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After enduring relentless torture and interrogation throughout the day, they finally opened their mouths.

The information we gleaned included several hideouts and their fragmented objectives. That alone was sufficient for the knights and soldiers to take action.

The orders from the church and the head of the family had been issued.

A large-scale operation involving battle priests and paladins from the church was initiated the very next day.

The festival had not ended. Instead, we concealed our appearances and blended into the crowd to track the cultists, gradually narrowing down the search range.

We moved beyond the town center into the slums, areas usually untouched by the law enforcement teams. It was a shabby street with few inhabitants, where the vitality of life was hard to find. Moreover, I could sense an unpleasant odor carried by the wind from afar.

“There! Everyone, silence your presence and follow me. We’ll ambush them at once.”

Siabel Shianella’s eyes shone quietly. It was a hatred suppressed with dramatic composure.

The knights silently nodded.

They muted their footsteps and began to move stealthily.

“Hmm.”

Those who believe in demons. What drives them to worship demons, this category of individuals who cannot comprehend their own understanding even unto death.

As we drew closer to them, I could sense them more distinctly through my senses than before. Such weak magic would have merely caused discomfort before, but today felt different.

It was as if a unique power was descending, growing more intense. A sinister aura oozed from them, its repulsive stickiness touching my skin, causing my nostrils to fill with stagnant air.

Was it in resistance to that malevolence? Today, the mana surged stronger, yet it was certainly more refined, pulsating with a powerful rhythm.

“Stand by. The moment we see them, strike immediately.”

Siabel’s command reverberated calmly.

The knights placed their hands on the worn leather grip of their swords. They readied their stances, tensing their legs, prepared to spring forward and assault at her command.

“…I heard a group was ambushed yesterday. It would be wise to remain cautious.”

“Did they notice us? We moved so quietly.”

“I heard a magic circle was dismantled, leaving behind red-stained soil. They definitely realized something.”

“Damn it… Tch! With the completion of the grand scheme so close, what terrible luck—”

It was just at the moment when the two women muttered those detestable words, spitting in disdain, that it happened.

Swish!

Siabel unsheathed her sword and lunged forward.

A blue aura as pure as her eyes enveloped her sword.

Exposed and defenseless, Siabel unhesitatingly swept the woman’s legs to the side.

Thud!

“Ah…!”

A sudden shock hit the woman. Her leg lost balance, and she fell to the cold ground, looking utterly confused about what had just happened to her.

Fixing her suspended right foot firmly to the ground, Siabel twisted her waist.

With a swift horizontal arc, her sword glided through the air.

Swoosh!

The cultist’s head thudded to the ground.

“Hah… Hah…!”

Caught off guard at the sudden decapitation of her ally, the woman hesitated, and without a second thought, Siabel plunged her sword into the cultist’s neck.

“Leave no one behind. Eliminate them all.”

What lay before us was a scene most brutal.

The knights were swift. With precise movements, they stepped in rhythm as they executed strikes, taking the lives of our adversaries.

The thick scent of blood wafted through the air. There were quite a number, so it was impossible not to catch the strong smell.

Yet I felt no guilt. My mother had told me. They were leading the army of monsters to the Count’s estate. Furthermore, they aimed to demolish the castle walls built by our forebears to cause even greater chaos.

They were evil to us, and we merely cut down the evil in the name of justice. There was no need to feel guilty for slaying a person. In truth, I didn’t even feel any particular sentiment about it.

But why was that?

“…”

The blood-stained sword felt a little heavier.

“Tch.”

Siabel clicked her tongue.

She had wanted to enjoy this festival with her younger sister and my first disciple.

Instead, she was left wielding such instruments of war instead of indulging in delicious food.

…It had been a long time since she looked forward to something.

Siabel took in the series of events and said, “Good work. Let’s move again.”

The fallen bodies would eventually be taken care of by the late-arriving soldiers.

I and the knights would simply strive to eliminate the cultists lurking in the territory as swiftly as possible.

*

The festival spanned five days.

During that time, Shione and I didn’t enjoy the festivities even once, confined to a corner of the room without stepping outside, and that remained true on the last day as well.

Ainel came to Shione’s room, bearing a stern face, warning her to refrain from going outside due to the troubling situation in the territory. Indeed, we witnessed Siabel, who had previously been out gallivanting, now donning armor and leading knights outside the Count’s manor.

We had no choice but to quietly heed Ainel’s warning.

Afterward, Shione inquired of Ainel about the cultists, but all Ainel would say was that she would inform her in due time, advising her to wait safely in her own room. She mentioned nothing else.

We could only observe the unusually alert knights and the unusually high-ranking figures from the church frequenting the Count’s manor, inferring that we had stumbled upon a significant matter.

And then, on the final day of the festival, at the dusk when the sun began to set, Shione suddenly sprang up from her bed.

“What’s the matter?”

A formal address emerged from her lips before a casual one.

Well, by now, it had simply become second nature.

Having decided to mix my speech appropriately between formal and casual depending on the mood, I continued.

“It’s the last day of the festival! I have something to prepare, hehe.”

“Prepare for what?”

“Just wait a moment in the room. I’ll be right back.”

Shione, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling like a creature just awakening from hibernation, suddenly dashed out of the room with renewed energy, as though she had realized something.

It was not long before Shione returned.

“Tada!”

She re-entered the room holding two wine glasses and a presumably expensive bottle of wine.

