Translator: TheDoru
A shimmering green light rises in the forest.
It was such a fantastic sight that anyone who saw it forgot themselves and fell in love with it.
It suddenly appeared, flickered like an aurora, and then disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.
「Beautiful…」
Someone muttered with a sigh.
Everyone in the room was looking at the scene.
「That’s…. the light of the dragon vein….」 (Emarsh)
The healer, Emarsh, said that to no one in particular, but her eyes remained fixed on the spot where the light had been.
Ryou had finished his afternoon field training early and was taking a break before heading home.
「Dragon vein….?」
Ryou asked to confirm Emarsh’s words.
「Are you familiar with it?」
Emarsh was a little surprised.
「Oh, no. Our world also has the idea of dragon veins, uh…….」
「You mean the flow of chi in feng shui, right?」
He was at a loss for words because of his hazy knowledge, but Erika followed him up.
The two nodded to each other, their mouths relaxed.
「…Chi, is it…. Maybe it’s not that different from our world, I guess.」
Emarsh puts his hand on his chin and begins to speak, explaining a little.
「I’ve talked about mana that exists in this world before.」
「The substance from which magic uses…… right?」
Naoto gave a rather curt answer, but Emarsh nodded without any displeasure.
「Mana is generated by Yggdrasil, the huge world tree, which are only a few in the world. And the source of mana is a substance called ether. Ether is constantly pouring down from the stars from the heavens, and although it cannot be seen or felt, it is absorbed by the earth and it flows to the world tree.」
Emarsh cut off the what he was saying and looked around at Naoto and the others.
「The flow of that ether comes from the dragon vein.」
「So you’re saying that the light we just saw was leaking from that dragon vein?」
Erika held up the index finger of her right hand next to her cheek.
「You are generally correct. It is said that the ether collected from the dragon veins reacts to the mana in the air.」
「You’re not sure?」
Ryou asks.
「Yes, unfortunately. It’s just that the dragon veins sometimes meander close to the surface and creates spots called dragon holes. The room where you were summoned in, is right above it, and it harnesses the power that flows from the dragon pit.」
Everyone slowly nodded in agreement.
In the midst of this, Ryou tilted his head.
「….Ether….Quark? Cosmic microwave background radiation…. No, maybe it’s dark matter? Then mana is dark energy….」
「Eh, what? You know about it?」
He thought he had been thinking about it in his head, but it seemed he had unconsciously said it out loud.
Yuki reacted to his mumbling.
「Ah, no. It’s just that there was a time when there was a substance called ether on Earth.」
「…You’re surprisingly knowledgeable.」
She smiled up at me.
「Um, you see, I’m interested in science…..」
Ryou turned his head away.
「You don’t learn that in school, right?」
Honoka was impressed and nodded exaggeratedly several times, her arms crossed.
And then it happened.
A high-pitched whistle-like sound echoed, and soon after, a loud explosion was heard in the sky.
「What was that sound?」
Emarsh looked in the direction where the sound came from. It was an open forest, and the sky was only slightly visible.
「Clearly, the emergency call is coming from the high way……. No way.」
The normally calm Emarsh showed obvious dismay.
「Emarsh-san, did something happen?」
Naoto rushed to Emarsh’s side.
「Today, Her Highness Patille is scheduled to pass through the forest road because of official matters.」
「But she has an escort, right?」
Ryou stood across from Emarsh with a worried expression on his face.
「Yes, of course, she has five selected guard knights… But if they shot a distress call, it’s possible that something unforeseen happened…」
「I’ll go ahead!」
He didn’t hear the end of it, and ran toward where the sound came from.
「We should go too! We’ll be left behind.」
「Yes!」
Naoto and the others followed suit.
Ryou ran through the forest as fast as he could, avoiding branches and ivy.
He us not good at long distances, but with his current physical strength, he should be able last five or six kilometers.
「Patty, please be safe!」
Ryou forgot to pace himself and ran like crazy.
Things were not looking good.
A pack of forest wolves or brute bears wouldn’t even be a threat.
That’s what the knights of the royal guard were for.
But those weren’t the only things that surrounded them now.
Polypod Mantis.
Six meters long.
It has two pairs of hind legs for walking, and three pairs of sickle-shaped front legs for attacking.
