An Idiot Fell From The Sky

………

…

“Aaaashaaaaaaaaaaaaashaa?!?!”

“Hehehehehehe!! Fiiiiiish!! Second ooooooone!!”

The giant snake monster that had leapt out of the burrow was the second-rank monster, Titanos Mare.

The smoking-out had succeeded. It had been worth taking the risk of shoving his arm into the nest hole and pouring Relic Blade inside.

“Shaaaaaaaa?!”

Its huge body twisted out of the burrow and crawled forth like a waterfall. The snake monster recognized the external enemy, the existence of Tooyama Naruhito.

While scattering blue blood from its mouth, the snake monster raised its body toward the external enemy, opened its mouth, and released a scream.

For an ordinary person, it would not have been strange to faint at the sight. That physique could easily strangle them to death, and that evolution had been optimized for hunting.

A monster. Something that existed above humans, above the food chain—

A lifeform stronger than humans that devoured humans. The relationship between the two should have been that of simple weak and strong.

“Oh? This one’s fired up!”

However, among humans, there were those who ignored that.

There were those who carried strength, intelligence, and spirit as weapons and stood against lifeforms far above themselves.

In the modern age, those who challenged monsters were called explorers.

And in this world—

“Hehehe, Relic Blade.”

Tooyama Naruhito, the explorer, laughed before the monster.

Tooyama Naruhito, the adventurer, aimed his invisible fangs and claws at the monster.

“Shaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

The snake monster bared its fangs. Though its genes had shaped it for killing, and though it existed as a strong lifeform, it was not dead yet.

Even with the inside of its body being carved apart by the Mist, the immense life force dwelling in its body had not yet been extinguished.

“Whoa there?! This thing’s tough?!”

The snake struck from above, trying to bite him.

Tooyama dodged by sliding along the ground, then began running through the forest. He had already constructed a way to hunt this monster.

Tooyama, a human, did not have functions like a monster. Claws, fangs, scales—his body had not originally been equipped with functions meant to kill life.

“Shaaaaa!…… Aaaaaa?!”

Drip, drip. The snake continued vomiting blue blood. Yes, humans did not possess any combat functions like monsters did.

There was a clear difference between humans and monsters as lifeforms, and yet—

“Did I go too easy on it? When I go all out, the backlash is seriously nasty.”

And yet, right now, the one laughing was the human. The one enjoying the hunt was the human.

“Sha……aaaa!!”

The snake monster squeezed out its life.

It shook its giant body and chased the human running between the trees. Humans should have been feed. Humans should have been food.

And yet, that giant body could not catch Tooyama Naruhito.

Using trees as shields, sometimes diving into the ground without hesitation, Tooyama continued dodging the snake’s attacks.

“Whoa there! That one was dangerous!”

By a hair’s breadth.

The snake’s giant body shot straight toward Tooyama, and its simple speed had almost caught him. The snake monster continued on and plunged headfirst into a large trunk.

The tree shook. The snake’s wide-open jaws had bitten into the tree trunk. The trees creaked.

“Sha…… ha, guah.”

“Man, it bites even though it’s a snake? As expected of a monster. Anything goes.”

None of the snake monster’s attacks or movements would leave him unharmed if they hit. Right now, Tooyama was alive only because he had happened to keep dodging the snake monster’s attacks.

And yet, he laughed. The monster could not laugh.

The Mist planted inside its body continued slowly, steadily slicing it apart from within without wounding the surface of its body.

“Sha……aaaaaaaaaa.”

The snake monster removed its jaws from the tree trunk. The marks of its embedded fangs remained there. A human would probably be skewered in a single blow.

“Ah, that’s a good position.”

Even so, Tooyama continued laughing. Even while understanding that it was a monster, even while understanding that he would probably die if he took even one of its attacks, he enjoyed the hunt.

He enjoyed a fight to the death with a monster.

“Hehehehe……”

What was terrifying about the lifeform called human as a species?

Intelligence? Ferocity? Unity? Endurance?

It was all of them, and none of them.

The most terrifying trait of the species known as humanity.

What was it that had made them rulers of the planet on a land where monsters roamed freely?

—Diversity.

Among the frail lifeforms known as humans, they sometimes appeared.

They approached things that most humans feared and fled from.

Death and danger. If there was something that could be found only within them, they risked danger for it.

Talent, circumstances, will, coincidence, fate, mood, desire, goodness.

Their reasons differed. But as long as humans lived, they would always appear.

Those who broke away from the herd, those who challenged the unknown, those who desired trials.

