Combatants Will Be Dispatched - Volume 1 - Chapter 3.2

2 

The tower sits in the middle of a large wasteland, the only building visible for miles around. It’s about the same size as a skyscraper, and it kinda looks like it’s made out of chalk. 

A large number of knights have already been sent inside. Taking advantage of numbers and plenty of floor space, they’ve already secured the first floor. 

Alice approaches the tower, patting the outer wall curiously. 

“So here’s the deal. We’re just going to chill right here until evening.” 

““…What?”” 

Snow and Rose look at me like I’ve grown a second head and blink in confusion. Grimm sits by my side, napping away in her new wheelchair, blissfully unaware of everything as usual. 

“Have you lost your mind? The siege is already underway. Not to mention that tower’s got demons that beat the Chosen One himself! Imagine the rewards if we were to kill one of them!” 

Snow raises her fist toward the tower, convinced she can change my mind with enough enthusiasm. 

“Listen, Snow… The Chosen One’s supposed to be strong enough to beat any of the Demon Lord’s Elite Four one-on-one, right? You’re just going to waltz in there and challenge the ones who beat that same Chosen One? Sorry, not interested. There’s way too much risk and not enough reward. I’m just gonna take a nap instead.” 

I yawn, setting my pack down and flopping on top of it. 

Then, I gesture vaguely toward the tower. “I mean, look at how many of us are here. One of the units will end this eventually. If the battle drags on until the evening when Grimm’s awake, well, we can weigh our options again, then.” 

I leave one eye open to watch Snow’s reaction. A vein bulges in her forehead, and her face rapidly turns a bright scarlet. She really needs to do something about that temper. It’s bad for her blood pressure. 

“Y-you lazy piece of… I can’t believe I ever thought I could count on you! You’re just useless to the core! Whatever! I’ll go by myself, and I’m sure as hell not sharing any of the reward with you!” 

Snow gives me an earful and then storms off toward the tower. 

“Um, Boss…? Are you really okay with this? You’re not actually going to let Snow go by herself, right?” 

Rose casts a worried glance at Snow as she shrinks in the distance. She seems to be wavering between following her and staying with the rest of us. 

“It’ll be fine. She’s plenty strong, and she’ll have more than enough backup. I doubt she’ll be in any danger, so she’ll probably just make her way back here once she’s worn herself out.” 

A few hours later. 

“…Hahhh… Hahhh…” 

Snow comes back looking like she’d just run a marathon. 

“Hahhh… Hahhh… It’s…it’s just about evening, Six… I-is Grimm still asleep?” 

“She’ll probably wake up soon, but she’s been saying some interesting things in her sleep. We figured we’d let her keep going for a bit.” 

Grimm, still asleep in her wheelchair, mumbles something every now and then. 

“Ohhh… Snow… So bold of you…to beg the commander…to do what he pleases… Grope you, ravage you, anything he wants… Such lewd requests…” 

“Wake the hell up, Grimm! Why are you having such weird, totally fabricated dreams?! If you don’t wake up right now, I’m gonna give you a five-finger wake-up call to the face!” 

Snow starts shaking Grimm back and forth, and Grimm’s eyes snap open. 

“Ah! But I was having such a lovely, prophetic dream…” 

“On second thought, go back to sleep. I’ll lop off your head and bury it so you can enjoy your slumber.” 

“It took long enough for her to wake up! Don’t coax her back to sleep! Anyway, Alice, how’s it looking? We good to go?” 

After I talk Snow down from her murderous rage, I turn to Alice, who has completed her evaluation of the tower’s outer surface. 

“Looks like the tower’s built entirely of stone. Opening a few holes in the walls won’t do anything to the tower’s structure. Just remember that the wind will pick up as you get higher up. Also, make sure of your handholds—it’s easy to misplace your hold in this gloom. Finally, everyone take off your armor, keep your weight down to a bare minimum.” 

Snow narrows her eyes at Alice in suspicion. “What are you talking about? What are you plotting?” 

“Plotting? How rude. We’re about to head off and topple this tower.” 

Snow furrows her brows further. “Wait… You were going on earlier about how you didn’t want to risk it. What changed?” 

“I said I didn’t want to go after the bosses from the front. And while I’m not quite as ambitious as you are, I do want a share of the glory. Especially if I can get them without a lot of effort or danger. As far as I can tell, a few units have managed to reach the top floor and challenge the bosses. Have they been able to land a few blows on the demons? Maybe weaken them a little?” 

Snow lets out a derisive snort and shakes her head. 

“…You’re almost refreshingly treacherous, you know that? …A few have managed to get to the top, but the bosses have had time to prepare. Our forces got wiped out the moment they showed their faces. The enemy is a pair of demons who complement each other rather well. We’re still in the process of looking for weaknesses.” 

Snow is interrupted by the crunch of a metallic object being driven into stone. A glance at the tower reveals Alice using a small device to drive iron stakes into the tower’s outer wall. 

“Oh, not bad at all. They go in nice and smooth. Here, take this, Six.” 

The device Alice hands me is a compact pile driver. It can drive stakes into even the toughest bedrock. 

“…What is that thing? …Wait, don’t tell me you plan to…” 

Snow starts sweating bullets as she realizes our intentions. 

“All right, let’s go. The frontal assault or whatever is taking way too long. Right now, the demons are busy fighting the soldiers on the staircase, and the darkness will make it hard to notice anyone climbing the outer walls. Scaling the tower is probably the last thing they thought anyone would try.”