I Became a Raid Boss

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

~”O, no trial shall break my loyalty, long live Grasis.”~

The quietly hummed melody came to an end.

Ahem.

“As expected, military songs don’t suit my voice.”

It’s originally a much more spirited tune, but with my delicate voice, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. No matter how skilled a singer is, there are songs that just don’t match them from birth. Just like that, it feels like the tone of the song and my voice are completely out of sync. I could change the atmosphere with a rearrangement, but I can’t do that, and even if I could, I wouldn’t want to.

“Even so, you would have liked it, right, Garid?”

This was Garid’s favorite song. Whenever he drank, he would belt it out at the top of his lungs until the house shook. If I had to pick the most patriotic person I’ve ever met, I’d choose Garid without hesitation. A person who sings a military anthem even when thoroughly drunk—he’s a model knight, after all.

…Hmm, saying it like this makes him sound like a drunkard.

“Still, don’t you think I’ve gotten better than before? I’ve been practicing ever since you praised me, Garid.”

This time, I hummed a folk song commonly heard while walking through the streets.

“I’ll gather a bouquet of red flowers and offer it to you. When red flowers bloom in front of your house, you’ll think of me. If red flowers bloom in front of my house-”

I’ll think of you too.

Humming softly, I snapped off the lavishly blooming red flowers one by one.

“Sorry. I don’t think I can give these to you.”

Though you can’t tell since they’re red, they’ve been soaked with blood. I’ll pick different flowers to give you, so don’t be too disappointed. Muttering a vague excuse to myself, I let go of the bouquet of red flowers I was holding without any hesitation. The flowers were carried by the wind, scattering as they fell off the cliff below.

Perhaps by this time next year, the cliffside will be covered in red blossoms.

“Did you know, Garid? Insects communicate with pheromones. They signal each other things like, ‘there’s food here’ or ‘this place is dangerous.’”

I continued, brushing off the remaining pollen and leaves from my hands.

“Humans also have pheromones, but our ability to detect them has atrophied, so we can’t communicate the way insects do.”

So, maybe the ones swarming toward me like they’ve caught a whiff of pheromones aren’t human but insects instead. After all, humans wouldn’t have that ability anymore.

At first, I thought they were thieves, then rats. But maybe they were actually insects all along.

“They really try everything, don’t they?”

Is there a bait here, or have they sprinkled pheromones? It’s been several days since I’ve been greeted by swarms of insects, coming back multiple times a day.

I’m not sure, but it feels like it’s been well over a week.

And the frequency of their visits is only increasing…

It’s one thing to thin out the blood-sucking flowers a few times, but at this rate, my carefully tended flower garden will be wiped out.

“Act with no more than eight people. Anything more is cowardice!”

It was pretty funny to think they must have some kind of code of conduct like that, but it didn’t do anything to lessen my irritation.

I walked with a heavy heart, gazing sadly at a corner of my empty flower garden.

Then, I took out the sword that was effective in taking down thieves, eliminating harmful animals, and also in pest control.

Apologizing internally to the blacksmith who made the sword before the extermination job had become a routine for me.

“This time, let’s try to protect the healer as much as possible. Two tanks should take care of the two healers, and the damage dealers should stay as close as they can.”

“The healers should prioritize putting shields on themselves over healing others.”

“Okay. Let’s go!”

‘…What are they saying?’

If they’re going to pick a fight out of the blue, at least speak in a way I can understand! I frowned at the group of eight, mumbling to themselves.

It wasn’t a completely foreign language.

The language they were using is the imperial language created by the ‘Lo Arka’ Empire, called ‘Arkiish.’

Although it’s called an imperial language, since humans and various races each have their own unique languages, it can essentially be considered the common language of the Ardina continent.

The reason is obvious; the Lo Arka Empire holds dominion over the Ardina continent.

In that sense, it wasn’t too strange or unfamiliar that those ruffians… no, the insect swarm was speaking Arkiish.

‘But so what?’

That doesn’t give me a reason to tolerate them.

Nor do I have a reason to learn Arkiish.

Given the Lo Arka Empire’s influence, I’m not completely ignorant of Arkiish.

I may not understand it perfectly, but I know the key words.

‘Die, you bastard, help me, run away, mother, monster.’

And so on.

That’s the essence of practical Arkiish.

Knowing just that much is enough to survive.

Yeah, just like right now.

Slash!

—“Ahhh!”

—“This crazy bastard is starting again!”

—“Protect the healer, protect the healer!”

—“How are we supposed to keep the shield intact when it’s being cut in half!”

—”Just use the party survival skill!”

—”Does the party survival skill have no cooldown?!”

