by Takehaya
“Who is that guy?!”
“What did he just say?!”
“Based on the armor, he looks like a knight.”
“That doesn’t matter! Kill anyone who gets in our way!”
The men turned towards Koutarou and readied their weapons. They were prioritizing killing Koutarou over the girl behind them since they were sure she was powerless to do anything against them.
“I don’t know what you’re saying, but it seems like you really want to do this...”
No stranger to a fight, Koutarou could sense the bloodlust coming from all ten men. He held his sword with both hands, and as he did, it began to faintly growl. The armor’s AI had coated it in a special vibrating barrier that created shockwaves on impact.
“Who is that person? Based on his stance, it seems like he’s a Forthorthian knight, but... Why?”
The girl was amazed by Koutarou’s arrival. He was a savior that had appeared just as she was preparing for the end. Moreover, she couldn’t hide her surprise that it was a knight. She’d already made enemies of several bands of knights, so it was hard to believe a knight had come to save her.
“Ah...”
Before the girl’s surprise faded, Koutarou leaped to action. His movements were swift. Despite wearing heavy, Forthorthian-style armor, he moved faster than the ten men in light armor. Thanks to that, he got the drop on all of them.
“Guaaaaahhh!”
After closing the distance between them in an instant, Koutarou swung his sword coated in the special barrier, knocking one of the men out and sending him flying several meters. The man never even had a chance to be surprised, much less defend himself.
“Th-This guy’s good!”
“Don’t go at him one at time! All together!”
The men determined that Koutarou was dangerous after one of their own had been defeated. Now aware of what he could do, the men tried to work together to take him down.
“That’s one!”
“The next target is at six o’clock.”
“Like I said, that doesn’t help me!”
Koutarou spun around and swung his sword. As he did, he caught the sword of second man charging at him from behind. The power from Koutarou’s blow broke the man’s sword into pieces and knocked him back. He collided with another man who was right behind him, and they were both sent tumbling backwards.
“That’s two and three!”
“Emergency alert! A pincer attack incoming!”
“That’s much easier to understand!”
The fourth and fifth men attacked Koutarou from opposite sides, armed with a sword and spear respectively. Since their weapons had different ranges, it was tricky to deal with both at the same time. But Koutarou turned to the man with the sword without panicking.
“Fool!”
“Are you insane?!”
By doing that, Koutarou left his back completely open for the man with the spear. The two attackers then sneered at Koutarou, confident of their victory.
“Look out, Sir Knight!”
Seeing the trouble he was in, the girl who had been quiet so far called out to Koutarou. She wanted to help him somehow.
“I’ll leave that to you.”
“As you wish, my lord. Commencing emergency deployment of the barrier.”
Several translucent white hexagonal tiles appeared in a beautiful pattern around Koutarou. When the tip of the spear collided with it, it bounced right off.
“What?!”
“Impossible!”
The men’s eyes opened wide in surprise, and Koutarou took full advantage of their stupor. He swung his sword around in a wide circle, striking both the enemies to his front and back at the same time. The two men were sent flying with a sound reminiscent of cannon fire.
“A magician! This guy is using magic!”
“Magic?! That’s not possible! Can’t you see the heavy armor he’s wearing?!”
“You saw the spear being knocked back too, didn’t you, captain?! What else could that be but magic?!”
Seeing Koutarou’s handiwork, the other men suddenly began reeling. They had their weapons pointed at Koutarou but were hesitating to attack.
“What’s the matter? Done already?”
With Saguratin in his right hand, Koutarou casually walked towards the remaining men. They were being driven to the edge of the cliff by Koutarou alone.
“I didn’t hear anything about someone with this kind of power...”
“Damn, we should have brought our own magicians with us! We let our guard down thinking they were just women!”
“Quit your yapping! Let’s jump him all at once!”
Leaving behind a single man to guard the girl, the four other men attacked Koutarou all together. They figured that they had no real chance of winning against Koutarou and his mysterious techniques otherwise.
“If this was any ordinary fight, that would be the right choice, but...”
“Deploying barrier.”
This time, the hexagonal tiles appeared in front of Koutarou. The barrier easily deflected the incoming weapons, and the men all grimaced at the outcome. Koutarou then swung his sword wide again.
“Unfortunately, your opponent is too strong.”
The hexagonal tiles parted to make way for his sword, then moved back into place once his sword had passed. Only the tip of his sword ever left the barrier to attack. It was a feat only made possible by Koutarou’s extensive training wielding a sword with the armor. If the armor hadn’t had sufficient data on Koutarou’s movements, it wouldn’t have been able to control the barrier as precisely.
“Releasing the sonic impact energy.”
“Don’t kill them.”
“As you wish, my lord.”
After coming into contact with the third man, the armor’s AI released the energy stored in the sword in the form of a powerful shockwave that assaulted the group of men. Each one that got hit by it was helplessly blown back. Through thorough control, however, the shockwave merely incapacitated them without doing any real harm.
“That makes nine.”
