Part 6
A fierce battle was taking place in front of the main gate.
Against goblins, kobolds, skeletons, and other small fry monsters, the adventurers would have an advantage in a one on one fight.
This might be the town of novice adventurers, but there are actually very few weak and helpless newbie adventurers here.
In particular, the male adventurers gain strength particularly easily. Of course, that's because of the existence of the Succubus shop.
The process goes like this. Newbie adventurers would be told about the existence of the Succubus shop by their seniors. Then, after experiencing it once, they would throw themselves into their quests in order to earn enough money to pay for the services.
In the process, their levels would steadily increase, and they would be newbies no longer.
However, they'll be unable to leave the Succubus shop, and continue staying in this town.
As a result, there are a large number of mid-level adventurers living in this town.
In other words, the adventurers in town are all quite skilled.
"Still, the ones standing in the back would be trouble."
Most of the monsters in the vanguard are small fry trash that can easily be taken care of, but the ones in the rear are all high tier ones that could hardly be called small fry.
There were advanced zombies, Undead Knights wielding swords and clad in armour.
A giant horned humanoid creature, Ogres.
And there were also a few rock golems and ox-headed Minotaurs amongst them.
They are quite formidable, but fortunately there doesn't seem to be too many of them.
"There aren't any Orcs there… Right? Phew."
I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when I couldn't see any female Orcs. I really don't want to see them again. My body starts trembling just by remembering them, and I can't even imagine fighting them from now on.
I would like to head straight to where my companions are and join them in the fight, but it'd be troublesome if I just appear on the back of a white dragon.
Having my past exposed isn't great, but the most important thing is Faitfore.
If word gets out that there's a white dragon in Axel, there's no doubt that it would attract the kind of scum who would lust for valuable white dragon parts.
"There's no time to think about such things right now. Let's just land over there first."
I directed Faitfore to land in a forest not far from Axel.
After returning to her human form, I carried her on my back and rushed straight to the battlefield.
"The glorious me is here to help!"
I shouted out to the people engaged in battle, and──
"Where the hell have you been slacking off all this time? You're still loafing about at a time like this? You really are the worst kind of garbage!"
"I've misjudged you! No, wait, there's nothing about you to misjudge in the first place!"
"He must have been chasing after some female monster because human girls don't pay him any attention! That must be it!"
They are all bruised and battered, but it seems like they still had enough energy to shoot their mouths off.
Dammit… I bet they'll piss their pants if they knew how hard I worked behind the scenes.
"You don't even know how hard I was working! Stop mouthing off!"
"Why don't you tell us exactly what you were up to!? It's probably all lies anyway, and we are busy, so summarize it in ten words or less! Go on!"
"Yeah, yeah! Tell us the truth and be killed by us, or lie to us and be thrown into the enemy camp as bait! Make your choice!"
"I'll die either way!"
I'm seriously considering attacking them from the back before taking out the monsters.
As I was trembling with anger, someone placed a gentle hand on my back, and I turned around.
"Don't get angry, Dust."
"We know how hard you've been working. Isn't that enough?"
"You don't want to reveal your true identity, right? Good work out there. How did it go?"
My companions were comforting me with a smile on their face.
…Well as long as my companions understand, that's good enough for me.
"Well, there's no time to talk about it here. It's fine if I wait to tell you the story until after we kick the asses of all of them, right?"
"Sure."
"I don't mind."
"Don't put in any weird embellishments, okay?"
After gaining my companion's understanding, I lead the charge straight into the enemy center.
The adventurers who saw us begin our assault opened a path for us.
The closest enemy to us was a bunch of bipedal dog-like creatures, Kobolds.
Taylor was the first one in, charging straight into where the enemies are most closely packed with his shield at the ready.
"Uwoooooh! I'm your enemy! Come get me!"
He struck his shield with the pommel of his sword and used the skill Decoy to attract the attention of the enemy.
"Ha, you're wide open!"
I took the opportunity to move around to the side of the enemy and thrust my spear into their vulnerable flanks.
A few of the Kobolds came to their senses and rushed at me from behind, but I didn't even bother to look their way.
With the sound of something cutting through the air, the Kobolds approaching my back fell to the ground.
"I won't let you two hog all the spotlight."
Keith, kneeling on one knee, flipped his bangs in a way that I'm sure looked really cool in his head.
Seemingly acknowledging our strength, one of the Kobolds let out a howl, which the others responded to by forming up around him, weapons at the ready.
"Great, just as we planned. Fireball!"
Lynn's spell landed right in the middle of the gathering of monsters.
An explosion of flame and smoke engulfed them, and the smell of roasted meat began to fill the air.
She got around ten of them with that one attack.
Unlike Kazuma's party, my party doesn't have super strong abilities that are second to none.
However, we have the trust and understanding that has built up after spending so long together. On top of that, Taylor, Keith, and Lynn aren't the same people I met way back when. They've grown along with me.
"Oh, not bad! We aren't going to lose either!"
