A sudden ambush by messengers of the War King—following the defeat of Eta and Theta at the hands of Sieg-san and Anima, the Baron-class High-ranking Demon Sigma finally broke his silence and began to move.
And then, as if to wedge herself into the middle of the mess, an extreme idiot appeared as a reinforcement.
"Isn’t my treatment a bit too harsh?!"
Don't snap at my inner thoughts...
At any rate, I was grateful in my own way that Alice had come to help. Based strictly on her behavior up until now, I suspected she might actually be quite strong.
"Now then, now then, where is Kaito-san’s enemy?"
"You came here without even understanding the situation?!"
"Well, to be blunt, I’ve actually been here since around the time that 'furry one' appeared... but while I was busy thinking up a cool catchphrase, the situation changed so much it surprised me!"
"..."
Can I really rely on this person?
Still in her mascot costume, Alice peered around the area. When she noticed Sigma’s presence, she tilted her head—or rather, her entire body—significantly.
"...Kaito-san, isn't that a High-ranking Demon?"
"He says he’s a Baron-class High-ranking Demon..."
"Oh, I see. Only Baron-class? That’s a relief."
"...You jester over there, what are you trying to say..."
Hearing Alice speak in such a relaxed voice while clapping the costume’s oversized hands together, Sigma’s expression twisted into one of clear displeasure. Though, to be fair, Alice was called a jester the moment they met.
"No, I mean, Count-class High-ranking Demons and above are literal monsters, right? I thought that might be a bit tough... so I’m glad he 'looks weak.'"
"...You... Are you mocking me?"
Hearing Alice’s leisurely declaration, a vein popped on Sigma’s forehead. The fact that he didn't strike immediately—was it his pride as a warrior, or perhaps because Alice hadn't even taken a combat stance yet?
Facing Sigma, Alice turned around with perfect composure, took a step forward... and then collapsed to her knees.
"Guh, ugh..."
"Alice?!"
What happened?! I didn’t see anything move, but could an attack have already landed?
"O-Of all times, my old injury..."
"Old injury?"
I thought she’d been hit by an attack so fast it was invisible, but that didn't seem to be the case. Alice simply extended her hand to the side, and a sphere about the size of a baseball appeared above it.
"Of all times... if only I had the 'sales from this Latest Model Portable Lighting Magic Tool 1000R,' I could defeat a guy like that easily..."
"..."
"Damn it, I have no choice but to watch Kaito-san and the others get taken down!!"
...This brat. She completely understood the situation and was shaking me down.
I silently approached Alice, took the magic tool from her hand, and placed a silver coin in its stead. Immediately, Alice stood up as if nothing had happened.
"I won't allow anyone—not a single soul—to harm Kaito-san! Come at me, you lowlife!!"
"..."
Wait, I’m being saved by Alice right now, aren’t I? What is this feeling... I have a powerful urge to punch the back of her head.
"Is the farce over? Then, die!"
"What?!"
In that instant, Sigma had already closed the distance, appearing right before Alice’s eyes. Then, a high-speed strike released from a drawing stance sliced Alice’s body in two diagonally from below.
"Alice?!"
"Aliceeeee!!"
"...Hm?"
I shouted reflexively upon seeing it, but for some reason, I heard another voice right next to me.
"How tragic! To think that Alice could be defeated so easily... This is the appearance of a truly formidable foe! Kaito-sa—Ouch?!"
"...What are you doing?"
Before I knew it, Alice had shed her costume and was standing next to me in her opera mask outfit, joking around as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I dropped a fist onto her head. Rubbing her scalp where I’d hit her, Alice spoke with a somewhat exasperated tone.
"I mean, he was so slow... and I had plenty of time before he got here, so I decided to join the spectator side for a bit."
"...I am slow? You certainly talk big, jester."
"Well, you know, I am a jester after all, and I just can't get into the mood without a fanfare."
