The Delphiana Raid - 3
At that very moment, Ditrua stood staring back and forth between the monster’s corpse and her own sword.
This is what a real monster feels like.
It was completely different from the fakes she had faced during the test. Those had been crafted with considerable detail, but there was always a limit to how well they could replicate the reactions of a living creature. And a fake was just that—a fake. The sense of accomplishment that came from slaying a real monster could never be copied.
This should be enough.
It was a shame to stop here, but Ditrua sheathed her blade. In her heart she wanted to hunt ten more, but she had made a promise to herself. She hadn’t cleared that much time, and she might already have been noticed. If so, the two knights and Lily were probably worried sick.
She slipped back into the shelter as quietly as she had left it.
Where did Lily and the knights go?
She searched every corner of the shelter, but none of the faces she was looking for were there.
Is this the wrong shelter? Did I wander into a different one by mistake?
No, that wasn’t it. Could they have already realized she was gone?
Ditrua glanced at the clock.
It didn’t even take ten minutes to go and come back.
She bit her lip. Surely they hadn’t gone outside to look for her?
The moment that thought crossed her mind, a red-haired swordsman and a professor came running toward her in a panic.
“Where have you been all this time?”
“Professor! Where are Lily and the knights?”
“Oh no! The two knights went out to search for Her Highness!”
“A-already?”
“Yes.”
For a moment her eyes lost focus entirely.
“In any case, Your Highness, stay right here and do not move.”
“What about Lily? Where’s Lily?”
“That attendant of yours? She’s probably somewhere inside the shelter. I’m rather busy, so if you’ll excuse me.”
Having said his piece, the professor dashed off somewhere in a hurry.
Thank goodness.
At least it seemed Lily was still inside.
“Lily! Where are you!”
Ditrua began searching for her inside the vast shelter. But no matter how much she wandered, she couldn’t find her. She ran into people she had seen only moments ago, yet none of them knew where Lily had gone.
Lily…
Ditrua’s face turned deathly pale. For a second her mind went blank. When she came back to her senses, she was already outside the shelter again.
She roamed the area. Her body moved aimlessly, driven solely by the single purpose of finding Lily. Monsters occasionally lunged at her. She cut them down without conscious thought. Joy? Accomplishment? She felt none of it.
And what she had done today—wasn’t it exactly the kind of irresponsible behavior she so despised in those pathetic royals?
Worry and self-reproach twisted together, squeezing her heart.
Then, suddenly, demonic energy surged from somewhere.
Before she even realized it, Ditrua was running toward its source.
Lily might be there.
The name Gunter was famous not only among his fellow demons but also among the Alliance forces who had faced him. He had originally been a young demon with no title. Yet thanks to his exceptional combat prowess, he had accomplished a great deal in a relatively short time. His notoriety spread quickly. The battlefield was his playground. He took immense pleasure in tearing apart the flesh and spilling the blood of those who charged at him. That tendency was largely responsible for how infamous he became. He was difficult to control for the Alliance, and even for Regensraum.
But at some point, he stopped enjoying it. The blood of those who threw themselves at him prepared to die no longer satisfied him. The battlefield had become routine, and routine bored him. He began craving something newer, something more stimulating. Naturally his gaze turned toward a more distant place—the rear lines of the Alliance. A place filled with people living as if war had nothing to do with them. What would it feel like to rip their flesh and make them vomit the blood trapped inside? What would their final expressions look like, after living in such peace of mind? Surely fresher and more amusing than the predictable faces of those who had steeled themselves for death.
Wanting to witness it with his own eyes, Gunter slipped deep into Alliance territory. There he saw people shamelessly enjoying peace. In his eyes, this entire star should belong to the demon race. The natives deserved no more than a single span of land. Pathetic creatures who knelt and begged for their god’s teachings—they had no right to claim this beautiful star.
Yet here they are, living in peace as though it’s only natural.
Of course, the peaceful faces he saw were merely the surface. Still, he began preparing a grand act of terror. He scouted the best possible locations that would deliver a fatal shock to the foolish natives.
Then came the news of the truce.
At first he simply could not believe it.
It has to be a deception!
