“I found Greedg!”
On the eighth day since the siege began at Ischia Castle, on the night of the 28th of the platinum moon, I, Safi, finally caught sight of Greedg.
I cautiously sent out undead crows for reconnaissance to avoid detection by aerial monsters, and despite suffering numerous casualties, I achieved that mission today.
“Really! Where is it?!”
“You’re so loud.”
Safi, with an expressionless face, admonished Charlotte, who reacted as if she were about to jump.
The place where the two held their secret meeting was at the end of an unfrequented corridor within the castle, yet there was no guarantee that someone wouldn’t come by.
And this was a topic that should not yet be heard by anyone else.
“So, where is it?”
In a tone suitable for a whispered secret, Charlotte lowered her voice, and Safi responded with a slightly exasperated expression.
“Even if you ask where, I can only say it’s in the Ischia Hills. Its position is roughly the midpoint between the castle and the village; I caught its figure lounging by a pond there.”
“Hmph, that’s not too far to aim at.”
If they had destroyed Iskia Village long ago and marched further towards the distant villages, they would have had to give up on the extermination. But that concern proved to be unfounded.
“Are you going to go now?”
“Of course!”
Believing that this would mean the end of the stifling siege strategy, Charlotte’s eyes sparkled.
Indeed, it wasn’t just Charlotte; all the students were likely fed up with the current deadlock situation.
Fortunately, there hadn’t been a large-scale offensive since day one, but the constant nighttime and daytime assaults by a half-hearted number of monster troops kept everyone on high alert.
Despite managing to get through without any casualties thus far, if a serious full-scale attack were launched today or tomorrow, it would be extremely dangerous.
The students were mentally and physically exhausted.
“Then I will guide you, so be on your way.”
Safi spoke as if it were someone else’s business, and Charlotte responded with a slightly anxious face.
“Hey, are you really going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine, as long as Shal doesn’t recklessly act alone.”
“I know that. I have at least a skill to conceal my presence, you know.”
She seemed to have brushed aside her own anxiety and turned on her trademark red twin tails as she pivoted and left.
“Waiting outside is Raspun, so take him with you. I’ve set him to follow what Shal says.”
“…Raspun?”
Charlotte turned back with a slightly puzzled face, and Safi coolly responded.
“It’s Raspun, reassuring, right?”
“Uh, Raspun then.”
As usual, exhibiting her strange naming sense, Charlotte murmured vague words of affirmation and negation.
“Thanks, I’ll make use of him.”
With that, she left.
—
Before dawn at Ischia Castle, another gunshot echoed.
The fired bullet blew away the head of a foolishly approaching centaur.
Thus, the number of monster corpses around the castle increased again, as Simon confirmed from the defensive tower’s window.
“…Hah.”
A sigh escaped his small mouth, expressing that he felt no joy in taking down a Rank 2 monster.
“Frustrated” seems appropriate.
At first, he felt a significant contribution to the defense from sniping down numerous monsters, but with the continual emergence of them, it had grown monotonous.
“Looks like about ten more will appear before my shift is over.”
Mumbling that while loading bullets into his sniper rifle, “Yatagarasu Type 2.”
The prototype rifle can hold five shots, but since he could dedicate himself to sniping from this height, it was a natural choice to use this one, which excels in power and range, even if loaded with just one round.
The “Yatagarasu,” which had performed exceptionally in the Arzas battle, had been modified by the Stratos Blacksmith Shop for more serious sniping. Its usability was incomparable to the makeshift first model.
Using this gun, hitting monsters that came within the range illuminated by the magical lights was not particularly difficult for Simon. It was just work.
His role, not being specially gifted with night vision or using any reconnaissance magic, was simply to shoot the monsters that approached erratically.
Therefore, he didn’t need to be constantly on alert for the presence of enemies lurking in the darkness.
Moreover, although it was not sunrise yet, the sky was beginning to lighten slightly, and it was the time when the magical lights would soon extinguish.
The thick rain clouds that had been intermittently pouring and stopping for the past few days still dominated the sky.
Today seemed likely to be a heavy downpour; he had an odd premonition about it.
“Yawn.”
He involuntarily yawned.
It wasn’t just laziness; rather, it was likely due to accumulated fatigue.
Simon was not the only one; the other students stationed in this defensive tower felt the same way.
Eddie, who was dozing off, had just been poked again with a short staff by the serious-looking class representative, Shena.
Additionally, the dimly lit interior of this robust stone defensive tower only further invited sleepiness.
(I’ve got to stay alert; it’s dangerous if we’re attacked during such a time.)
He admonished himself and tightened his focus.
(But why haven’t the monsters launched a full-scale attack? There are plenty that seem to dangle like targets… Could it be that not everything is under control due to the parasitism?)
Even a novice alchemist would inevitably find themselves pondering about the enemy while standing on the front lines.
Students had already shared information that the Monster Legion was led by Greedg’s parasitic abilities.
However, the details weren’t clear enough to make precise predictions about the enemy’s movements.
Whether this continuous half-hearted assault had some deeper motive or was merely the commander’s laziness remained unknown.
In any case, it was a fortunate situation for those besieged, as they could reliably buy time.
At that moment, while he continued to keep a watchful eye, something caught his attention.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, he thought he saw a figure flash past his line of sight.
He reflexively pointed his gun, but all that lay below was the centaur he had just taken down, with no one else in sight.
“Was it just my imagination…? No, it wasn’t…”
Thinking back, he felt it had been a girl. Her long hair must have flowed behind her as she dashed by.
(Could she have been someone who was parasitized?)
There hadn’t been any casualties among the students during their encounter with Greedg while retreating.
However, he had heard that many of the teachers who had held the rear guard had lost their lives.
But if she had been captured by a monster, it was entirely possible she could be used as a new host.
They had also been cautioned that they too could end up in that situation.
If parasitized, they would have to kill their comrades without hesitation.
(No, the defense has been going well up until today. It won’t come to that, surely…)
At that very moment.
“Enemy attack—!”
A booming voice rang out, as if to herald the dawn like a morning bell.
“This time from the West Gate!”
“The front-line team, hurry over!”
The previously languid atmosphere was wiped away, rapidly transforming into the tense air of the battlefield.
Eddie, who had seemed sleepy just a moment ago, was the first to grab his beloved longsword and charge out.
“Wait! Look, from this direction—”
A sharp-eyed archer student pointed from the small window of the defensive tower.
Beyond his fingertip, sunlight was rising over the gentle hills.
“Wha, hold on, no way…”
In front of that morning sun stood a large gathering of monsters.
January 28, 2013
In Episode 322 “Protectors of Iskia Village,” Nel’s line “I’m telling you to fall back! I will execute you for treason!!” is a recollection from Chrono and not something directed at Nakim at that moment.
I thought that breaking the text with line spacing and the following sentences made it clear, but it seems it inadvertently caused misunderstanding. I apologize for that.