***
I got to cross off my wish, sure, but the price was way too steep.
Daring to smash up my steak was something I simply could not forgive.
Some people might call that ridiculous.
Asking whether lopping a guy's head off just for trying to ruin a steak wasn't going too far.
Let me ask anyone who feels that way a question.
Was a bastard who hit on a woman regardless of time and place, and then tried to crush her with force and status when words failed, normal?
Even someone like me, who survived the Demon Realm and came back, wouldn't pull garbage like that.
To me, a single bite of steak matters more than a bastard worth less than trash.
No one could possibly know what it feels like to keep living inside a skeleton soldier's body without losing your mind.
Life in the Demon Realm,
For me, every single day had been a blood-drying series of agonies.
A life where it wouldn't have been strange if my eyes (not that I had any) suddenly flipped and I turned into a demonic beast at any moment.
Only because I lived constantly reminding myself that my true essence was human had I managed to stay sane at all.
The horrific reality of the command 'Kill! Kill everything alive!' ringing inside my head without a single moment's rest had tormented me endlessly.
To overcome that overwhelming temptation, I had to constantly awaken my sense of identity as 'me!'
I had to carve the unshakeable conviction and will that I was human into my mind over and over just to keep from wavering.
At times, I lived chattering away noisily with others, trying desperately not to forget that I was human.
Back then, I needed an urge even stronger than the murderous impulse ringing inside my head.
Because doing that made those filthy commands echoing in my mind grow faint.
The things I definitely wanted to do once I became 'human' again.
Something powerful enough to suppress the urge to kill!
In other words, I needed a desire so captivating and consuming that I wouldn't get tired of thinking about it all day long.
Whenever that craving began to cool, I would talk with the others, pick out new things I wanted to do first once I became human, rank them by priority...
And what I completed that way was the list titled 'The 98 things I must do before I die.'
What took up the largest share of the list was food.
Because the act of 'eating' was impossible in a skeleton soldier's body, it let me feel an urge even more intense than those bizarre commands.
In any case,
Because of a bastard acting like a mutt in heat, things had gotten twisted up.
I killed him on impulse, sure, but I have zero regrets.
I had no intention of staying long in the city of Serenion anyway.
"Phew!"
Still, it is a bit of a shame.
I'd wanted to get plenty of rest before setting off.
Well, now that it's come to this, heading straight to my homeland, the Kingdom of Arden, isn't a bad idea.
There's no need to worry that they might send pursuers after me, either.
It'd be laughable for Serenion, a city with a strongly neutral stance, to dispatch a pursuit squad just to catch one guy whose identity they barely even know.
Most importantly,
Since I've already been walking for over a week, I'm certain nobody is chasing me.
Unlike ordinary people, I don't need much sleep, so I spend most of my time walking.
Sometimes my joints ache, too, though maybe it's because that's proof I'm alive?
I actually enjoy it.
Whenever I practiced my once-a-day Divine training method, a faint light would glow from my legs and the pain would vanish right away.
Probably because the restoration magic carved into my bones was taking effect.
Even while walking, if I consciously guide mana to an aching spot, the pain fades away too.
Could the restoration magic etched into my bones be working on my muscles as well?
It makes me glad I trained my mana.
Anyway, the border of the Kingdom of Arden ought to be coming into view any time now...
Though there was a time gap between the Demon Realm and reality, I clearly remembered that heading south from Serenion led to the Kingdom of Arden's border.
After all, when Count Silverion led a thousand troops to join the Demon Realm expeditionary army, they had marched north for well over twenty full days.
Unlike back then, I was traveling alone without any unnecessary breaks, walking at more than double their pace every single day.
By now, the border really should be in sight.
Since I don't know the roads well, I've just been moving in a dead-straight line across whatever mountains or rivers block my path.
I'm beat.
I should take a short break.
Climbing over one mountain after another is starting to get old.
Opening my backpack, I pulled out some jerky and dried rations.
