The three idiots who couldn't become heroes are preparing a man's meal today as well. - Chapter 58

Episode 58: The Fist for Not Killing

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After rampaging around in rotations and getting only a short amount of sleep, we greeted the next day.

The schedule for the day remained unchanged from the previous one—educating the female students and continuing our usual encampment.

That said, the lack of proper sleep left me feeling somewhat drowsy.

“I have found Kitayama-sama’s weakness.”

Just as the battle settled down, Iris suddenly said that.

When I looked down at her, wondering what she meant, I saw her wearing a rather serious expression.

“Whenever the vanguard is in danger, the first to rush out is always Kitayama-sama. Even when the situation might still be manageable, you charge forward.”

“Hey now, we’re bodyguards, remember? If even a single scratch were to land on the young ladies, we would—”

“You’re afraid, aren’t you? Afraid of your comrades getting hurt.”

It felt like my drowsy head had just been struck with a heavy blow.

“Earlier, when you jumped in to help, even we were in the rear guard—though I won’t say we were completely safe—still had just enough time to respond. Even if we failed, Nishida-sama and Minami-sama were close enough to handle it. And yet, you still jumped in.”

“Well, yeah, but I’m the leader. If my orders are late—”

“Which is precisely why you handle things yourself, right? I feel like you’re shouldering a little too much. Last night, I thought you had let loose, but perhaps you let loose too much and revealed your true self. The desire to protect, to save someone—it is a virtue. But it is also a weakness. A vulnerability, not a flaw.”

Her words carried a deeper meaning, causing me to tilt my head in confusion. Seeing that, she let out a heavy sigh.

I understood that those I protected could become weaknesses. But if we were all protecting each other, wouldn’t that be fine?

As I pondered this, waiting for her to continue, she seemed to steel herself before directing her next words—not just at me, but at “Hearty Eater.”

“You should not fight against ‘humans.’ Because you will end up perceiving the circumstances behind those you fight. You will feel unnecessary burdens of responsibility. That is why you must never ‘kill’ a human.”

“Come on, we’re Walkers, not mercenaries. Our opponents are magical beasts and monsters, not people.”

I laughed it off, but Iris’s expression darkened even further.

Perhaps this, too, was another sign of how out of touch I was.

“Walkers also take on escort and security missions, which can sometimes mean facing human opponents. And more than that, if war ever breaks out, Walkers are the first to be drafted. Do you truly understand that? When the time comes, will you be able to pierce another human? From what I saw today, you care too much for your comrades. You sacrifice yourself too much. Can you really kill a human in that state?”

Her words, spoken with great difficulty, felt like knives piercing my chest.

My naivety. My lack of resolve.

She had struck straight at the very part of me I had kept hidden.

Could I really do it?

I had no problem killing goblins or orcs—humanoid monsters.

But if it was a real human?

I couldn’t even picture it.

I had once thrown a spear at the “Hero.”

But that wasn’t to kill him. It was just to stop him by targeting his footing.

If the intent was truly to kill, could I throw that spear?

And yet, our numbers were growing—we had more and more children to protect.

We couldn’t afford to die. That much was certain.

Even in such a situation, would I be able to strike down a human?

“Sorry, but I can’t give you an answer right now.”

“I strongly recommend you find one soon. Whether good or bad, ‘Hearty Eater’ stands out. It’s not impossible that you’ll be assigned a request of that nature.”

And so, our mission continued.

We would hunt for just one more day and return tomorrow.

Judging by the type of magical beasts, it was an easy job.

Moreover, the students were learning quickly.

Everything was going smoothly—at least, it should have been.

Yet, Iris’s words lingered in my mind.

For today alone, I couldn’t quite settle my spear.

………….

The final day arrived all too quickly.

We remained near the base camp, tasked with guarding the “young master.”

There was frustration. There was resentment.

But this was our job.

And so, we swallowed everything and stayed.

