Chapter 46

I received the review. Thank you very much.

"Good job!"

"Thanks! Really, really thanks!"

"Um, you're welcome..."

It seems that the young lady I carried was someone they were also looking for on the other side.

When I rejoined them, the leader, Saigo, who looked puzzled at my early return, immediately broke into a smile and praised me when she saw the young lady I was carrying. The soldiers there also cheered and praised me.

Moreover, from the words of praise I heard, which included "Now we can finally retreat," it was clear that she was a significant VIP.

Incidentally, regarding the language we were using, the official languages of Far Eastern Russia are Russian and Japanese. While Russian is primarily used, it is generally assumed that educated people can converse in Japanese to some extent.

As you might guess, the praise I received was in Japanese, and "Now we can finally retreat" was in Russian.

I understood this not because I studied Russian, the language of our ally, but thanks to the translation device attached to the powered suit.

Long live technology.

When I heard the details, I was surprised. It turned out that she was the daughter of a noble who governed Na Amur, and more specifically, the daughter of the cousin of the Grand Duke, the head of state.

Of course, the soldiers couldn't leave her behind.

The reason she was away from her parents and alone in the satellite city of Amursk was that she was the governor of Amursk.

As a governor, she was supervising the harvest and other tasks before winter, with the support of adults, when unfortunately, monsters attacked.

Despite understanding that monsters were attacking, she didn't evacuate in advance because of a law in Far Eastern Russia that states, "Nobles must not evacuate before the common people."

The military, speaking frankly, wanted to evacuate her first, but they couldn't because of this law.

Why do they adhere to this law so strictly?

In a country where the nobility system exists, the people recognize the nobility because they fulfill their duties as nobles. Therefore, the law that "Nobles must not evacuate before the common people" is not just a custom but a fundamental law of the Grand Duchy of Far Eastern Russia.

Naturally, this law does not exempt children.

That's why she remained in the city.

Now, her superior, her father, has come from Na Amur to take command, so there's no particular issue even if she's not there. However, she was supposed to be in charge of the defense.

Of course, no one here would send the girl, who is now in a deep sleep and literally battered, back to the battlefield after being chased by monsters and barely rescued.

Let's get back to the story.

After the monsters attacked, the defense forces originally stationed at the city hall were wiped out before they could evacuate her.

The main forces fighting on the front lines didn't have the spare capacity to send reinforcements into the city to protect the citizens from the advancing monsters.

In the end, they couldn't retreat without confirming the safety of the girl, their employer's daughter, and they didn't have the strength to push the front lines.

That's when Saigo appeared.

Thanks to the participation of a completely unexpected force—equivalent to the regular army of their own country—the Far Eastern Russian soldiers gained some leeway and decided to launch an offensive, leaving some troops behind.

At this point, the girl's survival had been given up, and the soldiers' goal was to avenge her and protect the civilians.

Well, she would have been dead under normal circumstances. In fact, she would have been dead if we had been 10 seconds late.

However, the girl was safely rescued—though she might have suffered psychological trauma from the monster attack—thanks to a force the soldiers hadn't anticipated.

As a result, Saigo and the others were very satisfied because the protection of the VIP removed a business obstacle. The other side was also very satisfied because they had rescued the VIP's daughter, and I was very satisfied because my bonus was secured. It was a win-win-win situation.

"That's not all. Thanks to you saving her, no one in Japan can criticize us for this incident."

"Ah, that's true."

If the predictions of the headquarters and the general staff are correct, monsters should be attacking Japan right now.

If there were casualties, people who wanted to belittle me might spread rumors like, "They fled from the monsters." But by rescuing the VIP, we can silence such voices.

In fact, they plan to ask the Grand Duke for praise to ensure this happens.

As always, they are thorough.

However, if they do this, it will also mean that the people in the Operations Policy Division, who approved our deployment here, will be safe. But I don't really care about that.

I hope Saigo and the Second Division will do their best.

At this point, I can say that thanks to the rescue of the VIP, the care I was slightly worried about after returning home has been completely resolved.

Furthermore, the morale of the soldiers has been boosted by the successful rescue of the girl.

I think they will launch an offensive to rescue the remaining civilians in the city.

The phrase "Now we can finally retreat" means that they can choose to retreat, not that they will necessarily do so.

Under normal circumstances, they would try to defeat the monsters if they had the necessary strength.

That's when I thought:

If they are there, I won't be the only one targeted by the enemy.

If they are there, I won't need to escort rescued people myself every time.

I won't be criticized for taking on the monsters alone.

