Chapter 10

Fourth Report Current Status of the Hero’s Support Team Quick and effective decision-making is essential on the battlefield. In my life, I have engaged in many fierce battles with darkness and always emerged victorious. I have confidence in my judgment. Or should I say, I had confidence. But that confidence is now being smashed to pieces. The half-dead dragon lies on the ground. I can’t believe that this flightless, impaled creature is still alive. And the hero, heartbroken by the sight of it, kneels sympathetically at its side. A scene from a fairy tale. Does Toudou even remember what he came here to do? Did he come here to heal a monster? After Toudou asks her to heal the monster, Amelia is speechless. She appears calm, but I can see the slight change in her expression. It’s a look of disapproval and agitation. She’s so flustered that she doesn’t even think to talk to me via transmission and has unconsciously started looking around for me. Seeing Amelia vexed actually reassures me. Once she gets over the shock, I can see the sense of helplessness that overcomes her. I still can’t believe what Toudou asked her to do. I understand the words, of course, but not the intention. He must be able to sense how strong the half-dead dragon before him is—how much stronger than him. I can’t help but wonder what meaning there was in my fighting it first. Toudou stands up and looks to Amelia. “Its injuries are severe… What kind of person would do this…? Amelia, please heal it—” “What are you saying?” Amelia interrupts, her voice cold. Somehow Toudou doesn’t seem to pay her any mind. “Heal it, quickly… Or else it might already be too late—” “…Why do you think we should heal it?” It’s a logical question, but Toudou appears shocked by it. I wish I understood how this guy’s brain works. “Amelia… Are you actually saying…that I should kill it like this?” “Yes. This is our target, the glacial plant. I don’t know who it fought before us, but we should consider ourselves lucky that we found it in this weakened state. Now we should be able to kill it just by severing its head.” At the bluntness of Amelia’s explanation, Toudou shakes his head vigorously, his lips trembling. “I can’t believe what you’re saying… You would kill something that’s been crippled like this? Where is your humanity?” I’m so shocked by this response that my foot slips from the branch, and I nearly fall. Flustered, I right myself and get my footing. Humanity…?! How much humanity does he think there is in a beast? This is an evolved demi-dragon—it’s a monster. If you let it live, there’s no telling how many people will fall victim to it. Has he forgotten that the reason he came here in the first place was to fulfill the village headman’s request and kill that thing?! Amelia blinks in surprise. She couldn’t have been expecting that response, either. I find it kind of cute. “I…I didn’t become the hero so that I could torment the weak,” Toudou declares emphatically. Torment the weak! This guy is a riot. Then it occurs to me—maybe I weakened the dragon too much? But if I didn’t go as far as I did, Toudou would have had no chance of defeating it. Maybe I should have forgotten about trying to strengthen Toudou’s position against it and just killed it myself? …Well, live and learn. “Even though it’s half-dead, I can feel how strong this creature is. Somewhere nearby is something that was able to do this much damage to it. Rather than killing this monster, isn’t it more important that we find what attacked it?” …This is starting to move in a strange direction. Amelia is dumbfounded. At that moment, I realize Aria has approached the dragon. She is closely examining the silver halberd thrust into its torso and the deep wounds left by my mace. You dumbass, don’t just thoughtlessly approach a dragon! That’s so reckless! It’s then that the dragon stirs. I immediately strike the glacial plant with murderous intent. It shrieks in pain, and its huge body collapses inward, now motionless again. Murderous intent is always effective against monsters you’ve damaged yourself. Aria gasps and takes a step back. “Sir Nao, these wounds…,” she says in a trembling voice. “They appear to have been inflicted by a blunt-force weapon.” “Blunt…force?!” Giving up on convincing Amelia, Toudou goes over to Aria. “Please examine the body. Its legs are unscathed, but there are marks on its back.” “…Hmm? And that means…?” “It’s a sign that it has been hit with a blunt-force weapon. It was sent flying backward, and its back scraped against the ground. Also, on our way here, there were a great number of trees that had been leveled, which could also have been from the recent battle.” …True, I didn’t tidy up the battlefield. But I’m a priest—it’s not like I can burn down the forest. “The marks on its body aren’t the type that can be made by a human. These kinds of injuries aren’t left by slash attacks or magic.” “What about the spear?” “The spear—or halberd, actually—is not usually used that way. It would take a great amount of strength to do that.” Yeah, it did. It took all my might. Sorry. A blunt object was all I had. It should be noted that Aria is showing surprisingly strong analytical