As I was reflecting on this, the other “guards” finished their missions and began returning—each showing signs of exhaustion.

“Captain, should we—”

“I know, I know… but just a little longer.”

Today was the final day.

The students would return, report their results to their instructors, and rankings would later be announced.

The noble we guarded had made decent progress, so a high ranking was likely.

And yet…

They were here.

The ones who called themselves “Hearty Eater.”

If they were involved, thinking we would be at the top was mere arrogance.

After all, they were the ones who effortlessly took down a herd of king boars and horned bulls head-on.

I wanted to know.

Just how many beasts had they hunted?

How much had the students they trained improved?

The results could greatly impact my confidence as a captain.

As I was deep in thought—

“Are we the last ones? My, how terribly rude of us. But you see, we had quite the distance to cover.”

Speaking as if it were a trivial matter, the group that never once returned to base camp emerged from the forest.

Four students and four figures clad in black armor.

Unlike the others who looked exhausted, this party alone wore composed expressions.

Even the students, despite enduring the harshest conditions, were smiling with confidence.

“Now then, allow us to present our results… this is our haul.”

With a slightly regretful expression, the young lady overturned her magic bag.

But what emerged was beyond belief.

Not only did multiple king boar pelts spill out, but also dark wolf hides, as well as claws and horns from various smaller magical beasts.

All of it was neatly processed.

This meant they had maximized their magic bag’s capacity while discarding unnecessary meat.

Had they taught this to the students? In such a short time?

“Nonsense! There’s no way they could have hunted this much on their own! It must have been the guards who did the hunting!”

Pathetic.

That was all I could think of.

The one shouting was none other than our own charge—

The young master of House Kreis.

“Iris aside, the rest are just useless poor nobles! There’s no way they did this without hiring top-tier guards!”

It was honestly embarrassing to hear.

After all, this was the same young master who had hired us at an exorbitant price, relied on our knights for most of the hunting, and merely delivered the finishing blows for credit.

His words weren’t just an insult to them.

They were also an insult to us—his own guards.

Yet, he refused to stop.

 

“I spent the whole night with those slave-like people. I can’t even imagine what they’ll say about me at the next soirée, Iris! If they think I sold my purity to bandits to achieve results, the other nobles will—”

“Oh my, if the ‘Hearty Eater’ gentlemen had been my first partners, I would have no regrets… But alas, they were far too gentlemanly. They prioritized ‘the hunt’ over a woman’s body.”

“Hah?”

As she said this, Lady Iris smoothly raised her right hand.

Then, one of the black-armored figures standing behind her—
A small girl with beast-like ears—flipped over a bag.

“Since souvenirs are forbidden, it cannot be helped.”

The murmured words were followed by an avalanche of magical beast materials and magic stones.

The sheer amount was enough to bury the girl standing there if she didn’t move. As she walked, she kept scattering more and more materials.

Boars, deer, wolves, cattle.

All the typical ones were in abundance, along with the pelts and claws of smaller magical beasts.

An absurd number of materials spilled forth.

At this point, laughing was the only option.

“I told you, didn’t I? The magical beast materials we obtained are the ones I presented earlier. And these… are the materials hunted by our escorts—the ‘Hearty Eater.’”

In noble events like this, any magical beasts hunted by one’s escort are usually credited to the employer.

It serves as proof that they are wealthy enough to hire capable guards.

But her party had clearly separated their own achievements from those of their escorts.

In short… this was nothing less than a complete defeat.

“Y-You’ve got to be kidding me!? This has to be fraud!”

Even then, the young noble refused to accept it, his face flushed red as he glared at us.

Give me a break. There’s no way this is my fault.

Just as I thought that, the brat said something utterly ridiculous.

“Prove that you achieved those results! A one-on-one duel between my escort and yours! If your side can win, I’ll acknowledge it!”

A selfish, one-sided demand.

There was no way such a duel would be allowed.

Both we, the instructors, and even her party were all dumbfounded.

