Toward the Baron's Estate (2)
Toward the Baron's Estate (2)
No sooner had Balea finished speaking than the bandits on the other side were completely subdued as well.
While tending to the survivors and binding the remaining bandits so they could be herded into one place, Balea relayed to Manuel and the other knights what she had heard from the bandit.
At her words, everyone looked bewildered, but soon understanding dawned on their faces.
"I heard such things were common in the Kingdom's early days."
"It happened during the civil war long ago, too, didn't it?"
"Are you saying the current situation is similar to the civil war era?"
As the knights talked, their expressions darkened, and—
"Let's prepare to leave immediately."
Manuel hurriedly ordered the knights and soldiers to prepare for departure.
But Balea didn't wait for them.
"I'll go ahead with Young Lord Alex."
"Yes? That's dangerous... No, actually, you'd be faster on horseback."
Manuel was about to say it was dangerous, but remembering the bandits' screams, he came up with a different reason.
Balea shook her head at Manuel's words.
"No. If we cut through the forest, we can get there much sooner. Besides, Young Lord Alex wouldn't be slower than a horse. Right?"
Manuel considered how a lady could quickly cross the forest with a knight-class—no, with a knight.
One method immediately came to mind.
"It is hardly proper for a lady to behave so carelessly..."
But before Manuel could finish his sentence, Balea cut him off.
It was impolite, but now was not the time to argue over such things.
"There are more important things right now than such minor matters of propriety."
She ripped the side hem of her skirt with a rip to make it easier to move, then climbed onto my back.
Fortunately, I had grown taller in the meantime, so Balea's feet didn't touch the ground.
I quietly voiced my complaint.
"I don't believe I've given my consent yet."
"Then are you going to refuse?"
I couldn't do that. After all, I wasn't entirely free of responsibility for the current situation.
Clinging to my back, she wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered in my ear.
"You can actually run faster than a horse, can't you? Was it around here? That day, you went to my house and came back in just one night."
"That day, I brought back a large wild boar from a hunt, though."
"Yes, yes. Anyway, hurry up and run! Please, don't let us be late!"
Even in this brief moment, she couldn't resist teasing me, but beneath that playfulness, she was filled with a sense of urgency.
I glanced around and saw Manuel and the knights subtly averting their eyes, perhaps finding it awkward to watch Balea being carried on my back.
"We'll go ahead."
"We'll follow as fast as we can, so make absolutely sure Miss Balea isn't hurt."
Manuel knew what I could do, and Balea's words weren't wrong either, so he let us go.
Instead, he glared at me and told me to protect Balea first.
Answering back would only waste time, so I gave a perfunctory nod and set off.
"Um, you need a weapon..."
One of the knights brought up the weapon, but I had already plunged into the forest.
As I began to run, Balea wrapped both arms tightly around my neck.
Supporting her thighs with my arms, I began to circulate my mana.
I didn't just pour mana into my legs like before.
Over the past half year—no, even longer—I had learned something while sparring with Carlos.
It was a way to produce various effects by moving mana through the mana circuits constructed within my body.
Aside from ways to use the sword, such as keeping the blades locked when they clashed or making the sword suddenly heavy, there were also ways to alter physical movement.
Admittedly, because I didn't know many Mana Cultivation Techniques, I couldn't use all the techniques the Hero used, but there were techniques that could produce roughly similar effects even with the Mana Cultivation Techniques I knew.
'I wonder if the movement techniques from the martial arts novels I read in my past life were like this.'
As the mana moving along the Mana Cultivation Technique passed through my legs, I transformed it.
The moment my left leg pushed off the ground, I gave the mana a repulsive force. When my other leg stretched forward, I created an attractive force with the mana.
Pushing against the ground, pulling at it—honestly, it felt a bit like a placebo effect, but my body kept shooting forward.
Slipping between trees, leaping over boulders, and jumping across streams, I traversed the forest at incredible speed.
After I'd been running like that for a long while, a voice drifted into my ear.
"Did you run like this before, too? Why is this more comfortable than riding in a carriage?"
She must have been out of her mind with worry to notice it only now.
Neither I nor the other knights ran like this.
The knights of the Kingdom only knew how to run by pouring mana into their feet and launching themselves like cannonballs.
Since one had to be able to transform mana to run like this, it seemed the first king hadn't taught it.
If that was the case, he could have simply taught a Mana Cultivation Technique devoted solely to running.
Though one couldn't fight while running, it would certainly be extremely useful for covering long distances.
Admittedly, I had no idea how to modify it or teach it to the knights, but it didn't seem entirely impossible.
Or perhaps he wanted only the royal family to possess it.
Or maybe he simply hadn't taught it to anyone at all.
Even considering how he had set up the training sword I currently possessed, the first king's personality was by no means normal.
'It's not just abnormal. He was basically saying, "Don't even think about holding the sword unless you're stronger than me!"'
He was twisted, far too twisted. I don't know if there was some reason for it, but if they had properly unlocked it, they certainly wouldn't have been pushed back like this by the Empire.
I put aside my complaints about the first king's nasty personality and focused even more on running.
