Revelation
Revelation
I fell into a deep sleep for the first time in a long while and dreamed.
A dream in which I safely overcame the threat to my life, and together with the comrades I'd protected, we returned to my hometown after so long to see my family's faces in celebration. A dream in which, at the grand party my overjoyed family threw, I made a grandiose introduction of the lifesaver. A dream in which the esteemed one, who at first reacted dismissively with fierce eyes, soon bloomed into laughter at my family's consideration and forgave the wrongs...
"Hey. Pulling. Open your eyes."
...a sweet dream.
In the sensation of a chill down her spine, Sen's eyes snapped open and the first thing she checked was Merdela beside her. And only after confirming that she was sleeping without any problem could she let out a sigh of relief and answer.
"Is it the shift change?"
Feeling a presence that, without a reply, moved away toward the campfire, Sen gathered the gear she had left in the corner of the tent and rose, then slowly stepped out of the tent. And she couldn't help but tilt her head as she tried to see off the esteemed one who had finished his night watch and was supposed to return to the tent.
"Do you have something to say?"
The esteemed one, instead of heading toward his own tent, had sat down by the campfire as if it were only natural and gestured quietly. With Merdela's staff in one hand, sitting on a log he had found nearby, his expression was utterly serene, so she didn't feel any unease.
Still, as Sen approached with elation, thinking that maybe he had undergone some change of heart and wanted to talk—maybe the dream was a kind of precognitive dream—a spine-chilling sentence popped out of the esteemed one's mouth.
"I am Eldmia Ega."
"Hiek!"
The reason she didn't shout an alarm or flee without looking back was that, with a small-animal-like sense, she had rapidly checked his expression. Even in her shock, the man's face she accurately grasped showed no hostility, only puzzlement.
It had been nothing more than a simple introduction. Belatedly understanding Sen's reaction, he continued speaking.
"...No, not in that sense."
"S-sorry."
Despite Sen's anxiety that she might have offended him after a hard-won opportunity, he simply shook his head. Rather, he seemed oddly satisfied with Sen's reaction.
"There's nothing to be sorry about. I go around saying that hoping for exactly that kind of reaction. That's not what matters. You're Kikuidel Sen, and the mage girl was Merdela. What are the other two's names?"
Had he decided that even if he didn't want to exchange full introductions, it would be good to at least know their names? Whatever the reason, it was a good sign, so Sen brightened and immediately answered.
"The one with the crossbow is called Kals. The one who was wearing armor like a chunk of iron is Baije."
"The kids?"
"The boy is called Seunowal, the girl Bellesica. I didn't catch their family names."
Eldmia, who had repeated the names several times to memorize them, nodded and tossed the staff to Sen.
Just what change of heart had he gone through while standing night watch! She was about to smile, thinking that whatever it was must be a really good sign, when a remark popped out of his mouth that forcibly grabbed and dragged down the corners of her lips.
"We've got a tail again. Wake them quietly so there's no commotion. Naturally. As if we were just about to get up."
◈
The reason I could notice them even though the enemies were far away was thanks to the spirit's grace that had descended after a long time.
In the middle of the night, I couldn't exactly go do some crazy troll-like thing like playing the music box, so I was wondering what to do when a rare strong sensation came, and for the first time in ages, proper communication was possible.
That said, it wasn't like a conversation; it was more like the sensation of reading each other's thoughts, so it wasn't exactly familiar, but since my spirit communion usually runs on failure as a baseline, even this much was more than welcome.
While I was giddily exchanging updates like that, an unknown unpleasant feeling seeped in, and an entirely different scene unfolded before my eyes.
The sight of more than twenty thugs riding on horses. The moment I saw those figures identical to the cultists I had chopped up, instead of thoughtlessly asking the spirit back, I woke Sen first.
"...So, the spirit showed you?"
"Yeah."
"...Hmm. I think I might need to meet a spiritist sometime. Anyway, got it. I just need to keep an eye on them, right?"
"I'll be fine on my own. If anything, if a few of them slip past, big sis, you might need to protect those guys."
"Okay. I'll get ready."
Leaving behind Asilie, who was tilting her head as if something didn't sit right and preparing for battle, I approached Sen and her party, who were huddled together by the campfire on high alert, to find Merdela, who had deployed the magic that had been watching us to secure her view, in the middle of explaining.
