The group split into two and began their assault on the castle, just as Chesi had planned.
Drawn by the scent of their favorite powder, the sentries began to search the surroundings. In the meantime, Sharin slipped around to the back and lit a wooden stick with a match she held. It was quickly made by wrapping dried leaves around it, and the dry leaves caught fire instantly.
In no time, they reached the top of the warehouse and threw fire through a gap in the roof. Then, they descended without a sound. I quickly returned to where I was hiding in the bushes. “All right, the plan is a success. Let’s hurry and inform everyone, then escape.”
Meanwhile, near the main gate of the castle, smoke was rising everywhere and explosions could be heard. The gate had been breached, and a battle was raging in the entrance. The three of them were also fighting separately, and it seemed unlikely they would notice our presence.
“Arisugawa, to your left!”
At Sharin’s voice, I turned, and a fireball was flying towards us. I quickly raised my shield just before it hit, and it exploded and dispersed.
“Tsk, a Repulsion Stone! What a cheap trick.”
It seemed we had been found by the enemy first. I handed Sharin my Enchanted Sword.
“They’re Magical Animals. A normal dagger won’t be very effective against them.”
“But then you’ll be defenseless… All right. I’ll take care of this immediately.”
Sharin, with the Magic Sword in hand, quickly approached the enemy. She stepped on a pedestal where an expensive vase was displayed and slashed at the Ketsy, who was floating in the air.
“Nyah, you’re quick. But unfortunately, you can’t fly, so you can’t reach me!”
“Hmph, you’ll only be able to smile for a little longer. After all, we set fire to your precious warehouse.”
The smile vanished from the Ketsy’s face as he floated and grinned.
“What’s wrong? If you’re worried, you can go and see. You should put out the fire quickly.”
“The warehouse? The Magic Herb? H, hey, that means…”
After a moment’s pause, the Ketsy shrieked and pulled at his beard.
“Waaaaah, it’s going to explode, it’s going to explode!! Run!!”
The scream, which echoed throughout the entrance, momentarily stopped everyone. Chesi, perhaps noticing our presence, appeared.
“Welcome back. But what’s wrong?”
“I thought we’d set fire to the warehouse to burn the Magic Herb. I threw a torch at it from above.”
Chesi froze. “Did I do something wrong…? It’s just a herb, isn’t it? Burning it seems like the best way to get rid of it.”
“This is important, so listen carefully. You and your companions need to escape from here right now. Quickly!”
For some reason, I couldn’t quite understand, but I called the three back. They looked puzzled as the Ketsy suddenly started to flee.
“Why are we running? This is our chance, isn’t it?”
“That’s right! Now we can take down the boss.”
Seeing that we weren’t moving, Chesi gnashed her teeth.
“Just run, right now! That warehouse is going to explode. I’ll explain why later.”
Since she said it with such ferocity, we had no choice but to leave the castle.
“Hey, did we do something bad—”
Just as I was about to say that, a tremendous explosion echoed behind us. The ground trembled violently, and a blast of hot wind surged towards us.
“Get down!”
Veronica pushed me down, and I fell to the ground. The hot wind entered from the hem of my pants, causing a pain as if my skin had been peeled away in an instant. I covered my mouth with my hand to prevent my throat from burning. Even after the blast wave passed, explosions continued to be heard from the direction of the warehouse.
When I looked up, a giant pillar of fire stood behind us.
“Veronica, are you okay?”
“Yeah, but damn it, it’s hot. Don’t dawdle, let’s go.”
I got up, as if being pulled up by Veronica. My body was still trembling from the vibrations of the explosion. As we moved away from the castle, Ketsy were gathered throughout the village. Those who had fled were crammed into houses that resembled cat towers.
Chesi, who had already evacuated, ran up to us.
“Are you okay? Phew, I was so surprised. In the end, we won, though.”
“I should have asked about the disposal method beforehand.”
“You’re right. It was my fault for not telling you. I never imagined you’d set it on fire. A single Magic Herb burns like a normal plant. But when so many are gathered, the excess magic power has nowhere to go and explodes.”
“So that’s how it is. Sharin didn’t know either, did she?” she said with a look of exasperation.
“The thing I fear isn’t that, though.”
The ground began to shake again. The panicked Ketsy were running all over the village. Was it still exploding? No, I could hear a different sound.
“It’s you guys~~ I’ll never forgive you!! You betrayed us~~!”
A purple cloud covered the sky. The wind swirled, and lightning struck. It seemed the Boss had finally made an appearance. The plump Ketsy King had heaved his heavy body and come to crush us himself.
“Your source of power is gone. We’ve already confirmed you have nothing else hidden. Now, give us back our original King.”
Yellow eyes looked down at us from above his protruding belly.
