Chapter 252 - The Battle for Migul and Hyakka's Group's Fight
"Hey, who are you calling darling?"
"You! It was just a joke. More importantly, could you stop groping my chest and get down?"
We were riding the white horse summoned by Hyakka's special skill, 'Prince on a White Horse.'
And, reaching from behind Hyakka, I had unconsciously grabbed her chest. Since it was my riding instructor, Cecily, who had ingrained in me the habit of unthinkingly checking the feel of a chest, this was beyond my control.
As I continued to grope her with such thoughts in mind, I felt a firm little bud in my palm.
"Hey, nnnh, seriously, stop it! What are you thinking in a situation like this?!"
"You're enjoying it too, even while you're complaining!"
With that, I pinched the tip of the protrusion with my fingers. Hyakka's body twitched.
"Idiot! Anyone would react like that if you did that to them!"
"So you'd be like this no matter who did it to you?!"
"I wouldn't let anyone else do it!"
She slapped my hand away.
From her perch on the horse, Hyakka looked down at the female warrior.
"Are you one of Yuuki's companions? You don't want to reconsider?"
The woman laughed. Then she pointed her sword at Hyakka.
"You're the one who should reconsider."
At her words, Hyakka's eyes narrowed.
"I'll at least ask for your name."
"…"
The woman didn't answer. I surveyed the enemy again. A female warrior and a male priest were the transferred with special skills. Then there were two adventurer-like men and women, a male archer, and a male mage. All of them were human.
The female transferred stood at the front, controlling the giant clad in shadow. The other members surrounded the male priest protectively. At first glance, it seemed the female warrior was taking the lead, but the actual command role might belong to the male priest. He had looked surprised when Hyakka and the New World members joined, but now he showed no particular signs of panic. I couldn't tell if he was pleased with having taken out our vanguard of Riley, Fang, and Beers so quickly, or if he was just confident in their own abilities.
"…I see. We're not as soft as the man riding behind me, you know."
Hyakka said, glancing at me. Then she returned her gaze to the woman.
"Hold on tight."
With me still behind her, Hyakka spurred the white horse and charged towards the woman.
The giant of black shadow slipped between them, extending its arms wide to envelop us as it approached. The white horse accelerated further, feigning a charge at the giant before making a sharp turn to dodge the shadow, then approaching the woman from a different angle.
The woman gave a defiant smile and retreated towards her companions.
Just as Hyakka urged the white horse forward to thrust her lance, a magical barrier appeared in front of the woman, blocking our path. It was the same semi-spherical barrier I had seen before that enveloped all her comrades.
The white horse reared up on its hind legs, coming to a sudden stop. I clung to Hyakka to avoid being thrown from its back.
"Hyakka, thorns are going to shoot out of that barrier! Get away!"
"You're caught! As if you can dodge the shadow behind you!"
The woman's and my shouts echoed. Hyakka only moved her head to confirm the position of the giant approaching from behind, cutting off her escape route, but she seemed to have given up, keeping the white horse stationary in front of the barrier.
"You fool!"
Just as the woman shouted in triumph, the barrier blocking our path vanished. At the same time, the man who had been inside the barrier collapsed, blood streaming from his neck.
Behind him stood Etowan, a knife in hand. He had somehow snuck up behind the enemy and slit the man's throat.
"When did you…?!"
Come to think of it, his profession was a thief. As he looked up at me, who was just as surprised as the enemy, he made a gesture as if licking the blood from his knife and twisted his lips into a smile.
Seeing this, the enemies snapped back to reality, distancing themselves from Etowan and pointing their weapons at him.
"Shunya!"
Just as the female warrior turned, shouting in surprise like her other companions, Hyakka thrust her lance into her chest.
"Gah!"
The woman coughed up blood, her eyes wide as she stared at Hyakka.
"You're the fools. Our comrades were killed by yours. And you're the ones who attacked first…"
Hyakka said in a cold voice, then pulled out her lance. The female warrior collapsed, and at the same time, the shadow giant she had created vanished. After watching her fall, Hyakka turned her weapon towards the remaining adventurers. Chihiro, Moos, and Korne surrounded them threateningly, but they had already lost their will to fight, standing there in a daze.
