My name is Rentan.
I’m a member of Miagard's Axe, an adventurer team with a decent reputation within the Demon Kingdom.
My role in the party is the "Wall." My primary duty is to protect the others from enemy attacks using my heavy plate armor and a custom-made shield. However, between the weight of that armor and the shield, I move about as fast as a glacier. I’m not exactly built for long-distance travel, either.
Because of that, there are times when I can’t participate in certain requests. It’s frustrating, sure, but it can’t be helped. A Wall isn’t much use for tracking people down or gathering medicinal herbs. Even caravan escort jobs are tricky because my slow pace is such a bottleneck. If the merchants would let me ride in their carriages, it might be a different story, but they’d much rather pack another crate of goods than waste a seat on me. If I were a merchant, I’d probably do the same.
If you ask me what kind of work actually suits my skills, I’d say base defense. Unfortunately, those requests are rare, and when they do come up, the rest of the team usually stays home. Beyond that... I’m good at holding the line—acting as the rearguard. I can take the tail end of a retreating group and prevent pursuit.
Wait, that’s not really a request type. That’s just a situation. And frankly, it’s a situation I’d prefer to avoid. Safety first—that’s my creed.
One day, our leader gathered the entire team. Including him, there were fourteen of us in total. This wasn't unusual; whenever we took on a job, he’d explain the details to everyone and then decide who was going. As I sat there hoping for a request I could actually join, I listened to the mission briefing.
The request was simple: go to a specific location, wait for a few days, receive a certain item, and bring it back. That was it. It was such a basic task it barely qualified as a request, yet the reward was staggering. I checked the figures twice, but there was no mistake.
Why would anyone pay this much for such a simple job? What was the catch? We all turned suspicious eyes toward Cokes, who was standing beside the leader. Cokes just shrugged his shoulders.
"It’s a designated request."
That explained it. It meant we had been hand-picked by someone we weren't allowed to turn down. If that was the case, we had no choice... but who was it? The level of trouble we were in depended entirely on the client. Cokes saw the look on my face and nodded.
"Our client is the Adventurer Guild Master from the Royal Capital."
...Good grief. That was the worst-case scenario.
I tried to bolt for the door immediately, but the leader anticipated my move and cut me off.
"Sorry, Rentan, but everyone is coming on this one. We’re all going to taste this misfortune together."
At the leader’s declaration, everyone except Cokes broke out in a chorus of boos.
The journey from the Royal Capital to Shashato City was a frantic sprint. We had gotten a late start because we’d spent so much time catching and "persuading" members who kept trying to desert. I thought it would have been fine to leave the ones who were truly terrified behind, but apparently, we needed a certain number of people for the mission. Maybe we were expecting a lot of heavy lifting?
A few of our members wanted to bolster our combat strength, but the beastman boys we were hoping to recruit were busy with another job and turned us down. Apparently, they were tied up in something involving nobles and couldn't move freely. Then again, all of those boys were nobles themselves.
As for our other adventurer colleagues, the moment they heard it was a designated request from the Royal Capital's Guild Master, they vanished. Heartless bastards. We decided right then and there not to buy them any souvenirs.
Our last hope was the Adventurer Guild in Shashato City. The Guild Master's toxic reputation had followed us all the way there, but we figured there had to be some thrill-seekers—excuse me, "lovers of adventure"—somewhere. That’s the mark of a true adventurer, after all. We didn't find any in the capital, but we believed they existed in Shashato. We had only one motto:
"The more people we drag down with us, the better!"
Go ahead and laugh at us for being the worst. We deserved it.
As it turned out, there were no "true adventurers" in Shashato City either. Dammit. At least the curry was as delicious as ever.
Holding onto a sliver of hope, we tried the guild in Village Five, but that was a bust too. It wasn't even a matter of bravery; the local adventurers were so busy exterminating monsters and magic beasts around the village that they wouldn't even listen to our pitch. The ramen there was quite good, though. Apparently, the proper way to eat it is with chopsticks instead of a fork. I should probably try to learn how to use those.
While I was busy escaping reality, it was time to move out for the mission.
"Is this the place?" the leader asked, checking with Cokes.
A beautiful coastline spread out before us, but something felt off. I’d worked out of Shashato for about six months and walked this area before, but I remembered it being much more rugged and cluttered. Even though we had brought heavy-duty gear for the terrain...
"It’s like the road was paved specifically to welcome us," Cokes noted. The rest of the team nodded in grim agreement. My sense of impending doom grew stronger.
Based on the rumors we’d gathered in Shashato and Village Five, a new dungeon had recently been discovered nearby. I wondered if the request was related to that.
