Necromancer 58

Test

58. I Lead an Elite Group into Battle

Three days later, we were standing in front of the royal castle’s main gate.

There, the demon lord subjugation forces had assembled.

The knight corps, the mage corps, and us—the selected heroes.

“Ah, Shigure-sama!”

A group of girls from the knight corps ran up to me.

An elite squad made up entirely of women—the Valkyrie Squad.

I had met them a few times, and they often called out to me when we ran into each other in and out of the castle.

“You’re part of the subjugation force too?”

“Yes. We’ll do our best not to hold you heroes back!”

“We’re looking forward to seeing Shigure-sama in action!”

“Hey, that’s kind of rude!”

“What? Isn’t Shigure-sama the strongest in this squad?”

“Well, that’s true, but still…”

Their chatter was lively and didn’t feel very warlike.

“Fufu, does this surprise you?”

One of the female knights laughed.

“Does it not feel very… warlike?”

“Well, yeah…”

I gave a wry smile.

“I came to this world from a country that knew nothing of war… Honestly, I didn’t even know what a war atmosphere felt like. I thought it would be more tense and brutal.”

“Of course, it depends on the situation and might differ by country. In ours, the policy is to reduce mental stress as much as possible so we can perform at our best on the battlefield.”

“Huh.”

It felt more like sports than war.

But it made sense.

“I’ll do my best without overthinking it.”

And so, we departed.

We slowly made our way from the main street to the gate in the outer wall of the capital.

The heroes rode in the leading carriage.

It was a massive carriage, the kind used in parades.

We were taking it to the capital’s outer gate, where we would transfer to travel carriages.

Uwaaaaaahhh…

The crowd that had come to see us off erupted into cheers.

“This is incredible.”

In my entire life, I had never been this much of a center of attention, let alone showered with cheers.

“Fufu, why don’t you wave?”

Hazuki came up beside me.

“Oh, right.”

At her suggestion, I waved, and the cheers grew even louder.

It felt like I was a celebrity.

“You’re the strongest hero, after all. The people’s favorite.”

Hazuki smiled.

“I’m a little jealous.”

“I’m the most popular?”

“Did you know? Among us heroes, ‘Who’s the strongest?’ has become a sort of entertainment for the people.”

“What, really…?”

“Yes. They gossip about training results, subjugation achievements, and even our daily behavior… Rumors grow and spread until they’re ranking us.”

“I had no idea…”

I stared at her blankly.

“I only learned recently myself. Until recently, I was the most popular, followed by Ran and Kenzaki. But now, you’re at the top.”

Hazuki gazed at me.

“After all, you completely defeated Kenzaki and Ran. Even in direct combat, I wouldn’t stand a chance against you.”

She raised her hands in surrender.

“But there’s no reason for you and me to fight, is there?”

“Exactly. I’d much prefer we stay allies, you know? From now on, too.”

As she said that, Hazuki leaned in close to me.

Her face was close, too.

“...!”

She’s going to kiss me—

That’s how close her face was.

“Hey, Shigure-kun.”

Her sweet breath brushed against me.

“With you, I—”

“Shigure-kun!”

A voice called out.

I reflexively pulled away from Hazuki and turned around.

Amid the crowd on the main street stood Nayuka.

“Do your best…!”

She stared at me, looking desperate.

This time, she hadn’t been included in the team.

Even though she had the power of foresight, her lack of combat abilities led to her being excluded.

“I can… only cheer for you, but…”

“—Thank you.”

I gave her a gentle smile.

Despite the roaring crowd and echoing cheers, her small voice reached me clearly.

“I’ll definitely come back.”

I made that vow.