It is an insectoid demon with an extremely hard exoskeleton, three eyes, it’s fast and has a wide attack range with its three pairs of six front legs.
「Why is there a Polypod Mantis in this forest?」
One of the knights grunted with a look of bitterness on his face.
Demons are ranked according to their threat level.
From top to bottom, there is SSS class (extinction class), SS class (great disaster class), and S class (disaster class).
Up to this point, it is necessary to use an army of a national scale or larger to deal with them.
Next is Class A (catastrophe class).
This requires at least a division-level response.
For B class (disaster class), to defeat it, a size of a large to medium squad could do it, and for C class (lower disaster class), it requries a medium to small squad.
Class D, E, F, and G follow below that. (Goblins and Armillages are G-class, Forest Wolves and Brute Bears are F-class.)
And the Polypod Mantis is classified as a C class.
There are only five knights guarding Patille.
Normally, at least thirty knights would be needed to deal with it.
No matter how well-selected the knights were, the demon was too much compared to their light equipment.
「Somehow, only Her Highness…」 1
But with Polypod Mantis in front of them and a dozen or so demons surrounding them, it’s not a good idea to spread out their forces. Moreover, the horses were completely spooked and the carriage was useless.
「If they notice the distress call, Hyuga-sama and the others will come… Let’s all hold on until then.」
Patille encourages the knights surrounding her.
「Ha!」
Two of them, equipped with shields, took three steps forward towards the polypod Mantis in front of them.
The remaining three deploy to the left, right and rear, with Patille at the center.
「O clean spring, summoned by my power, be a wall that protects those who are linked and repels all things……. Cascade Wall!」
Patille shouted as she finished chanting.
A three-layered wall of water rised up in front of the Polypod Mantis.
It’s a higher level of water magic, and while it can completely prevent any demon below the D level, it can only stop a C level Polypod Mantis in its tracks.
But for now, it was enough.
The knights cut down the attacking brute bears one by one.
While the cascade wall was stopping the Polypod Mantis, they tried to reduce the number of demons as much as possible and managed to make a breakthrough to escape. Even if they can’t, if they can hold out until Hyuga and the others arrive, they will be able to join forces and defeat the Polypod Mantis.
Patille poured more magic into the wall.
「…Endure a little more…」
But her wish was futile, as the Polypod Mantis’s front legs cut through the wall of water wall and blew away one of the knight that was holding a shield.
From that point, it was a one-sided.
If all five of them had fought together, they could have put up a better fight.
But that would not have protected Patille from the swarm of demons.
In other words, everyone’s fate who was present at this time had been sealed when the Polypod Mantis had appeared.
A knight was blown up in front of Patille.
His sword, which he had tried to use to parry the attack on his paw, broke in mid-stride, and his arm got bent in a strange direction.
From the way the blood spurted out of his mouth with a gurgling sound, indicated that a broken rib had lodged in his lung.
The knight was still clutching his broken sword.
「I’m healing you now!」
Patille rushed to the wounded knight and chanted a healing magic spell.
「Radiance of life, heal his wounds…. Heal」
A pale light rises up and begins to heal the wound.
But one of the brute bears didn’t miss the opportunity.
「Your Highness!」
He looked up in the direction of the voice and saw a knight running towards her.
His face was wide eyed, and he was shouting something in an impatient manner.
Patille turned her head back.
A brute bear with clawed paws swung up and closed in on her.
To Patille’s eyes, everything looked like it was in slow motion.
The certain death was slowly approaching.
In fact, she didn’t even have time to scream.
Patille turned her face away.
Would I feel intense pain? (italics)
Or would I experience death without even feeling pain? (italics)
At the last moment, Patille thought about such things.
A moment.
A gust of wind.
No, it wasn’t even a gust of wind, but a shadow leaped out from between the trees.
Then it thrusts its sword deep into the Brute Bear and it finishes it off.
Patille looks up and turns her head towards the one who was supposed to bring her death.
The Brute Bear lies on the ground, sword into it.
Besides the demon, it was the very shadow that had shaken off her death.
Patille’s time begints to return back to normal. 2
And the shadow gently says.
「Sorry I’m lste, are you okay? ….Patty.」
The cool smile, and his familiar face.
「….Yes, I’m fine. I believed that you would come.」
Patille called out his name with great emotion.
