Chapter 138 – My Hero (1/2)

What Imeraria has seen from Orsongrande’s encampment, where she is currently staying, is a giant taking a detour from the border’s fortress and overtaking the soldiers. Alyssa’s group having their attention attracted by something that’s hanging from the roof of the fortress, she understood that they haven’t even noticed the giant.

“Sabnak-san!” (Imeraria)

“The spear throwers will volley fire at the giant! The cavalry will follow me! We will attract the giant’s attention by detouring from the right! Fokalore’s soldiers will circle around from the right and rescue her unit!” (Sabnak)

Raising his voice, Sabnak jumped on his horse without even listening to the answer of Fokalore troops.

Thanking Sabnak, who chose to become a decoy without hesitation, a platform wagon is swiftly dispatched by the soldiers of Fokalore.

The moment the cavalry breaks into a gallop, Orsongrande’s soldiers fire the spears.

With several spears piercing him, the giant, who has approached Alyssa who had fallen in a dire situation due to the beating, is beyond agony.

Under the cover of the chaos, Imeraria jumps on a horse and heads towards Alyssa’s location together with the soldiers of Fokalore and not Sabnak.

She heard the warning voices of her guards, but Imeraria can’t see anything but Alyssa being caught in a dilemma.

A feeling of uneasiness is stirred up within her due to Alyssa, who was flicked off the horse, being approached by the giant again.

“No! Everyone, get away!” (Alyssa)

“Alyssa-san!” (Imeraria)

Alyssa, who calls out to her colleagues even though having fallen off the horse, doesn’t notice Imeraria’s group approaching from behind.

“Alyssa-san! Your hand!” (Imeraria)

“… Eh?” (Alyssa)

Alyssa turned around due to the yell. At that instant, spears are simultaneously fired by the soldiers of Fokalore who came to rescue her. The giant dropped the spear he was grasping.

Even as the figure of Imeraria, who extended her hand towards her from atop a horse, came into her sight, she didn’t comprehend for some moments.

“P-Princess-sama?” (Alyssa)

“I’m a queen! Quick, your hand!” (Imeraria)

Imeraria firmly grasped Alyssa’s right hand, which she held out as told while being dumbfounded, but different from a properly trained soldier, the other party hasn’t the arm strength to pull up an armed human even if it’s a girl.

“Kyaa!” (Imeraria)

“Uwaah!” (Alyssa)

Imeraria falls off the horse while grasping Alyssa’s hand

Even during that time, the soldiers of Fokalore are collecting their colleagues on the platform wagon.

“Now! Everyone get on the platform wagon! Director, you hurry as well!”

“Y-Yea!” (Alyssa)

Carrying the fainted Imeraria, Alyssa stepped firmly on her healthy left foot while dragging her right knee.

On the other side of the giant, who is thrashing around after receiving further spears, the knights of Orsongrande, led by Sabnak, are confronting Horant’s soldiers. However, thanks to that no other enemy forces besides the giant are coming this way.

At the moment the platform wagon came next to her, Alyssa, who entrusted Imeraria to a soldier first, stands up on one leg while bearing the pain and sits down next to Imeraria who was lain down.

“Go, go!” (Alyssa)

“Then… watch out!”

As the soldier shouts, she looks ahead of his line of sight.

While recklessly swinging his big arms, the rampaging giant approached the direction of Alyssa and the others.

The giant, who turned into a hedgehog after being pierced by spears all over his body, hasn’t seen anything but is simply raging around. However, with each of his arm-swing, a human is sent flying.

And, the large build, which advances two meters with one step, had already approached to a distance where he can look down on Alyssa.

“Uuh!”

Alyssa, who judged that there’s no time to escape, leaned forward to cover Imeraria’s slender body in order to at least her protect if not anyone else.

“… Hifumi-san!” (Alyssa)

Even while believing it to be pathetic, the name of the most reliable person rushed out from within her.

She didn’t think about wanting to be saved. She merely felt regretful. Even while declaring that she will rescue her friends, she wasn’t in time and moreover the soldiers, who followed her, have also been violated by the enemy’s hands. Even her own life is about to be lost now.

If there was something she could tell Hifumi, there was one thing she wanted to convey to him.

“Excuse me, Hifumi-san!” (Alyssa)

“That’s right. Reflect deeper than the ocean.” (Hifumi)

“… Uee?” (Alyssa)

She hears an earth tremor alongside a voice that shouldn’t be here.

“By just bending the foot, which stepped forward, a bit like this, a human’s body will easily collapse.” (Hifumi)

“I see, that’s educational, Hifumi-sama.” (Origa)

Once Alyssa lifted her face, the one who has toppled sideways over there is the giant who is suffering due to being deeply pierced by spears. And in front of that giant was the figure of Hifumi who was carelessly giving a lecture to Origa.

“The balance of humans, who are standing on two legs, is fundamentally bad. By just disturbing the centre of gravity between the two legs, they will easily fall over.” (Hifumi)

“Hi-Hifumi-san!?” (Alyssa)

“Shut up. Come back this way quickly. For the time being, this time your command and conduct is a failure. … It’s the same for the idiot who has fainted in an easygoing manner over there.” (Hifumi)

Hifumi, who pointed at Imeraria, drew his katana and turned around to the giant.

Standing next to him, Origa falls back merely three steps and stares at Hifumi.

“Uuh…” (Alyssa)

The rescue scene should have been deeply emotional, but Alyssa dropped her shoulders while on the verge of tears after being called a failure together in one lump with Imeraria.

“A-Anyway, director, let’s withdraw to the encampment leaving this place to Lord-sama.”

“Yea, please…” (Alyssa)

The soldiers of Fokalore, including the wounded, leave towards the encampment while riding on the platform wagon.

Seeing the situation, Sabnak’s group started retreating as well.

“Hey, stand up. You are still alive, aren’t you?” (Hifumi)

What’s audible through the roaring sounds from the platform wagon’s wheels is Hifumi coldly addressing the giant while kicking him flying. Finally the actual feeling of having been rescued, erupted within Alyssa.

At the same time she has become depressed and is thinking back upon this time’s disgrace.

“H-He got angry…” (Alyssa)

As she wonders what kind of punishment is waiting for her, Alyssa’s body trembles more than at the time she confronted the giant.

☺☻☺

The one who started talking about “let’s send the elf and beastmen to the capital” was no one else but Caim.

As for the reasons explained to the other civil officials, who were puzzled, by Caim; they don’t know when Hifumi, who’s the feudal lord, will return even if they stay in Fokalore as is. Not knowing how to handle the guests of unknown status, he is worried about the stress of the staff piling up. Because there’s no rule in Orsongrande itself how to treat elves and beastmen, who aren’t enemies, it’s a judgement that has to be made directly by the queen in the capital as fast as possible.

The last argument couldn’t be interpreted as anything but sophistry, but the opinion of forcing the entire matter onto the lot of the capital was approved with everyone raising their hands.

Moreover, to make doubly sure,

“At the time it turns into a fight between the madam and that rabbit beastman, the damage reaching the territory is what we want to avoid, I believe.” (Caim)

Saying that, Caim calmly voiced out the words everyone was afraid to mention.

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