The Incompetent Hero and the Red Oni (4)

Splash, splash!

"We're really walking on water?!"

"I thought it was a good idea at first, but now that I think about it, I feel like I've turned into a human transport machine. Not a great feeling."

Using Water Walking, I scooped Baekryeon and Seollin up in a princess carry and crossed the Baek River.

Fortunately, nothing interfered with the crossing. Once we were safely on the far bank, we put the river at our backs and pressed on.

"Hey, so..."

After we had walked for a while, Seollin asked in a voice laced with curiosity and a strange little thrill.

"You said the place we're heading to is Chui Hill on Baekdu, right?"

"I did. Why?"

"I've heard of Baekdu. It's one of the largest great mountains in Jo. But what's Chui Hill?"

Baekryeon and I both smiled at her reaction.

Thinking about it, Seollin had never set foot outside Yeom Kingdom, and given the nature of Sichuan, there had never been much reason for her to learn about the world beyond its borders. So of course she wouldn't know. Now that she had—unintentionally—ended up outside Yeom Kingdom, curiosity about the outside was only natural.

"I shall explain that, Lady Seollin. First... as you said, Baekdu is one of the largest mountains in Jo. It is also a mountain said to be sacred, touched by the energy of the heavens. At the same time, it is known as the mountain where Baekho, the progenitor of my family, resides."

"Heeh... I see."

"As I mentioned earlier, Baekdu is dense with sacred energy, and thus many yokai and sacred beasts dwell there as well. Among them, Chui Hill is where the tiger-eating yokai—the Chui—gather."

"Tiger-eating yokai?"

As Seollin listened, the curiosity in her eyes and expression flipped almost at once into worry and unease.

"If they're yokai that eat tigers, isn't that a bad matchup for Baekryeon?"

Baekryeon was a beastman who carried the blood of Baekho.

But at her root, she was still a tiger beastman.

Baekho herself was a sacred beast who transcended ordinary tigers, so mere Chui would never dare challenge her—but a beastman who inherited her blood was another matter.

She would be stronger than an ordinary tiger beastman, of course... but that did not change the fact that she was still a tiger beastman.

In other words, her matchup against the tiger-eating Chui was not good.

"That is true. That is why even our Baek family does not lightly interfere with that place. We merely prevent the various yokai dwelling on Baekdu from crossing into human territory."

"I see. The Baek family was doing something really important."

Yeah. They really had been doing something important.

I had heard the Baek family held a certain influence over Jo's military... but I hadn't known they also served as a deterrent against yokai.

...Wait? Hold on a second.

Sensing something off, I looked at Baekryeon.

Seollin seemed to feel it too, and turned toward her as well.

"Why do you all look at me so?"

"No... didn't you say the Baek family was wiped out?"

"That is true, but...."

"...If the Baek family was what kept the yokai from coming down off Baekdu... and if Baekho, the master of Baekdu, has disappeared...."

At my words, Baekryeon fell silent.

Then she spoke in a trembling voice.

"E-even so!... Until I left, there were no major problems here!...."

"Well, at that point there still wouldn't have been any solid confirmation that the Baek family was completely gone, or that Baekho's influence had vanished."

"That is!...."

Just as Baekryeon was about to protest, a sound reached us from far away.

The clash of cold steel.

People shouting.

Fierce beasts howling.

And...

"The smell of blood...."

"Tsk."

I picked up the pace.

What had been a light jog until now became a full high-speed sprint.

Before long, a fortress came into view.

But the fortress looked as if it had already been attacked—the gates were smashed open, and the screams of people wailing in agony carried on the air.

"Baekryeon! Seollin!"

"I know!!"

"I know!!"

I planted one step hard, power ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coiling through my legs—

BOOM!!

—and exploded that power all at once, accelerating in a single burst.

Leaving Baekryeon and Seollin behind for a moment, I vaulted over the fortress gate. What greeted me were the corpses of many people. Yokai of every shape and form. And soldiers desperately fighting against those yokai.

"Hup!"

I swung my sword.

Through the effect of Spatial Slash, which erased the distance between my blade and its target, I cleanly cut down the yokai that had been descending on the soldiers.

"H-huh?!..."

"W-what?!..."

The yokai fell to an invisible slash, but the soldiers who couldn't fully grasp what had happened just stared at each other in blank confusion. This wasn't the time to worry about them. I would leave the explanations to Baekryeon later—for now, I climbed the walls and looked out over the entire city.

"S-save me~!!!"

"Kyaaaaaaa!!!!"

