The beginning of this story returns to a time when Gordon escaped the castle and is pursued by Cedric. The first half of the story unfolds from Cedric’s perspective. The latter half shifts to the situation within the temple, narrated from Josette’s point of view.
Before Kent and his companions left the temple to begin battling the Duchy’s Army, the story rewinds to when Gordon escaped the castle.
“Master, the 2nd Prince seems to have entered this room.”
“Hmm. Then, everyone, follow me.”
Cedric was following Gordon’s tracks, guided by the bloodstains Sarah had found. Along the way, they merged with others from the same squad and allied soldiers participating in the same operation, swelling their pursuit force to a considerable size of ten people and six fairies.
“A barricade, huh? How devious. Let’s all clear it.”
“Yes, sir!”
Cedric arrived in a storage room that contained a hidden passage. The room was as messy as a storage room, with objects piled up, but the accumulated dust was uneven and unnatural, making Cedric realize immediately that it was arranged there to hide something. He ordered the soldiers accompanying him to remove the piled objects, and one by one, boxes and other items were cleared away.
“A hidden passage after all. I vaguely recall reading about this castle in a document I perused before, which mentioned that various escape routes were created during its construction. It truly existed.”
As the clearing progressed, a hidden passage was discovered. Cedric, having known about such a passage in the castle from a document he had read in the past, was not particularly surprised.
“Rick, sir, the hidden passage is for escaping outside the castle, isn’t it? Our mission is to conquer the castle. Is it alright for us to leave the castle during this important operation?”
“That’s true. Leaving the castle without proper authorization would be problematic. However, we have a mission to eliminate royalty, which is one of our objectives. Besides our Duchy’s Army, there are also those within the Kingdom who are on our side and are moving within the castle. If we leave it to them, our absence with this number of people will likely be of no consequence.”
(I’m sure my father will manage things well on his end. And the captain should be with him too.)
Cedric’s subordinate inquired if it was appropriate for him to leave his post during a crucial operation. He had previously contacted his father, who resided in a distant part of the country, and requested assistance. Cedric’s father, overjoyed that his son was alive, had come to harbor resentment towards the royalty who had caused such a situation. Thus, he had agreed to cooperate relatively easily. If the operation had proceeded as planned, the Magic Squad captain should have joined forces with his father and been acting in conjunction with him.
“The captain mentioned wanting to pay his respects to my father, but I wonder what he meant by that.”
“What did you say?!”
“Captain, it’s cruel of you to go ahead like that!”
“In that case, I would have gladly taken that role.”
“Master, you’re as popular as ever.”
As Cedric muttered about the captain’s offer, the female soldiers of the Magic Squad accompanying him, realizing the captain’s intentions, voiced their protests. Sarah watched this with a smile.
“It’s pitch black ahead. Sarah, can you provide illumination?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Alright, with this we can proceed. Everyone, follow me.”
The hidden passage was pitch dark with no lighting. Moving by feel would be dangerous and a waste of time, so Cedric asked Sarah to create light with magic. Sarah then used fire magic to create multiple small balls of flame, illuminating the passage brightly. Using this light, Cedric and his companions followed the bloodstains dropped by Gordon as they moved towards the outside of the castle.
“I see, the hidden passage led all the way to the town.”
The hidden passage was longer than Cedric had anticipated, and when they emerged, they found themselves in the town of Tiol.
“Rick, sir, even though we’re in the town, there are no people in sight.”
“Ah, it seems no one is walking around.”
The town, usually bustling with activity, was devoid of any pedestrians. It was a different scene from what Cedric knew of Tiol.
“It appears they sensed our movements and evacuated beforehand. Still, the residents’ evacuation was too quick.”
Cedric considered the time it took to move from the castle to the town through the hidden passage after the operation began within the castle, but he was surprised by how quickly the town’s inhabitants had evacuated.
“Master, the target appears to have moved in that direction.”
“They’re moving away from the center of town. I wonder where Gordon is heading. Alright, let’s move on!”
Sarah found Gordon’s bloodstains and began guiding Cedric and his companions away from the town center.
