[The Expected and the Unexpected]
Say your only escape route is tightly guarded by the enemy and you can’t make a head-on breakthrough, the first thing you should think about is ‘whether there is another escape route’.
Try to find a hidden passage, and if you can’t find one, consider the feasibility of making a new escape route.
In that sense, I’m really glad that the forbidden book section was built underground.
After all, we may make a hole through the ceiling, which would possibly make the shortest route for our escape.
From calculating the length of the stairs connecting the first floor and the underground archive and the height of the ceiling, I can infer the thickness of the material separating the two, and from the result I conclude that I can cut open the ceiling with a sword.
(Glad I surveyed the structure of the great library in case I need to stea—I mean, borrow some books. Man, you really have to be ready for anything.)
The next question is whether the barrier covering the forbidden book section will be an obstacle in my creating an escape route, and if it will, whether the barrier can be broken through.
Regarding this, I already expected it most definitely would. I mean, if the barrier only seals the entrance, someone can just break in from above or below, which would make the whole thing pointless.
The barrier serves to protect and seal the forbidden book section. Hence why I guessed the barrier covered the whole room, and releasing only a part of it would probably be impossible.
And if we were to release the barrier to cut open the ceiling, the enemy would instantly detect it without a doubt. I’d likely be able to make my escape if I were by my own in the time it takes the enemy to rush over, but I’ve got Cordelia-san—an injured person—and the others with me, so the chance we’d all make it out safely was low.
As such, the key is whether I can do something about the part of the barrier covering the ceiling, but… my oh my, I’d expect nothing less from Uncle.
If Uncle could easily tear up the barrier with just a slash, then that means my ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’, whose power touches Sword Saint’s level, should be able to slash a hole in the barrier.
And I was planning to cut open the ceiling with ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’ in the first place. The matter of securing an escape route is no matter anymore.
Well, there’s still actually the matter of how to escape enemy’s notice and make our way out of the great library after we go up to the first floor, but.
“Hehahahahahahaa!! Go, destroy everything in your path! Have a good look, you imbeciles! This is the true way of monster taming! And I am the true monster tamer!! Haahahahaha!!!”
“Ahh, the monsters sealed in the forbidden book section are freely running amok…” Cordelia-san mutters.
“Tōru! You stupid!! Stupid!! Stupid!!” Ethel screams.
“I know that diversion is necessary, but there has to be another way!” Iris shouts.
Ahaha. I can’t hear even a complaint because of the roars of the monsters.
Going up straight from the forbidden book section would lead us to the center of the first floor.
From there, the fastest way to escape is, again, by slashing the side wall open, and go to the open space where Freon, my beloved horse, is waiting.
But if the enemy is guarding the perimeter of the building, we’ll be detected the moment we leave the building, and there’s a high possibility that we’ll end up getting surrounded with no way to escape this time.
That being the case, we need to have a diversion to distract the enemy, but I have to cut the wall open, Cordelia-san and Ethel aren’t strong enough, and I feel uneasy to leave the job to Iris alone.
Hence, I zeroed in on the monsters sealed in the forbidden book section.
The replacement puzzle, in which you need to rearrange the books in correct order to reveal the hidden door, contains a trap that will release monsters sealed in the forbidden books if you get the order wrong.
Not to mention, this trap contains a useless extra gimmick where ‘it will release different types of monsters every time you get the order wrong’, and the monsters are all of the troublesome sorts—you won’t be surprised they got sealed.
So, if I release all of them and let them go on a rampage, it will make for a good diversion, right? I thought.
Then just as I was about to get to work—Hey, hold on a sec. If the trap releases the monsters sealed in the forbidden books, doesn’t that mean I can just take the books and release the monsters by myself?
With that realization dawned upon me, I devoted one short hour to collect the forbidden books in high spirit. Afterward, I cut open the ceiling with ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’ before climbing up, while carrying the books with me.
Once I got to the first floor, I began to release the monsters from the forbidden books one after another and sent them to cause a riot, all while leisurely pulling up Iris and the others from the hole with a thread.
“Alright! Which one of you wanna get released next? You? Or you?”
[Human, release me. If you release me, I will give you whatever you desire.]
[Me, me! Release mee!!]
[Get us out, get us out of here.]
As a result of opening and closing one forbidden book after another to release the monsters, I acquired the ‘Monster Tamer’ skill.
Thanks to it, I became able to hear the voices of the sealed monsters, and I can gain experience points every time I release a monster from a book.
Of course, since the skill level is low, I can’t tame these high leveled monsters.
The most I can do is try asking them not to attack us once I release them, but whether they’d go along with it is up to them.
“Okay, come out, Mephistopheles-kun!”