"There's no telling what they'll say about us if we perform even worse than Dust! Everyone, put your backs into it!"
"We're going to get better achievements than Dust! We won't get rewarded if we fall behind!"
The other, invigorated by our success, pushed deep into the Demon King's Army.
"You humans are getting carried away! I will not allow myself to be defeated in a fight against mere newbie adventurers!"
Seemingly irritated by our onslaught, one of the undead knights swung his sword around and declared. It was a fair bit larger than the other knights, and his equipment is also particularly high quality.
Undead Knights, to put it bluntly, are a straight upgrade from zombies.
It was surrounded by undead, so it must be the frontline commander.
"Stop your futile resistance, fledgling adventurers who are too weak to be called to the capital's defence! I shall avenge my master, Beldia-sama, right here!"
Did he say Beldia just now?
I heard that name before. If I recall, he was that Dullahan Demon King's General that attacked this town in the past. He was the one who took residence in the castle outside town and was driven insane by Megumin's troublemaking tendencies.
In the end, he ended up getting purified by Aqua.
"Hey, you! Upgraded Zombie!"
"Don't call me a zombie!"
He heard my call and spat back.
He's an undead, so I can't read his face, but I can tell that he was staring at me with his lifeless eyes from behind that helmet.
If he's the commander, then taking him out would definitely throw the army into chaos. The problem is, how do I get to him with the army of undead in the way?
Even if I wanted to defeat them, there's way too many of them. It wouldn't be easy to clear a path through them. If only there's a way to get him to come over to me…
"Is there something you want from me, pitiful being that clings so desperately to life?"
He's quite the arrogant bastard, isn't he?
"You're calling us pitiful and all that, but if you're an undead, that means you must've been a human once, right?"
"Indeed. I did indeed use to be a pitiful being like you. However, I was reborn as an undead and discarded the pitiful shell that is humanity. I am a superior being that's free of all desires."
Seeing this corpse prattle about with such arrogance made my blood boil a little, but I should be able to exploit his pride.
"Oh, great undead, there is one thing I wish to ask… Since you no longer have any desires, does that include sexual desires, too? Actually, can you even use that thing after becoming a zombie? It didn't drop off after you rotted, did it? Hahahahah!"
"Stop it, Dust. Undead creatures don't need to eat, sleep, or lust. I wonder what they even live for. Oh, my bad, they are already dead! Ahahaha!"
Keith caught on to what I was trying to do and quickly joined in, clutching his belly as he laughed.
"…Vulgar men full of lust. It is really regrettable that my master was killed in a town inhabited by such lowly adventurers. My underlings, go ahead and destroy these vile, lowly beings."
He seems visibly angered by that, but he only gave instructions to his underlings and made no moves of his own.
His face is completely dead, so it's hard to judge, but considering his words and actions, he's probably just a short push away from snapping.
"You sure are spouting a lot of arrogant stuff from a safe place. You aren't scared, are you? Why don't you try being a man for a change and lead your troops properly? Ah, you know what, nevermind. Please stay away from me. Your body smells so bad I think I might retch if you come any closer. Right, Lynn?"
Lynn seemed surprised when I addressed her, but she quickly caught on to what I'm doing after I gave her a nod. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes for a moment before responding.
"Even monsters need to take care of themselves, you know? You look to be a high ranking member in the military, but that means you need to pay extra attention. Do you know what odor harassment is?"
"It stinks. It stinks."
Lynn and Faitfore pinched their noses and frowned.
"Don't say he stinks. He's an undead, of course he would stink. Please forgive my companions for their rudeness."
Taylor gently admonished the two and politely apologized, but they seemed to have the opposite effect on the undead knight, whose body began to tremble.
"M-My men and I are all undead. As such, none of us have a sense of smell! There's no one who would care about such things!"
"Ah, that's why. I was wondering why your unit was so isolated and none of the others wanted to get close to you. So this is why. Well, I understand, no one would like to get close to that stench. Right, you guys?"
I threw the conversation to the Kobolds that we've just been fighting, and they moved away, wrinkling their noses and averting their gaze as they did.
They didn't say anything, their actions clearly conveyed their thoughts. Kobolds are dog-type monsters, so they have a heightened sense of smell. I'm sure this stench is unbearable to them.
Seeing their reaction, the undead knight fell to his knees on the spot.
"I've felt isolated from the other races several times in the Demon King's army, but I've always told myself that it was just my imagination! I didn't realize it was because of this stench! Is this why I can't get along with Kobolds!? Even though I had several dogs at the mansion before I died!"
It seems like it affected him more badly than I expected.
"I'm starting to feel sorry for him. Dust, you should apologize for going too far."
"Y-Yeah, of course. Don't take it too seriously. You know… your body might be rotten, but that doesn't mean your mind is too, right?"
After I gently reassured him, the undead knight silently stood up.
"Guaaaaaaaaah!! How dare a mere human humiliate me so thoroughly… I'll send you to the other side with my bare hands!"
