Otherworld Company Chapter 90: On Someone’s Behalf

Another Side

~3^rd Person Perspective~

　“Well, Evia, let’s hear the report.” (Demon King)

　“Huh?” (Evia)

　In the president’s office of MAO company, the president of this company and the Demon King smiled his usual mild smile and listened to the report of his close aide, a female demon.

　“We have dispatched the Ogre King and the Undying King to the dungeon of the Insect king, where the mother body of the Evo Eater is believed to be located. The Ogre King will spearhead and the Undying King will be the reinforcement, and it is estimated that it will take three days to reach the deepest part of the dungeon.” (Evia)

　“Hmm, that sounds good over there. It would be very difficult to have something like that running amok in your belly, so I hope you can defeat it safely.” (Demon King)

　He says that he is hoping, but for the Demon King, the subjugation has already become a decided matter.

　The only difference, if any, is the extent of the damage, and that too is not within the range of the Demon King’s expectations.

　He naturally has trust in his subordinates who have joined the battle, but he has given them advance information in order to attack the dungeon and has deployed the most suitable forces to deal with the situation.

　If they failed in this, it means either those two men are incompetent, or something happened that overturned the Demon King’s expectations.

　So, what is his concern?

　“So, did you find the old man?” (Demon King)

　“We found a building that looked like a research facility, and from there we started an investigation that led us to some nobles. Here are the details.” (Evia)

　“Hmm, did he use this one?” (Demin King)

　The Demon King looked through the documents at a speed that made you wonder if he was reading the summarized report, and commented that it was not what he expected.

　However, he could see the shadow lurking behind the information and, as if playing chess with an old friend, he spent a few seconds going over the information in his mind to see if it was possible to hit his opponent in the gut from this point on.

　“I can guess who is plotting behind the scenes, and these nobles are probably the tail that got cut off.” (Demon King)

　“Yes, I sent troops to seize the evidence, but they had already destroyed the evidence.” (Evia)

　“I suppose so. If they had left any evidence here, they could have taken their heads off much more easily. Well, that’s all right. I don’t care what has already been done, so I’ll just order some of the shadows to continue their investigations and we’ll be done with this hiccup. As long as we confiscate the property of these dumb nobles and dispose of them properly, there will be no problem.” (Demon King)

　However, Evia thought that what they could do so based on the report he was given was to harass them at best.

　She finds it useless to spend more time on it.　

　“However, I wonder if I’ll receive the reward exactly. They pulled out something like that. I’m sure they’ve made their own preparations.” (Jiro)

　But there was no way the Demon King would let this lukewarm treatment be the end of it.

　“Evia, how do you think we should settle this?” (Demon King)

　“With your will.” (Evia)

　The Demon King’s faction lost one of his generals, the dungeon administrator, in this incident.

It can be seen that the filling takes a lot of time.

　The Demon King, who lost his subordinate whom he trusted more than anything else, is calm and angry and vows to avenge his loss.

　The expression on his face shows no mercy as he devises a plan to avenge his subordinate’s death.

　Evia, following his heart, bows her head silently, making no reply.

　Later that day, eight barons and viscounts and a count are hanged for treason.

　The Demon King, who is about to do it, just smiles quietly.

　“For now, let’s get rid of the one that stuck me in the gut. Let’s focus on that.” (Demon King)

　Another Side END

　Side Jiro Tanaka

~Jiro’s Perspective~

　Resting in a dungeon is far from quiet, of course.

　The sound of the battle between the Evo Eaters and the demons that intercept them is louder than that of a live concert venue.

　Even in the midst of such noise, the demons keep their own pace.

　At noon on the third day after starting the march, by the time we reached the final boss after making formatting and marching repeatedly, the noise became a lullaby, and I blended into this army to the extent that a bloodlust directed at me woke me up.

It may have sounded good to say that I had mastered the ever-present battlefield, but the reality was that I was on a hard schedule of repeated battles to the point that I could see myself collapsing from exhaustion if I couldn’t do it.

“Jiro, how is the battlefield?” (Kio)

“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had.” (Jiro)

“You’ve grown up enough to be sarcastic! You were fine in the beginning, but you got quiet in the middle!” (Kio)

But the reason I didn’t have a nervous breakdown is because of Instructor Kio.

The more we fight together, the more I learn, the more I absorb, and the stronger I become.

Even though the deepest area is still far away, if there is a goal in front of me, it is the heart of a man to want to challenge it with all his might.

I stopped polishing my Mineral Tree and wondered what to say to the instructor who approached me but came to the conclusion that it would be better to speak honestly.

