Chapter 37

My collar was suddenly seized by a female and I was dangling in the air .

This ogre-like glare, this overwhelming presence, this ferocious temperament along with her gorgeous appearance… Right, this woman was the most frightening, the most—

“What’s going on here? Explain the situation, Usato . ”

“Ababababababa, b-before I explain, can you let me down first please, Leader!?”

It was my teacher as well as my boss, Rose, the Leader of the Rescue Squad .

She gripped my head with one hand and although she seemed a little irritated, she let me down .

“So tell me, what happened?”

“U-umm . . ”

While I felt nervous talking to her, she seemed to be thinking about something she folded her arms .

What should I do? She was so scary . Was she going to blow my head off somewhere far away…? She might just throw me directly into the enemy’s camp .

“I came here since I heard that the heroes were dying but… It looks like you’ve already resolved it . ”

“I’m sorry…”

“No, there’s no need to apologize . Well done . ”

“… . Leader, what should we do now?”

“Let’s see…”

Inukami-senpai and the rest were looking at the Leader from behind .

I suspect we’ll be returning to the frontlines… Well in any case, the decision will depend on her .

“The heroes were saved and we caught an enemy part of their main force… There’s also discord in the enemy’s coordination… This is a good time . ”

“Yes?”

“We’re returning back to base . ”

“… . Yes!?”

I was bewildered at the declaration to withdraw . She was saying to return back to HQ where Uluru-san and the others were stationed . It also meant that we wouldn’t be actively moving around on the frontlines .

“We are no longer necessary here . The situation here should be fine even if the enemy were to have something up their sleeves . We would just be in the way if we ran around in the battlefield now . ”

“So we’ll just go back and treat people?”

“Yeah . ”

If that was the case, I can accept it . I’ll go together with Rose .

There were things we needed to do in the backlines as well . Although I felt a sense of relief that I wouldn’t need to run around the blood-drenched battlefield, I was more worried about Senpai and Kazuki .

Turning away from Rose, I called out to the two of them . Both of their armors were dirty but their faces were energetic . —I was able to properly heal them .

“Kazuki, Senpai, I’ll be returning ahead of you guys . Don’t die now . Unlike me, the both of you are heroes so make sure to beat the demons and please come back safely . ”

“I got it . The life that you saved, I’ll be sure to properly look after it this time . ”

“Usato, you take care as well . ”

Senpai’s words felt somewhat heavy and I lightly smiled at Kazuki’s . I gave a bow to the soldiers surrounding the two of them, silently conveying to them that I would be relying on them to take care of the heroes . Afterwards, I turned back and ran towards Rose .

“You did a good job staying alive . ”

“Eh?”

Rose muttered something but her words were drowned by the surrounding shouts on the battlefield .

*

“What!? That person was caught by the enemy!?”

On the other side, the Third Commander Amira was informed of the Black Knight’s capture . She could only tumble down as she heard that the Black Knight was captured when they went to intercept the heroes .

Impossible . Those were her thoughts .

The Black Knight’s power was famous in the Maou army .

They had an ominous armor with overwhelming defense that could also counter any attacks . It was a scarce power that surpassed even mine .

“Heroes!!”

“No, I was told that it someone who wore a white uniform that got a hold of them . ”

“White coat… Rose huh…”

It was the healing user that my teacher warned me about, Rose .

I see . No matter what wounds are inflicted on her, she could just heal them . Therefore, she had no trouble defeating the Black Knight .

However, the next words that came out of the soldier’s mouth exceeded her expectations .

“According to the soldiers, it wasn’t Rose but a boy with black hair . ”

“Another person… Dammit . ”

Rose could heal all her allies on the frontlines by herself but to think there would be another person…

What’s more was that they were capable enough to capture the Black Knight .

If the rumors spread that the overwhelming Black Knight was captured, the troop’s morale would drop .

“Hyululurk… Call Balzinack back . We’re retreating . ”

“… . Are you serious?”

Hyululurk started tampering with the magic circle and gave instructions to Balzinack . He tilted his head doubtfully at me as he looked for an explanation .

“I would be able to go out there but the soldiers wouldn’t be able to keep up . Sigris hasn’t even deployed it, we’ll just waste our soldier’s lives at this rate . ”

“… . You have a point . Demons like us don’t possess a convenient power like healing magic… We can’t save our soldiers like the humans . ”

Only humans were born with healing magic . Demons and humans possessed different qualities that determined what magic they could use . The reason was unknown .

“I’ll take full responsibility for it . Hyululurk, your snake was helpful in this war . However, it’s in the way of the other soldiers right now and you should quickly recall it . ”

“I understand . But Amira, your judgment isn’t wrong . The humans this time are too strong but ge…!?”

Hyululurk’s expression stiffened as he looked at the magic circle .

“What’s wrong?”

“… . It’s the heroes . ”

From Hyululurk’s magic circle, we could see the figures of the two heroes .

*

The magical beast, Balzinack .

It was a man-made organism similar to the one that Usato fought in the forest . It was a snake that had been enhanced several times and violently attacked the soldiers during the war . While the snake was spewing poison, an orb of light exploded between its eyes .

“It seems like the enemy is drawing back . ”

“Will it be over soon?”

“… . It seems a little fast, they might still come . ”

These two warriors had an enormous amount of magical power . Their armors were in tatters but there were no wounds on them at all . The two of them simply smiled before the roaring Balzinack .

The other knights held their breaths as the two of them fearlessly stood before the monster . The knights felt a sense of pride . It was as if a heroic tale was about to take place right in front of them .