「…Ryou」
Translator: TheDoru
A shimmering green light rises in the forest.
It was such a fantastic sight that anyone who saw it forgot themselves and fell in love with it.
It suddenly appeared, flickered like an aurora, and then disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.
「Beautiful…」
Someone muttered with a sigh.
Everyone in the room was looking at the scene.
「That’s…. the light of the dragon vein….」 (Emarsh)
The healer, Emarsh, said that to no one in particular, but her eyes remained fixed on the spot where the light had been.
Ryou had finished his afternoon field training early and was taking a break before heading home.
「Dragon vein….?」
Ryou asked to confirm Emarsh’s words.
「Are you familiar with it?」
Emarsh was a little surprised.
「Oh, no. Our world also has the idea of dragon veins, uh…….」
「You mean the flow of chi in feng shui, right?」
He was at a loss for words because of his hazy knowledge, but Erika followed him up.
The two nodded to each other, their mouths relaxed.
「…Chi, is it…. Maybe it’s not that different from our world, I guess.」
Emarsh puts his hand on his chin and begins to speak, explaining a little.
「I’ve talked about mana that exists in this world before.」
「The substance from which magic uses…… right?」
Naoto gave a rather curt answer, but Emarsh nodded without any displeasure.
「Mana is generated by Yggdrasil, the huge world tree, which are only a few in the world. And the source of mana is a substance called ether. Ether is constantly pouring down from the stars from the heavens, and although it cannot be seen or felt, it is absorbed by the earth and it flows to the world tree.」
Emarsh cut off the what he was saying and looked around at Naoto and the others.
「The flow of that ether comes from the dragon vein.」
「So you’re saying that the light we just saw was leaking from that dragon vein?」
Erika held up the index finger of her right hand next to her cheek.
「You are generally correct. It is said that the ether collected from the dragon veins reacts to the mana in the air.」
「You’re not sure?」
Ryou asks.
「Yes, unfortunately. It’s just that the dragon veins sometimes meander close to the surface and creates spots called dragon holes. The room where you were summoned in, is right above it, and it harnesses the power that flows from the dragon pit.」
Everyone slowly nodded in agreement.
In the midst of this, Ryou tilted his head.
「….Ether….Quark? Cosmic microwave background radiation…. No, maybe it’s dark matter? Then mana is dark energy….」
「Eh, what? You know about it?」
He thought he had been thinking about it in his head, but it seemed he had unconsciously said it out loud.
Yuki reacted to his mumbling.
「Ah, no. It’s just that there was a time when there was a substance called ether on Earth.」
「…You’re surprisingly knowledgeable.」
She smiled up at me.
「Um, you see, I’m interested in science…..」
Ryou turned his head away.
「You don’t learn that in school, right?」
Honoka was impressed and nodded exaggeratedly several times, her arms crossed.
And then it happened.
A high-pitched whistle-like sound echoed, and soon after, a loud explosion was heard in the sky.
「What was that sound?」
Emarsh looked in the direction where the sound came from. It was an open forest, and the sky was only slightly visible.
「Clearly, the emergency call is coming from the high way……. No way.」
The normally calm Emarsh showed obvious dismay.
「Emarsh-san, did something happen?」
Naoto rushed to Emarsh’s side.
「Today, Her Highness Patille is scheduled to pass through the forest road because of official matters.」
「But she has an escort, right?」
Ryou stood across from Emarsh with a worried expression on his face.
「Yes, of course, she has five selected guard knights… But if they shot a distress call, it’s possible that something unforeseen happened…」
「I’ll go ahead!」
He didn’t hear the end of it, and ran toward where the sound came from.
「We should go too! We’ll be left behind.」
「Yes!」
Naoto and the others followed suit.
Ryou ran through the forest as fast as he could, avoiding branches and ivy.
He us not good at long distances, but with his current physical strength, he should be able last five or six kilometers.
「Patty, please be safe!」
Ryou forgot to pace himself and ran like crazy.
Things were not looking good.
A pack of forest wolves or brute bears wouldn’t even be a threat.
That’s what the knights of the royal guard were for.
But those weren’t the only things that surrounded them now.
Polypod Mantis.
Six meters long.
It has two pairs of hind legs for walking, and three pairs of sickle-shaped front legs for attacking.
