“O mighty Grasis, may you reign eternal, for no trial shall ever break my loyalty.”

The softly sung military anthem came to an end.

*Hem, hem.*

“Yeah, a military song really doesn’t suit my voice.”

Originally, the song was much more powerful and full of vigor, but with my soft voice, it just didn’t have the right impact. No matter how good a singer is, there are just some songs that don’t fit their natural voice. It’s like when the song’s mood and the singer’s voice clash completely.

Sure, I could rearrange it to change the mood, but I don’t want to. Even if I could, I wouldn’t.

“You would’ve liked it even if I sang it like this, right, Garid?”

This was Garid's favorite song. He used to belt it out at the top of his lungs after a few drinks. 

If I had to pick the most patriotic person I’ve ever known, it would definitely be Garid. Even when drunk, he’d sing military songs. The guy was the epitome of a knight.

“…Though, saying that makes him sound more like a drunkard.”

“But still, don’t you think I’m better than before? I kept practicing after you complimented me, Garid.”

This time, instead of another military song, I hummed a folk tune that you’d often hear walking through the streets.

“I’ll gather a bouquet of red flowers and present them to you. When red flowers bloom outside your home, you’ll think of me. And when red flowers bloom outside my home…”

I’ll think of you, too.

I hummed softly as I snapped the vibrant red flowers that had bloomed so beautifully.

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

They were stained with blood, though you wouldn’t notice since they were red. I’ll pick some fresh flowers for you later, so don’t be too upset.

I mumbled an apology to myself as I let go of the red flowers I’d been holding. The wind carried them away, scattering them over the cliff. Maybe next year around this time, there will be a field of red flowers blooming at the bottom of the cliff.

“Hey, Garid, did you know? Insects communicate through pheromones. They use them to tell each other things like, ‘there’s food here’ or ‘this area is dangerous.’”

I brushed off the pollen and leaves left on my hands as I continued talking.

“Humans have pheromones, too, but we’ve lost the ability to use them like insects do. So we can’t communicate like that.”

So, maybe the ones swarming me every day aren’t really humans, but insects. After all, if they were human, they wouldn’t have that ability.

At first, I thought the intruders were thieves or rats, but now I think they might just be bugs.

“They sure know how to push their luck.”

Whether someone sprinkled pheromones or not, it’s been days since I’ve been dealing with swarms of bugs, several times a day. I’m not exactly sure, but it feels like it’s been over a week.

And the frequency is increasing...

Pulling out the bloodstained flowers isn’t a one-time thing. At this rate, my carefully tended flower garden will be completely ruined.

‘Never act in groups of more than eight. Anything more than that is dishonorable!’

It was almost laughable how they never went above eight, as if they followed some sort of code. But that didn’t stop me from being annoyed. 

With a sigh, I walked away from the now-empty corner of the garden and drew my sword, which had proven itself excellent for dealing with thieves, pests, and now even insects.

Apologizing to the blacksmith who forged it had become a bit of a routine at this point.

---

“Alright, this time let’s focus on protecting the healers. We’ll have two tanks solely guarding the two healers, and the DPS, stay as close as you can.”

“Healers, prioritize putting shields on yourselves rather than healing others.”

“Okay, let’s do this!”

‘…What are they saying?’

I stared blankly at the group of eight people, who were spouting tactics that only they seemed to understand. 

It wasn’t a completely unfamiliar language. What they were speaking was Arckish, the imperial language created by the Empire of Lo Arka.

Though it’s called the imperial language, it’s used not only by humans but also by other races, each of whom have their own native languages. So, in a sense, Arckish had become the de facto common language of the Ardinan continent.

The reason, of course, was that the Lo Arka Empire had established dominance over the Ardinan continent.

In that sense, it wasn’t strange or surprising that these thugs—no, insects—spoke Arckish.

‘But so what?’

That didn’t mean I had to spare them.

Nor did it mean I needed to bother learning Arckish.

With the Empire’s influence, it’s not like I don’t know a bit of the language. While I can’t fully understand it, I can pick up the key words.

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

And so on.

That’s what I call practical Arckish.

Knowing just those words is enough to survive.

Like right now.

---

*Shwack!*

“Argh!”

“This crazy bastard is starting again!”

“Healers! Protect the healers!”

“How are we supposed to protect them when they’re getting cleaved in half, shield and all?!”

“Use the party survival skill!”

“The survival skill’s on cooldown!”

From the way they had positioned themselves, it seemed they’d discussed a strategy before the fight. But strategies only work when your opponent cooperates.

No matter how flashy the moths' movements might be, they’re powerless in the face of a master mage’s Hellfire.

