42 taste bad for the time being.

The harvest festival in Taze's home country has finally started. The harvest festival in the home country will be held for three consecutive days. On the first day, the opening ceremony is held in the main hall. After that, the tools used for the festival are brought to each village to celebrate this year's harvest and pray for a good harvest next year.

On the day of the ceremony, each village will hold a day-long harvest festival. On the last day of the festival, all the villages are visited, and the tools used in the festival are collected and burned to close the festival. In the meantime, it will be a day and night of revelry at home.

The opening ceremony on the first day of the festival has already been completed, and the streets are crowded with stalls and entertainment. Unlike usual, the number of ordinary stalls has decreased drastically and the number of stalls offering ready-made food has increased.

Of course, there are stalls where you can have fun like at a festival. There is ring tossing, knife shooting, hard nut smashing, dog running, and sword fighting instruction by knights. Despite the differences in civilizations, the will to enjoy the festival is no different from ours.

Therefore, we must enjoy it. I decided to take Ilias and Wolfe with me to look around.

Lakra has no work to do on the day of the festival. It would be a hindrance if I made her do something. There are not many monotonous jobs that can be prepared for her, so it's better to leave her outside, he said. He was given some money by the Yugra religion so that he would not come back with too much time on his hands. That's why Lakra is enjoying this festival alone.

He will probably come back to us when he has spent all his allowance, so we have to enjoy the festival until then. That being the case, .......

"What have you been reading all this time?

"It seems that Archbishop Ucka has finished retrieving his memories. I got a copy of the report. I got a copy of the report and a separate order for the rest.

There's a lot of visitors in Tarzan country now. There are merchants who have come to set up store for the harvest festival, and hobbyists and adventurers from neighboring countries who have come to enjoy the festivities. With so many newcomers, the gatekeeper's work would be far from complete.

If Rahite is trying to get the book back and has bad intentions towards us, it would not be surprising if he takes advantage of such an event to take some action. In fact, reading Archbishop Ucka's report on memory, it seems that Raheit likes to act in detail. He was in frequent contact with Archbishop Ucka and was always trying to obtain new information.

It is clear that he is not the type of person who waits for news to come to him, so it is possible that he has already started the next step. After considering several possibilities, I asked him to prepare another document for me. It is a list of adventurers who are notorious in Mejis and the surrounding countries.

Since he was defeated by Archbishop Ucka in the battle in the main body, I don't think Rahite's fighting ability is very high. This is not to belittle Archbishop Ucka, but it is a situation I infer from Lakra's story.

Archbishop Ucka is excellent in technology, but he is simply not as talented as the other archbishops. In terms of strength in actual battle, Lakra is better.

In other words, Raheit's strength is estimated to be around Lakra. He uses his head more than fighting, which is more than enough, but let's leave it at that.

Raheit is currently using a body other than his own. That is to say, his combat power is quite low, and he will not act directly. In that case, we can be sure that he will use people. The next thing to consider is what kind of people to use.

The dark forces of the Mejlis are already being audited by the Yugoslavs. It will be difficult to recruit new people. In the first place, it is unlikely that a smart person would like to use a method that has already been defeated. Of course, it is possible to take this idea into account and surprise them, but the time and effort required to regain control of the dark side would be tremendous and ineffective. Since it is easy to imagine such a situation, it would not be an option.

Then, what about using the dark areas of countries other than Medis? This is also unlikely. This is because Mejis has already told the surrounding countries that there are people who interfere with the dark side and manipulate it at will. The story about the Demon Lord's dog has been withheld, but it has been reported that he was good at brainwashing magic and was trying to cause trouble between nations.

If it was just advice from a neighboring country, I would have ignored it, but this is Mejisu. It is a country that has the headquarters of the Yugoslav religion, which has many followers in various countries. A country that approves of the Yugra religion would be more or less wary of the danger.

As such, the most likely pawns for Raheit would be adventurers or evildoers. However, bad guys cannot be bandits or thieves.

An assassin with actual combat experience would be preferable, but that would be almost as bad as the dark side. A different approach would be to choose an adventurer, and a strong one at that. However, I don't think any honest adventurer would follow a stinky guy like Raheit.

