Sharin’s tears overflowed with complicated emotions.
For the time being, Cecilia seemed to be only overworked and not injured. Veronica also said she could move if she rested.
“I will move with Cecilia on my back. Please escort us, everyone.”
“Of course, it’s okay with me and Sharin here.”
The voices of the Naga guards, who were whispering amongst themselves, could be heard around us as we hastily made our plans.
“I am the one who leads this unit. Are there any other people who were left behind besides you?”
A man who seemed to be the captain spoke up. He looked young, but his sharply upturned eyebrows conveyed a strong will.
“No, we are not left behind. One of our companions went this way, so we are chasing after them.”
“Did you not encounter any Earthworms on the way?”
The woman next to him spoke up.
“We did, and we managed to get through it. I’m just tired, so I’ll be fine if I rest a little.”
“What? You weren’t injured? Hey, give them first aid.”
As I tried to refuse, the woman next to me whispered something. I gathered she was saying that they were already overwhelmed.
“Our top priority is the safety of civilians. Give them treatment immediately.”
“No, we’re fine. We have medicine.”
Despite their offer of aid, I refused. We had entered unwelcomed and gotten injured, so this was a matter of personal responsibility.
“For the time being, we will escort you to safety. Will someone accompany you?”
“No, no, we are going ahead.”
“What?! That’s not allowed, there are still herds of Earthworms roaming this area.”
I knew that, but I had to go. Sylvie might be surrounded by that herd. Even when I told him, the captain wouldn’t back down. He insisted it was absolutely not allowed. He was stubborn, or rather, faithful to his duty.
Finally, Nina, who had lost her patience, snapped.
“Hey, I… uh, me? What do you think is best?”
“I think ‘me’ is fine. I also forgot to say ‘I’ earlier.”
Nina turned and whispered in my ear.
“So, we’ve been able to fight this far. I appreciate the thought, but we have to find our friend.”
“In that case, we will search for them here. We cannot allow any more harm to come to you, as civilians. I will assign escorts, so do not move from here.”
With that, the captain went to the other squad members. Nina crossed her arms and snorted.
“Honestly, so stubborn.”
“Right? It’s really exhausting.”
A chilling voice was heard from behind. Turning around, I saw a Naga man, likely one of the escorts, standing in the shadow of a tree. Judging by his clothes, he might be a mage. He wore a short robe made of cloth, but no staff was visible.
“What? Do you need something?”
“Don’t make such a scary face. I know your friend. A girl with two horns, right?”
Tension spread among our companions. This suspicious man claimed to have seen Sylvie. The detail of having two horns made it seem plausible.
“She’s a Bicorn, isn’t she? It’s rare to see one here. I’m curious about you guys. Are you just chasing after your friend? That’s not all, is it?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Nina’s words were met with a dry chuckle from him.
“That’s true. Well, fine. How about this? If you grant me a wish, I’ll let you proceed from here.”
“A wish?”
“It’s simple. I want you to deliver this to the captain for me. I don’t get along with him very well.”
He handed me a card.
“Ah, don’t peek. The contents are a secret. Now, go.”
The mage pushed my back. Well, if it meant he’d let us pass, it was a small price to pay. I took it to the captain.
“Hmm, what is it?”
“He told me to give this to you, Captain.”
“Hmm? From whom? This card?”
The captain’s hand stopped as the card was revealed from my grasp. He looked at the picture. A subordinate spoke from the side.
“Captain, is it okay to assign Ellda and Tia as escorts? Captain?”
His subordinate peeked at the captain’s frozen face. The next moment, the captain threw the card away and grabbed his subordinate.
“W-what are you doing, Captain!”
“Get away from me, you beast!”
The other guards’ attention was drawn by his shout. They were all surprised by the captain’s sudden madness. I also instinctively moved away. The area became chaotic with the man flailing his arms wildly.
“Arisugawa, this way. What in the world happened?”
“I don’t know. After I gave him that card… wait, where’s the card?”
It should have fallen to the ground. Right, where did that mage go? When I went to the place he was standing, a single card lay there. The card depicted a tower.
