Rejoice, the Savior Has Come (2)
I never imagined Tatanok Village would still be standing. It's honestly remarkable. Back then, I was certain it had been reduced to ashes — that it would never rise again.
When Linus and I passed near the village, the Demon King's army was already putting it to the torch. We charged in late and managed to save the villagers, but there was nothing we could do for the houses already in flames.
I was looking at the invitation, lost in those memories, when Olicia peeked over from across the table.
"What's that?"
"Oh, this? It's an invitation to a village festival."
"What kind of village festival?"
"A place I saved during the war. They're asking me to come this time, no matter what."
"Really? Then you have to go. When is it?"
"This weekend."
"Oh, that's perfect. I'll get a nice outfit ready for you to wear, Dian. And while you're at it, you should get a haircut. Stop by the salon in the shopping district after work tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah. Without you, I'd be living like a total bum."
When I tossed out the joke, Olicia shrugged with a look of smug self-satisfaction.
What a little brat.
"Chief Professor! Let's go play tennis!"
The next day. I was heading out after work when Lina came running over and latched onto my arm. Behind her, Anna stood fidgeting, having been dragged along against her will.
"You made of money? You're just going to lose again anyway. And I'm busy. I have to get a haircut."
"Going to a wedding or something?"
"Something like that. Let's play tennis tomorrow."
"Ooh, then let's go to the salon together!"
What is she on about now?
Lina hooked her other arm through Anna's.
"Anna needs a trim anyway. Since you're going, we might as well come along."
"N-no, I... I'm fine..."
"What do you mean you're fine? Come on."
Anna's hair was looking a bit shaggy, that was for sure. She didn't seem to care about anything except horses. A complete contrast to Lina, who always kept herself neatly put together.
While I'm on the subject of Lina and Anna's names — Lina's real name is Linders, but she thought it sounded too masculine, so she asked people to call her "Lina" instead. It's not like she and Anna have some special connection just because their names sound similar.
"Oh my! Good heavens!"
The moment we walked into the salon in the shopping district, the owner greeted me with an exaggerated fuss.
"Well, well, who do we have here? Isn't this the Combat Chief Professor?!"
"This is my first time here."
"First time or not, who in this city doesn't know the Academy's Combat Chief Professor? Here for a haircut?"
"Yes."
"This way, this way."
The owner pushed my shoulders and sat me in the center chair. There were a few more chairs to my left and right, and the students sitting in them kept sneaking sidelong glances at me.
"Professor Anna is here for a haircut too."
"I see. Professor, please have a seat here."
At Lina's urging, Anna hesitantly sat down next to me. Another stylist took her, while the owner personally attended to me.
"How would you like it cut?"
"Just tidy it up. Keep the same style as now."
"This looks good too, but for a handsome man like you, Professor, I'd recommend this style."
The owner brought over a booklet and opened it for me. It was filled with various hairstyles drawn in illustrations so precise they looked almost photorealistic.
"Isn't this what the male students are wearing these days? Just keep it like it is now, please."
"Understood..."
The owner picked up the scissors with a slightly disappointed look.
"No, no... just a little. Just a tiny bit..."
"Shouldn't we cut at least this much? Summer's almost here."
"No, no, no..."
Meanwhile, Anna was locked in a tug-of-war with her stylist over hair length. The stylist wanted to chop off Anna's shaggy hair, and Anna, apparently unable to handle such a drastic change, was refusing absolutely. After a heated debate that even Lina joined, they settled on a moderate trim that she could keep tied up tightly.
"By the way, Professor, you should come by more often."
I was chuckling at the commotion when the owner, still working on my hair, struck up a conversation.
"Or do you get your hair cut somewhere else in the city?"
"I just cut it at home with a razor."
"Excuse me? Really?"
It's true. I just hack away at whatever's gotten too long with a razor. Olicia throws a fit about it every time, but hey — it's convenient. It's a habit that's been locked in ever since I possessed this body in another world.
From the day I enlisted until the war ended, I never had the luxury of going to a proper salon, so I just hacked it off. By now it's so ingrained that I've reached the point where I can actually look decent with nothing but a razor.
"There. How does this look?"
I glanced in the mirror at the owner's words after she'd tidied it up some. It was definitely neater.
"Looks good."
"Then I'll wash your hair now."
As she carefully washed my hair with warm water, the owner asked,
"How's the water temperature?"
"It's paradise."
