Huh?!
I rubbed my eyes, thinking maybe I had seen it wrong, but it was still the same.
A huge fire ant was running toward me.
…Running? Should I say running? Anyway, it was crawling incredibly fast on four legs, so I guess I should say it was running.
Anyway, three large fire ants were charging toward me, stomping the ground.
They were so fast that the big ferns around them were blowing in the wind, scattering in all directions.
Oh my.
If they keep running like this, they’ll most likely crash into a vehicle.
Commander! Stop! Quickly!
Huh? What’s going on suddenly-
The commander, who was about to ask what was going on, immediately hit the brakes the moment he saw my serious face.
As expected, Commander. He’s quick to catch on.
-Screeeech…
Ouch!
It seemed like the car was moving faster than I expected, and despite wearing a seatbelt, I slammed my head against the backrest of the front seat.
Ugh.
Fortunately, the material was sturdy and soft, so my head didn’t hurt or anything.
Maru, are you okay?”
It was the moment the commander was trying to check my safety.
-Swoosh…
One of the fire ants, unable to control its speed, passed in front of the car at the speed of the wind.
As it flew by, it gave us a fierce glare with its fiery red eyes.
Gross.
Anyway, it was really close. If the brakes had been a second too late, we would’ve collided and the car would have been destroyed.
“Commander, nice job!”
I wiped the cold sweat off my face and gave the commander a thumbs up.
Good job, sir!
Haha, it’s nothing. You need to have this kind of quick reflex to be a commander at my age, don’t you think?
“Uh, let’s get out of here. The fire ant that flew away might come back!”
For some reason, the commander was tensing up, but I ignored him and quickly got out of the car.
If I stayed in the car, I’d get hit again. I don’t want to be squashed!
Oops.
After getting out of the car, I looked at the direction where the fire ant had flown.
It hadn’t been long since it flew away, but there was already an ant looking this way, preparing to charge.
-Screeeek!
Ugh, so noisy.
It was stomping its feet in anger, looking quite disgusting as it ran toward us.
What a pity. I wish it would just crash into a tree or something.
Well.
Let’s just ignore it for now. Even though it’s fast, it will take time to get here from that far away.
Right now, I had to check the positions of the other two.
Where did they go?
…But, no matter how much I looked around, all I could see were the large ferns.
The ants were too big to hide behind the ferns, so it was strange.
Why is it so dark? Is it already evening?
“Commander, what’s going on suddenly? We need to find the other two… wait a second.”
A possibility flashed through my mind.
Even though they had been running together, the two ants had disappeared as soon as the car stopped.
And as if to draw attention, one of them was loudly roaring from far away.
Finally… the darkened sky.
This is too obvious!
What, Maru?!
Quickly sit down! Hurry!
I immediately ran to the commander’s side, bent down, and held out my umbrella over his head.
I grabbed the handle with both hands and tightly closed my eyes.
“Maru? What’s happening all of a sudden…
It was when the commander was about to ask his confused question.
-Bam!
-Swoosh, Keeek!
Huh?!
Just as I had predicted, I felt a heavy weight transfer through the umbrella handle as the insects’ roars echoed.
Two enormous fire ants had fallen from the sky.
Fox rain, please hold on!
-Keeek…!
…It’s good that we blocked it, but now what do we do?
The fox rain and legs held up under the weight of the huge ants, but we couldn’t stay like this.
Once the insects regained their senses, they might crawl down the umbrella and attack us with their red mandibles.
What should we do then? Should I fight while protecting the commander?
Both are the worst situations…
Maru! Can you lift those monsters high up?
“Y-Yes? What are you saying all of a sudden?!
Just once, just once!
Suddenly asking to lift the ants… it sounds a little tough, but…
Since it’s the commander’s order, there must be a reason for it.
Let’s give it a try.
“Ugh, Kieek!
I tried to ignore the ridiculous sound escaping from my mouth and lifted the umbrella high into the air.
Ugh!
As soon as I did, the weight pressing down on the umbrella disappeared, and the two fire ants were briefly lifted into the air.
Now’s our chance!
“Nice job!”
