Chapter 29《Guidance of Faith》 – (3)
(I)
Defending or counterattacking is only possible when the opponent’s attack is visible. If the attack is unseen and there’s no time to react, there’s nothing the defender can do.
“Did she disappear…?”
The zombie maid seemed to move, then suddenly vanished from sight. When Chris closed and opened his eyes again, she had already relocated behind the soldiers who had surrounded her.
—C-cawwwk!!
—Get back! Move!
—What happened? She was invisible… Cough!!
“What, what is that…?”
The sounds of soldiers screaming and bright red blood splattering through the air echoed. Like petals falling, the soldiers’ heads were cleanly severed and sequentially dropped to the ground.
“This is unreal….”
Chris, atop the walls, was horrified at the maid’s speed, which was impossible to track with the eye. In mere seconds, over a dozen heads had been cut off in an instant.
—Stab her! Re-form the perimeter… Cough!!
—Run away!! Cough!!
But that wasn’t the end. The heads of the few surviving soldiers also fell before they could make their next move.
“…Insignificant things.”
The zombie shook off the blood from her blade, surrounded by piles of headless corpses. The archers watching from the walls trembled in fear.
In a normal situation, they should be on alert and ready to attack, but no one dared to aim their bows at that monster.
‘What, what is that…?’
Chris’s common sense twisted as he looked at the zombie maid, who had slaughtered about thirty of his soldiers, including Captain Edmund, in less than ten seconds.
…Various thoughts muddled his mind.
Is that really the speed a monster can possess?
Where did that monster come from?
S-class? No, perhaps even an ultra-rare SS-class?
Could it really have been sent by the Ancient Vampire?
Why is it here in our territory?
“Damn….”
Yet he couldn’t find any answers to those questions. The information was far too lacking. Even during his ten years as an adventurer in his youth, he had never seen a monster like that.
‘…Is there anything in our territory that can defeat her?’
His thoughts moved to the most critical stage.
This maid zombie, who could easily cut through soldiers and laughed off the enchanted necklace they had trusted. Was there anyone in ‘Rielli’ who could stop her?
In a small territory, the number of soldiers was not large. Even asking adventurers for help, the highest-ranked adventurer in Rielli was only A-class.
In fact, even Edmund, who was among the strongest in the territory, was killed without a chance to act. Who could possibly stop this zombie girl?
“….”
‘Huh…?’
And while Chris was lost in thought, the maid zombie ignored him and began to move deeper into the territory. Chris’s face turned pale.
‘Oh, no.’
If she was allowed to enter the territory without anything to stop her, it would lead to a rampage, a bloodbath.
Buildings would burn, citizens would die, and everything they had built would collapse.
Just like that day, twenty years ago.
“I can’t let that happen.”
He had sworn countless times never to allow such a thing to repeat. The sight of the territory standing on the brink of destruction, that humiliation, could never be reenacted.
“Hey, wait!”
Chris shouted toward the zombie maid.
It was a voice that sprang not from calculated action, but from instinct, desperate to stop her.
“Wait! Please wait a moment!”
…He didn’t know what he was doing. Like a desperate person grasping at their former lover, Chris anxiously called for the zombie maid to stop and jumped down from the tower.
“What do you want, human?”
The zombie maid stood there, her great sword planted in the ground like a staff, looking at him with a contemptuous expression.
He didn’t care what her expression was. Relieved that he had at least stopped her movement, Chris immediately bowed his head to the ground before her.
“Just a moment, please listen to me.”
A monster that could speak human language.
It was a world-breaking event, but given the current situation, it had turned into an incredible stroke of luck.
…There was a chance to resolve the issue through conversation.
“I-I apologize first.”
Now that there was an opportunity for dialogue, he had to somehow appease her or offer her what she wanted to send her back without further damage.
Perhaps this was the last chance given to him by the goddess, Astira.
“I am the lord of this place, ‘Chris Evergrit.'”
First, he calmly revealed his identity, appealing to the monster that he was someone in a position to negotiate.
“Lord….”
Whether it was a good sign or not, the zombie’s body twitched slightly at Chris’s introduction. He seized that moment and continued speaking.
“…I don’t know why you attacked us or what you want, but if you have a wish, I will grant it.”
“….”
“Money? I can give you as much as you want. Non-interference with monsters? I will never invade your territory again. Whatever it is, I will grant it all.”
“….”
“S-so please stop. Just leave the territory, I beg you.”
Chris pressed his forehead deeper into the ground. The sticky mixture of blood and dirt unpleasantly dampened his head, but he didn’t care.
—Y-Your Excellency…
—Cough, Your Excellency…
From behind, the archers on the castle walls looked at him with tears in their eyes. An insignificant human lord bowing his head to a monster—what a pitiful sight it must have been.
In the far future, he might be recorded in history as the worst lord who succumbed to a monster. But it didn’t matter. To make this monster leave, he was willing to sacrifice his life.
“Hmm….”
The zombie maid looked down at him coldly. She seemed to be pondering what to say, but what followed was a fleeting laugh.
“Puhuh.”