“If you are thrown into a place where you almost die many times, you open a new door. Otherwise, I would have just died. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve slaughtered enemies on thinking they were you.” (Jiro)

“Oh, yes, you say that, but does it help?” (Kio)

“Not at all.” (Jiro)

The instructor put me in an environment that made me feel like I was an ogre.

I couldn’t take revenge on the culprit, so I hatefully stabbed and slashed the Evo Eaters, but as I responded immediately, it still couldn’t reach this demon’s feet.

If you ask me if it is completely useless, it is not, but if you ask me if I can still inflict a fatal wound on the instructor, I shake my head.

I still can’t imagine it being able to cut him.

The fact is that I have not yet reached that stage.

The higher I climb, the more I realize how strong the instructor is.

“I bet you do!” (Kio)

The instructor, smiling cheerfully, has a bottle of liquor in one hand.

I envy him that he can afford to be relaxed even though there is a battle happening a hundred meters ahead of us.

I want to breathe out a sigh at his attitude as if to say that the battlefield is the place for demons.

Even now, the ogre who came back covered in blood is drinking up his own liquor.

I don’t mind this scene as much as I did at first, but my desire to sleep in a peaceful room is only getting stronger.

That, too, will end today.

“But not yet.” (Kio)

The instructor’s voice is stern as he stirs the sake in the cup, the cheerfulness he had displayed earlier has gone out of the window.

“Kuzuri is undoubtedly a commander of the Demon King’s army. I also appreciate her strength.” (Kio)

“Are they stronger than you, Instructor?” (Jiro)

“If we were to go fight head-to-head, I would win ten times out of ten.” (Kio)

It was neither a joke nor a funny story.

In a pure contest of strength, the instructor assured him that he would win, but only if he did it head-on.

In other words, if he deviated from that condition, there was a possibility that he would lose.

“In terms of individual strength, she is the weakest of the generals. But her strength is not in fighting. Her strength is to give birth and nurture. Even if she is not strong, her children will come for my head. Even if it’s just a blow that shaves off a thin layer of skin, she intentionally produces dozens, hundreds, or thousands of individuals who can shave off that thin layer of skin. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be a general in the Demon King’s army.” (Kio)

That is why, the instructor guesses, the Evo Eater aimed at the Insect King.

The general who boasts strength not as an individual but as a group may in a sense be one of the strongest in forming an army.

It takes time to train soldiers.

But for the Insect King, their conditions are less demanding than those of other armies.

They have the ability to intentionally create ideal soldiers.

That means low cost and an army that does not diminish.

They can form a large, if not infinite, army, and that alone makes them a threat.

“But it’s also the reason she is smarter than I am. I was expecting a more serious trap to get us here, but there wasn’t one. She just increased the number of them in the dark and started shooting them at me. We are just doing a fool’s errand.” (Kio)

But even so, the instructor didn’t seem to see it as a threat.

It seems that they were not just invading the dungeon without a plan, but they were looking for the other side.

I’m sorry, instructor, I thought you were always at the front of the line ready to fight because you just love to fight.

“The enemy ate Kuzuri and is getting carried away. I’m strong, the strongest. They are trying to show off their power. There is no way I can lose to someone like that.” (Kio)

The instructor, who had been smiling with such cheer earlier, looked irritated like before was a lie.

It may be out of resentment over the death of a friend.

As if to relieve his sorrow, he downed his liquor roughly and emptied the contents of the bottle in no time.

Then, after shaking it a couple of times as if to check it, he released the bottle toward the battlefield.

The bottle was casually thrown by the instructor, and from my point of view, it seemed to fly as fast as a bullet.

“Damn you, you screwed up!” (Kio)

I asked him a question that I couldn’t ask him.

“Instructor, is there any chance we can help General Kuzuri?” (Jiro)

“…Hey. Kuzuri’s soul has probably already been consumed and extinguished. All that remains is her body, which has been eaten and transformed. All I can do is to make sure that her body doesn’t do any more harm to her own people.” (Kio)

After looking into my eyes, the instructor shook his head and assured me that it was impossible.

Then, without showing any emotion, he assured me what he was going to do.

“I see.” (Jiro)

“Hmph, take care of yourself instead of worrying too much. You think you care about me, but if you want to help me, you’ll have to be stronger than me.” (Kio)

If I were the hero of a story, I would probably be able to help him in some opportune way, but unfortunately, there is not a single millimeter of possibility of that happening to me.

If he could help her, I am sure that the Demon King’s Army would take actions that would help her as an organization.

But the action they took was not rescue but a subjugation.

