Chapter 49
At the home improvement store―――.
By the time Nishino and Rikka reached the entrance, the situation was already dire.
The students and refugees were completely on the defensive against several Orcs.
"Everyone, are you all right!?"
"N-Nishino-san!" "They're strong! There's no way we can handle them...!" "What do we do?" "Damn it! I'm not dying here!" "Stay back, you monsters! Take this! Take this!"
Although everyone was relieved that the two of them had arrived, there was no room for optimism in their voices.
(This is bad...)
There were more than ten Orcs in sight alone.
And every single one of them was strong.
Far stronger than the Goblins and Lesser Wolves we'd fought yesterday.
(Even setting my classmates aside, these middle-aged refugees don't stand a chance against them... Damn it, we haven't even finished the minimum amount of leveling yet.)
In fact, several of the refugees had already thrown down their weapons and fled to the back of the store, where they trembled in fear.
Their spirits must have already been broken after everything that had happened since yesterday.
(Damn it... You useless bastards. You do nothing but complain all the time, yet you can't be of any use when it matters.)
Now that things had come to this, they couldn't count the refugees who had fled to the back as fighting strength.
But the people still here couldn't deal with this situation on their own, either.
Above all, the copper-red Orc at the back was the biggest concern.
(...It's clearly on a completely different level from the others. Is that the one Shibata was talking about...?)
The copper-red Orc showed no sign of moving for now, merely watching them from a distance.
Cold sweat trickled down Nishino's cheek.
This is bad. Nishino's instincts told him that if that thing moved, 'it would be over.'
...Rikka.
"What?"
Nishino asked Rikka, who stood beside him with her hatchet at the ready.
"Can you take on that copper-red Orc?"
"Hmm..."
Although Rikka replied listlessly, her gaze remained fixed on the Orc waiting in the rear.
For a few seconds,
Then she let out a deep breath.
"...Sorry, Nissy. I can't take that one. I'd die."
Her tone was as carefree and devoid of tension as ever.
Yet that told him more eloquently than anything else could have about the situation and the difference in strength between the two sides.
"Even if you use 'Berserk' to the maximum?"
"Yeah, I can't. I can't beat it."
"I see..."
If Rikka was willing to state it so definitively, then they had no hope of winning.
In that case, there was only one thing they could do.
Nishino steeled himself and shouted.
"Everyone! Plan 4! Somehow, we're going to survive!"
"Huh!?" "Wait, Plan 4...?" "You've got to be kidding me..."
"H-hey! Wait a minute! I've never heard of any plan with that number!"
"M-me neither! What kind of plan is it?" "Do you have some way out of this?"
Hearing Nishino's voice, the reactions split cleanly into two groups.
The students and the refugees.
Nishino had roughly divided his plans into Plans 1 through 4.
And Plan 4 was one of the worst-case scenarios he had envisioned.
Namely―――'using the refugees as decoys and escaping.'
Naturally, only the students who had been acting alongside him knew about this plan.
The refugees had not been told.
The students understood what it meant, and their expressions darkened slightly.
The refugees didn't understand, but they took a little hope from the thought that perhaps there was some way out.
"Keep defending while gradually moving inside! Once the Orcs enter the store, we'll put the plan into action! Use the back door and the windows! Got it!?"
"Got it."
Rikka nodded without hesitation. The other students hesitated slightly.
"You guys! We'll die if we stay like this! We're going to survive, no matter what! Right!?"
"...!"
Hearing Nishino's desperate shout, the students steeled themselves as well.
The refugees didn't understand what it meant and simply followed along.
(That's right. I can't die. Not here, absolutely not...!)
Their desperate operation began.
An operation to sacrifice others so they could survive.
Meanwhile―――.
'That bad feeling' is getting stronger...
We were moving carefully through the city, trying not to run into the pack of Shadow Wolves or the pack of Orcs.
Goblin-class monsters were one thing, but at our current level, taking on a pack of Orcs or Shadow Wolves was impossible.
On top of that, the Orc pack had that High Orc with them.
We were lucky to have been spared that time, but I couldn't expect the same good fortune again.
We absolutely had to avoid them.
"Position-wise, it feels like we're caught between the two packs..."
And both were monsters with keen noses.
It was the worst possible matchup.
How could we get through this...?
As I thought about it and looked up at the sky, I saw that it was heavily overcast.
A raindrop landed on my nose.
"...It's raining again..."
It's been raining nonstop lately.
I wanted to put as much distance as possible between us before it really started coming down.
For now, I guess I'll head in whichever direction doesn't give me that bad feeling.
I'll keep battles to a minimum.
"...Hm?"
When I happened to look up, I saw black smoke rising in the distance.
A fire?
Given the size of the smoke, the fire must be fairly large.
That should be the direction of the home improvement store, right?
It was also the direction the Orc pack had gone.
Could it be...?
I was curious, so I decided to send Ichinose-san an email.
From the high-rise apartment building where she was staying, she'd be able to tell where the fire had started.
I opened the email screen.
There was one 'Unread' message.
Judging by the time it had been received, it had apparently been sent only moments ago.
I opened it, and it read as follows.
'It seems there was a fire at the home improvement store. The Orc pack was headed there, so I think there's a good chance they got into a fight with the people sheltering there. The Orcs seem to be actively hunting humans, so we need to be careful too. Oh, and as for the party, have you still not reached a decision? I look forward to your reply.'
That was fast!
She sent me what I was about to ask before I even could.
And she's subtly pressuring me about the party, too.
She really doesn't change...
But... I see.
So that smoke really was coming from the home improvement store.
And it was a battle with the Orc pack.
I could only offer my condolences.
"I hope they managed to get away..."
Well, I didn't exactly have the luxury of worrying about other people, either.
I continued on, steering clear of any direction that gave me that bad feeling.
Partway through, the rain grew heavier, so I had Aka mimic a 'raincoat.'
"...Hm?"
As we moved through the rain, 'Enemy Search' picked up something.
It wasn't a monster. It was a human presence.
There were two of them.
The location was... a nearby park?
It was unusual to find anyone out walking instead of holed up somewhere.
Curious, I headed toward the spot where 'Enemy Search' had detected them.
The closer I got, the more something felt off.
Strange...
These people hadn't moved an inch from the spot where 'Enemy Search' had detected them.
What was going on?
I reached the spot where the reaction had appeared.
It was a small park with nothing but swings and a bench.
The two people were hiding in a sparse patch of bushes in one corner.
"Is that...?"
I watched them from the shadow of a building.
I recognized them.
They were students.
One was Nishino-kun.
The other was a high school girl with her hair tied in a side ponytail.
Her name was... Ri... What was it again?
Whatever.
In any case.
The problem was their condition.
"...They're in terrible shape."
Even from a distance, I could tell how battered they were.
The high school girl in particular was bleeding quite heavily.
She was in serious condition.
Could they have been attacked by the Orcs and fled here?
At that moment, Nishino-kun turned to look in my direction.
"...Is someone there?"