The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: geli
Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 027 – Sacrifice [A]
The center region of the continent.
In this area surrounded by grassland and fertile soil, there was a village.
There were small wooden houses, with fields of produce around them. Perhaps it was because it was harvest season, the adults had delighted expressions as they were picking up the vegetables and fruits on the field while sweating, while the children were running around vigorously with their hands and feet covered with soil.
This village was the very picture of peace itself.
“Ahaha! Run away~!”
“Kyaa!”
“Don’t fall while you run, kids.”
“Our harvest is quite bountiful this year.”
“What should I cook for today?”
One could hear it from the topics of their conversation. They barely had any dark expressions, and everyone seemed to be living leisurely.
“…”
There was a woman who was staring at the scenery in this quiet village. This woman silently looked at them from atop a small hill that was overlooking the village.
Her mouth curved into a smile. However, she also had a melancholy expression on her face. It was hard to tell what the woman was thinking about. However, she had an air about her that made her hard to approach.
Despite that, there was someone who simply ignored this standoffish atmosphere of hers, and they called out to the woman.
“Huh? What are you doing in a place like this?”
The one who called out to the woman from behind was another woman. However, while her figure gave the overall impression of being slender, her stomach was slightly bulging, making it clear from a glance that she was pregnant.
The melancholy woman replied to the young woman’s cheerful question.
“…Hm, no reason in particular. It’s just that it really feels peaceful here.”
Though the woman had initially seemed difficult to approach, that impression disappeared as she gently responded.
“…? Peace is good, isn’t it?”
“No. Well, that’s true.”
“Eeh~? Then why do you have such an expression?”
Listening to the two of them speak, it seemed that they must be quite close since the pregnant woman spoke without any reservations. She asked the woman such a question. From the pregnant woman’s perspective, the woman’s expression felt different from usual even though she looked the same as she usually did.
The woman answered the question with a firm tone.
“…It just made me think. Can I really stay here? It is just that.”
The woman pensively touched her own chin with her hand. And her other hand unconsciously brushed her own ear. Not only did it look like she was out of place — she also had different physical features from that of a normal human.
She had long, pointed ears, and red crystal on the center of her forehead. If those things were her only peculiarities, then she could’ve just been a member of another race that usually lived far from here. However, she also had another physical trait that was unique even within that race — her long black hair. She was different from them due to certain reasons. Therefore, she had traveled around the world and lived like a lone wolf who kept migrating over and over1.
Regardless of whether the pregnant woman was aware of her situation or not, she replied to the woman with a wry smile.
“Isn’t it okay? The other villages have also accepted it. Or does this village feel uncomfortable to you?”
“I’m grateful to be accepted, and it isn’t like this place feels uncomfortable, but…”
“…You sound more troublesome than usual today.”
The pregnant woman held her head as if perplexed by the woman’s mood. It wasn’t like this was the first time the moody woman acted like this. She didn’t know if it was because she was carrying some sort of burden, or she just happened to have some sort of mood swing, or maybe if it was both reasons. She would often worry like this and would disappear for some time later. Last year, she also worried just like this and then headed off to another place for a few months. There were also times when she hurriedly went away without saying anything, which the pregnant woman thought was due to the woman’s habit as a wanderer.
The pregnant woman wasn’t aware that this village was the second place where she’d stayed for so long. She often left the other places she’d migrated to after staying for a certain period of time. The exceptions were this village and the first place she’d ever stayed in. She would also return to these two places from time to time.
Perhaps she was more attached to these places because they had accepted her as she was. She had known this pregnant woman and the people of this village for five years.
As such, the pregnant woman was aware of what to do in this situation. She approached the moody woman from behind and struck her head.
“…Tei.”
“Ouch!”
She gave her a slightly strong chop right on the back of her head.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
“It’s because you are being troublesome.”
“Troublesome, huh…”
The woman seemed annoyed and had a dissatisfied expression. However, the pregnant woman spoke to her without care.
“You can stay here since I told you that you can. It’s not like you have any reason to leave anyway, right?”
“…Well, I don’t have any right now.”
“Well, then it makes no sense for you to leave. Why don’t you just leave when you have a reason to not stay or have to leave no matter what?”
“Well, you’re not wrong, but…”
When the pregnant woman saw that the woman still seemed to hesitate, she forcefully said.
“There’s no but! Just go when you want! Or stay if you want! End of topic!”
“…”
At the pregnant woman’s brazen response, the other woman simply stood there stunned, with her mouth agape. Her words, which took no consideration of her circumstances at all, seemed so funny to her, and with that,
“…Pu.”
A giggle escaped.
Then it grew into a full blown laugh.
“Kuh, ahahaha…! You’re right! You always say things without thinking about my circumstances, but are you really sure you can say that? Maybe you’re not aware that you’re asking for something terrible.”
“It’s not like I know your reasons anyway. I’ll listen if you want to talk, but you have no such intention, right? Then I’ll just say what I can say instead.”
