I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 16 - Chapter 113

Chapter 113:

Right About Now…

NO RESULTS. No changes. Everyone is well. We’re continuing our mission.

“You’ve gotta be friggin’ kidding meeeeeeeeeeee!”

In a corner of the capital branch of the Hunters’ Guild, in the kingdom of Brandel, a girl sat grumbling. In her hand she gripped a letter, which she had just collected from the receptionist…a letter composed of only one line that didn’t even include the sender’s name.

The girl was beautiful, and refined in her movements, and though she was dressed as any other hunter would be, there was no mistaking the fine make of her clothing. This was completely contradicted by her coarse language, though she had probably only just learned to speak that way, purposely using speech that was a little vulgar to help her fit in with the other hunters.

“Ugh! I’m gonna kill them…”

She plopped herself down at an empty table in the dining area, her legs spread in an unbecoming manner, face twisted in anger.

Perhaps her attempts to be vulgar had been a little too effective…

“Liquor!” she shouted. “Somethin’ strong! Bring me the whole bottle! And some eats to go with it!”

“C-coming right up…”

The waitress who took her order looked disapprovingly at the girl but silently did as she was asked.

The girl then began to down bottle after bottle of some fairly strong spirits, snarling and grumbling to herself all the while, until at some point she simply collapsed upon the table. This was probably the first time she had imbibed something so powerful, previously having sampled nothing more than little sips of wine and fruity cocktails at parties. Seeing her, the hunters and guild staff all collectively thought, This is no good…

The guards who had been secretly watching the girl had the same reaction. 

The girl had assumed that between her disguise and giving her guards the slip, she had succeeded in evading detection. In actuality, it was abundantly clear to both the staff and the other hunters who she was. They were just pretending not to know. Her guards weren’t about to be tricked by an untrained amateur, either, and were merely keeping their distance, staying hidden so their ward didn’t realize she was being followed. So, while a normal girl could not expect to fall asleep here and make it through the night without coming to harm or being picked up by unsavory characters, this girl was in no danger whatsoever.

Still, they could not simply leave her there. So, one of the hidden guards told one of the official guards stationed outside the guild to run and contact the relevant parties…

After a short while, a woman on the slightly older side appeared, accompanied by six other young women. They loaded the girl up into a carriage and departed, after giving a clean and practiced bow to everyone in the guild. Finally, the guards disappeared as well.

“Poor thing…” sighed the guild master, who had been lingering at a nearby table, just in case his intervention was required. 

“Even the Wonder Trio has their issues,” muttered one of the other hunters.

“That ain’t it,” said the guild master. “I’m talking about that lady from the court, the one who’s in charge of all the lady’s maids. She wields a ridiculous amount of authority in the palace, being in charge of the education of all the princes and princesses. To put it simply, she has the power to ground them from going out, decrease their allowance, increase their study time, confine them to their study rooms…or even resort to corporal punishment, if necessary.

“When they left and bowed to us, did you notice she was smiling? Usually, when you bow like that, your face should be mostly blank. The fact that she was smiling means…” 

“Means?” a hunter echoed.

The guild master shrugged his shoulders and said, “My guess is that she was trying to suppress the rage she felt at having her own pride as an instructor so tarnished. That she was thinking about how to make that little lady reflect on her actions—in other words, how to crush her so thoroughly she’ll never try anything like that again.”

“Ah…”

The woman was a professional, who had been deeply embarrassed by the product of her own work, and had come to collect her personally. This was not insignificant.

Deep down, the hunters and guild staff wept for the fate that awaited Morena—or rather, “Moren, the rookie hunter”—upon her awakening.

***

No results. No changes. Everyone is well. We’re continuing our mission.

“Grrr…”

A month later, Morena—or rather, the rookie hunter, Moren—made her way back to the guild hall. She had spent the last thirty days grounded, and though her punishment had been lifted, her increased study hours and her decrease in allowance had not. 

