CHAPTER 21: MEETING THE ENEMYSeveral days after Suimei had left the capital with the caravan.
Their journey had gone off without a hitch. They had encountered neither robbers nor monsters, and even inclement weather – which would slow their pace drastically – had not occurred. Instead, they’d simply continued along their way, staying at small villages and post stations along the road.
If there was anything to be unhappy about, it was only the small portion sizes for meals. This, however, was obviously something they had been aware of before even setting out, and so it wasn’t really worth mentioning.
Soon after, they safely pa.s.sed through the mountain pa.s.s that was commonly referred to as the most difficult part of the journey, and the path they were now taking was at quite steep indeed.
From what he’d heard from the merchants in the caravan, they still had about a third of their trip to go. Once they’d pa.s.sed through the foothills and a large basin, they’d find themselves at their destination.
—The differences between their worlds notwithstanding, it seemed some things were the same everywhere. Adapting to sudden changes in environment was something just as difficult for the people of this world as for those of his own.
For just as the caravan had left the foothills and reached the forest at the foot of the mountain—
The forest was fairly spa.r.s.e, and on a typical sunny day, the light of the sun would easily break through the forest canopy. Today, however, there was a thick cloud cover that left them feeling morose.
The scene, a gloomy gray that stretched as far as the eye could see, impacted their mood greatly.
In this situation, where it seemed that they could be targeted at any moment, an atmosphere of danger suddenly descended.
…Lefille, walking with Suimei, suddenly spoke.
“…Suimei-kun. Have you noticed?”
“Yeah, I have.”
As he’d said, he had already sensed the faint presences in their proximity.
In fact, ever since they’d left the foothills and set foot in this forest, his neck had begun to burn, an ill omen. Afterward, he’d sensed an undisguised surge of mana, as if in preparation for an upcoming battle, radiating from a magical place nearby.
Well, actually, that wasn’t an entirely accurate description… Because that magical force seemed to be heading straight for them.
From this, he could tell that an unknown something, possessing a great amount of mana, was about to ambush them…
“…Hey, is this a monster? It doesn’t seem like a person…” Suimei asked Lefille, while keeping a guarded eye on his flank.
Suimei’s question was provoked by the waves of mana he felt emanating from the creature. From what he could feel, this was an existence far from human.
Lefille’s answer came with certainty.
“No, this is no monster. It’s Mazoku.”
“Wha…”
Why would that name pop up here, of all places? Although it’d been a topic of conversation earlier in the journey, had there really been some connection after all?
However.
“…You were pretty certain just now. Is there really no possibility of it being something other than the Mazoku?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I know them inside and out. There’s no way I would make a mistake about this.”
“…Is that so?”
“…Yes.”
Suimei asked again, not understanding what was running through the young girl’s mind, but this time, her answer was even stiffer.
As Lefille answered, a grim look on her face, the caravan came to a sudden stop. Perhaps someone else had noticed the presence following them.
Before long, they heard the sound of footsteps, and an adventurer dressed like a warrior ran toward them. The look on his face was undeniably bitter, perhaps owing to the inauspicious circ.u.mstances.
He waved at Suimei and the others.
“Hey—”
Just as the adventurer was about to speak, Lefille nodded.
“Yeah, we’ve already noticed.”
“Oh? I-I see.”
“Yes.”
Lefille’s brief confirmation allowed the adventurer to cut short his explanation, and jump straight to the main topic.
“—Alright, that’s good. The magicians tell us we have monsters headed this way. Galeo-san’s decision is to meet them here.”
…It seemed that unlike Lefille, the others thought the approaching presences were but monsters.
Whichever they were, the truth would soon become apparent once they arrived.
Other adventurers, however, posed a question in response.
“We’re meeting the attack here?”
“Yes. Bodyguards are to partic.i.p.ate in the battle as well. Is there a problem?”
“No, that’s fine with us, but what about the merchants?”
Just as the surprised adventurers asked, this was a concern.
As bodyguards, they, of course, had the resolve to take part in battle.
But what would happen to the merchants they had been hired to protect?
Generally speaking, in order to avoid having non-combat personnel drawn into the fight, it would be best to have them hide somewhere safe. Although this was the appropriate thought, but in the current situation, just where in their proximity was the best place to go?
They’d left the foothills and just entered the forest. The terrain here was flat, but desolate. There wasn’t anywhere nearby that would make for a good hiding spot.
Taking their current location into consideration, what should they do? In answering this question, Lefille responded with a question of her own.
“What if we seized the initiative by taking the fight to them?”
“No, that’s not an option.”
“Then, what about sending the merchants deeper into the forest?”
“That’s no good either.”
“…?”
All suggestions were shot down by the other adventurers.
As a countermeasure, Lefille’s suggestion to prevent the enemy’s advance by lying in wait and intercepting them early was likely the best plan for the given situation.
“…It looks like there are monsters ahead of us as well. Since there are also monsters coming from the side, it’s highly likely there are more coming from behind us as well. If worst comes to worst, we’ll find ourselves surrounded. In that case, rather than having the merchants move carelessly, it’s best if we keep them somewhere we can keep an eye on them while we fight. …That’s our judgment,” the stiff-faced adventurer replied.
