I Want to Live a Normal Life

Episode 7: Goodbye Gargaine

“Release!!”

With the signal, attacks by dozens of sorcerers hit the stone barricade, the stone house behind it, and the guards on watch. Magic shattered the barricade and the house, carving into the mountainous backdrop. Then, perhaps due to magical interference, a large explosion occurred.

“Not yet! Keep firing until you exhaust your magic!”

Amidst the swirling dust, the relentless attacks continued, illuminating the dark night. Some watched the scene with tense expressions, some with blank faces, and others with smirks.

“Hahaha! Even if you’re the ‘Guardian of Ortya,’ you won’t get away with just this much magic. This opportu–”

“I found youuu!”

“What!?”

“Dieeee!”

“Aaagh!”

“Ha, finally got rid of you. Goodbye Gargaine.”

Taking command, Gargaine, or rather, Earl Lemnis, was shot through the chest with [Bullet], causing his upper body to explode. …Well, his head is still intact, so that’s a relief.

I immediately recognized him by the facial features described by the Count. This guy was Gargaine, alright. He laughed just like he did in the game earlier, almost making me burst out laughing. That voice actor has such strong quirks.

But seriously, it was too easy, almost anticlimactic. I mean, even if you’re a skilled mercenary, you shouldn’t laugh out loud during a battle. Well, considering all the schemes he pulled in the original story, it’s kind of satisfying to see him defeated so easily in a direct confrontation. He must lack real combat experience.

Setting aside the dead guy, let’s talk about the Count’s nickname, the ‘Guardian of Ortya.’ It makes sense since he’s guarding the border, but isn’t it a bit too straightforward? It does seem fitting for the Count though. By the way, the Count’s weapon is a large sword, like the one Guan Yu wields. Swinging that thing around is incredibly impressive. Now, here comes the Count.

“My lord Earl!?”

“W-What…!?”

“Now’s the time! Take down the bandits!!”

“Uwaaah!”

“The ‘Guardian’!?”

“W-Why are they behind us!?”

“Uwaaaah!”

The shock of the commander’s death sends the earl’s group into disarray, and from behind them, the soldiers led by Count Obrine attack. Immediately, the earl’s forces fall into panic. Well, it’s understandable. The Count and his men, who were supposed to be completely surrounded by over three hundred soldiers and adventurers, appeared unharmed from behind and launched an assault. It’s confusing. Some are desperately trying to regroup, but most are just fleeing and getting slaughtered one after another by Obrine’s soldiers.

“We’ll pretend to camp with the cliff behind us. We’ll dig tunnels underground and hide the lady and the young masters there, while the rest of us attack the invaders from behind. Oh, and we’ll use armored earth dolls to make it look like there are people around.”

That’s roughly the proposal the Count made to us. It was quite a hassle to explain everything, but they eventually agreed to the plan. And now, as expected, here come the earl and his clueless bunch, desperately firing magic at the empty campsite.

By the way, we built a stable-like structure to house the horses and carriages, completely reinforced. Ideally, we wanted to put the horses underground too, but we were afraid of giving away our hiding spot if there were no signs of a camp on the surface. From what I can see, only the surface of the walls is damaged, so there doesn’t seem to be any damage from the attacks. To prevent the stable from being spotted, I also used explosive magic to create a flashy explosion. It was my first time using it in real combat, but the Earl seemed quite pleased, even laughing uproariously, which is a relief.

Now all that’s left is to take out the enemy commander and finish off the remaining troops when the enemy is in disarray. The plan went smoothly, and as the Count and Mr. Fenfield eliminated skilled opponents, the enemy was left in disarray.

Except for one group.

“The troops from the Holy Nation.”

“And there are three ‘Apostles of Miltia’ among them. It seems His Excellency is not well-liked by the Pope.”

Leading that group were three men called the ‘Apostles of Miltia.’ They were the mercenaries sent by the Holy Nation.

“…That idiot from Lemnis messed up. Useless guy.”

“That’s what I said. We could’ve done it faster.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. We messed up with that one—”

“Boom!”

“What!?”

“—What!?”

“Blair!?”

The one who seemed the most foolish among them, the ‘Church of Miltia’s Apostle Dogs,’ was talking about something, so I took him out from behind with a mace. Gotta make sure to leave the head intact. I can learn, you know. Besides, these kinds of guys talk too much, and there’s no way we’ll understand each other even if we talk, so it’s better to just kill them quickly. I don’t have time for idle chatter and letting them escape, that’s unacceptable. If I’m just going to torture by listening, might as well leave one alive. I hate you Miltia fanatics too. Almost as much as Gargaine.

Hey, is it okay if you look this way? You’ll die, you know?

“Seems like you’re quite relaxed for someone who’s distracted.”

“Nuuh—got it.”

“Well then, old man.”

Oh, as expected of Mr. Fenfield. The initial blow was deflected, but it threw the old man off balance enough for me to snap his neck. I recognize this old man’s voice. I think he was quite a strong character even in the original work. Well, he’s being deployed for today’s operation. He barely deflected the surprise attack. If he hadn’t been caught off guard, we might have had a hard time.

…Huh? Count, do you want to say something?

“…Weren’t you supposed to leave one of them alive?”

“Huh? Isn’t he still alive? Right, Mine?”

“Yes, we left one alive.”

“…You know I’m not good at holding back, right?”

“The early bird gets the worm.”

“Please do your best.”

“Sigh… So, Mr. ‘Apostle,’ I’d be happy if you surrendered quietly.”

“Hah, as if—”

“Then so be it.”

“Aaargh!”

The moment he refused to surrender, the big man’s arms flew through the air. What was that about not being good at holding back? This guy’s dangerous too. But still, both this big guy and the old man from earlier are quite strong if fought head-on, and there were skilled fighters among the soldiers and adventurers, so it would have been risky to just stand and take hits. In the original timeline, they seemed to have fought while protecting their families…

Anyway, I’ve prevented the Count’s assassination, and Gargaine, too… so, I’ve drifted quite far from the original work, haven’t I? The influential figures of the main faction have been taken down, so that idiotic king shouldn’t be reckless enough to start a war. …Right? Although, I feel like he might just ally with the church and do something sneaky?

However, I don’t intend to go after the king now. There are plenty of royal guards and noble private soldiers in the capital. Can’t afford to deal with them. Regardless of the original work, I’m not dying here. Both Mine and I just want to live normally. Let the foolish king and the Count and the moderate nobles handle it. That’s their duty, right?

Well then, let’s deactivate the [Magic Armor] and go to sleep. I’m exhausted.

“What!? Uuughhhh…”

Dead bodies were scattered all around my field of vision. I threw up a lot afterward.