by Ao Jyumonji
“Ngrargh!” Losing his patience, Ranta let out a weird cry.
Yume made a big show of sighing. “If waitin’s so hard for ya, why don’t ya go take a nap or somethin’?”
“Yeah, and when I do, I bet you’re planning to take the opportunity to abandon me here!” Ranta snarled.
“Good guess.”
“Yeah, I’m a good guesser, Tiny Tits. I know how you think. I see right through you!”
“Don’t call them tiny!” Yume screamed.
“When you say it like that, what kind of idiot wouldn’t do it? They’re tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiiiiiny!”
“Murrrrrgh...”
“Y-Yume...” Shihoru patted Yume on the back. “Um, I don’t think your breasts are tiny...”
“Oooh,” Yume moaned. “Shihoru, it’s no comfort hearin’ that from someone who has really big breasts.”
“Huh...? I-I’m just fat... But, I’m sorry...”
“Nuh-uh. Yume’s the one who oughta be sorry. Don’t you worry about it. You didn’t make your breasts grow that big, Shihoru, and Yume didn’t make Yume’s breasts small, either. Besides, y’know, Yume’s a hunter, so she uses a bow every once in a loooong while. When she does that, if her breasts were too big, she kind of thinks they might get in the way.”
“...Well... You could be right, yeah...”
“See? Bein’ a hunter may have been Yume’s callin’ in life...”
“Oh, come on, that’s your reason...?” Ranta snorted.
Haruhiro didn’t entirely disagree with Ranta’s sentiment, but he decided not to touch the subject.
Just let it go. Let it go. Let it go.
While he was sitting there building experience points to get his Let It Go skill up to the next level, Haruhiro sensed something coming.
The vast majority of the fifth level was quite noisy, but around this out-of-the-way spot, it was quiet. This was a mining tunnel, so sounds echoed, too.
I hear footsteps coming. Probably a kobold.
Haruhiro raised a hand, pointing into the distance. Then, he stuck his thumb out and gave the thumbs-down sign. In the time since they started frequenting the Cyrene Mines, they had settled on this as their enemy incoming, prepare for battle sign.
Yume readied an arrow, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Moguzo with his bastard sword, Ranta his longsword, Shihoru her staff, and Haruhiro with his dagger each took up fighting stances. Merry was holding her priest’s staff tightly, as well.
Haruhiro breathed. I see it. It’s an elder.
Yume opened her eyes. She had activated the Quick-eye skill, which used special eye exercises and self-hypnosis to improve her ability to see at a distance, even improving her kinetic vision on top of that.
She fired.
“Yipe!”
She scored a hit on the elder’s face.
Another one came in from behind the elder that was writhing in agony.
That’s another elder. We’ve got two elders. The wounded Elder A, and the unharmed Elder B.
“Moguzo, take the unharmed one...!” Haruhiro began.
Moguzo was already rushing towards it as Haruhiro gave the order.
Ranta attacked Elder A. “I’ll kill you!” he shouted.
Yume set down her bow and drew her machete.
Shihoru chanted a spell. “Ohm, rel, ect, vel, darsh...!”
It was Shadow Beat. A shadow elemental that looked like a blob of black seaweed launched from the tip of Shihoru’s staff.
Elder B blocked Moguzo’s bastard sword with its wide-bladed sword. In that instant, the shadow elemental struck it in the belly. Its entire body was stricken with convulsions.
“Hunngh!” Moguzo pushed past Elder B’s sword, slamming his bastard sword into its head—but Elder B suddenly dodged aside, preventing him from splitting its head wide open. Elder B leapt backwards with the side of its head slashed open.
“Take that!” Ranta stabbed Elder A, knocking it down, then buried his longsword in its chest.
When Haruhiro and Yume went to assist Moguzo, Elder B turned and ran.
“Don’t let it get away!” Merry shouted.
“Yeppers!” Yume shifted her machete to her left hand, drawing a throwing knife with her right. It was her Star Piercer skill.
The throwing knife stabbed into Elder B just below the shoulder, but Elder B didn’t fall down. It was still running away.
Moguzo plodded after it, swinging his sword down with a cry of “Ugah!” but he couldn’t reach it.
