Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 20

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but if you had to fight a monster with a weapon, what kind of weapon would you pick up? A sword? Bow? A spear? Or an axe, a whip, or a gun? In any case, when choosing a weapon, it is better not to decide based on image or coolness alone. If you choose such a weapon lightly, you will die with regret in most cases.

Naturally, the reason why I, who have fallen into the position of servant fighting against the monsters, is not because of my taste. It was for more practical and rational reasons.

As a matter of fact, the spear was an extremely effective weapon. The risk of close combat is smaller than with swords because of the greater distance, and it requires less muscle strength to handle and has fewer gaps than blunt weapons. Furthermore, it is much easier to master than the bow and arrow. Guns? Unfortunately, in this world where flintlock rifles are the mainstream, they are inferior in rapid-fire capability, and above all, such expensive equipment is rarely given to servants. In addition, the spear is a weapon that can thrust, slice, hit, deflect, and throw, and is cheap, disposable, and above all, easy to handle... Therefore, in the previous world, the spear is a general-purpose weapon that had the highest equipment ratio in the military before the rise of firearms.

With these advantages, it is only natural that I have chosen the spear as my main weapon when I became a servant. For my sub-weapon, I carry a stone thrower, which can be used with any stone out there, is easy to carry, easy to handle, and above all, can deceive the enemy into believing my position with the sound of the stone thrower, and other items such as a dagger, a smoke screen ball, and a luminous ball become my normal equipment. This is the best combination of equipment within my reach that I can think of to survive in this world. At least that's what I think.

...but no matter how smart I am, no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I try, there are some things I can't control. The girl I'm facing right now is probably one of them.

"What's the matter!? Even though you are a servant and my cousin is paying attention to you, your power is only that much...!!?"

The girl shouts while swaying her reddish-purple hair. She is holding a long sword that glints in the sunlight as she shouts.

Yes, a long sword. It is too tall for a girl in her early teens to hold, and she holds it lightly. Even a novice could tell at a glance that the color, shine, and power of the sword were those of an artifact. I knew from my knowledge of the original story that it was one of the genuine youkai swords, "Ako Touma Juppongatana (Ten Sword Exorcism of Ako(赤穂討魔十本刀))," and that it had an absurdly dangerous name, "Nekiri Kubi Sogimaru (Neck Cutter(根切り首削ぎ丸))," as her ancestors had used it just as it was named against the monsters.

"...this is unreasonable. There's no way I can compete."

I, dressed in black like a servant and with a mask hiding my face and expression, held up my spear and muttered quietly. Of course, this is not about the power relationship between swords and spears.

In a proper fight, swords are no match for spears. The distance between them is too great. A weapon that can attack from a distance has an advantage, which is the basic principle in fighting.

However, such an advantage is only between ordinary people. It would be a different story if the spear wielders are only human and the sword wielders are exorcists who make their living by slaughtering monsters. Against such people who can dodge or cut off a bullet from a flintlock rifle at best, what would she expect me to do?

"How did this happen...?"

Having given up on the idea of winning at the last moment, I was thinking about how I could lose in a way that would satisfy the other side, holding up my tattered and near-death long spear