I’ve Become a Combat Soldier in a Dark Fantasy Adult Game

Fundamentally, combat soldiers have no personality. More precisely, it’s extremely faint.
After all, they’re artificial life forms created from a human base, and since they’d be difficult to use as meat shields if they felt fear, this makes sense.

Still, their intelligence isn’t much different from humans, and they’re laborers who do their assigned tasks without complaint, so they’re used for various purposes.

Of course, they’re somewhat unskilled at tasks requiring autonomous judgment, but squad leaders can make minimal judgments through experience and seniority. That’s why squad leaders are sometimes entrusted with errands for the main family, and because of my past life memories, I’m not much different from a normal human, so several people wanted to use me as an errand boy.

Naturally, Ohime is number one in working me hard.
Then the family head. Though infrequent, he calls me when he needs to secretly assign difficult issues or matters too sensitive to make public.
Lastly, the troublemaking second daughter, Kiriha. Unlike Kazuha who calls me for massages or trivial personal matters, she tends to send me to town to buy city goods.

Other combat soldiers stand out in the city, looking like dazed humans, and their errand performance is somewhat lacking, whereas I complete assigned tasks efficiently, so I was considered a useful servant.

Moreover, since the path was dangerous with minor yokai and other things randomly appearing, making it impossible for combat soldiers with poor skills to go, I—a combat soldier good at running away—er, I mean, I was indeed a suitable candidate.

Of course, if Ohime became angry or looked for me while I was away, a major incident would occur, so I always had to get her permission in advance. Permission required compensation, and naturally, Kiriha wouldn’t pay it, so that cost fell on me as well.

Ha ha.

Anyway, I was now changing into casual clothes that city people wear, preparing to go out. Looking in the mirror, I saw a reasonably presentable man standing there.

Of course, as a mass-produced unit, there are several men who look identical to me. But Ohime says our smell is different and can distinguish me without any special markings, Kiriha says our expressions are different, and the family head distinguishes us by our walking styles.
The eldest daughter didn’t tell me her reason. But she identified me with uncanny accuracy.

With multiple people distinguishing me through techniques ordinary humans can’t use, I couldn’t pass off my mistakes to other combat soldiers. I sighed deeply and checked the note Kiriha had given me.

-Sanitary pads
-Snacks (new products)
-Carbonated drinks (ones that go well with the snacks)
-Dildo

With such shitty orders, no wonder combat soldiers do shitty work. Though I was dumbfounded by each item on the list, I kept my expression neutral and left the family premises.

This too was a kind of privilege. Normally, servants and combat soldiers are almost forbidden from going out except during combat, but I could move around relatively freely.
Not that I could take walks without permission, but the likelihood of receiving permission was overwhelmingly high.

Since this wasn’t my first or second errand, I could intuitively figure out which routes were safe. I advanced carefully, avoiding yokai and minor spirits. In unavoidable cases, I pushed them away with techniques Ohime taught me and quickly fled.

Beyond the mountain lies a residential area on the outskirts of the city, and beyond that is the proper downtown. Perhaps because the world setting is modern Japan, the cities were quite decent, except for the strong influence of feudal lords.

Once I entered the city, I went into a large store similar to Don Quixote. Since I didn’t know what would happen if I was late with the errands, I needed to finish quickly and return as soon as possible.

Snacks first.
Since I’ve been shopping almost every month, it’s easy to find something we haven’t tried before. The issue is whether there might be one of those notorious Japanese “landmine” snacks, so I asked a clerk walking nearby. Fortunately, I found slightly spicy potato chips and put them in my basket.

Based on experience, she’s someone who likes strong flavors.

After spicy flavors, she’d probably need a sweet drink. I thought of my sister from my past life who would drink Calpis with spicy rice cakes.
Since she’s not the type to drink zero-calorie drinks, I chose a lemon-flavored cola. This too was a choice reflecting her preferences.

Since going out without bringing a gift would result in Ohime tormenting me, I bought a set of Japanese sweets she likes, and for the family head, who’s pleased when I bring anything at all, I bought Western-style biscuits that would go well with tea.

On the way, I picked up the usual sanitary pads and completed the payment. Though combat soldiers fundamentally don’t receive wages, I receive money under the name of pocket money, so I paid for items beyond the errands with my own money.

Next, though embarrassing, I stopped at an adult store to purchase the last item, then checked the time. Since I had about 30 minutes to spare, I decided to wander around downtown. Downtown is relatively safe. It might be laughable to call it humanity’s last bastion, but no fool would readily hand over a developed city to yokai.

Giving a densely populated area to yokai, who grow stronger by eating humans, would be an act disregarding the future terror of growing yokai beyond the immediate population loss. Yokai that have risen in rank are literally calamities or disasters.

Even combat soldiers, who are about three times stronger than ordinary humans, are insufficient as time-buyers when facing monsters above mid-level. Assuming a low-level yokai reaches mid-level after consuming a thousand humans with unremarkable spiritual power, the fall of a city literally marks the beginning of a parade of a hundred demons.