“Leave this to me!” Haruhiro shouted. With his quick legs, he left Yume behind and passed Moguzo as he rushed ahead.
Elder B had its back to Haruhiro. It was fleeing in desperation, so it wasn’t watching its back at all. It was wounded, so it was a little unsteady on its feet, too. Haruhiro could catch up like this.
“Spider!”
Wrestling with it, he swiftly slit its throat with his dagger then immediately backed away.
Elder B flailed about for a while before falling to the ground dead.
Haruhiro breathed a sigh of relief. “...I did it.”
“Got my vice!” came the barbaric cry of joy from Ranta.
Sounds like Elder A’s dead, too.
“You know...” Haruhiro couldn’t help but smile a little. It may not have been clean, but, you know... I think that wasn’t half bad.
We didn’t overburden Merry, the priest, and we each were able to use our own styles to end it quickly. That’s what I’d call “teamwork.”
“That was pretty good just now, wasn’t it?” he said. “I think it felt good, don’t you?”
“M-Me too,” Moguzo nodded his helmeted head repeatedly. “That’s what I was thinking. Just vaguely, though.”
“Y’know...” Yume flared her nostrils, slapping her upper right arm with her left hand. “When Yume’s arrow hit and when her Star Pierce went off, she felt sorry for the poor elder, but, Yume, she felt so good.”
Shihoru was grinning broadly. “...We had a good tempo going... I feel. Like, it occurred to me naturally who would do what next... and then they actually did what I expected, something like that...”
“Yes,” Merry smiled. “I think that was good.”
“It’s all thanks to me, though! Truly, what’s mine is mine!” Ranta shouted.
...Ranta’s still the same as ever though, huh?
Now, he could have let it go, but this time Haruhiro just couldn’t. “Yeah, of course what’s yours is yours,” he snapped. “If it weren’t yours, whose else’s would it be?”
“W-Wait! I got it wrong! I didn’t mean to say what’s mine is mine... uh, the world! The world is mine! I just screwed it up a bit! I wanted to say the world is mine!”
“Yeah, whatever. Good for you.”
“You don’t think it’s good at all, huh?! Not with the way you’re saying it!”
“No, no, I do. Congratulations.”
“Thanks!” Ranta kicked the ground. “Wait, why should I have to thank Haruhiro?!”
Normally everything Ranta did irritated him, but despite himself, Haruhiro found the way Ranta was acting kind of funny, so he laughed just a little. With a relaxed mood hanging in the air, Haruhiro was about to go collect the loot when he noticed something seemed off and looked around the area.
“What’s—” Merry began.
—the matter? was probably the rest of what Merry had tried to say. But before she could finish speaking, she must have spotted the same thing Haruhiro did.
From around the bend in the tunnel, something was poking its head out. That something was a kobold. It must have noticed Haruhiro and Merry looking at it, because the kobold pulled its head back in.
“Oh?” Ranta pulled the talisman off Elder A’s body. “This guy had some nice stuff. Hey, get a look at this, guys, it’s—”
“Wait,” Haruhiro raised his hand for Ranta to be quiet, glancing to Merry. “What do you think?”
“Huh?” Ranta cocked his head
to the side. “About what?”
“Somethin’ up?” Yume was crouching on one knee next to Elder B’s corpse.
Shihoru, who was crouching next to her, looked at Haruhiro, blinking. “...Huh? Wh-What is it...?”
“Nngh...” Moguzo sat down.
Merry brought a finger to her chin, pensively. “...What do I think? Well—”
Awooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...
They heard a voice. It was similar to a dog’s howl. Similar? It sounded exactly the same. But, of course, it wasn’t a dog doing the howling. It was a kobold. They didn’t know if it was an elder or a worker, but it was the kobold they had just seen.
“H-Hey...” Ranta swallowed his spit, brushing his mouth with one hand. “Wh-What? W-Was that a bad sign, just now...?”
Merry nodded, her eyes wide. She was clearly losing her cool. “This is bad. That was—”
Awooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Awoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Awooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Awoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
There was a chain of howls.
It wasn’t just one voice. After the first kobold howled, other kobolds who had heard it howled, too, and then other kobolds who heard them howled—now, there were several kobolds howling.
