102 - Chapter 28: My Love Has Become Evident - Part 2
Looking back at history books, the school known as the Albert style rose suddenly about 1500 years ago. History books do not speak of the behind-the-scenes circumstances or the truth, but as a matter of fact, it appeared on the public stage all of a sudden.
This style, which placed heavy emphasis on combat support through magic power, quickly gave birth to various derivative branches due to its utility, and the Centaur school became one of them.
With physical ability enhancement being secondary, the core of the Centaur style, which placed the basic Albert style technique called Magic Blade at its foundation, lay in distance management and positioning.
The Magic Blade, a technique that loads a blade of magic power onto a weapon and launches it, guaranteed a certain level of power and reach, though its performance depended on the user. However, its accuracy was also dependent on the user.
Accompanied by the phosphorescence of magic power, it was easy to see, and since it was merely an extension of the slashing range, it was possible to evade after seeing it.
Because it was a basic technique and not a so-called special move, and because projectile techniques were considered supplementary for warriors, many schools did not obsess over it. At most, they used it for surprise attacks or feints, in ways that were not the royal road.
The Centaur school was a rare style that made this its primary strength.
"Hup!"
"!?
And when its standard-bearer attacked in earnest, Shannon's reaction was barely in time. There was hesitation. There was confusion. But more than that.
So fast...!
She weathered the thrusting tip by using her magic spear as a shield. Simultaneously, she lowered her posture and leaped backward.
As expected, the trajectory of the thrust became a magic slash and flew sideways. Had she remained in the posture she used to defend, her head and torso would likely have been parted.
The transformation of the Magic Blade... no, its derivative evolution, Afterglow. Specifically, the immediate-activation type, Afterglow: White Wave. It activates slightly after an attack such as a thrust or a sweep, and its form depends on the user. It is a basic technique of the Centaur school.
The trajectory drawn by the action of thrusting becomes a blade itself and cuts the opponent. Because Shannon knew of it, she was able to dodge a two-hit combo that would have been a guaranteed hit for anyone unaware.
However, it could not end there. A flurry of attacks followed.
"Kuh!"
Thrust, sweep, parry. It did not stop there. White blades were born even from the trajectories created by turning her body, attacking Shannon from outside her field of vision at sharp angles.
All of them were accompanied by Afterglow. Even though she was facing only one person, it felt as if she were facing dozens.
It was like a wave of white blades... a flurry of attacks that could be called a surging tide without exaggeration. Because she was from the same school and he was her teacher, Shannon knew his methods to some extent and managed to hold her own.
But that was the limit. In the gap between the waves and her consciousness, Richter slid in and closed the distance.
"This is a real battle, you stupid disciple."
Simultaneous with that step, a palm strike imbued with magic power slammed into Shannon's light armor.
"Ka, hah...!?"
Distracted by the high-firepower spear and Afterglow, Shannon could not react to the strike and took it directly. The blow, delivered with armor in mind, specialized in shock rather than the strike itself. All the air was forced out of her lungs, and her body buckled.
That was fatal. As Richter leveled his spear to deliver the finishing blow, Shannon, feeling terror at those cold eyes,
"Re... verse...!"
She thrust the magic spear in her hand into the earth and activated Afterglow. Reversing the vector, she leaped backward, blending into the blades of magic power that erupted like a geyser.
"Good grief. Your habit of relying on that when you're in trouble never changes, does it?"
As she recovered her body, which ached from the shock, she heard an exasperated voice. Looking ahead, she saw her teacher walking leisurely toward her with his spear resting on his shoulder. Despite his casual tone, the killing intent he radiated was real.
Seeing him completely unburdened by the prospect of fighting his disciple to the death, Shannon felt a sense of despair.
●
At first, he thought she was a pitiful child.
For a duke's daughter to become disabled was a handicap beyond help. With Shannon's body becoming halfway a man, it was no exaggeration to say that as a noble, she had died at that moment.
