So their initial gap just never closed. Of course, he could make the excuse that he had lost due to Frost Pain, but he didn’t want to say anything that pathetic. That’s right! That’s the owner of Frost Pain for you! The strongest lizardman male!
He didn’t stop attacking, but at the same time, with the clearheaded part of his brain, he praised Zaryusu for blocking his kicks with Frost Pain.
Get wounded, bleed, get wounded again.
Keeping a close eye on the fierce back-and-forth, Crusch had seen with her exceptional druid abilities which direction the battle would lean in. Amazing… He must have been able to tell right from the start of the battle.
She was blown away by Zaryusu’s exceptional warrior abilities.
A cheer went up.
It was for Zenbel, who seemed to be overwhelming Zaryusu with his repeated attacks. The surrounding lizardmen didn’t notice, but the movements of his arms and legs were growing gradually slower.
Zaryusu was strong. Crusch could say that with confidence.
Most lizardmen fought by putting pressure on their opponents with their robust physical abilities, while Zaryusu—well, and Zenbel—fought with technique. And Zaryusu had Frost Pain to back up his skills. For that reason, the current gap between them was, in large part, Frost Pain. But she could also sense, as the obvious truth, that that wasn’t everything.
Would an average warrior be able to give Zenbel a run for his money like this with Frost Pain? The answer was no. Zenbel wasn’t such a simple opponent as that. The weapon was powerful, but being able to draw out its abilities completely made Zaryusu a first-rate warrior.
His greatest talent was how quickly he could read his opponent. The reason he had been able to dodge the blow when Zenbel had abandoned his spear was that he had been carefully reading him. He had foreseen that Zenbel had a trump card, that the spear was a bluff.
The knowledge of the fish preserves, his combat technique—how much had he gained on that journey that he branded himself to go on?
Before she knew it, Crusch had stopped questioning Zaryusu’s victory. She just watched his profile, not with worry but with something else buzzing in her chest. “He’s one amazing male…”
The duel was so impressive that time flew by for everyone watching. The combatants themselves, though, felt differently. Their labored breathing was an unmistakable sign that the physical and mental toll went beyond just the time they spent.
That Zaryusu didn’t lose his will to fight despite bleeding from wounds all over his body was commendable in its bravery. There had never been someone who lasted so long in a fight against their chief. That’s how the surrounding lizardmen felt.
His victory imminent—or so almost everyone thought—Zenbel wordlessly broke his stance. They were sure he would proclaim himself the winner, and as they held their breaths in anticipation, Zenbel raised his voice—and did the exact opposite. “I lose!”
Their chief’s victory should have been right there. So why was he proclaiming his loss?
The only one to foresee the result, Crusch, bustled into the circle. “Are you all right?”
Zaryusu sighed heavily, dropping the sword he’d been clutching, and answered in a voice oozing with exhaustion. “Well, none of these wounds will kill me… I don’t think they’ll be a problem for the upcoming fight, either.”
“I’ll cast some healing magic on you.” Crusch sighed and adjusted her grass clothes with a rustle to reveal her face.
Zaryusu felt a gradual embrace around him—not the hot pain of the wounds carved into his body from a moment ago but a pleasant warmth. Giving in to the feeling of health flowing into him, he turned to face the huge lizardman he’d just challenged in that life-or-death battle.
Zenbel was surrounded by the members of his tribe, explaining what had happened, what Zaryusu’s strategy had been.
Crusch announced after two casts that she was done healing him, “I guess that’s it,” and Zaryusu looked down at his body.
There was still coagulated blood sticking to him, but his wounds were completely healed. When he moved, there was a strange lingering, pulling feeling, but it didn’t seem like any cuts would reopen. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Crusch giggled. It exposed her beautiful pearly fangs.
“You’re so pretty…”
“What?!” Her tail jerked and slapped the water.
Then neither of them said anything.
Crusch was silent because she was wondering how this male could say stuff like that with a straight face. She wasn’t used to being complimented, so to her, he said too many things that were bad for her heart.
