༺ The Lord Is With Us (39) ༻
In the early dawn, the forest emitted a gentle humidity
The lush greenery appeared vivid under the warm sunlight and the fresh scent of grass filled the lungs.
Everything seemed perfectly peaceful.
So much so that it was hard to imagine that beneath the tranquility, hundreds of demonic beasts lurked in the shadows. Or that it was a place where demonic humans kidnapped orphans for their nefarious plot.
In the midst of this environment, I cautiously walked deeper into the forest. Despite our prolonged presence, there were no reactions yet from the demonic monkeys.
Given that these creatures were under the control of the demonic humans, it seemed unlikely that they had run away. It was more likely that they were either lying in ambush or preparing for a final stand before the cave entrance.
It probably wasn’t just us who had chosen today for the decisive battle.
The demonic humans and their beasts must have also realized from our movements that the time for the final battle had approached.
Our group of seven pressed forward, each of us wearing grave expressions on our faces.
Tension hung heavy in the air, evident from the audible breaths we drew. The Saintess, struggling to bear the atmosphere, discreetly approached my side and whispered into my ears.
“…You meant it when you said we would retreat if it gets dangerous, right?”
“Do you think anyone would joke around with their lives on the line?”
The Saintess seemed a bit upset as she heard my blunt reply. She let out a snort, her voice tinged with incredulity.
“Hmph. You always act with reckless abandon.”
“Let’s just say I overflow with a heroic spirit. I just can’t stand doing nothing while enduring losses.”
A slightly begrudging look crept into the Saintess’s gaze as she looked at me. When I glanced back at her, curious about the reason behind her look, she quickly averted her gaze as if it was nothing and merely repeated a phrase I had heard before.
“…You’re confusing me again.”
“I’ve always been the same. You’re the one confusing me, Saintess.”
The Saintess discreetly scanned our surroundings. Perhaps due to the tension in the air, not many were paying attention to us.
Only Seria and Senior Elsie occasionally sent fleeting glances our way. Even Celine was shivering, too preoccupied at the thought of potentially encountering the demonic humans.
Leisure was a luxury we couldn’t afford, with Senior Delphine and Yuren being the only ones to keep their composure.
Naturally, I was no exception. I felt as if my hands would tremble uncontrollably if I relaxed my vigilance even slightly. Yet, for some odd reason, the deeper I delved into the forest, the calmer my heartbeat became.
It was an unfamiliar sensation. My muscles relaxed, yet my senses sharpened, my eyes scanning for any changes in every direction.
And above all, it felt as if something was pumping my heart.
It was a type of intuition I had never experienced before but it was also a source of reassurance amidst the unease.
I thought that in many ways, this odd sense of exhilaration was far better than overwhelming tension.
The Saintess also seemed a bit restless. Despite her place at the rear, the responsibility for our lives weighed heavily on her.
It appeared that her chosen method to alleviate her anxiety was arguing with me.
As the leader of the party, I was willing to indulge her as long as it meant that she would perform better in battle.
The Saintess, after confirming that there was no one to interrupt her, started chatting.
“You’re a noble, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“It’s strange that you get along so well with commoners, but you concern yourself with orphans as well? Did your family perhaps not educate you properly as you grew up?”
Her question left me speechless for a moment, and yet, the Saintess merely pouted playfully.
It was a statement that told me a lot about how she normally viewed nobility. I brought my hand to my forehead and heaved a sigh.
“…What exactly do you think a noble family’s education entails?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Wouldn’t it be all about elitism and efficiently manipulating things to their advantage?”
“But isn’t that the same for you?”
The Saintess flinched as if I had hit the bullseye. Her quivering pink eyes turned towards me.
“You wouldn’t risk your life to save some orphans, would you?”
“…W-Well, that’s just basic self-preservation. Sacrificing one’s life for others is something only a few virtuous people can do. It’s not something we sinful, rotten people, can do.”
I suppressed a scoff at her flimsy excuse, and then glanced at the Saintess.
“You’re the only one who’s rott- Ugh!”
A sudden surge of pain erupted from my side before I could finish. The Saintess had pinched me.
The situation felt unfair. I clenched my teeth, suppressing the pain. Unable to retaliate against the Saintess due to the presence of the rest of the party, I found myself enduring her unilateral aggression.
‘I really need to teach her a lesson someday.’
I swore to get my vengeance.
The Saintess also seemed surprised as though the pinch had been unintentional. Flustered, her gaze darted in all directions. Blushing slightly, she lowered her head.
“I-I’m sorry… I did it subconsciously.”
“Anyways, don’t be so hard on the nobles. Aren’t we humans, just like you?
“…I-I’m different!”
The woman cried out in embarrassment. It was barely a whisper, yet it was audible enough to draw the attention of others.
Startled by her volume, she covered her mouth with both hands. Fortunately, the other party members quickly lost interest, turning their focus back to their surroundings.
