A few hours after killing the pilots of Nine’s lair.
A loud noise echoes from somewhere in the forest, as something large rampages.
Nine stops his subordinates from going to see.
Then, some time after the noise stopped.
“You guys stay here, alright?”
“B-Boss.”
“B-Be careful.”
I wanted to be Nine’s eyes and shield.
Nine alone moves more smoothly.
There had been no problems so far. Even if.
Even if faced with something unexpected, the boss.
As his subordinates, and dearest subordinates, they trust their boss.
“〈Search Magic〉” was activated away from the lair.
With this, he should be able to lure out whatever was making noise, or the comrade they all killed.
“…Did a monster take the bait?”
“GUOOOOOON!!”
With this, there should be enough food for several days.
“GAO-AHHHHGGGGAAAHHH!!”
Nine scoured the surrounding monsters, discovering two Knights (Golems).
Two deserters, who came to see if it was a monster that would give even a Knight (Golem) trouble, using the direction icon of the magic detection in the cockpit to alert them.
“…”
“…”
Support Device (Back Weapon) activated.
From behind, magic staffs (cannons) were aimed at both shoulders.
Nine leaped backward.
BASHUN!!!
NNNNNNNNNNN!!!!
“—!!”
A living human dodging the barrage of magic bullets from two Knights (Golems).
Impossible. It couldn’t be!
The man piloting one of the machines ignored the warning on the screen edge that his remaining magic power was low and pulled the trigger of the Support Device (Back Weapon).
“Take *this*! Hit himrrrrr!”
“Hey?! Isn’t your magic running out soon? Don’t waste magic bullets.”
“Hiiiiiirrrr!”
“I told you to stop!”
BASHUN!! BASHUN!! BASHUN!!!
GAKUN!
“Huh? What?”
“Oi, I told you to stop. Can the hatch open?”
Knock knock!
Suddenly, like a puppet whose strings were cut.
The other machine calls out to the pilot of the Knight (Golem) who had fallen to his knees.
The external generator couldn’t be used either due to lack of magic.
The self-inflicted misfortune man’s voice, crying out in the cockpit to do something quickly, couldn’t be heard.
After getting permission, they forcibly pried open the chest hatch.
Meanwhile, Nine watched the state of the two Knights (Golems) from a tree far away.
“…Why are there Knights (Golems) in a forest like this?”
Is the Tartarus Kingdom in the advantageous position?
Everything was progressing steadily, with the lair being remodeled and expanded, and preparations being made to bring in women.
“This is the worst.”
Will I have to move to a demon territory that people don’t venture into?
If I stubbornly stay here.
Sooner or later, this forest will be swallowed by flames of war.
All food and lumber will turn to ash.
There’s a limit to what Creation Magic can create in a day.
Living with six guys.
A consumption rate that definitely exceeds the recovery speed of my possessed magic power.
“Haaah, I guess I’ll run.”
Nine let out another futile sigh.
He returned to the lair and ordered his subordinates to force their way out of the forest.
The pilots of the Knights (Golems).
While being wary of the person they let escape returning with allies, they kept an eye on the surroundings with sensor equipment until the Knights (Golems) recovered enough magic to move.
“Hasn’t enough magic recovered to activate yet?”
“Ah, not yet. Ah well, I got a Knight (Golem) and all. I really wanted to be like ‘I’m so strong!’, but I couldn’t.”
“Stop talking nonsense and watch the remaining magic meter.”
“Yep, yep.”
Nine’s lair.
The sun set, and darkness spread, with not a single light in sight.
“Boss, where to next?”
“Who knows. For now, until we find a place that Knights (Golems) and the like can’t easily reach.”
“Is that a long way off?”
“Yeah, it’s a faraway prospect,” he thought.
Nine rushed through the pitch-black forest at the head.
His following subordinates kept pace behind him.
Every time a sound or growl echoed from the darkness on either side, their hands instinctively reached for their weapons, but Nine had told them not to draw them.
“Kuu.”
