The three idiots who couldn't become heroes are preparing a man's meal today as well. - Chapter 44

Episode 44: Azuma

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Amazing, amazing, truly amazing.

As expected, our leader isn’t normal.

Such a sight was spread out before me, making me think that way.

A monstrous turtle I had never seen before.

Even the attacks of a “Hero” had no effect on it, and it brought devastating damage to us.

While everyone panicked, crying out for salvation—

He alone was different.

“Support units, move the injured to the back! Forget about buffing for now! If you can move, listen up!!”

He alone showed everyone the way.

Among all these Walkers, Kita-kun kept issuing commands.

And to me as well—

“Bon voyaaaage!!”

Kita-kun, Gil-san, and Kyle-san.

Following the orders, I threw the three of them toward the turtle, and they leapt over our allies and dashed forward.

Amazing, truly amazing—our leader is.

Just like the protagonist of a story.

He had always been like that, never once faltering, no matter how terrifying the opponent was.

I had always been—no, even now, I am weak-hearted.

Despite being blessed with a large physique, if someone outright denied me, I would shrink away.

I learned judo, practiced martial arts—

But that weak heart of mine never changed.

I still clearly remember being bullied as a child as if it were only natural.

Of course, it made sense.

A big guy who was always timid—I was the perfect target.

Yet, they were the only ones who reached out a hand to me.

“You look strong, but you never fight back, huh? Why?”

“Because… it’s scary…”

“Ah, I see. You’re scared of hurting the other guy, huh? Got it! Then you just focus on protecting! While you do that, Nishida and I will knock them out!”

Saying that, he grinned.

Honestly, at first, his bossy attitude terrified me.

But before I knew it, being by their side felt the most natural.

Elementary school, middle school, high school—

As I spent time with them, I ended up experiencing countless fights.

But I always focused solely on protecting.

Making sure that their opponents never aimed their fists at them, drawing their attention, holding them down.

That was the only role I played, and I spent my time with them that way.

And that’s why I am who I am now.

“Protect.”

That one thing I specialized in.

Even after becoming an adult, it never changed.

Kita-kun and I worked at the same company, and just like at school, a different kind of “bullying” arose.

We worked at a plumbing company that was basically just hard labor, forced into grueling physical work every day.

Sucking up to seniors and foremen, doing endless tasks, being burdened with unreasonable demands.

I’m sick of it.

In an environment where you could snap at any moment—he was the reason I was able to endure.

“Man, this place sucks. We work this hard, and our pay doesn’t even go up. Oh yeah, I got scouted by another company the other day! Wanna come with me, Azuma? They said they actually appreciate what we do in the field! The salary’s only slightly better, but it’s still way better than this, right?”

Whenever a conversation like this came up, he always made sure to invite me.

That was just how Kita-kun was.

“Yeah, maybe changing jobs isn’t a bad idea. I mean, working this much and not even making 200,000 yen is rough… Hopefully, the next place will be better.”

Muttering that, I placed my hopes in the new workplace he introduced.

In the end, the salary was better, but it was a job where I barely had time to spend money.

Even so, we got through it together.

Then came Nishida-kun’s suicide attempt, and we started thinking about how we wanted to live.

Honestly, in modern society, it felt inevitable.

But we are human.

If we’re treated like slaves, we’ll get frustrated. If the pay isn’t fair, our motivation will drop.

And in such an environment, of course, bad things were bound to happen.

“This deadline is impossible! This is just too much! Do you even realize how many days everyone’s been working without a break?!”

The company president brought in an absolutely insane project.

A job that normally took months to complete, he wanted it done in a month—or even just a few weeks.

The moment the announcement was made, Kita-kun fiercely objected.

“You say it’s impossible because you keep thinking it is. You sure talk big, Kitayama. You’re not even a site supervisor—what makes you think you can say that?”

“We know because we’re the ones on the ground! I’m telling you, it’s just not feasible in this time frame! And if we keep working without breaks, mistakes will pile up, and in the end, it’s the company that’ll suffer for it!”

“A damn high school graduate like you doesn’t get to run your mouth!”

In front of all the employees, the president raised his fist at Kita-kun.

Knowing him, he would probably just take the hit.

As a working adult, that was probably the right choice.

If he fought back, it would only escalate the problem.

But—I couldn’t accept it.

“Guh!”

“Azuma!?”

I jumped in front of him, and the president’s fist slammed into my forehead.

This was the kind of company that hired him—he used to be a delinquent, and he packed a decent punch.

But it wasn’t unbearable.

“What the hell, Azuma? I only hired you as an extra for Kitayama, and now you’re giving me that attitude?”

The president glared at me coldly.

I was terrified—so terrified I thought I might get beaten to a pulp, or worse, fired the next day.

All sorts of thoughts ran through my head, and tears welled up.

I’ve always been an idiot.

I’m bad at complicated stuff, my test scores were always at the bottom, and I needed a lot of help from my coworkers at work.

And yet, here I was, getting in between the president and Kitayama-kun.

I knew I messed up.

But I had no regrets.