“L-Let’s run!” Haruhiro made a snap decision. He grabbed Yume and Shihoru by the arms. “G-Get up! Come on!” he cried, hauling them to their feet.
Run. That’s right. We have to run away. But, which direction? For a moment, he wasn’t sure. Calm down. It’s all the same, isn’t it? That’s right. This is a circular tunnel. No matter which way we go, it’s the same. But what comes after that? The layout of the fifth level is complex. Do I know the route? Can we make it back to a well and the fourth level without getting lost? I’m not bad at remembering my way. But I’m not good at it, either. Probably, I can manage—I think. I’m not that confident. Man, I’m really shaken up.
“Come on...!” Merry took off running.
Right. Merry knows. I just have to stick with Merry. Merry knows this place.
“L-Let’s go, everyone!” Haruhiro shouted, saying something nobody needed to be told. Then he chased after Merry. He ran for a little while, then looked back. Once he confirmed everyone was keeping up...
This is no good at all, he thought to himself. I’m supposed to be the leader, but I’m just scrambling to save myself. For a moment there, I forgot my comrades completely. That’s pathetic, and I’m embarrassed to admit it. Yume and Shihoru have totally lost their heads. I need to reassure them. Reassure them...?
In this situation...? How?
“It’s okay!” Haruhiro shouted, then almost bit his tongue, thinking immediately, How is this okay?
At the very least, Haruhiro was not okay. He was panicking so hard it would have been laughable, but he really didn’t have the time to laugh.
He couldn’t run facing backwards, so he turned back around and kept running.
It’s shaking. My field of vision is shaking. It’s shaking so hard, I have to wonder why it’s shaking so much. My heart’s pounding. Is this what they mean when people say their heart raced so fast they thought it would escape from their mouth?
Soon they were out of the circular tunnel. There was a guard post not far away. Also, a break area. The guard post and break area had been vacant when they came. Not anymore. Kobolds that looked like workers came out of the break area. They kept piling out.
“Oh, crap! Oh, crap! Oh, crap! Oh, crap...!” Haruhiro blurted out the words without intending to. His head was filled with nothing but “Oh, crap”s and “What now?”s.
Merry slowed her pace. Haruhiro followed suit and dropped his speed, as well.
Oh, yeah. That’s right. There are kobolds in the direction we’re headed. If we keep going, we’ll charge right into a pack of them. But, even if we turn back, there’s nowhere to run. We have to charge in. But, if Merry’s the one to do it...
“M-Moguzo!” Haruhiro turned back. “M-Move up front! You be the vanguard! Use War Cry...!”
“Umph!” Moguzo’s voice had a tinge of desperation, but he raced past Haruhiro and Merry with heavy steps.
There were ten kobolds, possibly more, and they swarmed at Moguzo with what looked like fire pokers.
“Fungh...!” Moguzo came to a sudden stop. Several of the fire pokers battered against him. Moguzo was undeterred, planting both feet firmly on the ground and roaring.
“Ruohhhhhhhhhhhhngh...!”
It was the warrior skill, War Cry. He let out an incredible shout using a special vocalization technique to intimidate the enemy. If someone heard it without having time to prepare, whether they were human, another race, or a monster, the first thing they were bound to do was cower.
One kobold leapt into the air. Another’s legs gave out underneath it. Yet more clutched their heads and backed away.
“Now!” Moguzo bellowed in a voice that sounded strangely manly.
Haruhiro moved his legs with everything he had. “Quick...!”
“Wahooooo!” Ranta let out a strange cry.
Merry was running alongside Haruhiro. Where was Yume? And Shihoru? Haruhiro glanced behind him. They were there. Both of them.
“R-Run! Run! Run...!” he shouted.
It’s really lame that that’s the only thing I can say.
Haruhiro and Merry soon caught up to Moguzo. That was partially because Moguzo was slow, but also because he was weighed down by his armor, too. It was clanking and rattling like crazy. Haruhiro wondered if he should move up front.
No, I shouldn’t. It won’t work. There’s a kobold up ahead of us. Kobolds, rather. Several of them. I dunno how many.