There is a possibility that he will use brainwashing magic to use them as pawns, but there is a magic seal at the gates of Taze, and the brainwashing magic will be broken if they enter the city straight away. Since he has already entered the city, it is safe to assume that he knows about it. In other words, the focus is on those who can be manipulated with rewards such as money and status, and adventurers who are known for their notoriety. That's why he has been given a wanted list so that he can be aware of such people when they come to this country.

But then again, there are notorious people in every world.

Adventurers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are heroes who are recruited by the government, while others are scoundrels who are hunted by the government and turned into criminals.

All that's written in the handbill is the person's appearance and what kind of notoriety they have. Many of them are not wanted by the government, but are considered dangerous and banned from the adventurer's guild. Some of them have killed many people because of their bloodlust, some of them have caused a lot of damage through conflicts of interest with other adventurers, and some of them have blackmailed and killed their clients because of disputes with them.

However, there are at least three powerful people in this country that he knows of: Archbishop Ucka, who defeated Raheit, Pope Eupalo, and Lakra. And it's no wonder he knows about the Iliad who was guarding us that day. In that case, we can exclude most of those who are notorious but have no ability.

Of course, there will be adventurers with brains like Rahite, so I'll keep those who smell like that in mind.

"Oh, this adventurer looks amazing. She's a woman, but she's a bloodthirsty fighter who uses a sword much bigger than she is. During a large-scale demon slaying, she was on the front lines and killed the most demons, but then lost her mind and attacked the other adventurers. He killed or injured most of them, including the adventurers who tried to stop him. ...... Why would you leave someone like this behind?

It's easy to imagine how hard it would be to kill a demon when you can't communicate with it. It's probably even more taxing on the minds of adventurers than war. But no matter how you look at it, what he's done is not a rash act of insanity. It's more like a maniac who is aware of what he's doing.

I'd like to think that they wouldn't send such an untouchable madman to such a big stage, but it's not impossible that we might see each other at some point.

His name is Gillista, he has short flaming red hair and a tattoo of a large claw over his right eye. He carries a greatsword with a blade like a pile of teeth. If you were to run into him on the street, you'd recognize him at a glance--

It's hard, what's hard is just like the word. There's a woman in front of you with a look you'd recognize at a glance. She has short, flaming red hair, a tattoo of a large claw over her right eye, and is carrying a large sword with a blade that looks like a set of teeth.

If this were Japan, I'd be wearing a celebrity costume.　If this were Japan, I would have laughed and said, "Hahaha," but that doesn't seem to be the case. It's no longer fashionable to collect the flag just as I've been rambling on about it, so please stop it.

"What's the matter?

It seems the Iliad has been found. It looks like he's the same as Gillista on the wanted list. He's strolling through the festival crowd in broad daylight.

--Calm down, calm down. We can't rule out the possibility that she's just a tourist. It's also possible that she's not the assassin Raheit sent, but just a criminal. As soon as he made eye contact with me, he gave me a really good look. We were both staring at him, he must've noticed. Gillista, who was looking at the stall fluently, walks up to me. 　

Ilias, it's not good if you get into trouble here, is it? Where do you think would be best?

If possible, I'd prefer outside the castle gates, but I'm sure the ...... square has space for the knights to perform.

We can't just leave it there, can we?

Of course. Fortunately, they're on the verge of killing us. If we move, it'll catch up with us.

We should intercept it in the least crowded place possible. The Iliad is one body. There's only so much he can do, but there's only so much he can do at the same time.

"All right, Wolfe, take him. Carry the wolfe. Follow the roof to the plaza.

"Yes!

It's been a while since I've been carried on a woman's shoulders. Wolfe leaps on the spot and reaches the roof. Ilias hasn't moved yet, intending to slow him down.

Gilista's condition is--what? She's not even close, yet she grabs the sword on her back and holds it out.

Her eyes are looking at me and she's smiling. I don't think she'll be able to reach us from this distance... no, no!

Iliad, stop!　Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!" "Iliad, stop!

"Ah-hah!

