Volume 1 Chapter 4

Translated by JayTranslation

Edited by Ulti

Part 1

「The Hero's party used the treasure that we've acquired, and it seems that a road to the Demon King's castle has appeared. This means that even the enemy has no choice but to be serious now. We just have to stay and defend the castle until the Hero defeats the Demon King.」

「So it comes down to whether the Demon King's Army can take us out first or if the Hero can defeat the Demon King first?」

We were talking about the situation while we did maintenance on our own weapons. At that time, there was a sudden knock on the door.

「Hey No. 6, are you in there?」

As if displeased, that was Snow's voice.

「Well, I'm here… But I don't really want to see you.」

「Stop trying to be funny, it's better if you just say you're not here!… What, are you doing maintenance on your weapons?」

Snow gazed at the knife that I was sharpening on the desk.

「… Hey No. 6, can I see that knife for a bit? I thought this before, but that really looks like an amazing blade.」

「…It doesn't matter to me, but you can't have it, you know?」

I turned the knife's grip around, and handed it to Snow.

「How marvelous…! Hey, does this child have a name? If it doesn't, then can I name it? And also where was this made…. What, what are you doing, let go! I didn't get to see it enough! Wait, I'll sharpen it for you… Ah!」

With a dangerous look in her eyes, Snow was about to light the knife on fire so I took it from her hands. She let out a small shriek while sending me a chastising look.

「Just why are you here? Are you here to take my knife?」

「T-that's right, it's because you have such a beautiful thing. No, wait…! ….The general is summoning you. Go to the conference room. It seems like he wants us to do something.」

— — When Snow and I arrived at the conference room, only the General and the advisor were there. Just those two old men.

As if telling me to sit down, the General offered me a chair.

「You did well to come here No. 6-dono. Your accomplishments up to now, regarding the Demon King's Army are most impressive. Especially the fact that despite fighting with one of the Four Heavenly Kings multiple times, you are still alive and well. 」

「Well, doing that much was nothing special.」

「You, how dare you!?」

All I did was answer in the affirmative, yet the advisor seemed to be giving me a warning. I wonder why I was even called here.

While the General looked like he had trouble bringing something up, Snow, who guided me here, opened her mouth.

「General, do you want to give us some kind of special mission?」

After Snow threw out a lifeline, the General nodded with a heavy heart.

「Yes. It's as you say. What I want to ask of your squad is… Henceforth, if any big names such as the Four Heavenly Kings appear, I want you all to take them on.」

「Gladly.」

「d.a.m.n woman, wait one second! Snow, since when did you become the commander?」

After I put a halt to this girl who was way too happy and excited,

「You fool, there aren't many missions as honorable as this! They are saying that the task of fighting against the enemy generals is only possible for us. In other words, this means that they acknowledge our skills and prowess. And this is obvious, but we can raise our achievements the most through accomplishing this mission. If we do that, then we can have any reward or promotion we want!」

This girl… If she's this blinded by her greed, then she'll say nothing but admirable things about this.

As I was thinking about what words to use to persuade Snow, the advisor started speaking with a very grandiose gesture.

「It's as Snow-dono says. No. 6-dono has already fought with powerful beings such as Heine of the Flame, Gadalkand of the Earth, even Gil of Power and Rista of Knowledge. You are the hero of our nation. If you say that you can't face the Demon King's Army, then who else could possibly be able to put up a fight against their generals…?」

After his speech, the old man exhaled deeply.

As I saw his speech mixed with some theatrics, a light bulb turned on in my head.

「… Hey, old man… Out of curiosity, was it you that proposed this to the General?」

「Oi No. 6, don't call him an old man! This man is the acting voice of the General…」

The General, and not the old man, stopped Snow from continuing to criticize me and replied.

「That's right. It's because this advisor evaluates you highly. He said that excluding Hero-dono, only you, No. 6-dono could go toe to toe with a general from of the Demon King's Army…」

「Hmmm」

It does please me to be complimented, but the old man's forced laughter is concerning.

I've seen this happen many times when I was in Kisaragi. When higher ups are protecting their own sweet interests.

This old man is giving off the same vibe as those people.

While I was raising my guard, the advisor…

「No. 6-dono. You are a hero and we wish to borrow your strength. If you say you are lacking in subordinates, then unlike the girl with demon blood and the heathen believer, we can add proper knights to your ranks. If that's still not enough, instead of a squad, it'll be fine for you to lead even a company… How about it? Can we leave it to you?」

TN: If this wasn't obvious, I don't mean company in a business sense. In this case, it pretty much means a bigger unit that is made up of several squads.

After he said all that, he bowed his slowly-balding head.

— — And then, after a couple of days.

「Do you lot understand!? We've received the greatest honor in being trusted with this mission! Failure will not be forgiven! Everyone, fight with everything you have!」

「Oi, why are you leading them?」

A group of knights were proudly lined up on top of a hill some distance away from the castle.

Our squad was placed in the middle of the group of knights.

Currently, it seems like the troops of the Demon King's Army have made it to a close location from here.

Although their number isn't large, it was reported that Heine of the Flame was with them.