Even so, she did not resent Lumilia, who was the cause. Rather, as if the shackles had been removed, she aimed to become a knight.
Richter first met her around that time.
He had heard her name and stories, but his impression upon meeting her in person was that of a child like a small animal.
Since she was about nine years old when they first met, and Richter was naturally large, it was a natural impression. But more than that, there was a behavior in every corner of her actions as if she were always afraid of something.
It was not so much resilience as it was bravado. It was not so much obedience as it was servility.
It was not that she lacked a will, but she would take a step back when pressed. Richter, whose memories of his adventurer days were stronger than those of his time as a noble, formed that impression of Shannon.
Asked to look after her due to the relationship between their families, Richter took good care of her. He never dreamed he had such talent, but since he ultimately raised Shannon to the point where she could make a living with a single spear, he thought he could be a little conceited.
But at the same time, there were parts of him attracted to her as she grew into a woman year by year. Was it his nature as a man, or an obsession born from being close to her as a teacher?
Either way, given his position, it was an inappropriate emotion to harbor.
He had once wondered if Shannon felt the same. But she only looked at Lumilia. It might be because she had been by her side for so long. But Shannon had lived these past few years as both a woman and a man.
For her, the opposite sex naturally included women.
Sensing that kind of feeling in the gaze directed at Lumilia, Richter hesitated. Should he push her forward, or should he assert his own will and take her for himself?
And around the same time, when the Prime Minister suggested the farce, he decided. He would use that opportunity to determine his own feelings.
At the beginning, that is, upon seeing the flight of Lumilia and Shannon, his feelings were settled. No matter how dire the situation, Shannon would not leave Lumilia's side. And Lumilia directed the same gaze toward Shannon.
How ironic, Richter thought.
It was because of the curse of the magic spear that he met Shannon, and it was by that curse that he was blocked. However, if she were just a duke's daughter without the curse of the magic spear, he probably wouldn't have been attracted to her in the first place.
In any case, he was a bit too old to be shouting about love and romance.
That is why.
"Your technique is halfway. Your power is halfway. Your resolve is halfway. To top it off, even your gender is halfway. What do you have left? What can you do? For what purpose do you take up that spear? Tell me, you halfway person."
Richter walked leisurely toward the enemy and posed the question.
"Throw it away. That thing, the magic spear. Then go on a journey to break the curse. If you do that, you'll just be a woman. Stop worrying about boring, tedious things, marry into some family, have some kids, and be happy."
That was a wish.
"You're annoying. Despite being a woman, you push yourself brazenly into the realm of men, and if you'd just accepted it, it would be one thing, but you keep whimpering. You took up the spear despite your reluctance. You dove into a fight you don't even like, without any great reason."
If she threw everything away, if she would just remain a woman.
"Is it painful? Is it agonizing? Of course it is. You're literally doing something that doesn't suit your nature. Why should I have to sense something so obvious? Swallowing that obvious truth and holding your ground is what it means to be a warrior."
Richter would surely save Shannon Ilmeltha, even if it meant throwing everything away.
"Don't pretend to be a man when you don't even understand a single obvious truth! You stupid disciple!!"
Even while knowing it would surely not be granted, the words could not hide the color that escaped his lips.
●
The image of her crying and saying sorry had remained in her heart for a long time.
The day she took up this magic spear. Shannon was struck by a feeling as if she no longer had a place where she belonged. As a child, she could not understand the implications of becoming politically disabled.
But in truth, her place was gone. Her parents often treated her as if she were a fragile object, and the noble children of her age were much the same.
In the midst of that, the only one who didn't change was Lumilia.
She surely felt a sense of guilt for being the cause. But that was fine. As long as she stayed with her, for the young Shannon, that was salvation.
But sometimes, Lumilia's expression would cloud over. It always happened at night... that is, when she was a man. Thinking that Lumilia surely felt responsible, Shannon told her this to dispel those thoughts.