I paid a pretty penny for these, too.
Now that I'm back in a human body, I should only eat good food and only look at good things... Wait! Wasn't that prenatal care?
Whatever.
I have plenty of money, so there's no reason to skimp on food expenses.
I tore off a piece of jerky, popped it into my mouth, and chewed.
Sure enough, expensive stuff is expensive for a reas...
Thoom, thud-thud-thoom, thoom...
BOOM—! CRASH...
[Waaaaaaaah!]
Faint drumbeats, heavy impacts, and human battle cries drifted over from afar.
Putting the jerky away, I stood back up.
The sounds had definitely come from beyond the mountain.
Hurrying around the mountain to reach the other side, I stopped.
"What a load of shit. Tch!"
I couldn't help clicking my tongue under my breath.
I'd definitely found the right way.
A fortress stood in view, built by carving sheer artificial cliffs out of the mountain, piling the excavated earth into ramparts, and raising stone walls atop them.
Soldiers stood packed tightly along the ramparts firing arrows, and banners bearing an axe inside a shield fluttered in the wind.
It was definitely Fortress Bladers in the border region I'd been aiming for.
In front of it lay a modest stretch of plains, swarming with people.
On their massive banners, a fire-breathing black bear was painted.
"Did those Kingdom of Belarus bastards invade?!"
What killer timing.
Today, of all days?
My luck really is rotten to the core.
The Kingdom of Belarus's army looked to number at least forty to fifty thousand strong.
Countless mountains stood between their country and our Kingdom of Arden.
Fortress Bladers served as the first line of defense.
Behind the fortress, Count Bladers's Castle guarded the bridge crossing the 'Pain River.'
The only way to cross the Pain River was through Count Bladers's Castle, and a war just had to break out today of all days?
Those goddamn bastards!
After whining for us to send troops because an expeditionary army had to be dispatched to the Demon Realm, now they have the nerve to invade again...
There was a reason people called the Kingdom of Belarus bastards 'white devil bastards.'
Because their nature was to put on a virtuous face on the outside while not hesitating to pull every dirty trick in the book behind your back.
"Fuck!"
I try not to curse if I can help it, but things have gotten twisted up in the filthiest way possible.
I pulled my military uniform out of my backpack.
I'd figured I probably wouldn't have any reason to wear it, yet now that it's come to this, I have no choice.
I need to make my affiliation clear.
Being mistaken for an enemy and dying to friendly arrows is an absurd experience I'd rather pass on.
It'd be better to move along the mountain ridge toward the rear of the fortress and head inside from there.
If I bypassed it and went straight to Count Bladers's Castle, there was an even higher chance I'd be mistaken for a deserter and executed.
Since it's wartime.
Putting on the plain, uniform green military fatigues, I fastened the belt holding Dark Reaper around my waist.
Had I known this would happen, I would've bought at least a breastplate back in Serenion.
Damn it...
No matter how early regret comes, all it does is put you in a foul mood.
Time to move as fast as I can!
***
A sweet, metallic taste of exhaustion filled my mouth.
I'm running my ass off.
Down below the mountain I was traversing, the commotion had died down.
Maybe it had just been a light skirmish to announce the start of the war.
It'd be nice if the war wrapped up in a day or two, but wars usually drag on for a long time.
I just finished a war against a Demonic Dragon leading countless demonic beasts, and now I'm plunging straight back into another battlefield!
Makes me wonder if I really have to do this all over again.
Thinking can wait until later.
The war has to end before I can do anything else anyway.
Wait—up ahead, a group of soldiers is pushing through the woods on the move.
"?!"
A sense of puzzlement hit me.
Soldiers wearing the uniform of the Kingdom of Arden and five knights were marching along.
The soldiers numbered roughly a hundred.
Aside from a few of them, they were generally well armed.
Are they a special forces unit?
Just because it's a siege doesn't mean the enemy only attacks head-on.
Sometimes they split their forces and make a grueling mountain march to target the fortress.
