CH 57

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Theodore Belisario, 1st son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Bruno Kingsleigh, Commander of the Kingsleigh unit

Matteo, Percival’s horse

The morning of the magical beast subjugation is early.

When I woke up, Percival and Theodore were already up and ready to go.

“……Sorry, I overslept.”

I went to bed before the two of them and was the last to get up. They might be a little suspicious of my motivation. Even though I am taking part in this subjugation seriously.

“No, it’s okay. We just took care of Matteo and the others.”

That’s right. Are Percival and his men taking care of their own horses during the expedition? It is certainly important to know how your horse is doing.

“In that case, I’ll go to Matteo with you tomorrow. I’ll look after him too.”

“I don’t mind, but you don’t have to push yourself.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s not too much to ask. Matteo is my friend.”

When I said that, Percival’s eyes widened slightly. Matteo is Percival’s important companion.

After getting ready, I had breakfast with everyone and got ready to leave. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and smoked chicken on a bread roll with hot tea. I then received some dried meat and a hard bread for lunch, which I shoved into the bag on my waist. With my wand well equipped and my hooded cloak on, I was ready to go. Compared to the soldiers who were going into the forest with me, my load was much lighter.

“Today, we’re heading to the depths of the first layer! As everyone knows, the number of magical beasts has been increasing recently! Even in the first layer, you never know what might happen! Don’t let your guard down!”

Kingsleigh’s proclamation flies.

Today, 10 soldiers including Kingsleigh-san and one white magician are going to subjugate the beasts. Theodore-san, Percival and, as an added bonus, I will join them. The Margrave and those who didn’t make the squad this time are staying to watch the camp. After getting a general idea of what’s going on in the forest for the first time in a year, including the recent increase in the number of magical beasts, we’re going to start the full-scale subjugation. In other words, today is like a scouting mission.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine, Sapphiras-dono, but make sure you never leave Percival’s side.”

“Yes!”

Theodore-san says so, and I cheerfully reply from behind Percival.

“Depart!”

With Theodor-san’s voice as a signal, we stepped into the first layer of the forest. Since it’s not that dangerous around here, defeating small and medium-sized magical beasts must be a piece of cake for the battle-hardened Kingsleigh unit.

Certainly, small magical beasts would not approach a formation of such large horses. Because they know they will be trampled down.

As we made our way through the darkening forest towards the depths of the first layer, we immediately felt an unpleasant presence. Looking to the left and right, something was chasing us, hiding in the bushes. Moreover, it was gradually increasing in number, at a distance that was neither near nor far.

It’s probably a magical wolf. Magical wolves are basically beasts that act alone, but sometimes they form packs like this and attack people and other beasts. One is not so much of a nuisance, but in a pack, they are a pain in the ass. They attack in a coordinated manner, like a well-trained army.

“They’re coming!”

Kingsleigh-san’s sharp voice flies out, and at the same time, black shadows leap at them from both sides at the same time. Percival, who drew his sword, cut down a magical wolf, but another magical wolf jumped at him from the opposite direction without a moment’s pause.

“I exercise my power under the law of the goddess! Flames, burn away!”

The flames caused by Percival’s chanting engulfed several magical wolves. Kingsleigh and the others are also using their swords one after the other to dispatch the attacking magical wolves. After all, they are the strongest unit. They don’t seem to be shaken at all. If surrounded by such a large number of magical wolves, one would normally retreat.

The Vanderwall horses are not perturbed by this situation, but are strong enough to trample the magical wolves that try to bite their legs with their muscular legs.

“Percival! Is it always like this here!?”

“No, we were never attacked this hard in the first layer!”

“Run! Don’t break formation! If they get in between us, we’ll be in trouble!”

The troops are riding to shake them off because there’s no end in sight, but the magical wolves are relentlessly pursuing us and launching coordinated wave attacks. They don’t let us rest, they wait for us to get tired and weak. This is a common method of those in a pack.

