IBMATG 44

Mona became my direct subordinate who assisted me.

Surprisingly, the temple took no action after that day.

The commander’s clever maneuver to win the priests’ consent helped, but even so, their silence was unusual.

They didn’t even make an issue of what I had done during the meeting.

“Well, things are pretty bleak right now. I guess they don’t want to die either,” I thought.

Part of it was certainly because the orc attacks had intensified recently. In a time like this, when every person is valuable to the war effort, endlessly quoting scripture and making statements that harm their own cause has its limits.

In fact, the very existence of female soldiers was itself the result of them backing down. Originally women taking up arms had been forbidden, but so many men had died that those positions had to be filled by women.

Even then, the temple had expressed opposition, but the orc threat was so severe that the law was ultimately passed.

“Sooner or later the temple and the priests will amount to nothing,” I mused.

Before real danger, their empty words and delusions would continue to lose power.

If they had acted like this from the start, things might have been better. It was lamentable that they only improved after losing everything and being driven to the brink.

“It’s still not too late. From now on I’ll do it right. Build systems step by step and grow our strength so our enemies never dare to touch us again… I will protect Yadgar at all costs.”

I vowed never to lose it again.

My wife’s death—

That kind of tragedy would never happen again.

“Hahahaha!”

“Wow!”

Late at night, after finishing paperwork, I finally returned home. There were many matters to handle related to Mona’s assignment.

But laughter met me in a house where my son should have been fast asleep.

“Who’s here?” I wondered.

There was no hostile energy. Rather an excited, happy mood. It felt like bright emotion at home for the first time in a while.

The source of that feeling was a figure not unfamiliar to me.

“Mona?”

She was at the house.

“Ah, Captain!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Yadgar was alone, so I brought some food from my place and we shared it.”

“Dad!”

My son ran into my arms with a bright smile.

A look I hadn’t seen recently. A shadow had lingered on his face since my wife died, but he’d returned to a childlike expression.

“Dad! I played with Nuna today!”

“Yadgar…”

“She read me a book and even made a toy! Look!”

Yadgar held out a wooden doll. It was a simply but convincingly carved child-shaped figure. Mana energy still lingered on its surface — it looked like it had been carved with a weapon imbued with ki.

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah! So, um…”

Yadgar placed the doll in my hand like a present and, with an innocent smile, asked:

“Can Nuna sleep over at our house tonight?”

I looked between my son standing there and Mona. Despite the child asking, Mona said nothing. If anything, she seemed to expect my permission.

But—

“No.”

I refused firmly.

“Da-ad~” Yadgar pouted and gamboled, coaxing me.

It was a sight I hadn’t seen in a long time—like seeing my wife alive again. That was probably because Mona had been filling that empty spot.

But precisely for that reason—

No. All the more reason I couldn’t allow it.

This could never happen.

“Yadgar. Go to your room. Now.”

I said to my son with an angry expression. This was not something to be taken lightly.

“…Okay.”

My son returned to the bedroom with a sulky face.

Thud.

After confirming the door had closed, I turned to Mona with a cold look.

“Who asked you to look after my son?”

“W-well, Captain… I only…”

“Are you sane right now?”

“…I’m sorry.”

She quickly bowed and apologized when I raised my voice. But the apology lacked sincerity. She didn’t understand what she had done wrong. I had to teach her properly.

“Listen. You’re an exception—made by my strong insistence—so that a woman could first hold high office in the military. You broke the old rules almost forcibly. So what will people think if you come traipsing through my home like this? At this hour of the night, no less!”

“I’m s-sorry.”

I understood and appreciated her good intentions, but this was wrong.

Mona was a symbol of the country’s change. To break outdated customs and become a great power that could crush the hostile nonhuman races around us, people like her would have to come forward again and again.

If she became involved in scandal and ended up neither here nor there, I couldn’t leave it be—not for her sake, and not for mine, and not for my son’s. That must never happen.

“Go home right now, and don’t be seen by anyone on the way back. Understood?”

“Yes! Understood!”

She left immediately as I ordered, then crossed the city quickly and stealthily with movement close to a miracle. Seeing that made me all the more convinced her talent must not be wasted.

After that incident, Yadgar’s expression darkened again. It hurt. But there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t exchange the future for immediate happiness. People adapt to their environment; my son would be fine in time. I believed that. I firmly deluded myself into thinking the future we preserved at the cost of the child’s current happiness was worth defending.

“Captain Ahrriman!”

