What Imeraria has seen from Orsongrande’s encampment, where she is currently staying, is a giant taking a detour from the border’s fortress and overtaking the soldiers. Alyssa’s group having their attention attracted by something that’s hanging from the roof of the fortress, she understood that they haven’t even noticed the giant.
“Sabnak-san!” (Imeraria)
“The spear throwers will volley fire at the giant! The cavalry will follow me! We will attract the giant’s attention by detouring from the right! Fokalore’s soldiers will circle around from the right and rescue her unit!” (Sabnak)
Raising his voice, Sabnak jumped on his horse without even listening to the answer of Fokalore troops.
Thanking Sabnak, who chose to become a decoy without hesitation, a platform wagon is swiftly dispatched by the soldiers of Fokalore.
The moment the cavalry breaks into a gallop, Orsongrande’s soldiers fire the spears.
With several spears piercing him, the giant, who has approached Alyssa who had fallen in a dire situation due to the beating, is beyond agony.
Under the cover of the chaos, Imeraria jumps on a horse and heads towards Alyssa’s location together with the soldiers of Fokalore and not Sabnak.
She heard the warning voices of her guards, but Imeraria can’t see anything but Alyssa being caught in a dilemma.
A feeling of uneasiness is stirred up within her due to Alyssa, who was flicked off the horse, being approached by the giant again.
“No! Everyone, get away!” (Alyssa)
“Alyssa-san!” (Imeraria)
Alyssa, who calls out to her colleagues even though having fallen off the horse, doesn’t notice Imeraria’s group approaching from behind.
“Alyssa-san! Your hand!” (Imeraria)
“… Eh?” (Alyssa)
Alyssa turned around due to the yell. At that instant, spears are simultaneously fired by the soldiers of Fokalore who came to rescue her. The giant dropped the spear he was grasping.
Even as the figure of Imeraria, who extended her hand towards her from atop a horse, came into her sight, she didn’t comprehend for some moments.
“P-Princess-sama?” (Alyssa)
“I’m a queen! Quick, your hand!” (Imeraria)
Imeraria firmly grasped Alyssa’s right hand, which she held out as told while being dumbfounded, but different from a properly trained soldier, the other party hasn’t the arm strength to pull up an armed human even if it’s a girl.
“Kyaa!” (Imeraria)
“Uwaah!” (Alyssa)
Imeraria falls off the horse while grasping Alyssa’s hand
Even during that time, the soldiers of Fokalore are collecting their colleagues on the platform wagon.
“Now! Everyone get on the platform wagon! Director, you hurry as well!”
“Y-Yea!” (Alyssa)
Carrying the fainted Imeraria, Alyssa stepped firmly on her healthy left foot while dragging her right knee.
On the other side of the giant, who is thrashing around after receiving further spears, the knights of Orsongrande, led by Sabnak, are confronting Horant’s soldiers. However, thanks to that no other enemy forces besides the giant are coming this way.
At the moment the platform wagon came next to her, Alyssa, who entrusted Imeraria to a soldier first, stands up on one leg while bearing the pain and sits down next to Imeraria who was lain down.
“Go, go!” (Alyssa)
“Then… watch out!”
As the soldier shouts, she looks ahead of his line of sight.
While recklessly swinging his big arms, the rampaging giant approached the direction of Alyssa and the others.
The giant, who turned into a hedgehog after being pierced by spears all over his body, hasn’t seen anything but is simply raging around. However, with each of his arm-swing, a human is sent flying.
And, the large build, which advances two meters with one step, had already approached to a distance where he can look down on Alyssa.
“Uuh!”
Alyssa, who judged that there’s no time to escape, leaned forward to cover Imeraria’s slender body in order to at least her protect if not anyone else.
“… Hifumi-san!” (Alyssa)
Even while believing it to be pathetic, the name of the most reliable person rushed out from within her.
She didn’t think about wanting to be saved. She merely felt regretful. Even while declaring that she will rescue her friends, she wasn’t in time and moreover the soldiers, who followed her, have also been violated by the enemy’s hands. Even her own life is about to be lost now.
If there was something she could tell Hifumi, there was one thing she wanted to convey to him.
“Excuse me, Hifumi-san!” (Alyssa)
“That’s right. Reflect deeper than the ocean.” (Hifumi)
“… Uee?” (Alyssa)
She hears an earth tremor alongside a voice that shouldn’t be here.
“By just bending the foot, which stepped forward, a bit like this, a human’s body will easily collapse.” (Hifumi)
“I see, that’s educational, Hifumi-sama.” (Origa)
Once Alyssa lifted her face, the one who has toppled sideways over there is the giant who is suffering due to being deeply pierced by spears. And in front of that giant was the figure of Hifumi who was carelessly giving a lecture to Origa.