Those who fought monsters.

Ah, in short—

“Sha?! Aaaaa?!”

“I’m not gonna hurt your body. Apparently your scales and hide sell for a lot!”

Relic Blade, output increased. To a strength that would not make him collapse, yet would surely erode the other party’s life.

—Madmen would always appear. Those who advanced while laughing, undaunted by fear, absurdity, danger, and everything else.

Such people had always broken humanity’s shell.

Such people certainly existed among humans. And Tooyama Naruhito was also one of those madmen.

The madman shouted.

“Lazaar!”

And it had always been those madmen who advanced the stage of the human species.

Even knowing something was poisonous, there would always be people who ate poisonous fish simply because it was delicious.

That was humanity’s terror. The reason they remained a thriving species even in this world where superior lifeforms existed.

They carried such people within them and allowed them to exist.

That horrifying diversity was the terror of the most prosperous species—

“Already.”

The man loved by shadows descended soundlessly from the treetop. What he held ready was a large, commercially available knife.

Holding its crescent-curved blade in a reverse grip, the shadow fell.

“Sha?! A……”

Ambush. Stealth kill.

The snake monster had been paying attention only to Tooyama Naruhito, and the blade sank deeply into its head.

“Hmph, nnh!!”

Lazaar twisted his body and gouged the blade deeper. The snake shook its body violently, then opened its three eyes wide and screamed before its body soon sank powerlessly to the ground.

“Nicely done, Lazaar.”

“You too. To think you truly hunted two Titanos Mares……”

“Well, this is what they call a difference in compatibility. These things prey on boars, so for me they were very compatible prey. But as I am now, I couldn’t beat a boar monster this easily. The scary part is how easily the hunter and hunted switch places depending on differences in ecology.”

The first snake monster had been finished off using only Relic Blade.

The second, larger individual was ended by Lazaar’s strike from where he had been hiding in the trees, as the finishing blow in case Tooyama could not finish it off, just as they had agreed beforehand.

“……Are you not afraid?”

“Huh?”

At Lazaar’s quiet question, Tooyama tilted his head.

“Even with my shadow, you thrust your arm into the entrance of the Titanos Mare nest, and on top of that, took position directly in front of the ones that came flying out…… Why can you do such things?”

Lazaar’s vertically slit pupils stared intently at Tooyama. Tooyama sensed the emotion in his voice.

It seemed angry, and it seemed afraid.

Ah, as expected, Lazaar was a good guy. Tooyama answered the question seriously.

“Mm, no, I’m afraid. Normally. These things are unquestionably monsters. Unlike us humans, their entire bodies are specialized for killing and hunting. For them, killing means living. These things are the strong ones, and I’m the weak one.”

“Then why……”

“Huh? Because otherwise I can’t kill them. I shoved my arm into the nest to finish my setup quickly. I stood in front of them to make sure your finishing strike would land and to boost Relic Blade’s power. Well, being closer really does make killing more certain.”

Tooyama answered plainly, just as he felt. In this plan, that had been the most efficient, and it was an action whose risks and returns were sufficiently balanced.

“……Heh. To me, you are far scarier than the monsters.”

Lazaar’s atmosphere softened limply. He sighed and leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree.

“Huh? No, the monster is obviously scarier, right? Look, check out these fangs and muscles. If something like this squeezed you, humans would seriously get flattened.”

Tooyama slapped the torso of the dead snake, which was thicker than a log. It was a terrifying mass of muscle that made him feel how fragile the human body was.

“You are a reliable man, Naruhito.”

“No, Lazaar, you really are something too. That strike from the tree was impressive. I wonder if I could do that……”

“Well, I am good at surprise attacks. If we have time someday, shall I teach you a little?”

“Seriously? Please do. No amount of combat technique you learn ever goes to waste.”

“Yes. Now then, shall we load these things? I hope they fit on the cart.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty big. Well, for some reason he lent us a fairly large cart too, so we’ll manage somehow. Also, this cart is seriously so light it freaks me out.”

“It uses Kingdom timber, yes? Most kinds are sturdy and light. Especially trees cut from the Sea of Trees. Many of the special ones are unusual. There are even materials that begin moving on their own, or wood that floats above the ground.”

“What is that? Scary.”

What was that interesting wood? While letting the fantasy-world small talk wash over him, Tooyama began transporting the large prey.

The sun was high, but the gentle breeze was cool. Among the zelkovas that shielded them from the sunlight, the adventurers proceeded with carrying the load.

Tooyama’s day as an adventurer still continued.

