NOVEL WEB Chapter 27
It had been raining since morning.
Aila went out to direct the train station with Catherine.
Only Jema and I were left in the room, idly passing the time.
“I’m bored.”
“Let’s go sightseeing.”
“Can we go out just the two of us?”
Aila hadn’t specifically told us not to go out.
Besides, it wasn’t just the two of us going out.
I went downstairs and headed to the room that Mr. Charles had told me about the day before.
“I’ll be ready in a moment.”
About five minutes later, Mr. Charles came out of the room all set to go out.
“Oh, you two are meeting for the first time, right?”
“I’m Charles.”
“I’m Jema.”
The two of them quickly introduced themselves.
When we stepped outside the hotel, it was raining quite heavily.
Mr. Charles opened a large umbrella, shielding both Jema and me.
“Are you okay, Mr. Charles?”
“Our uniforms double as raincoats. We can’t fight using umbrellas when it’s raining in a combat situation.”
Mr. Charles replied wearing the hood attached to his clothing.
When raindrops hit his clothes, they bounced off without getting wet, confirming his words.
I asked Mr. Charles if there were any good restaurants nearby as he was walking behind us.
Since I hadn’t had breakfast yet, I was hoping to find a nearby place to eat.
“I can introduce you to a few places I know.”
Just yesterday, the streets had been filled with the scents of varied foods, but today, the rain had washed all those smells away.
The damp, dusty smell lingered.
The restaurant we arrived at, guided by Mr. Charles, was a very large establishment consisting of three floors.
Since it was morning, there were only a few tables occupied, aside from ours.
“The food here is really good.”
Mr. Charles spoke to me casually but used formal language with Jema.
Since we hadn’t known each other long, he probably felt he couldn’t drop the formalities.
After settling down, we ordered our meals and were waiting when someone approached us.
“Charles?”
“I’m working.”
“Tch.”
It was a female demon with purple skin. She seemed to be well-acquainted with Mr. Charles.
“Who is she?”
“Just someone I know.”
“Hey, how can you say she’s just someone you know?”
She called out loud and naturally sat down beside Mr. Charles, where the seat was empty.
“Aren’t you studying for exams?”
“I need to eat first. I’m trying to live after all.”
From the way they chatted comfortably, it didn’t seem like they were just acquaintances.
“Ah, sorry. This is someone I met when I was taking the knight exam. I failed, though.”
“I’ll pass this time.”
“Yeah. Make sure you do, and then you can come work under me, and I’ll make you work hard.”
Our meals arrived just then, and the purple-skinned demoness also began eating with us.
After a while, she introduced herself.
“My name is Dahlia.”
“I’m Jema, and this is Ririan.”
I was about to introduce myself, but Jema quickly answered first.
“By the way, are you a noble’s child? If you’re getting a knight’s escort?”
“She’s a friend of the captain.”
“Captain? Which captain? 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th…?”
Mr. Charles asked Dahlia with a sly smile on his face.
“Hehe. You might be surprised if you find out.”
“Don’t tell me it’s not—”
“What if I say it is?”
Dahlia put her food down and looked at Jema and me, quickly adjusting her posture.
“I-I’m very sorry!”
“You don’t have to. We’re not nobles.”
“What? Are you kidding me?”
Dahlia got angry with Mr. Charles and picked up her bowl of food again.
It was a lively meal time.
“So, what’s their identity?”
“I told you. They’re friends of the captain.”
“Exactly. Which captain?”
Mr. Charles held up two fingers in front of Dahlia.
“Oh, that little one.”
“Even if he’s young, a captain is still a captain.”
“Tch.”
Dahlia clicked her tongue and twirled her empty bowl.
Eeeeeeng~
A very irritating siren sound began to pierce through the sound of the rain outside.
“This is! Enemy invasion alert!”
“But the terrorist attack has already been suppressed!”
“The interrogation expert got information that enemies are hiding all over the country.”
That interrogator is me.
Looking out from inside the store, all the shops were hastily barricading their entrances.
Even the owner of the restaurant we were in was busy blocking the entrance with a large table.
“Everyone is moving in an orderly manner.”
“Though we’re a bit far from the border, these people always keep war in mind.”
Mr. Charles had quickly drawn his sword and asked the shop owner where the back door was.
“By the kitchen….”
After quickly entering the kitchen and coming out, Mr. Charles led us to the back door.
“Since it just rang, we can move quickly and get to the hotel safely.”
“Wait a second. The hotel? Why a hotel?”
“Just follow me.”
Mr. Charles opened the door without explaining anything to Dahlia.
The streets were eerily quiet, like a dead mouse.
All the stores had closed their curtains and peeked outside through the gaps.
From somewhere not too far away, the sounds of metal clashing were heard.
Then, just like last time, figures in masks emerged.
The difference this time was that they were all clad in dark brown leather armor.
“Wow. There are some reckless ones wandering around the streets?”
“Hand over everything you have and your lives!”
One of them shouted as he charged forward with a spear.
