The three idiots who couldn't become heroes are preparing a man's meal today as well. - Chapter 45

Episode 45: Pierce Through

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“Don’t mess with me! Why the hell am I not allowed to fight!?”

“Hero-sama, if we end up in another situation like before… it would be somewhat troublesome to handle.”

“That damn turtle is gone now, isn’t it!? Then there shouldn’t be a problem!”

“However, right now, the Walkers are all mixed together. If you unleash magic in that situation… the ‘Hero’s’ image would…”

“So what!? They’re just a bunch of nobodies, aren’t they!?”

Yuu-kun was arguing with someone from the royal palace.

Honestly, I don’t really understand these complicated discussions.

Politics, the influence of the ‘Hero’ and ‘Saint’—I don’t get any of it.

I’m an idiot. I know that all too well.

Even so, I thought that if it were the world “over there,” I could manage some simple job and get by.

Like working in a factory or a convenience store.

I know it’s rude to say, but I thought I could handle repetitive tasks once I got used to them.

I know even that was a naive way of thinking, but… I’m just a useless failure who can’t do anything difficult.

That’s who I am, Kanzaki Nozomi.

Apparently, I have some kind of mental illness.

When I focus on one thing, I lose sight of everything around me.

That’s why ‘living normally’ is extremely difficult for me—my doctor told me that clearly.

During my student years, it was still okay.

At worst, people just thought I was ‘a little weird.’

But once you enter society, all sorts of struggles await.

That much was made painfully clear to me.

“Like I said! If I attack, it’ll all be over in one shot!”

“And I’m saying the problem is that everyone else will get caught up in it! Please, restrain yourself!”

Yuu-kun and the others continued their heated argument.

He’s my childhood friend—the boy who has always helped me.

He used to be a little self-deprecating, but ever since coming ‘here,’ he’s grown so much more confident.

For me, that’s a really good thing.

My once-shadowed childhood friend can now stand tall in front of so many people.

That alone makes me happy.

He’s always been there for me, always on my side, and now he’s being recognized.

What could be more wonderful than that?

The boy I love has finally found a world where he can truly ‘enjoy’ living.

Just that was enough for me to accept ‘this world.’

But even so, there were still some worries I couldn’t shake.

“Hatsumi… where are you?”

She was my best friend, the one person I could truly call that.

The one who reached out to someone as useless as me.

She was smart, capable, and even had plenty of boys confessing to her.

And yet, for some reason, Hatsumi always stayed by my side.

When guys tried to hit on me, she protected me.

When teachers scolded me, she stepped in to mediate.

I always relied on her.

Even though I felt guilty about it, she always helped me.

But now, Hatsumi was gone.

She left behind some incomprehensible words and disappeared beneath the gate.

“Hatsumi… where? Without you, I can’t stop Yuu-kun and the others from fighting… what should I do?”

I mumbled to myself as I blankly stared at the scene before me.

It was a battlefield—there was no other way to describe it.

Even from a distance, I could see a massive wolf engaged in battle with several people.

This was that kind of world.

A world where someone like me could never survive alone.

That’s why I relied on everyone here too.

I depended on my childhood friend, the ‘Hero,’ and I depended on Hatsumi, who still helped me even in this world.

And so, I had to repay them.

When Hatsumi was given awful meals, I split my food with her.

When everyone treated her harshly, I did my best to speak up and say, “Stop it.”

I stayed with her—I wanted to stay with her.

But in the end, it was probably all for my own sake.

Thinking about it like that, a wave of frustration and shame washed over me.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I’m an idiot, so I don’t know what to do… I don’t know how to bring Hatsumi back… I don’t know what to do about that wolf… What am I supposed to do as a ‘Saint’…? Someone, please tell me…”

The moment those words left my lips—

“WE LIVE TO SURVIVE! THAT’S WHO WE ARE, DAMN IT!!!”

A deafening battle cry erupted from the frontlines.

………..

……….

Ah, dammit, this is ridiculous.

Thanks to the ‘Shield’ unit holding back the smaller enemies, nothing’s leaking through to the backlines.

But the middle ground, where we are? It’s swarming with them.

On top of that, that damn massive wolf keeps weaving through, launching attacks.

The hell is this mess of a battlefield?

“Archers, mages! Fire all at once! Clear a path!”

“You idiot! What if you hit us!?”

“Pray! Just pray that friendly fire doesn’t happen!”

Shouting that, I swung both of my spears around.

Behind me were the ‘shield’ and ‘melee’ units.
Anyone who slipped past us, they would take care of.
Even the young lady leading the charge was holding her ground, so there shouldn’t be any issues.

But for us who had jumped straight into the heart of the magical beasts and monsters, there wasn’t even a moment to rest.

“Boss! This is getting rough!”

“Shut up! We have to take down that wolf, or the ‘scouts’ can’t get close! Suck it up!”

If we backed off now, those lurking around us would be torn apart by the wolf.
For now, it’s fine—its attention is on the three of us.
But if we retreat, it’ll hunt down the ‘scouts’ one by one.

That, we absolutely have to prevent.

And behind the scouts, we’ve got mages and the support unit.
If we let this thing get away, we’d end up with more dead bodies than survivors.

