Several hours after I and Amilia finished our reconnaissance, an emergency war council was hastily convened.
「Then, my unit, along with the Holy Knight-sama’s and Saintess-sama’s three squads, will form the core and launch the assault on the second fortress.」
「「「「「Yes, sir!!」」」」」
The nobles rose in unison, nodding firmly.
One by one they offered words of encouragement to Amilia before filing out of the room.
「They really gave up the honor of the first battle to you, didn’t they?」
「Everyone has high expectations for Saintess-sama.」
General Varicius chuckled beside her.
When they’d met earlier, she’d helped him with some light rehabilitation exercises, he said his body was moving much better now.
「By the way… I heard Amilia was going around knocking out soldiers left and right. Is that true?」
「Yes, it’s true. She completely overwhelmed the royal guards. Though… she also looked incredibly frantic.」
「I see. I’ll ask her about it casually later.」
「There are even some rumors that she was venting her frustration because she couldn’t see the Holy Knight-sama…」
「Ehh…」
That doesn’t sound like Amilia at all…
「Also, I heard the two of you had a very cozy little nap together.」
「Ahaha… Yeah, quite a few people saw us…」
Just then, the very person in question approached, looking exhausted.
「Haa… I’m wiped out… What were you two talking about?」
「Hm? Just a quick exchange of information. So, how did the nobles react?」
They’d been chatting amicably earlier, so it probably wasn’t too bad…
「They didn’t say it outright, but… they’re definitely looking down on me.」
Amilia answered with a faint grimace of displeasure.
Well, a sudden new Saintess showing up out of nowhere… it’s hard to expect instant trust.
「I’m sorry. Our kingdom’s nobles….」
「It’s fine. A brand-new Saintess and Holy Knight? Of course no one’s going to trust us right away.」
「True. Let’s just finish this quickly and give them a real shock.」
Still… I kind of want to make it even more dramatic.
「Hey… How about the three of us take the fortress back by ourselves?」
「「Huh?」」
「I mean, if we’re going to surprise them, might as well go all out and overwhelm them completely, right?」
「「Ehhh…」」
Why are both of them backing away from me…?
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
「Weapons ready, food ready. Alright, let’s go!」
「You’re really going…」
General Varicius said with a slight pull-back in his expression.
We’d swapped his usual heavy armor for lighter gear.
「Then we’ll leave the rest to you!」
「Yeah, leave it to us. We’ll move in with the lords at dawn, will that be alright?」
The Minister of Military Affairs grinned back.
「No problem. I’ve got plenty of time anyway!」
Worst case, I could combine defensive spells into a barrier, should be more than enough.
「Then I’ll cast the magic on you two. 『O my magic power, become great wings that soar through the vast sky, grant these wings unto them! Enchant Airwing!』」
「Uoooooooh!?」
「Kyaa!?」
Wings of pure light unfurled from both their backs, lifting their bodies gently into the air.
「Alright, here we go!」
I leaped into the sky and took the lead.
They followed, though I was pulling them along just a little.
「Waaah〜 I’ve always been carried by Yuuki, but flying on your own feels amazing!」
「W-Whoa!? T-T-Too fast! Oooooohhh!?」
Amilia quickly adjusted her posture, catching the wind with surprising grace.
Varicius, meanwhile, flailed like a man clinging to life itself.
「We’ll reach the fortress in about ten minutes at this pace〜」
I sent my voice back on the wind.
They both startled, apparently wondering where the sound came from.
「We’re landing directly on the fortress wall, so get your weapons ready〜」
I slowed gradually and touched down lightly on the ramparts.
A few mid-sized enemies got caught in the landing impact and crumbled to ash, whatever.
「Gigigii!!」
「Gyagyaah!」
「Haaahhh!!」
Amilia closed in on the panicked foes in an instant, slicing through them cleanly with her blade.
「As expected of Saintess-sama! Nice one! 『Stone arrows, pierce the foe, Stone Arrow!』」
Varicius chanted swiftly.
His spell shattered the exposed cores of several enemies, reducing them to silent ash before they could even scream.
「Alright, my turn… 『Blood Frenzy Magic, Needle Blood Formation!』」
「Gyagyaah?」
「Gyafu!?」
Previously used perception-type trap: any enemy approaching from behind steps on it and is instantly impaled by blood spikes.
「Holy Knight-sama… what is that magic?」
「Ahaha… I arranged a technique I learned from my vampire wife in my own way. This time, since the enemies have almost no magic power, it activates the moment they step on it. So please be careful♪」
「Even if you say it so casually…」
Amilia said with an exasperated look.
「Well, it’s activated behind us, so it’s a countermeasure against sneak attacks from the rear. I’ll handle frontal attacks with magic, and Amilia and Varicius-san will basically take them down. That means guarding our backs is the priority, right?」
「But… can it move?」
「Yup, it follows us〜 Look.」
When I move, the blood puddle behind me goes ‘ssshhh’ and slides along obediently.
「Somehow… it’s kinda cute…」
「Eh?」
「Right? It looks like a slime!」
The mental image is exactly like the national-game monster modeled after ha○re metal.
「「Slime?」」
「Huh? They don’t exist in this world?」
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any since coming here…
「No, slimes do exist… but they live deep in caves. They’re aquatic creatures that mostly eat moss and such.」
「Their appearance includes a core, and they have mimicry abilities, so they’re very rarely spotted.」
「Hee〜 I see. Oh… more are coming.」
Enemies pour in from all directions, likely the main force.
Detection confirmed: every single enemy on the map is here now.
「No commander-class among them… oh well.」
「Didn’t we already take out the commander when we landed?」
「Probably. There was one slightly bigger enemy!」
「Then it’s just annihilation. 『Line Bullet!』」
Amilia and Varicius cut through the enemies with their swords.
I support them by controlling stone bullets to disrupt the enemies’ balance or force them into one-on-one fights.
A few move slower than the rest, but… we’ll finish in less than an hour.
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