kscans

Chapter 155 - The Road to the Luncheon and Two Backstories

The olive groves continued, stretching on endlessly. The sun was getting stronger. I was starting to think this scenery would go on forever and we'd never reach the castle. As long as we kept the horses at a walking pace, their movements were gentle. The slight swaying was rather pleasant. Beside me, Aira was also letting her horse plod along drowsily. I felt like I could continue this three-person horseback trek forever. From behind me, Cecily wrapped her arms around my waist and even leaned her head against my back. And to think she complained it was too hot when I did the same thing to her.

"Cecily."

"Hm?"

"Make up with Aira."

My eyes met Aira's.

"...Make up with Aira-sama."

"No."

They'd probably make up on their own if I left them alone, but I wanted to solve this problem now. I couldn't bear the thought of this tension lasting through the ride back.

"I wonder if Famu's okay..."

"Huh? Why are you thinking about another girl when you're with me right now?"

"R-Right. By the way, Cecily, why did you become an adventurer?"

I hastily changed the subject.

"No big reason. I was thinking of becoming a pharmacist, but I had older brothers and sisters at home, and when I went to the church, I was able to become a mage."

Her original profession was pharmacist. The fact that she went to the church to change it must mean something happened.

"You had brothers and sisters?"

"Yeah, two older brothers and two older sisters. They're all in the imperial capital now."

Aside from Myra and Aira, she was the only one in the party with family. What would have happened if her family had been in Richel when she was branded an enemy of the gods? The thought was a little terrifying. It was probably best not to use Goddess Summon on people if I could help it. The fact that she was the youngest sister came as a surprise. She liked to take care of people, and her words often had a hint of a big-sister feel to them. Maybe that was just a front. I glanced at Aira. Both were younger sisters, but comparing her to Cecily, Cecily seemed more like the older one, despite their actual ages.

"Aira-sama, you need to get along with Myra and Cecily."

"I won't."

She also shot me down with a single word. I wished they'd stop ganging up on me in weird ways.

"Why not! You're a total big-sister-worshipper, Aira-sama. You have the same hairstyle, wear the same clothes, the same accessories, carry the same weapon. You even used to go dungeon diving with Aidan, didn't you?"

"I did at first, but eventually it was just Myra who went."

"For someone who stopped, your mace handling is remarkably similar."

Neither of them was particularly strong. The way they gripped their heavy maces and skillfully swung them using centrifugal force was identical. When it came to weapon handling and healing powers, Myra was superior on a level comparable to her bust size, but I kept that to myself, knowing Aira would definitely get upset if I said it.

"I trained by fighting with my sister."

"...You fight by hitting each other with maces?"

What in the world was she talking about?

"Yeah, but we stop just short of hitting, so we don't get hurt."

She said it with a completely straight face. I could understand sparring with short swords or fists, but was it even possible to stop a full swing with a heavy weapon just before impact?

"...And we can heal, so."

Aira muttered in a voice I could barely hear. Could it be that the two of them had gotten stronger through their fights? They really were a terrifying pair of sisters. And Myra, too. She was beautiful, kind, caring, and had a playful, cute side, but my impression of her was about to change. Famu was one thing, but it seemed I'd better not anger or trouble Myra either. In contrast, my impression of Aira hadn't changed at all. Even if Myra nagged her a bit as an older sister, I couldn't imagine her starting a fight. It must have been Aira who instigated them.

"How long are you going to keep talking to Aira?"

a voice said from behind me. She was still angry, it seemed.

"Hey..."

"Hm?"

"I won't try to stop you from going to the magic academy anymore. And I know you'll have to leave the party for a while. But I don't want it to be over when we get to Miglutt."

"Then why won't you say it to me, huh?!"

Cecily hugged me tightly.

"I'm saying it now."

"No, you're not!"

Her grip tightened.

"He hasn't said it to me, either,"

Aira added.

"Said what?"

"I don't know. I hate you."

"...You two really do get along, don't you?"

Come to think of it, I feel like Mizuki said the same thing. I think it was about Famu.

"Wait, do you two want to play the nipple-guessing game?"

"What are you talking about?!"

Cecily lifted her head and tried to pull away from me.

"...That's not it?"

"It's not!"

After Cecily answered, I checked with Aira too.

"I'm fine with it, as long as it's before we do it."

"Alright, then next time we do it!"

Aira nodded. I wasn't sure what 'it' was, but as long as it was before, it was apparently fine. However, that didn't seem to be the right answer.

"...Maybe you want to wear Laciel's panties or something."

"What have you been talking about this whole time?!"

Cecily snapped. Well, she'd been angry this whole time, really. Maybe it wasn't about Famu. As I pondered this, the sound of clashing metal rang out. Up ahead on the road, I could see a single carriage. A battle was taking place around it. Metal armor and naked blades flashed, reflecting the sunlight.

"Looks like a fight. What a pain... can we go around?"

I scanned our surroundings. The view was wide open. The fighting was confined to that one spot, and there were no other people in sight. It didn't seem like we'd get caught up in it. I didn't want to get involved in a fight between humans. It could be a bandit attack, but there was no way to be sure. It was a single road. Furthermore, the olive trees were planted far apart and were too short to provide cover. Hiding and waiting for it to pass wasn't an option.

