The Worst Outcome
The following day after Alexia returned. I was spacing out. Today, Alexia and Helen are checking on the women’s health because we’re departing tomorrow, and the ladies are helping out with that. The guys are loading the things that we’re taking away from this village onto the carriage.
With that being said, there aren’t many things to take away, and because Viscount Kennus, who lent us the carriages, supplied us with the food and so forth, there’s no need to gather for those either.
I was to say what about training then, Levine-san and Helen-san aren’t around today. Hearing that we’ll depart from here tomorrow, they said that they’d return home for once.
Hilde-san was saying,「Let’s meet in the Royal Capital」, so I guess they’re coming along. Levine-san was looking at Eclat, who rides on top of my head, and resentfully glaring at me though.
Eclat is naturally by my side even now. Because I’m currently lying down, she’s sleeping soundly on top of my chest. Her occasionally scratching my chest while chirruping,「Kyu」, is adorable. I wonder what she’s dreaming?
However, it’s also somewhat rare for me to be alone outside of my own room. As far as it goes, Eclat is around but sleeping, and the spirits are also sleeping on top of Eclat. Light is somehow helping Alexia. It seems the women also calm down after being handled with that smile.
At home, there’s somebody amongst Alexia and company, and in the academy, there’s Dargris and company. In recent times, even if I go to the Arcadia State, there’s Caro. It’s been hectic lately, so taking it easy like this is probably good as well.
I raise my right hand towards the sun. I then recall the training. The scales that can repel my attacks no matter how much I attack. According to Levine-san, if it’s Level 9 Magic, then there’s no way the attack won’t go through. In that case, I wonder what’s lacking. As I was thinking about such things
“Kyun!”
and Eclat was rubbing her face against my chest. It appears that she’d woken up before I know it. And then, like she’s saying, ‘what’s wrong?’, she tilts her head and looks at me.
“It’s nothing”
While saying, I stroke Eclat’s head slightly strongly. Perhaps Eclat is also happy; she’s flapping her wings while chirruping, ‘Kyuu Kyuu’. Fuu, my mood that’s about to get depressed became slightly better. In any case, now I can only do what I can. Alright, now I shall adore this Baby Dragon with all my might!
“Uriuri~!”
“Kyuu, Kyururu!”
I was playing around with Eclat until Mei-chan came to look for me.
Next Day
“Has everybody boarded?”
“Eeh, it’s done”
I look at the carriages that line up behind. Inside, the women are on board. However, it’s incredible to line up as many as ten carriages huh. It’s as though we’re pedlars. I then look out over at everybody who gathers around.
“Well then, I’m counting on everybody”
I say, and we split up into our respective carriages. If this many carriages form a line and proceed, it’s bound to draw attention wherever it goes. Amongst that, there are probably bandits and monsters as well. In order to deal with those fellows when they appear, we decided to split into three groups.
Firstly, we split Rene, Alexia, Aerith, and I, who can use magic. Alexia and Aerith and in the carriage at very front, I’m at the middle, and Rene is at the very back.
Next, we split Ferris, Dargris, Cait, Birdon, Elynor, and Shizuku, who are proficient in close combat. Dargris, Ely and Cait are in the carriage at the very back; Shizuku and Birdon are in the carriage at the very front. Ferris is in the middle carriage.
“Alright, let’s do it, Aerith”
“Eeh”
And then, when I make sure that everybody besides Aerith boarded the carriage, I prepare to activate the magic. The reason is to destroy the village we sojourned at.
All of us talked about it yesterday, but it’s because Alexia said that even if we leave an uninhabited village alone, there’s not much good that’ll come of it. That, even if we left it behind as it is, bandits and monsters will probably just settle in. If that’s the case, it’s better to turn it into an empty lot, Alexia says.
When we talk about that to the people who had lived here, all of them say that they don’t mind since they don’t intend to return any more. Baron Mangus, the Feudal Lord of this place, also said that he abandoned this village after all. It’s unnecessary to go out of the way to leave it behind either.
And then, we decided to turn this village into an empty lot. ‘If anybody wants to live here then they can rebuild it’, is how it is.
“I’m doing it. Fire Magic Flame Storm!”
Aerith activates her Fire Magic and releases a whirlwind of flame. One after another, the houses that were swallowed up by the whirlwind burn. The women who had lived here peek at the situation from the carriages. Be it that it’s somewhere where they met with harm, it’s somewhere where they had lived. I suppose they have an emotional attachment to it as well. There are even those who cry.
And then, when it finishes burning to a certain extent, only the devastation of the fire remains. I extinguish the still remaining flame with Water Magic. All that remained was the devastation of the fire. If it’s like this then I guess nobody will stay.
“My bad, Aerith. I made you do the dirty work”
“This much is fine”
Aerith, who walks towards the carriage while saying and laughing. Thanks.
After that, I also board the carriage and depart. It’ll probably slow down since there are this many carriages.
If I take into consideration the fact that we’ll be camping, I’d much like to go until somewhere with a bit better visibility.
