Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 9

by Takehaya

  “Satomi... sama?”

  Ruth didn’t understand the meaning behind Koutarou’s smile in this situation, however, so she instinctively questioned him. Rather than answering her with words, Koutarou thrust his right hand forward.

  “Cradle, give me my sword.”

  “As you wish, my lord.”

  The gem on the bracelet Koutarou was wearing blinked repeatedly and confirmed his order.

  Satomi-sama’s sword? Saguratin should be on Blue Knight right now... And what’s this expression on his face? I’ve never seen Satomi-sama look like that before...

  What Ruth was seeing for the first time was Koutarou preparing himself for a real fight.

  “Come, Signaltin.”

  “Call sign confirmed. Coordinate axis fixed. Commencing transfer of Signaltin.”

  “Wha—”

  Before Ruth could even express her surprise at the name of the sword Koutarou had whispered, the transfer was in action.

  A large black hole about ten centimeters across appeared in front of Koutarou’s extended right hand. And from that hole, a sword still in its sheath emerged. It had a complex engraved design of swirling curves on its white and silver hilt, making it look like an elegant work of art. Without hesitation, Koutarou stuck his hand into the black hole, firmly grabbed hold of the sword, and pulled it all the way out.

  When Koutarou placed his hand on the hilt of the sword, it began releasing a pure white glow. The sword bathed everything around it in light almost as bright as the sun.

  “What sword is this?! Alaia’s crest is engraved on the handle! And the royal family crest is engraved on the sheath!”

  While she was perplexed by the sword’s light, Ruth was primarily aghast at the crests engraved on the sword. They were the two most well known emblems in all of Forthorthe: the royal family crest of the Goddess of Dawn, and Alaia’s personal crest of silvery white snow. Even in the powerful white light of the sword, the crests shone brilliantly as if declaring themselves to the world.

  “Your Excellency, Lord Blue Knight, this ship, the Cradle, will pray for your fortune and glory in place of the nation of Forthorthe.”

  “...Thank you.”

  Koutarou stood in the center of the light, holding the sword in both hands. In his right hand was the handle, and in his left, the sheath. Koutarou turned back to Ruth and called out to her.

  “Ruth-san.”

  “Signaltin...? Your Excellency, Lord Blue Knight...?”

  Ruth was so absorbed in the moment that she couldn’t even respond to Koutarou.

  It’s a replica... No, it’s too well made for that... And this light... Moreover, why did the Cradle call Satomi-sama the Blue Knight? A code name, perhaps? No, this is...

  Without waiting for Ruth’s reply, Koutarou smiled and continued speaking.

  “I... will protect everyone’s future with my life and these two swords.”

  He didn’t just mean Ruth and Theia. Koutarou wanted to protect everyone who was suffering. He couldn’t protect everyone in the world, for he was no god, but he at least wanted to protect the smiles of the precious people who made him smile. That was Koutarou’s oath to himself. His wish. It was the reason he had returned from Forthorthe of the past.

  “So let’s go, Ruth-san. Theia is waiting.”

  “Uh... Um...”

  Koutarou pulled Signaltin from its sheath as Ruth struggled to come up with something to say. Its silver blade seemed to respond to Koutarou’s emotions as it shot out more white light.

  Elexis’s five bodyguards weren’t special forces in name alone. At the first sign of the strange white light, they realized that danger was upon them. Their professional experience told them something was afoot, so the men in black—carrying beam cannons, barriers, and the like—vigilantly waited for the enemies to show themselves.

  “It’s just one Neanderthal and the Pardomshiha girl...?”

  “The Neanderthal has a knight’s sword, and the girl has a small arms for self-defense.”

  “Are they insane...?”

  However, contrary to what they’d expected, the approaching enemy appeared to pose no threat at all. It seemed their intuition had misled them. Looking at their targets—Koutarou and Ruth—they seemed almost hilariously out of place.

