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At 4:00 p.m., after seeing
real combat for the first time, the Zack Quartet returned safely to Castle Hill.
Sharon, who was pale at first,
was in good spirits when the village came into sight. Mel and Dan were apparently
terrified of their first battle, but with their childlike adaptability, they
were talking about the battle from the moment we entered the village.
I was holding Sharon’s hand
and thinking.
(The wild dogs are as weak as
goblins. Still, I was left cowering in fear…) (Zack)
I fundamentally didn’t
understand the idea of fighting for my life. The other party was direct with
the intention of killing me. I was frightened by the pure intent to kill that
was directed at me.
In peaceful Japan, it is
unlikely that anyone would ever have the intention to kill me and to kill me
seriously.
(The enemy I might face in the
future is someone who would challenge the gods. Can I keep calm once such a
person’s murderous intent is directed at me…?) (Zack)
Back at the mansion, Guy goes
on to explain to my grandfather and father what happened in the forest.
When Guy apologizes for
putting me in danger, my grandfather gives a small shake of his head.
“It’s normal to be in
danger in the forest. And with you guys with him. There was no real danger.
Isn’t that right, Zack?” (Govan)
I could only nod in agreement.
If I had said anything, I would have confessed that I was trembling with fear
and made Guy and the others feel responsible.
As Guy and the others backed
away, I proceeded to tell my grandfather what I felt.
“…the wild dogs, the
enemy, felt so horrible. I never thought the will to kill me would be so
intense. …Am I a coward?” (Zack)
My grandfather listened to my
story in silence, neither laughing nor getting angry. When I finished, he began
to speak slowly.
“Let me tell you about my
first battle. I was 13 years old when I went into battle. At the time, I was a
new squire in the garrison of Welburn, the capital of the County of Roswell…”
(Govan)
My grandfather began to tell
me the story of his first battle, not of the horror I had felt.
My grandfather was born into a
family of soldiers in the northern province of the Empire of Caelum, the Count
of the Roswell Frontier territory, and at the age of twelve, he joined the
Knight Order as an apprentice.
He was confident in his skills
from that time and was assigned to the garrison as a squire in just one year,
as he could fight on equal terms with a fifteen-year-old squire.
The northern part of the
Caelum Empire was basically a peaceful land, although the emperor in the
imperial capital sometimes sent his troops to the Holy Kingdom of Lux in the
north at his whim.
His grandfather was born a
commoner, but became a squire at the age of thirteen, and was said to have
grown in stature.
At that time, there were
frequent cases of caravans being attacked by bandits around Welburn.
About 100 companies were
dispatched from the garrison to subdue, and their grandfather was also
selected.
The bandits had the cruelty of
killing all, including escorts and merchants. However, on the other hand, he
also has the cunning of skillfully inviting the subjugation team to the hilly
area where the visibility is not clear, and the subjugation team is at the
mercy of the bandits.
Grandfather’s squad was acting
as a scout team to search for the bandits’ whereabouts and was separated from
the main squad.
The bandits ambushed the
scouts and attacked with several times the force. Outnumbered and taken by
surprise, the scouts were cut down and killed before they had time to fight
back.
My grandfather was so
terrified that his body would not listen to him, and he was prepared to die if
he was killed here.
But the bandits were cunning.
They intentionally let my grandfather, who was still a child, escape and tried
to lead the main group away. Grandfather was unaware of this and returned to
the main group, half-crying.
The commander of the strike
team, the company commander, saw through the bandits’ trap and diverted one platoon
behind the bandits while making it look like he was rushing to the scene.
My grandfather was assigned to
the company commander’s squad after his own squad was wiped out, and he watched
his command behavior closely. At first, he could not forgive the company
commander for abandoning his own people, but he changed his mind when he saw
the company commander destroying the bandit group in a subsequent battle and
weeping in front of the bodies of the scouts.
“…You need to make calm
decisions on the battlefield. You protected your young comrades in your first
battle, and you watched the battle even more calmly. There is no shame in
feeling fear. He who does not feel fear cannot be truly strong. My first battle
was terrible. I was so afraid that I could not do anything, I might have put my
allies in trouble. Compared to that, you have done well. You’ll get over your
fear.” (Govan)
My grandfather’s words made me
feel a little better.