“…What’s in your hands?”

“Wine!”

No, it’s not like I’m blind. Did she think I wouldn’t know that?

“Why did you bring wine…?”

“Why do you think I brought it? I brought it to drink with you.”

After saying this, Shione began tidying up the table.

Nom!

She stuffed a cookie left on the plate into her cheek.

Her cheeks puffed up like a rodent holding sunflower seeds.

She then moved the teacups and plates aside and set the wine and glasses on the table.

“All done! Now we just need to wait a bit longer until sunset.”

“Hmm… Is something going to happen when the sun sets?”

“Yep, every year on the last night of the festival, they shoot off fireworks. Since this year’s festival managed to go on until the last day, we should be able to see it soon.”

“Ah….”

I had thought fireworks didn’t exist even in this medieval time, but upon further reflection, in a world filled with magic and divine power, it wouldn’t be surprising if they could afford to invest money and manpower into fireworks.

“Seeing that reaction… You really don’t know what fireworks are, do you? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about them…!”

It seemed like Shione had interpreted those thoughts and voice differently.

Well, given my status as a mere slave, how could I possibly know what fireworks are?

She rambled on about what fireworks were, and I spent time engaging in casual conversation with her.

“So, we can see the fireworks from this room?”

“Of course! You can see the sky right outside this window where I watched alone during the festival every year. It should be visible.”

Saying this, Shione smiled brightly.

“I’m glad I have someone to watch the festival with this time.”

The sun set.

The yellow glow disappeared, giving way to a beautiful black sky adorned with countless stars.

“It should start soon.”

Shione removed the cork from the wine bottle.

The scent of wine wafted up.

She didn’t fill her first glass to the brim. Instead, just pour a little to taste before savoring it properly.

I gazed at her and asked, “Isn’t Lady Shione weak to alcohol?”

“What…?”

“Weren’t you drunk on the wine at the banquet before, that night when you…?”

“Shut up… I’ll only have a little, just a little.”

Shione turned her head away.

Shortly after that, at last, I could behold the fireworks filling the sky.

It felt quite refreshing. I never imagined I would get to see fireworks in this backward medieval fantasy world.

“Cheers!”

Shione raised her glass.

I smiled suitably, clinking my glass with hers, and we enjoyed the wine in silence for a while.

Just as I had finished two glasses and Shione had finished three, I found her not watching the fireworks any longer but quietly gazing at my face.

On festival day, she had expressed the desire for me to initiate the first kiss. To oblige her wish, I moved closer.

The small round table posed no challenge whatsoever.

“Um…”

As our lips met, Shione’s youthful voice resonated.

Feeling her warm breath against my skin. Not content with just that, I sought more of her.

Entwined tongues. The atmosphere grew heated. After a lengthy exchange, we finally parted due to the need for breath.

“Ah…”

Shione’s excited breaths and the marks of our connection proved that our bond had deepened.

Her first kiss was wrapped in the robust taste of wine, blending into a dizzying flavor of love.

*

In the end, just as the ranger had said, we confirmed the unsettling forces moving toward the Count’s manor.

Once again, a scout team was sent out. There were many skilled knights included, Diolia among them, and the number of those who had witnessed the great army reached fifty at least. Surely, they couldn’t collectively answer my inquiries unless they had gone mad.

Thousands… No, tens of thousands of monsters were marching toward the Count’s estate!

Ainel penned a letter.

She, the marquess, had been assigned to oversee the only area of the kingdom that had yet to be purified—the Demonic Realm. The authority she would gain from that realm in times of crisis was incredibly significant.

She would convey the current situation to the royal family, intending to utilize the special authority granted to the head of the Shianella Count’s family by the founding king.

“Diolia.”

“Yes.”

“Is it true that you saw demons among the monsters?”

“If my eyes haven’t lost their clarity, what I’ve seen cannot be wrong. Moreover, even the paladins are certain it’s a demon… there’s no room for doubt.”

“I plan to send letters to the western nobility.”

“Letters, you say?”

“In case of emergency, the Count’s estate has the obligation to mobilize all available forces to halt the demon’s advance. If they haven’t forgotten the rights of enlistment and mobilization bestowed upon us by the founding king, the western nobility should willingly support our troops.”

Ainel examined the map handed over by Diolia.

The map depicted the Beltlin mountains and the territory. The approximate locations of the monsters were marked on the map. The monsters thought to be gruesomely gathered behind the mountains had already descended to the foothills.

This was troubling. The Count’s forces were more numerous and superior to those of other families, but they weren’t strong enough to fend off the vast numbers of monsters.

Moreover, these were not ordinary monsters, but beasts birthed within the tainted lands of the Demonic Realm. Monsters born from lands consumed by magic were all the more ferocious and powerful.

Even the fierce women of the cavalry couldn’t pierce the ocean of strong monsters from the Demonic Realm. The Count’s estate didn’t boast many war-specialized wizards either, akin to those of the Alenarr Marquis Family, making it incredibly disadvantageous to confront such a massive army.

No suitable countermeasures arose in my mind.

Sending out forces to thin their numbers before they reached our territory would be of little use. It is said that the army of monsters with demons among them grows more vicious than ever. Such would surely be a waste of lives.

“We must prepare for a defensive battle.”

Trusting in our sturdy castle walls and knights, it would be best to await support from the west and the royal family.

The specter of war, carrying the fate of the estate, was quietly approaching the Count’s manor.

 

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