by Ao Jyumonji
What was the most important thing here? He couldn’t lose sight of that. Right. What was the most important thing?
To defeat the giant god.
That was it.
Is it? he wondered.
Was that actually what was most important for Haruhiro and the others?
“Huh? You know, I’m having a hard time seeing it that way...” he murmured.
7. Disposition
But, well, you know?
It wasn’t as if Haruhiro’s party and the Tokkis did nothing but dig a hole for three days and three nights. There were no nights in the Dusk Realm, so saying it that way was strange... maybe? Yeah? Anyway, in those three days, less than half of those seventy-two hours were spent digging the hole. It was twenty-four hours, at best. The rest they spent sleeping.
No, no, that wasn’t true. Naturally, they did take breaks, and did sleep, and even took turns going back to the settlement to bathe, but they did other stuff, too.
Taro wandered by and suggested they come see the giant god and hydra themselves. Incidentally, the hydra was that writhing white creature. Taro’s father, Gogh, had given it that name.
“It’s a good name.” The young boy of unparalleled beauty, Taro, whispered to himself, his face bursting with an unrestrainable happiness. “The hydra. It’s cool. Dad’s awesome. He sure is my dad.”
Following Taro, who had a deep respect and love for his father, and probably his mother, too, Haruhiro’s party and the Tokkis approached the giant god and the hydra.
Both the giant god and hydra were constantly on the move, chasing after the decoy teams, so ultimately, the closest they could get was about fifty meters away. Even that was more than dangerous enough for them.
The giant god, in particular, was of a size that could only be said to transcend human understanding, and when Taro told them it was estimated to be 300 meters tall, they could only say, Oh, okay then. Is that all?
Haruhiro was around 170 centimeters tall, so 300 meters was roughly 176.5 times that. Even compared to Kuzaku’s 190 centimeters, it was still 156.25 times his size. There wasn’t even any point in comparing.
Defeat that thing? No way. Impossible. What kind of joke was that? There was nothing they could do. There was no way it was gonna work.
That was why, according to Taro, the decoy parties were thinking it might be a little much to handle on this outing.
Well, duh.
Like, what did they mean, “On this outing”? Was there going to be another one? Were they going to take it on next time? Were they stupid? Or just incredible? Did people who were so incredible just experience things differently?
Whatever the case, it was good news for Haruhiro that the giant god was getting crossed off the target list.
I mean, just think about it. Haruhiro’s feet were 25.5 centimeters long. If he multiplied that by 176.5 times, he got 4,500.75 centimeters. That was over 45 meters.
That thing wouldn’t fall into a pit trap that was 30 meters across. As for the depth, with its massive, 300-meter-tall body, even if they were being fairly conservative, they would want around two hundred meters.
Not possible.
Even setting aside the pit trap, it was impossible.
For a start, while it was true that the giant god looked humanoid when seen from a distance, and it walked like one, too, it was closer to a moving, pure-white megastructure. It was insane to think of killing that thing in the first place. At the very least, they should talk about “destroying” it instead.
Also, if they were going to destroy it, Haruhiro had to humbly think it was going to require heavy weaponry of some sort. Like siege weaponry, maybe? Though, even if they were able to collect enough of it, the enemy was hardly going to sit there quietly while it was destroyed. No, it would probably attack, and that wasn’t going to be simple to deal with. This was purely Haruhiro’s view, but wasn’t it kind of impossible?
Now, as for the hydra...
It must have been because they had seen the incredible spectacle of the giant god first before going to see the hydra. That must have been it. Because when Haruhiro looked at it, his first impression was, “Huh? Is that all?”
At a glance, it was maybe the size of a two-story building. No, maybe a little bigger. Also, it was long.
The hydra was a many-headed creature that looked like a mass of white snakes up to two to three meters thick.
It had nine heads, resembling snakes, but surprisingly without eyes. The creatures of the Dusk Realm all seemed to have one eye, so he would have expected one per head, but that wasn’t the case. Maybe that meant they weren’t in fact heads, but were actually tentacles after all.