“If so, I will do so.” (Jiro)

The fact that he took that option probably means that it is too late.

If that’s the case, it’s not my place to say anything more.

I had only seen him once before at the end of the training.

I had no feelings for this person and accepted the end result of the question.

But the instructor would be different.

There is no doubt that he has feelings for the other person, whether they are good or bad.

I respect this Ogre Yakuza who is trying to do his job without any feelings.

If that is the case, I will see to it that he does at least that much.

“It’s time to go. Jiro, you–” (Kio)

“I’ll follow you. If I pull out at this point, I will miss the opportunity to improve my skills.” (Jiro)

“Hahaha, you’re giving good replies now, aren’t you, Jiro? Then I will show you a winning battle! Then we’ll go home and have a feast!” (Kio)

“I expect a good drink.” (Jiro)

“You don’t have to ask! I’ll prepare a good one for you!” (Kio)

Quietly pumped myself up, I interrupted my instructor, who was about to ask me to stay here, and volunteered to go to the front line.

This is the final run.

If I don’t have to think about the future, I can fight with a little more ease.

After entering the dungeon, I find myself in position behind the instructor, who has the upper half of his body exposed.

As the instructor walked along, demons who had been drinking, eating, sleeping, maintaining their weapons, and healing themselves came to join him one after another, and in no time at all, the Hyakki Yagyou was complete.

“Make way! I will step forward!” (Kio)

The front line fighting the Evo Eater is joined by a large Ogre who has recovered his strength.

The Ogre King, who has recovered fully for the final battle, once again wields his powerful weapon that makes a storm seem weak.

“Follow meeeee!!” (Kio)

With a single swing, he produces a storm, crushing the enemy to death, and then charges to meet the charging monsters.

We charge deeper and deeper.

We stop the Evo Eater, which has been wounded by the instructor’s attack, and we cut the enemy fearlessly, who is bigger than the ones before.

It breathes fire, spits acid, wields a scythe, sends out stings, and sprays venom, all with a single swing from his instructor.

All of them are evaporated with a single swing from the instructor, and the other demons and me attack.

The adrenaline in my brain is pumping, I feel elated, and gradually my opponent’s movements seem slower and slower.

“Aaaaah!!!!” (Jiro)

The enemy was right in front of me at the same time as I rushed forward, literally crushing the floor, and my body was swinging down the Mineral Tree before I could even think of cutting it.

One of the enemy’s legs was chopped off, and an ogre’s massive battle axe swung down as its balance was off.

“Nice, next!” (Ogre)

“Yeah!!” (Jiro)

I answer the ogre’s voice and leap at the next enemy.

I’m classified as small among the ogres, and my role is to break the tempo of the opponent’s movement.

After all, they have come to trust me enough to trust me with their backs as we fight together.

After rescuing several demons, we promised to have a drink together next time.

Between you and me, I’ve come to think that they are easier to get along with than humans, in a way.

I shook off my thoughts with the sound of explosions echoing in the front and ran, circulating more magic power to catch up with the others.

In front of the spirited instructor, who is capable of hurting the enemy even in the aftermath of the smoke and shockwaves, there is no one who can fight properly.

The Ogre King, who slaughters his enemies, is given the structure of the dungeon and is made to understand in three days that he has the ability to reach the deepest part of this dungeon in not much time.

A massive hole.

The entrance itself was high enough to swallow one Tokyo Dome.

There was no way that the space beyond it could be smaller than that.

The space itself was like a wilderness, the ceiling like the night sky, and even though the horizon was visible, its presence was so huge that it could be seen from any location.

“I see. If that’s the case, that explains the en masse breeding.” (Jiro)

I guess it would be more accurate to call it an alien holding a huge cocoon.

The reddish-black cocoons are constantly spitting out eggs and increasing in number.

The sight of the cocoons, which look like factories for mass-produced goods, makes me sick just looking at them.

“Now then, it’s the final stage.” (Jiro)

I look at the back of the instructor who is staring at the huge body of the cocoon, and I get back into the swing of things.

Jiro Tanaka: 28 years old – Has Girlfriends

Girlfriend(s): Suela Handelberg (Dark Elf) & Memoria Tris (Vampire)

Occupation: Dungeon Tester (Regular Employee)

Magical Aptitude: Eight (General Class)

Job Title: Warrior

Note for the Day

There are things that someone has to do.

T/N: Well damn, I didn’t expect Insect King to die with barely any chapter time.

T/N: If you like the series rate, review and add on your reading list on Novel Updates. You can also donate through Paypal or Ko-fi, or subscribe on Ko-fi. Thank you!