The day after Fincent regained his sanity. He chose to return to Wang Du as soon as possible, even though he still had the option of staying in hospital.

The doctors were still trying to persuade him to remain at rest, but Fincent's will seemed stiff.

Well, he is the current head of the Knights of the Holy Kings, and in view of his position and responsibilities, it would be very bad to leave the Knights unauthorized for days. It's not hard to imagine a great deal of confusion that the captain is missing by now over there. I wasn't even willing to stop you as Harold.

"So what are you going to do now?

It's none of your business.

I have things to do on my own, so the word doesn't get through as usual. I'd like to build a cooperative system if possible, but you won't shake my head vertically unless I get confirmation that what Harold said is true.

Words and circumstantial evidence alone cannot move the Knights. I also kept the story within last night that for once Fincent was brainwashed because he was expected to use Harold as a murderable force plotting to interrupt the plan.

It would also be helpful for Harold to have Fincent and the others return to the king's capital to ascertain those truths. However, what bothered me was that there might not be much time left.

"... I'll give you one piece of advice"

"Let's hear it"

"Keep Travis staffed. Fast."

"Why?

I'm sure it was a heartfelt wonder as Fincent.

Travis is an idyllic city away from the king's capital. Not only that, but from the south, it takes the form of a Rias style coast with the sea inland, with a city behind its bay. Further north and west are mountain ranges, and the only pioneering east is a mountainous terrain with a cliff at its edge. It is also called the fortress of nature because of its location.

A city that is not as big as Delphito's port town but where the deal flourishes and is also popular as a tourist destination from the beautiful landscape. The security aspect would also be better compared to other cities. It is also a natural place not to bother feeling the need to send the Knights.

But it's a place that's less dangerous from time to time and less likely to be attacked when things happen, so it's hard to escape if you allow an invasion. Especially if the narrow land route on the cliffside can be suppressed, the escape route is narrowed to two choices: escape by boat or transcend the mountain range.

If that happens, many humans will be late for escape. As it was in the original.

"Soon there will be hell"

The reason for this is the invasion by the monster and the murder of the original Harold.

In the original, a monster invasion occurs while Harold is staying, but he chooses to escape instead of stopping the invasion there. But as I told you earlier, in Travis, the means of escape were limited, where Harold increased the number of people running late by setting fire to the whole city and creating confusion, sacrificing them to stop monsters.

It is such a scumbag that there is no sound whatsoever.

Of course, I'm not going to do that to Harold right now, but if nothing happens, he's likely to be ravaged by monsters as he originally was.

The liners who arrive one foot late to Travis, who would have fallen into a hell of a painting, will destroy the monster, but I'm sure there will still be many victims. In addition, in the original, the number of monsters that carried out the invasion is assumed to be in 10,000 units.

I guess it's a unit to express that it was so massive, but it wouldn't be realistic to devastate 10,000 troops with six protagonists. We need to reduce the number of monsters as far as possible before the invasion starts.

To do so, we must first keep the Knights on standby at Travis so that they can deploy immediately and guide civilians to evacuation when monsters emerge. At the same time, the liners need to be directed to Travis in time for the invasion to begin.

We have managed to proceed smoothly on this with support from the shadows by Frieri...... should be. It requires a very cynical adjustment that the detailed date and time for the start of the invasion is unknown, so it may be too late or too early.

"Make sure the liners are rushed to Travis as soon as you get the signal from me," he says impotently around there. I'm sorry, but I want you to do something about it. It's Harold's honest mind.

We plan to arrange a ship with the funds of Frieri in case, but on that basis, evacuation of the inhabitants will take several hours. In the meantime, I have to have them stopped by the liners and the Knights.

"... ok. Keep in mind."

Now it was enough that I was able to pull that word out. If it were Fincent, it wouldn't go undone with the prior information given.

Eventually, I broke up with Fincent without exchanging any more words. I don't have time for this, but Harold has something he needs to do right now.

I'll be waiting to hear from Elle for that...

"Is that a thought? Harold."

It was Cody who thought he was going back to King's Capital with Fincent, even naturally speaking to Harold, who was worried about how it would work.

