Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka? (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter 4

JULIUS, AGE 12: SHOWDOWN 

“It seems the enemy base is in a deserted village some distance from the mountain road.” 

Mr. Tiva spreads out a map as he explains. 

Myself and the other commanding officers of the force listen in silence. 

After our forces were caught in an ambush laid by the organization last time, a sudden sense of anxiety has taken hold. 

Until then, things had been going almost alarmingly well. 

So although the surprise attack hardly resulted in any casualties, the commanders seem to be trying to refocus their efforts after the force encountered its first stumbling block. 

“The only route to the village is along this old road. Thus, the enemy will likely be on high alert for our approach.” 

All of us stare down at the map on the desk. 

“This’ll be tough,” one commander murmurs. 

The surprise-attack incident isn’t the only reason the commanders look tense. 

Our next target is a particularly difficult one. 

The organization’s presence here in this abandoned village is operating on a far larger scale than anything we’ve faced so far. 

A deserted village is definitely troublesome. 

Even if people no longer live there, pieces of their lives still remain in the area. 

In other words, it’s a base that’s already furnished with much of what people need to survive. 

Houses in which to sleep, fields for self-sufficient farming, most likely a nearby source of water, and walls to keep out monsters. 

They’ll have all of that at their disposal. 

And this means they’ll have a fairly stable livelihood, which in turn means other outlaws will be drawn there as well. 

That means the village supports a high population, and numbers mean power. 

No matter how high your stats are, it’s difficult to make up for a sheer difference in numbers. 

The only exception is someone with stats so high that being outnumbered doesn’t make a difference—like me, the hero. 

Of course, the force is made up of exceptions like that, since it consists of elite fighters drawn from various nations. 

I’m sure each one of them could manage two or three bandits alone. 

But that’s before you take the enemy’s home-field advantage into account. 

According to our investigations, the village they’re using as a base is practically a fortress. 

And as Tiva said, the map shows that the only way to attack them is from the front. 

The terrain makes this area difficult to attack and easy to defend. 

Between the numbers and their field advantage, they might be able to make up for the difference in stats. 

“Could we split up the troops?” 

“No. The only other routes run straight through the mountains. We’d only be able to move through those in extremely small groups.” 

“Besides, the entire village is protected by walls. Whether we try to climb over or break through, we’ll be spotted right away. We might be able to mount a surprise attack, but it’d be too dangerous for a small group.” 

“Hrmmm. Then I suppose we have no choice but to attack head-on and besiege them.” 

It’s extremely difficult to move around on a mountain with no roads. 

You have to cut your way through thick brush just to get anywhere, and you might run into monsters that live in the area, too. 

It’d be impossible with a large group. 

A small group would have to endure an arduous mountain trek, and right after, they would have to battle the bandits. 

It’s only natural that such a plan would be rejected out of hand. 

But that’s what heroes are for. 

“I’ll launch the surprise attack.” 

“Sir Hero…it’s too dangerous.” 

The commander who chides me makes no attempt to hide his exasperation. 

I can tell he’s thinking, Were you even listening? and I understand how he feels. 

But I can’t back down now. 

If I keep staying on the sidelines and letting them protect me, nothing will ever change. 

I’m sure the reason I couldn’t do anything before is that my resolve wasn’t strong enough. 

I wasn’t ready to fight people, to kill. 

But I’m ready now. 

I just have to put that resolve into action. 

So that I can save as many victims as possible and prevent as many future kidnappings as I can. 

“Very well.” 

I open my mouth to protest, then freeze when I realize what I just heard. 

Which probably leaves me looking like my mouth is hanging open idiotically. 

I really am shocked by what he said, so I guess that impression wouldn’t be wrong. 

But everyone else in the room looks equally surprised. 

The person who agreed with my plan is none other than Mr. Tiva. 

“But of course, we cannot let you do this entirely alone, Sir Hero. I will send a few of my men along with you. And I happen to know a talented adventurer, so I’ll ask him to accompany you as well.” 