“Don’t show your miserable appearance here anymore . ”

“Umm, according to Usato, this battle should end if we take this guy down . ”

“Gugyaooooooo!!!!”

Clad in light and lightning, the two heroes gripped their swords and ran towards the monster .

For the sake of their close friend awaiting their return,

For the sake of returning the warmth that the residents of this world had shown them—

*

I could see flashes of light and a big snake on the frontlines .

It was probably the same type of snake as the one that I had met in the forest… But the ones fighting it were Senpai and Kazuki . I didn’t need to worry as the two of them were the heroes . I believe that the two of them will be able to win against the snake .

“Usato! Stop idling!!”

“Shaddup! I’m not idling!!”

The one who shouted at me was Tong as they brought in an injured person . I went inside the tent and started to treat them . There were fewer casualties than I had initially thought, but I guess it was expected with Orga-san and Rose’s healing magic… It puts me at ease to know that these two were capable of healing an illness or injury in just a few seconds .

“Ga, wa… . ah… . ”

“Are you alright?”

It was a macho-like knight with a large wound on their shoulder . Their face looked pale, they had been poisoned . It was probably due to the snake out there .

It normally couldn’t be cured without detoxification magic but it was possible with healing magic . After a few minutes, I had closed their wound completely . Afterwards, I put both of my hands on their body and exercised all my healing magic into them .

“… . I feel a little tired . ”

If I thought about it, I was constantly running . To think I would be running around this much saving other people . If it was the previous me back in the world with peace, I would think ‘Is this really me?’ .

“U…uu…”

It appeared that the soldier I treated regained conscious . The poison inside their body had become considerably thinner . For now, I should go and treat someone else .

“Y-you are the Rescue Squad’s… I see, you saved me… . Thank you . ”

“I’m just happy that you’re still breathing . Lie down for a while longer, your body still isn’t in the condition to freely move around . ”

I stood up and went on to find the next person to treat . The base was overflowing with people that needed treatment . I felt uncomfortable as I looked in my surroundings . The true value of my power was being able to help people recover . However, I didn’t like the sight of injured people being in pain .

It was selfish of me since I was born and raised in a peaceful country .

“Nn?”

From the frontlines, a tremendous amount of light and lightning illuminated . The light seemed to be containing the snake as the snake was gradually getting weaker .

“It seems like it’s settled . ”

“… . Looks like it . ”

The nearby Rose said in agreement as I was looking over at the battlefield . Since that snake was defeated, the Maou army should be retreating now . They had to do so in advance since they had to cross a large river .

“We aren’t going to pursue them?”

“Idiot, we might have won the battle but we would lose with our remaining strength . If we prolong the battle for too long, there will be unnecessary sacrifices . We have to prepare for the next battle . ”

“They’re still coming…?”

Rose replied to my question with silence . Rose placed her hand on a knight that was just carried in . Replacing me, she took control and started treating the knight .

“Usato, you did a great job . You can think of this battle as your victory for saving the heroes . ”

“Leader would’ve came afterwards and saved the two of them anyways . ”

“No, the heroes would’ve definitely died by then . ”

After a few seconds, the knight’s wound disappeared without a trace . After healing them, she turned to look at me .

“Well done . ”

“… . . ”

This person was capable of praising someone normally huh . But I felt considerably, no, extremely happy . It seemed like the hell I went through and all my efforts didn’t go to waste .

I was summoned into a different world .

I was taken in by Rose .

I became friends with a scary bunch .

I was suddenly given training from hell .

I was thrown into a forest .

I ran away from a bear .

I fought with a snake until the point of death .

I met Bluerin .

I was thrown into a forest with Inukami-senpai .

I met Uluru-san and Orga-san .

And then I fought…

“… . . Huh?”

Before I realized it, my cheeks were wet . I used my coat to wipe it off but a stream was pouring down from my eyes . It wasn’t like I wanted to cry, the tears just came out on their own .

I was being covered by something . I could see that it was the white hood that I wore on my coat . Rose put it on for me . I cautiously lifted my head and Rose’s green hair came into view .

“What’s this? You’re surprisingly childish . ”

“I’m still 17 years old after all . ”

If I thought carefully about it, I might’ve felt uneasy since the moment I arrived here . But everything was happening so fast that I didn’t have time to be conscious of it… Rose’s words allowed me to let out everything that I had been holding back .

“I was scared on the battlefield . The demons were frightening, I saw many people die in front of me, there was just so much happening but…”

I was able to create a lot of ‘bonds’ .

Inukami-senpai and Kazuki… The people from Lloyd-sama’s castle .

The idiots from the Rescue Squad, Rose, Uluru-san, Orga-san . Ever since arriving to this world, I was happy to be connected with so many people . Someone as ordinary and boring as me… . To the point that I think that it’s wasted on me .

Possibly due to the ‘magic’ of the battle finally ending, I was able to tell Rose,

“Meeting all of you… Being able to save them… I’m glad…”

Those words seemed to surprise Rose a little as her eyes were wide opened . After a brief moment, she laughed a little and gave a gentle smile .

However, it seemed like that was my limit as my legs started shaking violently . I couldn’t put any strength into my legs and could feel myself slowly collapsing . But Rose caught me and supported me with her shoulders .

“H…uh?”

“You’ve used up your magic and stamina… You did a good job to hold out till now . Rest for now Usato, however, you’ll need to prepare yourself the next time you wake up . ”

I saw Rose laughing ‘kukuku’ . Just as I was about to ask her what was so amusing, my conscious slowly faded away…