The journey down was smooth.
Not only did we have a detailed map made by the Empire’s Rat himself, but we also didn’t need to worry about ambushes.
All the enemies were gathered in Mine 32.
Even if they noticed something and pushed up, we’d meet them head-on at worst—there was no chance of running into them from the side or behind.
“Halt!”
We occasionally ran into instructors guarding the intersections.
“Oh, friend! It’s me. Your precious colleague.”
“…Ron?”
“That’s right, your best friend Ron. Why am I here, you ask? Well, these guys insist on going to the front lines. Sir Caron told them to do as they please, but this is a bit much, don’t you think? So how about switching assignments with me? There’s no way I can handle such a bothersome task… Ah, no wait. I’m giving you an opportunity. I’m a good friend who wishes for your success, after all.”
“…Pass.”
Thanks to Ron, we were able to get through safely.
“Come on, won’t someone please switch assignments with me!”
Ron, abandoned by his colleague once again, cried out in despair. That was already his fifth rejection.
It seemed they were less reluctant about taking on a bothersome task and more averse to helping Ron.
Something like, ‘You’ve been slacking off this whole time, haven’t you? Get a taste of your own medicine for once.’
“Sob… I hate everyone. What did I even do wrong…”
Sniffling, Ron moved on to the next intersection. But Ron wasn’t the only one sniffling in our group.
There was one more. No, this one was actually crying.
“I-I’m going to… going to dieeeee…”
It was the crying of the Pufferfish Rabbit, Rezé.
“Rezé, don’t cry. What’s there to worry about when I’m here?”
“N-no matter what you say, this is too much. F-fighting demons? That’s no different from saying we’re going to dieeeee!”
Rezé hopped around, attempting to escape.
Soon, Rezé pitched forward and flopped face-first onto the ground.
This was because I’d prepared for such a situation by tying a leash… no, a restraining rope around her waist.
The end of the rope was, of course, in my hand.
“Keke, I might be having roasted rabbit after a long time.”
“Hii, hiiiiiik! I-I’m going to be eaten. Eaten by the demon’s minionnnn!”
“Rezé, that’s not going to happen, so calm down. And you, cut it out. What do you think you’re doing to my friend?”
“Keke, I’m merely helping her take a walk.”
“Anyone can see that’s kidnapping and pervert play. Stop talking nonsense and hand over the rope.”
With that, Rezé scurried over and stuck herself right next to Luna.
Is that a person or a pet rabbit?
Well, it didn’t matter if she was an actual rabbit instead of a person.
‘As long as she can shoot well, that’s all that matters.’
A rabbit that shoots well is better than a person who can’t shoot.
Rezé kept glancing at me, looking for an opportunity to escape.
As if a good idea had struck her, she pointed at the ceiling and shouted.
“Th-there’s a crack in the ceiling! W-we need to get out right now!”
“Keke, mine walls and ceilings originally have many cracks.”
“S-Sir Caron’s mana is telling me. It’s saying to get out of here right now!”
“Mana cannot speak.”
“O-over there, a-a cockroach is flying! It might be trying to dominate humanity!”
“Some cockroach species can actually fly. There’s even one on Rezé’s shoulder right now.”
“…?”
Rezé turned her gaze to look at her shoulder, and the cockroach moved its antennae, greeting her warmly.
“Kii, kiiiiik!”
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
Screams echoed through the mine.
The one in front was Rezé, and the one behind was Ron.
“D-domination! H-humanity has fallen behind in evolutionnnn!”
“So this is how humanity ends! I should’ve played around more!”
Making such a fuss over a mere cockroach. The future looks dark.
For the Empire, and for my party too.
Ron and Rezé hid behind my back. Then the cockroach flew through the air and landed on my arm with a plop.
“…”
Stay calm. It’s just a cockroach. A cockroach that dies if you flick it.
There was no need to be scared at all. So.
‘I need to use an endgame skill like Demon Slave or Gae Bolg. A cockroach’s vitality is terrifying, after all!’
