Chapter 204: A Voice Calling Longdagger 4
The third miscalculation suddenly sprung up out of nowhere.
And the one most surprised by that miscalculation was me.
Why can I cut that far?
It was more than expected, or rather, completely unexpected. Stretching endlessly—the Magicka Blade.
This isn’t good. I instinctively realized that.
Stop, stop, stop! I willed the endlessly stretching Magicka Blade not to extend any further, but naturally, the Magicka I had already poured into it wouldn’t stop.
And the horde of Monsters charging before my eyes wouldn’t stop either.
Ah, this is really bad.
I gave up, just hoping it would only end up shaving off a bit of the Fortress.
The moment I swung the Sword through, I definitely felt the sensation of cutting Monsters. …Ah, no good, I cut something a bit hard.
“Hey, Masked Man.”
From behind, Yuunou-san’s extremely cold voice reached me.
In the silence, which felt like a lie compared to the clamor of Monster roars and footsteps just moments before, that voice carried remarkably well.
“You can take responsibility for this, can’t you?”
“It’s fine, I didn’t feel like I cut a person.”
As I turned around and answered, Yuunou-san sighed at me.
Behind me, I sensed a large number of Monsters collapsing, turning into Magic Stones and Magic Stone Fragments, but I was too scared to look back.
It should be fine.
The sensation of cutting was certainly hard; I think it was just the edge of the Citadel wall. I want to think so.
“I see. Well, I’ll believe you. But from the perspective of the person standing on the Citadel wall that the Masked Man cut, whether they were ‘directly cut or not’ probably doesn’t matter much, does it?”
—Huh?
As I turned back, Yuunou-san gestured towards the Citadel with his finger. I had a terribly bad feeling.
I had a strong premonition it was exactly as I feared.
I extended my gaze to where Yuunou-san was pointing.
At a distance of two hundred feet, even with Physical Enhancement active, I shouldn’t have been able to hear a voice.
And yet, I definitely heard that voice.
“Thanks for the welcome! My friend!”
Atop the Citadel, atop the Citadel still surrounded by a horde of Monsters. A girl waving her hand with such vigor it almost seemed audible.
You…! You! You! Why are you there, of all places, there!
The place where I was inwardly worrying, “Did the Magicka Blade graze it?”
Jenniferlin Pantile was standing right above that exact spot.
“Ch-!”
Panicked, my words got stuck.
I sensed the people behind me tilting their heads simultaneously, “Ch?”
“Charge!”
Ignoring them, I yelled.
Chako Candelight thought, Oh no.
As Jenniferlin Pantile’s closest subordinate, guard, and granddaughter of “Dot Shadow,” she realized her master was missing.
She couldn’t sense her master’s presence within the range of her Presence Detection Skill.
She had an excuse.
Though she hadn’t wanted to, she had been helping with chores inside the Fortress where they had been staying for several days.
Her plan in the worst case was to escape with just her master, but before it came to that, she had proactively taken on chores.
That opening had been exploited.
She must have gone up onto the Citadel again.
What a troublesome master.
Just because there were no Monsters capable of crossing the Citadel and entering the Fortress didn’t mean she was someone who could carelessly expose herself to danger.
A few months ago, when her master was in such places, that Shin Longdagger had been there, so Chako had been able to feel at ease.
But now, that Shin Longdagger wasn’t here.
Really… her master was quite a handful.
She hadn’t outgrown her habit of immediately relying on her friends.
Chako sighed and stood up, thinking she had to go find her master.
The Fortress cook, who had been doing chores—peeling potatoes—with her, tilted his head.
Chako said she’d remembered a small errand and excused herself, then started running the next moment.
Because the Citadel wall, which hadn’t budged an inch against a horde of over a hundred Monsters, made a heavy thud sound.
As I started running, yelling “Charge!”, something completely out of character for me, the other members thankfully followed.
The Monster horde was down to roughly a third, but a quick glance showed Ogres among them, and charging in thoughtlessly seemed like it would hurt.
I was grateful they followed me despite that.
I decided to pretend I couldn’t hear the protests from Shara and Yuunou-san.
The other half responded with cheerful voices, so it balanced out.
The Monster horde noticed us charging and attacked.
I kicked away the face of a pig-faced bear Monster I hadn’t seen back home, and sliced off the head of a four-legged wolf-like Monster.
“Oooi! My friend!”
A truly carefree voice rained down from above.
You really, you, seriously, you.
Please, look at your feet! The Citadel wall you’re standing on has a cut in it!
It’s strange for me, the one who cut it, to say this, but you lack too much sense of danger!
Aren’t you the manager of one of Faltar’s leading trading companies, a noble, and the influential heir of a troublesome family known for its notoriety and nicknames worn like necklaces, said to always be behind the scenes when things get interestingly complicated?
Huh? I’m starting to think she’s nothing but trouble.
“My friend! My footing feels kind of wobbly, did you do something?”
What a truly troublesome family!?
If you realize that, then hurry up and get away from there!
Attacked by Monsters from all sides, I instinctively stopped my feet.
In that instant, the head of a Monster attacking from the right was blown away by Erica’s magic, a Monster attacking from the left crashed into Shara’s Barrier, and Yuunou-san and Beardy finished them off.
And then, the Citadel wall slid down heavily.
Amidst the roar of the collapsing Citadel, my enhanced hearing caught that voice.
“Sorry, but I’m counting on you, my friend.”
I hate myself for instinctively reacting to that voice.
To that voice casually tossing over its complete trust, saying, “Ah, sorry, my life’s kinda in danger, help me out.”
I hate myself for feeling happy being relied on by a friend!
My sense of time flew away.
“You’re too much trouble, Jen.”
By the time I said that, I was holding Jen under my arm.
“We Pantiles are troublesome, you see.”
My friend said, somehow sounding proud.
Does she even understand the situation?
I had run up the crumbling Citadel wall, grabbed Jen under my arm, and leaped up.
Meaning, below us was the spectacularly collapsing Citadel wall raising clouds of dust, and the still remaining horde of Monsters.
Within my completely haywire sense of time, I let out a long sigh.
I have to land safely from here and defeat the remaining Monsters. It’s quite a task.
Incidentally, Jen must remain unharmed, and as the one who “slightly” cut the Citadel wall, I can’t let the Monsters invade either.
Man, this is really tough!
“Well, I only do reckless things when I’m within your sight, though.”
“Really? I’ll check with Chako, you know?”
“Hahaha, that’s unfair, my friend.”
Jen laughed as gravity pulled us down.
“The landing’s gonna be rough, so brace yourself.”
I said that and tightened my arm holding Jen.
I got tired of sighing soon after we met.
＊＊＊Author’s Note＊＊＊
Announcement!
I’m pleased to announce that from Fujimi Fantasia Bunko-sama,
“An Adventurer’s Life With the Exiled Marquise” has been greenlit for publication!
Furthermore!
A comic adaptation project is currently underway!
I still sometimes think it’s a dream, but it’s real.
This is all thanks to the readers who read my work.
Every single word of that is the honest truth, without exaggeration.
Because if it weren’t for the comments and likes, I wouldn’t have been able to write this far.
Getting page views is nice, but the responses I receive from all of you readers make me even happier.
Just receiving one comment gives me the motivation to write a whole chapter.
Seriously.
Well then, if there’s more news, I’d like to shout it out loud.