Black Demon King

553 Gunslinger

“Look, I got a medal tool. Haha, I was Rank 1.”

Looking bashful, but also somewhat happy, Simon showed me the gleaming golden. [Sparda Military Merit Medal.]

“I can see why. If Simon hadn’t revived Taurus, the Great Wall would’ve been breached just like that.”

The final battle of the Galahad War, where The Crusades launched the third attack, was literally an all-out war for both sides. Even the army of Sparda was unable to defend against the onslaught with all of Taurus’ weaponry.

If I recall correctly, at that time, I was protecting the huge crater in the wall. However, another gigantic crack appeared on the other side, allowing the Crusades to invade the castle wall, making it difficult to advance or retreat. There were still about four Taurus left, and they were in the biggest crisis, unable to stop the enemy’s invasion.

At that time, Simon and Gardan succeeded in restarting the Taurus that had collapsed in front of the castle wall during the first onslaught, fend off four enemy aircraft, and immediately created a flow of counterattacks.

Furthermore, he also contributed to the defeat of the 7^th Apostle, Sariel, so it wouldn’t be strange for Simon to be awarded.

The [Sparda Military Merit Medal] was only reserved for those who had achieved remarkable success in war. For achieving such an award, Simon could be said to be one of the heroes of the Army of Sparda, both in name and reality.

“I’m sure your sister is proud of you.”

“Ah, yeah, well…”

For some reason, Simon seemed embarrassed, yet happy. So, I guess they had reconciled. Curious, I asked him about it, and Simon elaborated.

Apparently, after the medal award ceremony, Simon returned to his parent’s house in Bardiel for the first time in a while to report. In addition to Sparda’s victory, the success of their eldest daughter, General Emelia, and most importantly, Simon’s unexpected and great success, the entire family in attendance celebrated.

As a result, Simon was exhausted. His nervousness and confusion outweighed his happiness, and just when he finally entered the bedroom, his sister came over.

To be frank, Simon just wanted to retire early at the time. Still, unable to leave her alone, he just sat down on the bed and started talking a little awkwardly.

“—I’m sorry, Simon. Until now, I always dismissed what you did and didn’t even try to understand.”

“Eh, what happened so suddenly…”

Considering his older sister’s attitude in the past, those words were shocking.

“I was stupid. I was so fixated with power, I thought martial arts and a strong body were all there was to it, and imposed it on you. However, in the last battle, you won that medal through your own strength—your own strength as an alchemist. After seeing your feats, I have no choice but to admit it. I was wrong. I’m so sorry, I apologize form the bottom of my heart for not being a good sister to you. I was such a nuisance.”

If it was the former Simon, he would have shot that apology down. He’d berate her for being “self-serving,” only apologizing after seeing such a great performance.

However, Simon smiled wryly.

“No, it’s fine. Merely having Sister Lia recognize me makes me happier than receiving a medal.”

Simon first noticed the change in his sister when he returned from the Castle of Ischia.

At first, he thought that she was just worried about him, who was in a pinch, and didn’t think much of it. She was still his family, after all.

Later, it occurred to him that perhaps since then, she had been slowly trying to recognize his ability as an alchemist.

At least, that was what Simon thought, hence why he was able to sincerely appreciate his sister’s words.

“Thank you, Simon. From now on, I’ll do my best to be a good sister to you.”

“It’s okay, because Sister Lia is a strong, cool, and honorable knight, both now and in the past, so this alone makes me—…

“—Simon…”

Afterwards, the two reportedly slept together…

“—Huh!? Even though you’re siblings!?”

“Hey, don’t misunderstand! We simply slept together!”

I see, so Simon’s chastity was safe. That’s great.

“No, but Simon is also 17 years old, and still sleeps with his sister…”

The last time I slept together with my sister was when I first enrolled in elementary school.

If she asked me to sleep together at my current age, I’d be so ashamed.

“Enough already! Keep this a secret! Don’t speak a word of it to Will!”

“I get it, I get it already…”

When I saw how flustered and teary-eyed Simon was, I had no choice but to reply as such.

I was sure that it was due to various factors such as being drunk or carried away…

Simon finally calmed down after I strictly promised not to divulge it to anyone. I picked up the cup of coffee with both hands, taking a sip. Even Simon preferred his coffee black.

Maybe my taste is too childish.

“—Anyway, I still can’t believe Sariel is here.”

“Well, I think about that too sometimes.”

The next time Simon was reunited again with Sariel, she was this maid who served him coffee. As such, I told Simon about all the underlying circumstances.

I was worried, but perhaps because we were male friends, he was sympathetic towards me and gave me kind words of comfort, just like Will. It was pathetic, but honestly, I was happy.