Her disdainful snicker.
“Cough?!”
…And then Chris’s head was stomped on. The heel of the zombie maid crushed the back of his head, pushing his face completely into the mud.
“Hey, human.”
“Urrgh….”
As if being waterboarded, his eyes, nose, and mouth were submerged in the mud, making it impossible to breathe, and he heard the zombie maid’s cold voice.
“I think there’s a misunderstanding.”
“….”
“…Who attacked first, I wonder?”
“…!!”
With that single remark from the monster, Chris’s eyes widened in the mud. At the same time, his actions and words from atop the walls flashed through his mind like a slideshow.
────We cannot allow monsters into our territory! Shoot! Make a beehive out of them!
“Ah….”
…As the zombie maid said, it was indeed they who launched the first strike, not her. Accepting the retribution was a declaration of war. Realizing this, Chris’s heart sank.
“…Human, I am merely retaliating justly.”
“Cough!”
Then, the zombie maid kicked Chris in the abdomen with the foot that was still stomping on him, sending him flying into the dirt.
“Cough! Cough! Cough, cough.”
Gasping for air, having his face buried in mud made it impossible to breathe easily, and the blow to his stomach forced a continuous stream of coughs from him. The zombie maid approached him slowly, her great sword in hand.
“You should have been prepared for an attack first.”
“Urrgh….”
Seeing her approach, Chris froze. Even though it was a monster’s words, they were undeniably true. No matter what her true nature was, the fact remained that they had attacked first.
The realization that he had made the worst mistake, that he had made a hasty judgment, and had given that monster the justification to freely attack them tightened around Chris’s heart.
“…!!”
Then, a thought arose.
She had clearly been observing the walls until Chris arrived, acting as if she would attack at any moment, and only started attacking the territory after the arrows were fired.
…Could it be that she had lured him into attacking first?
To have a justification for slaughter?
Had the monster thought that far ahead?
What on earth was her identity?
“…Anyway.”
The zombie maid’s eyes burned with intensity as she swung her great sword through the air. But her target wasn’t Chris; it was the archers on the walls.
—Get back!
—Khaaaak!
“Ah….”
The blue sword wave released from the tip of her blade accurately severed the heads of the archers on the walls. Witnessing that absurd scene, Chris felt the area between his legs grow warm with fear.
The monster’s gaze returned to him.
“…Don’t go around saying you were attacked by a monster. You attacked first.”
“….”
“Oh, and what is it that you want?”
With a mad grin, the zombie maid drew closer to him, raising her great sword once more as she spoke in a chilling voice.
“…It’s your neck, human. This territory will fall today.”
“Ah….”
The thought that everything was lost sank into Chris. Gripping his collapsing mind filled with shock and horror, he asked her one last question.
“W-What are you…?”
“Me?”
The zombie maid chuckled softly. With a proud expression, she replied to Chris.
“…I am a servant of the most magnificent being in the world.”
“The most magnificent being…?”
“You don’t need to know. You’ll meet them soon enough.”
“What…?”
Though Chris repeated the question in confusion, the zombie maid did not answer. Then, her great sword swung down, and he felt a dull impact at his temple.
Chris’s vision went dark.
(II)
-“At times like this, we must unite! Cheers!”
When a nation faces an unprecedented crisis, what kind of actions should its leader demonstrate?
Having enjoyed an era of peace for the past few hundred years, Rodrick Whitefin thought that at least this was not the way leaders of other countries behaved in wartime.
-“Cheers! Cheers! If you’re not drunk, you can’t go back!”
-“Hohoho! Prime minister Lillianel! Hooray! Hooray! You’re the best!”
“….”
In the fortress city of Nevirthol, Rodrick looked at the Prime minister, Lillianel Greenfield, who was drinking like a madman in a corner of the banquet hall.
…After fleeing from the royal capital to this place, her first action was not to set up an emergency command or devise a plan, nor to take a rest, but to gather the nobles for a banquet.
—A banquet? Are you joking? What will you do if your presence here gets exposed, Prime minister?
—Don’t be so sensitive, Rodrick. The risk of exposure is an excessive worry. I’ve already sent my doubles to other cities as insurance to confuse Elzerba.
—Then when do you plan to come up with a plan against that vampire?!
—Well, for that, Grandius will need to arrive first. In the meantime, I intend to firmly control the nobles here. It would be troublesome if anyone dared to contradict me.
—….
Roderick tried to dissuade Lillianel from hosting the banquet, his voice sharp with anger, but she brushed aside his concerns as if they were nothing. Watching her, Roderick frowned.
“…Her dependence on the hero is too much.”
Hero this, hero that—everything seemed to revolve around the hero.
It was true that most of her power came from the hero’s backing, but her reliance on him was at an unhealthy extreme.
She didn’t even seem to consider starting anything on her own, and as her secretary, Roderick found it utterly frustrating.
“This can’t continue.”
Even if the hero possessed unimaginable strength, the legendary vampire who had attacked the royal capital was just as formidable. They had little information about the vampire, which put them at a disadvantage.