So that was it. If there was nowhere to run, then they’d just have to defend this spot. That decision was reasonable enough.
“Who will be responsible for attacking?” Lefille asked.
“Hmm? There shouldn’t be a need for that…?”
“And why not? You just pointed out the possibility that we might get surrounded. If this were indeed to occur, then wouldn’t we need someone to break the siege?”
“Huh? W-we don’t have any plans to break through the enemy’s attack or anything. As long as we defend carefully, then it’s not like monsters can really do anything, right?”
“…I see.”
Faced with resistance from the adventurer, Lefille didn’t continue. Her willingness to give up seemed to arise out of a desire to avoid a pointless debate. Nevertheless, Suimei could tell from her tone that she was frustrated.
“Breaking the siege, is it…?”
Silently, Suimei began to play out the upcoming battle in his mind. The most effective way to break a siege would be a focused offensive concentrated on a single point. When besieged, pa.s.sively focusing on defense was something your enemies wanted to happen. Regardless of how effective or ineffective it might eventually prove to be, it was nonetheless an absolute necessity.
This time, there wasn’t a real need to forcibly break a “siege” per se; rather, by separating, and devoting a portion of their forces to freely attack the enemies surrounding them, they should be able to easily throw the enemy formation into disarray.
Lefille had clearly thought things through, else she wouldn’t have raised the point.
…That said, even if it was the most effective plan of action, it also required a certain degree of manpower.
As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If they were to attempt an attack in a situation where they couldn’t even necessarily guarantee they had enough people to defend, that’d be putting the cart before the horse.
“We’ll end the conversation here. I need to get back to my position. I leave the cargo in your care.”
With that, the adventurer prepared to leave.
Lefille, however, called out, stopping him.
“Can I say something else?”
“…What?”
“What’s coming at us from the front is still unclear, but what’s coming at us from the side are definitely not monsters, but Mazoku. Please inform Galeo-san of this detail.”
“Huh? W-why do you know something like that?”
“Experience. This presence doesn’t belong to any monster.”
Lefille’s declaration elicited a doubting groan from the adventurer.
He stared at Lefille for a moment.
“…I understand. I’ll let him know that that’s a possibility.”
The adventurer gave a faultless reply before leaving in a hurry.
Watching him leave, Suimei sighed, and mumbled to himself.
“…I didn’t go with Reiji and the others precisely because I never wanted to fight the Mazoku.”
Suimei thought back to the choice he’d made back in the palace. In an attempt to avoid an unreasonable, reckless war with an unknown enemy as well as to find a way to return safely home, he’d parted ways with Reiji and the others.
And yet, in the end, here he was, forced to fight them anyway.
Even if it wasn’t entirely for certain that they were about to face the Mazoku, but if that was indeed the case, then the irony of the situation was simply staggering. His attempt to stave off fate’s design had proven entirely fruitless. Suimei felt as though an unseen malice was directing his path.
“Something wrong?”
Had she heard his mutters?
“It’s nothing. I was just hoping that this trip would go smoothly.”
“Suimei-kun. When you travel, you should always be ready for danger. You won’t get anywhere with a half-hearted resolve. Even more so in the world as it is of late. You would do well to remember this.”
“…No matter where I go, danger just has to follow, doesn’t it?”
“And we exist precisely to combat that danger, do we not?”
“That’s true. That’s the kind of job we accepted, after all,” Suimei replied honestly.
A fearless grin appeared on the young girl’s face.
A smile directed to a comrade-at-arms on the eve of battle.
Their short talk over, Lefille removed the bundle from her back and unpacked its contents with practiced ease.
Within the unfolded cloth lay a gigantic sword.
It was around a hundred eighty centimeters in length, from the tip of the blade to the bottom of the hilt. The hilt curved into a ma.s.sive, triangular sword guard, which – together with the blade itself – measured around fiften centimeters wide. It had the wide blade of a claymore combined with the length of a zweihander. It was not made in the Western fashion, the j.a.panese fashion, or the Chinese fashion, but in the style of this other world. Its silver-red body couldn’t be seen as ostentatious, but it was nonetheless undeniably beautiful.
Lefille swung it several times with a single hand, though all he saw was the reflection of the sun peeking through the clouds as it bounced off the blade. He hadn’t the slightest clue where the strength to brandish this sword came from, or how she was doing it, but on one thing he was clear – this was something she was used to.
Suddenly Lefille, for some reason or another, walked toward the side – the direction the incoming Mazoku were in.
Was that because that enormous weapon couldn’t safely be wielded to its fullest extent without first placing a certain amount of distance between herself and friendlies?
However, Lefille’s next action refuted this idea. Without looking back, she continued to advance in the direction of the enemy.
“H-hey, Lefille?”
“—Suimei-kun. I’m sorry, but I’m going to seize the initiative and go on the offensive.”
“Hey, don’t just leave like that… Is it really okay for you to just act on your own? Anyway, they’re still a little ways off, wouldn’t it be best for you to at least consult with Galeo-san first?”