Gripped in her hands was a letter that she had just received from the clerk, sent to her through the guild. The letter had only one line. As she read it, what unfolded was a familiar scene—a scene that everyone assembled knew well and was perhaps even a bit tired of. The growl that issued from her throat was fairly loud, but the others present pretended not to notice. This land had their own adages equivalent to “Let sleeping dogs lie.” At least she wasn’t attempting to drink away her troubles this time. 

“You’re a newbie, right? How about you join up with our party?” said a young man to Morena—or rather, Moren.

Oh no. He had really gone and done it now.

Eight or so of the other hunters and staff assembled screamed internally. These were the ones who knew exactly what was going on. Most of the other hunters were at least aware of the situation, but there were outliers in any group—idiots, people with no sense of intuition, those who had only just arrived from elsewhere…and rookies.

“Huh?”

Moren froze in confusion. Thus far, almost no one in the guild had ever spoken to her unless she spoke to them first. Furthermore, it was a boy around the same age as herself who had addressed her. Behind him stood two girls and two boys—likely a full rookie party of five.

“Huh? B-but, I already have a party…”

Indeed, Moren, the rookie hunter, was in fact a member of the Wonder Trio, if only in name.

“Hm? Where are the rest of them, then?”

“Well, on an extended journey, somewhere far away,” she answered earnestly.

“Oh, I see. They left you behind while they’re on business since you’re still a newbie… I guess that makes sense. They wouldn’t want to put you in a dangerous situation. That happens a lot, actually. Don’t let it get you down. Still, how about you work with us until they get back? Just sitting around waiting won’t improve your skills any. You can use that time to train and really wow them when they return. What do you think?”

“I…”

Moren’s brain began working overtime. She had never even considered such a possibility. Frankly, it was quite a reasonable proposal. From a logical perspective, it would not be a bad deal.

“Hmmm…”

She really did want to impress the Trio when they returned. She wanted to show them that she could at least do the same jobs as any other rookie. Plus, there was something exciting about the idea of working as a normal, common hunter, among a group of her peers.

“I only have one day a week, though,” she said. “I have other responsibilities…”

“Oh, you’re a part-timer, huh? But hey, that’s still fine. We normally operate with just the five of us anyway, so whenever you’re able to join us, that would make six. Sounds A-okay to me.”

“Ah. Well then, that might not be so bad…”

This could really be fun, Moren thought, and the moment she did, any thoughts she had of refusing the boy were dispelled.

All riiiiiiiight!!!

The three boys, who had been fighting desperately to keep their cool, were over the moon. Up until now, they had been operating cordially with just three guys and two ladies, but they were only one step away from a more dire situation. Namely: acknowledging that they were one girl short. 

The boys had realized that, if they were to maintain an amiable atmosphere, they would have to get another girl in. And now they had found a super cute girl who seemed to be on her own. There was no time to waste. 

Typically, one would never extend an unsolicited invitation to someone without confirming their rank and job class—unless one had some ulterior motive. Those ought to be the very first two items one asked about. 

To be fair, it was clear from Moren’s appearance and movements that she was no frontliner. Thanks to many careful years of selective breeding, the blood of the royal family boasted not just beauty but also exceptional magical talent, so Moren was more skilled than the average person. Plus, thanks to the strict tutelage of her tutor—that demon of a woman—her magic was leagues beyond that of any rookie mage.

Fwp fwp fwp!

The hunters who were aware of the circumstances all turned to the guild clerk as one. The clerk nodded—their way of confirming that the party the had just issued the invitation was in good standing. If there was a problem, they would find some way to intervene, but as the clerk had indicated this party was not a problematic one, the hunters refrained from taking action for now.

“Could I maybe join on the same conditions?”

“Huh?”

The five members of the party were stunned at this sudden address. The question had come from a girl of around the same age as them, with a tough-looking face and a toned body. She was definitely a frontliner—and she was beautiful. Where Moren was prim and sweet, this girl was gallant and handsome.

Here we go!!!

The three boys donned the calmest expressions they could, desperately suppressing the hurricanes raging within them. Two beautiful girls—they could scarcely believe their luck. The girls, meanwhile, looked indignant. The gender imbalance in their party was about to be completely reversed—with the addition of two beautiful girls at that. 

