The Female Knight Who Somehow Appeared Soaking Wet From Head To Toe Alongside A Former Enemy Was Way Too Cute (2)

“—No, seriously, why are you completely soaked?”

Was this what they meant when they said a beautiful woman looked even better dripping wet?

Karen-san had appeared before me once again, but seeing water drip steadily from her armor made me forget for a moment that dead soldiers were currently swarming all over me and instinctively call her out on it.

“Ah, no, well, this is… there were various circumstances and inner conflicts that aren’t exactly easy to explain here—”

“What? You spotted the ship I was using to rush ahead and rescue the boy, jumped straight into the sea, swam over, and climbed aboard without permission. What part of that involved any inner conflict?”

“Y-you—don’t tell him that!?”

Henri-san looked at Karen-san in exasperation and explained the circumstances as simply as humanly possible.

Jumping into the sea while still wearing armor and then swimming all the way to another ship—Karen-san was certainly capable of doing it, but that did not make it any less reckless.

The black armor Karen-san currently wore was unlike the standard armor used by knights in the Royal Capital. It was extremely sturdy and correspondingly heavy. If you dropped it into the sea, it would sink to the bottom in no time.

“B-but… when I thought there was even the slightest chance that Haru might lose to that woman Nevan, I couldn’t sit still—and by the time I spotted Henri’s ship, my body was already out in the open sea.”

“Honestly, Karen-san… you’re the same as ever…”

Once we got back, she would probably have no hope of escaping the punishment disguised as a lecture from Madeleine-san—but since she had saved us this time, perhaps I would get scolded alongside her.

—Thank you, Karen-san.

“A-anyway, let’s go, Henri! First we rescue Haru and the others. Make sure you properly fill the gap in our manpower, all right?”

“Being made to work while away on assignment would normally be the height of annoyance for me, but since it’s for the boy, I suppose I have no choice—I’ll work a little longer.”

At Karen-san’s instruction, Henri-san placed a hand on the eyepatch over her left eye, and at that instant, an hourglass-like pattern appeared across it.

“—The release lasts thirty seconds. Can you do it?”

“A few seconds will be more than enough.”

The instant Henri-san flipped the hourglass symbol over, an ominous glow gathered within her eye.

“Nggh… you piece of shit!! Don’t think some lousy hypnosis magic is enough to make me and my adorable dolls dance to your tune!!!”

At the exact moment the two stepped forward to rescue us, Nevan forcibly broke the effect of Henri-san’s Mystic Eye with a roar of sheer will and began feeding her own magic into the dead soldiers.

“Nggh… these guys are getting even stronger…!”

“Ahahaha!! That’s right, this is my ‘necromancy.’ The more of my life force and magic I burn away, the stronger and tougher my dead soldiers become—the only thing I hate is how it makes me look even more like an old hag!!”

The dead soldiers swelled grotesquely until they barely resembled humans anymore. Leaving only a few behind to restrain us, the rest rushed toward our two reinforcements.

“Now then, first up is you with the weird eye! You’ll pay with your life for putting that creepy suggestion on me!!”

At Nevan’s command, almost all the dead soldiers lunged toward Henri-san, but Henri-san herself calmly continued walking toward us.

“Hehe… foolish Imperial puppeteer. You’re thinking that because they’re dead, my magic shouldn’t work on them… but that assumption is far too naive.”

“What…!!?”

【Kneel.】

The instant Henri-san gave that single command to the dead soldiers—

The corpses that had supposedly been Nevan’s puppets abruptly stopped moving, swiftly formed ranks, and knelt before Henri-san.

“Im… impossible… How can that…!”

“—Thanks to my time in prison, my 【Mystic Eye】 has been honed to the point where even the dead are irrelevant. Everything submits to me now… I would appreciate it if you didn’t lump me together with some ordinary back-alley sorcerer.”

Apparently, Henri-san herself had undergone some mysterious evolution while we had not seen each other.

So she was the “replacement personnel” Madeleine-san had mentioned—but wait, was she maybe already way more useful than me?

“—HAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

Karen-san charged straight into the mass of enemies who had practically lined themselves up to be attacked and swung her beloved sword with a burst of fighting spirit. The dozens of enemies there were rapidly cut down in number.

“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my Haru—!!”

Without losing momentum, she wiped out every dead soldier clinging to me and then pulled me directly into her chest.

