Rena's Perspective
"..."
With the burning forest and the surviving pursuers shrouded in smoke at his back, Hannes ran alongside me, staring at me with glazed eyes, but—there was nothing I could do about it. Neither he nor I knew that if we set fire to the forest, Onlywhenin Trouble-san would erupt all of its spores from its body and launch a suicide attack in the form of a dust explosion. As soon as it determined that the fire had been set, it launched a powerful suicide attack with status abnormalities without the slightest hesitation...a true only when in trouble attack, huh?
"Onlywhenin Trouble-san's attack only when in trouble" (Rena)
"Shut up!" (Hannes)
Oops, I got scolded for my bad pun.
"Well, you see... it's getting darker and darker, so I think this brightness is just right." (Rena)
"Burn it down spectacularly…" (Hannes)
It can't be helped... I didn't mean to burn the forest to this extent either, but since Onlywhenin Trouble-san died in an explosion, the damage has become greater. I was trying to burn the forest within the bounds of common sense. I'm not to blame. Onlywhenin Trouble-san is to blame.
"Even so... are they still coming?" (Rena)
"They have surprisingly strong willpower, don't they?" (Hannes)
Taking a quick look behind me, I saw that although their numbers had decreased significantly since the beginning, the assassins who had been sent to kill me and Hannes were still chasing us. Even though they were covered in smoke and sparks and was completely injured, they still refused to give up and continued to chase after us, which was amazing. Are Hannes and I really targets that they want to kill?
"I'm curious about their background." (Rena)
"You know more about the underworld than I do, and you have some connections." (Hannes)
"Hmm, that's true... Shall I ask Eren about it when I get back?" (Rena)
Come to think of it, they came from Meffy Foreign Duchy... In that case, it would be better to talk to Giran-san and Gu, Gure... Gurego... Glico?-san too, right? Since they had only recently taken control of the area, there might still be people who don't know who was the master of that area. ...Or maybe the remnants of the Fastria family are involved...Well, I don't care about that family anymore.
"Look ahead, it's almost time for the next one." (Hannes)
As Hannes pointed forward, I saw small plumes of smoke rising from the vast plains beyond the Forest of Fairy Tree. That was probably caused by cooking and other activities necessary for daily life.
"The plains beyond this point are blocked by a nomadic tribe. They seem to be occupying this area illegally, and they will attack if you enter the area they have marked as their territory." (Hannes)
"So that's where you cut through, right?" (Rena)
"It's not like there aren't any other ways, but going through here is the quickest." (Hannes)
"I like that kind of thing, so I don't mind." (Rena)
As we got closer, members of the nomadic tribe, who seemed to have noticed our presence, began striking something like a gong, and some of them, appearing to be preparing to intercept us, came riding towards us on horseback. I see, it seems that if you just get close you'll be attacked without any questions asked, huh?
"There's no other way——Inoue-san!" (Rena)
I released the demonic Kageyama-san and instead donned Inoue-san all over my body— and by consuming another piece of armor, I temporarily outfitted my horse with the extended Inoue-san. Immediately after, I clad the Dagger with Kageyama-san and prepared for mounted combat as the Great Sword. Originally, that was a sword designed to be used with one hand while riding a horse, so perhaps it could be said that the correct way to use it had finally been discovered.
"Are you ready? Be careful not to fall off!" (Hannes)
"You too, please don't fall off your horse because you put too much priority on human life." (Rena)
"What?! You're a guy who doesn't even know how to rent a horse and you're being rude—— hey!!" (Hannes)
As Hannes swung the halberd he was carrying, the earth rose up, creating a single path ahead with walls separating them on the left and right. I couldn't help but squint my eyes as I saw some of the cavalry that had been sent out to intercept them initially being pushed back by the raised ground and falling off their horses.
"...I can't kill them though" (Rena)
"Isn't it a good move to prioritize human life and move forward? If it makes you angry, try and outsmart me." (Hannes)
"Hmm." (Rena)
I see, it's true that while he does achieve his original goal of moving forward, he gets in my way and insists on doing the way he wants to do.
