Combatants Will Be Dispatched - Volume 7 - Chapter 5.8

8

“And so after all the complications, we managed to elegantly defeat Midgard the Primordial Dragon, solved the problem that a princess had been grappling with on her own, and made Grunade submit to us.”

It’s been a week since we returned from the Grunade Kingdom.

Having taken the time to recover from our journey, I’ve found refuge in Viper’s office to avoid my boss’s daily barrage of unreasonable demands.

Viper pauses her pen and smiles gently over to me.

“Well, it sounds like you made quite the impact. Everyone’s already talking about how you and the others defeated Midgard.”

Alice smirks as she processes her own paperwork.

“Thanks to that, I think we can rest assured that the countries and city-states that submitted to us will stay loyal. Seems Midgard was a really famous monster around the continent, and we’ve had a constant stream of well-wishers. Even the cities and villages that had been on the fence have come to ask for our protection.”

Thanks to Belial’s rampage, we’ve dramatically expanded our influence, and our name's become famous throughout the lands.

In the end, everything turns out for the best. Could it be that Belial did everything knowing this would be the outcome?

“Um... That reminds me, Mr. Six. Do you know where Heine went? I haven’t seen her for days...”

“Oh, we left Heine with Snow in Grunade. I’m sure they'll eventually work out their differences and come home.”

“W-why would you leave them there? W-well, so long as they come back safely, it should be fine...”

There'd been continued tension between them since their little dust-up, so we decided to force them to get back to Grace on their own.

Nothing builds friendships like shared struggles.

For the sake of having one less complication, I’d rather that those two become friends again.

Just then:

“Hey, Six, get over here! Alice works, too! Help me!”

Our peaceful little day is shattered as Belial’s voice thunders out from the direction of the training grounds.

Alice and I exchange glances and head over to find Belial trying to disentangle from Grimm, who’s clinging needily to Belial’s waist.

“This is your underling, right?! Do something! She's a serious nuisance!”

Belial had looked like death from the side effects of using all those nitro cartridges, but after a couple days, she’d gotten over her nitro hangover, and her broken arm from fighting Midgard had healed cleanly, leaving her to interact with the local hires, but—

“Everyone’s so mean to me! Why? Why do I always get forgotten?! How many times has it been that I wake up and everything’s finished?! Come on, take me with you already!”

“You need to be complaining to Six, not me! We had no choice, you were dead!”

Grimm, who had died because Belial had forced her to wear socks, is throwing a tantrum.

“That’s exactly it! You killed me, why are you so cold to me?! Lady Belial, you’re a Supreme Leader, so you’re like a mother-in-law to me, aren’t you?!”

“Nope.”

Belial flatly rejects that argument, but Grimm clings on with a tenacity unique to the undead.

“Besides, you were supposed to be dead. What are you doing getting back up? From now on, you can call yourself the Mutant Zombie Woman.”

“N-no, that title’s not cute at all! Let’s see... If you're going to give me a title, why not make it sound all shimmery and cute like something to do with being a saint...?”

Belial quirks her finger to summon me over after she shoves the zombie woman and dreamily contemplates alternative titles for her.

“Six, get me some steel wire. I’ll tie her up and leave her lying around to keep her out of my hair.”

“D-don’t! I’m pretty vulnerable to being physically restrained like that! I understand! I won’t complain anymore! So please...”

I tie up Grimm using the steel wire I ordered, and Belial gags her to silence her. Belial then gestures for me to follow her.

I leave Grimm tied up on the training field and follow Belial, ending up in the teleportation room.

Wait, she’s not thinking of heading back to Earth right as she’s finished healing, is she?

“Are you going back already? I mean, Tiger Man is still recuperating in the hospital, so you’re more than justified in staying awhile longer, Lady Belial. You can be like Lady Lilith and spend a little time slacking off here! Let's enjoy life for a little bit.”

"Don’t compare me to Lilith, I can’t slack off now that my body’s finished healing. That, and I’ve already been summoned back to Earth. The cricket-type superheroes, who are enough of a pain on their own, are evidently looking at forming some teams. That’s a lot to deal with, even for me."