The undead knight swung his sword, and his underlings silently parted, opening a path between the undead knight and us.
"You four who've humiliated me, come forth and fight. Or drop everything and prostrate yourself before me. Know that if you draw your blade, we will be fighting to the death."
"Four against one, huh? We sure are being looked down upon. Don't regret this now."
This idiot fell for our provocation and came rushing out.
"You are the one who's looking down on us. What are you doing carrying a toddler with you on the battlefield? You should put her down and hurry her to safety."
"That's very kind of you, but there's no need for your concern. There's no way you can even scratch me. Oh, I see what you're trying to do. You don't want to look lame when you lose, so you want us to go all out against you. Is that right?"
"Dust, you should learn to read the mood. It'd be too embarrassing for him if he were to lose to someone carrying a toddler on his back, that's why he's asking you in a roundabout way."
"Yeah, that would look bad. Sorry, sorry, I'll drop her off."
As I pretended to put down the struggling Faitfore, the undead knight drove his sword into the ground.
"Enough! Step right up! If you keep shooting your mouth off, I'll make sure you'll never talk again. You shall experience first hand the swordplay that impressed even Beldia-sama!"
Oh, he got really mad. If he wasn't an undead, his face would probably be bright red right now.
"You guys, we're going serious from now on. He's probably the commander of the army, and he seems quite strong. So if we defeat him, the situation would definitely turn in our favour. Let's go all out and make him cry."
"He doesn't look tasty at all."
"You don't need to tell me twice. With such a large audience, this is the perfect place to get some achievements."
"Leave the defence to me, you guys just focus on the attack."
"Don't get caught up in my magic."
My companions replied calmly.
They were acting the same as usual without a hint of panic. They really are a reliable bunch.
The other adventurers are desperately fighting to keep the enemy away from us, so for their sakes too, let's finish him off.
Taylor and I stepped forward, shoulder to shoulder.
The undead knight's weapon is a greatsword, without a shield.
First, Taylor raised his shield and approached his opponent with swift steps. I stayed behind him to observe his fighting style.
"Useless struggles!"
The Undead knight swung his sword in a large swing, and Taylor took it with his shield. Seeing his movement temporarily stopped, I judged it to be a great moment to charge in, but the body in front of me suddenly disappeared.
"Graaah!"
Taylor growled as he slid across the ground with his shield still up. Was he sent flying by that attack? Looking closer, there was a large dent in his shield, and small cracks were beginning to form all around it.
"Are you alright!?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But that strength of his isn't normal."
There are several key differences between humans and zombies, namely, they have no sense of pain, they are far stronger, and most importantly, they stink.
He was probably quite strong even before he became a zombie.
"Hang in there! Snipe!"
Keith's arrow rushed towards the knight's face, but it was deflected by the flat of his blade.
He fired three more arrows at him, but all three of them were blocked.
"Fire is a staple against the undead. Fireball!"
Lynn's fireball landed on target, but the undead knight emerged from the resulting flames with nary a scratch.
"Your firepower isn't bad, but you'll need far stronger magic to be able to burn me down."
Does he have magic resistance too?
"Still, you guys are stronger than I expected. I had thought there was no need to bring this level of force to bear against a town of newbie adventurers, but it seems like I have to rethink that."
"So why don't you pull back and gather more reinforcements?"
"It's a tempting proposal, but the main force of the Demon King's Army is currently attacking the capital together with the Demon King's daughter. There are no more forces that can be sent our way."
The information that Princess Leonor gave me wasn't wrong after all.
The part worth noting is that the enemy doesn't have any reinforcements. All we have to do is to repel the enemy right in front of us, and we'd be done. Simple enough.
"There's another reason I can't retreat. Now that many of the Demon King's Generals have been defeated and their seats left open, if I were to achieve great results here, getting a spot as a General wouldn't be out of the question. Getting the same position as Beldia-sama… No, if we are the same rank, he would simply be Beldia, wouldn't it? Kuhahaha!"
He placed his hand on his forehead and arched his body backwards, mocking his supposedly respected boss.
…After saying all those things, he sure does change on a whim.
"You say humans are vulgar creatures full of lust, but you are obsessed with gaining power yourself!"
"Shut up! How can you understand us undead, creatures who've lost the three great desires!? I can't sleep, I can't eat, and it won't stand up! What's wrong with pursuing wealth and power when I've lost all that!"
It seems like all his daily resentment had pooled up within him, and the way spouted out his true feelings is somewhat painful to watch.
But it seems like his thoughts are shared with his undead, the surrounding zombies and skeletons nodded sympathetically. Seems like it isn't easy being an undead either.
"Looks like you finally broke… But I don't dislike that. Rather than being a saint with no desires, having a little bit of humanity is far better."
"You… are a far more amiable person than I thought. Had we met under different circumstances, we might actually get along."
"Ah, that might be true. I would've loved to have a drink with you."
The undead knight and I looked at each other and shyly rubbed our noses.
