Humans are fragile. Demons, on the other hand, with their innately robust bodily structure and heightened physical capabilities, possess formidable, mysterious magical power. There is no point in comparing the two.

That is why since time immemorial, humans have harnessed the power of the gods who watch over this world from on high—or the elemental spirits that inhabit it—in order to somehow survive in this frenetic maelstrom.

Humanity builds temples and offers up tributes and prayers to these gods responsible for blessing a hero with their divine protection. These deities and the various elemental spirits are equally essential.

Their very existence bears the same important meaning as Naotsugu Toudou, the hero summoned from another world, bestowed with vast divine protection and innate talents and fated to defeat the Demon Lord.

The trials and tribulations that awaited Holy Warrior Naotsugu Toudou and her party in Golem Valley eclipsed even those they had faced in Yutith’s Tomb.

The valley’s golem inhabitants possess the highest life force among all monsters in the Kingdom of Ruxe, the governing body that has summoned the Holy Warrior. The Kingdom’s royal knights also use this area as their official training grounds against the powerful golems.

Toudou has been hurrying along in her journey with the goal of restoring peace to the Kingdom as quickly as possible. She battled the golems with the intention of leveling up, and at her initial low level, they proved to be truly formidable foes.

Although Toudou and her party felt severely overwhelmed, fate appeared to guide them to the half giant Wurtz Beld, a valiant monk with the Church of Ahz Gried, and Carina Capp, a saintly woman who has kept watch over Golem Valley for decades. Under their tutelage, the party learned how to harness the power that lay dormant within them.

The party saw their talents quickly blossom with the help of their innate abilities and strict hands-on training. At last they were able to drive back the scores of golems that stood in their way along their path to the far reaches of Golem Valley.

It is here where Toudou’s party first met a skilled priest and elementalist named Stephenne Veronide. The daughter of a cardinal, Stephenne thoroughly observed Toudou’s party’s battle tactics and offered a bit of counsel.

“You must head to Cloudburst, the water capital, and enter a covenant with a grand elemental spirit. It will prove to be a strong asset in your quest to defeat the Demon Lord.”

Acting as the voice of God, Stephenne’s counsel does not go unheeded, and the party—Naotsugu Toudou, Holy Warrior; Limis Al Friedia, elementalist; Aria Rizas, sword master; Glacia, glacial plant dragon—decides to head for the water capital, Cloudburst.

Their goal is to enter a covenant with the grand water elemental spirit—a supreme being and essentially a part of nature itself. To accomplish such a feat is a significant achievement even for a typical mage; for Toudou’s party, on their quest to defeat the Demon Lord, it is a path they cannot evade.

“You’re sure industrious, boss. Almost like you’re taking a page outta my master’s book.”

Sanya sighs openly. I take it she’s not rude to just me, her boss.

In that instant, a massive figure slowly moves toward us through the thick fog. It’s even more massive than the giant squid, and judging from its shadow, it’s not a living being. One of the crew runs frantically across the deck toward the captain’s quarters, his face white as a sheet, screaming. His reaction is far more intense than when the giant squid appeared just minutes ago.

“Ghost ship! It’s a ghost ship! They hate the living! Shit, we gotta keep away from that thing! It’ll suck our souls right out of our bodies!”

“Thank God Toudou didn’t choose to cross the sea…”

I consider myself relatively fortunate, and yet this is what I’m dealing with. If this is my encounter rate for enemies, I don’t even want to know what Toudou’s unlucky party would end up dealing with. Seriously, it’s a good thing we didn’t come out to sea in a rowboat.

Sizing up the dilapidated ghost ship that appeared in the middle of the storm, Sanya stands, obviously annoyed.

“…Ughhh, I hate the undead…”

“They’re just my specialty…”

The ghost ship is many times larger than our vessel. The hull is riddled with a number of massive cracks; it’s a wonder that it hasn’t sunk, given the shape it’s in. Or, no, perhaps—perhaps it’s already sunk, and it just hasn’t realized?

It’s said wandering souls that perish on the open seas become listless and turn into demonic spirits. They then lure others in and continue to grow more powerful. How pitiful.

It must be something like fate that brought us face-to-face. I might as well purify them all.

As the rainstorm continues to pour down like a waterfall from the heavens, I turn my open palm to face the approaching ship as if drawing it in.

He’s…a freak of nature.

Watching the events unfolding before her very eyes, for the first time, Sanya Chatre fully grasps the reason why her master dispatched her to this man.

He had the grit to decide to cross the ocean, even though it’s under the Demon Lord’s army’s control.

He didn’t hesitate for even a moment in attacking the giant squid with his mace.

The first time she felt something was off was when he told her how long he could maintain his Intimidation. Sanya’s own time—three or four hours—is a long interval for any mercenary. Yet, when Ares heard this, he brushed her off and said he would cover any time outside of hers. These weren’t the typical words of a priest, who generally doesn’t have a scrap of combat ability to speak of.

She thought he was just reckless when he said he was providing support to defeat the Demon Lord, but judging by the scene in front of her, she realizes it’s not altogether unfeasible. Sanya is conceited in the sense that she believes she’s not just a normal mercenary, but her boss on this mission eclipses her—he’s in a different league.

Sanya’s estimation of Ares has risen. In spite of everything, it seems this man’s fit to be leader of the pack. She nods to herself.

“Ohhh… Oh God…”

A single tear falls from the corner of the eye of Captain Romoro, the man who brought this ship out to sea in the first place.

Ghost ships are the most vexing monsters to fight on all the high seas. It appeared in the middle of a storm and is now chasing relentlessly after the vessel. There are many sea monsters to be on the lookout for: giant squid, which ambush ships and drag them down to the ocean depths with their tentacles, or ground sharks, which speed through the water and try to devour everything in sight. What sets a ghost ship apart from these is that it isn’t alive. Regular attacks won’t work on it.

This was once a regular ship that was sunk and then revived through pure hatred. Now, it refuses to sink even on the wild, choppy seas, and the innumerable droves of undead crew members lying inside its quarters thirst by the second for new prey.

There are rumors that defeating the ghost ship’s captain will destroy the vessel itself, yet no one has been able to verify such claims because there hasn’t been a single sailor who’s encountered a ghost ship and lived to tell the tale. If one appears, all a person can do is pray the brunt of its attack misses and try to escape.

Romoro was ready to die the moment he heard his crew’s screams. There was no time to spare for regret as the terrifying chill of death seeped into his entire being from the feet up.

However, a plume of smoke erupts from the ghost ship, and it starts to pull back as if in retreat.

A single beam of white light illuminates the darkness, even blotting out the glow of the storm’s lightning.

In the moment after the captain and crew recoil from the flash, it’s all over. Next to the captain, a low-ranking deckhand who was similarly struck dumb by their awful situation rubs his eyes in disbelief. His gaze is fixated on the “harbinger of death.”

“Captain, is this…a dream?”

“No—”

Their ship has just two convoys: a rather sketchy small-framed woman dressed in a hooded robe and a priest wielding a massive mace. Without an official permit from the Kingdom, they’d have been laughed out of port.

But now, a monster that normally heralded certain death is vanishing farther and farther into the distance.

It is that moment when the captain finally understands that Ares and Sanya are the most skilled convoys he’s ever met in the decades he’s spent on the high seas. To his knowledge, they are the first crew members to ever survive a ghost ship encounter.

Though he is momentarily stunned from the impact, the captain soon returns to his senses.

Their vessel is still caught in the storm. Its greatest threat may have retreated, but neither he nor the crew can let their guard down now. Monsters are not their only enemies.

Just as the captain begins to reprimand the low-ranking crew member, still petrified in a dreamlike state, the door to the captain’s quarters opens. Ares steps inside from the wind, rain, and raucous din outside. His soaked hair sticks to his face, and he’s drenched from his head to his boots, but his expression is perfectly calm.

A girl Captain Romoro has never seen before follows behind him and shuts the door. She has tanned amber-brown skin and silver hair. She has the signs of a werebeast protruding from the top of her head and her rear—most people would be taken aback, but the captain is wholly unperturbed.

Ares makes no mention of her and looks to the captain, speaking like he’s making small talk.

“Captain, we need to follow that ship.”

“……What?”

Ares whips his finger toward the direction of the ghost ship.

“We let it go, but it has an incredible amount of life force, potentially as much as a high-ranking demon. Do these ghost ships appear regularly on the high seas? How often do you run into one? They seem weak to exorcism, and they’re a suitable enemy. I didn’t expect it to escape after taking just a bit of damage, though. Shit.”

Ares is clearly annoyed and clicks his tongue while the captain answers, stiff as a board.

“……No way in hell… We ain’t gonna pursue it.”

The werebeast following behind Ares grunts in a huff and says to him, “…See? I tried tellin’ you… What’ll we do if the ship sinks in a storm because of your recklessness?”

“We’ll doggy paddle.”

“…Aren’t you going to have some?”

“I…don’t eat meat.”

The hooded girl answers Amelia’s question and stuffs her cheeks with a cubed chunk of travel rations. The open-air fire crackles. Amelia’s companion hasn’t changed at all, even since they got off the runner lizard.

The girl’s voice is relaxed—not a trace of anxiety. Amelia bites off a strip of the dried meat, expressionless until the strong salty taste causes the corners of her eyes to twitch a bit.

Amelia tends to keep a strict poker face, but the newest member Ares assigned to her does even more so—Amelia has no idea what she’s thinking. And the hood makes her face impossible to read.

Amelia has seen the face of her new companion—Rabi Chatre—only one time. Since then, she’s refused to lower the hood.

Rabi must have noticed Amelia staring at her. As if giving an excuse, she says, “I’m just really shy… It’s not that I don’t want you to see my face, Amelia. If you really want me to, though, I’ll take off the hood…”

“No…it’s fine.”

Rabi seems relieved at Amelia’s response and relaxes her shoulders, slightly squirming underneath the hood. Then she changes the subject.

“At the moment, Toudou and company seem to be doing just fine.”

“You can tell from this distance?”

Toudou’s party has made camp about three kilometers away. They’re within range of Amelia’s detection magic, but even Ares wouldn’t be able to tell what’s going on from this distance.

Amelia’s eyes go wide, and Rabi politely places her hands on her knees before answering.

“My hearing is…better than Sanya’s. That’s probably why your boss placed me with you. I can detect anything happening around us in an instant.”

“…I see.”

Amelia’s detection magic is first-class and covers a wide area, but it’s not suited for daily use. With a party member at her side who can keep regular watch over their surroundings and excels in sensing danger, the chances of Amelia running into any real trouble are even lower.

Amelia falls silent and Rabi tries to ease her mind.

“Please don’t worry. My job is to protect you. I have confidence in my skills.”

Yet, even if this is the safest choice, traveling separately from Ares is less than ideal in Amelia’s eyes. Not that she could voice this complaint to his face, of course.

“Thankfully, no overly powerful monsters should spawn on the way to Cloudburst. The front lines are far north of here, after all.”

The route Toudou’s party is traveling has not yet been invaded by the Demon Lord’s forces. All that is visible across the expansive plain is sparse vegetation. There aren’t even forests, and the monsters that do inhabit here are limited to small furry animals.

Just as Rabi said, there aren’t any monsters that will attack them on their path.

“If anything, I’m worried about Sanya. Crossing the ocean in this day and age is hardly a sane decision.”

“…If that’s so, then why did you come with me?”

Amelia has sincere doubts about Rabi, whose tone of voice is without a trace of worry.

These two girls Ares hired are supposed to be mercenaries—and mercenaries generally shy away from dangerous missions. Not to mention the journey ahead is a perilous one that is sure to involve inescapable hardships.

Amelia can sense Rabi smiling from within her hooded cloak.

“Picking and choosing missions is for third-rate mercenaries. Taking a simple job anyone can complete is not for heroes—achieving the impossible is. So says my master. If anything, Amelia, I’m perplexed by how you obey your boss’s every order… But I won’t bother you for the details. Prying into your affairs is not a part of my job.”

“I had an idea when my master told me I was gonna cross the ocean…but now I really know why he dispatched me.”

We’ve made it out of the storm by the skin of our teeth, and the ship is peaceful once again.

Sanya stretches her back lithely in her assigned cabin. She’s tossed aside her drenched robe, and her tail, which soaked up water like a sponge, is now completely dry.

“My master loves to play tricks on people. He’s always throwing us headlong into precarious jobs.”

“If you’re upset about something, let’s hear it. Your food, provisions, and pay are equal across the board, regardless of how much fighting we do. I can also cast Heal on you, and depending on how things turn out, you might just get a bonus.”

“I was told that I’ll be fighting a steel tiger werebeast, but I didn’t think I’d be drenched from head to toe in seawater or battling a giant squid or undead. This is a scam.”

“No. I didn’t say anything about fighting a steel tiger werebeast. I only said that I require people who can take one down. Priests do not tell lies. And you didn’t even fight against any undead anyway.”

“AHHHHHHHHH! You tricked meeeeee!!”

Sanya tears at her hair as she screams. The contract I made was only with her master, though.

There’s no way that someone as experienced as Bran would ever mistake the meaning of my words. This is a crime of conscience.

“Do you want to go home?”

“I’m only joking. If my master found out I ran away, there’s no telling what’d happen to me.”

Sanya furrows her brow at me. It seems she’s not so irresponsible that she’ll abandon her post.

Sanya rubs her tail, now dry of seawater, and makes a show of sighing at me.

“I gotta wash this later…”

“Will it hinder you in combat?”

“…Would you not bathe if it hindered you in combat?”

Bran said she’s a silverwolf. Unlike steel tigers, this breed of werebeast forms packs based on valor. Sanya is mixed-race—silverwolf and human. Aside from her ears, tail, and the color of her hair, she’s the same as a regular person. Her kind primarily leads quiet lives in packs within forests and the deep reaches of mountains; you hardly see them mingling with the human population. I’ve never even fought one myself.

Werebeasts, with their superior physical forms, do not typically wear any armor. This is also true for Sanya, who wears shorts and a bikini-top shirt that exposes her healthy amber skin. I had a hard time asking her to wear the hooded overcoat.

I assigned the other mercenary—Rabi—to Amelia because I knew she wouldn’t know how to handle Sanya.

I decline to answer Sanya’s question and change the subject.

“Has anyone on the ship reacted to your being a werebeast?”

I don’t know how deep werebeast discrimination runs. People might be biased against her even though she’s more human than werebeast.

Sanya lets go of her tail and stares into my soul with her silver eyes.

“Nah. They’re all too busy talking about the crazy priest who wanted to chase after a ghost ship.”

“…”

“You definitely showed me up, boss, definitely. We each leave a different impact. Compared to you, I’m just a cute set of ears and a magnificent tail, merely a… No, absolutely a stunning human being.”

“This isn’t a damn competition.”

I simply got excited because I rarely have a chance to level up myself.

Sanya howls, as if talking to herself.

“But I won’t lose next time! I didn’t come here to get soaking wet and shoot arrows at a squid. No matter how much battle lust you’ve got, boss, I don’t want you taking my job.”

Just who is talking about battle lust here? Don’t lump me in with Gregorio.

Sanya puffs out her chest, full of pride. I have something to say myself.

“Yeah, I know. But make no mistake, this is just the opening act. The real adventure begins once we actually arrive at Cloudburst. Just settle down for now, and before long, you’ll have more than your fill of demons.”

“…Excuse me? I’m a scout. Combat’s not my main occupation, y’know.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a priest.”

“Lies.”

“…”

“Total bullshit.”

“…”

If I’m not a priest, then what am I? I don’t wield a mace just because I enjoy it or anything.

Not to mention, I’ve employed these two mercenaries to take care of battle for me. I never want to fight a steel tiger ever again.

Sanya has clearly misjudged me already. I tap her on the shoulder.

“Your bow skills are exquisite. I’m counting on you.”

“…Mm. I’ll do all I can.”

Sanya must not be used to compliments. She ignores most of what I’ve just said to her and nods meekly.

Taking down that giant squid in the middle of a storm with a single shot to its weak spot was truly incredible, but steel tigers aren’t defeated so easily. Because she’s half human, her physical prowess is far less than a pure-blooded werebeast. She doesn’t carry any other weapons except the bow and knives, either. Maybe she has a secret skill I don’t yet know about?

I vacillate on whether to ask her. A mercenary’s life is only as good as the hand they hold. They should never reveal their hand so easily, nor should it ever be pried into. Not to mention, Sanya doesn’t have close ties to the priesthood like Stey does.

As I look at Sanya, who’s started to tweak her bow, a noise erupts outside.

“Hey! A pack of ocean serpents is coming closer! Dammit! Just when we thought we were shit outta luck running into a ghost ship, we’ve now got these things to deal with! And all on the same day, in this massive ocean!”

“Call the convoys! Now!”

Hurried footsteps approach the cabin. This must be a greater number of monsters than when the storm hit. Being on the ocean makes being on land look like a cakewalk in comparison.

Sanya lets out a small sigh before standing up. She shoulders her freshly tweaked bow and begins to stretch. I furrow my brow and ask, just to check, “Sanya, has anyone ever told you you’re bad luck?”

“Eh? Don’t blame this on me. It’s all you, boss.”

“No way. I’m confident in my own decent amount of luck. You’re the grim reaper here.”

Sanya looks up at me, completely incredulous.

“Cloudburst, ho!”

Hearing the lookout’s cry, Captain Romoro clenches his fist and exhales sharply.

This voyage kept everyone on their toes the entire time. The crew who worked so hard to operate the ship let out a collective shout of joy.

Past the wide expanse outside the window, a cityscape is visible near the horizon.

It’s unlikely that any massive monsters will attack at this distance from the shore.

There wasn’t a single day of peace during our eleven-day voyage. We ended up getting attacked by one massive beast or another on a daily basis.

It started with the giant squid, the ghost ship, and the ocean serpents. Then came a behemoth turtle several sizes larger than our ship, some flying sharks, and finally, a massive bird so huge that it practically blocked out the sun. It felt like we were getting lashed by a storm for over half the trip. There’s a good chance I wouldn’t have been able to protect the ship by myself.

Hearing the crew’s shouts of joy, Sanya—whose expression had been growing stiffer by the day—finally sighs in relief.

Even for someone who’s been under Bran’s intense tutelage, the constant swaying and lurching of the ship, the frigid winds, and having to protect the weak crew members have all taken a palpable toll on Sanya.

“…I did not imagine our everyday combat would be this arduous. There are too many monsters resistant to Intimidation out there.”

Watching the brave crew members who had summoned the gumption to traverse the sea in this perilous day and age succumb to exhaustion and keel over one by one was a true nightmare. If I didn’t cast Heal to cure them immediately, we would have run out of capable sailors to operate the ship.

Captain Romoro remained alert and gave orders until the last moment. He replies to me with visible shock, “…You’re right. This voyage was exceptionally rough. A total disaster, the absolute worst experience I’ve ever had in all my years as a sailor. It’s a miracle we’ve arrived in one piece.”

“Thank God… So this was the absolute worst experience. It can’t get any worse?”

“…Worse than this? Only thing I can imagine is running into the sea demon himself.”

The captain screws up his face in a grimace. If this is rock bottom, that means I’ve overcome the worst the ocean can muster. I didn’t gain any levels, but I definitely gained experience. The ocean no longer scares me.

In the end, Sanya must be the one who brought all this calamity upon us—she’s bad luck, no doubt.

She must be able to tell what I’m thinking—she casts a miffed gaze my way.

When I brought Sanya onto the ship, I expected trouble to break out between the crew and her, but it turned out that we were so busy going from one battle to the next that there wasn’t a chance for anything to happen. That may have been our only silver lining.

“…I’m just gonna say it—you’re the actual grim reaper here, boss.”

“No use in bickering about it now. We need to be thankful we’re here alive.”

“…I’ve had my fill of the ocean for a while.”

“Don’t worry—we’re done with the high seas. Next, we head to the ocean floor.”

That’s where the temple is located, after all.

I speak without a trace of jest, but Sanya looks like she’s just witnessed the apocalypse unfold before her.

“…I’m gonna get some air.”

Sanya plods out of sight. We’ve only just reached Cloudburst, but she’s really had a hell of a time already. Seeing her leave with her tail sagging limply, Captain Romoro seems to have sympathy.

“That girl is a mercenary, right? She looks young—you better take proper care of her.”

“…Yeah.”

You’re damn right. I’ve been looking for personnel for ages. I won’t let her out of my sight.

Sanya is standing all by her lonesome at the bow of the ship. Given how melancholy she’s coming across, it’s no surprise that the crew members aren’t speaking to her. They’re all casting intermittent glances her way, but none of them approach her.

“Rabi should’ve joined you, boss.”

“…”

“Even if you’re supposedly the strong one, bringing me here was a mistake. You’re messed up in the head—no matter how dangerous the ocean’s supposed to be, that was too many damn monsters. You’re nuts. You’re a swindler. I brought a hundred arrows with me and I’ve only got ten left.”

Sanya is at her wits’ end. As she swings her tail from side to side slowly, standing petrified, I pat her slender shoulder in consolation.

This girl is a mercenary. If she wants to escape, she can do so with ease. I have to keep her here.

“Sanya… Even without arrows, you have your knives, right?”

“Boss… Is that all you have to say?”

“Your arrows will be covered as an expense.”

“No. No, not that, boss. That’s a given. You’re totally heartless.”

Let’s not forget that hiring you was a private expense in the first place…

Sanya’s a lot more sensitive than I expected. I thought she had real valor. Now I’m concerned.

Her eyes downcast, Sanya doesn’t look particularly noble or strong. That impudence I saw when she first joined us has been washed away by the ocean. The high seas are terrifying, indeed.

“Sanya. Listen to me carefully. Compared with your predecessor, you are infinitely more accomplished.”

At least Sanya isn’t a total ditz and doesn’t fall on her ass. Her predecessor may have more mental fortitude, though.

Sanya blinks and looks up at me. Her eyes are a deeper silver than her hair, and tears fill them.

“I’ll tack some extra onto your pay and tell your master about your accomplishments here. So please lend me your skills for just a while longer.”

A while longer—yes, until Toudou defeats the Demon Lord, so maybe another three years?

I can no longer afford to support Toudou with just Amelia and myself. If it had been Amelia on board the ship with me, I don’t think our stamina would have lasted.

As I lower my head solemnly, Sanya responds, bewildered, “…D-did I really do a good job? Better than my predecessor?”

“Yes.”

Her predecessor was a real piece of work, after all. Compared to her, Sanya is void of any eccentricities and is easy to work with. She’s simpler somehow. Some of the light returns to her eyes.

“Don’t worry. Even the captain said this was the worst voyage he’d ever been on, right?”

“Y-yeah, he did.”

“It was a bit rough—but it won’t be as bad going forward.”

Of course, I’m not going to tell her that she’s a bad omen or anything like that. All’s well that ends well.

Despite my consolation, Sanya suddenly looks reproachful.

“A bit rough? Did you say ‘a bit’? I’ll be blunt—I really don’t think we’re gonna mesh that well.”

Yes, a bit. Sea monsters are massive, and being forced into the disadvantageous position of fighting from a ship’s deck is a huge pain, but they weren’t exactly fearsome enemies. Thanks to our sterling efforts in driving them back, we didn’t even have any deaths.

Having an extra set of hands really does make a huge difference after all. Eleven days would be far too long to work without sleep or rest. It was worth hiring Sanya for that reason alone.

I look far in the distance toward the cityscape of Cloudburst before continuing.

“Without you, Sanya, I would have been forced to come to Cloudburst in a rowboat.”

“That doesn’t sound like a joke…”

It’s no joke. Back when I didn’t put any stock in the power of sea monsters, I would have probably done it.

Or, wait… Maybe if I was alone, without Sanya and her awful luck, the monsters wouldn’t have spawned like crazy?

Sanya is giving me the cold shoulder. I make a pained face and say, “It would be disappointing… Hugely disappointing, really, but if you don’t want to go forward, we can terminate your contract right here and now. Of course, that means you would have to pay me back… I’ll talk it over with Bran.”

There’s no way she’ll agree to it.

I droop my head dejectedly and Sanya swallows a lump in her throat before her lips move.

“…N-no—”

Hearing her speak, I snap my head to attention.

“Oh really? That’s a relief. Well then, let’s get back to the captain; everyone must be worried about us.”

“Wha…? W-wait— Huh?”

Sanya is thoroughly confused. I put my hand on her back and push her forward. Sanya is one of Bran’s disciples. If word was to get out that this legendary mercenary’s apprentice gave up after just ten days of work, I’d see the repercussions when looking for additional backup in the future.

Tripping over her feet as she walks forward, Sanya looks absolutely incredulous.

“Hang on… Did you just trick me?”

“Perish the thought. Okay, let’s go! The ocean isn’t your specialty, right? Once we meet up with Amelia and Rabi, everything will get easier.”

The color returns to Sanya’s face. She clenches her fists and pricks up her ears.

“Y-yeah, you’re probably right! Once Rabi’s here…dealing with the ocean’ll be a piece of cake!”

“Your master told me that the two of you together are even stronger than he is.”

This is mostly lip service. Even with werebeast blood coursing through their veins, there’s no way two teenage girls could surpass the likes of a legendary mercenary known in every corner of the Kingdom.

“Yeah, that’s right. Hey, boss, how long did you say it’ll take Rabi and Amelia to get here?”

The lip service worked—Sanya is now completely recovered from her malaise. She must really miss her companion, Rabi. Now I recall that silverwolves form packs in the wild. Even though she’s half human, Sanya might have retained a part of this trait.

“They’re progressing just fine, without any particular incident. They told me yesterday that they were close to reaching a small village in the mountains. Once they pass through there, it’s a straight shot to Cloudburst. They’ll be here in a week to ten days, I’m sure.”

It’s extremely fortunate that nothing has gone wrong with Toudou and his party. That said, they manage to get themselves into trouble no matter what they do…

Sanya’s eyes are ablaze as she whispers, like a young maiden in love, “I hope Rabi gets here soon…”

“We’ll gather information on the temple until they arrive.”

“Okay. I’m good at that sort of thing, y’know.”

Looking toward the quickly approaching harbor, the silverwolf girl laughs, beaming with joy.

The small village that Toudou and party have arrived at lies quietly at the top of a narrow mountain path. It’s a mere footnote on the map they received from the Kingdom.

They climb the path, driving back the occasional monsters that appear, and after arriving at the village just before sunset, they are met by a number of annoyed-looking villagers.

There are multiple routes that lead to Cloudburst, but avoiding the mountains makes for an extremely long detour. Toudou and company chose the narrow path they’re on now because it’s supposedly the shortest.

This small, self-sustaining village doesn’t appear to get many merchants visiting it.

The party is asked a number of questions at the entrance to the village before stepping safely inside. After moving through there and down the mountain pass, it will just be a few more days to Cloudburst.

