45
My Villains Chapter 45
12. Night of the Fireflies (3)
Although an unexpected situation occurred, the night raid was somewhat successful. We managed to wipe out nearly thirty thieves while sustaining almost no damage ourselves.
However, it couldn't be called a perfect raid. During the chaotic battle, we let one of them escape.
The one who escaped was one of the night watchmen guarding the bonfire.
Thanks to going to calm the horses that were causing a commotion, he avoided being poisoned, and when the tide of battle turned unfavorable, he quickly mounted a horse and fled.
Another night watchman also tried to escape together, but he seemed to be unskilled at horseback riding and fell off before even leaving the riverbank.
He crawled away with a broken leg but was caught by Arnal, who tracked his traces after the battle ended.
"Ah, this has become troublesome."
I muttered that while wiping off blood with the blankets the bandits had been using. As the blood was wiped away, the pale green glow that had become somewhat fainter once again showed its presence.
Grania, wiping off blood and sweat while removing her round helmet, said with a dejected expression,
"Soon the bandits will swarm in like a pack of dogs. We should retreat now."
"...What about the request? If we retreat now, we'll never have another chance, right?"
"The request isn't important right now. It'll be dangerous if the bandits attack en masse."
Arnal, who was sorting through the recovered arrows to see which ones could be reused, frowned deeply.
"Are you serious? What about Farel and Uncle Gillius?"
"...It's not like we're running away. We've made some effort too. The lord won't harm us."
"I don't know. Aren't you underestimating those noble gentlemen too much?"
As Grania fell silent, everyone seemed to be lost in thought.
While I was also absorbed in my own thoughts and wiping off blood, I suddenly felt a gaze from beside me.
"...What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Are you really okay?"
"Ah, I told you I'm fine."
Seeing Ellen tightly pursing her lips and examining my complexion, I gave a slight smile.
"Look, the light is getting weaker too. This will be over soon."
"...Sigh. This is why you shouldn't use magical items carelessly. I never imagined there would be such a strange side effect."
Despite my joking, she muttered as if blaming herself. Then she grabbed my hand, took off my glove, and examined the back of my hand.
"Is it itchy or stinging?"
"Not at all."
"Do you feel nauseous or dizzy?"
"I told you earlier. I'm fine, really."
Geez, this one is really persistent.
Because of the strange glow I was emitting as a side effect of drinking the invisibility potion, Ellen had rushed over as soon as the battle ended and kept bombarding me with questions like these.
No matter how much I said I was fine, she kept fussing over me, opening my mouth to look inside or pulling out strands of my hair to examine them, to the point where I was starting to feel anxious myself.
"Hey, you! Your eyes look red!"
"I always get like this when I fight..."
"No, the color is different from usual!"
"You're imagining things. Come on, stop it."
"Ugh, don't turn your head away! Open your eyes wide!"
"Urk."
When she suddenly lunged at me and grabbed my face to pull open my eyelids, I pushed her hands away and put my helmet back on.
"Hey, I said I'm fine! If anything feels off, I'll tell you right away, so stop worrying and just stay still, okay?"
"...You promise you'll tell me immediately if anything feels even slightly wrong?"
"Alright, I promise. Right now, I'm completely fine."
At my firm answer, Ellen sat back down next to me with a sigh.
"It really was an absurd item after all. What kind of ingredients did they use to cause such a stupid side effect? Surely it won't cause mutations...?"
As she muttered like that, her eyes welled up with tears and she made a face like she was about to cry.
The concern and guilt evident on her face was quite cute, so I poked her cheek.
"Why are you looking so grim? Are you that worried about me?"
"...It's not like that."
"Then what's wrong? Stop crying and tell me."
"Who's crying? I'm not crying."
"Huh? You weren't crying? Crying is your specialty, isn't it?"
Ellen glared at me for a moment, then chewed on her lip as if trying to choose her words.
