So I’m a Spider, So What Vol. 12 — Part 1 of 8

Part 1 of 8

So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 12

Okina Baba

Translation by Jenny McKeon

Cover art by Tsukasa Kiryu

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

KUMO DESUGA, NANIKA? Vol. 12

©Okina Baba, Tsukasa Kiryu 2020

First published in Japan in 2020 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo.

English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through TUTTLE-MORI AGENCY, INC., Tokyo.

Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

Yen On

150 West 30th Street, 19th Floor

New York, NY 10001

Visit us at yenpress.com

facebook.com/yenpress

twitter.com/yenpress

yenpress.tumblr.com

instagram.com/yenpress

First Yen On Edition: July 2021

Yen On is an imprint of Yen Press, LLC.

The Yen On name and logo are trademarks of Yen Press, LLC.

The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Baba, Okina, author. | Kiryu, Tsukasa, illustrator. | McKeon, Jenny, translator.

Title: So I’m a spider, so what? / Okina Baba ; illustration by Tsukasa Kiryu ; translation by Jenny McKeon.

Other titles: Kumo desuga nanika. English | So I am a spider, so what?

Description: First Yen On edition. | New York, NY : Yen On, 2017–

Classification: LCC PZ7.1.O44 So 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017034911

ISBNs: 978-1-9753-2182-6 (paperback)

978-1-9753-2183-3 (ebook)

E3-20210618-JV-NF-ORI

Contents

Cover

Insert

Title Page

Observations by Future Historians: Prologue

White 1

Sanatoria

Huey

Ronandt

Kunihiko

Asaka

Aurel

Merazophis

Phelmina

Wald

Sophia

Wrath

Hawkin

Agner

Jeskan

Bloe

Balto

Yaana

Julius

White 2

Observations by Future Historians: Epilogue

Afterword

Yen Newsletter

The Great Human-Demon War.

Battles between humans and demons have been going on for centuries, but only one clash is known as the Great Human-Demon War.

There’s no need to be a scholar of history to know how unique this battle was.

Humans and demons, each fighting for the very survival of their respective races. It is small wonder that this alone is worthy of being called a Great War.

Many details are unclear, as few extant records remain due to the subsequent chaos, but it is widely accepted that each side mobilized forces numbering in the seven digits.

Some theories even suggest that the total number of people involved in the conflict reached eight digits.

The biggest battle in recent memory until then was the Tragedy of Zatona, and even then, the combined numbers of both the Ohts Alliance and the Sariella Army totaled less than six digits. Sariella was a powerful nation and fielded a formidable military. To challenge them, their neighboring rivals formed a coalition and mustered a massive army.

Considering their populations at the time, it’s clear this would have been considered a relatively large-scale battle.

And yet, the Great War easily dwarfs it in scope.

In spite of all this, the Great Human-Demon War lasted a surprisingly short time.

Given the number of soldiers mobilized, it would be natural to expect the fighting to go on for many months, perhaps even years.

In reality, it lasted a few scant days.

Again, due to the lack of surviving documents, the precise number of days is unclear; however, historians agree that the Great War ended after ten days at the most.

A conflict of such enormous scale ended almost as soon as it had started.

But what is truly terrifying about the Great Human-Demon War is not its scale or its brevity.

It is the percentage of casualties.

The precise number is once again unknown, due to the dearth of explicit figures, but the most commonly accepted theory is that at least half of each side’s numbers was killed.

And that is the minimum.

Extrapolating from the surviving demon population after the war’s conclusion, it’s safe to say that at least that many were killed in battle.

Some scholars even propose that it may have been as high as 70 or 80 percent.

In other words, out of a seven-digit number of participants, no less than half died in the span of just a few days.

This is clear evidence of the sheer ferocity that characterizes the Great Human-Demon War.

Of the few remaining documents from the time, the words recorded in one soldier’s diary have become quite famous. Most will have heard this somewhere before:

“All hope is lost. What remains is only despair.”

The time has come at last!

Yes, it’s finally time to show off the tactical command center I made all by myself!

“Uh, White…what the hell is this?”

The Demon Lord looks shocked all right.

Balto follows her in and scans the room with an equally dumbfounded expression.

Heh-heh-heh.

Whaddaya think? Caught you by surprise, didn’t I?!

Check out the wall of monitors I set up.

Each one displays a live feed of the various fortresses where our armies have been dispatched.

How is that possible, you ask?

By using my mini-mes, of course!

I sent my tiny palm-size spider clones to every single fortress.

That’s right—my clones are essentially serving as super-high-tech self-propelling cameras!

And everything they see gets displayed right here on a monitor in my tactical command center.

It can even pick up sounds and voices.

Which means the Demon Lord can get up-to-the-minute info from the battlefield, even when she’s all the way over here!