“…I wonder if something happened here?”

“It didn’t seem like they were questioning us just because we’re outsiders, that’s for sure.”

Toudou’s expression grows stern as the villagers exchange hushed murmurings and furtive glances in the party’s direction. It’s not a particularly welcoming crowd.

Limis senses their rude, contemptuous looks and glowers right back.

“We should pass on through without stopping, don’t you think?”

“Hmm. The sun’s already going down…”

Toudou looks up at the pale-pink sky. Regardless of how strong the monsters in this area are, she would like to avoid descending the rugged mountain path in the dark.

“But this place…doesn’t seem to have an inn, does it?” Limis notes as she checks out the few austere homes that line the village.

Yutith’s Tomb, one of their previous destinations, also had a nearby small village—Purif—but it was nothing like this. The towns in Golem Valley were also small but still active with an influx of mercenaries.

Nothing about this desolate village indicates activity. In fact, it looks like it’s about to rot away into obscurity before their very eyes.

Aria shrugs and mumbles, “…There doesn’t even appear to be a church…”

The Church of Ahz Gried is highly involved in the daily lives of its people. Toudou always thought that even the smallest village had at least one house of worship, but she can’t see a building adorned with the cross scale—the symbol of the Church—anywhere here. Without a church present, they can’t level up or receive medical treatment in the form of holy techniques. They can’t cast a prism to keep away any legions of darkness, either.

“How do the villagers even manage without a single church…?” Toudou wonders.

“…Who knows? …I mean, it’s a tiny little village, after all…,” Limis chimes in briefly, almost like she’s making an excuse.

Taking up the rear is a little girl with shining emerald hair—Glacia. She silently returns the villagers’ empty stares. One of the villagers can’t stand the tension of her wordless gaze and looks away.

The party quickly surveys the entire village, but they find only fields and crude homes—nary a shop in sight. They circle their environs and eventually come to a stop in front of an estate that’s much larger than the rest of the houses.

“It doesn’t seem like they have room for us. Maybe we’re better off camping outside?”

“There are a number of exclusive villages, after all…and yet—there’s something about the way the villagers are staring at us…”

Aria frowns, clearly perturbed, and in that moment, she hears a voice from behind.

“Goodness… What have we here? Travelers—what a rarity. You’ve certainly come at an awful time of year…”

Aria instinctively reaches for her sword on her waist in response. She’d let her guard down from being inside a village.

The speaker is an elderly man. He’s bent at the waist and his skin is worn and withered. His hands grip a gray cane, and his clothing is just as modest as that of the other villagers, but his sorrowful, cloudy eyes impart a sense of mysterious power.

He’s completely undisturbed by Aria reaching for her sword. The group makes no effort to hide their wariness, and the old man speaks in a gruff rasp.

“My apologies. I’m…the village headman. You must have traveled long and far to come here… I’m sure you were shocked. However—there’s a reason for all this. Please forgive us.”

“A…reason…?” Toudou hesitantly repeats.

The village headman’s expression shifts, and he hesitates before explaining: The god of a nearby mountain periodically demands a sacrifice, and as a result, the village has lost its former vigor.

“On the third night after the full moon, we must provide a young maiden as a sacrifice, or the god says it will destroy our village…”

The old man’s eyes burn brightly, like a wild animal’s. The incomprehensible emotion churning within them causes Toudou to shudder.

Is it despair? Anger? Sorrow? Or is it delight? She can’t read him at all.

“Three days after the full moon—tomorrow, right?”

Limis furrows her brow and gazes up to the sky, now fully past sunset.

“This village seems suspicious. There are all kinds of evil thoughts coursing through it.”

“…Yes, you’re right.”

The strange squawking of a nearby bird can be heard off in the distance.

Getting too close to the village will put them at risk of being noticed by Toudou, according to Rabi’s assertion. Therefore, Amelia and Rabi have made camp near a watering hole approximately one kilometer away.

The runner lizard made quick work of the narrow mountain path and rests on its haunches, exercising Intimidation on any nearby monsters.

The moon shines brightly. Amelia munches on a piece of dried meat, which she’s rather sick of by now. Their conversation turns to the small village that Toudou and her party have stopped at.

“Any village without a church is usually not a good sign. All decent villages have priests assigned to them.”

Rabi Chatre continues her bitter assessment casually. However, Amelia largely agrees.

The Church exists to lift people’s spirits, and it also provides a certain utility. The lack of a church building doesn’t come without a definite reason.

For example, any knowledge of the village’s existence by the God of Order’s followers would cause issues.

Rabi is speaking much faster than usual. Her shadow is cast sharply on the ground from the campfire light.

“Any god who demands a sacrifice is up to no good, best labeled an evil god.”

“I’ve heard that intelligent monsters sometimes pretend to be gods in order to attract prey…”

“There don’t appear to be any particularly strong monsters dwelling nearby.”

Rabi puts her silken-gloved hand to her face and strains her ears against the night. Just as she said, there haven’t been any monsters that have come to attack them and the runner lizard along this mountain path.

“Bandits have also been known to impersonate gods, but only complete imbeciles are fooled by them.”

As Rabi speaks, Amelia stops and ponders. The path they’ve traveled is a sad, decrepit trail that not even itinerant traders would traverse. It’s the sort of place that bandits would choose to lure in prey.

Rabi shrugs and looks up. Her face is covered by a thick cloth mask, and only her deep ruby-red eyes are visible underneath.

“Even if it was a god, they’d have to be incredibly foolish to meddle in something like this.”

“…”

“That’s what shocks me about people who go looking for trouble. I came here with you because your boss looks crazy and is clearly terrifying, but I should have left this up to Sanya. No matter how good my hearing is, I can’t stop anyone from throwing themselves into danger.”

“…Don’t say that—you’re supposed to be protecting me.”

Amelia sighs. Ares said that Rabi is the diligent type, but just how, exactly?

Rabi quickly takes back her words.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ll tell him directly when I have the chance.”

“Should we go to the village? Ares told us to meet with the party directly if necessary, after all—”

If Toudou is going to take on a favor for this creepy village, Amelia and Rabi will have no problem pretending to have run into them by chance. If they all get together, it should be possible to guide Toudou and company in a safe direction.

Glacia, the girl Ares snuck into Toudou’s party, has not proven a very accomplished spy.

Rabi stands up suddenly. Her figure, smaller than even Amelia’s, would be taken for a mere child’s if she wasn’t wearing her suspicious hood. She’s only about as tall as Limis, too.

Rabi pats the dust off her coat as she stands, saying, “No. As your escort, I cannot allow us to dive headlong into the face of danger. Personally, I’m opposed to it. I’m timid. Moreover…it’s not the time to panic just yet.”

“…”

Amelia was told that Rabi has an exceptional ability to perceive danger, and she did get that feeling a number of times on their way here. However, isn’t this another matter altogether? Amelia is incredulous as she speaks to Rabi, who’s now turned away from the campfire.

“…Where are you going?”

“I’m going to gather some flowers and whatever else I find. There aren’t any dangerous monsters nearby, but you just stay right here, okay?”

Soft beams of moonlight illuminate the path. With a cheerless expression, Rabi runs through the sparse tree line. Her footfalls are light, and she hardly makes a sound.

Her hood, worn low, twitches back and forth. Rabi’s sense of hearing is vastly superior to a human’s; she can distinguish between the wind and the murmuring of a stream, and even with a loud bird’s cry mixed in, she’s easily able to ascertain what’s happening up at the mountain’s peak, where this god supposedly dwells.

“I got stuck with such an annoying job…”

Sanya, who is currently accompanying Ares, and Rabi are a team. They’ve always been paired together on any of their master’s assignments, and it’s rare for them to be working separately. Of course, they wanted to work together this time as well, but their boss wouldn’t let that happen.

Rabi is particularly perceptive when it comes to other people’s strengths. Unlike Sanya, who has to actually come into contact with someone first, Rabi can quickly tell who she can and can’t cross. Most people are easily appeased, but this time, their client could not be defied. It’s a rare case. When he said they’d be split up, she had no choice but to accept it.

The sharp gaze he gave her the first time they met flashes across Rabi’s mind, and she shakes her head to block it out. The only thing she should be thinking about and focusing on now is accomplishing the mission assigned to her.

Truth be told, compared to Sanya’s mission on the ocean, Rabi’s duties should be a cinch. It’s a simple escort job. She’s not exactly fond of these kinds of missions, but as long as she’s able to flee any danger, then it’ll be easy.

The water capital is still quite far away, but it’s not a dangerous stretch of land. The Holy Warrior should be able to cross it, and it’s unlikely that any troublesome monsters will appear.

“Oof… I didn’t expect the Holy Warrior to get himself wrapped up in this kind of trouble… I really miscalculated.”

Rabi stops near the mountain’s peak. A cold wind blows abruptly, and Rabi gathers the sleeves of her overcoat, shivering.

In a moment, all falls silent. It’s as if the world around her is holding its breath—there are no birds chirping, no beasts growling.

A sure sign that something is amiss. Maybe this is a high-level monster’s territory, or someone’s casted a prism.

The villagers were behaving oddly—there’s no doubt that something inhabits the peak.

Rabi is a pacifist. In truth, she didn’t even want to leave her village.

However, she has to complete her mission. She’s been entrusted with protecting Toudou’s party and Amelia. She learned about them earlier: The Holy Warrior’s party is made up of only low-level members, and Amelia is a priest. Among the entire group, Rabi has the highest life force—even as half a man—thanks to her master’s tutelage.

Even if she’s assigned as an escort, she has a responsibility to assess her opponent thoroughly. That’s one of a scout’s most important functions, after all.

She rubs her hands together, wrapped in thin white gloves, and breathes deeply to calm her senses. She whispers in a shaky voice, “…There’s something…here.”

It’s not her mind playing tricks on her. She hides in the shadow of a tree and holds her breath.

An icy shiver runs down her spine. Her innately timid nature—the ability to sense danger—is setting off alarm bells in her head. She quells the feeling rising up inside her and strains her ears.

Rabi is different from Sanya in that her sense of smell is not so fine-tuned. Her eyesight isn’t that good, either. Rabi has faith in her ears and her ears alone.

She twitches her ears from within her hood in order to pick up any sounds. Rabi is petite. Compared with Sanya, she’s much lighter and lacks muscle. She also doesn’t carry anything like a bow and arrows. Her only option for defeating monsters above a certain level is to ambush them.

Just then, something brushes against the toe of Rabi’s boot. She furrows her brow and bends over to inspect it. It’s white and hard. Almost like…some kind of bone.

Rabi quivers like a leaf. Then she realizes:

—There’s no sound.

Even honing her auditory faculties, she can’t read the presence of the monster that’s supposed to have made the peak its stronghold.

Rabi clutches at her chest to quell the sound of her accelerating heartbeat. Her field of vision is shrouded in a dark void.

She looks up at the sky in sheer amazement. The moon, which was emitting a soft light until moments ago, has disappeared.

—Wait, no. It hasn’t disappeared.

Rabi’s eyes fly open in astonishment as an enormous black mass descends upon her, blocking out the light of the moon.

The party climbs the mountain path under the glaring sun.

Toudou takes the lead, keeping her sword drawn and remaining on the lookout for monsters, while Limis follows behind with her staff.

“Hey, are you sure about this?”

A wasp monster the size of a small dog buzzes through the air, and Toudou cleaves it in half before answering, “…Well, it’s on the way, after all.”

Their goal is the mountain god dwelling on the peak that’s demanding a young maiden as a human sacrifice. This is something that Toudou simply cannot overlook.

Toudou has fallen into the good graces of so many people since coming to this world. The villagers they all just met aren’t necessarily one such example, and they didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome, but still, she can’t just ignore something like this.

Recalling the villagers’ pallid faces, Toudou heaves a small sigh.

“Any god that demands a sacrifice…isn’t a god at all.”

“Well, even if it is, it’s an evil god, no doubt.”

“There’s no way a god exists in a place like this. Garnet’s been quiet, after all…”

Limis looks at Garnet, perched on her shoulder. Gods are vastly different entities from human beings, naturally. They have a colossal presence. If the being that’s demanding a sacrifice is truly a god, then Garnet should be throwing a huge fit right about now.

At the moment, Garnet looks quite bored as its tongue slithers in and out of its mouth.

Glacia prods at the path with a stick she picked up along the way, looking highly curious about her surroundings.

The path to the summit is much better maintained than the path that led to the village, likely from all the trips up to offer sacrifices.

As they approach the peak, the air around them grows more and more silent. The cries of various insects and bird monsters are nowhere to be heard. Only the wailing wind remains.

Aria stops abruptly and surveys their surroundings, furrowing her brow.

“…It appears that we’re not alone…”

The shiver running down her spine is definitely a sign that this is the territory of a powerful being.

Limis grips her staff in one hand, alert and ready to cast a spell at a moment’s notice.

The summit is still a long way off. Toudou draws the holy sword Ex and looks at the path stretching up ahead. Aria adds, “I don’t think it’s some kind of god. That much would show in the terrain. I believe it’s a small, cunning goblin of sorts. The villagers may have looked off for whatever reason, but I think their story was true.”

“A goblin…huh…?”

Most of the monsters that Toudou has slain so far have been incapable of understanding human language.

Toudou retrieves her shield from her magical storage implement and grips it at the ready.

The only monster Toudou’s ever encountered that really possessed any sort of intelligence was the demon she saw in the Great Forest of the Vale.

Toudou may be much stronger than she was back then, but she’s not entirely sure she’s capable of defeating a demon of that ilk.

The party approaches the summit. Toudou narrows her eyes.

“…I can smell blood.”

“…You’re right.”

Aria nods and turns her steely gaze to the mountain peak. The path has only sparse trees, leaving nowhere for any creatures to hide. That means they can’t, either, but the chances of being hit with an ambush are low.

Thirty-three—that’s the number of people the village headman said have been offered up for sacrifice over the past ten or so years. In that time, many mercenaries passing through have summited the peak to eradicate the evil god, but none of them have returned.

Toudou shivers as she ruminates over this information, but it’s not out of fear—it’s excitement.

There is nothing that the holy sword Ex can’t cleave through. Limis’s flame magic has burned all kinds of monsters to a crisp, and even Aria made it through the battles they faced in Golem Valley.

Their chance of victory aside, Toudou could not refuse the village headman’s request. Because she, Naotsugu Toudou, is the hero.

A crudely fashioned stone altar lies at the peak, built by hewing stones together and stacking them haphazardly. Its facade is riddled with cracks, and had they not been told there was an altar at the peak, they might have never noticed it.

The mountain isn’t very tall, but with nothing around to block their view, they’re greeted by a resplendent scene stretching far below.

The party approaches the altar, the front of which is covered in dark-red stains. It doesn’t impart any degree of sanctity.

Toudou has visited a number of churches in her life, and they all had a particular atmosphere about them, as if all traces of filth had been wiped clean.

She looks away from the altar and checks her surroundings. Aria is standing just behind her, guarding her blind spots. Limis raps her staff against the front of the altar and says hoarsely, “There’s…nothing here.”

The moment Toudou goes to answer, she notices a black figure passing through the trees. Just as she’s about to cry out, Aria appears to have noticed it as well, and her expression turns grim.

“An ursine. I wonder what it’s doing so close to human civilization…”

As Aria speaks, the black figure in Toudou’s field of vision begins to take shape.

The dark mass she had been seeing was its back, blanketed by an umbral coat of fur. Now, it stands up slowly and locks its two dimly gleaming golden eyes on Toudou.

The figure moves languidly as Toudou rasps, “…A bear?”

“It’s a monster,” Aria explains hastily. “Nao, use caution. They are formidable. And this smell of blood—”

The ursine stands tall on both its haunches directly in front of Toudou.

The smell of blood intensifies. The creature’s thick black fur made it look like some great enigma. Once it stands up, it closely resembles the bears that Toudou is familiar with, the only difference being how stable this monster appears to be on its two hind legs. Long bladelike claws extend from both of its front paws.

The ursine starts dashing forward. Its swift two-legged gait makes it look just like a human. It closes the gap between them in an instant, and as Toudou recoils at its unexpected behavior, the bear goes to strike her without emitting so much as a roar. Aria steps in quickly to block its claws with her blade.

Aria’s magical sword Lightning Howl and the bear’s lacquer-black claws clash, sending sparks flying. The bear’s claws slide along the blade, producing a horrible screeching noise.

Toudou is left momentarily petrified from the scene, and Aria pushes back against the bear’s claws with all her might as she shouts, “Nao! Ursines are high-level monsters! Stay alert!!”

The beast swings down its other paw. Aria’s warning snaps Toudou back to her senses and she blocks the swipe with her shield. The weighty impact rushes through her arm, and her thoughts finally catch up to the action.

The bear is nearly three meters tall. It stares down at Toudou with its emotionless golden eyes.

“Flame Lance.”

Limis’s spell launches toward the bear. The bear sidesteps the deep-crimson lance and avoids the attack. The magic lance rockets through the air and impales the trees behind, scorching them to cinders.

“It avoided a spell?!”

Toudou’s breath is ragged. She’s shocked by what just transpired, but she still steps in to deliver a diagonal slash attack. The ursine receives her blow with its claws.

Toudou feels slight resistance from the blow, but the holy sword Ex slices right through the bear’s jet-black claws. The tip of her sword grazes the beast’s right arm, and it howls in surprise.

The monster holds its right arm as if protecting it, almost humanlike, and stomps on the ground furiously. Stones that had landed nearby now fly through the air, and Toudou blocks them reflexively with her shield. The bear is well outside of her sword’s attack range. Roughly ten meters away from them, the monster examines Toudou and her party with palpable rage in its eyes.

Toudou can feel intelligence in that gaze, and she shudders with fear. She didn’t expect the giant bear to stand on two legs, much less behave like an accomplished warrior. She’s completely shaken up.

“What…is that thing…?”

“It’s a type of monster endemic to Ruxe’s northern regions. They’re highly intelligent and have bladelike claws, and they’ll attack anyone who enters their territory. These monsters are very closely related to demons.”

“Very closely related…to demons?”

Aria circles around the black beast and alters her stance. Toudou swallows a lump in her throat—the ursine’s expression is fierce, serious. She speaks again without taking her eyes off the beast.

“Is this…what’s demanding the sacrifice?”

“That’s a question of just how intelligent it is… However, it is possible. At the very least, there’s no way any of the villagers could attempt to take it down. Even the average mercenary wouldn’t likely—”

This is the first time Aria has actually fought one, but their fearsome nature is well-known among the nation’s military. Ursines inhabit the mountains, so it’s exceptionally rare to see one on the prairies. However, encountering one of these monsters here almost certainly leads to an immediate order for its quick defeat. Even though Aria has leveled up recently, this is not the sort of monster she should be fighting one-on-one.

Toudou could possibly take it down in one blow with a sneak attack from the holy sword Ex, but this bear is already on the defensive.

However, that doesn’t mean they’re completely out of luck. They are four members strong, after all.

Aria expertly positions herself in front of Limis in order to prevent any attacks from landing on her, even haphazardly.

A monster this intelligent will assess the difference in ability between itself and its opponent. However, this particular ursine is highly agitated and breathing raggedly. Although the claws on its right paw have been sliced in half, it shows no sign of fleeing.

This creature is teeming with pure wrath. Bloodlust fills the air and Aria is frozen stiff.

The monstrous bear rushes forward with unbelievable speed for its size.

“H​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​A​!​!”

Toudou instantly rushes to close the gap and howls at the monster as its claws come slashing down.

The city of Cloudburst is unlike any place I’ve been to before.

Its development is readily defined by one characteristic: the massive canal running throughout the city.

In keeping with its name, the “water capital,” the canal and the bizarre, complex waterways that branch off it are full of countless boats coming and going. It’s much faster to charter a boat than travel by land here.

Most of the people who pass through are elementalists, since this is a sort of holy ground for them. They are all high-level mages who are skilled enough that they can be particular about the spirits they form covenants with, and so long as they’re not an anomaly like Limis, they can likely employ the services of elemental spirits other than water types. The fact that the city hasn’t gone to ruin despite the lack of any ships entering its port is perhaps a testament to the efforts of the mages who travel here.

“I’ve surveyed the area briefly, but there isn’t anything to be concerned about.”

As I walk around Cloudburst, I hear a voice from behind me. I wasn’t particularly on my guard, and yet I didn’t expect her at all. Her concealment skills are highly formidable.

The owner of the voice—Sanya—sidles up beside me.

She’s already lowered her hood; her silvery wolf ears twitch back and forth, surveying our environs.

“I see… What about werebeasts?”

“Werebeast mages are extremely rare, so they’d stick out. None here. I don’t detect any followers of darkness or any kind of hostile presence. I can’t detect the sunken temple whatsoever, either.”

“What about any other disturbances?”

“There are plenty of those in this day and age. I don’t sense anything particularly off.”

We haven’t been in the city for very long, but Sanya appears to have ascertained our surroundings quite thoroughly.

A talented scout’s work looks like magic to the uninitiated. She was able to locate me without my having told her of my whereabouts, and she even gave me a report on her findings—truly incredible.

Sanya points to her nose and casually tells me, “Demons and anyone affiliated with the Demon Lord give off a particular scent. It stings the nostrils. That scent is nowhere in this city. We’re safe for now.”

All I can smell is the sea… I can only imagine how easy things would have been in Golem Valley with her around.

“Anything else?”

“I wouldn’t be able to detect if someone affiliated with the Demon Lord had their memory wiped from a potion or spell. I think we can eliminate that possibility, though.”

“You’re probably right.”

Cloudburst is not a famous city. Its importance falls far short of Golem Valley’s.

I wouldn’t waste my efforts on this place, even if I were the Demon Lord.

“Keep me up to speed if any anomalies pop up.”

“Yes, boss.”

Sanya responds with complete confidence. According to Bran, the mercenaries I hired amount to only half a man each, so I imagine that Sanya isn’t distinguished in the realm of combat.

I’m seriously looking forward to seeing what the full-fledged scout Rabi has in the way of surveying skills.

“Also, boss, when will Rabi and the others get here?”

“Toudou’s party has taken a pit stop, so…”

Per Amelia’s report, it looks like Toudou and company have undertaken the task of defeating some kind of suspicious mountain deity. I’m not particularly worried, since she mentioned that Rabi claims to not have detected the presence of any strong monsters, but it all depends how things transpire.

“Once they settle their current affair and make it through the mountains, they should be here in ten days.”

“So not long, then,” Sanya answers promptly.

I have some lingering concerns about Amelia and Rabi’s combined combat skills, but Sanya must trust them. I can’t help myself from being so worried—maybe I should take a page out of Sanya’s book.

“It all depends on just what sort of mountain god they’re dealing with. They might be forced to descend the mountain and take a different path.”

Sanya swishes her tail and looks puzzled.

“Hmm, well, it’ll only be a beast creature or, at worst, a demon, right? And Rabi won’t be the one fighting it.”

“A beast creature is one thing, but they’ll definitely struggle with a demon…”

Even a half-breed werebeast doesn’t have much of an advantage against a demon.

In reality, Sanya may stand a better chance, but Rabi doesn’t have a fraction of the stamina or strength in her blood that Sanya does as a silverwolf.

That said, it’s not like I’m actually expecting Rabi to fight.

Sanya blinks at me for a couple of seconds in response and shakes her head before saying something unexpected.

“No, Rabi won’t have any problems. She’s stronger than I am anyway. What do you think the ‘fury’ in ‘Lightning Fury’ stands for, boss?”

This enemy is formidable. Toudou lets go of all her previous inclinations and slashes her sword down on the beast.

She hesitated on her first attack. But even now that Toudou has repositioned herself to face her opponent head-on, it’s still very strong.

The air resonates with the black beast’s howls and Toudou’s ragged breaths. The bear must have sensed the difference in this attack—it now aims a swipe of its claws at the hilt of the holy sword Ex. Toudou parries the blow with her blade, feeling the bear’s incredible power reverberate through it, and takes a step back.

She’s quite fortunate that she managed to cleave the claws of its right paw in half with her first attack. And she’s lucky to outnumber it.

“I’ll guard Limis!”

Just as she said, Aria puts herself in front of Limis. She aims her sword at the beast’s eyes to divert its attention. Limis squeezes her eyes shut and recites a brief incantation.

The bear’s manic gaze shifts from Toudou, to Aria, to Limis. Its expression is muddled with animosity and intelligence. Then it hones in on Toudou and brings its injured right paw crashing down.

In that moment, Glacia, who had been circling behind the beast, leaps into the air. She grips the blunt weapon that’s nearly the size of her entire body—a war hammer even Toudou would have trouble wielding—and swings it swiftly, bringing it down in front of her.

The ursine notices the attack at the last second and turns to evade, but it’s too late—Glacia’s war hammer smashes it into the ground beneath.

Flesh and bone audibly creak. The ursine bellows in retaliation, and in the same moment, Limis’s spell incantation is complete.

Having silently taken note, Toudou and Aria step back. The bear’s eyes are racked with pain as they fixate on Limis. Innumerable balls of fire rise around her. She brings down her staff with force and chants the spell’s name.

“Rapid Flame.”

The flames shoot forward like bullets in pursuit of the beast, which has already started to retreat. The spell’s impact hits the ursine directly in its jaw.

A dull thud. The giant beast flies through the air from the impact, but the attack isn’t over yet. The remaining flame projectiles floating around Limis all rain down upon the bear in succession. They strike its arms, legs, face—a perpetual firestorm.

The impact of the flame bullets, which would instantly incinerate a low-level enemy, sends the beast tumbling across the ground. The flames subside, and the air reeks—the bear’s fur is singed. But the black beast still writhes.

Limis gasps when she realizes that the ursine has repelled each and every one of her flame bullets.

“…!”

“Limis, follow it up!”

It’s been damaged but not mortally.

As Aria screams, she approaches the downed bear. Toudou rushes forward in tandem and steps in to attack from the side. Limis prepares another incantation, this time planning to fully incinerate the beast.

The ursine stands up sluggishly and howls, shuddering. Its vile cry rips through the air but Toudou shrugs it off, completely fired up. This howl is nothing compared to what she saw in Golem Valley.

The bear twists its body to avoid Toudou’s diagonal sword slash, but this time, she manages to just barely puncture its hide. The beast contorts its face as black blood sprays through the air. Toudou steps back and Aria jumps in. Her fluid strike flashes like lightning, but the bear catches it with its claws.

This creature is superior in speed and physical strength. Yet, no matter how strong the opponent, constantly fending off blows will leave an opening. As the bear tries to retreat, Glacia is lying in wait, swinging her war hammer as if it were just a twig.

In that breath, Limis finishes another incantation.

“Flame Sword.”

She brings the massive red-hot flame blade directly down on the bear’s head.

