第１７７３堀：砦建設部隊出発直前 (Part2)
"Well, I suppose some children just aren't cut out for academics. Besides, everyone is free to choose their own path, and it’s only natural to aspire to be an adventurer, isn't it? Even Mauve and his group are attending classes."
"It’s not about their choices, but the sheer nerve required to ignore my brother’s generosity. I understand that adults are complicated creatures, but the day I could ever hope to emulate my brother’s magnanimity feels impossibly far away."
I am truly, deeply grateful for my brother’s vast tolerance, though I never cease to be astonished by it. Had it been me, I would have cast those fools out of Weed long ago.
"Ahaha, I don't think any of us could ever be like Yuki-san, could we?"
"Don't even try. That man has a few screws loose, after all."
As Tori-onesama says, it is a difficult ideal to reach, but it is one worth striving for. I intend to become an adult with that kind of composure. As for Holly’s opinion, it is clearly nothing more than sour grapes after being utterly dismantled by my brother.
"Well, putting that aside—the party seems rather small for an expedition. Are we the only three moving out?"
"The monster research team doesn't need to be on the road with us; they have heavy equipment to manage. They’ll be waiting back in Weed."
"So, it’s not as if the researchers have it easy, then?"
"Of course not. They’re investigating things beyond our wildest imaginations. Though, Holly, I imagine you have some knowledge of monsters yourself. Come to think of it, did you feel anything particular about the monsters or this region, Holly?"
Now that he mentions it, Holly was once on the side of those leading monsters to assault humanity. I am curious if she sensed anything upon arriving here in Ohe, this New Continent.
"Not a thing."
Holly answers without a moment’s hesitation.
"Er—when you say 'not a thing'..."
While I stand there stunned by her bluntness, Tori-onesama presses for clarification. Quite right. The phrase "not a thing" could easily be preceded by an unspoken "I know it all like the back of my hand." Surely she couldn't mean "not a thing" in the sense of being completely ignorant...
"I mean I haven't the faintest clue. I’m no scholar, after all."
"That may be, but you were a Demon Lord, weren't you?"
I nod in agreement with Tori-onesama’s point. To have led such a vast legion of monsters, and even gone so far as to undergo bodily modifications to integrate monster elements into her own flesh—to claim she knows nothing is...
"I mean, I know how to issue commands and perform basic modifications because that’s what I’ve always done, but I’ve never actually seen a monster in this land of Ohe. I can’t tell you anything for certain."
" "Ah." "
That was true, wasn't it? We had heard that the monster damage in Ohe was severe, but Weed’s only real engagement thus far had been the war against humans in the northern town. Aside from the time my brother and Tsunai-san faced monsters on the road, none of us in Weed have truly crossed blades with them. We have been flying drones about and conducting surveys for the fortress construction, so we have data, but that is the extent of it. Since Holly is in the same position, it is only natural that she knows nothing.
"Well, given that background, I suppose that’s why I was stationed at a fortress focused primarily on monster research and defense."
"I see. So you’re meant to go 'bam!' with your Demon Lord powers, then?"
"I don't have any such convenient abilities. Deryu would be better suited for that, if anything."
"Come to think of it, Deryu is on standby in Weed for emergencies, right?"
"Yes. Deryu-onesama is waiting back in Weed."
Deryu-onesama is, after all, one of Weed’s supreme combat assets. She is slated to be deployed wherever she is needed most. She isn't exactly cut out for command or logistics, but as a singular force of destruction, she is peerless. It is simply a matter of how she is utilized.
As we spoke, the time for departure arrived, and the soldiers began to assemble.
"Right then, let’s get moving. It seems Tsunai-san’s subordinates are waiting for us."
"Indeed. I just hope we encounter some monsters along the way."
"Given that we’re traveling by vehicle, I think that’s unlikely."
After all, our priority is reaching the southern town, not getting bogged down in the forest. Anything in our path would simply be run over. And so, we departed from the northern town. What awaits us in the southern lands? We have to confirm the extent of the damage in the southern town first, so I can only hope we can make it through the wilderness without incident.