Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Author’s note:

This section covers the conversation among the men who remained at the banquet while Iris and the others were in the bath, as well as a flashback to the moment after Iris lost consciousness during the battle against the General.

***

After seeing Iris and the other women off as they returned to their lodgings first, we—Rage and I—weaved our way through the banquet hall, which was now in full swing, and made our way to the person we were looking for: Walter-san.

“…You want me to train you?”
“Yeah, you’re stronger than us. So… we want you to teach us how to fight. I beg of you.”

Following Rage’s words, I joined him, and the two of us bowed our heads in unison to plead with him.

“Let me make this clear: you guys weren’t at fault in that last battle. No one could have imagined they’d have something like that prepared—it was my mistake in command. In fact, I should be thanking you for holding your ground so well, so don’t worry about it…”
“No, while that’s part of it… we don’t want to wail in regret, thinking that we could have done more. If something happens. We want to do everything we possibly can, so…”

We need to gain more experience. So we can handle whatever comes our way. After all, that enemy we struggled so much against this time—the Goblin General—was nothing more than one of the very first raid bosses from before the level cap was lifted…

♢

“‘Release’…!!”

Immediately after Iris cast her highest-tier area-of-effect healing spell, I slashed at the colossal figure before me while a ring of light hovered above my head. My blood ran cold when that tiny body of hers was engulfed in flames, but it seemed the man who was with her—though it was a regrettable turn of events—had shielded her with his own body this morning, and now he lay gravely wounded on the ground. I was endlessly grateful for that, but the fact that she cast a spell at me while leaving him behind suggested she must have run out of mana. Otherwise, kind-hearted Iris would never have abandoned someone like that.

…I wondered how much this was weighing on her heart. Iris was already at her physical and mental limit; I couldn’t let this drag on any longer. I had to end this right here.

The Goblin General’s reaction was sluggish. It’s no wonder he was taken aback—after all, his opponent, who had been on the brink of death just moments ago, had fully recovered and was now attacking him. Even so, he managed to block my attack, but his guard—compromised by the surprise strike and loss of balance—was far too weak for me now that I’d unlocked my racial abilities.

“Gaaahhh!!”

Accompanied by a roar, a scene that seemed almost comical unfolded: the monster’s sword—with its overwhelming mass—was knocked away by my rapier. A fist, charged with lightning far surpassing anything I’d used before, pierced his now completely exposed torso and exploded, scattering intense sound and light.

“‘Edge the Lightning’!!”

Taking advantage of the moment he lost his balance to unleash a new technique, the blade of my rapier was instantly enveloped by a wide, translucent purple blade, significantly increasing its size. After being knocked back by a lightning-wrapped palm strike—causing him to stagger from the impact—I thrust my rapier, now wrapped in a long-sword-shaped barrier containing purple lightning, into his body as if to gouge him. This was a new technique that had only recently flashed into my mind; while active, even with my current strength, the blade became as sharp as a high-level, powerful magic sword.
It was blocked by his left arm—as sturdy as an extremely thick rope made of twisted steel wires—but I paid no heed. I simply twisted it in with brute force, and the blade, storing immense energy, began to advance gradually.
With the smell of searing flesh filling the air, the moment the blade finally sank into his body, the barrier—which had taken the form of a sword to contain the lightning—collapsed. The stored energy exploded at the very tip of the blade, surging through his body and scorching him. Perhaps due to the agony, a deafening roar erupted from the creature, but it wasn’t over yet.

“My turn, Sol!!”

Aiming at the creature—which had been struck by the lightning bolt, thrown back, and now lay stiff—Rage, who had also unleashed his racial ability, leaped in and swung his sword at the arm I had wounded moments earlier.

“First off, say good bye to your arm!!”

Launched along with that scream, Rage’s sword finally pierced through the steel-like skin, sinking deeper as it tore through flesh and muscle with a crunching sound.

“I’ve finally reached you, you giant beast…!”