The hydra moved by twisting a number of those tentacles around. It seemed four tentacles were used for moving. The remaining five were writhing in the air as if searching for something. They might actually have been feelers of some sort.
“We can take that thing easily,” Tada said with a laughing snort.
I don’t know about easily, but it feels more manageable than the giant god, and—No, no, no, no, no... Haruhiro shook his head. Hold on, hold on. I say that, but it’s still crazy huge, okay? If I got hit by one of those tentacles, I’m confident I’d die instantly.
The hydra was around fifty meters ahead of Haruhiro and the others, traveling west, but wasn’t that kind of close? Had they gotten too close? Right now, the five tentacles it didn’t use for moving weren’t pointing at them. In other words, the hydra either didn’t notice Haruhiro and the others behind it, or it didn’t care.
But what if it did notice? What would happen then? Wouldn’t that be bad?
“Um, shouldn’t we get farther away...?” Haruhiro ventured.
Taro looked back to him while continuing to walk. “It’s fine. This distance is safe. Probably.”
“‘Probably’?”
“‘Nothing in this world is 100% certain.’ My dad told me that.”
“Well, that might be true, but...”
“No, not ‘might,’” said Taro confidently. “Dad’s words are absolute.”
Huh? Wasn’t nothing supposed to be 100% certain?
How mad would this pretty boy get if Haruhiro poked at the holes in his logic like that? That’d be something to see. No, he didn’t want to see it, and didn’t want to get him mad. That sounded scary.
Incidentally, Haruhiro and the others were pursuing the hydra at a little more than a jog. Tokimune was carrying Anna-san on his back because he said it would probably be hard for her to keep up, but Haruhiro had to think he was a little too easy on her, even if she was their mascot.
“Who’s acting as the decoy?” Ranta asked.
Maybe Taro didn’t hear, because he didn’t answer.
“Hey, who is it? Hey? Who’s the decoy? Hey? Hey? Hey? Hey, why’re you so quiet? I’m talking to you, you know? Heeeey. Hey, hey, heeeey. Can you hear me? I’m asking you, can you hear me? Hey!”
“I hear you.” Taro didn’t even spare a glance in Ranta’s direction. “But I don’t care to answer. My mom told me, ‘Life’s too short to waste time talking to morons.’”
“What, I’m an moron?!” Ranta yelled.
“Yeah, you’re a moron.” Haruhiro couldn’t help but agree.
“You’re a moron, all right,” Yume concurred.
“Worse than a moron...” Shihoru looked like she had her own opinion about just how much of a moron Ranta was.
“It’s true that it would be a waste,” Merry said coldly.
“Well...” Kuzaku, who had refrained from saying anything, might have still felt the need to hold back.
“Ahaha!” Kikkawa clapped Ranta on the shoulder. “Well, I love how much of a moron you are! One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right?!”
“Shove off!” Ranta yelled. “You’re annoying, Kikkawa! I’m not trash! If they want to throw me out like trash, I’ll throw them out first!”
“We wouldn’t mind that, you know?” Haruhiro said.
Ra
nta panicked. “You—you—you moron! That’s not what you’re supposed to say! You’re supposed to be, like, ‘Don’t say that!’ and tell me off! Tell me I’m not supposed to talk about throwing people away or being thrown away!”
“Ranta!” Tokimune flashed him a nice smile with his pearly white teeth. “You’re so high-maintenance!”
“Tokimune-san?! You know, that didn’t feel like a compliment to me!”
“It not compliment, yeah?!” Anna-san gave him the middle finger from up on Tokimune’s back. “What kind of warty boar’s ass did you come out of, you rotten dick?!”
“Heh...” Inui gave an evil smile. “Fall to ruin, you dog of the end...”
“Dog?” Mimorin looked around.
I don’t see any dogs here... Haruhiro agreed.
“Who is the decoy?” Tada asked, as if nothing had happened.
This time, Taro gave him a proper answer. “The hydra is primarily being led around by Pingo’s golem Zenmai. The giant god was Lala and Nono, I think. It was those two. Since they came here on horse-dragons.”
