We live in the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Three fugitives.
I danced the Dragon Sword Dance lightly, letting the blade of the Spirit Current Sword ride the atmospheric dragon veins.
“No way, is that a sword dance!?”
Karina reacted immediately.
“Why would a human boy like you know a sword dance? …Oh, I see. Sword dances are preserved in this region.”
“What on earth are you saying?”
I don’t understand what Karina is saying at all.
But before I could clear up my doubts, it was more important to restrain Karina.
What was the purpose of Karina and the other two fugitives entering this land?
What caused them to anger the Ruler of the North Sea?
If they resist, I’ll have to incapacitate them and make them explain properly.
As I dance the Dragon Sword Dance, I wield the Spirit Current Sword with practiced grace. Not only that, but I weave in hand-to-hand combat between sword strikes, and even use dragon arts when necessary.
The true essence of the Dragon Sword Dance lies in overwhelming numbers and relentless attacks!
Even if Karina is a skilled short sword user, she won’t be outmatched in sheer volume of attacks.
Still, Karina parries my fierce offense with her short swords.
I don’t know what the Holy Knight Academy is, but it seems Karina has a top-tier skill with short swords.
Nevertheless, I, dancing the Dragon Sword Dance, will not lose!
“Kuh!”
Perhaps sensing her disadvantage, Karina activated her Mimicho Race’s Spatial Jump, creating distance between us in an instant.
She then quickly sheathed her short swords and nocked an arrow.
“I won’t let you!”
If the distance increases, archery will have the advantage. There’s no way I’d miss that fact.
I activated my Spatial Jump and leaped into Karina’s range.
“What!?”
But it was a trap.
Karina was no longer there where I had jumped.
Not only that.
In an instant, Karina had already loosed an arrow!
“My body won’t move!?”
That’s right. Towards my shadow, where I had jumped.
“Ara, ara ara ara. Shadow Binding, is it?”
“That’s a bow technique that restricts the opponent’s movement, right?”
Lord Reed’s observation made me understand the cause of my body’s immobility.
Just as there are countless sword techniques and arts, there are also many archery techniques and arts.
One of them is a technique that shoots an arrow into the target’s shadow to immobilize them.
That is Shadow Binding.
Karina not only saw through my Spatial Jump but also anticipated my tactics.
When the distance widened and she nocked an arrow, I would inevitably close the distance with Spatial Jump.
If she could predict where I would jump, she could also tell where my shadow would appear after I teleported. Then, she would unleash Shadow Binding.
“And then, she focused on escape… Kuuuh, I was completely outmaneuvered…”
Karina’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
Sensing her presence, she had already fled deep into the Great Forest.
“She read that if she could just immobilize me, Lord Reed, who had been observing without intervening, wouldn’t chase after her.”
I still couldn’t move.
It felt similar to the “Three Days Moon Formation” curse I received from Ruiseine.
“But why didn’t she attack me when my movement was restricted?”
I was completely caught in Karina’s trap.
If Karina had wanted to, I would have been in a desperate crisis.
However, Karina chose to flee without hesitation.
“Perhaps that’s because she was wary of Ares-chan’s presence?”
“I’ll help, I’ll help.”
“That’s right. Because Karina is a Mimicho Race, she was wary of Ares-chan, whose presence was only revealed for a moment?”
Ares-chan reappeared with a pop.
She then summoned Light Spirits, who illuminated my shadow.
When the shadow disappeared and the connection with the arrow was severed, I could finally move again.
“Thank you, Ares-chan. And thank you to the Light Spirits too.”
“It’s my pleasure!”
“What do you mean, ‘it’s my pleasure’!?”
With a sigh, I honestly admitted my defeat and slumped down.
I can’t believe I failed to capture Karina.
“If I show fighting spirit, the opponent will respond. I was bound by that prejudice and didn’t consider that the opponent would prioritize escape. Well, even before that, I was completely outmatched by her archery skills.”
I’m sure Mistral and the others will be angry when I get back. The Demon Lord and Charlotte will probably laugh at me.
No. Before that, I’ll surely receive a reprimand from Lord Reed himself for such a pathetic fight.
“Ara ara ara, is that really so?”
However, Lord Reed tilted her head as she listened to my confession of repentance.
“While it’s true that Elnea-kun let Karina escape in that fight, I believe Elnea-kun would have surely won if the fight had continued. She likely knew that too. That’s probably why she fled.”
“Is that so?”
Could I have actually defeated Karina?
My entire body was immobilized by Shadow Binding.
What if, at that moment, Karina had unleashed a finishing blow?
“…I would have tried my best to break free from Shadow Binding, wouldn’t I?”
The moment I was bound, I knew Karina had escaped, and I gave up on chasing her in my immobilized state. That’s why I remained bound until Ares-chan rescued me.
But what if I had been in a desperate crisis at that moment?
“Even with the Three Days Moon Formation, if I resist with all my might, I can split my shadow at the feet and move, right? Shadow Binding isn’t a perfect technique either, so if the fight had continued, I would have been seriously trying to break the binding.”
Besides, even if my entire body is bound, I can still use magic.
If I know that the arrow that shot my shadow is the cause of the binding, I would activate Spatial Jump again and escape from Shadow Binding, wouldn’t I?