After washing my hair, the owner said she'd give me a scalp massage since it was my first visit, so I let her. She applied some wonderfully scented oil and worked my scalp with firm, gentle pressure. It felt surprisingly amazing.
"Feels good, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it does..."
The rhythmic pressure of her hands on my scalp was so soothing that I drifted off without even realizing it.
"Ahh, that's the stuff!"
Stepping out of the ice-cold stream, my whole body felt refreshed. I might actually live.
"Hey, Linus. I told you to get in too."
"I'm fine."
On the other side of the stream, Linus was watching the entrance with a tense look in his eyes.
"No sign of anything yet."
"Of course not. We've been running nonstop for two days already. So come wash up. Otherwise you might collapse by tomorrow morning."
"I don't know..."
"Besides, if you wash off the smell, it'll be easier to throw off any pursuit."
That logic must have been sound enough, because Linus slowly came down the slope, stripped off his clothes, and stepped into the stream. Meanwhile, I got dressed and climbed up to where Linus had been standing, looking back the way we'd fled.
"No lights, no Aura either. They probably figured we were dead and turned back."
"I hope so."
Linus answered as he splashed water over himself in the stream.
"We still have to make it back to battalion headquarters in one piece..."
Our platoon had been wiped out, and the two of us were the only survivors, running for our lives.
The corps had decided to send out a platoon to recon the enemy situation, and of all platoons, it had to be ours. Our platoon leader was a fresh-faced officer who'd just been commissioned and was on his first frontline assignment — a lunatic blinded by the prospect of promotion.
For the record, I'd ratted out the previous platoon leader to battalion for skimming supplies, and he'd been relieved of command. I'd originally planned to let it slide, but after watching him order a charge against an ogre vanguard, I had a bad feeling that if I stayed under that idiot, I'd die a dog's death long before we ever reached the Demon King.
Then a new platoon leader showed up, and this one was even crazier. The last one had just been incompetent. This one was incompetent and greedy.
Before we headed out on recon, the platoon leader inspected our gear and openly declared that this was our chance to earn some real glory. Not only did he push us past the forward limit line the corps had drawn, he found a Demon King army battalion encampment and gave the insane order to launch a night raid.
The result: the platoon was annihilated. Not the kind of "annihilated" they put in reports when a unit drops below seventy percent combat effectiveness. I mean every last one of them was dead. And so Linus and I, somehow still alive, were retreating toward the distant battalion headquarters.
That crazy bastard of a platoon leader. If we'd at least died near the forward limit line, we'd probably have reached battalion HQ by now. We'd pushed so deep into enemy territory that no matter how far we ran, there was no sign of headquarters. Judging by the terrain, we probably had another day or two to go.
We should rest today. There's no way they'd chase this far just for two soldiers, and if we wanted to keep running after this, we had to sleep tonight.
"You're right, Dian. I'll take first watch."
I was looking for a hollow to fill with branches and fallen leaves when Linus climbed back up the slope of the stream first.
"Alright. Wake me later."
With that, the moment my head hit the ground, I was out cold.
And then, some time later—
"Dian! Dian!"
Linus shook me awake violently.
"What is it..."
"There's a village under attack over there!"
"Huh?"
I followed Linus up the slope and poked my head out. Sure enough, a small village not far away was engulfed in flames. It was a village we hadn't seen earlier because there hadn't been any lights.
"Look at that. It's the Demon King's army."
Linus raised his hand and pointed to the edge of the village. Sure enough, I could see horned bastards wandering through the village with torches. And the screams of people fleeing from them.
"They somehow managed to stay behind without evacuating until now."
"Let's help them, Dian."
"Us? How? There's two of us, and those look like at least platoon strength."
"But if we leave them, they'll all die."
He wasn't wrong...
I wrestled with it for a moment, then shook my head. If we didn't hold back now, Linus and I might never get to kill the Demon King.
"Linus. I understand how you feel, but—"
"Waaaaaaaaah!!"
A child's piercing wail cut through the air. A little kid who looked about six years old had been running with a baby on their back and had fallen.
"Dian!"
Seeing that, Linus grabbed my shoulder.
Seeing the little kid covering the fallen baby with their whole body, I sprang to my feet.
"Fuck it, I don't care!"
"Professor?!"
I was just about to charge down the slope when someone shook my shoulder. I opened my eyes to find the salon owner looking down at me.
"Huh?"
"Were you dreaming? You said something about Linus and horned guys..."
"I did?"
I looked around. Anna, Lina, and everyone else in the salon was staring at me.