98. You're a Great Team Leader
Checkpoints for preventing the end of the world.
1. Is Akito safe? That bastard really just won't die.
2. Did he obtain the power? Check.
3. Is he taking the demon loli with him?
They seem to be making a fuss amongst themselves, but in the end, Akito will stubbornly insist on taking her.
The event ended well. I even got to see the game's famous "Akito Beeeeam!!" pouring out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. I'm satisfied.
In the game, it was Akito's only truly pathetic scene, so it was hilarious, but seeing it in person is even funnier.
His followers were in a frenzy, crying and worrying about him, but how am I supposed to hold it back when lasers are shooting out of his face?
With that power, Akito will save the world.
As long as he doesn't die, that is.
If Akito is that unreliable, couldn't I have taken that power for myself?
You don't know what you're talking about. Someone who investigates his body later explains it—he survived against a one-in-ten-million chance.
I can't even win fifth place in the lotto, and you want me to stake my life on a one-in-ten-million gamble? That's the definition of insanity.
The reason the monsters are fleeing from here as if their assholes were on fire is because of the barrier Akito used to absorb the power.
A barrier that sucks in everything that approaches and turns it into nourishment—if anyone else had entered, they would have vanished without even leaving dust behind.
If it weren't for the Daihara bloodline, which hogs every advantage in the game, Akito would have ended up as just another meal for the barrier.
Through this event, Akito absorbed all the power the barrier had collected until now.
It's not a power used for combat, but without it, the world would fall into ruin.
Today, I've taken another step toward world peace.
They're chattering about something; they must be trying to stop Akito from taking the demon.
「Akito-gong, she may look like a girl, but she's a demon.」
「But... I can feel her body temperature just like ours, and she looks so fragile?」
Well... in a normal situation, this would be the beginning of a movie where an infuriating character brings home a monster because it looks cute, only for it to eat everyone later. But this time, I'm grateful for Akito's forced righteousness.
That purple-haired demon loli comes from a noble bloodline in the demon world.
Not quite a king... but in terms of nobility, a Duke? A Marquis? Anyway, she's the sole survivor of a family that has now vanished.
By Akito taking the demon loli, he takes on the role of mediator between humans and demons, leading to a predictable story of achieving peace.
I quietly watch as the demon wakes up and they start their noisy chatter again.
Seeing Akito comfort the loli because she's scared of the women around them, it looks like the event is almost over.
Eventually, they must have reached an agreement to take her, as they cover the demon loli's horns with the hat Ailee was wearing.
Now then, shall I make my entrance?
As I approach leisurely, the samurai is the first to react, taking a stance to draw his blade.
"Yo—you're alive?"
"Yeon-woo!"
Damn it, don't make that kind of face while looking at me.
Akito runs toward me with a face like a lover meeting their partner after six months apart.
"Are you okay? What about your team members?"
"Everyone's fine. One of the agents died, but you guys... seem to be all safe."
"That's a relief. I was worried about what might have happened to you. Ah, of course, I believed in your skills so I thought you'd be fine, but... human emotions don't always listen to reason, you know?"
I know I'm handsome, talented, and cool, but please say those things to the other heroines.
Since I have no desire to be wooed by a man, I look at the girl held in his embrace.
As soon as our eyes meet, the purple-flavored horn-girl Lilia something-something... I can't remember her last name, but anyway, Lilia looks anxious and grips Akito's clothes tightly, avoiding my gaze.
"Who's this?"
"Huh? A survivor, a survivor. Somehow we picked up a distress signal and were able to save her."
Hmph. That's an awkward answer no matter how you hear it.
However, I respond as if I don't care much.
"Ah, so that faint mana signature was sent by this child?"
"Yeah, you felt it too and came here? That's right. Since we were able to meet in the end, this child became a guide of good luck."
"What's her name?"
"Uh... come to think of it... what is your name?"
"... ... Lilia Vid Norbert."
When Lilia says her full name, Shiori flinches (um-jjil).
Since she plays the role of the intellectual in Akito's party, she must know what the name Norbert means in the demon world.
And in this world, those who use middle names are either high-and-mighty elves who look down on humans, or one of the few famous families that survived just before the brink of humanity's destruction.
Otherwise, they're demon nobility.
The only one who noticed is Shiori, and it's a relief that the agents near Ailee are all passed out.
