Chapter 29
Chapter 29: The Villainess’s First Move (3)
If I had been a legendary hero, the protagonist of this game, if this world had been a beautiful garden arranged just for me.
My disciples would never have been placed in danger, and even if they had, I would have plunged directly onto the battlefield and saved them myself.
Using a magic like 【soul transfer】, 【divine possession】, or 【spirit inhabitation】…. Sorry I'm a little late. Are you hurt anywhere?—I would have said something cool like that.
No matter how disadvantageous the situation, even if my only weapon was a single dagger, I would have cut through every last one of them—a Demon Army Commander, a Magic Dragon, a god, everything—and saved everyone.
But unfortunately, most regrettably.
I am not the protagonist of this world.
The role assigned to me when I came to this world is Sage.
Not a Hero who reverses any situation through force.
The Role given to a Sage is as follows.
Magical support for the party. Healing assistance. Party member enhancement.
Establishing and executing tactics and strategy within the party. Fostering the Hero's growth.
And so, if I can know the enemy's position, understand the space, and assess the situation, I can formulate a plan.
I am of greater value than a Hero.
"Now. Silen. From this point on, remember my orders precisely and take command of the operation. You can do that, right?"
"Yeah."
The opponent is an Ogre.
Our side—three beginners.
Follow the standard approach, and all three of them will die without fail.
"Then let's start by calling Yuna."
In that case, what must be done is the non-standard.
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Silen moved swiftly, taking up a position close enough for her voice to reach Yuna, and relayed the words Yujin was speaking.
"Yuna! It's me!"
"I know! Silen!"
Yuna looked at her the way one looks at a fool—well, that's putting it a little harshly—more like someone who couldn't understand what kind of nonsense she was hearing.
"No, that's not it! Right now, Mister and I are… connected somehow, and I can hear Mister's voice?! Anyway, the one talking right now is Mister Yujin! Got it?!"
"Wha…? S-Silen, stop. Losing your composure on the battlefield means death, you know that! Even if you say we can solve it as long as Mister is here…. Wha?!"
Yuna had mistaken Silen's words for nonsense and was caught off guard, barely dodging the Ogre's attack.
"No. Yuna. It's really Mister! Anyway, just listen! I'll relay exactly what Mister says from now on!"
"Silen! Come back to reality!"
"Yuna. Take three large steps back right now, and immediately eat the cookie I made that's stored in your pocket. Then use 【Battle Howling】 to draw the Ogre's attention as much as possible. Can you do that?"
"……."
At those words, Yuna's eyes widened. The way Silen replicated them—even the tone of voice—resembled Yujin's, and these were exactly the kind of orders Yujin would give.
Yuna followed the order just as given, and ate the cookie.
"Yes. Master. What's the next instruction?!"
"The Ogre's club is in its right hand. Remember this well. For humanoid monsters, the side of the hand gripping the weapon is relatively harder to attack. That Ogre's blind spot right now is not the left hand—it's the right. Move under and around the weapon-gripping side, and use your sword to aggravate the Ogre as much as possible."
"Yes!"
With Yujin's precise orders, Yuna shed every last doubt and pressed in close to the Ogre's flank. In her mind she was thinking, There's no way Silen could give orders like this. If she could, then Silen should be our party's main commander going forward— but she decided not to say it aloud, thinking it would be rude to Silen.
Silen matched Yuna's path exactly, running alongside her in a way that didn't obstruct her movement, and continued to issue directions.
"What's needed right now is not defensive power. Bring out Yuna Linforce as a Swordswoman rather than a Warrior. Don't absorb attacks—deflect them as much as possible. Move your feet. The decisive moment will come in an instant, so rather than conserving your stamina, move at full capacity. Understood?"
"Master. Then what about Hyacinth….?"
"Leave that to me from here. I'm counting on you, Yuna. If you fall, it's all over. But if you don't fall—we can win, without fail. Lead the Ogre in the direction opposite from Hyacinth and Silen, and keep evading. Make sure you don't get hurt."
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
If Master says we can win, then we will win.
Blowing away the anxiety she had felt until just moments ago, Yuna confirmed her role.