Horse-dragons were small dragons that walked upright on their hind legs. If a dragonet was raised from an egg, it could be trained to carry a human like a horse. Having seen them at the Lonesome Field Outpost from time to time, at first Haruhiro had thought he’d like to try riding one someday. However, when he’d learned that horse-dragons had their wings removed at a young age to make them suitable for riding, he had quickly lost any desire to.
“I see.” Tada nodded and stopped walking with a sudden jolt. “Heeeey, you stupid hydra! Look at me! Yeah, me! I’m here! Right here!”
Were humans able to shout that loudly? Just how was he managing to make that loud voice? Wasn’t he transcending the limits of the human body?
Haruhiro stopped in horror. Everyone else did the same. Even Tokimune and the other Tokkis were aghast.
“Wai—” Taro stopped, his eyes wide. “What are you...?”
“Come at me! Heyyyy!” Tada pointed his warhammer at the hydra. “I said, come at me, you wimp! Are you feeling cowardly?! Did you realize you can’t beat me?! You’re just an oversized weakling!”
That was when it happened.
The hydra didn’t stop. Rather, with its size, it might not have been able to come to a sudden stop. However, its speed clearly slowed.
One of its tentacles, the head-like section on the end of it, turned to face them.
Finally, the hydra stopped moving forward.
A second, then a third tentacle moved, and their eyeless heads turned towards Haruhiro and company.
“Heh...” Tada shouldered his warhammer, adjusting the position of his glasses with his left index finger. “Finally noticed me, huh. Took you long enough. Way too long.”
Tada, Haruhiro thought. What do you mean, “Heh”? Tada! Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Even if he said it out loud, it would have no effect. Haruhiro realized that much. It wasn’t uncommon for even basic conversations with Tada to break down. Well, what could he do then?
“Oh, for the love of...!” Haruhiro sputtered. He’d do this.
Haruhiro grabbed Tada by the collar of his priest outfit.
“—Gweh!” Tada squealed.
Maybe he was choking him, but Haruhiro didn’t care. It was Tada, after all. He’d survive.
“Everyone, run!” Haruhiro shouted.
He took off in a mad dash. Fortunately, the Tokkis followed him because it seemed amusing, so they were all able to start fleeing without a hitch. The biggest worry was the hydra’s actions.
If it came after them, would they be able to get away? What would happen if it caught them? Would they have to fight? Or rather, would they have to die? It was unbelievably terrifying just to think about it, but the hydra didn’t come towards them.
Had they gotten lucky? No, the decoy Zenmai must have done something to successfully provoke it. They had a lot to thank Zenmai for.
Once they had put 200 meters between the hydra and them, Haruhiro let go of Tada. He was sweating terribly. That had been scary.
“Man!” Tada held his throat, closing in on Haruhiro. “That hurt, you know, Haruhiro!”
He butted their foreheads together, but Haruhiro somehow held his ground. He only said, “Ow!”
Tada’s eyes were bloodshot. He was damn scary. But if Haruhiro backed down now, that seemed more likely to get him killed. He didn’t understand Tada, and doubted he ever would, but that was the sense he got.
“R-Reflect on what you just did!” Haruhiro shouted. “That was dangerous, you know?! I don’t even want to know what you were thinking, and I won’t ask, but please, cut that crap out, seriously!”
“Shut up! You’re the one who oughta reflect!”
“I wasn’t wrong, so I won’t!”
“What’d you say?!”
“I won’t reflect on it! Y-You ought to!”
Ohh, was it okay to go this far? Was it dangerous? He didn’t know. But if he didn’t push back against the pressure Tada was putting on him, he’d probably be taken lightly. In order to push back, he probably needed to put up a strong front.
“You reflect, Tada!” Haruhiro screamed. “You can’t put your comrades in danger on an impulse like that!”
“Ha ha!” Tada laughed as he ground their foreheads together again.
Haruhiro didn’t back down. He couldn’t. He couldn’t retreat. With all he’d said, if he backed down and apologized, he’d look like a total fool. He was close to crying, but he wouldn’t cry.
