Chapter 202
“Lady Diolia.”
“…Princess Shione, don’t push!”
I caught a glimpse of Shione’s back, awkwardly positioned with her sword raised against Diolia.
A knight is fundamentally a sword that protects their lord.
Diolia has always drawn her sword to safeguard Shione, yet I’ve never seen them pointing their blades at each other like this.
It was bewildering.
“Lady, lower your sword.”
“…I’m sorry, but I can’t comply with that command.”
Just from a glance, the situation looked precarious.
Diolia’s sword flickered with a blue light, while Shione’s sword lacked such powerful energy, and I could clearly see that she was being pressured by Diolia’s subtle force.
If Diolia wished, she could easily strike past Shione and swing that deadly blade at my throat.
Even in the midst of the chaos, some rationality remained. I hurriedly stood up, taking advantage of the moment where Shione couldn’t engage her.
“…Lady Diolia?”
My quiver was set aside, and my bow rested next to it.
The only weapon within my immediate grasp was the sword at my waist, so I prepared myself to draw it at any moment.
“……!”
The instant my voice reached her, Diolia’s unfocused gaze shifted from Shione to me, a look of malice forming behind her.
Her blurry, vacant eyes, devoid of focus, gave the impression of gazing at a madman or a creature without reason, which quickly assured me that she was not in her right mind.
As my view elevated, I could finally see Shione’s profile and the expression plastered on her face.
‘Just as I thought…’
There was no way Diolia would draw her sword and charge in a fit of madness for no reason at all.
I’ve only seen Shione wear such a cold expression twice before: when she faced the demon that appeared beyond the castle walls and when she witnessed her mother, Ainel, behead a demon right in front of her.
The icy blaze in her eyes was likely witnessing the devilry afflicting Diolia.
“…Excuse me for a moment!”
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
At that, Shione thrust her body forward as if refusing to lose, blocking Diolia who was crazily advancing towards me.
In a split second, to quickly suppress her, I braced my sword, aiming to strike.
Whew─!
A fierce wind began to swirl, enough to jolt even an unprepared body.
“……!”
“Ah…!”
The storm brewed between Diolia and Shione.
I hurriedly grasped the collar of Shione’s garment from behind and tugged her towards me.
At that moment, the three spirits began to appear around us.
The three high-tier spirits governing wind, water, and earth began to unleash mana recklessly to subdue a single expert knight. In an instant, Diolia was bound by the spirits and knelt down.
“These spirits are─”
Following Shione’s unintentional remark about the sudden spirit intrusion, I quickly discerned them and answered her.
“They are the spirits of Airine Ianette.”
The three spirits had been used to slay a plethora of monsters during the day.
They were steadfast spirits, dutifully carrying out Airine’s orders.
Amidst the gentle glow of the spirit’s faint flame, a woman’s black silhouette slowly approached us.
“…I came because of a minor commotion.”
Even in the dark of night, her scarlet hair stood out vividly, contrasting with the hint of annoyance and fatigue on Airine’s face as she regarded Diolia, who was restrained by the soil-manipulating spirit, flailing her arms.
“It seems similar events are transpiring here as well.”
Airine Ianette.
She appeared to know something about this situation.
*
While completely overpowering Diolia, Airine began to explain the current circumstances.
“The situation is dire. The elves, who were either on watch or slightly distant, are showing hostility towards our side.”
“……”
“It seems like some of them are showing signs of mental confusion; I hurried to tie them up over there before coming here. If I had been any later, it could have become dangerous. I still don’t know the exact reason─”
“I felt magic. It was quite foul. Thanks to that, I was able to respond immediately.”
Airine nodded toward Shione’s resolute reply.
After a moment, she seemed to agree with Shione’s words.
“Under the premise that it’s the wicked demon’s tricks, it’d be better to investigate further.”
Having finished completely binding Diolia, Airine spoke with her usual indifferent expression while gazing down at Diolia.
“I’ve confirmed that some of those who received strong shocks are beginning to regain their sanity. Probably, as Princess Shione suggested… those affected by the magic seem to awaken easily due to the shock.”
She was observing the bewildered gaze of Diolia.
“It doesn’t seem that the knight is deeply affected by the magic. So, may I propose that the Young Lady try to awaken the knight?”
“Awaken? You mean, by shocking her?”