I was relieved to hear that my
grandfather, who had risen to knighthood on the strength of his sword, was not
the only one who had felt fear in his first battle.
But I don’t know if the story
is true. It could have been made up to empower me.
Still, I felt that my
grandfather’s empathy for my thoughts would help me overcome my fear.
When I left my grandfather,
Liddy was waiting for me.
“I heard you had your first
fight. How was it?” She was talking to me mischievously, but I could see
on her face that she was worried about me.
“I was scared. I’m still
talking to my grandfather about it. To be honest, I’m not sure I’m cut out for
fighting.” (Zack)
“I guess you’re right. I
don’t expect you to become a warrior like Govie anytime soon. But that doesn’t
mean you’re not cut out for fighting. You just don’t have enough experience.
You will get stronger as you gain experience. I guarantee it.” (Liddy)
Liddy looked a little amused
by the seriousness of my expression.
“Thank you. I’m going to
go to the forest as much as I can from now on. At least I don’t want Liddy and
the others to get hurt because I was cowering in fear.” (Zack)
Liddy laughed at my words but
soon became serious.
“I’m glad to hear that,
but you mustn’t push yourself too far, and you mustn’t get carried away. You’re
too quick to get carried away.” (Liddy)
She hugs me as she says this.
“I’ll try not to push
myself too hard, but I’m worried about Sharon. Mel and Dan seemed to be doing
okay, but Sharon was pretty scared.” (Zack)
Liddy laughs a little,
“I’m sure she’ll be fine.
You were with her, weren’t you? Then she’ll have good memories for the future.”
(Liddy)
I had no idea what she was
talking about, but the next day Sharon came to the house with a smile on her
face, just like any other day.
The only change was that she
wanted to learn swordsmanship.
I asked her why.
“I was scared yesterday,
so I wanted to become stronger… So, I wouldn’t be afraid of getting in the way
of Master Zack…” (Sharon)
I was embarrassed by her words
but immediately went to talk to my grandfather about it.
“Sharon is a mage. The
basic plan is for self-defense. If that is the case, it would be better to
learn from Lydia, whose fighting style is different from mine and Mel’s, which
is to defeat enemies with a sword.” (Govan)
When I mentioned this to
Liddy.
“Govie is right. The
purpose of a rearguard’s swordsmanship is to deal with the enemy’s attacks. I
will teach her in between magic training.” (Liddy)
From that day on, Sharon
learned sword and magic from Liddy.
Liddy uses a short, one-handed
sword, with which she plays down swords and thrusts with quick movements. With
her weak muscles, she does not have the slashing speed of my grandfather, but
she uses a lightweight sword with minimal movement, making it quite difficult
to attack.
In fact, even in a mock battle
with my father, who is about level 30, she can get to a pretty good vantage if she
stays on the defensive.
Sharon was a little
intimidated at first, but she came to be able to handle a sword rather easily,
probably because she watched us train every day.
Training in the forest was
added to our daily routine.
Guy or Hector would accompany
us into the forest, and after a month we began to go into the relatively
dangerous East Forest.
Then, on July 7. Finally, our second
actual battle was to take place.
The day was hot and humid from
the morning, so much so that we were sweating after the morning drill.
After hearing the bell ring at
8:00 a.m., we headed for the eastern forest with Hector, Guy, Will, and Rob the
hunter. We descended Castle Hill and entered the forest through the south side
of the reservoir.
Compared to the West Forest,
the forest is thick with trees, and even in the summer sun, the forest is dimly
lit, and visibility is poor.
Rob, a large, silent hunter
with a beard, leads the way through the forest, knocking down underbrush and
bushes as he goes.
Hector follows behind Rob,
then us, Will, and Guy.
I was equipped with a short
sword, not short for me, and a small round shield. I have no armor that fits,
just a leather hat, vest, and gloves.