Therefore, defenses are well-established so that even I, a combat soldier, can move around comfortably within the city.

Strolling through this city that resembled modern Japan with subtle differences, I savored this freedom I’d had only once a month. Besides training, errands, and periodic torment, it’s a life running on a hamster wheel without any significant schedule. No, since I’m not human, it might not even be a life.

That’s why times like these are precious.
Not forgetting who I was in my past life. Striving to survive. Recognizing that I’m not just a consumable.

These were necessities for me, fragile as I was, who would be swept away by the turbid currents of the times if I lost my focus for even a moment.

“Boy.”

A voice particularly striking to my ears. Though nothing in the words specifically referred to me, I was certain it was addressing me.
With an ominous premonition, I turned around to see a black-haired, black-eyed girl smiling, holding a long-nosed mask in her right hand and a feathered fan in her left. Her bizarrely black eyes, empty, were looking at me.

I couldn’t sense any spiritual power. There was no ominous presence that a yokai should have.
But I could tell.

That thing isn’t human.

“I’d like to ask for directions.”

Even amid the chaotic noise of the city, the girl’s words and footsteps were clearly audible.
Tap, tap. Whether she had hard soles on her shoes or not, her footsteps were loud, and my body reacted each time she approached.

It was fear. I quickly broke one of my fingers to regain composure through pain.

“By any chance, is there a skilled exorcist nearby?”

“I don’t know.”

The words immediately popped out of my mouth.
This is a habit formed from the moment I was born as a combat soldier and first entered the Tachibana household. Keep your mouth shut. Don’t speak at length. Seal lips that might spill secrets.
The tongue is a sword that cuts the body, and the mouth is a hole that invites disaster.

“Oh my. Did I find the wrong person? I was sure I chose someone who would know.”

“I’m busy, so I’ll be going.”

“Wait. Just because you don’t know doesn’t mean you can leave.”

The girl’s expression changed. From relaxed confidence to malicious and bizarre.
The fact that people around us didn’t notice must mean her disguise was that perfect. The very fact that she could infiltrate the city meant she was no ordinary yokai.

“I wonder how long you can keep saying you don’t know?”

With a snap, the background changed. Whether through spiritual power or not, we had instantly moved to the mountain on the opposite side of the city from the Tachibana household—the direction I had come from.

It was more like teleportation than high-speed movement. And she did it without giving me a chance to resist while holding onto me.

As I threw down the items I’d bought on my errand and tried to take out a tool from my breast, the yokai immediately came forward and grabbed my arm. Indeed, she was fast.
She also caught on to my attempt to maneuver with my other hand, and I ended up with both hands restrained in a twisted position.

“So you really weren’t an ordinary guy. If you tell the truth, I might spare your life.”

“Go eat shit, you son of a bitch.”

Just in case, I bit down on the trigger hidden in my molar, and my right arm was severed as if it exploded. Even the yokai seemed surprised, releasing my left arm and backing away.
What I possessed was swiftness exceeding that of ordinary people, a slightly more durable body, and somewhat greater mental fortitude. Since all of these would be meaningless if I were restrained, this was a device I had prepared.

“You’re more hot-blooded than I thought.”

“That costs 3,000 yen. It’s dirt cheap.”

“What?”

“It’s cheaper than the bags I brought.”

Though my entire body trembled from the pain of my severed arm, I endured it as much as possible. It’s okay. I can reattach it later. After all, that’s what I was born for. As long as I don’t die completely, my body is consumable and can be replaced.

As I smiled while putting on a brave front, the damn girl yokai smiled and brought the remains of my right arm to her mouth. With a crunching sound, blood splattered, but ignoring even the dirt on her clothes, she ate my entire arm and smiled malevolently.

“Familiar. The taste of a frightened human. But there’s something else mixed in. I’d like to verify it.”

“What, is there a method?”

“I think I’ll know if I eat about two more times.”

This time, my left arm was severed regardless of my will. Without even time to react, she tossed the torn arm once, caught it, and again brought it to her mouth.
A fight without arms is troublesome. But I’ll probably be fine. This is a “calamity” I can’t handle, not a “trial” I can pass to move to the next step.

“Boy. I’ve scared you like this, but the deal is still valid.”

“Have you ever seen someone with spiritual power make a deal with a yokai while sober?”

“No.”

“Right, you lying bastard. I’d have to be crazy to make a deal with you.”

“Hmm. I really don’t understand this thing called human loyalty.”

Loyalty my ass. I didn’t respond verbally this time. I met those pitch-black eyes and pretended as if I had thoughts of fighting back.

There’s no way that Ohime would let me loose in the city without any suspicion. I know how sticky and deep that twisted human’s goodwill toward me is.

So, if this truly is a “calamity” I cannot resolve, she will definitely come.
After all, she’s a voyeuristic patient, the second eldest at that.

BOOM!
Along with a sound like a shell dropping, acrid smoke rose.
Blatantly overflowing, prickling spiritual power.

She flew in at once, wearing a juunihitoe weighing over 20kg, and smiling, said to the tengu:

“Oh my, that arm. It looks delicious, can I have a bite?”