17 - Chapter 13: A Setup Called Mr. Serious
Serious-san is pressing the attack...!
Comedy-san is waiting for an opportunity.
To the west of the Feresque Great Forest, at the foot of Mount Niyakando, there is a great canyon called the Giant's Path. At its midpoint, in a depression structured like a rat-guard, there were several buildings.
This is because the area was originally a strategic point for crossing the mountains and still functions as a relay point for the road leading to the beastman village, so it was equipped with a certain amount of base facilities and personnel. While its original capacity was at most a dozen people, nearly two hundred humans are now spreading tents, giving it the appearance of a refugee camp.
No, they are exactly refugees. For they are residents of the Empire's pioneer village.
Though they did not leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs, their luggage was minimal, and it was a flight from pursuit by certain attackers. Some personnel were lost, and some were injured during the escape. Everyone was exhausted, resisting this desperate situation, where it was unknown when it would end, with willpower alone. It is a wonder they have not all gone mad.
One of the reasons for that was here.
"Thank you, Latia-dono..."
"Do not worry about it. Sleep a little longer for now."
"Yes... this kindness, someday, I will surely..."
In a corner of the refugee camp, in one of the tents, there was a woman in traveling clothes diligently providing treatment. Long blonde hair and blue eyes, a beautiful appearance that anyone would admire if she were human... and her most prominent feature was that her ears were long like tips of grain. She was a woman of the race commonly called elves.
Latia Fa Swin.
An elf from the depths of the Feresque Great Forest, she was a woman who had come to the pioneer village at the request of her clan. She, too, had fled in haste from the attackers along with the refugees and was now acting as a recovery caster here.
(It has been a week today...)
Sighing in her heart, she cast her gaze outside the depression.
As if coloring the black of the night sky, a pale rainbow-like wall blocked off the outside world. It was a barrier created by barrier magic. It was being operated like a lid over the depression, trapping the refugees, including Latia. Of course, they were not trapped there by choice.
Beyond the wall were the attackers in question... a swarm of dragons.
Not a metaphor or a joke. Though they were a land-dragon species without wings, one of the strongest species, reaching 4 meters in height and nearly 7 meters in length, was arrayed in a swarm before the barrier. Because they were blocked by the barrier, they showed no movement, but they were still silently observing the situation here.
It happened about a week ago.
A swarm of Earth Dragons suddenly appeared in the forest around the pioneer village. The first to discover them was the outer patrol led by Latia, who had been instructing on the thinning of trees. As the Earth Dragons rampaged, knocking down trees, Latia immediately led her personnel to run and notify the village. It happened that an Imperial Army transport unit had arrived, and while they were discussing their policy, a report came in that the swarm of Earth Dragons was approaching the pioneer village.
There were many mysteries. To begin with, Earth Dragons do not inhabit the Feresque Great Forest. They prefer grasslands, and while a stray might be possible, why there were so many, and why they were rampaging so violently... many unknown points were scattered, but there was no time left to search for the reasons.
In the end, they abandoned the pioneer village with the Imperial Army transport unit acting as the rear guard. The villagers began to move to seek refuge in the nearest beastman village, but they were overtaken by the march of the Earth Dragons. The base they fled into was this place.
And the only entrance and exit was sealed by a fox beastman who was a user of barrier magic.
"...How is it, Kazuha?"
Latia peered into the tent at the center of the barrier and spoke to the person inside.
It was a fox beastman girl. Her long, pale orange hair was tied at the ends, and she wore the attire of a religious official. Latia was not familiar with it, but she knew it indicated a high priestess... miko clothing. The differences from a human were that large ears grew from her head, and similarly, a large tail grew from her.
Lying on the lap of the girl sitting in seiza was another fox beastman girl, sleeping.
The one called Kazuha shook her head slightly.
"I am sorry. By tomorrow morning, it will already..."
"I see... No, you have worked hard enough. I did not think we would endure for a whole week."
This was not flattery, but her true feelings. To begin with, when dealing with Earth Dragons, even for a single one, multiple silver-rank adventurer parties would be necessary. When Latia had roughly checked during the flight, there were nearly forty of them. It was already a calamity, such that an ordinary army would have to bring a division-scale force to do anything about it.
In the midst of that, being able to flee here with few casualties and transition to a siege was a stroke of luck. Even if they had to cut back on food, she had thought it would last a few days, but because these fox beastman sisters were capable, they had held out until today.
"I am sorry... it is only because we were inadequate."
A man in knight's attire, lying in a corner of the tent, spoke as if squeezing out his voice.
It was Gasten Lieber, the captain of the transport unit. A middle-aged man, a person with impressive pointed mustaches. He had continued to serve as the rear guard until now, losing subordinates and sustaining severe injuries himself, yet continuing to protect the refugees as much as possible. He had survived only because there was an excellent recovery magic user like Latia, but if she had not been there, he would likely still be wandering the border between life and death.
