by Ao Jyumonji
“...Y-Yeah,” Moguzo agreed. “The truth is, after that... I don’t know, but just a little... I’ve been more... conscious?... of her...”
“Conscious...” Haruhiro mumbled. Moguzo had quietly been developing an interest in the opposite sex, weird as it was to put it that way. Still, it was kind of a shock.
“Gwahahaha!” Ranta was strangely excited for some reason. “Moguzo, you dog, you! Push, push, and push harder! Who knows, maybe it’ll even work out for you?!”
“Ah, no, I-I couldn’t...”
“Moguzo, buddy, let me tell you something, since I’m your partner. Life may seem long, but it’s short. You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do, you know? So that you have no regrets, okay? So confess your love!”
“Mrgh! I can’t do that...”
“Just confess, okay?!” Ranta ordered. “Do it tomorrow!”
“I’m telling you, I can’t...”
“You can’t because you think you can’t! If you think you can do it, you can! That’s how it works! Right, Haruhiro? I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Huh? Ah, um, yeah, well, I suppose—Hey, wait, don’t suddenly drag me into this!”
“You idiot, aren’t you going to support Moguzo?” Ranta retorted. “We’re comrades, aren’t we?”
“Support him...?” Haruhiro muttered. “Well, it’s not like I don’t, but...”
“Don’t you want him to find happiness?!”
“I do...”
“Then he should confess! He oughta confess! He’s got to show off his love confession dance!”
“What the hell is a love confession dance supposed to be?” Haruhiro demanded.
“It’s a traditional performance you put on while confessing your love! That kind of stuff exists! I just decided it does! Okay, dance for us, Moguzo! Do the I Love You dance!”
Moguzo didn’t move. “...I’m not going to dance... Okay?”
“Yeah, that figures,” Ranta said. “It’d be awkward for me if you did, anyway. I was just saying it! I’m first-rate at just saying stuff!”
“Ranta, you’re totally third-rate,” Haruhiro retorted.
“If a fifth-rate guy like you says that, Haruhiro, I don’t even care.”
“And who do you like, anyway?” Haruhiro demanded. “You asked me and Moguzo, but you haven’t said anything for yourself.”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right,” Moguzo agreed. “Ranta-kun, you tell us, too.”
“Huhh? Meeee? You want meeee to? What, guys, do you reeeeally want to know?”
“If you’re asking whether I actually want to know, I’m really iffy on that...” Haruhiro said.
“I-I think I want to know, maybe,” Moguzo mumbled.
“You want to know thaaaat badly?”
“...Honestly, I don’t care that much,” said Haruhiro.
“I want to know... okay?” Moguzo said. “Pretty badly.”
“You’re hopeless, you know that. Well, if you insist...”
Haruhiro sensed Ranta turning over in bed. He sure was making a big deal out of this. No matter how you looked at it, wasn’t he making way too big of a deal out of this?
But then, after all of that, what did he do?
“I’m not goooonna tell you, moooorons.”
“Man, don’t screw with us...!” Haruhiro shouted.
“Y-You’re awful, Ranta-kun!”
“Gwaaaahahahahahahaha! Don’t think you’ll get a secret out of me so easily! I got your secrets perfectly, though!”
“Tell us! You’re being cowardly!” Haruhiro snapped.
“Y-Yeah! It’s not fair if you’re the only one who doesn’t say!”
“If you don’t like it, then make me talk!” Ranta shouted. “You! Can’t! Do! It!”
“I swear, I’ll make you talk!” Haruhiro snarled.
“I’ll twist your arm if I have to...” Moguzo murmured.
“Hey! Hold on, Moguzo, hey! No, brute strength is—Gwarrrrgh...!”
Chapter 8: Meat Shield
Beneath the still dark sky, there was a raucous gathering in front of Alterna’s north gate.
The “Blue Snake Force” which would set out to take Deadhead Watching Keep was to be led by Wren Water, a Brigadier General in the Alterna Frontier Army. At his command were 500 warriors and 100 paladins, 100 hunters, as well as a number of priests, bringing the total to a little over 700 for the main force. They were accompanied by a detached force consisting of 37 volunteer soldier parties, for a total of 197 participants. These were to be led by the chief of the Volunteer Soldier Corps Red Moon Office, as well as its host, Britney, or Bri-chan as he preferred to be called.