Of course, it was no coincidence that two beauties had appeared at the same time, wishing to join the same party. The girl who looked to be a frontliner was, naturally, one of the princess’s secret guard. The male members of the secret guard were rarely allowed to work in close proximity to the princess. As such, the most promising of the female knight hopefuls were asked to register as hunters and loiter around the guild hall whenever the princess went out, with the reasoning that in case of emergency, these young women could shield the princess for the few seconds until the real knights arrived. 

The female imperial guard contingent that the princess had established herself could be easily identified by Morena and most nobles, which disqualified them. Besides, those imperial guards were carefully selected young noblewomen and even less skilled than the female knights in training. They were meant as even more of an emergency stopgap, a way to protect the princess until real help arrived. They were not skilled enough to deal with an enemy attack or be entrusted with real combat. The women who would join the princess as hunters had to be recruited from a different department.

So it was that to defend the princess from monsters, bandits, other wicked hunters—and most importantly, her own male party members—one of the guardswomen had made the independent decision to join up with this party herself. That way, should anything happen, she could give her own life to at least buy the princess a few more seconds of safety. A precious few seconds until the other guards could come running, which could mean the difference between life and death.

She had made this split-second decision with conviction and a genuine desire to do right by the princess. What she did not yet know was that this choice reflected quite well on her. Between that, and the fact that she would be faced with the incredibly difficult task of defending the princess from threats both foreign and domestic while working as a member of her party to avoid suspicion, the “hopeful” part would be entirely removed from her title and she would be made an official knight as an emergency measure. This was, for better or worse, a concession on the part of the upper brass, so that the girl might be able to die without regrets should it come to that.

She did not realize how useful this might come to be in the future…should she survive, of course. 

***

That night, the lamps remained lit in one of the palace departments. The next day, several extremely well-trained youths and a handful of men in their mid-thirties registered as new hunters. Every last one of them passed their rank-skip exams, the youths forming a D-rank party, the older men forming a C-rank.

The Hunters’ Guild was an organization operating completely independent of state powers, across national borders, which meant the guild could refuse orders from even the Crown if it deemed them unsuitable. In this case, however, they found themselves in a peculiar situation—one so odd that they couldn’t oppose the palace’s interference. The guild master wasn’t about to complain when the life of Her Highness, the princess, was on the line.

Put simply, the capital branch of the Hunters’ Guild in Brandel had many days of chaos ahead of them.

***

“Well, that was fun…”

“It certainly was…”

“Indeed…”

The three girls spoke as if they were enjoying themselves, but then, for some reason, let out a collective sigh.

“Why was our first eastward journey so difficult?”

“I’d rather not think about it.”

“Seriously, what was that about?”

Again, they sighed. 

They could carry all of their things wherever they went, without any hassle: fresh food, cooking utensils, changes of clothing, baths and toilets surrounded by stone walls, a fully pitched tent, and soft and fluffy beds. No matter how much they hunted or gathered, they could transport anything they collected with ease, and without damage or deterioration.

“I’m sorry! Hunters and merchants of the continent around, I’m so, so sorry!”

“There there.” Aureana comforted Monika as she began to wail.

“What in the world are you apologizing for?” sighed Marcela, fatigue in her voice as she stared at the pair, her hands on her hips.

As you may have guessed, this scene opened upon everyone’s favorite Wonder Trio. 

“I do wish that Miss Adele could have taught us this inventory magic, or at least the cleansing magic, back when we were at the Academy.”

“We promised not to talk about that, Lady Marcela.”

“I suppose you’re right. Anyway, it’s fine. The real issue here is whether or not we can claim we really got any ‘training’ out of such a comfortable, idle journey…” said Marcela.

“Very fair.”

“It’s hard to say we’ve learned anything if we aren’t facing any hardships.”

Monika and Aureana sank deep into thought. The situation probably did not require such intensity, but all three of them were serious types, so they tended to overthink things. Had Mile been here, she would have waved the whole thing off with a patented, “It’s fine, don’t sweat the details!”

