Black Iron Magician

Chapter 208 The Hero of Tazarnia

The west coast of Tazarnia. It’s now the battlefield against the Demon King’s army, which has been eroded by seawater and most of it has been submerged. Although the sea level has not actually risen, the water has reached up to the waist, hindering the battle. On the contrary, while the allies are forced to struggle, the enemies, the mermen, are literally like fish that have found water. It’s not a situation that can be overcome with their current forces. Tazarnia’s army is now faced with the choice of continuing to defend or retreating temporarily.

「Haa, what should I do….」

Udberg, the hero of Tazarnia, is worried in his tent. He has corrected his posture many times on the very common chair that can’t be called crude or luxurious. It may be an attempt to distract himself from feeling depressed, but it doesn’t seem to have helped him solve his worries.

He, who’s originally from a nomadic tribe in Tazarnia, is a veteran cleaner who will be 35 this year. What kind of cleaning? He is, of course, a monster cleaner. He learned to hunt at an early age and has been honing his skills ever since. He has three childhood friends who have been hunting together with him, and their teamwork is superb. Even now, they are together as best friends. Udberg and his friends have spent more than 20 years fighting to ensure the safety of their tribe or to get enough food to last the winter. Before they knew it, they were called guardians by everyone, including the chief, and were rumored that no prey that Udberg and his friends couldn’t defeat.

Such a rumor began to spread from one tribe to another, and eventually reached the ears of the Adventurer Guild. And then, they were asked to subjugate monsters on rare occasions. They were not wealthy, so the reward money they could receive by resolving the guild’s requests was a lot for them. In order to provide a good meal and a better life for their tribe, who can be called a family, Udberg and his friends took time to receive requests and resolved them.

He is the guardian of his tribe and a renowned cleaner. A few years ago, he married his childhood friend and was blessed with children. He was happy with this life and was proud to take responsibility for his tribe. That’s why he continued to hunt monsters as his duty.

「I wonder why I’m a hero now….」

From the tribe to the guild, from the guild to the country. It was a natural flow as their fame grew. In Tazarnia, there’s no one who can rival Udberg’s party in killing monsters. Shortly after it was declared like that, he was recognized as a hero by the country’s top officials. How did that happen? That was because of the achievements that Udberg and his friends have piled up so far. In the mountains of monsters that they killed in their nomadic travels, there was no prey that they missed, and they used all of them as sustenance to live. Everyone was happy that he was recognized as a hero, and of course, his wife was happy too. His party companions were somehow proud and the mood became something where he couldn’t refuse it.

He’s aware that their direction has changed a bit. They were doing it for their tribe, but now it’s for the country. It’s an honor, and everyone is happy. However, this matter is different from all of the requests they had received from the guild so far. It’s something that’s clearly beyond their control. He knows many adventurers who have died because they got carried away and took on requests that didn’t match their abilities. He knew and was using it as a warning to control himself.

「Yeah, I was…. But, I missed the timing to tell them….」

As if his foot was plunging into a swamp before he knew it, there is a sense of danger that is gradually approaching. In the past few days, they have fought with the enemy boss many times, and each time it’s been a close call. If they make even one mistake, they could lose their lives. If he’s worried about the safety of his friends, this is probably the right time to quit. However, his hero title probably won’t allow it.

「If it’s on land…. The sea is not our specialty after all….」

Udberg’s party specializes in battles that take the form of hunting. If it’s a battle between many people like this time, and moreover if it’s submerged in water, the way they do things will change. It’s not that they can’t swim, but the foundation of a nomadic people is too different from the monsters that usually live in the water.

「Moreover, they are stupidly motivated….」

His worries didn’t end there. After the King of Tazarnia appointed him as the hero, the motivation of his friends has risen extraordinarily, and that’s also a problem. They started hunting monsters when they were not famous, gradually became famous, and finally reached the ears of the king. It’s a great honor. That’s why Udberg’s friends were so excited.

『That merman is quite good, huh. My wound is aching…!』

『But, I think we did well. I’m sure we can do it!』

『That’s right! After all, we have a duty to guide everyone as heroes!』

『『『Let’s do this!』』』

――Their mood is like that the whole time. Udberg knows this condition very well. It’s a bad flow that rarely happens among adventurers, where they got carried away by the mood and try to overcome the problem with enthusiasm alone. His friends are drunk by the hero title and so eager to please the others that they neglect their own lives. It’s about time that it won’t be strange if someone dies in the next battle.

「Should we abandon the role as the hero and run away? No, they won’t accept it. It will make an enemy of the country and it will cause trouble for everyone…. After all, I have to think of a way to win…. But seriously, Gonzales, Big, and Johnny are old enough to understand how they should behave….」

Udberg ended up complained unconsciously. He got up from his chair, sat down again, and repeated it many times. The time passed, and the time to go into the battle approached. However, his agony didn’t seem to be going away.

「Udberg-sama! Hero Udberg-sama!」

‘Geh!’ He said so in his mind. A soldier of Tazarnia is standing in front of his tent. Udberg, who’s not accustomed to being called a hero, feels awkward when being called so repeatedly.

(It’s time to go, huh? Damn, I couldn’t think of anything…. Anyway, our top priority is not to die. I’ve to get my act together….)

Udberg scratches his head and expresses his frustration in an easy-to-understand manner. However, the soldier doesn’t have the time for that. He’s somehow terribly impatient.

「Big news! The hero of the allied nation Adelheit has arrived! It’s reinforcement!」

「…… What?」

At the moment, no one knows whether this reinforcement is a good omen or a bad omen.