In addition, there were the well-wishers and rubberneckers, as well as merchants not about to miss a chance to sell their wares, so there were more than 1,000 people gathered in the area. “Noisy” didn’t even begin to describe how loud it was.
Incidentally, the “Red Snake Force” setting out for Riverside Iron Fortress was composed of 1,000 warriors, 300 paladins, 200 dread knights, 300 cavalry, and 50 priests, all from the Frontier Army, led by General Graham Rasentra, for an incredible total of 1,850 troops in the main force. There was also a commando unit centered around Soma’s Day Breakers that was composed of 55 parties, a total of over 300 people, so it was even more incredible.
Furthermore, the defense of Alterna would be carried out by the remaining soldiers of the Frontier Army under the command of Brigadier General Ian Ratty.
Haruhiro didn’t know much about General Graham Rasentra or Brigadier General Ian Ratty, or rather he hadn’t even heard their names before.
Brigadier General Wren Water was way up at the front, right next to the north gate. He looked neat and trim in his shining white armor, and had a look that was, to use a somewhat old-sounding expression, ruggedly handsome. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, but he was cold towards the volunteer soldiers somehow, as if he had a lot of pride. His armor bore the hexagram sign of the god of light, Lumiaris, so he was likely a paladin.
The internal ranking of the Blue Snake Force was apparent at a glance, with the paladins and priests around Wren Water, the warriors behind them, and the hunters behind the warriors. The detached force was even further back.
The main force were standing in relatively orderly rows, with superior officers yelling at anyone who stepped out of line, but the volunteer soldiers in the detached force were a real mess. They were divided into parties, for the most part, but they did as they pleased, standing and chatting, sitting around, or wandering here and there.
Is this really okay? Haruhiro thought, unsure, but it didn’t seem like it was particularly going to be a problem.
Actually, the detached force were probably being left to their own devices. Surely the main force must have looked at them and thought, Do what you want, as if we care. We in the regular forces aren’t like you volunteer soldiers, or something like that.
He didn’t know anyone in the Frontier Army, but Haruhiro had lived here in Alterna long enough to have a vague sense that that was the case. Volunteer soldiers were outsiders to begin with, so the regular soldiers saw them as untrustworthy, somehow. The volunteer soldiers didn’t particularly like them, either.
However, for someone who had achieved as much as Soma, and who was held in such high esteem, it was a different matter.
All of the famous volunteer soldiers like him were participating in the Red Snake Force’s commando unit, so the Blue Snake Force’s detached force were thought of as the dregs. And ranked even beneath those dregs were, let it be no secret, Haruhiro and his party.
That said, even in the detached force, there were powerful volunteer soldiers who they respected, or who they were forced to respect. The ones who stood out most were the Wild Angels, led by Kajiko.
The Wild Angels were, without exception, women, and all of them wore white feathered stoles, along with helmets, hats, bandannas, or hairbands decorated with the same white feathers.
Not only were the members all women, they didn’t le
t any men get close to them. If a man tried to approach, they would shout loudly to intimidate him into backing off.
They were super scary.
In particular, when it came to Kajiko, who was tall, terrifyingly beautiful, and carried a long, katana-like sword, her eyes were seriously crazy. If Kajiko ever glared at him, Haruhiro was confident that that alone would be enough to nearly kill him.
Still, there was another group that was just as intimidating as the Wild Angels, a group that had enlisted at the same time as them.
Team Renji.
Just by standing there, Renji was so imposing that it felt like a low rumbling sound effect might start to play. He seemed so blindingly brilliant that Haruhiro couldn’t bear to look directly at him.
Renji had the sword once carried by the orc Ish Dogran slung over his back. As for the sword Renji had used before, it had been given to Ron, who was sitting on his haunches next to him. Renji was self-possessed and looking around contemptuously at his surroundings, but Ron was blatantly staring people down. Even if he was a small-time goon compared to Renji, there weren’t many who could remain calm and composed when faced with the Ron’s gaze, given his buzz cut and violent appearance.
Sassa, who was standing behind Renji, had a mature aura about her, or rather an incredibly adult sexiness, and Adachi with his thick black-rimmed glasses looked like a world-shaking genius.
