kscans

Chapter 252 - The Siege of Miglutt and Hyakka's Battle

"Hey, who's this 'darling' you're talking about?"

"It's you! Just sayin' it for fun. More importantly, could ya stop gropin' my chest and get off?" We were riding the white horse summoned by Hyakka's Special Skill, [Prince on a White Horse]. From behind her, I had reached around and was unconsciously grabbing her chest. It wasn't intentional; I just found myself checking its texture. This was entirely the fault of my riding instructor, Cecily, so it was out of my control. As I continued to knead her chest with this thought in mind, I felt a small, firm nub in my palm.

"H-Hey, mmmph, seriously, stop it! What are you thinkin' about in a situation like this?!"

"You're enjoying it too, aren't you?" I said, pinching the tip of the protrusion. Hyakka's body twitched.

"Are you an idiot?! Anyone would react like that if you did that to them!"

"So you get like this no matter who does it?"

"I wouldn't let anyone else do it!" She slapped my hand away. Hyakka looked down at the female warrior from horseback.

"You're one of Yuki's crew? Don't suppose you're gonna reconsider?" The woman laughed and pointed the tip of her sword at Hyakka.

"You're the one who should reconsider." At her words, Hyakka's eyes narrowed.

"Suppose I'll at least ask for your name?"

"..." The woman didn't answer. I sized up the enemy again. The female warrior and a male priest were the Transferees who had used their Special Skills. Then there were two other adventurers, a man and a woman, a male archer, and a male mage. All human. The female Transferee stood at the front, controlling the giant made of shadows, while the others surrounded the male priest protectively. At first glance, it seemed the warrior was in charge, but the priest might have been the actual commander. They'd looked surprised when Hyakka and the New World members showed up, but now they showed no signs of panic. They were either pleased with how quickly they'd dispatched Riley, Fang, and Beers, or they were confident in their own abilities. I couldn't tell.

"...I see. We're not as soft as the man riding behind me, ya know." Hyakka glanced at me as she spoke, then turned her gaze back to the woman.

"Hold on tight." With me still behind her, Hyakka spurred the white horse forward, charging straight for the woman. The giant of black shadow slipped between them, extending its arms wide to envelop us. The horse accelerated further, feigning a charge at the giant before making a sharp turn to dodge the shadow and approach the woman from a different angle. The woman smirked and retreated toward her comrades.

Just as Hyakka urged the horse forward to thrust with her lance, a magic barrier appeared in front of the woman, blocking our path. It was the same hemispherical barrier I'd seen earlier, the one that enveloped her and her allies. The horse reared up, its front hooves flailing as it came to a screeching halt. I clung to Hyakka to keep from being thrown off.

"Hyakka, spikes are going to shoot out of that barrier! Get back!"

"You fell for it! You think you can dodge the shadow behind you?!" The woman's cry and mine rang out at the same time. Hyakka turned her head to check the position of the giant closing in from behind, cutting off our escape, but then, as if giving up, she held the horse still in front of the barrier.

"You moron!" the woman shouted triumphantly. At that moment, the barrier blocking our path vanished. Simultaneously, the man inside the barrier collapsed, blood streaming from his neck. Behind him stood Etwán, knife in hand. He had somehow crept up behind the enemy and slit the man's throat.

"When did you...?" He had been a thief, I remembered. As surprised as the enemy, I watched him look up at me, lick his blood-stained knife, and grin.

The enemy snapped back to reality at the sight, putting distance between themselves and Etwán and pointing their weapons at him.

"Shunya!" Just as the female warrior cried out in shock and turned around, Hyakka plunged her lance into the woman's chest.

"Kah!" The woman coughed up blood, her eyes wide as she stared at Hyakka.

"You're the morons. One of our members was killed by your friends. And you're the ones who started this..." Hyakka said in a cold voice before pulling the lance out. The female warrior collapsed, and the shadow giant she had created vanished. Hyakka watched her fall, then turned her weapon on the remaining adventurers. Chihiro, Morse, and Kone surrounded them menacingly, but they had already lost the will to fight and stood frozen in a daze. I tried to say something to Hyakka, but I didn't know what.

"Hey, if you're surrendering, drop your weapons. If you don't show me you mean it, I'll slit your throats just like I did his," Etwán snarled, flicking his knife. The blood on the blade splattered onto the ground. At the sight, they powerlessly dropped their weapons and raised their hands. Hyakka's summoned white horse disappeared, and she and I landed on the ground.

"Where is Yuki?" Hyakka asked, but they only exchanged glances, unwilling to answer.

"If you won't answer, that's fine. Like I said before, I'll just kill you one by one right here," Etwán's low voice echoed.

"W-We don't know! Those two were the only ones getting direct orders! But, in the Crystal Garden..." The female enemy mage's voice trembled as she started to shout, but she fell silent at the end.

"What's he doing there?"

"He took over the Guild. He's trapped the adventurers inside the Crystal Palace."

"There were other Transferees, weren't there?"

"He... killed some of the ones who resisted."

"...!" Hyakka and I exchanged a look.

Morse and Kone were tying up the enemy adventurers. I had wondered if the two Transferees might get back up, having received 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 war that had enveloped this city.

I suddenly noticed Hyakka leaning forward slightly, peering at my face.

"What?"

"Nothin'. Just thought you might be angry."

"Speaking of which, you rejected me when I was groping you."

