Episode 6 – The Leader
The seven of them kept moving, but the inside of the dragon’s body was a sight that could make anyone sick.
The space was filled with pink, red, and even blue tones—an unsettling mismatch of colors that made one feel nauseated just by looking at the folds of flesh.
On top of that, the floor—made of springy, elastic meat like a thick cushion—sank deeply with every step, making it difficult to walk. And every so often, a massive tremor struck the group, big enough to make them wonder if the dragon was moving or if an internal “dungeon shift” was occurring.
Whenever that happened, lumps of rock—presumably things the dragon had swallowed—would collapse in front of them, blocking their path.
Each time, they had to detour, and every one of the seven adventurers felt the kind of hardship they had never experienced in any adventure before.
“Hey, hey, everyone—who’s going to be the leader of this party?”
Following from the rear, refusing to step to the front because she was a Gift-user, the red-haired Clarisse spoke to the other six in a sugary voice.
With nothing happening so far, she had no chance to use her Gift, and the endless corridor of flesh was wearing on her nerves. While she was mentally exhausted by the grotesque scenery, she brought up one of the party’s obvious issues.
“Aaagh! Anybody can be the damn leader! Quit yappin’ about pointless crap! Keep walking. You’re an adventurer too, aren’t you? You don’t need a leader—use your own damn brain and act, you useless brat!”
The one who roared at Clarisse, who had fallen slightly behind, was Bramia, the fully armored man.
He walked at the very front of the formation. Despite wearing such heavy armor, he moved swiftly over the dragon’s flesh. It made sense—his one and only skill, his One-Off Ability, was called Cautiverio Zero.
The ability adorned his armor with faintly glowing transparent wings, nullifying the weight of all equipment on his body.
In other words, even though Bramia was wearing armor that should weigh several dozen kilos, he felt nothing. He could move as freely as he could when naked.
Because he had both overwhelming armor and the mobility to deliver fast sword strikes, Bramia naturally took the role of the vanguard. He likely served a similar role in his usual party.
“Hm. True enough. Regardless of the circumstances, we are temporarily a single unit. Appointing a leader is a logical step, I suppose.”
The one who nodded to Clarisse’s opinion was Amarelo, the kimono-wearing man walking right behind Bramia—the second in the formation.
Besides the kimono, he also wore no leather boots like the others. He was barefoot, wearing only straw sandals.
Though such footwear lacked durability and looked hard to walk in, Amarelo slid across the fleshy ground gracefully.
He alone seemed already accustomed to the sensation of the floor sinking slightly with each step—unlike the other six, who were still struggling.
“That’s right~. I knew Amarelo-san would understand. …Unlike someone else.”
Clarisse agreed dramatically with Amarelo, but Bramia barked back loudly:
“I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU DAMN WENCH! Like I said, this party doesn’t need a leader! Anyone who wants out can leave whenever they want, and when things get dangerous, this whole group will scatter anyway! What’s the point of giving some meaningless title to someone?!”
“Indeed, that is also true. Though some of us know each other, aside from Dan-dono and Serena-dono, the rest of us all belong to different groups. There’s no one we are obligated to protect, no orders we must give or take. Right now we’re simply traveling together, but the moment our goals differ, we’ll likely turn against each other.”
Amarelo agreed with Bramia just as casually as he had agreed with Clarisse earlier.
Apparently, no one in this group belonged to his usual party either. He smiled that eerie smile that made his thoughts hard to guess.
“Eeeeh, Amarelo-san, what’s with that? You just agreed with me a moment ago!”
Clarisse puffed her cheeks in protest at his sudden shift.
“I merely thought Bramia-dono’s point also had merit. I still believe your opinion is correct as well, Clarisse-dono. As for me, either way is fine. I will simply follow everyone else’s decision.”
“Eeeeh? Then, what about you, Nada-senpai? We should have a leader for this party, right?”
Clarisse suddenly turned back toward Nada.
“Doesn’t matter to me. Either way, nothing really changes in this situation.”
Nada answered without changing his expression.
He was at the very back of the formation—the rearguard.
Unlike Bramia, who had an ability that lightened his equipment, Nada wore heavy gear: a Green Dragon Crescent Blade and a full set of chainmail. Compared to lightly equipped Amarelo or Corvo, his movements were noticeably slower.
For that reason, he was assigned to maintain the rear line.
However, since no monsters had appeared inside the dragon, even that role seemed pointless now.
“Eeehh, then how about you, Dan-senpai? I mean, having a leader really does make a party feel more secure, right?”
Clarisse shifted the conversation to Dan, who was standing beside her.
“Ahaha. Well, for me… yeah, having a leader definitely feels more reassuring.”
Dan hadn’t expected the topic to be thrown his way, so after a wry smile, he answered her question.
Dan’s position within the party was the same as Clarisse’s—both were Gift-users—but the nature of their work was as different as night and day. Clarisse had received her power from the God of Darkness, and its essence was destruction. In contrast, the one who blessed Dan was the God of Healing, whose power was the complete opposite of the dark god.
Dan’s role was to manage the party’s condition and keep them from suffering even a single injury, constantly staying on guard. Meanwhile, Clarisse had no way to use her power unless monsters appeared. Naturally, their positions within the party were very different.
Especially for Dan, who was inside a monster’s body—a place where literally anything could happen—he had to stay alert at all times.
Some monsters, dragons included, were capable of spewing poison from their mouths.