“It seems you can escape from Shadow Binding with a surprisingly simple method?”
Karina may have anticipated that and decided it was a losing battle, thus prioritizing escape.
“Elnea-kun became complacent because Karina prioritized escape, which resulted in you further letting the opponent get away.”
“That’s also something I need to reflect on…”
I was determined to capture her and find out what was going on, but this is the result.
“Yes, yes. I’ve come to pick up the pathetic Elnea-kun.”
Then, Lily flew down from the sky.
“Lily, everyone, I’m sorry. I let them escape here.”
I said sheepishly, full of regret.
Lily landed, bulldozing down trees, near me and Lord Reed. Everyone disembarked from her back, and Mistral and Ruiseine comforted me.
“Elnea, you don’t have to worry about it. Lily also let her target escape.”
“That’s right. Astel and Elin-chan didn’t do anything at all.”
“What!?”
I was surprised by Mistral’s report that Lily had let her target escape, but Ruiseine’s words caught my attention more!
“Astel? Elin-chan?”
I looked at the two Primogenitor Races who had descended from Lily’s back with great effort.
“Hmph, as expected of a foolish Dragon King. Who agreed to your opinion, and when?”
“N-no way!”
“Fufu, fufufufu. If Astel doesn’t prepare the arms and armor, I can’t move either, can I?”
“Wh-wh-what!”
I was speechless.
I never expected Astel to rebel against me at that moment!
“It’s your fault for not confirming their agreement.”
“Elnea-kun, your claws are too blunt, aren’t they? Fufufu, including this incident.”
“Kuh.”
The Demon Lord, who descended carrying Priscilla-chan, and Charlotte, who descended carrying Mei, wore smiles that seemed to indicate they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
It seems that this time, too, the result was satisfactory for them.
“Considering the matter of the North Sea, you haven’t achieved fundamental satisfaction, Elnea.”
“Ugh, Mistral, I’m sorry.”
If only I had properly captured Karina, we might have found a clue to solving the problem.
“But well, Lily also let her target escape?”
Astel and the Puppet King weren’t even chasing the third person from the beginning.
“Lily let them escape on purpose!”
“Is that so?”
When I asked what she meant, Ruiseine, who was apparently being explained from above, told me.
“Elnea-kun, please listen without surprise. The one Lily-chan was chasing… it seems they were a Demon Race.”
“What, a Demon Race?”
Before I could even wonder why a Demon Race was lurking on the east side of Dragon Peak, I was bewildered.
“Wait a minute. The woman I just let escape was a Mimicho Race?”
When I reported that, Charlotte explained.
“The last of the three was likely a Divine Race. They had a distinct Divine Race aroma.”
“Eeeeh!?”
Does that mean the three people hiding deep in the Great Forest were from different races: a Demon Race, a Divine Race, and a Mimicho Race!?
Even if you tell me not to be surprised, I’m going to be surprised by this!
“I wouldn’t be that surprised if the Mimicho Race was acting together with other races. But I never imagined that a Demon Race and a Divine Race would be lurking together. Is that even possible!?”
Demon Races and Divine Races are natural enemies.
The Divine Race Empire in the south is even discreetly moving with the goal of annihilating the Demon Race.
It’s hard to believe that the Demon Race and the Divine Race, who are natural enemies, would be acting together.
Still, if Lily, who can discern races, identified one as a Demon Race, and Charlotte, with her keen sense of smell, confirmed the third as a Divine Race, then it must be true.
“What on earth could this mean?”
The fragmented information only made me more confused.
“Karina mentioned being a graduate of the Holy Knight Academy and spoke as if she had a connection with Lady Faruna. What could this mean?”
As I muttered, the Demon Lord’s gaze turned to Lord Reed.
“If it concerns the Sword Saint, you might as well ask that person over there?”
“Now that you mention it?”
I had forgotten because of my assumption that Lord Reed wouldn’t interfere unnecessarily.
But if it’s a matter related to the Sword Saint, Lord Reed might know something about the circumstances.
Our gazes turned to Lord Reed.
“Ara ara ara, are you in trouble?”
Lord Reed smiled, showing no apparent distress.
As expected, this person is truly as they are.
“Lord Reed, do you know anything? Karina didn’t seem to know you, but I’m sure there must be a reason for that.”
Karina, who claimed to be aiming to become a Sword Saint, showed no special reaction to Lord Reed, one of Lady Faruna’s Four Guardians.
What is the Holy Knight Academy?
Why does she aim to become a Sword Saint?
For what reason were Karina and the others hiding deep in the Great Forest after angering the Ruler of the North Sea?
Perhaps Lord Reed holds some information.
Sensing our gazes, Lord Reed opened her mouth.
“I do not believe Elnea-kun should be involved in this matter. However, since a graduate of the Holy Knight Academy has appeared this time, I will tell you. The Holy Knight Academy is an institution established in the east of the continent to pursue the pinnacle of swordsmanship, regardless of race. Its ultimate goal is to produce a new Sword Saint. However, a certain individual is harboring doubts about the Holy Knight Academy.”
To the Demon Lord, who asked “Doubts about what?”, Lord Reed replied:
“They suspect that the founders of the academy may have some ulterior motives beyond their stated goals.”
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