Perhaps those guys had been sent outside on a mission to set or inspect traps.
Judging by the direction they were headed, they looked to be returning after wrapping up their mission.
I'd better follow them for now.
If things go well, I might be able to slip into the fortress easily without any trouble.
All I have to do is blend quietly into their ranks and walk right in.
That's way better than speaking up to act friendly and drawing suspicion instead.
Without making a sound, I picked up my pace and tailed the back of the column.
"Huh? Who're you? Why is someone from the infiltration unit back here? You're supposed to be up front. And where'd you lose your helmet?"
Having sensed my presence, the soldier walking briskly at the very rear spotted me with my head ducked and whispered in a low voice.
Infiltration unit?
They're wearing the Kingdom of Arden's military uniform and marching toward the fortress, and he says they're an infiltration unit?
I stole a quick glance at the guy's face.
Blue eyes, a square jaw, and a full beard.
"...!"
These bastards are definitely Kingdom of Belarus troops.
Ninety-nine percent of people from the Kingdom of Arden have brown eyes.
While the Kingdom of Belarus had plenty of people with blue, gray-blue, or green eyes.
"!"
Spotting my eye color and appearance too, the guy opened his mouth to shout.
In a flash, I clamped my hand over his mouth.
Because he was the straggler at the very back of the line, no one noticed, but if he let out so much as a muffled grunt, I'd be in trouble.
Keeping my hand clamped over his mouth, I twisted his head right around.
CRACK—!
Supporting his dead weight, I dragged him behind a large tree.
I stripped off his helmet first and unfastened the buckles along the right side of his breastplate.
"..."
A stench almost on par with a rotting corpse wafted out from inside the breastplate.
Filthy bastard, would it kill you to wash your gear before wearing it?!
Putting the breastplate on, I hooked the three clasps and fastened them tight.
I pulled the helmet down over my head and grabbed his bow and quiver.
It was identical to the bow I'd used back in the Demon Realm.
The standard-issue bow used by soldiers of Arden.
What do I do next?
Now that I know these bastards are the enemy, marching into the fortress alongside them would be insane.
Should I fight them?
No, that doesn't seem like a smart move.
Even at a glance, the enemy numbers well over a hundred.
On top of that, there are five skilled fighters among them who look to be knights.
Alright,
I've made up my mind.
***
Henny was stationed at the rear of the fortress, standing guard.
Hailing from the County of Bladers, he had a deeper attachment to this land than anyone.
Having served for ten years, his diligence and responsible attitude on duty had earned him promotion to the rank of Squad Leader.
He was unhappy about standing guard at the rear of the fortress.
While the other soldiers were facing off against enemy troops at the northern gate toward Belarus, merely standing watch back here left him feeling apologetic and frustrated.
Because it felt as if he had run away out of fear of battle.
"Squad Leader Henny, please look over there. I think they're friendly troops."
"Friendly troops? Did we send any troops outside? Ventiel, has any word come down?"
"Not that I know of, sir."
"Ventiel, run over and ask right now!"
Squad Leader Henny didn't hesitate.
If nothing had been reported, he verified it no matter what.
"Understood!"
Ventiel stripped off all his heavy gear.
Running all the way to the northern gate would take quite some time.
Normally, a mage would have been assigned here to relay messages, but with the Kingdom of Belarus invading, every last mage had been deployed to the northern gate.
The fastest way to report an anomaly was to set off a signal flare.
Yet he couldn't fire a signal flare over a mere hundred men wearing friendly uniforms.
Even if the wall here was lower than the northern ramparts, they still had a fortress wall and twenty soldiers manning it.
Ventiel sprinted straight along the ramparts toward the northern gate.
However, the distance from here to the northern gate was far too great to bring back an answer in time.
Before he could even reach the northern gate, the detachment wearing friendly uniforms arrived at the rear gate first.
"I am Elios Allen, a knight serving Baron James Goldvein under the command of His Excellency Count Marcus. We have completed our mission and are returning—open the castle gate!"