Beside Renji—or rather, within arm’s reach of him—even Chibi, who was standing there small and adorable, started to look like a mascot with some unknown and threatening power hidden within her, so Renji seriously had an incredible presence.
Even Kajiko herself seemed to have taken note of Renji. She’d been staring at him hard for a while now. Whether Renji noticed or not, he was completely ignoring her.
I just hope it doesn’t spark any conflict later, Haruhiro thought. Guess that’s not any of my business, huh? Yeah, it’s definitely not.
For Haruhiro, both the Wild Angels and Team Renji were so far above him as to be out of reach. Each person had their own station in life. They had their business; he had his.
Haruhiro’s eyes met Choco’s. He greeted her with his eyes, and she gave him a little nod in return.
Behind the main force, in the very, very back of the detached force, that was where Haruhiro and the others had taken up their positions. If you went by their experience and ability, well, it was a suitable spot for them.
Choco’s party was a little bit ahead of Haruhiro’s.
How am I supposed to feel about that? Nah, it’s fine, really.
From what Haruhiro could tell, the pleasant warrior who had a face that probably made him popular with girls seemed to be the leader of Choco’s party. They had formed into a ring around Mr. Pleasant, who was chatting away merrily, so there was little doubt about it.
There was also the girl with the short hair who had been with Choco when he first met her. Ms. Short Hair was a mage.
Other than that, there was a man in priest’s clothes and a couple guys in what looked like warrior equipment. One of the warriors was pretty tall, but Mr. Tall seemed moody, like he’d be hard to get close to. The other warrior was always laughing like an idiot. Laughing Man also seemed to be making a lot of passes at Choco.
Choco looks kind of bothered by it. Cut that out, man. You’re pissing me off.
Not that me being pissed off means anything. They’re comrades in the same party, while I’ve only talked to her a bit, after all.
“...Hahh. Hahh. Hahh...” Moguzo’s breathing was weirdly rough.
Was he excited? Or rather, he was probably feeling tense, like you might expect. He kept taking his helmet off and putting it back on at high speed, after all.
Haruhiro slapped Moguzo on the back as hard as he could.
“Moguzo!”
“—Ow?!”
“What’s up?” he asked. “Feeling tense?”
“Huh? Ah, y-yeah... J-Just a little. No, a lot...”
“Well, I can’t blame you there,” Haruhiro said. “We’ve never been in an atmosphere like this before, after all.”
“B-But, Haruhiro-kun, you’re not that tense... are you?” Moguzo asked nervously.
“Do I not look it? Well, that’s... not entirely untrue.”
True enough, Haruhiro wasn’t feeling very tense. In fact, he wasn’t feeling tense at all. He was calm. Though, in the end, it had taken him a long time to get to sleep, so he was a bit tired.
Yume let out an odd little laugh. “Haru-kun’s always unsweatin’, y’know.”
“U-Unsweatin’...?” Haruhiro repeated uncertainly.
“E-Erm...” Shihoru quickly stepped in to explain. “I think she means he doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and tries to be magnanimous, maybe...”
Yume cocked her head to the side. “Magnanimous?”
“Let me say right now,” Haruhiro added, just to be sure, “‘magnanimous’ doesn’t mean ‘kingly,’ okay? It’s read ouyou, but it can’t be written with the kanji for king-like. That wouldn’t even be a proper word...”
“Ouyou...?” Yume thought for a moment, then turned her palm towards him. “Oh!”
“O-Oh?” Haruhiro went along with it and clapped his hand against Yume’s.
Then, Yume held out the opposite hand. “Yo!”
“...Yo?” Haruhiro pressed his hand against Yume’s and it ended up with them having both hands pressed together.
What is this?
Yume held both of Haruhiro’s hands tight. “Oh! Yo!”
“...Yeah. Yeah...?”
“This’s it, y’know,” Yume said. “It’s what comes to mind when you say ouyou.”
“Th-This... does?”
“Hrm. Yume’s not sure herself, but it’s kinda like this?”
“Kind of, huh...” Haruhiro kind of glanced in Choco’s direction.
By coincidence—yes, he was sure it was coincidence—Choco was looking in his direction. She quickly looked down, though. It felt kind of awkward.