“A novice like you, trying to tell me...!” Tada moved his head back and forth. Their foreheads rubbed together.
Someone save me, Haruhiro pleaded silently. Someone stop him. Like Tokimune.
However, the moment he looked away from Tada to seek salvation from one of the others, the contest would be decided. That was the sense he got.
“E-Even if I am a novice...”
“Even if you’re a novice, then what?!” Tada screamed.
“...I can tell what’s right and wrong better than you can!” Haruhiro finished. “If you’re going to be like a child who can’t tell the difference, I’ll have to put you on a leash and lead you around!”
“Oh, ho.” Tada suddenly drew back, adjusting the position of his glasses with his left index finger.
Haruhiro nearly fell forward.
“Not bad.”
...Did he just grin? He seems happy? Haruhiro was stunned. I don’t get him...
But I’m saved—I think? he thought uncertainly. At the very least, it doesn’t look like I’m about to get beaten to death. No, if I let my guard down, he might come at me with his hammer, maybe? Just to be safe, maybe I shouldn’t let my guard down?
“Haruhiro.” Tokimune flashed his white teeth and gave him a thumbs up. “Nice fight.”
Oh, shut up, Haruhiro thought, but he was too timid to get angry. “Thanks,” he said, bowing his head a little.
“Pft...” Taro burst out laughing, then covered his face with both hands. “Heheheheheh! Ahahahahaha! You’re weird! You’re all so weird! Bwahahahahahahaha! Gwahahahahahahahah!”
He was laughing. Laughing like crazy. Laughing so hard, it looked like he was gonna keel over. The sight of the elven pretty boy doubled over with laughter was unexpected, and it took Haruhiro aback.
Taro stayed that way for a while, then suddenly cleared his throat and put on a serious expression. But his face had turned red. Even his long ears were red. He might have been embarrassed.
“Dad once said, ‘Laughter is the best medicine,’” Taro said solemnly.
Well, okay then, Haruhiro thought. What a strange elf.
Regardless, in between events like that one, Haruhiro’s party and the Tokkis took seventy-two hours to dig a hole that was around thirty meters across, and roughly three meters deep. They set up a number of support beams inside the hole, put nets that came from the merchants remaining in the settlement over top, and then camouflaged it with grass to make it more like a rea
l pit trap.
It was easy to tell from up close, so it could hardly be called a perfect job. Still, if they lured a giant creature like the hydra on top of it, maybe it might fall in? Possibly? Honestly, there was no way to know until they tried.
They had agreed in advance to gather back at the initial hill once they had a finished pit trap. The initial hill was to the west of the settlement.
Haruhiro and the others had built their structures around five kilometers south of the settlement. It was going to be along the way, so they had decided to stop at the settlement. They had finally become accustomed to their work as volunteer soldiers, so no one asked for luxuries like a proper bath, but they did want fresh water to drink.
Even before they reached the settlement, everyone thought something was strange. To put it more clearly, they had a bad feeling about it.
The giant god was visible far off to the west. If it was moving, that was not really a problem.
The thing was, it wasn’t. It was standing still.
Just before they reached the settlement, Anna-san idly said, “That... direction of initial, yeah...?”
Yeah, Haruhiro thought.
It was pretty noisy inside the settlement. While most of the merchants had packed up and left, there were still seventy to eighty volunteer soldiers gathered there, after all.
No, if they had only been gathered there, it wouldn’t have been this noisy.
“What was that, jerk?! You wanna fight?!” “One-on-One” Max of Iron Knuckle was closing in on a man with blazing red hair as if he might try to grab him at any moment.
There were men forming a wall around the two of them, jeering and shouting, and that was why it was so noisy.
“Do I want to fight?!” The red-haired man who wasn’t just tall but had a big eyes, a big nose, and a big mouth, too, shouted at Max and didn’t back down a bit. “You’re damn right I want to fight, Tiny!”
“Who’re you calling tiny?! I’m not tiny, you’re just stupidly big!” Max yelled.
“Don’t blame others for your being tiny, Tiny!”
“‘Tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny’—is that all you can say, Fatty?!”