Even if I destroy buildings, it will be treated as an accident.

Most importantly, this is a chance to reach something we had given up on.

With these conditions in place, it would be rude not to aim for additional rewards.

"Saigo, can I go out again with their offensive?"

"Sure, but what more can you gain by killing more monsters... No, that's not it."

"Yes, I admit there's a cost-benefit calculation, but this time it's different. It's just self-satisfaction, really."

"...Ah, I see."

Besides, we've learned that small and medium-sized monsters can be defeated as long as we're not surrounded. So, there's no threat. This is not out of complacency but a simple fact.

That's why I can take the normal human action of helping someone if I can save them.

Of course, I expect a reward, but that's not the main goal. It's not the main goal, no, it's not.

Who will benefit and who will suffer from my re-deployment is something to be seen, but I will be satisfied. It's certain that it won't be good for the monsters, but that's something they'll have to accept.

In fact...

"I came to kill. Are you prepared to die?"

---

"Die!"

'What the hell was that?'

'Is it a new monster?'

'No, the identification signal is friendly!'

Because there might still be survivors, we can't use the Mikage-type for destruction. Therefore, Keita, who decided to re-enter, is wearing the Kuroten, a powered exoskeleton made by Saigo Heavy Industries.

"Leave the heads! Leave the heads behind!"

Keita's combat method, due to his lack of confidence in his shooting skills, is to close the distance and slash or stab, and shoot fleeing enemies in the back with a pistol.

'He's charging into a group of monsters and slashing with a sword?'

'...Why? Doesn't he have a gun?'

'From the previous experience, Keita knows that the monsters can't withstand his attacks, so he has no hesitation in charging into the group.'

"Double the speed, double the destruction!"

'Come to think of it, my grandma said that Japanese people are crazy, so we should never fight them.'

'It's the country of hara-kiri...'

Moreover, he's not going in alone this time. There are friendly forces around him.

He can hand over rescued people to the friendly forces.

He can leave the cleanup of the defeated monsters to the friendly forces.

And Keita knows that the more monsters he defeats, the more magic power accumulates in the mana crystal, strengthening himself.

"It's a bonus stage!"

Keita, as if to say he won't let the others do it, rushes into the group of monsters with great enthusiasm.

"Die, die, die!"

Keita, who has erased the words "restraint" and "caution" from his mental dictionary, swings his sword mercilessly at the monsters, stabs with his spear, and shoots with his pistol.

Keita Kawaue is in a complete trigger-happy state.

'Hey, that guy has a gun!'

'If he has a gun, why didn't he use it from the start?'

'Wait, didn't his arms multiply?'

'Didn't something glow from the extra arms? Did they glow?'

A black, heavily muscled figure with occasionally multiplying arms and sometimes glowing, rushes into the enemy group, ignoring the calls to stop. Of course, he's going in alone.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on!"

By the way, how would the people around him, who have regained some calm after gaining the upper hand, perceive Keita's appearance and actions?

'He's... really scary.'

'Yeah, I don't understand, but he's scary.'

'He's crazy. That's why he's scary.'

'His arms multiply. That's scary enough.'

'Isn't that called a "hentai" in Japanese?'

Technically, it's more of a transformation, but no one in the situation could point that out.

First, seeing Keita, who is charging into a group of monsters and somehow in a very high spirits, with a face as good as a British gentleman who has just made a great decision, even a close friend would find it extremely difficult to deny calling him a pervert.

And to make matters worse...

'I know Japanese well! I'm sure of it. That's a "hentai"!'

Incredibly, the misunderstanding was not only not corrected but affirmed by a self-proclaimed expert in Japanese.

'Oh!'

The moment the Far Eastern Russian soldiers recognized Keita as a "hentai."

In the end, by defeating hundreds of monsters, including ten medium-sized ones, and contributing significantly to the rescue of thousands of civilians, Keita became known in the Grand Duchy of Far Eastern Russia as the "Hentai Hero" or the "Hentai Savior."

A few days later, he was laughed at by Ryubun and called a pervert by the Grand Duke, but since the powered exoskeleton he was using was indeed perverted, and he knew the difference in status and the lack of malice—except for Ryubun—he could only accept the name.

A few days after that, a certain demon, who heard the information through the coexistence faction, would seriously point out, "It's not right for a hero or a savior to be a pervert," but that's another story.

The content of the review (which might make you think, "Wait, was it really like that?" but since the summary itself was a bit of a scam, there's no problem).

Thank you for reading.

Chapter 2 is almost over.