First Mission (6)
Finding the two squad members who had been dragged away didn’t take long. My ki perception, stretched to its absolute limit, pinpointed their locations almost immediately. I could sense the ragged, unstable breathing of people pushed to their limits.
“...They’re over there.”
The kobold that had used a stone staff to cast magic—that is, the leader—had been slain. The pack fell into complete disarray. Dealing with the ones that fled or had their will to fight shattered was almost too easy. We slaughtered every last remaining kobold as we made our way toward where the two squad members were being held.
“There they are!”
Deep inside the canyon, the two men lay sprawled like discarded cargo. The moment the squad spotted them, they shouted and rushed forward one by one. We immediately checked their condition. Both had torn wounds on their heads, as if they’d been struck, and were bleeding. Those were their only visible injuries.
“...They’re alive.”
Confirming that they were still breathing, however roughly, brought a small wave of relief.
“Let’s administer emergency treatment right away.”
One squad member pulled out a potion. He poured half of it over the torn foreheads and made them drink the rest. The wounds didn’t heal instantly, but their irregular breathing and twisted expressions gradually began to stabilize.
“Two of you stay here and monitor their condition. Four, keep watch. The rest of us will need to carve out a retreat path out of this canyon.”
“Yes, sir.”
At the squad leader’s command, the men moved in perfect unison. It was as if they already knew their roles by heart. Some took up positions and scanned the surroundings, while others gripped their weapons and stayed alert for any sign of an enemy ambush. Though I said nothing, I naturally joined the group tasked with securing the retreat route.
Including myself and Garan, six of us set off to clear a path out of the canyon. We walked while staying vigilant, wary that the remaining kobold pack might launch a surprise attack at any moment.
“What should we call it?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean the leader of the kobolds we took down earlier. Since it’s close to a newly discovered evolved species, we can’t simply keep calling it a kobold.”
“Why are you asking me…?”
“You’re the one who made it possible for us to kill it. I believe it’s only right that you name it.”
I recalled Kalant’s face—the man who had taken command of the other squad members in my absence. In truth, it was Kalant who had put a bullet through the creature’s head with his magic rifle. If anyone deserved to name this new evolved species, it should have been him.
“Don’t misunderstand. This was Kalant’s own suggestion. While he did kill it with his shot, you were the one who broke its magic and created the opening for him to fire. So he’s passing the honor to you.”
So that was what they had discussed while I was busy tending to the others. I thought for a brief moment, then spoke the word that came to mind.
“...Shaman.”
“Hm? What was that?”
Garan hadn’t heard me because I’d muttered too quietly. He asked again.
“How about Kobold Shaman?”
“Shaman, you say…”
“In my homeland, the Ricon Kingdom, the word also carries the meaning of ‘witch doctor’ or ‘spirit caller.’”
“I see. Considering the traits of those that used magic, it fits rather well. Very good. As you suggest, we will officially designate this special variant as a Kobold Shaman from now on. I will report it to the captain as such.”
I couldn’t relax my stiff expression at Garan’s words. In fact, he might have spoken to me precisely because he had noticed my unease.
“You seem to have something on your mind.”
“...Yes.”
“Your face looks quite troubled.”
Had it been that obvious? Or was this man simply exceptionally skilled at reading others? Garan smiled, as if pleased to have guessed correctly.
“May I ask what’s bothering you?”
“...This place.”
I spoke with a sullen expression.
“This place?”
“This canyon. No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like we followed their trail here.”
At first, the squad members tilted their heads, seemingly unable to grasp my meaning. But Garan understood immediately.
“We didn’t follow a trail… Rather…?”
Then, as if he had realized an unbelievable, unpleasant truth he didn’t want to accept, his face twisted into a frown.
“Are you saying the creatures deliberately left those traces behind?”
“Yes.”
I nodded with the same hardened expression. I, too, was aware of just how sickening and reluctant a truth this was. The others soon wore shocked expressions as they echoed the question.
“Wait, does that mean we fell for their trap and came to this canyon on purpose?”
“...By monsters?”
I was about to ask what kind of nonsense that was when, at the worst possible timing, I spoke first.
“What do you all think of this canyon?”
“Hm? What do we think…?”
Following my gaze, the squad members looked upward. The canyon was quieter than expected. A heavy silence hung in the air. Massive cliffs rose on both sides.
One squad member muttered without thinking.
“...It’s narrow.”
I had felt it during the fight as well, but the passage was tight enough to feel claustrophobic. It wasn’t so narrow as to severely hinder combat or movement. Yet standing between these towering cliffs instead of in the wide-open plains gave an undeniable sense of oppression. Another squad member murmured as well.
