Because Janitor-san Is Not a Hero Chapter 43

Chapter 43
４３－ザウル
Chapter 43 – Zauru

MTL: uniquegasuki
Editor/ Proofreader: (not proofread)

In the middle of the mountain, Akari and company carefully set up camp and stayed there for one night.
Although they could have rushed to the village and made it there by midnight, there was no need for them to hurry.
And thus, early morning.
From the forest, there were no sounds of birds chirping to be heard.
The forest had disappeared and was replaced by a wasteland. In the clearing, Sarewado village is in sight.

「――something is coming!」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
Makus.h.i.+mu brushed away the arrow that had come flying and then with his right fist he knocked down an incoming fireball. He was wearing a giantkind glove.
Upon hearing Makus.h.i.+mu’s voice, the women of 『Maruuna・Niyuumu』 immediately reacted.
They moved to protect Akari, surrounding her with a defensive formation.

【【WWall vindur vindur】】
【【Air Wall】】

【【【【WWall vindur vindur】】】】
【【【【Air Wall】】】】

Following in suit with Diantia, the women completed their formation.
Without exception, when the barrage of arrows and earth b.a.l.l.s connected with the wall of wind, it was all deflected.
Whether it was an arrow or magic, Makus.h.i.+mu & Diantia would intercept it.
From all four directions, the sound of horse hoofs could be heard.
「Tsk, what now mounted bandits?!」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
From his back, Makus.h.i.+mu fetched his large s.h.i.+eld and hammer-ax.
「I will charge on ahead. Don’t get too close to me, alright.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
Diantia acknowledged it by nodding before once more she began to recite magic.

【【RRut áhaug af jarðvegi】】
【【Earth Stump】】

【【【【RRut áhaug af jarðvegi】】】】
【【【【Earth Stump】】】】

Makus.h.i.+mu avoided the magic that the women simultaneously casted. Protruding from the ground, knee-high earth stumps made of hardened dirt spreads around them and encompa.s.sed the air wall.
These earth stumps were their countermeasure to impede the horses.
And thus, Makus.h.i.+mu jumps in the direction opposite of the air wall.
In his hand, he carried a giantkind hammer-ax. It has a large guillotine-like blade and on the opposite side is a st.u.r.dy ma.s.s of iron.
It is a crudely made unbalance weapon that only those with the brute physical strength of the giantkind would be able to wield it. By no means was it a balanced weapon that a normal person would be able to swing straight.
Makus.h.i.+mu springs forward leaving Akari and company at his rear.
Mounted on warhorses, people clothed in black appeared. Two of them dashed towards Makus.h.i.+mu while the others headed for Akari.
「Is their target Akari? What an obvious turn of events.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
From Makus.h.i.+mu’s right, a strange looking pole weapon is positioned horizontally to mow him down.
A blunt yet thunderous sound rang out.
Makus.h.i.+mu had ran toward the mounted bandit and in an instant he swept the horse horizontally from the side, mowing them down instead.

「Know that I am, Makus.h.i.+mu・Daaru!」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)

His loud voice roars out across the wasteland.
The men dressed in black stayed silent. One by one, they tried to slip pa.s.s Makus.h.i.+mu from the side.
However, Makus.h.i.+mu didn’t permit them; he brandished his hammer-ax.
With a single swing, the a.s.sailants would fall from their horse.
And just like that, Makus.h.i.+mu swings his hammer-ax, while Akari and company within the defensive formation deals with the remaining a.s.sailants.
The earth stumps forced the a.s.sailants dressed in black to dismount. Rather than being blown off their horse, it was better to dismount.
Like a summer fever, heat can be seen emitting from Makus.h.i.+mu as he swings his weapon from side to side.

On the opposite side of Makus.h.i.+mu, Diantia and the others are fighting bravely.
Against the air wall and earth stump barrier, a few did breakthrough.
However, those people were brought down by arrows and throwing weapons.
Once more,

Diantia released the string of her bow.
The a.s.sailants who had pa.s.sed through the air wall were downed as an arrow pierced their head.
Whenever an a.s.sailant made it pa.s.s the arrows, they were stopped by either Maanya’s flames or the other women’s ax or spear.
In front of their eyes, the a.s.sailants fell.
Akari watched as this tragedy unfolded before her.
Those who are targeting her life, they are dying.
The a.s.sailants are merely facing the consequences of their actions; however, Akari’s perspective, as she views this, is that of a person from modern-day j.a.pan.
While Akari was with the united kingdom’s hunter detachment force, 『White Spear』, she had never been attacked by thieves. For Akari, this was the first time she was directly attacked by people. (T/N: are you saying Kurando’s an animal)
But still, Akari wanted to live, thus, dying was not an option.
Of her share that Akari had received from Kurando, she tightly grips the ice warrior’s club in her hand.