Well, yeah, that’s a seriously bad situation.

How bad? Honestly, it makes Midgard seem like a small inconvenience by comparison.

Still...

“Why do you always play hard to get, Lady Belial? This is the first time I’ve seen you in ages, but we’ve been so busy, we didn't even get to properly sit down and have a chat. Why don’t you just stay here? I’d love to actually be able to go out and enjoy this world with you.”

When I can’t help but say what I really feel, Belial looks at me, her expression tom.

“...You know, you really are a natural charmer. I bet you said something like that to Lilith, too. She was all happy when she got back to Earth.”

“You’re the charmer, Lady Belial. I didn’t say anything of the sort to Lady Lilith. I didn’t try to stop her when she left.”

I mean, I couldn't see Lilith being all that useful even if she had stayed behind.

If anything, she probably would've been all sorts of a pain in the ass, what with how needy she can be.

Belial smiles softly, evidently sensing what I’m thinking.

“Got it. Well, you and Lilith are more like brother and sister than anything else.. .but that’s the sort of line you should be saying to Astaroth, not me.”

“If I ever said something like that to Lady Astaroth, she’d get mad at me. telling me to stop being such an idiot and get back to work. As it is, she already seems to be in a bad mood whenever I see her face over video chat.”

Belial furrows her brow, a mix of emotions playing out on her face.

"...Astaroth’s pretty socially clumsy, but you’re ahnost as bad.”

She then holds her collar closed for a moment, letting out a slow breath.

Belial’s face suddenly takes on a serious expression, and she straightens, before calling out:

"Here are your orders!”

At Belial’s announcement, Alice and I stand at attention.

“This time, we’ve been able to greatly expand Kisaragi’s influence. But we’re still far too short on land. A message from Astaroth: The Earth has little time left. Speed up the invasion.”

What do you mean, Earth has little time left? Why do you people always leave me hanging with these interesting statements?

Then again, if I learn more, I’m pretty sure I’d have nowhere to run to, so for now, I’m happier staying ignorant.

Belial smiles softly as if reading my thoughts from my expression.

“Don’t worry about how things are going over there. You just need to work hard, but not risk your lives. For the sake of Tiger Man’s sacrifice, make sure you guys stay alive.”

“Tiger Man’s just recuperating in the infirmary! Why are you so eager to kill him?”

Tiger Man, despite his third gigantification, managed to cling to life, and he’s been sleeping off his injuries as Rose and Russell look after him.

Alice says he should wake up soon, but since we brought him home without saying goodbye to Princess Nadia, you can bet there’ll be a hassle or two to deal with when he wakes up.

Belial puts her hands on Alice's and my head and roughly tussles our hair.

“See ya, guys. It wasn’t long, but it was pretty fun. Since I gotta make some preparations to face the cricket supes, I'm gonna head off now.”

“You did whatever you felt like doing and it was only ‘pretty’ fun? C’mon, Lady Belial, you need to let your hair down a little. Why are you always living your life in a hurry? Don’t make us worry about you so much.”

At my question, Belial seems about to speak, forcing a troubled smile to her lips.

“...Well, there she goes. I was hoping we could spend time like we used to, go out partying, maybe engage in a little cuddling...but I guess Lady Belial’s always been hard to get.”

In the end, Belial didn’t say anything before stepping into the teleporter and heading home without another word.

“...That's how it looked like to you, eh? Well, I'm thinking Lady Belial knew that there'd be trouble if she stayed any longer.”

“Yeah, she did mention that the cricket superheroes are about to form teams. ‘Trouble’ is not a strong enough word for that.”

As I worry about everyone back on Earth, Alice looks like she has something she wants to say.

"That’s not the kind of trouble I meant, but, well, that’s fine... Now, Six, have you noticed?”

“...? Noticed what?”

Alice gazes at the now empty teleporter.

“Based on the fact that she ultimately managed to greatly expand our territory and solved the drama between the Grunade royals...I’m pretty sure Lady Belial’s gotten some of her memories back.”