Chapter 11 - Chapter 11: "Drop Dead After Being Kicked by a Horse!"
Gokigenyou! I am Violia Nico Fortesia!
I shall tell you exactly what happened!
While being transported to the royal capital after being imprisoned in Elsemarin, I defeated the soldiers inside the carriage and was about to escape—but before I could even open the door, the ceiling blew off!
I am sure you have no idea what I am talking about, but I do not understand it either! I feel as though I am going mad!
However, I have no time to be going mad.
Looking up through the blown-off ceiling of the carriage, I saw Doran Parc. He is the 'dangerous fellow' I helped escape from the royal capital's dungeon!
There was no need to ask what business such a man had with me! Without a doubt, his target was me! The problem was why he was targeting me, but it seemed I would not have time to confirm that either!
While I was hesitating on how to make my escape, the 'dangerous fellow' leaped into the carriage through the broken ceiling and hoisted me up over his shoulder!
"W-What are you doing!"
"Relax. I don't intend to do anything cruel."
No! I cannot relax at all! I cannot believe that a 'dangerous fellow's' idea of 'not cruel' is necessarily not cruel!
...Or so I thought, just a split second before I could start struggling.
Thump, the carriage shook violently. Then, I heard the angry shouts of soldiers. Ah, that is right. I had forgotten in the shock of the ceiling blowing off, but I was currently surrounded by soldiers and being escorted.
"...The soldiers or me, which do you prefer?"
I thought, is this really the time to ask that? but my answer was singular.
"You are still the lesser of two evils, I suppose."
Between the soldiers who were definitely enemies, and this 'dangerous fellow' who might not be an enemy.
I had no choice but to take this gamble!
"Good answer."
Doran Parc gave a smirk and... while still carrying me, he leaped.
A leap, mind you. A vertical jump. With that, he exited through the broken hole in the carriage ceiling!
"This man is a monster—!?"
"I'm honored by the praise."
Furthermore, immediately after jumping out of the carriage, he sprinted away while brushing off arrows fired by the soldiers with his arm! Just what kind of physical ability does this man possess!? Is he truly a monster!?
As expected, those thrown into the royal capital's dungeon are truly on another level—!?
I was carried away just like that, transported in the blink of an eye.
At our destination... were three horses. One of them already had a rider. A gaunt, tall man. An appearance where the bones stood out. Long hair that looked as though the color had faded away. ...A skeleton, a grim reaper, or a drug addict. Whatever he was, there was no doubt he was a 'dangerous fellow'! He had that kind of look! He was absolutely a dangerous fellow!
"We meet again, young lady."
The man on the horse said so with a smile, but... no, it was creepy! I do not know someone like this!? What do you mean, 'we meet again'!? It is terrifying!
"Giovan. I'm counting on you."
"Yeah, yeah, with pleasure. Then the young lady is riding with me. Nice to meet ya."
I could not grasp the situation at all, but for now, it seemed I was being handed over to the skeleton man! I hate this!
...But thinking about it carefully, while the skeleton man was unpleasant, the muscle wolf was also unpleasant. But the soldiers were even more unpleasant. Things never go quite as one wishes.
"There are many pursuers. We'll stay behind a bit longer to thin them out before following. Go on ahead."
Doran Parc placed me on the horse in front of the skeleton man and quickly headed back.
...When I stole a glance behind us, as expected, the soldiers were pursuing. It seemed Doran and one other person I did not know were fighting the soldiers.
To challenge that many soldiers to a fight... well, after seeing that monster-like display earlier, it was understandable.
...Now. The problem was right here.
"Who are you? And what is your objective?"
When I asked that, the skeleton man let out a creepy, chuckling laugh behind my back. Honestly, it was so creepy I wanted to dismount immediately.
"My, how cold. ...Don't you recognize this hand?"
"Hand?"
...I looked at the hand gripping the reins. A large, bony, somewhat skeleton-like hand. ...Just as I thought that, I remembered something...
Ah.
"AAAAAAAAH! You, from the black market! From the appraisal shop!"
"Bingo. You generously paid one gold coin for a secret between just the two of us, didn't you?"
I remembered! This man was the one I had been selling monster materials to at the black market! This withered voice! This somewhat slimy way of speaking! This creepy laugh! A perfect match! It was a perfect match!
"Well, since I received a whole gold coin's worth, I figured I'd give ya a little something more than just information. I'll explain the details later, but basically, we came to rescue you. Oh, the idea was Doran's. Seems he took a liking to you, young lady."
Hmph. Is that so. I am extremely curious about the 'explain the details later' part, but for now, may I consider you an ally?
"I see, so you are an ally. That is a relief."
"What else did you think? An enemy? If that were the case, we wouldn't go out of our way to charge into a troop of soldiers just to stop you from being executed."
Well, I suppose so. Normally, that is the case. Though there might be someone who thinks, 'I want to kill Violia Nico Fortesia with my own hands!' or 'Just executing her is too soft! I shall torture her and then kill her as cruelly as possible!', well, I shall discard that possibility for now. There would be no end to it if I kept thinking about it!
"So rest easy, young lady. We have no intention of killing you."
After saying that, the skeleton man steered the horse and began to move away from the battlefield.
"Now then. Shall we go on a little elopement together? Though it'll be a journey lacking in romance."
If it comes to it, I can just jump off the horse or kick this skeleton man off and run... but I might as well wait and see until the last possible moment.
The point is, 'a dangerous fellow is better than a soldier.' I do not know his objective, but I can at least stay quiet until we are away from the soldiers. If everyone were an enemy, it would truly be hopeless. I want to at least escape from one side before letting the situation develop further!
While I was calculating my options on horseback, a shuu sound of cutting wind flew right past us.
