Volume 6, Chapter 55 – Urgent Dispatch

After that, I spent a few days doing charity work at the orphanage in the town of Airoll, helping Marie-san with her concerns, and watching over Marie-san and Alois-san with a smirk—I mean, a warm smile—before we finally set off for the Royal Capital.

As we parted, I repeatedly warned Alois-san that he absolutely mustn’t let Marie-san get away. He got so flustered that… I wonder if I can expect a “goal-in” for them?

Well, it felt like Marie-san had completely captured Alois-san’s stomach, so I’ll just pray they keep “exploding” happily ever after.

Also, I made sure to tell Alois-san that her special Class, Assistant Cook, was mentioned in the Complete Guide to Classes.

I think it’s a wonderful Class for a wife who prepares meals every day to protect the health of her husband and family.

Being able to support your family’s health through cooking seems like the perfect fit for the role of a supportive wife.

Marie-san is a great cook, too.

However, since it’s a rare Class, it’s been decided that Alois-san will be the one to tell Marie-san about it when the timing is right.

Though, they might’ve already had their “goal-in” by then.

Come to think of it, Marie-san said she plans to open a restaurant once the supporting knights withdraw and the garrison is closed.

I don’t know if I’ll have the chance, but if I ever stop by this town again, I definitely want to go eat there.

Now then, after ten days of being escorted by the knight order, we returned to the Royal Capital, only to be met with tragic news I never could have imagined.

We were led to the same castle conference room as when we first returned.

There, as before, were the King, the Pope, representatives from each knight order, and Char, sitting there with her head lowered.

However, Hugues-sama was nowhere to be seen.

“What on earth is the situation? And where is Hugues-sama?”

The King opened his mouth, silencing Char with a wave of his hand just as she tried to answer my question.

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“Holy Knight Hugues gave himself to protect the people and Lady Charlotte, and has gone missing.”

“What?”

“Holy Knight Hugues is still alive. Judging by the circumstances, he has likely been taken prisoner.”

“How can you know that? Did someone see him somewhere?”

“No. That is not it. It is because Lady Charlotte’s rosary has not lost its luster. In most cases, the rosary of a Saint Candidate who loses their Holy Knight before being granted the Class of Saint by God loses its glow.”

Oh? There’s a rule like that?

I glanced at the rosary around Char’s neck; indeed, the gold rosary with the green gem—the same shape as mine—was emitting a faint, holy light.

“That’s right. Hugues-sama is still alive. Therefore, we must rescue him quickly!”

Char was clearly worried about Hugues-sama. She was practically lunging at the King.

“But if we send the army again only to find we cannot defeat them, it will be a repeat of the same failure.”

“Even so!”

Um? I have absolutely no grasp of the situation right now.

“Excuse me, I’ve only just returned and I have no idea what’s happening. Could you… explain it to me?”

I asked, partly to calm Char down before she got any more worked up.

“Ah.”

Char, who had been leaning forward with intensity, suddenly plopped back down into her chair.

“That is true. First, Lady Fiene, I thank you for saving the town of Airoll from the Monster Stampede. I hear the four of you charged in and slew a Higher Species; I ask that you do not be too reckless.”

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“Ah, yes.”

“Now, regarding the southern front… it has collapsed.”

“Huh?”

“I said the southern front has collapsed. The strategic stronghold of Crieri has fallen, and the Fourth Knight Order has lost its main force and is in a state of collapse. The Madura Region in the south of our country has fallen under the control of the Black Rainbow Empire, which has allied itself with monsters. Consequently, it’s as though a knife is now being held to the Royal Capital’s throat.”

Um… are you serious?

“Um, how many enemies are there?”

“The enemy soldiers number approximately 5,000, joined by tens of thousands of monsters and Undead.”

“Your Majesty. How is it possible that the main force of the Fourth Knight Order was annihilated by a mere 5,000 soldiers? If Charlotte-sama and the clerics of the Temple were present, the Undead should not have been a threat. Does that mean there was an exceptionally powerful monster among the enemy?”