A gap in their formation appeared and a lone a.s.sailant rushed towards Akari.
「A, Akari-san!」 (Diantia)
Akari grasps the club with both and raised it high above her head.
When Akari received the club, she had asked Kurando how to use it. And, he told her,
――I don’t know.
Hearing that, she was dejected. However, afterward,
――but, well, there is one thing I do know. Imagine that the opponent is in front of you; 『position the club above your head and then just swing downwards』. Every day, try some practice swings; 1,000 swings should do. Anyhow, there is nothing to lose by following the basics.
Hearing this, she continued doing so.
For 100 days, she swung the club 1,000 times until she had swung it 100,000 times.
Therefore, it will be alright.
And thus, Akari did as Oofuia had taught her and coiled the ice warrior’s club with spirits by using maryoku.
Although Akari’s affinity with ice spirits is not high, in the case of the club, Oofuia told her that affinity was unrelated.
Before her, the a.s.sailant thrust a short-sword towards her.
In that moment, like how she had practiced, Akari swings down the club as she conveys her intent to the ice spirits.
――POW
Just before the short-sword could reach her, the a.s.sailant was. .h.i.t with an unexpected counter from Akari and robbed of their consciousness.
Diantia and the other women of 『Maruuna・Niyuumu』 were surprised as they watched Akari.
The club that had coated itself in ice hits the ground, leaving Akari breathing heavily.
When Akari was swinging down the club, it grew larger as it became coated with a ma.s.sive block of ice; the added weight of the ice increased the velocity of the club’s downward swing which caused its descending speed to exceeding the a.s.sailant’s attack.
「Akari-san has not been defeated!」 (Diantia)
Upon hearing Diantia’s voice, the morale of the women of 『Maruuna・Niyuumu』 rose.

With Makus.h.i.+mu’s strong arms and 『Maruuna・Niyuumu’s』 defensive formation, the a.s.sailants were repelled.
「These are all the ones that are still breathing. Well, we more or less know that that guy was the one who hired these a.s.sa.s.sins. Meh, these guys were 2nd rate at best.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
With a thump, he finished lining up the a.s.sailants.
Of the a.s.sailants; about 10 of them escaped, 40 or so were left dead, and 5 survived.
Diantia lines up the 5 survivors on the bare ground. She blindfolds them, and then gags them so that they couldn’t committing suicide.
For that reason, the a.s.sailants could not be interrogated.
The 5 survivors then had their feet bound with a magic formation.
「Now then, Akari shall we confirm their faces

faces one at a time? Perhaps, you might have seen their face before.」 (Diantia)
And thus, the moment the blindfold was undone,
Maryoku was transferred to the spirits and from the silent a.s.sailant, a fireball exploded.
【【CCase út】】
【【Release】】
At the same time, Diantia recited her magic.
As the a.s.sailant had hope, a fire was generated. And just like that, the a.s.sailant fainted without any information being obtained.
The circ.u.mstances were the same for the over 4 survivors.
Of course, Akari wasn’t the one unfastening their blindfold. Everything had been left up to Diantia.
「……how did things end up this way?」 (Akari)
Akari who witnessed this begun to question what had happened.
「That was the autonomous magic, 『reisudamu (魔力解放, レイスダム, magic release)』. To be accurate, it is made from the combination of spirit magic and autonomous magic. Currently, they have exhausted their maryoku and have fainted.」 (Diantia)
Akari still didn’t understand.
「It is fortunate for us that the warhorses have remained.」 (Diantia)
After this was said, the 5 survivors that had been tied up were loaded onto the horses.
「Should we hurry there?」 (Diantia)
And thus, while traveling in a line, they headed for the village.

「『Reisudamu (maryoku release)』; the moment the target’s maryoku is transferred to the spirits, the spirits will then begin to absorb up target’s maryoku. The chief lady had developed this technique in order to incapacitate the person it is used on.」 (Diantia)
「Absorbtion? Is the body not able to resist it?」 (Akari)
「Not if they were the one who activated it. I am sure everyone has experienced it at least once when they first started out using spirit magic. When trying to command the spirits, your maryoku was drained and then you fainted. It follows the same principle.」 (Diantia)
「Ah, that moment when you lose consciousness.」 (Akari)
As Akari recalled the time she first started out, she couldn’t help but make a wry smile.
「Without exception, everyone who practice spirit magic has experienced it as it is a part of the learning process. Of course, a mentor need to be present――」 (Diantia)

Their group stopped moving; Diantia stopped her explanation and looked to the front.
From the front, another group is advancing towards them.
This time, it is a group of men fitted in complete sets of metal armor.
Among them, is Zauru.
Makus.h.i.+mu, who is a part of the vanguard, stood to block the group’s path.

