Vol 2: Chapter 18
* Escort: Lelenore *
Halflings are excellent as herbalists, but the same cannot be said for their fighting prowess due to their small physique. A woman who stands out in that area is even more rare.
Lelenore was that “rare”. Born as a distant relative of House Duke Ebene in the Kruvan Holy Kingdom, she had a childhood unrelated to being a noble. There are many herbalists in her rural halfling village, and the children born there are also brought up as herbalists. It has been a long-standing tradition that about half of them stay in the village and the rest travel outside the village.
However, Lelenore was different. She had an extremely high level of magical ability. She could use 【Flower Magic】 and 【Earth Magic】 even without absorbing skill orbs.
Lelenore chose to be a mage rather than a herbalist. She caught the eye of Duke Ebene, and was called to the main house — and eventually started working as a knight of House Duke Ebene.
She was given the 3-star skill orbs, 【Flower Magic★★★】 and 【Earth Magic★★★】, to polish her natural magical talents. And she trained to increase her physical prowess so that she wouldn’t lose even if she were to fight with other races; to be able to fight even in places where skills cannot be used, such as the venue for “Sprouts and New Moon Banquet”.
(What was that just now…!?)
Lelenore was astonished.
At the start, she was wondering “Why is a child escort in such a place?”. Speaking of House Earl Sillys, it is fully recognized as a central authority, and the head of the family is also called by an unsettling name, “Cold-Blooded Lord”. She also heard that the head of the family has many enemies, and that there was an assassination attempt recently.
That being the case, he chose a child to escort his daughter, Eva?, she thought.
It would’ve made sense if he was from a race of short stature such as halfling, hobbit, or dwarf, but no matter how one looked at him, that escort was clearly human. And his face still looked innocent, like a child, so Lelenore guessed he must be in his early teens.
He didn’t feel like a sword master, nor like a ruthless soldier. He looked like Eva’s friend.
(I see… To prevent Eva-sama from becoming anxious, the Earl prioritized psychological “protection”.)
Lelenore concluded as such. In other words, Eva’s escort would be useless in an emergency.
The reason why she had to consider all this was because the Holy Prince attended the venue, and as though that wasn’t enough tension, even the Holy King attended.
If the worst case scenario were to occur, this country will be shaken to its core. Even if protecting her Lord is the highest priority, Ethan might command her to protect His Majesty.
An escort has to prioritize in advance, assuming all possible situations.
And that “worst case” happened.
First, in the darkness, Lelenore grasped Ethan’s location and stood in between the assailants’ path and Ethan.
「Lelenore.」
「Keep silent. Escaping in the dark will be dangerous. I will check for an escape route when the brightness returns.」
Ethan suddenly offered the treasure sword he had. But Lelenore shook her head.
「Please use this to protect yourself, Ethan-sama.」
The Holy Prince and Holy King, who were shining dimly in the darkness, would be a “good target” for the attackers.
However, the next moment, something which astonished Lelenore occurred.
5 flames suddenly appeared in the air.
The one who developed those flames was the boy that Lelenore judged to be “useless”. There was no doubt about it because the flames were floating around the boy.
(What…!! He immediately activated 5 【Fire Magic】 in this place where skill can’t be used!?)
Even if Lelenore was blessed with magical talents from an early age, her activation limit for 【Flower Magic】 and 【Earth Magic】 was only 3. Rather, she was selected as Ethan’s escort exactly because of her ability to activate three at a time, which was clearly superior to other knights.
(A 【Fire Magic】 genius—)
These child geniuses are born mutationally, though very few in number. The boy looked untrained, but his genius is why the “Cold-Blooded Lord” attached him as an escort to his daughter – Lelenore was convinced this was the reason.
(If so, he should be an amateur at melee combat. Since the brightness is secured, it’s our job from here on out!)
Lelenore decided so, and turned her eyes to Arthur of Knights Order. He ascended to the position of knight captain with the backing of his parents, but that position is not something one can ascend to without real abilities, either. He had an idea of what to do in this emergency. And perhaps having the same judgment as Lelenore, he turned his eyes towards her.
The two nodded.
「Ethan-sama, please wait here.」
「Be careful.」
Just when she was about to rush towards the attackers–
Eva ordered her escort.
「Reiji, protect everyone!」
Immediately after that, the escort that was standing in Lelenore’s view, disappeared.
* Reiji *
Skill orb grants a person skill.
This is common sense in this world, but many people seemed to misunderstand it… That thought often crossed my mind.
It is possible to exert the “power equivalent to a skill” without a skill.
For example, people are able to use magic without a skill, and people are able to become a sword master without a skill. A skill is just a substitute that allows you to skip the process and reach the master’s level.
(Three sounds of battle. The other three are heading straight here.)
Battle seems to have broken out at each table . It was the escorts who were fighting back. Some children had fallen out of their chairs and paralyzed in fear, while some others were screaming.
I left the light lit by 【Fire Magic】 on the spot, and started dashing using 【Sprinting Technique】. The assailants seemed to have been paying attention to me, and their breathing was discomposed -【World Ruler】 told me. Well, that’s only natural. It would seem like I had suddenly disappeared, after all.
The three who cut across the open space in the center were moving slowly – maybe due to the inhibition of skills. I circled around them, and rushed at their side.
「!」
One seemed to have noticed me approaching in the dim light, but it was too late. I was already in front of the attacker.
I drove a hook into the assailant’s side with the 【Punching Technique】 I learned from the training of the Holy Knights.
All the air inside the assailant’s lungs was knocked out in an instant. That little time was more than enough. The next punch hit him square in the jaw. The chin is a weak point in boxing, and if you are hit there, you will fall unconscious.
Noticing the first one going down, the two other assailants switched targets onto me. They pulled out the short sword fastened at their waist. The black-painted blade which blended into the darkness was hard to see.
(Ouch… my hand hurts…)
It seems that they were wearing a chainmail under the black outfit. My fist was crying in pain. I healed my fist by activating 【Healing Magic】 with the mana which was available in my power saving mode.
Now, to take care of the remaining two.
One of them lunged with a thrust.
The speed would appear remarkably fast for the average person, but for me, who has observed the training of the Knights Order, it was incredibly slow.
However, something felt out of place with that thrust.
(Eh…? That thrust… is the exact same “type” as the Knights Order?)
