The First Battle (4)
Hanging from the blade of the Holy Sword Erinn had raised were a man and woman who looked nearly identical, dangling half-torn and limp.
It was a little grotesque, but honestly not horrific. The torn cross-sections made it clear they weren't human.
No blood flowed, and their insides weren't filled with anything like human organs—just strange mechanical devices. Whether they replaced blood vessels or mana circuits, wire-like things had been severed.
...Some kind of dolls?
They seemed to have been mana lifeforms, just like the one we'd fought a moment ago.
"But how are you here? What about that guy~?"
"...That guy?"
"The one in pitch-black armor."
I answered Erinn's question simply.
"We took care of him."
"...You, the scrub, took care of him~?"
"Yeah."
When I confirmed it, Clara nodded as well. Erinn shot us a brief glance, then looked toward the swarming monsters.
"Let's finish these off first and talk later. Hold onto these for a bit, scrub♡"
Erinn lightly shook the Holy Sword and tossed the two doll fragments at me. But throwing them from there—
Kwaang!
"...A-Are you insane!?"
"Pfft, it didn't hit you~♡"
I almost died!
"Just handle the ones that got inside, Clara. Aria will be here soon too."
"...Okay."
Erinn lightly leaped out through the gate with the Holy Sword, and Ser-Aria appeared right after, greeting us cheerfully.
"Everyone's safe! Thank goodness!"
"You're fine too."
I answered that way for a second, then immediately realized she wasn't fine at all.
"Huh?... Wait, Aria. Did you hurt your head?"
"Hmm? What are you talking about? I got scratched here and there, but...."
"Why aren't you drinking?"
Ser-Aria wasn't holding a bottle. There was no way that alcoholic would ever let go of her booze during a fight.
"Ah! That!"
Ser-Aria pointed to her waist as she spoke.
"Those doll bastards smashed them all! Puhaha!!"
"......So are you okay?"
"I'm not okay! Hahaha!"
Despite what she said, she somehow seemed better than expected. Ser-Aria laughed brightly, then looked at me.
"So, any leftover booze in the bag?"
None, you idiot.
"More importantly, do what Erinn told you first."
"Sure, I know!"
She seemed overflowing with energy even though she'd just been fighting. Weird girl....
"Ah, is Letisia okay?"
Ser-Aria asked as she came down. Freya, who had been treating Letisia, nodded and answered.
"She's hurt pretty badly, but not enough to die. She protected herself with mana, so there are no issues with her organs."
"Then where is she hurt?"
"Some bones are broken, but her muscles took the worst of it. Just moving must have felt like she was going to die."
...Then what was that earlier attempt to stand up about.
Even Letisia, who looked the most fragile, sometimes showed she was every bit a member of the hero's party. Just a superhuman, pure and simple.
"We'll go clean up! Allen, stay by Freya!"
"Uh...."
"Clara, let's go!"
"...Okay."
Ser-Aria went with Clara to deal with the monsters that had gotten inside, just as Erinn had said. Not long after they left, the monsters threatening the soldiers began turning into piles of corpses one after another.
The gate side was already nearly finished with just a few sword strokes. Even if they were nothing but minions, the soldiers had been fighting for their lives just moments ago.
That kind of one-sided slaughter was only possible because they were the superhumans of the hero's party.
...I've still got a long way to go before I can be like that.
"......Allen, you can do it."
Freya spoke, apparently having heard my muttering.
"You and Clara handled the monsters that went that way, right?"
"I used Caesius too."
"Anyway, you did it. Really, you never used to be like this, but lately you're always making excuses for what you accomplished and acting all modest."
...Did I?
"Of course, I'm not saying you should be arrogant. Just that it's fine to feel proud of what you managed on your own."
"...Is that advice?"
"It's the Saintess's merciful words."
Whether they were the Saintess's words or not, it was something worth taking to heart.
"I'll remember that."
"Allen who listens well is nice."
What did that mean. It couldn't be that I was easy to handle, right?
"Did you meet that vault keeper?"
"Yeah."
"Did you finish talking?"
"Left the money and everything. That's why I left Caesius there—to protect him."
"Well done."
Freya said that and focused again on treating Letisia. Continuously pouring divine power like that must have been no easy task; beads of sweat were forming on Freya's cheeks and neck.
"Freya."
"Yes?"
"Wipe your sweat with this."
I pulled a handkerchief from my bag and held it out to Freya. She looked at me for a moment, then asked back.
"I can't take my hands off right now?"
"Ah."
Right.
"Sorry. Didn't think of that. You just looked a bit worn out...."