“The bloodstains disappear from here on, so I can’t be certain, but the vicinity is all residential houses. However, there’s one building that looks out of place. I suspect they entered that building.”
“That’s a building I don’t recognize. When was it built on the outskirts of this town?”
Guided by Sarah, Cedric and his party passed through the town center and arrived at the outskirts. There, a colossal building stood in stark contrast to its surroundings. Despite having lived in the town for many years, Cedric was seeing this building for the first time.
“Rick, sir, although its shape is different from those of the Duchy, it somewhat resembles a temple.”
“A temple? There shouldn’t be any religion in this kingdom large enough to warrant such a grand facility.”
A female soldier under his command, observing the building’s shape, suggested it might be a temple. However, Cedric, believing there was no religion in this country, thought it impossible for such a large-scale facility to exist.
“It appears to have functions as a military outpost. Shall we probe it a bit? Alright, let’s launch an attack from a distance with bows and magic. I’m curious to see their reaction.”
Cedric ordered his soldiers to attack the mysterious building.
“Sarah, won’t you participate in the attack?”
“Yes, I don’t think it’s necessary for me to engage in mere harassment.”
“That’s right. Well then, commence the attack as soon as you’re ready.”
“Understood!”
The Duchy’s Army, led by Cedric, began a long-range assault on the temple, combining the use of magic and arrows.
“Rick, sir, a magic-imbued wall has been constructed around that building. All our attacks have been neutralized.”
When the attack began, the masses of water and earth cast by magic, along with arrows, passed over the wall and entered the building. However, at some point, they began to shatter in mid-air.
“Sarah, what is that?”
“I believe it’s a barrier created using magic power. It appears to be effective against both magical and physical attacks. At this distance, breaking through that wall is impossible even for me.”
Cedric asked Sarah about the inexplicable phenomenon, and she replied that it was a wall made of magic power that blocked both magical and physical attacks.
“Rick, sir, the gate has opened, and enemy soldiers are emerging.”
“What! Knights in white armor? What unit do they belong to? It’s not the time to be thinking about that. Change of target. Attack the figures in white armor emerging from the gate!”
A soldier monitoring the gate reported that it had opened, and enemy soldiers were emerging. When Cedric observed, a group clad in white armor deployed themselves as if to defend the gate. In his memory, the regular knights of the Kingdom had only two types: ordinary knights in unpainted metal armor and royal guards in golden armor. However, the knights who appeared this time wore white armor, which was not in his memory. As it was urgent to deal with the immediate enemies, Cedric ceased his deep thinking and decided to focus on the battle.
“Fire!”
(Humans should be easy targets for magic attacks! What? They blocked it!)
Cedric intended for it to be over with a single blow, but the magic unleashed by the fairies was blocked by the shields held by the group in white armor.
“Master, those individuals appear to have magic resistance.”
“What? The Kingdom was conducting magic research? So, those in white armor are a unit equipped to counter magic attacks?”
Upon being informed by Sarah that the enemy force possessed magic resistance, Cedric was astonished. Magic research had been far more advanced in the Duchy, and the Kingdom was not supposed to be engaged in any magic research at all. Witnessing magic attacks being blocked before his eyes, he learned for the first time that the Kingdom had also been conducting magic research.
“Bow attacks are coming. Please be careful.”
“Everyone, beware of the enemy’s arrows!”
Upon Sarah’s warning of incoming enemy attacks, Cedric instructed his allies to prepare for the incoming arrows.
“Hmph, it seems we’ve managed to get through it somehow. However, if the enemy is also attacking, we can’t carelessly approach. We’ll continue attacking from this distance for a while and assess their attrition rate.”
Cedric intended to maintain the current distance and continue attacking, assessing the enemy’s losses to inform his next course of action.
“It seems there are a few lightly injured. Hey, what about our casualties?”
“Yes, so far, everyone is fighting without any injuries.”
Cedric assessed the enemy’s losses and confirmed that while they had mostly defended against the magic, the Kingdom’s side had sustained a few minor injuries from their arrows and the magic they couldn’t fully block.
“Rick, sir, the service entrance has opened, and someone has come out.”