I don’t think the Kingsleigh unit or Theodore is unable to handle this level of attack, so it doesn’t seem to be an imminent threat to their lives, but there are so many of them that it might be better to get rid of them quickly.

This is just because I find demon wolves annoying, not because I want to help the unit.

It was when I looked back at the pack of magical wolves running behind me to take them out all at once with lightning. Matteo jumped up strongly, probably trying to avoid the fangs of the magical wolf aiming at his legs.

“Uwah……!”

My body, which had been in an unstable position, is lifted up and thrown into the air.

This is bad, I’m going to fall!

A strong hand grabbed my arm faster than I could generate wind to cushion the impact of the fall.　

“Sapphiras!”

“U-uwah!”

I felt a sudden pull, and just after I felt my stomach rise, my body was suddenly in front of Percival’s.

“……Eh?”

It was so instantaneous that it took me a little while to understand what had happened. On top of the galloping horse, I was sitting sideways, so I quickly clung to Matteo’s neck.

Apparently, Percival saved me from falling off the horse.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine! You saved me! I’m going to fall off my horse again if it keeps going like this, so I’ll take care of those guys!”

I dropped lightning all at once towards the magical wolves swarming around me. The sound of trees tearing apart echoes through the air, and countless bolts of lightning begin to brightly illuminate the dark forest.

When dimness returns to the surroundings, all of the swarming magical wolves are lying on the ground. I’ve aimed the lightning at their heads to avoid damaging their pelts, so if there’s leeway, we can retrieve them on the way back.

“Was that Sapphiras-dono?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a hand…….”

“No, thank you for your help……but that was amazing.”

Theodore-san and Kingsleigh-san stopped their horses and looked around, looking at the magical wolves rolling here and there with a slightly surprised expression.

“But there seems to be no doubt that the number of magical beasts is increasing.”

“Ah. Is it just a coincidence, or is there a reason for the increase……for now, let’s move on.”

There is no point in thinking about it here, so the troops once again advance their horses toward further in.

As for me, for some reason I had returned from the rear guard to vanguard. My back is supported by Percival, and the sense of stability is outstanding.

“Isn’t it difficult for Percival to swing your sword like this?”

“I’m fine. I don’t know where the magical beasts will come from, so hold on to Matteo’s mane.”It’s because I almost fell off the horse right? Sorry, Percival.

Even so, no matter how light I was, I never thought I would be pulled back on horseback with one hand. I was once again shown the strength of a Vanderwall man who hadn’t been trained for sophistication.

I look at my thin arms, which are not so different from that of a young lady’s, and quietly let out a sigh. With these arms, I can’t do the same thing as Percival. Falling together is the most I can do.

I glance at Percival behind me. I hope you will forgive me for my powerlessness.

“What’s wrong?”

“……No, it’s nothing.”

No, it’s okay if you can’t. We’re all good at different things. I may not have the brawn, but I have the magic. If Percival is in a similar situation, I can help him with magic. It’s just the right balance if we want to form a party.

The forest has been quiet since then, as if the thunder earlier caused the surrounding magical beasts to sense the danger and move away. I can’t feel any sign of anything.

“There seems to be no other unusual signs besides the magical wolves. Well, I guess all the small ones ran away after the attack by Sapphiras-dono just now……”

“Well, it seems that he went easy on us at that time.”

Kingsleigh-san looks back at me with a nice smile.

No way! I never meant to go easy!

“No, that kind of thing is……”

“Wahaha! I know. If Sapphiras-dono got serious, we would all be killed in an instant!”

When Kingsleigh-san laughed, the troops laughed too.

Eh? What should I interpret this to mean?

While I was confused, Percival tapped me on the shoulder. If you look at that face, his mouth is relaxed. Apparently, this is Kingsleigh-san’s way of joking. It’s really hard to understand.

Even though I was ridiculed by Kingsleigh-san, I was just thinking that nothing would happen in the depths of the first layer when it happened.

“Something’s coming! Get ready!”

Suddenly, Theodore-san’s sharp order rang out, and the harmonious atmosphere instantly fizzled out.