111: Unexpected heroics, huh? Kinda surprising, right?

Zaid, the second son of Lord Bairoroad and older brother to Kyle, strutted in with a smug look.

You weren’t called for, idiot!

What’re you gonna do, huh?!

I didn’t even have to say it out loud—Zaid swung his cloak and raised his arm.

“Listen! From now on, I’m taking command of this battle!”

Huh?!

Zaid didn’t even notice our shock. He kept going.

“Break the bond between the adventurer and the lizardman!”

Wait—hold on!

It was me who paired the adventurer with the lizardman...

“Continuing this formation focused on wide-area scouting is pointless! The adventurers are to keep firing long-range attacks at that big brute! It’s just to draw attention—Raidock’s distraction!”

…Wait.

I’d been running over to stop Zaid’s interference, but I just froze, staring at his orders.

"Reptiles thrive in swamps! Move freely, disrupt that big brute! …Damn it, relying on the subhumans is a pain!"

Uh… wait. What?

Words sting, and I’m the one who’s supposed to be the one annoyed… Wait, what?

"My troops! Surround me! Protect that alchemist over there! Now!"

"Huh?"

I couldn’t help it—I actually made that dumb sound.

"Craft! The alchemist! Stop dawdling! Get over here—now! And you, priest over there too!"

"Y-Yes! Sir, yes!"

Me and Bep snapped to attention without thinking.

Not just the tone—sharp, commanding—but something deep inside said, *obey*.

Zaid glanced sideways at us, eyes cool, almost disdainful.

Hand on hip, he sighed, as if disappointed.

"Alchemist. I heard you can brew a potion in minutes. Make a Healing Potion right here, right now."

"Wha—?!"

Right here?!

This spot Zaid's standing in is the rear—still a battlefield!

"I—no, wait a second... Please! Not here—this place—"

"I said do it. Think about it. If the enemy’s made it this far with this much force, we’ve already lost."

"Y-yeah, I guess... but—"

True, if a Hydra got this far, it’d mean Raidock and the adventurers had already broken through.

Makes sense, logically...

"But I’m the one holding the front line together! If I don’t cast defense magic, the line’ll collapse!"

"Not needed. I’ve assigned the Cassper sisters to guard the B-rank adventurers."

"But—!"

"Enough! This isn’t the time for you to dabble in magic! Just get to work!"

"Ugh..."

I was pushed back by some strange force and started pulling out alchemy kettles and other gear from spatial storage, setting them up.

"Making potions’s fine, but no time to bottle them, right?"

"Useless. Just pour them into barrels. ……You there, priest! Bep, was it? From now on, I’m putting the wounded in your hands! Use the potions to heal the injured!"

"Y-yes..."

Bep reflexively agreed, overwhelmed by Zaid’s presence.

Zaid went on.

"Pull a few from the lizards! ……The female lizard squad that was guarding us—perfect. You lot focus only on bringing the wounded here! The males stay to cause chaos!"

Wait... what?

I mean, seriously... that was spot on, wasn’t it?

Zaid snapped his hand up.

"Blue-haired B-rank adventurer! You good now?!"

Raidock, healed by the cleric Marilyn of the Cassper sisters, staggered to his feet, eyes wide as he stared at Zaid.

“Ah… ah…”

“Then you’d best focus on attacking that hulking beast right now!”

“B-But…”

Raidock floundered. Couldn’t argue back against Zaid, a noble.

So I shout instead.

“Zaid-sama! Raidock’s the core adventurer! We need his orders!”

Zaid narrowed his eyes, glared at me.

“Idiot! That’s *why* he doesn’t give orders! Just tell the frontline adventurers what to do! Total command? That’s for the one who sees the whole picture!”

“Huh!?!”

Pissed off!

Pissed off—but seriously, damn, he’s right!

Even though I hate how he’s bossing everyone around… it’s still the best solution.

Zaid’s scolding was aimed at me, but Raidock flinched too, his head snapping up.

Raidock instantly steeled his expression.

“Zaid-sama! Take overall command! Everyone, follow Zaid-sama’s orders! I’ll handle frontline command!”

For a split second, everyone froze in shock—then they snapped back to attention.

“““Understood!!”””

Not so much trust in Zaid as in Raidock—everyone answered without hesitation, accepting whatever he’d decided.

A lot of stuff’s running through my head right now, honestly, but right now, I’ll just follow Zaid.

I mutter under my breath.

“Adventurer’s mindset… use whatever’s available… yeah.”

I was an adventurer once, after all.

◆

"Idiots! Adventurers, you're moving too far forward! You'll just get in the way of the silver-haired one! Those without flying gear—stay back and protect your allies! Don't attack!"

Zaid snaps his arm out, barking orders.

"Reptiles—move more! Scatter! Stay tight and you’ll all get hit at once! Throw your sharpened-oil spears, then fall back immediately and grab a new one! Your job’s disruption—but make sure you leave real damage on that big brute!"

Zaid keeps shouting orders.

"Priests! Don’t hoard your Healing Potions! And pour every bit of recovered magic into support spells for the silver-haired one!"

I’m dumping ingredients into the alchemy cauldron, pouring magic into it like I’m trying to drown the thing.

