The Road to the Capital (2)
By imperial law, the Imperial Academy admitted students without regard to status.
That meant a slave or a commoner could knock on the doors of learning so long as their talent was enough.
But how easy could it be for such people to reach the capital?
"Kyaaaaah!! Save me! I'm just a beggar with no food and no moneyyy!!"
"Keheheh, then I'll just eat that plump little ass of yours!"
"Stop now and we'll make it as gentle as we can!"
"Nooooo!!!"
Emily, an incoming student of the Imperial Academy, was a perfect example.
In a world crawling with monsters and bandits, what business did anyone have heading for the capital with only a single horse?
And of all things, the ones she met were horse-mounted raiders, so even running was hard.
Ping—!
"Hihiiiiiing!!"
"Easy, easy! The pain's all gone! Let the pain fly awaaay!!"
One of the arrows the bandits loosed buried itself in the horse's thigh.
As the panicked animal snorted and began to limp, Emily hastily drew up her holy power.
She was being chased by bandits, yes—but an Imperial Academy admittee was, by definition, far from ordinary.
"Damn it, that girl's a priestess!"
The arrowhead was pushed out of the horse's flesh; new tissue grew and sealed the wound.
With the pain gone, the horse snorted even more fiercely and picked up speed.
The bandits, who had thought they were about to catch her, found their moods thoroughly soured.
"Forget the horse—shoot the girl! Let's see if she can still pray with a hole in her!"
"What if she dies?"
"If we lose her, the boss kills us anyway!"
Acting on impulse was simply how bandits were.
With the boss's orders jammed into the corners of their tiny brains, they loosed arrows at Emily.
They were no steppe nomads—how well could bandits shoot from horseback?
Most of the shafts flew wild…
Thuk!
"Kyaaaah!!"
"Got her!"
One arrow punched clean through Emily's shoulder.
The rusted head tore soft skin, scraped muscle and vessel.
In that hideous pain she wept freely and clenched the reins. She knew that the moment she fell from the horse she would plunge straight into the abyss.
But a body did not always obey its master's will.
"She's falling!"
"Kwahahaha! If it hurts, just give up already!!"
A priestess who could not concentrate was no different from an ordinary person.
How easy was it to heal yourself while drowning in terror and agony?
As she wanted to abandon everything and the strength drained from her fingers—
"Hihiiiiiing!!"
"What the—?!"
From the forest an unidentifiable shadow stepped into view.
Emily, flashing past it, started and her eyes flew wide.
Why is there a little girl out here?!
The girl gripping a black greatsword charged the bandits without a moment's hesitation.
Startled, Emily pulled the reins without thinking. She could not simply watch a girl throw herself alone at nine bandits.
She was terrified and wanted to run, but using another person's life as bait was something she would never—
Fwoooosh!
"What the fuck is that!?"
"Uwaaaagh?!"
In that instant the girl's greatsword was wreathed in dark-crimson flame.
The horses, shocked by the spectacle, stopped dead and screamed.
Slash!
She swung the greatsword and cut two bandits down in a single stroke.
No blood flowed. Severed necks fell and the nauseating stench of burning living flesh spread.
Realizing these were no ordinary foes, the remaining bandits hastily drew their weapons.
"That sword looks fucking heavy! She's gotta be slower than us!"
"And she's just a girl!"
"Surround her and kill her!"
They were still men who had chosen killing for a living.
At the order of the one who looked highest in rank, five bandits boldly rode forward.
Around the motionless girl they wheeled in a circle, kicking up dust.
"Now!!"
At one man's shout they all charged the center.
And the girl kicked free of her saddle, leapt, and swung the greatsword at the bandits in front.
"Fuck, you think we're a joke?!"
Three of them tried to catch the greatsword on their own weapons.
Even twigs, bundled together, did not break easily.
But there was something the bandits had not expected.
Crunch!
"You little—!?"
That their opponent's strength could far exceed that of three grown men.
The greatsword that shattered their weapons cleaved the three bandits in half. Hot flames licked at the flesh and burned even higher.
At that savage sight the two who had charged with them stared at the girl, faces blank.
She turned and looked at the pair. Startled, one of them dropped his weapon.