A sweating soldier ran up to me, panting.

“Huff… huff…”

“What’s going on?”

“Attack! Orc forces are invading!”

An ordinary report of an attack. At times like this you must remain calm. We had enough experience and contingency plans. Even if the city were suddenly raided, we wouldn’t be as helpless as last time.

“Stay calm. Where are they attacking from? How large are their forces?”

This attack, however, had a slightly different pattern from previous ones.

“From the front!”

“The front?”

“Yes! And… their command requested your appearance in battle.”

“Requested my appearance? Me?”

“That’s correct.”

They were calling for me—the very person they would most want to avoid.

I mounted my horse and rode straight for the battlefield.

“Ahrriman!”

“Hodavah.”

Commander Hodavah, who was defending that sector, greeted me. Troops were already in full preparedness, facing the enemy in the distance.

“What’s the status?”

“As you can see—there’s not much to report. They’ve been arrayed like that and remained still for hours.”

Hodavah pointed to the orc formation.

“They said they called for you,” he added.

“Right. Remember the last battle? The one with the hammer that shot lightning?”

“Ah—yes. I recall. They said it had Thor’s blessing?”

“Yes, yes! They demanded a warrior who killed that one. They wanted the very warrior who defeated him.”

“Why call me? To do some one-on-one duel?” I joked.

But the reply was earnest.

“Yes. They said they wanted to duel.”

I laughed hollowly at the absurdity. A one-on-one duel? After all the barbarity they’d committed, did they suddenly want to play the noble warrior?

Still, looking around, the soldiers and commanders were all giving me desperate looks. Nobody wanted to die. If we fought together and won, many would still die. But in a duel, if I held my own, I could prevent many sacrifices.

Of course, it was uncertain whether those filthy orcs would keep to a duel. If I tried to dodge, it would affect morale. If I refused, morale would break and we might suffer a worse defeat. Better to accept.

If I could be the one to cut down their commander, that would end it.

“This is an opportunity,” I thought.

I had always fought from disadvantageous positions. Facing a stronger enemy or many enemies was nothing new. And now they were voluntarily giving up those advantages to fight one-on-one. For me, that was welcome.

“Fine. I’ll go out.”

I announced and walked confidently out of the friendly lines so the troops watching my back would be reassured. I tried to keep any tension or hesitation out of my steps.

“Captain.”

Mona grabbed me halfway.

“Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Don’t worry. Who do you think I am?”

“If something happens… I’ll come to help.”

She seemed to have already forgotten my scolding the night before and genuinely worried. “Alright. I’ll count on you.”

Even if others were uncertain, I could entrust my back to her; her skill nearly matched mine. Even if the enemy used cunning tricks, having her behind me would let me feel safe.

“Even if I die…” I let the worst-case scenario flit through my head briefly, then pushed it away and focused on the situation ahead.

I faced the enemy commander who had called me out.

He was taller than me, shouldering a gigantic greatsword whose width was a hand’s breadth more than my blade. Compared to other orcs he looked slender, which made the sword seem all the more enormous. Slender compared to other orcs, of course—the muscles on him were still hulking.

“Are you the sword that killed my friend?” he asked.

“So that was his friend. Too bad about that,” I replied, goading him deliberately, a psychological ploy to throw him off balance. He responded without fuss.

“You needn’t be sorrowful. Dying in battle is an honorable thing.”

“Honor? …Ah.”

At the ridiculous word, I shot back more mockery.

“Yes. Very honorable. Sneaking into towns and slaughtering the unarmed weak, burning homes, killing children before their parents’ eyes. Very honorable, right?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

As I’d suspected the moment he invoked honor, he didn’t seem to know what his kind had done. There are always these naïve ones—those who don’t see the dirty scheming behind them and just assume their group stands for righteousness and justice.

“They said they don’t do such filthy deeds?” I pressed. “Look at your commanders—are there any who hide things? Units whose actions you don’t understand? Who drug their soldiers?”

His eyes flickered violently. My words had hit.

I’d gained a small increase in the odds of winning.

“…Tell me your name,” he asked, now plainly angry.

“Ahrriman.”

“Ahrriman. I’ll remember. I’ll make you pay richly for insulting our entire race.”

“Hah.” I grinned. His face was unconvincing; he was trying to put on resolve to suppress inner doubt, and it looked ridiculous.

“I am Sigurd the Dragon-Slayer. In the name of the high god Odin, I will pass sentence upon you.”

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