The party immediately surrounds the ursine, and it crashes to the ground in front of Toudou like it’s just lost its balance. Its black fur is charred and riddled with scars; fresh blood stains the ground.

Toudou lowers her holy sword, flecked with blood and viscera. She pants raggedly, recalling the battle as she looks down at the lifeless bear that didn’t even manage to let loose a death knell.

Beholding the long, sharp claws splayed out on the ground, she whispers, voice trembling.

“What a horrid beast…”

“You were lucky to rob it of its right claws with your first attack. Those things are so sharp that they can be forged into blades themselves,” Aria responds, her expression still stiff. This was a monster far more formidable than any of them could have imagined.

Had Toudou not been able to damage it with her first attack, they might not have gotten off so easily.

“I thought it was just a normal bear…”

“Right—because it looks like one. Ursines killed a lot of people before they became more commonly known.”

“…Well, this sure is a weight off our shoulders, then.”

Limis hasn’t cast any spells in a blue moon, and as she stumbles a bit, she picks up the claws of the fallen bear. The long, bloodied talons give her the creeps; they look like the blades of some sort of cursed sword.

“If this is ursine territory, then there probably aren’t any other monsters around… At least, I can’t imagine anything more powerful inhabiting this place.”

“Let’s take the body and return to the village.”

Toudou touches the beast’s corpse, still warm, and deposits it into her magic-item storage.

She takes a look around, but there isn’t a trace of any human sacrifices—only the ursine’s blood and remnants of the battle.

“…Yes, let’s head back. We need to report this.”

“…Right.”

Toudou stares at the small altar for some time before nodding at Aria’s prompting.

The moment the party returns, they notice a change in the atmosphere back at the village. However, it’s not a good change.

The mood was dark when they first visited the village, but now, upon returning, it’s even grimmer.

The villagers’ eyes go wide as they pass Toudou and her party. They look genuinely shocked.

“Did something happen?” she wonders aloud.

“…Let’s pay the headman a visit. He should be waiting for us there,” replies Aria.

The party hurries to the headman’s house. If they’re not quick, they might not be in time to stop the preparations for the sacrifice.

They arrive at last at the headman’s residence at the end of the village. It’s a small abode—hardly enough to be called an estate.

The villagers have surrounded the house from a distance, peering over as if here to observe the situation.

When Toudou looks toward them, they collectively cast their gazes to the ground. Their behavior is suspicious, but in a different way from when they first visited.

The thick door opens as soon as they knock on it. Peering through the gap is a young girl the party has never seen before, probably around the same age as Limis, but her dark-brown hair and alabaster-white skin belie the fact that she’s just a village girl. Her eyes are red, like rubies, but it’s a different part of her that attracts more attention.

It’s her ears, which droop from the sides of her head—clearly not human. The girl isn’t bothered by Toudou’s gaze and beams at her before turning back around. Her long skirt, extending below her knees, rustles gently.

“Gramps! Toudou’s back!”

“Gramps…?”

At her call, the village headman appears from the rear of the house. His appearance hasn’t changed from when he first explained the conditions of the sacrifice to Toudou, but his eyes are shockingly lifeless. He looks at Toudou suspiciously for a little while before quickly jerking his head up.

Before the headman begins speaking, the young girl takes Toudou by the arm and leads her into the house. It’s just the headman, the young girl, Toudou, and her party inside.

The sun is high in the sky. If they hurry, they should still be able to descend the mountain today.

“Toudou, we are eternally grateful to you. It was…my turn to head up to the peak today…”

“Not at all… I only did what I could.”

“Ideally, I would like to offer you some form of thanks… But there’s nothing in this village…”

“The ursine’s body will fetch a high price as materials. You don’t need to worry,” Aria answers. She’s been staring at the headman, who still looks unwell, for some time.

The young girl must have noticed Aria staring. She would have been the next to be sacrificed. The headman’s young relative slaps him on the shoulder. He looks terrified, his whole body shuddering.

“Hey, Gramps! Tell them ‘Thank you,’ too!”

“…I-indeed. We are deeply indebted to you.”

Toudou watches the two of them doubtfully, but the young girl’s sweet smile wins her over. She must be very thankful—after all, she was the one set to be sacrificed.

“Well then, we’re actually in quite a hurry, so…”

“Yes. I pray for a successful journey for you and your party.” The young girl folds her hands and fingers together in prayer as she responds.

The group leaves the village and heads down the mountain path.

Toudou recalls their experience as she cuts down the monsters that stand in their way.

“…What a weird place,” she grumbles.

“…Yes, I agree…”

The village was small, but it left them feeling more uncomfortable than any other place the party had visited before.

Limis, who’s been quiet so far, lets out a sigh of relief. The image of the young girl, bound for sacrifice, is burned into her memory.

“…She was a werebeast, that girl.”

“Yes, it’s certainly rare to see one in a place like that.”

She had droopy, downturned ears and a cheery expression that was out of character for that particular village.

Werebeasts are not the target of any specific discrimination according to the Kingdom of Ruxe’s laws.

That said, they don’t face direct discrimination, but they are quite rare to behold. There’s also the fact that many of them have sided with the Demon Lord’s army.

The party didn’t expect to see a werebeast, a rarity even in the royal capital, all the way in this far-flung place.

“She said she was a relative of the village headman… But seriously, what a rarity. She must be mixed race somewhere down the line.”

“They didn’t even look anything alike.”

From age alone, they looked like grandfather and granddaughter, but the physical resemblance just wasn’t there.

Amelia must have been thinking the same thing—she nods emphatically.

“She has to be a mixed-blood wererabbit. Out of all the werebeast breeds, they have the smallest number under the Demon Lord’s control.”

“Wow, really?”

“They’re mostly of timid spirit, and they dislike conflict. Which is why they’re not quick to side with the Demon Lord, nor with humankind…”

“Also… They’re known for their stunning appearance and as symbols of peace,” Limis chimes in.

Hearing this, Toudou recalls the young girl. Her slender frame and innocent smile couldn’t be more removed from conflict, that’s for sure.

Surely she must be considered a heretic back in that village. That could have easily been the reason she was next up for sacrifice.

Toudou continues to ponder this for some time before saying in the cheeriest tone she can muster, “…In that case, we need to hurry on ahead for her sake, too.”

“Once we’re through the mountains, we can use the carriage. That won’t leave long until we arrive at Cloudburst.”

Toudou takes one last look behind her: the cloudless sky, the towering mountains.

Not even a glimpse of the village is visible.

Rabi Chatre waits for Toudou to disappear from view completely before letting out a sigh.

“I can’t stand any of this!”

“Eep…!”

The village headman yelps and falls over, then looks at the villagers now surrounding Rabi. A number of them have their bows aimed at her.

But it’s futile. She may not be very physically capable, but she’s not so weak that an amateur’s arrow would ever pierce her.

Rabi sneers, something she never did when pretending to be the young girl for sacrifice, and spits out her words.

“This village is pathetic. Using a monster like that… Is this what they mean by ‘The older, the wiser’?”

“N-no… I…”

“I knew all along. There are barely any children here, yes? Who would dare to suggest sacrificing a young girl?”

The headman has no answer. There’s nothing he can say to Rabi, who killed the same kind of beast that has murdered so many mercenaries looking to get their revenge and then dragged its massive head back to the village. The face of the creature that died without knowing just what hit it is burned into the back of the headman’s mind.

The fact that Rabi doesn’t even look strong at all is the most terrifying part.

Amelia, who was surveying the village, returns and states matter-of-factly, “I found an underground storehouse. Inside are what I believe to be the personal effects of those sacrificed.”

Rabi nods in understanding and leans toward the headman, locking eyes with him.

An ursine is a ferocious magical beast, but they have no practice that demands human sacrifice, nor are they inherently malicious.

The one that attacked Rabi in the middle of the night was three times the size of the one she left behind for Toudou to fight, and it was the same breed. The fact that the entire sacrifice story was a bluff is now obvious.

Otherwise, why else would they mention it to anyone who visited their village?

“Well, I had a pretty good idea of what was going on when there weren’t any personal items left behind in the ursine’s den.”

A mercenary’s equipment is valuable. You could easily build an estate or two off a single item, depending on the type. Mercenaries always carry weapons and often precious stones, which don’t even take up much space. That alone is reason enough for people to prey upon one another. There’s nary a mercenary weaker than the average villager, but if there are any powerful beasts around that can finish the job, that’s an entirely different story.

To add it all up, there’s no way that a monster demanding sacrifices from a village just happened to be lying in wait on the Holy Warrior’s path. Human malice is far more prevalent in comparison.

Rabi’s questioning is quite simple, and the village headman replies, trembling, “P-please forgive me. It was just a spur-of-the-moment decision…”

She puts her index finger to her mouth, contemplating.

“…Certainly…the truly culpable one here is the magical beast, and under the law of the Kingdom, we can’t quite charge them with any crimes.”

In reality, a traveler getting lost on their path is a daily occurrence. Without any witnesses, this incident would never have come to light.

There’s a glint in the village headman’s eyes as Rabi explains. He lowers his head down to the ground in supplication, a pitiful expression on his face.

“Y-yes, that’s right! I beg of you. I’ll give you everything we collected. Somehow…please forgive us this time…”

Rabi looks pensive for a few moments before finally grinning.

“Hmmmm…………… No.”

“…Wha—?!”

The village headman is dumbfounded. His head cocks unnaturally on its axis before tumbling to the ground. A few seconds later, almost like a delayed reaction, blood gushes forth from his neck.

Suddenly, Rabi is holding a nearly foot-long hatchet in her hand.

His disembodied head rolls on the ground. Amelia grimaces as she looks on in astonishment.

“You certainly didn’t…hesitate.”

“Recovering the victims’ personal effects is a given—the dead have no use for them. These people will harbor grudges, so I’ll have to cut our losses. Unlike Sanya, I’m timid, so I don’t intend to leave even a scrap behind for fear of what the future might bring. Even if…these people aren’t particularly strong.”

Rabi left the smaller ursine behind to gauge the Holy Warrior’s abilities, and also because she knew that Toudou might stay in this area for an unforeseeable amount of time if he couldn’t find anything.

Rabi knows her own weaknesses. She’s far weaker than Sanya in terms of physical strength and intuition. Sanya’s strong; that’s what makes her and Rabi different. Rabi has to be stealthy in order to survive. She has to leverage her lovable appearance and tremble like the weakling she is in order to throw her enemy off their guard. In other words, the “fury” in “Lightning Fury” means an absolute assassin.

The crowd cries out, and an arrow flies toward her. Its aim is way off, but Rabi smashes it to bits with her hatchet regardless, then flies at her next trembling prey.

Now that she’s shown them who she is, she can’t leave a single witness behind.

The only disadvantage is that it’s not a simple substitute for mermaid armor—it’s an entire set of armor and can’t be easily worn or removed alone. Once it’s been equipped, the outer attachments need to be removed by a second party before the entire thing can be taken off.

Merman armor—that’s the name of this bizarrely imposing piece of equipment. I’m already sick of it.

“I love how you look in it, Ares,” says Amelia with narrowed eyes as I remove the fish-head part of the armor.

Next, Rabi chimes in, and I can’t tell if she’s being serious or stirring up shit.

“Boss, you won’t have anything to feel embarrassed about in that outfit. If anything, you might get attacked by accident—”

Sanya is still laughing.

I manage to remove my legs from the bottom half of the merman armor—a painstaking ordeal, thanks in part to the fact that I’m wearing my robe underneath. That said, I should probably be grateful the wearer doesn’t have to be completely naked under it like with the mermaid armor. That would be even more of a hassle.

The merman armor is dripping wet and smells like raw fish. The fact that it’s completely airtight is my only savior.

The top half of the armor lies in the sand, casting a gaping, vacant gaze my way.

“I’m going to go speak with Zolan… Sanya, clean this up, will you?”

“Um, boss?! This won’t fit in my bag! Are you telling me to carry it all the way back?”

This merman armor is definitely the kind of thing I was looking for: a magic item that allows me to move around in the ocean. But it’s not exactly what I was expecting.

—“I was deeply moved by yer passion.”

When I requested a male version of the mermaid armor from Zolan, he responded as if he was speaking to one of his own brethren, eyes narrowed.

—“Until now, I’ve only made mermaid armor for the ladies to wear. I was happy just havin’ ’em wear my creations. But perhaps I’ve been mistaken all this time.”

His voice was filled with emotion. It was all just complete bullshit from a crazy old geezer, but I listened in silence and nodded along.

So long as I could get what I wanted, I’d listen to his griping.

—“You’re right, Ares Crown. I knew it all along, but I’d never met a man of conviction such as yerself, and so I was mistaken. I was foolin’ myself. Just like ya said…I wanna see ’em, too—the beautiful ladies, wearing my mermaid armor! Under the sea!”

Oh shit. This guy’s all mixed up; I’m just not getting through to him.

I’d all but given up when Zolan began to scream with delight.

“That’s why I changed my mind. As a result, I’ve created this! Ares, spare yourself from throwing away yer dignity! I got just the thing fer you in yer quest to become a mermaid! Please take it now! It’s my ultimate masterpiece, only one of its kind in the entire world—something every young man has been eagerly waiting for… Behold, merman armoooorrr!!”

And that’s how I became a merman.

Not that I chose this method, but in what world does a priest provide support for the hero dressed as a merman?!

The armor covers my entire body, allowing me to protect my identity, but when Toudou looked my way when we were underwater, he seemed like he was face-to-face with a monster. I’m not Rabi, but even I would’ve made the same mistake in Toudou’s shoes.

I storm into Zolan’s shop and he greets me with a smile stretching from ear to ear.

Somehow, against the odds, Zolan now seems to think of me—in my merman armor—as a fellow pervert who wants to chase after Amelia and the others in their bikinis. Did any of my behavior give him that impression when we spoke?

“What’s the matter, Ares? Somethin’ wrong with the merman armor?”

“Yeah. The way it looks.”

“Heh… Pretty cool, right?”

Zolan contorts his lips in a crooked smile. Is this the kind of thing he’s into? I at least wanted it to look a bit more humanlike.

However, that’s not the topic at hand today. I do wish he would improve the armor’s appearance as well as the method for putting it on and taking it off, but that’s for a different time.

I recall what Toudou looked like during our encounter on the ocean floor. I was some distance away, but he didn’t appear to be struggling. He must have been wearing the mermaid armor.

“I’ve seen Toudou underwater. It appears the mermaid armor still functions even with armor worn over it…”

I have to make sure, just for the record. Zolan didn’t seem to be lying. In any case, telling us that mermaid armor loses all functionality if worn underneath armor is the top kind of lie that would quickly be exposed. Zolan wouldn’t do something so meaningless.

Zolan’s expression is stern. He scowls and crosses his arms, closing his eyes in thought for a few minutes.

When he opens them again, the energy that had been filling the room just before has completely dissipated.

“…It’s just a theory, but Toudou’s armor’s gotta be custom-made. No one understands the properties of mermaid armor better than I do. There hasn’t been a single example of it working when worn under clothing or armor.”

Zolan’s tone is dark, and he sighs deeply.

Toudou’s armor, the holy armor Fried, was obtained by a previous Holy Warrior, just like his holy sword Ex. It’s the hardest armor in this world, and only the Holy Warrior can equip it. It is a veritable gift from God. It stands to reason that it has previously unidentified powers.

This is a blessing in disguise. I don’t want to see Mermaid Toudou, and if he can wear his armor, that only increases his safety.

It’s possible that Toudou decided to wear the mermaid armor because he knew he could equip his armor over the top.

However, as I convince myself that this is all probable, Zolan continues in his dark tone.

“Ya’ve got every right to be angry, Ares.”

“No, as long as I know the reason why, then it’s fine.”

“My apologies. Yeh went so far as to disguise yerself as a monster just so ya could get a glimpse of some mermaids… Just dreadful!”

“?????”

This old fart has truly lost it. I’m not dressed up like a monster to go ogle a bunch of mermaids! Anyway, Toudou having to wear a bikini is the real tragedy here. At least make another suit of merman armor for Toudou…… Can’t the hero be dressed as a merman, too?!

“Just…leave it to me! I swear on my life that I, Zolan, magic-item creator, will render that armor useless! We can’t establish a precedent!”

Zolan bangs on the counter and lets out a pained howl.

Why is he getting so worked up about this of all things? This is perfectly fine. It’s far more convenient if Toudou can wear his armor.

I decide to let Zolan’s espousing go. I don’t give a shit, and there’s something else I want to ask.

“One more thing—when I had the merman armor on, a group of mermen gathered around…and they were worshipping me…”

Back at the inn, Amelia—who was preparing materials to submit to the Church’s headquarters—looks up and asks me, “How did it go?”

“As expected…”

Merman armor was made to deceive everyone and everything. It will even fool mermen themselves.

And Zolan was proud of this. This world is pure madness.

It’s certainly a benefit that merman armor allows one to move through the water. However, the side effect of luring monsters toward the wearer is a different story altogether. If that ends up affecting Toudou and his party, it’ll defeat the whole purpose.

“Boss, we should be sufficient in terms of protection,” says Rabi, her hood pulled way down over her face, as always. “Judging from the information we’ve gathered in Cloudburst and Sanya’s experience going underwater, there won’t be any seriously tough monsters. The appropriate level to defeat them might be around thirty, at most. The sunken temple is complex, and the ocean’s greatest threats, gigantic monster types, can’t even enter—not without destroying any of the structure itself, that is.”

“There is a chance you won’t be able to wear any armor. Are you still confident?”

“…I’ve always worn just a single layer of clothing. The same goes for Sanya.”

She has a point. Sanya is tough as nails, and if Rabi—who’s supposedly even tougher—comes along, there should be no problems in terms of combat strength.

I initially intended to hold down the fort anyway. I ought to prevent any unfortunate accidents.

Amelia chimes in, sounding perplexed.

“However… Ares, you said those mermen surrounded you—where did they come from, I wonder?”

“The ocean’s a big place.”

Mermen inhabit every corner of it. You hear stories of them all along the coast, and people hate any aquatic monster that can function on land even for short periods of time. Apparently, mermen form colonies, and if you see one, then that means a hundred are lying in wait, or so they say.

“It’s precisely because the ocean is so vast that for them to have swarmed you so quickly on a single test dive sounds…quite rare to me. Ares, you truly are unlucky…”

I instantly resent the look of pity that Amelia gives me. Yet, thinking about it, she’s right.

Even though I was wearing the merman armor, should they really have converged around me so quickly right after I dived in? Maybe one of their colonies was close by? Well, Toudou was nearby as well, so there’s also a chance that he’s the unlucky one…

“……You’re right. Okay, I’ll try going down there again tonight.”

“…Huh?! But why…? Are you going to wear that again?”

Sheesh—I don’t want to put it on, either. But there’s still time.

If there’s a merman colony close by, we should annihilate it straightaway. Best to be on the safe side.

Sanya has just returned from doing some additional surveying outside, and when I tell her of my plans, she grins and says, “Huh?! Wait, that sounds like so much fun! I’ll go with you!”

“…I doubt there will be any fun involved.”

The beach is deserted again. In the pitch darkness, only the scent of the saltwater lingers.

If anyone showed up now, we’d have a hell of a time explaining ourselves. Any man caught wandering the beach in a merman costume (well, it’s really closer to armor) would be labeled as a freak.

After I equip the merman armor, Amelia looks at me with a different gaze than usual and asks again, “…Ares, do you really intend to go down there?”

“I’m just going for a quick dip.”

“……You better come right back to this spot! You won’t be able to take it off yourself, so if you don’t come back, you’ll be a merman for life—got it?!”

Don’t say something so terrifying!

If worse comes to worst, I’ll just destroy this stupid suit. I’m good at destroying things. Probably even more so than fixing things!

I swing my mace—Wrath of God—a few times through the air. There’s no way to tell what god is angry right now. To be honest, I don’t even know who I should unleash my wrath on.

“In that case, Ares, we’ll be in regular contact while you’re down there.”

“Of course.”

Sanya is looking at me, full of excitement.

Rabi remains silent and turns her cheek, quivering slightly, away from me. She’s smirking, isn’t she?!

I enter the water silently; it’s quiet down here. The sky is cloudy tonight, and not even the light of the moon reaches the ocean floor. Nonetheless, it’s teeming with life. I walk through the swaying seaweed and past schools of small fish.

Perhaps the ocean floor is home to many nocturnal creatures, because the water is full of them right now. Due to my intimidating appearance, however, none of them look my way, and instead they flee in the opposite direction.

The current is strong, and the ocean floor is largely void of landmarks. If I get lost, I might never find my way back.

Seriously, I am so glad I sold off Stey when I could. There’s no way I could handle her going rogue down here.

With that on my mind, I push off a large boulder and swim around slowly, taking in my surroundings. Nothing in particular seems awry.

I roam listlessly along the ocean floor for a while, but I don’t see any mermen.

That said, the ocean is immensely vast. It’s probably due to being underwater, but I have trouble sensing any nearby presences. Perhaps earlier was just a coincidence?

Just as I waver on whether to call off the dive, I hear a voice coming down from above me.

“Ah, there he is! Hey, monster man!”

I swing my head around and look up. Sanya is waving at me with a smile.

I try to rub my eyes, but the eyes on my suit are on the sides of my head—for decoration only—and my actual eyes are in the suit’s mouth. Nothing doing.

Sanya paddles through the water with outstretched arms and legs and swims toward me at a decent clip. Her tail acts as a perfect rudder, veering left and right as she approaches. Not that I care, but she definitely doesn’t look like a mermaid.

Following after her, a swarm of mermen runs along the ocean floor, spears in their hands. There’s a ton of them.

Is this fun for her? The hell is she doing?!

Fascinated, Sanya swims down to me in her perfect doggy paddle. The mermen following behind her notice me and stop dead in their tracks. The ones at the front come to a sudden stop, and all the mermen behind them trip over one another.

That’s odd… I told Sanya to stay put, didn’t I? Also, I’m not a “monster man.”

Sanya lands in front of me and raises both hands in the air with a smile. Seriously, she looks like she’s having the time of her life.

“What are you doing here?”

“Boss, you stick out like a sore thumb. You’re super intimidating. Even with dulled senses underwater, I still picked you out instantly. You look like the king of the mermen. But I’d rather you not talk with that thing on—it’s terrifying.”

“And what about watching over Amelia, like I asked you to?”

“Rabi’s there with her. She’ll be fine.”

This chick just does whatever the hell she pleases, doesn’t she? What kind of shitty subordinate directly disobeys commands?

The mermen stare at Sanya and me in bewilderment. It turns out I’d seen only a small fraction of their total numbers.

The mermen expand their range instantly and surround Sanya and me. There are so many of them. I can’t even feign to begin counting how many.

It’s as if the ocean floor itself is wriggling. Only their eyes give off a disgusting glint.

“What did you do?!”

“…I was just swimming, and they followed me. What can I say? I’m popular.”

She’s right that the mermen seem to be interested in her alone. Their emotionless eyes are focused on her limbs.

“…Well, mermen are known for kidnapping the females of other species…either to eat or to reproduce with…”

They’re a bit like goblins or orcs in nature—if they interbreed with a different species, then whatever offspring they produce will supposedly be even stronger. Personality aside, Sanya’s appearance and abilities are top-notch. For these mermen, she’s a first-rate trophy.

“…Ewww. You gotta be kidding me…”

Sanya makes a face and crosses her arms to hide her chest, staring at the mermen surrounding us.

Anyone would react that way… Suddenly, I have a great idea.

“With these numbers…there must be a colony nearby. Maybe if they capture you, they’ll lead us to it?”

We’re up against mermen, after all—I can annihilate as many of them as needed. Even if an evolved type or subspecies appears, it’d be a cakewalk for me.

Sanya’s bare shoulders shudder in disgust.

“……Y’know, boss, there are some things you just shouldn’t say.”

“…”

As they surround us, the mermen tighten their circle to the maximum. They don’t seem keen to attack. From their perspective, I’m a mysterious, unidentified merman who took some prey they were after. They aren’t attacking me, despite their advantage in number, because of my larger size—or perhaps because they think I’m one of them.

With this many mermen in my path, it might be a challenge to obliterate every last one of them. Actually…maybe I can just intimidate them into freezing in their tracks?

Yet this overwhelming number almost certainly means that a colony exists—maybe even multiple colonies. I would ideally like to slay them all right here in one fell swoop, but this is absurd…

I remain silent, but Sanya is swaying back and forth nervously. She actually seems flustered.

“Um, boss, you’re kidding, right? Right? Even if I’m a mercenary, there are certain things you just shouldn’t order people to do!! Do you understand that?!”

“…I’m only kidding. I can’t have you filing a complaint with my superiors. I still have a use for you.”

“When you say it like that…”

In the next moment, a merman one whole size bigger than the rest emerges from the swarm.

His arms are thicker than the others’ and he holds a razor-sharp golden trident. An ancient-looking necklace adorns his neck.

As with goblins, these types of unintelligent demi-human monsters are defined by their sociality. Typically, a single boss commands the group with authority. They’re always easy to determine if you look closely—a pronounced difference in body size, equipment, and certain facial features. I’d bet this one is the most eminent of the bunch.

Even though the leader is a whole size bigger than his cohorts, I’m still taller in my merman costume.

The merman leader cries out. I have no idea where the crazed voice is coming from.

It could be spoken language, but even though I may look like a merman, I can’t understand it at all.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I raise my mace and decimate the merman leader in front of the horde.

The merman didn’t even have a chance to wield his magnificent trident before erupting into a cloud of red mist and viscera.

“Whoa! Boss, you’re the worst…”

“The appropriate level to defeat him was between fifty and fifty-five. He would have been tough, for a merman…”

I’m the industrious type. If there’s no specific reason not to, I kill all my enemies as quickly as possible.

We’re up against mermen right now, and they’re bound to be more adept at fighting underwater than we are. But that doesn’t matter if you kill them where they stand. Eliminating the boss throws the rest of the group into chaos. As I predicted, the mermen—with their leader now dead—cry out simultaneously.

Sanya slides behind me to shield herself—which is pointless, because we’re surrounded on all sides.

“This is the first time I’ve ever felt bad for a monster.”

“You fight, too!”

“What’ll I do if I get hurt?”

“I’m a priest, dammit. I can heal your arm, even if it gets ripped off.”

As we exchange light banter, I lord over the mermen. Sanya now turns her back to mine, keeping an eye on my rear.

The mermen’s cries reach a crescendo. Normal mermen would have already let their rage take over and attacked, but maybe it’s because I’m a merman myself that they don’t even try to come at me. I brandish my mace in their faces, but they don’t seem keen to escape, either.

Just what are they thinking…? Countless unfeeling eyes are focused on me, but I can’t see rancor or despair in them.

Not that I give a damn about a monster’s feelings, but…maybe this is all part of a strategy?

