c21 (1/2)

CHAPTER 21: MEETING THE ENEMY

Several days after Suimei had left the capital with the caravan

Their journey had gone off without a hitch They had encountered neither robbers nor monsters, and even inclement weather – which would slow their pace drastically – had not occurred Instead, they’d sies and post stations along the road

If there was anything to be unhappy about, it was only the small portion sizes forthey had been aware of before even setting out, and so it wasn’t really worth

Soon after, they safely passed through the mountain pass that was commonly referred to as the most difficult part of the journey, and the path they were now taking was at quite steep indeed

From what he’d heard from the merchants in the caravan, they still had about a third of their trip to go Once they’d passed through the foothills and a large basin, they’d find themselves at their destination

—The differences between their worlds notwithstanding, it see to sudden changes in environ just as difficult for the people of this world as for those of his own

For just as the caravan had left the foothills and reached the forest at the foot of the mountain—

The forest was fairly sparse, and on a typical sunny day, the light of the sun would easily break through the forest canopy Today, however, there was a thick cloud cover that left the morose

The scene, a glooray that stretched as far as the eye could see, ireatly

In this situation, where it seeeted at any er suddenly descended

…Lefille, walking with Suimei, suddenly spoke

“…Suimei-kun Have you noticed?”

“Yeah, I have”

As he’d said, he had already sensed the faint presences in their proximity

In fact, ever since they’d left the foothills and set foot in this forest, his neck had begun to burn, an ill oe offroical place nearby

Well, actually, that wasn’t an entirely accurate description… Because that ht for them

Fro a great amount of mana, was about to ambush them…

“…Hey, is this a monster? It doesn’t seeuarded eye on his flank

Suimei’s question was provoked by the waves offrom the creature From what he could feel, this was an existence far from human

Lefille’s answer came with certainty

“No, this is no monster It’s Mazoku”

“Wha…”

Why would that nah it’d been a topic of conversation earlier in the journey, had there really been some connection after all?

However

“…You were pretty certain just now Is there really no possibility of it being so other than the Mazoku?”

“No”

“Why not?”

“Because I know them inside and out There’s no way I would make a mistake about this”

“…Is that so?”

“…Yes”

Suih the young girl’s mind, but this time, her ansas even stiffer

As Lefille answered, a grim look on her face, the caravan came to a sudden stop Perhaps so them

Before long, they heard the sound of footsteps, and an adventurer dressed like a warrior ran toward the to the inauspicious circumstances

He waved at Suimei and the others

“Hey—”

Just as the adventurer was about to speak, Lefille nodded

“Yeah, we’ve already noticed”

“Oh? I-I see”

“Yes”

Lefille’s brief confirmation allowed the adventurer to cut short his explanation, and juht to the main topic

“—Alright, that’s good The icians tell us we have monsters headed this way Galeo-san’s decision is to meet them here”

…It see presences were but monsters

Whichever they were, the truth would soon become apparent once they arrived

Other adventurers, however, posed a question in response

“We’rethe attack here?”

“Yes Bodyguards are to participate in the battle as well Is there a problem?”

“No, that’s fine with us, but what about the merchants?”

Just as the surprised adventurers asked, this was a concern

As bodyguards, they, of course, had the resolve to take part in battle

But ould happen to the merchants they had been hired to protect?

Generally speaking, in order to avoid having non-coht, it would be best to have theht, but in the current situation, just where in their proxio?

They’d left the foothills and just entered the forest The terrain here was flat, but desolate There wasn’t anywhere nearby that wouldspot

Taking their current location into consideration, what should they do? In answering this question, Lefille responded with a question of her own

“What if we seized the initiative by taking the fight to them?”

“No, that’s not an option”

“Then, what about sending the merchants deeper into the forest?”

“That’s no good either”

“…?”

All suggestions were shot down by the other adventurers

As a counterestion to prevent the ene theiven situation

“…It looks like there are monsters ahead of us as well Since there are also hly likely there arefrom behind us as well If worst comes to worst, we’ll find ourselves surrounded In that case, rather than having the merchants move carelessly, it’s best if we keep theht …That’s our judgment,” the stiff-faced adventurer replied

So that was it If there was nowhere to run, then they’d just have to defend this spot That decision was reasonable enough

“Who will be responsible for attacking?” Lefille asked

“Hmm? There shouldn’t be a need for that…?”

“And why not? You just pointed out the possibility that we et surrounded If this were indeed to occur, then wouldn’t we need soe?”

“Huh? W-we don’t have any plans to break through the ene as we defend carefully, then it’s not like ht?”

“…I see”

Faced with resistance froness to give up seemed to arise out of a desire to avoid a pointless debate Nevertheless, Suimei could tell from her tone that she was frustrated

“Breaking the siege, is it…?”

Silently, Sui battle in his e would be a focused offensive concentrated on a single point When besieged, passively focusing on defense was soardless of how effective or ineffective it ht eventually prove to be, it was nonetheless an absolute necessity

This tie” per se; rather, by separating, and devoting a portion of their forces to freely attack the ene them, they should be able to easily throw the enemy formation into disarray

Lefille had clearly thought things through, else she wouldn’t have raised the point

…That said, even if it was the ree of manpower

As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush If they were to attempt an attack in a situation where they couldn’t even necessarily guarantee they had enough people to defend, that’d be putting the cart before the horse

“We’ll end the conversation here I need to get back to o in your care”

With that, the adventurer prepared to leave

Lefille, however, called out, stopping him

“Can I say so else?”

“…What?”

“What’s co at us from the side are definitely not monsters, but Mazoku Please inform Galeo-san of this detail”

“Huh? W-why do you know so like that?”