A familiar voice passed overhead, and I heard something crushing for a moment.
Thud, thud.
Something that seemed to be the monster’s blood fell onto the umbrella.
The corpses of the monsters that no longer move also fall.
Ugh, that’s so gross. My precious Yeoubi got all sticky.
I frowned and threw the corpses stuck to Yeoubi far away.
Go away!
“Whew, as expected of the commander!”
Nunu twirled a dagger with green goo stuck to it in one hand as she spoke.
At some point, she had disappeared from sight, only to reappear after waiting for the right moment.
As expected of an assassin… or should I say, wait, is Nunu really just a four-star?
She tore two fire ants apart at once?
All I could do was barely hold my ground…
Am I already falling behind due to power inflation? That would be too sad.
As I gloomily wiped the sticky residue off Yeoubi, Nunu noticed my mood and approached me.
Then, a soft hand rested on my head.
“Maru, you were amazing too! That Yeoubi thing is really sturdy. It withstood the weight of a red soldier ant.”
“…Is that so?”
Swish, swish. The sound of a soft hand running through soft hair was pleasant.
But my mood didn’t improve.
“All I did was hold out for a brief moment. The difference between me and Nunu is just too big.”
“Of course! Besides, Maru, you’re not a damage dealer; you’re a tank. Leave the monster hunting to this reliable big sister.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Anyway, Maru, you were amazing!”
Now even the commander uncle has joined in to cheer me up.
But he’s so awkward at giving compliments.
A tank, huh?
Oh, right, I forgot about that.
I’m not a damage dealer, I’m a tank.
That means I don’t need to go out of my way to fight monsters, right?
I can just let Nunu handle the tough monster hunting, and I just need to hold my ground.
Unlike the empty-handed tutorial phase, now I have Yeoubi in my hands.
My super-strong exclusive weapon!
Thinking about it that way, confidence suddenly surged within me.
Yeah. I just need to draw aggro well and run away skillfully.
As long as I can cause chaos and escape, that’s all that matters!
…Though saying it like that makes it sound weird, but it’s true.
“Now I feel a lot better. Hehe.”
“Oh my, if you cry and then laugh, you’ll grow horns on your butt.”
W-Who said I was crying?!
“I was just feeling a little down. Who said I was crying?!”
“Okay, okay. Let’s say you weren’t crying.”
…I really wasn’t, though. Tch.
Ah, w-wait, why are you suddenly pinching my cheek?!
Nunu suddenly grabbed one of my cheeks.
I opened my mouth to protest, but she immediately grabbed both cheeks, squishing them like she was playing with a slime.
In the end, I had no choice but to stay still, feeling the soft touch on my cheeks.
“Um… Maru, Nunu, I know you two are having a good time, but… isn’t there still one left?”
Ah.
Oh, right. That one fire ant that got thrown at the start.
That guy is still alive.
—Kieeek!
Is it angry because its comrades died? Or is it mad that we ignored it?
Either way, it let out an even louder roar and charged toward us.
It’s almost here. Looks like it’s going for another headbutt…
—Kieeeeek!
But wait, unlike before, it’s slowing down?
Why?
“…?”
“It suddenly stopped moving. Why…?”
What is it thinking? Is it planning to fight head-on this time instead of dodging?
But Nunu is standing right in front of it, the one who tore apart its comrades in an instant. Really?
“…No way, Nunu! Move behind Maru! Maru, open up Yeoubi!”
“Uh, okay!”
Following the commander’s orders, I spread Yeoubi wide in front of me.
With this, my vision is blocked, which might put me at a disadvantage… but does the commander have a plan?
—Plop, plop.
As I held onto Yeoubi, I felt something hitting it.
It didn’t feel heavy enough to be the ant itself. What is it?
Ah, I see. It’s attacking by spraying acid, just like in the manual.
Oh…
Come to think of it, I heard that ants can spit acid from their mouths.
So all of that is… spit?
Ugh.
My Yeoubi is going to get dirty again…
“Alright, now that we’ve blocked the acid attack…!”
“Blocked it, so…?”
“Charge! Forward!”
“Ah, forward!”