I reach out my hand, and Lilia closes her eyes tight in tension, but I just firmly press down on her hat.
If you want to hide it, put it on properly. Do I have to take care of every little thing like this?
"It's better to hide the middle name. It's too cool, so people will get jealous."
"... ..."
When I stroke her head, her cute, large purple eyes stare up at me blankly.
I know, I'm handsome. But make sure to help Akito a lot.
While I'm patting her small head that feels like it could fit in one hand, Angelica approaches.
"Yeon-woo, this..."
"Oh, I couldn't grab it while running away, but you found it. Thanks."
"It's nothing. Don't mention it..."
"I've grown attached to it and didn't want to make an identical one, so thank you. I'll buy you a meal later."
I can't tell if she likes it or hates it; Angelica just hangs her head low and doesn't answer.
Frey cursed it so much, but I really like my Etiquette Injector.
Twirling the Etiquette Injector like a stick, I speak to Akito.
"My team is over there, let's regroup."
I lead them toward the place where we were resting.
Now that the barrier is gone, this place is no longer a safe zone.
It's not like the monsters, who have learned it's dangerous, will attack immediately, but we should regroup quickly just in case.
Just as Akito, who is sticking close to my side and chattering away, is starting to get annoying, I see the rest of the party resting.
"Akito!!"
Chika is the first to jump up and run toward him like a dog meeting its master, and I step aside for her.
The sight of Chika meeting Akito with a face like she's about to cry and hugging Shiori is quite beautiful.
As I thought, she was only a crazy bitch when she was with me.
The agents take care of their fellow transport team members, and we reorganize Akito's team with the medicine and rations from my backpack.
Everyone looks happy, except for Takeo and Emma, who are ignoring each other like a dog and a chicken.
Once the reunion is over, people's attention naturally turns to Lilia in Akito's arms.
"This child is a survivor. We received a distress signal and were fortunately able to save her."
"A survivor? Where is she from?"
When an agent asks with a serious face, Lilia buries her face in Akito's chest in fear.
"She's still unstable from the shock. Please don't push her too hard."
"... I wasn't trying to push her... I'm sorry."
As soon as Akito performs his trademark move of making the other person look like a villain, the agent immediately softens his attitude.
Shiori changes the subject, saying that getting to Adrian alive is more important than Lilia right now, and the interest quickly fades.
While they discuss what happened to each other during the attack, I stand a bit apart, guarding the perimeter and using the Eye of Ulat.
Shit—I still can't see a damn thing.
It's a good spell, but it becomes useless as soon as I encounter forest terrain.
Frey says she can monitor the surroundings just by looking at the forest from above, but no matter how much I practice, all I can see is "forest."
"Drink some water. You're the only one working without eating anything."
"... ...?"
Turning around, I see Masayoshi and Yukina approaching.
What a strange combination.
As I take the water bottle and drink, Masayoshi glances at the group chatting behind us and asks quietly.
"It wasn't a coincidence, was it?"
"... What wasn't...?"
"Meeting Akito. It wasn't a coincidence."
... ... Why does he suddenly become "God-sayoshi" and get smart at times like this?
Was I that obvious?
I can't exactly tell him I have game knowledge, and if I just pile up excuses, his suspicion of me will only grow.
This isn't some soft world; if you're even a little bit of a threat to the government, they'll try to dispose of you.
If he gets some weird misunderstanding...
"When Yukina said there was a mana signature, you hesitated seriously."
... ... Did I?
"And then you smiled as if things had turned out well."
I think I did smile at the thought of seeing the Akito Beam.
Masayoshi scrutinizes me with a sharp gaze as if he's possessed by a detective.
An excuse... I have to find an excuse.
"No, that's... I mean—"
"There's no need to make excuses."
"... ..."
Should I use Frey's name? No, how would Frey know about something like this?
As my brain spins, thinking of all sorts of excuses, the corners of Masayoshi's stiff mouth turn up.
"Lilia, was it? You predicted that Akito would react to the distress signal that child sent, didn't you?"
"Eh...?"
"That's why you went to check on purpose."
"Uh... I guess?"
"But since you weren't certain Akito would come and couldn't just wait here, you let the team rest and went to check by yourself."
"Maybe... so?"
"There's no need to pretend you didn't know when I've already figured it out. You're a great team leader."
Masayoshi chuckles and taps my arm.
