Harmonia’s northernmost city, Lauenstein, stands as a fortress city connected by a bridge leading to Nordland, where the Demon Lord resides.
The city gates allow entry until evening, and now that guard duty has ended, a peaceful daily life has returned. Earlier, Priscilla’s suggestion to “go all out” led to a full-scale battle royale, or rather, a one-against-six brawl.
I genuinely thought I was going to die. While I’ve likely leveled up from working non-stop, a single fool’s poisoned knife, wielded carelessly, stabbed my eye, rendering me blind in my left for now.
“There’s no ally who would let you die.”
Ah, indeed, I didn’t die. Sophia healed me. The poison was removed quickly, but the wound from the knife penetrating my left eye wouldn’t heal instantly and will take some time to regain sight.
Ignoring me, who vowed one day to pierce him with a Buster Sword at full power, everyone else is resting and healing their fatigue on the cargo bed. They’re truly incredible. I want to raid them while they sleep and sleep with them.
Lauenstein is a city with a superficial castle wall. South of it lies the castle town, followed by Lauenstein Castle, and then the bridge connecting to Nordland. The castle wall is solely for defending against monsters crossing the bridge; otherwise, movement is unrestricted.
The bridge’s name is “Nebel.” The bridge, wide enough for three horse-drawn carriages to cross side-by-side, leads to Nordland. Nearby is a watchtower called Nebel Tower, equipped with a formidable Magic Cannon, which has annihilated all who have attempted to cross the bridge before.
A single bridge with a clear vantage point for shooting from elevated ground. It’s not something that can be overcome by sheer numbers. The innkeeper, assuming we were tourists or heading to Nordland for magic stones, cheerfully recounted the situation.
“Tomorrow, we will conduct combat training on the beach. All participants must be in full combat gear. Those who do not attend will be removed from guard duty rotation!”
As the Captain, I declared this with an air of authority and confidence.
“This is tedious. We’ve killed enough to be bored, haven’t we? Why do it now…”
“Everyone participates! No objections will be entertained!”
Don’t they understand why we came all this way?! We came to play on the beach! Wearing full combat gear means wearing swimsuits underneath! Don’t they realize we endured this arduous journey just to have fun?!
“You can’t see out of your left eye, can you? Why don’t you rest a bit?”
As long as I can see with my right eye, it’s fine. One eye is enough. I have Mind’s Eye, so it’s perfectly fine!
“It’s alright. We are Mercenaries. We must be ready for battle at any time, so not being able to see with my left eye makes no difference.”
“So tedious…”
Everyone, except perhaps Priscilla, understands the reason we came to the sea. Or perhaps Priscilla understands too but is saying it out of shyness. I’m quite looking forward to Priscilla’s micro-bikini.
“We have an early start tomorrow, so let’s get some rest. Priscilla, I’ll excuse you from guard duty even if you’re late.”
With that said, I left the room. I feel too excited to sleep right now. But first, I need to ask the innkeeper about tomorrow’s meal and where we can play by the sea.
“Fog.”
Was I too early? The place the innkeeper told me about was not far from Nebel Bridge, a secluded spot, but near the sea, morning fog had rolled in.
“What should we do? Are we going to train?”
“We’ll do it. No, we will. Since it’s morning fog, it will dissipate as time passes, so we’ll wait until then.”
This is completely unlucky. I woke up early and prepared, and only Alana came to show off her inner swimsuit, which made me happy.
While the other members’ situation is unknown, I wonder if Priscilla wore hers. Did she genuinely believe it was combat training and wear underwear beneath her heavy armor? Underwear in this world is like T-shirts and shorts. It has to be a swimsuit for the beach.
I set up a tent in the morning fog, created a resting area, and prepared water and towels, leaving only the Ale packed in thecarriage. If I bring it out now, they’ll know it’s for fun. I’ll bring it out once Priscilla is in her swimsuit.
As preparations progressed steadily, the fog gradually cleared. As Nebel Bridge and the watchtower became faintly visible, the sea breeze made me truly feel like we had come to play by the sea.