This world has skills and stuff, but they haven’t developed communication technology comparable to what you can find on modern-day Earth, so this tactical command center will totally revolutionize the battlefield!

Ahhh, it’s so scary.

The depths of my genius are so infinite, they scare even me!

“Okay, uh, cool. I guess I shouldn’t think too deeply about it.”

The Demon Lord sits down in the commander’s seat in the center of the room.

…Um, I feel like you could stand to react a teensy bit more dramatically here.

Like, stammering B-but how?! or something.

Even Balto’s giving me more of a reaction. He’s still frozen in the doorway.

“Balto,” the Demon Lord calls to him. “How long do you plan to space out over there?”

“I-I’m terribly sorry!”

At that, Balto quickly returns to his senses and hurries into the room.

Still, his eyes keep darting around the room, so he clearly hasn’t gotten over his shock.

See, this is what I’m talking about!

That’s the kind of reaction I was hoping for from the Demon Lord!

Why’s she just casually accepting it like it’s no big deal?!

“…If we react to every little thing White does, we’ll never get anywhere, got it?”

“…Of course.”

Balto finally manages to collect himself after hearing the Demon Lord’s extremely heartfelt warning.

…Well, that definitely doesn’t make me feel like my efforts have been totally blown off or anything.

Nope. All good here.

Got that? Cool.

“All righty. I guess I’ll just chill out in here and watch everybody work their butts off, then.”

The Demon Lord smiles faintly as she scans the monitors.

On each of the many screens, the battle is just about to begin.

A fight to determine the fates of demons and humans alike.

“All right, White. You’ve got this, yeah?”

I raise a hand in acknowledgment.

Then I use Teleport to leave the room.

Guess I’ve got my own work to do.

THE FORT OKUN BATTLE THE KEY POINTS!

Welcome to White Explains It All!

As you can see, the fort Boobs is supposed to attack is surrounded by mountains!

That’s right: mountains!

The dangers of mountains cannot be overstated!

Obviously, it’s common sense that whoever holds the high ground in a battle has the advantage.

It’s easy to shoot arrows and stuff from a high place into a low place, but the reverse is waaay harder, because now you’re fighting against gravity, too.

What’s worse is that foot soldiers have to push uphill to attack, so they’re bound to get tired quickly.

Can you imagine huffing and puffing your way up a mountain, then having to fight the moment you finally reach the top? That’s gotta suck.

Common wisdom says the attacker should outnumber the defender three to one for a confident attack on a fortress, but when that fortress is nestled in the mountains, it gets about a million times harder!

That’s why lots of castles and stuff on Earth are built in high places.

It’s definitely not just ’cause royalty prefers to look out from high places!

I’m pretty sure! Totally!

So how is Boobs planning to bring down a mountain citadel?!

We’re about to find out!

“Lady Sanatoria, battle formations are complete.”

“Mm.”

I scarcely even respond to the report from my aide.

There’s no need to tell me what I already know.

My command, the Second Army, is positioned on a hill where we can see one of the key positions of the humans: Fort Okun.

Fort Okun is built quite close to the Mystic Mountains, so it is protected by terrain nearly as treacherous as the mountain range itself.

From our vantage point, we can clearly see the sheer cliffs that block our way like walls and the imposing fortress that seems half-fused with its rocky surroundings.

As the stronghold that has repelled demon invasions for countless years, it’s obvious at a glance just how difficult it would be to take it down.

Hardly an encouraging thought for yours truly, since it is my mission to do just that.

But this isn’t even a particularly tough assignment.

The humans have often had to endure invasions by us demons throughout history, and so they’ve built up nigh-impregnable defenses.

In other words, regardless of the invasion route, we’re in for a bad time.

Or to put it another way, we’re screwed no matter where we go.

Honestly, what a headache.

As I heave a sigh, my aide surreptitiously looks away, his face somewhat red.

He’s been my aide ever since I became a commander, yet he still doesn’t seem used to being around me.

You see, I come from a line of what they call succubi.

We possess a rare skill called Salacious that we hone and use as a weapon, helping our family to maintain its noble rank for generations.

As the name implies, Salacious is highly effective on anyone attracted to the opposite sex, and any behaviors that might entice the target only enhance the skill’s effects further.

The members of my family played to our strengths, thoroughly cultivating every aspect of our mannerisms to make us look as bewitching and seductive as possible.

As a result, I tend to give off a certain allure without even trying, to the point where some of my all-male battalion complain that it’s too much of a good thing.

The main effect of the Salacious skill is brainwashing. It’s a skill that allows the user to control others as they please.

Though, sad to say, the effect has its limits.

The brainwashing automatically wears off after a certain amount of time, and I can’t exactly force my will on others, either.

If I give an order that the target has a strong aversion to, it can even break the brainwashing effect entirely.

Yet, in spite of all these restrictions, the success rate of the brainwashing is also quite low.