“Heh. Works for me. I had something I wanted to test anyway.”

The leader of the black-armored warriors stepped forward, gripping two spears.

That was—without a doubt—the Reaper I had seen before.

A powerful warrior who had mowed down king boars and horned bulls with those two spears.

A walking dead line.

The moment I recognized him, he turned his gaze towards me.

I had once thought I’d like to spar with him—

“Who’s my opponent?”

Terrifying.

That was all I felt.

This was wrong.

This was a line that should not be crossed.

Just watching that black armor approach made my knees tremble uncontrollably.

And yet, and yet…

I was the leader of this knight order.

I was the designated escort for this event.

“I will be your opponent.”

I drew my sword.

I saw no chance of victory.

Even so, ordering a subordinate to fight this man would be too cruel.

Even I was on the verge of losing control from fear.

“Please, a match. My name is—”

“Don’t care. I have no interest in the names of those I will be killing in the next moment.”

It’s not like this is an actual fight to the death… right? This is just a match, isn’t it?

Isn’t it?

I thought that, but I still raised my sword, overwhelmed by his sheer presence.

Ah, damn it. I should never have taken this request.

The payment was huge, but I should’ve turned it down.

I never expected I’d end up in a one-on-one fight with someone like this.

“Now then… an honorable duel.”

“I’ll leave the signal to you. Move whenever you’re ready.”

“Then… let’s begin when the coin lands.”

I signaled to my subordinate for a coin toss.

Clink!

I heard the crisp sound of a gold coin flicked into the air.

The coin arced over my head and fell between us.

When it hit the ground, I would have to cross swords with this.

That thought alone made me sigh internally.

If I die, please take care of my family.

—Clink!

The moment the coin hit the ground, I put all my strength into my legs.

I would charge in with full force!

That was my plan—

But my mind went blank.

“Huh?”

“Shaaaah!”

The spearhead was already right in front of me.

Impossible. There was no way I could dodge this.

It was going to pierce through my helmet and blow my brains out.

That’s how fast it was. I had no time to evade.

That was the inevitable conclusion—

And yet, the spear shifted.

“Guuh!”

The tip veered slightly off course, scraping the side of my helmet with a deafening roar and a burst of sparks.

It had only grazed me.

But even just a graze was enough to send my helmet flying off.

Is this really a human?

“Hmph!”

The enemy was right in front of me—I couldn’t just stand there in shock.

With the spear extended, he should be defenseless.

I swung my greatsword up toward his exposed side.

“…Tch.”

He clicked his tongue and effortlessly parried my strike with his second spear.

This much was within expectations—this kind of exchange happened often in knightly duels.

He wielded spears, while I wielded a greatsword.

If he created distance, I’d be at a disadvantage.

Worse, I’d be forced to endure another one of those attacks.

I knew for certain that the first strike wasn’t a miss.

There was no guarantee he would miss the next one.

So I had to stay close to him no matter what.

I kicked off the ground to close the gap—

And was met with a heavy impact on my stomach.

“…Ugh!”

“You knave! Using kicks in a duel—have you no shame?”

Behind me, the young master’s shrill voice rang out.

But thanks to that, I finally understood what had happened.

I had been kicked and sent flying backward… which meant more distance between us again.

Not good. If I don’t get up quickly, his next move—

Panicked, I hurried to prop myself up and once more raised my sword before me.

“…What are you doing?”

Even though I was bracing myself for him to take advantage of my opening, he merely stood there at a distance, planting both of his spears into the ground.

Then, leaving his weapons behind, he began walking toward me.

Uh… what am I supposed to do here?

In a duel, voluntarily discarding one’s weapon is tantamount to forfeiting.

By that logic, this would mean my victory, but… was it just my imagination, or did his hostility feel even more intense than before?

“Trying it out for myself made it pretty clear—no matter how much I fight, I can’t bring myself to kill a ‘person.'”

“…Huh?”