[Fuhahahaha! Well done, o’ foolish human! As a reward for releasing me, I will grant you a painless dea—]
“If anyone’s gonna die here, it’s you, ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’!”
[―Gobo!?]
So, when monsters who are unlikely to listen to my request like this guy appear, I immediately dispose of them and incinerate the book with ‘Flame Sword’.
Then, I step on the ashes in front of the other books to show the other monsters how they’ll end up if they defy me and who’s the boss around here.
In this way, I’m not only gaining skill experience points of ‘Monster Tamer’, but also base experience points.
And after seeing their comrades meet their ends in various ways, the monsters I released begin to listen to my request to a certain degree.
This is hitting two—no, three birds with one stone. Haha! I’ve been feeling stressed out from not being able to grind for a while, but it’s all being released now! This Catharsis! I can’t get enough of it!!
“Demon… no, this guy’s more demonic than even a demon itself…” Ethel mutters.
“Hm, I’m runnin’ out of books. Iris, can you go back down and grab me some more books?” I ask Iris.
“No! Those dangerous things aren’t to be brought out that lightly!” Iris shouts, refusing.
Looks like I have to give up on getting more supplies of monsters, unfortunately.
Well, with ‘Planarian Slime’ continues to multiply because of ‘Tease Clown’ attack and has almost overflow the great library, it’s about time we make our escape.
“I’m done repairing the hole in the barrier that Sakurai-sama opened, let us go,” says Cordelia-san.
“Okay. I’ll take the lead, so follow me.”
While pretending to leave the remaining forbidden books on the ground, I hide one on my back.
Then, with a (fake) serious look on my face, I start leading the way while avoiding the sight of the puppet knights who are making vain efforts to stop the monsters.
The injured Cordelia-san moves while being supported by Iris and Ethel.
Her big staff would simply be a hindrance, so after a little thought, she left it in the forbidden book section.
“Alright. *Inhale*… hm!”
When we reach the side of the great library, I take a slightly long breath and concentrate, before releasing ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’ three times in a row.
It’s pretty simple but not practical in actual battles because I have to gather up energy before releasing each slash. But of course, using it to cut a triangle-shaped hole in the wall like this is easy-peasy.
“Freon! Come!”
“……! Hihiin!!”
When we get outside, the sun already set, and the moon hangs in the dark sky. The first thing I do is to call for Freon.
Being tied at the open space, Freon immediately takes off the device as I taught him, flap the steel wings on his back, which reflects the moonlight, and run over to us.
“Burururu.”
“Good boy, I see you were staying put even with wings on your back this time.”
While patting Freon’s head, I check on his condition.
I was actually a little worried because this guy has a criminal record. When wearing the ‘Three Sky Series’ he’d suddenly get excited and fly as he liked without my instruction. But looking at this, I suppose I can leave Cordelia-san on his back without worry.
“Alright, Ethel. Hop on with Cordelia-san and go to the cathedral. There’s no way the enemy has taken control of all the knights, so ask for their help and have Cordelia-san be treated.” I say.
“Okay. But I practically have no experience riding a horse, okay? I can only walk it at most…” Ethel says, looking a little worried.
“Don’t worry, Ethel-san. Freon-san is a very smart horse, so you just need to tell him what to do and he’ll do it.” Iris says.
“Hihiin.” Freon raises his chin and neighs as if he understood Iris’s words.
He is too smart for a horse… could it be that he was a reincarnated horse from the antiquity period or something?
But well, it’s actually convenient, so it’s fine with me. Anyways, this is no time for a QnA, we need to hurry.
“We’ve got no other choice, I guess…” Ethel says.
“Just hop on already. I’ll lift Cordelia-san from below, so you help her up from the top of the horse.” I say.
“Alright.” Ethel nods.
“Thank you, Sakurai-sama.” Cordelia-san bows her head.
Leaving Iris to keep watch on the surroundings, I help Ethel get on Freon’s back first.
Then, as I’m putting my arm around Cordelia-san’s waist, about to help her get on Freon’s back—a faint sound of wind whistling reaches my ears.
“Oh no you don’t!”
“Kya!?”
I pull and hug Cordelia-san to protect her, before turning around and swinging my sword with my other free hand.
Although it’s a reflex action, the ‘Knight’s Steel Sword’, which leaves behind a silvery light in its trajectory, manages to deflect the chain that came flying from the sky, scattering sparks at the point of impact.
And almost at the same time, a thud echo from behind us.
When I turn around, I see Iris with her long rod seemingly has just been swung, and a blue-robed man rolling on the ground, probably her victim.
“Aw, that hurts… It’s already dark, so I thought surprise attack would work, but to think I’d get busted.”
“Even though I couldn’t see you, I could clearly see your ‘heat’. Who are you?”
