RATH 22

TL: Eevee

3. And so the story begins. (6)

#6 Their story: the story of the hero(air) that gets pretty much no more screentime until he gets called a hero.

“Kuaaak!”

“No, no..”

“Hiik!”

Pathetic sounds of despair are coming from our mouths. Even that No.1000’s taking horrified steps backwards.

As that hand rose ever so slightly No.17 screamed and used the Blink magic she learned purely for evasion to use me as a shield.

“Damn it!”

Ahhh. Instructor, instructor!

I was foolish. The instructor was not a devil but an angel! When are you coming back?!

“Hoho, if you’re going to stay so defensive then you’ll have a hard time? And although I’m saying this again, even if this thing is barely guardable against, the moment you meet the metal bat even guarding is impossible, you know?”

We couldn’t run from the devil that approached us with a smile.

Even if he says that, that bat alone is a struggle to block. The moment it makes contact my sword ki is disrupted and an unrejectable pain comes riding up my sword into my body.

If that devil is right and there’s a higher level weapon above that thing then how the hell are you supposed to block that?!

“Kuurk, everyone dodge!”

“Damn it Surtr, block it!”

The one that was resummoned every time the cooldown time on the summon ran out, the one that was once an archdevil but was now a simple meat shield, Surtr, came out.

“Don’t, don’t come! Don’t come near me you evil god’s apostle!”

Even Surtr with his giant crimson body was shaking in fear. Even his face is paling white.

To think it would even force an archdevil from hell into submission! This thing has already long surpassed the devil’s weapon.

“Hoho, mister archdevil. Why are you acting like that, you’re cramping your style.”

-Kuaaaaaaaghh!

Ahh.. Surtr was desummoned while screaming in pain.

Even if we treat him like the local runt he’s still one of the famous archdevils of hell.

And that being was desummoned in a single hit!

“What a weak meat shield. In our era we threw our nearby comrades, because of that I got hit a lot since I was the weakest.”

“Hiik!”

“Da, damn it!”

The devil smiled as he lightly swung the bat around. But No.1000, why are you looking at us like that. You’re not thinking of throwing us at him all of a sudden right?

Gulp.

I swallow dryly as my body quivered in fear. True, there’s no way that all three of us can survive.

Someone needs to take a beating so the other two can survive.

And the most important thing is.. that said one person just needn’t be me..

“Coordinate Transfer?”

Eh?

“So you’re the sacrifice?”

“Number Seventteeeeeeeeennn!”

“I still haven’t forgotten about that day! So make it up with your body!”

Damn it, what problem was she doing this to me for? Is it that? The time at the very beginning where I chained her up because I wanted to eat? Was she still remembering that?

“Justice served.”

“Uiiiiiiik!”

Seeing the hand rise up I lifted my sword. But even if I block that the shock is sent straight through into me, and the moment my legs give out in pain, game over.

A desperate situation.

To I who was waiting for the hour of pain to come again, a ray of light came to me.

-Pshewwwww. Bang!

“Eh? If it’s red then that’s a 1st class emergency.”

Seeing the red lights light up the sky the devil’s face hardened.

He put his hand down and said.

“Training cancelled. We’re all running away to the instructor’s office.”

Run? No, before that..

“Is the instructor’s office a place to run away to?”

Normally you’d think the normal place to run to would be something like an escape path or a hidden tunnel, but to the instructor’s office?

“I guarantee it. The instructor’s office is the safest.”

The devil said in response to my question, and also added the explanation that it was “the unknown land which not even Sia has managed to venture into.”

Although the other two don’t seem to know who Sia is, but remembering that that name belonged to the Intelligence Agency’s vice-director I nodded.

Ah, come to think of it I’ve broken into the instructor’s personal quarters once, haven’t I?

“Are there similar installations to what are in the instructor’s room?”

“Ah, so you’ve been into the instructor’s room? Then that makes it simpler. The instructor spends more time in his office than in his room, so the defenses in his office are stronger.”

Wow. His room was bad enough but his office is worse. Just what the heck did the instructor do in his office?

With those questions in mind, when we went into the office the devil started fiddling around the office.

With a few movements that carried the ease of long practice, starting from metal shutters coming down over the windows, and I heard something click and lock with a screech.

“Now, this place is probably the safer than the room of the boss of the organization.”

“Have the functions been activated?”

“Indeed. And this space is filled with special dwarven-made traps. Now all we have to do is look for the escape route that the instructor made somewhere around here.”

“Dwarven-made?! You mean that contraptions that might be used in the imperial palace are installed here?”

“Ah, that’s just because the instructor is an honorary elder among the dwarves so that’s nothing to be surprised about.”

“That’s the thing we should be the most surprised about?!”

As No.17 said horrified, I was horrified too.

What kind of race are the dwarves!

The emperor’s throne is dwarven made, the Sword Star’s sword is dwarven made, and rumour is that some noble plans to gift a dwarven weapon for the duke’s birthday to suck up to him! Dwarves, the targets of many a rumour!

But the majority of them are lies!

Meeting a dwarf is hard enough, meaning to get a weapon from them is even exponentially harder!

And somehow the instructor is a honorary elder.

What does it mean to be an Elder of the dwarves?

Even the dwarven king is selected by these elders, and consisting of no more than 36 even when all 12 tribes are gathered together, it’s the highest title among the dwarven race.

And throughout history there has been no one from another race that had the title of honorary elder, and a human of all things is one!

And that kind of talent was hiding in an evil organization!

Just what the heck did the instructor used to do?!

But it seemed that our horror was of no cause for concern to the devil and No.1000.

