Quickening
Quickening
The battle-hardened heroes who had been holding the front lines set foot in the capital for the first time in years. And to prepare for the war to reclaim the Levien Margraviate, the kingdom's former shield, no less.
That fact alone had the capital whipping itself into a festive mood on its own. Even though it was nothing more than a single unit briefly returning for another operation, the reason for such a spectacle was simple.
The front lines had enough breathing room to pull units away for important operations. We weren't being pushed back. The kingdom wasn't losing. Rather, it had the capacity to land a proper solid blow. Et cetera.
Even without a massive propaganda campaign, you could tell the atmosphere was flowing that way with your eyes closed. Even the conversations drifting over from the tea shop tables were like that. Some were even saying that the moment the Levien Margraviate was retaken, the Royal Army would obviously sweep forward with irresistible momentum all the way to the Demonfolk Territory's capital.
Probably because everyone was getting through winter without any immediate problems with food, clothing, or shelter, the overall mood was like that. It wasn't a bad place to kill time, but Sheryl and I weren't in a position to let such optimistic talk wash over us comfortably. So, around the time the parade was about to start, we got up and went outside.
In hindsight, it was an extremely wise choice. The main street, which had definitely seemed quiet and leisurely, began teeming with people the moment the trumpets announcing the army's return sounded in the distance.
"Will we even be able to watch properly like this?"
"Mmm..."
Sheryl wasn't short, but she wasn't tall either, and when a bunch of grown men clustered together forming a wall, she shot me a slightly troubled look. That sight reminded me of the days she used to flounder in front of the adventurer quest board trying to snatch up commissions, and I burst out laughing. Hearing my laughter, she immediately shot me a glare, so I decided to pick her up and seat her on my shoulder.
There was slightly fiercer resistance than usual, but it was only for a moment. The eyes around us briefly flicked toward her suddenly elevated form, but before long, the majestic knights appearing in view stole every last gaze, and we were able to leisurely watch their return.
The procession, accompanied by cheers erupting from all directions and the military band, was truly a spectacle. I'd roughly heard they were bringing one unit, but I didn't know exactly how many troops were coming. A considerable number of knights, mounted on horseback, were at the vanguard. Not only the people but even the horses were clad in armor far thicker than standard gear, and that was the average equipment level for the army, not just the knights.
They weren't quite on the level of those pseudo-powered-suit knights Esmue had brought last time, but seeing soldiers equipped with gear rivaling the knights' full plate armor gave me a sense of the frontline's average equipment standard. So even those without aura could hold out equipped like that.
That was when a voice I hadn't expected at all reached my ears from beside me.
"Whoa, the power inflation's way crazier than I expected, huh?"
"Crazy fuck, you scared the shit out of me!"
I was so startled I nearly dropped Sheryl, hastily pulling her down from my shoulder and holding her in my arms. Sheryl, just as startled as I was, flinched like a cat seeing a cucumber. The other bystanders we'd bumped into cursed us out, and the person who'd startled me burst into uproarious laughter.
"Man, is it 'cause this is a rare sight? Teasing you is pretty damn fun. You been doing well?"
Siegfried, who I was seeing face-to-face for the first time in a while, had grown quite a bit taller in just a few months.
◈
Due to Siegfried's sudden appearance, we ended up ducking back into a suitable tea shop.
Fortunately, no one recognized the Empire's Hero and went into shock. That was only natural, since he hadn't shown his face in the Kingdom much yet. While we ordered tea, Siegfried was calmly watching the crowds outside. He looked perfectly serene, but the problem was that the bastard's official title was the Hero.
Since this wasn't enemy territory, being out alone wouldn't exactly cause problems, but a man who was supposed to be in the Empire being here was a bit much, wasn't it?
"What are you doing out here all alone?"
Because of that, I'd really, really, incredibly worked to sanitize my question, but Siegfried just shot back like I was the strange one.
"Huh? You didn't hear? There's a gap opening up with the troop movements this time, and the Empire decided to lend a bit of a hand."
"...Isn't that a military secret?"
"Is it? Who cares, she's a young noble lady from a great house and you're my little bro."
Siegfried had uttered something truly outrageous so casually, but he wasn't completely thoughtless, as he did pick his words carefully enough with a lowered tone. And that voice was naturally swallowed up by the clamor of the tea shop crowd, all hyped up after watching the military parade.