「I am a military police chief from Tansuku, Arekusei・Ivuaaru・Buragoida (アレクセイ・イヴァール・ブラゴイ). There was a report of a group causing a disturbance outside the village and that Akari・Fijis.h.i.+ro was seen among them, as you can see.」 (Arekusei)
While he wasn’t as big as Makus.h.i.+mu, a single large man equipped with plated armor took off their helmet and stood face to face against Makus.h.i.+mu.
With his helmet off, his appears was that of a middle age man with blond rustic hair and he looked like a gorilla.
The military police’s duty is to act as police officers and maintain order in the cities and villages.
「On our way to the village, we were attacked by these fellows, that’s all.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
Makus.h.i.+mu pointed to the a.s.sailants strapped to the warhorses.
「Is that so, thank you for the trouble. Did you happen to capture Akari・Fujis.h.i.+ro, afterward?」 (Arekusei)
Arekusei showed a smile from ear to ear.
「Ahh? It has been decided that Akari will be brought to her trial of truth. That’s how it is.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
「I don’t know anything about this trial of truth, but I do know that she is on the wanted-list. Now then, hand her over.」 (Arekusei)
Makus.h.i.+mu moves to block Akari out of Arekusei’s line-of-sight.
His expression became

expression became that of a menacing guardian deva.
「I won’t be handing her over.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
「Eventhough you are the captain of the 『White Spear』, are you planning on protecting this criminal? You do realize that is a problem, yes?」 (Arekusei)
When Makus.h.i.+mu heard this, he laughed scornfully.
「Then, as captain of the 『White Spear』…… at this very moment, I quit!」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
Arekusei furrows his brow.
「I don’t know what happened between you and that child but,」 (Arekusei)
「It has been on my mind for some time now, yup, a real pain. The timing is just right, I can knock you down without having to worry about anyone complaining.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
When Arekusei heard this, he happily smiled.
「……is that so? You plan to resist. All members, capture them!」 (Arekusei)
Makus.h.i.+mu smacked his lips and then stood ready.
The formally dressed military police officers, who are wearing a silver chest plate and wielding a spear, surrounded Makus.h.i.+mu and the others.
Arekusei shrewdly turned around and left the matter to the military police.
「I see, do you think you can compete with me?」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
Steam burst from his body as Makus.h.i.+mu grasped his battle hammer with both hands.
With only that, the military police were overpowered, causing them to gradually retreat.
「What are you doing! That person is a rebel!」 (Arekusei)
「――stop,」 (Oofuia)
Arekusei hears a woman’s voice from behind him.

Everyone’s gaze focused in the direction behind Arekusei.
There stood Oofuia. Also, behind her, there was a middle age man.
「Oh may, Oofuidono. However, I’m in the middle of my duty. I ask that you wait.」 (Arekusei)
While his words are polite, he obviously refused Oofuia’s intervention.
「Akari-san is under my custody. So, should I still refrain from acting?」 (Oofuia)
Oofuia’s glare causes Arekusei to flinch.
The social standing of the chief lady of 『Maruuna・Niyuumu』 is different from that of a mere city military police chief.