“I see, so you have Magic Eyes. I’m just a father who’s going along with his beloved daughter’s willfulness. But of course, I don’t find it a pain or anything.” Saying that, the blue robed man gets up, revealing a pitch-black ‘darkness’ inside his hood. There’s a pair of eyes faintly discernible slightly above the center of the darkness, which is the only indicator that there’s a face inside the hood. Honestly, it’s really strange.
“…………”
“Oh, you finally showed yourself.”
Then, a girl lands in front of me.
She takes a look at me and Cordelia-san with her characteristic big round eyes before slowly taking a stance with the trident in her hand while the magic circle behind her seemingly ready to shoot a chain at her will.
Asanaga Ayako and Joseph Asanaga.
The two executives of the ‘Black Sword’, the main antagonist organization in the original game, stand sandwiching us.
From outsider’s perspective, this may seem like a desperate situation, what with an injured person on our side, but to me, it’s no exaggeration to say that this is an opportunity.
So, without any hesitation, I thrust my sword against the throat of the Saintess Cordelia in my arms and raise my voice, “Don’t move! If you move, I’m gonna kill the Saintess! The staff isn’t here! That means you’re not gonna get what you want!?”
I threaten the people who came to assassinate the Saintess by taking the Saintess hostage.
I didn’t tell anyone about this in advance, so Iris, Ethel, and Cordelia-san open their eyes wide in bewilderment.
Normally, this kind of threat wouldn’t work.
I mean, if someone volunteers to kill your target for you, all you have to do is just let them do it.
“……!”
“Ah, Ayako. Making such a panicked expression is no good, you know. You’re just letting the other party confirms what you’re after… Though that expression of yours is cute, too.”
However, the enemy doesn’t move for some reason. They stop moving to my threat.
To be perfectly honest, I was still a bit unsure as to the reason why they were aiming for the Saintess, but.
(I see, the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff’, eh.)
Ayako’s reaction confirmed my guess, and that is enough for now.
I actually would like to make a deal with them right here and now, but I feel something viscous flowing out from the back of Cordelia-san whom I’m hugging.
Her wound has probably reopened and is bleeding. I press my body against hers so as to suppress it as much as possible, but this is no time to be making a deal.
This situation of being sandwiched from the front and back comes to stalemate with my taking a hostage. But if things continue as is and we don’t take action soon, the enemy would end up taking the initiative.
“Iris, carriage.”
“Okay.”
The quiet exchange is over in an instant. We don’t have time to put Cordelia-san on Freon’s back, so I decided to ask Iris make a simple carriage with her magic and we will all dash out of here.
Now, what I’ve got to do is to stall for time. As such, I speak loudly so that the enemy, who’re sandwiching us, can properly hear my voice, “You’re after the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff’, aren’t you? I’ll give it to you if you want! So let’s make a deal, Asanagas!”
“……!”
“Oh, you know us?”
Pique their interest, and arouse their suspicion.
Turn the stage of battle into the stage of conversation.
“Yes, of course I do. I can let you in on a secret to prove my words! And that is, the reason why Asanaga Ayako wants the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff’!!”
“!?”
Ayako is greatly disturbed by the words I uttered loudly.
She probably never imagined that someone whose face she didn’t even know would know about her long-cherished wish.
If I tell Joseph her true purpose, she would lose her ticket to escape from his curse. She wants to avoid that at all costs.
That’s why, without her knowing, Ayako lets go of her trident and raises her hands as if telling me to wait.
I can hear Joseph goes “Ah” seeing that, but at the same time I receive a signal from Iris. I then immediately throw Cordelia-san to her and hurl the forbidden book I hid on my back towards Ayako.
“Guruagaaaa!!!”
“—!!”
From the forbidden book, a huge monster donned in a robe known as ‘Ox Abbot’ emerges, and it swing the khakkhara in its hand at Ayako.
Although Ayako jumps away, the khakkhara sends out a shockwave the moment it smashes the ground, forcing her to retreat further away.
“Ah, your retreating figure is cute, Ayako!”
A monster is blocking the space between me and Ayako, and Joseph is running over to help his beloved daughter.
Simply put, this is our perfect chance to escape.
Iris’s magic created a simple carriage of ice, and I attach it to Freon’s body.
Freon is surprised by the sudden cold, “Hin!?” but he quickly regains his composure when I call his name.
Now, all that’s left for us to do is make our escape.
After helping Iris lifting up Cordelia-san onto the carriage—albeit a little roughly—I shout to Ethel who holds Freon’s reins.
“Ethel, go!”
“Please Mr. Horse!”
“Hihiin!” Along with Freon’s neigh, the ‘Pegasus Wings’ attached to his back spread open.