Though it strengthened their friendship, the fact that the Wonder Trio had similar personalities also made things difficult. Though one might say it had required the combined force of their good sense to get Mile back on the straight and narrow when she started to veer in some absurd direction…

“At any rate,” Marcela continued, “while we are definitely living on ‘easy mode’ right now, there are a certain number of things required of one claiming to be on a training journey, something that is meant to improve a hunter’s skills. We mustn’t waste the time we have! What was it that Miss Adele was always saying?”

“We don’t have time to waste! A maiden’s time is precious!”

“Which means that, as usual, it’s time for us to toughen up our weakest skill—melee fighting!”

“Okay!”

The Trio were fairly confident in their magical skills, and they were well aware of the areas in which they were lacking. Without any sort of vanguard, close-range combat was not their forte. Normally, a group such as theirs would have at least two or three frontliners. The Trio, however, did not intend to ever form a party with anyone other than Mile (Adele). So then, what were they to do now that she had left them?

Why, take care of it themselves! That was all there was to it.

However, they could not hope for anything more than minimal results just running basic drills amongst themselves. Given their circumstances, they could not risk enrolling in a school, and even if they could, the gulf between them and the other pupils would be so great as to only irritate the instructors.

They still had only the delicate physiques typical of fourteen-year-old girls. Monika and Aureana had helped out at home with carrying sacks of grain and assisting in farming chores and such, so they were stronger than the average city girl, but they would still be no match for a grown man who had trained since childhood.

Again: What could they do?

Why, learn from other more experienced hunters along the road, those whose melee skills were not much different from their own. It would be beneficial to both sides, so they would not have to pay them, either…

***

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?”

“Hm?!”

Thanos, who had been browsing the job board, turned in surprise as someone called out to him. Normally, it would not be all that shocking for someone to address him while he was in the guild hall, but it was different when that someone was a beautiful young girl.

“Y-yeah? What can I do for you?”

Thanos was eighteen years old, the leader of a party called the Invincible Wings, which was comprised of himself and three others: Wollow, Viras, and Yoris. Of course, he was only considered the leader because he was typically the one who took charge during battle—the four were all good friends and considered themselves on equal standing.

The Wings were an earnest and reliable young party, who had been earning themselves a solid reputation, but they were neither flush with cash nor popular with women. They weren’t a bad-looking bunch, but courting women took both money and time, and they were currently more focused on pursuing their dreams of becoming high-ranking hunters than pursuing the opposite sex. This didn’t mean they weren’t happy to have a beautiful girl speak to them, of course. Marriage might be far from their minds, but they weren’t stupid enough to let the chance to go on a date with a pretty young thing pass them by.

“So, we were wondering actually if you wouldn’t mind taking on a joint job with us… I am Marcela, by the way. These are my fellow party members, Aureana and Monika.”

The other two politely bowed their heads.

All three of them were perhaps fourteen or fifteen, around the age where it was difficult to tell whether they had yet reached the age of majority. There was Aureana, with her quiet, intellectual air; Monika, who seemed bright and cheerful; and then the elegant Marcela, whom one might almost mistake for a noble.

No, no mistakes here! She’s gotta be a real noble, thought Thanos. Marcela looked like nothing less than a noblewoman, and Aureana and Monika could be read as a lady-in-waiting and attendant or maid. If they had been wearing the appropriate clothing, that was. Perhaps they had snuck out, or perhaps this was a bit of sport. Or perhaps some strife within her house had forced the young mistress and her attendants to go on the lam, forced to live as commoners.

No. No friggin’ way!

Meanwhile, Thanos’s three companions, who were not reading as deeply as he was into the situation, had only one thought: Oh my Gods, three cuties!!!

“We’d love to!” they replied at once, not waiting for Thanos’s input…not that he had any intention of answering otherwise.

***

“So, you don’t have any preferences for what the job is as long as it involves fighting?”