To summarize: throw her life on the line and draw the enemy's attention.
It was frightening and terrifying.
But it was always the duty a Tank had to carry out.
Accepting the life-or-death struggle before her, Yuna hurled herself into the storm to fulfill the role that had been entrusted to her.
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The role Silen took on after that was to run to Hyacinth, force-feed her a cookie, then carry her on her back and circle around to the Ogre's rear.
"W-what are you doing, Silen?!"
"Be quiet for a second. Right now I'm connected to Mister, okay? Mister said, 'I synchronized our consciousness using the same mana pattern. If you're a mage, you'd know what that means?' Do you?"
"I've heard of it before…. It's a magic only Archmages can use…."
"Anyway, you get it, right? Then from now on I'll be relaying Mister's orders. 'Hyacinth. You've been working hard right from the opening. First, I expect the cookie has restored some of your stamina and mana. How much magic can you use?'"
"N-not that much."
"Let me change the question. How many shots of 【Wind Cutter】 at full power are you capable of?"
"That much—one full shot is plenty!"
"Good enough. Then from this moment, Silen is going to carry you on her back. Get 【Wind Cutter】 ready. Understood?"
"Y-yes, understood. W-wait. Yujin sir. I can't fire two shots! If it misses…."
"It will not miss. Don't worry. Silen. Carry Hyacinth on your back and run to the position I specify.….Wait, that part was meant for me. Understood. Mister."
At those words, Silen hoisted Hyacinth onto her back and sprinted toward the rear of the Ogre that Yuna was pulling along.
The Ogre was in the middle of its rampage, and small wounds were accumulating on Yuna's body.
But that was precisely why—it paid no attention whatsoever to Silen and Hyacinth.
Setting Hyacinth down at the spot Yujin designated, Silen continued to murmur his words.
"Silen. I'm cutting off the connection for a moment. The last order I give is—. No. Mister. You really want me to do that? Ha…. Fine."
While Silen briefly expressed hesitation at Yujin's order, Hyacinth asked.
"Silen Artre? What should I do?"
"It's Mister's order. Hyacinth. I'm counting on you for the magic. Gather as much mana as possible. Got it? The spell is 【Wind Cutter】. Don't think about accuracy—just pour in all your mana and push it to maximum output. Can you do that?"
"Y-yes…. Understood. Hh-hah."
Right beside them, the mana of wind gathered, and Silen lowered her body and coiled her muscles tight.
Her thighs tensed hard, and her gaze fixed on the Ogre like a predator locking onto its prey.
As if—she might spring toward that Ogre at any moment.
A Rogue's purpose is dealing damage.
She held her breath, willing to stake her life to fulfill the role that was hers.
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Hyacinth could not comprehend the situation at all.
The magic Yujin had just performed—she had only ever seen it in magic texts. She had heard there was a magic where one could channel mana to one's disciples and then possess the disciples' bodies through that mana. That was magic belonging to Transcendents who had passed the 8th Circle.
He had done something similar to that? How?
She couldn't concentrate even as she gathered wind mana. She simply gathered and gathered more until she formed the 【Wind Cutter】.
Whirrrrrrr!!
Immense mana. Far beyond what a Lower-tier Spirit Master could manage. Like this, she had done nothing but gather power—she had no confidence in her aim.
But this man, who seemed like someone with something to him, while also being the Yujin that Yuna and Silen relied on—had said she could do it.
"C-could it be… we're actually pulling this off? A-am I… becoming a hero…?"
“That's right. You can become a hero.”
"Kyah?!"
“Don't be startled—keep gathering the mana. You ate the cookie I made as well, so I've only briefly synchronized our consciousness.”
"Y-yes…. Yes!"
“As you'd understand. Using magic like this on a mage is difficult. The inherent magic resistance is different. So our conversation probably won't last even ten seconds. I'll give my instructions within that time.”
"Yes. P-please speak!"
“Open your eyes wide and look at the flow of mana. I will guide you along a path from here. Project the 【Wind Cutter】 exactly along that path. Understood?”
"Y-yes…?"