‘Their strategy was wrong from the start, anyway.’

If they wanted to protect the backline, the frontline should’ve stepped forward to engage in direct combat.

I didn’t bother hiding my disdain as I lifted my foot and kicked the soldier square in the chest.

Being that close gets you into situations like this.

---

*Thud!*

“Gah! What kind of strength...?!”

The armored swordsman let out a wheeze as he was knocked backward, skidding across the ground.

Behind him stood a mage, staff in hand.

---

“Move, move! He’s coming!”

“Do you think I’m not trying to? You’re too heavy for me to get up!”

What a sight.

The swordsman and mage were entangled on the ground.

From how close they were sticking together, it seemed they were quite fond of each other. I felt satisfied knowing I had helped them realize their love.

I assumed the occasional screams were sounds of joy. I couldn’t understand what they were saying in Arckish, but I was sure that’s what it was.

I couldn’t exactly offer the happy couple any wedding gifts, but I could at least act as their officiant.

---

*Slice!*

---

“…!”

“Gah-!”

The couple, who must have appreciated my speech, let out sighs of awe before departing for their honeymoon.

What could be more romantic than fulfilling the promises of “let’s be together until death” and “we’ll be together even in death” all at once?

I wish their love to be eternal.

My next target was a crossbowman, standing with his mouth wide open in shock. The sudden disappearance of his comrades had clearly rattled him. He stood there, failing to even pull the trigger, as if lost in meditation.

I quickly rushed over and swung my sword, helping him continue his “meditation.”

First, the healer I took out, followed by the honeymoon couple, and then the meditative crossbowman.

In a matter of moments, half of the group was gone, and the morale of the remaining bugs visibly plummeted.

---

“Ha… another failed attempt.”

They hadn’t been able to defeat me when they were giving it their all. Now that half of them were gone, and their spirits were broken, they stood no chance.

Garid, who valued bravery above all else, would have been disappointed to see them like this.

But I didn’t care.

Though I couldn’t help but wonder, if they were going to act like this, why even come here?

---

‘They don’t seem determined to die, but they also don’t seem too attached to living.’

---

It was strange how they didn’t flee, even after losing their will to fight. 

They felt like something in between highly trained assassins and complete amateurs.

Maybe they’d been threatened with death if they failed to return alive.

These people of this world sure had a cavalier attitude toward life.

Of course, I was no different from them.

---

“Look. Even when I’m lost in thought, my body moves naturally.”

I muttered to myself as I surveyed the battlefield, now awash in blood.

The corpses had long since disintegrated into flashes of light and disappeared.

And once again, my sword had neither broken nor bent.

At this point, it was almost becoming a matter of pride.

---

“At least the flower garden’s fine this time.”

Thanks to fighting in the clearing where I had pulled out the blood-soaked flowers, the bugs hadn’t had the chance to trample the garden.

Still, I couldn’t let this continue forever.

It was fine this time because there was no damage, but that wouldn’t always be the case.

I’d have to do something before the flower field turned into a barren wasteland.

For Garid’s sake.

---

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

It hadn

’t been long since I thought I’d stocked up on enough supplies to avoid going back for a while. But here I was, heading down again.

Just goes to show how unpredictable life can be.

I’ll pick up some new seeds, get more plants, and while I’m at it, I’ll gather some information and maybe grab a decent sword.

I couldn’t be gone for too long, since I never knew when another swarm of bugs might show up, but if I hurried, I could manage.

---

“Oh, I’ve got a great idea.”

If I exterminate all the bugs I come across on my way down, they won’t be able to bother me for a while, right?

At the very least, I’d have enough time to make it to the village and back.

Even I had to admit it was a brilliant plan.

With a satisfied smile, I turned and headed off.

---

**Real-time Boss Update**

(Picture of a person in a hooded cape.jpg)
(Picture of a dense forest.jpg)

The boss ran away from the boss room, lol.

---

[Comments]

-???
-?????????
-What the hell; is this a bug?
-Didn’t a player just cosplay as a boss?
┕Nope, it’s real; all the top raid parties that tried to engage got wiped out.
┕What the hell;
-First bug of the season
-Anyone know where it went?
┕Nope, everyone who saw it got wiped, so we don’t know.
┕Lol.
-So, can we not try the raid anymore?
┕Since it was guarding a grave, it’ll probably return.
┕Then can’t we loot the place while it’s gone? Easy loot!
┕Probably, but no one’s left in the mountains to do it since everyone got wiped out.
┕Bummer;
┕Was this its plan all along?
┕No way, lol.