About sixty mercenaries are walking outside the city spreading around in a circle.

  The peddlers and adventurers, who don’t know the reason, are looking at them strangely as they walk along the highway.

  「Orcs! Orcs came out!」


  「Whew!」


  「Now!」


  「Ah, one survived! Black beast!」


  The mercenaries who are searching on places away from the highway occasionally encounters monsters. However, these monsters are killed almost instantaneously because there are also other mercenary groups in the area.

  「There are a group of goblins!」


  「Uhhhh! Got it!」


  「I’ll shoot arrows! Get out of there!」


  「Gyaa!」


  As expected of mercenaries who are earning money from war. They are steadily searching while hunting monsters.

  Maa, they occasionally screw up too.

  「Oi! That doesn’t look like it!?」


  「That’s not it! I was mislead by the peddler!」


  「Orc subspecies are flocking over there!」


  「Are we seriously going to hunt that!? Let’s ask for help!」


  Such conversations can be heard from the mercenaries nearby.

  「I’ll go.」


  They suddenly became noisy when I volunteered myself.

  When we arrived in that nearby place, many mercenaries are there. The sight of 20 orc subspecies was unfolded.

  「Retreat! Magic will be casted!」


  When I shout so, the mercenaries in front split to the left and right in an orderly manner.

  「Flamebane」


  When I casted the fire magic, a ribbon of flame slides down to the orcs from the sky.

  All of the orcs who were contacted by the ribbon burnt to death in an instant.

  Various reactions came out from the mercenaries. There were those who are shocked, those who screamed because of fear and those who cheered.

  「Th-thank you very much!」


  「ah」


  I replied to the young man who looks like about 20 years old then I moved away from there.

  We are divided into three search parties.

  In this party, there are me, Rihanna, and Keira.

  Dan and Sherry are in a party with Marina and Anri.

  Last party is the silver wind without Marina.

  These three parties are defending and moving with the mercenaries.

  The movement of the mercenaries is also better than I thought. Although we haven’t found one yet, the search is definitely advancing.

  When the sky started to darken, the mercenaries started preparing to camp.

  We gathered in a place away from the city.

  Now that the east is a part of the empire, we chose this place.

  Everyone here knows each other so if anything happens, we will surely be alarmed.

  「What’s the movement of the saint army?」


  When I asked her while thrusting a stick in the bonfire, Rihanna groaned and replied.

  「…Because a considerably large army from the empire joined them, their marching speed should have slowed down. However, if the saint army advances alone…they might already be deep in the territory.」


  Rihanna says so while having a clouded expression.

  Somehow, I also become silent while watching the fire.

  I felt pressure because of the fact that my guild members can’t move. The fact that Rihanna is fighting the evil god with me also adds pressure.

  「…Maa, don’t worry. We’ll somehow manage.」


  When I say so, Rihanna kept being silent then nodded and smiled.

  Though the sun is already rising, most of the sky is still dark blue. A man riding a horse came into our camp.

  「Ren-sama! Is Ren-sama here!?」


  The one shouting from the brown horse is a man in iron armor.

  I’m not sure if I have met him already but he’s probably one of those mercenaries.

  Shortly after he arrived, the man dismounted his horse while looking around. Keira approached the man.

  「Ren-sama is here. What business do you have with him?」


  When Keira asked, the man looked at Keira then opened his mouth.

  「W-we found two who seems to be the evil god! Multiple mercenaries are monitoring them from a distance including our mercenary group!」


  「…Is that so? Let’s head there right away.」


  After hearing the man’s report in a heavy atmosphere, I replied.

  「Two bodies…!」


  「At the same time, no way …」


  While Brunhilde and Meldia muttered those, Oguma looked at me.

  「…Are you going to face them alone as planned?」


  「No, if there are two Hastur, ever I can’t defeat them. Therefore, I need you to attract the attention of the other one so it will not come to me too.」


  「We’re just going to devote ourselves to defence, right?」


  「Ah, you can attack it but you don’t have to put power to it. Be careful not to get too close because it can attack with no chant magic. Hastur can shoot thunderbolt from its palm. You can avoid it magic if you constantly move on its back.」


  「Ah, then my mithril shield…」


  「You can receive it with that since it can cut down its power but it will take too much toll on your physical strength. Use the shield as the last resort.」


  I brief everyone on how to fight against the evil god and headed towards the site.

  It is in the northern side of the eastern territory.

  It is a meadow near a foot of a mountain.

  Inside the deep green waist deep grassland is Hastur.

  It looks like a silver-haired man wearing an old beaten armor.

  It has its eyes directed downwards and is walking as if uncertain of the step it will take.

  And there are a lot of octopus-like tentacles coming in and out of its mouth.

  「… That…」


  Someone muttered so.

  I looked at the man on the horse and nodded silently.

  「What about the other one?」


  「It’s about a minute or two from here!」


  The man briefly answered my question.

  「That’s close. Then, can I depend on everyone to accompany it? Please lure it away from here.」


  「Yes!」


  When I gave the instruction, everyone replies and began moving to the place where the other Hastur is.

  「May the fortune of war…」


  「Please take care.」


  Rihanna and Keira said so and left.

  「…I also do my best! Don’t lose, Ren-sama!」


  「Please be relieved. We’ll make sure to lure it and earn time.」


  「…I will do my best.」


  Sherry, Dan, and Anri said so and left.

  「Let’s do it.」


  「I’ll have to show the power of adventurers.」


  「Leave it to me.」


  「Please be careful not to get injured.」


  「…We’ll go.」


  And the silver wind said so and left to face Hastur.

  In a distance, several mercenaries surrounds us as spectators.

  I looked at Hastur and take out my sword.

  「…Now, are you different from the one in the game? Or are you the same as the one in the game?」


  When I murmured so and turned the tip of my sword to Hastur, Hastur slowly turned towards me.

  I put up three barriers with no chant. Hastur widened its eyes and recognized me as an enemy.

  Immediately after, countless of tentacles came out from Hastur’s mouth and its eyes turned yellow.

  「In the game, it recognizes someone who attacks it as enemy…good. Did it assume that I will?」


  After I said that, it dashed out at once.

  ********************