Since it seems like we will battle Heine, of course….

「One of the Four Heavenly Kings, Heine! I will be the one to take her head!」

That's right, it was our squad's responsibility.

「No. 6, do something about this overly excited girl. She was already normally oppressive, but it's particularly annoying today. 」

While Snow was more energetic that ever… I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but the emotionless Alice looked exhausted.

「Just let her be. Words are wasted on her. You guys, even if you encounter any enemies, it's alright to just take it easy. It'd be stupid of you to get injured during this kind of mission.」

Snow heard me and glared daggers at me. The vein in her forehead was bulging while she went off on me.

「You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, what do you think you're saying!? The general and the advisor entrusted us with this special mission.」

「I don't like that advisor guy. He's like someone that only cares about himself. He reeks of a shameless coward.」

Snow had a dumbfounded look while she was grabbing onto my collar.

「You, you're…. I don't want to say it, but have you ever looked at yourself objectively?」

「Oi No. 6, do you know of a tool known as a mirror? It can light up and reflect the face of the one looking at it.」

「Commander, do you know a tool called a boomerang?」

…Not only that old man, I hate you all as well.

While I was being roasted, Snow put her hands on her waist,

「Anyway! If you don't have the will, I won't tell you to overexert yourself! At least this time, I won't be a hindrance like the last time we fought her!」

Seems like she's still hung up over the fact that last time, she couldn't do anything and ran away from Heine of the Flame.

「Hmph. No. 6, what's with that look? Heh, do you notice anything different from usual today? I've prepared a perfect countermeasure for Heine of the Flame. Look at this!」

As she said that, Snow showed off the hilt of a blue sword.

As it was causing a chill, the sword was emitting white smoke similar to how dry ice would.

「The Freezing Sword, Iceberg! I got my hands on it by taking out a 3-year loan. It's my new sword for going up against Heine of the Flame. Grimm, you have to be useful this time! Hey, wake up!」

I don't know if it was because she really wanted to try out her new sword, but Snow was very excited while she started shaking around Grim, who was sleeping listlessly in her small wheelchair.

「— — By the way Alice, what do you think of this?」

「What do I think… About this mission being a front for throwing us away?」

As I was watching the Demon King's Army appearing from afar on top of the hill,

「You knew? That's right, that old man pretty much forced us to take this suicidal mission. I didn't do anything to him that would make him hate me other than almost making him cry when I was railing on him for losing all the time.」

「I think that reason is enough for him to hate you. Well, the other possibility is that we're just an eyesore. From the start, this squad… It was the kind of division filled with people for the purpose of getting rid of them. But looking past our means and ways and just looking at our achievements alone, there's a huge gap. Furthermore, this squad has the kind of people that were always shunned. Of course, he wouldn't like us.」

What's going on… You're saying that even right now, the me who's always right is still being shunned for my ways?

…But now that I think about it, that old man seemed to look down on Rose and Grimm as well.

「Stop sleeping, and get up! Oi, Gri- Ahhh!」

「Ah.」

Rose and Snow were making a ruckus over there. Just what are they doing?

「Anyway, if we see the other side's general, we'll just pretend to fight and pull out. Oh, and since my shotgun was just waxed, I didn't bring it with me today.」

「Bring your weapon. Your weapon. If your shotgun breaks down, I'll just get you a new one. Well, it should be fine. It seems that words have some effect on that busty onee-san.」

As I was saying that,

(Snow, Grimm fell over so awkwardly. Her ne-, neck is…)

(Wh, what should we… For now, just put her back in her wheelchair! I feel like… I think I saw her eyes roll back…)

By the wheelchair, below these two that were fl.u.s.tered and whispering…

「Oi Snow, wake Grimm up…. By the way, what are you two doing carrying Grimm?」

「It's nothing!」

「Nothing!」

When Snow and Rose were responding, Grimm, while still being carried, became shocked and started trembling.

「…? Then, let's slowly head out as well since it seems like the main force is heading out too.」

— — In front of us was the imposing Demon King's Army.

In the middle of the large army's formation of various demons,

There stood a generously exposed, brown-skinned busty lady wearing a daring smile.

Next to her was the griffin we saw before, and….

「…Hey, it's not just Heine and the griffin, but there's something huge over there. Just what is that?」

「…That… That's called a golem. It's made of st.u.r.dy rocks and it's a puppet with its movements controlled by magic.」

The one, that Snow was explaining about in an unsettling state, was easily over two meters tall while looking like it was made from some heavy rocks. It was a doll-looking weapon that definitely weighed at least a ton.

Standing over there was a thing that would dwarf one of the Demon King's Army's Four Heavenly Kings, Gadalkand of the Earth.

「Magic again? It seems like magic can make anything happen. I want to examine the laws of physics of this planet. No. 6, if one of their magicians are wounded and unable to move, capture him and bring him over.」

「Uh, I'm also interested about magic, but…. Hey, do you think it's alright to just fight against Heine? Other squads can handle the griffin and that golem right?」

As if they heard the conversation between Alice and me, the commanders waiting nearby shouted,

「No. 6-dono! Please leave the group of high orcs surrounding Heine of the Flame to us!」

「Then our squad will take care of the powerful troop of ogres. They might be a little too formidable, but leave it to us!」

「Fine, then for our quick-footed squad, we'll go around to suppress their archers!」

The squads around us were quick to act.