Sigma’s irritation was clearly mounting as he readjusted his stance. Alice, still seemingly composed, whispered to herself while pulling a pocket watch from her clothes.
"Three... two..."
"You, just what are you—wha?!"
Just as Sigma wore a suspicious expression at her strange behavior, the remains of the costume lying at his feet began to glow.
"One... boom."
The roar and a flash of light swallowed Sigma’s body.
"You jester! Playing such petty tricks!"
Sigma shouted venomously while brushing away the smoke kicked up by the explosion. Several knives flew through the haze toward him.
"Tch!"
However, Sigma was indeed a Peerage-class High-ranking Demon; he quickly batted down the incoming knives. As he knocked away every blade flying through the smoke, he attempted to move away from the area of poor visibility. In that split second, he heard a faint whistling of air and moved his sword behind his neck.
"Oh? You blocked that?"
"...Don't underestimate me. (This girl... did she completely erase her presence? A member of a stealth force? This poor visibility is dangerous.)"
Sigma parried the knife swung down from his blind spot and used the return stroke to keep Alice at bay while moving away from the blast site. Unlike before, Alice approached Sigma from the front without any tricks.
"I’ve got you!"
"Hup."
"What?!"
Faced with a charge that was fast but full of openings, Sigma swung his sword horizontally. Alice ducked low... sinking her body almost to the ground to evade it. Then, placing one hand on the ground, she flipped her body and launched a kick toward Sigma’s face from that position.
It was an extremely tricky move, but Sigma predicted the trajectory and reacted quickly to evade it—or so he thought, until a hidden knife sprang from the toe of the shoe Alice was wearing.
"?!"
"Whew... Even that only grazed you? You’ve got quite the reaction speed."
The strike from the hidden knife didn't land a direct hit. Alice quickly spun her body to recover her footing and backstepped to put distance between them. With Sigma’s physical abilities, a follow-up attack was possible, but he didn't pursue. Instead, he stood his ground and glared sharply at Alice.
"...You are a person of many tricks."
"Why, thank you."
"...(She aims accurately for my vitals. And with incredible proficiency... An assassin?)"
Sigma was gauging Alice’s strength through that exchange. She was fast, but her power wasn't that great. She was an opponent who was light on her feet and unleashed tricky attacks.
"I have a general understanding of your power now. Indeed, your speed is remarkable for a human... but it is not at a level that can match me. In the next exchange, you will die."
"It’s not very convincing when you say that with a cut on your face. Actually, it just makes you look like a klutz."
"You... Fine. That’s enough of your backtalk. That speed you’re so proud of... I shall show you with my fastest strike that it is, in the end, nothing more than the limit of the human species."
Saying this, Sigma lowered his center of gravity and took a drawing stance while gathering his magic power. An ultra-high-speed strike released by the physical abilities of a Baron-class High-ranking Demon—it was a blow that had already far exceeded the level humans could perceive. Sigma believed this would end it.
He closed the distance of about five paces in an instant. The blow that was meant to harvest Alice’s life was released—no, it wasn't.
"...Wh...at?"
"Did I ever say that the speed I showed earlier was my top speed?"
The moment Sigma tried to shift into his attack, Alice was already standing before him, her foot pinning down the pommel of his sword. Faced with Sigma’s now-genuine shock, Alice calmly swung the knife in her hand.
"Guh?! Curse you!"
"...Was that too shallow?"
Sigma leaped backward to dodge the strike aimed at his neck, but he couldn't evade it completely, and blood flowed from his throat.
"Your very premise is wrong. It’s true that, as a species, humans are inferior to most demons in physical ability. But that doesn't automatically mean we can't win."
Alice spoke while smiling flippantly. Sieglinde, who was watching the scene from a distance with me—witnessing what looked like Alice completely overwhelming a Baron-class High-ranking Demon—spoke with astonishment.
"What... strength."
"Sieg-san, is that magic?"
