The North (1)
Clop— clop—
The holy knights rode out from the Holy City of Civitas, bound for the northern duchy of Montegros. Kenis let her horse carry her, lost in thought.
That Star-light...
A brilliant swarm of multicolored stars had enveloped her mid-training in the sparring yard. The holy knights and priests training alongside her had erupted into a frenzy at the sight.
"It's a blessing from the gods!"
"The Hero has received divine grace!"
"O almighty Six Gods, shield our Hero with eternal light...!"
The Star-light wrapping her body had faded before long—but Kenis could still feel it.
Clench—
When she squeezed her fist tight, a faint Star-light trailed along her hand. Purer and brighter than holy power. A force never before discovered in this world gathered along her fingers.
"Ah..."
The light flowing through her hand soon guttered out. A look of regret crossed Kenis's face. Brief as the moment had been, as the Star-light coursed through her body she had felt the pure power of the stars themselves.
The purest force—one that flows without end...
She was still too unskilled to move the Star-light at will. But if she could one day master this power...
I'll be able to protect everyone.
For that day, she would train, and train again. Steeling her resolve, Kenis and the holy knights pressed swiftly northward.
—Whoooooosh
"Achoo!"
Sniff, snuffle! Coughs and sniffling rose endlessly from among the priests. Once they crossed the northern border the cold had deepened by degrees, and as they drew near the Duchy of Montegros it reached its peak.
They had returned the cold-sensitive horses to a temple in a nearby city and been issued sturdy winter gear, but still...
—Crunch —crunch
Snow piled to their ankles, weighing every step, while the wind lashed their skin like a whip as it tore past.
"U-uuh. W-when will we, uh, ar-arrive?"
A priest swaddled head to toe in blankets called out to the commander at the head of the column. Unlike the holy knights, who could wrap themselves in holy power against the cold, the priests were suffering terribly.
"Mm. We're nearly there. Another hour or so should do it."
"I-is that so! Th-that's truly a relief..."
Looking at the priest with pity, the commander had no choice but to offer a white lie. There was no need to mention that six more hours still remained.
The priest, none the wiser, beamed and returned to his place.
"...Hm?!"
Watching the priest's retreating back, the commander spotted a shape charging through the blizzard. Something was racing straight toward them.
An ambush!
"All hands, prepare for combat! Incoming from the front!"
"Prepare for combat!"
"Priests to the rear!"
"All units—draw steel!"
"Draw steel!"
Shing—!
The troops formed ranks with seamless precision. The priests flung off their blankets and drew up holy power against the worst. The holy knights drew their swords, cloaked themselves in holy power, and stared into the blizzard with taut eyes.
Gulp—
Someone's dry swallow cut through the storm—and then the ground began to rumble.
—Thududududu
From far off came the sound of hooves pounding earth. Realizing no human could make that noise, the knight-commander's face twisted.
Damn it—a pack of magical beasts?
He knew the beasts grew fiercer the farther north one went, but this close to the duchy—!
"Magical beasts to the front! Shields out, all of you! Priests, support with holy power—!"
The commander roared and hauled a massive shield from his back, driving it hard into the ground. The great shields issued for northern deployment bore steel claws along their bases, sharp as talons.
—Thunk —thunk!
The steel claws bit into the frozen earth like cheese. The holy knights at the front pulled out their own shields and locked them firm. A vast wall of steel took shape.
Whooom—
The priests' holy power reinforced it from behind. The knights' bodies and the priests' sacred force braced the steel wall. The barrier against the beast pack was complete.
Thududududu—!!!
The rumbling drew closer. Snow on the ground trembled lightly, hinting at the ferocity of the charge.
...Now!
Gauging the oncoming rush, the commander bellowed.
"Hold them!"
"Hyaaah!"
"Haaah!"
Bracing for the impact, the holy knights tensed every muscle and planted their legs. One knight squeezed his eyes shut against the coming blow and clung to his shield.
"...Hm?"
But contrary to every expectation, the beast pack remained silent long after it should have struck.
Did they turn aside?
The knight-commander peered over his shield—and found a vast herd of reindeer standing blankly before them.
"...Reindeer?"
"Ahahahaha! You country bumpkins—look at those faces!"
A reindeer spoke in a sharp woman's voice. No—the voice came from behind the reindeer.
Flash!
A figure vaulted from the back of a massive reindeer as if taking flight and landed lightly before the shields.
"I ran myself ragged thinking you'd be freezing. Guess you held up better than I expected? Looking at those shields, you're still pretty lively."
