The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Shizukuku
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 069 – The Last Day of Vacation [B]
“Well then, let’s go there together.”
“………Together?”
He just repeated the word as it was.
However everyone around them spoke their thoughts.
“Oh, so we’re going? Then we’ll get to eat the mountain foods.”
“…Err, I don’t really want to go, though…”
“What are you saying, Hunty-san! If I achieve the feat of climbing the greatest mountain in the world, I’ll be one step closer to my goal of being the perfect apostle! Isn’t doing this the only choice there is?!”
Even as Hunty sighed and said she didn’t want to go, Carol vetoed her. Galtia only cared about the food, as he usually did. Seeing such excitement, Pale quietly approach Kesselring,
“Eh, Err… Can I also come along?”
“…Pale, I think it’s better for you to return to the settlement for once—”
“The-then I’ll come with you after informing the settlement about where I’m going! So please take me there!”
Pale desperately pleaded with Kesselring. Pale glanced at Ssulal, but it seemed she hesitated to directly ask the maou. Kesselring turned to face Ssulal and,
“…This is the situation, so what should I do?”
“What do you want to do about it?”
She asked for confirmation, but Ssulal pushed the decision back to Kesselring, which made her close her mouth. Then,
“…I don’t mind either way. It’s just, it’ll be dangerous on the way to the settlement, so I’d like to take her there if possible…”
“…I see.”
Ssulal nodded as she heard Kesselring’s answer. And, after a while,
“………Well, I don’t mind her coming along with us… but in exchange, you are to take care of her.”
“Thank you… That’s the case, Pale.”
“Ah, ye-yes. Thank you very much…!”
Pale timidly expressed her gratitude to Ssulal. Ssulal saw that and said in a tiny voice,
“It’s not a big deal… and this is my repayment to you for taking care of Leonhart…”
“Eh, eh? Did you say something…?”
“Nothing,” said Ssulal as she looked away. Pale couldn’t hear anything after that, and dropped the subject while tilting her head in the direction of the maou.
Leonhart approached Ssulal at that moment. While still half-convinced,
“…Is it really okay?”
“…What? You don’t want to bring her along? In that case—“
“I’m not talking about Pale… Is it really okay for me to go back to Rising Dragon Mountain?”
Although it was weird for him to admit, he was going there for a fight. Conquering the mountain was a side activity now. Ssulal should have been aware of that as well.
However, Ssulal only nodded once in understanding, then looked away with flushed cheeks,
“…It’s not like I’m doing this for Leonhart’s sake. I have my own agenda there… and I want to go out of curiosity. Don’t misunderstand that.”
“…I see.”
Her voice was strangely muffled, but why did she sound like that? Although Leonhart was curious about the agenda she spoke off, he was more curious about her odd behavior.
…But well, it is clear she has forgiven me.
Leonhart put on a wry smile and opened his mouth to speak his gratitude.
“Thank you, anyway… also, sorry for everything.”
“—!”
He apologized awkwardly. Ssulal reacted by turning away from him with her arms folded.
“Fu-fuhn. I won’t forgive you that easily… you still have to get punished for what you did later…”
“Aah, I know. Sorry about that.”
“…It’s fine then.”
Although Ssulal still looked away, she temporarily forgave him. As she said that, Leonhart thought,
…As expected, she doesn’t feel like the maou.
He wasn’t referring to her appearance or mannerisms. The way she easily forgave him, if only a little, showed her to be a better person than most humans. Although how people judged her behavior might vary from good, to naïve, to just gentle.
…That’s one of her good points after all.
Leonhart also looked at Kesselring who stood beside Ssulal. Kesselring was his new majin comrade. But he had no idea how to talk to her, who had suddenly become a majin.
But as he was at a loss for words, Kesselring spoke to him instead.
“…Leonhart. —I don’t regret this.”
Her sudden words made Leonhart’s expression stiffen. Not fully understanding her meaning, he said,
“…I don’t understand, what do you mean by that? Why are you saying that to me?”
“…I mean it’s not a big deal. I just don’t want you to think that everything that happened to me is your responsibility. I have a feeling that you might try to blame yourself for this.”
“…”
He couldn’t reply to her. However, she still continued,
“This is the path I chose for myself. This is nothing but the result of that.”
“Also,” said Kesselring as she smiled,
“According to what I saw from your interactions — it seems it’ll be unexpectedly lively and fun.”
“..I, see.”
Leonhart finally exhaled at that moment. Then something emerged in his mind.
—I’m glad then.
Deep in the forest, large groups of humans were lining up in a battle formation.
Every one of them had a weapon and stood in place as a person with an abnormally large body appeared before them.
The name of this enormous man, who was covered from head to toe in thick armor, was Arnold Hogan.
He was the warrior chief of this warrior corps, and the strongest warrior among them.
