“Let’s talk as we walk…”
Mr. Hein turned his back to me and walked towards the Cathedral after confirming my approach. I followed behind his defenseless back. At this moment, I could easily knock him out if I attacked him. However, I had no intention of attacking his back. It was because I was sure of the reason why Mr. Hein was waiting for me here. His expression, his attire, his actions—everything pointed to one conclusion. Mr. Hein, who was likely an ally, asked me with few words, “Now that things have come to this, our options are limited. Do you understand that?”
“Yes. I heard that all of Rustiara’s ties will disappear during the ritual. That’s what I intend to aim for.”
I stated my objective truthfully. It was partly information that wouldn’t matter if it were known, but I also wanted him to evaluate my plan.
“Very well. …Next, do we aim for that moment to kidnap the girl? Or do we aim for that moment to outwit the organizer?”
“Outwit, you say?”
“The organizer is Vice Prime Minister Fedelt, and there’s also a representative from the Senate of the main country. Even if these two judge that the ritual cannot proceed, His Highness’s death will be avoided. Since guests and nobles from various countries will be present, if they are harmed, there’s a good chance the ceremony will be canceled or altered.”
“There’s such a method too…”
I was bewildered by the increase in options at this last minute. While I was grateful, it also brought about hesitation.
“It’s fine to just keep it in mind as one of your options.”
Mr. Hein seemed to notice my confusion and didn’t force it.
“Understood.”
As we talked, we arrived in front of the Cathedral’s drawbridge. Citizens were buzzing around, waiting for the time to come. As soon as Rustiara’s ritual ended, a full-scale ceremony would begin inside the Cathedral, and the citizens were eagerly awaiting the opening of the doors to participate. I looked towards the Cathedral. Several knights stood at the midpoint of the drawbridge, holding their swords, forming a wall. Furthermore, I could see countless knights waiting on the elevated platforms and rest areas beyond them. Mr. Hein, standing next to me, pointed at the main gate without changing his expression and began to explain, “From here, we will go through the main gate and charge straight to the Cathedral. We’ve been searching for other routes since yesterday, but the security is the same everywhere. Therefore, breaking through the straightforward path is the quickest way.”
If Mr. Hein said so, I had no objections. Moreover, as I was not familiar with the interior, I risked getting lost if I didn’t take the frontal route. The plan remained unchanged.
“Understood. Let’s save Rustiara together, Mr. Hein.”
I conveyed my agreement to Mr. Hein. However, upon hearing this, Mr. Hein smiled faintly and shook his head.
“That is incorrect, young man. You are the one who will save her. Only you.”
Mr. Hein answered with a happy voice, looking at me with a sad face.
“Only me…?”
“I have turned a blind eye for three years and am a foolish knight who knows nothing of the girl’s heart. I could not understand—not the ‘Rustiara’ who made up her mind, nor the ‘girl’ who sought help…. I have no right…”
I couldn’t comprehend the meaning of the ‘right’ Mr. Hein spoke of. However, I understood some part of it dimly. Mr. Hein seemed to regret turning a blind eye to Rustiara’s problems for so long.
“No… I don’t think ‘right’ matters. If we go by that, then I too…”
I probably had no right either. I had lost my feelings for Rustiara without being able to answer her plea for help. I didn’t have the confidence to have as much devotion as Mr. Hein now.
“That is not true. You are standing here after only a few days. In contrast, it took me three years. That’s the difference. It’s truly just that much of a difference…”
Mr. Hein slowly stepped forward, speaking with self-deprecation. I couldn’t grasp the true meaning of his self-deprecation. What I could barely understand was that his past feelings were amusing him. Sensing something I couldn’t delve into, I silently followed behind him. We passed through the crowd waiting for the ceremony and entered the bridge. As expected, the knights on the bridge noticed us crossing the boundary and approached us. In response, I began to construct magic. Mr. Hein walking beside me did the same.
“—Magic ‘Dimension: Decisive Calculation’, Magic ‘Freeze’.”
“—’Windsbreath’, ‘Windsdraw’.”