If we proceed like this, it seems we’ll also pass through Baron Mangus’ territory’s vicinity, but the Baron probably resents Alexia and Helen, so I don’t want to drop in. Since he’s going to try killing them in the worst-case scenario. If he tells the King that they were killed by bandits, he can probably pull through it after all.
About 6 hours of being shaken in this carriage while thinking about such things. We left in the morning, but it’s almost the timeframe that the sun is going to start setting from the summit. According to Helen, it’s also almost time the aforementioned Baron Territory is visible. It’s whatever though.
Eclat has also gotten bored of the unchanging scenery, hey, don’t nibble my hair. It’s gonna fall out. Ferris is also boredly fiddling with the fur of her own tail. Helen is reading a book that she’d brought. ……It’s impressive that she doesn’t get sick.
I’m admiring her in such a manner when, suddenly, there’s the sound, ‘Baーan, Baーan’. And then the carriage stops. In which case, it means magic has been shot up into the sky. Did something happen?
“Lei-kun!”
“Aah, both of you, remain in the carriage. I’ll go take a look at the situation”
I say to the two of them and alight the carriage. When I ask the Driver-san which one shot it, the Driver-san says that it was shot from the carriage at the front. It’s from Alexia’s direction huh. I hurriedly run towards the carriage in front. However, as far as I can see from here, nothing has happened though.
Alexia and the others had alighted from the carriage at the very front.
“Alexia, did something happen?”
“Lei. It turned into something terrible”
When I tilt my head, Alexia points her finger. In that direction, it’s vague because it’s still far away, but something town-like is visible.
“Is that place perhaps”
“Eeh, it’s Baron Mangus Territory. Furthermore, look at that”
Alexia then points in a different direction. Clouds of smoke are somehow curling up, but what’s that?
“I saw it with my telescope, but that’s a cloud of sand. And what’s causing that are……goblins”
……huh? I look at the cloud of sand once more. It’s to the extent that you can tell that something is curling up even from here, you know. To cause a cloud of sand of that calibre, just how many goblins in the world are there.
“It’s no less than roughly a thousand, as far as I could see. If we also include the portion that isn’t visible because of the cloud of sand, there might be close to 2 thousand”
Why is there so many? I think of something like that, and suddenly, I remember the village we burnt.
“……Could it be, that Baron, not only the bandits, he even neglected the goblins?”
“……That’s the only thing that comes to mind. I think they probably increased because he neglected the villages that met with harm”
“But, money should’ve been given to the guild from the Kingdom, right? And yet what exactly are the Adventurers doing?”
“What if he didn’t even inform the guild of the fact that the village had been attacked?”
I went silent at those words. It seems there’s no Adventurer Guild in the Baron’s territory, and it seems they have to go all the way to where the neighbouring Viscount Kennus is to try to put up a request. Baron Mangus, he even shirked on that.
Alexia says the population of Baron Mangus Territory is about 1 thousand people when I ask. In that case, I guess the number of soldiers there to maintain public order is also about 100. Be it that there’s a gate, if they’re attacked by that number…….
“What are we going to do, Lei?”
Alexia asks me. I look in the direction of the goblins once again. It’s an estimate, but it’s probably less than an hour until the goblins arrive at the Baron Territory. It’s a distance that we’ll barely make it if we gallop on the carriage from here.
And when I shift my attention back, Alexia, who looks at me anxiously, is before my eyes. I guess Alexia wants to go and help.
However, she’s also glancing behind me. It’s because the carriages are lining up there. I suppose she’s thinking that she doesn’t want to drag in the powerless women.
It can’t be helped. I don’t care about Baron Mangus, but I can’t stand to have unrelated civilians become sacrifices. If we go, even in the worst-case, we can probably buy some time to let the civilians escape.
We’ll have the neighbouring Viscount take care of the women in the carriages for once. It seems it’s reachable in a day from here after all. I’d much like to ask for reinforcements as well if possible though.
“Helen. Sorry but can you bring the carriages along and go to Viscount Kennus’ place”
I guess she understood my request. Helen nods at me. Her escorts are Ferris, Dargris, Rene, Birdon, Shizuku, and Emma. I’ve told her to head for the Viscount Territory without stopping even if something happens by any chance.
Alexia, Aerith, Cait, Elynor and I, who remain, will handle the goblins.
“I’d also like Eclat to follow Helen if possible though”
“Kyuu!”
Eclat clings to my head and also shakes her head refusingly with all her strength like she’s saying, ‘I don’t wanna!’. It can’t be helped. In the worst-case, I just have to have her fly away and escape huh.
“I got it. Don’t leave my head”
“Kyuru!”
Eclat, who chirrups happily.
“Lei”
Over there, Alexia comes over. It looks like everybody who’s going to head towards the goblins has finished getting ready. I say ‘getting ready’, but it’s just moving the baggage though.
“Aah, let’s go”
We all board the carriage and depart. I guess I’ll do the best for the civilians’ sake.