Apparently having held it in for far too long, a surge of fighting spirit erupted from Rage’s sword, which was graced with a savage grin. The wound was instantly engulfed by a blue glow overflowing from within, and the arm was swept up in the explosion. The arm, which had remained virtually unscathed until now, was torn off midway and sent flying. Only then did the Goblin General let out a cry of agony, wildly swinging the weapon in his hand.

“Fire the crossbows!”

Phirias-san’s command rang out from behind us, and just as we leaped back out of the enemy’s weapon’s range, a rain of arrows rained down on him. Most were deflected by his skin, but a few pierced his body… Yikes, those arrows had a gruesome design. They seemed to be hollow inside, and blood gushed out of the hole near the arrowhead, forcing it to bleed heavily.

After that, the mercenaries who had drawn their swords kept it at bay, and we exploited the opening they created. With one arm gone, the left side of its body was wide open, giving us far more opportunities to attack.

We can do this… It was the very moment I thought that. But then, something unexpected caught my ear and the corner of my eye.

.

.

“Uuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

Iris’s wail—too feeble to be called a scream—sounded as if she were coughing up blood. At the edge of my vision, a faint light of healing, much weaker than usual, flickered… That couldn’t be—she was definitely at her limit!

When I looked over, I saw the man from this morning—who had been seriously injured—enveloped in a faint light, and Iris’s body collapsing to the ground, seemingly completely drained of strength. It was clear she’d used healing magic beyond her limits, and we didn’t know—nor could we even imagine—what would happen if one were to completely exhaust their mana in this world.

“Iris! Damn it, don’t get in my way…!”

Even if I wanted to rush over, a formidable foe stood right in front of me. I couldn’t carelessly turn my back on him. As panic began to set in and my attention wavered, a sword as sharp as a guillotine blade came crashing down from above… It would be hard to dodge—could I withstand it? Just as I raised my shield to somehow parry the blow—

“That’s enough!!”

He rushed over at an incredible speed and leapt in front of me in an instant… Was that Zeltis? With his dual swords, he deflected the blade and sent it off course, sending a cloud of dust billowing into the air… It seemed he was much faster than I expected, but he’d apparently finished clearing out the area.

“…I’m sorry, I got a little distracted. You saved me.”
“It’s fine… I’ll handle this here. Please, go to the princess…your sister. Bring your friend and Phirias with you.”
“B-but, you’d be on your own…”
“That’s right, Aniki—that’s definitely going too far!”

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed reckless to expect him to handle an enemy that Rage, I, and the mercenaries had barely managed to contain—especially without the three of us, who were the main force. Miss Phirias let out a cry of alarm that was almost a scream.

“No, it’s fine.”

Brushing aside our objections with a snap, he announced it without a hint of tension, even flashing a smile.

“…Because the person I rely on most has arrived just in time.”

What happened in the next instant… honestly, even my eyes couldn’t keep up. Just as I thought a black shadow had darted in, a black-and-red whirlwind raged through the area, and all I could make out was that the Goblin General had his back torn to shreds and let out a cry of agony.

“…Hey, sorry I’m late. From now on, everyone’s under my command.”

A whirlwind… Captain Walter had, without us noticing, positioned himself behind us as if to shield us. He was speaking casually, just as he always did, but the sheer density of the fighting spirit radiating from him sent a shiver down my spine. And then, the battle axe in his hand. That was…

“Is…that… Arlsey!?”

Rage’s voice, muttering in a daze, echoed my own thoughts. With its ominous red blade, it looked exactly like the one Rage carried—except for the shape.

“Hm? You know this thing? But, you’ve got it mixed up… This is ‘Arsnova.’ It’s been a while since I’ve used it, but now that I’ve drawn it, you can rest easy. More importantly, I’m counting on you to look after the young lady.”
“Y-yes, I’m sorry, I’ll do my best. Let’s go, Rage.”
“O-oh.”

