A/N: Please forgive me for this story of a simpleton.
Udanosuke (real name: Joshua Curtis) saw it.
He saw the hordes of grotesque beings spilling out from the Duke Gerald’s castle.
――Oh my gosh…! What in the world is going on?!
Udanosuke is the bodyguard of the Night Pythons.
Or, perhaps, I should say was the bodyguard.
Just two days ago, when he returned from a ‘job,’ the Night Pythons’ headquarters was completely deserted. Neither the leader, the executives, nor the general members were there. They were all gone.
He didn’t understand what had happened. Those scattered throughout the town were safe, but they too were confused, not knowing what was happening.
A state of emergency had definitely occurred. Udanosuke hid in town to observe the situation.
But the situation went far beyond Udanosuke’s expectations. Wearing a sandaigasa, he went out into the town to investigate the situation, and that’s when he saw the undead emerge.
These undead wore armor bearing the Duke’s crest. Moreover, almost the entire military force from the territory had gathered in the town. He didn’t know how or why this had happened, but he realized that the knights had been turned into the undead.
Soon, screams began to erupt from various places.
Hiding in an alley and watching the massive advance of the undead, Udanosuke immediately stopped counting their numbers. He knew that there were far too many for him to defeat, enough to destroy the entire town. That was enough.
――What in the world…! This is just like what my master used to say, the Bon Dance Bon-dance!
He had to run. But there was a significant problem with escaping as he was.
――Before I run, I have to secure at least a month’s worth of ‘Samurai Spirit’
For now, Udanosuke had three days’ worth in the inn he was hiding in, as well as his beloved pipe. All he could do was head to his usual dealer’s place and see what was happening.
Once he made up his mind, Udanosuke acted quickly. With the graceful steps of a seasoned samurai, he ran through the town like the wind. He had to hurry since he couldn’t afford any extra delays in this chaos. His master had said, “Haste makes good people,” or something like that, which was an old saying from the East.
On the streets, people were in a panic, a chaotic mix of those fleeing from the undead and those still unaware of the situation. Udanosuke smoothly navigated through them in a chop-style, following formal samurai etiquette.
Then, the screams escalated all at once ahead.
――The undead are coming here too!
Looking past the fleeing people, the undead were few in number. It was easy for Udanosuke to defeat them or escape. Though the general populace would probably panic if even one zombie appeared in the town.
Udanosuke decided to charge straight through.
Conveniently, as he approached, the undead were gathered by the side of the road, surrounding several citizens.
“A-adventurer! Please help us!”
A boy shouted towards Udanosuke from within the semi-circle formed by the undead. They seemed to think he was an adventurer because he carried a weapon.
――I can’t bother with them! I’ll run while they are being eaten!
Udanosuke completely ignored the shout and tried to pass by the perimeter.
However.
“Hyaeeeee!?”
As if his armpit had been tickled, Udanosuke writhed in agony and let out a silly cry.
Withdrawal symptoms!
Hearing his voice, the undead all turned towards Udanosuke.
“…Damn you, Tanuki! It’s not going to be so easy, is it!”
Udanosuke clicked his tongue and drew his beloved katana, “Dochoatsuryoku”.
Translator’s Note
Dochoatsuryoku translates to “Pressure of the Path”. He’s an adult chunnibyou.
And he gathered his ki in his tanden and breathed like a warrior.
“≪Ki-Edge≫!”
“Dochoatsuryoku” glowed white.
This, too, was a samurai technique. Infusing ki into the katana to enhance its sharpness. It was different from the holy aura of divine magic, but in this state, it could deliver effective blows to the undead and even cut through spirits.
…Well, it was a common non-attribute enchantment magic.
The undead attacked Udanosuke without any introduction. Skeletons, zombies, ghouls, all mixed together.
They looked like they were originally soldiers, so they were pretty elite. What’s more, they were also wearing good equipment.
But. They were no match for Udanosuke, a katana user who could slice through even mithril!
“UOOOOOOOOOOO! SUSHI!!”
With a cracking shout, Udanosuke slashed.
He bisected the skeleton at the vanguard’s head. The zombie’s body was cut in half with its armor. He then swept away two skeletons that attacked at the same time and engaged the ghoul, who wore particularly fine equipment.
“Art Liberation!”
Udanosuke held the katana horizontally and charged at the ghoul.
Bio-mana circulated through his body, affecting his weapon.
A warrior who has mastered the art, displaying the power of magic without relying on magic… the Art technique.
“Hara!”
He cleaved the ghoul’s abdomen, armor and all, with a horizontal slash!
“Kiri!”
A vertical slash!
“SMAAAAAASH!!”
He slashed diagonally while running through!
“…I’m sorry, I have to cut them down!”
Batin!
Simultaneously, Udanosuke sheathed his katana, and the slash behind Udanosuke e-x-p-l-o-d-e-d.
This was Udanosuke’s created Art technique, “Hara-Kiri-Smash.”
After slashing three times in a row, the action of sheathing the sword triggers another slash.
The ghoul, deeply cut, could no longer move, even with the undead’s tough body, and fell.
“… I have to say it’s not samurai if it’s not the head. Even if they are monsters, they are still beings with heads.”
Udanosuke, hurrying to the ghoul, grabbed the helmet ornament and pulled the ghoul’s upper body up. And then.
“Head Inspection!”
With a shout, he severed the head and declared victory to the world.
Seeing that the undead had stopped moving, the people who had been huddled against the wall approached Udanosuke with relief.
Those Udanosuke had happened to save were a girl of around 10 years old, her parents, an unrelated old woman, and another boy who seemed to be separate.
“Oh, thank you!”
“We were about to be eaten, but you saved us by drawing their attention!”