"Yes, likely a magic that pushes speed alone to its absolute limit... But with such terrifying speed, a human’s dynamic vision shouldn't be able to control it..."
"But Alice is doing it right now..."
"Yes, it’s unbelievable. She is... probably stronger than Lili. She has clearly exceeded the limit of what it means to be human."
Alice’s combat power was something even Sieglinde, a veteran warrior, found hard to believe. Under that astonished gaze, Alice spoke quietly to Sigma.
"There are so many of you High-ranking Demons called Peerage-class who are like this. People who are overconfident in their own power... who believe without a doubt that their abilities are superior to humans... To me, you’re good prey."
"...Indeed, I must revise my assessment. You are strong... You are not an opponent I can defeat if I lose my composure."
"Right you are."
"However, you’ve talked too much. Thanks to that, I have been able to regain my calm."
Sigma had previously viewed Alice as an inferior opponent, so it could be said he had been careless. But through the previous exchange and Alice’s words, he had managed to regain his cool. If one considered pure combat power, Alice was significantly inferior to Sigma in everything except speed. If he remained calm, stayed on guard, and attacked steadily, it would become difficult for her to win.
However, hearing Sigma’s words, Alice didn't seem particularly panicked. A smile played on her lips.
"That’s not a problem... because 'it’s already over.'"
"What?"
"...Since we're here, I’ll tell you my epithet."
As she spoke, Alice threw a knife down at her own feet. At Sigma’s feet, his shadow transformed into countless spears, skewering his body.
"Gah?! Hah?!"
"...Shadow Edge... Well, it’s not like you really need to remember it."
Alice turned her back on the fallen, skewered Sigma, muttering with a lack of interest. The opponent was a Baron-class High-ranking Demon—an elite who would be counted among the strongest even in the Demon Realm. Yet, the result was that Alice had controlled the pace from beginning to end, and he had been defeated without landing a single blow.
"Whew, that was a tough enemy."
"...Alice, you were actually amazing."
"Eh? What’s that? Why do you sound so surprised?! What exactly did you think of me until now!"
"Just an idiot."
"Kaito-san, aren't you a bit too harsh toward me?!"
Seeing Alice, who had ended up winning overwhelmingly, I called out to her in surprise... but she was her usual self.
"Did he... die?"
"No, I made sure to miss his vitals. Otherwise, it felt like I’d get lectured by Kaito-san."
I let out a sigh of relief at her laughing words. I thought it might be naive of me to feel that way about an enemy who had attacked us, but I still didn't want to see someone die.
"Well, after this, I’ll just squeeze out the reason why he attacked Kaito-san—"
"Alice?"
"Ah... Kaito-san, can I actually just go home? As expected, I can't win against that..."
"Eh?"
The composure Alice had shown until now vanished, and a bead of sweat appeared on her forehead. Feeling uneasy at her unusual state, I shifted my gaze in the direction Alice was looking.
Walking slowly toward us from down the road was another figure. It was an old man, a giant who must have been well over two meters tall, clad in armor that looked incredibly heavy. In his hand, he gripped a massive axe, and combined with the sound of his armor, he radiated an intense intimidation.
"Honestly, I told them not to be so hasty for merit, and not to misinterpret Megiddo-sama’s will..."
"No way... Could it be... that’s 'Iron-blooded Bacchus'..."
Seeing the old man, who spoke with a calm voice that carried the weight of deep experience, Sieg-san whispered while trembling. Iron-blooded Bacchus... seeing Alice and Sieg-san’s reactions, I understood that he was a terrifying opponent.
As if sensing my question, Alice answered in a tense voice.
"One of the five Count-class High-ranking Demons serving the War King... a member of the Five War Generals... To put it bluntly, he’s a monster."
"...You mean he’s a dangerous opponent..."
"It’s beyond dangerous. High-ranking Demons of Count-class and above are in a completely different league. He has the power to blow away an entire city..."