Tiva briskly continues setting out the plan. 

“Would you be willing to take this route through the mountains and attack the enemy from the rear?” 

“Um, sure.” 

It’s happening so quickly that I end up giving a dazed-sounding answer. 

But then one of the commanders recovers his senses and leaps out of his chair. 

“Sir Tiva! What in the world are you thinking?!” 

“Whatever do you mean?” 

Mr. Tiva stares back calmly, looking as if he truly doesn’t understand the problem. 

“We can’t have Sir Hero do something so dangerous! What do you think he is?!” 

“Ah, is that all you meant?” 

“Is that all?!” 

Tiva chuckles as if he’s heard a particularly funny joke. 

Anyone can see that he’s mocking the commander. I didn’t think he was the sort of person to do something like that, so I’m at a loss for words, too. 

“Sir Hero volunteered for the role of his own free will. And I made the judgment that he’s fully capable of it, so I am planning accordingly. What is the issue here?” 

“The whole plan is rife with issues! What if something happens to Sir Hero? Will you take full responsibility for that?!” 

Ah, this is it. 

One of the invisible chains that binds me. 

To the commanders, I’m a ward whose life must be protected, not a comrade to whom they can entrust their lives. 

Words like responsibility make that clear. 

“Why on earth would you bring up a word like responsibility?” 

“What? Sir Tiva, please be reasonable.” 

The commander’s irritation is increasingly obvious. 

“Sir Hero is fully responsible for his own actions, of course. He is the high commander, and he can go to the front lines if he so chooses.” 

At that, the commander’s mouth clamps shut. 

“In fact, you’ve been voicing complaints about the high commander’s decisions all this time. Is it safe to assume that you doubt the strength of Sir Hero, who is our leader?” 

“What?! No, but…I…” 

Once Tiva reminds him of my position, the commander recoils and seemingly runs out of excuses. 

He looks to the other commanders for help, but they awkwardly avoid meeting his eyes. 

I’m sure most of them agree with him, but they don’t want to defend someone who’s currently speaking out against their high commander—me—and earning stern disapproval from the deputy high commander, Mr. Tiva, in the process. 

“But still! If the worst was to happen and something befell Sir Hero, the world would be at a loss! I beg you to reconsider!” 

Realizing that no one is coming to his aid, the commander steels himself and doubles down on his original statement. 

Considering my position, his view isn’t entirely wrong. 

But Mr. Tiva cuts him down with a glare. 

“So you not only doubt Sir Hero’s strength, but you also reject my judgment that he is capable of the job?” 

It’s as if the commander is no longer permitted to even explain himself. 

“You asked me a moment ago what I think Sir Hero is, so I shall ask you the same. What is it that you think of Sir Hero, hmm?” 

The commander has no response to Mr. Tiva’s hard tone. 

“This is exactly why Sir Hero does not have faith we will watch his back. How could he, when none of you thinks of him as a comrade in arms? It’s no wonder he doesn’t trust us.” 

“Mr. Tiva, that’s—” 

“There’s no need to try and smooth things over, Sir Hero. This is all because we’re so cowardly.” 

I open my mouth to object to his harsh self-criticism, but Mr. Tiva stops me. 

“Besides, how many among you would even be a match for Sir Hero? Not a one, as far as I can see. Frankly, even I might fall short. What right do men weaker than Sir Hero have to decide his actions for him, then?” 

A few of the commanders grow visibly angry at that last comment, but in the face of Tiva’s fiery rage, they can’t utter a word. 

“We haven’t supported Sir Hero at all. In fact, we can’t even catch up to him. And yet, we all look down on him as if we’ve been protecting him, just because we are adults and he is a child. Do you know what that’s called where I come from? Misplaced kindness.” 

SLAM! Mr. Tiva brings his fist down hard on the desk. 