Clenching his fists together, he muttered this while closing the distance.

“So, I’ve decided to just use my fists. Iris, this is my answer.”

“Haaah… as I thought, you are not meant to fight ‘people.'”

Lady Iris let out an exasperated sigh, but… wait a minute.

No one’s stopping this? We’re just going to keep going?

Sure, there are unarmed fighters whose fists are considered weapons.

But he’s not one of them.

So… am I really supposed to point my sword at an unarmed opponent?

That’s not something a knight should ever—

“Shaah!”

“Ugh!?”

—But this was no time for hesitation.

Sharp—so sharp—his punches.

With an unfamiliar stance, his fists came flying in rapid succession.

Fast—too fast for my eyes to follow.

Thinking about it, it made perfect sense.

A man who could wield spears with such destructive power—his bare fists would be even faster.

I couldn’t even swing my sword properly.

“Oh, look, Kou-chan’s using his boxing style. Been a while.”

“Boxing, is that what it’s called?”

“Well, it’s not exactly the real thing—just something Kita-kun picked up and copied. But he’s still pretty damn good at it.”

The black-armored ones were having a casual conversation, but I had no time for that.

Every time I tried to raise my sword, he closed the distance and smacked it down.

If I stepped forward, I ate a punch to the face.

If I stepped back, he immediately closed the gap with light-footed steps.

Wasn’t this the exact opposite of what I had been trying to do earlier?

“Captain!”

“What are you doing!? You’re completely on the defensive!”

My subordinates’ voices… and the annoying voice of the noble.

The latter didn’t matter, but I couldn’t afford to look pathetic in front of my men.

So, I endured the pain and the repeated impacts, clenching my teeth to suppress any groans.

“Heh… as expected of a knight. You’re holding out pretty damn well.”

“Hah… well, I can’t exactly just drop to my knees, now can I?”

The thunderous sounds ringing through my helmet had finally stopped.

At some point, distance had opened up between us.

Had my helmet warped from the repeated blows? My vision was obstructed, and it felt uncomfortably tight.

Damn thing’s in the way.

My legs were trembling, and my breath was ragged.

Then, without hesitation, I removed my helmet and, just like him, planted my weapon into the ground.

“I’m still a knight. I can’t bring myself to raise a weapon against an unarmed opponent.”

“Heh. Looked more like you just couldn’t swing it to me… but sure, let’s go with that.”

With that, he also removed his helmet and tossed it aside.

Beneath it was the same black hair and black eyes as his armor.

Was this his way of responding to my gesture?

How… considerate.

He was the very embodiment of fair and honorable combat.

“Now that we’ve settled that, may I ask your name? I am Edward Talma.”

“Not great with long names, so I’ll just call you Ed. I’m Kitayama.”

“Kitayama… I shall remember it. Black warrior.”

“Oi, cut that embarrassing title out.”

He seemed displeased with it.

A quiet chuckle escaped me as I raised my fists.

I probably couldn’t move properly anymore.

That meant I only had one shot.

I’ll make him regret taking off his helmet.

As I curled my lips into a grin, he, too, smirked with a daring glint in his eyes.

“I like guys like you—who face things head-on.”

“Heh, and after beating me black and blue, no less. I suppose I should be honored. Now—come, Kitayama!”

“Shaah!”

With that, we both lunged forward.

We threw our fists toward each other’s faces at the same time.

Neither dodged. Neither even attempted to dodge.

Our blows landed cleanly, and I felt blood spurt from my nose.

Ahh… no good.

I’m losing consciousness—

“Considering the young master you serve, I figured you’d be some cheap excuse for a knight… but not bad, Ed.”

“Duty and… pride… are separate things…”

Ahh.

Looking back, my old man’s punches used to scare me.

But compared to this?

Those were nothing more than cat slaps.

This was a punch that felt like it could tear my head clean off.

The last thing I heard before everything went dark was the sound of my subordinates rushing toward me.

“Captain!!”