"... why are you still here?

"Hey, I need a little help."

"Right. Bye."

"Wait, wait!

Trying to walk away also prevented him from going. For, it seems to be in Harold.

I don't have time to hang out with you.

"Don't say that. I need a favor from Harold."

Instead of his usual floating attitude, Harold stops at the tone of his serious voice.

I don't feel like Cody's making me wish for anything at this time. That means there's a good chance that the development that wasn't in the original awaits, I can say.

Well, it's just such a development now, but that can be an anxiety element brought from a standing cody close to the protagonist. Now put aside whether or not you will grant that wish, and you should listen to the contents first.

"... speak briefly"

So I'm also prepared to hear back that some trouble is going on.

"Your sword, the one that cuts lives. I need you to lend me that."

But the answer I got back was something Harold didn't make it look like he was expecting.

My heart starts pounding.

"I'll cover you." Shui Xiang Fan "" Soushen ""

Emotions dries up.

"It's not as bright as it gets."

The blue skies that fall out, the fresh greenery of the trees, the streets that linger in the sun,

"We will begin the chant"

Would even the painful blood have faded so much?

"... 'Burst Wind'"

Oh, it's like...

"Sorry for the rough hand, but stay asleep for a while"

It feels as if you've been disconnected from the world.

Were you such an empty person? Love for Harold, determination to support him. I can't believe you lost so much “me” just because you gave them up.

I can't even mock myself right now Erica. That fact makes me more painful about my weakness.

"Thank you, Erica..."

That said Francis smiled, but that smile was unnatural somewhere.

He's not the only one. No liner, no colette, no reefa, no Hugo. Its complexion is not excellent. That was due to a different factor than fatigue caused by combat.

(... yes, right? Because it's a fight against humans, not monsters)

In short, kill each other. Monsters and humans, equally enemies, cannot be divided.

No one, I'm sure Harrison's private soldiers, who Erica has magically passed out now, will also have an aversion in their chests.

"Let's make a recovery first."

Ask yourself healing magic over wounded Francis.

So, what about yourself? Have you ever had any hesitation about letting them release bows and arrows or magically blowing them away and stunning them?

Even though I didn't mean to kill them. Wrong addition or subtraction, if I was unlucky, it could have been enough for them to die. Did you take good account of that?

... No. Above all, it was a top priority to be powerless.

"..." even if they try to get some injuries.

(I guess I'm ruthless to think of that before anything else)

I don't even feel like self-loathing anymore. It was just a human being from the beginning.

Yet knowing the light of Harold, I admired it disproportionately. I reached out even though there was no way I could catch up, and in the end I gave up. And all that remained was an empty vessel in the shape of a person, without his own will or purpose.

How funny. I can't believe I just noticed the result.

"Now most of the soldiers in the mansion should have been defeated. Just one more breath."

"Whoa! Let's go, guys!

That's how the liner is inspired by Erica's words. The footsteps following its back are as light as if it were empty, and I don't feel it moving forward.

Maybe that's been the case for a long time, Erica thought. I can't keep up with Harold forever...... isn't it because I didn't take a step forward that instead I've gone far?

(I was floating. to Harold's presence, to the fact that he is in love with him)

So much so that I don't even understand such an easy thing.

Love is blind, but this is less than that. As Reefa told me, I was just blind. Rely on Harold for your will, your way of being, even the meaning of living.

But this is all... this battle alone has to be seen to the end. Whatever the end, it's all a pointless act.

That was Erica's, nasty intention. Even if you can't help Harold, you just have to avoid pulling your legs.

Bang, the sound rings. It was the sound of a liner running the lead opening the door with momentum.

The wind enters from there. The top floor of the mansion, its terrace, which deserves more to be described as a small castle than a mansion.

It was Harrison who was there who took the treasure, beginning with the sword, which was the master of this mansion and the family heirloom of the Griffith family. And standing in front of him, the two men who look like escorts with hoods in their eyes.

"Damn... you persistent bastards!

Harrison throws up abominably looking at this one.

Erica realized that she would not be able to have her surrender to the way it was.

