The Mob Noble Who Got Reincarnated in a World Where Men Are Naturally Protected—So I Trained Like Crazy to Protect Girls Instead, But Their Love Got Way Too Heavy - Chapter 10: Resolve to Fight

Chapter 10: Resolve to Fight

I crept along the branches, moving tree to tree, and settled into position above the intelligent orc’s army.

“Damn it! Where the hell did they go!?”

The intelligent orc roared in fury, her goblin underlings shrieking and screeching in chorus.

She was massive—towering with bulk and fat, a pig’s snout, and nothing but a pair of oversized nuts strapped on as a chest guard.

An orc female.

That was the intelligent one.

“Alright… what’s my play here?”

In an info war—basically hide-and-seek—the one who spots the other first gets the right to ambush.

That “ambush right” means a free strike: a blow delivered with no defense. If the enemy dies in that one hit, there’s no counterattack. For a guy like me, weak in a head-on slugfest, that was the ideal move.

But when I glared down at the intelligent orc, I muttered,

“…Can’t kill her in one hit with a sword ambush.”

On the way here, I’d already dropped a few goblins that looked easy enough. But unless I finished the intelligent orc herself, the battle wouldn’t be over.

“So… what the hell do I do…?”

I scratched my head, groaning.

The goblins were endless. Picking them off with hit-and-run tactics sounded nice, but if it ever came down to a straight duel with the intelligent orc, that’d be suicide.

Sure, I could run, reset, and try again once or twice.

But my stamina wasn’t limitless either.

I was still stuck weighing my options—when it happened.

“Fireball!”

“…Huh?”

From a little ways off, Wiz’s voice rang out. A blazing sphere of flame streaked past the edge of my vision a heartbeat later.

“…Wait, Wiz? Didn’t she run off? She actually came back?”

Blinking in surprise, I crept through the branches, holding my breath as I edged closer.

And sure enough—just like I feared—there she was.

Wiz stood in the clearing, goblins closing in from every direction. But since she couldn’t sense their positions, she spun in place in a panic, completely disoriented.

“M-My magic… did it hit? Ugh… I-I can’t tell where the enemies are at all…!”

She had managed to drop one goblin with that fireball, but even so, Wiz looked stricken with nerves and self-doubt.

If I could, I’d jump down right now just to calm her. But with the intelligent orc lurking nearby, I couldn’t risk blowing my cover.

And right on cue—speak of the devil—the intelligent orc stepped from the shadows of the trees, looming directly before Wiz.

“That’s what I hate about human females.”

“Eek…”

Wiz shrank back, trembling as the intelligent orc appeared—slow, deliberate, dripping arrogance.

“Tiny little bodies, yet the same strength as us. And on top of that, you fling magic. And what’s this? That rare human male back there turned out to be better at stealth than us, too.”

With a heavy whomp, the orc swung her massive stone axe, snarling.

“But one lucky break for me—you females ain’t used to real combat.”

“…T-That’s not—”

“Not true? Don’t kid yourself. Otherwise… why the hell ain’t I burning to a crisp right now, huh!?”

“!”

The orc lunged forward, stone axe raised high.

Wiz froze on instinct, bracing for the blow.

Crap. If she’d come back here full of resolve, that’d be one thing… but looking at her now, maybe it wasn’t courage. Maybe it was just reckless desperation.

For a split second, I almost jumped down to shield her.

But then—I noticed something.

“Wiz—are you using defense magic?”

Defense magic. The kind that blocks ambushes and shrugs off a certain level of force. For slow-moving mage types, it was absolutely essential.

And whether it was active or not was easy to see—the faint, transparent membrane wrapping around the caster’s body.

If that was there… then barging in to save her now would only crush the courage she’d finally managed to muster.

I ground my teeth and forced myself to stay hidden, crushing down the urge to leap in.

“RAAAAAA!”

The orc let out a furious roar. Her stone axe came crashing down onto Wiz’s defense magic with a sickening thomp!—a loud, violent crack.

I held my breath and watched the shield take the hit.

Wiz seemed to have plenty of mana; the defense only lost a little integrity. She could probably hold for maybe ten more strikes.

And the intelligent orc? She still had energy to spare. If I jumped in now, the payoff wouldn’t be worth it.

So I waited—forcing my pounding heart to stay calm.

Again the stone axe swung. The impact rolled through the clearing like thunder.

“U-uu, uuuuuu…!”

“Hahaha! Nice shield, but it’s far too much for a weak female like you! No guts, no use on a battlefield—no matter how strong you are, you’re useless where it counts!”

The orc slammed her axe again and again. Wiz collapsed where she stood, trembling—safe for the moment, yet petrified with fear.

“Ah, ah—s-sorry, p-please stop! I was wrong! Please stop—”

“Stop? Hell no! That male killed five of my buddies right after—so if I don’t kill you in revenge, I won’t be satisfied!”