Mel has no shield, only a
sword, Dan has a short bow and dagger from practice, and Sharon has a dagger
for self-defense.
This is only our third time in
the East Forest, and we all walk behind Hector with nervous faces.
Today we plan to stretch our
legs near the base of the Aquila Mountains, entering an even more dangerous
zone than usual.
With the noisy chirping of cicadas
as our background music, we continue east through the forest for four hours
until we reach the upper reaches of the Woodford River.
The Woodford River is about
five meters wide and clear, with large boulders rolling in its path.
The green of the trees
reflected on the surface of the river, and the fish glistened as the mid-day
sun shone on the riverbed.
We were tired from our trek
through the deep forest. However, since there were no instructions from Hector,
the captain, we stood, not sitting down, waiting for instructions.
Hector looked around and
announced that we would rest here.
“We’ll rest here. Guy and
Rob, check the surroundings for danger. Will, stay close to Master Zack and the
others. Master Zack, there are many monsters in this area, so be on your guard.”
(Hector)
I nodded, and then I warned
Mel and the others to be on their guard.
“Dan, Mel, Sharon, you
too, be on your guard. You must obey my orders. You understand?” (Zack)
The three of them replied
cheerfully, “”Yes!””
“As soon as Guy and Rob
return, we will eat here. Master Zack, please take a break.” (Hector)
Guy and Rob soon returned and
reported that we were out of danger.
We drop our backpacks and sit
down.
As I unloaded my pack, I
looked at the forest, full of life.
(I’m tired, indeed. I’ve never
been this far before. It’s still an amazing virgin forest. It’s completely
untouched by human hands.) (Zack)
As usual, I spread out my
lunch made by Molly, the head maid.
Recently, both Mel and Sharon
seem to be adding their own dishes to the mix, and they share them with me.
Sometimes the food has a weird taste, but it is well done for a girl of about
eight years old.
We rest for an hour or so and
begin to follow the river back to the village.
The Woodford River flows into
Black Pond, a river with abundant water that often attracts wildlife for a
drink.
On the way back, Rob, the
hunter, was the only one ahead of us as we proceeded in search of prey.
Hector, walking in front of
us, quietly raises his hand and lays himself down.
We also silently lay down, but
all four of us scurried around, not knowing what was going on.
Guy and Will joined Hector
from behind, checking the situation.
“Rob seems to have found
something. It doesn’t look like prey. Until Rob comes back, Will, please escort
Master Zack and the others. Guy, I want you to be ready to cover Rob at any
time.” (Hector)
I didn’t see it, but it seemed
that Rob had spotted something ahead of us and signaled to Hector.
After a few moments of hiding,
we heard a rustling sound, and we tensed up, wondering if a monster had
appeared. But it was Rob who appeared.
“There are goblins in
front of us. There are more than ten of them. What do we do, Master Hector?”
(Rob)
Rob reported in a slightly
accented voice and waited for Hector’s decision.
“Guy, I need an exact
count. Do a reconnaissance.” (Hector)
As he does so, he licks his
finger and points it upward, perhaps to check the direction of the wind.
“If we’re going to go
around, we’ll have to go upwind. Rob, Will, depending on the numbers, be ready to
fight.” (Hector)
They nodded, and Hector turned
to me.
“It depends on the
numbers, but if it’s twenty or so, we’ll annihilate them.” (Hector)
I thought about Mel and the
others, and asked, “Is it impossible to avoid them?”
“If we don’t cross the
river, we will be crossing upwind, and there is a risk that the enemy will
notice us and attack us. In that case, I think it would be less dangerous to
attack by surprise and destroy them all at once.” (Hector)
“I understand. I’ll leave
it to Hector’s judgment,” I said and nodded.
Hector nodded back at me and
then gave instructions to the four of us.
“Around here, it should
be about twenty to thirty. If that’s the number if they are that many, Master
Zack, please attack them with magic. Sharon and Master Zack will also use
magic. Dan, you take aim with your bow at the enemies we missed. Mel, protect
Sharon.” (Hector)
We nodded quietly and began to
prepare ourselves.
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