Koutarou readied his sword in both hands and pointed it towards the last man. Although he was holding his weapon, his face was white with terror and it was obvious that he’d lost the will to fight.
“D-Don’t come any closer!”
“So, what are you going to do?”
Koutarou approached the man who was now shaking. As if pushed by Koutarou, the man stepped backward, but it wasn’t long before he reached the edge of the cliff and could retreat no further.
“I’m telling you not to come any closer, you monster!”
“I don’t know what you’re saying, but you’re sure screaming a lot more than that girl did.”
The man swung his sword towards Koutarou in an attempt to scare him. But Koutarou was unfazed by the display. Desperate to find something to save him, the man looked around and quickly laid eyes on the girl next to him.
“Th-That’s right! I’ll use her!”
“What?!”
The man grabbed the girl and pointed the tip of his sword at her throat. When he did that, Koutarou finally stopped moving.
“If you value this woman’s life, throw your weapon down and raise your hands!”
“You can’t, Sir Knight! If you relinquish your weapon, you’ll be killed too!”
“A hostage, huh? Even though you were planning on killing her anyway...”
Although he didn’t understand what the man was saying, Koutarou understood the meaning of his actions. If Koutarou got any closer or tried to attack now, the man would cut the girl’s throat with his sword.
“What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and drop it!”
“Okay, okay, I get it.”
“Sir Knight!”
Koutarou tossed Saguratin aside and raised his hands.
“Heh, what an obedient knight.”
“Don’t bother with me! Please pick up your sword and fight!”
The man kept his
eyes on Koutarou as he started to move away, dragging the girl along with him. She struggled to break free but was unable to do so. The man was just too strong. Her sorrowful voice resounded throughout the area as she begged Koutarou to reconsider.
I could have done something if he’d come at me... But at this rate, that girl’s still going to die...
Koutarou had been waiting for the man to attack him while he was unarmed, but now he was trying to get away with the girl instead. Koutarou was certain he’d kill her once they got to the bushes and he could make a break for it. Once he thought about it, Koutarou determined that if he was going to do something, now was the time.
I think Sanae did something like this...
Koutarou focused on his left hand still in the air. On it was the gauntlet that he had borrowed from Kiriha. It was a weapon that used spiritual energy to attack. Since Sanae had used it through Koutarou’s body, he had a vague understanding of how it worked.
Following Koutarou’s will, the gauntlet began producing a powerful electromagnetic field. He didn’t have as much spiritual energy as Sanae did, but even then, the field he was producing with the gauntlet gradually grew bigger. However, it wasn’t a lightning bolt or a fireball. It was just an electromagnetic field, so no one but Koutarou knew what was happening. Neither the man nor the girl had noticed it.
Go!
After gathering enough energy, Koutarou willed the field towards the man. As it got closer, it ensnared the man’s sword, just as Koutarou had planned.
“What?!”
“Caught you!”
When the man realized what was happening, it was already too late. Koutarou pulled back on the field as hard as he could. As he did, the sword was yanked out of the man’s hand and thrown into the air.
“Impossible!”
The man’s eyes instinctively chased the sword that appeared to be floating in the sky.
“Take that!”
Not missing her chance, the girl drove her elbow into the man’s stomach with all her might.
“Guaaah!”
The man had completely dropped his guard, so he immediately let go of the girl after taking a blow like that. Now that she was free from his grasp, the girl hurriedly distanced herself from him. The man reached out to grab her as she ran off, but by that time, Koutarou was already on top of him.
“You’re better than I thought, lady.”
Koutarou buried his fist in the man’s stomach. Since the girl had already knocked the wind out of him, Koutarou’s follow-up blow knocked him right out.
“And that makes ten.”
“The enemy force has been completely neutralized. Attention: Because it is likely that target group B will soon regain consciousness, it is advised to clear the area.”
“I know. Thanks for the help.”
“Exiting battle mode.”
“Good work.”
After defeating the ten men, the armor’s AI determined that the battle was over and switched back to cruise mode from battle mode.
“Phew, looks like everything worked out...”
Now that the commotion had died down, silence returned to the surrounding area. Koutarou took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. Although he had an overwhelming advantage in power thanks to his armor, it was only natural for him to get nervous and tense when people were trying to kill him. He was also relieved that no one had died. Koutarou wasn’t a main character from some game. He was just a normal boy.
“Thank god... Looks like he’s normal after all.”
The girl felt an equal sense of relief as she stared at Koutarou from a distance. She had worried that he might not be human based on the way he fought.
“Silly me... That’s not possible.”
The girl smiled to herself and approached Koutarou.
“Sir Knight.”
She called out to him as he was picking up Saguratin from the ground.
“Hmm?”
Hearing her voice, Koutarou remembered that the girl was still there. He was so relieved after the fight that he’d spaced out a little.
“Ah, right... I was trying to save this girl.”
“Thank you for saving me, Sir Knight.”
The girl grabbed the hems of her dress and bowed to Koutarou. Based on her actions, Koutarou figured that she was thanking him. But he still couldn’t understand what she was saying.