………

……

…

“This cart really is light. But, well, we should’ve considered the weight and size of the prey.”

“Ah, yes, truly. If you were not here, Naruhito, I probably would not have been able to pull the cart.”

Tooyama and Lazaar were pulling the cart together while panting.

The wheels rolled along the forest road with a grinding noise. Somehow, through sheer willpower, they had managed to stuff the two snake monsters they had killed onto the cart, but transporting them was still quite difficult.

“Heavy…… They look like they weigh over a hundred kilos…… If it weren’t for this cart, we wouldn’t even be able to transport them. There are no tires or springs, so what is this? A cheat?”

“Tires? Springs? Damn, it is heavy…… But if we take breaks, we should somehow make it back to the city.”

“Yeah, let’s think of it as weight training. Good thing I held back on using Relic Blade at full power. If I’d gone serious, I’d be puking by now—Lazaar.”

Tooyama’s expression smoothly vanished.

As if hiding his fatigued state, he instantly regulated his breathing and stopped walking.

“……Yes, we are being followed. Their number is likely five. Most of their equipment is light…… Tsk, three have bows.”

Lazaar likewise regulated his breathing in an instant and sharpened his gaze.

The two noticed almost simultaneously. They were being tailed. There were definitely multiple unidentified humans following them from a distance.

“You’re amazing. You can even tell their numbers and equipment. It’s clumsy tailing, but I couldn’t tell the number.”

Lazaar had grasped even the number that Tooyama had not known. He see, the role of “scout” was apparently very important.

“They split into two groups…… Two in front…… Three behind. They are coming out.”

Lazaar closed his eyes and murmured quietly.

The next moment, a frivolous male voice echoed from inside the bushes.

“Yo, yo! You two, can you stop for a bit?”

They appeared from the side of the road, pushing through the bushes.

Leather armor, swords hanging at their waists, round light shields. Fellow adventurers.

“……Who are you?”

Tooyama and Lazaar stopped walking and faced the two men who had suddenly appeared before them. When Tooyama threw a glance at Lazaar, Lazaar quietly told him there were still three people behind them.

“Oh? Aren’t you the newcomers who were making trouble with Sabas and the others? Hey, hey, hey, no way?! Did you guys hunt that?”

A man with a two-block haircut looked at Tooyama and Lazaar and snapped his fingers. Now that he mentioned it, Tooyama vaguely remembered them too.

They were the adventurer team that had seemed friendly with the gatekeepers he had disposed of.

“Titanos Mare?! Seriously?! If you wholesale those to the Guild, you can live it up for three months!”

However, they did not answer Tooyama’s question. While wearing frivolous, loose smiles, they pointed at the cart Tooyama and Lazaar were pulling.

Their eyes widened, and excitement spread across their faces. They probably knew the value of that cart.

“And if we did?”

Tooyama replied briefly. He calmed his heart, cooled his head, and regulated his breathing in preparation for what would happen next.

“Haaah? Hey, hey, don’t glare at us. Well, how should I put it? Come on, you understand, right?”

“Yeah, exactly. Well, it’s that. Look, you could say we’re your seniors as newcomers, right? We were concerned about our juniors and came to check on you. Then, to our surprise, it’s Titanos Mare, right? How did you hunt them?”

An easily understood desire showed on the men’s faces. Frivolous and shallow desire. One of the things Tooyama hated.

They were not facing their desires, but had been swallowed by them. The faces of weaklings. They had the same faces as those gatekeepers.

“I don’t wanna say.”

“Bwah! Bone, did you hear that? He says he doesn’t wanna say! Ah, I’ll ask just in case, but you understand the situation, right?”

“……Yeah, you were kind enough to block the road. Sorry, but we want to sell these goods quickly. Would you move aside? Senior.”

Tooyama answered. He understood that these guys had no intention of backing down.

“Mm, your way of speaking is no good at all…… Looks like we need to guide our juniors like proper seniors.”

“Yeah, exactly. As for the guidance fee, let’s see. Hand that cart over to us.”

“I knew it.”

Just as he expected. These guys were trying to steal their prey. They were trying to easily and effortlessly steal the goods Tooyama and Lazaar had gained through desperate effort.

Those guys continued wearing thin, foolish smiles devoid of imagination.

“……Are you trying to steal it?”

Lazaar murmured in a low voice. His pupils opened, and sharp fangs appeared and disappeared through his slightly open mouth.

“Oh my, there’s a filthy Lizardonian here too. Hm? A Lizardonian and a black-haired man. I feel like I’ve heard of a combination like that. Well, whatever. Hey.”