"It's okay, Lumilia-sama. I will become a knight. Then, we can be together forever."
After a look of slight surprise, she smiled for her.
From that day, Shannon took up the spear of fate that had made her body like this and became a disciple of Centaur through her family's connections.
The training was very severe. But she learned that if one has a purpose, a human can manage somehow.
Eventually, she became Lumilia's knight, and they became companions who supported each other both publicly and privately.
However.
"Don't pretend to be a man when you don't even understand a single obvious truth! You stupid disciple!!"
"Kuh!"
Simultaneous with the shout that sounded like a reprimand from her teacher, a kick flew in. Perhaps because her posture was poor, she took the hit directly and rolled, ending up at the feet of Marianne, who had been watching the fight leisurely while crouching.
"Oh, what an unsightly arrival. That outfit is expensive, so please wash it properly before returning it."
"Wha!? Whose side are you on!"
Suddenly insulted, Shannon was disheartened. Furthermore, although she had no time to change, she was wearing light armor over her stage outfit, and she instinctively shouted because Marianne was worried about the clothes.
"Neither and both. Personally, I am on the side of people who uphold aesthetics. As for my feelings, well... I have no desire to be on the side of a Shannon-chan who just drifts along forever."
"Drifts along? What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
To Shannon, who voiced an objection, Marianne spoke sharply.
"Shannon. Are you still thinking about trivial things like whether you are a man or a woman?"
"Eh...?"
"I hit the mark, didn't I? Honestly, why don't you just become honest with your own feelings? You like her, don't you? Princess Lumilia. No, it would be fair to say you love her."
"That is..."
"Not as reverence, not as family love, and certainly not as affection, but if I had to say, deep love. You want to be by her side more than anyone else, don't you?"
As Marianne began to say everything she wanted without hesitation, the indecisive Shannon had no way to argue back. The inner feelings she believed she had hidden were exposed just when it mattered most, leaving her speechless.
"You have a face that's thinking boring things like 'because we're both women' or 'because I'm halfway as a man'."
"Ugh..."
"Besides, what do you plan to do if some random man actually appears and takes the Princess away?"
"That is..."
I don't want that, she didn't say it, but the shape of her mouth declared it. Marianne gave a wry smile, exasperated, noting that they were just alike. Looking at Richter over Shannon's shoulder, he was waiting with the same expression.
"Is that alright? Whether you are a man or a woman, such things are trivialities. They are things that don't matter."
"Don't matter? Gender is an important thing..."
"Oh, shut up. Do you want to have your brain broken after the Princess is NTRed by some hopeless noble idiot? Your world rank would plummet."
"Netora...? Brain broken? World rank?"
Oops, I got irritated and used words from my previous life, Marianne thought, coughing lightly and holding up three fingers.
"What is important is who you are. What you want to achieve. Whose side you want to be on... and whether there is beauty at the end of what you seek."
Shannon tilted her head as she listened to her speak while counting on her fingers.
"Beauty?"
"The last part is just my own theory," Marianne said with a shrug, helping Shannon up and brushing the dust off her clothes.
"The standpoint of being yourself. Your principle of action. Or you may call it desire or selfishness. Because you drift along without realizing that, you can't say anything back to that level of provocation. Rather, your teacher is the pitiful one. He's been leaving it completely exposed for you to see."
Then, she turned Shannon toward Richter and pushed her thin back.
"Remember, Shannon. For what purpose you took up that magic spear and fought... within the fight."
●
Even if you tell me to remember...!
Pushed forward, Shannon held her magic spear, but she was hesitating. However, reality does not wait.
"Is the chatting over now?"
Richter, who had waited dutifully, leveled his spear. Shannon also leveled her spear belatedly, thinking as she gradually closed the distance.
Anyway, I have to attack...!
Immediately after entering range, she put strength into both legs, stepped in, and launched a thrust. The movement was not bad. The speed was sufficient. The target was the torso. For an average soldier, it was a speed they could not dodge, but Richter simply stepped his right foot back and opened his body to dodge it.