Chris-san interjected, as if she couldn’t help herself.

Chris-san was right; it was unnatural. Undead should be easily dealt with using Purification Magic; the only reason we struggled with Angelica-san’s case was that we didn’t know where the main body was.

“Yes, the clerics and I purified the Undead, and monsters were still just monsters. They weren’t a significant problem,” Char said, having regained her composure.

“Then you are saying the main force of the Fourth Knight Order was annihilated by only 5,000 soldiers? What kind of strategy did they employ?”

“We fought them head-on… and were beaten to absolute ruin. Most likely, the enemy suffered zero casualties.”

“Huh?”

I reflexively questioned the King’s words in response to Chris-san.

“No matter how many enemy soldiers we cut down, they would revive immediately. We stabbed them through the chest. We even cut off their heads. They just stood right back up.”

Yikes. Doesn’t that mean it’s impossible to win?

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“Lady Charlotte, could you tell me more in detail? First, is it certain that these immortal soldiers are not Undead?”

“We tried that much. Purification Magic had absolutely no effect.”

I see… That’s bad.

“Then, would it not work even if they were sliced into pieces until no original form remained?”

“It didn’t work. The only time we could neutralize them was when they were pinned under collapsed buildings. Even then, they remained alive, and as soon as the rubble was cleared, they revived immediately.”

“I see…”

Shizuku-san looked as if she were thinking for a moment, then slowly spoke.

“Then, were those soldiers not clad in something like a black mist?”

“!” “!”

Char and I gasped simultaneously. Then, Char pressed Shizuku-san in a tone that was almost an interrogation.

“H-how do you know about that!?”

“Calm yourself. We have experience fighting beasts with the characteristics Lady Charlotte described deep within the mountains of the Red Sky Empire.”

“What? Does that mean the Red Sky Empire and the Black Rainbow Empire are cooperating?”

“No, that cannot be. We fought those immortal beasts as a mission to hunt an ‘unknown monster’ requested by the Emperor of the Red Sky Empire. Furthermore, neither the Emperor, the strongest General, nor the Governor of the nearest city knew of these beasts, so we believe the Red Sky Empire is a victim as well.”

“Who on earth would… No, more importantly, how do you defeat those immortal beasts? If we know that, we can—!”

“There are two ways to defeat them. One is to slay them with a weapon enchanted with Purification Magic. The other is to slay them with a normal weapon and then cast Purification Magic on them while they are regenerating. With this, the immortal beasts could be killed.”

The moment she said that, the Pope’s eyes widened in surprise.

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“Enchant! Is that it! Oh, God! God knew of this! Lady Fiene, could it be that you received an Oracle?”

“Is that the case? Lady Fiene!”

The Pope had somehow come to a strange conclusion, and the King had followed suit, saying something equally odd.

“Eh? No, I didn’t receive an Oracle or anything like that, it’s just, um…”

I mean, the Pope was the one who suggested I move from Apothecary to Magic Apothecary in the first place, right? If an Oracle was received, wouldn’t that be the Pope and not me?

“Um, so, if it’s necessary, I can enchant weapons with Purification.  I did it about 1,000 times a day in the Red Sky Empire.”

“1,000 times!?”

Char and the Pope reacted to the number.

“Ah, it’s impossible without MP Recovery Medicines, though.”

“Even so, that is incredible. I could never bring myself to drink so many bottles of that foul liquid…”

Char frowned. That face—she was definitely remembering the taste.

Yeah, I get it. I know that feeling. I’ve gotten so used to them that I can just drink them without thinking now, but in the beginning, it was truly agonizing.

As I was reminiscing about that, a knight suddenly threw open the conference room doors and entered.

“What is the meaning of this! We are in a meeting!”

One of the Knight Commanders scolded the knight in a sharp voice.

“My apologies! However, this is an urgent dispatch! The Black Rainbow Empire’s army has departed Crieri and is approaching the Royal Capital! Their number is approximately 3,000! Furthermore, they are accompanied by tens of thousands of monsters!”