“I don’t understand deadlines or plans… I’m dumb, after all…”

“Then shut up, you piece of trash! You’re just a grunt! Stay in your place—”

“You bald bastard, what the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

In the next instant, Kitayama-kun lunged.

His fist slammed into the president’s face, and before long, the other employees joined in.

They must’ve been holding back a lot of resentment.

Minutes later, the president, battered and bruised, was crying and groveling on the floor.

I doubt this was the “right” thing to do.

But… I couldn’t deny the satisfaction.

“Azuma! You okay?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine. That was just a kitty punch.”

We laughed it off and kept working together after that.

To me, he was a hero.

The one who moved first when no one else could, changing the situation.

And above all, someone who treasured his “friends” more than anything.

I wanted to be like him, so I devoured anime and tokusatsu shows about “heroes.”

In every story, the “hero” was always cool and strong.

So I was completely hooked.

When we ended up “on this side,” my appraisal result was “Closet Otaku.”

Since I’d kept it a secret from Kitayama-kun and the others, it made sense.

And Nishida-kun’s “Unemployed” status was probably because he was job-hunting at the time.

“He didn’t become a Hero, but Kitayama-kun is still a hero.”

……..

……..

Watching him defeat that monstrous turtle, bringing hope to everyone, and running toward us…

That thought solidified in my mind.

I now stood beside a “hero” in the same clan.

Anyone would get pumped in this situation.

To keep up with him—to support him.

That feeling alone was enough to push me forward with everything I had.

That’s how overwhelming his influence was.

“Ranger, just like the scouts, spread out around the perimeter. If you bunch up in the front, you’ll be torn apart. Same goes for the mages—defend yourselves alongside the archers and scouts!”

“Archers and mages, cooperate with the scouts and spread out! The front line is ours and the ‘Shields’ to hold! Move it already! We don’t have time!”

Gil followed up with a loud shout.

At that command, the Walkers around us quickly disappeared into the trees.

What remained were the ‘Shields’ and the ‘Melee’ fighters.

A very thin defensive line.

But this was all we had to work with.

With enemies this fast and large, the ones with weaker defenses would be prime targets.

At the very least, we had to draw all the aggro to our side first.

If we launched a preemptive strike and the nimble ones scattered, it’d be a disaster. That’s why we needed designated bait.

This formation was the best I could come up with.

Honestly, I’d rather have someone smarter giving these orders… but no one else was stepping up.

I really wished someone else would.

I wasn’t used to this. There was no way I could properly command dozens of people.

The only reason I could even keep issuing orders was because this felt like an extension of a strategy game.

But in those, casualties were just numbers.

Here, every ‘person’ marked a real person.

They had names. Lives.

They might have partners, might be living happily with their families.

Thinking about it made me feel sick.

That ‘responsibility’ was weighing down on me.

“Kitayama-san!”

I turned around, still looking pale, and saw Annabelle and Young Lady breathing heavily.

Thank god. They were safe too.

“Preparations are complete.”

“…Preparations?”

I wasn’t sure what she meant.

But behind them, several people dressed like mages were gathering.

“All injured have been evacuated and treated. Support teams are stationed across the field. Those with enhanced speed and scouting abilities are positioned accordingly.”

“…Huh?”

“Everyone remaining here specializes in physical reinforcement magic. So go ahead—go all out. Leave the buffs to us.”

Annabelle grinned, showing a smile I’d never seen before.

A bright, almost childlike, beaming smile.

“Let’s do this. This time, I’ll be fighting alongside you.”

Young Lady, radiating confidence, unsheathed her sword.

There wasn’t a trace of that frail figure I’d seen before.

Ah, I see.

They were still ready to fight.

They hadn’t given up.

I was the only one looking exhausted like an idiot.

“Hah! Haha! Fine then! Let’s do this!”

I shouted, pointing my spear forward.

No one here had given up.

So how could I, the one leading them, even think of quitting?

“First, we lure them in! ‘Mages,’ ‘Archers,’ and ‘Scouts’—hold your fire! Shields, make yourselves known and hold the line! ‘Support’—buff everyone, now! ‘Melee’—you’re gonna have the most work. Get ready! At my signal, take down as many as you can!”

We were going to survive.

That hadn’t changed.

We’d already taken out more than half of these monsters.

So what if some higher-tier ones showed up now?

We’d tear them apart too.

“Kitayama, what about the big one in the middle?”

“Boss, we need to keep that thing in check, or we’ll take heavy losses.”

Gil and Kyle called out to me, but I only grinned back.

“You in?”

“Ah, shit. Knew you’d say that.”

“Hah! Fine by me! Let’s do this!”

With that, all units took their positions.

The plan wasn’t all that different.

The only change was that our opponents were faster this time.

That just meant we’d have to engage them early and slow them down.

That was all.

And so, we’d devour them like we always did.

“Let’s go, you bastards! Anyone who chickens out is paying for the victory party!”

“Do you even know how many people are here, you idiot?!”

“Hell yeah! Get your heads in the game! This is the final battle!”

Even after fighting for so long, no one here looked exhausted.

Their battle cries were as strong as ever.

To survive—that was our only goal.

And so, once more, we raised our weapons.