If I can’t eliminate the entire colony, at the very least I want to kill every merman present. Where should I cut through their defenses? As I furrow my brow inside the sweltering costume, the entire horde of mermen lets go of their weapons simultaneously.

They all kneel, and some begin to fall prostrate. They aren’t highly poised by any means, nor are they all in formation, but it is unmistakable that they are bowing to me. Their heads are all toward me, defenseless, as they grovel in the sand with both hands on the ocean floor.

So even mermen bow down to their leaders…

“…Boss, this is amazing! You’ve reduced an unintelligent species to worshipping you…”

I sensed an aura of respect from the mermen I encountered last night, too, but they didn’t bow in my presence.

This merman armor looks ridiculous…but the effects are incredible. Zolan, that cheeky bastard… He really is a genius, after all.

Bow to me all you want—I’m not gonna let a single one of you leave here alive.

“Hey, hey, I’ve got a great idea. Boss, what if you gave up the priesthood and became a merman king? There are so many of ’em, I bet you could unify the entire population.”

“……I never thought of that.”

“Wha—?! Eek!”

Sanya cries out, but I pay her no mind, instead whirling around to grab her and hold her up for all the mermen to see with my left arm and brandishing my mace with my right.

“RAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!”

I let loose a scream with all my might. I can’t make the same noises as an actual merman, so it’s really just for show.

However, I think they get my drift. The mermen all look up at me and begin to applaud loudly. Their distorted cheers echo through the water, forming a massive wave that spreads across the ocean. In this moment, I truly have become the merman king.

I still have Sanya pinned under my arm, using her as bait, and she stammers, her face twitching. “H-hey, boss… You sure you don’t wanna rethink this? I mean, I’ll still do what you ask of me and all, but…shouldn’t we focus on more humanlike targets? You’ll be sick of eating fish before you know it.”

This chick really likes pushing my buttons. Just like Amelia, I can never tell if she’s being serious or sarcastic.

The mass of mermen writhes and opens up a path, almost as if the ocean floor has been split in two. I take a step forward, still holding Sanya under my arm.

“……You shall be my sacrifice. Heh-heh-heh… Mwa-ha-ha… Silverwolf… You will prove an excellent broodmare in helping the merman race to flourish!!”

“Holy crap! Boss, you’re terrifying me!! Boss?! Um, boss?! Have you forgotten that you’re only acting like a merman?! Hey! Your scales are scratching me, and it hurts!! Boss!!”

“…Are you sure you’re okay? Ever since you went underwater to test the magic item, you’ve looked really stiff.”

“…Mm, I’m okay now. There’s no use worrying about me anyway.”

Aria offers a few words of concern, and Toudou nods, her expression dark.

It’s been a number of days since her chance encounter with the massive monster under the sea, but she’s still not feeling like herself.

It’s not from a sense of fear, however—it’s bewilderment. She’s put her life on the line in battle thus far. She was deathly afraid of the undead, but she overcame it. There is no reason that Toudou should be so frazzled by the slightly powerful enemy she saw.

Yet nonetheless…as Aria waits in silence for a response, Toudou continues. It sounds like she’s making excuses.

“I mean, I feel like I’ve grown a lot on our journey, too…but I just can’t…see how I’m gonna beat this one.”

Their eyes met for only an instant, but the merman’s figure remains freshly ingrained in Toudou’s mind.

Ever since, Toudou has gone over in her head how she would fight this creature, but she ends up killed each and every time, at a loss for what to do. Of course, since she fled so quickly from the water, she saw the merman king attacking the other mermen for only an instant.

There’s no way to know how accurate her imagined battles against the merman king are. Yet, based on her leveling up and her experience, Toudou’s capacity to gauge difference in strength has grown more precise.

It’s highly out of the ordinary for her to remain this out of sorts even after checking that difference multiple times.

“Was it really that bad…? Mermen aren’t a particularly strong race. Sure, they’re much larger than we are, but given the time we spent battling in Golem Valley—although brief—they shouldn’t be very tough—”

“I dunno how to describe it, but…he just felt different. Maybe he was some kind of demon…”

“…But it was unmistakably a merman, right?”

“Uh-huh. Definitely a merman.”

Toudou nods immediately, and Aria furrows her brow.

All demons are superior beings compared with humans, but even the word demon itself indicates a wide range as well.

In this current age of the Demon Lord’s menace, the appearance of any sort of powerful demon becomes quickly known far and wide—even among commoners without combat experience, much less Toudou, the Holy Warrior. There can’t be that many possibilities as to who this merman being is.

Aria and her clan know a great deal about demons. She’s been taught the names of those that have sided with the Demon Lord, along with their powers and what they look like. There aren’t any merman-like demons among them.

“Since we don’t have any information on him, maybe he’s a rogue demon…? That much is possible, but…having said that, the entire ocean has fallen into the Demon Lord’s army’s hands by now.”

“Oh yeah… You mentioned a sea demon, right?”

Aria nods in response to Toudou.

The demon controlling the ocean, Heljarl, is famous for his cunning intellect and brutish personality. Most of all, his power to freely command the various ocean-dwelling monsters that have historically remained out of sight beneath the surface has left humanity landlocked.

“Heljarl is really the only sea demon out there… But I’ve heard he’s not a merman.”

“Hmm…”

That means all that Toudou knows is that a powerful, unidentified demon-like monster now inhabits the coast.

Toudou is about to withdraw into thought when Limis, who’s been listening to the conversation all this time, suddenly claps her hands. She sounds exasperated as she changes the subject.

“Oh come on, you two! Aria, Nao, you both look so depressed—I realize there’s a powerful monster in our midst, but we should really be focused on forming an elemental spirit covenant, yes?”

In the time the party has spent chatting while walking along, they are now drawing near to Cloudburst’s port.

Toudou squints against the salty wind. The blue sky is translucent, the water’s surface calm. Aside from how tiny the moored boats are against the massive scale of the port, the peaceful seascape reaches every corner of her vision.

The party has come here to check the procedures involved before actually establishing a covenant with a water elemental spirit. Any spirits close to the beach are low ranking, but they can at least use this as a chance to verify the steps leading up to the actual covenant.

Toudou is still not herself, and Limis pats her on the back before continuing emphatically.

“Besides, the place where you ran into the merman was pretty far from the sunken temple, right? He’s probably back into deeper waters by now, and even if he shows up again, we’ll all be with you next time. We’ll at least be able to distract him and get away. I’m here, and so are Aria and Glacia.”

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

“I’m concerned as well, but we probably shouldn’t think too hard about it. If he was an operative of the Demon Lord…he wouldn’t have let you, all alone under the sea, escape so easily.”

Aria is exactly right. If Toudou was attacked back there, she isn’t confident that she would have been able to escape. That’s how much of a difference in power she felt. It’s because of her experiences thus far that she realized just how strong that merman was.

“Heh-heh… Mermen are pretty dumb to begin with, and even if we had to fight him, I’m sure we’d manage, don’t you think?”

Limis chuckles and looks at Toudou with her translucent blue eyes.

With that, Toudou once again sees the figure of the merman, obliterating his own followers, in her mind’s eye.

She has a point… He definitely didn’t seem very smart.

Aria and Limis stare at Toudou; even the generally indifferent Glacia is looking at her inquisitively. Finally, Toudou slaps herself on both cheeks and psyches herself up once again.

It still doesn’t make any sense, but Toudou’s not the type to remain down in the dumps for long. She can’t keep showing her unease in the face of her companions, either.

Toudou feels like a brand-new girl as she takes in a deep breath.

“…Okay! No use thinking about it. Limis, explain to me how this covenant stuff works.”

Even if defeating the Demon Lord is still far off for the Holy Warrior’s party, they’ll continue to move forward, step-by-step. There’s no doubt about that.

“The sea is vast, Amelia. So very vast…”

Amelia’s boss likes to say meaningless things from time to time. He might be tired.

She responds by slapping her forehead and frowning.

Detection magic is difficult to wield, but when it comes to tracking Ares, Amelia’s magic is flawless. She can detect his responses far beyond her normal detection range—even at the bottom of the sea.

“This is unreal; there are tons of them. What?! It’s not only mermen. Is this…a temple? Amelia, give me my location.”

“…You are approximately fifty kilometers northeast of the sunken temple.”

“So this must be a different place. It’s not a temple… What the…?! Why have they settled this close to the shore? It’s ancient. Ruins, maybe? Did they make these half-destroyed ruins their stronghold?”

“Ummm… Perhaps you should tone it down a notch? Why are you getting so worked up?”

Rabi stands motionless on the beach and watches as Amelia reports to Ares.

“I-in any case, Ares, this is beside the point—”

“Wait, wait—there’s a school of giant fish. They’re in immaculate formation. Why are there so many? Do mermen have such an intricate social hierarchy? Eliminating every last one of them through brute force will be tough. I’ll have to think hard about this one.”

Ares is speaking quietly, but he can’t mask his brimming enthusiasm. And even though he’s on the dangerous ocean floor, he doesn’t sound nervous at all.

“I’ll beat them down all at once. But…it will take time. Amelia, I’m temporarily releasing you from your post. Watch after Toudou and his party and report to Creio. And keep in contact with me as usual, too.”

“Huh…? But… J-just how do you expect to make your way back to us…?” she responds, completely taken aback—she thought Ares despised the merman armor.

“I’m putting Sanya in charge of navigation, since she disobeyed my orders and followed me here.”

Amelia hadn’t realize Sanya was gone until Ares had already been underwater for a while. He’s gone soft now that Stey, who disobeys commands without even realizing it, has left. It shouldn’t come as a shock that Sanya, a scout, would be able to disappear without leaving behind a trace.

Amelia starts to respond before realizing that the line has been cut from Ares’s end. She sighs deeply and clicks her tongue.

“…Tsk. He hung up.”

She could call him back, but chances are he’ll just hang up again. Amelia slumps her shoulders and inhales deeply, mumbling, “Look at him, having a real ball down there by himself… So unfair.”

The mermaid armor for Rabi and Amelia will be ready soon, but they can’t dive down to follow Toudou just yet—they have no idea what shenanigans he’ll get up to next. And should that happen on their watch, Ares might be disappointed with them.

Rabi remains motionless and silent, waiting for Amelia to speak. Unlike Sanya, for better or worse, Rabi keeps still unless commanded otherwise.

“Ares will not return for some time. When he does, we’ll be back on schedule to continue supporting Toudou and his party. Until he returns, I will be supervising all activities as his representative. Rabi, please take over lookout duties for Sanya.”

“…Understood, boss.”

Rabi nods briefly. They can’t afford to just sit around because their leader is at the bottom of the sea.

Fighting them on a ship might change things, but this is the ocean floor—it’s an extreme burden.

However, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Giant sea monsters can’t enter this building.

Heljarl himself is undoubtedly powerful, but this hall will limit his speed and range of motion.

I need to take him by surprise and finish him off here and now. Then I’ll take the bounty money and hire another two hundred and fifty sets of Rabis and Sanyas.

Sanya finally stops writhing and stares quietly. She must be processing the situation in front of her.

I follow her lead, gauging the power level of the enemies in front of us. Just then, one of the seadragon knights guarding Heljarl opens his mouth.

“Such impudence! Kneel before the supreme ruler of the oceans!”

Everyone has their full attention on me. At this rate, it will be impossible to destroy Heljarl alone. Even if I do find a split-second opening, I’ll be forced to take on every one of his guards lying in wait. Best to keep a low profile for now.

If they flee, we will not follow. The only thing we have going for us is the fact that they haven’t noticed I’m human—yet.

It’s hard to believe a demon would be fooled by this costume… What the hell is going on here?! I’ll have to get Zolan to make me another set of this armor.

Heljarl raises his hands, cool and composed, halting the seadragon knight’s speech. His razor-sharp claws glint in the light.

“No matter. He has exceptional battle prowess for a merman. Surely he must have been through some serious bloodshed.”

There’s about to be even more bloodshed…but it’s okay. This is fine. I’m even starting to enjoy this merman charade.

—I hereby proclaim: In the name of the God of Order, Ahz Gried…I will destroy you.

Heljarl’s voice is oddly calm in the face of a suspicious merman. I even feel an inkling of trust.

“We must show respect for his devotion to his craft. Merman warrior—what is your name?”

There’s no way I’m telling him my real name. I doubt they’ve even heard of me, but if I were to count every instance where I’ve given my name since starting this quest to defeat the Demon Lord, it would only be the two times I fought against demon kind. Better safe than sorry.

Stephenne Veronide— No…

“My name is Gregorio Legins.”

And I’ll kill you. Out Crusade third rank, the “Mad Eater” Gregorio Legins, will take you down.

“Hmm… Gregorio, is it? A fine name.”

“…I believe I’ve heard his name somewhere, my liege.”

A seadragon knight next to Heljarl cocks his head quizzically. Are you serious? Why the hell would a dragonewt living on the ocean floor have heard of Gregorio?!

“…It is a common name.”

“Well, no bother. Right now, we should simply be thankful that a new warrior has joined our ranks.”

Heljarl sits on his throne and smiles at me. Two guards stand at his side, protecting him. I’ll wait for the perfect chance. Rushing things will only cause my downfall. I want to get information out of him first, if possible.

I want to know his motivations. What is Heljarl doing in a place like this?

The entire ocean is his domain. The power as puppet master over all the monsters in the ocean is formidable, but thus far, that’s applied only to ocean-bound vessels directly. After gaining control of the oceans, he should be focusing on creating a diversion for the entire ocean kingdom.

What is the point of him being served by mermen and seadragon knights in a place like this? Could this be their actual headquarters?

Cloudburst is the only city nearby. It’s a terrible location for a base of operations, and the building itself is dilapidated.

I re-grip my mace handle tightly and control my breathing before asking Heljarl, “What would you have me do?”

In response, Heljarl strokes the lacquer-black staff in his hands and thinks for a moment.

“Currently, we are gathering military forces. We only need to wait a short while longer before it is time to show the world our power.”

“…What will we be attacking? Ships?”

“Heh-heh… Ha-ha-ha…… Ships? Ships, you say? Mwa-ha…ha-ha-haaa—”

My question was meant to draw out only minimal information, but Heljarl has erupted in maniacal laughter.

His raspy voice echoes throughout the throne room. The seadragon knight guards don’t move a muscle.

Heljarl’s laugh, rife with ridicule, stops abruptly. He points his staff directly at me.

His crimson eyes burn like fire. The seadragon knights all concentrate their gazes on him.

In a voice intoxicated and euphoric, Heljarl announces to his vassals, “We will attack the hero. The last vestige of humanity’s hope, a thorn in Lord Kranos’s side. The one who defeated that filthy vampire and that thickheaded werebeast—I will kill him. Behold! The legend of the King of the Ocean begins now!”

A genius.

Even from Limis’s perspective—she herself born into a distinguished elementalist family, having the most preeminent elementalist in the Kingdom of Ruxe for a father—the young girl Naotsugu Toudou is an absolute genius.

Toudou doesn’t have the knowledge or enough experience. In terms of talent, however, she is exceptional.

A talent for magic comes down to one’s lineage. Mages aren’t created in a single generation. The House of Friedia has also taken multiple generations, over many, many years, to produce a bloodline proficient in the use of sorcery. Limis is a direct descendant of this bloodline in its purest form.

Toudou, on the other hand, inherited such talents through the divine protection of the Eight Spirit Kings.

The raven-haired hero steps into a magic circle that makes spirits visible atop the pier. She is then swathed in a brilliant flash of blue light.

Aria is agog with fascination; in fact, Limis must have the same expression on her face.

The blue light signifies low-ranking water elemental spirits that cannot normally be seen by the naked eye. Due to their proximity to the ocean, these elemental spirits are everywhere, and they’ve approached Naotsugu Toudou, hoping to form a covenant with her.

This amount of affinity with the spirits is almost unheard of for someone not of a line of mages specializing in water elemental spirits.

In terms of talent alone, Toudou clearly outranks Limis. Of course, affinity is only one factor that goes into casting elemental spells, but if any other elementalists were to witness the scene currently unfolding, they’d go mad with jealousy, that’s for certain.

Toudou narrows her eyes and slowly raises her arms in the air. The typically invisible low-ranking water spirits gather in her palms. Even though they haven’t entered a covenant with her yet, they already seem to be obeying her commands.

Toudou has divine protection. This result was expected to happen, but actually watching it unfold in person is incredible.

This is the warrior summoned from another world for the sole purpose of defeating the Demon Lord—the gods’ disciple, a beacon of hope for humanity.

The Holy Warrior.

“Incredible… At this rate, with just a little training, I bet you’ll be able to cast water elemental spells…”

“Uh… Ha-ha… I sure hope so.”

Toudou is not trying to establish a covenant today. Coming in contact with the spirits made her feel as if she were in the middle of a dream, but she comes back to her senses and leaves the circle, running toward Limis, who is standing in sheer awe.

Garnet, who’s been resting on Limis’s shoulder, peers at Toudou keenly. Limis gives her honest opinion.

“At this rate…you might even be able to form a covenant with a high-ranking elemental spirit… Maybe.”

“That’s good to hear… I was really worried you’d say I didn’t have the affinity.”

Affinity is not enough to form a covenant with high-ranking water elemental spirits that possess the kind of will and intent inherent in human beings. Toudou is still an amateur.

However, seeing the magical aura that surrounded her just now, forming a covenant with one seems more than possible.

In fact, when Limis herself was just a child without any real knowledge or magical energy, she formed a covenant with Garnet, something many famous mages failed to do.

Toudou is elated, finally seeing some promise, yet Limis looks at her aimlessly and mumbles, “I have to…try harder, too.”

The primary objective of the party’s journey to Cloudburst is establishing a covenant for Limis. Toudou has the same goal, too, but hers comes second.

Garnet shifts its eyes and stares out at the ocean.

No one hears Limis’s misgiving—it’s washed away by the roar of the sea.

It turns out there are real mermaids locked in the prison.

They’re not pseudo-mermaids like Sanya, who’s simply pretending—they’re the real deal, with actual tail fins. Their blond hair is wavy, their blue eyes showing exhaustion. There are three of these sea princesses, famous for their stunning looks and singing voices. They have thick metal collars around their necks, and the chains leading from them are wrapped around a pillar.

Mermaids are demi-humans who fall closer to the human side of the gene pool. They are friendly with humans, and some oceanic nations have even established official relations with them. Their voices are imbued with magical energy, allowing them to wield special magic powers, but on the other hand, they’re physically weak and often fall prey to mermen and other monsters.

Whoa, whoa—is this some sort of bonus stage? …Maybe not. Who keeps mermaids incarcerated? That’s vile.

There’s a rumor that mermaids have their own unique culture—they bestow a reward unto those who release them from confinement. Is this the will of God?

I take a step into the room and inspect the prison’s layout. It was probably a storeroom originally. If this really is their stronghold, the facilities are pathetic. This can’t be Heljarl’s base of operations.

The mermaids look up as I encroach on their environs and they quickly huddle in the corner, terrified.

Four mermen dressed in military regalia guard the door, along with one seadragon knight as their leader.

The security must just be for good measure. This place doesn’t seem particularly important.

The seadragon knight leader hands me a metal collar.

“Watch yourself. If you let your guard down, they’ll cast magic on you.”

“What kind of magic?”

“…It’s a charm. Don’t you know?”

“…It won’t work on me.”

I’m used to mental pollution. Any crusader who fights the followers of darkness has a strong resistance to those skills. Without it, you’re dead.

At any rate—how does someone with a tail fin manage to charm anyone…?

“…You’re a strange merman.”

How rude. I’m clearly just your average, everyday merman.

Without answering, I prop my mace up against the wall for a moment and hold Sanya, who I still have with me, up with both arms. Her face is close to my ear, and I can hear her mumbling through the thick metal scales of my armor.

“Boss. This collar’s no dice. I can’t break it. I won’t be able to get it off.”

I now understand that Heljarl’s motive is the Holy Warrior. This is a grave situation.

At the same time, it’s a chance to extract even more detailed information from him. First and foremost, I need his trust.

I also need time. From what I can see, Heljarl is an imbecile. Even his dragonewt guards are more cautious than he is. If all goes well, I can extract information from him in a short amount of time. I’ll get everything I can out of him before killing him.

I have no intention of taking him captive. It’s too risky to let him live. And if I did take him captive anyway, I’d have to kill him.

“Boss, think you could give me a scale from your mane? I might be able to use it as a lock pick.”

“No.”

I may look absolutely ridiculous, but this is a magic item. If it loses its functionality from messing around with it, I’ll be in deep trouble.

I put the metal collar around Sanya’s neck. I can’t tell what it’s made from, but it’s definitely high quality.

Sanya grips the collar and tumbles on the floor. She looks back at the seadragon knight leader and asks, “Hey, where’s the key to this thing?”

“…It’s with me. What of it?”

The seadragon knight points to his belt—a dull silver key hangs from it.

Unarmed and bound in chains, it would be hard for Sanya to take him down…right?

I look at Sanya, who’s rolling on the floor making a show of appearing terrified, and say, “She belongs to me. Hand over the key to her collar.”

“…I cannot allow that. I’m in charge of the keys. No exceptions.”

“I see.”

I pick up my mace and, before the seadragon knight can react, smash his head to a pulp, helmet included.

The seadragon knight dies without even a chance to cry out. The entire room is speechless as I put on my best merman impression.

“Those who defy me will be annihilated.”

“G-geez, boss. You’re horrifying… Is that really you?”

“There is no room for negotiation. Anyone I can kill, I will kill on sight.”

I have no intention of arguing with anyone. It’s a waste of time.

The mermaids are shuddering in the corner from my sudden violent outburst.

I crouch down next to the seadragon knight’s headless corpse, splayed out on the floor, and rid him of his keys. No need for his spear.

“From today on, I am the master of this prison. Glory to the evil gods.”

“Do you think you can just keep saying ‘evil gods’ and get away with anything?!”

“Yes. All is well. In the world of demons, the strong are the righteous.”

Sanya is disgusted by the growing pool of the seadragon knight’s blood and moves to avoid it.

“All is not well! Right?! Boss?! C’mon, let’s get outta here!! Let’s wait for a real opportunity, okay?! There’s no way this’ll work!! Surely mermen are a bit smarter than this, right?!”

“Mermen are not smart. Except for me.”

I look back at the merman jailers, who are frozen stiff from witnessing what just unfolded in mere moments. They clearly have no idea what to do now that their leader is dead. They don’t even feign to raise the shoddy spears they hold in their hands.

I could obliterate them in an instant, but I purposefully refrain. Instead, I trample over the corpse of the seadragon knight and clearly state my demands, with no concern for whether they can actually understand me.

“From now on, I am your boss. Obey me.”

Obey me and then die.

“That merman is extremely dangerous, my liege.”

In the throne room, Heljarl’s right-hand man, a seadragon knight warrior, bows his head deeply.

The seadragon knights are the strongest and most intelligent of aquatic demi-humans, and they know battle. They’ve mastered the martial arts and learned military tactics, and they occasionally even intermingle with seadragons, the originators of their bloodline.

Compared with mermen, who are daft and weak even in numbers, seadragon knights are refined warriors. Yet, Heljarl snorts and laughs in his retainer’s face.

“Heh-heh-heh… He is brutal, proud, and true to his wanton desire. He’s utterly splendid, don’t you think? That is precisely what a sea warrior should be like.”

“But, sir—”

With alarming speed, a single merman warrior at the lowest ranks of Heljarl’s army has shown prowess that belies the fact he’s a mere merman.

It’s as if his scales are made from metal, and his dorsal crest rivals that of a sea serpent. His eyes are cold and emotionless, and yet he has the intellect to have a command of the human language at will, something no merman is typically capable of.

Above all else, his voice projects an ominous sense of dread. He clearly has the divine protection of the evil god Lucief Arept—that much is evident.

Heljarl has reigned over the ocean for many, many years, but he’s never seen a merman this powerful before.

Heljarl is the King of the Ocean. All ocean-dwelling creatures must submit to him and give him due honor, but he is capable of pardoning the selfishness of a warrior—to an extent. The ocean abides by survival of the fittest. The strong are the righteous. Weakness is iniquity. And what’s more, this merman has shown allegiance to Heljarl.

Heljarl strokes his jet-black staff—an item given to him by the Demon Lord Kranos that has the ability to amplify magical energy—and laughs.

“The God of Oceans has blessed us. Heh-heh-heh, the fact that he’s appeared at a time like this is nothing other than the will of God.”

What does it matter if he killed the prison guard? After all, the imprisoned mermaids are simply sacrifices, which is why they’re locked up in the first place. It’s not a serious offense if they escape.

Even if some of the mermaids instigate an insurrection, it will be simple to quell them with just a few seadragon knights.

Rather, in the first place, if there is a desire for mermaids, then new ones can be easily captured. Heljarl’s military forces number over a million strong in total. Capturing a few mermaids is a drop in the bucket. Not to mention, his forces could even conquer the mermaid kingdom, which lies in the sea to the south.

“I understand that he is strong. But he is beyond fiendish and brutal. There’s a decent chance that he will attempt to rebel against you, my liege—”

“Hmph. As if I haven’t considered that already?”

The King of the Ocean is different from any king of humans. A weakling cannot ascend the ocean throne. Heljarl snickers at his subordinate.

The King of the Ocean is a title given to the strongest warrior within the seas. Heljarl is, accordingly, conceited and believes that he is the strongest of all.

What’s more, Heljarl holds a trump card: He can cause all aquatic beings—demi-humans, even demons—to fall under his control. No matter how strong the merman who calls himself Gregorio may be, there’s no way for him to stand up to Heljarl.

Heljarl rises from his throne. The seadragon knight bows and falls prostrate, his head nearly on the floor.

The rational voice from earlier is gone—now, Heljarl’s booming voice is hair-raising.

“Heh-heh-heh… Mwa-ha-ha-ha! I, Heljarl—I will be the one to kill the Holy Warrior. I will show our Demon Lord Kranos my true power. As for that brat pulling the strings from the shadows—I will show him a thing or two as well.”

I close the thick stone door, and a small shock wave reverberates through the water.

This room I was provided is completely empty except for a stone bed and a lamp.

Living underwater must be quite different from living on land. According to the seadragon knight who guided me, only a small percentage of Heljarl’s subordinates are actually given room and board.

It’s certainly true that this building doesn’t have the capacity to house all those mermen outside.

Following behind me with the metal collar on her neck, Sanya presses her cheek against the door for a few seconds before shaking her head.

There are no guards here, it seems. They must trust me. That, or they think they can kill me at any given moment.

The second I let the keys go from my hand, Sanya grabs them and removes the collar skillfully, without even looking at the lock.

Sanya casts the collar aside and rubs her throat, squinting—it must have been really tight.

“This treatment is unbelievable. I’ve been a mercenary for as long as I can remember, but this is the first time I’ve worn a collar. I felt like a slave!”