He was currently resting his body in preparation for tomorrow's decisive battle, but since he could not easily fall asleep, he had been discussing the plan with Kazuha.
"The opponent is a swarm of Earth Dragons. It cannot be helped."
"If only the messengers could reach the Imperial Capital..."
"Even though they fled in different directions and even used decoys, the dragons did not bite. Despite that, they were sensed even when blending into the twilight."
Strangely, the messengers dispersed in various directions were all wiped out. No, to be precise, they had not seen it happen, but screams rose from the directions they had gone, or Earth Dragons suddenly began tracking as if they had noticed their prey.
With human feet and stamina, it is difficult to exceed the traversal performance of an Earth Dragon. Everyone thought they were likely all wiped out.
"Big Sister..."
"It is okay, it is okay, Sakura... sleep a little longer. I will have you take over in a few hours."
As they spoke of depressing things, the girl sleeping on Kazuha's lap... Sakura, woke up. In terms of age, she was likely not even ten. Perhaps it was the origin of her name, as Kazuha stroked her pink hair and urged her to sleep again.
"Mm..."
Rubbing her eyes, Sakura fell back into sleep.
One of the reasons this refugee camp had not yet become food for the Earth Dragons was her existence. Kazuha was also an excellent user of barrier arts, but that did not mean she could maintain a barrier twenty-four hours a day. She could probably manage for one or two days, but she likely would not last three. However, there was her younger sister Sakura, who also excelled in barrier arts. Thus, the two of them decided to rotate the maintenance of the barrier.
They managed their mana and willpower to survive this week.
However.
"Regardless, the barrier will no longer hold by tomorrow."
While stroking Sakura's head, Kazuha confessed. There was no point in pretending. Tomorrow would be the decisive battle.
"How is the treatment?"
"For now, everyone has recovered enough to move. Since it is not my specialty, only 80 percent can return to the front lines."
"That is enough. We will buy time. We will take the refugees and flee... no, perhaps the survival rate would be better if they dispersed. At the least, you all will be able to escape."
During this week, they had not spent their time in vain. They healed the wounded soldiers and arranged for them to return to the front lines as best they could. It would not be long, but they could buy time for one more clash, or if things went well, maybe two. In the meantime, they would let the refugees escape.
"Leave the support to me."
"But, you, being an elf..."
"Certainly, I am here as part of my duty. To ensure the humans do not clear too much of the forest. Honestly, at first, it was a duty I was not keen on."
Latia was originally of an elf clan living in the Feresque Great Forest. They were mostly free citizens, but formally, they were also subjects of the Empire. That is why she came to lend a hand to the Empire's pioneering.
"But this time, the proposal came from the humans. And they requested it of the elves. They respected the forest. That judgment was correct, and the elves judged that the current Emperor of this country is wise. Elves cannot act dishonorably toward an opponent who does not deviate from righteousness."
"We beastmen are the same. The Empire was considerate during the planning stage, noting that if villages were built recklessly near the settlement, they would compete for everything from living water to trade. They wanted to incorporate the settlement into something called an economic zone. That is why I was ordered to be dispatched to the construction site of the new village."
With the power of the Empire, they could have pushed things through with a more overbearing approach. At least, the previous Emperor would have done so. But the current Emperor did not wish for that and instead took the path of harmony.
The elf race, who live by righteousness, responded to that, and the beastman race, who do not forget favors, moved to repay them.
"...I am sorry."
"No more apologies. The soldiers who were killed also fought well without fleeing."
"Yes. Even if they were frightened or frozen, they never turned their backs. They are brave warriors."
"I am grateful..."
Half of the transport unit had already lost their lives. Among them were rookies who had just joined this year. Rather, since the transport unit itself served as a way to acclimate them as soldiers, the majority were newcomers. To encounter Earth Dragons during a marching exercise that doubled as field training was truly unfortunate.
"Then tomorrow, may I ask for your help in letting the refugees escape?"
"Yes. Ah, but this child cannot, okay?"
"That is why we are putting her on night watch."
Their gazes turned toward Sakura. Even Gasten did not want to involve her in combat as much as possible.
"I understand. Despite being so small, she is a remarkably strong child. I wish my own child would follow her example someday."
"You, do you have a family?"
"Ah, they are in the Imperial Capital. My wife, and a newborn son."
"Should you not be the one to escape?"
"I want to do that more than anything. But the responsibility that comes with the given position is commensurate. To throw that away would be to deny even the self I have been until now. Above all, even if I survived that way, I could not face my family. At the least, until my son stands on his own, I wanted to be a cool papa."
At Gasten, who showed his white teeth, Latia and Kazuha gave a wry smile.
"How foolish."
"Ah, my wife often tells me that too."
"But you are handsome."
"I know. That is why even someone as ugly as me could catch a beautiful wife. If I return alive, I will have to provide as much family service as possible."
The final night of evacuation deepened.
A little longer until dawn.
The rest will be tomorrow.