A powerhouse strong enough to blow away a city—no matter how I thought about it, this was too dangerous. In the air thick with tension, Bacchus turned toward me and gave a wry smile.
"Miyama Kaito... My apologies. My subordinates have been rude."
"...Eh?"
"Goodness, the youth these days are so hot-blooded, it’s a bother... Allow me to apologize on their behalf."
"Ah, no..."
Bacchus’s words, spoken not with hostility but as if he were making small talk, made me nod in a fluster.
"Honestly, even with a barrier in place to prevent the Death King or the World King from detecting us... harming you would only result in being killed later. To think they didn't even understand that... I should have cautioned them more strictly."
"..."
"...But well, what’s done is done. Though it is selfish of me given that the fault lies with us... I am sorry, but as my subordinates were defeated, I cannot simply return home empty-handed."
From Bacchus’s body, a magic power like a gale-force wind was released.
"Forgive me, but I shall have to ask you to exchange blows with me as well... warriors of humankind."
"...Kaito-san, this is bad. There’s no chance of winning this. Can’t you call for some super-powerful reinforcements or something with your Luck Power?"
"If I could do that, I would have done it ages ago!"
Seeing Bacchus calmly ready his great axe, Alice let out a frantic voice, while Sieg-san and Anima were frozen in tension. The opponent was an existence with enough power to erase a city; there was no move left to make.
While it wasn't a conscious action, before I knew it, I had taken a step in front of the three of them, positioning myself to shield them. I knew it was a foolish thing to do, and it wasn't like I had a plan... but I didn't want the three of them to be hurt.
However, seeing my action, Bacchus wore an expression that looked somewhat impressed.
"Ho... I thought you were just a mere youth, but to step forward after seeing my magic power, you have quite a bit of spirit. And you’ve made a good read... Indeed, if you stand there, it puts me in a difficult position."
I didn't understand what he was saying. I hadn't stepped forward with any particular thought in mind, yet Bacchus said it would be difficult for him and that I’d made a good read.
"Megiddo-sama told us to bring you to him... but he did not say we could harm you. If harming you were to go against Megiddo-sama’s intentions... I would be killed. In other words, I cannot attack you..."
"..."
"But that is only... if I cannot attack while excluding you. My, my, it’s hard on these old bones... but I suppose I shall have to move quickly and slip past you."
I thought I’d seen a ray of hope, but that wasn't the case as Bacchus took a leisurely step toward us. The opponent was a Count-class; he was likely far faster than the Sigma from before. Furthermore, he showed not a single opening or sign of carelessness. There really was nothing I could do.
"Everyone, please run—"
"I refuse."
"Even if it is Master’s command, I cannot obey that."
"Well then, I’ll be off—Ah, no, I’m kidding. I’ll stay too."
I thought I’d give up on being taken to the War King and at least have the three of them escape, but I was rejected. Well, one of them actually tried to leave normally, but she was glared at by Sieg-san and Anima and hurriedly stood in front of me.
"I guess Kaito-san’s Luck Power didn't go off after all... Looks like we have no choice but to brace ourselves."
And just as the hopeless battle between Bacchus and the three was about to begin, a quiet voice echoed.
"...I see, 'Luck Power' is a fitting way to put it. The fact that I happened to be passing by may be entirely due to Kaito-sama’s talent for calling upon opportunity."
"...Eh?"
"Mm..."
Hearing a familiar voice, I saw a single shadow standing before us before I even realized it. Appearing as if she were on her way back from shopping, holding a paper bag in one hand, the figure spoke quietly to Bacchus.
"As you may know, as a maid who devotes every fleeting moment to the execution of my duties, I dislike unnecessary steps. Therefore, I shall give only one warning."
"...Ein...-san?"
"...I recommend surrender."
Dear Mother, Father—They say it’s just one thing after another, and now a Count-class High-ranking Demon has appeared, putting us in a truly desperate situation. However, it seems luck hasn't abandoned us yet—the strongest maid has appeared.