Then, under Freon’s will, a road of cloud leading to the sky appears with the power of ‘Sky Soaring Bridge’, and with the speed-enhancing effect of ‘Idaten’s Hagoromo’, he breaks into a run.
“……!!”
“Oh my, looks like they got away, Ayako.”
When the Asanagas finally takes down the Ox Abbot, we’re already running along the cloud road and climbing the sky.
No one can stop our escape anymore. But I’ve still got something to do.
I look down from the carriage.
Below I could see Planarian Slimes pouring out of the hole I made, an ox-headed abbot restrained by a chain with a trident stabbed in its head, and Asanaga Ayako looking in our way with resentment in her eyes with Joseph standing next to her.
Feeling glad they haven’t left yet, I call out to them, “Four days later, in front of the hero memorial monument! Come there if you want the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff’! If you don’t, just give up on it!” After saying that, I sit back down in the carriage.
As we run through the moonlit night, roars of monsters accompany us. Perhaps because of Joseph’s retreat, there’s no one to restrain the monsters anymore, and they have come out of the great library.
Just in case, I only released monsters who don’t use fire-type attacks, so a fire won’t start. Still, I feel a little bit guilty causing damage to the great library, which is a vault of knowledge.
But the Saintess’s life was in danger, so there was no other way.
Besides, places like an elven village usually get burned down, right? That being the case, just the fact that a fire didn’t start this time made it a rather good outcome, no doubt about it.
Having come up with that excuse, I rest my back against the carriage while erasing my feeling of guilt.
As I’m sighing, wondering why I had to go through all these uncalled troubles, Ethel, holding the reins, calls out to me, “Tōru, you know… thanks. For saving me and my mom.”
“Ah, you owe me one, okay? Honestly, if Amanai hadn’t asked me to look out for you, I would’ve ditch you at first sign of danger.”
“Amanai asked you to look out for me?”
“Yeah, he said, ‘lend her a hand if something happens’, or something along that line.”
When I tell her that, Ethel says, “I see,” and faces back to the front. Well, the fact she doesn’t argue means she accepts this as a ‘debt’, so that’s good.
Now, I’ll just have to make use of that debt and have her work towards bettering my future.
“Iris, check on Cordelia-san’s condition. Ethel, bring us to a doctor or something. You’re familiar with the Elf Territory, right?”
“I understand, Sakurai-san,” Iris nods.
“Okay,” Ethel replies.
Hearing their responds, I relax and look up at the sky.
Under the dimly shining moon, roars of monsters and tolls of alarm bells-probably ringed by those who have noticed the situation-echoes in the Elf Territory.
“Haah~… all those experience points would go to waste…”
Tired, I lay down while regretting that I don’t get to kill the rampaging monsters.
In the original game, the sealed monsters were more of a ‘troublesome’ type rather than a ‘strong’ type.
Once you understand their weakness, you can make short work of them, but… will the knights in this world be able to take care of them?
(The Elf Territory has their own knight order. They may not be able to retake the great library, but they should be strong enough to prevent the monsters from spreading all over the place. I wonder how well they’ll perform.)
With that in mind, I pray that things go as I expected.
At this time, I should have noticed.
The ‘Anti-Dragon Total War’ that occurred three years ago killed many strong men of the nation. The elite forces of the Elf Territory are naturally included among the victims.
And the hole left behind by the lost elite forces couldn’t have been refilled in just a short span of 3 years.
Okay, let me start with the conclusion of this matter.
The cathedral ended up getting occupied by the monsters.
The knights who’d came over after hearing the alarm bells failed to stop the outflow of monsters pouring out of the great library and withdrew to the cathedral next door.
The monsters chased the withdrawing knights and attacked the cathedral.
Even after joining forces with the knights originally stationed at the cathedral, the knights couldn’t fend off the attacking monsters, either. As such, they prioritized the evacuation of people inside the cathedral, and as a result, the cathedral ended up being abandoned.
That said, by using a barrier that’s originally meant for protection, they managed to temporarily contain the monsters in the premises of the cathedral and the great library, stopping them from creating more havoc.
We came to know that fact because we were by the side of Cordelia-san, who was admitted to a trusted hospital, when people who had escaped from the cathedral informed her of the situation.
I thought it would be good enough if no one bothered me until the day I promised with the Asanagas arrived, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the situation took such an unexpected turn. I pretended to be sad to fool Iris and the others, “I never expected the things I did to save the Saintess would create such a mess,” while inwardly I couldn’t stop myself from grinning from ear to ear.
“But looks like I’ve got no other choice~! It’s my fault, after all~! I will take responsibility and capture the man-made dungeon, ‘Cathedral of the Elf Territory’!!”
――So I declare with a big smile.