Judging by the unusual positioning they took, it seems they must’ve come up with some kind of strategy while whispering earlier. But strategies only work to a certain extent if the opponent can keep up. No matter how flashy a moth’s movements are, it’s powerless in front of a Master Mage’s Hellfire.

‘Their strategy was flawed from the beginning.’

If they wanted to protect the rear, the frontlines should’ve stepped forward and clashed swords. I didn’t bother hiding my disdain as I raised my foot and kicked the center of the armor. This is what happens when you get too close.

—”…Urgh! What kind of strength is this…?!”

The armored swordsman let out a deflating sound as he was sent flying backwards. Standing behind him was a mage, holding a staff.

—”Aaah! Hey, move! He’s coming this way!”

—”Do you think I’m not moving because I don’t want to? I’m too heavy to get up!”

What a sight to behold. The swordsman and the mage were tangled up together, sprawled on the ground. Judging by how close they were sticking together, they seemed to be quite fond of each other. I was satisfied, feeling like I had brought them closer. The occasional screams they let out must be cries of joy. I don’t understand Arkish, so I couldn’t catch what they were saying, but I’m sure it was something like that.

While I can’t help couples who decide to show affection in the middle of a battle, I could at least officiate their union.

Squelch!

—”…!”

—”Urgh, gah!”

The couple seemed to appreciate my officiating, judging by their groans of admiration, and happily left for their honeymoon. How romantic it was to fulfill their pledges of “Let’s be together until death” and “Even in death, we’re together” all at once. May their love last forever.

My next target was the crossbowman standing there with his mouth agape. He must’ve been so shocked by the disappearance of his two comrades that he forgot to pull the trigger, choosing instead to meditate for inner peace. I swiftly charged at him, slicing him down to help him continue his meditation in peace.

Now, with the priest I took down first, the couple who left for their honeymoon, and the meditative crossbowman all gone, half their number had been wiped out in an instant. The morale of the remaining bugs visibly plummeted.

—”Hah… This attempt’s a failure too.”

They couldn’t handle me when they rushed in with everything they had. Now, with half their forces gone and their morale shattered, there’s no way they could stand a chance.

If Garid, who valued courage, had seen this, he would have been disappointed for sure. But I don’t mind at all.

Still, if I had to say something, I’d wonder why they even came here in the first place.

‘They don’t seem to be throwing themselves into battle with a death wish, but at the same time, they don’t look like they have any lingering attachments to life either.’

The strange part is that even though their morale is broken, they don’t run away. It’s like watching someone somewhere between a highly trained assassin and a complete novice. Maybe they were threatened with death if they returned alive.

In any case, people in this world have no regard for life, and that’s the problem. Of course, I’m no different from them.

“See? My body moves naturally, even when I’m lost in thought.”

I spoke, surveying the battlefield now soaked in blood. The corpses had long since disappeared, scattering into shimmering light. And once again, my sword neither broke nor bent, surviving the battle. At this point, it’s almost like a challenge.

“At least the flower garden didn’t get destroyed this time.”

Thanks to fighting in the cleared patch where I’d already pruned some flowers, I managed to prevent the swarm from gnawing at the garden. Still, I can’t let this situation continue indefinitely. It’s fine if there’s no damage, like in today’s battle, but that’s unlikely to keep happening. I need to take measures before the garden turns into a barren wasteland. For Garid’s sake.

“Hmm… Looks like I’ll have to go down to the village again.”

It hasn’t even been that long since I brought back a load of supplies, thinking I wouldn’t need to go down again for a while. But here I am, heading back already. You really never know what’ll happen in life.

I’ll buy new seeds, some planting materials, gather information while I’m there, and maybe pick up a decent sword too. I can’t leave for too long since I never know when another swarm might show up, but if I go quickly, it should be fine.

“Oh, I just got a great idea.”

What if I deal with any insect swarms I see on the way down? That should keep them from coming back for a while, right? At the very least, it would buy me enough time to make my trip to the village. Honestly, it’s a genius plan. With a satisfied smile, I turned around.

***

[Real-time Boss Update]

(Picture of a person wearing a hooded cape.jpg)

(Picture of a dense forest-covered mountain.jpg)

“Boss has run away from the boss room, lolololol.”

[Comments]

—???

—???????

—What is this? A bug?

—Is it a player cosplaying?

? Nope, it’s not; all the top-tier raid parties trying to challenge the boss just got wiped out.

? What the heck?

—First bug of the season.

—Any idea where it went?

? No clue, everyone got wiped before they could see.

? Lololol.

—So, no one can try now?

? Judging by how it was guarding the grave, it’ll probably come back eventually.

? Oh, then wouldn’t it be sweet to raid the empty boss room before it comes back?

? Maybe, but no one’s left to raid it since everyone in the mountains got wiped out.

? Shame, lol.

? Did it plan this?

? No way, lololol.