“The sound… echoes.”
The noise bounced off the cliffs on either side and returned as reverberations. I continued.
“Do you remember the magic used by that large kobold that seemed to be their leader?”
“Of course. It was incredibly annoying. Every time it slammed that stone staff down, the sound spread out and… Ah.”
One of the squad members finally caught on. He looked up again, glancing back and forth between the high cliffs on both sides.
“This place. Isn’t it the perfect location to spread that sound-amplifying magic?”
“So you’re saying they deliberately left traces to lure us into this specific spot?”
“Yes.”
The two-man scouting teams had been ambushed. The creatures hadn’t killed the squad members on the spot. Instead, they had kept them alive and dragged them back to their base—leaving the trail completely intact.
“At first, I thought they were simply too stupid to cover their tracks…”
But when you combined the geography of this canyon with the characteristics of the magic that creature had used, the idea wasn’t so absurd. It was possible the situation had simply aligned perfectly by terrible luck. Yet there were too many suspicious details, including the bone spears they carried. The doubt that had taken root in my mind grew like a flickering flame, steadily growing larger.
“That can’t be…”
One squad member frowned, trying to deny my theory. But his expression grew increasingly grave, and he couldn’t finish his sentence. Instead, as if contradicting his own words, he continued in a trance-like state.
“It doesn’t make sense… but…”
The experiences they had gone through slowly turned their denial into reluctant acceptance.
“Why does it feel like it actually does make sense?”
“You feel it too? I thought it was ridiculous, but… yeah, it fits.”
They nodded to each other with stiff faces.
“Ha, this is really fucking annoying.”
In the end, one squad member who couldn’t deny it anymore scratched his head in irritation. The others likely felt the same. A deeply unpleasant feeling. I felt it too. Being nearly killed by someone’s scheme left a foul aftertaste—especially when that scheme had been orchestrated not by humans, but by beasts everyone had assumed acted purely on instinct. The moment they realized they had been outmaneuvered by such creatures…
“...Squad Leader. This feels pretty damn dirty, doesn’t it?”
One of the men said to Garan. Garan didn’t reply, but his expression made it clear he felt the same.
“There’s going to be more than one or two things we need to report.”
Bone spears. Variant kobolds capable of using magic. Monsters that could employ strategy and coordinated tactics. Compiling a comprehensive report on how rapidly the ecology of these monsters was changing was going to be a headache.
Once the retreat route to the canyon entrance was confirmed safe, the search unit exited the canyon without incident. Carrying the two injured men on their backs, we began the journey back to the forward base. We camped for one night during the return, and although we clashed with monsters twice, there were no major casualties.
“Is there anything you need?”
“Pardon?”
I blinked at Garan’s sudden question.
“Once this mission is over and we return, if there’s anything you need, feel free to tell me. I’ll do what I can to help.”
“……”
I couldn’t read his intentions. Perhaps it was because I was staring at him with such a rigid expression. Kalant, who was walking beside us, let out a small chuckle.
“The squad leader seems to want to reward our youngest here. His contributions this time were just that big.”
“Ah.”
I finally understood and let out a small sigh. I had never even considered it. Merit and rewards. Those were things that had never been given to me when I was a slave soldier. Slaves were not treated as soldiers. Slaves had no human rights. Slaves were not even considered people. Therefore, the rights that should naturally be granted to a soldier, to a person, simply did not exist for me. It was something I had never dared to dream of or desire. So I had never thought about it at all.
“Is there something you want?”
“Go ahead and tell him. Our captain isn’t that inflexible. With this level of achievement, he should be able to grant most reasonable requests.”
“That said, nothing too extravagant. Material rewards like money, for example… there are quite a few limitations.”
Was this really okay? I had already revealed beforehand that I used to be a slave soldier. They must have understood what it meant to offer a reward to someone like me. Garan, reading my expression, added gently.
“I know what you’re worried about. But you’re not a slave soldier anymore, are you?”
“Didn’t you say you were still withholding judgment?”
“That’s true. However, if we can’t offer any reward after you’ve done this much, that would be just as absurd. If it turns out you truly are an irredeemable villain who cannot be forgiven no matter what, then we can simply take it back later.”
“……”
I fell silent, unsure how to respond. It sounded far too kind. Was it really all right to speak my mind? I turned the question over and over in my head.
“In reality, if we had carried out this mission with only our original numbers, we wouldn’t have survived that last battle. We wouldn’t have made it back with this little damage and this much information and spoils. That’s how significant your role was. So go ahead and tell us.”
What I wanted. At this moment, the one thing I desired more than anything. What was it?
It came to me instantly. I spoke the words.
“What I want is…”