Chapter 59

“Shall we talk as we walk…?”

Confirming that I had drawn near, Hein turned his back to me and began walking toward the Great Cathedral.

I followed behind his defenseless back.

If I were to attack him right now, I could easily knock him unconscious. However, the thought of striking that back never crossed my mind.

I knew with certainty why Hein had been waiting for me here.

His expression, his attire, his actions—everything pointed to a single answer.

Hein, now my collaborator, spoke to me with few words.

“Now that things have come to this, our options are limited. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes. I heard that during the ritual, all the bonds holding Lastiara back will vanish. I intend to strike then.”

I spoke my goal without deceit.

Partly because it was information he could know without issue, but also because I wanted him to evaluate the plan.

“Very well. …Then, your goal is either to snatch the girl away at that moment, or to talk down the organizers then.”

“Talk them down?”

“The organizer is the Acting Prime Minister, Fedelt. Along with him is a representative from the Senate of the home country. If those two judge that the ritual cannot be properly performed, My Lady’s death may be avoided. Guests and nobles from various nations are in attendance; if there is a threat of harm to them, there is a good chance they will cancel or change the proceedings.”

“There’s a method like that too…”

I was taken aback by the fact that my options had increased at this final hour.

I was grateful, but it certainly gave birth to hesitation.

“You can just keep it in the back of your mind as one of the options,” Hein said, perhaps noticing my confusion. He didn’t try to force the idea.

“I understand.”

As we spoke, we reached the drawbridge in front of the Great Cathedral.

All around us, citizens were murmuring, waiting for the time to come.

Once Lastiara’s ritual ended, a formal ceremony would begin inside the Cathedral. The citizens were eagerly waiting for the doors to open so they could participate.

I turned my eyes toward the Cathedral.

Halfway across the drawbridge, several knights stood with their swords held close, forming a wall. Furthermore, in the elevated areas and rest areas beyond them, I could see an uncountable number of knights on standby.

Beside me, Hein’s expression didn’t change as he pointed toward the main gate and began his explanation.

“From here, we will pass through the main gate and charge straight to the Cathedral. I’ve been scouted other routes since yesterday, but the security seems equally thick everywhere. If that’s the case, breaking through the front, where the path is straightforward, is the fastest way.”

If Hein said so, I had no objections. Since I wasn’t familiar with the interior, I’d risk getting lost if I didn’t take the front path. The plan remained the same.

“I understand. Let’s save Lastiara together, Hein.”

I conveyed my agreement.

However, hearing this, Hein gave a thin smile and shook his head.

“That is incorrect, boy. You are the one who will save her. You, and you alone.”

He answered with a sad face but a voice that sounded almost happy.

“Me alone…?”

“I am a foolish knight who turned a blind eye for three years and understands nothing of the girl’s heart. I couldn’t understand the ‘Lastiara’ who had steeled her resolve, nor the ‘girl’ who was crying for help… I have no right…”

I couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of the “right” Hein was talking about.

However, I could faintly sense something. Hein seemed to regret having known about Lastiara’s problems for a long time while doing nothing.

“No… I don’t think rights have anything to do with it. If we start talking about that, then I…”

I probably didn’t have the right either.

I had lost my feelings for her without ever being able to answer her “Save me.” I didn’t have the confidence that I felt as strongly as Hein did right now.

“That isn’t true. You are standing here after only a few days. In contrast, it took me three years. That is the difference. Truly, just that small difference…”

Hein laughed at himself as he slowly stepped forward.

I didn’t understand the true meaning behind that self-derision. All I could barely grasp was that his past feelings were what prompted that smile.

Feeling that I shouldn’t pry any further, I followed silently behind him.

We pushed through the crowd waiting for the ceremony and stepped onto the bridge.

Naturally, seeing us cross the boundary, the knights on the bridge approached us.

In response, I began to construct my magic.

Hein, walking beside me, did the same.

“—Magic: Dimension Gladiator, Magic: Freeze.”

“—Wind Breath, Wind Draw.”

I expanded my sensing magic to a radius of a few meters and wove freezing magic into it. It was the preparation to fire off my new magic at any time. Because of this, cold air leaked from my body, and the ground I walked on began to freeze.

