Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Carmin approached me.
"I'd like to ride in the carriage with you, as Rengel suggested. Is that alright?"
As I looked at Carmin, I was aware of Rengel standing behind her, watching me.
Rank 3.
I was confident I could kill him whenever I wanted.
For now, I'll go with them.
Quest Type.
I had a strong intuition that this Rank 3 mercenary, who appeared as a Helper, would be connected to the flow of the narrative.
From Carmin's perspective, Rengel, who she had worked with for a long time, would be more trustworthy than me, who she had only been with for a little over an hour.
I felt the need to increase Carmin's trust level.
I wracked my brain, which wasn't easily yielding results, and figured out what to do.
"Let's do that. We need all the allies we can get."
Carmin nodded.
"Please tell me exactly why you are helping me."
There was no hint of suspicion in her eyes.
It seemed more like genuine curiosity about why I was helping her, rather than an intention to doubt me.
I stated the reason I had prepared.
"It's my desire for revenge against Count Raphaello's Family. I've had some dealings with them myself."
Just hearing the Gallery Seniors talk about Count Raphaello's Family was enough to know they had a deeply rooted reputation for infamy.
It was a reasonable judgment that it wouldn't be strange at all for me to have suffered something at their hands.
"It's an opportunity to thoroughly ruin the eldest son's mood, and I can't miss this."
Carmin sighed at my words.
"...There are more than a few wicked deeds committed by the Count's family. Though I already knew that."
It seemed I had convinced her.
For now, getting started was the priority.
There was no telling how many people Count Raphaello's Family had sent after us.
Rengel rode a horse and pulled the carriage.
Carmin was inside that carriage.
Instead of riding in the carriage, I chose to ride alongside it, on my own horse.
Coincidentally, there was no status window floating above the horse.
They don't even treat horses as NPCs.
That's a bit sad.
I mounted the horse.
The horse's whinny reached my ears.
I stroked the horse's mane.
Senior Light Sword said it was a task that required rapport.
"Hey, let's do our best."
Hee-haw-
If you run well, the chance of clearing the 5th Floor Stage safely will increase.
Balancing myself was easier than I expected.
Holding the reins, I gently tapped the horse's body with my foot.
Clip-clop-
Maintaining my center of gravity with the horse's forward motion, I stood beside the carriage led by the mercenary Rengel.
And then, half a day passed.
After six hours of continuous movement, we decided to take a short break.
Naturally, it wasn't a restful break.
I couldn't gauge how many pursuers we were dealing with.
"They've fallen asleep."
Rengel pulled back the carriage's canopy and checked on Carmin, who was sleeping.
She must have been confronting the people sent by Count Raphaello's Family even before meeting me, so it was understandable that she couldn't fight off her fatigue.
I paid close attention to Rengel's actions.
If he were to suddenly draw a dagger and stab Carmin in the neck, the situation would be over.
Fortunately, Rengel didn't resort to such a sudden move.
Just as I was about to speak first, Rengel spoke to me.
"May I ask why you are helping the young lady?"
A Rank 3 mercenary wouldn't have failed to overhear our conversation, which wasn't spoken in a hushed tone to be deliberately hidden.
The reason he was asking again was simple.
Just as I was suspicious of Rengel, he was also suspicious of my intentions in helping Carmin.
I dismounted and leaned my back against a tree.
"You heard Carmin and me talking before we left."
Rengel's eyes were fixed on me.
"I'm asking because I suspect there's another reason besides that one."
Rengel offered a friendly smile to alleviate my suspicion.
I decided to say what I had to say.
Now, with Carmin deeply asleep from exhaustion, was the perfect time to probe his intentions.
"You've seemed to be aware of something since earlier."
Rengel showed no particular reaction to my words.
"Are you waiting for something?"
I could see beads of sweat trickling down Rengel's forehead.
After moving the carriage for half a day, physical exhaustion was inevitable.
But no matter how I looked at it, that sweat wasn't from fatigue.
My intuition told me so.
"...I don't know what you mean."
Rengel didn't end the conversation there.
"However, variables are bound to occur. Count Raphaello's Family is targeting Miss Carmin, and many among them are intelligent. It's not difficult to predict how Miss Carmin will try to escape this situation."
He was starting to react.
"And there are few places within the Empire that Count Raphaello's Family's influence doesn't reach. It's not difficult to anticipate that they would target Ventura Academy, the closest location."
That was certainly true.
It was unlikely that Count Raphaello's side wouldn't consider the place Carmin thought of as a way to evade them.
"To bypass those sent by the Count's side... we will inevitably have to confront them head-on in the places they must pass through to enter Ventura Academy."
Rengel continued to gaze at me.
"The minimum force will be Rank 4... and the maximum force could even be Rank 5."
I had already faced quite a few Rank 4s.
I had anticipated that I would soon face a Rank 5.
"Can you survive against them and safely escort Miss Carmin to Ventura Academy?"
"Uh."
