Perhaps feeling relieved to see a familiar adult, the little boy hugged me and burst into tears.
I stroked the boy's back and asked in his ear.
"Did you go to the forest with your friend who was with you at the beach? Maybe you were attacked by a monster there?" (Fia)
"Y-y-yes. In the western forest..." (Boy)
"The western forest, right? Do you remember where it is?" (Fia)
"Uh, uh, yeah." (Boy)
"You're a good boy. Then I'll carry you, so can you come with me to the forest and tell me where to go? There's no need to worry about monsters. We have very strong knights here, so they'll be defeated in no time." (Fia)
I spoke slowly and reassuringly to the boy, who raised his head slightly and gazed at the Captain Cyril and the others standing behind me. However, he suddenly lowered his face and muttered as if he had given up.
"N-N-No way! Knights don't help the people of Sutherland!" (Boy)
Pretending not to notice that Captain Cyril had stiffened in surprise, I turned to the boy and started speaking.
"Really? When I became a knight, I promised myself that I would always protect the weak. All knights make that promise, and once they make it, they always keep it. So, I think you'll be fine ....Have you ever been in trouble and asked a knight for help, and they didn't help you?" (Fia)
"...I, I've never asked a knight for help before, so I don't know." (Boy)
I picked up the boy and stood up at the same time.
"That's true. But now you said 'help,' so I will help you. The knights behind heard you, so they will join you in helping your friend." (Fia)
The boy stared at me intently, then nodded silently.
Seeing this, Captain Cyril reached out his hand impatiently.
"Fia, if you want, I'll hold the baby. If you move while holding him, we'll slow down." (Cyril)
However, when the boy saw Captain Cyril reaching out his hand to me, he muttered "Eep" deep in his throat and clung to me tightly. Seeing this, Captain Cyril's hands dropped limply.
Then, Captain Curtis began speaking to the boy.
"Hello. I'm the knight who protects Sutherland, so you must be familiar with my face. I'm the knight you always call 'Captain Aqua.'" (Curtis)
"Ah..." (Boy)
The boy glanced up at Captain Curtis and then cried out as if he had just remembered something.
Captain Curtis continued speaking to the boy with a gentle expression.
"Your friend is scared, so we need to hurry and help him. It would be quicker if I carried you, so can I pick you up?" (Curtis)
The boy hesitated for a moment, but then he held out both hands towards Captain Curtis.
...Well, Captain Cyril said that among the knights, only Captain Curtis is accepted by the people of this land, and that's true.
I thought to myself as I watched the boy slipped out of my arms and clung to Captain Curtis.
The adults gathered around us watched what was happening in silence, but as soon as we started to move they suddenly spoke up.
"Ah, well, the children sometimes go into the forest, but they're always wandering around near the entrance, so... we can handle monsters near the entrance, so we'll go."
"That's right. We'll help the children, so there's no need to bother the knights."
Despite the emergency situation of a child being attacked by a monster, the residents were adamant that they did not want to ask for the knights' help.
Hearing this, Captain Cyril had a frustrated look on his face, but he suppressed his emotions and spoke in a flat voice.
"Thank you for offering your cooperation. However, monsters across the continent have been acting strangely recently, so there is a chance that a powerful monster could appear even near the entrance to the forest." (Cyril)
The Captain looked around at the residents who had all gone silent after hearing Captain Cyril's words, then continued.
"I am Captain Cyril of the First Knights. I will definitely bring the children back, so please leave it to me." (Cyril)
Suddenly, as if startled by Captain Cyril's words, some of the residents began to get agitated.
"Captain of the First Knights, is the lord..."
"Duke of Sutherland..."
Captain Cyril paid no attention to the noisy residents, turned on his heels and ran off towards the forest.
Captain Curtis tried to follow after them, but stopped running and called out to the residents who were huddled together with worried looks on their faces.
"We are skilled knights, so don't worry. Ah, could you please call the Saint in case the children get hurt?" (Curtis)
Hearing these words, several residents ran towards the church.
It seemed that Captain Curtis had succeeded in alleviating the residents' worries and instilling a sense of camaraderie in them by giving them the task of summoning the Saint.
...Well, Captain Curtis may be extremely good at motivating people.
With that in mind, I ran to the entrance of town so as not to fall behind everyone.
Luckily, I had parked my horse at the entrance to the town, so it was only a short walk to the western forest.
My prediction that a child's feet would not have gone deep into the forest was correct, and the location was about five minutes from the forest entrance. It's certainly a place that even a child could fit their feet in, and monsters wouldn't normally appear there.
However, monsters' behavior was not always limited to predictions, and the children actually found themselves confronting monsters.
Fortunately, at the base of the tree where the children had been cornered by the monster, there was a deep hollow large enough for several children to fit into, and the monster was at a loss as to what to do to the children who had managed to get into the hole.
The fact that it was a large monster and couldn't fit through the narrow entrance to the tree hole also worked to its advantage. Facing the children was a basilisk, a lizard-like monster about three meters tall.
The basilisk was a B-rank monster that was usually found deep in the forest. As Captain Cyril said, the monsters' range of movement might be strange. There were two of those basilisks. It was clear that the odds were stacked against the four of them.
Just as I was wondering what to do, Captain Cyril called out to me.
"Fia, I want you to guard the child. If there are two, three people are enough." (Cyril)
Well, I was chased away pretty well...
Although I thought that, I think Captain Cyril's judgment was spot on. Yes, I was the weakest of the bunch, and we needed someone to protect the children, right?
But, what if three people were enough for two B-rank monsters? The basilisk spits powerful venom, has tough skin, and is fast moving.
No matter how strong Captain Cyril was, and no matter how strong Captain Curtis and Fabian were, it would still be tough for the two of them.
As I was thinking this, Captain Cyril drew his sword right in front of me.
Ah, he's strong.
The moment Captain Cyril drew his sword, the air became tense, and I instinctively held my breath.
As he took hold of the sword, Captain Cyril seemed to transform into an entirely different creature. I had seen Captain Cyril wield a sword several times before, such as when he fought Commander Savis or when he confronted the Flower-horned Deer, but the aura that surrounded the Captain now was different from any of those times.
Ah, so Captain Cyril is the type whose strength changes depending on the situation, isn't he?
I let out a sigh of relief and spoke to the boy beside me who was looking at the group with a worried look on his face.
"The knight who drew his sword is the lord of Sutherland. Don't worry. That lord knight is strong, and he will definitely protect us." (Fia)
Hearing what I said, the boy silently put his arms around my waist tightly. I smiled at the boy and squeezed his hand that was around my waist.
Author's Note
[Thank you & Contact Us]
Many people bought the book. Thank you very much.
Thanks to you, I have been asked to write a sequel, so I will begin working on it.
I apologize if the update frequency is irregular (whisper).
I was told that I could add as much as I wanted, so I plan to write the story based on the requests I received in the comments section.
As always, thank you for your feedback!