I deployed Perception magic in a radius of several meters, weaving Ice Magic into it. This was preparatory work for activating new magic at any time. As a result, cold air leaked from my body, and the ground I walked on began to freeze. Mr. Hein wrapped himself in wind, deploying countless masses of wind around him. Thanks to Magic ‘Dimension: Decisive Calculation’, I could feel the presence of that wind as if it were in my hand. The approaching guard knights changed their expressions at our appearance. One of them looked at Mr. Hein and called out, “M-Mr. Hein—?”
“My apologies. I’m in a hurry.”
Mr. Hein briefly answered the knight’s surprise and released a mass of wind, blowing the knight sideways off the bridge. The knight was lifted by the impact from the side and fell off the drawbridge. The sound of him falling into the water could be heard, and the other knights looked shocked and began to draw their swords. Before the knights could draw their swords, I closed the distance and flung one of them, who was about to draw his sword, away with brute force. The thrown knight fell into the river, just like the one before. The knights noticed my approach, drew their swords, and attempted to slash at me. However, it was too late. Mr. Hein’s masses of wind raged, and the knights were blown into the river one after another. Those who avoided it were thrown by me. All the approaching knights were instantly thrown into the river.
Voices rose from behind. The crowd buzzed, looking at our actions. However, Mr. Hein calmly called out to me, “Shall we hurry? You can leave the enemies on the high ground to me. —I won’t let the bells or signal fires be sounded.”
“Yes.”
The knights waiting in the distance noticed the disturbance on the bridge and swarmed like ants. Without a word, Mr. Hein and I simultaneously charged towards the group. I could feel Mr. Hein’s magic swelling as he ran beside me. One of the rings Mr. Hein wore was missing, and he unleashed the same magic as before.
“—’Zea-wind’!”
A gale was released from Mr. Hein’s hand, blowing away part of the group of knights who had gathered. At the same time, I heard the buzz from the crowd behind us turn into screams. I ran into the middle of the scattered group. Then, I felt Mr. Hein’s magic swell again. He shouted at me, “Go ahead, young man! —’Zea-wind’!!” Another gale was unleashed in my path. The raging masses of wind grazed my cheeks, blowing away knights, and finally crumpled the massive lattice gate ahead. The single path leading into the Cathedral grounds was opened by the wind.
“I go first!?”
“You are the one to save her! Leave the rest to me!”
Mr. Hein was insistent on me saving Rustiara. If possible, I wished he would abandon such insistence—but his eyes were serious, and I knew he wouldn’t yield no matter what. Pushed by his intensity, I nodded.
“Yes!!”
I put strength into my legs and kicked off the ground as if to gouge it, rushing down the single path ahead. Along the way, various winds passed from behind me, cutting down the knights who stood in my way. The knights on the high ground were blown away. I could see some falling to the ground out of the corner of my eye. The accuracy and rapid-fire performance of the magic were overwhelming. Compared to before, the power was suppressed, but I marveled at the unchecked nature of the wind magic. —I ran, using that gale as a tailwind. There must have been over a hundred knights waiting at the main gate, but I left them all behind in just a few seconds. Alone, I ran straight down a path paved with jewels, flanked by tall hedges. There was no sign of knights pursuing from behind. It seemed Mr. Hein was holding off all the knights at the gate for me.
However, I sensed people approaching from the right with my magic. A group of knights, stationed elsewhere, was approaching from a distance. However, that group wouldn’t catch up to me as I ran. The difference in speed and distance was that great. The moment I felt relieved, I sensed a shadow leap out from that group. No, not a single shadow. To be precise, one person, clinging to the back of a beast, was approaching me at high speed. I focused Magic ‘Dimension’ on that shadow to ascertain its identity. The identities were—Knight Sera Radiant, a half-beast, and Knight Ragune Kaikuola, wielding a magic sword. Two of the ‘Seven Knights of Heaven’ were heading towards me.
“Gyaaaaaaahhh!”