「Even in this nation, I'm still left with the dangerous missions! Snow, wake Grimm up! Since it's down to us, we're going to hit Heine with a really strong curse!」

「Get someone else to wake up Grimm! I'm going to get revenge for the last incident by using my freezing sword on that woman!」

As she said that, the muscle brain who wouldn't listen, dashed towards Heine.

「Um, Commander! Is it alright to take the griffin as my opponent? I'm curious how griffin meat will taste like. I want to eat a lot of its meat and be able to soar through the skies! It's all for honoring my grandpa's will!」

There's another muscle brain right here!

After seeing off Snow, and then Rose, I turned towards Alice.

「Leave waking up Grimm to me. Then that means you're left with…」

As if reacting to Alice's words, and matching the the initiatives of our side, the golem let out a rock-shattering sound.

Part 2

「One of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army, Heine of the Flame! My name is Snow! I'll return the favor from last time! Become rust on one of my blades, the Freezing Sword Iceberg!」

「Come at me, the one called Snow! One of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army, Heine of the Flame will be your opponent!」

The battle finally started in the center of the hill where we've established our positions.

A little further out from where Heine and Snow were confronting each other in style,

「There's no effect! I thought as much, but it's really impossible with just a pistol! Alice, hurry! Hurry up and wake Grimm!」

It looked like it'd be slow, judging from its appearance. But the golem was approaching me with surprising speed after I attacked it.

「Hey No. 6, she's not asleep, she fainted. Looking at her state, she's not going to be awake for a while.」

「Why is she always dead or unconscious right before the fight starts!? She still hasn't been useful, not even once! Why does this keep happening!?」

It might have not been a mistake to have Grimm be sent to the troops made up of troublesome sc.r.a.ps.

「There's no helping it. Hey No. 6, stall for some time. I'll send a request for C4!」

「Please hurry!」

As I shouted back at Alice, I raised the strength parameter of my Kisaragi-manufactured battle suit to the highest.

As I looked around for some help, from afar, I saw Snow dodge a fireball from Heine as she slowly closed the gap between them.

「Pikyaaaaa!」

I turned to the sound of the sharp cry. The griffin was in midair, caught in both hands by Rose while she was taking a bite out of its neck.

Both sides looked busy, it seemed like neither of them could provide me backup.

Then that just leaves me with…

「Alright, I've transmitted the teleportation request! Hang on for a little longer, No. 6!」

With the sound of heavy steps, the golem stopped in front of me.

Behind me was Grimm, who was lying around with her eyes rolled back, and Alice, who was without any weapons.

This was a situation that I'd normally run away from, but I started to feel a fire light inside me for the first time in a long time.

I've fought in many fierce battles against all kinds of heroes, and still, I survived. I'm the best, No. 6-sama!

「Come at me, fool! I'll show you the strength of the Kisaragi battle suit.」

While my body was overflowing with my raging emotions, I roared and struck with all my strength.

「…..Owwwwww! Alice, my hand's definitely broken! It's broken! Broken, I say!」

The golem's chest, that I struck with my first, just barely had a crack in it.

My will to fight was gone in only two seconds.

「If it's actually broken, you wouldn't have the time to be shouting it's broken. Therefore, you didn't break anything yet.」

「That's strange. Your logic is definitely off! You're as weird as the one who made you, Lillith-sama!」

While I was cursing at Alice, I slipped past the golem's outstretched arm, and this time I tried to kick its back.

Without breaking its posture, the golem just turned around and started coming at me with its two arms out.

The golem and I began to fight with our arms. In order to buy a little more time, I went with a contest of strength.

「Alice, doesn't it somehow feel like the teleportation is taking longer than usual!? What's going on–!?」

Following my shout, Alice put her fist in her hand as if realizing,

「Oh, going by my internal clock, the time over there should be 3:14 PM. It's tea time right now. Just last a little longer.」

「G.o.d d.a.m.n it!!」

While I was screaming, one of my legs got stuck in the ground.

To think I can't win with my battle suit's power, how did they even make such a golem?

Wasn't this supposed to be a savage world with a civilization lacking behind Earth's?

I wonder if it was my time to shine going forward.

More than anything, the thing I want to say the most is that just because it's an evil organization, you don't give out any vacation time!

Determining that I'd be crushed at this rate, while resisting with all my might, I yelled at the top of my lungs

「Limiter release– — — –!」

Hearing my shout, Alice immediately denounced it.

「Are you an idiot? Cancel it immediately! The golem isn't the only enemy. You can die from being burned by the female general while you're defenseless during the cooldown period!」

Simultaneously, I heard Alice's voice and the familiar narration in my head.

<the>I ignored Alice's warning and responded to the narration.</the>

<the>「It's fine! Hurry, hurry it up!」</the>

<the>