“Correct. Even daily tasks are fine. As you can see, the three of us are all mages, so all we ask is that you give us some tips on defense and close-range combat. Obviously, it would look ridiculous for C-rank hunters such as ourselves to issue our own escort job request, so this is the only real option we have here.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

Sure enough, Thanos had never heard of a hunter hiring another hunter to guard them—especially not as a normal job request, rather than, say, a C-rank party recruiting extras for a job. 

Marcela then explained their general circumstances, specifically that they were a party who had swiftly reached C-rank by accumulating a great deal of contribution points while they served as bodyguards for young noblewomen. Though they were confident in their skill in magic, they thought it would be a good idea to join up with some vanguard fighters, just for safety’s sake.

“So, I hope it’s clear that we aren’t planning anything nefarious?”

“Oh, I mean, we weren’t really worried about that.”

Young girls wouldn’t usually approach all-male parties so frankly, unless those men were especially handsome or wealthy…or unless they were planning to gather some sort of blackmail material or entrap the men into marriage. However, girls with youth, beauty, and magic sufficient to get them to a C-rank wouldn’t need to resort to such petty criminal schemes. They had far simpler, far more efficient means of earning money than that. They could keep guarding wealthy young girls, as Marcela had described, or merely ingratiate themselves to some low-ranking noble house. They would have no reason to target a party like the Invincible Wings, who were neither particularly wealthy nor special for a party of their standing, for the purposes of malfeasance. 

Of course, the story would be entirely different if it were the Wings who were chatting up a group of young girls. In that case, the male party would be entirely in the wrong.

At any rate, the Wings had not been at all concerned that they were being deceived. Or perhaps, they honestly wouldn’t have minded if they were…

And so, the Invincible Wings joined forces with the Wonder Trio.

***

“Icicle Javelin!”

“Air Cutter!”

“Icicle Lance!”

Ka-shunk!

Slash!

Thwunk!

“None of them have escaped.”

“No signs of any other monsters in the area.”

“Very good. Now then, let’s put these away.”

One after another, their quarry disappeared. This was their typical routine, one they had completed many times.

The men watched this, speechless.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” said Thanos to Marcela.

“Certainly. What is it?”

“Why would you join up with us, when you’re already so strong? Did you even need us? Couldn’t you all manage on your own?”

“Well, I mean, that would certainly be the case if nothing odd were to arise, but you never know what will happen. Suppose a number of goblins suddenly appeared from out of the woods or a swarm of death monkeys swooped down from the treetops? Or suppose another party we encountered tried to suddenly attack us as we passed them by.

“While we might be able to use silent-cast spells, magic cannot be worked at the speed with which a swordfighter can reflexively draw their blade, so if we suffered a surprise attack or were overrun at close quarters, we might not be able to respond in time. Even if there is only a one in one hundred chance of something like that happening, that one percent still happens, doesn’t it? Plus, who can say if that will happen on the one hundredth time, the fiftieth, or even the first? I suppose that’s all it is.

“By allying with you, we have lowered the chances of something disastrous occurring. If our typical chances of danger would be one in one hundred, multiply that by another hundred and you get one in ten thousand. Plus, we have other safety measures in place. Add those into the equation, and that one in ten thousand becomes one million, or even one billion.

“It only makes sense to raise one’s chances of making it to retirement age unscathed as high as possible, doesn’t it? ‘No matter how much it costs, or how much effort it takes, spare no expense if it means that you’ll come back home alive.’ That was what someone very dear once said to us. And so, we have to keep on without losing a single one of us, without letting any of us be hurt, until the day we see her again. She means so much to us—it is our proof that we believe in her.”

The Invincible Wings had no idea what to say.

Marcela’s words held such conviction, such deep devotion to her friends. They could not possibly argue, would not even dare interrupt. 

“As promised, we will give you half of the profits of what we’ve hunted. We have enough room in our storage to carry everything home whole, so why not avail yourselves of this opportunity?”

“Whaddya think, boys?!”

“Yeah!!!”

This was a rare chance to make a killing. Thanos’s party members couldn’t help but agree heartily.

***

“………”

The Invincible Wings stood, petrified, at the sight of the already-assembled camping tent, food and cooking utensils, and fortified bathhouse and toilets that appeared before them. Feeling bad that the boys would have to sleep in the grass while they were in a tent, the Trio decided to lend the young men their spare.