While they walked through this interior, Dan kept his nerves taut, constantly monitoring whether there was poison or any other hazardous substance around that could put them in danger.
“Right? And what does everyone else think?”
Since Clarisse had nothing to do at the moment, she casually asked the remaining members.
The first to answer was Corvo, who carried a jade-colored sword.
“…Let’s see. Even if it’s only in form, I think having a leader is a good idea. Sure, this party could split up at any moment, but if everyone wants to increase their survival rate, acting as a group is essential. And with that, having at least some structure would help us function better as a party.”
Corvo was walking behind Amarelo, third from the front in party formation.
His role was almost the same as Amarelo’s and Bramia’s: using his light equipment and swift movements to eliminate monsters that appeared ahead. The reason he was content with being third, he felt slightly slower than Amarelo, who wore nothing but a yukata-style outfit, and Bramia, who possessed useful Abilities.
Since that was the case, he judged that supporting the two of them would make the party operate more smoothly.
Though being inside a dragon’s body, monsters didn’t appear, so Corvo’s role was more or less nonexistent anyway.
“I knew it—we really do get along, Corvo-san!”
Clarisse’s voice brightened after getting the answer she wanted from Corvo.
“Ahaha. Maybe so—”
But Corvo didn’t ride on her excitement and answered with a wry smile.
“Then, then—Serena-san, what about you?”
Next, Clarisse asked Serena.
Serena was positioned right in front of Nada—meaning she was just behind Dan and Clarisse, the two Gift-users. She was likely placed there because she could more easily protect Dan, who had originally been a member of the same party as her.
With a cool expression, Serena replied.
“Hmph. I agree that having a leader would be better. After all, even if it’s just for show, these monkeys need someone to play the mountain king.”
As she spoke, she looked at Nada, Corvo, Amarelo, and Bramia one after another, snorting derisively.
“You bitch! You are picking a fight with us!”
Bramia roared loudly.
“My, my… Serena-dono is quite strict, isn’t she?”
Amarelo, despite being insulted, remained carefree and unbothered as always.
Nada and Corvo, meanwhile, didn’t react at all and calmly let Serena’s words pass.
After that, Bramia kept hurling insults at Serena, and Serena kept responding with smug snorts, not backing down in the slightest.
Watching them for a moment, Corvo finally let out a long sigh and stepped in.
“Sigh… You two, how about taking it down a notch? I mean, I don’t care about the outcome of your squabbling, but deciding on our party leader comes first. Majority vote, okay?”
No one objected to Corvo’s suggestion; the other six nodded reluctantly.
Even Bramia, who had been so against choosing a leader earlier, seemed to respect Corvo enough that he nodded quietly at his words.
“…Corvo.”
And Bramia was actually the one who cast the first vote—toward Corvo.
“Ahaha. Then I’ll pick Corvo-san too. Otherwise, I don’t think this party could be kept together~.”
Clarisse, who had been the first to suggest choosing a party leader, also cast her vote for Corvo, just like Bramia.
At that moment, Bramia clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath, “Tch, I ended up with the same choice as that damn girl,” and the other six heard it—yet they ignored the comment and moved on.
“Alright, then I’ll go with Dan—” The next to speak was Nada.
He cast his vote for Dan, an old friend.
“Ahaha. Then I’ll choose Nada. I trust him a lot,” Dan spoke next, without a hint of hesitation.
When Serena heard Dan say Nada’s name, she looked a little downcast, but she gave her brief opinion.
“...I choose Dan. I have no interest in taking orders from men like you.”
“Guess it’s my turn. Then I’ll go with… yeah, the safe choice is Nada. Since he’s supposed to be Iris’s top disciple, I think he’s used to this kind of role.”
Corvo was next, and he placed his vote on Nada. Nada seemed baffled by Corvo’s reasoning, his face going slack in confusion.
With this, Nada, Dan, and Corvo each had two votes.
“So my vote will decide the leader of this party, huh. Quite the responsibility, isn’t it?”
The last one with voting rights was Amarelo.
The other six stopped walking and listened. Amarelo folded his arms for a moment in thought, then stated that the leader he believed suited the role.
“Then, I will choose… Corvo-dono. After all, he once served as the leader of that ‘Ferimento.’”
And with Amarelo’s vote, Corvo became the leader of the seven-person party.
Dan and Nada had no objections, thinking it was the safe choice. Serena briefly frowned when she heard Corvo had been chosen, but she didn’t oppose it either.
Corvo, now appointed leader, looked across the six adventurers and spoke.
“...I’m sure each of you has a lot you’d like to say, but I’ve been made the leader of this party. I don’t know all of you well, so I won’t be giving many commands, nor do I intend to act high-handedly. But—if you don’t want to die, don’t go against my word. Since I’ve taken the role of leader, I’ll treat it as if I’m responsible for all your lives.”
The words of Corvo, once leader of Ferimento—a party counted among the strongest in the academy alongside Aghiya just a year ago—held weight.
The other six exchanged glances and looked again at their impromptu companions.
“It’s coming—”
One among them, Nada, quickly shifted his gaze, turning in a direction none of the others were looking.
No one understood his intention.
But soon, from far away, they all heard a dry, rustling sound—something approaching.
The seven adventurers, as seasoned fighters, each pointed their weapons toward the source of the sound, waiting to identify whatever “something” was drawing near.
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