"Of course I did! I told you, only when we're alone!" Hyakka averted her gaze for a moment before looking 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." The male Transferee had been called 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 don't like it either, honestly. But I absolutely can't stand seeing my friends get hurt." Listening to her, 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 could still move.

"The Air-Ally Family's soldiers are attacking this hill. We have to move."

"You're saying we should abandon this position?" Etwán said, not bothering to hide his displeasure.

"We're outnumbered. We need to stay on the move and keep outmaneuvering the enemy."

"Then what about these guys?" Etwán glared at the bound adventurers.

"They're useless as hostages. We'll leave them behind." As I answered, his glare shifted to me.

"Don't be a fool. In that case, we should kill them." At his words, the adventurers looked at me with fear in their eyes. I was reluctant to kill surrendered and defenseless people, but since they had just saved us, I couldn't speak too strongly against Etwán.

Just then, Elisha tapped the ground with her staff.

"Let me see your character cards. If you intend any further hostility, then as the bishop of Miglutt, I shall declare you enemies of the gods." At Elisha's words, Etwán, Morse, and Kone exchanged glances. I thought it was a meaningless gesture, but seeing them fall silent, I realized the church still held great power, even if they had lost their building. At any rate, I was grateful to her for preventing a nasty outcome. I sent a look of thanks her way, and Elisha smiled brightly.

Hyakka cut in between us.

"Mash, what's the plan? Rinko and the others are probably in the Crystal Garden. Plus..." Hyakka's eyes narrowed. It wasn't just her. Chihiro and the other New World members' eyes had grown sharp.

"Yuki is there." He was the enemy of their comrades. Now that they knew where he was, they must be eager to rush over there immediately. However, I had promised Mizuki I would create an opportunity to talk with Yuki. And even if I did encounter him, if we were driven out of the city, there would be no chance for proper negotiations. For that, it was essential that the One-Land Family win the battle against the rebel army.

"First, I believe we have to win this battle. I need to see Maryanne lead her troops down the hill and launch a surprise attack on the Leafkraut Family forces surrounding the One-Land mansion. Plus, there might be someone on the enemy side who uses Special Skills. In that case, I'll have to deal with them." I thought of the red-bandana man I'd seen with Irisalie. Hyakka sighed and looked at Riley, Fang, and Beers.

"Even so, you're not in any shape to do much, Mash. And as for those three, well, you can see for yourself."

"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 escorting Fang and Beers back to the nomads' camp could only be entrusted to her.

"Alright. We'll stick with you, Mash. But once the tide of battle is clear, you're coming with us to the Crystal Garden." I nodded at Hyakka's words.

"Hey, this guy has nothing to do with our revenge. If anything, he'll just hold us back." Etwán shrugged his shoulders in irritation and glared at me.

"I don't want Yamase-san... no, Mizuki, getting in the way," Hyakka said, answering Etwán. As I listened, I drew my katana and cut the adventurers' bonds.

"What are you doing?! They heard our whole conversation!" Etwán yelled.

"It's fine. Our plan will be exposed anyway once the enemy gets to the top of this hill. It's better than leaving them tied up here and earning their clear resentment. Besides, we have their names now."

"Is this... okay?" the archer asked.

"It'd be a pain if you started shouting while we were taking you with us. If our information gets to the enemy, it'll be just as the bishop here says. Until this battle is over, hide somewhere and don't get involved in any more fighting."

"...Understood." After seeing the archer nod, we left the place.

To counter the enemy attacking from the southern staircase, Maryanne's army left behind a decoy to make it seem like troops were still on the hill, while they descended via a service road on the western side. It felt like a waste to give up the high ground overlooking the city, but we needed to concentrate our forces. Not a single person spoke; we just silently descended the switchback path, trying not to make a sound.

We were walking at the rear. The adventurers we had released were following us. I had considered the possibility they might make a scene and alert the enemy or run back to them, but it seemed my fears were unfounded. Of course, Etwán was walking behind them, knife in hand. If they showed any sign of betrayal, he would be the first to attack them. A siege was not an option. By morning, the citizens' patience would be at its limit. The power struggle of the Four Regent Families was unfolding with no regard for the will of the people. And in the government building, numerous members of the senate had been murdered. Many of them were not from the Four Regent Families, but from the citizenry. I didn't know how they would react, but the majority of the city's population was human. No matter how beloved Maryanne was in the southern district, there was a good chance the citizens would entrust Miglutt's future to Istvan. 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, the soldiers, who had been fighting for twenty-four hours and reached their physiological limits, would have a hard time suppressing them. I'd heard that in times of war, many among the populace would take up arms and join the fight as militia.

We had to settle this tonight, no matter what. Istvan and the others must have been thinking the same thing. We were using their desperation to divide and guide their forces. While the Air-Ally Family was sending troops to the government building, we would strike the Leafkraut Family's army surrounding the One-Land mansion. Royal Guard Captain Trusar's mobile unit had already gone ahead. The plan was to launch a surprise attack with the nomads hiding in the city. In other words, this main army, while moving to launch a surprise attack, was also a decoy to conceal the advance unit.

As we moved through the city, the moonlight shone on our faces. I stopped and looked up. The twinkling starlight had quieted, and in the eastern sky, a moon, slightly waning from full, was floating, bathing the city in silver light. Hyakka, walking behind me, bumped into my back.

"Ouch!" She held her nose and looked up at me.

"Jeez, it's dark and hard to see. Don't just stop all of a sudden."

"Sorry." She shifted her gaze from me to the moon.

"It's the same moon as in our world, but..." she murmured in a small voice.