CH 36

“Tama, take care of the route to the ‘Sokonashi Swamp’.”

“Understood. Searching for a route………. Search is complete. The recommended route is through the “Hebong Road” and then through the “Hutu Forest”. It is a route with few dangers and minimal monster attacks, and it will take ten days to reach the destination.”

“What’s mediocre, what’s normal, what’s the name of the places in this world… Well, that’s all right.”

By the way, there is no one beside me.

Mireina is preparing meals, Shiny is polishing her weapon, and Kirie is riding in the carriage with Chris. The sisters are on good terms with each other, after all.　

So, the person I would be talking to would automatically be Tama.

“Hey Tama, is this guy called Genbuou or something strong?”

“I don’t know. I have no information.”

“That’s right… Haha.”

“I am not sure of the strength value, so I suggest you be cautious.”

“I know, I know. I mean, I definitely don’t want to meet him.”

“I agree with you, President, but keep that in mind.”

“Hmm?”

It’s rare to hear Tama say something like this.

“There are monsters in this world that even the armament of the truck is no match for. If you spend points, you can mend the truck in any condition, but the president’s physical abilities remain human. If you die, this time it will be over.”

“I know.”

“Yes, I understand. Don’t forget.”

“…What’s with you, are you worried?”

“… I refuse to answer.”

“Haha, you’ve changed too.”

I figured that was probably a good change.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

The trip went smoothly.

The route Tama chose was an ordinary route with few monsters. Thanks to that, there were no battles. Taiyo was itching to try out his new weapon, but I didn’t care, I just kept on driving the truck.

Unlike a horse-drawn carriage, a truck does not get tired. So, I drove at sixty kilometers per hour down the road.

“Kota-san, it’s time to eat.”

“Ooooh!”

Mireina’s voice calls out to me. It seems to be lunchtime.

I pull the truck to a stop, and the door opens to reveal Mireina and the others. In their hands were large plates of rice balls and fried food, looking like an hors d’oeuvre.

“Since we’re all here, I thought we could all have dinner together.”

“We made it together!!”

“Even Shiny seems to be able to make rice.”

“What do you mean!!”

I get out of the truck, just as the heroes are about to get out too.

Taiyo’s eyes lit up when he saw the plates in the hands of Mireina and the others.

“Ohhh!! Awesome!!”

“Um, could it be…”

“Of course, you’re all invited.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind if we join you?”

Mireina’s smile dazzled, and both Tsukiyo and Kiraboshi’s faces broke out in a smile. Mireina and Taiyo are only one year apart, right?

“Yay!! Let’s eat quickly!!”

“Chris, you’re too stingy.”

“Because I’m hungry, and so are you, Kirie?”

“I am not hungry.”

Let’s leave the sisters alone. I don’t know if they get along or not.

We spread out a tarp by the truck, and everyone sat around the food.

Taiyo gobbles up the food while I take it easy and munch on onigiri. The girls are eating in harmony. Looking at them like this, these girls don’t look so heroic.

But after a while, I understood what that meant.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

“The president. Three kilometers ahead is the entrance to the “Sokonashi Swamp”. The presence of an unspecified number of monsters is detected. The presence of dangerous and super-dangerous species is detected.”

“It’s here…”

The journey was going well. The heroes didn’t come out at all, and weak monsters like goblins and wolves were run over by the truck. I’m afraid I’m getting used to it too.

And then, when I no longer encountered any passing wagons or adventurers, and I felt the air slowly getting heavier, …we finally arrived.

I stopped the truck and looked at the eerie darkness of the trees in front of me.

“Is this …?”

“Yes, it is. This is the Sokonashi Swamp. The road is wide enough for the truck to pass, but there are many swamps of various sizes all over the place. Be careful.”

“Okay, I understand.”

As these words were said, the door of the truck was banged on. Apparently Taiyo is telling us to come on down.

“Old man, it’s going to be hell from here on out. Be careful.”

“I know, I know, just get in.”

“Oh!”

He got in the passenger seat.

Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just drop him off at the halfway point and we’ll head back to the entrance.