“...Um, Yume,” Haruhiro said. “Can we let go now?”
“Ho? Sure. Guess so. Ah, Haru-kun, Haru-kun!”
“Huh? What?” he asked.
“Just now, Yume was thinkin’, Haru-kun’s hands, they sure are warm. Why’s that?” she asked.
“Dunno...”
Haruhiro tried touching his left hand with his right. Was it really warm? It felt normal to him. Though, maybe it wasn’t something you’d notice yourself.
Moguzo was still taking his helmet off and putting it back on. It didn’t look like his nervousness would be cured so easily. Even so, Haruhiro couldn’t just leave him be. He was about to call out to Moguzo again when Merry beat him to it.
“Moguzo-kun.”
“Yesh?”
—Wait, what’s yesh supposed to be? What’s a yesh?
Moguzo had a look on his face like he’d just run into a deep-sea fish on land.
Merry put a hand on his shoulder. “Take a deep breath.”
“A d-d-deep breath... Uh—Hooooooooooo... Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—Urkh, i-it hurts...”
“Gently,” she said. “Calm down.”
“Y-Yeah. Hoooooooooooooo. Hahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”
“One more time.”
“Hoooooooo. Hahhhhhhhhh... Ah! Th-That calmed me down a bit... maybe.”
“Normally, breathing is something you do unconsciously,” Merry said. “Because of that, if you focus on breathing, you can gain control of your feelings, and of other things as well. That’s what I do when I can’t calm down.”
“Th-Thank you, Merry-san. I’d gotten really rattled, and—”
“You know, probably...” Haruhiro began.
Would it be best not to interject? Haruhiro hesitated a bit, but it was a good opportunity, so he wanted to say this. Honestly, it was something that had been nagging at him all along, and he was concerned about it.
“We’re relying on you pretty heavily, aren’t we, Moguzo?” he asked. “I think that’s
got to put a lot of pressure on you, doesn’t it?”
“...Huh? Ah, no, n-not really...”
“But, to be honest, I think we’re going to keep relying on you from here out,” Haruhiro said. “You’re a warrior, and the party’s tank, so that’s part of it, of course, but that’s not all, you know. Moguzo, you’re seriously reliable. That’s why I want you to build up more and more confidence. I mean, if we think about whose growth is most apparent in our group, who’s leveled up the most, that’d have to be you, Moguzo. I’m sure everyone feels the same.”
“You dolt!” Ranta jumped up like a monkey. “If anyone’s leveled up to the max, it’s me, duh! If I’ve leveled up 30 times, Moguzo’s leveled up, like, 25, maybe!”
“That’s awfully humble, coming from you,” Haruhiro said.
“Whaaaat?! I-Is it...? Then, well, it’s 50 level-ups for me, and around 25 for Moguzo!”
“What, you’re not lowering Moguzo’s number, just raising yours...?”
“Well, duh!” Ranta shot back. “I’m the man who’ll rule the world, you know?!”
“...The people all around us are laughing at you,” Shihoru said with a cold sneer on her face.
“Whaaaat?!” Ranta cried. “That’s cruel! You’re serious!”
“Yume, yeah, she thinks Moguzo’s real amazin’,” Yume agreed. “We wouldn’t get nowhere without Moguzo. He’s our meat shield!”
“Meat shield...” Merry’s face twitched a little.
“Fwah? Is it no good callin’ him a meat shield? Yume meant it as a compliment, though.”
“No, um, actually...” Moguzo shook his head, then nodded. “I’m happy about it. I don’t know how to say it, but if I can be everyone’s meat shield, I want to be.”
“Yeah!” Ranta put an arm around Moguzo’s shoulder. “I’m counting on you, partner! No, meat shield!”
“I-I think I’d prefer to be called partner...”
“Hm? You would?” Ranta asked.
It pissed Haruhiro off to see Ranta getting carried away like that, but Moguzo looked a lot more relaxed than before.
Haruhiro was relieved, too. Without any hyperbole, Moguzo was the core of the party. It was no exaggeration to say that whether the party could perform well or not depended on Moguzo. So long as Moguzo was fine, things probably wouldn’t change even if Haruhiro wasn’t around. Basically, it was all a question of how best to use Moguzo.