“We should be fighting by Sir Hero’s side, but instead, we lag behind him—no, in fact, we’re dragging him down! It’s no wonder that he’s given up on us and keeps attempting to act on his own!” 

What?! 

I think I might be more surprised by Mr. Tiva’s anger than anyone else. 

That’s not what I was trying to do… 

But the meeting room falls silent, and I don’t have the courage to speak out. 

“If you are concerned for Sir Hero’s safety, then show that you have the mettle to bring down the enemy stronghold without needing Sir Hero to launch a surprise attack. But if you cannot do that, you’re all bark and no bite.” 

I can see fighting spirit beginning to burn bright in the commanders’ eyes. 

They all climbed up to their current positions through sheer strength. 

Now it seems that their pride in that strength means they’re unable to back down after being so thoroughly reprimanded. 

“Very well. I shall prove to you that I am more than just talk. We’ll finish things before Sir Hero can even launch his attack—you shall see.” 

The commander who spoke up before glares at Mr. Tiva with a gleam in his eyes. 

I guess they’ve accepted my surprise-attack plan, then. 

When I realize this, it suddenly occurs to me that all of this might have played out exactly as Mr. Tiva planned. 

As a result of his words, I get to lead an assault like I wanted, and he’s even lit a fire beneath the commanders. 

On top of that, they’ve practically promised not to complain next time if they aren’t able to bring down the organization base before I launch my surprise attack. 

Since they all have so much pride and belief in their own strength, I doubt the commanders would go back on their word or try to make excuses if they fail. 

I estimate roughly how long it’ll take me to get to the back of the enemy base from the foot of the mountain and how long it might take the men to bring down the fort from the front. 

…There’s no way they’ll be able to do that before I can attack, as far as I can tell. 

I can see that a few of the commanders are holding back sighs, so maybe they realize that, too. 

So this was all part of Mr. Tiva’s plan? 

I always thought of Mr. Tiva as a thoughtful, discerning adult, but it looks like I should add determined and not to be taken lightly to that description. 

More than anything, I’m glad he’s on my side. 

“This way, I reckon. Watch yer step there.” 

I follow the man with the unusual speech patterns deeper into the mountain. 

My guide’s name is Mr. Hawkin. 

Apparently, he’s a former thief and currently the slave of an adventurer. 

“……” 

Mr. Hawkin’s master, Mr. Jeskan, walks ahead of me in silence. 

He’s striding along through this treacherous terrain as easily as if he was taking a stroll in town. 

Yet he still seems to be on high alert: Occasionally, his eyes will shoot off to one side, moments before a bird or other small animal passes by. 

I could never detect the presence of such small creatures. His Presence Perception skill level must be incredibly high. 

That’s to be expected, though—Mr. Jeskan is a famous adventurer. 

He’s climbed all the way up to A rank on his own with his ability to skillfully use all kinds of different weapons based on what the situation calls for. 

From what I’m told, he’s still young and is expected to reach S rank soon enough, too. 

Considering that Mr. Tiva referred to him as a capable adventurer and hired him to work with me, I’m sure he’s trustworthy as well as incredibly strong. 

That must be why he’s allowed to bring a suspicious-seeming guide like a former thief. 

But apparently, not everyone has accepted that. 

“Why must we follow behind the likes of a former thief anyway?” 

Yaana grumbles quietly. 

She has an incredibly strong sense of justice and hates anything improper or immoral. 

From her point of view, I’m sure a robber is worthy of nothing but contempt. 

She doesn’t seem to be able to accept working with one, even if he is a former thief. 

“Mr. Hawkin isn’t the kinda thief you’re thinking of, Yaana,” Hyrince explains. “He’s a gentleman thief—he only stole from corrupt nobles and merchants to spread the wealth among the poor and needy.” 

Hyrince insisted it was natural for him to join this battle, since he’s my attendant. 

I was told that he negotiated with Mr. Tiva and convinced Tiva to let him come along with me. 