ability. She has skills in unexpected places. “These injuries are not typical. They’re not made by a spear or a sword… It’s almost like they were made by a strike from some kind of spherical weapon…” I sense in Aria’s tone that she has drawn a conclusion. …Hang on. This could be bad. They know what my weapon looks like. I hadn’t expected Aria to be able to conduct such an in-depth analysis of battle wounds. I focus in on Aria’s speech. Toudou is standing next to her, his stare fixed on the twitching body of the dragon. “…I’d like to hear your conclusion.” “…Yes.” Amelia, finally realizing that the situation has taken a bad turn, tries to stop Aria but misses her opportunity. She licks her lips once and begins to speak. “Wai—” “It’s highly unlikely that a human caused this much damage to the glacial plant.” …What? My mind is blank for a moment. Aria continues. “Monster hunters generally only move in parties. For one thing, this was not a battle with a large number of combatants. And even if there was a warrior who could overpower this glacial plant in one-on-one battle, there is no reason he would leave it alive when he could obtain its life force by killing it.” “…I already knew this wasn’t the work of a human. These wounds are much too violent, too grotesque. Only a psychopath could do something like this.” That’s a bit harsh… Amelia draws back the hand she had extended to stop Aria and quietly rescinds into the background. “My guess is it’s a type of subhuman monster, perhaps more than three meters in height, with thorns covering the backs of its hands.” “Thorns…on the backs of its hands?” “Yes. There are a number of puncture wounds in the dragon’s hide that appear to have been caused by some kind of thorns or spikes. It’s the mark of a strike, so it’s possible it could be from a fist. Moreover, it appears the glacial plant was struck many times over.” Her body starts shaking at the sound of her own words. Perhaps she has never been injured in battle before and the thought of this imagined enemy frightens her. As if the response is contagious, Toudou’s shoulders also begin quivering, and he looks restlessly at his surroundings. What kind of goblin are they even imagining? I thought Aria had it, but she ended up nowhere close. Not that I’m complaining… “…In any case, seeing as there is a possibility of a new threat in the forest, we need to notify the village chief.” “Why do we keep having one problem after another…?” grumbles Limis. For once, Limis and I are on the same page. Toudou sighs deeply and then turns to Amelia, the outsider of the group. “You understand, don’t you, Amelia? We’re no longer concerned with the glacial plant.” “…What on earth are you saying?” Seriously, just what is this guy saying? Toudou reacts with shock and frustration. “Don’t you get it?!” he shouts. “There must be a reason the glacial plant was attacked. If we just kill it now, there could be more problems later. It needs to be healed.” “Problems…? …What kinds of problems, exactly?” Toudou frowns, looking confused for a few seconds. “For example… If glacial plants are the guardians of the forest and a new kind of monster invades, they would need to chase it away,” he answers, his voice lacking conviction. He’s got quite the imagination. Amelia sighs heavily, amazed by his response. Then she says everything I wish I could say in this moment. “For one thing, I’ve never heard of anything like that, and also, there aren’t any monsters living in this region that could defeat a glacial plant. I think it’s much more likely that a capable mercenary happened upon it while passing through and battled it just for amusement.” “…Huh. That makes sense.” He sighs in disappointment, casually walking over to the fallen beast. “I suppose you’re not a member of my party, Amelia, so you can do as you please. I’ll heal the monster myself.” WHA—?! For a moment, my brain ceases to function. Before I can stop him, Toudou extends his arm toward the glacial plant. “Mini Heal.” A faint green light flickers at the palm of his hand and heals the injured demi-dragon. The rudimentary spell does nothing for the dragon’s torn wings and broken legs, only closing a few of the open wounds. What it does do is bring the demi-dragon back from the brink of death and give it enough energy to move. The glacial plant roars. The sounds don’t have meaning, but it is a cry that could burn life to the ground. It struggles to move its broken front legs and manages to raise them overhead. The halberd piercing its torso keeps it stuck in place. Cracking sounds reverberate from its wounds as it struggles, but it doesn’t stop struggling. The dragon aims the sharp ends of its broken front claws at Toudou. My thoughts are frozen. I impulsively cry out. “WWWWWWHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAA!!” The trees shake, and the wind dies down. I can’t believe the animalistic sound that just came from my own mouth. At the same time, I once again deploy my murderous intent. This time, I don’t have enough time to aim, so rather than affecting only the dragon, it targets the entirety of the surrounding area. Limis falls to the ground as if her knees have been broken, and Toudou is