“I-I can’t do it again right away!” Moguzo said between heaving breaths, pumping his legs as hard as he could.
He can’t use War Cry repeatedly, Haruhiro realized. What now?
Haruhiro shouted, “W-We’ll have to charge into them...!” His voice sounded shrill.
Charge into them? Is that gonna be okay? I mean, do we have any other choice? I wish I could vent my frustration at someone right about now. Not that we have the time for it.
“Oh! Oh! Ohhhhh....!” Moguzo’s battle cries sounded pathetic.
A kobold and Moguzo collided with one another. There was an awful clattering sound. Then, three or four kobolds jumped in, piling on Moguzo.
He fell. He fell over. Moguzo tripped, fell over, and rolled. He used the momentum to get right back up on his feet.
“...Muh?”
Moguzo himself didn’t seem to know how things turned out that way, as he stood there looking confused.
“Don’t stop, Moguzo!” Haruhiro shouted.
Moguzo responded, “Foh?! Fohngh!” and started running again.
What is “fohngh” supposed to mean? What is “fohngh”? Haruhiro wondered.
“Make a right...!” Merry yelled out directions.
“Get away from me, you mutt!” He could hear Ranta’s voice, too.
“Eek!” screamed Shihoru.
Haruhiro turned back to look. A kobold had grabbed the hem of Shihoru’s robe.
“Hi-yah!” Yume slashed into the kobold’s wrist with her machete. That chopped its hand clean off, keeping it from pulling Shihoru to the ground.
“Ungh! Ungh!” Moguzo swung his bastard sword around, scattering kobolds as he ran.
“Ah...!” Merry used her priest’s staff to knock back a kobold that came at her.
Whoa, Haruhiro realized. I’m not doing anything here. I’m just running away. Well, not that there’s anything I can do but run.
How did it come to this? Things were going so well. That’s right. Things were going well. Things felt great, and we had a good atmosphere going, too. Everyone was in high spirits. Did we get carried away, maybe...? No, it didn’t get that far. We were about to, though. We were one step away from it.
Did we let our guards down?
I can’t deny i
t.
The fact is, we didn’t notice the kobold. Actually, by the time we did notice, it was too late. Too late? Really?
Haruhiro hadn’t done anything, but maybe he could have. He couldn’t say for sure that there was nothing he could have done.
In the end, we were having too good a time.
When we push our luck, nothing good ever comes of it. When we lost Manato, it was because our belief that we could handle things came back to bite us. And yet, here we are, repeating the same mistake. We couldn’t apply the lesson Manato paid with his life to teach us.
“What the hell am I doing...?” he muttered.
I’m the worst. Just terrible. I’m hopeless. Still, blaming myself isn’t going to improve the situation. I don’t think anything I do is going to turn this situation around.
It’s no good. We can’t get away. It’s over. This is the end.
I mean, there are so many kobolds. There’s an incredible number of kobolds here. If we go straight, there are kobolds in front of us and behind. If we turn, there are kobolds ahead of us there, too. There’s nothing but kobolds. Where are we?
Haruhiro had no clue where they were. It was all he could do to keep following Merry.
He could see Moguzo getting slower and slower. But, if he passed him, Haruhiro would be the vanguard.
I can’t handle that. I just can’t. I can’t be the vanguard. I don’t think I can do it.
Moguzo’s wheezing. He’s pretty winded. But he’s still swinging his bastard sword around and running. Or trying to run, rather. Moguzo is desperately doing the best that he can for us.
—I’m sorry. Sorry, Moguzo. Haruhiro wanted to cry. What am I saying I can’t do it for? Even if I can’t, I have to try. No matter how little, I have to buy Moguzo time to rest, or he’s going to drop. Without Moguzo, there’s no way we can escape.
“Moguzo, I’ll move up to the front!” he shouted.
I’m scared.
I want to cry.
Damn it all!
“Uwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...!” Haruhiro raced past Moguzo, planting a jumping kick on the kobold that came at him.
Oh, man, there are kobolds everywhere, nothing but kobolds, I’m amazed Moguzo managed this, this is scary, man, no way, I can’t do this, I’ll die, uwahhhhhh!