  To the five experienced men, it looked like these two children were lost. Not only were they vastly outnumbered, but they were armed with toys. The boy had an old knight’s sword, and the girl only had weapons intended for self defense. All the special forces unit could figure was that this was a desperate, suicidal act of loyalty.

  As such, they chose not to use the powerful weaponry they had stored on their spaceship. They believed it would be no issue to take them out with the equipment they had on hand. It wasn’t a matter of pride, either. It was a genuine assessment of the situation and what they believed would be the best way to handle it.

  “How shall we proceed, captain?”

  “Kill the Neanderthal and capture the girl as planned.”

  “Roger.”

  “I wonder what happened to Elexis-sama. He moved to intercept the girl... Did they miss each other?”

  Out of the five men, three stepped forward with large guns. They had determined that that would be sufficient to deal with Koutarou and Ruth. The remaining two men had other jobs to take care of. The captain would confirm Elexis’s whereabouts, and the last remaining team member would get Theia inside the spaceship.

  Seeing how the five men were proceeding, Koutarou let out a sigh of relief.

  Phew, they all stayed here... Now we at least have a chance to win...

  What Koutarou had feared the most was that the special forces team would split up, leaving a few men behind to fight him and Ruth while the others took Theia away. Fortunately that hadn’t happened. They had decided to stay together since they were only facing two opponents and they wanted to wait for Elexis.

  “Still, the quality of Forthorthe’s soldiers sure has dropped... Flair-dono would grieve this...”

  Koutarou was thankful for the situation, but he couldn’t help thinking it would surely upset his old friend. Amused at the thought, he smiled as he turned to face the men.

  “S-Satomi-sama, you can’t just attack them from the front!”

  “It’s okay. Leave this to me, Ruth-san. I want you to save Theia as soon as you find an opening.”

  “Satomi-sama!”

  Koutarou left the worried Ruth behind and casually stepped forward. Seeing that, the men began laughing.

  “What? It looks like he seriously wants to fight us.”

  “Let him do as he pleases.”

  “Fair enough. If we shoot him dead before he even gets to swing his sword, he’d never be able to rest in peace.”

  Despite Koutarou approaching the men with a sword in hand, they remained confident. They were convinced that some old sword would never be enough to break through their barriers. That’s why they were planning on letting Koutarou do as he pleased.

  “Hey, boy. Just go ahead and attack. Show us those sword skills you’ve practiced.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You bet, kid. Give it your all.”

  “Are you really sure?”

  “Yeah, knock yourself out.”

  “All right, then I’ll take you up on that.”

  Koutarou glared at the three men in front of him while focusing his mind and heightening his spiritual energy. He then conveyed his intentions to the sword and activated its mana.

  Sorry, but I’ll defeat you all before you even have the chance to fire those guns!

  Now that he was fully ready for a fight, Koutarou dashed forward.

  “Change of plans! Kill him right now! He’s—”

  The captain shouted out to his men right as Koutarou began to dash towards them. The captain’s face was pale. He had just received a report on Koutarou from Elexis, who had finally come around.

  “Captain?”

  But it didn’t make a difference.
In the end, the three men never got the chance to fire their guns. With a single swing, the barrier generators at their waists exploded. The barriers were up and running, but they’d taken so much damage that the generators were almost instantly fried.

  “What?!”

  “Uwaaah!”

  “C-Captain!”

  Surprised, the three men were knocked off balance and totally exposed. Seeing his chance, Koutarou mercilessly swung Signaltin again. Without their barriers, the men took the attack directly and were sent flying.

  “Relax. I only used the flat of the sword. You’d never be able to rest in peace if you died before you got a chance to shoot those guns, after all.”

  The three men had been blown away by a magical shockwave that surrounded the sword. They fell to the ground and were unable to move, but they were largely unhurt. The shockwave had been adjusted to be nonlethal.

  “Who is this guy?!”

  “Captain!”

  “Don’t just stare! Fire!”

  “Y-Yes, sir!”