It’s a terribly unwieldy ability, and to top it all off, the skill is incredibly difficult to level up.

People often question whether it’s even possible to trust someone with the power to brainwash others, and…well, it’s a fair concern.

Many men are always worrying that I’m going to brainwash them, too.

Which is exactly why most people don’t attempt to acquire or train the Salacious skill.

But my family has gone against the current.

You could say we found a very specific niche to fill.

Still, having a brainwashing-related ability often means being the subject of undue suspicion.

That’s why, I’m told, my ancestors have been bending the knee to the Demon Lord, and to other nobles as well, for generations.

They spread the word themselves that ours is not a particularly strong ability and made it common knowledge that we would never brainwash someone for nefarious purposes.

My ancestors went around fawning and bootlicking like you wouldn’t believe, projecting the idea that they were to be used, not the other way around.

So, after generations of that, we scraped together enough influence and authority to call ourselves a noble family.

In the present day, the succubus line is actually known better for their subservience than their Salacious skill.

You must admit, it’s quite amusing that the representative of such a family is someone who doesn’t hold an ounce of loyalty toward the Demon Lord.

But maybe that was inevitable.

The previous generation’s Demon Lord was killed, and the next one disappeared not long after.

How could anyone maintain a sense of loyalty without a demon lord to revere?

Especially when the one currently sitting on the throne is some no-name little girl who appeared out of nowhere. Who would accept her wholeheartedly simply because she claims to be the Demon Lord?

And right as we were enjoying a time of peace, she suddenly declares that she’s restarting the war.

I let out another sigh, this time laden with sorrow.

Not far away, I hear someone gulp.

My aide shoos them away silently.

At first, this aide used to get adorably flustered by everything I did, but lately he’s been spreading rumors to the soldiers that just looking at me could poison them. Can you believe that?

Talk about rude.

And he’s even started asking me things like, “Could you please try to uphold military regulations and discipline?”

Why should I? I never wanted to join the military in the first place.

The army’s job, of course, is to fight the humans.

But that was in the era of demon lords of past generations. Since the throne was more or less vacated, our focus has been on rebuilding our territory.

And that was for the best.

It’s far easier to deal with monsters and criminals than to wage war.

If nothing else, it meant a commander like me was much less likely to die.

But that’s certainly not the case in an open conflict with the humans.

If I make one wrong move, it could easily cost me my life.

And obviously, that’s the last thing I want.

Which is why I attempted to put an end to the cause of the war.

Namely, the current Demon Lord…

But that was a big mistake.

Crunch. Crunch.

The noise still echoes in the back of my mind.

Nereo, the Ninth Army Commander who tried to oppose the Demon Lord with us…he was eaten by the Demon Lord before my eyes.

A political purge.

The gruesome chewing sounds from that encounter are still stuck in my ears, even now.

That was the moment I realized what a deadly enemy I’d made.

A monster.

I had moved against the one person I never should have crossed.

By the time I realized that, it was already too late. I had no choice left but to try to ingratiate myself with this Demon Lord.

Who would’ve thought that I’d end up on the same path as my ancestors after all?

Honestly, you’ve got to laugh.

But there’s no other option—it’s either that or be killed.

I have to cast everything aside, especially my pride, and lick her boots—literally, if she tells me to.

But I doubt a little bowing and scraping will be enough for that monster to let me off the hook.

In truth, I was doomed the moment she became the Demon Lord.

Because her goal isn’t to win the war—it’s for as many demons to be killed in the war as possible.

No, not just demons. Humans, too.

Essentially, she only cares about the number of lives lost, with winning or losing being secondary.

If demons and humans wiped each other out entirely, she wouldn’t be able to ask for a more favorable outcome.

In other words, our only job is to kill as much as possible and be killed in return.

When you put it that way, I’m really only deciding whether I want to be killed by the Demon Lord or fall in battle against the humans. It might just be a matter of whether I die sooner or later.

The worst part is that this war against the humans still seems to offer a higher likelihood of survival than defying that horrifying Demon Lord.

And even then, the chances are slim…

But I’ll attack Fort Okun as best as I can.

I don’t have any clever way of putting this, but it looks like the definition of an impregnable fortress.

Attacking it head-on would make for a tough battle—that’s for certain.

Impossible? I wouldn’t go quite that far.

But whether we win or lose, it’s inevitable that we would suffer some serious losses.

If we attack head-on, that is.

“Here they come.”

As I watch, a change begins to occur.

But it’s not the fortress. It’s on the surface of a mountain nearby.

The mountain is moving.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that’s not a mountain at all.

It’s a swarm of countless monsters.

The mountain is covered in them so completely that you can’t even see the surface.

And the swarm is heading straight for Fort Okun.

These monsters are called anogratches.

But they’re also known by another, more sinister name: revenge monkeys.