"Do you know what to say at times like this? ——Serves you right!" (Hannes)
"Oh, you're saying something like that?" (Rena)
Although I couldn't see him because he was covered by the Holy Earth Armor, I could somehow tell that Hannes had a very cheeky look on his face right now. In other words, I was being provoked by him right now—You could also say that it was a declaration of victory from him, who had brilliantly outwitted me and shown "play that suits his side." Then I'll just smear mud all over that triumphant face.
"——Go ahead." (Rena)
I cast the strengthening magic I had been waiting to chant on my familiars while at the same time giving orders to create a fire tornado with powerful flame and storm magic. I unleashed it towards the outside of the earth wall, and advanced towards the nomadic settlement, engulfing in flames those who were pushed back or fallen off their horses. Hey, hey, are you sure? If you don't put out the fire quickly, even non-combatant women, children, and the elderly will burn to death.
"What do you say at times like this?" (Rena)
With the cries of people swept up in a firestorm and suffering as sparks got into their lungs playing in the background, I moved my horse next to Hannes and rode alongside him.
"Ah, that's right... I think—" (Hannes)
I looked up at Hannes, whose expression changes from triumphant to astonished, and places his fingertips on his chin in a dramatic manner.
"——Was it 'serves you right'?" (Rena)
"What the..." (Hannes)
Oh dear, Hannes, your hands are shaking as you hold your halberd. Are you okay?
"Hehe, thank you for taking the trouble to make the road easy to pass through. Thanks to it, we can head straight to the village... Good luck with the firefighting efforts, okay?" (Rena)
"—I'll kill you!" (Hannes)
Hehe, this is fun, right...? Having someone who overreacts to everything I say is, how should I put it, quite teasingly satisfying. He was also cute in his own way, as he obediently surrounded the giant swirling flames with the earth wall, cutting off the oxygen supply and preventing the damage from spreading.
"Wait right there! I'll make you cry! I won't let you kill a single non-combatant!" (Hannes)
It seems that he really lacks a little bit of tolerance for provocation, huh... It was not that it dulled his ability to make decisions during battle, but I had seen these kinds of exchanges before.
"You shouldn't say something lightly that you can't carry it out." (Rena)
"What the hell?" (Hannes)
"Heh, Hannes can't do that." (Rena)
The two of us leisurely fended off the second wave of attacks from the front and the pursuers closing in from behind while fooling around together.
"If you want, you can give me a kiss on the cheek." (Rena)
"Huh?! Don't say stupid things, you idiot!" (Hannes)
"...Are you embarrassed about that?" (Rena)
"Shut up! I'm not embarrassed!" (Hannes)
Hmm, it's a bit disappointing that I can't see Hannes' face because of the armor he's wearing using his skills... I think it would be possible to make more fun of him.
"You really should remember this..." (Hannes)
"I might forget if I don't do it quickly." (Rena)
"This guy...!!" (Hannes)
I couldn't help but smile a little as I slashed incoming arrows with the long-range attack of ‹Flying Sword›, a skill that all sword techniques possessed, and cut down enemies.
"Hehe." (Rena)
Well, that's enough of teasing Hannes, shall I get serious about taking the lives of those in the village? I didn't really like losing either, so I was not going to just let Hannes keep his word. He might let me fight back against the enemies coming towards me, but he would get in the way if I tried to hunt them down at the expense of those in the village who couldn't fight and who were at risk of losing their lives. It was nothing more than a leisurely stroll or a detour.
"Ah, this is fun." (Rena)
"...I see, that was good." (Hannes)
While tilting my head at the already exhausted sounding Hannes, I once again readjusted my Great Sword stance.
Author's Note (Preface)
Volume 3 will be released on June 5th! It is scheduled to be released on June 5th! (Promoting excitedly)
Author's Note (Afterword)
The cover illustration for volume 3 has arrived, and it's so cool it's amazing... I can't wait to show it to everyone.