With a shout, Gillista swung his greatsword in the middle of the main street. A huge crashing sound reverberates in the surroundings. The impact blew away the people on Gillista's side. But they weren't cut down, their slashes were stopped by Ilias' sword. Ilias must have noticed. He could have avoided the worst of it by jumping into the air without hesitation with a rush that would have knocked away everyone around him.

"Don't you dare aim at innocents without hesitation, outlaw!

"But, you're the one who tried to escape, right? You're the knight who protects his people.

Gilista then swung a follow-up blow. Once again, a roaring sound and vibrations were transmitted to the surroundings. With the second impact, the people around finally understood the danger of the current situation and began to make noise.

Everyone get away!　If you get caught, you'll die immediately!

At the sound of Ilias's voice, the people around him began to run for cover. A mass panic had broken out. But for now, there was no choice but to ask the people around them to keep their distance.

The people that Ilias had pushed away understood the situation and began to move away. However, those who were blown away by the impact of the first strike were too late to escape. They are out of the range of the great sword, but they are scattered around. After all, the Iliad can't move in place. If he moves, they will immediately move into the distance of the great sword.

"Shishou, what should we do?

Wolfe calls out to you, worried about their condition. The Iliad would not be able to fight if there were still people around. But will he be able to evacuate them all?

The people who were blown away by the sudden impact are slowly getting up and starting to evacuate. However, some of them have been knocked to the ground and are unable to move due to the damage. Should I tell the evacuees to take the rest of them with them?　No. Right now, your own safety is your top priority. Even if you do, no one will follow your instructions.

...... Wolfe, we'll be close.

But--

But-- "After all the commotion we've caused, the other knights should be rushing over soon. Let's buy some time until then.

"...... Yes.

I jumped down from the rooftop and came to the side of Ilias and the others. At some point, the two of them engage in a fierce battle, and their swords come to a halt. I'm not sure if she's a match for Ilias' arm strength, but she is!

Fool!　Why don't you just run away while you can!

"Oh, you came all the way over there?　I'm so happy!

"You've started a crazy fight in the middle of the day. Gilista, is that you?

Yes!　That's right, I'm Gilista!　You know who I am, don't you?

Even though it's a competitive situation, Gillista seems to have a lot of room to maneuver. Ilias is no match for him, but he can't seem to move as fast as he wants.

If you look, you'll see that Ilias's foot is caved in on the ground. What a sword pressure, and judging from the roar earlier, the weight of the thing seems to be considerable. I'll have Wolfe put him down for now.

I'm not sure what to make of that.

Oh, no, no, no. What are you talking about?

No need to be silly. Raheit sent him the other day to declare war.

"Oh, is that so? I didn't hear anything about it. You're a bad person, aren't you, Lahti?

Of course you're lying, you idiot! You're too careless to fall for such a bluff.

Suddenly, an angry voice jumped in from behind Gillista. I don't know how long he's been here, but there's a man standing there who looks like a strong adventurer. His whole body is covered with a black undercoat, and he is wearing light armor over it. A gauntlet with a black dragon on it, probably the same weapon as Wolfe's, stands out.

I've been fooled, haven't I?　That's awful.

"That's no way for a Rahite chicken to behave, you idiot!　But it was a good trick for Gillista. I'll give him that.

What's up with this guy, just when you think he's going to lose his temper, he switches his expression to that of a mild-mannered young man. I don't think it's a matter of emotional instability.

"I'm sorry, paa-chan.

"Don't stretch it or I'll sew your mouth shut!　Just call me Parshlo.

There's a list of names like that at ....... Parshlo was a disciple and potential successor to Gladna the Fist, but was excommunicated for killing many of his fellow disciples. After that, he made a living as an adventurer and a bouncer.

He's very good at what he does, but he's also very moody and has killed many of his friends and clients, and has been working as an underworld dweller ever since those crimes came to light. He's not a good guy either. But a madman and a moody guy, Rahite has sent us a bad match. I mean, the enemy's reinforcements are coming, but our reinforcements are not?

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's worth it.

What?

I'm having a ward put up around here to keep people out. It's a ward that doesn't chase away those who leave and rejects those who come.