The Saintess fanned herself, trying to cool down her reddened face. She then cleared her throat in an attempt to regain her composure.
“E-Even though we do support a handful of orphanages, it’s only possible to rescue a few hundred children. I know this well as a former orphan myself. To truly help those children who have nowhere else to go, we need to overhaul the system from its core.”
“…So you’re saying you’d abandon the orphans?”
“D-Don’t say it like that……!”
I gleefully teased her, finally catching onto the Saintess’s Saintess’ weakness. But when I saw her trembling and on the verge of exploding, I hastened to smooth things over.
“Well, it’s personal freedom. As you said, no one is obligated to sacrifice their lives for others. Just do what feels right for you.”
However, the Saintess was already upset. She merely glanced at me and discontentedly turned away with an irritated ‘hmph’.
She was a ridiculous woman. She would start an argument and be the first to get upset.
Eventually, someone in the party could no longer stand our bantering and shouted out. It was Yuren.
He chuckled and called out to me and the Saintess.
“Sister, Ian! Quit the lover’s spat and start preparing. We’re almost there.”
“It’s not a lover’s spat!”
The Saintess’s response to Yuren’s joke was quite fierce. I also frowned and was about to refute him, but at that moment, my body tensed up.
A chill ran down my spine, and I sensed something rushing at me from the edges of my perception.
My reaction was instantaneous.
Shoving the Saintess to the side, I swiftly drew my sword. Without a second thought, I swung it downward.
The sound of metal striking bone rang out.
It was impossible to cut it down with a single strike without aura. However, it was enough to fatally injure one of the monkeys that had wicked, blue eyes.
Long, blade-like claws jutted from its arm, poised to puncture into either my skin or the Saintess’ had my sword not cleaved through its shoulder down to its chest.
Kiiiiieeek!
That scream was the signal.
One after another, shadows began to appear above the surrounding trees. They moved with greater stealth and swiftness than before, their ferocity heightened since our previous encounter.
Even at a glance, there were dozens of them.
Ignoring the Saintess, who was dazedly staring at me from the ground, I shouted at Senior Delphine.
“Senior Delphine! How many are there?”
“I’m not sure, but there must be dozens! Definitely more than fifty!”
As Senior Delphine shouted out, our formation changed drastically.
Forming a circle around the Saintess and Senior Elsie, we now faced dozens of pairs of blue eyes that seemed more chilling than the dawn air.
Naturally, the monsters didn’t give us time to prepare.
In an instant, more than ten demonic monkeys pounced down, displaying an agility that surpassed imagination. Their leaps carried them well above my height.
Allowing the monkeys to breach our defense even once would endanger the safety of the Saintess and Senior Elsie. Clenching my teeth, I swung my sword.
My blade plunged into the heart of a monkey rushing at me, accompanied by the sound of flesh tearing.. Without time to confirm the kill, another monkey leaped over its fallen comrade and charged right at me.
But now, my sword was enveloped in aura.
Blood sprayed, tainting the air crimson.
A swift overhead swing cleaved through another beast in a single motion. Even then, the ceaseless onslaught of demonic creatures was difficult to handle.
I was worried. If I was struggling this much even after my skills had grown tremendously over the past two months, Celine was sure to be in dire straits.
I glanced over at Senior Delphine. True to her reputation as the strongest amongst us, she instantly executed three monkeys with her lightning-fast thrusts.
The unlucky monsters, impaled by her blade, shrieked in agony as flames consumed their hearts, leading to their end. With each surge of golden aura, the sound of scorched flesh reverberated through the air.
Senior Delphine seemed to be moving with a bit more restraint than usual, but she appeared to have things under control.
So, I called out to her.
“Senior Delphine! Please assist Celine!”
“…Then who will cover my spot?!”
Her response was reasonable. After plunging my blade into the neck of another charging beast, I yanked it out, and hurled the monster’s body towards another one that was attempting to flank me.
Caught off guard by the unexpected corpse, the demonic monkey scrambled to its feet, only to find a flying hatchet waiting for him.
With a thud, blood and brain matter sprayed into the air.
Gaining a brief respite from that kill, I shouted in response.
“I’ll take care of it somehow!”
Senior Delphine seemed to hesitate at my uncertain words, but when a scream erupted from Celine’s direction, she immediately turned her body.
Celine was a swordsman who primarily used a greatsword. It wasn’t particularly efficient in a chaotic melee, but it was still better than nothing.
Since there were now two people defending a single point, our defense was not as efficient as when one person was assigned to each direction. Even so, the combined efforts of those two could cover the equivalent of 1.5 people’s workload, leaving me to handle the remaining 0.5.
Support from the Saintess and Senior Elsie should soon start coming in, which would allow us to fight more safely and stabilize our situation.
With that in mind, I plunged my sword into another charging monkey and toppled another one that aimed for my back while I retrieved my hatchet.
All the while desperately ignoring the premonition that this was only the beginning of a day-long battle.