“It’s a good experience for you. I’ve done it four times.”

“Boss, someone ought to lock you up and throw away the key. You’re seriously the worst.”

Sanya sighs, completely and utterly exasperated.

I thought she might need me to cast a tranquilizer spell on her, but she doesn’t look all that worse for wear.

“There’s merit to experiencing such hardships in a place like this, though,” I tell her, changing the subject. She sighs again.

“…Maybe you’re right. I definitely wasn’t expecting that notorious monster to appear out of nowhere. But honestly, boss, you were more terrifying. If I encountered you on the battlefield, I’d run away with my tail between my legs.”

“Lame joke.”

“No…it’s the truth. I’d do it like this.”

Sanya grabs her fluffy tail carefully and curls it up, tucking it between her legs.

She’s still cracking jokes, so she must be just fine.

I put my mace down to ponder our next moves. We don’t have much time, but we can’t let this chance slip by.

“Our primary objective is taking Heljarl’s life. But before we do, we need to extract information from him. There are a few things I need to know.”

Heljarl must be taken down before he has a chance to attack Toudou, but he is one of the leaders in the Demon Lord’s army.

There are so many things I want to ask him about: how he’s able to pinpoint the Holy Warrior’s location; the Demon Lord’s army’s next course of action; its formation, the names of its leaders, their skills and weaknesses—all necessary information for supporting the Holy Warrior moving forward.

“Whoa… So you wanna milk him for all he’s worth before taking his life…”

“I’ll get him to talk. Sanya, you need to survey this stronghold, including its layout and any escape routes. Speak with the mermaids being held prisoner and make them your friends. Also—there’s something I want you to search for.”

I can’t do everything myself. Sanya disobeying my orders has turned out to be a godsend.

“Something you want me to search for…?”

Sanya crosses her arms and blinks repeatedly.

“Yes… Although if you can’t find it, it’s not the end of the world…”

Having met Heljarl face-to-face, I now understand his strength. I couldn’t determine exactly what bloodline his is mixed with, but I felt his powerful magical energy and life force worthy of an upper-echelon demon. At the very least, he’s leagues more powerful than any of his subordinates.

However, even at that rate—considering the suffering he’s caused humanity thus far—he’s not as powerful as I thought he would be.

Heljarl’s defining characteristic isn’t his own battle prowess but rather his capacity to freely manipulate ocean-dwelling monsters: a single sea serpent the size of a massive warship or the kinds of giant squid and krakens that have struck fear into the hearts of so many crew members. He’s even powerful enough to make seadragons do his bidding—a clear indicator of why humanity has lost the oceans to demon kind.

Of course, humanity has endeavored with research. There are people called “monster tamers” who have managed to tame and thus control monsters, but manipulating monsters with low intelligence still proves difficult—highly intelligent, prideful ones like dragon-type monsters even more so.

It is extremely unusual for even a high-ranked demon to be able to control multiple monsters at once. In reality, it’s more akin to playing God than anything else.

I recall the massive yet tame monsters I saw obediently awaiting orders outside the stronghold.

Heljarl’s notoriety only spread after the Demon Lord Kranos first appeared. As such, it’s inevitable to say that they’re connected somehow.

That means this monster taming is either Heljarl’s own power…or that of a certain magic item.

The authenticity of this claim has not been verified, but humanity has offered one conclusion. Sanya waits for me to continue.

“It’s a flute, Sanya. A flute that allows one to control aquatic monsters. I’ve heard whenever Heljarl is controlling monsters on the battlefield, he carries a blue flute with him at all times. I need you to find it. I didn’t see it on him when we met in person…so it must be in a treasure vault or in Heljarl’s personal room. It has to be around somewhere.”

If Heljarl could no longer control monsters, he’d be vastly limited in what he could do himself. On the other hand, if the flute remains even once we’ve killed him off, then there’s a high chance that another Heljarl would take his place.

Hearing this, Sanya finally lets just a few words slip:

“That’s a tall order.”

I am well aware. It’s risky. If Heljarl finds her while she’s snooping around for it, I would be hard-pressed to say she’d be able to fight him off herself. However, Sanya is a scout. I will create a diversion for Heljarl and his henchmen. This is a job for a scout.

“I implore you.”

“Oh boy. If my master heard that, he’d be green with envy.”

Sanya smirks at me and stands. It seems like she’s up to the task.

She loosens herself up, stretching her toned amber limbs in her racy light-blue mermaid armor.

She’s not nervous, and her pulse is steady. Finishing her stretches, Sanya wags her tail and quickly adds, “Oh, and, boss, if I die, you better apologize to Rabi.”

“No need to go overboard. I’ve spent a hundred million lux on you—I intend to get my money’s worth, down to the last cent.”

“…How can you say that when you made a bet in hiring me in the first place and then haggled for a discount on top of that?”

“You’re speaking in hindsight. Even if you lose an arm or a leg, a little healing magic will have you fixed right up. Now, off you go.”

“…Yessir!” Sanya replies with forced cheerfulness, trembling, before discreetly slipping out of the room.

Okay, that’s taken care of—time for me to focus on my business.

“So no problems at the moment, then?”

“Yes. For the moment, I don’t sense my identity being questioned whatsoever.”

The room is empty except for me as I exchange information with Amelia. She reports back that there aren’t any problems aboveground, either.

This is working out splendidly—Rabi is keeping a close eye on Toudou and company in place of Sanya.

The party has been practicing their spirit summoning, and as soon as the mermaid armor is ready, they’ll be heading to the sunken temple, I’m told.

At the very beginning, when I first joined Toudou’s party, there was a whole host of problems. But now, they seem to have largely been settled. It’s possible that I’ve just gotten used to them, but I’m choosing not to worry about that right now.

“We’ll maintain our cover down here as long as necessary. Inform me as soon as you know when Toudou will reach the sunken temple.”

“Understood… May the fortunes of war guide you. Please don’t push yourself too much.”

“I’ll be fine. I can’t pray to the God of Order in my current getup, so instead, I have an evil god assisting me now.”

“……Well, if that floats your boat, Ares, then that’s fine…”

Death to Heljarl. I will destroy him. I will save the Holy Warrior and bring peace to the land.

The transmission cuts out. I sit on my stone bed, set my mace down beside me, and sigh.

Okay—just how should I start extracting information from Heljarl…? His vigilance is paltry, but I don’t think his followers trust me. If I go about extracting information from him in an unnatural way, they’ll warn him immediately.

If I’m going to get any worthwhile intel, I first need to gain their trust. I have a feeling that slaying the jail guard didn’t exactly boost their confidence in me… Thinking about it logically, this is definitely going to be a very tough mission.

Heljarl’s cronies are a thorn in my side. I could try to force their hand, but they’re monsters, after all. They have different susceptibilities. I don’t know if it will work on them, and do I really have time? In the end…I’ll probably stick with brute force, my specialty… The dragonewts can’t be with Heljarl at all times.

If I pick them off one by one, they’ll likely turn against me sooner or later, and even if they don’t, I’d rather have them dead regardless.

Hmm… I really don’t understand Heljarl’s cronies’ culture. That said, I did once research how to kill them, in the past.

As I furrow my brow and grumble to myself, the door to my room opens suddenly. Perhaps it’s because I’m underwater, but I’m having a hard time detecting other presences.

“The king would like to see your power in action, Gregorio.”

Well, well… This could be a good opportunity.

Heljarl is evidently tolerant of warriors. If I can give him a taste of my strength, chances are that he’ll approve of me.

It’s unusual to have me show off my own combat skills, but if those are Heljarl’s wishes, then I must certainly comply.

I stand up and grab my mace, looking toward the seadragon knight who’s entered.

He’s obviously on high alert and stares at me with narrowed eyes. They’re the eyes of a brave warrior who’s come up against death and prevailed.

These damn dragonewts are a real nuisance when they’re your enemy.

I raise my mace and look the dragonewt in his glassy reptilian eyes, announcing, “…I am not good at pulling my punches. I have pledged to give my life as a warrior to my evil god. Anyone who draws their weapon on me will die.”

I’ll thin them out. If it all goes well, I’ll even force them into extinction in broad daylight.

The more I go ballistic, the more their attention will be diverted from Sanya. It’s two birds, one stone.

I am guided to a completely bare stone chamber. However, it’s far more deteriorated than any of the others—the floor and walls riddled with cracks and chips. This room could very well be designed for the same purpose that I’m here for today.

Heljarl is seated on a throne in the back, and seadragon knights are lined up around him.

Looking closely, I can see their equipment is all across the board. Most are wearing the blue armor that the prison guard wore, but some of them are equipped with a silvery metallic armor. This is likely an indicator of high rank among the seadragon knight troops.

When I enter the room, Heljarl claps his hands and smiles, his lips twisted with derision.

“A most sincere welcome to you, Gregorio. I thought we should test your mettle before we begin the assault on the Holy Warrior. Well, I personally didn’t think it was necessary, but a number of others did. Being a king has its downsides, contrary to popular opinion.”

“Not an issue. My evil god demands souls. Human or otherwise.”

I give a light swing of my mace to test myself out. Everything is on point. I’ve gotten used to my reduced field of vision.

I look around and confirm that the seadragon knights surrounding me are of high level, but none of them sticks out as a particularly formidable foe.

The steel tiger I encountered in Golem Valley was an anomaly.

Heljarl seems bemused by me and asks, “An evil god, you say? Gregorio, you are a disciple of an evil god?”

“That is correct. I follow the orders of my evil god. That is why I am here.”

The real Gregorio practically is a disciple of an evil god. It’s a good thing I used his name.

“Heh-heh… For you, an ocean dweller, to worship not the God of Oceans but rather an evil god… This is most peculiar. A warrior who follows his desire to bring both humans and demons alike to the slaughter… How interesting. I, too, have an acquaintance who possesses the divine protection of an evil god, but you, merman warrior, are truly a different breed.”

You’re damn right. I’m a priest, so don’t lump me in with this acquaintance of yours.

Heljarl reclines on his throne with self-importance as a single seadragon knight steps forward.

This one’s speech is far more fluid than the rest. His sharp golden eyes pierce right through me.

The spear in his hand is different from the others’ as well—it has a trident tip.

“My liege. Allow me, Hjalmar, to put this newcomer to the test.”

“Ah, Hjalmar. You, someone with divine protection from the God of Oceans, would step forward?”

“Even if this brute is a warrior, he is far too irreverent. I promise to show him the extent of your authority, my liege.”

Heljarl nods, visibly pleased by the seadragon knight Hjalmar’s statement.

Divine protection from the God of Oceans, huh? I’ve never heard of this minor deity, but judging from its name, it’s likely a type that offers augmentation to underwater combat. It’s certainly nowhere near as powerful as the God of Order or an evil god.

Hjalmar must have high credibility in these ranks, as no one raises their voice in opposition.

I can’t think of anything better than slaughtering one of their strongest in front of them. I nod emphatically and stroke my mace.

“The God of Oceans… How wonderful.”

The room falls silent. Hjalmar’s eyes flicker with intimidation, and I start performing to stir up an aura worthy of my evil god.

“My evil god will be most pleased to have your soul as a sacrifice. I will offer Him the joy of watching you suffer for all eternity.”

“?!”

The dragonewts look to one another after I make my claim. They let loose an uproarious din akin to a horrified shriek.

“What repulsive speech! Is this evil god really so reprehensible?”

“That’s not what I’ve heard!! Doesn’t He simply grant additional power?!”

“Anyone, including that merman, who pledges allegiance to such a god is an infidel! Look at his sinister appearance—it’s a crime against the nature of life itself!”

I’ve never heard of such a thing, either, but if it creates more enemies for the evil gods, then I’m all for it.

Most of the dragonewts remain silent, but not Hjalmar. He is lording over me.

“I will smash you to bits for your insolence.”

This is one upright dragonewt. Agitating him will create huge openings. It appears that he has superior intellect as well as combat skills.

The fact that he has Heljarl’s trust is something else to consider. This gives him a boost in my estimation.

Even under ideal circumstances, this might prove to be a hard fight without casting any buffs on myself.

I don’t know the details of what divine protection from the God of Oceans entails, but it’s no use now… I have no idea what will happen to me if I lose.

I make a snap judgment call and raise my arms high, recalling Gregorio and imitating him as I scream with abandon.

“O evil god, I will now bestow unto thee a fresh soul. Please grant me, Gregorio, your power!!Full Strength!”

“?!”

I cast a number of holy techniques and buffs on myself in quick succession. Red, blue, yellow, green—different colored lights flash as they fill me with power.

Living on the bottom of the sea, none of these creatures has ever seen a holy technique before.

The light dissipates quickly and only the surface of my body glows slightly.

“What was that technique just now?!”

“Is this also the evil gods’ divine protection…?!”

Either my scheme is right on the money or my over-the-top acting has paid dividends, but the dragonewts definitely aren’t doubting my authenticity now. Hjalmar wasn’t expecting this, and he steps back a few paces, addressing me in a grim tone.

“You… It cannot be… Are you a wizard?!”

“Why would I tell you, who is destined for sacrifice?!”

I attack first, without even waiting for a signal. All spoils go to the victor. I kick off the ground with force, as if pouring my every bit of strength below my feet.

I swing my mace, intending to rip his head from his body, but Hjalmar reacts aptly.

His trident has a long reach and collides with my mace, sending sparks flying.

I thought I could overpower him, but his robust counterstrike rocks my grip.

My mace and Hjalmar’s trident become locked in a standstill.

However, there’s no comparing our difference in power. I still can’t read his expression, but Hjalmar’s voice shakes as he says, “Ngh… This strength… You’re no merman!”

“All glory to the evil god.”

I put even more weight behind my mace. Hjalmar is gripping his trident with both hands, but our difference in strength is evident.

The only reason I couldn’t power through him with a single blow is likely due to the God of Oceans’s combat augmentation.

I push and grind Hjalmar back steadily.

“Heh-heh-heh, this shall please my god. Fear not, for you will not know respite, but rather your soul will reside before Him for eternity. It is a true honor.”

“Ngh… You’re an abomination!”

Hjalmar jumps to the side with immaculate timing and avoids my mace. He steps back in an attempt to reposition his stance, but I don’t intend to let him go.

He’s now trying to escape, and I pursue. I lunge toward him and let loose a barrage of mace blows. Hjalmar frantically parries them with his trident.

Physically strong races have little combat experience with those more powerful than them. This will be a cinch.

My field of vision is still terrible, but perhaps it’s because my mind is completely focused, or I’ve gotten used to it—I know when his attacks are coming, even from my blind spots.

I just need to be careful of his arms, the trident he grips in them, his legs…and his long, limber tail. It’s vastly different from Sanya’s fluffy tail—it’s covered in blunt scales and is able to snap forward quickly.

“What the hell is going on?! Sir Hjalmar is being pushed back?!”

“Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die for my god! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!”

Hjalmar lashes his tail toward me and I step back to avoid it. His face contorts ever so slightly.

Because I dodged his attack, a small gap appears in his stance, and I raise my mace with all my might—with the intention of smashing down his trident raised in defense and obliterating his entire head.

In that instant, time slows to an infinitesimal halt. Each moment feels like multiple seconds, minutes. My breathing, the flow of the water, Hjalmar’s eyes widening—I can see it all so clearly. There is no fear in his eyes, even at the last second.

The moment my mace comes crashing down, Heljarl’s voice booms.

“Halt, both of you! That’s enough!”

Hjalmar’s gaze softens. I ignore the command and smash him into the ground.

The crowd erupts into an even greater disturbance. I lift my mace back up slowly. Chunks of stone silently float in the air. Hjalmar is splayed out on the ground. Having taken a direct blow to the face, he doesn’t show any signs of moving.

The helm protecting Hjalmar’s head has entirely caved in from a single blow. It hasn’t actually cracked, but it’s taken a fatal hit. Hjalmar is still alive, but it’s just a matter of time now. Faint pinkish blood stains the clear water. Heljarl furrows his brow.

“…Why…did you kill him…?”

The strong never attack directly. That’s a given. Hjalmar wasn’t as strong as the steel tiger in Golem Valley, but if he appeared during the middle of a skirmish, it would take at least a few minutes to fend him off.

There’s no room for remorse. Per the God of Order, I am pardoned of all injustices.

The room is dead silent for a few seconds. Then Hjalmar’s life force flows into me—he must be dead. I’m still shy of a level-up.

Hjalmar was probably training for a moment like this. I look down at him and spit out my words.

“You must be out of your mind if you plan to fight the Holy Warrior with this kind of strength.”

“Rrrgh… How…how dare you!!”

One of the seadragon knights’ eyes go wide as saucers and he points his spear at me. I raise my mace up to match him.

“Bring it on, warriors of the sea, as many of you as you like. Our objectives may differ, but in the name of my evil god, I shall provide you a requiem.”

I look around the entire circumference of the room and assess the situation. There’s no way I can kill them all. If I’m going to take them on, I should definitely start with those with the highest life force. Yet, facing them all in a row will be rough going, even for me.

Just then, the dragonewt to the right of Heljarl shouts out.

“Ah, I’ve just remembered! Gregorio Legins… That is the name of a man who appeared on our blacklist!”

“What did you say?!”

There’s no way his notoriety has managed to reach all the way down here… Has someone betrayed me? Did I miss an enemy lying in wait?

Either way, this is bad… If I was going to use a fake name, I should have used one that was actually fake and not belonging to someone I know.

Heljarl grips his staff and stands up. He moves with grace, but he’s clearly on high alert.

“He is a combatant who serves the Church of the God of Order. They say he is a man of fiendish strength and has massacred scores of followers of darkness.”

Heljarl now looks suspicious.

“A disciple of Ahz Gried…? ……But he’s a merman!”

The dragonewt who made the claim stares at me with his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets and shuts his mouth.

This is all just confusion. They’ve got the wrong guy. It’s just someone with the exact same name.

“There are no churches on the ocean floor. Nor any followers of darkness. I can scarcely even imagine a merman coming out victorious against one such being on land—nor can I imagine a reason he would even want to fight them. This must be a case of mistaken identity.”

“B-but…!”

“Just what about him seems characteristic of a disciple of the God of Order?! I know the priests of that Church. They claim to be bearers of miracles, but they lack any sort of skills in combat, and they certainly aren’t mermen!”

That is simply absurd. Yet, the dragonewt being screamed at refuses to back down. Anguish rings in his voice as he complains.

“…P-perhaps he himself has fallen to the darkness?”

“…Explain.”

The dragonewt begins to explain, with little confidence. I can’t help but steady my mace and hang on to his every word.

“I-it’s just speculation, but…he could have committed so many sins that the God of Order abandoned him… Perhaps he was robbed of his human form and forced to eke out a life as a merman… Thinking about it, I believe he’s overwhelmingly more powerful than any other merman, and it’s quite clear he harbors a great amount of hatred.”

That’s not how the God of Order operates, dumbass.

“Or perhaps…there’s also the possibility he simply became enamored with this evil god from day one…”

“So you’re saying he wanted to become more powerful? And gave up his human form? For that of a merman?!”

This is ridiculous. Why on earth would I be forced to give up my human form? What could I have possibly done?

Heljarl grips his staff and his eyes bore into me. I could deny it all, but it doesn’t bother me if they get my story completely wrong.

“I’ll let you imagine for yourself. All I can do is obey the divine revelation of my god. And furthermore, I have already been proven correct.”

“Correct…? Just what do you mean?”

“My evil god desires the soul of the Holy Warrior. I am simply a vessel for this wish. I was right to come here, was I not?”

“……”

Heljarl falls silent, clearly deep in thought.

He’s looking at me, from what I can tell, but the eyes on my armor might as well be papier-mâché.

If I can gain his trust, I’ll wait for the right time and bash his skull in from behind. Otherwise I’ll just assassinate him.

Yet, there is one thing I am certain of: The Demon Lord Kranos’s army is being controlled. Even if Heljarl isn’t a follower of any evil gods, most of the legions of darkness are. He can’t refuse me flat out.

Heljarl remains silent for some time before nodding placidly.

“…Very well. If you truly wish to fight that badly, we might as well give you a chance to show us everything you have.”

“?! My liege?!”

“Though it was not foreseen, Gregorio has defeated Hjalmar. He is capable.”

Demons generally fall under the rule of brute force. Anyone with power is respected and given high status.

Just as I start to feel the room’s bloodlust and agitation abate, I drop my mace and fall to my knees.

He is dead. I will kill him dead. And I will fall to any level of depravity to make that happen.

As I drop to my knees, Heljarl bursts into sublime laughter and barks orders with all the arrogance of a king.

“Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha… Gregorio, I shall grant you the privilege of annihilating the Holy Warrior. As the sword of the King of the Ocean, you will go and slay that pesky Holy Warrior—Ares Crown!!”

?!

“………Y-yes… Yes, my liege. I, Gregorio, will follow the orders of my evil god and join the ranks of your subordinates. And I shall kill this…Ares? Crown? …Correct?”

Thank God. Thank God I didn’t use my real name.

Sure, I’ve said my name out loud a few times since this journey began, but where did they even learn it?

Cold sweat pours down my body under the thick merman armor. Heljarl grins at me from ear to ear.

“Hold on now, Gregorio. I’m not asking you to march into battle on your own. Ares Crown is still inexperienced, but he’s been chosen by the gods as the Holy Warrior—essentially, your human counterpart. Our army is infinitely powerful. Let us sink the entire water capital down to our depths.”

This job is so incredibly strange, Rabi laments once more.

She has an abundance of experiences with odd jobs and dangerous assignments due to the nature of her work, but she can’t remember a job as twisted as this one.

Since the objective is to defeat the Demon Lord, it’s certainly a top-ranked mission in terms of difficulty, but who would believe that her employer dived into enemy territory dressed as a merman?

The Holy Warrior and party are walking on the other side of the road, just within range of her field of vision.

She follows them silently and twitches her ears under her thick hood, picking up the sounds of her surroundings. Mixed in with the sound of the wind and water and other noises of daily life, she can hear the Holy Warrior’s voice.

Rabi’s abilities as a scout are far inferior to Sanya’s, her total physical capabilities even more so.

That said, as Rabi follows behind the party from a distance of over one hundred meters, there’s no sign of Toudou noticing her at all.

Toudou looks utterly defenseless. He’s gotten used to his position but hasn’t mastered every single maneuver yet.

Considering that he began fighting only six months ago, it’s actually quite miraculous, but he’s still too inept to be carrying the name of the Holy Warrior.

Rabi doesn’t think he is truly resigned to kill.

Not the kind of resignation required to kill on the battlefield—Rabi’s talking about the resignation to kill with composure anytime, anywhere.

It’s a twisted quality for the average human but one that any mercenary worth their salt already has. And this Holy Warrior doesn’t have it. If Rabi attacked him right now, Toudou would experience a moment’s confusion before reacting accordingly—which would leave him exposed.

Even if Toudou’s prowess far eclipsed Rabi’s, even if he was at a high-enough level where Rabi could never take him down in an honest one-on-one fight, leaving himself vulnerable like that would undoubtedly give Rabi the opportunity to kill him—that’s just how exposed he would be.

Their boss has the proper readiness about him. Rabi remembers it clear as day—the first time they met, the way he looked her up and down, evaluating her.

He was calm and composed but didn’t leave any openings. There was no murderous intent in his eyes, but he looked at her like he was beholding a monster.

His eyes showed that he doesn’t trust anyone: a rarity for an assassin, much less for a priest.

Rabi can’t imagine the kinds of carnage he’s been through.

That is why Rabi is different from Sanya—she hasn’t tested him, and in return, she has not been tested. Rabi is timid.

Toudou and his party are peering into a waterway. There must be a fish—they’re all pointing, their eyes wide.

Rabi has been given instructions to keep Toudou and his party away from the water until her boss eliminates the sea demon. In other words, she’s to keep them out of his hair. It appears that they’ve gotten in his way once or twice before.

Rabi thinks for a moment before deciding to speak up. She’s already met them once, but she slightly disguised herself at the time. Going forward, they should have some acquaintance. Rabi dislikes talking to men, but she can’t use that as an excuse now.

She masks her presence and jogs up to them, calling out to the Holy Warrior from behind.

“You should probably…be more careful.”

“EEK—?!”

Toudou and his companions cry out in hysterics and whirl around to look behind them.

Nothing but blind spots. Rabi could have all their heads rolling in one second flat. Of course, that’s not what she’s here for.

Her only job is to keep them away from the water.

“In this area, around this time…a very powerful merman is known to appear… He carries a mace as a weapon, and he’ll beat down anyone, even his own kind. He is a terrifying cold-blooded merman.”

“Wait, what?! I-is that—?!”

Toudou’s eyes fly wide open and bore into Rabi. Is he really that shocked?

“I don’t know the reason why, but judging from previous years, he’ll leave these parts within a few days. Until then, you should definitely stay out of the ocean. He’s never come up through these waterways, but you all look like you’re new here and a bit clueless, so out of concern, I took it upon myself to warn you.”

The words flow easily from Rabi’s mouth. Her calm voice finally quiets Toudou’s unrest.

Limis and Aria must have also realized she’s not an enemy, as they drop their guard down a notch.

They’re naive, as expected. And far too much so. If they let their guard down this easily, then Rabi could behead them with her eyes closed.

Rabi smiles and Toudou, flustered, gives his thanks. He’s staring straight at Rabi, but she doesn’t mind.

“Ah, um… Thank you so much. A-and you are…?”

Rabi thinks for a moment before coming up with something that will get the overall gist across.

“Pardon me. I am a…traveling monster researcher, Rabi. Every year around this time, I visit this city to study a certain merman called ‘Mermares.’ You all look to be traveling mercenaries—I feel we may have the opportunity to meet again before long, if fate allows. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Terrifying—that’s the one word I would use to describe the scene before me.

Scores of mermen and seadragon knight troops line the ocean floor. They all have weapons, and some are even riding ocean horses with long white manes—kelpies. A giant jellyfish, spanning many meters, floats above my head like it’s waiting for my command. Farther back in the formation, an even bigger kraken slips into the darkness and wriggles its tentacles.

There’s power in numbers. Even a high-ranked mercenary would have a tough time taking all these troops head-on.

So this is Heljarl’s power, huh? I now fully understand the desperation of the humans who first confronted this group—and why they were decimated.

I must kill Heljarl here. As I silently etch this oath into my mind, Heljarl, surrounded by seadragon knights acting as his imperial guards, announces with the confidence of having successfully exacted his malice:

“Behold my forces! I may have yet to assemble all my subordinates, but these will be more than enough to bring down one miniscule port. I know not of the Holy Warrior’s strength, but no matter how powerful he may be, they’ll be worthless here on the ocean floor.”

“…Your army is truly formidable.”