[The Expected and the Unexpected]
Say your only escape route is tightly guarded by the enemy and you can’t make a head-on breakthrough, the first thing you should think about is ‘whether there is another escape route’.
Try to find a hidden passage, and if you can’t find one, consider the feasibility of making a new escape route.
In that sense, I’m really glad that the forbidden book section was built underground.
After all, we may make a hole through the ceiling, which would possibly make the shortest route for our escape.
From calculating the length of the stairs connecting the first floor and the underground archive and the height of the ceiling, I can infer the thickness of the material separating the two, and from the result I conclude that I can cut open the ceiling with a sword.
(Glad I surveyed the structure of the great library in case I need to stea—I mean, borrow some books. Man, you really have to be ready for anything.)
The next question is whether the barrier covering the forbidden book section will be an obstacle in my creating an escape route, and if it will, whether the barrier can be broken through.
Regarding this, I already expected it most definitely would. I mean, if the barrier only seals the entrance, someone can just break in from above or below, which would make the whole thing pointless.
The barrier serves to protect and seal the forbidden book section. Hence why I guessed the barrier covered the whole room, and releasing only a part of it would probably be impossible.
And if we were to release the barrier to cut open the ceiling, the enemy would instantly detect it without a doubt. I’d likely be able to make my escape if I were by my own in the time it takes the enemy to rush over, but I’ve got Cordelia-san—an injured person—and the others with me, so the chance we’d all make it out safely was low.
As such, the key is whether I can do something about the part of the barrier covering the ceiling, but… my oh my, I’d expect nothing less from Uncle.
If Uncle could easily tear up the barrier with just a slash, then that means my ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’, whose power touches Sword Saint’s level, should be able to slash a hole in the barrier.
And I was planning to cut open the ceiling with ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’ in the first place. The matter of securing an escape route is no matter anymore.
Well, there’s still actually the matter of how to escape enemy’s notice and make our way out of the great library after we go up to the first floor, but.
“Hehahahahahahaa!! Go, destroy everything in your path! Have a good look, you imbeciles! This is the true way of monster taming! And I am the true monster tamer!! Haahahahaha!!!”
“Ahh, the monsters sealed in the forbidden book section are freely running amok…” Cordelia-san mutters.
“Tōru! You stupid!! Stupid!! Stupid!!” Ethel screams.
“I know that diversion is necessary, but there has to be another way!” Iris shouts.
Ahaha. I can’t hear even a complaint because of the roars of the monsters.
Going up straight from the forbidden book section would lead us to the center of the first floor.
From there, the fastest way to escape is, again, by slashing the side wall open, and go to the open space where Freon, my beloved horse, is waiting.
But if the enemy is guarding the perimeter of the building, we’ll be detected the moment we leave the building, and there’s a high possibility that we’ll end up getting surrounded with no way to escape this time.
That being the case, we need to have a diversion to distract the enemy, but I have to cut the wall open, Cordelia-san and Ethel aren’t strong enough, and I feel uneasy to leave the job to Iris alone.
Hence, I zeroed in on the monsters sealed in the forbidden book section.
The replacement puzzle, in which you need to rearrange the books in correct order to reveal the hidden door, contains a trap that will release monsters sealed in the forbidden books if you get the order wrong.
Not to mention, this trap contains a useless extra gimmick where ‘it will release different types of monsters every time you get the order wrong’, and the monsters are all of the troublesome sorts—you won’t be surprised they got sealed.
So, if I release all of them and let them go on a rampage, it will make for a good diversion, right? I thought.
Then just as I was about to get to work—Hey, hold on a sec. If the trap releases the monsters sealed in the forbidden books, doesn’t that mean I can just take the books and release the monsters by myself?
With that realization dawned upon me, I devoted one short hour to collect the forbidden books in high spirit. Afterward, I cut open the ceiling with ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’ before climbing up, while carrying the books with me.
Once I got to the first floor, I began to release the monsters from the forbidden books one after another and sent them to cause a riot, all while leisurely pulling up Iris and the others from the hole with a thread.
“Alright! Which one of you wanna get released next? You? Or you?”
[Human, release me. If you release me, I will give you whatever you desire.]
[Me, me! Release mee!!]
[Get us out, get us out of here.]
As a result of opening and closing one forbidden book after another to release the monsters, I acquired the ‘Monster Tamer’ skill.
Thanks to it, I became able to hear the voices of the sealed monsters, and I can gain experience points every time I release a monster from a book.
Of course, since the skill level is low, I can’t tame these high leveled monsters.
The most I can do is try asking them not to attack us once I release them, but whether they’d go along with it is up to them.
“Okay, come out, Mephistopheles-kun!”