But in the end, she shut her mouth and turned her head away abruptly.
"Hey. Hey. Are you crying?"
After that, I kept poking her side and teasing her until Ellen, having regained her spirits, lunged at me and started pounding on my helmet.
"Shut up, please, just, stay, still!"
"Ow, stop! My head's ringing!"
Seeing Ellen and me squabbling, Mr. Luke, unable to bear it any longer, said with a wry smile,
"Sorry to interrupt your fun, but now doesn't seem to be the time for joking around. Could you please restrain yourselves a bit?"
"Ah... *ahem* You're right. I'm sorry."
As I apologized with an embarrassed expression, Ellen, her palms red, also backed off with a huff.
I showed an immature side. Has my mental age regressed along with my physical age...?
"So, Phoenix, what do you think?"
At Mr. Luke's question, I put on a deliberately serious expression and answered.
"...Well, I think we should head towards the reinforcements, come what may."
At my words, Grania's face contorted.
"It's too dangerous. There's no way we can escape from them..."
"If we fail here and go back, we'll just wither away inside the city anyway. Either we meet up with the reinforcements and return to the city, or we slip away to another land. Those are the only two choices we have."
Talking as if the fate of the city rests on just five people. It might sound like a joke to some.
But what can I do? It's the truth.
Of course, an unexpected event might occur and the scenario might flow in a positive direction.
But any ordinary event won't be enough to make up for the 'hero's failure'.
It's an obvious conclusion when you consider the tasks the hero needs to accomplish to clear Chapter 2.
The rest of the group also seemed to fully recognize that our role was quite important.
After all, we would be the first to break through the encirclement.
In the midst of a brief silence, Arnal suddenly spoke up, grumbling as if displeased.
"But why do you keep bringing up the option of slipping away? Are you trying to tempt us? To abandon our comrades and run away?"
"That's not what I mean. I'm just saying that, for my part, I can't throw away my life for Gillius or Farel. That's not wrong, is it?"
Arnal met my eyes, chewed on her lower lip for a moment, then nodded.
"...Well, we can't expect that much. I have a conscience too."
"I'm glad you understand."
"Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you refrained from saying such things. Grania and I are not cowards who abandon our comrades and run away. Just because you say you're going to run away doesn't mean we'll follow you obediently."
That definitive statement was directed not at me, but at Grania.
It was probably a consideration for the leader whose expression darkened every time the topic of escape came up.
"Well, alright. It's not like I'm saying I'm going to bolt right away anyway... I've been paid too, so I should do my best as much as I can."
Hearing my words that sounded like a pledge, Grania pressed her forehead with the back of her hand and said as if frustrated,
"Then we don't have time to be standing around like this. We need to move right now."
I tossed aside the blood-soaked blanket and picked up another blanket lying nearby. Then I wrapped it around my head and upper body.
Hmm, it covers the glow a bit, but there's still more light leaking out than being hidden.
"It still seems insufficient. Going into the forest while glowing like this seems like a foolish thing to do..."
As I trailed off, Mr. Luke, who had been silently lost in thought, pointed towards a large tree.
"Then, how about riding a horse?"
"A horse?"
"Once we cross the river and pass through the forest, isn't there a plain where the reinforcements are? The bandits will be gathered around the castle walls, so if we ride quickly, there shouldn't be much danger."
Mr. Luke's words made Arnal look upset.
"...I can't ride a horse."
"How about Miss Grania?"
"Well, I can do the basics. Just following the person in front..."
"What about Phoenix?"
"Me?"
I swallowed the words 'Of course I can't ride' and fell into thought for a moment.
From Kim Seung-soo's perspective, the only experience with horses was watching them at the racecourse.
He was an ordinary person who had never ridden, let alone touched, a riding horse, donkey, or pony.
But Phoenix is from a noble lineage, right? His class name even has 'knight' in it. There's no way he can't ride a horse.
"Phoenix?"
