Chapter 1: The Guard Corps’s Shortage of Manpower

Every single day, monsters flock to the royal capital where the Orb of Light is enshrined, like moths drawn to a flame.

As we stood before the city gates on this particular occasion, we saw a swarm of bugs approaching—and “swarm” wasn’t just a figure of speech. These weredemonswarm—dangerous insects imbued with magical energy. Some of them were mothlike, while others more resembled beetles or praying mantises.

There had been a sudden demonswarm infestation in a forest located a short distance away from the capital, and a portion of them had begun to invade—seemingly drawn to the city by the Orb of Light, within which the Demon King was sealed. The entire Guard Corps had gathered in front of the gates to intercept them.

The fact that we were being invaded wasn’t a particularly big problem in itself; whatwas a big problem was what the horde had done on its way in. The creatures had crossed many fields full of crops as they’d headed toward the capital and had greedily gorged themselves on the bountiful harvests there, leaving nothing but ruin in their wake.

Since it was constantly beset by monster attacks, the royal capital of Astaroth was not very active in terms of merchant traffic. It wasn’t able to rely on foodstuffs coming in from beyond its borders; it needed to be self-sufficient. Having seen their already limited provisions devoured before their very eyes, the guards were incensed and out for blood.

“Let’s make those food-thieving insects pay!” one guard bellowed.

The others shouted out in a fiery chorus of agreement, then began turning their ire to the swarm directly.

“Keep your filthy bug mandibles off our human food!”

“Go back to sucking tree sap, monsters!”

My fellow guards swung their swords furiously, cleaving insect after insect in two, their blows far more powerful and piercing than they had been in the past. Their fighting spirit had certainly been bolstered by their anger, and n