Though I felt a slight pang of reluctance, the aura he exuded was more than enough to drive us to break away. Lightly clad and with superior speed, Rage ran a step ahead of us, hurrying toward Iris, who was lying on the ground. Behind us, the sounds of battle resumed with even greater ferocity than before.

Strangely enough… I couldn’t imagine for a single moment that he would lose.

.

.

“Is she… still breathing?”

Rage, who had arrived a step ahead, was holding her in his arms. Phirias-san was already generously splashing potions all over another man who had suffered severe burns all over his body.

Seeing Iris in Rage’s arms, so limp and lifeless, a sense of foreboding grew. Her tiny body was gasping for breath with short, choked *hic, hic* sounds… No, that wasn’t breathing!

“Get out of the way, Rage! That’s not right—that’s not breathing!!”
“What!? Wait, is she!?”

……Agonal Respiration. This was just a muscle spasm caused by her heart suddenly stopping, making it look like she was breathing.

I snatched Iris’s body from Rage’s arms and laid her on her back on the hard ground… Sure enough, her chest wasn’t rising and falling, and even when I held my hand near her mouth, I couldn’t feel her breath. Every second counted!

“Rage! Perform CPR!”
“O-okay, leave it to me!”

Rage immediately began chest compressions. Having practiced martial arts, he’d surely had far more practice with this kind of procedure than we had, so it was better to leave it to him rather than do it myself. Besides, there was something else I needed to do right now.

I tried generating a sharp flash of lightning between my hands… It looked like it would work. “Sol” had always specialized in the Lightning element. I’d only ever used it for attacks, but generating a bolt of lightning in my hands like this seemed fine, and if I wanted to, I should be able to fine-tune it.

…What I was trying to do right now was replicate an AED from the other world. But what about the voltage? What about the current? How much power would it take to stop the heart’s spasms without damaging the cells? What a machine would automatically diagnose and determine, I now had to figure out relying solely on my intuition and instincts.

Fortunately, I had taken a few training sessions on how to use one. And by chance, when Onii-chan was hospitalized, I’d half-jokingly memorized some of the information the doctor mentioned, thinking the patient was just a child. Remember, remember…!!

“Rage, my turn”
“S-sure! She’s yours!”
“Phirias-san, block the view of the people around us! Rage, you too!”
“Eh-, ah, okay, got it!”
“Y-yeah, will do…!”

As I shouted one command after another, Phirias-san took off her own coat and used it as a curtain to block the view. While averting his eyes, Rage followed suit, using his own coat as a partition. Once I confirmed this, I took care not to scratch Iris’s skin and slashed her jacket with a flash of my sword, cutting it open.
There was no time for delicacy now. I grabbed the collar of the blouse underneath and ripped the buttons off one by one, then tore through her undergarments to expose her chest. Her heart had stopped, and her body was eerily pale, but she was still slightly warm to the touch. I placed my hands just below her right collarbone and under her left side.

It’ll be okay.

I can do this. It’ll be okay.

With the utmost care, I fine-tuned and gathered mana into both palms. Carefully. I couldn’t afford to mess this up. Carefully, carefully, I continued to adjust… Oh, whatever!

“…I won’t let them take you yet! Come back!!”

CRACK!! With that violent sound, Iris’s frail body jerked. I immediately resumed chest compressions… All I could do was pray that it had worked. Please… please wake up. I continued CPR with single-minded determination. After continuing the compressions for a while…

“…Cough!? …Cough… cough…”

Her lungs trembled slightly beneath my hands, and Iris coughed weakly… I could also feel her heartbeat resuming, faintly though, beneath my palm.

“Did it… work?”
“…Yeah, she’s breathing… again….”

With a deep, deep sigh—“Haaah…”—the two of us exhaled. We applied a healing potion to her skin, which had suffered minor burns from the electric shock, then laid Iris on her side—her tears still streaming down her face as she coughed softly, “Cough, cough”—to help her breathe more easily.