It was obviously a trap. A despicable scheme aimed at the demons who had infiltrated the Alliance, just like him. But soon the Demon King’s direct order reached him: the truce had been established—return at once.
It was utterly incomprehensible. Why stop this righteous war? Why leave them be?
Someone must be blinding His Majesty’s eyes and ears!
Those moderates, or perhaps the cunning natives, had finally deceived the Demon King. That was the only conclusion Gunter could reach.
Then I must act correctly in his stead.
He would carry out the plan exactly as intended. If it succeeded, the Demon King would finally open his eyes.
And the place that caught his eye was Delphiana Academy.
Solentia—one of the Alliance’s enemy nations. How many of his opponents had come from Solentia? He knew that the kingdom’s most prestigious academy was called Delphiana. If he could inflict damage there, the Demon King would surely be pleased. Moreover, this year a princess was enrolling. It was the perfect target.
He made his plans carefully. That Marius entered his sights was inevitable. Gunter finally stole his body. Thanks to that, he absorbed all of Marius’s knowledge about the academy. And that was how he recognized the girl who had just appeared before him.
Gunter, wearing Marius’s face, bared his teeth in a grin.
*
Monsters had appeared all across Delphiana Academy. That meant the Theology Department had also come under attack. Yet the atmosphere there was markedly different from the rest of the academy.
Shelter? What’s that?
“Everyone! Face them with dignity! These monsters dare to defile our place of learning!”
The Theology Department actively encouraged its students to confront the monsters head-on as much as they could. After all, subjugating monsters was the highest priority for any follower of the Goddess.
“The Goddess’s protection shall be upon all of you who stand against these wicked creatures!”
“Aaaah!”
“O Goddess! Watch over us!”
Students and professors who had taken up the holy war against the monsters, just as their teachings commanded. The usual gentle atmosphere was gone; in its place stood a literal legion of white-robed figures massacring monsters. And the one showing the most outstanding performance was none other than Asia.
“Uhehe! Ahaha!”
Holy light poured down upon the monsters. Any enemy it touched melted away.
“Guaaaagh!”
The monsters screamed. Asia swung her mace to grant these enemies of the divine their final rest.
Thud!
Having recalled memories from long ago, she slaughtered the monsters with genuine relish.
Thud! Clang! Crash! Gyaaaagh!
The refreshing echoes rang in her ears.
I missed this.
The familiar sensation and melody. It felt as if every cell in her body that had been asleep was waking up at once.
In truth, right before the Hero Party disbanded, she had grown sick of hunting monsters. She had spent nearly half her life in the Hero Party. She had thought of it as her mission and given it her all. She had even felt pride and accomplishment as a member of the party. But at some point her heart had worn thin.
Once she realized that, she began dreaming of an ordinary priestess’s life—eating, praying, sleeping indoors. Of course they would have their own hardships. Peace? It wouldn’t be as bad as life on the front lines, but their hearts could hardly be at ease. Still, they were doing what they could in their own places.
She felt no jealousy, envy, or resentment toward them. But she had come to envy that kind of life.
After that, her view of her position in the Hero Party changed. Then came the truce, and a new life. Academy life was close to what she had dreamed of. She had to teach students and there was some stress from work, but it was similar to the life she had longed for.
Yet that lasted only a short while. A corner of her heart had grown empty. Why? She didn’t know. She had left behind that tiresome Hero Party life and begun the life she had dreamed of. So why did she feel this way?
She agonized over it again and again. And today, her question was finally answered.
It was this feeling!
The boredom vanished and her mind grew clear. Wicked monsters that defied the gods! Punishing them was her true calling.
They say people never know the value of what’s always by their side!
Going back to the Hero Party full-time would be a bit much. But occasionally beating monsters to death like this was something a proper follower of the Goddess ought to do.
Then, just as happiness returned to her, a sudden alarm rang inside her head.
“…A demon?”
No doubt about it. Her senses were screaming. This was no demonic energy a mere monster could emit. It was faint because of the distance, yet far more unpleasant than the monsters right in front of her.
It’s the same demonic energy I felt inside the academy before.
It was much thicker now, but definitely the same kind.
“I’ll be right back!”
“Professor Asia!”
Lifting the hem of her skirt slightly, she broke into a run.