"For now, standing out here makes me twitchy. Let's head into the forest," the leader suggested.
The request said to wait on the coast for a few days, but there was nowhere to hide out in the open. I was all for moving into the trees. We set up a base inside the forest and started with a meal. The spices we’d stocked up on in Shashato were a godsend. Good food is justice, after all.
We decided to take turns keeping an eye on the shore. I didn't know who was supposed to bring us the item, but our instructions didn't mention anything about a formal greeting. A little caution seemed appropriate.
Night passed, and the next morning arrived.
Cokes, who was on lookout duty at the shore, suddenly collapsed.
What?
Then, just as I saw his body tremble, he leaped to his feet and sprinted toward us with everything he had. I didn't understand what was happening at first, but then it clicked. Adventurers often carry magic items to counter monsters that use illusions, sleep, or forced unconsciousness. These items activate automatically to snap the user back to their senses.
The downsides are that they’re incredibly expensive, single-use, and they hurt like hell when they trigger.
Cokes reached us with tears streaming down his face, frantically using hand signs to tell us to run. Since he wasn't even risking a scream, I knew it had to be bad.
I realized exactly how bad it was a second later when my own magic item activated. It wasn't just "painful." It was agonizing. But there was no time to complain. I turned and fled, leaving every piece of luggage I had at the base.
I processed the situation as I ran. What I had seen was a massive beast. A wolf. But it wasn't just a wolf—I’d bet my life on it. That thing was a walking natural disaster. And what was that riding on its back? That entity must have been what forced us unconscious. It was likely a Stan Bash. I only knew a few monsters capable of that, and every one of them was a nightmare that required a specialized raid team to handle.
A wolf carrying something like that... that’s the kind of force that could wipe a city off the map. This was bad. Truly, terrifyingly bad. Shashato City and Village Five were right nearby. If I thought about the people living there, we probably should have stayed to fight. If it were possible.
But it wasn't. Even if all fourteen of us were in full plate and ready for a fight, we wouldn't stand a chance. The gap in power was absolute. I don't know if anyone can understand the feeling of wanting to give up on everything and just let death take you.
But I didn't want to die. I still had things to do. I wanted to get married. That was my modest dream. I wanted to get married and have a home full of children! I didn't have a partner yet, but I knew she had to be out there somewhere. I couldn't die here!
...There was one more thing I forgot to report. Those wolves with the formidable riders? There wasn't just one. I didn't stop to count, but there were at least ten pairs of them.
Hahaha. It was like the end of the world.
But I was going to survive. Farewell, my trusty shield. Farewell, my favorite armor. I didn't even need my sword!
Between Shashato and Village Five, which one had a stronger garrison? Definitely Village Five. Their Security Team was legendary for their training. The rest of the team clearly reached the same conclusion; everyone was sprinting toward Village Five.
I’m going to make it! I’m going to outrun them!
Then, despair caught up. Cokes looked back and let out a shriek. It was a rookie mistake—what was the point in looking back? We just had to keep our eyes forward and run. That was the rule.
But I couldn't resist the fear. I looked back, too.
........................
Two women were gliding through the sky, heading straight for us.
I knew those faces. Everyone did. The Vampire Princess Lulushi and the Annihilation Angel Tia. They were celebrities, known as disasters that eclipsed even the monsters behind us. They were the two people you absolutely, under no circumstances, should ever cross. I’d only known them by reputation before, but their warning portraits were posted all over Shashato and Village Five.
The fact that they were coming from the same direction as the wolves meant they were either with them or, more likely, the ones in charge of them. God is truly cruel.
The members of the team made eye contact in silence and nodded. Then the leader screamed.
"Scatter! Every man for himself!"
Lu and Tia drifted through the air, watching the chaos below.
"Hey, aren't those the adventurers the Demon King set up? Why are they running away?" Lu asked.
"I’m not sure, but we should probably try talking to them first. Lu-san, if you would?"
"Fine, fine. Heeeey! You adventurers down there—!"
Her call was answered by a chorus of terrified screams.
"I think your voice might have been a bit scary, Lu-san," Tia teased.
"There’s no way. Anyway, I don't know what their problem is, but this is a hassle. Should we just leave them be?"
"We could, but wouldn't that disrupt the plan?"
"I guess so. Fine, we'll just have to catch them."
"Agreed. ...Oh, look, they’ve scattered."
"That’s because you were blatantly getting ready to fire off Wide-area Magic," Lu pointed out.
"It was Chantless, so I didn't think they’d notice. I suppose that means they’re fairly high-level adventurers."
"Seems like it. Want to see who can catch the most?"
"Fufu. I won't lose."
The ordeal of Miagard's Axe had only just begun.