...An arrow. We were being targeted. At the same time, I heard a familiar voice.
"Daughter of Fortesia! You shall not escape!"
Ugh, is that man still chasing us? How persistent!
"Well, I guess they won't let us go for free."
We were running on a horse, but it seemed they were also chasing on horseback. It appeared they were firing arrows from the saddle. Since it was a shot from an unstable position, well, I did not think their aim would be very true... but no matter how poor the archery, if they fire twenty or thirty arrows, one will eventually hit by sheer luck.
"Young lady. You can use a bow, right? There's one on my back, feel free to take it and use it."
"I am indeed a master of the bow. However, unfortunately, I am currently wearing shackles."
When I answered while dangling my hands, the skeleton man stole a glance at my wrists and made a face like 'oh well.' I am the one who feels like saying 'oh well,' you know?
"I went through the trouble of bringing a bow I can't even use properly because I thought you could use it, though..."
"That is a pity, is it not?"
Rather, you should at least learn how to use a bow yourself if you are sticking your nose into this kind of business.
"Can you use magic?"
"What exactly are you expecting from the daughter of a nouveau riche noble? Other than magic necessary for daily life, I can only use a bit of physical reinforcement magic, a bit of auxiliary illusion magic, and a bit of fire and wind magic! I got through almost all the academy exams with nothing but swords, bows, physical reinforcement magic, lies, and bluffs!"
"Ah... that's a shame. In many ways."
I was at the Magic Academy, but I am not particularly gifted in magic. Ohohohoho.
...Well, it cannot be helped. Magical power is not something easily possessed by those without a single drop of noble blood. In fact, being able to use wind and fire magic in addition to physical reinforcement and illusion magic makes me quite excellent, you know?
So, that meant we had no moves against the pursuer. Almost all long-range attack methods were blocked.
"...Well then, shall we just keep running? Mind praying that an arrow doesn't hit?"
The skeleton man was now only thinking about escaping. But it was useless. This horse was carrying both me and the skeleton man. No matter how you looked at it, the soldiers' horses would be faster. We would be caught.
Even if we were not caught, the probability of an arrow eventually hitting was very high. I suppose it would come down to luck.
"Oh. Pardon me. Unfortunately, I am of the disposition that if I have time to pray, I would rather do something more productive."
I do not wish to leave things to luck in a place like this.
Besides, that soldier went through the trouble of chasing me! I shall achieve my original goal properly!
"For now! We are turning back!"
"...I don't know what you're thinking. But sorry, young lady, that's a request I can't grant."
"Heeeh. Is that soooo?"
"Can you see behind us? Our leader is a monster and the cannonball guy fights because he likes it, so they're fine, but do you understand how bad it'd be if you and I went in there? It's wiser to run than fight right now, yeah?"
"That might be the case, might it not?"
"I'm not a battle maniac like those guys. I was only sent out for field work this time because we were short-handed."
"Hooooonh! Is that so! I couldn't care less—!!"
The skeleton man gave a sour reply! However, I am Violia Nico Fortesia! Once I decide to do something, I am thoroughly prepared to Kill (Do) it!
I snatched the reins and took control of the horse! Yes, a change of direction! About face! A gallop back the way we came, straight toward the pursuing soldiers!
"W-Wait, hey!"
"I! If I do not crush that soldier to death, my stomach will not be satisfied—!!"
"No, no, no. Young lady. Young lady, you're wearing shackles, aren't you? What do you plan to do like that!"
The skeleton man was shrinking back, but I did not care!
"I am currently riding a horse, am I not!?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"And humans are surprisingly fragile things!"
"...Are they?"
The target was the neck of that hateful soldier! And! The goal was victory!
"If you are kicked by a horse, you die!"
Naturally, a horse is a living creature. And unfortunately, horses are not quite as filled with the intent to Kill (Do) as I am.
Therefore, a horse will not normally charge head-on into a large group of other horses.
...So, this was finally the time for my magic and bluffs to take the stage.
"Illusion Magic! [Path]!"
Imagining a clear path, I cast illusion magic on my horse.
It was an illusion magic of the level that would be easily seen through by a human, but it worked well enough on a mere horse.
With this, the horse I was riding should run straight toward that hateful beast without hesitation.
"Wait, young lady! I don't want to die yet—!!"
"Then keep your mouth shut! Here we go—!!"
The soldiers were somewhat shaken when they saw us charging at them, but they firmly readied their bows on horseback. It must be quite easy to hit a target charging straight at you, right?
...But of course, that is only if you can fire the arrow!!
"[O Fire]! [O Wind]! And Illusion Magic! [Mirror]!"
I used fire magic to create a flame the size of a fingernail, fanned it with wind magic to make it larger... and used illusion magic to make it multiply.
Of course, a human would see through it immediately. But that did not matter.
What I targeted... were the horses the hateful soldiers were riding!
From the horses' perspective, it must have looked as though dozens of fireballs were flying toward them.
And horses are surprisingly delicate creatures. Frightened by the flames, they lost control.
"What—"
"Hey, calm down!"
The soldiers were bewildered as the horses they were riding suddenly went wild. Some were even thrown off and fell from their saddles.
Once that happened, the rest was easy. I fired the only real fireball toward the horse of that hateful beast who had punched me and thrown me into prison. It was a minor flame, but for a horse seeing illusions, it was more than enough terror. If real heat were added to that, it was only natural for the horse to go berserk.
"Ah!"
Confirming that he had been thrown from his horse, I! Charged! Straight at him—!!
"I have run him over!"
Beneath the horse's hooves lay the corpse of the soldier who had punched me and thrown me into prison twice!
Naturally, an easy victory! My victory!
I feel absolutely wonderful! Ohohohohoho!