"...Then will Allen wipe it for me?"
"What?"
I asked again, thinking I must have misheard. But Freya spoke as if it were nothing at all, completely calm.
"I can't use my hands right now, can I?"
"That's true, but...."
"It was already a little sticky. I was ignoring it, but now that you mentioned it, I can't ignore it anymore."
I understood the feeling. Even things you weren't thinking about start bothering you the moment someone points them out.
...I shouldn't have said anything.
I looked at Freya. She was watching me quietly, as if telling me to hurry up.
"......You really want me to?"
"Why do you look so scared? It's not like we're doing anything embarrassing."
True enough... but the way she treated it so casually made it even more suspicious. If anyone else had said it, there wouldn't have been much to suspect, but this was Freya.
An exhibitionist, in other words. Coming from someone who wanted others to look at her body, it was extremely suspicious.
I was wondering if she had some other scheme in mind when Freya tilted her head slightly.
"What's wrong?"
"...I'm trying to figure out what scheme you're plotting by saying that."
"Huh?"
When I answered honestly, Freya laughed lightly.
"What a strange joke, Allen."
So that was why she laughed—she'd taken my words as a joke. They were completely serious, though.
"Hurry and wipe. I've already started noticing it, so I can't ignore it."
"...Alright."
Since it was my fault it had come to this, there was no helping it. I couldn't refuse now either... I raised the handkerchief and pressed it to Freya's cheek.
When I carefully wiped for her, Freya smiled bashfully.
"Thank you."
"...It's nothing."
After I wiped her cheeks and forehead, Freya looked noticeably more comfortable. I thought she would focus on treating Letisia again, but she spoke as if it still wasn't enough.
"Do a bit below the face too."
At her words, I lowered my gaze slightly. Sweat beaded on her neck and...... her cleavage. Since her clothes didn't cover that area at all, droplets of sweat stood out clearly against skin that looked soft and smooth.
Honestly, my eyes were stolen for a moment. Instinct had drawn them to that pure white, soft-looking skin.
But it was such a place with nowhere decent to look that I quickly turned my head and refused.
"There is a bit...."
"Huh? It's fine, so hurry."
Did a real Saintess have no sense of shame?
How could she feel no awkwardness at all about another person—a man, no less—touching her body. Even if he was holding a handkerchief.
I looked at Freya in a troubled mood. And then I belatedly realized her intention.
When I looked at her, Freya was wearing a smile full of mischief.
"You...!"
You're teasing me right now?
I tossed the handkerchief onto her shoulder and said,
"You do it!"
"Aww, why won't you. I don't have hands."
"Wipe after you're done!"
Trying to smooth it over with that little act of cuteness....
When I stayed firm, Freya spoke with a slight air of disappointment.
"Mean. I'm sticky right now."
What's mean about it, you. And you can just wash later.
"Ugh...."
Just then, Letisia began to open her eyes slightly.
I deliberately called her name loudly so she wouldn't lose consciousness again.
"Letisia!"
"Oh my, she woke up quickly. Thank goodness."
Even though Letisia had woken, Freya still didn't stop the treatment.
"Stay a little longer."
"Ah, Freya... thank you."
"Thank Allen who brought you."
Freya let out a light laugh.
"He carried you like a princess, you know?"
"...Th-That couldn't be helped!"
"Yeah, it couldn't be helped."
Why tease people over something like that.
Girls seemed to pull these kinds of mischievous pranks a lot. The person involved might feel bad about being linked with a mere porter.
Fortunately it wasn't that serious; Letisia didn't dwell on it and simply offered me her thanks.
"...Thank you, Allen."
"Glad you look okay."
Letisia asked,
"The situation...."
"It's being cleaned up here too."
"That's right. Erinn took care of the Magic Legion Commander's subordinates as well."
"The Magic Legion Commander's subordinates?"
So there had been other subordinates here besides Ogdor after all. The path collapsing earlier must have been from that battle.
The Obsidian Golem before had been his work too—somehow we kept getting tangled up with him....
"Those monsters over there appeared because of the Magic Legion Commander's Obelisk."
"...Yeah."
I already knew that.
"Will you clear the dungeon right away?"
"Well. There might be something else in the dungeon, and with Letisia like this, we'll probably rest and reorganize a bit first. We might need troop support too."
Yeah, taking it slow wasn't bad. Even if we reorganized a little, the Obelisk wasn't going to disappear, so getting the hidden piece shouldn't be a problem either.
I raised my head and looked ahead. The monsters at the gate and along the walls were gradually being cleaned up as well.
...We somehow resolved it this time too.