“Is that true?!” 

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Thief with a Thousand Knives?” 

At that, Mr. Hawkin peers back at us with a sly grin. 

“Aw, shucks. That’s just an old nickname o’ mine.” 

“Th-the famous Thief with a Thousand Knives?! That’s you?!” 

The Thief with a Thousand Knives is Mr. Hawkin’s old alias. He was a rogue who made quick work of any enemy with his knife skills and never let a target escape with their belongings. 

He pursued only those who engaged in fraud and wrongdoing and delivered his earnings to orphanages and the needy in the form of food. 

Since the anonymous donations were food, not stolen goods or coin, the nobles and merchants who’d been robbed couldn’t take their money back, so the poor and hungry were always grateful to the Thief with a Thousand Knives. 

And the person who carried out these fairy tale–like feats is none other than Mr. Hawkin. 

Legends of his exploits have been spread far and wide by minstrels, and now you can hear them in many different lands. 

In other words, Yaana had no idea she was complaining about someone very famous. 

She looks embarrassed, although also a little disappointed. 

“You’re not quite what I imagined…” 

Though she mutters it almost to herself, it carries surprisingly well on the mountain air. 

Yaana blushes and hastily covers her mouth, but since everyone here is trained for battle, we all have the Five Senses Enhancement skill. 

Everyone heard her as soon as she said it, which means Mr. Hawkin must have heard her initial complaint as well. 

Which is probably why Hyrince covered for her in the first place. 

“Heh, I get that a lot. It’s always real pretty-boy types who play me in the theaters and stuff, so I can’t blame ya.” 

Mr. Hawkin doesn’t seem particularly offended. 

Since the stories of the Thief with a Thousand Knives have become famous through minstrels, there are also plays about him, with the lead role usually going to the star actor of the troupe. 

As a result, most people imagine the famous thief as a handsome young man, but I have to admit that you couldn’t quite describe Mr. Hawkin that way even if you were being charitable. 

He is surprisingly young, but his features are exceedingly ordinary, to the point where he could very easily blend into a crowd. 

Maybe that’s why he was such a good thief in the first place. 

“But why is the Thief with a Thousand Knives a slave?” 

This time, Yaana directs her suspicious gaze at Mr. Jeskan, Mr. Hawkin’s master. 

“Well, it’s a funny story, that. See, I got caught by that human-trafficking organization yer all after and damn near lost my head. But Mr. Jeskan here was kind enough to buy little ol’ me.” 

“I happened to be investigating the organization on a request from the government, which is why I was in touch with them. There’s a limit to how much you can accomplish solo, so I gave the pretext that I wanted a slave who could fight, and here we are.” 

From the rest of their explanation, Mr. Hawkin was independently trying to gather information on the human-trafficking organization, while Mr. Jeskan was doing the same for a formal government request. In the process, Hawkin was captured, and since Jeskan had said he wanted a battle-ready slave, he ended up buying him. 

“I’m real grateful, y’know. You saved my life.” 

“Well, you can pay me back by working hard.” 

Despite their relationship as master and slave, I can tell that these two get along quite well. 

As proof, the collar has been removed from Mr. Hawkin’s neck. 

The human-trafficking organization puts special collars around their captives, which render the victim incapable of disobeying their master’s orders. 

We don’t understand how it works exactly. 

The collars are probably processed in a special way and conferred with some kind of control skill, or so I’m told, but even the researchers from the Word of God couldn’t figure out anything else. 

In other words, the human-trafficking organization has someone on their payroll whose technology outpaces that of the Word of God’s research team. 

Why would a seedy criminal organization have such technology? 

There are a lot of mysteries, but it doesn’t change what I have to do. 

“Heh-heh. They shouldn’t’ve let me go after allowin’ me to see their hideout. They’re gonna regret bein’ so careless, I betcha.” 

Mr. Hawkin smirks. 