It didn’t matter if my arm was sacrificed in the process. For the salvation of humanity, such losses had to be accepted.
It was a contaminated arm anyway. So let’s cut it off without regret.
Just as I was about to use [Gae Bolg] to send both the cockroach and my arm to the afterlife.
Snatch.
Someone grabbed the cockroach with their bare hand. With just one hand, too.
“Why is everyone making such a fuss? It’s just a bug.”
Crunch!
She even threw it on the ground and stepped on it, finishing it off cleanly.
A woman who catches cockroaches with her bare hands.
Honestly, I won’t deny that my heart skipped a beat.
A strong woman who protects me. That’s one of my ideal types, after all.
Swish swish-.
But Luna, could you not wipe your hand on my clothes?
“Sob… I-if cockroaches are this scary, then d-demons… I-I’m going to die!”
Perhaps because her escape attempt had been thwarted, Rezé lay sprawled on the ground, flailing about.
She flailed so hard that her body spun round and round.
‘If only her abilities weren’t good, I’d just throw her away.’
A rabbit equipped with a nuclear warhead. She even boasts twice the firepower against demons.
No critical hits and the tendency to flee when targeted.
Now that I’ve solved one of those problems, she’s become too valuable to discard.
‘There must be a solution to the fleeing problem too. If I can solve even that…’
Rezé will become a broken of broken character.
So for now, let’s use the carrot strategy.
“Hmm… Let me clarify just one thing. What’s here right now are low-grade demons. At best, Grade 6? Given the time frame, it would have been difficult for them to grow beyond that.”
“B-but… demons are still demons. S-someone like me won’t be any help…”
“Do you really think so? I was counting on you quite a bit.”
“Eh?”
“Didn’t you perform remarkably well in Carpathia?”
The idiot hair on top of Rezé’s head perked up.
What makes people grow is, after all, praise. And that’s no different even for rabbits.
“Rezé made distinguished contributions back then. And was that all? You survived encounters with high-grade demons twice. But low-grade demons?”
They’re laughable by comparison. And that was actually true.
“All it takes is a magical gun shot from a distance. This time, it’ll be over in just one shot. Because there’s only one demon here.”
“B-but what if a high-grade demon appears this time too…”
“That might happen. But we won’t need to deal with it.”
Because Caron and Lowell are here.
It would be to the point where a high-grade demon would have to beg for its life.
Well, unfortunately, that won’t happen though.
“And what’s there to worry about when I’m here? You know my abilities well, don’t you?”
Her long bangs hanging like curtains. Behind them, Rezé’s eyes widened.
That’s right. Rezé had witnessed it clearly with those eyes.
The sight of me defeating the Mad Lion Lowell.
“Ah…”
Rezé’s mouth opened slightly, then closed again.
She couldn’t say it out loud with Ron nearby, but it seemed she’d recalled the fact that I was stronger than she thought.
And above all.
“Didn’t you resolve to protect Miss Luna?”
Rezé’s eyes widened once more.
That’s right. Rezé had made a resolution. To protect Luna.
And to clear her friend’s grievances as well.
“Show that courage again this time. I’m counting on you, you know.”
Rezé nodded frantically while wiping her tears.
I handed her a handkerchief and whispered.
“And personally, I think cockroaches are stronger than demons.”
“Y-you’re right. I-I think so too.”
Rezé let out a rather hearty laugh.
Hmm… She looks kind of cute like this. Of course, just a little bit!
“Mm-hmm, what wonderful friendship.”
Luna, you need to speak properly. It’s not friendship—it’s the heart of an owner who cherishes their pet.
A rabbit that fires nuclear bombs from a gun is quite a rare animal, after all.
“Hehe…”
Judging by her expression, the carrot strategy worked well. She’ll probably cry again once this episode ends, though.
“Sob… I’m scared of demons toooo.”
“Let’s get moving again. We have a long way to go.”
“I said I’m scared too!”