But that was expected.
Remaining in the thrusting posture, she swept to the right. In response, Richter used the shaft of his spear as a shield to block... no, he slid it, shifting the trajectory of the sweep upward. He then half-rotated his spear, aiming the butt end at Shannon's legs for a sweep, and sensing this, Shannon used the upward momentum to leap forward.
She then attacked Richter with a diving attack using the butt end, followed by a wave of Afterglow attacks utilizing the trajectory that had been diverted just before.
"Knowing each other's methods is quite a problem."
However, Richter muttered boredly, slid his body further in, and by getting directly under Shannon, he slipped through the wave of attacks and slammed a left uppercut into her stomach, right through the light armor.
Unlike before, this was a simple strike without refined magic power. It was blocked by the armor, and there was no great shock or damage. But to Shannon, who was lightly lifted into the air and left defenseless,
"Take this!!"
A right roundhouse kick followed, blowing her far backward. This too was managed thanks to the armor's defensive power, but the distance had opened.
"Sei!"
"Ha!"
A single shout of spirit. A shining blade of magic power erupted from the spear Richter swung down, charging toward Shannon. However, she intercepted it with the same technique and immediately stepped in.
She knew. She had sparred with her teacher, Richter, many times. Therefore, the current basic technique of the Magic Blade was nothing more than a distraction to approach the appropriate distance for the spear.
Thus, the moment the blades of light crossed and burst, they recognized each other's forms.
...!
They both thrust their spears, but they clashed. The blades shrieked.
A normal spear user would start layering random strikes from here, aiming for a direct hit. But the Centaur school has Afterglow. Both were setting it up with the current clash. They knew that random strikes while standing still were a bad move.
Therefore, both leaped backward. Immediately after, the set Afterglow burst in the void, slashing through space. Had they continued, neither would have come out unscathed.
It was a reset.
"Haa... haa...!"
Taking this opportunity, Shannon breathed heavily, hurrying to regulate her breath. In terms of physical strength, she should be superior as the younger one, but Richter, holding his spear in one hand, had only taken short breaths and still had plenty of room.
Even in the exchange just now, his efficiency clearly surpassed Shannon's.
Why can't I...
She started to ask herself why she couldn't beat her teacher, but she shook her head slightly. No. It was just that she couldn't see the vision.
What should I do to win...?
Just as she was about to ask if that was right, Shannon suddenly thought. Why did she think such a thing?
To win? No, that's not it... I've thought about wanting to become stronger, but I've never thought that I wanted to beat my teacher.
Marianne's words from earlier floated into her mind.
Remember, Shannon. For what purpose you took up that magic spear and fought... within the fight.
For what purpose...
Looking down, there was the magic spear, Bartholomew.
The hateful magic spear that made her halfway. The beloved spear that gave her the power to fight.
Why did she continue to hold this single blade, mixed with both love and hate? If any spear would do, any other weapon should have been fine. Yet why did she not let go of it?
It was not just performance. There must have been a uglier reason.
...Because Lumilia-sama would worry about me.
She knew. She had realized. The reason she didn't let go of this and switch to a safer, easier-to-use spear was that she wanted to attract her attention.
If she used this spear that made her a halfway person in front of Lumilia, the person who caused it would worry about her... for such a wretched reason, Shannon had continued to hold it.
Then why? Why did she go so far, or rather, why did she continue to serve by Lumilia's side without aiming to break the curse?
Honestly, why don't you just become honest with your own feelings? You like her, don't you? Princess Lumilia. No, it would be fair to say you love her.
Marianne's words reframed in Shannon's mind once again.
Not as reverence, not as family love, and certainly not as affection, but if I had to say, deep love. You want to be by her side more than anyone else, don't you?
Ah, I see, Shannon thought.