I check the surroundings. If you ask me, the surroundings are too quiet after causing so much commotion. I can't even hear the voices of the people who were fleeing in panic just now. So we'll just have to make do with the current situation.

Currently, there are five immobile civilians within a ten meter radius of Ilias and Gilista. Gillista's weapon is unusually heavy, and he's not as strong as Ilias. He should be considered on par with or better than Gidou's undead state that he fought before. And Ilias didn't want Gillista to wield the big sword too much. The impact of the strikes would damage the civilians. If he takes too long, Parshero may start to move.

Ilias, create distance!

I can't. I can't let this thing go free here. It'll endanger everyone around it.

I said, don't keep your distance!

I see!

Ilias leaps aside Gillista's greatsword. Now Gillista could wield the greatsword again.

But...

"First you get out of the way!

Ilias's kick sent Gillista flying backwards. Gilista immediately spun around in the air, and with a move similar to that of Grandpa Kara's, she thrust the greatsword into the ground, killing its power.

"Ouch! Kicking a lady in the stomach, you terrible knight!

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, but you don't need to kick me anymore!

This time, Ilias slashes at Gillista. This time, Ilias slashes at Gillista. Because of the shift in position, the civilians are out of the range of the impact generated by the two sword fights. The two of them are now in a position where they can finally fight properly. However, Gillista was able to block Ilias' attack, even though he was now able to move. He is at least on the level of Dokora, the leader of the bandits.

"Oh my god, I hate you, you're so much stronger than me...

However, Ilias seemed to have the advantage in terms of strength. He was able to handle Ilias's continuous attacks, but was unable to counterattack. But--

"Don't forget I'm here, kid, and don't tell me two against one isn't fair.

From behind Gilista, Pershero strikes Ilias with a gauntlet blow. Ilias blocks the attack, but is pushed back. Iliad blocks the attack, but is pushed back, and Gilista closes the gap.

"Of course, I don't want to forget mine.

"That's my line!

Wulfe kicks Gilista as he swings his greatsword. Gilista is blown backwards again. This time, she was caught completely by surprise, and was knocked to the ground without being able to catch herself.

"Well, well, well, little puppy suddenly jumped out at me, didn't you?

Gillista gets up slowly. Gilista gets up slowly, languidly, zombie-like, but with a sense of ease.

I'm not very good at taking care of animals, so can I leave that to you?

I'm not very good at taking care of animals.　It's not enough, but it's okay.

Gilista has set her sights on Ilias and Pershing has set his sights on Wolfe. I don't mind the Iliad yet, but I'm worried about the Ulphe. I think we should wait for the Iliad to join us and buy enough time to avoid being defeated.

Wolfe, I'm not saying don't go for the win, but don't be reckless. Gauge your opponent's strength correctly.

Yes!

Parshero parried Wolfe's thrusting blow with his gauntlet. As if on cue, Ilias and Gillista began to slash at each other again. As before, Ilias drove Gillista back with his strength and speed.

"You can't win in a proper slugfest, how about something like this then?

Gilista takes a half step back while drawing her sword. She let Ilias out of her own sword's reach. But Ilias is not going to stop. He immediately tries to close the distance.

"Bon appétit!

Suddenly, the greatswords parted. The greatsword, which had appeared to be serrated, opened up like the mouth of a crocodile. The Iliad stopped suddenly and flew backwards. The fangs that came at him from above and below cut through the air, and their jaws clattered violently against each other.

"Is it some kind of magic sword?

"Yes, this sword is said to have been used by the demon tribe. It loves to drink blood, devour flesh, and chew on bones.

Gilista's sword begins to writhe like a living thing. And opens its huge mouth again.

"Come on!　Come on!　Come on!　Come on!　Let's dance and eat this very tasty knight!

Gilista wields a biting greatsword. The movement of the sword as it repeatedly closes and opens is completely random. If the mouth closes while swinging down from above, the slash will come from above and below.

