c21 (2/2)
“Experience This presence doesn’t belong to any monster”
Lefille’s declaration elicited a doubting groan from the adventurer
He stared at Lefille for a moment
“…I understand I’ll let him know that that’s a possibility”
The adventurer gave a faultless reply before leaving in a hurry
Watching hihed, and mumbled to himself
“…I didn’t go with Reiji and the others precisely because I never wanted to fight the Mazoku”
Suiht back to the choice he’d made back in the palace In an attempt to avoid an unreasonable, reckless ith an unknown enemy as well as to find a way to return safely home, he’d parted ith Reiji and the others
And yet, in the end, here he was, forced to fight them anyway
Even if it wasn’t entirely for certain that they were about to face the Mazoku, but if that was indeed the case, then the irony of the situation was sin had proven entirely fruitless Sui his path
“So?”
Had she heard his mutters?
“It’s nothing I was just hoping that this trip would go smoothly”
“Suier You won’t get anywhere with a half-hearted resolve Even more so in the world as it is of late You would do well to remember this”
“…No er just has to follow, doesn’t it?”
“And we exist precisely to coer, do we not?”
“That’s true That’s the kind of job we accepted, after all,” Suimei replied honestly
A fearless grin appeared on the young girl’s face
A smile directed to a comrade-at-arms on the eve of battle
Their short talk over, Lefille removed the bundle from her back and unpacked its contents with practiced ease
Within the unfolded cloth lay a gigantic sword
It was around a hundred eighty centith, from the tip of the blade to the bottoular sword guard, which – together with the blade itself – measured around fiften centimeters wide It had the wide blade of a clayth of a zweihander It was not made in the Western fashi+on, the japanese fashi+on, or the Chinese fashi+on, but in the style of this other world Its silver-red body couldn’t be seen as ostentatious, but it was nonetheless undeniably beautiful
Lefille swung it several tih all he saas the reflection of the sun peeking through the clouds as it bounced off the blade He hadn’t the slightest clue where the strength to brandish this sword ca he was clear – this was so she was used to
Suddenly Lefille, for some reason or another, walked toward the side – the direction the inco Mazoku were in
Was that because that enormous weapon couldn’t safely be wielded to its fullest extent without first placing a certain amount of distance between herself and friendlies?
However, Lefille’s next action refuted this idea Without looking back, she continued to advance in the direction of the enemy
“H-hey, Lefille?”
“—Sui to seize the initiative and go on the offensive”
“Hey, don’t just leave like that… Is it really okay for you to just act on your own? Anyway, they’re still a little ways off, wouldn’t it be best for you to at least consult with Galeo-san first?”
Lefille shook her head, her eyes closed
“No Look around”
As she spoke, her head turned Suis
Because of the current situation, the otherto and fro, busy preparing
“…?”
“The other adventurers and bodyguards have completely devoted themselves to defense Do you understand now?”
“Ah, yeah, I guess We did just talk about it, after all”
“This isn’t going to work”
“Mm…”
Her denial seemed to say that the caravan’s decision for a countermeasure was ill-advised
Because of this, Suimei was reminded of what she had said earlier
“…By that, you’re referring to the need to take the fight to the Mazoku or whatever?”
“Yes,” Lefille nodded “The Mazoku are creatures that consider plunder, pillage, and ly, their desire to attack is intense beyond words If we focus only on defense, that will only whet their appetites If we truly plan to resist, then dedicating ourselves to defense is not an option”
“Sier, that I fully understand However, running straight into the enemy for only on defense is dangerous, to be sure, but going on the offensive is also dangerous, no? That said, assuh the current tactics we’re enize that it’s not the wisest choice,” Suie off alone
Lefille see the initiative The problem was that, just as the adventurer had said earlier, such a plan would only prove effective with sufficient manpower behind it
As a person fro where he’d be forced to fight the Mazoku as a guard, and thus deter the best way to allocate their limited resources was beyond his ability
Lefille, however, firmly rejected his words
“And so we stick to defense? You can’t even call that a plan”
“No No matter what, Lefille, you can’t just attack the enemy by yourself”
Sui down on her
That said, it was a fact that he wasn’t sure exactly how strong she really was As a e how strong a swordsman really was just by outer appearance alone
But even though he wasn’t sure how strong she was, they also were not sure of the ene to the fact that there remained so many unknown factors, it was unwise to be overly optimistic
Lefille nodded, see to understand how Suimei felt But—
“What you said is very true But, and I believe I’ve said this already, I know theh There’s no way I’d fail to understand their strength, and—”
“And?”
As she spoke, a dark aura seeoosebumps
“…I’ to kill them all Every last one!”
—Her valiant, beautiful face was suddenly shrouded by a dark shadohich had nothing to do with the clouds The face she showed noas the dark side of this ever-righteous soman
The eye that had not been covered by shadow suddenly burned with a crilare that seeh the heart of an enemy that was not present
…Again What in the world had happened to her? Just what kind of fate did the beings known as the Mazoku share with this young woman?
“…They’re that hateful?”
“Yes They are a sin An evil that knows only wickedness fro, and feast upon despair Creatures beyond any hope of salvation And that’s why they need to be exterminated And that’s why I’ll destroy them with these two hands”
“…”
The dark resolve in her words shattered any retort Suiht have offered
He wasn’t sure when, but Suimei was reiveness When they had destroyed the kingdom in the north, they had taken no captives, only lives
“And there you have it”
“A-ah”
Suddenly, the air between the for the soht, revealed a brilliant smile
“Suimei-kun, thank you But please, don’t worry about o in your care Goodbye”
In the blink of an eye, the young girl vanished into the forest depths
Her certainty that there was no danger in her facing the enemy alone seemed born of experience
However, at this point in time, there was no way for hireat, and if not, then so be it Time would tell
…Fast
That said, si by what he could see of her h the terrain was rough, the weight she carried enor, she seemed completely unaffected by the environ as she didn’t do anything too reckless, she should be just fine
…Before long, she vanished fro her race toward the eneer Either way, that didn’t last long
“Inco!” someone shouted, as the trees shook unnaturally and the presence of ic drew near
Finally, that which had followed the had revealed itself
“Ma- Mazoku… It’s the Mazoku!”
It was unclear who shouted first because this panicked cry seely escaped all their mouths at once
“So you’re…”
The Mazoku
On