Interlude: Meanwhile, the Hero and Mastermind...
Shortly before the minotaur and revenants appeared, Rio, Aishia, and Celia were flying above the forest, on their way to Amande, when Aishia pointed in the direction they were heading.
“Haruto, there’s a big battle happening over there,” Aishia said, pointing in the direction they were heading towards. Rio immediately focused his eyes where Aishia was pointing and nodded.
“...So it seems. Ode is blowing about all over the place in that area.”
Carried in Rio’s arms, Celia pouted and strained her eyes too, but was unable to perceive the essence. “I can’t see anything...”
“One of the groups fighting are monsters.” Aishia noted.
“How can you tell?” Rio asked.
“It’s different from spirits. Monsters have their own unique presence that they emit. I don’t like it. I can feel a lot of monster auras in that area,” Aishia explained.
“I see. So the ones being attacked are people?”
“Probably.”
Rio thought for a moment. “...Let’s check out what’s going on. It’s pretty disturbing that it’s happening this close to Amande.”
“Okay,” Aishia nodded, before the three of them flew closer to the battle from above.
Rio observed the scene unfolding below him. “Knights? It looks like a noble party is being attacked. They’re surrounded by a tremendous number of monsters...”
“Augendae Corporis. ...Wow, there really is a lot of them. Will they be okay?” Celia asked.
“A swarm of goblins and orcs... They’re outnumbered, but they do look like they’ll be able to hold out. It doesn’t seem like there are any deaths, either...” But they still shouldn’t let their guard down, Rio thought.
Knights that had their physical abilities enchanted by magic shouldn’t be taken down by any individual goblin or orc, but with this many numbers, the fight could get messy.
“There’s someone really strong there, too,” Aishia said, pointing out a woman on the road who had pushed particularly far into the enemy lines. It was Aria.
“...You’re right. Maybe she’s using an ancient artifact containing a powerful body-enhancing sorcery?” Rio’s eyes widened, looking at Aria.
Aria was gracefully and indifferently dropping the heads of the monsters one after another. Raymond and the others were watching her from a little further back in dumbfounded amazement.
“Do you mean that woman fighting at the front of the road?” Celia asked, straining her eyes harder. Augendae Corporis didn’t enhance vision as much as Rio and Aishia’s spirit arts could, so she couldn’t see the fighters all that well.
“That’s the uniform attendants and waiting maids wear, right?” Celia doubted her eyes at the sight of the woman in an attendant’s uniform, fighting monsters.
“Yes,” Rio nodded with a faint smile, when Celia’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Wait... Huh?”
“Is something the matter?” Rio asked Celia curiously.
“Ah, no... She just looked like my friend... Aria...?” Celia tilted her head in doubt.
“Your friend is down there?” Rio asked in surprise.
“Y-Yeah. That woman wearing the attendant clothes and swinging the sword — she’s a friend of mine that serves the Ricca Guild, or rather, Duke Cretia’s daughter, I think. I couldn’t see clearly, though...” Celia nodded in confusion.
“Your friend who serves Duke Cretia’s daughter...” Which meant that the master she served could also be within that group of people, Rio thought. If so, it made sense for there to be so many knights escorting her.
Which makes her master Liselotte Cretia... Rio surmised.
“Haruto, something’s weird. Those are the same monsters that attacked us before,” Aishia said, pointing at the swarm of monsters Aria was fighting. There was a cluster of revenants.
“...You’re right. Those are strong... Will she be okay?” Combat skills aside, their incredible sturdiness and physical abilities meant that even a magic-enhanced knight would have trouble taking one down.
“There are several more strong monsters in the woods too,” Aishia said with a strangely stern voice.
“MROOOH!” The roar of the minotaur echoed all the way up to the sky as it leaped out onto the road.
“That’s... That’s here too?” Rio’s eyes widened greatly.
“H-Hey, is that...?” Celia asked Rio worriedly.
“The monster I defeated after it attacked us during the outdoor drill while I was at the Academy.”
“That’s a minotaur, right...? Ah, Aria!” Celia cried out; Aria had started running towards the minotaur and group of revenants below.
“...Wow, she’s going against that swarm of monsters,” Rio muttered in awe. Aria was in the middle of a hard fight. She couldn’t eliminate them instantly like goblins and orcs and was forced to go on the defensive, making it hard for her to fight properly.
“Aria...” Celia looked down at Aria in frustration.
“Professor...” Rio glanced at Celia’s face uneasily. “Aishia,” he said, but Aishia was paying no attention to Rio’s voice, staring fixedly on the forest below instead.
“Aishia?”
“...Sorry, what was that?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It was just my imagination. What is it?” Aishia shook her head, but her words still bothered Rio a little.
“I have an idea, so I’m going to join the fight below. Can you take the Professor somewhere safe?” Rio asked.
Aishia hesitated for a moment before agreeing. “...Got it.”
Flustered, Celia spoke up with a conflicted expression. “Huh?! Ah, no, you can’t! It’s dangerous!” Her feelings of hoping that Rio could save her friend and reluctance to let Rio head into danger were causing quite a conflict in Celia’s heart.
“Professor, your friend is struggling down there...”
“Another one,” Aishia’s voice said sharply. Her gaze was locked on the new minotaur that had landed right in the middle of the party’s formation.
“That looks bad. I need to hurry — I’m counting on you, Aishia!” With that, Rio rapidly descended to the ground.
Meanwhile, as Rio approached the battle —
Whoa, that was close. Phew. How unlike me to nearly slip up like that... Reiss lurked in the forest, concealing his presence. Covered by the trees of the forest, he couldn’t see the skies above, but his awareness was turned far overhead.
While I may have noticed belatedly, I somehow managed to finish sending out the pawns. I should refrain from using my powers anymore from here on out. Otherwise, someone will notice me. A cold sweat ran down his back.
However, this spirit aura... Does it really mean what I think it means? And after I finally came so far, too. What an unfortunate series of events. Now, let’s see how things turn out... His face, hidden under the cloak, carried a rare expression of thought. He pondered worriedly.
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