The country has gone to war with another.
Under wartime conditions,
fully armed individuals frequently pass through the streets and lodging towns.
The bustling first floor, filled with a hubbub, is the inn’s tavern.
I’m drowning my sorrows in alcohol, unable to find a new love.
“One more… no, a bottle, please.”
“Sir, you’ve had too much to drink?”
The staff tries to stop me, judging it as poison to the body, but
I place more money on the table and demand a bottle.
“…I won’t be held responsible.”
“I haven’t fallen so low that a mere guy has to worry about me.”
Hubbub, hubbub.
Another group of customers arrives.
That group knows the group that arrived earlier.
They know each other in a bad way.
“It was you guys that time!”
“No! You were the ones first!”
Hired by the same client for mercenary work.
Either one, or perhaps both, botched the job.
The payment was never made. It was a ridiculously low reward.
And the responsibility for that now lies with you.
“Pathetic,” I muttered.
“Wh-what did you say??”
Ah, my muttering of “pathetic” was heard.
I’m in a bad mood. Don’t mess with me.
Even if the cause was my muttering.
“Did you just call us pathetic, huh??”
Murmur, murmur, murmur, murmur.
A fight? Is a fight about to break out?
They surrounded me and the two groups from a distance.
“Customers, if you cause trouble inside the establishment…”
“Huh?”
“N-no, it’s nothing.”
Manager, you should have been tougher.
“I don’t like this.”
“Hey, let’s beat this guy up first.”
Ooooooooooh.
In the tavern and inn, a huge brawl erupted.
I was beaten up and beat them back.
A chair was thrown at me, and I rolled onto the floor and out into the street.
Instantly, I grabbed some dirt and threw it back into the establishment.
“oof.”
“Later!”
I can’t stay long in such a man’s den. The smell of guys, as if their sweat could fly.
I thought I could have good dreams while drowning my sorrows,
even with this inn attached to the tavern.
“My travel expenses have dwindled quite a bit.”
I already paid for the drinks.
If only they had overcharged me a little sooner.
“There are so few monsters.”
During wartime, arms and armor, as well as magic tools, are consumed in large quantities.
The prices of mineral resources have also doubled and tripled.
Mercenaries are overhunting nearby monsters.
To fund the travel expenses to the destination town.
If I can hunt even one monster, I’m incredibly lucky.
The worst is to be half-killed and have your kill stolen right after hunting it.
“What should I do…?”
The night road is scary, but
if I stay here, I might be ambushed by those guys from earlier.
Hmmmm.
Rayos chose to proceed on the night road and
hurriedly went to buy provisions for his journey.
This has completely depleted my travel expenses.
“Haaa.”
Staring into the campfire,
I softened some preserved hard bread with my saliva and chewed it up.
“My teeth will break.”
The others besides me are probably eating it soaked in soup.
Munch, munch. Munch, munch.
A visitor arrived.
Approaching the campfire, they asked if they could join me.
Well, I hope they’re not bandits.
“Please do. I’m afraid I can’t offer anything other than the campfire.”
“No, no, just being able to warm ourselves by the fire is enough. By the way, where are you headed? Oh, it’s the same as us.”
“Yes. I just want to get away from the capital for a while.”
“Ah. Since that tragic incident, the situation in the central region today is terrible.”
I tried to probe them, but
their words flowed without pause.
There were two of them,
and I was alone.
I was outmatched in the number and quality of magic tools.
I wonder if I’ll have to search for corpses again, I thought.
I offered a topic that pushed the conversation forward.
“Do you think we can cross the border?”
“…I don’t think it’s possible.”
It’s wartime. Of course, it’s usually impossible.
But with my possession ability, I can sneak under the border line.
“Shall we decide on nighttime watch soon?”
“Since we’re intruding on you, please get some good rest.”
“I see.”
“Yes, leave it to us.”
Will I be attacked in my sleep? Now, what should I do?
The morning came with the chirping of small birds.