Excuse me? I'm sorry you're acting all cool, but you're completely wrong.
But it's a relief.
The gazes of Masayoshi and Yukina, looking at me with respect, are a bit burdensome, but at least they're making their own wrong assumptions.
After finishing our preparations, we head toward Adrian.
I thought it would be easier with more people, but since Lilia wouldn't leave Akito's side, Akito couldn't participate in combat.
Furthermore, the number of useless agents had increased from two to five, so the number of people to protect grew, and in the end, the battle against the monsters had to be handled the same way as before.
Yes, it means only my team suffered.
I'm sorry, guys. You're suffering because you met the wrong team leader.
At least I should be grateful that Angelica and Shiori are providing long-range support.
"I'm sorry for making you work so hard."
"It's fine. There's a kid to protect. Safety comes first."
Lilia, nestled in Akito's arms, stares up at me. She's so cute that I instinctively try to stroke her head, but then I see my hand is covered in monster blood and pull back.
Then, Rio, who was being protected next to Akito, cuts in.
"Get away from the loli, Apostle."
"Loli my ass, you get away, you perverted bastard."
Since I've regrouped with Akito and don't need to bury the monsters anymore, I kick the ass of Rio, who has returned to being 0.1% of a person.
I thought I'd have an easy trip, but things in life never go my way.
But why are you guys making those faces while I'm the one leading and suffering?
The gazes the samurai and Ailee are giving me are sharp.
Is it because Akito is flirting with me? They look like they're about to hit me.
Not understanding, I ask Chika as I walk ahead, and she gives a small laugh.
"They're paying attention to you."
"... I know I'm handsome. But I never felt like they were paying attention until now?"
If anything, they disliked and loathed me.
Ah, is that also a form of paying attention? Like how you want to look away from filthy waste, but strangely feel the urge to check it one more time.
"You idiot, it's not because you're handsome, it's because of your skill."
"Skill?"
"Yeah, because it doesn't match your image at Yggdrasil."
"... What's my image at Yggdrasil?"
"Cunning trash."
"... ..."
Chika-ssi? It's good that you're honest, but you're being a bit too blunt.
And that's not my image at Yggdrasil; it's just the image you followers made up.
My grades are good and my skills are great, so people like me.
Anyway, it means they saw me as a loser (jot-bap) but were surprised that I fight better than they thought.
"Ailee aside, Kurumi might want to duel you someday."
"Is her wish to lose?"
"Hahaha, if it were yesterday, I would have laughed at you for saying that, but..."
Chika trails off, glances at Akito, and shuts her mouth.
You would have laughed, but... what comes next? Chika makes me pissed off by stopping there and just walks ahead as if she has nothing more to say.
In that manner, we continue to defeat monsters as we head toward Adrian.
Seeing the sun setting, I was prepared to camp out, but then I hear the sound of an engine from afar and we encounter a rescue team.
Don't we usually meet them the next day after sleeping for a night?
The fact that I'm even on this mission has already deviated from the story. My brain capacity can't handle worrying about every little detail.
As long as Akito got the power and Lilia, it's fine.
As soon as the vehicles come into view, we jump onto the road and head to Adrian with the rescue team.
Since we were attacked, the mission is a bust. I'll just grab some items in Adrian and leave.
"Welcome to Adrian. You look healthy, so it seems there were no major problems."
The monster blood has dried and is falling off like powder every time I walk; does this look like "no major problems" to you?
I glare at the person making the annoying joke.
Randall Rodrigo.
The shifty-eyed bastard who interrogated me after I did that truck protest to save Haruna.
I don't know why he's here, but he's in the original story too.
There needs to be someone in league with the demons to stop the agents who try to investigate Lilia.
However, Randall only looks at me and smiles.
"What? Do I look sexy covered in blood?"
"No, you smell, so how about you go wash up? I'll hear the detailed report after that."
"Ah, this child is..."
Randall, who was mocking me with sarcasm, turns his gaze to Akito and flinches (um-jjil) when he sees Lilia.
It was only for a split second, but for that shifty-eyed bastard to flinch, the shock must have been great.
"She's a survivor and is still in shock. May I stay with her?"
"... ... Yes... please do. We will provide as much convenience as possible."
Randall answers while staring intently at Lilia, barely listening to Akito's words.
To be precise, he's looking at the hat she's wearing—or more accurately, the horns underneath it.