I start the truck slowly and proceed deeper into the Sokonashi swamp.

“The Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King… heh heh, good way to test out my holy sword.”

“Hey, be careful.”

“Oh, there’s no monster that can match me. I’ll show you the swordsmanship of Taiyo the Hero one of these days.”

“Okay, okay. I can only drive, so I’ll be counting on you.”

“Oh!!”

Well, I guess he’s not a bad guy, though he’s on a high note.

But guys like this are bound to hit a wall someday. Well, as long as Tsukiyo and Kiraboshi support him, I think he’ll be fine… Is something for me to worry about, isn’t it?

Taiyo then asks with interest.

“Hey, old man, why did you become a delivery man?”

“Oh? It was the only way. I was a driver for a shipping company in Japan. And when I came to this world, I had a truck with me, and I needed money to survive. That’s why I started my own company, using the experience I had at my previous job. There are no trucks in this world… I thought I might hit it out of the park.”

“Heh~, sure. In a world where there are only horse-drawn carriages, anyone would be surprised to see a truck.”

“Well, I was surprised to see a holy sword. What’s with the newest model of the Holy Sword?”

“Ah! I thought so too. The holy sword that I had stored in Olesanjo was a piece of junk, but it was still pretty strong, so I used it, and then one day they told me they were making a new one, and I was surprised.”

“Ha-ha-ha, so that’s how it is.”

I said a lot of things about Taiyo, but I still like the ease of being with other men. I know I’m being cheeky, but…

“By the way, old man, all the employees in your company are beautiful girls.”

“I don’t deny it, but you know, I’m not planning a harem.”

“What a waste of time! This is a different world!　And it’s a dream harem of polygamy! I’m going to marry Tsukiyo, Kiraboshi, Chris, and Ekaterina, and I’m going to have a lot of fun every day!!”

“…………”

This guy is an idiot.

I’m sure these types of guys are getting laid, but … well, let’s check with the guys and see.

“Hey, you ever …. been there?”

“Eh? What?”

“No, I’m just talking as a man to man …”

<“S****l experience.”>

“Waa!? What the hell!?”

“Tamaaaaa!!”

It was a statement that caught me completely off guard. This bastard, who had remained silent until now, suddenly said.

“Nice to meet you, hero Taiyo-sama. My name is Tama, the divine intelligence installed in the truck.”

“Heh, ah, ah, nice to meet you…”

“You should really shut up! What kind of timing are you using to talk!?”

“The president seemed uncomfortable, so I assisted.”

“You’ve got to pick your moments!!”

Damn, this is a complete surprise. Taiyo is just pouting.

I cleared my throat to change the atmosphere and said with a serious face.

“So, Taiyo ……, did you, uh, did you have s*x?”

“Yeah, that… not yet.”

“Heh, that’s surprising.”

“No, because I don’t have any … experience. I don’t know when to … ask someone out… In the first place, it’s not a good idea for a hero who hasn’t achieved anything yet to do such a thing.”

“Oh, I see…”

“Oh. I’ve actually been in a good mood a few times. I was alone with Chris and Kiraboshi, sitting on the bed …, but I couldn’t do it.”

“…”

“Well, you know, I’m not going to do that until after I’m married. Well, there’s an order to it…”

“…”

I was a little mistaken.

I had imagined the heroes of another world to be arrogant, power-hungry people. I had a feeling that if I showed them the armament and interior of the truck, they would ask me to be the exclusive driver of heroes, so I kept my mouth shut. In fact, no heroes were allowed inside the truck on the journey to this point. The meals are cooked in the kitchen, but they eat outside, and the heroes don’t bathe but only wipe their bodies, while Mireina and the others use the bathroom.

First impressions are the worst, but maybe Taiyo’s thinking in his own way.

” … Bad.”

“Huh? What?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just be really careful, okay? I’m gonna buy you a drink when I get back.”

“Oh, that’s great!!”

After defeating the Four Heavenly Kings, let’s have a party indoors.

The women would take a bath, and we would treat them to sweets for points.

Suddenly, Tama’s voice rang out.