The majority of ocean monsters can’t wield their full strength on land, but even that fact has its limits. If Cloudburst was to be attacked by this massive number of monsters, it may very well sink to the ocean floor.

Toudou’s competence has come to the fore, but he’s still level 40. If he’s attacked by this many monsters, he’ll be pushed to his wits’ end and lose.

“When did you begin gathering your forces?”

“Hmm. Just when was it, now?” Heljarl asks the seadragon knight closest to him. The knight’s eyes bulge in his head as he says, “Since we determined the Holy Warrior’s location, my liege. In terms of time, approximately ten days ago, I believe.”

Ten days ago… I arrived in Cloudburst seven days before that. There’s a gap.

However, I don’t think it’s a case of the knight being inaccurate. Toudou did arrive in the city precisely ten days ago.

But what exactly does this mean? There’s only one reasonable conclusion.

These guys have been tracking the Holy Warrior’s movements through some method, but I don’t know precisely how.

I have assumed the identity of the Holy Warrior twice thus far on my journey. That is the reason they think his name is Ares Crown, but they’re still tracking Naotsugu Toudou, not me.

I need to know how they’re doing it. I need a plan. Making sure not to sound suspicious, I ask, “Where is the Holy Warrior now?”

Heljarl opens his mouth to respond, but instead, the seadragon knight next to him steps forward. He’s carrying a short golden staff in lieu of a spear and is equipped with light armor protecting his vital points. He steps between Heljarl and me, baring his fangs in intimidation.

“In the water capital. We don’t have any further details yet. You’d best sit tight for now.”

They don’t have the details, huh? That means they didn’t learn his whereabouts by actually searching for Toudou in person… In that case, it makes sense that Sanya didn’t notice this bunch, either.

If I didn’t have this merman armor, I might not have even realized they were down here until Toudou was already under attack.

I ignore the seadragon knight blocking my path and make a demand of Heljarl. I have no use for his underlings.

“Tell me more—right now. I will destroy him.”

“Rrrgh… You watch your tongue in front of our king…”

“At ease… Gregorio.”

The seadragon knight is furious, while conversely, Heljarl sounds calm. His leniency is in stark contrast with the fact that he’s a demon, and it’s terrifying.

He certainly has the demeanor of a king. It’s no question that he’s been able to rule over unintelligent monsters, but it’s possible that even seadragon knights have been his subjects from the very beginning as well.

“Even if we don’t know the details, we do know he is in Cloudburst. Sinking the entire city will solve all our problems.”

“And what if he escapes?”

“This is the hero we’re up against. If he flees, that will merely show us what kind of warrior he is. No more, no less. Should that happen, he won’t stand a chance against us. Nor does that change the fact that we will drive the hero into dust.”

Heljarl’s voice is rife with confidence and contempt for the Holy Warrior.

However, he’s right. The Holy Warrior is humanity’s hope. If he is driven back and defeated, it will have serious implications. His summoning has not yet been made public, which will mitigate damage to an extent, but his defeat will not be forgiven.

What’s more, Toudou is not the type of man to face a demon who means to submerge an entire city, and run away without a fight.

I grind my foot into the ground in irritation and confirm what I’m hearing in a forceful tone.

“…If you don’t know the details and manage to sink the entire city, you won’t know if he’s truly dead, right?”

Heljarl looks suspicious for a moment before smirking.

“…As long as we show the fearsome strength of a demon, there’s no need…for the details. We’ll know the second he’s dead.”

“But how?”

I have to know. I have to extract as much information as possible while they still think I’m on their side.

Perhaps I’ve asked too many questions, as the seadragon knight steps in between us again to intimidate me.

“Watch yourself. Our king is lenient, but any further irreverence will not be tolerated.”

“…I do not mind. It’s a valid question. Disciple of the evil god…you are devoted to your task. I am impressed.”

Heljarl restrains the menacing knight.

He has to be a complete moron. I suppose divulging such information to an outcast like me isn’t all that problematic, but he’s still exceedingly careless. Yet, his carelessness and the precautions he’s taken to steadily gather military force on this scale don’t add up.

Heljarl sits back on his throne and stares into my costume’s dull eyes with an imposing smile.

“We possess an item that can identify whoever has the divine protection of the God of Order—that is, the hero—and pinpoint their location. We know the hero’s whereabouts at all times!”

Hearing this, my mind goes completely blank.

For a very long time, the method used by the Demon Lord’s army to identify the Holy Warrior has remained unknown. There have been many hypotheses so far but no actual proof.

Divine protection?! These bastards are using the hero’s divine protection to track him?!

It’s true that the number of people who possess a power as strong as the divine protection of the God of Order, the supreme deity Ahz Gried, are few and far between. Aside from the Saint and a few other special, elite beings, you could count the number on your hands.

Using divine protection to identify the hero… He can’t be lying, can he? If a hero without the divine protection of the God of Order exists, that means they wouldn’t be able to track his location at all, but Toudou certainly has it, so there’s no use pondering that scenario.

I calm my breathing and veil my shock. Right now, I’m a merman—just a merman. Acting overly surprised would just be weird.

I’ll tell Amelia everything in our call later. Sanya has another item to search for now.

“I see… Is it possible to have a look at this supposed item? I want to check its accuracy.”

“…My apologies, but the item is extremely valuable. It’s not that I don’t trust you, Gregorio, but only a small number are permitted to see it.”

Permitted? By whom? There is no one of higher rank than Heljarl in the Demon Lord’s army. Does he mean the Demon Lord himself?

In that moment—and just for a brief second—Heljarl’s expression changes. I catch a minuscule glimpse of intense malice.

I decide to draw back for the time being. I still have information to get from him.

“…If that is the case, then it is out of my hands. I understand.”

I stare out at Heljarl’s forces all standing at attention ominously. Looks like I’ll be gaining a lot of things out of this mission.

My lips twist into a smile underneath the merman armor. Thanks to its thick shell, no one can see me from the outside.

Heljarl turns around to leave. His jet-black robe flutters behind him and his silver armor creaks quietly.

“Let’s head inside, Gregorio. We’re still assembling forces at the moment. We will lie in wait until we have gathered the numbers that will guarantee our victory. Don’t call it cowardice—even as a king, I have my own ties of obligation, you see.”

“…That is certainly true, for a king.”

I grip my mace and quell my urge to slay him and instead follow behind his squadron of seadragon knight guards.

I can sense innumerable pairs of eyes looking me over, but not one of them notices my real identity and tries to attack.

Ever since receiving information from the so-called traveling monster researcher, Toudou’s party has been thrown into extreme turmoil.

“There’s no way. We have to stick it out and see what happens.”

“B-but, Nao… We simply don’t…have time.”

Aria insists they must dive down to the sunken temple the second their magic items are ready, but Toudou maintains they must wait until Mermares leaves the area. Limis is observing quietly, and Glacia is nibbling on a cookie without a care in the world.

The cause of all this, the monster researcher, looks unconcerned as she sips a cup of black tea with extra sugar. She must have nerves of steel—even though she’s been invited into an unfamiliar party’s lodging, she seems cool as a cucumber.

“You heard her, right? Mermares. The strongest merman on earth. We’re up against the strongest enemy on earth—get it?” Toudou’s expression is stern, but Aria offers a rebuttal.

“Yes, but he’s the strongest merman. If we prepare ourselves and attack him at once, we should definitely be able to drive him back, right?”

Mermen are low-level sea monsters. Even if he’s the strongest one, there’s no way he’s anywhere close to as strong as something like a dragon.

Toudou sighs in response to Aria’s proposal.

“…I’m not trying to be a coward here, but it definitely didn’t look like he’d go down easily from a head-on attack. And we can’t really lay a trap for him underwater, either.”

“Mermares is extremely intelligent, so a trap won’t work on him. The average appropriate level for defeating him is around ninety, they say. For you and your party at present, Toudou, it will be difficult.” Rabi presents this new information nonchalantly, and Limis’s eyes go wide as she stares back at her.

“Ninety?! You’re kidding, right?! An entire squadron of knights wouldn’t even be able to take him down!”

“It’s the truth. He is that calamitous. He’s so strong, so violent, even the Demon Lord’s army won’t lay a hand on him.”

“…I find that hard to believe. I’ve heard that sea monsters can be strong, but I’ve never heard of a merman like that.”

Aria furrows her brow. Rabi looks nonplussed and hammers her point home in rapid succession.

“It’s not as if I’m asking you to believe me. But I’ve given you warning. I simply don’t want to blame myself if you end up getting massacred.”

“N-no, it’s not that we don’t believe you—”

“I informed you out of benevolence. Mermares is brutal and far lewder than any goblin. If he catches you, you’ll be destined for the kind of torture too horrible to even mention…probably.”

Toudou cringes at Rabi’s menacing look. Her chilling tone only enhances the scenario’s plausibility.

“He…kidnaps people? Wha…! What a…what a terrifying creature…”

“Just the other day, he was seen tormenting a dog-eared mermaid, dragging her around like some sort of pet.”

Toudou’s whole body begins to shake uncontrollably upon hearing this.

Witnessing his strength from a distance was frightening enough, but if he abducts people, that’s even more terrifying.

“I-if…he’s taken someone captive…we have to go…and save them.”

Toudou’s voice trembles, and Rabi ponders for a few moments before saying, “She’s almost certainly dead by now, so you shouldn’t concern yourself.”

“…What?!”

“…The mermaid looked very happy, and now that I remember, she may have consented to the treatment. Ah yes, that was it. That was definitely the case.”

“?!”

Rabi hops out of her chair, ignoring Toudou and her party, who exchange speechless glances.

There’s only a thin rug on the floor, but Rabi doesn’t make a sound as she lands.

“At any rate, I’ve warned you. This is the usual time for him to appear, so you might want to wait awhile. That’s all I’m saying. The path you choose is up to you, Toudou.”

“Just one minute…”

Aria stands and looks down at the hooded girl, saying, “We’re grateful for the information, but…just who are you anyway?”

“I told you earlier, I am a traveling monster researcher studying monsters and demons that possess prominent abilities. I make my living through the study of such creatures. I’m really just a humble scholar. If I can make myself of use to some passing mercenaries, I’m more than satisfied. Our world today is quite…dangerous, after all.” Rabi doesn’t hesitate to answer Aria instantly.

Her matter-of-fact response contains a peculiar dreadfulness.

The party examines Rabi again. She’s wearing an oversize reddish-brown robe that hides her tiny figure. Her head is completely covered by its hood and her expression is unreadable, but her pale skin and attractive features become visible when she raises her head.

Judging from her voice, she’s a girl—and younger than Aria, no doubt.

She’s not dressed like a typical traveler, but at the same time, her appearance doesn’t reveal a whole lot about her in general.

Further, she doesn’t give the party an intimidating air, but one thing is clear—she is very skilled.

Toudou has met a number of powerful individuals on her journey, including Wurtz and Gregorio. Rabi’s presence is on a different wavelength from theirs, but if she’s a traveling monster researcher, then she must have the abilities necessary for that role.

Toudou stares at Rabi and raises her hand.

“Rabi… Um, Miss Rabi, you’re following this Mermares, right?”

“Yes. But that said, I’m not always directly on his tail. I don’t have fins, after all.”

Rabi cracks a joke without even a trace of a smile. Toudou ignores her and instead gets straight to the point. They don’t have time. That said, they can’t afford to jump headlong into meaningless danger, either.

However, it’s quite a coincidence that someone well versed in the ways of this powerful merman has just happened to run into them.

She’s a little bit suspicious, but Toudou’s instincts are telling her that she’s an ally.

“For our own certain reasons, we have to get down to the sunken temple as quickly as possible. We’ll give you a token of our gratitude, so…if it’s all right, Rabi, would you mind helping us out?”

Rabi falls silent at this sudden proposal. It’s a gamble. No normal person would accept such an invitation from a group of mysterious warriors.

Just when Toudou starts to give up hope, thinking there’s no chance she’ll do it, Rabi says, “……Sure, okay.”

“R-really?!”

“I need to show my boss some resolve sooner or later… It’s the tough side of being employed, I suppose.”

Rabi lets out a shallow sigh and lifts her head. Her gorgeous red eyes, slightly transparent, meet with Toudou’s.

Seeing their color, Toudou feels a deep sense of déjà vu, but she quickly shakes it off. She smiles gently and sticks her hand out to Rabi.

“Thank you! We really appreciate it!”

Rabi stares at Toudou’s palm for an inordinate amount of time and cocks her head to the side before finally taking it in her own.

Her tiny hands are covered with thin gloves, but even then, Toudou can tell they’re delicate. They shake hands and Rabi’s eyes go wide, like she’s agitated. She quickly clears her throat, saying, “…Cough. Yes. Likewise, though our acquaintance may be short, I look forward to our time together, Toudou.”

After observing the troops and returning to my room, one of the seadragon knights accompanying me hands me an earring. It’s small and contains an ash-colored stone, similar to the communication device I already have.

“Put it on. It’ll vibrate when our king requests your presence. You better come running immediately when he does.”

Another magic item. I close my hand around the earring. I don’t even have ears—how the hell does he expect me to wear it?

“Above all else, don’t try anything with us. Our king may be tolerant, but he has his limits. Should you defy his orders again, you will know the wrath of the ocean’s supreme ruler.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The seadragon knight leaves my room. I dangle the earring in front of my face and furrow my brow.

Magic items are quite useful, but even those that can be manufactured easily shouldn’t be used by demons. However, I already know of three different magic items in Heljarl’s possession.

The first is an item that can detect the divine protection of the God of Order, the second can determine the location of anyone who has that divine protection, and the third allows the user to subordinate sea monsters.

There’s a chance that the first and second item are one and the same, but that’s still too many for him to have.

Additionally, this earring was probably mass-produced. Its functionality is limited, but in terms of its use for establishing contact, it’s top quality. A demon’s thought process is typically along the lines of I’ll just pound their face in myself, so this can’t be the product of any demonic work.

The magic item that Felsa possessed in Golem Valley suddenly crosses my mind. Did he get it from the Demon Lord as well? I want to know more. And if at all possible, I want to gather these items together. I’m expecting great things from Sanya in that regard.

Suddenly, I can feel the seadragon knight’s presence again. The door cracks open, and he sticks his head in.

“By the way…I forgot to ask. What happened to the mermaid you had with you?”

“…”

“She wasn’t in the underground cell. You wouldn’t have let her go, now, would you?”

The seadragon knight narrows his eyes and watches me closely. Shit, he noticed.

I make an effort to keep my voice calm in replying. I’m a merman—an arrogant, insolent merman.

“I’m letting her roam. What of it?”

“…What will you do if she escapes?”

The seadragon knight bears his fangs, practically threatening me.

His claim is logical, and I don’t intend to quibble. I decide to push the envelope.

If he attacks me, I’ll have just cause to defend myself and annihilate him. That will draw attention away from Sanya.

I quell my malicious pretense and instead placate the seadragon knight. His shoulders stiffen and his scaly eyelids fly open as he stares me down.

“That won’t happen. She is my female.”

“…”

“She’s probably just taking a walk. No need to worry.”

“Mermaids are our enemies and our prey. Everyone is searching for her. When they find her, there will be hell to pay.”

“In that case, tell them this—she is my prey, and if they touch her, they’re dead.”

The seadragon knight looks at me like I’m the enemy.

I know how dangerous this is. All eyes are on me. I couldn’t have made it this far without Sanya.

Hopefully this will make things even a little bit easier for her.

Sanya heads down the narrow hallway with utmost caution, concentrating on the surrounding presences.

Her uniform silver fur swishes back and forth in the water, and her ears twitch as they listen for monsters nearby.

One of Sanya’s greatest strengths is how sharp her senses are. Thanks to her innate skills, her senses are anywhere from hundreds to thousands of times more accurate than a regular human’s. However, being underwater, which she is not accustomed to, has dulled much of her senses. She needs to stay especially vigilant.

Tracing her palm along the wall, Sanya creates a mental map of her location. A few hours have passed since she’s been on the move, but since she’s had to take a number of detours to avoid the guards, she still doesn’t have a full picture of the structure’s interior.

This job sucks. Sanya presses her back to the wall and lets out a sigh.

Thankfully, there are only a few guards on patrol, and there is no shortage of places to hide. On the flip side, the ones she’s seen have been highly trained. It’d be one thing if she had a proper weapon on her, but she’s largely empty-handed, save for a single small knife. Sanya calmly analyzes the difference in combat strength between her opponents and herself.

With the element of surprise, she can take down one of them no problem, but the seadragon knights are patrolling in packs of two at the minimum.

She could potentially take down two at once, but if the second calls for reinforcements while she’s handling the first, she’ll be in trouble.

Normally, no enemy would ever come this far down into the sea where the building is, but the troops aren’t letting their guard down. From listening to their conversations, Sanya has learned that they’re being extra vigilant because of her boss.

Honestly, getting in my way like this… What sort of grudge does the boss have against me anyway?

Sanya’s mermaid armor has slipped off her shoulder, and she pulls the string back up before looking around the corner down the hallway again. She knows where the exits and entrances are, but she’s still uncertain of the magic items’ locations.

She’s narrowed it down to a few possibilities, but she doesn’t have any concrete information.

The structure contains many rooms, but aside from the throne room, only two have security assignments.

The most likely place for the items to be is in Heljarl’s quarters, but that room is guarded by five seadragon knights at all times and she can’t even get close to it. She doesn’t have any information whatsoever on this other room, but it has a massive lock and multiple guards in front of it, so it must be the treasure vault or another important chamber.

If it was being guarded by humans, she could handle them, but with seadragon knights as guards, she has zero confidence in her ability to properly interrogate them.

Sanya has had experience with infiltration tasks in the past, but the unfamiliar surroundings and anxiety that comes with life-or-death situations have left her depleted.

Maybe I should go back to the boss’s room and rethink this.

The thought pops into her mind, but the fact that she hasn’t made any headway whatsoever prevents her from falling back on that idea.

Sanya also has pride as a mercenary. Plus, there’s the chance that her boss isn’t in his room.

Sanya continues pondering as she keeps up her diligent search. Just then, as she turns a corner, she notices a seadragon knight standing at the end of the hallway and she quickly hides.

—That makes three guarded rooms.

However, unlike the other two, this one has only a single seadragon knight guarding it.

Compared with the guards by the other rooms, this one appears to be quite at ease.

What to do? Sanya vacillates for a moment, but there aren’t any other seadragon knights patrolling. She can take this one down if he’s alone.

Things will only get more difficult if she keeps searching through all the rooms. She decides to put it all on the line.

Sanya silently draws her knife from her waist and steadies her breathing, stretching her arms to loosen her muscles.

Her blade isn’t designed for throwing. She has to go in close, aim for the throat. It’s a legitimate blade, honed from the fangs of her silverwolf werebeast ancestors, and razor-sharp. Slicing through the scaled throat of the seadragon knight will be a cinch.

Ten meters separate them. She won’t be able to close the distance without being noticed—the knight is on his guard, after all.

She’ll distract him and rip open his throat. That’s the only option. Thankfully, right now Sanya is a powerless mermaid. Causing the knight to slip up won’t be hard to do.

“This kinda thing is really Rabi’s specialty…,” Sanya mutters to herself, brushing her bangs forward to hide her eyes. She hunkers down, making herself look small to minimize her presence.

Sanya has observed Rabi’s methods for a long time. She’s also replicated them on a few occasions, although not many of them have been successful.

Sanya inhales and summons her resolve, staggering out into the hallway without taking care to mask her footsteps. The seadragon knight in front of the door locks her in his gaze instantly.

She approaches him, pretending like she doesn’t realize she’s been discovered, in short, staccato steps.

The seadragon knight’s expression changes from suspicion to grim regard. His shrill voice rings through the hallway.

“?! What?! What is a mermaid doing here?”

Sanya finally pretends to realize she’s been discovered and looks up.

Their eyes meet. Sanya’s face falls and she shrieks in terror, but only just quietly enough that no one else will notice.

“Eek?! Eep… Meep…”

Sanya steps back and presses her back against the wall. Her eyes widen in desperation and she practically crumples to the floor.

She needs to feign weakness through her voice, expression, and presence. She’s not sure if she’s pulling it off, but the seadragon knight approaches her with the same grim regard. Light glints off the tip of his razor-sharp spearhead.

“Did the jailer let you go? Or are you rogue? How did you escape?”

“Eep… H-help me…!”

Sanya pleads with the knight in a voice much higher than normal. She fakes a retreat and then puts her back to the wall again.

Sanya squirms pathetically as the seadragon knight takes a few paces toward her and snorts with derision.

His cold, unblinking eyes seem to regard her as if she were a mere object. He then turns the handle of his spear, not the tip, toward Sanya.

“Don’t move. I’m going to bind you. If you act up, you’re dead.”

Wait—is this working? Have my skills improved?

The knight is off his guard. He doesn’t show one iota of concern that she might attack him. He also doesn’t appear to have noticed that her hand has slid behind her back, where she grips her knife.

Sanya is blown away by this realization. Although different races boast different skills, this particular technique is something she’s never been able to master, no matter how much she trained. Rabi has always made fun of her because of it.

Elated, Sanya tries copying Rabi even more. She hunches her shoulders as if to emphasize her chest and says in a trembling voice:

“Ooh, I’m s-so scared. D-don’t touch me! I…I might be cute and weak, and I’ve never lifted anything heavier than a carrot, b-but…if you come any closer—I-I’ll…I’ll bite you!!”

Sanya is really laying it on thick now, and the seadragon knight immediately goes on alert. He steps back quickly and points the tip of his spear at Sanya.

“Just who are you?! Where did you sneak in here from? And drop whatever you’re holding behind your back!”

“?! Huh… Wh-whyyy?!”

But this always works for Rabi…

The knight wastes no time in lunging forward with his spear. Sanya instantly dodges the twirling spearhead approaching her with blinding speed. There’s a scraping sound as the blow misses and the spear’s tip chips the wall. If she hadn’t dodged it, Sanya would have been left with another orifice in her head.

“Eek!! D-don’t kill me!”

“It’s too late for your little performance now!”

The knight rains down his spear on Sanya. She assesses its pattern instantaneously and ducks, lying prone to avoid it. A portion of her hair that floated upward is slashed off by the tip.

This would’ve worked perfectly for Rabi… Sanya puffs out her cheeks, and the seadragon knight hollers, “Hey! We’re under attack! Someone—!!”

The knife released from Sanya’s hand pierces the seadragon knight’s throat. His eyes go wide as blood gushes forth. He attempts to scream as his life begins slipping away but is unable to form any words.

A few seconds later, as her enemy crumples into a heap, Sanya breathes a sigh of relief.

She was lucky. If the knight had actually been focused on their skirmish, she wouldn’t have been able to take him down in a split second.

Sanya grips the knife stuck in the knight’s neck and twists it back and forth just to be extra sure before finishing it off.

The soul has left his dead body. His now-colorless pupils show Sanya’s reflection as she stares down.

“Rabi would’ve taken this guy’s head off before he even noticed…”

Sanya strains her ears, but she can’t hear footsteps or anything else. Calming her breathing, she drags the knight’s body into the room he had been guarding.

The seadragon knight raised quite a ruckus. It doesn’t appear that anyone’s approaching yet, but she needs to investigate the room with haste.

As she begins to do so, Sanya lets out a short sigh.

“Aw, man… I was wrong. No wonder the room wasn’t locked… Spare weaponry…and nothing else. Fail.”

The dimly lit chamber is jam-packed with weapons. It’s clearly not what she’s looking for.

Sanya drags the seadragon knight’s corpse to the far end of the room and walks along the rows of armaments. Spears, swords, shields, maces—there’s a ton of different stuff here, but nothing of value and nothing even resembling the magic items she’s after.

…Guess it’ll have to be in the treasure vault or Heljarl’s quarters after all.

Sanya does a final check for anything useful inside before switching up her game plan.

Both rooms are under strict surveillance, from what she saw at a distance. They’re this building’s most dangerous spots.

Sanya doesn’t want to go there. Silverwolves are brave, but they’re not reckless. There’s no way she can take on multiple seadragon knight guards, with full military armament, and incapacitate them in a split second. If they call for reinforcements, that will only prove detrimental to her boss’s strategy.

That said, Sanya still hasn’t had a chance to show her boss what she’s got. She wants to succeed at this important task, no matter what it takes. It’s a point of pride for the silverwolf race to show their superiors what it is they’re capable of.

In that case, she decides to set her sights on the treasure vault. Heljarl’s quarters are simply too dangerous.

“Man, if only I knew how to use magic, I might be able to do something about this conundrum…”

Guess I’ll have to head back to the boss’s room for now and consult with him.

Just as Sanya decides to do so, aimlessly muttering to herself, she is hit with an epiphany.

“…Ohhh… Magic… Right, magic! I don’t need to be the one to cast it.”

Sanya recalls what Ares told her: “Make friends with the mermaids.”

She scrutinizes the plan in her mind, nodding once, and she leaves the weapon storeroom with utmost caution.

There’s only a single merman guarding where the mermaids are locked up, probably because Ares usurped the jail’s supervision. He looks at Sanya and doesn’t even feign to call for reinforcements. For some reason, Sanya knows exactly what the merman is thinking.

Boss, you really scared the crap outta this guy… Just who’s the real monster here?

It seems like he’s too afraid of upsetting Ares to try getting in Sanya’s way.

Sanya remains cautious, prepared to counterstrike if attacked, as she enters the room.

Seeing her come in, the mermaids’ faces turn pale and they huddle in the corner.

Mermaids are the most famous race of aquatic demi-humans. They’re known for their good looks and voices, but their most notorious aspect is the powerful charm their voices contain.

In ages past, mermaids’ charms have been known to lure crew members to their deaths by causing them to steer their ships straight down into the ocean.

It’s doubtful that they’d be able to completely control the mind of a seadragon knight, but they can certainly create an opening for attack.

Perhaps because Ares didn’t follow after Sanya, the mermaids’ faces relax slightly. They flap their mouths open and shut, but no sound comes out. It’s because of the collars around their necks.

And now, the key to these collars has been passed from Ares’s hands to Sanya’s.

She approaches the bewildered mermaids and shows them the key ring. Their eyes go wide with surprise.

“I need your help. I’m trying to steal one of Heljarl’s magic items.”

The mermaids’ eyes go even wider as they exchange glances.

Sanya killed the seadragon knight guarding the weapon storeroom. She hid his corpse, but it’s only a matter of time before someone notices.

When they do, the rest are guaranteed to go on even higher alert. Not much time left now.

Sanya explains the situation to them. The mermaids look at one another for a few moments before finally nodding back at her.

“Did you have anything to add?” asks the King of the Ocean, and the seadragon knight standing next to him, Halgen, shakes with fear.

Halgen has served as Heljarl’s right-hand man since before the world came to know him as the “sea demon.” Halgen straightens himself up and opens his mouth hesitantly.