I knew it, Simon is my best friend.

“Should I apologize for shooting her?”

“It’s unnecessary. It’s the result of us fighting against each other with all our might.”

That was what I thought, and I didn’t think Sariel cared either. Besides, I was the one who delivered the final blow to the invincible 7^th Apostle.

“Why don’t you practice sniping alongside Sariel? It might be good practice.”

“Haha, no way, I’ll be dead meat for sure.”

“It’ll be fine, Sophie will just protect you again.”

“Ah, about that… Actually, Sophie is no longer with us.”

“Eh? What happened? Did you break up after a fight!?”

“…She was our chairman, right?”

“Wait, so her true identity was revealed?”

“And you know all along!?”

“Uh, Lily told me to keep it a secret…”

Lily immediately realized that there was more to Sophie Sirus Percival, the chairman of the Royal Seminary of Sparda.

The head of the Percival family, one of the four great nobilities of Sparda, was none other than Sophie, the mysterious dark elf who partnered with Simon. Anyway, Sophie seemed to be interested in Simon, hence why she cooperated with him.

For some reason, I had mixed feelings in my heart, but I decided not to interfere with someone else’s love journey and abided by Lily’s words.

In fact, Sophie—or Director Sophia—was a ravishing beauty with curvaceous figure, and not to mention, a good family background. As an adventurer, she was skillful enough to reach Rank 5, making her the bastion of excellence.

…If I had to hazard a guess, then age might be the issue. However, considering the long lifespan of the elf species, an age difference of about 10 or 20 years shouldn’t be a big deal.

In fact, Director Sophia helped Simon many times during the Galahad War and actively fulfilled her role as his companion.

“But isn’t it a bit cruel that she broke up with you because you found out she was the chairman?”

“Her true identity wasn’t only revealed to me, but also to the teachers at school and the Percival family. They refused to allow her to abandon her role as chairman and head of the family just to become an adventurer, so they banded together to capture Sophie.”

Apparently, the conflict was so brutal that it could’ve passed as the Sixth Galahad War. The fierce battle itself lasted for three days and nights; angry screams flew around, mixed with offensive spells.

“So there was no way she could abandon her position as the chairman.”

“She’s having a hard time, too…”

I couldn’t really sympathize with Sophie. After all, she abandoned 100% of her work and responsibilities for her pursuit of love. The cost was simply too great.

“Does that mean Simon is going solo now?”

“Well, actually, I formed a party. It’s called ‘Gunslinger.’”

Simon’s actions during that war had been recognized to the extent that he was awarded with a medal. Naturally, he was also rewarded with a considerable amount of money. Even if he paid off all the tuition and living expenses that he had borrowed from his older sister, he still had a lot of money left over.

Like me, he already had a patron, but it was still great that he had a huge amount of money at his disposal.

Simon said that he had finally decided to move forward with mass production of guns, which he had previously been forced to postpone due to financial issues.

“My uncle introduced me to Mordred Arms Company, and I just rented part of a factory in the suburbs. Although they aren’t currently being produced for sell, the mass-produced rifles and machine guns will be tested out by my party.”

I see, so the party is mostly equipped with guns, hence the name ‘Gunslinger.’

Since Simon was leading the party he had formed and traveling to various dungeons conducting experiments, it seemed that he was a little late in receiving the news that I had returned. As a result, our reunion was delayed for nearly a month. Once again, I was reminded of the difference between modern Japan civilization and that of another world.

“How about the members? Did you hire them randomly?”

“For now, I’m asking Gardan to accompany me.”

I didn’t expect Simon to get along so well with that short-tempered golem. They probably befriended each other after going on a rampage together with Taurus.

“Also, that old man called Zack, is he really an acquaintance of yours?”

I’ve heard of that name somewhere. Who was it again…?

“Is he a lanky, tough-looking skinhead? Did he bring an ax?”

“Yes! That guy! Wow, so you do know him.”

…No, well, I am acquainted with him, but it’s rather delicate. Mhm, I guess it’s safe to call him my acquaintance.

“How did he become your party member?”

“It happened during the second wave of attack of the Galahad War, you see, when I came face-to-face with Linfelt. Her barrier was amazing!”

“Ooh, I remember her!”

At that time, I was in a very critical situation, but thanks to Simon and Sophie appearing from Taurus at the last minute, the situation suddenly changed.

“Now that I think about it, you saved Zack from the hole in the wall that time.”

“Yes, after that, Sophie and I went back to the top of the castle wall to fend off the enemy. So, I used [Thunderbird], I also had a prototype machine gun left over. I gave it to an adventurer next to me who had lost his weapon.”