This is a problem... I don’t understand a word of anything she’s said.
Koutarou responded with a small bow of his own, but scratched his head thinking about what to do next. Fortunately, that was when the armor’s AI finally spoke up again.
“Language analysis is complete.”
Having returned to cruise mode, the processing power that had been put into prioritizing combat functions was returned to general work functions. One of those functions was language analysis. The computer had analyzed the words the girl and the men had used, and had just now completed its assessment.
“Translation device set to Lower Ancient Forthorthian.”
And based on the results, the translation device in the armor was put to work. It was the same kind of device that Theia and Ruth used daily.
“Sorry for the late introduction. My name is—”
Thanks to that, Koutarou was finally able to understand the girl. Her translated voice reminded him of Harumi’s.
“My name is Alaia Kua Forthorthe. Though embarrassing as I was just pursued for my position, I am the first princess of this country, Forthorthe.”
The girl cautiously presented herself in a resolute manner. She was grateful that Koutarou had saved her, but she didn’t know who he was or why he’d intervened.
“...Huh?”
However, Koutarou was so shocked by what she’d said that he didn’t pick up on any of the finer nuances of the situation. Really, it was her name that left him completely dumbstruck.
Did she say Alaia Kua Forthorthe?
Koutarou still thought that he was in the woods near Harukaze High School. Although there was clearly something strange about the forest, he couldn’t imagine that he’d ended up anywhere else. But here he’d come across a girl that looked like Harumi dressed in something that looked like a costume. A group of men were trying to kill her, but he’d saved her. And now she declared that her name was Alaia Kua Forthorthe.
Is this really the play? No, this is the back of the mountain, not some stage. And those guys were serious about killing her. But she has the same name as the Silver Princess... Wait, this really isn’t Sakuraba-senpai?
It seemed like a play, but it wasn’t. Moreover, the girl had called herself Alaia. Things were getting more and more confusing.
“I finally found you!”
But just as he was at the height of his bewilderment, something flew at him and hit him in the head.
“What are you doing here, you fake Blue Knight? Don’t move around on your own!”
It was Clan. Koutarou had left her unconscious in the Cradle, but she’d apparently woken up and chased him down.
“That hurts, you stupid girl! You still wanna fight?!”
Being struck by an approaching enemy—Clan—was enough to snap Koutarou back to his senses.
“There’s no time to fight!”
However, Clan seemed to be declaring that she had no intention of fighting. But considering they’d been locked in mortal combat not all that long ago, Koutarou didn’t buy it.
“You’re just trying to trick me, aren’t you?! I won’t fall for that!”
“I just said there’s no time for this! We have to leave this place as quickly as possible or something terrible will happen!”
Clan shook her head and desperately pleaded with Koutarou. The look in her eyes behind her glasses said she was serious.
Could we actually be in some kind of major trouble? Something bad enough for us to put our fight aside?
Clan’s attitude was slowly convincing Koutarou. He hadn’t forgotten that they were enemies, but it seemed that
the situation they’d gotten themselves into would require them to put their differences aside. Her eyes indicated she wasn’t lying.
“Hurry and get over here, fake Blue Knight! You’re such a pain!”
“H-Hey!”
Clan grabbed Koutarou’s arm and forcibly pulled him towards the Cradle.
“Blue Knight...?”
The girl that had called herself Alaia followed the two strangers with her eyes. She couldn’t understand what Koutarou and Clan were saying. Clan was currently speaking in Modern Forthorthian, and Koutarou was able to follow what she was saying thanks to his translation device. But the only part Alaia could pick out was “Blue Knight.”
That kind of title must mean that he’s some lord’s vassal, but...
Alaia could imagine Koutarou’s status based on a title like “Blue Knight.” The aristocracy in Forthorthe worked like a warrior society, very similar to the samurai society of feudal Japan. Even though he was a knight, it meant something rather different here than what it would in Europe.
The class system in imperial Forthorthe had the emperor at the top, and below the emperor was the rest of the royalty. Next were high-ranking knights that governed territory. They ruled over their respective territories as lords and appointed lower class knights as vassals. The lower-ranking knights served as the arms and legs of the high-ranking knights, managing smaller localities within the territory. In times of war, the high-ranking knights would bring their vassals together and act as the head of the unit, known as a band of knights.
Compared to modern Japan, the high-ranking knights would be like prefectural governors while the lower-ranking knights would be akin to mayors. In Forthorthe, high-ranking knights were generally known as established knights or lords, and the lower-ranking knights were called squires. There was a considerable gap in prestige between the two. Although the squires also governed over the land they were assigned, it was still the land of the established knight. Moreover, squires occupied the lowest rung on the ladder of the aristocracy. Anyone below them was a general citizen.
By the way, the Pardomshiha family that Ruth came from was a family of established knights that held a considerable amount of land, and Ruth herself held the highest title of Nye. The Pardomshihas in Forthorthe were a distinguished family among distinguished families, a proud legacy that had been handed down from long ago in honor of their loyalty and service to the royal families.