A single anogratch is hardly a major threat, but the real danger lies in their group behavior.

Swarms of anogratches form strong bonds. If a single one of them is killed, the rest will go after the offender with all their might.

Even if it means every last one of them is wiped out.

Once someone has provoked a swarm of anogratches, it can only end in one of two ways: wipe out the entire swarm or sacrifice the person who set them off.

But if anogratches attack a place where a large group of people is gathered, anyone who kills anogratches to defend themselves will only make themselves new targets of the swarm’s thirst for vengeance.

And as this spreads, eventually everyone involved will become a target.

In which case, the fighting will simply continue until one side is completely wiped out.

So now the people in Fort Okun must either defeat the entire swarm of anogratches or be wiped out themselves.

On top of that, this happens to be the monkeys’ breeding season.

At their height, the swarms of anogratches that overflow from the Mystic Mountains become the greatest threat that demons face this time of the year.

And it just so happens that I captured one without killing it and had a brainwashed soldier carry it inside the fortress.

The results are playing out right this very moment.

The horde thunders down the mountain and across the plain, charging straight toward the fortress.

Attack Magic shoots out from the fort, whittling away at the monkeys’ numbers.

As if that will do them any good.

There are still plenty more where those came from. The anogratches already cover the entire mountain face, and they still keep coming.

The monkeys are quickly clambering over the walls of the fort, pressing onward even as their comrades are shot down.

Overwhelming numbers.

When I imagine what would happen if their vengeance was directed toward us instead, I can’t help but shiver.

A rather cruel fate, if I do say so myself.

“Looks like it went off without a hitch.”

“Yes, ma’am. Perfectly executed.”

My aide and I nod at each other.

I never intended to bring Fort Okun down with the Second Army in the first place. It’s simply far too risky.

Instead, we merely watch as the first wave of anogratches crests the fort’s walls.

At this point, our victory is already assured.

Once those monsters get inside the fort, it’s only a matter of time before the entire thing comes down.

“And without a single loss for our side.”

“As you say. Although now we will not be able to approach the fort for some time.”

I suppose that’s true.

That the fort simply belongs to the anogratches instead of the humans now—we still can’t carelessly attempt to attack it.

But that doesn’t matter one bit.

“A trivial concern. Besides, our goal here was never to take the fort for ourselves. This is perfectly acceptable.”

“That is very true. I must say, that was an ingenious move, ma’am.”

“Oh, you flatter me.”

I did use the Salacious skill to brainwash an enemy soldier into bringing the anogratch into the fort, but even without that, we still could have found another way to sneak it inside.

This strategy didn’t require me to succeed.

I do think of myself as a rather competent commander, even among my fellow demons.

But in the end, it’s only the smallest of edges.

I don’t defy definition like the Demon Lord.

There’s a limit to what an ordinary individual like me can do.

And yet, even so…

“I’m sorry, Demon Lord. I’m afraid I have no intention of meekly going along with your wishes.”

If I defy her, I’ll die.

If I obey her, I’ll die all the same.

The only reasonable decision is to obey her as best I can while looking for a way out.

If I simply do as she says, eventually she’ll have no further use for me, I’m sure.

“You may think it inappropriate behavior for a demon, but I have achieved my mission nonetheless. Perhaps you’ll let this one slide?”

I know it’s a selfish wish, but the best I can hope for is that she’ll overlook my insolence.

As I hang on to that slim hope, I continue to watch as the anogratches overrun Fort Okun.

THE FORT DAZARRO BATTLE THE KEY POINTS!

Welcome back to White Explains It All!

As you can see, the fort our little Shota is supposed to attack is surrounded by rivers!

That’s right: rivers!

The dangers of massive amounts of moving water cannot be overstated!

Did you know that it’s super hard to cross a river?

If you’re finding it difficult to imagine, maybe pay a visit to a countercurrent pool or something.

Try to cut across that without getting swept away and see how well you do.

And since we’re talking about an army here, that means everyone’s gonna be carrying weapons and armor and all kinds of other stuff.

Depending on the depth of the water, sinking and drowning are real threats.

Horses and supplies will get swept away by the current, too.

Even with stats, you can’t afford to underestimate the power of Mother Nature.

Plus, they’ll be defenseless while they’re trying to cross, meaning the enemy can snipe at them as much as they please.

That’s how you end up with two armies just glaring at each other from opposite sides of a river.

Neither of ’em wants to make the crossing!

Looks like our pal Shota is going to try to attack the enemy with long-distance magic instead of attempting to ford the river.

Go, go, Shota! Don’t lose, Shota!

Sixth Commander of the demon army.

This is the role that I have been assigned.

I know better than anyone that it’s hardly a suitable role for someone of my stature.

By demon standards, I’m very young.

And I have an extra-youthful appearance, so people always look down on me.

Demons live longer than humans, and some grow faster than others.