「I don’t know what you are talking about. This place is Dorugan. We are abiding by Dorugan law. Besides, when did 『Maruuna・Niyuumu』commit acts of lawlessness? When did you gain such authority to do so?」 (Zauru)
Zauru steps forward and covers for the military police chief.
「Akari-san is to be taken to trial. That is the truth or can you not understand?」 (Oofuia)
Oofuia tried to persuade them.
「I don’t know anything about a trial of truth. I don’t accept such a shady thing in this country. Ridiculous. We don’t have time for child’s play.」 (Zauru)
「You call it child’s play; however, from the western provinces to; Arubaumu (アルバウム), Insuteka (インステカ), Yuurifurantsu (ユーリフランツ) and all the way to the island union of Ankuwaaru (アンクワール), each country has dispatched messengers.」 (Oofuia)
「――our united kingdom of Erurodoria has officially formed an international judgment treaty.」 (???)
For the first time, the man behind Oofuia speaks out.
「b.a.s.t.a.r.d, who are you to say such irresponsible things――」 (Zauru)
「――sorry for the delay. I’m a domestic affair investigator from Erurodoria’s central government, Borus・Egooru・Gurinka (ボリス・エゴール・グリンカ).」
Zauru shows an expression that indicated he came across a bothersome pest.
「A person from Rorana, huh? Does the central government plan to go against the treaty with Dorugan’s parliament――」 (Zauru)
「――yes. However, the matter of the hero, Akari・Fujis.h.i.+ro undergoing the trial of truth was only approved after a majority vote was reached in the central government. And thus, this treaty was ratified.」 (Borus)
「Don’t f.u.c.k with me, no such notification came to the Dorugan parliament. The domestic treaty policy shouldn’t be in effect yet――」 (Zauru)
「――yes, it is as you said, this act is not being enforced and Dorugan’s parliament has not been notified. While it supersedes regulations, it is restricted to and ends with the case with the case of Akari・Fujis.h.i.+ro’s trial of truth. It has already been permitted by the central government. This is not a plot to run away; to begin with, this trial of truth is a self-declared system. And as such, your a.s.sistance is not needed. Just to let you know, I will be monitoring and observing everything that is said and done.」 (Borus)
While showing an uninterested smile, the man named Borus crushed Zauru’s claims.
Zauru’s face became distorted with wrath.
「s.h.i.+t. You cowardly Roorana(s)! ――we will be taking those a.s.sailants. Surely you can’t meddle in the affairs of Dorugan’s military police!」 (Zauru)
「No they cannot as they have no such authority to do so.」 (Arekusei)
Those were the words of the military police chief.
The military police walk off with the horses.
Makus.h.i.+mu looked over to Oofuia.
Oofuia shakes her head no.
「Tsk. Hey, leave the warhorses, they are ours.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
「It belongs to the a.s.sailants. We will be confiscating it――」 (Zauru)
「In the case that a thief or a bandit is defeated outside a village or town, the belongings become the possession of the one who repelled them. While the age of adventures has pasted, the rule still remains. You should know that, or are you doing it on purpose?」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
Hearing Makus.h.i.+mu’s words, Zauru smacked his lips.
「……carry them.」 (Zauru)
On Zauru’s order, the military police unloaded the a.s.sailants from the horses. Five people are then carried in groups of 2.
「You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, I will remember this.」 (Zauru)
Before leaving, Zauru left them with hateful parting words.

「You’re too slow, Oofuia.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
「Sorry, the messengers for each country suddenly arrived one after another. Anyhow, when Arii informed us that Zauru was head this way with the military police, we rushed over here as soon as we could. It seems he was laying in wait with the military police outside the village.」 (Oofuia)
「I apologize for the trouble, Makus.h.i.+mu-san. Because we were late, you ended up coming into contact with Zauru. It must have been unpleasant for you.」 (Borus)
The domestic affair investigator, Borus, bows his head as he apologizes.
From there, Oofuia moved closer to Makus.h.i.+mu.
「A little while ago, I happened to overhear it; are you really going to quit being the captain of the 『White Spear』?」 (Oofuia)
Makus.h.i.+mu smiled from ear to ear.
「It is true. I was the one who had invited Akari and got her involved in all of this. And this way, I will be in a better position to protect her. For here now, it doesn’t matter what type of captain they will call me. Rather than some t.i.tle, I will a simple hunter. In the first place, that was my nature.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
「Makus.h.i.+mu-san――」 (Akari)
「――this is something I decided on. It has nothing to do with obligation.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
Makus.h.i.+mu went over to Akari and pats her head.
「So, you were serious.」 (Oofuia)
「My, that will be quite troublesome.」 (Borus)
The investigator’s expression turned serious.
「Will you not reconsider――」 (Borus)
「――nope. I will no longer continue that farce. There is nothing left to say and I’m not going to listen.」 (Makus.h.i.+mu)
In the face of Makus.h.i.+mu’s wrath, the investigator faltered.
「Stop it. Borus is an investigator from domestic affairs; he is only doing his job.」 (Oofuia)
Makus.h.i.+mu clicked his tongue and then drew back.
Oofuia looked towards Akari.
「Now, preparations are in order. Tomorrow at 15 o’clock, your innocence will supposedly be proven.」 (Oofuia)
「Thank you for everything.」 (Akari)
Akari silently bows.
「Fufu, it’s alright. 『Maruuna・Niyuumu』 will always help women who have been wounded. You must be tired; go take your time and rest so you can prepare for tomorrow.」 (Oofuia)