If they continued wasting time, relying solely on the hero and Nevirthol’s defenses, the Kingdom of Avilia would eventually collapse.
“That damned Prime minister.”
But that elf had lived for a thousand years with this mindset, and reforming her now was impossible.
“Hey.”
-“Yes, Lord Roderick?”
Roderick quietly called his attendant.
If it was to save the kingdom, Roderick knew he had to act. With the royal capital fallen, he was the one holding the most power after the Prime minister.
He spoke to the attendant.
“Send a request to the mercenary guild, ‘Stormhounds,’ immediately.”
-“Stormhounds, sir?”
“Yes. The task is to exterminate the progenitor vampire and reclaim the royal capital. The request goes out to the entire guild. The reward is one hundred million gold coins.”
-“One h-hundred million…!!”
The attendant’s face turned pale at the absurd and incomprehensible sum. But Roderick, showing that he was not joking, nodded once again.
“Yes, one hundred million gold coins.”
It was an amount so vast that they would have to dip into the treasury, but to mobilize the world’s strongest warriors from the entire Stormhounds guild, such a sum was necessary. If things came to it, he could sell off Lillianel’s private assets, which he managed.
Lillianel would be furious when she found out, but there was no other choice. The kingdom needed to survive for both the Prime minister’s position and Roderick’s own status to remain intact.
Besides, in Roderick’s view, aside from the hero, the only ones on this continent capable of standing against the vampire were the ‘Iron King’ of Stormhounds and his top lieutenants.
Even if they failed, they would at least buy enough time for the hero to devise a plan, making the investment well worth it.
“Understood.”
“Good. I’ll take full responsibility for this.”
The attendant hurried out of the banquet hall to carry out the order. Feeling as though he had secured a safety net, Roderick finally allowed himself to sigh in relief.
— “P-Prime minister!”
— “Hmm? What is it?”
— “….”
— “Is it… really true?!”
— “Yes! It’s true!”
— “I’m going right now.”
…And from the banquet hall, Lillianel, after hearing something from another attendant, rushed out in her bare feet.
Though she looked urgent, her face also radiated happiness, and all Roderick could do was shake his head.
“…It must be another man.”
There was nothing to expect from her.
**********
(III)
“F-finally!”
‘The hero has arrived.’
Lillianel Greenfield, having received the long-awaited news, gathered her skirts in her hands and started running at full speed.
This was a moment of sheer bliss.
It had been half a year since she last saw him, due to his campaign against the demons. The mere thought of touching his soft skin with her hands made a smile spread across Lillianel’s face.
Her love, with the ashen hair that had become an object of her mixed emotions.
Those lovely blue eyes.
Her love, carried on for a thousand years.
“Ahh….”
She ran through the banquet hall and out into the open air, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun. Finally, she saw him.
“Ah, Prime minister!”
“Grandius!”
Ignoring the dignity of her title and the eyes of onlookers, Lillianel flung herself into the arms of the 21st hero, Vellius Grandius.
“Why did you take so long?! I missed you….”
“I missed you too.”
The hero gently stroked the elf’s hair.
“Hm?”
As she reveled in the warmth of his strong, kind hand, Lillianel noticed three heavily armed men and women standing nearby.
Familiar faces.
They were members of Grandius’ party.
-“Greetings, Prime minister.”
-“Hello!”
The paladin Daniel and the dark swordswoman Yuna greeted her in turn. As they were aware of her relationship with Grandius, they didn’t seem particularly surprised by the affectionate display of a hug.
-“…Hello.”
Only a newcomer, a woman with short blue hair, muttered softly as if in a daze.
“I’ll talk with the Prime minister for a bit before coming in. You all go ahead and rest.”
-“Understood.”
-“Got it!”
Grandius smiled as he suggested they head to their lodgings first, and his companions obediently entered the building attached to the banquet hall where they would be staying.
…Now, the only ones left were Lillianel and the hero, Vellius Grandius.
With no one watching, their gazes toward each other changed.
No longer simple glances of reunion, their eyes were now filled with a deep yearning for each other’s affection.
“Grandius…”
Without either of them saying a word first, they pressed their lips together.
Mixing their tongues, they savored each other’s taste, conveying love as their saliva dripped.
“…”
After a long moment of exploring each other’s lips, they finally pulled away. However, the deep emotion in their gazes remained unchanged.
Grandius gently caressed Lillianel’s cheek and spoke.
“…I hear the vampire has been released.”
“Yes.”
“They say she has conquered Ermaile and the royal capital, and is now targeting you, Prime minister.”
“Yes.”
“…Don’t worry.”
The words Lilianel had longed to hear flowed from the hero’s lips. Upon hearing this, her smile widened even more. Just as laughter is contagious, the corners of Grandius’s mouth also lifted.
“I’ll protect you no matter what happens.”
“Yes, I believe in you.”
…Yes, just as you have for the past thousand years, protect me again this time.
Crush that damned vampire with your strength.
Seal her away forever, so she never opens her eyes again.
My prince.
My eternity.
“…I love you, Grandius.”
No,
“Julius.”
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