I seem to be the sort who ages slowly, given that I still look like a child.

Supposedly, our family line has some elf blood from a few generations back, so maybe that has had an effect on my growth, too.

I say “supposedly” because it’s hard to believe that an elf would really have a child with a demon, considering the typical elven contempt for other races.

But our family line has long been blessed with a high affinity for magic, just like the elves, so maybe there’s some truth to it after all.

And the slowness of my growth is highly unusual for demons, which only makes the elf theory even stronger.

My younger brother is much the same, so the trait probably runs in the whole family, not just me individually.

My classmates and upperclassmen often made fun of me in school for how I looked, and even the underclassmen didn’t take me seriously.

And a slowly developing body means that my physical stats are slow to grow, too.

I invariably lose in any kind of hand-to-hand combat, which has been a great source of embarrassment.

However, that holds true for only purely physical battles. With magic, it’s a different story.

In a contest of pure magic, I’m confident that I’m stronger than any other demon.

Such pride comes naturally to the count of a prominent magical family.

To uphold that pride, I’ve always used my magic to turn the tables on anyone who mocks me.

And once word of my power spread, it wasn’t long before I was named one of the commanders of the demon army, the highest rank a demon can be awarded.

Now the same people who once slighted me have to serve me.

That definitely feels good.

But at the same time, I know I’m not really worthy of being a commander.

The only reason I became one is because there wasn’t anyone more qualified.

Frankly, I wasn’t selected for my personal merits—I was merely the most acceptable choice by process of elimination.

The truth is, the demon race is desperately short on manpower, since we lost many of our best and brightest in the war against the humans.

There are few surviving veteran leaders aside from Commander Agner of the First Army, and most of the other current commanders were once young novices who distinguished themselves through service during the long years of the previous war.

But even then, there weren’t enough, so they had to choose someone from a newer generation who seemed promising and appoint them as a commander.

Namely: me.

In other words, I’m just a stopgap measure.

Of course, I was chosen because of my abilities—there’s no denying that.

But compared to the other commanders, I have far less strength and experience.

I do think my magic abilities are on par with the other commanders, but if in a real fight, I’m sure I would be the weakest of all of them.

And since I don’t have a great deal of experience, I’m still inept at managing an army.

I know that people call me things like Kid Commander behind my back.

During my time in school, I could silence any teasing with my magical prowess, but now that I hold the role of commander, that alone isn’t enough to convince everyone.

I doubt people will stop mocking me until I catch up to the other commanders.

But for someone as young as myself, that’s easier said than done.

No matter how shameful, I have no choice but to bear it.

And then the current Demon Lord appeared.

It seems that demon lords, by nature, have the urge to wage war against humanity.

Older generations of demon lords certainly did, to the point where the most recent Demon Lord who disappeared may be one of the few exceptions.

But when that Demon Lord disappeared, it was actually a stroke of good luck for the demon race.

We had sustained serious losses in the long battle against the humans, to the point where we no longer had the resources or personnel for a war.

This lack of bodies is the reason I became a commander at such a young age, so I have mixed feelings about it.

Since the Demon Lord disappeared, the demons were able to establish a temporary truce with the humans and focus on rebuilding.

However, the current Demon Lord is undoing all that effort.

In fact, she’s clearly not thinking about the future of the demon race at all.

The previous Demon Lords continued the war with the humans, too, but this particular Demon Lord doesn’t seem to have any concept of moderation.

Previous Demon Lords always took the overall state of the demon race into consideration and marshaled forces accordingly, but the current one doesn’t care about any of that. She seems to fully intend on gathering up every last demon and sending them into battle with the humans.

Most of the commanders disapproved of this.

Even I could tell what would happen if we went down this route, so of course I was in agreement with the others.

And of course, the commanders wouldn’t just sit around and wait for our destruction.

Sure enough, a secret plot to overthrow the Demon Lord began to brew.

I thought this was the perfect chance, so I joined in on the coup d’état without hesitation.

What better way to build a reputation for myself than by bringing down the Demon Lord leading our race along the path of destruction?

We had a good chance of winning I thought.

The Demon Lord looked young.

No doubt she was just getting carried away with the thrill of being recognized as Demon Lord and trying to do the impossible.

What an idiot.

I discreetly joined the revolutionaries and carefully started sending soldiers to join Sir Warkis’s Seventh Army.

The plan was for Warkis to gather the rebel army and attack, at which point I would move the Sixth Army in support.

Miss Sanatoria’s Second Army was cooperating as well, so we were ready to bring down the Demon Lord’s stronghold from the inside and outside at once.

Balto’s Fourth Army was supposed to defend her, but he didn’t seem to want to serve the Demon Lord, either, so we doubted that his soldiers would stay loyal to her.

If we reached out to them, no doubt many would be willing to change sides.