  Having lost three of their allies in an instant, the remaining two men hurriedly took aim at Koutarou. It wasn’t until he’d taken out more than half their team that they realized there was more to him than met the eye.

  The men fired, but yellow torrents of light shot out of their guns rather than bullets. They were heavy metal particles given a high amount of energy. The men were wielding mass-produced beam rifles.

  The power and speed of their rifles was vastly inferior to what Clan used, but the mass-produced versions were cheaper to manufacture. When given to a whole squad, the overall effect was stronger. On top of that, they were easier to maintain than older models, and had been designed to function in all environments. This was yet another weapon that DKI wanted to sell to the military.

  “They’re probably not bad guns, really... but they still don’t stand a chance!”

  Koutarou swung his sword horizontally to catch the two oncoming beams. As he did, they were snuffed out like candle flames. Koutarou had experience against Clan’s high-performance beam cannon, so he wasn’t exactly afraid of these lower-quality versions.

  “He cut them! He seriously cut the beams!”

  “H-He’s a monster! This guy’s not human!”

  “How rude, you two. Seriously...”

  Beams didn’t work on Koutarou, and their barriers couldn’t protect them against him. Koutarou defied all logic, leaving the two men in a state of panic. They were frightened like they’d just witnessed a paranormal phenomenon.

  “I’m not the amazing one. The amazing ones are the people lending me these powers.”

  Koutarou, though amazed himself, readied his sword. With one more swing, the frightened men were unconscious.

  After confirming that all five men were unconscious, Koutarou relaxed his shoulders.

  “Phew...”

  No matter how often it happened, Koutarou still couldn’t get used to the feeling of people trying to kill him, even if he wasn’t in any real danger.

  “How could this be...? He finished things in an instant with just that sword...”

  While Koutarou was sighing with relief, Ruth’s heart was starting to pound faster and faster. She couldn’t believe what had just happened right before her eyes. It was as if she was watching the prince rescue the princess in a fairy tale.

  Satomi-sama was strong before, but this is far beyond that... And he’s not even wearing his armor...

  All Koutarou had was a single sword, and it wasn’t even a piece of modern weaponry. There was no science in it. No advanced technology. It was really just a sword. Despite that, Koutarou had swiftly dispatched five heavily armed men with it.

  “Signaltin... Blue Knight... Could it really be...?”

  Ruth’s gaze was drawn to the sword in Koutarou’s hand. It was a knight’s sword shining silvery white. It was old, but it was clearly in no way inferior to a modern weapon. It was elegant, shaped like a traditional Forthorthian knight’s sword, and it shone as though it was magical.

  Magic... That’s right, Yurika-sama’s staff!

  Ruth suddenly recalled that Yurika was now in possession of a real magical staff. Koutarou had gifted it to her as a souvenir when he returned. Ruth knew that it was genuinely magical because she had confirmed it personally several times. And if that staff was magical, Koutarou’s sword very well may be too.

  If that sword really is a magical sword... If it really is Signaltin... then that would mean...

  Ruth concocted a hypothesis. It was certainly out there. Outright fantastical, even. The idea that Koutarou and Clan had traveled to the past was nothing compared to what she was thinking now. But in spite of how outrageous it was, Ruth had already started to accept it as the truth. She had all kinds of circumstantial evidence backing her up. Moreover, she wanted it to be true. She wanted to believe it. Just thinking about it, her heart began throbbing.

  “Ruth-san, Theia...”

  “R-Right.”

  But it would have to wait. Koutarou wasn’t going anywhere, and she could ask him for answers later. Right now, Ruth had to focus on saving Theia. She pulled herself together and chased after Koutarou towards the hatch of the small spaceship.

  “There she is!”

  “Your Highness!”

  Theia had been set down right inside the ship. With the hatch left open, the wind blowing in was gently rustling her skirt. Since the man carrying her had been in a hurry to join the fight, he’d just left her lying there.

  “Thank goodness... Her Highness is all right.”