“The balance of humans, who are standing on two legs, is fundamentally bad. By just disturbing the centre of gravity between the two legs, they will easily fall over.” (Hifumi)
“Hi-Hifumi-san!?” (Alyssa)
“Shut up. Come back this way quickly. For the time being, this time your command and conduct is a failure. … It’s the same for the idiot who has fainted in an easygoing manner over there.” (Hifumi)
Hifumi, who pointed at Imeraria, drew his katana and turned around to the giant.
Standing next to him, Origa falls back merely three steps and stares at Hifumi.
“Uuh…” (Alyssa)
The rescue scene should have been deeply emotional, but Alyssa dropped her shoulders while on the verge of tears after being called a failure together in one lump with Imeraria.
“A-Anyway, director, let’s withdraw to the encampment leaving this place to Lord-sama.”
“Yea, please…” (Alyssa)
The soldiers of Fokalore, including the wounded, leave towards the encampment while riding on the platform wagon.
Seeing the situation, Sabnak’s group started retreating as well.
“Hey, stand up. You are still alive, aren’t you?” (Hifumi)
What’s audible through the roaring sounds from the platform wagon’s wheels is Hifumi coldly addressing the giant while kicking him flying. Finally the actual feeling of having been rescued, erupted within Alyssa.
At the same time she has become depressed and is thinking back upon this time’s disgrace.
“H-He got angry…” (Alyssa)
As she wonders what kind of punishment is waiting for her, Alyssa’s body trembles more than at the time she confronted the giant.
The one who started talking about “let’s send the elf and beastmen to the capital” was no one else but Caim.
As for the reasons explained to the other civil officials, who were puzzled, by Caim; they don’t know when Hifumi, who’s the feudal lord, will return even if they stay in Fokalore as is. Not knowing how to handle the guests of unknown status, he is worried about the stress of the staff piling up. Because there’s no rule in Orsongrande itself how to treat elves and beastmen, who aren’t enemies, it’s a judgement that has to be made directly by the queen in the capital as fast as possible.
The last argument couldn’t be interpreted as anything but sophistry, but the opinion of forcing the entire matter onto the lot of the capital was approved with everyone raising their hands.
Moreover, to make doubly sure,
“At the time it turns into a fight between the madam and that rabbit beastman, the damage reaching the territory is what we want to avoid, I believe.” (Caim)
Saying that, Caim calmly voiced out the words everyone was afraid to mention.
Once they make a decision, the movements of the staff members of Fokalore’s feudal lord mansion are quick.
Caim put together a budget of this and that, the travel preparations were prepared by Brokra and Miyukare chose the escorting soldiers. The preparations were completed and they left on their travel two days later.
Puuse’s group, who was in a carriage on the morning of the third day, can’t catch up with the excessive speed of development in their brains.
“… Umm, where are we heading to, they said?” (Puuse)
“If I remember correctly… the “capital” or something like that…” (Viine)
Once the rabbit beastman, Viine, dug up her faint memories due to Puuse’s question, the civil official, Paryu, who sat with them in the carriage, said 「That’s right」.
“The “royal capital” is written as capital where the sovereign resides. It’s the centre of this country. The sovereign is also in that city. Even Hifumi-sama, who is our Lord-sama, is staying or has passed through that place.” (Paryu)
“Are there also many people living like in Fokalore?” (Gengu)
“The population there is at present higher than Fokalore.” (Paryu)
Gengu looked at Paryu while roughly rustling the hair of Malfas, who had a complicated expression that is possibly caused by fright or curiosity and who opened his mouth with a “Whoa” due to the unimaginable number of humans.
“You are saying, umm, sovereign-sama is more powerful than Hifumi-san?” (Gengu)
Paryu was baffled due to Gengu admiring that with a “That’s amazin’.”
“The current sovereign-sama is a woman who is at around the same age as me. I haven’t met her myself yet, but… there’s no way for her to be stronger than Lord-sama, probably.” (Paryu)
“Hoo. That means, that female sovereign-sama is about having more wisdom than Hifumi-san ~yasu. So there exists such a person.” (Gengu)
That’s probably not it either, Paryu thought, but since it became troublesome to correct each and every little thing, she let it stand as is.
“Why did master-sama go to the capital?” (Viine)
“Let me see…” (Paryu)
Paryu hesitated how far she should explain towards Viine’s question. Since she herself isn’t that well-informed about it either, she goes for a harmless and inoffensive explanation.
“Since we were attacked by a neighbouring country, ((he went)) as reinforcement to a city at the border…” (Paryu)
“Reinforcement?” (Puuse)
The beastmen and Puuse exchange looks and are bewildered.