It is an insectoid demon with an extremely hard exoskeleton, three eyes, it’s fast and has a wide attack range with its three pairs of six front legs.
「Why is there a Polypod Mantis in this forest?」
One of the knights grunted with a look of bitterness on his face.
Demons are ranked according to their threat level.
From top to bottom, there is SSS class (extinction class), SS class (great disaster class), and S class (disaster class).
Up to this point, it is necessary to use an army of a national scale or larger to deal with them.
Next is Class A (catastrophe class).
This requires at least a division-level response.
For B class (disaster class), to defeat it, a size of a large to medium squad could do it, and for C class (lower disaster class), it requries a medium to small squad.
Class D, E, F, and G follow below that. (Goblins and Armillages are G-class, Forest Wolves and Brute Bears are F-class.)
And the Polypod Mantis is classified as a C class.
There are only five knights guarding Patille.
Normally, at least thirty knights would be needed to deal with it.
No matter how well-selected the knights were, the demon was too much compared to their light equipment.
「Somehow, only Her Highness…」 1
But with Polypod Mantis in front of them and a dozen or so demons surrounding them, it’s not a good idea to spread out their forces. Moreover, the horses were completely spooked and the carriage was useless.
「If they notice the distress call, Hyuga-sama and the others will come… Let’s all hold on until then.」
Patille encourages the knights surrounding her.
「Ha!」
Two of them, equipped with shields, took three steps forward towards the polypod Mantis in front of them.
The remaining three deploy to the left, right and rear, with Patille at the center.
「O clean spring, summoned by my power, be a wall that protects those who are linked and repels all things……. Cascade Wall!」
Patille shouted as she finished chanting.
A three-layered wall of water rised up in front of the Polypod Mantis.
It’s a higher level of water magic, and while it can completely prevent any demon below the D level, it can only stop a C level Polypod Mantis in its tracks.
But for now, it was enough.
The knights cut down the attacking brute bears one by one.
While the cascade wall was stopping the Polypod Mantis, they tried to reduce the number of demons as much as possible and managed to make a breakthrough to escape. Even if they can’t, if they can hold out until Hyuga and the others arrive, they will be able to join forces and defeat the Polypod Mantis.
Patille poured more magic into the wall.
「…Endure a little more…」
But her wish was futile, as the Polypod Mantis’s front legs cut through the wall of water wall and blew away one of the knight that was holding a shield.
From that point, it was a one-sided.
If all five of them had fought together, they could have put up a better fight.
But that would not have protected Patille from the swarm of demons.
In other words, everyone’s fate who was present at this time had been sealed when the Polypod Mantis had appeared.
A knight was blown up in front of Patille.
His sword, which he had tried to use to parry the attack on his paw, broke in mid-stride, and his arm got bent in a strange direction.
From the way the blood spurted out of his mouth with a gurgling sound, indicated that a broken rib had lodged in his lung.
The knight was still clutching his broken sword.
「I’m healing you now!」
Patille rushed to the wounded knight and chanted a healing magic spell.
「Radiance of life, heal his wounds…. Heal」
A pale light rises up and begins to heal the wound.
But one of the brute bears didn’t miss the opportunity.
「Your Highness!」
He looked up in the direction of the voice and saw a knight running towards her.
His face was wide eyed, and he was shouting something in an impatient manner.
Patille turned her head back.
A brute bear with clawed paws swung up and closed in on her.
To Patille’s eyes, everything looked like it was in slow motion.
The certain death was slowly approaching.
In fact, she didn’t even have time to scream.
Patille turned her face away.
Would I feel intense pain? (italics)
Or would I experience death without even feeling pain? (italics)
At the last moment, Patille thought about such things.
A moment.
A gust of wind.
No, it wasn’t even a gust of wind, but a shadow leaped out from between the trees.
Then it thrusts its sword deep into the Brute Bear and it finishes it off.
Patille looks up and turns her head towards the one who was supposed to bring her death.
The Brute Bear lies on the ground, sword into it.
Besides the demon, it was the very shadow that had shaken off her death.
Patille’s time begints to return back to normal. 2
And the shadow gently says.
「Sorry I’m lste, are you okay? ….Patty.」
The cool smile, and his familiar face.
「….Yes, I’m fine. I believed that you would come.」
Patille called out his name with great emotion.
「…Ryou」