Hein draped wind around his body and deployed countless clumps of wind around him. Thanks to Dimension Gladiator, I could feel the presence of that wind as if I were holding it in my hand.

The sentry knights who approached changed color when they saw us. One of them looked at Hein and raised his voice.

“M-Master Hein—?”

“My apologies. I’m in a hurry.”

Hein answered the knight’s surprise briefly, released one of the wind clumps, and blew the knight away from the side.

The knight was lifted off his feet by the impact from the side and fell from the drawbridge. I heard the sound of a splash. Seeing this, the other knights’ expressions changed, and they moved to draw the swords at their waists.

Before they could draw, I closed the distance and used brute force to throw a knight who was reaching for his hilt. The knight I threw fell into the river, just like the one before him.

The knights realized I was close and tried to draw and strike.

But they were all too slow.

Hein’s wind clumps raged, and the knights were blown into the river one after another. Any who escaped that were thrown by me. In an instant, every knight who had approached was knocked into the water.

Voices rose up behind us.

The crowd began to stir, seeing our deeds.

But Hein calmly spoke to me.

“Let’s hurry. Leave the enemies on the high ground to me. —I won’t let them ring a bell or light a signal fire.”

“Yes.”

The knights waiting further back noticed the trouble on the bridge and began to swarm out like ants.

Without even coordinating, Hein and I dashed toward the group at the same time.

I felt the mana of Hein, running beside me, swell up.

One of the rings Hein wore shattered, and he released the same magic as before.

“—Sehr Wind!”

A violent gale was released from Hein’s hand, blowing away a portion of the gathered knights.

At the same time, I heard the murmurs of the crowd behind us turn into screams.

I ran right into the middle of the scattered group.

Then, I felt Hein’s mana swell even further.

He shouted to me.

“Go on ahead, boy! —Sehr Wind!!”

An even more violent gale was released in the direction I was heading.

The howling wind grazed my cheek, blowing the knights away while finally crushing the massive portcullis ahead.

The straight path leading into the Cathedral grounds was opened by the wind.

“I’m going first!?”

“You’re the one who has to save her! I’ve got your back!”

Hein was insistent on letting me be the one to rescue Lastiara.

I wished he’d drop that obsession—but looking into his eyes as he shouted, I saw a deadly seriousness that told me he wouldn’t budge no matter what.

Swept up by his intensity, I nodded.

“Right!!”

I poured strength into my legs, kicking off the ground so hard I felt like I was gouging the earth, and sprinted ahead down the single path.

As I ran, various gusts of wind whistled past from behind me, striking down the knights attempting to block my way.

The knights on the high ground were sent flying. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them being dropped to the ground.

It was an overwhelming display of magical precision and rapid-fire capability.

Compared to before, the power was restrained, yet I was awestruck by the sheer unbridled freedom of his wind magic.

—Using that tempest as a tailwind, I ran.

There must have been over a hundred knights waiting at the main gate, but I managed to leave them all behind in a matter of seconds.

I raced alone down a path paved with gemstones, flanked by tall hedges.

There was no sign of the knights behind me catching up.

It seemed Hein was holding back every single knight at the gate.

However, through my magic, I sensed people approaching from the right. A group of knights stationed elsewhere was closing in from a distance.

Yet, that group wouldn’t catch me at this speed. The difference in velocity and distance was simply too great.

Just as I felt a moment of relief, I sensed a shadow leap out from that group.

No, not just a shadow. More accurately, it was one person clinging to the back of a beast, closing the distance at terrifying speed.

I focused my Dimension magic on the shadow to identify it.

The figures were—the demi-human knight, Sera Radiant.

And the knight of the Magic Sword, Ragne Caicula.

Two of the Celestial Knights were heading straight for me.

I frowned as Radiant approached while letting out a war cry.

She couldn’t have provided a better signal to report an intruder’s location. I decided right then to defeat the two of them immediately for the sake of what was to come. I had originally considered persuasion, but given the situation and the time, it was impossible.

First, I increased my speed to separate the two attackers.

However, the distance only continued to shrink.

My speed was beyond that of a normal human, but the opponent’s speed could only be described as beyond that of a normal beast.