Finally turning toward the battlefield, I realized the sounds of battle had ceased. It seemed the fight there had just come to a complete end as well; the Goblin General’s massive body had been cleaved in two by Captain Walter and sank into the ground with a rumble.

…He’s strong. Overwhelmingly so. Rage had said this morning that he wasn’t sure if we could win, but now he had no choice but to correct himself. …As we were now, we couldn’t win.

He didn’t have a single visible wound. While indeed there was a difference in our weapons, that couldn’t be the only reason. Surely, the skills and training he’d accumulated over the years were far beyond ours… Ah, that’s right. I remember now. I’m pretty sure he’s…

♢

As he stood before me, appearing nonchalant yet somehow sizing me up, I hurled the question I’d long harbored at him.

“……War King Walter. One of the great warriors who, along with Sorcery King Aureolius, successfully defeated the Serpent of Death… One of the revered Heroes, that’s you, isn’t it?”

In the game, it was recounted as a past event from the reign of the previous king—a catastrophe that suddenly struck the Northern Continent. A natural disaster that emerged abruptly from a “Wound of the World” and burned down countless towns in the blink of an eye. Fighting side by side with the king of the time was a man called the Gladiator King and Mercenary King, who commanded the campaign to defeat it. He was a man out of legends who still walked amongst the living. I’d seen his name pop up a few times during in-game events. It was hard to believe, but this carefree old guy was probably him.

“…You sure do talk about him as if you don’t know the person. Oh crap, that makes his letter sound more credible.”
“…Huh?”
“……No, never mind. More importantly, stop calling me ‘great’ or a ‘hero’—it’s making my a̲s̲s̲ itch. I’m just the leader of a free-spirited mercenary group, a fool who doesn’t know any other way of life—nothing more, nothing less.”

He seemed to genuinely want me to cut it out, rejecting the idea with a truly disgusted, indescribable expression, but then suddenly continued with a somber look on his face.

“…And we didn’t completely defeat the Serpent of Death—just driving it back to its hole. And even then, we were beaten to a pulp before we finally managed to wound it and force it to retreat. Because of that, the group I’d nurtured with my own hands was wiped out, and most of the survivors scattered. It’s only now that I’m finally starting to get back on my feet… and here we are.”

Hence the name Cercueil (Coffin), huh. In a line of work like this, you never know when or where you’ll lose your life—and since he understood that better than anyone, he said only those prepared to step into a coffin should knock on the lid. After all, he—who goes by the epithet “Mercenary King”—had surely seen off more comrades than anyone else.

“Ah, stop it, stop it. You’re putting a damper on our victory celebration. …It’d be presumptuous of me to say I’ll train fighters as skilled as you guys, but I don’t mind being your sparring partner. However…”

He set his mug of ale down with a thud in front of himself and Rage.

“Let’s see how serious you are. If you really impress me, I’ll take you under my wing.”
“Oh, ohh? I’m not quite sure what you mean… but if it’s a drinking contest, I’ll take you on! I’ve never lost a drinking contest in college, so watch out, old man!!”

Rage gleefully accepted the drinking challenge. Come to think of it, Reiji-san—who was a sports enthusiast at heart—always loved this kind of competition…

“Whoa, a drinking contest against the Captain? That kid’s got some guts.”
“Don’t be ridiculous—that’s just reckless.”

The mercenaries around them erupted in excitement at the prospect of the contest… Stupid Rage, he’d totally been roped into this sideshow. Plus, no one thought Rage stood a chance. There was no trace of malice on Walter-san’s face as he faced him. This was probably just an excuse for a wild party. Shrugging with an exasperated look, he noticed me and broke into a hearty, mischievous grin.

Seriously, I just don’t understand men. Do whatever you want; if you end up in hell tomorrow, it’s none of my business.

With that, I decided to act like I had nothing to do with it and began sipping a light fruit wine at my own pace.