East Ruins (7)
“Ah, Aileen… then… shall we go to the south gate together? We can… hunt together. Want to make it a contest? Wh-who can catch more? Wouldn’t that be so much fun…? Hehe.”
Noah beamed at me with a silly grin, tossing out that absurd suggestion.
What on earth… was she even talking about…
I cast my mind back over everything I had said while holding her close.
I had been so worked up that the words just tumbled out… and now, thinking about them again, my face burned.
Anyway.
When I told her not to do it alone, that I was here—
I hadn’t meant we should go hunt magic beasts together… I had only wanted her to know someone was worried about her.
And she had taken it like this…?
I had no idea.
Still, Noah’s nonsense had cooled my overheated head just enough.
After a moment of fidgeting and glancing around, she leaned in to whisper.
“Ah, Aileen. I think we should head for the west gate instead… The south gate is where the b-bald uncle said he’d go.”
I turned to look at the bald man she pointed out.
He shot me a wink—then fixed his glare back on the knights of Erden.
The man standing beside him was doing the same, shielding us while staring the knights down.
They were the adventurers I had seen once in Alrba.
Especially eye-catching ones.
I widened my view to take in the knights.
They didn’t seem to have recognized me for certain yet…
But if we stayed here much longer, Noah was bound to learn my identity.
For now, the urgent thing…
I reached out with both hands and stretched Noah’s cheeks wide—squeeeze.
“Uweh…?”
“We’re going. South gate or west gate, it doesn’t matter—once this situation is over, we’re going to talk.”
“Ah, I understhand…”
I let go of her cheeks and took her small hand.
It was rough and sticky.
Blood was still seeping out even now.
Forcing that chipped greatsword around must have stripped the skin right off her palms.
My chest ached.
I stroked the back of her hand with my fingers and poured in divine power.
The rough skin settled somewhat.
“Leaving already?”
As I stood while still holding Noah’s hand, the man with the sword turned and spoke.
One-eyed…?
No—later. I could look into that later.
Right now we needed to get out of here.
“…Yes. We should head for the south gate—”
“Ah, Aileen. I told you the south gate belongs to the bald uncle…!”
Noah rose onto her tiptoes, trying to whisper quietly into my ear.
She only managed to reach my shoulder.
“Ahem. We intend to take the west gate.”
“Is that so… Then I’ll come with you. That baldy will be fine on his own.”
Veins bulged red across the bald man’s scalp.
He gripped his halberd and started walking.
“I held back because of the little lady… Let’s finish this quick and meet back here. That said—what should we do about those fine lords over there?”
“That… We should sort the situation first, then ask their ‘master.’”
The one-eyed man looked straight at me as he spoke.
So he had known after all.
I had felt it back in Alrba when he stared so hard…
But I never expected him to see through the recognition-dampening on my robe.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Those fine lords aren’t any help anyway, just like the little lady said. Kuhahahaha!”
The bald man let out a booming laugh and strode lightly toward the south gate.
For someone heading off to fight a hundred-odd gnolls, his steps were remarkably light and carefree.
“Well then, we’d best be on our way too.”
“R-right. Aileen. We have to hurry. Th-this spot is… really bad… We’re at a disadvantage.”
I pictured the layout of the ruins from the map I had seen.
We were standing in a wide plaza—if the gnolls came all at once…
They would pour in from every direction.
Noah was right. Holding them at an entrance would be far easier.
“All right. And Noah—like I said earlier. We’re talking when this is over.”
“Hieek… Y-yes…”
At my firm tone, Noah wilted.
She looked so much like a tiny animal that a laugh nearly slipped out—but I held it in.
Never again.
I had to drive it home so she could never pull another insane stunt like this alone.
I shifted our joined hands and laced my fingers tightly between hers.
Noah’s hand twitched, and she peeked up at me shyly.
“Aileen… are you… not mad anymore…?”
I wasn’t angry.
It had only been something like fury born from worry.
But still.
Her reaction was so cute that the words slipped out before I could stop them.
“Do I look like I’m not?”
“Heueu… I-I’m sorr—hup—!”
Watching Noah clap a hand over her own mouth and hang her head, I remembered the way she had looked earlier.
The confident voice saying she would be back soon, telling me to just stay home and cook.
The bright smile.
The unhesitating steps.
I had always thought of her usual clumsy, scatterbrained self as little-sister-like.
But that earlier version of her…
Had been something I could actually respect.
You really did look like the adult you always claim to be. Truly.
