I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 1.5

Aside: Salutia

“DAMMIT, they’re catching up!”

“There’s not enough of us to hold them off…!”

Somehow, we’d managed to avoid the goblin pack without casualties, but our good fortune didn’t last. As we crossed an open field, another pack of Fiends was heading right for us. Worse still, they weren’t ordinary Fiends—it was an army of orcs and minotaurs, fully armored and mounted on beasts. And, among them, a single humanoid figure.

“It’s the Basharlians!” shouted one of the guards.

Could Basharl really be conspiring with the Fiendmancers? The enemies of all humanity? Was that why these monsters had come from the north? Had they come from Basharl? The princess was still out there. Would she be all right?

No. What was I thinking?! Of course she would be! I needed to focus on what was going to happen to us in the meantime!

“Th-there has to be something we can do!” I stammered.

“Impossible,” the guard said flatly. “We’re up against elite Fiends! On horseback!”

“Maybe we could lose them in the forest…”

Out here in the middle of the field, there was nowhere to hide. This really was the worst place to run into them. Escape was our only option, but even then, the enemy would catch up with us.

They closed the couple hundred meters between us with ease, and I cringed away from them in fear. The Fiends were nothing like the goblins we’d faced so far. They rode on giant monsters, and they were clearly coming for us. Many of the children started crying. We all knew what would happen next. The Fiends rode across the field, bringing despair with them. No help was coming, but the guards still stepped out in front to defend us. They were well trained enough to save themselves, or could have used us as bait, but they didn’t. Instead, they put their lives on the line for us.

“Run!” one of them called back to us. “Quickly!”

“Yes, we’ll buy you some time!”

Were we destined to be a burden forever? It was easy enough to say that we would stand and fight, but what if our best efforts were worthless? Without the guards there to protect us, we would have scattered already. Maybe he was right. Maybe we should just run…

But my heart swelled with frustration. It was then that I realized something important: I wasn’t afraid of dying. I was afraid of dying a weakling.

“We can’t keep doing this…” I muttered.

“What’s the matter, Salutia?”

“We can’t keep doing this! We can’t keep running away!”

If we did, we’d be using our weakness as an excuse forever.

“Besides,” I said. “Even if we ran, they’d catch us, right?”

“W-well…” the guardsman fell silent. They knew that we couldn’t make it to safety, even with a distraction.

“I don’t want to die like frightened prey! If I’m going to die, then I want to die like a fighter!”

I grabbed my spear, and the guardsman laughed and clapped me on the shoulder, welcoming me in. As my friends saw what was happening, they stopped running and took up their weapons too.

“Salutia keeps stealing the show.”

“She really does.”

We laughed together. I knew they were just putting on a brave face. I was doing the same thing. But it was better than dying afraid.

“Let’s go show them what we’re made of.”

“Yeah!”

“Damn straight!”

I’m sorry, princess. After everything you’ve done to protect us, we’re going to die in this field…

“Fiends!” the human knight shouted. “Destroy those filthy animals!”

I knew he was Basharlian from the way he sneered at us.

“Bring it on!” I shouted back, trying to raise my own spirits. “We’ll show you how stubborn Black Cats really are!”

That was when it happened.

“Well said, my kin!”

“Woof!”

“Huh?”

I turned around and saw a familiar face. Or rather, two familiar faces.

“Wh-what are you doing here…?”

“Lightning Bolt!”

The gray-haired woman leaped forward and shot out a bolt of lightning, leaving me behind in stunned silence. She was mounted on the back of a black wolf, who fired an orb of darkness into the Fiends. Immediately, five of them were blown away, along with their mounts.

Just as we thought we were about to die, these heroes had come to our aid. The cloud of despair lifted, and now the light poured in.

“Lady Kiara…”

“Leave everything to us, child!” she cried back. “Come, Jet!”

“Woof woof!”

What was she doing here? The last I heard, Kiara was confined to the capital. Why was Jet with her? Wasn’t he with the princess? And why was his body covered with wounds?

While we stood there in stunned silence with a million questions on our tongues, Lady Kiara proceeded to crush our enemies. In less than ten minutes, the whole unit was gone.

“W-wow…”

This was the true power of a hero. My heart swelled up with pride.

“Mwa ha ha ha! What a wonderful opportunity to test out my new powers!”

“Woof woof!”

“What?” Kiara twisted around. “You’re right, those riders are getting away. After them, Jet!”

“Woof!”

“Huh? L-Lady Kiara, wait!”

She looked back over her shoulder. “Apologies, child. But I must go after them! Worry not, the adventurers from Green Goat shall be here soon!”

“Never mind us!” I called after her. “The princess! You must help Fran!”

“That was the plan all along! I’ll join her as soon as I’m done here!”

“Woof!”

The princess was going to be okay. With Lady Kiara fighting beside her, we didn’t have anything to worry about. Kiara and Jet sped away to the north, heading for the princess.

“Lady Kiara, Princess… please…just be safe.”