(Oh, for the love of—don’t tell me to stop being stingy now!)

I wanted to scream something like that—but damn it, the orders were spot on.

Every time I finished a barrel full of Healing Potions, Bepp would grab a ladle and douse the wounded as they were carried in, sending them straight back into the fight.

Sometimes, for those with infected wounds or injuries that looked bad, Bepp would cast Cure Poison right on them.

The Healing Potions went fast, sure—but Bepp’s magic reserves were building up.

With that surplus magic, he could cast strong support spells on Raidock, meaning Raidock stayed in peak form and actually fought effectively.

Yeah, I was swamped making potions—but the whole unit stayed stable.

It stung, but Zaid’s command was flawless.

Damn it, just like I expected from Kyle’s older brother! Seriously, exceeded my expectations!

Still, why all of a sudden?

The answer became a little clearer from Zaid’s next words.

“Damn it! Why are my three hundred soldiers just slowing us down!? Get back! You’re hindering the adventurers! Honestly! How is it that professional soldiers are being outmatched by day-labor adventurers!?”

Zaid is venting his frustration at the sergeant, but that’s the gist of it.

Guessing here, but Zaid probably saw his soldiers as equal to, or even better than, adventurers in strength.

The assumption was too high—his troops couldn’t keep up with his strategy.

But now that Raidock and the three Cassper sisters are on our side, that assumption’s been filled in.

Should I call him incompetent for not realizing our allies’ strength? Or should I praise him for showing such command when given the right subordinates?

……Not that kind of thing right now.

I shake it off, refocus my gaze on the battlefield.

The hydra’s heads still aren’t down, but the damage we’re inflicting is piling up faster than ever.

Even with its rapid healing, the eight-headed hydra can’t keep up—Raidock and Solar, backed by the Cassper sisters’ relentless assault, are piling on wounds it can no longer heal.

Then Jitarou returns, reloading his quiver.

He stuffs fresh arrows into the empty shafts, grinning as he does.

“Craft-san! We’ve got this one!”

No, wait—what the hell are you doing, flagging this already?!

The soul’s cry was in vain—like it had answered Jitarou’s voice, the hydra with five heads let out a single, thunderous roar.

"Wait!?"

What the hell was that!?

You get it? But one thing’s for sure… that’s gotta be serious trouble!

The swamp water rose in time with the hydra’s mournful roar.

Water swirled around the Hydra like a whirlwind, massive and relentless.

The sheer volume of water was staggering on its own. It was churning into a whirlwind, forming a wall.

Raidock muttered under his breath.

Damn it! Everyone, get back!

The amount of water was enough to cover a massive hydra. The lake’s water stood straight up in front of me like a mountain. No way I could reach it.

"Damn it!"

Craft! Eva! Can't you do something!?

Can't fix it! We should just run!

I shouted that, but I knew damn well I couldn’t do it.

“If we get flanked now, we’re dead—straight through!”

Raidock seemed to reach the same conclusion.

But… what now?

What the hell do we do!?

My thoughts were a mess when the water vortex trembled.

One meaning only.

“No way!”

Eva shrieked, already retreating.

I looked at her face—her spell flashed back in my mind.

“Everyone, gather here! Eva! The rose defense spell—make it big enough to cover everyone!”

Eva whirled around, eyes wide.

“It’s impossible! I don’t have that kind of magic—”

“Activate a magic circle in the air! All mages, all clerics! Anyone who can cast magic! Pour all your power into Eva’s circle!”

Zaid suddenly butted in, flustered.

“W-wait. What’s all this sudden—”

It’s coming! That giant mass of water, piercing the sky!

“What?!”

I don’t even spare Zaid a glance.

“Eva!”

“You can’t even set up the ritual magic formula, can you!?”

“Doesn’t matter! Just get the magic circle going! Otherwise we can’t channel the power!”

“Ugh… I don’t know how!”

Eva conjures a massive magic circle in midair.

To amplify magic through multiple users, ritual magic requires synchronized casting using a shared formula.

But what Eva’s doing now is just gathering raw magic.

Pouring raw magic into this circle will store it there.

“Alright! Pour everything you’ve got into it!”

“““Yeah!!”””

Magic-wielding adventurers raise both hands, funneling their remaining magic into the circle.

You good, Eva?!

"Everyone, get closer! We'll figure this out!"

Eva twisted the floating magic circle, rewriting it into a casting array.

The magic poured in will be used for the next spell—but since it's not a ritual, there's a lot of waste.

"Steel Thorn Prison!"

Steel thorns shot up from the ground around everyone gathered, encircling us completely.

Steel thorns, shaped like rose spikes, formed a wall all around us.

But this rose-shaped defense? Full of gaps.

"Can stop the water's force—but the water itself'll still get through!"

The key is how well we can weaken that pressure. Stay intact. Don't get washed away.

There are plenty of defensive spells. But only one like this—rooted deep into the earth—could possibly hold us all together. Otherwise, we're all just swept away.

...We're just gonna have to close our eyes and take it.

"Huh?"

Jitarou made a dumb sound, and right after, a massive wave of lake water slammed into us.

"Fight it! Fight it!"

In an instant, we were all underwater.

12/28, Volume 3 is out!

Take care!