—Clang clang
She rapped the shield with her knuckles and grinned. A single braid of hair whipped in the freezing gale; a massive axe rode her back. The woman grinned wide as she spoke.
"Welcome to the North! From here on, this is Montegros land! And Friga Nix herself will be joining you!"
Friga planted her feet shoulder-width apart, crossed her arms, and declared it so.
At her sudden appearance the holy knights and priests stood open-mouthed, wondering what on earth was happening.
Behind Friga, several men dragged a massive tent into view.
"Come on, come on! You soft little priests must be freezing—get in here already! Our reindeer worked their asses off hauling this thing!"
"Pardon? Uh? In here, you mean?"
"Uh, uh? Commander?"
Before they could protest, the priests were seized by her grip and hauled into the mobile tent. As the commander stared blankly, a one-eyed man approached him.
"Ahem. A pleasure. I'm One-Eye, deputy commander under Lady Friga."
"...Ah. A pleasure. I'm Commander David. 'One-Eye,' you say...?"
The commander found himself staring at the man's eye as he spoke.
"Ah—forgive me."
"Hah, no offense taken. Heh. I left one eye with some bastard a long time ago. Changed my name after that so I'd never forget the guy. Kheheheh."
"I-I see..."
One-Eye touched his eyepatch with one hand and grinned. The commander edged a step back with a queasy look. What kind of lunatic lost an eye and renamed himself One-Eye?
One-Eye continued as if nothing were amiss.
"Anyway, a blizzard kicked up all of a sudden, so we hurried out figuring the road might be rough. Looks like the reindeer gave you quite a scare. Haha!"
"Ah, yes. Well, they do say magical beast packs run wild in the North. We took it for an attack, of course."
"Hahaha! That so! Don't you worry! Elsewhere maybe, but around Montegros we've wiped the beasts out root and stem!"
Just start thinking about the drinks waiting somewhere warm—!
One-Eye slapped a reindeer's back with swaggering confidence. When the commander narrowed his eyes at the warriors standing behind him, he had to admit it: their caliber was no ordinary thing.
Every one of them is a match for a seasoned holy knight.
In ground where feet sank deep into snow, if those warriors charged on reindeer there would be no time to react. He looked at One-Eye with a touch of tension.
Pop—
Gulp gulp—
Whether he noticed or not, One-Eye rummaged a bottle from his coat, cheerfully cracked the seal, and drained it in great swallows. A sharp alcohol scent stung the nose.
Liquor?!
The commander's face went pale with shock. Fond of drink or not—drinking on a military mission—!
One-Eye glanced at him and grinned.
"Haha! Don't look so shocked! This much doesn't even tickle the liver! To a northerner this is water—water! Hahaha!"
Laughing loudly, One-Eye looked at the reindeer behind him, tongue lolling.
"Oh, right. Want a sip yourself?"
The bottle went into the reindeer's muzzle, and the animal drank with practiced ease. Before long it had emptied the entire bottle.
Bwooorrp—!
A powerful reindeer belch washed over the commander's face. He squeezed his eyes shut without thinking. He prayed this moment was nothing but a bad nightmare.
No wonder the seniors looked at me that way...!
When word of the northern deployment had come down, the seniors had gazed at him with pity. Fellow knights of the same rank had watched him with a mix of schadenfreude and sympathy. Only now did David understand everything.
"Hahaha! You little bastard, drinking the whole thing? Bah, fine. Here's another bottle!"
Mwoooo—!
In David's eyes, One-Eye and the reindeer looked utterly mad for drink. He squeezed his eyes shut again.
The darkness was very much like his future.
While the commander was glimpsing what lay ahead, Kenis crept carefully toward the rear of the party. She took a blanket from a nearby priest, covered her red hair, and walked slowly backward.
Crunch— crunch—
Snow crunched under her careful steps. Up ahead Friga was stuffing priests into the tent in a frenzy; if Kenis slipped behind them in that chaos, she could put at least a little distance between herself and that lunatic.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Kenis moved with care. In that instant Friga's eyes swung toward the rear of the column.
"Hm?"
"...Ah."
The moment their eyes met, Friga said nothing—just looked at Kenis and grinned wide. Kenis smiled back awkwardly.
"Ha! There you are!"
"H-haha..."
Friga's hand went to the axe on her back. The priests stared in bewilderment, wondering what was happening; Kenis, already sensing her fate, wore a look of pure dread.
—Whoom!
Axe in hand, Friga launched herself into the sky and laughed roughly as she shouted.
"Welcome back to the North, Kenis!!"
—BOOM!!