I, too, tried to call out to Hyakka, but I didn't know what to say.
"Hey, if you're surrendering, drop your weapons. If you don't show that you will, I'll slit your throats just like this guy."
Etowan flicked his knife. The blood on the blade splattered onto the ground. Seeing this, they powerlessly dropped their weapons to the ground and raised their hands.
Hyakka's summoned white horse disappeared, and she and I landed on the ground.
"Where is Yuuki?"
At Hyakka's question, they only exchanged glances among themselves and didn't answer.
"If you don't answer, that's fine. Like I said before, I'll just cut off your heads one by one right here."
Etowan's low voice echoed.
"W-we don't know. Those two were the only ones receiving direct orders! But, in Crystal Garden…"
The female enemy mage's voice trembled as she began to shout, but she fell silent at the end.
"What are they doin' there?"
"They took over the guild. They've trapped the adventurers inside the Crystal Palace."
"Weren't there other transferred people?"
"The ones who resisted… they killed some of them."
"…!"
Hyakka and I exchanged a look.
Moos and Korne were tying up the enemy adventurers.
I had wondered if the two transferred might get back up due to Zeno's immortality magic, but it seemed that wasn't a concern.
I stared at the two corpses, but no emotion welled up inside me. I was getting used to the atmosphere of battle that enveloped this city.
Suddenly, I noticed Hyakka leaning forward slightly, peering at my expression.
"What?"
"Well, I thought you might be angry."
"Come to think of it, you rejected me when I was groping your boobs."
"Of course I did! I told you to only do that stuff when we're alone!"
Hyakka averted her gaze for a moment, then looked back at me.
"It's not about that. You know what I mean…"
"If you guys hadn't come to help, that would have been me."
They had said the male transferred was named Shunya, but I didn't even know the woman's name. They had attacked us without knowing much about us either. Things were happening that would be unthinkable in the daily life of our old world.
"I really hate it too. But I absolutely hate it when this happens to my friends."
Listening to her words, I glanced over at the injured Riley and the others.
The three of them were receiving healing magic from Elisha and Doris. Their injuries were serious, but it seemed they would be able to move.
"House Airally's soldiers are attacking this hill. We have to move."
"Are you saying we should abandon this position?"
Etowan said to me, not bothering to hide his dissatisfaction.
"We're outnumbered. We have to keep moving and outmaneuvering the enemy."
"Then what about these guys?"
Etowan glared at the tied-up adventurers.
"They're useless as hostages. We'll leave them."
When I answered, his glare turned to me.
"Don't be stupid. In that case, I'll just kill them."
At those words, the adventurers looked at me with frightened eyes. I was reluctant to kill surrendered and defenseless people, but having just been saved by him, I couldn't speak too forcefully to Etowan.
Just then, Elisha tapped her staff on the ground.
"Let me see your character cards. If you intend to continue your hostility, then as the bishop of Migul, I will declare these people enemies of the gods."
Etowan, Moos, and Korne exchanged glances at Elisha's words. I thought it was meaningless, but seeing them fall silent, I realized that even if they lost their homes, the church still held great power.
At any rate, I was grateful to her for preventing a bad situation. As I thought that and looked at her, Elisha gave a bright smile.
Hyakka cut in as if to interrupt.
"Mash, what are you gonna do now? There's a high chance Rinko and the others are in Crystal Garden. And…"
Hyakka's eyes narrowed sharply. It wasn't just her. The eyes of Chihiro and the other New World members had also become stern.
"Yuuki is there."
He was the enemy of their comrades. Now that they knew his location, they must be eager to rush there immediately.
However, I had promised Mizuki I would create an opportunity to talk with Yuuki. And even if I did encounter him, I wouldn't be able to negotiate properly if I ended up being driven out of the city. For that, it was essential that House Wanland win the battle against the rebel army.