Since I didn't answer, Balea didn't ask again.
It seemed she'd only asked out of curiosity and hadn't particularly expected an answer.
"You really are a mysterious person, Young Lord. It's like peeling an onion; there's always more. I wonder how much more you have hidden inside."
She left me with those meaningful words, then buried her face in the back of my head.
Under different circumstances, this might have felt romantic—or rather, in this world, it would have been more than scandalous.
But now was not the time or place to be thinking about such things.
Though I was running with Balea on my back, I was faster and less tired than when I'd run through this forest a year ago.
Honestly, I didn't know whether we'd arrive before the mansion fell, but it felt as though we could get there much sooner than expected.
Using the necklace would make me faster, but I couldn't use it now. It consumed mana too quickly.
I would surely collapse from running out of mana before we arrived.
After running like that for over an hour, a village appeared in the distance.
Black smoke was rising from various parts of the village.
Houses were burning.
Even from afar, I could see people rushing out to put out the fires.
I also saw people looting, and others fighting and killing.
Still, the village wasn't as ruined as I had feared.
Had they all swarmed toward the Baron's mansion?
I felt the arms wrapped around my neck tighten.
"My home. Please go to my home first."
Even without her saying it, I intended to run to the mansion first.
After running swiftly along the outskirts of the village, I managed to reach the hill outside the mansion.
It was the same hill I'd run down from the campsite a year ago, when I killed the Baron.
Climbing the hill, I saw that the mansion had descended into utter chaos.
Roar!
The soldiers defending the mansion were already dead or dying all around.
"Kill them all and take everything!"
Waaa!
Mercenaries and bandits with red bands wrapped around their arms were running through the mansion, killing soldiers and maids.
Among them, knights wearing armor engraved with the same crest could also be seen fighting.
"You bastard, you're betraying us?"
"Did you think I would keep bowing my head to that brat? Honestly, I didn't like the Baron either!"
Thump.
"Aaargh."
Their conversation ended when a mercenary rushed in and killed the knight blocking the way.
"This damn plate armor—it's always hard to stab between the gaps. Greet your friend later and let's finish this quickly. It'll be troublesome if other territories come to help."
Though someone else had taken his opponent, the knight didn't seem to mind at all as he swung his sword at another soldier.
"Aaargh!"
"Haha, there isn't a territory that would do that."
He chuckled as he looked at the mercenary who had helped him.
The battle was entirely one-sided.
But seeing the fight from the hill, Balea's expression actually brightened.
"We really aren't too late! Quick, into the house!"
Although fighting had already broken out inside the house, just as Balea said, there was still hope.
There was no need to hide this time. Holding the dagger in one hand and supporting Balea's body with the other, I leapt from the hill.
Mana lightened my body.
Though it was a high hill, I landed on the ground in a single bound.
Pushing mana into my blade, I continued running forward.
Unfortunately, my running speed dropped drastically. It was still too much for me to use Katrin's ability while transforming mana on the run.
Instead, invisible mana stretched out from the dagger.
"Someone's coming!"
"Is it an ally?"
"No, they're incredibly fast! No band on the arm, so it's an enemy! Judging by their speed, they're knight-class!"
The shouts of the mercenaries guarding the wide-open main gate reached my ears.
They were certainly well-organized bandits. Or were they mercenaries?
Hearing that a knight-class was approaching, the mercenaries gathered at the main gate.
The mercenaries raised their spears and axes, preparing for an armored knight, but when they saw Balea and me approaching, they were all bewildered.
"He's not even wearing armor."
"He's young, too? Isn't that an Academy uniform?"
"Wait, why does he have two heads? Is he carrying someone on his back? And why does one head have long hair?"
They found us so absurd that they all babbled in confusion.
But before they could even finish a single sentence, I arrived right in front of them.
Then I stopped just outside their sword range and swung the dagger.
Seeing me swing a blade into empty air, the mercenaries were dumbfounded once again, but the result was entirely different.
Slash!
Blood painted the air, and the mercenaries standing in front with spears and axes collapsed in an instant.
I had no time to deal with them here. I ran inside, breaking through their collapsing formation.
The maze garden was in ruins, too. It could hardly be called a maze anymore, and I quickly made my way through it and into the building.
The battle in the lobby was already over, and intruders were tearing down the statues and paintings hanging on the walls.
They were so focused that no one even paid attention to Balea and me as we suddenly burst in.
It seemed the truly skilled ones had already gone deep inside.
I was about to ask Balea which way would be faster, but she tapped my shoulder first.
"This is fine! Thank you so much. You can put me down now."
I didn't know why she was asking to be let down already, but I set her down.
Stepping onto the floor, Balea tapped it with her foot.
Tap, tap.
At the unexpected sound, the looters all turned to look.
Their expressions all turned strange. They didn't seem to understand.
But instead of trying to make them understand, Balea placed both hands on her hips and made a loud declaration.
"This house is my kingdom, prepared since long ago. Enemies who have invaded my territory, it is now time to receive the master's punishment!"
Absurdly, her voice echoed throughout the entire mansion.
And the mansion responded to her words.
Rumble.
The mansion began to move.