"Uh, just a moment."
I approached the horses tied to the tree with suspicion.
There were fourteen horses tied up, and they seemed a bit startled as the shiny, large figure approached them briskly. They were snorting roughly and kicking the ground with their hind legs, appearing very wary.
Unlike the startled ones, I wasn't bothered at all. If I had encountered snorting horses on Earth, I would have been scared and run away... It was strange.
Unlike the long and sturdy horses I saw at the racecourse, the ones tied up here weren't very big. Is it a different breed? Looking closely, their legs seemed a bit shorter and thicker.
Their large eyes, shining with a greenish light, seemed frightened.
It was quite amusing to see them all retreat together every time I took a step forward.
Among them, a relatively brave one stepped forward to block my way.
It was a piebald, as if black paint had been splashed on it white fur, and judging by its large size, it seemed to be the leader among the tied horses.
I instinctively reached out my hand to the roughly snorting horse.
"Shh- good boy."
The piebald shook its head violently while pulling on the reins, but I persistently stroked its head. Whenever it tried to turn its body, I pushed its hips and held its head.
"Good boy, good boy."
How many times did I repeat it in a low, stable voice? Soon, the piebald stopped resisting and started to enjoy my touch.
An unfamiliar memory, a familiar sensation.
The strange sense of discomfort I experienced while sword fighting with Grania came back to life.
My hand naturally reached out and untied the reins from the tree. Then I led the piebald to where the saddles were gathered.
I chose the largest one and put it on its back, tied the chest strap, and hooked the reins. Then, I put one foot in the stirrup and jumped up swiftly.
"Wow-"
An exclamation of strange satisfaction escaped me without realizing. With a bit of exaggeration, it felt like finding a lost leg.
As I pulled the reins and approached the group, Mr. Luke nodded as if he had expected this.
"As I thought, you're quite skilled. Thanks to you, the rest of us can ride comfortably too."
Following Mr. Luke's gaze, I saw that the restless horses had calmed down considerably.
It seemed that seeing their leader, the piebald, submit to me had eased the herd's wariness.
"Then, Miss Arnal will ride with me. Miss Grania, choose a horse too."
"Um, is it okay? I don't have a good eye for this sort of thing."
"Don't worry too much. Just choose one with a gentle temperament, and I'll check the rest."
As Mr. Luke said this and started walking, he suddenly turned to look at Ellen, who was standing still.
"Would Miss Ellen like to choose one too?"
"Umm, oh dear."
Guessing Ellen's situation from her expression, Mr. Luke gave a bitter smile.
"It seems you're not confident in horseback riding."
"...I could ride if there was a side saddle."
"A side saddle. Well, let me look for one first."
Mr. Luke looked towards the saddles with a troubled expression. Of course, it was a meaningless action as those bandits wouldn't have such an item.
"It's alright, Mr. Luke. I'll take care of this one."
Saying that, I approached Ellen and grabbed her by the nape, swiftly lifting her up.
"Eek."
With a deflating sound, I seated the lifted Ellen in front of me.
Because Phoenix's body was so large, the space wasn't very spacious, but it didn't seem to be a problem for the petite Ellen to sit.
Ellen's shoulders were stiff, seemingly tense from the sudden horseback riding. Well, it doesn't really matter since I'm the one holding the reins... But it looked unsettling as if she might fall forward at any moment.
"Hey, why are you so nervous?"
"I... I'm not nervous."
Yeah, right. Even your voice is trembling.
"Just hold onto the saddle handle tightly."
"Relax your body. Lean a bit towards me."
Giving in to the urging, Ellen leaned her head slightly against me. A faint lime scent flowed from the golden hair falling over the breastplate.
It's amazing that she still smells like soap after spending all day in sewers and caves...
How curious. Does she have a secret?
I wanted to ask Ellen, but she seemed somewhat restless, so I decided to leave her alone for a while to calm down. I'll ask later.