This was not the first time that the Trio had orchestrated such an arrangement, and they had seen such reactions many times before. As such, they were unbothered.

“Now then, would you give us some sword lessons after dinner? We can offer you a meal in return.”

The four men nodded firmly. 

Though they were offering them a place to sleep and the evening’s meal, the Trio had no intention of allowing the Wings to use their bathhouse or toilets. A maiden’s pride was not so easily set aside.

***

“Hold it! You can’t just move in like that! You all don’t have any power or stamina, and the swords you use are shorter than the average swordsman’s. When it comes down to it, you’re all mages, not swordswomen. What do you think you’re supposed to do if you have to fight like a swordsman?! A sword is used to aid, to check, and to ensnare!”

To their surprise, when it came time to start up the lessons, the Wings had some actually sound advice to offer to the Trio. Perhaps because they swiftly realized that, whether the foe was man or beast, the Trio would meet a swift end if they tried to win a fight with their sword skills alone…

Fortunately, the Trio were mages, their swords little more than a supplementary arm. The Wings showed a surprising amount of discernment in realizing that they ought not let the girls have too much confidence in their sword skills.

“Don’t rely on your swords in battle! You swing your sword only to keep enemies at a distance. It’s either that or something that you draw reflexively to interrupt an attack if someone gets the drop on you, or to buy time for you to launch your own counterattack. Use the immediate aftermath of the swing to gain some distance and cast one of your silent spells!”

The Trio had had to tip their hands somewhat for the sake of the lesson. They would only be seeing these men but the one time, and there was no chance of having to fight them in the future. Plus, no hunter would go around spilling personal information about someone they’d worked alongside. To do so would be practically suicidal, a sign to all those around them that they were trash who didn’t respect the rules or customs of their profession—and word could get around fast. (The only exception to this rule was sharing information about parties requiring special attention, which was a different matter entirely. Being communicative about this was a benefit to hunters all around.)

With all this in mind, the Trio saw fit to let the Wings in on their absurd storage magic capacity and silent casting, though they didn’t tell them about the special functions of their inventories, or the fact that their style of magic was especially high-powered. They also opted to keep mum about their alarm spells, their barrier magic, and their hot magic, just in case the other party decided to betray them and sneak into their tent in the middle of the night. Thankfully, it had never come to that, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Even if it might be cause for regret someday.

For whoever dared attack them, that was.

And so, the Wonder Trio had a lovely training session, with some unexpectedly sound advice from teachers so young.

***

Once practice was through and each of the parties had moved to their respective tents, the Trio began setting up some clappers. Additionally, they placed a small stand just inside the door of the tent and positioned a pot on top of it. If anyone were to attempt to sneak inside in the dead of night, they would knock over the pot, which would make a great sound. 

Of course, they had their magical protections in place as well, so even if an intruder should avoid the clappers, they would not be able to make it to the tent unnoticed; however, they were great believers in redundancy. Unlike Mile, they could not keep a barrier up for an extended amount of time, so it was important that they register the presence of any attackers well before they arrived.

Additionally, the three of them took turns standing watch, in three hour increments from the second evening bell until the first morning bell. This was of course not “standing” in a literal sense—they were not standing up outside of the tent or anything, merely sitting awake in bed. Indeed, they would lie under the covers with sword or staff in hand, sending out regular search magic pings. This was only natural to do, of course, as it was not just the men they needed to watch out for but also nocturnal monsters and wild beasts.

There was no real need for the Trio to go to these lengths—the Wings had told them that they would handle keeping watch all night—but no matter how reliable the allies they had chosen seemed, the Trio were neither trusting nor stupid enough to put so much faith in men they had only just met.

“Well, this turned out to be useful,” said Marcela.

The three of them chatted, snuggled up in their beds. The tent they had lent the young men was a fair distance away, so there was no worry of their hushed conversation being overheard.