“…No, my liege. May your will be done.”

“We have known each other for many moons now. Do not hesitate to speak. It’s about Gregorio, no doubt?”

Heljarl has gathered with his trusted retainer in a room fashioned into an operations center in the back of their dilapidated stronghold.

Despite being able to control sea monsters, Heljarl has amassed a group of troops that are still a ragtag gang of fighters.

The only seadragon knight who Heljarl trusts is highly intelligent and has a storied history.

Heljarl is a king but not a dictator. Even without the power to control sea monsters, Heljarl’s strength is unparalleled throughout the entire ocean. He’s more powerful than even the strongest of ocean dragons.

Thus, Heljarl listens to his subordinates. It’s just one embodiment of his composure.

Halgen inhales deeply before continuing.

“That merman is dangerous. He murdered Hjalmar. He might go for your throat next.”

“I’ve already heard as much multiple times.”

“Your power is great, my liege. But there is still time before we mobilize. I feel we ought to drive a wedge between him and us, just to be safe.”

Heljarl’s shapely brow furrows subtly at this, and he waves his arm that is resting on his elbow.

“Yet his kind of power is invaluable. Power and faith… If he’s really that remarkable of a merman, then I may even add him to our vanguard. If I control him, he won’t be able to wield his full strength.”

Giant sea monsters are one thing. They can cause serious destruction simply by slamming into something.

However, Gregorio’s battle tactics don’t simply rely on brute force. Heljarl’s power entails being able to control sea monsters, but if he was to constrain any part of Gregorio’s volition, that would only hinder his capabilities. Gregorio’s power is a matter of technique and faith.

Heljarl continues, sounding almost deliriously impassioned.

“Right now, I need all the power I can get. My forces must extend beyond the ocean to reach land… To show the Demon Lord my power and to let that brat know just what the King of the Ocean is capable of.”

Heljarl is not completely focused on the Holy Warrior. His vision surpasses him.

Halgen nods in response and replies, voice muffled, “I have one proposal. Gregorio has that stubborn mermaid with him. If we make use of her, we can drive a wedge between him and us without wasting resources…”

“Oh? …Explain, then.”

At Heljarl’s prompting, Halgen begins to explain his theory.

Kill the Holy Warrior and obtain honor. The King of the Ocean’s pride will not settle for simply taking control of the seas.

Not a moment later, Heljarl nods profusely.

“Ares is always so reckless.”

“Is that so?”

“But the same could be said about you, trying to accompany Toudou and his party.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Rabi’s voice is completely void of emotion as she and Amelia speak to each other. Her face, too.

She’s probably just a bit of an airhead, but Rabi’s plans with Toudou are anything but half-hearted.

Rabi hustles to prepare, searching for a few necessary items in her large knapsack—a recovery potion in a glass bottle, some sturdy see-through string, a butcher knife, a heavy book, thick-framed red glasses.

“…Glasses? What are you going to use those for? I’ve never seen you wear them once, have I?”

Rabi pulls down her hood and puts the glasses on for Amelia.

The glasses give her the air of an unathletic, slightly dorky young girl. She timidly averts her gorgeous red eyes. Her translucent white skin looks like it’s never seen the sun.

She hunches her shoulders and grabs the neck of her robe with her slender hand, hiding her body. Tears flood her eyes and she starts to shake all over. Her voice escapes her thin peach-colored lips as she pleads in supplication.

“I…I s-simply cannot f-fight. It’s s-so dangerous; I j-just want peace. Eep! …No—! Wha…! D-don’t touch me— N-no, give my glasses back— I c-can’t. I j-just can’t do it— Oh… Ares—”

“Huh? Huuuuuhhhhh?”

Amelia can’t help herself from crying out, but Rabi’s expression is already back to normal. She releases her hands from her collar and shrugs. The pathetic, weak voice she’d been using to inspire sadism in her opponent is nowhere to be found.

“—Just like that, and then you shear their head clean off. I’m weak, so I have to come up with all sorts of schemes…”

Amelia’s frozen stiff, dumbfounded, as Rabi continues.

“Just now, Amelia, you were wide open. I could have beheaded you ten times over.”

“……Ngh… You’re…conniving…”

“It’s more than likely ingrained in my DNA. I know what it’s like to be preyed upon.”

Rabi removes the glasses and puts them back in their case, tucking it into a small bag that hangs from her belt. It will hold only a few limited items, but it’s a small enough bag that it shouldn’t impede her movement underwater.

“Please get in touch with me via transmission. It will be easier for you to do so if you’re close by. After all, you’re used to it.”

“…But, Rabi, without you here with me, what will I—?”

Amelia has very low combat skills. Without anyone to defend her, she’ll have a hard time following behind.

Rabi’s expression turns thoughtful. “There’s…nothing I can do. You need to keep in contact with the boss and myself. There won’t be much use for advanced holy techniques on this trip.”

“……I suppose you’re right.”

It’s not exactly as planned, but they can’t call Ares back here now.

It’s only reasonable for Amelia to have an escort. Yet, they need someone to check on things underwater, and aside from that, it will be safer to finalize the spirit covenant before Heljarl’s troops have amassed.

“…Things aren’t going according to plan, after all… Even though I got my own mermaid armor and everything.”

“You can just wear it here in your room, can’t you? At least it’s not merman armor.”

Finally, Rabi equips her large hatchet, stored in its sheath, and shrugs.

Amelia sighs deeply at Rabi’s ludicrous advice, which she doled out without a second thought.

“…Huh? But, Rabi, didn’t you say you’d be too embarrassed to fight in a swimsuit—?”

Rabi can supposedly put up with it if they’re all the same gender—but the Holy Warrior’s party she’ll be accompanying is led by Toudou, a boy.

From what Amelia’s heard, it’s not a matter of preference but rather a special characteristic of her breed that makes it impossible for her—will Rabi be okay?

Amelia’s question is naive, and Rabi furrows her brow—the first time Amelia’s seen her do so. Then she answers nonchalantly. “No, I’ll be fine. It seems like there are some special circumstances regarding this issue, so I wasn’t sure whether I should tell you, but… Amelia, Toudou is…a girl. She may look androgynous, but there’s no doubt about it.”

“……What?”

Garnet lies flat on the bed and looks up at Limis.

“Listen, Garnet. Don’t get scared, okay? They’re not enemies. They won’t attack us or anything like that.”

Garnet doesn’t answer her. It simply lifts its head as its tongue flicks out of its mouth.

One of the most important factors in establishing a covenant with an elemental spirit is one’s compatibility with any existing spirits.

Water is an advantageous attribute when put against fire. You could say that water elemental spirits are Garnet’s natural enemies.

Whether or not Limis is even able to establish a covenant with an elemental spirit of Garnet’s rank is just one part of the equation. But she’s come this far—she must succeed, no matter what it takes.

Limis has made steady progress in preparing to establish a spirit covenant. The only concern that remains lies with the elemental spirit who’s been with her since childhood.

“…Sometimes I just wish I could understand what you’re thinking…,” Limis mutters to herself, sighing.

Garnet continues to look up at her and doesn’t move a muscle.

Why hasn’t Limis been able to establish a covenant with other types of elemental spirits? High-ranking ones can even understand human language. From Garnet’s rank alone, it should be able to start speaking, too, but there’s no such indication at present.

Just then, the door to Limis’s room opens. The Holy Warrior, who Limis has been entrusted with assisting—Naotsugu Toudou—sticks her head in and calls out.

“Limis, the preparations are complete. Your mermaid armor is ready. Zolan brought it here for you.”

“…A little earlier than expected, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but it seems like he really put a lot of work into it. He said he was inspired for the first time in ages.”

“Inspired—?! ……Okay, fine.”

Limis brings her finger toward Garnet and it climbs up her shoulder in a flash. She checks that Garnet is where it should be before gripping her staff and standing up. She’s worried, but there’s no turning back now.

Then, as Zolan hands her the completed mermaid armor, her face goes stiff. She holds nothing but a scrap of red cloth in her hands. If she bunched it up, it would probably fit in her palm.

Mermaid armor. The magic item necessary to establish a covenant with a water elemental spirit.

“Um… Ah… This… Well…… I was prepared for this, but now that it’s in my hands, I’m curious… What about this is supposed to be armor? It’s way smaller than the sample we saw, too!!”

Aria is holding a similar scrap of cloth, hers blue, as she stares into the distance, stock-still.

Glacia spreads out her mermaid armor, seemingly disinterested. Hers is a light-blue color, but it doesn’t look like armor, or even a magic item for that matter. Maybe it’s because she’s so small, or perhaps it’s because her chest is so flat, but Glacia’s bikini essentially covers only her private parts. The same goes for Limis’s.

It’s the type of thing they’d hesitate to wear even if they were only going for a swim.

Zolan, the dwarf who delivered the items, clad in a colorful shirt, beams with pride and laughs uproariously.

“I made ’em this way to save on materiaaals!! Better than strappin’ on a pair of seashells, ain’t iiit?!”

“Seashells?! What the heck?! You’re telling me to wear this?! Just how am I going to explain this to my dad?!”

“H-hang on, Limis, settle down—I’ve already got mine on.”

“…Nao, aren’t you…mortified to wear something so indecent?!”

“Please don’t say any more… It hurts my soul. But mine is definitely a step up from that!”

“Nao, you might be able to wear the holy armor Fried over yours…b-but what about us?! We don’t have that luxury!”

Limis’s lips tremble as she glowers at Zolan. He smiles and gives her a thumbs-up.

Limis seriously considers burning him to a crisp on the spot before restraining herself.

Aria has received the largest bikini, due to her size, and she abruptly says, “…It has barely any defense…”

“Hyuck-hyuck-hyuck… This set o’ mermaid armor is custom-made! It’s imbued with crystals that accumulate magical energy, so even a gal like you with zero magical energy can become a mermaaaid! That feature comes free o’ charge!!”

“……It has barely any defense…”

Why is he being so meaninglessly cordial?! Aria barely manages to keep her tongue on a leash.

Crystals that accumulate magical energy are useful but rare, and only a limited few people are able to craft with them. Finding any is a tough job—Limis and Aria couldn’t do it on their own. Zolan is an old pervert, but he’s most definitely a genius.

Aria’s eyes glaze over. She grew up surrounded by men, and she has even less tolerance for this crap than Limis. But in spite of her zombielike stare, Zolan isn’t deterred one bit.

He takes a nimble step forward, practically jumping for joy as he screams, “Okay—hurry up and put ’em on! Show me yer very best mermaid impression! Quick! Quickly now!”

“Rrrgh…… G-Glacia, no! Stop taking off your clothes!”

Glacia doesn’t seem perturbed and starts to undress, while Limis rushes to stop her.

She stares blankly up at Limis, and Zolan begins to applaud—he’s really heating up now.

Toudou stands in front of Glacia as if protecting her and chastises Zolan.

“This is sexual harassment! Zolan, we’re thankful you brought them to us and all, but seriously, get out!”

“Perish the thought! Makin’ sure they’re the right sizes is the manufacturer’s responsibility! I, Zolan, may be an old man, but I haven’t lost my pride as a creator of magic items—”

“I must apologize for my husband’s behavior.”

“?!”

A delicate hand reaches out and grabs Zolan’s shoulder. It barely touches him, but he stops dead in his tracks. The hand belongs to an elf, though how and when she entered the room is anyone’s guess. She’s over two heads taller than the dwarf Zolan, with distinctively long, pointy ears.

Her golden hair is tied up, and her porcelain-white skin and blue eyes make her look like a princess from some faraway land.

Toudou and company are shocked, and Zolan’s face freezes stiff as he turns around and shudders.

“S-sweetums… Wh-what’s the matter? …I’m at work right now, and—”

“I think your work here is finished, darling! Come, we have another request, so let’s get back home.”

“B-but I still haven’t checked the sizes—”

“Ah-ha-ha, oh, darling, I know your skills better than anyone. There’s no need to check. I’m sure they’ll fit perfectly.”

“No, no!! I gotta see the mermaaaids!! That’s what I came all the way here to Cloudburst fooor!!”

As Zolan starts to throw a tantrum, the elf turns toward Toudou calmly and lowers her head in supplication. Her hand remains gripping Zolan’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry. He’s always this way. No matter how many times I tell him, he won’t change.”

“N-no, it’s okay…”

“But I can guarantee you he is skilled. If there happens to be anything wrong at all, please come back and visit our shop. We’ll fix it for you free of charge.”

“O-okay…”

The elf smiles at Toudou, who can manage only a half-hearted reply, and drags Zolan out of the room. The dwarf’s yelping slowly dissipates.

Awkwardness hangs in the air. Looking down at the mermaid armor, Aria says with disgust, “…‘Sweetums’? …He…has a wife, it seems…”

“…Yeah, and he’s totally whipped.”

“Why does he spend his time making things like this if he has such a beautiful wife? I just…don’t understand people…”

Toudou looks at Limis’s mermaid armor and scratches her cheek in total bewilderment.

At any rate, their preparations are now complete. All that’s left to do is head down to the sunken temple with Rabi.

“…Is this really going to work? He said something about saving on materials…”

“…W-well, we should be able to manage… Probably,” Aria mutters, not looking very confident at all.

This is clearly excessive military force. You can get a sense of their indomitable will from the mass of troops gathered without having taken Cloudburst’s defenses into consideration whatsoever.

There’s power in numbers. Merely dispatching the countless mermen to Cloudburst will send the city into a frenzy. If they’re able to remove the grates from the waterways and use the canal that runs throughout Cloudburst, they’ll be able to overrun it in no time.

The number of monsters has increased exponentially in the last few days, to the point where they could likely defeat the entire Kingdom’s naval forces.

What can they be so afraid of, to amass an army this size? No one would believe that they’re just trying to be prudent.

Are these orders from the Demon Lord? Or are they just trying to cover all their bases? Even so, this is completely over the top. Heljarl already controls the entire ocean himself—amassing this many subordinates is just going to create unwanted openings, if anything.

“A fearsome army indeed. Amassing this many troops just to attack one small city… Is this the power of the Demon Lord?”

As I start to dig for information, one of the seadragon knight guards answers begrudgingly, eyes wide.

“…We only answer to one lord. Heljarl is descended from the God of Oceans. This army belongs to him and him alone.”

The God of Oceans, huh? Perhaps Heljarl and the Demon Lord Kranos’s relationship is not quite the lord-vassal type I expected.

They were likely once separate forces that united as one. This makes them only more troublesome.

“Come to think of it, this army isn’t the sort the Demon Lord would gather. Do you have some kind of cooperative alliance with him?”

“…If you manage to distinguish yourself in battle, you might just see for yourself.”

The seadragon knight falls silent before continuing at length.

“However, Gregorio, do not forget. Your life belongs to Heljarl, the King of the Ocean. You should be thankful that you have the honor of attending him as a merman.”

“I will pay him back in kind first by slaughtering the Holy Warrior.”

The seadragon knight doesn’t reply, simply nodding in agreement.

Cloudburst is a port, but taking down the entire city logically entails attacking it from on land. I haven’t heard about any plans like that, which was what made me so dubious about Heljarl’s whole strategy, but it looks like his internal affairs are more than a bit complicated.

Just then, the earring I attached to my dorsal fin starts vibrating. I turn my head and say to the seadragon knight on guard, “Seems your king is calling.”

“You don’t need my permission. Don’t make our king wait. Get moving!”

I wonder what he wants. There should still be some time until his troops attack the city.

I arrive in front of the throne room. They must have increased security—there are five fully armed seadragon knights guarding it.

I suddenly realize that I might have overstayed my welcome. Because of the seadragon knight guards, I can’t afford to do anything reckless, and I don’t know how far Sanya’s gotten with her search for the magic items. I need to wait for an opportunity.

I estimate that opportunity will occur right before Heljarl commands his army to march.

Just prior to manipulating all the monsters he’s gathered, Heljarl will be left defenseless. In that moment, I’ll be able to identify the flute that he uses to control them.

The seadragon knight guards straighten their backs and narrow their eyes at me. I perceive a stinging sensation, almost a rise in pressure, akin to murderous intent.

“You’re late. Our king awaits you. Get inside.”

“Ex Strength.”

“?!”

I cast buffs on myself in succession with holy techniques as the seadragon knights look on in astonishment. A number of high-level buffs only a high-ranking priest can wield rise within my body.

“Wh-what…are you doing?!”

“It’s a divine message from my god. You don’t mind, do you?” I ask as I finish casting the buffs. Take any and all precautions—that’s my motto.

If I see any kind of imposing security measures, then you better believe I’ll come prepared. And if I claim this is a divine message from my evil god, then they won’t deny me.

The seadragon knight guards shudder in fear and open the door without a word.

Gripping my mace, I step into the room. Heljarl and his bodyguards pierce me with their gazes.

In that moment, I know I was right to come prepared.

“Ah, Gregorio. So good you’re here.”

“Has something happened? I see you…have my sacrifice with you,” I respond, maintaining my composure. Sanya and the rest of the mermaids are standing behind Heljarl. They don’t look to be tied up, but they’re completely still.

I wondered why she didn’t contact me—she’s bungled the job. Sanya’s face is horribly lifeless, drained of color.

Her glassy-eyed expression is so unlike her energetic, vivacious look that it leaves me feeling utterly repulsed.

Fortunately, however, she’s still alive.

“Yes, Gregorio. I regret to tell you, but…your mermaid was causing a ruckus, you see. It was not an easy decision, but I’ve made her a bit more…compliant.”

“A ruckus… Did she do something?”

As I probe, feigning ignorance, a seadragon knight standing next to Heljarl cries out sharply, “‘Did she do something?!’ Your mermaid led the other mermaids to the treasure vault and broke in! The guards were severely wounded! If our king himself hadn’t intervened, they would have likely suffered even worse. This is on your head!”

The treasure vault, huh? I did tell Sanya to befriend the mermaids, but I can see that she went a little overboard.

The other seadragon knights are all glowering at me with bloodlust in their eyes. At this point, I can’t quite blame them.

However, I snort and laugh in their faces. I can’t be held accountable—in trivial moments like this, I have to laugh it off.

“…Ha! They took a beating from a bunch of mermaids? Such a disgrace to the Demon Lord’s army. They lost to my sacrifice—I guess those spears are just for show. Are the followers of the God of Oceans that pitifully weak?”

“What did you say?!”

“Your loss was due to your own weakness. You are not worthy enough to call yourselves warriors.”

As I chastise them, I assess the difference in our combat ability. There are five knights to the left and right of Heljarl and six more up against the wall.

None of them is particularly powerful, but taking them down in one blow from head-on will prove tough. Allowing them any time will only guarantee the arrival of more reinforcements.

Heljarl raises his palm at the enraged guard to pacify him and breathes a small sigh.

“Gregorio, that will be quite enough. My soldiers are not weak. Rather, your mermaid is strong. She had the help of the others, but even then, it’s unfathomable to think she managed to take down so many of my men. Furthermore, you had a responsibility to watch over her. I gave you permission to roam freely throughout our stronghold, but that permission does not extend to your mermaid breaking into our treasure vault.”

Sanya strides robotically out from behind Heljarl to stand at his side. He licks his lips and continues.

“Even my army follows certain rules, and sin begets punishment. Fortunately for you, you’ll soon have a chance to vindicate yourself—”

I see—it appears that somehow, Heljarl has no intention of punishing me physically. It must be because our showdown with the Holy Warrior is very soon. Above all else, I’m just glad that Sanya is still alive, although she’s been captured.

Sanya slowly draws the knife stuck in her belt. It’s large and fang-like. She handles it elegantly, pointing the tip directly at me.

“I’m not taking her hostage, but I won’t give this mermaid back to you, not yet.”

“What did you do to my sacrifice?”

“Mermaids are ocean-dwelling beings. They cannot defy me, the King of the Ocean.”

Are they under the power of a different flute of his? It’s true that Zolan said the mermaid armor tricks others into mistaking the wearer for a mermaid, but that implies the effect has its demerits, too. I was not expecting this whatsoever.

Sanya should have resistance to mental manipulation from her training, but I guess she couldn’t stand up to it this time.

Heljarl smiles, pleased, as I fall silent.

“Worry not. Our objective remains the same. I don’t intend to behead you here and now. I have mercy for faithful soldiers. Follow my order and slay the Holy Warrior. Slip into the city amid the confusion, find the Holy Warrior, and kill him. If you do, consider your sins washed clean. I’ll even give you your mermaid, too.”

“Very well. Yet, I have one thing to ask: Will my mermaid return to her former self?”

“Heh-heh-heh, yes, of course. If I deem it so.”

Heljarl lets out a low chuckle. He’s telling the truth.

I can’t see any emotion in Sanya’s eyes. I have no use for magic items at this point, unless they turn her back into her old self.

There are a number of techniques that cause mental contamination, but the majority of them only restrict the target’s thoughts. What’s more, mindless emotion can have the most drastic influence on one’s actions.

This means that someone who’s been mentally compromised loses the ability to attack with their potential. Sanya’s movements were elegant when she drew her blade, but she can’t currently unleash her true strength.

They haven’t tried to manipulate my mind, only because they’re likely scared that I’ll become less powerful.

“Until I return her to you, this mermaid will be part of my personal guard. She needs to work to make up for the soldiers she killed. We’ll be ready to attack in a matter of days. You’ll manage until then.”

They’re trying to keep me in check. A seadragon knight on Heljarl’s right, one who looks more regal than the rest, seems to relax a bit. It must have been his plan.

I cross my arms and watch Sanya. She doesn’t seem to be any more relaxed as she stares back at me.

As Heljarl said, it’s natural to strike back when attacked. This particular seadragon knight is far more troublesome than the rest.

I lower my mace in my hand and ask Heljarl, feigning ignorance, “…How are you controlling them? Drugs?”

“…Drugs?” Heljarl retorts, his mouth nearly splitting at the seams. His reptilian eyes are boring into me.

A screeching laugh reverberates through the water. All Heljarl’s soldiers are frozen stiff.

“Bwa-ha-ha… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Splendid, a splendid joke, Gregorio! As if I, the King of the Ocean, would ever stoop to such pathetic methods. Very well, then—I’ll show you!”

“M-my liege!”

Heljarl ignores the entourage around him trying to hold him back. He gets to his feet and slowly reaches out to me with his right hand. In the next instant, a long, transparent blue flute abruptly appears in it.

The flute is almost an entire meter long. Its translucent bluish body has a number of haphazardly placed holes, and the tip is adorned with several sea-green jewels that I’ve never seen before.

It’s precisely what I’ve been searching for this entire time. A strange impulse runs down my body from head to toe, leaving me shivering.

So he did have it after all. Is it magic?! I couldn’t see him hiding anything earlier… He completely fooled me.

I’m dumbfounded, and Heljarl raises his voice as if he is announcing the item’s presence.

“This is the secret treasure passed down through the descendants of the God of Oceans, created from the root of all marine life—Mar Animus—and a true testament to me, Heljarl, as sole ruler of the seas!”

The seadragon knights surrounding Heljarl fall to their knees in unison like the loyal vassals they are.

The only ones left standing are Sanya and the mermaids, who have had their mental faculties stolen.

Heljarl glares at me. The tolerant air he had when we first met is long gone. Nothing but euphoric power stretching in all directions and an unspeakably limitless pride remain.

“All ocean-dwelling beings are my servants! Gregorio, you may be a powerful warrior, but you are no exception! What—did you think that because you’re a merman, I would excuse you?!”

I see how it is…

I lower my mace and slowly begin to kneel.

“…Yes, my liege.”

The corners of Heljarl’s mouth turn up into a smile.

In that moment, I pretend like I’m going to fall to my knees, but instead I kick heavily off the ground and lunge toward Heljarl. It’s important for crusaders to never falter.

No matter what comes my way, I won’t hesitate. It’s an easy claim to make, but most people can’t actually follow through.

Sure, I, too, used to hesitate. But no longer. I’ll execute a sudden onslaught when they’ve lowered their guard. The perfect sneak attack. The entire room is under their king’s control. Just as I looked like I was going to kneel, they all let their guard down.

—None of them is able to react in time—save for just one.

As I go to swing my mace down, my attack is deflected from below, at an angle. My mace is thrown off its unwavering trajectory and smashes into the ground. Heljarl’s eyes grow wide as he realizes what’s happening and takes a step back.

Sanya had instantaneously stepped in to block my attack. Her eyes show neither anger nor strife. I can’t tell what the hell she’s thinking; she’s acting as a wall between Heljarl and me. The soldiers surrounding us finally get their wits about them.

Their murderous intent pierces my being, and I raise my mace once again. Heljarl glowers at me.

“…What is the meaning of this, Gregorio? Surely this isn’t some sort of joke you’re pulling.”

It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance: Heljarl and his flute. Taking them both out in one fell swoop would return the oceans back to humanity.

As for Sanya, I can just send her to the Church to heal.

Emotionally, I’m torn—I want to save Sanya, but I can’t weigh that against restoring peace to the ocean.

The soldiers encroach and turn their spears on me. I thrust my mace at Heljarl and demand, “Give it back— No, I will make you give me that flute back, Heljarl!”

“You’ll…make me? What nonsense is this?! No—just who do you think you are?!”

Heljarl’s eyes are rife with the intent to kill. Intimidation ripples through the air, smoldering throughout the battlefield.

Every ear in the room hangs on my next word. I decide to identify myself clearly and openly.

“I believe it’s time I dropped the act. My name is Gregorio Legins. I am a disciple of the evil god—and a member of the Demon Lord Army’s Disciplinary Corps. By order of His Excellency the Demon Lord, I demand you return that sacred treasure to me now!”

Time comes to a halt. The soldiers surrounding me are visibly agitated and stop in their tracks.

Heljarl’s eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets as his lip trembles.

“Disciplinary Corps…?! What the hell is that? I’ve never heard of such a thing!!”

Yeah, neither have I.

“Saying you’re unfamiliar with it is not enough to give you a pass, King of the Ocean. His Excellency the Demon Lord is tolerant, just as you are, but he, too, has his limits.”

“Ngh… Preposterous… You’re implying that Kranos has forsaken me?!”

Heljarl takes a step back, perhaps unconsciously.

“Foolish! Absurd! Ludicrous! I am the one controlling these vast and endless oceans! You have no idea the hardships I’ve endured—”

He’s completely bought my act. It’s a good thing demons are so simplistic. But then again, I wouldn’t normally assume a merman to be allied with humans.

It would seem that Heljarl has heard of it after all. Everyone has skeletons in their closet, and demons? Mountains of them.

Heljarl grips his staff and burns his gaze into me.

“Killing the Holy Warrior is Kranos’s greatest wish! I will not be punished for nothing!”

“Hmph. Do you have specific orders, then? Spit them out.”

“Rrrgh…”

The warriors are abuzz, murmuring among themselves. Heljarl bites his lip. Again, the lenience I’ve seen in him thus far is nowhere to be found.

