinctual, lacking any form of proof.
Normally, I would be yelled at for being flippant, but in the instructor’s case, it was such a crucial element that he even forgot his displeasure and became serious.
“Did you think we’d be in trouble if the two of us weren’t here?”
“Yes.”
In this world, gut feelings cannot be underestimated. Something in our instincts senses a critical element and helps us avoid it. That’s the role of intuition in this world.
The more your status increases, the more it can potentially uncover something akin to future sight.
Even Instructor Fushio, who isn’t the intuitive type, doesn’t dismiss this element. And Instructor Kio, who acts on intuition and instinct, certainly wouldn’t dismiss it.
“Indeed, objectively speaking, Himusumi’s and my strength, while not impossibly far apart, had a considerable gap. In terms of swordsmanship, magic power, and experience, there were no elements that suggested defeat.”
“So, there was something that surpassed those elements?”
“Yes. If you ask me what specifically, I don’t know. Even when I was certain I had him cornered and he had no strength left to resist, I had a feeling that something was challenging that certainty.”
Before I could even tell him to wait, Himusumi and the mage vanished in an instant.
Looking back, it’s possible that the mage spirited away Himusumi to prevent that “something” from manifesting.
“…So, they have such forces at their disposal. It makes me even more regretful that I let him escape. I haven’t had a chance to fight seriously in a while. And that mage who got away from you seemed quite skilled with their hands. This is getting interesting.”
“From my perspective, that’s a negative element. The fewer trump cards the opponent has, the better.”
Moreover, the mage, as the instructor said, was quite skilled with their hands.
“As the Human King says, it’s best to minimize the enemy’s chances of victory.”
“Suella.”
Suella appeared, the one who had that “skilled hands” reason. Since there were subordinates around, Suella addressed me by my title, not my name.
She was dressed in a robe, looking like a mage, and in one hand, she held a slightly mismatched tablet device, likely containing reports from the scene.
She probably came to deliver that information to us.
“What are you saying? You just don’t want Jiro to do dangerous things, do you?”
The instructor teased her with a displeased look, watching Suella, who stood so sternly and seriously.
“Of course. I was extremely worried when I heard the Human King was in danger.”
“That’s a cute reaction. You used to blush just from being teased.”
The instructor had been amused by her reactions, but like anything, repeated teasing dulls the response. Suella, with a gentle smile, had learned to respond effectively. While her response wasn’t what the instructor was seeking, he continued, shifting his focus back to the work report.
“I am also growing. Therefore, I believe the Human King’s actions this time were not mistaken. May I proceed with the scene investigation report?”
“My apologies. What about that side of things?”
“To put it simply, no. The hostages Jiro secured were meticulously disposed of. It’s impossible to revive them as Undead.”
As if to prove the mage’s skill with their hands, Suella frowned and shook her head, looking troubled. All the hostages, who could have been information sources, were dead. And they were so thoroughly disposed of that they couldn’t even be revived as Undead to extract information.
“While it is good that we inflicted nearly ten thousand casualties with the combined efforts of the Oni King and the Human King as a war gain, the reason for such thorough concealment of information is bothersome.”
In the end, my accomplishment was simply the annihilation of an army. Suella, who had rushed here, leaving the command of the headquarters to someone else out of worry, was not satisfied with the result. Normally, wiping out an army of ten thousand would be a great victory, but she seemed more concerned about the information that was prioritized for concealment.
“But we can no longer pursue that.”
“Yes. It’s concerning, but we shouldn’t dwell too much on it. Fortunately, we were able to spread rumors about the acceptance of refugees, as the Human King initially instructed. If we can establish a solid counter-espionage foundation, there should be no problems.”
Her brow furrowed slightly, but she quickly relaxed her shoulders, seemingly switching gears. The future plan was to confirm the arrival of the Lunaria and the Oni King in Isal. While it wasn’t a complete consolidation of our base, we had managed to bring it to a level that could be operated as a national foundation. For the time being, we would focus on defensive measures and leveling the ground, but even so, it would be an extremely unpleasant development for Isal.
“I see.”
“Hmph, it looks like it will be a dull fight for a while.”
“I believe it would be more effective as a feint if we attacked periodically. Nothing takes more effort than reconstruction.”
This was an equally uninteresting development for the instructor. Still, Suella, despite saying she wasn’t bothered, couldn’t shake the feeling that the mage’s method of disposal was concerning. Perhaps I was overthinking it, but I had a bad feeling that not worrying about it would be a mistake.
Normally, creating Undead wasn’t that difficult. However, that was limited to low-level Undead that lacked intellect and only followed orders. To retain intelligence and memories, at least a mid-tier, ideally a high-tier Undead, was desirable. But to create a high-tier Undead, the physical body, especially the soul, was crucial. If the foundation was poor, you couldn’t create a quality Undead.
The opponent was well aware of this and thoroughly destroyed the head and soul. Even if the head was destroyed, the soul, at worst, could have been revived as a Ghost. But even that was impossible. They could destroy the soul. Or, they were skilled enough to ascend it. To do so required considerable effort and time. They felt the need to go to such lengths. There must have been information that needed to be kept secret to this degree.
“Human King?”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Ah, nothing…”
Because I understood that, the magnitude of the prize that had escaped left an unpleasant feeling. Perhaps it showed on my face, as I realized Suella and the instructor were looking at me.
“There are just too many things that bother me, and I was wondering where to start tackling them. First, I suppose I need to start with drafting the report for Evia.”
I didn’t know what “that” was. So, I asked for time to organize my thoughts to put it into words.
“Ah, you’re talking about the rumor that one of our Testers has defected to the enemy?”
Though I wanted to avoid bringing up more demoralizing facts in this unsatisfying situation, it was a topic that couldn’t be avoided. Suella probably didn’t want to hear it either. Given the real-life example of Kawasaki Midori, the word “Tester’s betrayal” was a particularly sensitive topic for the Demon Lord’s Army.
“It’s not confirmed.”
“But, according to your assessment, that was our Himusumi, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Normally, I wouldn’t want to mince words in front of this Oni, but the circumstances called for it. There was definitely some reason behind it. Because the instructor showed a degree of understanding when I responded with that in mind, he continued the conversation, albeit without hiding his distaste.
“If they tried to kill you, then that’s betrayal. No reason matters before that fact. That’s our way.”
“…I understand.”
“Convince them. Otherwise, you’ll die.”
And that’s how he, sternly yet helpfully, taught me. On the battlefield, if you go easy on someone you know, you’re the one who dies. I understood that too. However, there was a part of me that wasn’t convinced. For Kitamiya, he was a childhood friend. That fact was undeniably hindering my will to fight. I was in a position where I had to figure out how to deal with that. The Demon Lord’s Army never forgives traitors. If there were circumstances, there might be room for leniency, but conversely, Japan’s system for investigating and defending them was not nearly as thorough. The fact that he attacked me couldn’t be erased no matter what. I had to proactively prepare the evidence to overturn that fact, or the Demon Lord’s Army would cut down Himusumi’s future. If it were me, I might go easy on him, but if he clashed with another general, he would surely lose his life.
“Understood.”
However, I thought I wouldn’t have that luxury of going easy, even if it were me. It was likely that my strength had been gauged to some extent in today’s battle, and countermeasures would be prepared. Considering that, I myself would have to fight to kill next time. I fervently hoped that the next time we met would not be Himusumi’s last day.
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