"We have to help them, they're being attacked by goblins!"

At Cecily's words, I took another look and saw that the attackers were indeed monsters. Five goblins. All five had bows on their backs, but right now they were attacking people with swords. There seemed to be two people fighting back. One person was already down. Since we were on horseback, I wanted to launch a surprise cavalry charge, but with my current skills, that was impossible, and these were the Mateo Trading Company's horses. If a horse got injured, it could be a bigger problem than if I got hurt myself. I took out my bow.

"Aira, come with me. Cecily, provide support from the rear. And keep an eye out for reinforcements."

"It's Aira-sama."

Neither Aira nor I were skilled riders. We dismounted, left the horses with Cecily, and approached at a brisk pace. The combatants seemed to have noticed our presence. Two goblins switched from swords to bows and loosed arrows at us. The distance was great enough that we had plenty of time to dodge. I fired back as I closed in. My arrow missed the monster completely and stuck in the carriage behind them. Just as the monsters were about to loose a second volley, a fireball rained down on them. The goblins abandoned their attack to evade. It was from Cecily. I turned to see that she, who I thought was far behind, had brought the horses right up to us.

"Mash! Now's your chance!"

Even before Cecily shouted from horseback, Aira was already running. Their coordination was perfect. While the monsters were distracted by Aira's approach, I loosed a second arrow. Aided by wind magic, it pierced a goblin's shoulder. Aira closed in on the uninjured goblin. It hastily fired an arrow, which her mace batted away. Without losing momentum, she spun her body and slammed a powerful blow into the goblin. The monster let out a death cry. Then, she faced the goblin that had been wounded by my arrow. Just as the monster was about to switch back to its sword, a fireball struck it squarely. While the two of them finished off the monsters, I went to help the two who were clashing swords. I switched my weapon to my katana and ran toward them. One of them slashed at me, and I raised my katana to block it. Then, I aimed a kick at its calf. Seeing the goblin's posture crumble, I shoved it back. As it staggered away, Aira brought her mace crashing down. Kicking attacks seemed to be more effective than I thought.

"Aira-sama, get the one on the ground!"

"Got it."

I circled around to the back of the goblin fighting the knight.

"My thanks for the assistance,"

the knight called out.

"Are you alright over there?!"

I was about to slash at it from behind when the knight it was facing collapsed as if out of strength. The monster turned and swung at me. I had been leaning forward to attack, but I managed to stop myself at the last second and backstep to dodge. The monster's swing had been too wide, and it stumbled. I didn't miss the opening and cut it down with a diagonal slash. I moved behind the last remaining goblin. It hesitated its attack, wary of my movements, and in that moment of opportunity, the knight thrust their sword forward. The five goblins vanished.

"...My thanks for the assistance,"

the sole remaining knight said again. I couldn't see their face through the armor, but it was a woman's voice. I started to check if she was alright, but stopped. She was leaning on her sword, breathing heavily through her shoulders. Blood was flowing from her elbow. I turned my gaze to Aira.

"Aira-sama, is the one on the ground okay?"

"He's badly injured, but he'll live."

Cecily brought the horses over.

"Doesn't look like there are any more enemies."

We both nodded. The battle with the goblins reminded me of the time with Mizuki, and when Aidan had us fight them. I had been half-lying on the ground back then, and I remember being truly terrified. But now, I even had a sense of composure. Had I grown stronger? Or had my sense of fear just become numb? I sheathed my sword.

I'd heard a rumor somewhere. A luncheon was being held at a castle to the south. It seemed they were attacked while transporting food for it. Not that it looked like a large amount. Half the space was probably taken up by the knights themselves. It appeared they were invited guests as well. Aira was now riding in their carriage, treating the wounded as we headed for the castle. With two of their guards down and one injured, there was no one left who could fight. They asked us to escort them to the castle. Besides the three knights, there was a well-dressed but elderly nobleman and an equally old driver, neither of whom looked like they could participate in a fight. We followed behind their carriage on our two horses. With Aira in the carriage, I was riding with Cecily.

"They're going to the same place we are, right? I wonder if the people in the carriage are attending, too?"

Cecily brought her horse closer and asked in a low voice. The road was packed earth, but the ruts were deep and littered with small stones, causing the wheels to bounce violently and make a loud noise. With the sound of the horses' hooves as well, I doubted anyone else could hear her even if she didn't whisper.

"Probably."

"Is it okay to attend in these clothes?"

She was wearing her usual black one-piece robe. I didn't have any clothes suitable for a castle invitation either. We washed them daily with water magic, so they were cleaner than the average commoner's clothes. But compared to what they would be wearing, both the fabric and quality were different.

"They don't realize we're invited too, do they?"

We had only told them we were heading south. We agreed to accompany them for now, but we also told them we'd flee if we encountered three or more enemies. Since monsters rarely attack a carriage in such small numbers, that meant if we ran into anything, we'd be running away. The olive groves had ended, and we were now passing through a forest. Just as I was thinking how much it would suck if monsters were hiding here, a spire came into view.

"That must be our destination."

Cecily seemed to have noticed it too. Soon, the entire structure became visible. It was the same as the castle north of Frucht, the town we'd stopped in before. It was a fortress, protected by high-piled stone walls.