While harboring such feelings, she had been holding back somewhere all along. Because she was a woman, she couldn't be a partner. Because she was halfway as a man, she couldn't go and take her.
But rooted affection became obsession, and that became possessiveness. That is why she wanted to attract Lumilia's attention.
Ugly. Wretched. But even thinking that, she could not stop these feelings.
I love Lumilia-sama.
She wants to protect her. This feeling is real. She wants to be by her side. This feeling is also genuine. To have her taken by someone, or something...
No way in hell...!
Heat began to boil in Shannon's heart.
What. What is this situation, she thought, as anger toward the absurdity welled up. A blade was pointed at the princess of a nation, the one she should protect, and just as she thought she had dealt with it, she was being taken by some incomprehensible worm. And when she tried to go save her, her teacher stood in her way with incomprehensible logic.
Enough already. How much more do you intend to interfere? What right do you have to get in my way? How long will this absurdity continue?
Ah, that's right. I love Lumilia-sama. As a woman. I want her.
She didn't know if Lumilia would respond. Even if she were rejected, she still wanted to be by her side. She wanted to ask that. She wanted to inquire. And yet, the essential person had been taken.
By the absurdity coiled in the royal castle. And her path was being blocked by her own teacher.
Don't mess with me!!
Strength filled the hand gripping the spear. Her ragged breathing rapidly steadied. Her eyes, focused on her goal, harbored a firm will.
She leveled her spear. Her will was superior. But her technique was inferior. Likely her physical strength as well.
So, remember. In her memories, was there a technique the teacher didn't know?
Listen, Shannon. If you, in your womanly form, face a man's strength head-on, your chances of winning are slim. I won't hear excuses like 'it depends on the training or the opponent'. If you take the median of all humanity and have a strength contest between men and women, men win. There's no point in throwing a tantrum about it.
What crossed her mind was something from about a week ago. When she sparred with a red-haired boy. If it were at night, it would be different, but in her daytime womanly body, she was powerless against that boy.
She searched for any way to win, but that boy, who had more tricks up his sleeve than even her teacher, presented the reality to Shannon and said this.
That's why you should learn leg techniques. With those, there isn't much difference in how muscle is built between men and women, and you can convert weight into power. The flexibility of a woman, including the joints, can be turned into a strength if you make it snap.
When she was taught, she tilted her head, wondering if such a thing were really possible. But as she received the explanation, she thought it was certainly rational. Some of the techniques she was taught certainly had many problems. But the difference between men and women was likely small.
The problem was whether she could pull it off at this critical moment.
No.
I'll do it. I'll step over my teacher and go to Lumilia-sama...!
●
Ho...?
Richter clearly felt the change in the air of Shannon, who had repositioned her spear. It was not killing intent, but a firm will.
"What is it, stupid disciple? Suddenly getting motivated?"
"It's not that I've become motivated. I remembered what I must do."
"Hah? And what's that?"
"Save Lumilia-sama."
"Ah, yes, yes, I see, I see. In the end, you are..."
"And then, I'll confess."
Ngh!?
The voices of the main player, Richter, and the outsider, Marianne, harmonized.
"No, you, what really happened to you? All of a sudden."
Though he had been aiming for it, Richter was bewildered by the rapid change of heart, but Shannon no longer paid any attention to that.
"I don't care anymore about whether I'm a man or a woman. I am me. I am Lumilia-sama's only knight, Shannon Ilmeltha. For that purpose, teacher, if you intend to interfere... I will move forward even if I have to kick you away."
Seeing his disciple show a clear will, different from before, Richter twisted the corner of his mouth slightly and leveled his spear.
He didn't know what had happened inside her. However, like a sudden realization, she had finally determined her own way of being.
And since this was a battlefield, there was only one way to show it.
"I see. ...Show me then."
"Yeah. ...I'll decide it with this."
The distance between them was somewhat wide.
"I'm coming, Richter-sensei."
"Come then, Shannon."
The gap in their skill was clearly wide.