This place overflowed with a warm feeling that didn't suit a battlefield at all.
Just then, a sharp shock suddenly hit me from the back.
"Ouch! What was that for!?"
Turning back, I saw Lynn waving her wand around.
"What, the two of you can understand each other now? Stop creating an atmosphere that will make it harder for us to kill him. You too, you're pretty high ranked in your army, right? Get it together already."
"I'm sorry." x2
The undead knight and I said in unison.
"Now that she's pissed off, there's no helping it. Come on, let's go."
"I almost forgot my position for a moment, but let's do it."
After regaining our composure, we readied our weapons.
He raised his greatsword, while I lowered my center of mass and exhaled.
As my companions and the Demon King's Army's soldiers looked on with abated breath, I was the first one to make a move.
I stepped forward and thrust my spear from outside the range of his greatsword.
Speed, power, and footing, all of them were perfect. My spear shot out with lightning speed… and plunged straight into the undead knight's stomach.
"You did it! Dust, great job!"
My companions and the surrounding adventurers cheered, but I didn't have the time to respond to them now.
That's because the undead knight was gripping the hilt of my spear with his undead strength while staring straight at me.
"Not bad. If I was a human, you would've won!"
"You deliberately walked into that, didn't you!?"
Before I had the time to regret falling for his trap, he swung his greatsword down towards my head.
I wanted to let go of my spear and jump back, but it's already too late.
"Dust──!"
Just as Lynn shouted, just as everyone looked away, expecting the worst outcome──
"Do it, Faitfore."
"Un."
Faitfore placed her chin on my shoulder, opened her mouth, and let out a blast of flame.
The undead knight received the blast head on and rolled around on the ground in agony.
"Aaaaaaaah! I'm burning!"
"I'll put you out of your misery."
I pulled out my spear and swung it at his neck, beheading him.
The burning head rolled around on the ground, before stopping at the feet of his underlings.
As it did so, all the undead around us stopped moving. He really was commanding them after all.
"What a pity. Underestimating my partner is the reason why you lost."
…I actually only recently learnt that she could spit fire while in her humanoid form, but there's no reason to bring it up.
I raised my spear towards the sky and struck a victory pose.
With this, a loud cheer rang out… no, wait, it didn't.
The whole place was silent, and everyone who was busy fighting just a moment ago stopped and stared silently at me.
What's with that look?
"… I thought he was about to hit Dust, but he ended up burning instead?"
"Yeah. Why did he suddenly start burning? Did Dust pull some kind of trick or something?"
"The little girl on his back was moving around, and it looked like she was on fire for a moment… Hmm…"
Everyone was looking at me with suspicious looks.
This isn't good. No one seemed to have gotten a good look at when Faitfore breathed fire, but they are definitely suspecting something. There's no way I can let them know about Faitfore's true form. How do I get out of this?
Is there a convincing way to explain how he suddenly caught fire… would there even be such a thing?
"Say, Dust, did that girl just breath──"
"Wah! Thank goodness the spell came in on time! It came in at the perfect time. Thank me, my spell saved your life. Wow, it was a pretty great strike, if I do say so myself. Yeah, I'm pretty good when I put my mind to it."
Lynn came in and interrupted the adventurer before he could finish his question.
She spouted out her words with rapid fire quickness, not allowing the adventurer a word in at all.
"Eh, but, that girl──"
"Yeah, yeah, now is not the time for standing about. We need to take out all the undead that became immobile. Come on, get to it!"
"O-Oh, yeah!"
Lynn forcefully interrupted him and issued instructions, and the adventurers rushed to take out the undead who were rendered immobile after the loss of their leader.
Seems like this area is taken care of.
"Thanks for the help, Lynn."
"You always lie without a second thought, so don't clam up at a time like this. Seriously, you really can't make it would me."
"Y-Yeah. I'll be counting on your help in the future too."
"Leave it to me."
Lynn puffed out her chest and gave me a joyous smile.
As I looked at that beautiful face, someone bit me on the head.
"Hey, cut it out, Faitfore! My brain isn't tasty! Stop chewing on it! What if I go bald!?"
"Dust, your face looks really bad."
I pulled Faitfore off my spit covered head, before tossing her some of the hidden rations I had on me in order to calm her down. It should keep her in check for now as she chewed on them.
"After we've cleaned this place up, we can march on the enemy headquarters──"
"W-What's with these guys! They suddenly started running!"
"H-Hey, wait! They are heading towards town! Someone stop them!"
"Dammit, the others are in my way."
Just as I began to feel safe, we were interrupted by a set of sudden screams.
I looked in the direction of the noise, and noticed that a portion of the undead suddenly started moving and surged towards the town. To make matters worse, a group of ogres took advantage of the chaos and rushed into the town along with them.
"What the hell! Aren't they supposed to stop moving after we defeated that guy!?"
"Kukuku, you're too naive, humans."
"This voice is!?"
A familiar voice came towards me from the ground.