Pretending to listen to us the devil searched the bookshelves, pushing the buttons beneath the desk, and sometimes jumping up and down on the floor, No.17 broke out of her shock and asked.

“Dev.. no, temporary instructor, what do you think has happened?”

“Uwaak!”

“Oh, sorry. For the record, some traps could activate so be sure to dodge them.”

No.17’s immediately ducked down away from the arrows that were shot at her without warning, and at the same time the floor underneath me vanished.

“Wait, isn’t it dangerous?”

“I said that something had happened earlier, didn’t I? The signal flare we saw was a code red, if it’s code red then that means the empire’s army has invaded. If we don’t run away as soon as possible then our lives are in danger.”

For a moment I wanted to tell him to stop because my life wasn’t in danger, but if I did I’d probably die to the bat first.

No, I’d want to die instead.

“Don’t we have to fight if the empire’s army comes at us?”

“Are you stupid. If we fight head on against the empire then no matter how much we’re the empire’s strongest evil organization then even we’re completely screwed as well. Especially if they come charging in without warning then we’re even worse off.”

“How come?”

“Would you leave the useful kids to play guard dog or send them out on missions to earn money? There’s no way that a coward that would hide their strongest weapons at home would become the empire’s strongest evil organization. If you’re the strongest weapon then you should roll a lot like a strongest weapon and earn some money so the organization keeps rolling.”

Seeing the empty space where I used to be and the countless spears that were under it, the devil clicked his teeth and continued.

“Well if you’re truly loyal to the organization no one’s going to stop you going out to fight, but since I was just sold here as a slave, I’m just working for the fat paycheck. To be honest it did prick at my conscience enough to make me consider running away, but if the organization chases after me, especially the instructor holding this thing here in my hand then I’d have no chance which is why I’m staying here, you know? So if the organization goes down them I’m good. Well if it’s the information you’re worried about then right now our peers will be doing their best to burn it all.”

As I imagined the instructor chasing after me with the bat in hand I immediately understood how he felt.

“Did the devil have a conscience?”

As I internally agreed with No.17’s words which she muttered so that I could only barely hear them, I continued talking.

“Then isn’t running away better? If we waste time here and can’t find the escape tunnel isn’t it the end?”

“No, looking for the escape route is safer.”

No matter what happens, it’s not the end for me so I don’t care.

Or rather hurrah for the empire’s troops charging in!

I’m so damn happy that this hell of a lifestyle is finally over!

‘Hm, but wasn’t this a secret mission?’

All of a sudden I had a bad feeling about this.

Surely my damn brothers wouldn’t send in a spy to kill me discreetly and come stab me yelling die foul villain! Right?

As I started thinking one, two unhappy thoughts at a time came flowing in.

And my unhappy predictions were way more accurate than happy ones, weren’t they?

“No.17, No.1000 let’s hurry and search!”

“Ye, yes?”

“Alright.”

I followed the devil and started poking around here and there.

As for why daggers come flying from the ceiling when I open the drawers and why magic is fired at me when I open a book, let’s not care about that.

It’s that instructor that made all this anyway, and in that case these things would be all the more natural.

The moment I thought that I heard a boom and very anxiety-inducing sound coming from under our feet.

Kugugugudoom~

“What’s that sound?”

“Is it the empire’s army already?”

“No, even if it was the empire they can’t break through the dwarven-made magic coating on the room that easily.”

But unlike the devil’s words, the thumping sound started getting closer and closer to us.

In the end at the sound that were only seconds apart from each other we had no choice but to draw our weapons.

Kang!

“Ah damn it, is this the hidden boss’s safe house or something? Why is it so damn hard to get through?”

In a tense state we looked at the person that entered.

The person that came in in a grump was a beauty that seemed slightly older than us.

But I knew perfectly well who this woman with green hair and slim face looking like she was in her mid-twenties better than anyone else.

Moreover, that age and slim personality that didn’t match at all with that slender face of hers!

“Sword Star?!”

“Host club regular?!”(1)

At the same time I yelled out the name I knew the devil beside me said a different name.

“What?”

“Regular?”

For a moment the devil’s and my eyes met. Host regular? The Sword Star?

At that moment.

“Eh? That was a secret.”

Chill.

The bloodthirst that tightened in the air in an instant. In the center of it all was the Sword Star.

“Do. I. Have. To. Kill. You?”

What the hell for?! Because I said she was the Sword Star? Or the host regular?! Or both?

In my horrified state I calculated my chances of victory.

None.

I had no way to defeat that filthy personality with a cute face only. Damn it! Am I going to die here?!

“Wa, wait!”

How did I survive this long! I survive in all sorts of magic bombardments, in the mountains, the seas, the desert!

Plus I threw away my pride as a son of a duke for food, only barely retained my dignity as a human! And I even endured against the bat’s pain!

But at the last I’m going to be silenced to hide the fact that the Sword Star is a host regular! Is there a more bullshit death than that! I need to survive even if I have to reveal my identity!

“I’m, the Raina..”

Drrrrrrrrr.

The moment I was about to beg for my life using my family’s name, the bookshelf beside the desk started making a weird noise.

What was that?

“Was there still some remaining?”

As she said that sword aura started forming on the Sword Star’s sword as if it was perfectly natural.

‘Ah, as expected of the Sword Star?’

One of the strongest swordsmen in history.

The one called the star of the sword.

Even if it’s the instructor there’s no way he could win against that.

And that’s what I’d thought..

With the drrr sound the bookshelf swung open and the instructor.

“Hwaaaaaa?”

Is just casually beating up the Sword Star?