Stepping forward from the troops gathered before the rear gate, a knight clad in dirt-stained full plate armor took off his helmet.
"I am Squad Leader Henny of the 1st Corps, in charge of the rear guard. We are verifying your identity, so please wait a moment."
Squad Leader Henny turned his head and looked at Tom standing beside him.
Flipping through several sheets of paper, Tom searched for the name.
At the news of the Kingdom of Belarus's invasion, troops had been dispatched from all across the nation.
There was no way for regular soldiers to know the faces of every commander and knight arriving from all over the country.
So to verify identities, records detailing commander-level personnel had been written down and stationed at every guard post.
Elios Allen – 178 cm / 83 kg / Age 30 / Silver hair
"It matches, Squad Leader Henny."
Having checked the knight's information written on the document, Tom nodded.
"..."
Squad Leader Henny found it slightly odd that the soldiers below the ramparts were moving about so restlessly.
While going through identity verification procedures, it was customary for the remaining soldiers to stand in neat formation or at attention.
'What a shambles. How do they expect to fight a battle with troops like that...'
Just as Squad Leader Henny was clicking his tongue inwardly at the soldiers' pathetic discipline,
THWACK—!
SHHHK—!
A sound like a watermelon bursting open rang out, followed half a beat later by the whistle of an arrow slicing through the air.
"Whoa!"
Squad Leader Henny flinched in shock.
An arrow had sunk straight into the head of the silver-haired knight who had taken off his helmet and identified himself as 'Elios Allen.'
"They're Kingdom of Belarus bastards! Don't be fooled! Kill them!"
Right on the heels of that booming shout, several more arrows came flying in.
"Dammit! Fire your arrows! Those men are the enemy!"
Squad Leader Henny had spotted what the restlessly shifting soldiers below the ramparts were gripping in their hands.
What was more, he noticed that the soldiers' eye colors were different from those of the Kingdom of Arden's people.
Seeing that over half the soldiers wore the beards that men of the Kingdom of Belarus prized as a symbol of manhood sealed his certainty.
"Damn it! We've been made! Archers, pick off the bastards on the ramparts first! Hook your grapples and climb!! Light infantry, with me—we kill that bastard first!"
One of the knights roared at the top of his lungs.
At his command, a dozen soldiers charged after the knight in the direction the arrows had flown from.
Standing there was a young soldier aiming an arrow with a calm expression.
"Sneaky little bastards, stings getting busted like that, doesn't it?"
Wearing a playful grin, Bellun aimed his bow.
"You little brat! I will kill you and tear you limb from limb!"
Having failed right on the verge of pulling off their operation, the knight erupted in fury.
Losing a comrade to a measly arrow only made his blood boil hotter.
'I'll lop that goddamn bastard's wrists off first!'
Blazing with murderous intent, the knight sprinted straight toward Bellun.
SHHHK—!
"Urgh!"
Startled by the arrow's speed, which far exceeded his expectations, the knight twisted his upper body aside.
He wasn't confident he could deflect it with his sword.
THUNK—!
"Guuurgh!"
A soldier running behind him took the arrow instead and collapsed, and the knight, who had faltered while dodging the first shot, had to hurl himself sideways this time.
Because Bellun had aimed at the knight and loosed again.
Two shots in rapid succession, no less!
THWACK-THUNK—!
"Argh!"
"Gah!"
"You bastard!"
Picking himself up off the ground, the knight seethed with rage.
While he had been rolling across the dirt to dodge the arrows, his soldiers had overtaken him and charged ahead toward Bellun.
"I'll kill you!"
Letting out a ferocious roar, the knight sprinted forward.
As the distance closed, he saw Bellun toss his bow aside and draw a standard-issue military sword.
"!"
And then,
All of a sudden, his entire frame began trembling uncontrollably.
'What's wrong with my body?'
Crushed by the bloodlust radiating off a mere brat like that?!