From the Perspective of the Reincarnator Tagawa
I thought I was lucky.
A reincarnation into another world, straight out of a light novel.
And beside me was her — my childhood friend from the old world, too.
I even had what felt like a cheat ability.
I was thinking, "Isn't this life a total breeze?"
It wasn't that I hated the old world or anything.
But I definitely had this lingering sense of dissatisfaction.
I wanted more excitement.
I wanted to go on adventures like in manga or light novels.
And when that actually came true, what I felt wasn't loss — it was anticipation.
I was aware that something was off about me, and
Fortunately, since we were babies, nobody around us found it suspicious.
Asaka and I were born into the same mercenary band, around the same time.
It was strange — the moment I saw Asaka, even though she looked completely different, I somehow knew it was her.
Asaka apparently felt the same way, and I thought, "This has got to be fate."
Asaka and I had just been ordinary childhood friends in the old world.
We weren't dating or anything like that — just two people who lazily hung around together, tied by that stubborn bond you can't seem to break.
Still, I had a vague feeling that someday I'd probably end up with this girl.
Asaka seemed to sense that too, but she said it felt like it would be a while before anything actually happened between us.
Then this impossible experience of reincarnating into another world happened, and suddenly the distance between us changed completely.
After reincarnating, it felt like we'd shifted into a relationship of mutual dependency.
Asaka said she was scared she'd lose herself if I wasn't there.
And honestly, if Asaka hadn't been with me, I don't think I could've been so carefree about being thrown alone into a strange other world, going "Adventure time!"
The mercenary band we were born into had set up a village near the border with the Demon race. They made their living by repelling Demons that infiltrated the Human race's side, and conversely by raiding into Demon territory to attack the Demons themselves.
In the best light, you could call them a defense force protecting Humans from Demon incursions.
In the worst light, they were a band of brigands who repeatedly plundered the Demons.
That's who they were.
Asaka grew to despise that village, and she was dead set on leaving as soon as she grew up.
I also had the desire to become an adventurer and see the world, so I was all for leaving the village.
To build up whatever strength I could, I asked my father and the other adult mercenaries to teach me how to fight.
But Asaka and I ended up leaving the village far sooner than we'd expected.
The village was destroyed.
I'll never forget what happened that day.
A Demon army, bearing down on us.
Familiar faces — the mercenaries — fighting back.
My father was among them. So was Asaka's father.
And he simply, effortlessly, as though crushing insects, plucked their lives away.
"Melazophis! Are there any stragglers left?"
"No. Let's return."
And yet, the very same demon who'd faced me and beaten me into a ragged mess had let me go.
He'd even hidden it from his fellow Demons.
Asaka and I survived solely because of his mercy.
"Finally…"
Countless Demons.
In this battlefield where Humans and Demons clashed together, I entered the fray as an adventurer.
How much time had passed since the battle began? I'd been fighting nonstop the whole time, and my sense of time had completely shattered.
After cutting down dozens, hundreds of Demons, after fighting my way through, I finally caught sight of that figure.
The one I could never forget, no matter how hard I tried.
"So you were the Demon legion commander after all."
Back then, I'd only known him as just another Demon.
But I remembered his face and his name with perfect clarity.
The name listed in the intelligence report a scout had brought back at the cost of his life.
The name that matched my memory — and the thrill I'd felt at that moment.
"I'll have my revenge."
And so, I challenged Melazophis, the Demon legion commander.
After losing the village where we'd grown up to the Demon attack, Asaka and I made a living as adventurers, traveling from place to place.
At first, things didn't go well much of the time.
Both Asaka and I were reincarnators, so we were more mature than the average kids our age — but that was only on the inside.
On the outside, we still looked like children, and no matter what we did, people treated us as such.
The good jobs were taken by the adults, and because of the rules, we only got assigned menial tasks like gathering herbs or catching small animals — pocket-money work at best.