"It's true. About twenty. Since they're dressed the same, they must be cultists. This time, there seems to be a mage or a priest with them. Something that isn't a torch is shining and lighting up their surroundings."
"Damn... How far away do you think they are?"
"Even if we leave right now... I think we'd be caught in an hour..."
"I don't have a hobby of running away with those bastards on my tail."
I'd rather roll around on the ground using a bit of Magic Power against cavalry. If there are mages too, the horses are in danger.
Those are expensive horses, goddammit.
"E-Ega?! You're going to fight those things?"
Merdela was trembling like a child caught doing something secretly bad, scared stiff by my voice. What a funny bitch. If I was going to stop her from using magic, why would I have returned her staff? Still, it was a relief that she called me by name, meaning she had properly heard the situation from Sen. If she'd gotten flustered calling me 'esteemed one' or whatever and gotten stabbed, my investment would have gone to waste.
"Why are you so violent, kid? Dialogue comes first in all matters. This is a lesson that will become flesh and bone in your life, so take it to heart."
Judging by age alone, she looked at least five years older than me, but who cares. If you add my past life, I'd lived longer. Fortunately, the perceptive Merdela didn't quibble over that.
"S-sorry. B-but..."
"You experienced it earlier. Just about any mage is no problem. If anything, pray it's not a priest."
Since I had no idea how Divine Power moved or manifested, I needed to be cautious, but magic was a separate issue.
Unlike Merdela, who finally seemed to remember her magic had been dispelled and made an 'Ah!' expression, the man named Kals still couldn't shake off his unease.
"How the hell did they chase us so fast? No, more than that, was it something worth going this far for? Because we interfered with their plan to sacrifice two kids?"
Still, this one at least had some brains. I thought he was scared just because the enemy neared twenty.
At any rate, at that remark, everyone's gaze, including mine, poured onto the two boy and girl, but they also looked like they had no idea what this was all about. I wondered if they were hiding something, but it seemed these kids really knew nothing.
"What's the use of worrying? We can just catch them and ask why. You guys gather here and keep watch properly. Don't go burning down the tent."
"...Excuse me?"
"What do you mean 'excuse me'? Just guard the house well. I'll go and come back."
"W-wait a moment! You're going alone?"
Sen was quite flustered and reacted as if she would grab hold of me any moment.
"Why?"
"I-isn't the situation different from earlier? They definitely would have found the bodies of those who pursued us earlier while heading here. They might not even talk and just ram right into us!"
"What are you saying? That's exactly why I have to go meet them head-on. If I try to talk and they charge in like you said, the horses will die and the tent will get wrecked, won't it?"
"...???"
Judging by her face, she was making an expression that said she had no idea what chain of thought led to such an idea, but that was the same for me. Why the hell were they acting like this?
It was the noble girl Bellesica who resolved that question.
"Ega? You look at them and feel no threat at all?"
"...Ah."
These were people who had struggled even when only ten warriors were pursuing them. Now that number had doubled and included ranged attackers as well, things would have looked hopeless if they'd been on their own. That anxiety seemed to have distorted even the reason I'd shouted for everyone to wake up.
"At the level of those warriors earlier, they're nothing special. The reason I woke everyone wasn't to flee but because, with as many as twenty, I needed to prepare for some of them circling around."
"Eh..."
"R-really...?"
Since it would have been a hassle to make them understand when they looked utterly lost, I just shook my head, picked out one of the cultists' horses at random, unloaded its baggage, and mounted up.
"What use would there be in convincing you? This is the direction we came from, right?"
"Ah, yes. That's right."
"Wait here properly. If you try any shit, you won't die a nice death."
Leaving behind those who answered with vigorous nodding instead of words, I began to run back across the dark plain.
I didn't have to worry about losing the path. There was nothing to block the view on the plain, so spotting the light they were bringing was not difficult. All I had to do was dismount and walk when the light entered my field of vision. If they had all gathered and set up camp, that'd be one thing, but on a night like this, seeing someone waiting for them alone on the plain, they would normally stop their horses and check. If they identified the other party, they'd act like they knew them, but if not, they'd ask for directions or demand their identity.
"...Excuse me, traveler. By any chance, have you seen other adventurers camping nearby with two young children?"
Just like that.