“You are saying that, but for that Hifumi-san to go reinforcing someone, I can’t quite imagine that to happen.” (Gengu)
“Yea, that sort of…”
Paryu, who understood from Gengu’s words that Hifumi acted as usual even in the wastelands, decided to correct herself.
“If you change the way of describing it, he went because there’s a battle is to be found.” (Paryu)
“I see. That’s how it is.” (Puuse)
Puuse nods and the other beastmen also have an expression of comprehension.
“Umm, it’s odd to say that after departing, but is it fine for us to receive such good treatment?”
For them, who travelled on foot with their prided leg strength as beastmen even on their journey through the wastelands, the vehicle called carriage was comfortable and pleasant.
Even Puuse who is an elf has confidence in her leg strength as she walked through the forest. Although she cured her exhaustion with magic secretly, there’s nothing better than finishing it without having to walk.
For Viine, her inner nature made her wonder whether being able to enjoy such comfort isn’t only for those of high social standing.
“It’s alright. You are guests of Earl Hifumi Tohno who is our feudal lord. You don’t have to worry about anything as a matter of this level is only natural.” (Paryu)
“Hifumi-san, he is an amazing person.” (Malfas)
Paryu added in her heart (in various meanings) to Malfa’s honest praise and hid her cold sweat with a smile.
“Anyway, it will still take several days until we reach the capital. Please spend your time at ease since you are probably worn-out from going through the wastelands.” (Paryu)
“Thank you very much.”
While harbouring the hope that she might be able to meet with Hifumi at last after thanking her, Viine stared at the stone paving of the highway flowing by backwards and recalled the face of her master within her mind.
How many times have I fought with this giant, I wonder? Hifumi pondered while looking at the spear-pierced feet approaching from the side.
While slipping through a roundhouse kick by bending down, he stepped with all his might on the pivot legs thumb which is exposed by wearing sandals.
The nail breaks and blood overflows, but the giant tramples down at him next without caring about it at all.
“Hmm, is his sense of pain numbed after all?” (Hifumi)
Hifumi, who avoided being trampled by turning his body around completely, hit a spear, which is piercing through the top of the foot, with all his might from above.
The spear, which penetrated the food with a dull sound, fixates the giant’s left foot by sticking into the ground.
Ignoring even that, the giant raised his right foot.
“Good grief.” (Hifumi)
Facing the approaching, huge foot, Hifumi swings his katana while shifting his body to the right.
The foot, which advanced, had all of its toes cut off and the giant collapsed with the momentum of trampling down.
“One won’t be able to brace their legs if they don’t have toes, no matter whether they feel pain or not.” (Hifumi)
Stabbing the katana from the giant’s ear until his medulla oblongata as is, he cleaves it open.
Once the entire body convulsed with a short twitch, the giant stopped moving for eternity.
“He’s only big, isn’t he.” (Hifumi)
Once they turn their faces at Hifumi while he wipes the katana with a paper, the soldiers of Horant, who were surprised by the giant having been defeated, retreat to the other side of the border while dragging along the bodies of the soldiers who were done in by Sabnak’s and Alyssa’s units.
Once he looked up, there were the corpses of Ma Carme and his unit swaying in the wind.
“It seems the revenge by Alyssa to show you guys respect and affection will take a bit more time.” (Hifumi)
“… Hifumi-sama, thank you for your hard work.” (Origa)
Hifumi turned towards Origa, who came next to him, while sheathing the katana into its scabbard. On the other side of her small body, he saw the platform wagon coming around once again.
“Let Ma Carme and the others down. It’s fine if they are put on the platform wagon.” (Hifumi)
“As you wish.” (Origa)
The shurikens, which were thrown by Origa, cut the ropes and the ten corpses fall to the ground.
The platform wagon, which passed by at the side of Hifumi who is returning to the encampment, advances with rattling sounds in order to recover the corpses.
“Well then.” (Hifumi)
Hifumi, who returned to the encampment, surveyed all present while tossing a small bottle of recovery medicine to Alyssa.
Imeraria has regained her consciousness and is sitting with dropped shoulders while on the verge of crying.
“Every one of you gave me trouble. Ah?” (Hifumi)
Once Sabnak, who finished arranging the forces, finally arrives, Hifumi orders him to sit down as well.
“There are things I want to say to you as well, Sabnak. For the time being, sit down.” (Hifumi)
“Huh…? Ah, yes.” (Sabnak)
Hifumi, who cleared his throat, took out a parchment from his pocket.
“From now on it’s a meeting for reviewing based on how your battle appeared from behind.” (Hifumi)
The scolding storm with the name “meeting for reviewing” continued until Hifumi felt hungry when it became noon.