I ended up obeying Ashe’s orders and retreated.
My new role was to watch the Third Squad’s battle against Greydoll from the rear.
A wave of anxiety and impatience churned unpleasantly in my chest.
There was a certain kind of torment in merely watching, worse than actually fighting myself.
Ashe had told me not to intervene, but…
If something happens, I’ll need to be ready to provide support.
I maintained my focus, keeping a close watch on the battle between the Third Squad and the Empire’s mages.
“The vanguard will be Claire. Lil, you’ll be her support. Veronica and I will be in the center, and Racine, please handle the rear support.”
Ashe gave instructions to everyone.
“Dita is away on detached duty, but the five of us will handle this…”
As she spoke, she glanced in my direction.
“We’ll defeat him.”
“Um, what about Abel…?”
Claire was the one who asked.
She kept looking at me with eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and anxiety.
“We can’t always rely on him, Claire.”
Ashe stated calmly, her expression as cold and sharp as ice.
“There will be times when we cannot depend on him. For that day, which will surely come, let us fight with our own strength for now.”
“Just… us.”
Claire repeated her words.
She nodded as if a resolve had settled within her, then turned her gaze back to Greydoll ahead.
“Understood. I’ll do it.”
*Go, everyone…!*
I sent my cheers to Claire and the others in my heart.
The next moment—the battle began.
“I’ll skewer all of you at once! Thousand Hell!”
Greydoll roared ferociously and pointed his index finger straight up at the sky.
Countless black glints rained down from above, transforming into spears of magic power.
“Leave it to me!”
Claire stepped forward.
There was not the slightest trace of her earlier anxiety.
She charged forward with a spirited and vigorous rush.
“…To rush out unarmed before an attack spell!?”
I shouted involuntarily.
*It’s like she’s willingly rushing to become a pincushion!*
I hastily began chanting a protective spell for Claire,
“Disuloon—Limit Break!”
I stopped chanting when I saw the sword Claire drew from her waist.
It was the same specialized weapon I’d seen her use before.
The blade was abnormally wide and large, a greatsword shaped like a giant bread knife.
*So, the power of that sword is…*
“Rikka Haken-ryu!”
With a sharp battle cry, the sword Claire held in a high-stance glowed orange.
She, who was not a mage, was emitting magical light.
Magic power was energy converted from willpower, after all.
I had heard from Claire before that that artifact possessed the ability to assist in that conversion.
In other words, it was a sword that converted her strong willpower into pseudo-magic power—
“Zanou Rensen!”
The orange blade flashed horizontally and vertically.
Orange trails stretched along the slashes, deflecting every single one of the black magic spears.
“What!?”
Greydoll cried out in astonishment.
“To cut down such a number of magic spears without leaving a single one… Who in the world are you?”
“Amazing… With this sword, I can cut magic.”
Claire murmured, looking down at her sword with satisfaction.
*So that sword isn’t for offense, but specialized for intercepting magic.*
“With this, I too—can fight against mages!”
She cried out with renewed determination and charged again.
“Tch, Daedalus Wing!”
With Flight Magic, Greydoll retreated into the sky.
Claire, being a swordswoman, had no means to attack an airborne enemy.
“I won’t let him!”
Racine leaped out, holding a small bell.
It was an artifact Veronica had made specifically for Racine.
“Bless Bell, activate—Shelleiraize!”
As she chanted, the bell rang out with a pure sound, creating a pillar of light in the air.
The moment lightning from that pillar struck Greydoll,
“Uugh!?”
Greydoll lost his balance suddenly and fell from the sky.
He wasn’t damaged by the attack.
After all, Racine, a priestess, couldn’t use offensive magic.
*So that’s a magic that jams magic.*
*Both of them are amazing…*
“Still not done!”
But the enemy was not to be underestimated.
While falling, he cast another flight spell and regained his posture in mid-air.
Despite his rough appearance, he was quite skillful.
Greydoll, who had steadied himself in the air, didn’t try to escape this time but instead,
“Don’t ever underestimate Greydoll! Blast Gale!”
With a sharp battle cry, he unleashed magic bullets of wind.
There were seven of them in total.
It seemed Racine’s magic couldn’t disrupt them continuously, and the volley of green magic bullets descended upon Claire and the others.
“I’ll protect everyone! Windy Cannon!”
Lil’s wind magic intercepted them.
Furthermore, she deflected any excess energy she couldn’t fully block with her magic sword, thus neutralizing their power.