[Fuhahahaha! Well done, o’ foolish human! As a reward for releasing me, I will grant you a painless dea—]
“If anyone’s gonna die here, it’s you, ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’!”
[―Gobo!?]
So, when monsters who are unlikely to listen to my request like this guy appear, I immediately dispose of them and incinerate the book with ‘Flame Sword’.
Then, I step on the ashes in front of the other books to show the other monsters how they’ll end up if they defy me and who’s the boss around here.
In this way, I’m not only gaining skill experience points of ‘Monster Tamer’, but also base experience points.
And after seeing their comrades meet their ends in various ways, the monsters I released begin to listen to my request to a certain degree.
This is hitting two—no, three birds with one stone. Haha! I’ve been feeling stressed out from not being able to grind for a while, but it’s all being released now! This Catharsis! I can’t get enough of it!!
“Demon… no, this guy’s more demonic than even a demon itself…” Ethel mutters.
“Hm, I’m runnin’ out of books. Iris, can you go back down and grab me some more books?” I ask Iris.
“No! Those dangerous things aren’t to be brought out that lightly!” Iris shouts, refusing.
Looks like I have to give up on getting more supplies of monsters, unfortunately.
Well, with ‘Planarian Slime’ continues to multiply because of ‘Tease Clown’ attack and has almost overflow the great library, it’s about time we make our escape.
“I’m done repairing the hole in the barrier that Sakurai-sama opened, let us go,” says Cordelia-san.
“Okay. I’ll take the lead, so follow me.”
While pretending to leave the remaining forbidden books on the ground, I hide one on my back.
Then, with a (fake) serious look on my face, I start leading the way while avoiding the sight of the puppet knights who are making vain efforts to stop the monsters.
The injured Cordelia-san moves while being supported by Iris and Ethel.
Her big staff would simply be a hindrance, so after a little thought, she left it in the forbidden book section.
“Alright. *Inhale*… hm!”
When we reach the side of the great library, I take a slightly long breath and concentrate, before releasing ‘Sword Saint’s Slash’ three times in a row.
It’s pretty simple but not practical in actual battles because I have to gather up energy before releasing each slash. But of course, using it to cut a triangle-shaped hole in the wall like this is easy-peasy.
“Freon! Come!”
“……! Hihiin!!”
When we get outside, the sun already set, and the moon hangs in the dark sky. The first thing I do is to call for Freon.
Being tied at the open space, Freon immediately takes off the device as I taught him, flap the steel wings on his back, which reflects the moonlight, and run over to us.
“Burururu.”
“Good boy, I see you were staying put even with wings on your back this time.”
While patting Freon’s head, I check on his condition.
I was actually a little worried because this guy has a criminal record. When wearing the ‘Three Sky Series’ he’d suddenly get excited and fly as he liked without my instruction. But looking at this, I suppose I can leave Cordelia-san on his back without worry.
“Alright, Ethel. Hop on with Cordelia-san and go to the cathedral. There’s no way the enemy has taken control of all the knights, so ask for their help and have Cordelia-san be treated.” I say.
“Okay. But I practically have no experience riding a horse, okay? I can only walk it at most…” Ethel says, looking a little worried.
“Don’t worry, Ethel-san. Freon-san is a very smart horse, so you just need to tell him what to do and he’ll do it.” Iris says.
“Hihiin.” Freon raises his chin and neighs as if he understood Iris’s words.
He is too smart for a horse… could it be that he was a reincarnated horse from the antiquity period or something?
But well, it’s actually convenient, so it’s fine with me. Anyways, this is no time for a QnA, we need to hurry.
“We’ve got no other choice, I guess…” Ethel says.
“Just hop on already. I’ll lift Cordelia-san from below, so you help her up from the top of the horse.” I say.
“Alright.” Ethel nods.
“Thank you, Sakurai-sama.” Cordelia-san bows her head.
Leaving Iris to keep watch on the surroundings, I help Ethel get on Freon’s back first.
Then, as I’m putting my arm around Cordelia-san’s waist, about to help her get on Freon’s back—a faint sound of wind whistling reaches my ears.
“Oh no you don’t!”
“Kya!?”
I pull and hug Cordelia-san to protect her, before turning around and swinging my sword with my other free hand.
Although it’s a reflex action, the ‘Knight’s Steel Sword’, which leaves behind a silvery light in its trajectory, manages to deflect the chain that came flying from the sky, scattering sparks at the point of impact.
And almost at the same time, a thud echo from behind us.
When I turn around, I see Iris with her long rod seemingly has just been swung, and a blue-robed man rolling on the ground, probably her victim.
“Aw, that hurts… It’s already dark, so I thought surprise attack would work, but to think I’d get busted.”
“Even though I couldn’t see you, I could clearly see your ‘heat’. Who are you?”
