chapter 21
21 – Confession (3)
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It’s the worst.
Is there a phrase that can better express the situation I am in right now than this sentence?
Lily’s magic, which was developed by pouring mana at best, was used on a person who could only be called ordinary compared to the overwhelming size of the Lycanthrope, which should have been the original target.
While Lily prepares the magic again, the three minutes that will take me to protect her have already been ruined.
Still, I tried not to be vigilant in my own way, and the result was like this.
-Kreurreuk… .
The gaze of the man who had been watching over me, who had been attacked and pinned to a tree, hid its existence, and the forest was once again filled with its own bleak darkness.
That alone made it clear that, unlike the hot-tempered guy from before, he wouldn’t easily let his guard down, even against me and Lily, whose mana was running out.
“Be, berry! It’s okay… you! Pa, pal!!”
However, unlike me who noticed this, Lily took advantage of the disappearance of the big, black thing that had been pressuring her to even breathe so that it was not comfortable, and hurriedly ran towards me.
Not knowing that for that big guy, having two prey gathered in one place was something he didn’t really want.
Then, using the sword as a staff with her right hand, she raised her body and spat out a voice to Lily, who ran toward me. A voice of pain mixed with blood and phlegm.
“…Your arm is fine. Run away sooner than that. What he’s aiming for right now is probably the princess.”
I took a deep breath, said that, and grabbed the sword that I was not sure if I was aiming at the enemy properly. I’ll hold on to that guy, so it’s a blatant signal to you to quickly run away.
She bites her lips tightly as if resentful of her words and actions, which can be said to be a bit arrogant for her, who has become such a sacrificial, and in a way, a princess character with a strong sense of pride.
I didn’t notice the guy’s approach and allowed the attack, but instead of myself, I was slammed by the guy’s huge front paws.
… No, maybe he feels even more resentful and helpless because he doesn’t even have the magic power to use the magic again. She was already showing signs of depletion of her magical powers with just that colorless magic she had just cast.
In any case, maintaining the status quo is not good.
It’s something that you don’t know when he’ll attack again, and this situation where we’re in his attack range together.
I wouldn’t know if each other’s condition was perfect, but it was obvious that it would become poison in this halfway state.
“I’m fine, so please run away and inform the instructor of the incident. No matter how you look at it, it’s not a size that a first year student can handle.”
So I persuaded her. So that she can choose the most likely way to keep herself safe.
Originally, this event is an event that doesn’t appear until all the instructors are done.
Even those of us who are directly at the site did not feel the existence until we got close to it, and it is impossible for the instructor waiting at the assembly point to notice this and appear to protect us.
And Lily must have realized that much because she also felt it with her own skin, between the realistic option of somehow escaping and quickly calling the instructor, and the emotional choice of not being able to leave me, who sacrificed herself instead of herself. I felt conflicted.
Lily’s gaze at me telling me that I had made a reckless determination to send her away and stand up to that man of overwhelming size alone with an injured body.
Eventually, the moment Lily tried to move her mouth towards me with a determined expression.
“me…!”
Lily had no choice but to close her open lips again. It was because my eyes, stealthily looking at her, stopped her from doing anything.
Eventually, Lily, who could not stand my eyes, turned her steps and was about to run toward the assembly point, at the moment when she spoke to me in a voice filled with a bit of despair.
“Mi-I’m sorry, Berry… I don’t think I’ll be able to do that favor.”
In the place where her eyes were headed, there were two wild boar monsters that she had killed many times before reaching this point.
If she entered the academy at the top of her class, she belonged to a monster that could be defeated enough, but she is a sorceress whose job is not to fight with her body. Without magical powers, it was just a body that was no different from a normal woman.
‘As expected, I’ve consumed most of my mana with the previous magic.’
Selina was exhausted as soon as she used that magic, so in a way, it was a natural result. And it was such a pleasant surprise for those monsters.
