The War God

Adjacent to the city ruins known as Soruya, there is a town catering to explorers.

"It's like a labyrinth and demon realm combined, I guess?"

The words Mako casually spoke were more or less accurate.

Within the ruins of the former Demon King's castle city, many monsters had already taken up residence.

Magical essence accumulated easily there, and if a powerful being were to dwell at its center, it would likely turn into a labyrinth in no time.

To protect against such monsters, the town's walls were high, and magical defenses were in place as well.

However, since the railway's safety couldn't be guaranteed, they had to travel by carriage along the highway from the last station to the town.

Forests spread out on both sides of the highway, making Lavi's teleportation mostly unusable.

The party thought they should have just asked the Great Demon King-sama to teleport them at least to the town.

One week after departing the imperial capital, Sei's group finally arrived at the town of Soruya.

 

*

 

"Hmm, there are hardly any races that look close to human."

Sei said with a groan, and the group nodded in agreement.

There were many races that looked particularly different from humans, such as goblins, kobolds, and beastkin including orcs.

Since Sei's group looked close to human except for Bungol, they occasionally drew stares. This was the same reaction they'd gotten on the highway to the town.

"So, Ane-deshi, what are we going to do?"

Bungol was in a good mood, somehow feeling at ease with so many of his kind around. The high orc race was that few in number.

"I can't sense the hero's presence from here yet…"

Perhaps because the former Demon King's castle was built to accommodate large-bodied races, there were many massive buildings.

Naturally, the city itself was vast, and his Map search couldn't reach to its center.

"For now, let's find an inn and assess the situation."

 

*

 

In this town with many demons, the inns were built to demon standards as well.

There were beds for small-bodied goblins as well as beds for giant races.

Sei's group would use the beastkin beds, Bungol would use the orc beds, and Kukuri would use the goblin beds.

Even though their guests were demons, the place was properly cleaned and sanitary. There was even a bathhouse.

First, to gather information, Bungol—who was considered handsome by orc standards—asked the innkeeper lady (who was an orc, by the way) if any unusually strong human had come to town recently. The answer came immediately.

"Ah, you must be talking about Soya. Has word spread to other lands already?"

"Whoa, the War God."

Mako grimaced, and just like that, their information gathering was complete.

 

*

 

A boy named Soya had come to this town at some point and had apparently been delving into the ruins alone at first.

However, his strength was considerable, and since demons strongly valued the idea that the strong are great, several of them quickly became his companions.

And as his group grew in size, his power became increasingly apparent.

Now he had apparently formed an organization—more of a clan than a party—gathering nearly one hundred explorers.

And then there was his Gift.

A Gift suited more for war than individual combat.

That was the War God.

 

*

 

The War God. Its effects included making combat-related skills easier to acquire, and activating many effects when participating in war.

One would no longer be hit by stray arrows or bullets. Allies' morale would rise, they would tire less easily, and their physical abilities would improve. It would also intimidate enemies.

Furthermore, allies' combat skill levels would effectively be one tier higher in battle.

Furthermore still, a portion of the experience points from enemies defeated by subordinates would go to the one blessed with the War God.

And as a bonus on top of that, the more soldiers under one's command, the more one's own abilities would increase.

The more they heard, the more they understood this was a Gift that would greatly enhance military strength just by having one person with it on your side.

"Kamishiro-kun certainly was active in the battles against the gods."

Mako nodded repeatedly. While other heroes had mainly trained in coordination between heroes, he had apparently received training in commanding a nation's soldiers.

And now, under this hero, there were nearly one hundred explorers following him as their leader.

Previous heroes had been difficult to deal with, but this was a different kind of difficulty entirely.

"It would be best to persuade him—or subdue him—when he's alone, but…"

Sei voiced this thought, but figured it would be difficult.

Because the hero who had entered his Map's range had nearly twenty demon and demi-human signatures around him.

(Even if we fight, we need to do it in the city ruins where he'll have fewer companions…)

The worst-case scenario would be one hundred people coming at them.

It wouldn't be impossible to defeat them, but holding back would be difficult.

Soya returned from the city and headed into town, with demons gathering around him.

And the expressions of the people watching him were filled with envy, jealousy, or respect.

Soya walked with dignity down the center of the main street. He looked like an average-built boy, but no one would judge him by appearance alone.

His level was 130, and his stats and skills were quite high even for that level. Though one-on-one, Sei and Mako would probably win.

"There are just too many of them…"

Not just in quantity, but in quality as well.

Hardly any of them had reached Bungol's level, but several of them together could probably hold him at bay.

Sei, Laila, and Lavi's wide-area attacks might result in deaths. They couldn't very well involve people who weren't criminals.

"This is bad…"

It would have been better to have Ars or Ferna write them a letter of introduction to the town's governor and summon Soya through that.

Well, Labyrinth's map hadn't shown for certain that he was in this town, so they hadn't thought of that.

"First, we have no choice but to make contact."

The group nodded at Mako's words.

 

*

 

Soya owned a mansion in one of the upscale districts of this town.

About ten high-level explorers who could serve as guards also seemed to be living there. And he apparently employed many servants too. When he moved, the people around him moved with him.

Infiltrating the mansion to make contact was an option, but only Sei and Kukuri had the stealth capabilities for that.

Therefore, the method they adopted was a direct, frontal visit.