If your mouth opens when you swing up from the bottom, it will switch to a slash that hits your legs and head at the same time. If you are in between, you will be chewed up, and even if you try to avoid it, the swing and engagement of the sword are completely irregular and difficult. If you go on the offensive, all your attacks will be simultaneous. Of course, it would be difficult to defend against a sword that changed its shape so erratically. But Gillista was able to block the blade that the Iliad returned. He is well aware of the sword's erratic movements.

"A troublesome weapon. It's hard to handle and it eats your magic.

"That's right, her bite also eats away the magic power of her surroundings. Even if the attack doesn't hit.

Oh my god, if that's true, then Ilias is losing his magic and strength at an alarming rate just by fighting like that. From the look on Ilias' face, it's hard to say how much magic he's lost. However, if he can feel it, then it is safe to say that at least 10% of his magic power has been lost. I look at Wolfe to see if he's okay.

You can't do anything about it.　The only thing I'll admit to is my high magic power, but the rest is immature.

Wolfe repeatedly attacks in small increments, but all of his attacks are evaded or defended. Just like when he was dealing with Ragdoll, there was too much of a gap in skill. Fortunately, the opponent is not yet serious. They haven't struck back yet. Hopefully, Ilias will be able to resolve the situation while we wait and see.

"I'm tired of you, you little bastard!

Suddenly, his movements accelerated and Parshero's fist swung down. Wolfe quickly defended against it, but he couldn't kill the power. He was flung away and slammed into the wall.

"Wolfe!

But Wolfe immediately kicks the wall and jumps into Parshero.

You don't think Gillista is a wizard and I'm just a gauntlet wielder, do you?　Burn to the ground, you beast!

Parshero's arms were engulfed in black flames. The moment the intercepting fire fist reaches Wulfe, Wulfe flips to the side. He quickly released his magic power to change the trajectory of his charge. But if she hadn't done that, the game would have been decided. A huge black flame engulfed the direction from which Wolfe had rushed. It reached the wall and set it ablaze.

The stone wall is on fire. ......?

The flames produced by these gauntlets burn things, but they are not really flames. It's a magic that has been given the ability to make the target's magic burn.

Thanks for the explanation. But that's not good. In short, it's a magic that burns magic. The flame is igniting the magic that Wolfe released to avoid it, and it's burning up at once.

I shudder to think what would happen if Wolfe, a mass of magical power, were to take a direct hit. There is a possibility that it can be ripped off by releasing magic power the moment it ignites, but it would be like blowing up a flame with kerosene pressure. If you're not careful, a big fire is inevitable.

There is a disparity in strength, but the opponent has a deadly flame. No matter how you look at it, Wolfe is at a disadvantage. But if you intervene in the battle, you'll be slowed down even more. If the story is correct, we have no magic power, so we should not ignite, but the air and soil around us will burn, and we will not be able to fight with flesh and blood.

The only thing we can do now is to understand Gillista and Parshlo a little better and find a way through them. But he is not a man of reason. They are trying to slaughter us with absurd violence. These people are not within the realm of reason.

But this is not the time for such weakness. I should do what I can to help. d*mn, the chains wrapped around my body are heavy. ...... chains are heavy?　No, wait, why are there chains around my body?

"What?

Suddenly, you feel an intense pressure all over your body, and your body floats. It's so sudden that you can't immediately grasp the situation. What happened, take stock of the situation.

--Now my body's chained up. And I'm hanging from the roof of a building. I look up. There's a man staring into the sky above, mumbling. The chains stretching from his arms are binding him.

The chains are wrapped around the man's arms to prevent his bare skin from peeking out, even after consuming a length that would bind an adult.

"Shh!

You're still here?

Of course he's here, me and Pershero can't ward him off. But it's a good job, ecdysiac.

I was careless. I was so focused on the strength of my opponent that I didn't think about the number of them. Gilista and Parshero were enough of a threat on their own. I had mistakenly thought that their appearance would be the end of it. The chains tightened around my body like a living thing.

"Gosh, ......

That's not good. I'm losing consciousness. If these people are here according to Lahite, then their goal is the book, or someone who can decipher it. In other words, if I were to pass out here, my chances of waking up would be very low. By the time I got to that point, it was after I had completely lost consciousness.