Into the War

The next morning, Sei woke up early again and was working up a sweat in the inn's backyard with Chaos and Gantz.

Mako generally wasn't a morning person. Especially at inns like this, she wouldn't come out until late.

Well, if she finally had a comfortable environment to sleep in, it was fine to let her rest once in a while. That's what Sei thought.

When she sensed someone watching, she found Lavi there.

"Good morning."

"Mm…"

The reply to her greeting was halfhearted, but for someone raised as a princess, this was probably normal. If anything, it wouldn't be strange for her to be more spoiled and demanding.

"Oh, speaking of which, can you use any weapons, Lavi? Ah, do you need armor too?"

"… I think a long and sturdy weapon would be best. I don't need armor."

This child looked like a girl, but she was a Divine Dragon. It might be a good idea to test just how capable her physical body was.

"Long and sturdy… A halberd, maybe?"

When she tried taking one out of her Folder and handing it over, Lavi swung it with ease. But her body couldn't fully support the weight. It wasn't a matter of strength—it was an issue of her own body weight.

"How about a spear then?"

She handed over a spare spear meant for Mako. Lavi swung this one easily too, and her handling showed familiarity with it.

However, perhaps she wasn't accustomed to handling bladed weapons, as she wasn't angling the blade properly. She was treating the spear as nothing more than a stick.

"Hmm, maybe a blunt weapon would be better…"

When she tried handing over a warhammer, Lavi swung it around effortlessly too. But with any weapon that had its center of gravity at the tip, her body would inevitably sway off balance.

"I'll give you that one for now. Do you need a dagger just in case?"

"If so, my bare hands would be better."

She certainly looked like she could beat someone to death with them.

Incidentally, both Sei and Mako's armor was made of leather.

It was light, many times sturdier than inferior metal armor, enchanted to fine-tune its size, and even had an auto-repair function.

However, it wasn't heavy. That was normally an advantage, but if you wanted to increase your body weight to swing your weapon around properly, you needed the mass.

It sounded like they were picking a fight with the very concept of armor, but that's what armor meant for Lavi.

Currently, Lavi was wearing knight's attire similar to Sei's. Honestly, it looked incongruous with her long hair, but she herself seemed quite fond of it.

When they went to the dining hall, Mako was already seated.

Her face was unusually downcast, and she was sighing.

"What's wrong?"

When Sei naturally sat down beside her and asked, the answer came whispered in her ear.

"That thing started…"

That thing, huh. Is that so.

Unlike Sei, Mako had those days. It couldn't be helped if she felt unwell.

Incidentally, what Mako was using were the highest quality items available in this world—purchased in bulk by Ria from somewhere before they set out on their journey.

Ria herself had never used them, but they had apparently been very well received by a female hero who had come from Japan previously.

Come to think of it, menstrual supplies might actually be useful as persuasion material. No, seriously.

"I wonder if there's some magic that could do something about this too…"

Mako muttered with a gloomy face, but at least she still had an appetite.

"Must be nice for you, Sei… Having it so light…"

Since it was a high-class inn, the taste was good, but the portions weren't enough. Mako ended up asking for seconds multiple times.

"Alright then, shall we get going?"

Stretching with a "Nnnn," Mako managed to change her mood.

"Well, there's a good chance we won't have to fight this time, so let's take it easy. But stay cautious."

Saying something slightly contradictory, the group left the city.

And there was nothing there.

No, what should have been there was gone. The tents that had been there until yesterday had completely vanished.

They hurried back to the city entrance and asked around—apparently, the army had departed at dawn. What terrible timing.

"Are you lot adventurers too?"

"No, we're not registered in this region, so we're just travelers."

Not wanting to be conscripted, Sei quickly ended her exchange with the guard and returned to the carriage.

When the situation was explained, everyone made an "Oh no" face. Except for Lavi.

"What are we gonna do?"

"Let's head out for now. They're still within tracking distance on my Map."

She thought they should have made contact yesterday, but that was crying over spilt milk.

Without consulting Ria, she wouldn't have been able to figure out how to approach the persuasion anyway.

In other words… if they had been just one day earlier, they would have made it.

(Damn it.)

One more day. Would this delay prove fatal?

For once, Sei felt a sense of urgency.

They caught up with the marching army quickly.

After all, the army's main force was infantry. Compared to that, they had a carriage. The difference in speed was obvious.

However, when she spotted the army beyond the horizon and got a bit closer, Sei clicked her tongue again.

The army's main force was infantry. That much was true.

But the regular army soldiers were armed with guns. High-performance ones by the look of them.

When she used the clairvoyance spell from principle magic, there were even more surprising things.

Tanks.

Not chariots pulled by horses, but genuine tanks like you'd see on Earth.

And… in the sky above, wyverns carrying soldiers were flying.

So this is what an army looks like.

Sei cleared her confused head with a single deep breath and organized the situation.

"There's someone we need to make contact with in that marching army. What do you think we should do?"

"It's impossible. We might have been able to manage something until yesterday, but if we're discovered by a marching army, they might think we're enemies."

Chaos's assessment was probably correct.

"Even if we're a mercenary band?"