Since the Ninth Commander Nereo, who was in charge of personnel management, was also on the rebellion’s side, it was easy to shuffle people around.

We assembled our forces discreetly so that the Demon Lord wouldn’t notice anything unusual, and soon enough, our rebel army would be complete.

By then, it would be too late to stop the coup d’état.

…Or so we thought.

The next thing we knew, the rebellion had been utterly crushed.

I witnessed the exact moment the mastermind, Sir Warkis, died by his own sword.

And shortly thereafter, all the commanders who’d been participating in the rebellion received a warning from Sir Agner.

It was then that I realized we had failed.

Sir Agner, the most seasoned of the commanders, universally considered the strongest of all demons, was siding with the Demon Lord.

I didn’t understand why he would do such a thing.

But that alone was enough to convince me that the rebellion was a lost cause.

Sir Agner’s influence was simply that immense. With him as an enemy, our chances of success were slim.

I had placed my bets on a losing horse.

Now the only thing that mattered was finding a way to recover somehow.

Just as I was beginning to panic, I was summoned by the Demon Lord.

It was then I learned exactly why Sir Agner had chosen to obey her.

I wasn’t the only one she’d summoned.

Sir Nereo, Miss Sanatoria, and me—the commanders who were working with the rebellion in secret.

Compared to Nereo’s undaunted attitude and Sanatoria’s usual relaxed smile, I’m sure I looked pathetically shaken.

I was trembling with fear that we would be sentenced to execution, but instead, the Demon Lord simply told us that the Commander of the Ninth Army was being changed.

It seemed anticlimactic.

The Ninth Army has long been little more than a name.

Its commander, Nereo, was in charge of all matters dealing with personnel, so the majority of his efforts is devoted to that and not his near-nonexistent army.

The Demon Lord announced she was going to appoint a new commander and make the Ninth a proper army.

That was all.

I’d come into the meeting worried I might be executed, so I was relieved to hear this.

But a moment later, I would realize how wrong I was to think the danger had passed.

Terribly, horribly, unforgettably wrong.

The Demon Lord spoke.

“Which means we won’t be needing the current Ninth Army Commander anymore.”

And with that, she casually disposed of Sir Nereo like a tool that had outlived its usefulness.

A mere execution would have been kinder.

No person should be subjected to what I witnessed that day!

To be devoured without a trace…

No one should have to die like that, and no person should be able to do such a thing.

The Demon Lord might look like a little girl, but on the inside, she’s a foul beast.

Considering how long I’ve suffered because of my own youthful appearance, it’s unthinkable that I misjudged the Demon Lord for the same reason.

From that day on, we were plunged into hell.

Where did we go wrong?

That’s obvious. We never should have tried to defy the Demon Lord.

We were fooled by her appearance, mocked her seemingly stupid plans, and foolishly assumed she was nothing more than a young idiot who had let her ambition go to her head and was going to mess up everything.

But we were wrong.

It’s all too clear to me now.

The Demon Lord knows exactly what she’s doing and is deliberately trying to send us all to hell.

She is truly a heartless beast.

A horror who enjoys nothing more than watching us struggle, suffer, and die!

She could kill me on a whim at any moment.

I have to do as she says, serve her devoutly, and do anything I can to improve her opinion of me however I can…

“Then kill a lot and die a lot.”

Those were her orders.

So we have to kill as many of the enemy as we can.

Otherwise, we’ll all be killed instead!

“Sir Huey! We can’t take any more! We have to retreat!”

My aide is insisting that we retreat.

We’re attacking Fort Dazarro, one of the anchors in the humans’ defensive lines.

The Sixth Army was ordered to take it down.

Frankly, the balance of power is not in our favor.

In fact, it’s going even worse than I imagined.

My troops, the Sixth Army, are chiefly magic users.

This is partly because I myself specialize in magic, but mages are also more effective in large groups, which is why I deliberately organized my troops with a heavy emphasis on magic.

The role of a mage in war is to decimate the enemy army with the trump card called grand magic, a special kind of group-cast spell that causes damage on a massive scale.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the amount of grand magic an army is able to cast can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat.

And in order to cast it, multiple magic users need to use the Cooperation skill to work seamlessly together.

Hence the importance of having a large amount of mages, enough to use grand magic.

Ever since I was appointed as a commander, I’ve been increasing the number of mages under my command by teaching any promising soldiers I found and even negotiating to recruit soldiers with an aptitude for magic from other armies.

Thus, I believe the Sixth Army now boasts destructive power equal to that of any other force.

Unfortunately, that means our frontline soldiers are noticeably weaker than most, and so there is a distinct danger of the enemy breaking through their ranks and reaching our all-important mages in a field battle.

But when laying a siege, we can really put our destructive power to work.

As long as they didn’t sally out of their fort to attack, we could keep hammering them with grand magic from a safe distance until we annihilated the entire fort itself and secured our victory.