“—And he was Zack?”

“He seemed to like it, so he asked me to let him use it again. He even came all the way to find me!”

I see, if someone wants to use his gun, there’s no reason to refuse.

“Is he doing well?”

In many ways.

Zack was originally a thug who used to play tricks on girls in the slums. Then, he became a thief’s bodyguard. Ultimately, he participated in the Galahad War and tried to fulfill his duty as a Spardian, so I’d like to think that he had changed to an extent.

Lily also said something along the line of, ‘It’ll be okay, probably.’

However, thinking that he was still in the same party as Simon made me feel uneasy.

“It seems like he and Gardan were acquainted somehow, so they get along well. Also, there’s another member of the group who is a healer and a werecat, and he seems to really admire that girl, too, so I think she’s a nice person despite what her appearance suggests?”

Simon had an unexpectedly favorable impression of Zack. Maybe Zack really had turned over a new page?

“—Speaking of which, how is the research on ancient golems going?”

“Oh, about that—”

We spoke about that for a long time, and before I knew it, I ended up talking with Simon all the way through the night.

“Kurono, you seem to have a lot of fun last night.”

“Uh, yeah, …Sorry?”

I wondered why Fiona was in a bit of a bad mood after Simon finally returned in the morning.

***

Less than a week after I started living in this house, I came to the backyard to do something I’d been keeping a secret for some time.

The garden at my house was larger at the back than the front. The size was reminiscent of a school field, and it felt like it could barely fit a 400-meter track.

However, since it had been deserted for a while, the large backyard was no longer a beautiful garden, but a mere field. To live here, I had at least mowed the grass. I wasn’t particularly interested in gardening, so if I wanted to create a beautiful garden, I’d leave it to Sariel.

Fiona wasn’t interested in gardening either, but she did say she wanted to grow raw materials for mysterious medicines or rituals in her workshop.

She’s definitely going to grow mandragora.

If my neighbors asked me, ‘What do you grow at your house?’ I’d just tell them herbs.

In any case, for now, it was still an empty grassy area. Sariel and I stood in such a place.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Sariel answered curtly as usual, and instead of wearing a maid uniform, she was wearing her ascetic robe. Her long hair was tied at the back of her head in a ponytail.

How refreshing, I haven’t seen a ponytail in a while.

With that outfit and hairstyle, she matched the 7^th Apostle in my memory.

Involuntarily, my body trembled.

“Huff…”

I took a deep breath, calming myself down.

Just as Sariel wore her combat attire, I was also fully armed. Yes, I had worn [Maximilian].

The [Omega Drive] had been fired up, while the [Elemental Booster] had charged up. I could turn the booster to the max at any time, and I saw the standby indicator lit up on the display on the helmet I was wearing.

I didn’t have a weapon in hand, but I was ready for battle.

“[Afterburner Set]!”

“…Let’s go.”

—At the same time as Milia’s announcement, I attacked Sariel, who stood there motionless, at full speed.

Three minutes later…

“—Damn, I didn’t stand a chance at all in a melee fight.”

“Master is still not used to the maneuverability of that armor.”

“Still, I should at least be faster than an average person.”

“Speed alone doesn’t mean much. If you’re too fixated at speed, you’ll be leaving many openings for your enemy to take advantage of.”

It’s incredibly harsh, yet it’s the truth.

The hard truth was that Sariel hadn’t moved an inch from the spot where she had been at the beginning, while I, clad in heavy armor, was pathetically lying flat on my back.

“You’re strong after all.”

“Thank you.”

I was reminded of it once again as I complimented her.

However, it was precisely because Sariel was strong that she made a worthy kumite for me.

Kumite.

Yes, it was a training method that involved actually competing against an opponent. Actually, I’d been wanting to try that for a while now.

Since Lily and Fiona were magicians, they couldn’t be my training partners for barehanded combat or sparring with weapons such as swords. I also didn’t have any other acquaintances or friends who’d be willing to do kumite with me.

However, I didn’t have enough time to go to a martial art or a swordsmanship dojo.

…If I were going to go that far just to practice, I’d rather just accept quests and train in actual battles. I also had to earn money.

Anyway, I hadn’t had the opportunity to practice kumite until now.

Seriously, since I’d been practicing with Kai more often recently, I’d been able to reaffirm the importance of that.

If the other party is of suitable skill, it’s much better practice than a bad actual fight.

Hence, after Sariel had fully regenerated her missing limbs, I decided to appoint her as my kumite partner. Of course, my right arm was also completely healed.

Well, the rules this time are fighting with your bare fists.