“I see, so you have Magic Eyes. I’m just a father who’s going along with his beloved daughter’s willfulness. But of course, I don’t find it a pain or anything.” Saying that, the blue robed man gets up, revealing a pitch-black ‘darkness’ inside his hood. There’s a pair of eyes faintly discernible slightly above the center of the darkness, which is the only indicator that there’s a face inside the hood. Honestly, it’s really strange.
“…………”
“Oh, you finally showed yourself.”
Then, a girl lands in front of me.
She takes a look at me and Cordelia-san with her characteristic big round eyes before slowly taking a stance with the trident in her hand while the magic circle behind her seemingly ready to shoot a chain at her will.
Asanaga Ayako and Joseph Asanaga.
The two executives of the ‘Black Sword’, the main antagonist organization in the original game, stand sandwiching us.
From outsider’s perspective, this may seem like a desperate situation, what with an injured person on our side, but to me, it’s no exaggeration to say that this is an opportunity.
So, without any hesitation, I thrust my sword against the throat of the Saintess Cordelia in my arms and raise my voice, “Don’t move! If you move, I’m gonna kill the Saintess! The staff isn’t here! That means you’re not gonna get what you want!?”
I threaten the people who came to assassinate the Saintess by taking the Saintess hostage.
I didn’t tell anyone about this in advance, so Iris, Ethel, and Cordelia-san open their eyes wide in bewilderment.
Normally, this kind of threat wouldn’t work.
I mean, if someone volunteers to kill your target for you, all you have to do is just let them do it.
“……!”
“Ah, Ayako. Making such a panicked expression is no good, you know. You’re just letting the other party confirms what you’re after… Though that expression of yours is cute, too.”
However, the enemy doesn’t move for some reason. They stop moving to my threat.
To be perfectly honest, I was still a bit unsure as to the reason why they were aiming for the Saintess, but.
(I see, the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff’, eh.)
Ayako’s reaction confirmed my guess, and that is enough for now.
I actually would like to make a deal with them right here and now, but I feel something viscous flowing out from the back of Cordelia-san whom I’m hugging.
Her wound has probably reopened and is bleeding. I press my body against hers so as to suppress it as much as possible, but this is no time to be making a deal.
This situation of being sandwiched from the front and back comes to stalemate with my taking a hostage. But if things continue as is and we don’t take action soon, the enemy would end up taking the initiative.
“Iris, carriage.”
“Okay.”
The quiet exchange is over in an instant. We don’t have time to put Cordelia-san on Freon’s back, so I decided to ask Iris make a simple carriage with her magic and we will all dash out of here.
Now, what I’ve got to do is to stall for time. As such, I speak loudly so that the enemy, who’re sandwiching us, can properly hear my voice, “You’re after the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff’, aren’t you? I’ll give it to you if you want! So let’s make a deal, Asanagas!”
“……!”
“Oh, you know us?”
Pique their interest, and arouse their suspicion.
Turn the stage of battle into the stage of conversation.
“Yes, of course I do. I can let you in on a secret to prove my words! And that is, the reason why Asanaga Ayako wants the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff’!!”
“!?”
Ayako is greatly disturbed by the words I uttered loudly.
She probably never imagined that someone whose face she didn’t even know would know about her long-cherished wish.
If I tell Joseph her true purpose, she would lose her ticket to escape from his curse. She wants to avoid that at all costs.
That’s why, without her knowing, Ayako lets go of her trident and raises her hands as if telling me to wait.
I can hear Joseph goes “Ah” seeing that, but at the same time I receive a signal from Iris. I then immediately throw Cordelia-san to her and hurl the forbidden book I hid on my back towards Ayako.
“Guruagaaaa!!!”
“—!!”
From the forbidden book, a huge monster donned in a robe known as ‘Ox Abbot’ emerges, and it swing the khakkhara in its hand at Ayako.
Although Ayako jumps away, the khakkhara sends out a shockwave the moment it smashes the ground, forcing her to retreat further away.
“Ah, your retreating figure is cute, Ayako!”
A monster is blocking the space between me and Ayako, and Joseph is running over to help his beloved daughter.
Simply put, this is our perfect chance to escape.
Iris’s magic created a simple carriage of ice, and I attach it to Freon’s body.
Freon is surprised by the sudden cold, “Hin!?” but he quickly regains his composure when I call his name.
Now, all that’s left for us to do is make our escape.
After helping Iris lifting up Cordelia-san onto the carriage—albeit a little roughly—I shout to Ethel who holds Freon’s reins.
“Ethel, go!”
“Please Mr. Horse!”
“Hihiin!” Along with Freon’s neigh, the ‘Pegasus Wings’ attached to his back spread open.