I brushed the timid fingers squirming between mine and allowed myself a small smile.
“Aileen!”
The instant I called her name, a spear of light shot from Aileen’s fingertips.
A hole punched straight through a gnoll’s skull.
I never broke stride, charging forward.
The gnoll I had kicked was still trying to rise, clutching its head.
I yanked a dagger from my belt and drove it between its eyes.
Leaving the dagger behind, I drew my greatsword.
Beside me, a gnoll loading a crossbow had its side blown open.
I could feel the hilt about to give out.
Four daggers left.
Roughly thirty gnolls remaining.
I checked on Luci, still swinging his sword nearby.
He looked completely fine.
Me too… if only my greatsword were fine…
I swung the greatsword into the head of a gnoll charging from the front.
A sound like a watermelon splitting, and brains splattered across my face.
“Ueeegh…! Ptooey, ptooey…”
Maybe I could slow down a little now…
I planted the greatsword in the ground and leaned against it.
Caught my breath, then spread my Qi Sensing wider.
My head started pounding like it would split open.
Worse than before.
Still I pushed it farther.
A map of the ruins formed in my mind.
Scattered knights lying on the ground, others still on their feet fighting with everything they had.
Knights gathered in the central plaza giving first aid.
Heinzel, who had single-handedly cleaned up a hundred gnolls.
And.
Carpeng, still keeping her silence.
“Th-thank goodness…”
In the short time I checked, Luci had killed another twenty gnolls.
I can do it too. I can.
It was just the weapon that was bad.
He’s only doing that well because his weapon is amazing.
So annoying…
If only I had a greatsword made of good materials too…
I was sulkily stabbing the ground over and over when Aileen came over.
“Haa… It’s almost finished now.”
“Y-yes.”
I pulled the greatsword free and hung it at my waist.
I figured Luci would handle the rest—and sure enough, he was finishing off the last gnoll.
“You did well, Noah. Truly…”
Aileen’s hand stroked my hair.
“M-my hair’s dirty…”
I tried to pull my head back.
“Quiet and come here.”
Aileen drew me in.
I… had done wrong by her, so I couldn’t refuse that touch.
“If it gets this matted with blood, washing it later will be a nightmare. Worst case we might have to go snip and cut it all off, you know?”
“U-uum…”
I wouldn’t mind if she cut it…
But I hated the pain of washing tangled hair, so I stayed still.
By the time the knots were all worked free, Luci walked over.
“This side’s cleaned up, so back to the plaza… No, wait. Better to just call baldy over here.”
With that, Luci set his stance and swung his sword hard toward the south.
Along the path of the blade, heat haze shimmered into being—
“Wh-what?! Just now… what was that…!”
Aileen’s startled voice rang out as the southern gate’s flag, far in the distance, was cleanly sliced through.
“Mm. He’ll come on his own now, so we can sit and rest. There are three of us and only one of him—makes more sense for him to come to us, doesn’t it? Heh.”
Luci casually plopped down on a gnoll corpse as if it were a chair.
Aileen stood frozen in place, while I stared at the severed flag and dredged up old memories.
That just now was Luci’s Unique Ability.
I couldn’t remember the name, but I knew the effect exactly.
The power to cut anything that entered his field of vision, no matter the distance.
Not sword aura or anything—more like connecting one space to another, if I recalled the lore right.
Of course the mana cost was terrible, so he couldn’t use it much.
But seeing it in person… it was insanely cool.
Seriously… badass as hell.
“Just now… uh… eh…? Did I see that wrong…?”
See?
Aileen still hadn’t recovered either.
I was about to answer her—she had stopped mid-stroke of my hair and was staring blankly into empty air—
when my throat closed up tight and no sound came out.
And I was so… so incredibly sleepy…
“Uh… ahem. Noah, the tangles are all—”
I was definitely still gripping the hilt, yet Aileen’s form no longer appeared in my mind’s eye.
Her voice was growing farther away too.
Ah, whatever.
I want to lie down. I’m so tired…
I let every muscle go slack and followed gravity down.
A soft thud, and the hard ground pressed against me.
The greatsword… yeah. Still holding it properly.
Even so, the landscape painted by Qi Sensing was blurry.
I really had overdone it when I smashed that barrier earlier…
“No— stay awa— what do we—”
Aileen’s voice reached my ears, faintly.
Uh… telling me to stay awake, I guess.
I should tell her I’m not dying.
But the words won’t come.
My voice is completely stuck…
Ah… this is bad.