I was sure of it.

So why is everything going so horribly wrong?!

“Damn it!”

“Lord Huey, we must retreat!”

As I curse, the aide repeats his plea.

The Sixth Army is in such dire straits that we have little choice.

My aide’s panic makes it even clearer how desperate our situation has become.

We should’ve been able to win this.

It was a contest for magic supremacy, after all!

Yes, our opponent was using long-distance magic as well.

They challenged us to a battle of magic, the Sixth Army’s greatest strength.

At the time, I chuckled to myself.

I was certain that we could win.

And yet!

How can we be losing?!

We still haven’t been hit with a single grand magic spell.

Although we haven’t been able to land any attacks, either, since they keep crushing our attempts somehow.

Hitting the enemy with grand magic is truly the key to winning a battle.

Naturally, it takes a great deal of time to prepare, and the large amount of magic power involved makes it immediately obvious that grand magic is about to be used.

The goal, then, is to protect one’s own grand magic while preventing the enemy from using it.

Occasionally, grand magic is even used to distract the enemy.

That’s how central its use is in battles like these.

In that sense, we are evenly matched.

They interfere whenever we try to use grand magic, but we’ve been defeating their attempts, too.

That means neither side has been able to utilize their most powerful attacks.

In other words, we’ve simply been shooting normal magic back and forth.

So why is our side the only one taking losses?!

Demons have higher stats than humans!

In a magic shoot-out, surely the side with higher stats should win—in this case, ours.

But the reverse is happening instead.

It doesn’t make sense.

What’s going on here?!

I’m told the enemy general is a human mage called Ronandt.

He’s a legend among humans who has allegedly lived since the days of the previous Demon Lord.

I did not believe I had underestimated him.

But still, I was confident that we wouldn’t lose in a pure contest of magical strength.

And yet—and yet!

I grind my teeth.

At this rate, the Demon Lord will kill me.

“We can’t…retreat.”

“But why?! If this continues, we’ll just keep losing more troops!”

“We just can’t!”

If we retreat without producing any success, the Demon Lord will be furious.

I’ll be killed.

Eaten.

No! I don’t want to die like that!

I have to produce some kind of results, no matter what it takes.

Which leaves only one option…

“We’re going to use grand magic. Back me up.”

“There’s no point trying to use grand magic now! We must retreat!”

“Just do it.”

I’ll cast grand magic with my own hands to crush the enemy.

Otherwise, there’s no way to turn the tides of battle.

But while I’m trying to prepare, no one else is moving a muscle.

These dimwits!

“Hurry up and help me!”

I stomp a foot in frustration.

Just then, something in my head snaps.

“Eh?”

Then, before I can figure out what’s going on, my consciousness fades to black.

“Aren’t you a sight for old eyes.”

“Good to see you again, Master.”

It has been a long time since I last saw apprentice number one, also known as Julius the hero.

We haven’t been face-to-face like this in many years.

Thanks to interference from the Word of God Church, I’ve scarcely been allowed anywhere near him.

What an irritating lot.

“Glad to see you looking well, eh?”

“You too, Master. It’s amazing that you’re still active at your age.”

“Who do you think I am, boy? I’ll be out and about until the day I die, fool.”

“You haven’t changed one bit.”

Apprentice number one chuckles demurely.

When I first looked after him, he was still rather innocent, but he’s done a lot of growing since then.

“Julius… Ah, and Elder Ronandt. When did you arrive?”

A boy enters the room without even knocking—Hyrince, I believe his name is? One of my old apprentice’s friends.

“Just a moment ago.”

“He teleported in out of nowhere. I keep asking him to stop scaring me like that…”

“If you can’t even detect incoming teleportation, you still have a long way to go, boy.”

I ignore his complaints.

We have to meet secretly like this, or the Church won’t get off my back.

“Guess the old man hasn’t changed, huh?”

Hyrince sighs, though his general impertinence hasn’t changed much, either.

“So, did both of you need something?”

“Indeed. But your bratty friend Hyrince can state his business first.”

My business isn’t anything important—just a touch of meddling, really.

It can wait.

“Bratty, huh? I guess that’s fair if it’s coming from you, but still, c’mon.”

“What’s wrong with calling a brat bratty? If you’ve got a problem with it, let’s see you get strong enough to defeat me first.”

“Give me a break, please.”

The brat flashes a grin, then turns serious.

“Elder Ronandt, this information is technically top secret military information, so…”

“Very well, child. I promise I shall not repeat anything I hear in this room.”

I’m sure the brat was hoping I would leave, but he should know better. Given how long we’ve been acquainted, this much should be obvious.

Sure enough, he quickly shrugs and begins his report.

“The scouting party didn’t return at the appointed time. It’s safe to assume they’ve been wiped out.”

At this, my first apprentice’s face turns grave.