The situation in the city as seen from the walls was not good. There were more yokai than expected, and relatively few soldiers. They seemed to be resisting desperately enough, but their strength alone clearly wasn't enough.

"H-hold on!! Reinforcements will come soon!!!"

"Fire the cannons!!!"

"Protect the people!!!"

They were evacuating civilians into the inner fortress while using cannons to keep the yokai in check.

The cannons' firepower itself was enough to silence the yokai, but the problem was that the yokai were too agile to simply stand still and take the hits.

"Tsk... no choice."

The characteristic of Spatial Slash was that it extended my sword's range to anywhere within my field of vision.

Therefore, the higher my position, the more extreme my sword's range became. Just like right now.

However, Spatial Slash could only close the distance once per swing. In other words, a single slash could not attack enemies at completely different angles.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Hoo...."

And that cut down every enemy before me.

After the yokai attack was somehow brought under control, we were able to meet with the surviving magistrate of this place and talk.

"Could it be—Lady Baekryeon?!"

"Ah!... Is that you, Yongdol! Are you the magistrate here? You've changed so much I almost mistook you for someone else."

"Haha, somehow I ended up with a position beyond my station. Lady Baekryeon, you are as beautiful as ever."

By any measure he looked older than Baekryeon, yet he spoke to her with respect and deference.

Baekryeon was currently a wandering swordswoman, and he was a local official—his rank should have been higher—yet the way he treated her gave me a rough sense of just how much influence the Baek family had once held in the nation of Jo.

"But Lady Baekryeon, who are the people behind you?"

"Ah, my companions. This is Young Master Leon. He hails from the Western Continent, beyond even Yeom Kingdom. And this is Dan Seollin. She is a princess of the Dan family of Yeom Kingdom."

"I'm Leon. I'm a commoner, so I have no surname."

"I'm Dan Seollin. Nice to meet you."

Things might go more smoothly than I expected.

"More importantly, what on earth happened here?"

"That is...."

At my question, the man called Yongdol glanced at Baekryeon.

Baekryeon noticed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his gaze and gave a slight nod.

"It is fine. I wish to ask as well. What happened in my absence?"

"...Then I shall tell you. After Lady Baekryeon left... the yokai of Baekdu seem to have realized that the Baek family, which had bound them, was gone. They began tentatively setting foot in human territory, showing restless movements... and eventually started attacking small villages."

"Just as I thought...."

It was exactly as expected.

With the deterrent of the Baek family gone, the humans who had confined them to a narrow land must have looked quite distasteful.

"Even so, an attack of this scale is a first. As it was, the soldiers who had been standing guard near the Baek River region for defense against yokai had all been pulled back...."

"Ah."

So that was why there hadn't been a single soldier near the Baek River.

I had thought it strange that despite the isolation order, they had only collected the boats that could cross the Baek River and made no other preparations.

"And so this disaster unfolded."

"Have you reported this to the court?"

"Yes. I have. I received word that they would send a supporting unit... but I never imagined something like this would happen before the reinforcements arrived...."

Yongdol let out a heavy groan and pressed his forehead, looking grim.

It seemed we wouldn't have time to meet the king after all. I casually sent a look Baekryeon's way, and she caught it and nodded.

"Yongdol, I have something to tell you."

"What is it? Please, speak, Lady Baekryeon."

"I have heard that Jo currently has an isolation order in place."

"Ah... you've heard? That is correct. His Majesty the King's person was endangered. Had it not been for a guest who came from the Western Continent, something truly terrible might have happened. Oh, and by the way, Lady Baekryeon—how did you get here at all? With the isolation order, you shouldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been able to come...."

What was that about?

Someone came from the Western Continent? Who??

A question rose in my mind, but that wasn't important right now.

Baekryeon pulled out the document I had handed her and spoke.

"We have come here as envoys of Yeom Kingdom."

"A-as envoys of Yeom Kingdom?... Lady Baekryeon, just what have you been doing in a foreign land?"

"Mm... I cannot tell you the details, but.... We must go to this place... more precisely, to Chui Hill on Baekdu."

"Baekdu? That is not possible. Do you even know what the situation on Baekdu is like right now...."

"I am asking you. There... the enemies of my parents and my family may be there."

At Baekryeon's sincere words, Yongdol closed his mouth.

Then he let out a soft sigh and spoke.

"...Understood. But first, I will inform the court. If His Majesty hears that Lady Baekryeon has returned, he will be delighted."

"Mm. I will not object to that much. Simply ensure that we can investigate Chui Hill on Baekdu."

"Avenging your enemies is important, but... please take care of your own body, Lady Baekryeon."

"I appreciate your concern. But do not worry. I have... good companions with me."