Volume 6, Chapter 37 – The Defense of Airoll (2)

Since I declared that I would not cooperate unless the four of us were allowed to act together, we were assigned to the defense of the West Gate.

Because the town of Airoll sits on a highway that cuts through the forest from east to west, it has one gate to the east and one to the west.

The town is enclosed by walls about five meters high, which are in turn surrounded by a water moat.

Captain Lazare chose to fight a siege battle, taking advantage of the town’s natural defenses.

At first glance, the defenses seem perfect, but in my opinion, they are clearly insufficient to stop this Monster Stampede.

For example, the Ogres we encountered several times in the southern forest were four to five meters tall.

A monster like that would easily climb over these walls.

Furthermore, though we haven’t seen them here yet, the Goblin Lords we met in Chi Tien would likely climb up, and as for a Goblin King, he might just step right over them.

When you think about it that way, am I the only one who feels that a five-meter wall is far too unreliable against monsters?

“Good morning, Saint-sama.”

“Ah, Alois-san. Good morning.”

Alois-san arrived leading a squad of subordinates. It seems his job is also the defense of the West Gate. Or perhaps he is here as my guard.

“Oh? You seem unusually energetic today. Did something good happen?”

I asked, recalling how exhausted Alois-san had looked until yesterday.

Apparently, Alois-san also serves as the director of the field hospital—the same one where I kicked out that person we didn’t need.

Since he was the one who insisted on doing it, I thought it would be strange for me to stop him, so I kept quiet.

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However, until yesterday, Alois-san had been clearly overworked, hunting monsters by day and doing hospital paperwork by night.

“No. It may just be because I ate something delicious last night.”

“Eh? What was the delicious thing?!”

Lu-chan thrust herself into the conversation at high speed.

“Uh, well, it was something Lady Marie made as part of her rehabilitation, so I don’t actually know what it was called…”

As Alois-san spoke hesitantly, his face took on a slight reddish tint.

Oho… I see?

“Eh? What kind of dish was it?!”

“U-uh, I believe it was roasted Big Boar meat with a sweet and sour sauce…”

“And then? And then?!”

“Eh? Ah, no, well…”

Alois-san was completely overwhelmed by Lu-chan’s relentless questioning.

“Now, now, Lu-chan. Let’s ask him to have her make some for us the next time we see her.”

“Yes!”

I threw out a lifeline to rescue Alois-san.

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“Saint-sama, thank you.”

“Not at all. We weren’t getting anywhere. Besides, next time, I’ll have you tell me in great detail exactly what it is you like about Marie-san.”

“Wh-! I’m not—!”

Alois-san protested with his face bright red, but with a reaction like that, it was completely obvious.

“Well, let’s leave it at that for now. More importantly, the attack force is heading out of the gate, right?”

At my words, the red-faced Alois-san returned to a serious expression.

“R-right. Open the gates!”

At Alois-san’s command, the gates opened, and the knights of the attack force poured out all at once.

Arrows and magic were already being unleashed from the walls in rapid succession. It seems the battle has already begun.

“Well then, we should—”

“Saint-sama, this way.”

Just as I was about to say we should deploy, Alois-san stopped me. He then led me up onto the gate.

“It is somewhat safer here. Captain Lazare has given strict orders that Saint-sama is not to be placed in any dangerous locations.”

Gunuuu , how tedious.

“Fiene-sama, our way of fighting is only possible because of your powerful Barrier. Since there is no one besides Fiene-sama who can use a Barrier like that, it’s only natural that others don’t understand.”

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“Hmm, I suppose so…”

We watched the state of the battle from atop the gate. For now, the majority of them seem to be Goblins.

Thanks to the moat, none of them have managed to reach the walls yet.

They were gathering in front of the gate with the drawbridge, and the knights who had charged out were taking them down one by one.

“Fiene-dono, if the opponents are only of this level, it is unnecessary for us to go out there.”

When Shizuku-san said that, I looked down below. Indeed, the monsters were not moving in an organized fashion; they were simply attacking the knights according to their instincts and being cut down in return.

The density of the monsters was so high that they were bumping into each other, and Goblins who tripped were being trampled by those following behind in a chaotic crush.

Hm? In that case…

“Ei, Defense Wall!”

I tried placing a Defense Wall in front of a group of monsters running along the edge of the moat, attempting to flank the knights.

Thump

“Gigi!?”

The Goblins running at the front slammed head-first into the suddenly appearing wall with a painful sound and shrieked.

Then, the Goblins running behind them, then the Orcs, and then the Big Boars, all slammed into them one after another.

“Gigigigi!?”

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“Guoooooo!?”

“Buhiiii!”

How should I put this… it was a complete disaster.

A crowd of dozens, no, hundreds of monsters plowed into the traffic jam caused by my Defense Wall, crushing the monsters in front of them.

And even under all that pressure, my Defense Wall didn’t even bend.

“That’s quite the sight…”

“Finishing off the pests!”

Lu-chan called Mashiro-chan over and started firing Wind Blades into the packed mass of monsters one after another.

Yes, Mashiro-chan really does seem stronger than before. No matter how I look at it, its range has increased.

“Lu-chan, did Mashiro-chan get stronger after it got fat— cough —after it got bigger?”

“O-Onee-sama, you noticed? Mashiro became a Lesser Spirit! Besides, don’t you think it’s even cuter now that it’s bigger?”

“Eh? Y-yes, I suppose so. And I’m glad Mashiro-chan was able to evolve.”

When I said that and patted Mashiro-chan, it happily rubbed its body against my hand.

Ah, so cute.