I searched for the source of the voice, and after a brief search, I managed to determine that it came from the detached head of the undead knight at my feet.
"You are such fools for falling for my act. I'm not actually an undead knight, but a Dullahan! So even if you take my head off, I'll be perfectly fine!"
"That's what's going on. You really got me good."
"Your looks of surprise were really something to behold. Though, even if you defeated me, all the undead would simply revert back to following their instincts and go wild… Um, what are you doing?"
I silently approached the head and raised my spear.
"What else could it be? You could've simply remained silent and played dead, but you had to go out of your way to provoke us. I'm simply delivering the final blow."
"Um, you know, uh, attacking a frail and defenceless detached head is a violation of human rights…"
"Corpses don't have human rights!"
Silencing the detached head is nice, but there's no way I can just leave the ones who ran into town be.
-x-X-x-
Konosuba Dust Spinoff 7: Chapter 3
Part 1
My companions and the other adventurers are stuck dealing with the remaining enemies. Guess I have no choice but to go!
"I'll leave them to you! I'm going after the ones who went into the town!"
"Yeah, go ahead! I'll handle this place!"
"Make sure you protect the lady, you hear!?"
"Clean it up quickly and come back home!"
With the words of encouragement from my comrades behind me, I rushed towards the gates of Axel.
The gates had been opened slightly in order to transport the wounded back. Now they were forced open, and the soldiers that were guarding it were now laying at the side.
"Hey, are you okay!?"
"Y-yeah, somehow. Nevermind me, go after the monsters! They split into two groups, one went towards the adventurer's guild… The other headed for the rich residential areas… Cough… Gurk!"
The soldier suddenly coughed in the middle of his sentence, spitting out a large amount of blood.
If he's spitting out that much blood he must have suffered severe internal damage. It might be too late for him.
"It's fine, don't talk anymore!"
"Don't worry, this is just the wine I drank earlier to calm my nerves."
Right, I'll just leave him be.
Leaving the soldier behind, I ran into the town, but which way should I go?
The closest place would be the adventurer's guild. There should be wounded adventurers there…
If they were attacked now, they wouldn't be able to fight back. Still, I couldn't just ignore the other group.
"Faitfore, I have a request for you."
"What is it, Dust?"
I loosened the straps on my carry bag and let Faitfore down.
"I'm going to go after the monsters that went this way. Can you go after the other ones? You can change back to your dragon form, just make sure you protect the people there."
"Okay."
Faitfore nodded twice, and I ruffled her hair in response.
Her human form would be unable to keep up with the monsters. Transforming back would most likely cause the rumours of a white dragon to spread once again, but that's the least of my concerns right now.
"Oh, Dust-san, what are you doing here?"
I looked up at the voice and saw a man dressed in a full-faced, suspicious looking helmet atop a white horse.
This is the strange noble who bought my used helmet in the past and is still wearing it now. I mentally called him the helmeted bastard.
"Is that girl… She can't be… Dust-san's child!?"
"Of course not! Now is not the time to be talking about that! Can I ask you to do something?"
"Yes, of course!"
The response came within seconds before I could even tell him what I wanted.
Well, it's a good thing that he's so quick to agree, so I won't push him on that.
"Take her and go after the monsters! And don't tell anyone what you see there!"
"It'll be our little secret! I won't tell a soul! I'll take this secret to my grave!"
"O-Oh, well, thanks."
It kinda bothers me that he's breathing heavily, but I'll ignore that.
After gathering my thoughts, I rushed in the opposite direction of the white horse.
The door to the adventurer's guild had been completely smashed open, and several shouts were coming from inside.
My mind couldn't help but come up with the worst-case scenario, but I pushed them aside and ran off into the guild.
"Are you guys… Alive…?"
The scene that greeted me caused my thoughts to freeze in their tracks.
The group of ogres and the wounded adventurers facing off, that I can understand.
But why is Sir Vanir stuck between both sides as they glared at each other?
"Dammit, we can't let them destroy the guild! Protect the guild and the staff!"
"You don't need to tell me twice."
The adventurers, weapons in hand, took up positions in front of the guild staff.
They are wounded, but instead of running away they choose to stand their ground.
"Everyone… Even though you constantly cause headaches for us by always messing around and making us clean up your messes, complaining about why the commission fees are so high, and hitting on us when you get drunk, you really do care about us. It made me marry late, but I'm glad I became a receptionist at the guild."
Luna and the other receptionists seemed moved by that display of bravery by the adventurers.
"Of course I'll protect you. We won't get paid if we don't, after all!"
"Eh?"
"I sure as hell ain't putting in this much effort and getting this battered for free! If this place gets destroyed, I won't even have enough money for drinks tomorrow!"
"..."
After hearing the adventurers' true feelings, the guild staff froze and fell silent.
Personally I think it's better than putting on a false front and dressing it up, but oh well.
"Hah, I acknowledge your guts at least, but do you really think you can take on us ogres with those broken bodies of yours?"