“Is that Kent? Is he going to interfere with my actions again?”
A soldier monitoring the gate reported that the service entrance had opened and someone had come out. Upon hearing this, Cedric confirmed it and spotted Kent among them.
“Master, the wounds of the injured soldiers seem to be healing. That blonde fairy appears to be using recovery magic.”
“What? The Kingdom is also employing fairies?!”
Cedric’s understanding was that only the Queen of the Kingdom could use magic, but he realized with surprise that the Kingdom had already researched magic using the power of fairies.
“Whoa, m-my bow…”
Simultaneously, the soldiers who had been using bows cried out in surprise. Their bows crumbled into pieces, rendering them unusable.
“Sarah, what is this?”
“I believe it’s part of growth acceleration magic. The one who cast it was a fairy with greenish-yellow hair, resembling a child.”
“Damn it, every time that guy appears, my plans get disrupted. If we can’t use bows, long-range combat is impossible. Alright, switch to close-quarters combat, annihilate the enemy, and storm that building!”
With their bows, which had been dealing damage in long-range attacks, rendered unusable, Cedric ordered his soldiers to switch to close-quarters combat and attack.
Meanwhile, at that same time, utter chaos had erupted within the temple. The Duchy’s Army’s attack had landed within the temple grounds, and subsequently, Holy Knights and staff were rushing about in a panic.
“I’m scared.”
“Waaaah!”
In the room where young children were being looked after, many children, now that the initial commotion had subsided, began crying in fear after hearing loud noises and feeling vibrations near the building and seeing the adults rushing about. While the mothers and staff tried their best to calm the children, the unknown evoked anxiety, and even after some time had passed, the children remained unsettled.
“This is troubling.”
Cindy, who was observing the situation, was at a loss. As the priest in charge of the temple, she had been inspecting various areas to assess the damage status and had subsequently visited this room. In a situation with many children, it was understandable for them to cry in succession, but she, too, was unaccustomed to unexpected situations and could not find an effective solution.
“Oh, my, my, everyone, if you keep such gloomy faces, happiness will flee from you.”
“Josette, where have you been?”
Josette, who was supposed to be helping in this room, called out to the children from outside the room. Cindy found it strange and called out to Josette.
“Cindy, I apologize for leaving my post for a bit. Actually, I was thinking of preparing some sweets for everyone, so I asked the dining hall to prepare them. That’s when there was a loud noise, and it became quite chaotic inside. Marie, Caro, could you assist me?”
“I borrowed the kitchen and baked some cookies.”
“I also prepared some sweet drinks.”
Josette had asked Marie and Caro to prepare sweets and juice for the children in this room. It just so happened that while she was away from the room, the enemy attack occurred, causing confusion within the temple. However, she judged that it would be fine to leave it to the Holy Knights and staff and continued her work. She was now bringing in the finished products.
“Amazing. Just by bringing the sweets, the atmosphere in the room has brightened.”
When presented with the delicious-looking sweets, the children’s attention shifted, and their feelings of unease eased. Although it differed from Josette’s original intention, it had ultimately resulted in a positive outcome. Cindy, sensing the shift in atmosphere, was surprised.
“We have plenty of sweets prepared. Everyone, please eat slowly without rushing.”
Josette, with the cooperation of Marie, Caro, and the staff in charge of the room, distributed sweets and juice to the children.
“Ahem, then, for everyone’s sake, I shall sing for you.”
Josette began to sing after observing the children starting to eat their sweets. She chose a song with lyrics and a melody that children could understand, and her beautiful voice echoed throughout the room.
“As expected of Josette. She’s wonderful.”
“I heard her during the school festival too, she’s truly a great singer.”
“The power of song is this amazing, huh?”
Marie and Caro, who had heard Josette sing before, listened enraptured, their faces filled with admiration. Cindy learned that songs could possess such power. Based on this experience, Cindy later conceived the idea of composing a song praising God and singing it with the people gathered at the temple to deepen their faith.
Thus, within the temple, thanks to the efforts of Josette and her companions, an atmosphere was created where the battles of the Holy Knights could be observed in a calm manner.
