Hero Party After the Nuclear War

Chapter 22

"Truly. I just wanted to say thank you for protecting the Railroad from the zombie horde."

Sergeant Miles bowed his head and greeted Dante, who was dressed in a ronin's attire, after calling him into the barracks.

Confirming once again that his identity as Raven had not yet been exposed, Dante returned the gratitude with a slight lowering of the brim of his straw hat.

"There's no need for thanks. I am a ronin. Merely a wandering swordsman."

"That outfit. The formality. Are you from Neo Kyoto?"

When Private Carlos, who was having his zombie bite wound treated in the barracks, asked, Dante shook his head side to side and responded with feigned nonchalance.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not..."

"Carlos."

Corporal Heckler, who had been silently listening, smacked the clueless private on the head and pointed at Dante with a jerk of his chin. Though they were allied with Neo Kyoto, the private had committed a faux pas due to his ignorance of their culture. Heckler scolded him and gave a brief explanation.

"You idiot! Don't you know what a ronin is?"

"What's a ronin? I don't really know much about Neo Kyoto's culture."

"It's nothing to worry about."

Dante let out a deep sigh and began earnestly acting the part of a tragic bodyguard samurai.

Before fully infiltrating Raven's Logistics, he had overcome many obstacles in this way, and had thus perfected the art of deception and acting.

...I was once a bodyguard samurai serving a noble of Neo Kyoto. But... due to the cowardly schemes of ninjas who serve the Shadow, I lost my precious lord.

A ronin is a wandering swordsman banished from Neo Kyoto after losing their lord. Just like me..."

Deceived by Dante's flawless performance, the Railroad garrison deeply sympathized with his story.

They were also knights serving someone under the Order. The tale of an exiled bodyguard samurai wandering after losing their lord was enough to move their hearts.

"I see. So that's what happened."

Private Carlos scratched his head, blaming his own lack of awareness. Trying to lighten the somber mood, Dante forced a smile from under his straw hat and spoke first.

"But that was long ago. My body, my soul, and my will—and this sword—already belong to Neo Kyoto. I have no regrets about my wandering. But if there is one thing that worries me..."

Dante swept his forehead and continued the tale with a sigh.

I have a family. Though I travel with my wife through the Red Grave, the only skill I possess is wielding a sword. The money I brought from Kyoto is nearly gone. If there's any work around, I would be most grateful.

"Hmm..."

Sergeant Miles pondered for a moment. Hearing Dante's circumstances after saving them from danger, he couldn't just stand by. He reached out to help.

"If that's the case, don't worry. The Railroad wouldn't have survived without your sword. You're welcome to stay in this barrack for the time being. We'll share some of our spare supplies. Given our garrison's situation, we can't offer cash, but at least we can help this way."

"I'm truly grateful. But even if I get some supplies here, I still have no idea how to make a living moving forward. Is there any work nearby suitable for someone like me? Despite appearances, I'm a summoner who can control Servants. I can take care of any troublesome issues."

"If that's the case..."

Clueless Private Carlos immediately raised his hand to offer a suggestion, excited by the idea of such an elite summoner helping.

"We've been troubled by wild spirits nearby. Why not take that on?"

"That's something our Railroad garrison should handle. We can't just entrust such a dangerous task to a swordsman we just met! Be more considerate! Private Carlos! Uh... Ronin, may I ask your name?"

"..."

Dante hesitated for a moment and casually gave a name he had vaguely heard from Neo Kyoto.

"My surname is Mikazuki. I cannot tell you my given name."

For some reason in Neo Kyoto, when speaking with unfamiliar people, there's a peculiar custom of hiding one's given name and only using the surname. It seemed similar to the custom of using 'Mr.' or 'Ms.' followed by a surname.

So, to play the role of a stiff samurai, Dante deliberately gave only his surname and withheld his name. The others seemed to understand and nodded in agreement.

"Then Mr. Mikazuki, please bring your wife over. You must be very tired from travel. We'll prepare an extra field bed so you can rest right away."

"I'm so grateful, I don't know what to say..."

Dante lowered his straw hat slightly with his hand and smiled. That smile held two meanings.

One was a sigh of relief as 'Mikazuki', because he could finally secure a place for his wife to rest.

The other was a smile of success from Dante himself, as his acting had completely fooled the foolish Railroad garrison and everything was going according to plan.

Infiltration by mere stealth and deception yields limited information. But once trust is earned, the spectrum of obtainable intelligence becomes far broader than simple spying.

The fact that it was Dante who lured in the zombie horde from the beginning, and that he was 'Mikazuki', went unnoticed by them. They laughed heartily and foolishly as they welcomed him.

Unaware that they had let the Harbinger of Misfortune into the barracks.

* * *

"Let me introduce her. This is the woman who is my wife."

Using the excuse of bringing his wife, Dante returned to the truck and thoroughly concealed his beloved vehicle, Elizabeth, under a camouflage sheet.

"Ah, Master! Did everything go well?"

"Yes. I've gained the garrison's trust. Anyway, I need your help now."

"My help?"

"I told the Railroad garrison that I'm a swordsman wandering the world with my wife. I need someone to play the wife's part. Come on, let's go."

"W-Wait a minute."