” Fifteen meters ahead, we have confirmed the presence of the extremely dangerous monster Dragon Naga and the dangerous monster Little Lizard.”

“Eh…”

Taiyo and I both looked forward at the same time and saw a monster with the lower half of its body made of snakes and the upper half of its body made of dragons looking at us. The actual “Little Lizard” is a kind of monster that has a lower body of a snake and an upper body of a dragon.

“Here you are. Well, watch this, old man. I’ll show you what I can do.”

With these words, Taiyo ran out, and the party jumped out from behind him.

Each of them held up their weapons and faced the dragon with an appearance that showed no sign of fear.

Then Mireina and the others came through the door at the rear of the truck.

“Kota-san, it’s the monster!”

“Oh, Taiyo!”

“Dragon Naga …… is a very dangerous species! I don’t think I could beat that thing even if I had ten of us!”

“But I can see that the hero party can afford it…”

“Oh…”

Strangely enough, I didn’t see any signs that Taiyo and his team were going to lose.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

“Tsukiyo will take care of the Zakos, and I’ll take care of the dragon!”

“I’ll take care of the dragon! I’ll assist you, Kiraboshi!”

“Chris, assist me.”

“All right!!”

Everyone readied their weapons, and Taiyo and Tsukiyo charged forward. Behind them, Kiraboshi was holding a bow and Chris was covered with a red light. What the heck is that?

“Chris…, when did that girl learn magic?”

Kirie was surprised, but no one answered that question.

Tsukiyo was kicking around a small lizard about one meter in length and crushing it, and the acid spewed out by the lizard was dodged with great grace. Then, Kiraboshi, with her bow at the ready, shot the lizard approaching Tsukiyo with an exquisite assist.

“Nice work, Kiraboshi!”

“I won’t let them get close to Tsukiyo-chan! Let’s go wild!!”

“Thank you!!”

“I’m with you!”

Then, several fireballs flew around Chris and flew toward the lizard. The fireballs hit the lizards and burst into flames, obliterating the lizards.

The lizards were quickly annihilated by the onslaught of the trio. There were fifty lizards and they were all gone in less than three minutes.

“The little lizards are troublesome on their own, but they are even more troublesome when they come out in packs…Three people can do that in such a short amount of time…”

“It’s amazing.”

Sure, the three girls are amazing, but it is Taiyo who is truly amazing.

Alone, Taiyo is able to fight the Dragon Naga. With his holy sword, he cuts off the Dragon Naga’s breath, and he gracefully ducks when the Dragon Naga unexpectedly unleashes a cleave from his tail. And his expression shows a sense of composure.

“I’m going to get you! Watch me!”

I heard Taiyo yell.

He stopped Tsukiyo, who was about to assist him, and Taiyo seemed to settle the matter in a one-on-one fight. It was very manly of him, but this was not a game, this was real life.

“Look, Dragon Naga! This is the true power of my ‘Sun Sword Glow Soleil’!”

“Wait, wait, Taiyo!”

“Let’s go, ‘Armor’!”

A golden radiance surrounded him, centering on Taiyo with the holy sword in his hands.

The sword then turned into a liquid and enveloped his entire body, gradually changing its shape.

“What is that …?”

“Is that the transformation Niramana was talking about?”

“It’s amazingly magical.”

“Indeed. Even if a hundred ordinary magicians gathered together, they would not be able to handle this much magical power. Is this the power of a hero?”

There were many opinions, but I was amazed at the transformation in front of me.

When the transformation was over, there he was, a knight in …… golden full-body armor.

With no skin exposed at all, he looked like a warrior in a special effects movie.

“This is the battle form of the holy sword! All of my abilities have been increased several times over!”

With these words, Taiyo raised the holy sword. A golden aura gathered around the sword.

The Dragon Naga was overwhelmed and sidestepped. That thing is completely scared.

“It’s over!!”

Taiyo swung down his sword, and the wave of energy emitted from the holy sword annihilated Dragon Naga. Hey, hey, seriously, that’s a terrible attack.

“Hahahaha, this is the power of a hero! See that, old man?”

So, stop calling me old man for goodness sake.