They don’t seem to be bandits.
“Shall we depart after having breakfast?”
“We should head to the towns and villages to get some proper rest soon.”
I have no money, though. Traveling with these guys lacks charm.
Ah, Sir Seiran, the knight who dresses as a man in the capital, I miss you!
Why does my life never go well?
☆-→ Town (Parted ways with the two after all) → ???
“…It smells like iron!”
It’s the smell of war.
From the battlefield, together with heavily wounded soldiers.
As a mercenary, I went and then, with the mercenary group’s pillar gone, I started my journey home to my hometown or the city where my base is.
People like that kept brushing past me.
Ah, the smell. Even the heavily wounded women were so bad that it killed any lust.
The smell. It’s too much.
“Ugh.”
The border line is swarming with soldiers and mercenaries everywhere.
From a place where I can avoid people’s eyes,
I have no choice but to tunnel underground for a long distance.
“Smells like dirt!”
It’s the worst when blood, flowing from wounds, seeps through from above!
Even though I’m observing the situation above with my Astral Body,
why do you guys keep leaving pools of blood in the path I’m trying to take!?
“Phew.”
There’s no oxygen or air underground.
Heat builds up even without breathing.
If only my head is above ground, it’s treated as a severed head.
No one spares me a glance.
They rush towards the front lines.
Mercenaries are divided into two types: those on standby by order of their employer and those at the front line.
I slowly emerged up to my shoulders, then
shot out of the ground up to my waist in one go.
I’m covered in blood. It’s dyed me a dark red, and I don’t know whose blood it is.
Before I’m attacked as a yokai,
I pull my lower body out of the ground as well.
I rolled around and pretended to be a corpse, then was tossed onto a cart by the corpse disposal unit.
With a rattling sound, I arrived at the corpse disposal site.
To prevent transformation into a yokai,
I was sprinkled with purified holy water,
and buried deep in the ground by a magic tool that manipulates earth.
“Wash the blood-stained arms and armor.”
“Us too, please.”
“Y-yes, sir…”
“You idiot.”
“Oww…”
They strip usable items from the corpses.
And use them for the war.
This is the job of those appointed to the corpse disposal corps.
They don’t have to risk their lives on the front lines.
It’s a job with as little life-threatening danger as the supply units.
However, corpses are very dirty.
Sometimes there are even corpses wounded by poisoned objects.
There’s a risk of being poisoned by touching them.
The ones who gather the corpses touch them first, but
the seniors tell the newcomers about the danger of such poisons,
push the work onto them, and then disappear into tents with chairs and tables, busily making lists of the cleanly washed items.
“Water Creation Magic Tool.”
*Trickle, trickle.* Scrub, scrub.
I refilled the basin with fresh water and washed the soiled iron plate armor with a scrub brush woven from plant fibers.
The blood oil makes it slide quickly across the surface, so I have to be careful not to cut my fingers on the edges or intricate details.
It’s quite nerve-wracking. This is also a job that risks one’s life.
“Haa.”
I glanced at the amount of work I was assigned and
sighed again, a newcomer.
Which one will be safe to handle next?
Rayos, possessing a full suit of armor, examined the bodies and corpses.
The seniors didn’t come to check on the newcomers; they were busy jotting down the inventory.
They’d falsify numbers and pocket the money. They’d discuss things to be siphoned off.
That’s why Rayos could acquire a new body without reservation.
A rather handsome young man at that.
“Ah, testing, testing. Yes, my body has recovered quite a bit.”
I have no clothes, but clad in armor… Oops. It’s cold!
“Who are you? A mercenary?”
“I’m a messenger to the commander. I need to pass through here in a hurry.”
“I see.”
The clanking footsteps were heard by the newcomer, but
in the face of my acting, it was easy.
I successfully infiltrated the rear guard.
And then moved further outside.
Now, what country is this? Are there any beautiful women?
Where will my dream base be?
Ah, wait for me, my yet-unseen new land!!