Ron protested by spinning around on the ground like Rezé, but no one paid him any attention.
Now that I’ve fixed the Pufferfish Rabbit’s mindset, the only thing left to do is…
Pick things up one by one as we go.
Pick up what, you ask?
“Oh? Zero?”
The intersection leading to Mine 13.
Someone greeted us.
It was the magic genius, Yuridia.
“Urek! Switch assigned groups with me!”
“Would you do it if you were me?”
Ron clung desperately to the back of Yuridia’s group’s instructor.
While they engaged in their death struggle, Yuridia approached and asked.
“Where are you headed?”
“We’re on our way to Mine 32. It’s a place where we can make great contributions.”
“Before contributions, it seems like you’ll be punished for disobeying orders.”
“Keke, we got permission. Sir Caron said so.”
I approached Yuridia and whispered softly in her ear.
“That he’s counting only on us.”
“…!”
Yuridia is a child overflowing with competitive spirit.
Moreover, since she’s aiming to unite the first years, she couldn’t help but be tempted.
“Then I should come along.”
“Pardon?”
“Helping each other when difficult situations arise. That’s natural for allies, isn’t it?”
“It’s not really a difficult situation though…”
“What if Miss Luna gets hurt? We need at least one more person. Don’t you remember what happened last time?”
She was referring to Luna, who had teetered on the brink of death during the Battle of Carpathia.
As if recalling that painful memory, I naturally let out a groan.
Yuridia flashed a grin and headed toward Urek. He was currently mounted on Ron’s back, applying a shrimp lock.
“Instructor, I want to join that side too. If I stay here, they’ll steal all the achievements.”
“Permission denied.”
“Why?”
“Because this is a real situation. Nothing is more dangerous than acting against orders.”
“I can just become part of that group. Then I wouldn’t be disobeying orders—I’d be following them properly, right?”
“That’s sophistry.”
“It’s a matter of interpretation.”
Crackle.
Sparks flew between the two.
A fight without yielding an inch. Yuridia tilted her head. It meant to hurry up and support her.
“I agree with Miss Yuridia’s opinion. The judgment regarding orders is something Sir Caron will decide later.”
“How insolent. I suppose having Ron in charge makes you look down on the other instructors?”
Urek’s eyes blazed.
But I wasn’t intimidated. Because this was going according to my ‘intention.’
“That’s not it—I’m appealing to Miss Yuridia’s strategic necessity.”
“…Strategic necessity?”
“That’s right. Currently, we’ve devised a strategy to retreat and regroup when enemies appear. It may seem perfect, but there’s a dangerous timing.”
“The moment of retreat.”
“Exactly.”
The moment we choose to retreat, we’ll naturally be pursued by the enemy.
One or two instructors can’t stop dozens of knights.
Unless they’re willing to risk their lives.
“But there’s a way to retreat safely even in such situations.”
“…Magic, I suppose.”
“Correct. With Miss Yuridia’s powerful magic, she can buy time for her allies to retreat to the next area.”
She could set fires, create icy roads, or summon large boulders and roll them down.
There’s a reason Yuridia is called a magic genius. A mage who can use magic of all attributes.
It was only natural she’d be called a genius.
“I don’t think Sir Caron wouldn’t know that. There must be a reason why Sir Caron stationed her here.”
“It’s simply because she’s a first year, so she was placed somewhere safe. He probably excluded the scenario where dozens of knights would converge on one location.”
“Still, we can’t disobey orders just to give her a chance to receive a good evaluation…”
“Let me say one more thing. We’re not the only ones being evaluated right now.”
“…!?”
Urek’s eyes widened. Because he realized the meaning of my words.
That’s right. We weren’t the only ones being evaluated.
The instructors were also…
Being ‘evaluated.’
–TL Notes–
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Zero displaying proper leadership and Charisma!? Impossible! It’s beautiful to see though!
And I thought Zero would display more kinship with the roach…
I guess the rest of party 1 not with Yuridia this time,Will Rodelin not appear afterall?