  Ruth let out a sigh of relief and wiped away her tears. She’d been so worried that the moment Ruth saw Theia was safe, she almost collapsed to the ground out of sheer relief. Theia was still unconscious, but her complexion was fine and she didn’t seem to be injured. Elexis’s subordinates had at least been somewhat courteous with the princess. Based on how she looked, it would only be a matter of time before she woke up.

  “Ruth-san, let’s carry Theia out of here.”

  “Yes, let’s.”

  Though their enemies were defeated, they weren’t dead. It was still in their best interest to clear the area quickly. Koutarou was going to take Theia back to room 106 for now. He had allies there that would help protect both Theia and Ruth.

  Koutarou returned Signaltin to its sheath and shouldered Theia’s small body.

  “Hup.”

  Ruth was helping him out, but she was still absentmindedly staring at the crest on the sword.

  No matter how I look at it, this really is...

  After confirming that Theia was safe, Ruth concentrated on the mysterious blade.

  “...Hmm?”

  That might not have been the reason why, but Koutarou was the first to notice a new enemy approaching.

  “Not good...”

  After they’d taken a few steps down the paved path in the park, Koutarou sensed an incoming hostile presence.

  “Satomi-sama?”

  “Is he still planning on fighting...?”

  It was Elexis. Though there was still some distance between them, Koutarou recognized his aura. It seemed like he had woken up and was headed their way.

  “Alert: High-density energy reaction detected. A hostile small mobile weapon is approaching. Please retreat immediately. Based on the enemy’s total energy output, the chance of victory is estimated to be less than 4 percent with current armaments.”

  The alert message from the bracelet confirmed Koutarou’s suspicion.

  “A mobile weapon?!”

  “Ruth-san, please take care of Theia.”

  Koutarou put Theia back down and leaned her up against a nearby tree.

  “What about you, Satomi-sama?!”

  “I’ll go defeat that mobile weapon or whatever.”

  Considering the speed at which Elexis’s aura was approaching, they wouldn’t be able to run away. And as long as the mobile weapon’s sensors weren’t broken, they wouldn’t be able to hide either. With little other
option, Koutarou determined that he had to defeat the mobile weapon.

  “You can’t, Satomi-sama! No matter how strong you might be, it’s too dangerous to fight a mobile weapon by yourself! You at least need your armor!”

  When she heard what Koutarou said, Ruth began panicking. Though it was small, a mobile weapon would be equipped with military grade weaponry, including explosives that could cover a wide area. No matter how quick he was, there was no way Koutarou would come out of a fight like that unscathed. Ruth couldn’t imagine that he had any real chance of winning against one, and believed that their best bet at surviving this would be to retreat.

  “It’s not a problem. I should be fine against something like this.”

  “What’s your basis for that?!”

  Ruth’s voice was close to a scream. She couldn’t easily believe Koutarou claiming that he would be fine.

  “My basis...? Huh, good point. Cradle, please collate the combat data.”

  “Please set a condition.”

  “What would be easier: fighting Alunaya or fighting this enemy without my armor?”

  “Under that condition, chances of victory are estimated to be 280 percent higher against the current enemy than against Alunaya.”

  “See?”

  The bracelet, or more accurately the Cradle, gave the prediction that Koutarou was expecting. His chances of victory against the mobile weapon were almost three times higher than what they’d been with Alunaya.

  “Don’t give me that! Why would you compare this to Yurika-sama in a costume?!”

  “It’s okay.” Koutarou smiled as he drew his sword. “I’ve fought against the real deal.”

  “Huh? Th-The real deal...?”

  Not a moment later, Elexis appeared. The mobile weapon destroyed the trees in front of it and entered the open area where the spaceship was. The mobile weapon stood about five meters tall. It was small by Forthorthian standards, but it towered over any human. Despite being cloaked in the darkness of night, it still stood out like a sore thumb.

  Elexis’s amplified voice blared from the speakers of the mobile weapon.

  “I won’t let you escape, Neanderthal-kun. I’ll have you leave the ladies behind, please.”