“Alright! Screw it, we’re pushing straight for that wolf—!”

Just as Gil said that, the massive wolf sank its teeth into his left arm.

But—the spot it bit into was his ‘prosthetic.’

“You piece of shit! Burn, damn you!”

Gil immediately cast a fire spell, but the wolf reacted just as fast.
It sacrificed one of its heads—more precisely, its mouth—to fling Gil deep into the forest.

“What the—!? Hey! Kitayama! I’m leaving the rest to youuuu!”

With those parting words, Gil vanished into the darkness of the trees.

He probably got thrown way beyond the scouts and everyone else.

Damn it! If you’re gonna play the sacrificial role, at least last a little longer before bowing out!

While cursing internally, I leveled my spear.
Beside me, Kyle raised his greatsword.

“This thing isn’t going down with just distractions. We need to pin it down and go all in. I’ll act as the decoy.”

“Tch, how long do you plan on playing the protagonist, Kyle?”

Without another word, Kyle dashed forward.

Swinging his greatsword, he brought it down on the two massive heads.

But—

“You’ve gotta be kidding me… It bit down and stopped my sword…?”

One of the heads caught his sword in its jaws.

Kyle was completely immobilized.

The other head’s fangs gleamed as it prepared to tear into his exposed side—

“‘Hearty Eater’! Move freely! Go wild! Don’t let it kill anyone!”

At that moment—

Two arrows shot through the air, piercing the wolf’s eye just as it was about to bite Kyle.

One arrow was short, the other long.

No doubt about it, that was Minami and Shiro.

“Yeahhh! The ever-clueless Nishida-sama has arrived!”

“I’m smashing it! Full power, I’m sending this thing flying!”

“The small fry are ours. We’re going in!”

Nishida and Airi rushed in from both sides, throwing powerful blows at the wolf’s heads.

Nishida, with a flying kick.

Nakajima, in an unusually low stance, darted forward, cutting down monsters left and right.

“Kita-kun! I’ll hold down its jaw!”

“Azuma-san! I’m casting full-power enhancement magic!”

From behind, Azuma charged forward.

This fool grabbed both of the wolf’s snouts, locking them in place to keep them from opening.

Way too reckless—the thing was big enough to swallow even Azuma whole!

And then Annabelle’s enhancement magic.

It was obvious from her strained expression that she was pouring everything into Azuma.

“Seriously, it’s nothing but idiots here…”

I muttered to myself as I readied my spear.

Everything was in place.
Now all that was left was to deliver the final blow and ‘hunt’ the wolf.

Kyle, now freed up, and the others were stabbing into its legs, focusing on keeping it restrained.

“Kou-chan!”

“Kita-kun!”

“Master! Finish it!”

The voices of my reliable companions rang out.

“Kitayama-san! Show some guts!”

“Kita! Finish this!”

“Kitayama-san! Now’s your chance!”

“Kitayama-san! If you want to be the husband of a witch, show some backbone!”

I could hear the voices of my comrades.

And so, I ran.

Straight toward the massive wolf.

“Boss! The magic stone! Aim for the magic stone!”

Following that final shout, I slid under the wolf.

The magic stone—it was inside its heart.

I knew this because I had dissected countless of these before, seen it time and time again.

All my past experiences had led to this.

Though honestly, I’d appreciate not having to flirt with death every damn time.

But precisely because of that—

“We live to survive! That’s who we are, you bastard!”

With that roar, I drove my spear in.

The creature’s blood gushed out, drenching me from head to toe.

But it wasn’t enough—not yet.

The spearhead hadn’t struck the magic stone.

“Damn it! Not enough force! Someone, give me a weapon!”

The moment I shouted, a “black spear” was thrust toward me from the side.

It was unmistakably my own spear.

The one Thor and the others had forged, its blade honed to perfection, handed to me at the perfect moment.

“Use this!”

“Wha—?! Who the hell are you?!”

“Just take it!”

The person crouched under the beast’s belly with me had black hair and black eyes.

No doubt about it—she was from “the other side.”

I vaguely recalled seeing her before, but she wasn’t someone I knew.

Who the hell was she?

“You’re trying to take this monster down, aren’t you?! Then hurry up and use it!”

She shoved the black spear into my hands.

Well, convenient timing or not, this was exactly what I needed.

“I don’t know who you are, but thanks! You saved my ass!”

Gripping the spear, I shoved the one already embedded in the beast aside.

As I forced it away, a torrent of blood cascaded down, revealing layers of muscle and flesh.

And beyond that—I saw it.

A faint, distinct glow.

“Right thereeeee!”

Twisting my body, I drove the second spear in.

Drenched in blood, I roared like a beast.

This time, I felt it—the sensation of something shattering at the tip of my spear.

At that exact moment, I grabbed the girl beside me and rolled sideways, escaping from under the collapsing wolf.

“Yeahhh! Wolf down! Now clean up the stragglers! Archers, mages, move up! Annihilate them with everything you’ve got!”

With that command, a deafening roar erupted from behind.

And in the next instant—

A rain of magic and arrows descended, carefully avoiding us as they tore through the remaining monsters.