If Asaka hadn't steadily built up our reputation through her reliable, diligent work, I probably would've thrown in the towel early out of spite.
Asaka didn't have any grand ambitions, but her steady, dependable work style pulled me along when my motivation was at rock bottom.
I think back on those times with my hat in my hand.
Eventually, we became capable enough to handle Monster hunts, and from there, things snowballed fast.
Defeating Monsters earned you Experience Points.
Earn enough Experience Points and your Level went up, which let you take on stronger Monsters.
And that meant you could accept a wider range of commissions.
Our reputation as adventurers soared, and we'd already achieved top-tier skill at our young age.
Honestly speaking, Asaka and I had already become outstandingly strong among the Human race.
Even an S-rank adventurer senior would probably lose to the two of us.
That's why I joined this war against the Demon race.
To settle the score for my village.
I was convinced that even against Demons, there was no way I could lose.
And yet — you've got to be kidding me.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
I couldn't afford a single mistake, not even in my breathing rhythm.
If I so much as exhaled at the wrong moment, this guy wouldn't let the opening slip by.
I blocked the oncoming sword with my blade.
At the same time, Asaka dispelled the magic spell that came flying at me.
That was close.
If Asaka hadn't covered for me just now, I would've taken that hit clean.
I wanted to thank Asaka, but I didn't have the composure for that.
I was at my limit just parrying the follow-up attacks.
Melazophis, this Demon, was absurdly strong.
His swordsmanship and magic were both impeccably precise.
He had no single obvious strength, but everything about him was high-level.
He was fundamentally sound, with virtually no openings whatsoever.
Even with both Asaka and me fighting together, we could only defend.
Pathetic.
What happened to "there's no way we'd lose against Demons"?
I wanted to punch the pre-battle version of myself who'd been thinking, "If I'm lucky, maybe I can take down the one who destroyed my village directly."
There's no way anyone other than us could take down this monster.
Right.
Asaka and I were the only ones who could fight this guy head-on.
The only reason the battlefield was currently in the Human race's favor was because the two of us were holding him in check.
But if this guy broke free, he alone could turn the tide of the entire battle.
Just as the two of us had scattered the Demons and cut through to their main camp, this guy could single-handedly ravage the Human forces.
Thinking about it that way, I absolutely could not afford to lose.
The noise of the battlefield — which should have been deafening — went silent.
The extreme concentration had shut out all surrounding sound.
While everything around me moved in slow motion, Melazophis's movements were still fast.
I accelerated my thinking to its limit, and I still couldn't keep up with Melazophis.
I could barely track him with my eyes.
But on the flip side, the fact that I could still see him meant I could still fight.
The moment my eyes could no longer follow his movements, it would be over.
But that moment was coming soon.
The fatigue accumulating in my body was slowing me down.
In my peripheral vision, I could see Asaka was just as exhausted as I was.
The decline in our movement was minute — barely perceptible.
But even that tiny margin, against this opponent, could cost us our lives.
I was fighting in a cold sweat, wondering when my own head would get lopped off.
I swung my blade with everything I had.
Asaka's magic was easily deflected, and the counter-strike came straight at me.
Right after, the ground shook, and my fatigued legs gave out.
I stumbled and fell on my rear. Lucky for me, the tip of his blade passed right in front of my face.
If I'd still been standing, I would've been cut down.
But you couldn't exactly call that good luck.
I was sitting completely defenseless on the ground.
I scrambled to my feet, but the follow-up attack never came.
Looking up, Melazophis was standing perfectly still.
Ignoring us entirely, his gaze was fixed on the battlefield.
That was when I first noticed that the Demon army had been utterly decimated.
"Time to pull back."
His voice was barely a murmur.
"Retreat!"
Immediately after, a commanding shout.
That retreat was so crisp and decisive, there was no room to give chase.
We were the ones who'd been let off the hook.
And once again, Asaka and I had been spared.