As Radiant approached with a roar, I winced. It served as an excellent signal to report the intruder’s location. For future reference, I decided to defeat the two attackers as quickly as possible. Initially, I had considered talking them down, but the situation and time made it difficult. First, I increased my running speed to put distance between us and the two attackers. However, the distance continued to shrink. My speed was beyond that of ordinary humans, but I had to describe their speed as beyond that of ordinary beasts. Then, the moment I felt they had caught up to just beyond the trees lining the road, I sensed Ragune-chan’s magic swell on my back. Ragune-chan’s magic rapidly increased, and the tip of her sword aimed to pierce my leg. It was her specialty, the stretchable magic sword. I had faced it before. Combining that experience with the fact that I had noticed their approach in advance with Magic ‘Dimension’, I easily dodged it. The magic sword instantly cut down the surrounding trees and retracted. This was the first time I had seen that sword cut anything. Its sharpness made me more vigilant. If it touched me, it would be easy to cut off one of my legs.
Voices were heard from beyond the trees, and the two increased their speed, circling in front of me. Given the difference in speed, I couldn’t block them. They appeared as if to block my path. Radiant in her wolf form, and Ragune-chan, the short-haired knight girl riding on her back.
“Um, um, please stop! Older Brother from before!”
Ragune-chan urged me to stop in a surprisingly relaxed and unconcerned voice. However, I had no intention of stopping. Without slowing down, I tried to slip past them.
“Ah! W-wait a minute!”
Ragune-chan hastily constructed her magic sword and extended it towards my leg.
“—Magic ‘Ice’.”
I chanted the magic and reached out to the magic sword. I was getting used to Ragune-chan’s magic. Moreover, her panicked attacks were very easy to read. I dodged the blade and, as if sandwiching it, grabbed the magic sword with both hands. Then, I channeled Ice Magic into the magic sword I held. My honed Ice Magic instantly froze the magic sword down to its hilt.
“Eh!? Cold!”
Ragune-chan’s hand, connected to it, froze. Then, I tightened my grip on the magic sword and lifted it.
“—Huh?”
Ragune-chan, unable to release the frozen magic sword, found herself lifted into the air, pulled by it. With brute force, I threw Ragune-chan towards the woods.
“Ehh, wh-ah, uwaaaaaaaahhh!!”
Ragune-chan cried out as she flew through the air and fell into the distant woods. Judging by her level, she wouldn’t die from that… probably… Beads of sweat formed on my brow as I worried about Ragune-chan’s safety, then I tried to run past Radiant. However, I couldn’t leave Radiant, now in her wolf form, behind. Her fangs struck at me from behind. I accurately measured the timing of the attack with Magic ‘Dimension: Decisive Calculation’, dodged it by a hair’s breadth, and took out a bag of spices from my ‘Inventory’. I threw the spices directly at Radiant’s nose. If she was a beast as she appeared, it should be an effective tactic. The fact that she was tracking me was also likely due to her sense of smell.
“—Tch!? Guh, Gaaah, Aaaaaaahhh—!!”
A particularly loud roar echoed from behind. Radiant changed her wolf form and reverted to her human shape. She was rubbing her nose with her human hands to remove the spices. I was momentarily flustered by the naked Radiant, but quickly recovered my composure and took out my beloved sword from my ‘Inventory’. Seeing this, Radiant changed only one of her hands into a wolf’s foreleg and roared as if to counter.
“How dare you! Wh-why—! Why are you! Youuuu—!!”
“Please calm down a little!!”
Radiant’s claws cut through the air, and only my sword tore through the enemy. I slashed her arms and legs as if stroking them, and with my left hand, I slammed Radiant’s head into the ground.
“—Gah!”
Radiant groaned, her brain shaken. Leaving her there, I resumed running towards the Cathedral. With Magic ‘Dimension’, I sensed Radiant behind me changing into a wolf and trying to run. However, she seemed unable to run properly with her brain severely shaken. Even if she could run, she wouldn’t be able to achieve her initial speed with her four legs severed. Seeing this, I felt relieved and continued on my path.
I had encountered two of the ‘Seven Knights of Heaven’, but the result was a complete victory without a scratch. It was a great advantage that I had prior experience fighting both of them. Thanks to that, I was able to fend them off without much trouble. I ran through the path between the trees—and then emerged into an open garden. In the center was a large fountain, and flower beds of various kinds were arranged around it. It was truly a historic garden in a historic castle. There, a knight I recognized, the middle-aged knight Hopes Jokul with mixed white hair, was waiting with about a dozen knights. Mr. Hopes greeted me with a seemingly frivolous smile, just as he had before.