The moment I felt them catch up just beyond the rows of trees lining the path, I sensed Ragne’s mana on the beast’s back swell.

Her mana spiked, and its tip sought to pierce my leg.

It was her specialty: the telescopic Magic Sword.

I had faced it once before.

Combining that experience with the warning from my Dimension magic, I dodged it without difficulty.

The blade of mana sliced through the rows of trees in an instant before snapping back.

That was the first time I had seen that sword actually cut something. Its sharp edge made me increase my guard.

If it touched me, taking a leg off would be child’s play.

Voices rose from behind the trees, and the two increased their speed, circling around to get in front of me.

Given the difference in speed, I couldn’t prevent it.

The two appeared before me, blocking my path.

Sera Radiant in her wolf form, and Ragne, the short-haired girl knight, riding on her back.

“U-Um, please stop! Big brother from before!”

Ragne urged me to stop with a voice so relaxed it lacked any sense of tension.

However, I had no intention of stopping.

I tried to slip past them without slowing down.

“Ah! Wa-Wait a second!”

Ragne hurriedly constructed her mana sword and extended it toward my leg.

“—Magic: Ice.”

I chanted the spell and reached out toward the blade of mana.

I was getting used to Ragne’s magic. Besides, her panicked attack was incredibly easy to read.

Avoiding the edge, I caught the mana sword between my palms.

Then, I channeled my freezing magic into the blade. My carefully refined Ice magic froze the mana sword all the way to its hilt in an instant.

“?! Cold!”

Ragne’s hand, connected to the sword, began to freeze.

Without letting go, I put strength into the hand gripping the mana sword—and lifted.

“Huh?”

Ragne couldn’t deactivate the frozen mana sword, and her body was hauled into the air along with it.

Using brute force, I hurled Ragne toward the thicket.

“Wait, wha—ah, u-uwaaaaaaaaah!!”

Ragne flew through the air screaming and crashed into the distant woods.

Judging by her level, she probably won’t die from that…

Probably.

With a slight sweat for Ragne’s safety, I tried to run past Radiant.

But I couldn’t simply leave the wolf-form Radiant behind. Her fangs snapped at me from behind.

I timed the attack perfectly using Dimension Gladiator, evaded by a hair’s breadth, and pulled a bag of spices from my ‘Inventory.’

I flung the spices directly at Radiant’s nose.

If she was as beast-like as she looked, this should be effective. It was highly likely she had been tracking me using her sense of smell.

“—!! Grr, gaaah, aaaaaaah!!”

A particularly loud roar thundered behind me.

Radiant’s wolf form began to shift back into her human shape. She was rubbing her nose with human hands to clear away the spices.

I was momentarily flustered by the sight of the completely unclothed Radiant, but I quickly switched gears and pulled my favorite sword from my ‘Inventory.’

Seeing this, Radiant transformed just one hand back into a wolf’s paw and roared to counter me.

“You! Wh-Why—! Why you! YOUUUUU!!”

“Please stay quiet for a while!!”

Radiant’s claws cut through the air, but my sword alone sliced through the enemy.

I slashed her arms and legs with a light touch and used my left hand to slam her head into the ground.

“—Gah!”

The impact rattled her brain, and she let out a groan.

Leaving her there, I sprinted toward the Cathedral once again.

Through Dimension, I felt Radiant behind me trying to turn back into a wolf and run. However, with her brain severely rattled, she didn’t seem able to run as she intended. Even if she could, having her four limbs slashed meant she wouldn’t reach her initial speeds.

Satisfied with that, I continued down the path.

I had encountered two of the Celestial Knights, but the result was a complete shutout without a scratch on me.

Having previous combat experience with both of them was a huge advantage.

Thanks to that, I was able to parry them without much trouble.

I ran down the path between the trees—next, I came out into an open garden.

There was a large fountain in the center, flanked by various types of flower beds. It felt exactly like a historic garden belonging to a historic castle.

Waiting there was a knight I recognized, leading about a dozen others.

It was the middle-aged knight with salt-and-pepper hair, Hopes Jockle.

Hopes greeted me with the same frivolous smile as before.