No magic, no protection, no time limit.

If I wanted to train with magic or weapons, or develop my divine protection, I planned to set different rules.

Since it was my first time, I decided to do a simple melee battle.

“Okay, one more time.”

Earlier, I was easily KO-ed by a brilliant mid-air combo, followed by a flawless back throw, but I still had plenty of physical strength and magical power to spare.

“Next time, I’ll make you use martial arts.”

“Understood, I’ll lift the ban on the use of martial arts.”

Oh, so she banned her martial arts just now.

It was frustrating, but unfortunately, the gap between our skills was just that huge.

I heard about her war history when I lived in the pioneer village.

After listening to that, it dawned on me that my career was still new, having only started fighting in another world for a little over a year.

However, I mustn’t simply accept our difference in ability as unavoidable. If I didn’t overcome it as soon as possible, I wouldn’t be able to win the future battle against the next apostle.

No, before that, I wondered if I could defeat the Chaotic Rim, my Sixth Trial.

—Anyway, I needed to get stronger.

“Once more!”

Gathering my spirit, I jumped towards Sariel.

That was how the second battle began, but my enthusiasm was in vain, and the battle came to a close in less than ten minutes.

“—[Stinger]”

“Guwaaaaaahhh—!?”

I rolled over and over on the grass.

Sariel’s sword pierced the gap in my flank, where the armor was a little thin compared to the front, which allowed for more range of movement.

Even though one of the weak points of the full body armor had been struck, it wasn’t so fragile that it could be penetrated in one shot.

There was no pain at all, but the tremendous impact easily blew away my body, which was covered in armor weighing nearly 100 kilograms.

So that’s the power of martial arts.

“Ugh… One more time.”

Since I wasn’t injured, there was no time to rest. I immediately stood up and challenged her for the third time.

“—[Stinger].”

“O-one more time…”

I was hit in the exact same spot and fell down, then staggered to my feet and fought for the fourth time.

“—[Stinger].”

“…One more time…”

“Warning. Left abdomen/ reduced durability.”

I wondered how many times I’d been unceremoniously blown away. As if she was unable to bear it, Milia flashed the red alert, warning me about a risk of damage.

“…Remove armor.”

“Not recommended. Enemy threat level is maximum. Risk of death.”

“Her skill is at a superhuman level, surpassing that of an expert. I’m sure she’ll do just enough to prevent me from dying.”

In return, she’d attack me without hesitation and it’d hurt enough to kill me.

“Well, I’m used to pain, so it’s not a big deal. Besides, I need to get some real-life training.”

While it was important to master the armor, I also needed to hone my ability to fight with just my body. Every time I fought an apostle, my armor got destroyed, so I didn’t know if [Maximilian] would last until the end.

Even when I settled the battle with Sariel, I was practically naked in the end.

“Request approved. All armor released—[Full Purge]. I pray for good luck.”

With those witty words, the armor was released and a refreshing breeze caressed my body. The temperature inside the armor was regulated, so it was relatively comfortable, but it felt better in flesh.

When I took off my armor, I was just wearing my casual clothes, which consisted of pants and a shirt.

“Is it okay if you don’t wear armor?”

“Yes, don’t hold back. I’ll learn faster if I feel the pain.

Now that I think about it, that’s how I became stronger.

Pain built strength—that much should be obvious.

“Alright, then I’ll do the same as before.”

“Please. Well then, let’s go—”

My five senses become sharper now that I was out. Since I was covered in thick armor, it may be natural for my senses to dull due to the atmosphere and presence. Then again, it could simply be the matter of getting used to it.

In any case, it was easier for me to detect Sariel’s movements in real life than with [Maximilian]. I could feel her intense power and overwhelming atmosphere all over my body.

Every single of her moves was efficient. A ruthless fighting technique dedicated solely for taking out the opponent.

“—[Pierce Shoot].”

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaah—!!”

…Although, I never said I was suddenly going to be able to compete with Sariel.

She delivered a kicking martial art that I had never seen before.

For a moment, Sariel turned around and I could see her back, so I took advantage of that opportunity and tried to hit her with a pile bunker, but before I knew it, her sharp toes were digging into my abdominal muscles.

A roundhouse kick with imperceptible speed.

A perfect critical hit.

My body went straight like a fastball thrown by the ace pitcher of the winning school at Koshien, smashing through the thorn iron fence surrounding the mansion, the fancy brick exterior wall next door, and the neighbors.

I was a major disturbance.

“Ky—kyaaaaaaaaaa—!?”

Just before she passed out, the halfling wife next door, who was relaxing in her garden, blanched as she screamed.