“Then I'll end the connection.”
"W-wait. Look, you say—what? What am I looking at?!"
Yujin's voice cut off, and Hyacinth panicked. What am I supposed to look at?!
But. Just after.
"Ah…."
The panic faded, and Hyacinth's breath stopped.
It was, quite literally, a path.
The mana Yujin had placed inside the cookie she'd just eaten had created a path—the mana that had not been absorbed into Hyacinth's body had not scattered but formed a single line, beginning to streak through the sky.
There was no time for composure, and yet, the moment her heart stirred was just that—an instant.
"It's beautiful…."
As an amateur might be overwhelmed just by beholding the result of a work touched by an expert's hands, without understanding its principles—so, too, did the path of mana Yujin had crafted completely captivate Hyacinth's heart.
If she simply followed that path, her 【Wind Cutter】 would surely reach the Ogre's throat.
The amount of mana contained within the cookie had not been large at all, yet spun into a single strand thin as a silken thread, the path running all the way to the Ogre's throat guided Hyacinth with unwavering clarity.
Just like—a young woman fallen for a dangerous man.
It evoked a naïve fantasy that if she trusted in him, eternal happiness would follow—so completely had she fallen under the spell of this mana path's beauty.
“【Wind Cutter】 【Maximum Output】"
Whirrrrrrr!!!
Following Yujin's path that embroidered the sky, Hyacinth's magic surged forward.
Kch. Kchcrch. Kchchchchchch!!!
The blade flew without a single deviation, and with its rotations multiplying, it buried itself into the Ogre's throat.
It drove in and drove in again, yet the spinning did not stop—if anything, it accelerated.
Fshhk!! The Ogre's dark blood scattered—
Thud…! And then its arm lost all strength.
And then.
Kuuuung!! With a thunderous impact against the earth—its massive body crumbled.
"Got it? Aha. Ahaha…. W-we did it…!"
Having already reached her limit, Yuna collapsed to the ground somewhere in the distance.
But it was fine. Everything was over. Ours was the victory.
"We got it! I did it! I killed the Ogre!"
Hyacinth raised both hands in a victory pose, and Yuna, drained of all strength, sat down on the spot.
Grrrr…!
A sound that should not have been heard—was heard.
It came from the Ogre, whose neck was more than halfway severed, gushing blood.
The creature raised its upper body. And then, glancing once at Hyacinth who had attacked it—without even granting her another look—it lifted its right arm and turned its gaze toward Yuna.
The expression on Yuna's face, sitting there drained and helpless, stained with bewilderment. In the instant the dying monster's final throes were about to strike her—
A split second faster than that, a shadow came flying in.
Kicking the Ogre's descending arm sideways, then leaping off its shoulder—
"Mister said this."
And straight down with the dagger—aimed at the Ogre's brow.
"If some idiot comes out saying 'Got it?'—the Ogre's going to come back to life."
Kkrck…. Kkrchchch!!
The dagger turned into a flash and crushed through the Ogre's brain, punching straight through.
"Don't let your guard down until the very end—and take care of it myself. That's what he said."
Kuuuuuuuung…….
After that—having drawn one more dagger and buried it in the creature's throat, Silen landed lightly on the ground and laughed as if it were all too absurd.
"You two, tensing up and collapsing just like that…. Just know I'm telling on every last one of you over dinner."
Brushing off both hands, the laughing Silen—and Yuna and Hyacinth could do nothing but stare at her with wide eyes.
"Mister's here. Let's ask him for food."
Yujin, walking over from outside the Boss Room—having seen that all three were unharmed, his face easing into an expression of relief.
A Rogue isn't fundamentally strength-centered to begin with—and yet she'd moved a mage, substituted as a commander, driven the final blow into the Ogre…. That's it now. She's done. She can't move.
Doesn't matter.
From now on, whatever shows up, Mister will take care of it.
"All of you. You worked incredibly hard."
A blunt voice—but one that, just hearing it, was enough to put the mind at ease. Only then did Silen sink to the ground.
Either way, the fierce battle drew to a close—without a single one of them gravely wounded.