“Yeah, we’ve got them aimed at, Leader.”

“Don’t move, Lizardonian and black-haired human.”

Rustle. The sound of bushes behind them being pushed aside. Those who had been hiding had taken positions behind Tooyama and Lazaar.

The archer voices. Both were women. One was a beastfolk, and one was human. A mixed-gender team. Judging by equipment, the men were vanguards and the women were rearguards.

If Lazaar’s words were correct, one more person was hiding.

“That’s how it is. No, don’t misunderstand. It’s not like we’re taking everything as a guidance fee. This is absolutely not stealing or anything like that. You were having a hard time because your prey looked heavy, right? We’ll take it to the Guild for you. Ah, we only need ninety percent of the sales as labor and transport fees. You get to learn about society at the same time. See? You understand, right?”

“You should listen to what your elders say. You don’t wanna get hurt, do you? Well, that’s what it is. Come on, newcomers like you couldn’t have hunted such big game by any proper method. Hm? Did you kidnap slum brats and use them as bait? Or maybe you made them drink poison and fed them to the monsters?”

Creak, creak.

Behind them, they heard arrows being nocked to bows.

The distance was not that great. It was a distance even a bad shot would not miss from.

“……Do you do this sort of thing often?”

They were being threatened.

These guys were trying to steal Tooyama and Lazaar’s prey.

What appeared on the faces of those idiots, who laughed foolishly without a hint of intelligence, was confidence.

These guys believed themselves to be the strong ones. They genuinely thought Tooyama and Lazaar were prey, and that they themselves were strong ones with the power to hunt them. That was the kind of face they wore.

“Haaah? What, you got a complaint? If we do, what’s it got to do with you?”

“Nah, thank you, thank you. We haven’t had good earnings lately. Now we can drink good booze and hold good women for the first time in a while. Look, the women in our member lineup aren’t bad either, but…… you get bored, right? If it’s always the same menu?”

“Heeey, Bone, I can hear you. My finger might slip and aim an arrowhead at you.”

Gyahahahahahaha.

The adventurer party laughed. Every last one of them was getting carried away. Their minds reflected only the happy facts ahead of them.

They were thinking only of stealing the big prey some amateurs had luckily hunted and living it up with that money.

They were nothing more than petty villains. Ordinary humans who were just a little sly and just a little skilled.

Not only this time, but always, they earned money like this. Because they were in league with the gatekeepers and gave them a cut as bribes, the victims had no choice but to cry themselves to sleep. They knew that from experience.

Of course, theirs was only a threat. They did not have the slightest intention of killing Tooyama and Lazaar. Rather, they were not even the sort of humans capable of doing something as serious as murder.

They were the sort of people who just wanted to live every day in a fun, amusing, and easy way.

That was why they did not notice. The two people before them. They did not notice how earnestly, how seriously, the two newcomers they were threatening were trying to live their lives.

That was why they could not even imagine it. They could not even imagine what kind of reaction people living earnestly would show toward their enemies.

“Well, whatever, just hurry up and hand over that cart, newcomers.”

They thought this way. It was the same as always. At worst, they would break a bone or two and take it by force.

“This was a good lesson, right? Life isn’t that sweet.”

It always went well, so today would go well too.

“Sorry, newcomers. But come on, go hunt again! It’s fine, it’s fine! You’re young, so you can do anything!”

They would only take. They would walk through life in a fun and amusing way.

“It hurts when an arrow hits, you know. We don’t want to make this a big deal either! Ah, calling for help is pointless! Also, nothing good will happen if you snitch to the gatekeepers!”

Gyahahahahahaha. Their laughter echoed.

Yes, days like that would continue forever. They genuinely believed that.

Ah, however, they did not know. That not only tomorrow, even today would vanish and disappear.

Tooyama and Lazaar silently stared at those guys—

“Thanks for the motivation.”

Their judgment was quick. There was no laughter or anything there.

“Huh?”

At those incomprehensible words, the adventurers were still wearing faint smiles.

And they reached their final moment.

“Lazaar.”

“Shadow Guidance.”

Even without words, Lazaar and Tooyama’s wills were the same.

“Huh?”

The familiar’s cloak that covered evil deeds hid the two villains.

The two villains became completely invisible.

“Th-they disappeared?! Where?!”

The petty villains could only be frightened. They did not know what true malice and resolve were.

“First one.”

“Huh? Buh?!”