As my hostility turned toward the wild boar monsters that appeared to block Lily’s way, the faintly felt lycanthrope energy soon faded to the point where I couldn’t feel it at all if I didn’t pay attention.
Maybe even my cleverness is different from that guy, whether I die in battle with the wild boar monster, or whether I’ll be more battered than I am now… In any case, it felt as if I, the prey, were waiting for a worse situation than now, when I can’t use my left arm.
In the end, my lifespan only increased from one minute to about 10 minutes, but even so, I had no choice but to point my sword at two mere monsters, not at that unpleasant darkness.
“I’ll get rid of those two monsters, so run as soon as they stop breathing.”
Because she couldn’t use magic, even those two monsters could pose a fatal threat to her life.
For me, who had repeatedly promised myself that I would watch over the person I love, the option of not knowing her danger was not a consideration from the beginning.
“You, are you going to fight that monster in that state? With two of them?”
she asked, looking at me with crazy eyes.
With his left arm in tatters, a swordsman who was out of breath and determined to lead a weary body to fight two monsters.
… Well, it sure makes me look crazy.
Considering the skills of a typical academy entrant, this was a reckless and arrogant choice. It was clear that the words would be appropriate for the extras who were looking for all the forms of pretending to be cool in front of a pretty girl.
Not to mention, if even Ian, the main character, was in the same situation as me, he would have no choice but to allow fatal wounds to two monsters over there.
However, having obtained the title of top admission, it was a shame to say that I was a general academy freshman, and I was confident and confident that I, who was still better than Ian, was confident.
I’m pretty sure I can defeat these guys.
“They can be knocked down.”
But I’m sure we won’t be able to match the guy who watches us silently in the dark and licks his lips.
So when I looked at her with the will to open a way for you to escape, she asked me, blatantly avoiding my gaze.
“If you had the stamina and skills to do that…you could have just left me and ran away by yourself. It’s more likely that you will survive if you run away alone, rather than me who might get caught while running away alone.”
“There is a chance that I will live even once in ten thousand, but isn’t there a chance that the princess will live even once in ten thousand?”
A life that could die if you don’t do it, it’s because I like it here before you die. To the extent of risking his life.’ I wanted to say the same thing, but
I thought that such remarks in this situation might rather become shackles holding her ankles, so it seems realistic at first glance, but it is just a delusion.
I ended up spitting out a pun like a resurgence of an acorn key, like comparing 0% to 0.01%.
In a way, at my remark that seemed to stimulate my pride, Lily kept her mouth shut and quietly moved behind my back while watching the monsters. Soon after, she squeezed out her remaining magical energy to create a light that brightened my vision.
Then, the shape and size of the clearly visible monsters. And I could even feel the movement of the lycanthrope, who hid deeper in fear of being seen.
“…The imperial family will never forget what they suffered. Especially if it is a favor received.”
“The princess?”
I hear her voice quietly behind my back. That’s what she once said to me when she hated me to death. It is said that the royal family will never forget what happened to them.
However, this was the first time I had heard the words that followed, so I could only look at her with a bewildered expression.
Unlike that time when she looked at me with vicious and ferocious eyes, which was different from that time, she looked at me with eyes that seemed to suppress her sadness somewhere and said.
“So you must survive. You must survive until I return. All right? This is an order.”
… Because that one grace is enough that I can’t repay.
Unlike usual, I was proud of my condition, so I couldn’t hear her muttering behind the scenes. Maybe he didn’t even recite the reason for issuing such an order.
Even so, an order that is so unreasonable. Despite the fact that it felt like an order I couldn’t carry out in my current state, I,
I had no choice but to answer like this while looking at the monsters again with a slight smile on my face.
“Order, I will obey.” Called.
Because it was an order from my princess, whom I had been looking forward to as her attendant.
Unlike that time, she had no love for me at all, but no hate, and she looked at me with eyes full of regret and worry.
At the request of the woman I love, I could only nod my head wet with blood and sweat.