"Albert style, Centaur school, Master... Shannon Ilmeltha."
"Albert style, Centaur school, Secret Tradition... Richter Centaur."
He would not hold back. To an opponent facing him in earnest, that would be rude.
Therefore.
Here I come...!
Both stepped in with all their might.
Is this girl serious!!
Immediately after, Richter noticed. Shannon no longer feared being hurt.
Battles between Centaur school practitioners tend to have short exchanges. Even including the fact that the spear is a medium-range weapon, the influence of the so-called placement technique, Afterglow, is strong.
This, which can convert the trajectory of a weapon into a slash by consuming magic power, increases the number of bullets the more they clash at close range. When this becomes a fight between the Centaur school and someone else, the disadvantage of the other school's practitioner piles up unilaterally the longer it lasts.
Conversely, in a fight between members of the same school, that characteristic becomes a double-edged sword. That is why it was customary to take distance after exchanging blades to some extent.
But Shannon's step was deep. To the point where she no longer desired to retreat. She was intent on attacking even if it meant a mutual strike.
Fine by me...!!
So Richter responded accordingly. It was a flurry of strikes like a storm.
Thrust, parry, sweep, their blades met time and again. Each time, Afterglow expanded around them, developing into a game of chicken where it was unknown when they would activate.
But Richter knew the limit. He had gauged it. Naturally. Because it was the Secret Tradition of the Centaur school.
The technique called Afterglow was advantageous in interpersonal combat, but it was not a technique for taking down large prey. The technique devised by predecessors who feared this became the ultimate art.
Afterglow Flash...!
Gather and converge the Afterglow that had been placed once into the tip, and release it in one breath. It was a large-swing technique specialized in firepower, but its power was guaranteed. In his adventurer days, Richter had used this to slaughter a fire dragon and be certified as Gold rank.
Thus, he parried the spear, turned his body, and recovered the Afterglow. He held it at his hip.
"!?"
He witnessed Shannon performing the same movement and moving into the same preparatory action.
Come to think of it, did I show her that once...?
Back then, he had intended to let her properly inherit the Centaur school. Therefore, he had shown it to her once as a supplementary technique, but he hadn't expected her to bring it out at this critical moment.
But the years of experience are different between you and me! At best, they'll cancel out! What will you do after that...!?
Both released the layered Afterglow.
Like a bombardment of light, it exploded at point-blank range.
●
I did it...!
The ultimate art of the Centaur school, Afterglow Flash. It was a first attempt, but it succeeded as Shannon intended. To be precise, it was a cancellation. But that was fine.
If she brought it to a striking battle while standing still, she would inevitably be concerned about the placed Afterglow. The same was true for Richter. If so, it was predictable that he would bring maximum firepower using it.
Therefore, Shannon canceled it out to match. The most rational thing would have been to intercept by canceling an equal number of placed Afterglows, but that would have been a stalemate.
But by canceling them all in one breath like this, a gap was created.
Now, there was no Afterglow between Shannon and Richter. A complete blank zone. She had been waiting for that moment.
"Hah!"
She launched a thrust with the magic spear in her hand. The target was the feet. If she could make him take one step back, that would be enough. As expected, Richter evaded it, and the tip that lost its target pierced the ground.
A puzzled expression appeared on Richter's face. It was a blunder unthinkable for a spear user. But that was fine. Shannon immediately switched her grip to a reverse grip and, while the spear was still pierced, leaped into the air like a pole vault.
●
That's way too large a swing.
A Somersault. That was the name of the technique, but it was far too large. Because it was so abrupt, his reaction was slightly delayed, but Richter twisted his body and dodged. It only grazed his cheek.
But immediately after.
"Reverse!"
Accompanied by a pale blue light, Shannon's vector changed. From an ascending force to a descending force.
To the disciple who came down from her heel as if swinging a large hatchet with her right leg, the last thing Richter saw was...
...Purple!?