“Quietly.”
“Don’t fall behind the boss.”
“Hurry up.”
“I’m not tasty… (muttering)”
To mask their body odor, they all smeared a strong, pungent wild grass on their exposed skin.
In this forest, where most of the monsters had taken physical form, they were moonlight fleeing, using scent to keep monsters away.
“We are villains~♪”
“Aiming for a land of peace~~♪”
“~~~~♪ Hooo♪ Fiii♪”
We will go anywhere♪
We will follow the path the boss walks♪
We are villains♪ Outcasts of society♪
Leading his subordinates aimlessly to new lands.
They had become quiet, speaking only the minimum necessary conversation.
I taught them an opening song from an Earth anime, an anime I liked.
When I mentioned the title of the anime, they asked if it was a national anthem of some country.
I replied that it wasn’t from any particular country, but from a land of fantasy and creation.
They nodded in understanding. As they were singing while moving, another one asked.
“Can I arrange it?”
I worried about copyright, but I thought it would be alright in this world, so I gave them permission.
After singing like that for a while,
“Let’s arrange it more.”
“Until it becomes something completely different.”
The tempo remained the same. Alternating between saying “this way” and “that way” while looking at the song collection.
“We Are Villains” was completed.
The subordinates’ bizarre obsession exploded, and a completely different song was created.
I occasionally joined in singing as well.
As they moved along cheerfully like this, they heard drunkards in the towns and villages they stopped at loudly lamenting, “War is miserable, and this country’s economy is in shambles.”
When a cheap sake cost four times the price, I was more surprised by the content of the conversation.
Throwing empty bottles at a few of the drunkards and letting them cause a ruckus.
Getting away with not paying was incredibly satisfying.
I thought about using the saved money on a prostitute, but the brothels had closed due to the economic recession caused by the war.
*Clang.*
Resigned, I went around to the back entrance, broke into the brothel, and got the money from the counter. I tied up the manager, extracted information about a large city, and left town.
The manager slit his own throat and died.
The large city with information.
They were challenged by the gatekeepers and heavily extorted for entry tax.
Showing my adventurer’s license was a mistake, but I couldn’t pass through the gate without it.
“Broke, huh?”
“Boss…”
I wanted to quickly resolve my subordinates’ worries.
Let’s go to the gambling den.
Using Possession Ability to manipulate the dice.
Using my Astral Body to peek at the dealer’s and players’ hands.
“Cheating! There’s no way that many hits can just come up! Kick them out! Give me my bet back!”
“Whoa, whoa, cheating♪? What kind of cheating? I’m not even using magic♪ Right, Mr. Dealer♪?”
“…Yes, as the customer says. However, there are many suspicions from other customers. Would you mind leaving for today?”
“The hell out of here!”
“Ah, yeah, yeah. Cash out my chips♪ See ya, you whiners♪”
“UGAAAAAAAHHHH!!”
“Sir. If you continue to act out or yell like that, we will ban you.”
Nine, while the loser was being apprehended by the bouncers, told his subordinates, who had mixed in with the customers, to win and lose moderately and then leave.
A place to stay hasn’t been decided yet.
It’s a recession.
If I try to stay in a suspicious inn, I might be erased and forgotten, my very presence in this city wiped from existence.
“Actually, let’s stay at that kind of inn.”
“D-D-Don’t worry… it’s fine, right? You’re the boss.”
“Trust the boss.”
“That’s right.”
“Boss, I’ve brought a woman♪”
“Guh! (Karii) Hey, you guys! Ng!”
“Hey? Don’t bring trouble here.”
“Miss♪ If you don’t quiet down, you’ll be in for a bad time♪”
“Ouch, you bitch.”
“!” … (Nods)
“Boss, are you going to forgive him…? We’ll take the leftovers.”
Nine and his subordinates ravished the woman.
Once her consciousness faded and they grew bored of her, she would be absorbed into Nine’s body, leading to Physical Enhancement and an increase in Possessed Magic Power.