One of the ogres, who stood a head taller than the others, stepped forward and taunted the adventurers. It seems to be acting as their leader.
Ogres aren't like goblins or other small fry, they are fierce and fairly powerful monsters.
At the very least, they aren't enemies a low-level adventurer can take head on.
"True, we might not be able to defeat you with our wounds like this. But still, there are times in a man's life where he cannot back down no matter what!"
"Um, we're women though."
Despite knowing that they have no chance of victory, the adventurers nodded, refusing to run away.
...It may seem cool at first glance, but they've been sneaking glances at Sir Vanir all this time.
The ogres clearly wanted a fight, but yet they refrained from attacking. Just like the adventurers, they've been sneaking glances at Sir Vanir, clearly finding his presence concerning.
As for the center of attention himself, he simply pulled up a chair by a table and began leisurely sipping tea.
Wait a minute, if Sir's body is made of dirt, can he even taste anything?
Nevermind, that's not important right now.
"Um, Vanir-san, we're in a bit of a tight spot right now. If you could help us fight these guys, it'd be a great help."
"Oh, do you wish to consult with me about some difficult matter?"
Sir pulled a crystal ball from somewhere and placed it on the table.
"Welcome to the consultation office, troubled adventurer. No matter your difficulties, allow me to resolve it through divination."
Is he seriously entering Consultation mode now?!
Sir provides consulting services in the corner of the guild ever so often… Or rather, he usually resolves issues with his accurate predictions.
This isn't anything new for him, but why is he doing it now?
"Oh, um— we want you to fight, not tell fortunes."
"Wait! That's the former Demon King's General Vanir-sama! What are you doing in human territory?"
The ogre who seemed to be the leader approached Sir Vanir, immediately making his tone more polite.
He seemed to know of Sir. But wasn't that statement dangerous? If those guys learnt that Sir was formerly a Demon King's General, they might cause a ruckus—
"Ah, so he was a Demon King's General."
"His face was plastered on the bulletin board with the bounty. See, I told you he was the real deal."
"With such a conspicuous mask and unique character, it's obvious to anyone."
In the end, no one was surprised at all. Everyone accepted this revelation without causing any trouble.
"Well, Moi is simply a part-timer working in a magic item shop now. Speaking of, would thou be interested in any of our excess inventory?"
"No, wait! Why is a former Demon King's General working in a magic item shop?! You must be making way less money!"
I hadn't realized the Demon King's Generals were on a payroll.
"This buffon is too noisy. Moi is a 'former' Demon King's General. That contract only applied to my former body, thus, in this different body, Moi is now free. Thou should think before making such unreasonable statements. Now, cease occupying Moi's precious time, thou art preventing Moi from doing business. Shoo, shoo!"
Sir waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, and the ogre shut his mouth.
Upon seeing this, one of the adventurers hurriedly stood in front of Sir Vanir.
"Vanir-san, can you tell us how to win this fight?"
"Ah, finally, a customer. Well, that is a different matter. Moi shall determine the future at a very low price… Oh, so that is how it is. This is quite fortunate for thou, thou can spend money to hire a strong devil."
Oh, this is exactly what I'd expect from Sir.
The adventurer who asked the question seemed to understand and leaned over the table towards Sir Vanir.
"How much would it cost to buy this devil for our side?"
"Wait a minute! If you want money, I have it! How about 100,000 Eris!"
The Ogre Loudly interrupted.
"Hey, cut that out! We'll give you 200,000!"
"How about 300,000!"
"400,000– no, 450,000!"
"How much money does everyone have on them right now? Hurry, take it all out!"
The bidding for Vanir's help had begun.
The price soared rapidly in a short period of time. Although I wanted to participate, I didn't have any money. Not only that, but the money I borrowed from Sir hadn't been repaid.
So, I could only watch from the sidelines.
"701,000 eris!"
"Then we'll give him 701,005 eris!"
Both sides seemed to be approaching their limits financially, so they started raising the price only slightly.
"Ten million."
"Huh?"
I heard an absurdly large number.
"I will pay ten million eris."
It was Luna, the receptionist, who walked over in front of Sir Vanir.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"No, I want to use the 10 million eris from the Guild's treasury to buy Vanir-san."
The unexpected development silenced both sides.
Luna looked serious, and Sir Vanir looked at her with joy.
"Oh, fuhahahaha! Yes, Moi likes thou very much, human woman with little prospects of marriage! Moi shall be bought by thou for ten million eris!"
"Thank you very much, Vanir-san. So, could you solve this monster problem right away?"
Luna smiled and motioned towards the Ogres.
"Understood, this concludes the auction. Now, witness the new-and-improved Vanir-Style Death Ray!"
Sir Vanir began to shoot beams of mysterious light at the Ogres running around.
Seems like I can leave this place to Sir.
There was no reason to stick around to watch the conclusion, so I ran out of the guild to hunt down the other group of monsters.
Part 2
"It should be right around here…"
I had questioned the townsfolk that I had passed as I followed the path the undead had taken, but what they told me was bizarre.