Beside him, there was a man of average height. The man wore armor that showed his status as a captain.
He alone, among all the captains who were either injured or killed by the majin, had made it out unscathed.
And the moment had come. Arnold raised his voice.
“Okay!! You guys—“
Only simple words were necessary. Their preparation was complete and their wounds were healed. Within the hearts of the soldiers, they were burning with the fighting spirit, ready to achieve victory this time.
And, as if to light the flame within them, the warrior chief spoke the words needed to ignite the spark,
“—It is time for battle… time to trample them all—!!!”
“Uoooooooohhhhhh—!!!”
Their voices roared out into the trees and everyone raised their swords together. The metallic sounds echoed through the forest.
The will of the warriors was unified, and they began to move at once.
There was a person who smiled secretly as he watched them.
It was the man with a book hidden on his pocket,
“—Oh God, may you bear witness.”
—I shall show you how this green land will be dyed red with blood.
Then the human warriors began to march toward the kalar’s settlement.
“Hm…”
At the Rising Dragon Mountain, which boasted the highest altitude in the world, a giant dragon awoke on a wide rocky area in the upper layers of the mountain.
Feeling the sunlight shining on his body, Raizen regained consciousness.
…I seem to have dreamed a long dream…
But this wasn’t unusual for him.
After all, the dreams he had were fragments of his memories and experience. Being a creature which already lived for two millennia, his dreams were enormous and endless. Having most of those memories be filled with combat was something to be proud of as a member of the dragon race, though.
“…It seems I slept too long.”
According to his biological clock, he slept for more than ten hours. If his judgment was correct, that would mean this was,
“It’s already the sixth day, huh…”
It had been almost a week. That was the number of days that had passed since they suspended their combat. Therefore, Raizen thought,
How long will it take for that human majin Leonhart to return here?
For a dragon, this amount of time really wasn’t a big deal. However, it should have been more than enough time for him to bring the woman to a safe place.
…Or is it normal for humans to take this much time?
Since he didn’t know humans well, he couldn’t help but have such thoughts. But according to what little he had heard, he didn’t think he was wrong.
Anyway, I’ll complain to him when he gets back by using a breath instead of a greeting. But since he is that majin, he’ll probably just cut the breath with his sword. What a pervert.
However, he did think of the possibility that the majin wouldn’t return.
After all, the majin’s sword was ineffective against him. Although his attacks were still unable to hit the majin, it was only a matter of time. Nothing could change the fact the advantage in combat was his. In that case,
…Escape, is also a valid choice.
It was a wise choice to escape without hesitation once someone learned they were at a disadvantage and unlikely to achieve victory. Although it wasn’t an acceptable thought for the dragon race, it should be a normal thought for a human. It was possible that the majin would make such a choice.
“The battle against him was interesting though…”
But they couldn’t fight if the majin didn’t appear. If that was the case,
“…”
A helpless despair crept out from the corner of his heart.
At the same time, he felt thinking about this stuff had become troublesome, and he was filled with impulse to rampage with all his might.
Raizen sighed as he kept a grip on his sanity, suppressing the darkness within him that would make him go crazy. The thing that came to his mind was,
…When will I meet my end?
He asked it again, the question he had been asking himself for two millennia, over and over again.
He thought he had the answer about a thousand years ago.
But now, he had lost that answer. In that case, there was no choice but to search for a new answer.
However,
“What should I do…?”
He didn’t understand.
Even if he spoke his question out loud, there was nobody out there who could answer him. His comrades were already scattered and gone.
If he couldn’t meet his end by dying in battle, what else could he do to meet his end other than go crazy?
What should he do to show himself that there was still meaning in his life?
Regardless of how hard he thought about it, the only thing that came to mind was the answer that any normal dragon would come up with.
“Just one more day…”
That was the only thing he could snarl about.
If he couldn’t reach his end by then, the only thing left for him to do was attack the maou.
But if he still couldn’t reach his end, even after that—
“Hurry, and come…!”
—He didn’t wish to think about what awaited him beyond that.
—Ten days had passed since Leonhart began his vacation.
In the large forest at the foot of Rising Dragon Mountain, human warriors began their invasion of the kalar once again, and the kalar settlement deployed their warriors to intercept them.
The maou’s group began moving toward the settlement, and the dragon who had lived for two thousand years continued to wait for the promised time.
And then, the last day began.
Author Note:
Ssulal : “Kesselring finally turned into a majin.”
Kesselring : “The initial draft has me appear in the story around chapter 30, though…”
Galtia : “To be precise, you were supposed to appear as a man.”
Hunty : “Moreover, Pale and Raizen’s characters did not even exist initially…”
Pale : “Eh?”
Carol : “There’s no trace of you two in the initial draft!”
Raizen : “ ”
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