The troops stationed here on humanity’s first line of defense are no ordinary soldiers.

They’re as elite as it gets.

Even so, their scouting party failed to return with any information—a clear sign of just how dangerous the enemy is.

“Hrm. How many groups have failed to return?”

“All of them.”

What a mess.

It’s even worse than I thought.

Before a major battle like this, scouting parties tend to split into smaller groups before gathering information. That way, even if one group is caught and killed, the others can still bring back anything they find.

But this time, not a single group came back.

Which means that the enemy’s intelligence network and detection capabilities were superior to all the scouts’, and on top of that, they were strong enough to wipe out the elite scouting parties with ease.

It’s also likely they have enough numbers to attack several scouting detachments at once.

Surely, the scouts had ways to contact one another even after splitting up. They must have been trained to quickly withdraw if any of the other groups ran into trouble.

But since that didn’t happen, they must have been taken out at the same time.

The detection skills to locate the scouting parties.

The combat strength to destroy them.

The enemy has soldiers capable of both and has them in great enough numbers to at least match the scouting parties.

“Sounds like this will be a bloody battle,” my apprentice murmurs.

He must be dwelling on the scouting party members who were killed.

“Apprentice.”

It’s time for me to knock some sense into him once again.

“Knowing you, I’m sure you’re thinking of the soldiers who were lost, but that’s a waste of time. Better to think about yourself instead.”

“Master! What do you mean, a waste of time?!”

Normally, my apprentice’s voice never wavers, but he’s sensitive when it comes to the life and death of others.

“I’m saying that the deaths of the scouting parties are not what you need to focus on right now.”

“Master, there are some things that aren’t okay to say, even for you. If you keep it up, I’ll get really angry.”

“Oh-ho? And how do you plan to act on that?”

The brat flinches at my threat.

My apprentice doesn’t show any fear, but I know that’s just an act.

“You say that you’ll get angry with me, hmm? Surely, you do not think you could defeat me in a fight?”

I put more emphasis into my voice, keeping it low and even.

Did that audible gulp just now come from my apprentice or the brat?

“Do not get ahead of yourself, boy. There is always someone stronger than you. Even if you are the hero.”

With that, I relax my threatening aura and rap my apprentice lightly on the head with my staff.

“The same is true of the scouting parties. They did their job to their best ability and died in battle. It is not wrong to lament their deaths, of course. But it is wrong to feel as if you are somehow responsible. You do realize that even a hero cannot save everyone all the time, yes? Or are you so foolish as to think that you should’ve joined the scouting parties? Even when that would have been the most disrespectful thought of all, acting as though those who perished were not worthy of the duty. Surely, the great hero would not dare think such a horrible thing?”

At that, my apprentice looks lost for words.

He hangs his head in silence.

Apprentice number one has always been like this. He tries to take on everything, even burdens that are not his to bear.

When someone falls in battle, the blame lies with them alone and no one else.

But somehow, this boy feels guilty unless he’s able to save every single person.

He seems to still not understand that would be impossible for anyone but a god.

“Julius.”

For once, I call him by his name.

Slowly, he raises his head.

“On the battlefield, you must think only of yourself.”

If you get distracted by anything else, you could die in a battle you might have otherwise survived.

“There is always someone stronger. You know that as well as I do, yes? And only the strong can protect others. But you are weak, too weak to even defeat me.”

“That’s easy for someone as strong as you to say, Master…”

Julius retorts half-heartedly, and I chuckle.

“I am no exception, either. You know there are those who are stronger than me, too, hmm?”

Julius has encountered the master before, too, so he must understand.

Such power is far beyond the reach of any mere human.

“Do you understand? If things get dangerous, you must flee without a second thought. In the end, you are still the hero, yes? A hero who flees is far less of a problem than a hero who dies. You must get that into your head.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there to protect Julius.”

What is this brat babbling about?

“Hardly reassuring when coming from one even weaker than my apprentice.”

“Oof, that’s harsh!”

I’m sure he’s reacting so absurdly in an attempt to lighten the mood, trying to cheer up my apprentice so that he doesn’t go into battle still forlorn.

I admit the brat is a good friend, even if his strength is lacking.

“Ha-ha. I guess I’ll take you up on that.”

“Good. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Sure enough, my apprentice’s mood recovers a little.

“Still, Elder Ronandt, you came to check in on your darling apprentice, huh? Guess you’ve got a kind of cute side.”

“Th-that was certainly not my intent!”

What is this idiot blathering about?!

I thought he was a good companion for my apprentice, but clearly I misjudged him after all!

“Aw, look, he’s blushing.”

“I certainly am not! Honestly! I’m leaving now, you brats!”

“Okay. Thanks for today, Master.”

“Harrumph.”

I use Teleport to make my exit.

Part 1 of 8

Table of Contents Next »