Clang!
The spear was blocked by a sword and bounced back, but then it ruthlessly stabbed toward the target again.
Mr. Charles narrowly avoided the spear, which changed to a bright red color, causing an explosion.
Surrounded by the explosion, Mr. Charles quickly rolled on the ground.
“Charles!”
Dahlia shouted as she ran towards him.
“I don’t have my sword right now. I’ll support you with magic.”
“Support?”
Jema gathered mana and conjured balls of fire and ice in the air.
A hot yet chilly sensation trickled down my back.
Fiery orbs spun threateningly around the enemies, while ice shards were rapidly shot toward their heads.
Even getting hit once would prevent them from moving properly, and the enemies were hit multiple times.
I took advantage of the downed enemies, swiftly cutting the tendons at their ankles with my dagger.
At least if they regained consciousness, they wouldn’t be able to follow us easily.
We had taken out four enemies.
There was no way they had attacked the city with just those four.
Reflecting on the train station terrorist attack, they must be a minimum of a platoon in size.
From a distance, the sound of another explosion erupted, followed by loud cheering.
Charles, now regaining his composure, wiped his rain-soaked hair back with a swift motion.
“I’m going serious from now on.”
“Are you really a knight?”
“Shut up. I just didn’t dodge in the right direction.”
Mr. Charles’ words weren’t false.
Having seen his skills at the train station before, this time truly was just bad luck.
Given the color of the enemies’ armor, the streets painted a picture resembling muddy waters.
“For now, let’s head to the hotel.”
“Exactly. Why the hotel?!”
Dahlia asked in frustration, and Mr. Charles reluctantly replied.
“Because the captain is there. That’s where the command center is.”
“Um, the captain isn’t at Aila Hotel right now, you know?”
“What?”
At my words, Mr. Charles stopped his hurried footsteps.
“Where did they go?”
“They left in the morning saying they were going to check on the train station’s condition.”
Mr. Charles paused to think for a moment and then made a decision.
“We’re going to the hotel.”
“But the captain isn’t there either! Why go to the hotel?”
“That’s the gathering point.”
Mr. Charles said only that and began walking again.
Though the distance to the hotel wasn’t far, enemies were spread like a spider’s web along the way.
Getting through that was akin to jumping straight into enemy territory.
It was dangerous, but there were no alternatives.
Dahlia drew her sword and charged ahead alongside Mr. Charles.
Jema and I stayed not too far behind, covering them as we moved.
Mr. Charles was rampaging like an enraged bull as if making up for his earlier mistake.
As he displayed majesty by breaking the enemies’ spears, they hesitated to close in.
I took care of the approaching enemies so Jema could cast her magic freely.
We smoothly pierced through the enemy lines, getting closer to the hotel.
Crack!
Several enemies trembled and fell to the ground as someone wearing a golden mask stood amidst them.
“Jere?”
“Hello~ Comrade.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I was walking while thinking of the angel after what I had to live for, and then these guys rushed at me.”
This proved that Jere was not allied with the masked figures.
“What’s that guy doing!”
“The guy in the golden mask is not our ally! Kill him too!”
It seemed that some of the enemies mistook Jere for one of their own and left him alone.
“Then shall we clean up?”
With the unexpected arrival of reinforcements, our situation improved significantly.
Jema’s magic targets multiple enemies at once, while Jere’s was straightforwardly area-based.
Similar yet completely different styles of attack.
I had thought we had gained one more protector, but Jere required no guarding whatsoever.
Most of the enemies couldn’t even approach Jere.
Thanks to that, I could focus on protecting Jema while concentrating on the fight.
“Hm. You’d make a good test subject, you know. Want to be a test subject?”
While fighting, Jere proposed the idea of becoming a test subject to an enemy.
As the adversary rushed at him, ignoring Jere’s words, a bolt of lightning struck his back.
“Tch. What a shame.”
What kind of experiment was Jere conducting?
By the time we broke through and reached the hotel, the area was already in chaos.
Enemies in crimson leather armor and armed soldiers were mixed in a fierce battle.
Among them were individuals not dressed as soldiers, wielding staffs or axes.
The closer we got to the hotel, the more chaos ensued.
There were people transporting the injured into the hotel and others lying around resting.
Mr. Charles quickly stopped a passing allied soldier to ask questions.
“Who is in command here?”
“It’s Mr. Gamon.”
“And Aila?”
“She went to the train station. That’s where it’s fiercest.”
It seemed it would be wise to head straight to the train station.
“I need to drop by the room for a moment.”
“Why?”
“I left my sword behind.”
When Jema said she needed a sword, the soldier handed over one he had strapped to his side.
“Use this. It’s from a dead soldier though.”
Jema examined the sword and swung it lightly.
“It seems alright.”
“Then, let’s head to the train station.”
As we were about to head toward the train station, several soldiers approached us.
“Please take us with you.”
“Come along.”
Once Mr. Charles gave permission, we turned into a squad-sized group.