After all is said and done, there are still necessary follow-up actions to be taken.
Fortunately, the town suffered no damage, so compensation for any personal losses will be minimal.
However, complete losses are not absent.
“Please submit requests for compensation and annuities from the state to the bereaved families.”
“There are also talks of the Oni King personally offering a慰労 (consolation payment), so we’ll combine that with the state’s.”
“Ah, please do.”
This time, it was not dungeon monsters but living, breathing demons who were dispatched to face the angels.
Naturally, there were casualties among them.
Even demons, who boast overwhelming combat power, can fall to death when the enemy charges en masse and attempts to kill them through sheer numbers.
The proof of this was found in the casualty reports during the instructor’s post-battle processing.
I have very few subordinates, so I haven’t received such damage reports, but this doesn’t apply to the Oni King’s army, which faced the enemy head-on.
I hand Sueira the recommendation letter for the application documents along with my damage report.
“Well, next…”
This is also something that must be done, however sad it may be.
But I can’t just dwell in sadness.
I let out a big sigh, and alongside Sueira, who gave me a wry smile at my attitude, I looked at a person who shouldn’t have been in this office.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m here to support my senpai!!”
Tadashi Kaidou, a man who should be working as a Dungeon Tester, inexplicably appeared as a battleship captain and came to greet me.
It was clear that this was Amili-san, the Machine King’s arrangement.
Not the latest model, but a mobile battleship capable of being a fighting force, four destroyers to escort it, and a mobile aircraft carrier capable of housing numerous golems. Even if they are older models, they are a considerable fighting force.
When he appeared as the person in charge, I could hardly believe my eyes, but reality is reality.
“Do you understand? This battle is different from being a Dungeon Tester.”
“I do. Even I wouldn’t come to a place like this with my head in the clouds.”
I wish my kouhai had never had to come to a place like this.
However, Kaidou set aside his usual flippant attitude, and with a determined look on his face, it was clear he had come here after thinking it through.
“…The Machine King has given formal authorization. With this, you will be under my command and counted as a fighting force. In other words, if I tell you to kill, you must kill. Unlike in your tester days, you cannot proceed with things casually. Orders are absolute, and personal feelings cannot be mixed into battle.”
Seeing the resolve in his eyes, I understood that he was prepared, and at the same time, looking at the order he brought, I calmly discussed reality.
“Amili-chan told me that too… and besides,”
“You’ve experienced it too, haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
From here on, this is no longer about having fun with friends.
There is no illusion of being a hero.
It’s a mix of unreasonableness, unpleasantness, and disgust.
There exists only the ugly struggle of one living being against another.
Unless you resign yourself like me, or enjoy it like the instructor, there is nothing but suffering waiting for you.
And Kaidou understood this reality correctly.
“I see.”
Where, or rather, when did he experience it?
I grasped this from the attached documents to the order.
Not here, at the front lines.
Though not a fight between humans, he still participated in battles against intelligent, humanoid beings.
Kaidou volunteered and was deployed to the battlefields of the Aristocratic Union on the continent, and with a tearful cry, he annihilated one of the Union’s units.
The report stated that his mental state was not normal, and he refused to eat for a week due to his emaciated appearance.
“How was your impression of visiting hell on purpose?”
“It was hell.”
Given that psychological state, how could he have such a bright face?
“I see. We both have a hard time trying to look good in front of the woman we love.”
Simply put, boys probably just want to look good in front of the girls they like.
You might think it’s a trivial reason, but for men, it can sometimes be a reason more precious than anything.
Seeing Amili, who was pregnant yet still fighting for the country, Kaidou questioned his own role working in a safe place.
He could have averted his gaze, told himself he’d be a burden, or convinced himself that waiting was also a form of fighting, and no one would have criticized him.
The one who likely couldn’t forgive himself was himself.
That’s all.
As proof, Kaidou shrugged in agreement with my joke and nodded.
“Honestly, having your golem unit, which can work twenty-four hours a day, is a great help. It won’t completely solve the manpower shortage, but being able to rebuild the early warning network is significant. The front line with the Tree King is also unstable. Waiting for the enemy’s movements in this situation will lead to nothing good.”
There stood a man who had matured through various experiences.
They say you should be impressed by a man after not seeing him for three days, but to see such growth is truly remarkable.
I thought I had always seen the growth of my kouhai.
“How about we call everyone else too? I think it would be a lot easier.”
“Katsu will die from overwork worrying about you. Ameli is too dangerous to be placed on the front lines. Kitamiya and Minami would both be suitable, but it’s enough for us adults to endure this hell.”
I never thought they would grow this much.
Reinforcements are honestly welcome.
Even though we won decisively and have momentum, the enemy’s deployment still leaves an unsettling feeling, and I want to eliminate all worries.
The reinforcements are helpful for that.
As I admired my kouhai’s growth, I sensed a presence slowly approaching me.
It wasn’t an urgent report.
With a leisurely pace, the door was knocked, and Sueira granted permission to enter.