Just as I expected, his plans to attack Cloudburst were not a direct order. In fact, his strategy doesn’t even align with the Demon Lord’s movements thus far.

Suppression through sheer numbers is a frightening strategy indeed, but had it been the Demon Lord’s orders, there would definitely be a unit attacking from on land, and in that case, Sanya would have sniffed it out in the city.

A member of Heljarl’s entourage, standing on his left, screams in a panic, “W-wait! Our king has not betrayed anyone! It’s true that he wasn’t given a direct order, but has the Demon Lord forgotten his achievements thus far?!”

“You fool. That is for His Excellency to determine, not I. Attempting to understand his forethought is an exercise in absurdity. The only thing you’ll be allowed is to lower your head and await your judgment.”

“!!”

Heljarl’s forces are powerful, but they’re nothing compared to the Demon Lord’s. Speaking in terms of sheer military strength, there are a number of individuals within the Demon Lord Army’s top brass confirmed to be more powerful than Heljarl. And it’s obvious that Heljarl knows this.

“Ridiculous… Disciplinary Corps? And on top of that, you want me to give back Mar Animus?! This item is proof of my birthright as King of the Ocean—it belongs to me. The only thing your lot has done is give it the form of a flute! Have you forgotten that I’m only cooperating with you because I was asked to?! We are equals!!”

“M-my liege…!”

His entourage tries to stop him, but Heljarl continues.

“And in the first place, Mar Animus can only be used by the one who has the blood of the God of Oceans coursing through his veins—me and only me! What could you possibly accomplish by stealing it?!”

Heljarl’s eyes are filled with intense wrath, giving off incredible amounts of bloodlust and intimidation. The staff in his right hand gleams brightly.

That said, he’s really letting his mouth run. This is all highly useful information. I file it away in my brain and focus on what’s most important now.

The flute cannot be used by just anyone. In other words, if Heljarl is killed, then it will be rendered useless. The other option would be to destroy this so-called Mar Animus, a testament to the King of the Ocean’s throne.

I snort with derision at Heljarl’s wrath and respond with a glib remark.

“It can only be used by you… Are you sure about that?”

“?!”

“How long have you believed you are the only one with the blood of the God of Oceans coursing through his veins?”

I’m talking out of my ass here, but Heljarl is speechless. I finally notice a glimpse of fear in his eyes.

It seems I’ve landed a critical hit. Heljarl’s loose lips might prove to be his only virtue.

“It can’t be… Did you possibly search for them?! Why and how?!”

“Judging from your appearance, you already know.”

“But…but…they broke ranks with the Demon Lord! They couldn’t possibly be allied with the likes of you—”

“! My liege! Say no more!!”

One of Heljarl’s troops shouts to stop him from speaking further.

A seadragon knight wearing a purple helmet steps in front of Heljarl and glares, his spear pointed at me.

“My liege… Please calm yourself. This brute is trying to extract information from you.”

“What?!”

Shit, they’ve figured me out. It would’ve been so much easier to kill him if he kept running his mouth…

No matter—I’ve gotten the bare minimum of what I wanted out of him. All that’s left is to bash his brains in.

The seadragon knight calms his tone, yet there’s still a trace of rudeness as he interrogates me.

“Gregorio, are your actions truly per orders from the Demon Lord himself?”

“…”

“Our king and the Demon Lord are compatriots. I cannot fathom that the Demon Lord would punish our king now, when he’s so close to attacking the Holy Warrior.”

The knight speaks with conviction. Perhaps Heljarl and Kranos are closer than I predicted.

Hearing this, Heljarl’s eyes grow wide. Then I see it in them again—pure rage.

This anger far eclipses what I saw earlier. His voice and entire body are quivering with wrath.

“You’re right. It can’t be Kranos… This makeshift plan of yours, your unbelievable strength for a merman… Are you…involved with…that brat?!”

Brat…? Who is he talking about?

There isn’t anyone within the Demon Lord Army’s top brass who fits that description that comes to my mind.

“Heh… So you aren’t as stupid as you seem.”

“Rrrgh… That human, trying to curry favor with Kranos— Just what is he trying to do to me, the King of the Ocean—?”

“…”

Human?! Did he just say human?! Is there a human in the Demon Lord’s army’s inner circle?

If I could, I’d be holding my head in my hands. Of course, there are humans who secretly collaborate with demon kind behind the scenes, but this brat Heljarl is talking about can’t be one of them. It’s clearly one of Kranos’s elite—a human with the authority to plot an assassination attempt on Heljarl, who controls the entire ocean. Whoever this human being is, for them to hold that kind of authority and be allowed to wield it, they must certainly be in Kranos’s favor.

Nothing like this has ever happened before. Can the current Demon Lord’s erratic movements be chalked up to this human member of his inner circle?

Heljarl isn’t even listening to me anymore, nor is he focused on me. His golden eyes are searing his wrath into this so-called brat, through my being. I probably won’t be able to get any other valuable information from him at this rate.

Sanya brandishes her knife as Heljarl screams, “Your…merman appearance…is a fake, too! What preposterous mimicry!”

“I’ll leave that up to your imagination. If you surrender now, I will go easy on you. This I promise.”

I raise my mace to encourage his surrender, but Heljarl immediately screams in retort.

“Kill him! Let the seas run red with his blood and beat him down before Kranos’s very eyes!!”

“So you resist… I have no choice, then. I will need only to deliver your head to His Excellency myself.”

Seadragon knights generally carry only spears. They’re useless in a free-for-all.

What’s more, this isn’t an enemy camp—it simply lacks the equipment, preparations, and anything suited for battle in general.

“…D-don’t let him escape! Protect the king!” the seadragon knight screams, and the soldiers flanking Heljarl step out in front of him. Sanya leads them.

She’s leading with her right foot, her stance ready to respond to anything. Her chest rises and falls imperceptibly. Her breathing doesn’t reveal any anxiety—her arms and legs are perfectly in tune.

Seadragon knights are polished warriors themselves, but they don’t hold a candle to Sanya. She can snipe from midrange distance, and her movements are a whirlwind of tricky maneuvers. Her skill with a knife is the real threat.

How many scouts out there can manage to parry my mace? Depending on the situation, she could even defeat me. However, Sanya isn’t that powerful from this range, and not with her current weapon. Nothing to be afraid of.

Sanya watches my every move.

“Your plan was pathetic, but you were right!” Heljarl screams. “Now, Gregorio. Can you defeat my subordinates? Can you mow down this many of them? Witness my power as king and burn the image into your mind as you die a pitiful death!”

“Please. I lack any emotion.”

“?!”

Demons are the enemies of crusaders. They capture the weak as hostages on a daily basis.

I bring my mace down toward Heljarl’s head without a moment’s hesitation. Sanya meets my attack with her knife.

A knife is paltry next to a mace. Sanya’s not truly parrying my blows—she’s improvising her own counterattack without getting overpowered by me.

She manages to deflect another one of my blows, but I can see that her hand is shaking as she attacks. She uses her right arm to deflect a high kick I quickly unleash, and her thin body levitates for an instant. I can feel her muscles groaning in agony. Her slender frame then does a flip to avoid my next attack.

Sanya’s abilities are not well suited to defense. Especially not against me.

“It’s a shame. She’s an outsider. This was a done deal the moment she stood before me. Her only remaining purpose in life is to become a sacrifice for my god. Did you really think that taking her hostage would work on me?”

“…How vile!”

I don’t really want to kill her, but Sanya became a problem the second she was brainwashed.

Crusaders make their living by acting with resolve. I immediately determine that her life isn’t worth more than annihilating Heljarl.

Sanya looks at me, and suddenly, her expression reverts back to normal. Her face falls and she screams out, nearly in tears. However, she’s still facing me directly—did Heljarl restore only her consciousness?

“Nnngh… Ow! Boss! Stop it! I’m sorry! W-wait—you’re fighting for real here?!”

“Your plan is worthless. The incompetent will die.”

“I’m conscious! I’m fully awake, y’know! Boss?! Boss?!”

Despite her tearful voice, Sanya extends her knife toward the hand my mace is in with one elegant movement.

Perhaps because her consciousness has returned, the attack is pitiful. I step back to dodge it and slam my mace into her stomach.

“Guh…”

Sanya’s body floats through the water. Her eyes bulge from her head and a scream of agony escapes her slack-jawed lips.

She flies toward a group of soldiers who scramble to avoid her. There’s no one there to break her fall, and she simply smashes into the wall behind them.

Heljarl’s eyes go wide; he must have thought he could create a longer diversion. The soldiers themselves are shaken up, too.

The ones who looked about ready to attack me from behind are having second thoughts.

“Absurd… You attacked without even a moment’s hesitation?!”

“Want to try and sic those mermaids behind you on me, too?”

“Rrrgh… Bring it on!”

The horde of troops leaps at me all at once—from both flanks: the front and the rear.

I ignore them and kick off the floor, my gaze locked on Heljarl.

Aria lays into Heljarl with an ever-changing flurry of strikes, from above, below, left, and right, but Heljarl blocks them all with his left hand; in his right, he grips his staff. There isn’t any sound of metal on metal—her attacks simply aren’t getting through.

“So slow! So pathetically slow! Neither your strength nor speed are enough to reach me!”

“It’s not…a regular wall—he’s averting the attacks using the flow of water surrounding him!”

Aria put her entire being into that attack. The moment Heljarl took it head-on, wholly unscathed, she knew she had no chance of winning.

There’s only one role left for Rabi—a decoy. She hides in Aria’s shadow before jumping out to strike.

Her blunt hatchet sweeps sideways, aiming for Heljarl’s neck. He merely takes one step backward and avoids it completely.

Her blade slices nothing but air. Rabi and Aria are dumbfounded as Heljarl screams, “…Is that…all you’ve got?! …Argh, if only you and that creature had switched places, then I’d be able to understand!!”

“!!”

“Guh!!”

A massive impact hits the two of them. This time, Toudou was able to catch sight of it, even though it should be invisible.

It’s water. Just as Rabi warned them—he’s controlling the water. The blast that knocked back Toudou and the attack on Rabi and Aria just now are one and the same.

The only thing they weren’t expecting was how the attacks came without any warning at all.

Aria is slammed against the wall and Rabi rolls along the ground. A sharp cry of pain fills Toudou’s ears.

It’s an invisible attack. Although it’s not an especially powerful one, taking too many direct hits will definitely prove fatal. Toudou sees this and steps back in front of Heljarl. She has to keep him distracted from Aria and Rabi until they stand up again.

Toudou raises her shield and rushes at top speed to close the distance between Heljarl and herself.

“HAAAAAAAAA!!”

“That’s it! Come! Come to me—and meet your death!!”

“!!”

The air—no, the water—begins to warp. It’s whirling toward Toudou like a pointed spear. There’s no chance of avoiding it.

Toudou steels herself, shield raised, and intercepts the blow. The heavy impact jolts her entire body, and a fierce grating sound radiates from her shield before passing through her. The Shield of Radiance, already riddled with cracks, whines and creaks loudly.

Toudou has never heard such a horrible sound, and she desperately manages to slice through the spear with the holy sword Ex. The invisible water spear offers no resistance and is cleaved in half, disappearing alongside the force pushing back Toudou’s shield.

Heljarl’s eyes are wide with shock for the first time.

“What…just…?”

“…That…can’t be— How did you manage…to cut through my water spear using your paltry strength?! This must be…the power of the Holy Warrior!”

Aria uses her sword to prop herself back up. Rabi remains crawling on her hands and knees and looks up at Heljarl in agony.

Toudou is staring at her blade—the holy sword Ex. Her proof as the Holy Warrior. A relic passed down from the previous Holy Warrior, light as a feather and tremendously sharp.

Holy Warriors of ages past have wielded this blade to slaughter demons, their leaders, and even evil gods.

As the current hero, Toudou is still half-baked. She can’t fully utilize the sword’s power.

Even so, the holy sword Ex is glowing brightly—it’s encouraging her.

Toudou grips the hilt with purpose. A powerful throbbing sensation ripples through her, almost as if the sword is alive.

Strength fills Toudou’s body. Seeing the shining sword capable of crushing pure evil, Heljarl erupts into crazed laughter.

“Heh… BWA-HA-HA-HAAA! HA-HA-HA-HA! HA!!”

Any traces of sanity in Heljarl’s eyes are long gone.

“I see—it’s the power of the holy sword!!” he screams. “And yet, so pitiful— Even that cursed merman managed that! You—you are exceedingly inferior. Do not despair, for now you face a real monster! Rejoice in the good fortune of facing your demise here and now!!”

“What the—?!”

Toudou’s mind goes completely blank at the spectacle unfolding in front of her.

The water spear that she managed to slice through moments ago has returned, only this time in infinite numbers.

Their tips quickly whirl around and take aim at Toudou and her party.

There are simply…too many of them, each one clearly just as powerful as the first.

Even if Toudou manages to withstand them, in full armor and with a shield, her companion members won’t.

“Rrrgh… Nao!!” Limis screams.

Glacia’s eyes fly open, and she kicks off the ground with the kind of agility one would not typically expect from her.

Heljarl’s lips twist into a merciless grin.

Toudou raises her blade high with her eyes wide, focused on the movement of the water spears.

Heljarl similarly raises his staff high overhead—and in the next second, he suddenly crumples. A thunderous roar echoes through the sunken temple.

He scowls for the first time and braces himself with his staff as he falls to the ground. The water spears vanish.

“It’s…an elemental spirit…,” Rabi utters hoarsely.

A womanly figure draped in a robe-like wave of water appears behind Heljarl.

The figure looks like Limis, but its expression is incredibly stern as it glowers at Heljarl. It lifts its staff and points it at him. This motion alone, without so much as a single incantation, sends a shock wave plowing through Heljarl. He spins around without the sense of composure he maintained a moment ago and thrusts his black staff at the figure.

Their respective blasts of water smash into each other, and the sunken temple groans from the impact. Toudou feels an incoming rush, as if a raging wave was pushing against her body.

“It’s…alive?”

“Elemental spirits…do not die…so easily. This…is your chance. Toudou, lend it your strength—”

The water spears collide again; the aftershocks make it hard for Toudou to even stand.

The water spirit’s expression contorts, using its entire body to swing its staff in large, sweeping motions.

A blade of water goes flying toward Heljarl, who then creates his own water blade to slash the spirit down. Neither of them takes any damage, but the gap in strength is evident. Heljarl is already back on his feet from the surprise attack.

“How dare a mere lowly spirit oppose me! Even without Mar Animus, you are outmatched! Just who do you take me for?! I, Heljarl, am the true descendant of the God of Oceans—!!” he screams, his feet stuck in place. Before he even realizes it, Glacia has approached him and wrapped her long hair around his ankles. The second he realizes what is happening, Heljarl kicks at Glacia’s head in irritation, sending her flying.

Aria slashes down on Heljarl from overhead, but he swats her aside with his staff, clearly annoyed. In the ensuing gap this creates, the water elemental spirit fires a projectile that hits Heljarl dead center, but his water barrier must still be going strong—he barely stumbles from the impact.

With her hatchet in one hand, Rabi draws near to Heljarl, but then, perhaps in reaction to his bloodred stare, she simply flops back onto her rear.

Heljarl erupts into rampant laugher and bellows, “Futile! Here, in this ocean, against me, Heljarl—there will be no victors! Including that vile creature! In good time, I will end him!! That brat and Kranos will also feel my wrath! Anyone who dares make a mockery of me—I will decorate their graves with their own heads!!”

Heljarl’s intimidating presence continues to escalate with his fervent howling. Just as he claims, his life force is so immense that its influence extends to even the world around them. The word invincible comes to Toudou’s mind.

Even with the grand water elemental spirit added to the Holy Warrior’s party, they don’t stand a chance against the overwhelming power belonging to one of the Demon Lord Army’s leaders.

Yet, they can kill him. No matter how vast a difference lies between them, Toudou has the holy sword Ex in her hand.

Heljarl must deem her to be insignificant, however, as she is now just mere steps away from him. The water elemental spirit is draining the last of its energy as it attacks Heljarl relentlessly.

He has his back to Toudou. The holy sword can slice right through him.

Toudou lets go of her shield and grips her blade’s hilt with both hands. Everything is riding on this next blow.

“Toudou! Do it now!!” Rabi screams. In that instant, Toudou pours her entire being into a single sword strike.

She points the tip at Heljarl’s back, focused only on piercing it straight through his heart. Heljarl realizes she’s behind him and turns around, but he’s too late. The shining tip of the holy sword Ex sinks into Heljarl’s back.

—But then a powerful impact repels it.

“…Huh?”

Toudou’s eyes go wide as Heljarl brings his staff down on her head. Her consciousness begins to slip as her field of vision goes dim from the intense force of the impact.

She slumps to the floor. The holy sword Ex was so firmly in her grasp, but the strength leaves her hands, and she drops it onto the ground. All she can hear is Heljarl’s ridicule.

“BWAAA-HA-HAAA!! You fool! Even the holiest of blades can’t pierce this armor with your pitiful strength!!”

With her dimmed vision, all she can see is Rabi, flopped down on the floor—her lip trembling, her thin arms and slender frame, her glasses slipping down her nose. The hatchet, her only weapon, gets swept away by the flow of the water and drifts off, leaving a hollow, futile sound in its wake.

Toudou cannot die. As the only one capable of wielding the holy sword Ex, she must survive, or humanity will not prevail.

Toudou’s sense of duty stirs her awake.

Frantically moving her lifeless tongue, she manages to cast a healing spell on herself for the first time in ages. A sliver of strength returns to her fingertips. She subtly moves her hand so as to remain unnoticed, feeling for the holy sword Ex, which is surely nearby. Heljarl has to be off his guard right now. She has a duty—a duty to slice off his head. That’s all that matters to Naotsugu Toudou at this moment.

She desperately gropes around with her hand and feels a hot sensation shoot through it. She tries to move her hand again, but it won’t budge.

It must have been pierced by one of Heljarl’s claws. In her dim consciousness, she can hear him shouting, confident in his victory.

“Futile! Your attempts are futile, Holy Warrior! None of you has the proper strength, level, or life force to defeat me! Bwa-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA! No matter how many of you! It’s all futile!”

Mixed in with Heljarl’s derision, Toudou can also hear a small, stifled voice.

“I’m…s-scared… Ooooh… Wh-why did I…end up…like this…?”

Rabi is crying. There aren’t any tears underwater, but her bleary, bloodshot eyes make it apparent. A string of words, almost like complaints, pours forth from her small lips.

“The Demon Lord Army’s elite inner circle… A-and here I am, just a peace-loving wererabbit… Why…why does everyone always bully me…? …Boss gives me terrible orders, and my master always pushes me to the brink of death with training… And Sanya is so insensitive, telling me that I’d make the perfect pet, since wererabbits can mate at any time, or that I have great features, so I’ll fetch a high price… She’s always kidnapping me and saying the most horrible things… Everyone really ought to be nicer to me… How can they all treat me so…horribly…? All I do is stay quiet, keep my hood up, try not to stand out, shaking… My dream is to become a bride, you know. Sanya should be the one getting such awful treatment, not me!”

“…Wh-what the hell is she talking about?”

Heljarl’s voice is tinged with agitation.

“We’d all be better off…dead. I hate this! Oof… I think one of my bones is broken… He’s just gonna complain about me anyway, that I got the people I’m supposed to be escorting injured, and then he’ll cut my pay… UGH! He might even just pay me in…carrots…”

Rabi stands up. At that moment, Toudou realizes the din of battle around her has ceased.

The claw that punctured her hand and kept it pressed down against the ground suddenly goes limp.

“…I really hate anyone obsessed with fighting. I absolutely despise them. They never show any weaknesses, and they’re sickeningly strong… I’m gonna go home, get my wounds healed, take a bath, and go to sleep in my nice, soft, comfy bed. It was great doing business with you.”

“Hmph… You think I’ll let you go home?”

Heljarl threatens Rabi, but his voice is feeble. Did Rabi’s attempt to escape reality manage to placate him? Conversely, her response comes quite readily.

“Oh, I’m definitely going home. Because…Heljarl, sir, your head is no longer attached to your body.”

Heljarl’s eyes grow wide. His black staff falls from his hand and tumbles to the floor.

The water elemental spirit is also dumbfounded and wide-eyed as it simply observes the scene unfolding.

“…Let me guess… Your body…isn’t functioning…the way you want it to, right? Boss says that even if he…lost his head, he’d just…use healing magic to reattach it before he dies, see? It’s truly unbelievable. No normal person…is capable of such a thing.”

Rabi breaks into a smile that implies a slight appetite for sadism.

Some distance from her, Aria staggers and stands up. Everyone in the room is capable only of remaining silent and listening to Rabi speak.

“Heh-heh… When I let go of my weapon…and became empty-handed, you let your guard down…didn’t you? In reality…that doesn’t matter. My attacks are all thanks to my…divine protection—the divine protection of the God of Beheading. It’s an indigenous god…much more minor than the God of Oceans. But, well, you see, my dream is to become a bride, so… Did you…see my attack coming? Oh, you can’t hear me anymore? And maybe I’ve…said too much?”

“…Im……poss…ible— Grego…rio—”

Heljarl’s head gives a sudden jolt before landing next to Toudou’s face. His eyes are wide with shock and the humiliation of having died before he even knew what hit him.

Rabi rearranges her thin mermaid-armor overcoat, which had become disheveled, and heaves a deep sigh. She forces the claw out of Toudou’s hand and grasps her by it, helping her to her feet.

“Okay, we’re finished here. All done. Let’s go home. Ahhh, I’m so glad I researched monsters beforehand. That way, I was able to learn Heljarl’s weak point. Now it’s all been settled. Okay, Toudou, come on now—stand up.”

“…Ngh… Owww. R-Rabi?! That hurts!!”

A dazzlingly bright human figure wrapped in flame is attacking the water elemental spirit, despite the highly disadvantageous battlefield. The water elemental spirit is startled and scurries to escape.

Fed up, I cast a fire protection spell on myself before kicking off the ground and charging at the fiery apparition.

Why was I the one summoned?

When Toudou first came to this world, she turned those words over in her mind so many times, and now, they twist their way into her consciousness once again.

The girl named Naotsugu Toudou is exceptional in every sense of the word. She always got good grades in school. She loved learning, either from books or experiences, and she was athletic, too. She had a lot of friends and led a productive life. From an objective standpoint, she was a head above the average person her age.

Her only complaint was that the world was unfair. Evil flourishes and it preys upon the weak. That’s always bothered her. Whereas the average person would just resign themselves to that fact, Toudou is the type who instead fights back against it.

When Toudou was summoned to this world and told the reason for this, she felt a sense of destiny. Even if she hadn’t been asked to, Toudou would have likely set out to defeat the Demon Lord anyway.

In Cloudburst, at the inn, Toudou gazes at her shield on the table, full of massive cracks and fissures.

It’s the Shield of Radiance, an armament that was bestowed upon Toudou when she was chosen as the hero, and it’s kept her safe thus far. It became cracked from her fight with Gregorio, and it somehow made it through her battles in Golem Valley, but Heljarl’s water spear has caused the cracks to spread so much that they’re now clearly more like deep fissures. She doubts it will be useful any longer.

Rather, it’s a miracle that this shield was able to defend against magic from one of the Demon Lord Army’s elite in the state it was in.

Even aside from the cracks, the shining blue shield’s surface is full of damage. Toudou rubs her finger across it and exhales a sentimental sigh. She looks at the holy sword Ex and holy armor Fried leaning against the wall next to her. They are mere armaments, but in this world, they serve as Toudou’s valuable companions.

“…Not enough…”

Toudou looks again at the sword, which was incapable of piercing Heljarl’s armor.

The holy sword Ex. The Holy Warrior’s blade, said to be capable of slicing through anything in the universe. When Toudou attacked Heljarl, she was fully convinced her attack would succeed.

No… Even in the Great Tomb—in Purif—when Gregorio blocked her attack with his trunk, she thought so…

It’s not that the blade is dull. The holy sword Ex can cut through anything in the universe, and it’s imbued with divine protection.

Toudou is blessed, and for this reason, she can find only one answer.

“I’m so…weak…”

Her hoarse voice echoes vacantly through the empty room.

Toudou feels absolutely powerless. She needs the strength to protect the people she wants to protect.

She clenches her fists tightly. Her level has definitely gone up, but how much has she really changed?

The Demon Lord Army’s upper ranks were more powerful than she could have imagined. Then there was that terrifying merman on the ocean floor. And Rabi’s hidden strength—breathtaking.

Toudou feels empty. Right now, her own level of strength won’t help her do a single thing. She can’t even feel frustration.

Back then, and even now, the world is just too rife with futility.

Toudou closes her eyes and mulls over these words and the reality staring her in the face. No tears form in her eyes—she has no tears left to cry.

So she whispers a little something to herself. Toudou repeats the words, engraving them deep into her heart, as she has done so many times already.

“I will get stronger. I will save the world. I am…the hero.”

Why was Toudou the one summoned? To tell the truth, none of that matters to her.

She’s not afraid of death. Well, actually, she is—but that’s not much of an obstacle for her.

That’s because Naotsugu Toudou has already died once.

She died in desperation, but she received a second chance at life. This isn’t the world she was born into, but she has to save it, through any means possible. She has to do what is right.

Even if it’s all meaningless in the end. Even if it doesn’t bring her an ounce of personal reward.

Even if she can’t use the armaments of the Holy Warrior, she’ll use any means necessary to continue her pursuit of righteousness.

Toudou whispers again, more emphatic this time. She’s not saying it to anyone—it’s a proclamation to herself.

“Desperation will only make me stronger. Next time, I won’t lose!”

Toudou clenches her fists and bites her lip. Her jet-black eyes, filled with powerful conviction, are reflected in the shattered face of her shield.

“…We’re back.”

“Welcome back. That was quick—did it go well?”

Aria and Limis have just gotten back, and seeing the expressions on their faces, Toudou frowns.

They look beyond tired, practically emaciated, like they’ve just witnessed a nightmare.

“Uh, y-yeah, I guess. So much happened… I don’t even know where to start.”

Limis sighs deeply and tosses herself wildly into a chair like a rag doll. Her eyes are dead. Aria looks pretty sluggish herself. Glacia’s sullen expression is Toudou’s only respite.

“Oh, okay. You can tell me later, after you rest…”

“Yeah… I think that’s what I’ll do. By the way, Nao, how about you? Are you feeling better?”

It’s Toudou’s turn to sigh next. She forces out a bitter smile and shakes her head.

“…It’s no use. I can’t…wear the holy armor Fried…anymore… It’s too tight across the chest, and I just can’t get it on. I tried every trick in the book, but I can’t do it anymore. I’ll have to stick to just the holy sword Ex from now on.”