AN: Somehow we’ve passed 200 chapters… Thank you all so much for always reading!!
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◇A Certain Messenger A◇
「My eyes!! My eeeeyeeees!!!」
I had been peering through the monocular when a blinding flash and deafening roar nearly knocked me out of the tree. Then came the blast wave. What on earth just happened!?
「The enemy has broken! Everyone!!! Chargeeee!!」
Rubbing my eyes that were still flickering with spots, I looked again. Where the horde of monsters had been, there was now a massive crater.
「Just what kind of weapon does Hero-sama possess!?」
The moment I looked with both eyes, a Cyclops and a Minotaur collapsed.
「Huh?」
I hastily checked the corpses with the monocular.
Their heads had burst apart like watermelons, pieces scattered everywhere.
「Urgh…」
I had seen crushed monster heads before, but never so cleanly shattered and blasted apart…
「I might never be able to eat watermelon or tomatoes again…」
「UOOOOOOOON!!」
What is it this time!!!?
「Huh?」
The enemy is… flying?
Peering through the monocular at the center of the chaos, I saw an adult beastkin and a child. The child was holding an absurdly huge axe.
And they were standing right in the middle of the battlefield. At this rate they should have been crushed…
「Widen the breach those two opened!」
「「UOOOOOOOOOO!!」」
A thunderous war cry erupted and soldiers poured in, swarming over the monsters and cutting them down one after another.
The black of the battlefield gave way to the silver of the soldiers’ armor.
「「「Gyaaaaaaah!!」」」
The shrieks of monsters echoed, mingling with the rumbling roar of the earth.
「They’re not sending the cavalry to charge in, but striking from the outside instead?」
Then spells and arrows rained down on the enemy’s central formation.
「「「Gyaaaaaaah!!」」」
「「「Bumoooooo!!」」」
The monsters’ death cries rang out as their central forces were whittled down.
And then, another flash swept across the enemy ranks.
「What am I… even witnessing?」
Those comrades I thought would be trampled were instead overwhelming nearly twice their number, and with barely a scratch.
「Wow♪ It’s like the enemy is nothing but trash♪」
My mind could no longer keep up.
Up until now, every battlefield had been the same: fireballs flying, arrows loosed, war cries resounding, cavalry charges, infantry thunder shaking the ground, both armies grinding each other down. That was the only kind of scene I had known.
For now, I clutched the magic tool to report anomalies and poured magic power into it.
Suddenly it flared violently, then shattered.
「This should alert them to the situation…」
In the meantime, the enemy lines were being torn apart by two young girls, their assault unraveling the formation.
Then, out of nowhere, a violent wind engulfed them.
But it was immediately dispelled, and a powerful beastman’s roar replaced it.
「UOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!」
What seemed like a reckless charge instead sent the enemy flying, opening wide paths one after another.
「What is that…? One of them is a girl wielding a scythe… but she had an axe earlier, didn’t she? And the other… she bears the crest depicted beside her… Could it be Hero-sama?」
Well, I’m done being surprised…
Once the three broke through, the enemy forces were surrounded and crushed, leaving only one figure standing against a barrage of magic.
「Hm? Something just flew out?」
Expecting perhaps a dragonkin, I peered through the monocular. What I saw instead was Yuffie-sama the Great Sage, alongside an unfamiliar girl.
「Wow♪ Humans can really fly♪」
I said I wouldn’t be surprised anymore… That was a lie.
「I can’t deal with these people… If I write this report, they’ll just accuse me of lying!!」
As I held my head in despair over what lay ahead, the two unleashed their grand magic, splitting the remnants of the enemy apart.
With a thunderous rumble, cavalry charged in, annihilating one half of the enemy force.
The rest would surely be finished off by the infantry…
My hand stopped moving over the report.
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◇A Certain Messenger C◇
I was a rookie messenger, and this was my first mission.
To be honest, when I saw that number of monsters, I prepared myself for death.
「But that man… he let me escape…」
He was a bit noisy, always grumbling and complaining, but he was faithful to his duty, and sometimes he treated me to drinks and meals.
When I learned that the magic tool signaling his distress had shattered, a sharp pain twisted in my gut.
He might already be gone from this world. Thinking that made me feel lonely.
I had to bring this truth to the commander, the King himself.
「Excuse me!」
When I entered, I saw the King, weary from the long campaign.
「The magic tool of my superior has broken!」
At those words, the King’s face showed a flicker of regret before he simply said, 「I see.」
「Thank you. You should rest for a while.」
「But…」
「It’s fine. I will be entering council shortly. Depending on what is decided, I may need you to act. For now, rest.」
He spoke gently, patting my shoulder.
「Understood!」
I said, leaving the tent. Just before stepping out, I glanced back and saw the King calling for his attendants.
Returning to my squad’s tent, I fell asleep, only to be shaken awake later by a messenger from another squad.
「Hey, your squad’s messenger bird just came back.」
「Thank you.」
I put on my boots, threw on a coat, and stepped outside. Stroking the messenger bird’s chest, I untied the letter fastened to its leg and opened it.
「Huh?」
To be honest, I couldn’t make sense of what was written. Maybe it was because I was already on edge, but the contents were absurd.
「For now… maybe I should ask one of the seniors…」
When I did, they told me even the smallest matter should be reported. So I headed straight to the king to make my report.
「Excuse me!」
Inside the command tent, the king and his chief officers were assembled.
「Mm. What is it?」
「Well… I just received a report from my superior, who’s monitoring the enemy’s rear lines. But the contents… I honestly don’t understand them.」
「I see. Let me have a look.」
I handed him the report from my superior.
「Let’s see here……… huh?」
「Pardon me.」
One of the king’s aides took the memo and read it over.
「Your Majesty… I cannot make sense of this either…」
「Yes… nor can I.」
The king turned back toward me and spoke.
「I assign this task to you. Take a horse and confirm the facts at once.」
「Yes, sire!」
「I’m sorry to burden you.」
「Not at all! I’ll depart immediately!」
With that, I exited the tent.
「Hey!」
A voice stopped me. I turned to see two of my superiors had returned.
「What’s going on!? What about your mission!? And the horse!?」
「Ah, that, I borrowed one from Hero-sama’s army.」
「Eh… I don’t really get what’s happening…」
「Yeah… me neither…」
「Anyway, I’ll make the report from here.」
With that, my superior went into the tent.
「I’m counting on you!」
――――――――――
「And that’s the situation.」
「I can’t make heads or tails of it.」
「Nor can I.」
「No, but… if it truly is Hero-sama, that would be immensely reassuring.」
「Indeed. He may be the one to break this deadlock…」
「He was unbelievable…」
「For now, this council is adjourned. Generals, be ready to move at a moment’s notice!」
「「「「Yes, sire!!」」」」
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