Meanwhile Zaryusu didn’t understand why Crusch had clammed up. The worry he might have said or done something wrong crossed his mind. Honestly, he’d thought females would never have anything to do with his life, so he didn’t know how to act. It may not have seemed like it, but he was doing the best he could as well.
“Hey, hey, you’re gonna make me jealous, dammit!”
They both turned to look at the owner of the voice, Zenbel. Their perfectly synchronized movements made him falter momentarily.
“Uhhh… White one, you’re not gonna heal me, too?”
He acted normal after seeing her white albino face. But she remembered her impression when she’d seen him for the first time and understood. I guess that makes sense?
“Yes, yes…but are you sure it’s okay? Your tribe’s priests won’t get to do it, then.”
“Yeah, it’s fine, it’s fine. More importantly, it kinda really hurts. It’s like I’m frozen solid. Can you hurry it up?”
“Only ’cause you said to. Tell your priests that!”
“Okay, I forced you. Please.”
Crusch sighed and started casting healing magic.
And suddenly Zaryusu, although he couldn’t be sure, felt like the number of hostile gazes decreased. And, though only a few, some even turned friendly.
“Okay, all done.”
She’d cast more times on Zenbel than she had on Zaryusu. His wounds didn’t look that bad, but apparently they’d been deep.
“Hmm! So you’re more talented than our priests!”
“Thanks. But I don’t know if I should… No, thanks.”
“Okay, both our wounds are healed up, so I guess this is sudden, but do you mind if we jump right into business?”
“Yeah! Let’s hear what you have to say—is what I was going to lead with, but…” Zenbel paused with a grin. “Alcohol.”
Both Zaryusu and Crusch were nonplussed, like they didn’t understand what he’d just said to them.
“Gotta have tough discussions over drinks. You get me?”
Negotiations went better once the parties knew who was stronger. Zaryusu could understand risking their lives to figure that out. That was the lizardman way of life. But he couldn’t understand a drinking party. The Green Claw tribe didn’t have that custom.
What was the point of fighting a life-or-death battle if this was what came next?
“No, I don’t!” Zaryusu, tormented by exhaustion, gave a quiet, raw answer with a discouraged look on his face. Immediately afterward, a surge of regret swept over him. We haven’t even formed the alliance yet, and I just reacted to this tribe’s chief like a little kid. Crusch was giving him a strange look, too.
Zaryusu had no relationship experience, so he had no way to know that Crusch’s reaction was one of curiosity and tenderness at having discovered another side of the object of her affection.
“If we drink, we won’t be able to think straight. That’s no good,” Zaryusu hurriedly restated, but Zenbel didn’t seem to be bothered.
“Hey, hey, hey! You’re a traveler, right? Anyone around here looking for knowledge would go to the dwarves, am I right?”
“No, I didn’t do that. I visited the people of the forest.”
“Oh. Then remember this: Friends become best friends by drinking together. That’s a lesson from the dwarves! We don’t have much
time, but we have to speak frankly, right, Zaryusu Shasha?”
“I see… Understood, Zenbel Gugu.”
“Okay, then! We’re gonna drink tonight! Bring it out! Let’s get this party started!”
In a nearly six-and-a-half-foot bonfire stand, set on dry land, crimson flames blazed so high that they seemed to reach for the night sky itself. That giant red light kept the darkness away.
Placed front and center next to the bonfire stand was a pot over three feet high with a mouth over two and a half feet in diameter. The stink of fermentation coming from it drifted on the breeze. Dozens of lizardmen took turns ladling liquid out of the pot, but no matter how many times they scooped, the alcohol showed no signs of running out. This was, like Zaryusu’s Frost Pain, one of the lizardmen’s Four Great Treasures, the Giant Wine Pot. It produced a limitless amount of alcohol, but the flavor was not so great. To a human who knew even a little bit about alcohol, it would be frown inducing, but for the lizardmen, this was high-grade stuff. That was why the drinkers kept coming.