“You’re right, ahaha!”
“As usual, you’re laughing at such a strange thing…”
As the pregnant woman watched the woman laugh out loud, an image far removed from her previous expression, she gave her a slight miffed look. However, this is just like her, was her thought as she mentally changed gears.
“Well anyway, just visit us and share a meal for today. Today is our first harvest of the year, so I’ll show off my cooking abilities.”
“He-h, it seems I have something to look forward to.”
“Of course you do. I practically caught my husband through my cooking skills. As expected, one has to catch their man through his stomach.”
“Ahaha… Well, I’ll bother you later.”
“Yes, just stop by later.”
The atmosphere between them cleared up before they even noticed it.
Even at this time, this village was still quite peaceful, with people enjoying their calm lives.
It was about two hours since the Demon Army had invaded a certain nation’s territory.
Many demon soldiers marched on the grassland as part of the conquest.
Their numbers were approximately — 200,000.
It was an invasion of ten units worth of an army, to which the nation mobilized their soldiers in an attempt to repel them with all their might.
This great nation, whose territory encompassed the center region of the continent, possessed fertile land and a powerful army and had been managing to completely repel the Demon Army the past few years. However, this scale of invasion was unprecedented. The leaders of this nation turned pale when they saw the sheer numbers of their opponent. However, they couldn’t afford to escape. They mobilized all of the soldiers that they could, which was around 200,000. The war to repel the Demon Army back from the border had begun.
—However, they had forgotten something. And they were made aware of it once more.
They were defeated in just a single week.
They had managed to resist for some time at the start of the war. Even as they were slowly pushed back, they thought they still had a chance to withstand the Demon Army’s assault, which was the hope that their soldiers clung to.
However, this meager hope was crushed, by none other than a certain majin’s hand.
Majin Leonhart.
Once he appeared on the battlefield, the flow of the battle immediately changed.
He pierced their formation on his own and killed their commanders through duels. As their subordinates were in shock at this, Leonhart managed to kill almost all of their commanders without any effort at all, and finally slew the enemy general situated deep in their formation.
And this became the decisive factor for their defeat. Commands couldn’t be relayed properly, and as the people who were capable of strategizing were gone, the army lost its function. The moment they realized their defeat and their morale completely sunk, the soldiers started deserting one after another. Any soldiers that remained were obviously slain by the Demon Army.
The nation could no longer resist. The rest of the battle was simply focused on how they could minimize their losses — that was all that mattered to them now.
The Demon Army’s encampment was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
“Fuhaha! How overwhelming our army was!!”
“Umu. To think we managed to secure our victory in such a short time. I’d heard they were a great nation, but I guess that was all these humans were capable of.”
The demon generals were gathered at the center of the encampment and rejoiced at their victory.
It was only natural that they felt this way since, by demon generals’ initial plans, the war should’ve taken about two weeks to be settled. While their numbers were somewhat matched, the demons were superior in terms of the overall strength of their individual warriors. Even if the humans had resisted at first, the difference eventually became clearer as time passed until, finally, the number of humans fell at a faster rate. Those were their thoughts.
However, the Demon Army’s expectation was betrayed in a good way. Humans had less mental fortitude than they’d expected. That was one of the factors.
And they welcomed and praised the existence that was the cause for all this.
“Leonhart-sama! Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thank you for your hard work!!”
“—Aaah.”
He, who slowly walked through the main encampment—Majin Leonhart, finally showed his appearance. Perhaps he’d just returned from the frontline, since he was still releasing some bloodlust. His expression was still stiff, and he only gave short replies.
The demon captains and those below them unconsciously gulped due to the pressure he was emitting. We are glad he’s our ally, was what they thought. If he was their enemy, then everyone present here would have had their heads separated from their bodies.
The demon general who acted as his aide reported the result of his actions.
“Leonhart-sama. Currently, the enemy has lost any semblance of unity and has scattered away to flee.”
“…As expected, there’re still some of them who remain.
“Yes. The enemy general should already have been slain because of Leonhart-sama, however… As expected since they were a large army, there are still some who have courage and continue to fight. The city is also near.”
“…I see.”
Leonhart closed his eyes and sighed. And the heavy silence remained for a while.
The demon general patiently waited for his response. Leonhart often closed his eyes like this when he was about to make a decision. The demon general predicted that he was actually thinking of a strategy based on his past experiences. There would definitely be an order afterward. All they needed to do was stand by and wait for the order.
Eventually, Leonhart slowly opened his eyes and commanded the demon general.
“Let them escape if they want. As for those that remain— kill them.”
“Hah! Messenger!”
Upon receiving the order, the demon general commanded the nearby demon soldier to relay his instruction to the frontline.
The order was to eliminate any enemies that still remained in the battlefield.
Leonhart listened to them relay his command — as he silently gritted his teeth.
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