Lefille shook her head, her eyes closed.
“No. Look around.”
As she spoke, her head turned. Suimei followed her gaze, sweeping over their surroundings.
Because of the current situation, the other members of the caravan were frantically running to and fro, busy preparing.
“…?”
“The other adventurers and bodyguards have completely devoted themselves to defense. Do you understand now?”
“Ah, yeah, I guess. We did just talk about it, after all.”
“This isn’t going to work.”
“Mm…”
Her denial seemed to say that the caravan’s decision for a countermeasure was ill-advised.
Because of this, Suimei was reminded of what she had said earlier.
“…By that, you’re referring to the need to take the fight to the Mazoku or whatever?”
“Yes,” Lefille nodded. “The Mazoku are creatures that consider plunder, pillage, and murder to be the correct way to live. Accordingly, their desire to attack is intense beyond words. If we focus only on defense, that will only whet their appet.i.tes. If we truly plan to resist, then dedicating ourselves to defense is not an option.”
“Simply defending is inviting danger, that I fully understand. However, running straight into the enemy formation isn’t necessarily the best tactic either. Focusing only on defense is dangerous, to be sure, but going on the offensive is also dangerous, no? That said, a.s.suming we truly are surrounded, then even though the current tactics we’re employing can be seen as appropriate, but I also recognize that it’s not the wisest choice,” Suimei said, hoping to dispel Lefille’s desire to charge off alone.
Lefille seemed stubbornly attached to the notion of seizing the initiative. The problem was that, just as the adventurer had said earlier, such a plan would only prove effective with sufficient manpower behind it.
As a person from another world, he’d never foreseen the situation arising where he’d be forced to fight the Mazoku as a guard, and thus determining the best way to allocate their limited resources was beyond his ability.
Lefille, however, firmly rejected his words.
“And so we stick to defense? You can’t even call that a plan.”
“No. No matter what, Lefille, you can’t just attack the enemy by yourself.”
Suimei wasn’t looking down on her.
That said, it was a fact that he wasn’t sure exactly how strong she really was. As a magician, he didn’t have the experience necessary to gauge how strong a swordsman really was just by outer appearance alone.
But even though he wasn’t sure how strong she was, they also were not sure of the enemy’s strength or numbers. Precisely owing to the fact that there remained so many unknown factors, it was unwise to be overly optimistic.
Lefille nodded, seeming to understand how Suimei felt. But—
“What you said is very true. But, and I believe I’ve said this already, I know them through and through. There’s no way I’d fail to understand their strength, and—”
“And?”
As she spoke, a dark aura seemed to emanate from her, giving him gooseb.u.mps.
“…I’m going to kill them all. Every last one!”
—Her valiant, beautiful face was suddenly shrouded by a dark shadow which had nothing to do with the clouds. The face she showed now was the dark side of this ever-righteous swordswoman.
The eye that had not been covered by shadow suddenly burned with a crimson glow that radiated searing hatred, a murderous glare that seemed as if to pierce through the heart of an enemy that was not present.
…Again. What in the world had happened to her? Just what kind of fate did the beings known as the Mazoku share with this young woman?
“…They’re that hateful?”
“Yes. They are a sin. An evil that knows only wickedness from birth until death. They mock the weak, torment the grieving, and feast upon despair. Creatures beyond any hope of salvation. And that’s why they need to be exterminated. And that’s why I’ll destroy them with these two hands.”
“…”
The dark resolve in her words shattered any retort Suimei might have offered.
He wasn’t sure when, but Suimei was reminded that he’d heard before that the Mazoku were beyond forgiveness. When they had destroyed the kingdom in the north, they had taken no captives, only lives.
“And there you have it.”
“A-ah.”
Suddenly, the air between them changed. Lefille, as if apologizing for the somber mood she’d wrought, revealed a brilliant smile.
“Suimei-kun, thank you. But please, don’t worry about me. Just as discussed, I leave the cargo in your care. Goodbye.”
In the blink of an eye, the young girl vanished into the forest depths.
Her certainty that there was no danger in her facing the enemy alone seemed born of experience.
However, at this point in time, there was no way for him to accurately evaluate whether or not her judgment had been the correct one. If she could do it, then great, and if not, then so be it. Time would tell.
…Fast.
That said, simply judging by what he could see of her movements, he felt that she would be fine. Even though the terrain was rough, the weight she carried enormous, and her speed like lightning, she seemed completely unaffected by the environment, and her movements were steady and smooth. As long as she didn’t do anything too reckless, she should be just fine.
…Before long, she vanished from sight. Watching her race toward the enemy, the others cried out, perhaps in confusion, perhaps in anger. Either way, that didn’t last long.
“Incoming!” someone shouted, as the trees shook unnaturally and the presence of magic drew near.
Finally, that which had followed them for so long had revealed itself.
“Ma- Mazoku… It’s the Mazoku!”
It was unclear who shouted first because this panicked cry seemingly escaped all their mouths at once.
“So you’re…”
The Mazoku.
One of the reasons which had brought him to this world.