Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha

The next morning.

I worked out the operation while eating.

You know, all about meals is preserved food.

Because there are skeletons in the village a little further away, so it's not a good idea to do something like a bonfire here.

Neither do I. Undead, but look at the heat source.

There are about a few people here, to the extent that they are so far apart, they are hiding in the hills and they can't see, but if they make a bonfire, the smoke goes up as well.

The boulder will find out.

The villagers seem to understand that, which is why the only meal they had was dried meat or something like that.

Back in town you'll get a warm meal, but I can like the attitude of not complaining about that struggle for a lookout.

It is not often that one village is occupied, destroyed, by demons, but in such cases it depends on the size of the village, but if it is a small village, it is abandoned as such, and the villagers are scattered.

It doesn't really mean I'm willing to invest my effort in getting it back this way.

It costs money, and it's life-threatening.

Then you should abandon the small village or something.

You won't be able to blame me for making that decision.

In fact, it is also a sensible decision.

"... Now, that means you'll all be on the crusade..."

If I say hello to the chancellor, Village Chief Jillis,

"Yes. It's our village. We have to take the initiative too..."

That's what I say.

But if that's really what you can do, it's just a story you should do from the beginning.

I didn't do it because it's a tough way to put it, but I don't have the power to fight them.

Still, this is how I'm mentioning it now, because now that I'm here, the adventurer, there's a better chance of being a shield or whatever it is, of getting the village back.

But I don't want that much self-sacrifice, and I don't need it.

So I thought to them, what they could do.

"I understand how you all feel. But if you fight at close range with your sword, you're in the way, to be honest."

First of all, make sure you recognize that point clearly.

Be a shield.

It is easy to say, but this is surprisingly difficult.

You can't do that without jumping into the right place at the right time.

I don't think they have that skill.

When that happens, rejection gets in the way.

There's a chance that he'll suddenly jump between the sword I shook down and the skeleton.

Such a thing is a waste of time.

Points of terminal fact.

But it sounded harsh to the Gillis and the others.

Still eating them down.

"... but we...!

Of course, I know how they feel.

That's why I suggest.

"... you have a bow there. Gentlemen, can I use you?

For protection or hunting?

Under their feet were bows, in addition to agricultural tools that were likely to be weapons such as bamboo.

suddenly pointed it out to me. Jillis tilted her neck,

"Yeah, yeah... for once. Especially with Ribble... Zutga over here is a good hunter for one or two fights in the village"

I replied.

When I hear that, I wonder if Ribble is a good hunter.

However, I also thought it might not be such a strange story considering that he had been chosen as an apostle to Malt.

I guess it meant that he was only fit because of his strong strength and sense of direction.

I nod and say to Jillis.

"That's good. Everyone else?

"Yeah. Our village... didn't really interact with the outside. For what if, the food had to be secured ourselves, so hunting was a must. Of course, it wasn't like we could take down demons... but we can all handle them quite well"

It's hard to specialize in work in a small village.

It's a good story that we all have all-purpose or instrumentally poor technology.

That's going to help this time.

I said.

"So can you all aim at Skeleton from afar and let go of the arrows? I want you to consolidate as much as possible..."

Then Jillis says.

"From afar...? But then it won't help Lord Lent... We are ready, too. You can fight before the demons."

You thought I cared about them or questioned their courage to do such a job.

In fact, that's right.

but if you say that clearly it will be repulsive......

I told him why I wasn't.

"No, I'm not questioning your readiness. But as I said earlier, when there's something nearby that you're not used to fighting, it's still in the way. I'm just prepared not to let you die. Given your role… I thought a decoy would be best."

"Decoy, is it...?

"Yeah. It's a decoy. Though Skeleton doesn't have a great deal of intelligence, you can discern the dangers of nearby creatures and the general strength weakness. And you all know that targeting the easiest to kill first… that's what demons are all about, right?

"Yeah..."

Jillis and the others are a little lumped by the noisy stories.

I knew I'd stop like this, but before I said it, I wouldn't say it anymore and I wouldn't be willing to.

That's why I keep going.

"If I go into the skeleton, they'll probably all come at me alone. But when it does, it's just a little... hard to stand around. There are five of them, but when it comes to fighting against the five of them... I can't say that there is no chance of defeat. But if you can point the consciousness of some of them in other directions… the battle will be exceptionally easier and the achievement of the crusade will be easier…"

"For that... he wants us to shoot arrows from afar... so that we can have a skeleton consciousness, right? Consolidating as much as possible means…"

"Because it's better to limit the direction of the skeleton. It makes it easier for me to target skeletons with my back turned. Naturally...... this operation is extremely dangerous for all of you. That's also the possibility of death. Still...... can you take it?

I'm not going to let you die at all, and I think if you're about five bodies, you can take them down together, but it's true that the danger isn't zero.

So I really don't mind saying no, but the Jillis and the others' answers still seemed to be decided.

"Of course, let me take it. Guys, let's do this!

When Jillis told the other villagers that, they all nodded forcefully.