They never learned, even until the very end, how easily and fleetingly true malice and resolve could take lives.

The shadow moved.

Tooyama suddenly appeared behind one of the archers. He pushed her light body down from behind. He stole the dagger from the woman’s waist and, at the same time he pushed her down, thrust it straight into her heart.

“Bo, eh???”

“See ya.”

Squish. The thick blade pierced through the thin part of the leather armor, and the twisted blade destroyed her heart. As if to finish her off, the dagger was pulled out and slit the woman’s throat.

Like a carnivorous beast biting a rabbit to death, Tooyama killed the rabbit-eared beastfolk.

“Pueh.”

“Second one, Naruhito.”

Lazaar was even smarter. He covered the mouth of the other female archer and slit her throat with his own dagger.

The woman’s body collapsed while twitching, blood flowing from her mouth and neck.

“Thanks.”

“Huh? Eh?”

The final moment that had arrived in the blink of an eye, and their mistaken choice. Before true malice and true murderers, the adventurers still could not grasp the situation.

“Gyaah?!”

“Not a bad bow.”

A scream echoed from the bushes. It was the final archer who had been hiding as backup. However, to the “Shadow Fang,” that concealment looked like nothing but a joke.

Lazaar stole the bow and arrow the corpse had let go of, handled them casually, and shot him dead.

“Ah, guh?! Aaaaaaaah?! My leg?!”

“Whoa, bows are hard. I used to do archery sometimes in Explorer Town, though.”

In contrast, Tooyama likewise stole a bow and arrow from a corpse and took a shot.

He plucked the string, closed one eye, and aimed, but as expected, it was quite difficult. He had aimed for the belly of the talkative man who seemed to be the leader, but it pierced his thigh instead.

“Wh-what the hell are these guys?!”

The man who was still unharmed trembled in fear. He pulled the sword from his waist, but his hand was already shaking, and even the tip of the sword was not steady.

“No, what the hell are you? You suddenly attacked us. That’s scary.”

“We hadn’t even done anything yet! Weza?! Horn?! Barty?! You’re kidding, are they dead?! Damn it?! Why did this……?! All three of them are women!!”

The man shouted in a tearful voice.

Had not done anything yet? Women?

Tooyama genuinely could not understand what he was saying or doing at all.

“………………???”

So he merely tilted his head in silence.

“Hiiiiii, monster……”

What had that reaction looked like to him? The shouting man let out a short scream and fell on his backside.

“What will we do, Naruhito? Two left. One is wounded, and the other…… seems easy in the first place.”

“……Hmm, well, they seem like repeat offenders at stealing other people’s prey, and after seeing those gatekeepers, we can’t rely on the ones who are supposed to crack down on them either. Getting bothered again or resented would be troublesome, so I’ll kill them.”

“I see,” Lazaar murmured briefly, then stole the sword from the rabbit-eared beastfolk.

“Huh? K-kill? H-hey, you’re joking, right?! A-are you insane?! We haven’t even done anything yet.”

The leader-like man with an arrow stabbed into his thigh squeezed out a strained voice.

“If you point bows at us and try to steal our goods, that makes you proper robbers, you worms. By the way, isn’t it strange? Am I the only one who gets angrier at shoplifting and extortion than at murder?”

There was not a single reason to let them go. Tooyama took one step closer.

“Hi, hii.”

The only unharmed man, the one who had shouted, “They’re women!” and seemed relatively sensible, stood up as if he could not take it anymore, turned his back, and ran.

“Ah?! Bone?! Don’t run! Don’t leave me behind!”

The voice of the abandoned comrade no longer reached his back. However—

“Here we go.”

“Bih?!”

Even if his comrade’s voice did not reach him, Tooyama’s killing intent did. An arrow pierced his back, and he fell on the spot like a toy.

“Oh, strike. Bows aren’t bad at all. I’ll go finish him off.”

“Yes, be careful. Here, use this.”

“Thanks.”

He see, bows might not be bad if he practiced with them. Tooyama received the sword from Lazaar and walked away while whistling.

Glancing sideways at the wounded man staring up at him in a daze, Tooyama walked toward the man with an arrow stabbed into his back.

“Ah, aaah, it hurts, it hurts, why, why would you do something this awful…… This is too awful, aaah, Barty…… Uu.”

The man pierced by the arrow was crying. Thinking of his dead comrades, miserably, even so, he crawled along the ground trying to cling to life.

“Ah, aah…… P-please, please…… The truth is, I was against it…… I said there was no way robbery would keep going well forever…… I was against it…… P-please, d-don’t kill me……”

His final plea for life. Even at this point, this man still did not understand. What it meant to steal what another person had gained by risking their life.