"The undead and monsters ran out straight ahead without even looking at us. So we didn't suffer any damage, but it was really scary!"
"Yeah, yeah! The undead seemed to be completely out of control while the other monsters were desperately trying to keep up with them."
That's what they had said. Others said similar things, and for now there didn't seem to be any damage done to the town.
That's good and all, but still, what were they after?
I kept thinking about it the whole time I ran, but I still couldn't figure it out.
"Bah, I can't figure it out, no use thinking about it!"
I immediately discarded those troublesome thoughts and ran forward.
There was also another concerning thing on my mind at that moment. That is, I knew this road. I'd walked it several times, in fact.
After passing through several alleyways, what appeared in front of me… Was Kazuma's mansion.
"Their goal is to defeat Kazuma, the one who killed several Demon King's Generals?"
Well, then they came all this way for nothing. Kazuma and the others should have been near the Demon King's Castle by now, they may have even broken into it.
"But… Doesn't Aqua-sama always seem to inexplicably draw undead towards her? Could it be that her residual smell attracted these undead?"
Anyway, I can't let them destroy Kazuma's mansion. My best friend asked me to protect his home, I hadn't forgotten.
I slowly approached the manion and heard screams from inside.
There should be no one in Kazuma's mansion. Maybe the neighbors were involved?
"Let me make it in time… Huh?"
Just when I had started to worry, I saw a white horse standing outside the mansion, along with the helmeted bastard and Faitfore.
"What are you doing! Can't you see the mansion is under attack?"
They looked back at me, their expressions completely unfazed.
"Oh, it's Dust-san. It's not so much the mansion is being attacked as the mansion is attacking."
"Yes, it's probably fine."
"Stop talking nonsense!"
I pushed aside the two who were saying some nonsensical things to take a look at the mansion myself, at which point I was greeted by an incredible scene.
"Ugh! The vines in the field are tying me up! Let go of me, let go!"
"Gah! The vegetables are exploding!"
"The zombies and skeletons are just bone meal in the garden now!"
The undead were exploding and scattered about in the garden.
Other monsters of the Demon King's Army got caught in the plant stems and vines, or were blown up by vegetables that flew out of the garden, or were hit by wine bottles and rocks thrown from inside the mansion.
Wait, was someone in there? I tried to look inside, but I couldn't see anyone.
"What's the matter with this cat and chicken? Come on, get out of here! Be careful, or I'll kill you."
There was a black cat and a chicken near a monster who was trying to cut himself free of the vines.
The black cat was the Explosion Girl's cat that had wings and a weird name. The chicken must be the chick with the grand name that Aqua-sama cared for.
"Hey, don't play with those little animals… No, no, no!"
"Why are you so nervous all of a sudden? What's the matter?"
The monster that had been staring at the animals suddenly broke down.
"I just used appraisal magic to observe the status of those two, and that chicken's level is way too high! And that black cat's class is 'Evil God'…"
I caught snatches of the demons' conversation, but are those two really that powerful?
I must have heard it wrong; I'll just pretend I didn't hear anything. This mess was complicated enough without adding extra problems.
The demons didn't seem to notice us. I watched them carefully while carrying Faitfore.
Their attention was focused on the vegetation and the two animals, leaving their backs wide open, so we easily took care of them
"Well, that takes care of that… Faitfore, what are you eating?"
"Sticky potatoes."
I was wondering what she'd been doing so quietly, and it turned out she'd been eating the vegetables scattered all over.
"Spit that out! Don't just eat whatever you find on the ground."
"Give it back—"
I snatched the sticky potatoes that Faitfore had taken and put them in my pocket. If I threw it on the ground, she'd just pick it up and eat it again.
After I convinced her with "I'll let you eat something more delicious later", I put Faitfore, who was still having a tantrum, on the white horse.
Now that we've protected the mansion (sorta), I rode the white horse across the town and searched for any other monsters that may have broken in. By the way, the Helmeted Bastard kindly let me borrow the horse.
"If I rode on the same saddle that Dust-san's hips clung to, it would be just like as if we became one."
He was mumbling something, but I was in a hurry so I ignored it.
I paid a visit to the magic item shop just to be safe, and saw the Penguin suit deftly overwhelming the monsters with it's nimble movements.
I thought he was just a mascot; I didn't expect him to be a watchdog too… Although I guess it would be 'watch-bird'.
Since Kazuma's mansion and the Magic Item Shop were fine, I needed to get back to the front gate as soon as possible. I was worried about Lynn and everyone.
"Dust, it's noisy there."
"Uhh! Why did you grab me all of a sudden!"
Faitfore grabbed my cheek and turned my face to the side.
Listening carefully… There definitely was a noise.
That's the direction of the police station. Was some idiot really taking this opportunity to cause trouble at the police station? If that's all it is, the police will be able to deal with it even without my help. But if it's a monster…
"If I lend them a hand now, I might get treated better the next time I have to pay the cells a visit."