Sheryl, who hadn't had long conversations with Siegfried before, looked at me with eyes that said, 'Is he always like this?' I answered with a look that said, 'Indeed he is,' and threw out another question.
"How did you find us?"
That was the core question, honestly. I didn't get the feeling we'd just run into him on the street; it felt intensely like he'd been looking for me specifically. Even if he'd somehow heard I'd gone to watch the parade, running into me this fast was absurd.
The answer I got back this time was also spectacular, but Siegfried maintained his usual attitude of not giving a shit.
"Tessie knew, apparently? She said something about having a way to track Divine Power, but I dunno the specifics either."
For a moment, I nearly felt a vein pop, thinking that goddamn self-destructing saintess was finally getting on my nerves one more time.
But after thinking it over, it seemed more like she had traced the Divine Power she'd personally imbued into it, so I let it go. If anything, learning from such a trivial incident that the saintess might have a way to track her own Divine Power was a net gain.
Since Siegfried still seemed unaware of my absolutely demented meeting with her, I made sure to nod along in agreement, then shifted the topic.
"I'm not exactly thrilled about being tracked without my knowledge, but let's move on. You don't look like you have urgent business forcing you to move out like this, so what did you come looking for in such a hurry?"
Part of me wondered if I should tip him off about the self-destructing saintess's seriously concerning mental state... but officially, I hadn't even met the bitch since the Archdemon incident, so bad-mouthing her behind her back would look weird. I decided to watch and wait a bit more.
The crazy shit she'd pulled by seeking me out was ultimately for Siegfried's safety anyway. So, leaving her alone wasn't likely to harm him specifically. And since she'd gotten burned by me once, even if a similar situation occurred, she'd probably think at least a little bit before moving. If she couldn't, well, she'd just shout "Explosions are art!" somewhere I wasn't and go join her god in heaven.
I sorted out these various thoughts while waiting for Siegfried's answer. Siegfried stroked his chin with a strange expression and slowly spoke up.
"Truth is, like you said, bro, I didn't come because of some urgent business. First, I wanted to congratulate you on getting the medal and becoming a wandering knight. Second, I figured I'd see your face while I was at it. Our promise from under the academy still stands, doesn't it?"
Ah, he meant the one about lopping off demon heads. I gave a light nod in affirmation, but Siegfried's reaction wasn't so bright. He looked like he still had a reason left unspoken, and indeed, there was more to say.
"And for the last reason... well, this one's a bit iffy. I got a real bad feeling. A strong one. So I came to tell you to be careful."
"...To be careful? About what exactly?"
"You're joining the expedition with that young lady, right, bro? I had this really strong feeling that maybe I'm supposed to be the one going on that. It's faded out to a blur now, but sometimes shit like this happens. Should I call it intuition? Or a revelation? Tessie leans toward the latter."
No, I mean, when a guy who's literally the Hero says something like that, you can't just let it go in one ear and out the other. My expression must have turned grotesque in real time, because Siegfried slightly averted his face and added an explanation.
"It's probably not anything super serious. That kind of feeling is different. It might even end up being nothing, since it fizzled out on its own. But..."
"...There's no harm in being careful."
"Exactly. I'm sure you'll handle yourself just fine, bro, but if you let your guard down and that young lady gets hurt, that's a whole different story, right?"
As expected of a man walking around with three women on his arm at once, he knew his stuff. Honestly, when he first popped up, I'd thought he was spazzing out again, but since this eccentricity stemmed from pure goodwill, I started to feel genuinely solemn.
"So you're heading straight to the east from here?"
"Yep. Probably the day after tomorrow? Around then, I'll move out. Truth is, I basically snuck out. Forehead Ghost's gonna blow her top if she finds out, huh?"
Siegfried snickered as he laughed, but that smile was a little different from the ones he'd shown before. And what that smile, which looked a bit forced, meant was obvious. Even though he'd been through all sorts of battles, this was his first time on a battlefield where full-scale war against the Demonfolk was raging, so it was perfectly understandable that he was nervous. Since he was taking a step toward the very things that were essentially the reason he'd come to this world, it was only natural for his feelings to be complicated.
Still, this was a far better state than him strutting around screaming, 'I'm the Hero, I'm invincible!' and getting wrecked. So, I filled my voice with as much proud encouragement as I could and uttered the magic spell to boost his courage.
"It's not like you've only been fighting for a day or two. What are you scared of?"
"Aw, fuck off, I'm not scared!"
The spell was effective.