—Trisen Castle, Upper Sky—
With our Masters having descended upon the castle, my support role alongside Haku-chan and Mudo-chan began, focusing on providing ground firepower and disrupting enemy units. Incidentally, this way of addressing them originated when Dahak-san said, “Efil-neesan, please be the same as Kuro-senpai!” and now I call them with the “-chan” suffix. Regarding Mudo-chan, Lion-sama mentioned, “Older Sister Efil, Mudo-chan also wants to be called that,” and Mudo-chan herself gazed at me with sparkling eyes. It seems like everyone’s expressions softened after eating the food.
Ah, I apologize. I’ve digressed. We are high above Trisen Main Castle, far beyond the reach of enemy arrows and magic. Even now, the arrows shot towards us are falling in a large volley.
“Damn it, even from the watchtower, the arrows don’t reach at all. At this rate, we’ll just be attacked one-sidedly. What are the mages doing!?”
“They reportedly can’t spare any hands due to barrier restoration. I just received contact from the chief of the Central District. More importantly, our position might have been revealed by that. Let’s leave here quickly.”
“H-hey! Look, that muscular monster from below is climbing up the wall!?”
“Climbing directly up the wall!? And so fast!”
“Shoot, shoot!”
On the ground, Gordiana-sama is bravely acting as bait alone. Since we are outdoors, I can confirm it clearly within my vision. I grasp the situation, and through telepathic communication with our Masters, I explain it to Haku-chan and Mudo-chan. For Gordiana-sama, our support focuses more on assistance than firepower. Right now, Haku-chan is extending sturdy vines on the tower’s wall with their ability to help Gordiana-sama climb it more easily.
“Pritia-chan, you’re so brave… It’s not just that you’re beautiful…”
…Perhaps it seems like we’re supporting Gordiana-sama a bit too much. As a maid, should I try to be understanding of this? I can’t help it. Mudo-chan and I will cover the rest. Everyone wants to support love, don’t they? Wait, but by doing so, aren’t I interfering with Gerard-san’s romantic prospects? Gordiana-sama mentioned before, “My darling and I are mutual lovers.” What should I do…
“Efil, please bomb the location marked on the map. I’ve confirmed Princess Shutra is not there. Make it spectacular.”
“Older Sister Efil! Please do something for us too!”
Oh no, I’ve received telepathic messages from our Masters. At the same time, eight sniper marks are added to the map. They are heading towards the top floor of the main castle from different routes, but it’s the enemy’s main camp where the Demon King resides, so there are many enemy soldiers. Though they aren’t struggling at all, it seems to be taking time. That’s why we, the support team, are here.
“Mudo-chan, please take care of those three points. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Gwon.”
Mudo-chan isn’t accustomed to telepathic conversations yet, so I give instructions directly. I draw my bow and load the magic power for five arrows. Mudo-chan also glows the horns on each of its heads, preparing its breath. We unleash them simultaneously. The eight points where the attacks landed explode almost at the same time, kicking up intense clouds of smoke. Alright, I was able to shoot without deviating even a millimeter. The power adjustment is also perfect. Destroying the castle would make searching for Shutra-sama meaningless, after all. The main objective is to reduce enemy forces.
“Gooor…”
Mudo-chan with the yellow horns seems to have missed one shot slightly. It drooped its head in disappointment.
“You missed one shot, didn’t you? But it’s a very slight error. I’ll cover for you with our Master, so let’s practice again next time, okay?”
“Guh!”
That’s good. It seems to have cheered up. While cheering it up, I shot an arrow at the missed point, so Mudo-chan’s reputation should be saved, right?
“I apologize. The bombing was delayed for one location.”
“No, I’ve confirmed the elimination of the enemy. As expected.”
“Thank you! In that case, we’ll proceed while we can!”
I-It seems I managed to cover for it. That’s a relief… Um, Gerard and Boga-chan have also safely broken through the front and will likely rendezvous with Gordiana-sama soon. As for Sera-san–!
“Haku-chan, Mudo-chan.”
“Gwon?”
“There, block that passage and grow some plants that scatter hypnotic poison… Oh my, Pritia-chan’s exposed thigh!”
“…”
It seems they’ve gotten carried away with something. I switch to telepathy and call out directly to Haku-chan’s mind.
“Haku-chan!”
“W-Whoa!? Wh-What is it, Efil-neesan!”
It seems I startled them. It was an emergency, so I raised my voice a little. Mudo-chan doesn’t know what happened and tilts its head, looking at each other.
“Enemies are approaching from the ground. Please be advised.”
“Oh, really. We shouldn’t have any forces left that can reach this altitude yet…”
Haku-chan seems to have confirmed it. But you know, there’s one person we know who might have the means to do so.
“…Tristan!”
“Guooru…”
The two who were formerly Dragon Riders also seem to know that enemy general. They are openly hostile, or rather, very obviously so. Do they dislike him that much? Previously, our Master failed to capture him, and at that time, checked his Status, including the monsters he controlled. He is, similar to our Master, a Summoner. It’s a special kind of summoning that can even include the summoner themselves as a target, as if by teleportation. It would be extremely troublesome if used as a surprise attack. However, there’s no need to worry about that now. It’s rather strange that he’s here.
“Here they come!”
The enemy general is approaching us riding a Great Bird with purple wings.
“Well met, is it? A rather cute maid. My name is—”
They are already within range. He intends to introduce himself, but there’s no need. I’ll shoot first. Minimizing any preliminary movements, I rapidly fire my Fire God’s Bow aiming for the heart.
“—Tristan, I am called.”
The arrow was deflected by someone. A large, inorganic monster was summoned before me. It could be described as a golem with only an upper body. Two peculiar arms float in the air, and a head is mounted on a body shaped like an inverted square pyramid. Its surface shines and glitters, reflecting the moonlight like a mirror. Based on its external features, I deduce it’s a monster our Master has seen before.
“Quite a bold young lady for her appearance—”
“Multi-headed Fire Dragon.”
I unleash a simultaneous barrage from the first to the eighth dragon heads. The night sky is illuminated by the flames of the Fire Dragon. Since it’s aerial combat, the bodies separate into individual units…
“—is, you see…”
Each head has locked onto targets. Let’s pursue the Great Bird and the Golem, half and half.
“E-Efil-neesan, you’re interrupting his speech…”
“There’s no need to force ourselves to listen. Master Azgrad also mentioned that enemy general is a smooth talker, so let’s just attack quickly. It might just be a stalling tactic, you know?”
“I-Is that so… Mudophalac, let’s get him! Oh, I forgot telepathy isn’t possible yet.”
Haku-chan and Mudo-chan seem to have finally entered combat readiness.
“…I see, a well-trained maid. I’d like one in my mansion.”
“I refuse.”
Simultaneously with my polite refusal, I send the Multi-headed Fire Dragon to create a wall of fire, blocking the enemy’s retreat path behind them. That’s right, I need to inform our Masters.
“Efil, Dahak, Mudophalac, initiating combat with the enemy general Tristan over the main castle.”