After being thanked, Udanosuke realized his mistake.
――Damn it. I’ve gotten carried away with my habit during work, and ended up acting like a samurai!
The reason for acting like a samurai during work is to make the most of the image of a mythical warrior, the “Samurai,” to make my name known in the dark world and terrify enemies. There’s no need to do that now.
It might be okay if it was just the sandaigasa, but with the katana and Head Inspection on top of that. Even the name of the technique is “Hara-Kiri”. Luckily, the people he’s interacting with have no knowledge.
Samurai were almost non-existent in the Holy Kingdom where Udanosuke spent his training days, and there were absolutely no samurai in Ciel-Terra. It’s only Udanosuke, the Night Python’s bodyguard. If the other party knew who Udanosuke was, they might have noticed from this.
“Adventurer, where are you going!? There are undead over there!”
The old woman called out to Udanosuke, who was about to leave.
“I-I’m going to save my friends! My friends who are left behind!”
He made up an excuse on the spot, but the dealer was, in a way, a friend, so it wasn’t a complete lie.
But the boy perked up at this.
“Take me with you! My grandpa lives over there!”
The boy was following Udanosuke, who was running through the back streets.
“SUSHI!!”
He slashed down the undead with a shout!
A boy and several men and women were following Udanosuke, who was running through the side street.
“GEISHA!!”
He slashed down the undead with a shout!
A boy, a dozen or so men and women, and two girls were following Udanosuke, who was running through the shopping district.
“HARA! KIRI! SMAAAAAASH!!”
He slashed down the undead with a shout!
By the time they reached their destination, more than 20 people were following Udanosuke. They were all people who had been attacked by the undead that Udanosuke had slashed along the way.
It seems that those who were too late to escape decided that it was better to follow Udanosuke and escape together.
――What is this…! It will only make me easier to be found. Damn it, should I just cut them all down and run away by myself?
Udanosuke has no intention of helping anyone. His only goal is to obtain the “Samurai Spirit” and escape the town.
“Adventurer, is this…?”
In the corner of the shopping district, there was a staircase leading down into the ground. There were no signs, but it was a shop.
Udanosuke went down without a word, followed shortly by the sound of footsteps.
“No way! Wait there! There are undead inside!!”
“Hii!?”
Udanosuke slammed the door, jumped down the stairs, and slammed the door behind him.
It was a narrow, dark, and dirty shop with only a counter. And, there was no one there anymore.
Normally, a cloth was hung on the shelf behind the counter, and the “Samurai Spirit” was displayed inside.
But now, there was nothing there. The money and the goods were properly gone.
It didn’t have the atmosphere of a fire thief. Sensing the change, the dealer had taken the valuables and run away.
――Damn… too late!
He had to procure the next thing somewhere before the three days’ worth he had left in the inn ran out.
But even more urgent than that was the fact that his hands were already trembling. At this rate, he wouldn’t even be able to fight soon.
――I thought I would calm down if I took a break here! Isn’t there even a little bit left somewhere!?
Udanosuke, barging into the counter, rummaged around, and then met a miracle.
――A used pipe! There are still remnants of the burning stuff…!
Udanosuke picked up the pipe that had been lying in the corner and, lighting it with a magic-powered lighter that had fallen with it, held it in his mouth as if sucking on it.
“A-adventurer! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine! That’s why don’t come in!”
Someone from outside called out to him, wondering about the situation. Udanosuke hurriedly replied.
Certainly, Udanosuke’s body couldn’t live without “Samurai Spirit,” but he hadn’t lost the samurai-like reserve to hide it.
For a samurai, the shame is a crime worth a harakiri. Considering his future work, he couldn’t spread the disgrace of “Samurai Udanosuke” in a place like this.
“Don’t come… huff… in! Swoo… here… is dangerous… a-aahhhh… “
It smelled burnt, and the effect wasn’t good, but it still felt like “Samurai Spirit” was being injected.
――Okay, did I suppress the withdrawal symptoms?
After taking a deep breath and savoring the aftertaste, Udanosuke put the pipe in his pocket as a precaution and left the shop.
And when he opened the door, he was surprised to hear the sound of a battle from surprisingly close by.
“What!?”
What Udanosuke saw when he ran up the stairs were the citizens, who were using whatever they could find – planks, and whatever – to make walls as shields, wielding iron rods, wooden sticks, and anything long they could find.
A unit of the undead had come here while Udanosuke was happy inside the shop. The citizens rescued by Udanosuke were fighting them.
“Ah, you’re here, Adventurer!”
“W-what is this situation!?”
“Since you’re fighting, we can’t just watch!”
“Yeah! There are so many of us, we can somehow do it!”
“We somehow protected you while you were inside!”
Everyone’s faces were red, and they were wielding their weapons. There was an exhilaration of a warrior in their eyes. The exhilaration of warriors inspired by a hero and following after him.
In fact, whether it was due to the advantage in numbers or something else, there were no casualties on their side. The undead were passive in their attacks.
“So, adventurer, how is your friend?”
“Ah, h, he… already…”
While making an excuse, Udanosuke was stunned.
The citizens, who had been running away from the undead, were following him and fighting for him!
“That… I’m sorry to hear that.”
“No, that’s not important now! Anyway, let’s cut down these undead! Please wait a moment!”
Udanosuke drew his sword, jumped over the barricade-like wooden planks, and jumped into the undead group.
A/N: By the way, Brian also had an art technique, but it was a technique that shattered the enemy with ultra-vibration, meaning that it was only useful if it hit, and it was a physical damage art technique, so he had no chance to show it off.
Editor’s Note: This chapter was a bit hastily edited, sorry if there’s any major translations mistakes. I refuse to go back over it. There’s a limit to how much cringe one man can take.