A little ways removed from the vessel was an extremely quiet area, and it took only a glance to see why. Several drunk lizardmen lay facedown on the ground. They’d collapsed there and not budged an inch. This was the disposal area for totally wasted lizardmen.
Crusch, having taken off her clothes, was walking through the area, keeping her eyes on the ground—watching out for the tails of the lizardmen lying around. Her footsteps were steady, and she didn’t seem drunk, but it was impossible to say she wasn’t drunk at all—her tail, just her tail, was cheerfully twisting around with a mind of its own. It curled up and stretched, pointed up and drooped. It was hyper like a little kid.
In reality, it felt like a fresh breeze was blowing through Crusch’s heart. It may have been partially the alcohol, but that wasn’t all. The freedom helped.
It was her first time ever walking among a large group of people with her albino body exposed. Zenbel had a strange appearance, too, so although some were surprised by her at first, soon she was blending right in.
She carried food in both hands as she walked, feeling her heart sing. She walked toward where Zaryusu and Zenbel were sitting cross-legged on the ground drinking together.
They were using shells of a fruit similar to coconuts as cups. The liquid filling them to the brim was clear, but that fermented smell hung thickly in the air. Between them was a large plate of raw fish to snack on.
Zenbel grinned at Crusch as she walked over. “Hey, plant monster!”
“…Are you ever gonna stop calling me that?” She’d already taken off the outfit, but no matter how many times she protested, he would probably tease her forever. Crusch decided not to put up a futile resistance. “So did you finish talking?”
Zaryusu and Zenbel nodded to each other.
“Pretty much.”
They’d wanted to talk alone, so they’d asked Crusch to leave. Their bluntness about it had left her no choice, so she went to get food, but really, she had wanted to participate in the conversation. If it was about the upcoming war, she was involved, too.
She wanted to hear a summary, even if they didn’t tell her anything awkward, but instead—
“Just male stuff.” Zenbel indifferently cut off that possibility.
Her offense showed plainly on her face, but since she had no other choice, she changed the subject. “So what’re you going to do? Are you going to join the alliance and fight with us?”
“Huh? Yeah, of course we’re gonna fight. We were gonna fight even if you guys didn’t show up!” He emitted a sound like pieces of dry wood bumping together.
“Wow. You’re awfully war-crazy, huh?”
“Don’t compliment me—I’ll blush.” Paying no attention to Crusch’s disgust, he nonchalantly asked her for a favor. “Oh, right, plant monster. You gotta convince Zaryusu. I told him a zillion times he should be chief, but he won’t listen.”
Zaryusu twisted his expression into a dead-tired wince. He looked so exhausted she could tell they’d gone over this repeatedly while she was gone.
“He can’t do that! He’s from another tribe, and he’s a tr—” She was going to say “traveler,” but she remembered Zenbel was, too, and changed the subject. “Why did you want to go traveling?”
“Huh? It was just such a shock to lose to the guy who used to own Frost Pain! I wanted to get stronger. And I wanted to find out what else was out there. That’s why I became a traveler.”
Next to him, Zaryusu’s shoulders suddenly drooped. Crusch remembered the stories of his travels that she’d heard on their way over.
What had kept Zaryusu going during his journey were his resolution, determination, and sense of mission for his tribe. He must have thought this male, who was a traveler like him, had felt similarly…but Zenbel didn’t seem to have a shred of those sentiments.
Crusch put a gentle hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He’s him and you’re you, she thought.
Then she realized that anyone looking at them would probably think they were lovers, and her tail started twisting around wildly. Zaryusu’s went totally crazy, too.
Without thinking, they looked at each other and grinned, blushing.
Zenbel continued in high spirits without paying them any attention. “I thought there’d be some strong guys up on that mountain. ’Cause it’s just so huge! And the dwarves I met there taught me all kinds of things, ya know? They gave me that spear, too. I didn’t think I needed it, but once they said to take it as a symbol of our meeting, I couldn’t really refuse.”