It was the color of the underwear peeking out from the stage outfit.
Along with the trivial thought that it was flashier than he expected, Richter, who took a direct hit to the crown of his head, was slammed into the ground.
●
"A modified Somersault using a spear, followed by a crushing leg using Reverse? Rei, if you want to reproduce techniques from your previous life, please be more consistent..."
Marianne, who had been watching the sequence of combos, sighed in exasperation at the disorganized specifications. She thought that if she wanted a representative female character for leg techniques, there were people like the Chinese from Interpol or female members of the British special forces.
Incidentally, she had actually taught those techniques as well, but that is omitted here.
"Oh, welcome back. ...Yes, you found her."
And simultaneous with the conclusion of the match, a shadow beast in the form of a bat approached Marianne and shared information. Apparently, Lumilia was trying to emerge from the Spirit Dragon's mouth by turning into a fairy.
Well then, shall we go pick her up, Marianne thought, calling out Ipos and about to speak to Shannon.
It was then that skeletal Dragon Soldiers began to appear in droves here, facing the main street.
"Rei! Please don't drive them this way!!"
She threw a complaint at the idiot who was still pulling off strike-outs while laughing loudly in the sky, but it didn't seem to reach. He was still continuing the storm of meteors.
Does that idiot intend to turn the royal capital into a vacant lot? As she glared at him with half-closed eyes.
"Ah, that hurts, hey."
It seemed Richter had woken up.
●
Richter, who had been lying spread-eagled, slowly sat up and looked at his disciple, who was breathing heavily.
There were many things he wanted to say.
Like, I never taught you a technique like that, or who on earth taught you that, or that such flashy underwear is too early for you... none of those were appropriate.
The loser has no words to tell the winner. Must not have them.
But even so, if he were to put it into words.
"Impressive. ...From today, you can call yourself a Secret Tradition, Shannon."
"Teacher...?"
Ignoring Shannon, who wore a look of surprise, he called out to Marianne, who was preparing to leave the scene.
"Nameless guest. Sorry, but I'm counting on you for Shannon. She's a foolish woman who likes women despite being a woman, but she's my proud disciple now. ...I'll take care of this place."
As Richter took up his spear again and stepped toward the skeletal Dragon Soldiers, Marianne thought for a moment and then took Shannon's hand.
"I have received your request. ...Let's go, Shannon."
"Eh? Wait, Marie! But...!"
As Marianne tried to put her on Ipos, who was crouching as if pushing her in, Shannon raised a voice of protest, but Richter spoke while his back was still turned.
"Hey hey hey hey, are you already wavering? Tell me, stupid disciple. You're the knight for the princess alone, right? Then don't waste time in a place like this! Go quickly! Just go!!"
"! ...Yes!!"
Receiving that reprimand over his shoulder, Ipos flew high into the sky, carrying the determined Shannon and Marianne.
"...Good grief, making me go through all this trouble until the end. Is only her underwear adult? Wearing something with such sex appeal."
Watching them go, Richter shrugged exasperatedly.
"Ah... ow. But that idiot really kicked an old man in earnest. I'm already at a certain age, so hold back a bit, honestly. ...Come to think of it, I never taught her how to hold back."
While cursing that he was covered in wounds, he turned his gaze toward the skeletal Dragon Soldiers.
"But really, what a terrible day. Meeting a superior in the wild, being rejected by the woman I fell for... and to top it off, risking my life to protect her back."
It was a disastrous day, but for some reason, it didn't feel bad.
"Hino funomuno... Now then, I wonder how long I can hold out with this body."
Now, the villain's shop is closing.
Already a defeated general.
Then there are no longer the fences of nobility.
From here, although it's somewhat of a vent, it's genuine earnestness...
"Mere foot soldiers... don't think you can keep up with my Afterglow...!"
A single mere spearman called Afterglow... became a wounded beast and charged at the skeletal Dragon Soldiers.
To be continued next week.