The reason he’s leading the way is that he was being held captive in the same deserted village that we’re trying to attack now. 

He was investigating the mountain area when he was caught, too, so he’s the perfect guide. 

As a former thief, he’s an expert in finding routes that normally aren’t noticeable and can spot and dismantle any traps along the way without breaking a sweat. 

“There it is.” 

Thanks to Mr. Hawkin’s expert guidance, we soon find ourselves at our destination: overlooking the back of the deserted village. 

Contrary to what the phrase deserted village would suggest, its defenses look very sturdy. 

It’s all made of wood, but the walls surrounding the village are still solid, with a gate and even a watchtower built at the front facing the old road. 

Just as our information said, it really is like a minor fortress. 

Busting in from the front looks like a back-breaking task. 

Sure enough, it sounds like the main force is still trying to contend with the front defenses. I can hear the clangs and cries of battle from that direction. 

It looks like the commanders won’t be able to bring down the fort before I can launch my surprise attack after all. 

As I prepare my magic, I can’t help smiling dryly to myself. I guess Mr. Tiva was right as always. 

“Listen up, Julius. If all you want to do is use magic, skills are plenty for that. But if you truly want to master magic, that isn’t good enough. How do you normally create and unleash spells? Be aware of that, and ask yourself how you can do it stronger, faster, and more accurately.” 

I remember my master’s words. 

He is a little bit crazy, but his teachings were right on the mark. He showed me exactly what I needed to do to be strong. 

Following his instructions now, I focus hard on the magic I’m about to unleash. 

“As soon as I break down the wall with magic, please charge in and attack.” 

After issuing an order to the rest of the group, I start to weave my spell. 

“Now!” 

In time with my shout, I cast the Holy Magic spell Holy Light Sphere. 

The ball of light crashes into the wooden wall at high speed, breaking it down with a roar. 

In its wake, nothing is left but a carved-out space of ground, not exactly an ideal entrance for an attack. Maybe I should’ve held back a bit more. 

I guess I still have a long way to go. 

“Charge!” 

“““RAAAAH!””” 

I call out to cover up my mistake, and together we all dash toward the village. 

The members of the human-trafficking organization, fighting to defend the front gate, turn around in a panic when we burst through the destroyed wall. 

I guess they weren’t expecting a surprise attack to come through the rear wall. 

The wooden barrier was certainly sturdy enough to keep out the weak monsters that roam in this area and would’ve been difficult to break down for any ordinary soldiers. 

But in the face of a truly strong opponent, a palisade is useless. 

In the former Keren County town of Sariella, even the stone walls that protected the village were meaningless in the face of those white spiders. 

If I’m going to face that kind of enemy in the future, or maybe something even stronger, I can’t let a little wall like this slow me down! 

The bandits whirl around and try to fend us off. 

But at the same time as our attack, the main forces renew their assault on the front gate, throwing the enemy’s battle formations into disarray. 

Spying a perfect opportunity, I speed up and charge into the enemy lines. 

The man in front of me, who was in the rear of the bandit forces, can’t even ready his weapon in his panic. 

I slash my sword at my defenseless opponent, then move on to cut down the next one without stopping to see the results. 

With each swing of my sword, I feel it bite into flesh and let a spray of blood fill the air. 

The enemy soldiers fall one after another, scarcely even putting up a fight. 

“Aaaaah!” 

One of the remaining men charges at me desperately. 

He swings his club around in the air, preparing to bring it down on me with sheer momentum. 

“Ah!” 

Then Hyrince jumps between the man and me, blocks the club with the shield in his left hand, and pierces the man’s neck with the sword in his right. 

“Quit going so far ahead, dumbass!” 

“This is nothing!” I protest. “I’ll keep going as far as I can!” 

“Watch out!” 

Just then, an arrow comes flying toward me, only to be struck down by Mr. Jeskan’s sickle and chain in the nick of time. 

“Thank you!” 

With a brief thanks, I keep moving to the next opponent. 

