Chapter 360: Chapter 358 – The Makings of a Hero

The Makings of a Hero

『No, you’re not coming.』Hikaru declared.

『Why not?!』Galixon complained.『We are ready to lay down our lives for the Flower-Masked Goddess! And I believe you will put our lives to good use!』

『No, no, no. That way of thinking is not good. Really not good.』

『What…?!』

『Look at Flower Face.』

Flower Face—Paula—was listening to their conversation, her cheeks clearly puffed.

『Whoa!』

『The Goddess is angry…』

『How terrifying…!』

The bodyguards stirred. She was simply glaring and puffing out her cheeks.

They were in one of the only thirty-one garden mansions in Dream Maker, the Japanese style house that was given to Hikaru. There was no greenery in the city, except in these residences.

A strategy meeting was being held in the biggest room. A map lay spread out on a low table, surrounded by Hikaru, Lavia, Paula, and Galixon. Although technically called a large room, it couldn’t fit all of them, so the rest of the members remained in the porch, standing in attention.

『You were able to walk the path of a warrior once more because of Flower Face’s holy magic. Wasting the life you were given is tantamount to dishonoring her. It’s like smearing mud on her face.』

『I hate mud.』Paula looked away.

I don’t know how that makes sense, but okay, Hikaru thought.『As you can see, Flower Face is not pleased.』

The members stirred once more. Hikaru found their reactions amusing, but they would not get anywhere like this.

『Listen. Let’s go over the plan once more. Only me, Star Face, and Flower Face who will go to the northern tip of the continent.』

『But Boss, it’s dangerous with just the three of you.』

『I actually wanted to go alone.』

『Alone?』

『Others had something to say about it, of course. A lot.』

Lavia made a victory sign beside Hikaru.

Mobility-wise, it would be easier for Hikaru to go alone. But of course there were disadvantages; he could get into some unforeseen trouble without being able to recover, and he could run out of magic-loaded bullets without any means to replenish them.

But Lavia didn’t seem to like the idea of letting Hikaru go alone, even more so when he was going to face a fairly strong opponent this time. She called it a woman’s intuition, and insisted, pressed the issue, and eventually silenced Hikaru.

Right. Women are beyond the reach of reason.

『What I need you guys to do is go crazy around Dream Maker. The enemy should already be aware of Koukimaru’s failure. They won’t do something as tedious as luring the army inland. I expect them to come at full force to crush the city. With this many people, it’s only natural to assume that more humans will be going out on expeditions. The enemy will strike whenever they can.』

『Hmm…』

『But thanks to Koukimaru’s tweaking of the Roots’ guardians, it’ll be a few days before a powerful monster appears. In the meantime, we’ll head north. But to do that, we need to keep the enemy’s attention south—here.』

Hikaru pointed at the map with his index finger. At Dream Maker.

『You sound like you’ve already seen it happen, Boss.』

Can you stop calling me Boss? It was obvious, however, that they wouldn’t listen, so he didn’t bother saying it.

『Well, yeah. The Root guardians were clearly weaker than when I last fought them, and the dragon stones they guarded were subpar. The enemy expected Dream Maker to bring reinforcements, so they relocated the guardians. No doubt about it. Such a tactic wouldn’t be necessary against an army of 2,000 men. But when the enemy numbers over ten thousand, it’s natural to want to destroy them while limiting casualties. They baited the army to go inland by attacking Lands Harvest.』

『But our numbers have not diminished significantly. Won’t they try a more daring tactic?』

『Like I said, I think Koukimaru’s been making the plans so far. If our enemy is a dragon… or an evil drakon, most likely, it’s not gonna resort to petty tactics.』

Images of the Earth Dragon subspecies, the Rock Dragon, and the Gray Noble Drakon popped into Hikaru’s mind. They all saw humans as an inferior species. Hikaru planned to use this complacency to strike.

『I’ll tell Grucel to speed up the reinforcement of Dream Maker’s walls. Otherwise, ten Yamamaneki will be enough to destroy them.』

『That’s… true.』

『You guys will be crucial to this strategy. If you fight as much as possible outside, the enemy will think that the humans are busy collecting dragon stones. They won’t expect us to be fortifying our defenses. The goal is to delay their full-scale march southward as much as possible. It’s a race against time.』

All members of the bodyguards gulped, including Galixon.

『The enemy probably believes they still have an overwhelming advantage. That’s our biggest and only opportunity. If we miss it, it’ll turn into a war of attrition. Do you want to spill the blood of tens of thousands of human beings, or do we put ourselves in a little bit of danger? The answer’s clear, isn’t it? I’ll use the time you’ll buy to kill the Evil Drakon.』

After Hikaru filled them in with the details, the bodyguards decided to go with his plan. He felt relieved. He preferred it if they understood things fully rather than them acting while half in doubt.

『So Boss. Are you leaving right away?』

『That’s the plan… No, wait.』

『Boss?』

Hikaru stood up. He sensed someone coming to the house at an incredible speed. They eventually arrived at the door and entered with the bodyguards.

「Silver Face.」

「What can I do for you, Master Swordsman?」

Even if one didn’t know who he was, one could easily tell by looking at his physique that he was a powerful man. Lawrence D. Falcon, Captain of Ponsonia’s Knights, stood surrounded by the bodyguards, watching Hikaru.

「Are you going?」was all he said.

「Yeah.」was all Hikaru replied.

Hikaru somehow felt as if Lawrence sensed what he was trying to do. Perhaps it was both of their Instincts at work. Or perhaps it wasn’t related to their Soul Board at all. Hikaru met a few people who boasted monstrous strength, and Lawrence was the first of them.

「Can you win?」the man asked.

「I’ll just have to try. Assassination is the perfect job for me. Wouldn’t you agree?」

「Do not put yourself down. You’ve got the makings of a hero.」

Hikaru’s mouth dropped open for a moment. He didn’t expect such words to come from Lawrence.

「Dying is meaningless. Come back alive. I can’t deal with the Beastman King’s nagging alone.」

「Heh. Is that why you want me back?」

「I can’t conceal my presence like you.」Lawrence turned his back.

「Master Swordsman.」Hikaru called.「I’m not fit to be a hero. I’ll just walk in the shadows.」

Lawrence turned his head, his eyes a little bright, then left without saying another word.