“Karen-san…!!”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Haru. It was close, but I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Yes…”

Huh? What was this pounding in my chest—somehow I felt like a captive princess who had just been rescued by a hero.

Karen-san was unbelievably cool.

“—Hey, old lady, flirt all you want, but could you save me first…!?”

Ena, who was still struggling against the soldiers restraining her, called for Karen-san’s help, but—

“…No.”

Karen-san turned her face away with a huff.

“I mean, I’m just some old woman who’s not all young and fresh anymore, right~? And since I’m such an old woman, just saving Haru already wore me out~? So I guess I don’t have the strength left to save you~?”

“HAAAAAH!? Why are you saying something that childish in a situation like this!? Are you seriously supposed to be someone in charge!?”

“Hmph! Whether I’m in charge or not, I’m still a human being! Why should I help someone with no manners!? Ask Henri or something!”

These two were exactly the same even in a situation like this. If they could just meet each other halfway a little, they would probably make a great team—

Incidentally, Henri-san seemed completely uninterested in their exchange and was busy brushing some dust off her eyepatch. Ah. She definitely was not going to help.

“Ena, this one’s your fault. Being straightforward is one of your good points, but she’s still your superior, so at least show the bare minimum of respect. Got it?”

“Muu… fine. If I say it properly, that’s enough, right—please help me, Karen-san… Is that good?”

“Hm? What was that? My hearing isn’t what it used to be, you see~? Ena, what have I always told you to call me?”

Karen-san. Seriously. That is incredibly childish.

“…Onee-san! Please help me, Karen-oneesama!”

“All right! Very well!”

“Onee-san”—having finally forced the word out of her, Karen-san rescued Ena with an expression of pure delight.

Huh? Where exactly had the heroic savior who rescued me a moment ago disappeared to? I felt an urge to rub my eyes.

Still, with that, the outcome was essentially decided.

Most of the soldiers she had led were now completely unable to move thanks to Karen-san and Henri-san.

We had four people still standing on our side. Facing us, Nevan was now completely alone.

At this point, about the only thing left for her to do was raise a white flag.

“Tch, useless pieces of crap… If this had gone well, I could’ve made a name for myself back there…”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about, but for now, please surrender. Since there haven’t been many casualties yet, the Royal Capital should still be prepared to treat you with some degree of leniency.”

“…Would you hand me over to the Empire?”

“Probably not.”

Karen-san answered Nevan’s question in my place.

“We want whatever information about the Empire we can get. You’ll likely spend some time in prison, but I can guarantee your life.”

“Tch… so it’s better than the alternative, huh…”

Nevan lowered her head as though finally resigned.

My tension eased for just an instant, thinking that all we had left to do was rescue Lilia and everything would be over—

“You seriously think I’d say that, you Royal Capital pieces of shit!?”

The moment she shouted, a girl’s figure slid out from the shadow behind her—Zena.

“…Honestly, you’re such a troublesome woman.”

“Zena!? Why are you here… Don’t tell me—”

Zena nodded at my words.

“Mm… Princess Lilia has already been transported to the destination… Too bad.”

—We had run out of time. In other words, it meant we had effectively lost.

“Ahahaha! Good work, little traitor Zena! Well, we’re a bit short on souvenirs, but we’ve accomplished the objective, so let’s get the hell out of here!”

Having regained her confidence, Nevan gave Zena that order.

Given the situation, there was no way skilled fighters like Karen-san and Henri-san would simply let them leave. But Zena was probably an Imperial knight herself—and considering the strange technique she had just used to emerge from a shadow, there was no telling what she might do.

Yet, for some reason, Zena showed no sign of moving at all.

“? Hey, what are you doing!? The cargo’s already been loaded and the ship’s already left, right!? What’s wrong with you!?”

“Lilia-sama is currently sleeping peacefully in her own room.”

“HAAH!?? What the hell did you do—”

At that moment, Zena drove a tiny needle into the area near Nevan’s neck.

“Nevan… You seem to be misunderstanding one thing, so I’ll tell you.”

“…Don’t tell me you planned this from the beginning…!”

Looking down at Nevan as all strength left her body and she collapsed unsteadily, Zena spoke.

“My real name is Luzenamaria. I am a legitimate knight of the Royal Capital Guard, First Knight Squad 【White Cross】—”

The insignia that had seemed to belong to the Empire had somehow lost its black cross, leaving only the white cross beneath it shining brightly at her neck.