“…Hmm, good for you.” Crusch’s reply was a little careless, or perhaps cold.
“Thanks.”
The sarcasm didn’t even get through.
Crusch, whose good mood had been ruined, knocked back her drink. Her throat grew hot, and once the liquid settled to her stomach, the heat spread throughout her body. Zaryusu drank in the same way.
Then there came an extremely low voice. The quietness of it was so at odds with the lighthearted conversation thus far that for a moment they weren’t even sure who had spoken. “So. Do you think we can win?”
Zaryusu answered in an equally quiet voice, “…I don’t know.”
“Well, yeah, how would you? There’re no sure wins. Actually, if there were some guy shouting about how we could win when we don’t even know the enemy’s strength, I’d punch his lights out. Like, don’t just say whatever, buddy!”
Crusch said nothing to Zenbel as he softly laughed.
“But our opponent’s being careless. Our chances will probably depend on how that plays out.”
They could practically see the question forming in Zenbel’s head, so Crusch stepped in for Zaryusu to explain. “Do you remember what the monster said?”
“Sorry. I was asleep at the time.”
“…But you must have heard from someone.”
“Nn, it was complicated, so I forgot it. Anyhow, if they come to attack us, we just have to beat them at their own game. That’s the important part, right?”
This guy’s useless, said Crusch’s face as she gave up explaining.
Zaryusu picked up where she left off with an annoyed smile. “…This is what he said: Put up a frantic resistance.”
Zenbel’s face twisted into a horrible grimace full of unpredictable emotions. “That pisses me off—that they’re treating us like we’re beneath them from the start.” He let out a dangerous growl. Intense anger and disgust swirled around him.
“Yeah. They’re totally making light of us. That’s how confident they are… They think they have the force to break any resistance of ours, no problem… So we’ll crush that arrogance. We’ll gather the five tribes together and show them the greatest power we can muster. First, we’ll slap ’em upside the head to show them we’re not half-assing it.”
“Ha, sounds good. Now you’re speaking my language.”
As the two males started to get excited about the upcoming battle, Crusch spoke like a bucket of cold water. “I don
’t see that many benefits to mutilating their pride. Isn’t it fine to just do enough to prove our worth? If they understand that we’re worth something, maybe they’ll decide not to kill us all.”
“Whoa, whoa, you’d bow your head to these hateful bastards?”
“Hey, Zaryusu… I understand the danger of evacuating, but I’d rather be alive and in chains than dead,” Crusch murmured.
Neither of them could refute her or mock her for having a servile nature.
None of them wanted to get conquered. But there was still more of a future that way than dying in the fight. If they had a future, they still had a chance.
For example, if they shared the fish-farming technology, they could abandon this place and all flee.
Anyone who would order someone to throw away that possibility and die wasn’t fit to rule.
“Listen for a second…”
At Zaryusu’s quiet suggestion, everyone listened to the sounds of happy laughter on the breeze from the banquet.
“If they conquer us, we might not be able to throw parties like this.”
“But maybe we could! Right?”
“I wonder. I doubt it. Those guys seem like they want to enjoy watching us die. I doubt they’ll show any mercy. If they had even a tiny bit of kindness, they wouldn’t come to kill us off for kicks.”
He’s right. Crusch nodded. But still— “What I’m trying to say is…don’t die.”
“Oh, I won’t die! Not until I hear back from you!”
“!”
Crusch and Zaryusu regarded each other seriously beneath the night sky. And they made a promise—
—With the astonished third wheel Zenbel sitting right there.
Intermission
In the meeting room behind him, they were probably already turning to a new issue. But his role in that room was finished, so he had left.
Of course, he had other roles besides report giver. Now he had to perform the various tasks surrounding the resurrections of his comrades and fill in the temporary membership hole by appointing someone new. In other words, his work as the first seat—that is, captain—of the Black Scripture was waiting for him. He also had training and experiments to do. Since the Six Scriptures were secret organizations, he had an undercover life in the theocracy as well.
The Lizardman Heroes Page 9