Then, under Freon’s will, a road of cloud leading to the sky appears with the power of ‘Sky Soaring Bridge’, and with the speed-enhancing effect of ‘Idaten’s Hagoromo’, he breaks into a run.
“……!!”
“Oh my, looks like they got away, Ayako.”
When the Asanagas finally takes down the Ox Abbot, we’re already running along the cloud road and climbing the sky.
No one can stop our escape anymore. But I’ve still got something to do.
I look down from the carriage.
Below I could see Planarian Slimes pouring out of the hole I made, an ox-headed abbot restrained by a chain with a trident stabbed in its head, and Asanaga Ayako looking in our way with resentment in her eyes with Joseph standing next to her.
Feeling glad they haven’t left yet, I call out to them, “Four days later, in front of the hero memorial monument! Come there if you want the ‘Deadly Sins Holy Staff’! If you don’t, just give up on it!” After saying that, I sit back down in the carriage.
As we run through the moonlit night, roars of monsters accompany us. Perhaps because of Joseph’s retreat, there’s no one to restrain the monsters anymore, and they have come out of the great library.
Just in case, I only released monsters who don’t use fire-type attacks, so a fire won’t start. Still, I feel a little bit guilty causing damage to the great library, which is a vault of knowledge.
But the Saintess’s life was in danger, so there was no other way.
Besides, places like an elven village usually get burned down, right? That being the case, just the fact that a fire didn’t start this time made it a rather good outcome, no doubt about it.
Having come up with that excuse, I rest my back against the carriage while erasing my feeling of guilt.
As I’m sighing, wondering why I had to go through all these uncalled troubles, Ethel, holding the reins, calls out to me, “Tōru, you know… thanks. For saving me and my mom.”
“Ah, you owe me one, okay? Honestly, if Amanai hadn’t asked me to look out for you, I would’ve ditch you at first sign of danger.”
“Amanai asked you to look out for me?”
“Yeah, he said, ‘lend her a hand if something happens’, or something along that line.”
When I tell her that, Ethel says, “I see,” and faces back to the front. Well, the fact she doesn’t argue means she accepts this as a ‘debt’, so that’s good.
Now, I’ll just have to make use of that debt and have her work towards bettering my future.
“Iris, check on Cordelia-san’s condition. Ethel, bring us to a doctor or something. You’re familiar with the Elf Territory, right?”
“I understand, Sakurai-san,” Iris nods.
“Okay,” Ethel replies.
Hearing their responds, I relax and look up at the sky.
Under the dimly shining moon, roars of monsters and tolls of alarm bells-probably ringed by those who have noticed the situation-echoes in the Elf Territory.
“Haah~… all those experience points would go to waste…”
Tired, I lay down while regretting that I don’t get to kill the rampaging monsters.
In the original game, the sealed monsters were more of a ‘troublesome’ type rather than a ‘strong’ type.
Once you understand their weakness, you can make short work of them, but… will the knights in this world be able to take care of them?
(The Elf Territory has their own knight order. They may not be able to retake the great library, but they should be strong enough to prevent the monsters from spreading all over the place. I wonder how well they’ll perform.)
With that in mind, I pray that things go as I expected.
At this time, I should have noticed.
The ‘Anti-Dragon Total War’ that occurred three years ago killed many strong men of the nation. The elite forces of the Elf Territory are naturally included among the victims.
And the hole left behind by the lost elite forces couldn’t have been refilled in just a short span of 3 years.
Okay, let me start with the conclusion of this matter.
The cathedral ended up getting occupied by the monsters.
The knights who’d came over after hearing the alarm bells failed to stop the outflow of monsters pouring out of the great library and withdrew to the cathedral next door.
The monsters chased the withdrawing knights and attacked the cathedral.
Even after joining forces with the knights originally stationed at the cathedral, the knights couldn’t fend off the attacking monsters, either. As such, they prioritized the evacuation of people inside the cathedral, and as a result, the cathedral ended up being abandoned.
That said, by using a barrier that’s originally meant for protection, they managed to temporarily contain the monsters in the premises of the cathedral and the great library, stopping them from creating more havoc.
We came to know that fact because we were by the side of Cordelia-san, who was admitted to a trusted hospital, when people who had escaped from the cathedral informed her of the situation.
I thought it would be good enough if no one bothered me until the day I promised with the Asanagas arrived, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the situation took such an unexpected turn. I pretended to be sad to fool Iris and the others, “I never expected the things I did to save the Saintess would create such a mess,” while inwardly I couldn’t stop myself from grinning from ear to ear.
“But looks like I’ve got no other choice~! It’s my fault, after all~! I will take responsibility and capture the man-made dungeon, ‘Cathedral of the Elf Territory’!!”
――So I declare with a big smile.