He could not understand until the moment just before he died.

This man probably had various things going on too. If Tooyama listened to his story, perhaps there might be points he could sympathize with. Tooyama thought for a moment.

“Sorry, we’ve got a lot to do too. I can’t spend time on every single one of you.”

“Gupeh.”

He carelessly thrust the sword he had stolen from a corpse down.

The sword stabbed directly into the back of the man’s neck, gouging through skin, bone, and flesh, and ended his life.

“He killed him. He really killed him…… Huh? Am I the only one left already?”

The man who had lost his comrades in an instant. The leader-like guy blinked and muttered foolishly. He could not understand reality. He had not adapted at all to the speed of Tooyama and Lazaar’s actions.

The man with the arrow in his leg, the last surviving leader-like man, scooted backward while still sitting on his backside.

He tried to move away from Tooyama.

But ahead of him was Lazaar. He sighed softly and shook his head in exasperation.

“Sorry. If I were stronger, maybe I could have neutralized you without killing you. If I were a little braver, maybe I could have let you live.”

Tooyama watched him and chased the last one while dragging the bloodstained sword along the ground.

“Ha, ah? What are you—”

“But that’s not how it is. I’m weak. Unless I kill my enemies, I can’t render them harmless. I’m a coward. I’m so scared of letting you live and having you retaliate that I can’t stand it.”

“R-retaliate?! I-I won’t! I won’t do anything like that! P-please, let me go, let me go! I-I have a family! I have a family! I can’t die in a place like this!”

“…………I see. A family……”

At the man’s shouting, Tooyama stopped.

“Y-yes, that’s right! I have a daughter who isn’t even two yet, and a wife with a weak body—”

As if he had found hope, a path to survival, the man began chattering away—

“Then I’ll have to dispose of them too. It’d be troublesome if they came for revenge.”

Tooyama nodded forcefully. Enemies had to be disposed of. Revenge was troublesome. Erasing everything without leaving resentment behind was the most certain method.

“—Huh?”

Finally, this man understood.

“Laugh. What’s wrong? You were laughing happily with your friends just a moment ago, right? You were planning to steal the reward we risked our lives to get while laughing, weren’t you? Come on, laugh.”

He finally understood what they had laid hands on.

He finally learned that there were types of people in this world that one must not make enemies of. It was far too late, and only after paying far too expensive tuition.

“Hi, hi, n-no! No! Nooooo! Don’t come, don’t come near meeee!”

A plea for life that no one would hear echoed through the forest. Help would not come, just as they themselves had said.

“……You can’t laugh, huh?”

“A—”

Tooyama raised the sword.

“Th!at! is far enouuuuuuuuuuuuugh!!”

A ridiculously loud voice descended from the sky.

“?!”

Reflexively, Tooyama leapt backward.

“Naruhito?!”

“Cough! Cough! Wh-what?”

Dirt flew up. The smell of damp forest soil rushed into his nose. He brushed away the dust that had splashed onto his face and looked ahead.

“Ah, ha, eh?”

She stood in the way.

Right in front of the man Tooyama had been about to finish off, a single woman stood as if protecting him.

No, he did not understand. Where on earth had this woman appeared from—

“Weefook! By the wings of the angel! No, no, no, this will not do! This will not do, you there!”

“Huh? Me? Actually, you just came down from the sky……”

Her indigo hair was tied into one bundle, and her thin silver metal armor fit her body as if it had become familiar with it. At her waist was a sword with an oddly designed grip.

“The fact that I fell from the sky is a trivial matter! As the angel’s sword, a large jump is merely proper practice! No, that is not the issue right now! While I was searching for the culprit who murdered the gate soldiers, soldiers of the angel, what should I find but another murder scene! You! You did not listen at all to his plea for life! That will not do! Thou shalt interact with others through ‘compassion’! So say the words of the angel!”

Her high-pitched voice rang sharply. Her round eyes sparkled. For some reason, her silver armor sparkled too.

“As the proud Angel Church Knights’ ‘First Knight,’ I cannot overlook such savagery! I cannot overlook it at all!”

Her star-shaped irises opened wide and glittered, and the dangerously high-tension woman pointed sharply at Tooyama.

“………A dangerous one just showed up.”

Tooyama definitely sensed the omen of further trouble.

The aura radiating from the female knight before him, an aura screaming, “I! Am someone who does not listen to others!” made him droop his head despite himself.