"I surrender, I surrender!"
"We never meant to attack you at all!"
As if such words would work.
The girl stamped the ground and answered with her greatsword instead.
Having cut down five in an instant, she looked at the last two…
"You dog of a bitch—I'll make you regret picking the wrong people!!"
"Once we bring the boss, a girl like you is nothing!"
"Ch-cheap bastards…."
Having finished treating her shoulder, Emily glared at them in disbelief.
The bandits who had shouted so boldly were already turning their horses and fleeing at full gallop.
From the start they had never believed their underlings could win; their retreat was as swift as the wind.
Emily hurried to the girl's side and held out a hand. If they did not run now, the bandits would surely come swarming back.
"Take my hand!"
"Oh—are you all right?"
Yet the girl who had just killed the bandits asked after her health with a perfectly calm face.
Did she not realize that was not the important thing right now?
Terrified, Emily seized the girl's hand and said,
"I-I'm fine, so please get on quickly! Once those guys go back…"
"You needn't worry about that."
"Eh?"
As if it were nothing, the girl pulled her hand the way one might tug on something.
Clatter-clatter-clatter!
Near the fleeing bandits, crimson chains erupted from the ground and seized them.
Riderless horses bolted for freedom; one unlucky bandit was thrown and his neck snapped.
"Aaaagh! My leg, fuck, my leeeeg—!!"
The remaining one had a broken leg with bone jutting out.
Since he had at least kept his life, perhaps he was the less unlucky of the two?
"See? Nothing to worry about, right?"
"Ah… yes…"
If you say it in such a bright voice, how am I supposed to react?
Feeling an inexplicable dread toward her savior, Emily carefully averted her eyes.
The coachman who arrived late bound the surviving bandit.
If he had been hiding in fear, the least he could do was handle the cleanup, no?
After roughly tying the man, the coachman shoved him with a kick.
"What a rotten bastard!"
"Aaagh!? My leg, my leg fucking hurts!!"
"Shut it! What have you done to deserve comfort!!"
Guarding the bandit could be left to the coachman.
Perched on Yoanna's shoulder, Dantalion whispered to her.
"The girl seems to have calmed down. It would be good to hear her story."
"Her story, you say?"
"Mm. What those fellows were shouting about bothers me."
Understanding the meaning of the question, Dantalion nodded.
The claim that they would die to the boss if they lost her meant the boss wanted that young woman for something.
It was unlikely to be a grudge; more likely he was after her for some reason…
She doesn't seem particularly special.
A faint holy power, nothing more. An ordinary girl.
Her features were rather fine, but the hastily done hair and gloomy expression swallowed her beauty whole.
Unless that was exactly his type, there was no reason to obsess over her.
"Um… thank you for saving me. I'm Emily from Homel Village!!"
Having finally composed herself, Emily trotted over and greeted Yoanna.
"I am Yoanna of House Dark. At present I am traveling to enroll in the Imperial Academy."
"E-eh, th-that… I'm also traveling to enroll in the Imperial Academy…?"
"Oh my?"
That made her Yoanna's classmate.
Startled, Yoanna flicked her eyes sideways and tried to make eye contact with Dantalion.
Thanks to her experience hunting criminals, Yoanna had developed a decent nose for foul smells—not literal ones, of course, but the stench of conspiracy.
Her face transformed into a gentle smile as she took both of Emily's hands.
"Traveling alone must have been terribly hard. How did you come to meet those bandits?"
"I don't know. My teacher told me this was a safe road, but then the bandits appeared…"
"Dear me, what a fright you must have had. Still, you needn't worry too much."
"Pardon?"
Yoanna rose and approached the coachman.
He seemed to have bad memories of bandits; he was growling and tormenting the captive.
"Uncle Thomas, is this road relatively safe?"
"Ah, yes! It's the fastest route to our city, so the city often hires mercenaries to clear it out."
In an empire where goods moved constantly, road safety was a fairly important matter.
They might not pave every path with brick, but well-traveled roads received attention to keep the peace.
And bandits had appeared on such a road?
"Thank you for telling me. I'd like a private word with this gentleman—would you look after Miss Emily for me?"
"Of course, young lady. Anything you say."