*It seems she still hasn’t mastered Megid Mirage, so she’s using her usual style of combining magic and swordplay.*
“You two did well. Now, for us!”
“Let’s finish this, Full Boost!”
Ashe and Veronica delivered the finishing blow.
“Icicle Cannon!”
“Blazing Cannon!”
The ice and fire magic intertwined in the air, transforming into even more powerful magical energy—
“Nooooo… gooooo…!”
They completely annihilated Greydoll.
With the majority of the enemy mages already defeated, their remaining forces scattered and fled in no time.
I had felt anxious when I was assigned to watch the Third Squad’s battle, but
in the end, it was a resounding victory.
“Everyone, you all did wonderfully. Thank you.”
Ashe praised us.
Beside her, Veronica stood puffing out her chest.
“Hmph, it’s thanks to my artifact, you know. Don’t forget that.”
My gaze was involuntarily drawn to her swelling breasts, which trembled slightly.
Perhaps it was the relief from the battle’s end, but I found myself with the mental余裕 to focus on the magnificent view before me.
*As always, they’re huge…*
“It seems the improved Booster Rod is functioning without issue. The stability of the magic amplification has increased. The artifacts supplied to Claire and the others are also sufficiently usable in actual combat, heh heh heh.”
Veronica seemed pleased.
“Yes, this sword is very easy to use. Thank you, Veronica.”
Claire bowed respectfully.
“I was worried because I can’t use magic, but… thanks to this sword, I was able to fight.”
“Because Claire plays the vanguard, everyone else can perform longer incantations. It’s given us more tactical flexibility.”
Lil said with a refreshing smile.
“Ah, but Racine and Lil too. And of course, Ashe and Veronica… everyone worked hard, right?”
“That’s right, it’s a victory for all of us.”
“Hmph, naturally it’s a credit to me for creating the artifact, but also to Claire for being the vanguard, Racine for providing support, Lil for intercepting, and Ashe for finishing it with me… it’s everyone’s achievement.”
Veronica nodded in agreement.
“I feel like there was one more person, but they’re pretty much irrelevant.”
*Hey, that’s me!*
“Not ‘pretty much,’ more like ‘infinitely irrelevant.’”
*Why do you have to rephrase that?!*
“Besides, I was just watching. And fighting, and… my breasts.”
*Gasp.*
I involuntarily averted my gaze from Veronica’s chest.
“That’s enough, Veronica. Abel has also fought valiantly against the northern enemy, and he’s intercepted almost all of the enemy unit’s magic by himself.”
“Ah, perhaps the sudden weakening of the enemy unit’s attacks just now was—”
Claire looked at me with a surprised expression.
“You were supporting us, Abel-sama~”
“I didn’t notice… When did that happen?”
“……Hmph.”
Racine, Lil, and Veronica, each with their own comments, looked at me.
“Thanks to you, not only we but other units were saved. Thank you, Abel.”
*Ugh, thank you, Ashe.*
And,
“You intended to step in as support if necessary, didn’t you?”
Ashe whispered to me, leaning close.
“Um, well…”
Although startled, I nodded.
“I like that about you.”
When she directed that alluring smile at me from such close range, my heart couldn’t help but pound. I felt my resolve melting away at the captivating smile of this married woman.
“As a reward later—”
“Hmph, we can fight perfectly well without you.”
Veronica interrupted Ashe, who had started to say something, and walked over.
“Frankly, you’re an eyesore just by being here, or rather, you’re disgusting, or rather, you make me want to vomit.”
Tsun.
A tsundere without any dere, as usual.
…No, I can’t imagine her showing any dere towards me, so she’s just tsun.
*Hmm… I wish I could get along with Veronica too.*
My fleeting glance was inevitably drawn to her rocket-sized chest.
“Don’t look at me with lewd eyes.”
“I-I’m not looking at you with lewd eyes!?”
I stammered quite flusteredly.
“Were you looking at my chest?”
“I-I wasn’t…”
Though, I actually had.
*Because they’re massive.*
*They’re the biggest breasts in the Third Squad.*
Moreover, while there are a fair number of buxom female knights in other squads, Veronica is probably in a league of her own…
The only contender would be—Beatrice, I think.
“You’re thinking all sorts of improper things, aren’t you?”
*Gasp.*
“Your jaw is practically on the floor.”
“I-I’m not thinking anything!”
As I said that, my eyes darted around.
“Banshee Flare.”
“Please stop attacking me with magic out of nowhere!?”