Nebel Bridge, being a long bridge extending to Nordland, had its far end lost in the fog, and even the upper parts of the watchtower were not visible. Lauenstein Castle in the rear was hidden by the fog, its full form invisible. I’m a bit excited, thinking about the magnificent structure I’ll see once the fog clears.
“It’s clearing up. Shall we start soon?”
Now, how to transition from combat training to playing on the beach? A mere formality of training, followed by an early break, and then we cool off in the sea. That’s the plan!
“Yes. Let’s divide into hand-to-hand combat and magic groups.”
Should I just cut off their armor and make it an erotic scene? That would save effort.
“Captain, what is that? Something is flying near the watchtower.”
That’s a kite or a seagull, it’s the sea after all. Still, Alana’s eyes are sharp. I can only see fog, but she…
While I was contemplating how to make it erotic, I saw a red flash and heard a loud explosion from the watchtower.
“What the!”
Only Alana and I saw the explosion. Now, the watchtower, emitting black smoke in the white fog, stood there. Damn it! They did it! I was thinking about kites casually, but this is probably Harpy bombing. Unlike the Koatotemites, they didn’t just drop stones.
Explosions and black smoke continued to erupt from the watchtower. Bombing in this fog, what kind of trained unit is this? This isn’t something a single Harpy can do.
The Demon Lord’s invasion has truly begun. A Demon Lord truly exists. I didn’t have time to think about it since arriving here, but I wished the Demon Lord was just a fairy tale.
A war is about to begin, where the Demon Lord and humans will fight, and the human side will suffer heavy casualties. Will it end only after we Mercenaries become known as Heroes and defeat the Demon Lord?
“This looks bad. What do we do?”
Priscilla and all the members of the White Lily Corps turned their gazes to me, waiting for the words of myself, their Captain.
…I’ll do it. This is why I received Godspeed and am living my second life in another world.
“White Lily Corps! I consider this the Demon Lord’s advance. This is a preemptive strike to destroy the Magic Cannons in the watchtower and secure safe passage across Nebel Bridge!”
“Huh? Does a Demon Lord really exist?”
“Yes. Since there are Demons, it’s not strange for a Demon Lord to exist. Besides, bombing from within this fog requires immense training.”
“So, only the Demon Lord can do that…”
The silence that followed their words acknowledged the Demon Lord’s existence. Everyone must have something to consider. A fairy tale is becoming reality.
“I will issue orders. We will all proceed to Nebel Bridge. Once we reach the bridge, Orietta and Alana, head towards the watchtower, assess the Magic Cannons and fire if possible. If they are broken, try to repair them.”
“Understood.”
“What if we can’t repair them?”
“In that case, we retreat immediately. Christine, provide anti-air interception and wait with Sophia at the South Gate for two hours. If we don’t return after two hours, take the carriage and go ahead.”
“We’ll wait!”
“That limits the retreat route to just one path, so it’s not good. If we can’t return to the South Gate, we’ll retreat through other routes.”
“What will you do, Captain?”
“Priscilla, Rufina, and I will go to the bridge. We’d like to buy about two hours.”
“Alright! It’s decided. Let’s go and finish this quickly. And will the reward for this come from the Captain?”
As expected of Mercenaries. Even at a time like this, you talk about rewards. It can’t be settled with just money, can it?
“This time, it will be divided between those who can earn score and those who cannot… If you follow the orders, once, you will have your wish.”
“WOOOOAH!”
I shouldn’t have said that…
“Our wish, our way!”
“We can kill as much as we want!”
“Hehehe.”
“I’m looking forward to it~”
“Blood, blood, blood!”
“…”
Don’t all talk at once. Let one person speak. Did I overdo it with this generous offer? In an emergency, even if reported after the fact, the Guild will provide funds, and as Mercenaries, it’s not wrong, is it?
However, the Demon Lord’s invasion starting at this precise moment must be orchestrated by God. Just to prevent me from playing at the beach.
The Demon Lord is the Demon Lord! It wouldn’t have mattered if the invasion was delayed by another day. If only I had half a day, I could have played with girls on the beach. Why are you interfering?!
I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I’ll slaughter all the Demon Lords and Monsters. I’ll finish this quickly and see Priscilla in her swimsuit!
After that…