Dante had dressed Eris, who had been quietly waiting in the passenger seat of Elizabeth, in clothes worn by women of the pleasure quarters in Neo Kyoto and introduced her to the Railroad garrison without a hint of discomfort.

On the way, he had quickly taught her basic greetings, vocabulary, and speech patterns from Neo Kyoto. In front of the garrison barracks, he gently wrapped his right arm around kimono-clad Eris's shoulders and spoke.

"This is the woman who is my wife. I really can't thank you enough. What are you doing? Hurry and greet them."

Two hundred years ago, something like this would never have happened. Eris, who had never imagined she would be pushed into doing something like this by a Hero, turned her head with a creak and stared at Dante.

Are you serious?

Really?

Truly?

With such an expression, Eris kept silently pleading with Dante, but he was merciless. His willingness to use any means necessary to deceive an opponent was, in a way, quite impressive.

Divine Spirit-type Servants are extremely difficult to enslave and even to find, yet somehow he could control and handle Divine Spirit-type Loki, a being considered a god in ancient Norse legends. Eris thought she was beginning to understand why.

His 'trickster' tendencies were remarkably similar to the legendary Loki.

Typically, a Servant and Summoner must be on the same 'wavelength' to be compatible. Perhaps he could control Loki precisely because of this trait. Eris thought so as she awkwardly performed a Neo Kyoto-style greeting to them.

"D-Dooumo... Um. I'm Mikazuki = Eriko. Nice to meet you."

Eris awkwardly bowed her head in the far eastern-style clothing—what Kyoto people commonly call a kimono—which didn't suit her at all.

You've got a fine wife. I'm jealous.

Sergeant Miles complimented both Dante and Eris, pointing to the newly set-up tent Dante had arranged during his trip to Elizabeth.

"You can stay in that tent over there. We'll let you know once dinner is ready. Private Carlos may lack tact, but he's a great cook. So there's no need to worry. Since you're from Kyoto, I've instructed them to cook rice grown specifically in Kyoto. Is that okay?"

"That's perfectly fine. But more importantly."

Dante placed his sword, which was strapped to his waist, in the corner of the barracks and got to the point.

"About what Private Carlos mentioned. Is it true that wild spirits have been appearing nearby? I am a man who has devoted body and soul to the sword. I might be of help to you."

"...That Carlos. Always saying unnecessary things."

Miles sighed and pointed to the map of Sector 7 of the Railroad hanging on the commander's office wall.

"Actually, wild spirits keep appearing in the tunnel that passes through Black Mountain. They're not that strong. Just a bit more troublesome than zombies. But the problem is their numbers and their guerrilla tactics."

"As far as I know, the trains and railroads used by the Order through the Railroad are protected by powerful magic. A few wild spirits shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Dante asked this question to probe for information. Despite it being important military intel, Miles began to spill everything he knew to the man who had fought to protect their lives.

"You're right. As expected of a samurai from Neo Kyoto, you're well-informed. But the problem is that they dig underground and gnaw on the power lines that supply energy to the barrier.

Currently, the Railroad is occupied by the Order, but it originally didn't belong to them. You probably know this already. The group that originally occupied the Railroad was the Metro Company.

The railroad itself was built more than 200 years ago. Many of its facilities are outdated. The technology for railroad maintenance was monopolized by the Metro Company.

That's why, when our Order forcibly took the Railroad from the Metro Company under the guise of a 'holy war', we ended up with no materials or methods to repair the power lines that supply energy to the barrier.

The Metro Company apparently had ways to protect the lines from attacks by spirits or zombies and to repair them... Anyway, that's why we're in trouble now.

Since we can't repair the power lines, all we can do is protect the trains from spirits. But as I said earlier, there are just too many.

Each spirit isn't that strong... but their intelligent hit-and-run guerrilla tactics make things very difficult. We'd like to eliminate their nest, but due to the nature of the garrison, we can't just abandon this place. And the Order isn't sending any reinforcements. It's a big problem."

"Then it's simple."

Dante nodded and cheerfully replied.

"I'll personally hunt down the spirits. If I destroy their nest, they won't be able to gnaw on the lines anymore."

"But still, taking on that many spirits alone..."

"I am a summoner. I can calculate the risks and potential gains on my own. I'll take care of this, so please report it to the top for me.

I'm in dire need of money and supplies right now.

The Order is a large organization, and the Railroad is an important stronghold for them. If word of this reaches their upper leadership, I'm sure there will be some kind of reward. I'd like to receive about half of that reward... would that be acceptable?"

"Half? No way."

Sergeant Miles shook his head and replied.

"You can have it all. Without you, we wouldn't even dare touch the spirits' nest. Are you sure we can entrust this to you?"

"Of course. I have no talent beyond swinging a sword. I might as well use it for something like this."

"Thank you. Truly, thank you. I'll report this to the top right away."

"Thank you. Night has already fallen, so Shadows will be roaming. I'll depart first thing at dawn."

Spirits that gnaw on power lines, huh.

If those lines were completely severed, the barrier protecting the Railroad could be at least partially disabled.

Dante grinned slyly behind Miles's back and began to slowly solidify his plan.

"Everything is going according to plan."