“Yes, for a knight, a strong slap should suffice to bring them back to their senses.”
“Ah.”
Shione began to quietly alternate her gaze between her right hand and Diolia’s cheek.
I could see numerous thoughts rising and dissipating over her azure eyes.
Did I just slap Diolia? They say a strong hit could bring her back… but what if she doesn’t wake up after that? Should I avoid slapping her? No, it does seem a bit wrong to not even try…
Such inner turmoil. My lady’s thoughts were easily readable.
I just shook my head quietly, as I was annoyed by the predicament I found myself in.
“Go ahead and slap her.”
“…Really?”
“It’s far better than seeing Lady Diolia restless and unable to regain her senses, behaving in such an unbecoming manner in front of her lord. If there’s a chance she could regain her composure, she’d undoubtedly prefer to take a slap and quickly regain her wits.”
With enticing words, I casually lured Shione’s interest once more.
“Hmm……”
“Lady Diolia is a true knight, and the greatest disgrace of a knight would be showing a disgraceful display before their lord.”
I was just weaving words as persuasively as I could.
“Right now, it’s Princess Shione who must stop her knight from being disgraced.”
Even if my words were slightly off or flawed, it didn’t matter.
As long as I caught the gist of it, it would be fine.
Amidst the half-baked words I had thrown out, Shione swallowed hard and nodded.
“…I’ll do it.”
Shione lowered her posture, bringing herself eye-level with the kneeling knight.
“……?”
Shione placed her right hand over Diolia’s cheek.
“Hmm…”
The moment I saw determination shining in Shione’s gaze, a sharp glint radiated from her striking blue eyes.
Whoosh!
Her right hand flew up high, slicing through the air in a straight line.
Then, it landed squarely across the unguarded cheek of a knight.
Smack─!
“Uh….”
…That’s going to hurt.
In sync with the harsh sound, clarity began creeping back into Diolia’s once-dazed eyes.
Slowly focusing on Shione after having been slapped blankly, Diolia finally opened her mouth.
“…Princess Shione? What on earth is happening?”
“Do you not remember anything, Lady Diolia?”
“Um… it feels like I was floundering in a light slumber…. My memories are vague, starting from the moment I was on guard.”
“Do you not remember drawing your sword to slay Ray?”
“…Did I do that?”
“Not only Ray; your blade nearly touched my neck as well. It was quite a thrill.”
“……I displayed such disgraceful behavior. I will be sure to apologize properly for this.”
“……”
“…I have no excuse. Perhaps it wouldn’t be inappropriate to commit seppuku as atonement for this.”
“Ah, no…! Seppuku, what are you saying?! Just sheathe your sword!”
“Guh… Ray, will you be alright?”
No, regardless, what’s with this seppuku nonsense?
Even if it’s a way to express how sorry she feels, isn’t that a bit much?
Seeing Diolia, who suddenly appeared to be sweating profusely and was all over the place, I just shook my head quietly.
“Please sheath your sword. It would be much more burdensome if you did otherwise.”
“Well then….”
Saying that, Diolia lowered her head to both Shione and then me, expressing her regret.
I’d never imagined she’d be aiming for me while I was asleep. Ensuring I’d receive her apology in a material form later, it was time to swiftly settle the situation.
Airine pointed out that we could no longer remain idle.
“It seems unfortunate, but it appears we won’t be able to sleep easily tonight.”
She was right, indeed.
Not only was Diolia causing havoc, but there were likely more elves creating chaos around us.
“It seems something lurking in our surroundings is shaking our spirits. We must be wary of when they could ambush us.”
Given the enemies that were disturbing the spirits of those on watch, it would be wise to consider that there were likely threats lurking in the nearby shadows.
“Having sufficiently rested, it would be best for us all to gather in the center and keep our eyes wide open throughout the night.”
Responding appropriately to her words, Airine finally released Diolia from her binding.
With that, Diolia rose and began to assess her condition, lightly rubbing her left cheek.
“By the way… my cheek stings a little. Did I fall and hit my head while the spirits restrained me? It feels like the inside of my mouth is bruised.”
…Shione’s hand must be quite strong. I nodded quietly as I heard her mention that.
In response to that, Shione momentarily appeared shocked, then shot a pouting look at Diolia as if to say, “You brought this upon yourself.”