thrown backward. The dragon’s claws just barely miss Toudou, swiping through the air in front of him and cutting a few strands of his hair. The glacial plant’s body convulses, and it collapses to the ground. A chill runs down my spine. I was almost too slow—that was a close one. It’s a good thing I so thoroughly weakened the monster before, because if I hadn’t, I might be digging graves right now. “Wh-what was that?!” Toudou shouts, not realizing that he just barely escaped with his life. He involuntarily drew his holy sword and now grips it tightly in his hand. His face has turned pale, and sweat rolls down his cheeks. “This is foolish…!” says Aria, her voice shaking. “That murderous intent… Sir Nao, it’s…not safe here!!” “Urgh… Agh…” Perhaps being too low level to bear the hit, Limis sits motionless on the ground, showing no signs of moving. I couldn’t afford to hold back on that one. Toudou shuts his eyes and desperately tries to steel his nerve. Amelia, the only one who knows the truth of what happened just now, rushes over to Toudou. “We should withdraw immediately. If the owner of that cry finds us, at your current level, you will certainly not be able to win.” “Guh… N-no, I can’t do that. I’m not gonna…run away.” Toudou grits his teeth and opens his eyes. Does he really still intend to stay after being hit by that murderous intent?! In agreement with Amelia at last, Aria touches Toudou’s shoulder. “Sir Nao… This is too much for us. There is even the possibility that it’s a demon.” Even so, Toudou wants to fight to the bitter end. “A demon… N-no, if it is a demon, I definitely—” “Sir Nao!” Aria shouts. Her expression is stern, filled with regret, anger, and grief. Having never seen her this way before, he falters. Aria attempts to speak calmly, but there is a waver in her voice. “If you die, who will defeat the Demon Lord? If you feel we absolutely must fight this battle in which we don’t stand a chance…at least leave it to Limis and myself. We cannot allow you to die here.” Hearing this, still sitting on the ground, Limis looks up at Toudou with tears in her eyes. There is fear and despair in her gaze, but I see no anger toward Toudou. Aria and Limis have both come to this task prepared to do what they must. Looking back and forth between Aria and Limis, Toudou’s eyes are lifeless. His movements are so slow that he looks like a mechanical doll that has run out of oil. “You’re…sure I can’t win?” he asks, his voice shaky. Aria and Limis don’t reply. They don’t have to; their expressions say it all. Aria comes from a military family, and Limis is the lowest-level member of the group. Their sense of hopelessness is surely greater than Toudou’s. “You mustn’t misunderstand, Toudou. You just can’t win yet,” adds Amelia. Her timing is excellent. “Not…yet…?” “Your level is still quite low for a hero.” That is true, and it’s good that she’s taking the focus off his good qualities. Toudou needs to be more self-aware. He needs to understand his own weaknesses, his recklessness, and the weight of his own existence. “No matter how great your merits as a hero, if your level is low, you cannot rival a demon. To say that another way, if you just increase your level, you may be capable of defeating demons.” “If I just increase my level…” Toudou turns the idea over in his mind. Limis and Aria watch him with concern. Finally, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in and out. When he opens his eyes, they’re hazy. He looks like he’s half in a trance. Looking at each of them individually, at last he says, “…I will withdraw.” “Understood,” says Aria. “Limis, let’s go.” “I—I don’t know if I…can stand…” Her legs may be temporarily paralyzed. Aria looks concerned. She lifts Limis with ease and carries her on her back. Amelia furrows her brow. “Toudou, you would like to leave the glacial plant as it is, then?” “Oh, right…” Toudou looks over at the glacial plant as it twitches on the ground. After staring at it for a few seconds, he looks back to Amelia. “…Amelia, I know it’s an unreasonable thing to ask…but could you heal it for me?” he asks in a weak voice. What makes him keep asking that? It’s a monster… Even if you feel bad for it at first, in the end, you should understand what it is. I wonder if this way of thinking has some connection to Toudou’s upbringing. I get a transmission from Amelia, asking what she should do. I think on it and conclude it may be better to go ahead and heal it. Going back and forth on this point is a waste of time. In any case, I’m going to kill it as soon as they’re gone. Amelia approaches the dragon. I gather my energy and use murderous intent to bind its body. Toudou stands next to Amelia, as if he wants to see for himself that the deed is done. Imagining a worst-case scenario where the dragon escapes, I channel more energy into binding it. My head gets so hot that I feel like I might burn out. But I’m all right—just a little more. Amelia chants, “Heal.” The green light emitted by her hand is far brighter than Toudou’s and envelops the creature’s entire body. Then, when the light fades…the dragon suddenly transforms into a little girl. I’m going to file a complaint with Creio about this.