Rengel furrowed his brow at my indifferent reply.
"...You don't seem to be Rank 5 or higher, so how can you be so confident?"
"Where's the confidence? I just fight."
This wasn't a situation where I could be intimidated by a difference in Rank.
Fear only arises in situations where it's possible to be afraid.
A moment later, Carmin, who had been asleep, woke up, and we set off again.
Clip-clop, clip-clop-
Time flowed, and dawn passed.
The sun rose dimly.
The anomaly occurred as soon as we left the forest.
"They've come in quite numbers."
I scanned the enemies arrayed in the field.
[NPC - Rank 4 Knight Berant]
[NPC - Rank 3 Knight Ian]
[NPC - Rank 3 Knight Mars]
One Rank 4.
Two Rank 3s.
Three Rank 2s, but the Rank 2s didn't concern me.
The rest were soldiers whose Ranks were not displayed.
And the one radiating the most intense Killing Intent stood in the center.
[NPC - Rank 5 Knight Kailas]
A knight with crimson hair stood there.
Including the soldiers, the total number we had to face was twelve.
It was certainly a lot.
From beside me, I heard someone's anguished voice.
"...Ah, this is why I didn't want to get involved this time, even if it was for the young lady."
It was Rengel's voice.
"I shouldn't have gotten involved, even if it was a request from someone who saved my sister..."
Rengel's muttering continued.
"Damn it, damn it."
What was this?
Was that it?
Was he not someone colluding with Count Raphaello's Family, or a traitor with ulterior motives, but just a simple coward?
"Swordsman protecting Carmine Everheart."
Kailas.
The Rank 5 Knight spoke.
"The sword marks you made on the street a while ago were quite impressive. However, I cannot help but doubt whether you truly understand who you are facing."
Kailas's gaze was fixed directly on me.
"You are facing Count Raphaello's Family of the Ermine Empire."
The Count's family must be quite renowned.
His dialogue is full of self-importance.
Enemies: twelve.
Our side: three.
A four-fold difference in strength.
For now, I had to reduce the numbers as much as possible.
I picked up a Black Javelin.
[Mana Body Reinforcement Lv.6 – Activating skill.]
And threw it.
The target was the direction of Rank 5 Knight Kailas.
More precisely, the giant soldier standing in front of him.
Fwoosh!
With a sickening thud, the giant toppled forward.
The short spear that pierced the soldier's body continued its trajectory towards Kailas's heart.
Kailas raised his right hand.
Kaaang!
The Black Javelin, struck by a casually swung sword, flew far away.
I never intended to take down a Rank 5 with a ranged attack.
My judgment was to aim for someone I could definitively kill.
I had one more thing to throw.
Sliding my left foot back, I tightened my grip.
I held the blade of my sword straight ahead.
Not a javelin, but a throwing sword.
I threw a sword.
It tore through the air and pierced the gap in the armor worn by Rank 3 Knight Ian.
Quazig!
And it pierced his heart.
The sword I threw was Mundum Exstinguit, which I obtained yesterday.
Effect 2: Recall.
Allows remote retrieval of a weapon from a target that has been 'recognized by the user'.
I had already experimented in the waiting room and confirmed that I could control the trajectory and placement of the weapon during retrieval.
I calculated the angle.
A retrieval angle that could neutralize as many people as possible.
A dark blue aura flickered around Mundum Exstinguit.
The signal for retrieval.
Fwoooosh!
The sword, erupting from the dead Ian's body, drew a curved trajectory.
Serrrk!
It cut the neck of a Rank 2 Knight.
From there, it bent at a right angle once more.
Chaaak!
"Kuaaaak!"
It inflicted a deep wound in the abdomen of one soldier and was fired.
Serrrgeok!
Finally, it mercilessly severed the ankle of another soldier.
Shwaaaak!
It returned to my grasp.
Keeeng...
I gripped the retrieved sword, Mundum Exstinguit, again.
Along with the smell of blood that permeated my senses.
"......"
"......"
I could feel all the enemies' gazes focused on me.
One soldier killed with the Black Javelin.
One Rank 3 Knight instantly killed by throwing Mundum Exstinguit.
One Rank 2 Knight killed by the sword's retrieval ability.
And two soldiers completely incapacitated, unable to participate in combat.
Now, seven remained.
The Killing Intent, which had paused for a moment, flowed through my fingertips.
Cold sweat began to trickle down my back from the chilling Killing Intent.
"I apologize."
It was the voice of the Rank 5 Knight, Kailas.
"It seems I too did not properly recognize who I was facing."
Is he acknowledging me?
He doesn't have to do that.
It was naturally easier to face a simple-minded, typical opponent.
I composed myself.
"Go."
Kailas's form blurred.
I didn't lose sight of his movement.
Kailas appeared directly in front of me and simultaneously unleashed a diagonal red sword strike.
Kaaang!
Kailas's sword and my sword clashed.
My hand tingled.
A Rank 5 Knight.
I have to kill this one.