"If the mercenaries are integrated into the army, it's impossible. If they're operating independently, I'm not sure, but it would definitely be difficult either way."

Furthermore, Chaos continued.

"Myself, Gantz, and especially Kukuri might be mistaken for enemies. Halflings and beastkin are often used as scouts."

And besides that, Sei thought.

If anyone besides herself was attacked by the army, they would certainly die. Shields and armor couldn't defend against guns and tanks. She knew that much from watching anime.

Wait, would Lavi be fine? She was a Divine Dragon after all. But even if she brought Lavi along, what good would it do?

They kept a sufficient distance from the army as the day ended.

"So, what should we do?"

"The best option is to wait until the war is over and only approach the survivors."

That also meant accepting that if the heroes died in this war, it couldn't be helped.

But she didn't want that. Keita had said it too. They were victims.

Pitiful victims of kidnapping brought here through what was called "summoning." She wanted to save them somehow.

"There's also the option of waiting until night and infiltrating alone to make contact… but that probably won't work."

If they'd been incorporated into the army, the three were likely separated.

And those three were probably with other soldiers now.

She checked using her Map. Sure enough, as Ria had said, the group of three had split into one and two.

There were other people around them too. A completely different environment from yesterday.

"If you infiltrate alone, you'll need to be prepared to kill humans. You're immortal, but that doesn't mean you can't be restrained. You absolutely must escape and secure your own freedom."

Ria's opinion wasn't wrong. But that didn't mean she could accept it.

"Or would you like to try stopping the war by yourself?"

In a somewhat cold tone, Ria said that.

"If you use guerrilla tactics and spam magic at night, I'm sure you could kill many soldiers. Whichever army you attack, if one side becomes overwhelmingly disadvantaged, they'll have no choice but to retreat. Even without going to such extremes, if you destroy their supply lines, they might retreat."

Could she really do that? And in the first place, which side should she help?

"Is that what you would do, Shishou? Do you have some better idea, Shishou?"

"As I said earlier, I would wait until the war is over and then make contact."

"With your power, Shishou, couldn't you stop it?"

"That's asking a god to interfere with humans. The only reason I meddle in Ogress's politics and military affairs is because they are my descendants. Beyond that, the rule is to avoid interference as much as possible. Even so, Irina and I are relatively considerate of the humanoid races."

"What about the evil gods? Aren't they continuing to invade constantly?"

At those words, Ria fell silent for a moment.

And what she heard next were words devoid of humanity.

"That serves as culling. Of the humans who have grown too numerous. Of course, in the end we'll erase the newly created races along with them, but ideally we'd like the humanoid races to do that themselves."

"Culling?!"

She almost continued with 'Who do you think you are, a god?' But Ria was a god.

"We have fundamentally forbidden gods from interfering with humans. That's why we destroy gods whenever we find them. The reason the evil gods were revived this time is because humans who were seduced by the evil gods broke the seal."

Humans had revived the evil gods. That was a fact she was hearing for the first time.

"And even gods that should be benevolent to humans are harmful. After all, magic like hero summoning should only be known to them."

Divine Dragons are neutral. They only exercise their power in times of world crisis. Therefore, gods must be destroyed.

Whether good or evil, if they bring harm to the world.

"Are you… human, Shishou? Or a Divine Dragon?"

"I am… an unfortunate human who ended up harboring the power of a Divine Dragon. Though at the time, I was a fool who didn't realize it."

It was the first time Sei had heard Ria speak so self-deprecatingly.

"Among the Divine Dragons, I am exceptional in that I love humanity. Eventually, I hope they venture into space, find other habitable planets, and exist as a species for as long as possible."

But that wasn't the original position of Divine Dragons.

"Ouma, Irina, and I are young, so we think humans are interesting or that we like them. For better or worse. But Rana and Teru are different. They are pure Divine Dragons. To protect the world, they would annihilate humans, demi-humans, and the demon race alike. They have the power to do so."

"That's absurd…"

"Weren't the gods on Earth absurd too? Like Noah's Ark—I don't know the details, but they gave all sorts of pointless trials, didn't they? I don't know what the gods you actually met are doing, though."

We've gotten off topic, Ria said.

"Whatever method you choose, you may act according to your own will. But if you're thinking about Nears and Earth in the end, first think about your own safety, then think about the heroes' safety… Unfortunately, this isn't a kind world. Though the same is true of Earth."

Is there anything else you want to ask? Ria prompted.

Her voice was probably meant to be gentle. But it didn't reach Sei.

After the communication was cut, Sei returned to the camp one hill over.

"How did it go?"

Mako asked with hope in her voice. But once Sei's expression was visible in the campfire light, she must have gotten the gist.

"There's nothing we can do. We'll just have to watch from afar for a while."

As Sei said that and began eating, her companions watched in silence.

A hand reached out and patted Sei's head.

"Are you sad?"

Expressionless, Lavi continued stroking Sei's head.

"No, I'm just frustrated at my own powerlessness."

"I see."

Having one's head patted felt somehow embarrassing. But Sei was tired enough to find it comforting.

That day, Lavi continued stroking Sei's head until just before she fell asleep.