“Yes, they probably registered as hunters first thing, when they were ten years old… Actually, they may have even fought their way up from the bottom, starting as G-rank apprentices,” Monika agreed.

Most lifers in the guild came from orphanages or city slums, doing small jobs both to earn some coin and hone their skills. Children from regular households rarely became hunters at so young an age.

Aureana was of the same mind. “They have a lot of skill for people so young. They’re particularly good, even for lifers.”

“I think we should stay in this town a while,” Marcela proposed. “It doesn’t seem like they’ve gotten the wrong idea about us, and if they can continue being gentlemen while they instruct us in combat, we can offer them half the profits for our quarry, which is a pretty good deal for the Invincible Wings.”

“Agreed!” said Monika.

“I concur as well,” said Aureana. “Chances aren’t high of us finding a better party around here, so sticking with them and learning all that we can is the best choice.”

“Well then, it’s decided. Now, please start the first watch, Miss Monika. We still can’t be certain that all of them truly are gentlemen…”

“On it!”

With that, Marcela and Aureana settled into bed, and the air soon filled with their gentle snoring. It was important for hunters to get a good night’s sleep.

I wonder if Adele is camping somewhere, too, right about now, thought Monika. She still had three hours until the change of watch and could not allow herself to fall asleep before then, so she spent the time reminiscing about their days at the Academy…

***

“Hey, Reina, you have a moment?”

“For what?”

“Could you put this armband on your right arm?”

“Huh? I mean, I guess… Okay, it’s on. Now what?”

“Now, tug on the armband with your left hand and repeat after me: ‘I’m with Judgment!’” 

“What is this supposed to be imitating?! I don’t get this at all!” 

It had been two weeks since the Crimson Vow’s return from the demon village on the northern end of the continent, and the four of them had returned to a normal life—or at least normal as far as they were concerned. Then again, even that expedition had been more or less a “normal” part of life for them.

Of course, Mile had not yet forgotten what happened in the kingdom of Aubram, the long narrow country that ran from east to west, briefly touching Tils at the northeast, where they had tackled a direct job request. If not for that incident, Mile would have been able to rest assured that the elder dragons’ actions were merely some arcane preparation for the recurrence of an ancient cataclysm, triggered by the holy maiden’s proposition. This was not merely some wild fantasy or delusion on the maiden’s part; it was the result of her exchanges with the nanomachines, who had lived through so much of history.

That said, even if this event were to recur, it was something from thousands, tens of thousands, or even many more years back in the past. This meant the chances of it occurring within the scant few decades of Mile’s life span would have been unbearably low. So, she could assume this was not really her problem. 

Or at least she could have, were it not for that incident.

A rift, connecting to another dimension. The artificial beings that were clearly using these rifts to try and draw powerful, purebred monsters into this world. All this indicated that the time the elder dragons feared was near—incredibly near. No, actually, it had already begun. This fact could not possibly be lost on Mile.

But what can I even do? Mile sunk deep into thought as she lay in her bed. I can worry over it all I like, but this whole thing is beyond me. Our opponents are in another world. We don’t know when or where they might appear; their identities, strength, numbers, and intentions are all unclear. There’s nothing I can do. The nanos, whom I usually rely on, don’t have much information about this, and they can’t interfere in any world outside of this one, except in the form of attack spells.

If they didn’t have their restrictions, I could probably have the nanos automatically launch an antiproton bomb or something the moment one of those rifts opens somewhere. Obviously, you’d want it to detonate after the rift closes, but you could probably set it to detonate thirty seconds after signal loss, and that would be safe enough. Giving it a thirty-second window instead of having it detonate immediately would also allow an emergency stop to be activated in the case of some unforeseen circumstance. I don’t think that would be enough time for them to dismantle the bomb or open up another rift and push it back through, though. 

Anyway, launching a bomb, much less an antiproton bomb, into another dimension, is definitely a “prohibited” item, so there’s no use dwelling on that…

Mile stared blankly for some time, not thinking about anything.

They still haven’t spoken to me. Guess this really is out of my hands.