“Human King, we received a report of an encounter with angels in the forest to the southwest. We annihilated them, but what should we do?”
“Southwest, huh?”
Post-battle cleanup is also our job.
It has been several days since that battle.
I don’t believe we’ve eliminated everyone, but I didn’t expect to encounter them with such frequency.
As a result, a printed map of the surrounding area is displayed on the whiteboard set up next to the office, with numerous red crosses marked on it.
“Any damage?”
“None.”
“I see. Please issue instructions to report the exact location and enemy strength later, and grant a half-day leave to the units that made contact.”
“Understood.”
Not even guerrilla warfare, just random movements.
Meaningless movements, without any discernible intent.
What are they trying to do, really?
I let the soldier who came to report go, feeling that I had gained only more unnecessary information.
“It looks tough.”
“Don’t say that, you’re the source of my troubles. For now, your unit will be responsible for guarding the dungeon and the surrounding villages. The instructor’s unit needs a banquet to relieve some stress.”
No, am I just increasing my worries by trying to read the enemy’s mind?
Perhaps it would be better to join the instructors and drink heavily without overthinking things.
“Jiro-san?”
“Ah, I don’t have time to be thinking about unnecessary things.”
“Yes, it’s understandable that the Oni King wants to reward his subordinates, but it’s not good for both superiors to get drunk.”
Sueira easily saw through such selfish desires, and I had no choice but to give up.
“It’s tough.”
“You’ve also become a person in charge, so you don’t have time for sympathy. First, we’ll decide the deployments and shifts by the end of today.”
“Understood.”
Work, work, work. I wish for peace to come after this is over, while dealing with the events unfolding before me.
I return to my tasks with a wry smile at Kaidou’s unpracticed salute.
Time passes by in the blink of an eye when you’re doing things like this.
Kaidou also returned to his ship, and working alongside Sueira, time truly flies.
“Is it this late already?”
“Yes, it is. I forgot to eat dinner.”
“If Himik were here, she’d bring us something delicious right about now…”
Checking the clock, it was already well past dinnertime.
“There’s no use relying on someone who isn’t here. We can’t bring her into this war.”
“Ah.”
My stomach growls, a late reminder that I’m hungry.
“I’ll go look for something to eat.”
“I’ll go too. My shoulders are stiff from sitting in a chair. I want to stretch a bit.”
“In that case, shall we go together?”
No matter how powerful one’s body, one cannot survive without eating.
Fundamentally, living creatures cannot survive without replenishing their energy, and even a body enhanced by magic crests is not exempt from this constraint.
No, perhaps this constraint is not something to be broken.
“I want to eat rice.”
“In that case, shall I make some onigiri?”
“That sounds good. But, we probably don’t have umeboshi or salmon, do we?”
“We might have a can of tuna? It’s preserved food, and in a pinch, it can even be used as fuel for an oil lamp.”
“Can we substitute salt and pepper if we don’t have mayonnaise?”
Appetite is the sustenance for life, and also entertainment.
Some people even claim to live for the sake of eating.
I don’t have that strong of a preference, but I do enjoy talking about food like this with Sueira.
Seeing a familiar face like Kaidou’s gave me some relief, but still, when you’re on the battlefield, you truly appreciate the value of these small, everyday moments.
Ah, I can recognize that I am still able to cherish them.
“The problem is whether we have seaweed or not.”
“Is that important?”
“As a Japanese person, seaweed is a must for onigiri. Without it, something feels incomplete. Well, salt onigiri is also delicious, I suppose. But I do want the taste of seaweed.”
A small, ordinary desire that surfaces amidst days of fighting.
I don’t know if we have seaweed, which could be considered a delicacy to some extent.
This is another world, and the food here is also of this world. Imports from Japan are considered military supplies, but they mainly consist of mass-produced canned goods, along with staples like wheat, which are easy to adapt.
I certainly don’t know if a less common ingredient like seaweed has been sent to the front lines compared to other food items.
“I didn’t really mind that much, but…”
“Compared to how Himik used to be so resourceful?”
“I tended to see it more as an ingredient for art.”
It’s a fleeting thought, like ‘it would be nice if we had it.’ At worst, instant noodles would be fine too.
Speaking of which, ever since Himik arrived, I’ve been eating her home-cooked meals, so I haven’t had instant food in a while.
“That’s also a fine ingredient.”
“It is, but seeing Himik’s cooking…”
We’ve never even prepared instant cup noodles in the break room after work.
“I understand how you feel. It’s natural to do it for things like cats or bears, or other animals.”
“Before, I even tried making character bento boxes for when the children asked for them.”
“You brought that, and Keirii and I made such faces.”
“What do you mean?”
“It was the feeling of objectivity when a grown man is eating a cute cat character bento. I was happy that you made it for me, it tasted good, and I was genuinely grateful. But when you think about how we would look from the outside…”
“I see.”
It’s not bad to have such exchanges, but the fact is, I want to eat properly.
That cheap taste isn’t bad either.
However, precisely because it’s a time like this, I want to eat something substantial.
Word of the Day:
Seaweed is delicious.
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