"Come on, give up. We've got proof of your crimes, and the only soldiers left in the escort are those two."

How can we efficiently disable them? Reefa urges her to surrender next to Erica, who thinks so. While I consider that an act of futility, I realize that when I put it that way, I did not come up with the option of saying persuasion.

I want Harold to take a good look. What a savage thing to throw away a mask you were playing with such selfish and shallow thoughts.

"Hmm, Koitsu and the others are not like the miscellaneous soldiers in the mansion! There's no way I'm gonna kill you guys!

"You don't seem to be responding to persuasion."

Let's get this over with. Before I expose my ugliness any more.

Just thinking about it, Erica stepped forward. The liners are distracted by the behavior. Feeling such signs on her back, Erica unleashed her magic unchanging.

"'Ice End'"

The magic unleashed with a voice as cold as ice freezes half the terrace in an instant. There was no way Harrison, the protruding belly, could cope with it, and both underknees had been captured by ice cubes.

"Guh! All of you...!

Its power, range of effects, and rate of occurrence is a blow that seems very unlikely to be unchanging magic. Yes, it is magic that could not be used in a very narrow mansion that is too strong.

Chanting is inherently a means to correctly generate magic and increase the precision of motion. Becoming a skilled person will also have the role of raising the magical power to the bottom. For Erica, of course, it was at first.

Since when has the meaning of chanting changed for Erica? It would have happened at some point if I had just made an effort to be what Harold deserved. That's all we're talking about.

Erica performs magical chants to adjust to proper power. To suppress the power that is too high if unleashed without chanting.

The same goes for Blast Meatier, which was released at the source of the exasperation. Unleashing it without chanting would have destroyed not only the monster, but even the device that had to be disarmed. So I adjusted to proper power with chanting.

Not so long ago, a large group of monsters were brittle and delicate opponents for Erica.

"Erica, wait!

Hugo was screaming something. Before I care about it though, the two people who jumped and dodged the ice end approach me. This reaction alone shows that we are not the only ones. As Harrison told me, I guess it separates me from the soldiers in the mansion.

What looms is a long man in his left hand and a little girl in his right.

(You're the one who's having trouble being approached)

Calmly so decided, Erica punches three water shower fans in the vicinity of the man's landing point with a bow while chanting. The water shone fan is literally an arrow of water released into the fan. That punches me on the ice. The man who landed there, turned into an ice rink, fell over.

Erica let go of the pursuit water fan to avoid giving her time to rebuild her posture. And the moment it strikes a man straight, hang an ice-end that only reduces power on the water shore fan.

Whether or not it's been a second since the landing, in the meantime the man will be imprisoned in an ice prison and unable to move.

(Now you two)

One remaining, the girl with the double sword, fleshes to Erica at top speed without being cleverly or taken by ice.

I can't help it, it's late. That was the honest feeling.

speed that doesn't even extend to Harold in childhood. How many times have you been hiding and watching him fight his brother Itsuki in the dojo? How many times have you worked with Itsuki, who knows how fast Harold is?

Above all, the little girl's double-sword grip is shorter than her normal sword because she is a bay sword. For Erica, that's between throws.

Erica spares and avoids a sharp flash of paper that would tear the bones apart easily if hit. At the time the attack cut off the sky, the girl's right wrist had already been taken by Erica.

All you have to do is throw without killing the momentum of the girl who's been advancing. Twist your wrist just a little and let the weapon out of your hand. This would also fit the wrist with about a sprain.

The thrown girl slips on the ice and hits the wall as it is...... stopped on the verge. If you lose your temper of war with this, you won't have to hurt me, it was Erica's consideration.

"... you have no choice"

But standing up, Erica exhaled small when she saw the girl laying her sword without expression. And when I carry the bow on my back, I pick up the bay knife she dropped. Melee combat, that too. Swordsmanship is not a realm at all.

However, still, there was no way I would have taken the delay if the girl in front of me was the other person.

Once again, the girl comes up with a shout.

Erica and the girl. Each other's shadows intersected, and the sound of an international high sword trident sounded as if they were sucked into the blue sky.