When I opened my eyes, the first thing that popped into my head was, “I’m still alive?”
I pushed myself off the cold ground and looked around. My heart almost jumped out of my chest when I saw a large beast’s face right beside me. While I was reeling away in fear, I noticed that it wasn’t moving anymore.
“Don’t tell me…”
I touched the beast, the 8th-stage Duke of Insatiable Hunger, and found its body was already cold. No pulse whatsoever could be felt. It’s definitely dead.
I looked around immediately and found the three girls fainting not far away from me. I ran to their sides and quickly checked for their heartbeats. Yep, soft—no, I mean, they’re still alive and breathing.
I heaved a sigh of relief as I sat down and stared at the slowly brightening sky. A little while later, the hustle and bustle began after everyone woke up at the same time.
“L-Look! It’s the Duke of Insatiable Hunger!”
“What?! Who the hell killed it? Did we have anyone powerful enough for that here?!”
“Call the general, quick! We need to relay this news!”
As the army guys started clamoring, the three girls woke up at the same time. They seemed out of sorts as they started looking around in confusion. When Ember saw me, who was lying down near them, her eyes widened as she immediately jumped towards my side.
“Master?! Are you alright? Master!”
She shook me violently, trying to wake me up. I tried to calm her down quickly.
“Ember, calm down. I’m fine.”
I said this as I showed her my appearance. However, Ember’s face turned purple when I did.
“F-Fang, c-call for healers, quick! Master! Please, stay strong! Help is coming!”
I tilted my head at her reaction. I quickly realized that something was wrong. When I tried looking at myself objectively, with the tattered clothes and bloody appearance, I couldn’t see myself as anything but a heavily injured man.
“No, wait, I’m really fine. I don’t know why, but I’m fine! Relax, you two!”
I smiled wryly as I tried to stop them from rushing to get a medic. I also called back Igni, who was already flying away to get help. Really, such worrywarts.
—
After the commotion that morning, our mercenary team was called to the largest tent on the frontline base. There, I was undergoing some sort of light interrogation.
“So, you mean, you didn’t see who killed the Duke of Insatiable Hunger? Even when you were lying right beside its corpse?”
A woman in military clothes, wearing a slanted peaked cap, stared at me while crossing her legs. Although the angle I was at was perfect for the view, I couldn’t catch a glimpse of the territory beyond her thick thighs covered in black stockings.
Rather, there were already stockings in this world? That surprised me more. Hats off to the cultured men out there who brought this product to fruition.
The badge hanging on her flat left chest, which was a symbol of her rank as a General of the army, shone as she shifted her pose.
“Y-Yes, we didn’t. I remember that we were attacked by it, and then after that, we all fainted. The beast was still fine by then.”
“Hmm…”
Her white hair waved to the side as she tilted her head. Her red eyes narrowed down to slits as she gazed at me. I felt like a mouse being stared at by a large cat, my life hanging by a thin thread.
“Looks like you’re really telling the truth.”
She sighed as she finally decided to let the matter go.
“Your mercenary group was with the 35th battalion, right? Unfortunately, they aren’t functional now due to a lack of personnel.”
Well, they did get eaten by the demon ground worms yesterday, leaving only a couple of survivors. No wonder.
“The other mercenaries under the 35th would get reassigned to other battalions too. But for you guys, I’ll assign you to the 1st attack group. Do your best there.”
I thought that everything would end peacefully, but she suddenly dropped such a bomb. The 1st attack group was the one that worked on the most dangerous parts of the frontlines. Going with them was nothing but a one-way ticket to hell.
“W-Wait! We only have one 5th level while the rest are 3rd levels. How can we function with a group of 7th levels?!”
I quickly tried to rescind such a decision, but I realized that what I did was a mistake.
“Hoh? That’s an order from me, a General. And you don’t want to follow it?” 𝗼𝘃𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴
The air froze. I felt as if I was carrying tons of weight on my shoulders. It almost sent me kneeling, if not for how accustomed I was to such intimidation.
However, I can’t back down here. If I did, then I’d basically be signing our coffins in advance. I kept my gaze straight on her eyes, not willing to bend down. After a few moments of fierce staring, she closed her eyes and undid her intimidation.
“Well, fair enough. It looks like you’d at least do better with the 13th attack squad.”
Although the 13th attack squad was a mix of 5th and 6th levels like the 35th, their battle power should be a lot higher compared to the 35th battalion. What’s more, they don’t take on dangerous tasks like the 1st.
“Thank you for your consideration, General!”
I saluted her as I quickly went away. Behind the mask, I was actually sweating bullets. Just a bit more, and I’d have fallen for her intimidation.
As I went out of the tent, the three girls were already waiting for me. They were all already fine and had entered their created personas. Although Ember was still a bit worried about me, she still did her best to play her part.
“Everyone, I got us a good team! We got assigned to the 13th attack squad! Let’s go~!”
I raised my arm in a cheer, but the three didn’t follow along. It was embarrassing to the point that I regret choosing this personality to imitate. One of the nearby soldiers almost let out a snicker but held it back. Well, I still heard it, though. I remembered your face. Watch out for your back.
Hmm? Wait, why did I think like that? Was I such a hooligan?