Jeskan uses a throwing ax to deftly dispatch the enemy soldier who shot the arrow. 

Behind me, the rest of the group engages in battle with the enemy, while Yaana supports them with magic. 

Farther ahead, my attack seems to have created enough of a gap for the main force to finally break down the front gate, and now our allies come pouring through in earnest. 

At this point, the enemy has no way to stop us. 

Our victory is cemented within minutes. 

“Dammit! You bastards!” 

One of the surviving enemy soldiers we’ve captured spits at us. 

“What were we s’posed to do?! I was deep in debt! This was the only way I could keep on livin’. I had no choice! Don’t you get it?!” 

He’s only lightly wounded, so he was the first of the prisoners to wake up, and he immediately started cursing us. 

Doesn’t he know what’s going to happen to him? 

“Hey, you, kid! I’ve got a son right around yer age! I can’t go dyin’ on him here! Please?!” 

The man tries to reason with me as I happen to pass nearby. 

One of the soldiers walking with me silently reaches for his sword, but I gesture for him to back down. 

“No matter what the reason, it’s never right to bring misfortune on others to solve your own.” 

With that, I leave the man behind. 

He keeps shouting after me, but I doubt I’ll get through to him, no matter what I say. 

People turn to the path of evil far too easily. 

I’ve seen that while traveling with this special task force, far more than I ever wanted to. 

The human-trafficking organization has all kinds of members. 

Some turned to crime in order to put food on the table, like this man. 

Others were forced to join the organization despite their young age because their parents were members. 

And still others seemed evil by nature, simply taking pleasure in seeing others suffer. 

Each of them had joined the human-trafficking organization under different circumstances. 

But there was one thing they all had in common: None of them regretted it. 

Not a single one seemed to regret having stained their hands with evil. 

Of course, some of them claimed to be remorseful when it came time for execution. 

But they weren’t really repenting for their sins—they were just sorry they’d been caught and were being punished. 

Why couldn’t I have gotten away with it? 

That’s the awful truth of what they were thinking. 

There were times when I tried to convince them to start anew with the right words. 

But of course, I had to move on to the next battle. 

People turn to evil easily. 

And it takes untold time and patience to turn them back to the right path. 

So fast to fall and so difficult to bring back to the light. 

There are many different ways for a person to stray down the path of evil, but in order for them to return, they first need to regret the things they’ve done. 

If you can’t get them to realize how horrible their crimes were, then it’s impossible to convince them to try to start over. 

But I don’t have that kind of time, and neither do they. 

I have to travel to countless different lands, and they have to face a punishment that befits the weight of their crimes. 

And in most cases, that means being tortured for information, then executed. 

Even if we did have time to rehabilitate them, it’d be more effective to use the ones who can be used and dispose of the rest. 

Because it’s far more important to rescue the innocent victims still suffering at the hands of the human-trafficking organization than to dwell on these criminals. 

I understand that, in theory. 

But I don’t know if I really believe that’s right. 

Some of them were participating only because they didn’t have a choice. 

They were poor, their hometowns were attacked by monsters, or they were born into it. 

Is it really right to punish them without offering them a chance at rehabilitation? 

…I might not be able to answer that, no matter how hard I agonize over it. 

But still, I should always think about what I consider right and wrong, like Mr. Tiva said. 

It’s just that at the moment, there’s only so much I can do. 

My time is better spent rescuing many innocent victims from suffering than laboring to convince one person to turn their life around. 

It’s impossible to measure the value of a person’s life, but between someone who’s gravely sinned and someone who hasn’t, it should be obvious which one should take priority. 

Maybe things would be different if I had some other way to persuade those who have gone astray. 

But I do not, so I have to prioritize saving the people who I can still save. 

In a perfect world, I would save everyone, but I know that’s not really possible. 

I just have to do my absolute best to save as many people as I can. 

No matter how difficult that might be. 

Because that’s what a hero does.