"First, I think we have to win this battle. I'll see to it that Marianne descends the hill and launches a surprise attack on the Leafclout forces surrounding House Wanland. Besides, there's a possibility the enemy has someone who uses special skills. In that case, I'll have to deal with it."
I thought of the man in the red bandana who had been with Ilisarie. Hyakka sighed and glanced at Riley, Fang, and Beers.
"Even so, there's not much you can do in your current state, is there? And those three are… well, you know."
"What was that?! I can still fight!"
Riley shouted back, but I had no intention of letting her return to the front lines. The task of taking Fang and Beers back to the Wandering People's camp was one I could only entrust to her.
"Alright. We'll go with you, Mash. But once the tide of battle is clear, you're coming with us to Crystal Garden."
I nodded at Hyakka's words.
"Hey, our revenge has nothing to do with this man. If anything, he'll just hold us back."
Etowan shrugged his shoulders irritably. Then, he glared at me.
"I don't want Yamase-san… no, Mizuki, getting in the way."
As I listened to Hyakka reply to Etowan, I drew my sword and cut the adventurers' bonds.
"What are you doing?! These guys at least heard our conversation!"
Etowan shouted.
"It's fine. Our strategy will be revealed anyway once the enemy climbs this hill. It's better than leaving them tied up here and earning their clear resentment, right? Besides, we have their names."
"Is this okay…?"
The male archer asked.
"It'd be a problem if you shouted while we were taking you with us. If the enemy learns our information, it'll be just as the bishop here said. Until this battle is over, hide somewhere and don't get involved in any more fighting."
"…Alright."
Seeing the archer nod, we left the place behind.
Against the enemy advancing up the main staircase from the south, Marianne's army left a decoy to make it seem like troops were still on the hill, and descended via a connecting path on the west side. It felt like a waste to give up the high ground with its commanding view of the city, but we needed to concentrate our forces.
No one spoke. We silently descended the winding switchback path, careful not to make a sound.
We were walking at the rear of the column. The adventurers we had released were following us too. I had considered the possibility that they might shout to alert the enemy or flee to them, but it seemed my fears were unfounded. Of course, Etowan was walking behind them, knife in hand. If they showed any sign of betrayal, he would likely be the first to attack them.
There was no option to hole up and defend. By morning, the citizens' patience would surely reach its limit. The power struggle of the four ruling houses was unfolding with no regard for the will of the people. And at City Hall, numerous members of the council had been killed. Many of them were not from the four houses, but were citizens.
I didn't know how they would react, but the majority of this city's population was human. No matter how beloved Marianne was in the southern district, there was a good chance the citizens would entrust Migul's future to Ishtvan. I couldn't bring myself to leave it to the judgment of the masses.
Furthermore, if a hundred thousand citizens took it upon themselves to restore order, it would be difficult for soldiers who had been fighting for twenty-four hours and reached their physiological limits to suppress them. It was said that among the populace were many militiamen who would take up arms and join the ranks in times of war.
We really did need to settle this tonight.
Ishtvan and his allies must be thinking the same thing. We were using that impatience to divide and guide the enemy's army.
While House Airally sent troops to City Hall, we would strike the House Leafclout army surrounding the Wanland mansion.
The mobile unit led by Guard Captain Tursa was already ahead. And arrangements had been made for them to launch a surprise attack with the Wandering People hidden in the city.
In other words, this main army was moving to launch a surprise attack, but it was also a decoy to hide the unit that would strike first.
As we were already moving through the city streets, the light of the moon shone on our cheeks. I stopped for a moment and looked up. The light of the stars that had been twinkling in the night sky grew quiet, and in the eastern sky, not a full moon, but one with its right side slightly chipped, floated, bathing the city in silver light.
Hyakka, who was walking behind me, bumped into my back.
"Ow!"
Then, holding her nose, she looked up at me.
"Geez, it's dark and I can't see well, so don't just stop all of a sudden."
"Sorry."
Her gaze shifted from me to the moon.
"It's the same moon as in our old world…"
She murmured in a small voice.