This was typically the point at which the nanomachines would have said something to her. However, at present, they seemed intent on conveying that they would not say anything to Mile unless she spoke to them first, from which she drew certain conclusions.

Clearly we have to defend our own world ourselves. Even that higher life-form—that “god”—that revived me said he was not one to directly interfere. I suppose their kind must have some norms that they adhere to, things that they simply “should not” do, either morally or just in terms of some rule—even if they would be plenty capable of doing so, in terms of technology and ability.

At any rate, the only thing that I can do is try to make everyone else aware of the danger we’re facing, so that we can all work together to deal with the creatures coming through those dimensional rifts as swiftly as possible, lest they build some bridge from their world to ours, start breeding and proliferating, and wipe out or overthrow all life-forms in this world, starting with the humanoids…

At the very least, I’m not going to get very far doing things on my own. It is not my duty to do so. I mean, I do have some individual duties as a citizen of this world, but there’s no reason to stress myself out trying to take everything onto my own shoulders. We all need to work together to defend this world we live in. I’m merely a single cog in the machine, doing what I can within my own limitations.

I could make all the fuss I want shouting my head off about the “invaders from another world,” but no one would ever believe that. I need to figure out a better way to explain this, some way that will convince them all… But how?

Typically, invaders from other worlds would travel by some scientific means, or through a gate or by some interdimensional spacecraft, or else they’d be apparitions or some other kind of supernatural life-form. So, why the transformed monsters? And just when I thought maybe we’d get to meet the mastermind, all we get is some crappy robot, which didn’t even talk or have laser guns or anything…

I mean, I suppose it’s pretty useful to know that we’re dealing with an “intentional” attack at least, and that there’s a clear enemy to defeat, but that’s all that we really know… What would it mean for them to have done this over and over again since antiquity? To what end? Are they trying to migrate from a collapsing world? Looking to enslave others? Searching for food or resources? And, like, what if what’s on the other side of those rifts is actually the future of our own world?! Or a world colonized by our own ancestors who left so long ago?!

NO, THAT IS MOST CERTAINLY NOT THE CASE… spoke the nanomachines into Mile’s eardrums, sounding almost exasperated.

Oh, now you decide to butt in…

Mile’s representative nanomachine began speaking to her in its usual tone. Apparently, this internal conference of hers was an area in which they could intercede. 

DO YOU REALLY THINK IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT OUTRAGEOUS? IN BOTH OF THOSE SITUATIONS, THAT WOULD MEAN THE PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD KILLING THEIR OWN KIN. IN THE FORMER CASE, IT WOULD BE ANCESTORS AND PROGENY FIGHTING ONE ANOTHER, LEADING TO AN ANNIHILATION OF THE RACE NO MATTER WHO WON. SUCH AN ABSOLUTELY PREPOSTEROUS, HOPELESS—ER, WAIT. THE ODDS ARE INCREDIBLY LOW, BUT YOU’RE SAYING THAT THERE’S A CHANCE THAT SUCH A THING COULD OCCUR? SERIOUSLY?!

The representative nanomachine suddenly faltered, seemingly having received some sort of update from the nanomachine control center, which was apparently monitoring the conversation with Mile.

So it is possible…

YES, BUT THE ODDS ARE ESSENTIALLY ONE IN A NOVEMDECILLION… BUT WHY WOULD YOU LEAP IMMEDIATELY TO SUCH A NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE HELLSCAPE OF A THEORY? ARE YOU SOME KIND OF DEVIL?!

It was a dreadful way to put it.

No, that sort of thing just showed up a lot in my previous life…

WHAT THE HECK KIND OF A WORLD WAS THAT?! THAT’S A FATE WORSE THAN HELL ITSELF. NEVER SHOULD SUCH A WORLD EVEN EXIST!!!

No, I mean, that never actually happened, the idea just showed up a lot in stories…

For once it seemed that the nanomachine’s confusion was genuine, not simply feigned for the sake of changing the subject.

A world which, one way or another, had many times nearly come to an end.

Mile, who wished for nothing more than a quiet, average, normal life.

Step by step, more swiftly than anyone knew, that “end” was once again fast approaching.