Wiz knew she only had about the same physical strength as an orc—yet still, she couldn’t move.

―This was what it meant to lack the resolve to fight.

In a kill-or-be-killed battle, if you couldn’t throw everything into striking down the enemy, it didn’t matter if you were male or female. You’d just end up a punching bag until you were beaten to death.

And yet—even so—Wiz’s defense magic was the one thing that could turn the tide here.

The stone axe slammed down again and again. Cracks spread wider across the shield. Wiz broke down crying in terror, powerless to do anything more.

“S-Sorry! I’m sorry! Please stop, stop it! I-It’s my fault, so please—just stop!”

“Hahaha! Just a little more! That shield’s about to shatter, girl! Then I’ll roast you alive—and that male, he’ll be my breeding stick! Hahahaha!”

The fractures in the barrier spiderwebbed all the way to the ground. It shook, scattered fragments, and looked ready to collapse at any second.

Wiz seemed convinced she was about to die. She bit back thin, choked screams, staring wide-eyed at the axe descending on her.

And yet—while sobbing, while trembling in fear, she whispered:

“…But… I’m glad. At least Tect didn’t get caught.”

At those words, my eyes went wide.

“Hah?”

What the hell was that? At the brink of death, Wiz’s last thought—was that? Of all things?

“Useless bitch! This ends nowww!”

The orc swung her stone axe with all her strength, slamming it straight into the center of the cracked shield.

Shatter!

With a sharp, shattering sound, Wiz’s defense magic finally gave way.

Wiz froze in terror, unable to move an inch, while the orc grinned in triumph, raising her weapon for the finishing blow.

But I had already seen it—

The fatigue creeping into the intelligent orc, and the carelessness born from thinking victory was hers.

I leapt down, sword drawn. Sure, an orc’s body was tough.

But with a drop attack carrying my full weight, it would pierce!

“Gaaaahhh!?”

I landed square on the intelligent orc’s back, driving my blade deep into her from behind—straight toward the heart.

The tip of the sword burst out through her belly. A clean thrust, slipping neatly past the ribs. Easy work for me.

“W-What… you bastard…! Damn weak maleeee!”

“I’ll be taking your magic stone, orc.”

I twisted the blade inside her, then ripped it free. Stuck to the steel was a bloodied, gore-smeared magic stone.

“Eh… w-what…? Tect!?”

“―Wiz. I’m glad you came back. This thing had no openings—I was running out of ways to break through.”

I made sure to say it loud enough for the dying orc to hear, highlighting Wiz’s part in this victory.

Then I kicked off her back, springing clear, and checked my blade.

There it was—the magic stone, still clinging with strings of flesh. I pried it loose, holding it up to admire the glow.

“Alright, mission accomplished. That’s a high-purity magic stone. One more tuning shot and the pile bunker’s complete.”

“Y-Yes! Yes!”

Wiz finally let her tension go and nodded through tears, and I couldn’t help but grin a little.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“Damn you…! You weak male…!”

“W-Wait, why…? I thought Tect already killed it.”

Wiz went pale as the blood-slick orc rose again, trembling with murderous intent. I took a deep breath and reset my headspace.

“Living things—monsters or animals—are like this. If you don’t completely crush and disable them, they’ll get back up even after you kill them. Look—its dopamine’s flooding, it feels no pain right now.”

“Whaaat!? I’ll kill you, weak male!”

The intelligent orc howled with wild eyes. Maybe if it could run off it would eventually die, but that wasn’t an option now.

I listened to the clearing. The goblins still held formation—poised to pounce at any opening.

And Wiz—her legs probably couldn’t bear much weight. With the tight encirclement, carrying her out wasn’t going to be easy.

So I planned fast, then told her the plan.

“Wiz, can you reset your defense magic?”

“Y-Yes. Magic Wall!”

A fresh barrier bloomed around Wiz. Seeing that, I spoke up.

“I’ll take the orc. In return, I want you to clear out the goblins. Once I focus on the orc, the goblins will try to rush us.”

“…! B-but, I—”

I figured it would be tough. Wiz had been shaking earlier—there was a good chance fear would freeze her up again.

But then she moved.

“…—All right! I’ll do it! I’ll beat the goblins!”

As she said it, Wiz pulled the rose from her chest.

“I’m a girl, and I was rescued by a boy—Tect—and I felt so useless. So now—let me protect Tect! Please, let me protect him!”

“…Yeah. I’ve got your back, Wiz. You watch mine—I’ll protect you to the end.”

“Yes!”

I readied my sword. Right beside me, I slotted the magic stone into the pile bunker, preparing to fire a single, deciding shot.

Wiz dropped her staff and gripped the rose like a weapon. An odd, fierce aura began to seep out from it.

The intelligent orc barked, “You lot! Don’t let any of these live!” The goblins surged through the underbrush, the forest rumbling with motion.

All the pieces were set. From here on, there was no running or hiding.

The real fight had begun.