"You aren't honest."
"Tsk, that's not true."
Despite my harsh tone, my body subconsciously began moving in the direction of the commotion.
"There's a pervert – there's a perverted demon here!"
"This guy is clearly a pervert, so why is he so strong!"
"Who are you calling a pervert?!"
The strangest arrest I'd ever seen was happening in front of the police station.
A demon man wearing only his shirt and underwear was swinging a sword and causing a scene.
"Suddenly-appearing perverted demon! This is a warning! Throw down your weapons immediately and do not resist!"
"Stop talking! Damn it, damn it, how did I get here? I was just at the Demon King's castle… Where's that fast-talking scumbag! Calm down, I have to stay calm and conduct myself like a knight. Damn, how am I supposed to figure this out. What do I do now?"
He kept waving his sword like a child having a fit, so the policemen were unable to get close. It seems that some of them were already been cut down, several policemen were lying bleeding on the ground
He looked just like an ordinary pervert, why was he so strong?
If the police tried to capture him they would end up with at least a few casualties.
But, I should be able to deal with this problem on my own.
They usually arrest me without even giving me a chance to speak, but it'd be nice to see them crying and thanking me.
I probably shouldn't fight in front of the police with Faitfore clinging onto me like that. They might charge me with something else.
Getting off the horse, I told Fairfore to quietly wait for me on the horse, before breaking to the center of the commotion.
"You guys are no match for him, move aside and don't get in my way."
I pushed a policeman aside and walked forward. This guy took me into the station two weeks ago on the charge of 'I couldn't be innocent.'
"It's Dust, what are you doing here? Are you really still lazing around when all this is going on? You're really…"
"No! I came here to help because I saw you were in trouble. Be thankful and don't arrest me again. Anyway, hurry up and get the injured to safety."
"Is this a necessary sacrifice… I'm sorry, please hold him back as long as possible. We'll send help right away after we take care of the injured. That pervert might not look like much, but he's dangerous, be careful!"
I lazily waved at the worried policeman while keeping my back to him.
Normally, he would've just yelled and scolded me, but it seemed he was actually worried.
"Hey, pervert! I'm in a hurry, so let's get this over with."
"Who are you? I was suddenly teleported to this random place, and now I'm really starting to get angry. Well, since you want to fight, I'll take my anger out on you!"
He immediately crouched down and clenched his longsword, taking the stance of a practiced warrior.
I raised my spear in answer to his challenge and breathed quietly.
He seemed to understand my strength at a glance, and began to carefully edge closer. Another step forward and he would be in my spear's range.
At that moment, he suddenly stopped moving and raised his sword overhead. Was he trying to draw me out?
I didn't want to spend too much time fighting him, so I took on his challenge.
I stepped forward and stabbed forward with the spear at the same time. The spearhead moved quickly towards his chest, but bounced off the sword as he swung it down.
Then, he shortened the distance in one breath and swiped the sword horizontally.
I saved myself from falling as I dodged. I jumped back up, trying to sweep his legs with the spear, but he quickly blocked it with his sword.
"Not bad for a pervert."
"I'm not a pervert! My name is Noss! You're not too bad either, I'm impressed that mere humans still have this level of skill."
He was a bit like Sir Vanir. In this world, your appearance and strength aren't necessarily related. If I let my guard down, I'll be taken out in an instant.
I kept my distance, stabbing at him periodically with my spear which was deflected by his sword strikes.
He's strong. He's definitely a strong enemy, but he has a weakness when it comes to defence.
Although he blocked the attacks I put a lot of force into, he let the lighter, faster stabs get through. Because of this, the number of cuts he took was slowly increasing. It was slow going, but it did seem to hurt him.
"Ugh, this level of attack would be nothing if I had my armor."
From the barely audible whisper, I guessed that dressing like this was not actually his hobby, but he just didn't have his armour on for some reason.
In that case, I'll target his weakness.
"I hereby declare that my next attack will take you down fair and square."
"Hah, you sound confident, well try it if you can!"
I lowered my body and sprinted forward, stopping just at the edge of his sword's attack range. Then, I took something out of my pocket and threw it at his head.
"Ha, such a ridiculous display! That's almost clever, using a projectile like this!"
The pervert sliced upwards towards the thing I threw, cutting it in half with his sword. And I stabbed the halves repeatedly.
"Ha, it doesn't hurt to attack my head…Ugh! It's so itchy!"
A white, sticky material flowed down the body of the pervert, and he grabbed his bare neck, arms, and feet.
I had thrown out one of those potatoes Faitfore had been eating. This potato was actually a taro root, which causes severe itching when it touches the skin.
Since it was a vigorous and aggressive taro root, I thought the itching ingredients would also be very intense. It seemed I was correct.
The pervert rolled all over the floor looking pitiful, so I used the shaft of my spear to knock him unconscious.
Since we were in front of the police station, it seemed fine to leave him. He'd be thrown in prison here.
"Who even was that guy anyway?"