What was across the sea, over the mountains, or deep in the forest? Was there someone wise who would chuckle at her hesitation and tell her the answer?
“What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, uh, sorry.”
“No, I wasn’t scolding you. I was just a little worried because it seemed like you were spacing out while riding your horse… We’re headed into combat. I know you must be anxious.”
“Th-thank you, Your Majesty.”
Just then, Remedios, having thrust the flag shaft into the ground, drew her Holy Sword.
“Everyone, our first battle to free this land from Jaldabaoth begins now! For justice!”
In reply to her shout came a roar of “For justice!” Then they all charged as one.
“There they go. If you’re planning on participating in the attack, shouldn’t you be closer to the front, Miss Baraja?”
“No, I have my duties as Your Majesty’s squire. Leaving you here to go off to battle would be…” Unthinkable—I could never. She shook her head.
“O-oh, I see.. Th-then to change the subject…you haven’t lent that weapon to anyone, have you?”
“No, not even once! Your Majesty lent this to me. I would never allow anyone else to touch it.”
“Ah… I see. Uh, hmm. I appreciate that.”
She had the feeling the pitch of his voice had dropped, but she wasn’t sure why.
Did I disrespect His Majesty somehow…? I don’t know. Should I apologize?
As she was wavering, he changed the topic.
“Well, we’re here, after all. I looked around and made sure there are no subhumans concealing themselves with magic. Why don’t we go up close enough that we can keep an eye on the battlefield? I’m sure we can let the priests handle things here… What do you think?”
“As you wish.”
It would have been rude to tell someone as powerful as the King of Darkness that it was dangerous to go closer.
Just as she and the king approached the camp, where the alarm bell was clanging harshly, the fighting began.
Angels assaulted the watchtower above the gate, and the bufolk met them with their spears. Arrows were loosed from a turret. They were aimed not at the angels but at Remedios, charging at the head of the knight group. Since there was no chance of hitting their own, and she wasn’t carrying a shield, it made sense to try to hit her.
But she had skills unlike any other.
She sliced down any arrows that flew her way, all the while maintaining her speed.
Several of the angels attacking the watchtower descended on the turret in a counterattack. Three bufolk corpses fell out of it in moments.
At that point, the paladins had reached the gate and were starting their assault with the battering ram.
The wooden gate swayed once and emitted faint splintering sounds. “Again!” cried a knight.
The gate swayed again, more this time.
Another hit.
One of the gate’s logs went crooked. Neia could hear the cheers of the paladins even at a distance. There wasn’t enough room to get in yet, but a few more blows, and the gate would be completely destroyed.
A few of the angels went inside. Neia couldn’t see them, of course, but they must have been stopping the bufolk who had come to protect the gate.
“Get back!”
The sudden shout drew everyone’s attention.
It had come from the watchtower over the gate. How he had gotten up there was unclear, since the angels were supposed to be occupying it, but there was a single bufolk.
The problem was what he held in his hand.
“Get back!!” he repeated.
In the bufolk’s right hand was a girl—only six or seven years old—and he was holding a knife up to her throat.
“If you don’t get back, I’ll kill this human!”
The girl wore a soiled dress, and her face seemed dirty as well. Though she was still alive, her body dangled lifelessly side to side—as if to inform them of how the humans were being treated in the camps.
“You coward!” one of the paladins screamed.
“Get back—now! Look!”
A commotion ran through the knights. What happened? From their distance, and at night, Neia couldn’t make out every detail. But the King of Darkness was different.
“…It seems the child is bleeding from her neck.”
“No!”
“He can’t have killed her; her value as a hostage would—”
“All units, fall back!”
The paladins followed Remedios’s order and withdrew.
The priests in the rear had a hard time grasping the situation, but they gathered that something unexpected was happening, so they pulled the angels back as well. At the same time, they ran up to where Neia and the King of Darkness were. They must have wanted to see what was going on.
“More! Move farther back!”
The paladins responded to the bufolk’s shout by beginning to creep back even more.
Neia could see the bufolk guard changing in the watchtower. Those who had been injured in the fight with the angels were replaced by fresh personnel.
“This is bad.”
“Yes, it is.”
Neia slowly reached for the bow she had borrowed. The bufolk was using the girl as a shield. For that reason, there weren’t many places she could aim, so killing him in one shot would be quite a challenge.
Still, if she didn’t do it, who would?
I wish I had trained more with my bow, she thought as she pulled an arrow from her quiver.
Just then, the King of Darkness put a hand out to obstruct her line of fire.
“That’s not what I meant. They’d better cut it out. This is already pointless.”
Before she could ask what he did mean, he was walking toward the group of paladins.
They were all unsure how to save the girl.
Priests had a spell that could bind someone’s movement, so many were in favor of using that, but magic required a certain range to be effective. Could they approach that close? If the enemy disapproved, would the girl be killed? Everyone had different opinions, and they didn’t seem to be reaching any kind of conclusion.
That was when the King of Darkness and Neia showed up.
“How long are you going to spend debating? This is a bad scene.”
When the King of Darkness spoke, all eyes gathered on