 

*

 

Perhaps serving as gatekeepers, a kobold and a goblin explorer stood at the mansion's gate.

Bungol was the one who called out to them. The reasoning was that he was racially closest to them.

"I heard that the hero Soya Kamishiro-dono is here. Could you please relay a message?"

"The boss doesn't meet with people who don't have letters of introduction."

The goblin answered. Actually, he was a goblin king, a variant among goblins. His build was far larger than a regular goblin.

"If you tell him that Mako Tsubaki, who is from the same homeland as Soya-dono, has come, I believe that will work."

At the mention of someone from the same homeland as Soya, the kobold and goblin exchanged glances.

They conversed with their eyes, and the kobold went inside through a small door in the gate.

"Wait here a moment."

Facing the strangely dignified goblin, Sei's group waited for just a short while.

The kobold returned with the answer: he would meet them, but only Mako alone.

For now, Sei's group discussed it and decided to have Mako meet with him first.

In the meantime, Sei's group would have a light meal.

 

*

 

The gate opened wide to let Mako in.

A maid was waiting at the front door to greet her, and she was also an orc.

An orc maid—who would even want that? The tastes were a bit too peculiar.

After confirming that Mako had entered the mansion, Sei's group moved to a different location.

 

*

 

Even in the upscale district, there were still restaurants.

Sei's group waited for Mako at one of them. Of course, Sei was monitoring Mako's signature on his Map.

She seemed to have made contact with Soya's signature. However, there were also several explorer signatures near the two of them.

Most were beastkin, but there was one dark elf. Level close to 100. And female.

Incidentally, there were ways to tell elves and dark elves apart. Skin color was the easiest, but there was another method when it came to females.

Dark elves, unlike elves, had large breasts.

Elves and dark elves didn't have much animosity between males, but apparently they often became hostile between females.

"Breasts are just in the way…"

Laila nodded happily at Sei's words—spoken as someone who was once male but was currently female.

Meanwhile, Lavi was muttering, "I'm still growing…"

 

*

 

Before long, Mako rejoined them.

Judging by her expression, the results had been rather meager.

"He said to bring Sei and come talk again tomorrow."

"Just me?"

"Yeah, just Sei."

Sei judged that this was bad.

There was a reason he'd specifically designated tomorrow. It was to prepare something. And if he were honestly planning to return, he could prepare after talking with Sei.

And if only Sei and Mako were permitted to visit, there was a high chance this was a trap.

He was probably gathering people who could fight, intending to deal with Sei and Mako. And what "deal with" meant in this case was… well, obvious.

 

*

 

This hero had no intention of returning to Earth.

Not only that, but it was clear he bore hostility toward them.

 

*

 

"So what are we going to do?"

Kukuri asked, and Bungol flexed his muscles. He seemed fully prepared to fight.

"Are we going to have to kill people…?"

Sei wore a troubled expression, but there were only two choices.

Fight now, or fight tomorrow.

And fighting now was overwhelmingly the better strategy. By tomorrow, the other side would have their preparations in order.

Even so, considering the possibility of killing explorers who weren't criminals, he wanted to wait until tomorrow and hope for the miracle that they might agree to return.

"If it's just me and Mako, we won't die."

Against a hundred explorers, there was no way Laila, Bungol, and Kukuri would come out unscathed.

The best option would be for Sei, Mako, and Lavi to launch a surprise attack.

"… Let's hope for that slim chance."

Sei's decision was not based on cold calculation.

"I don't think Kamishiro-kun is that kind of person…"

Mako said this, but people changing after coming to another world was common enough.

 

*

 

It was foolish, Sei thought.

His desire to send heroes back alive had clouded his judgment. Additionally, trying to neutralize forces other than the hero without killing them could only be called overconfidence in his own abilities.

 

*

 

That night, Sei's group went to sleep worrying about the next day's negotiations.

The inn—which was supposed to have the best security in town—was attacked by upwards of one hundred explorers.

Sei sensed the presence and detected them early with his Map. He woke Mako and Laila, who were sleeping in the same room, and left the slow-to-wake Lavi to them before pounding on the door to the men's room.

"It's a raid! Get ready!"

After shouting, Sei himself equipped the gear he pulled from his Folder using instant-equip magic.

Looking outside through the window, he could see a group of demons surrounding the inn without any lights. Since many demon races had night vision, they probably didn't need light sources.

The inn's entrance had already been breached. Fortunately, there was only one staircase leading to the upper floors, so if Sei held it, his companions could get ready.

The attackers apparently weren't going to set fire to the place, and they came at Sei wielding weapons as he stood at the top of the stairs.

 

*

 

"What recklessness!"

Was Soya's power in this town great enough to cover up something like this? Faced with this unprecedented situation, even Sei hesitated in his judgment.

He was cutting down the enemies surging up from below, trying not to kill them, but apparently the other side had people who could use healing magic. Moreover, was this also an effect of the War God? His own movements were slightly dulled.

Simple neutralization was impossible. But somehow, during that time, his companions managed to finish preparing and join him.

 

*

 

"What do we do?"

At Mako's words, Sei thought while swinging his blade.

According to the Map, Soya was in the rear, observing the situation. He had guards around him as well.

Defeating him would be easy. Sei could just charge in alone. But breaking his will and getting him to agree to return…

"Lavi, help me."

At Sei's request, Lavi gave a light nod.