Thomas adjusted his hat and hurried over to Emily.
Anyone with a scrap of sense could tell Yoanna wanted to speak alone.
The kindly smile vanished from Yoanna's face as she asked the bandit,
"On whose orders were you pursuing Miss Emily?"
"Heh, heheh… Fix my leg and I'll talk. I already regret what I did down to my bones."
His eyes darted about as he smiled servilely.
She was a kind enough girl to help a stranger. There was a priestess here too—this much of a request shouldn't be hard.
If he buttered her up enough, he might even get a chance to—
Crunch!
Who had given him leave to change the subject?
Yoanna pressed down on the bandit's broken leg and lowered her stance.
"Ghhhk—!"
"Shh. What if the others hear?"
The scream that burst out battered against Yoanna's palm.
The unpleasant dampness, and above all the distinctive foulness of a life steeped in sin, made her lovely face twist.
When she felt the scream dwindle under her hand, she pulled it away.
"Y-you crazy bitch… You'll go to Hell…"
"Still don't understand your position?"
And being told she would go to Hell was a compliment, you know.
Once more she covered the bandit's mouth and seared his wound with hot flame. The nauseating smell spread; his body flopped like a fish.
By the time yellow liquid soaked the ground, Yoanna removed her hand from his mouth.
"Your answer to the question?"
"I don't know… I don't know! I only followed because the boss ordered me to!!"
"Lie."
He flinched.
Yoanna's sunken eyes bored into the bandit's as if they would pierce them through.
How could a bandit know that no lie worked on Yoanna, who read falsehoods?
Yet the instincts of a living creature were magnificent.
"I-I want to talk but I can't! I can't!!!"
Unconsciously realizing that lies would not pass, the bandit wept and shouted.
Understanding that this, at least, was true, Yoanna's expression turned troubled.
Then Dantalion, who had been watching the interrogation, spoke.
"Yoanna, someone appears to have carved a spell into that fellow's mind. The sort that bursts the head the moment he speaks."
"Then the mastermind moving the bandits is someone else."
"Indeed. To obtain information we will have to examine his memories. Place me on your hand."
Yoanna carefully lifted Dantalion onto the back of her hand.
Returned to slime form, Dantalion coiled around her palm.
"Hah…"
"Is it uncomfortable? If so, I can take another form…"
"I-it's fine."
Just who was she talking to?
The bandit stared at Yoanna—conversing with someone invisible—with terrified eyes.
He had thought her a crazy bitch, but she was not merely crazy; she was properly insane, was she not?
Watching the hand draw nearer, the bandit began to thrash.
"W-what are you trying to do to me!?"
"Don't worry too much. In the end every person dies and goes into His embrace."
"Strictly speaking that is not accurate… though it does apply to this one."
The red book—the Ledger of the Dead—already held his name written in blood; Hell was certain for him.
Wrapping the man's head with his avatar, Dantalion whispered,
"Peter of Sertkliven. You have slaughtered quite a number of women, including your own mother and younger sister."
"What!? What is this voice!!"
Darkness rose from the bottom of the bandit's vision and slowly filled it.
He shook his head in resistance and tried to lift his gaze to the sky, but it was useless.
"……"
Eyes blackened, the bandit let his head droop.
Of course. His soul had been cast into Hell; what remained was only a living empty shell.
Yoanna shifted the restored Dantalion back onto her shoulder.
"It seems a mage has his eye on that girl. The so-called boss and the mage are waiting nearby."
Yoanna nodded and rose to her feet.
Flinch!
The coachman and Emily, clinging to each other, trembled.
They had assumed that the moment the screams stopped, the bandit's life had ended as well.
Yoanna strode over and helped Emily up.
"Miss Emily, let us go."
"Y-y-y-yes?! May I be permitted to inquire as to where exactly you intend to go if I might be allowed to ask—"
Fear seemed to have broken her mind; Emily repeated herself while flailing about.
Yoanna patted her shoulder and smiled.
"It is time to pass judgment on the sinners who attacked you."
"Hweeeeh…."
Emily nodded with a face that could not decide whether it was smiling or crying.
It was not because she was certain that refusing would leave her looking like the bandit a moment ago.
Absolutely not.