Book 8: Chapter 32

「Whaa……!?」

The crystal fragments that reflected light while pouring down.

Within Guzelshio’s view, whose eyes were dazzled by those fragments that glittered, something black was projected.

It wasn’t a comrade of his. That was, something different.

He tried to figure out its identity, but that became a fatal opening.

「Sparkling……brilliance……Gather, and pierce him!」

「Oh cra……!」

Light congregated on Celis’ long staff.

「Il Raltio (Light God’s Flash Attack Spear)!」

「Magic Guard Light!」

The hurriedly deployed Magic Guard and Celis’ magic clashed, and a small scale explosion broke out.

Feeling relieved that he defended against it, Guzelshio immediately corrected that thought.

The magic just now, was dangerous. Celis was a much greater Magician than Guzelshio had predicted.

He couldn’t allow her to make her chant.

In that case, it would be fine if he got in close. No matter what kind of Magician they were, there was no way they could win in close combat.

Thinking that way, Guzelshio forgot. About that something that came and slipped in from above in the crystal fragments earlier.

And then, as for how he didn’t know just who his own comrades should be keeping away was his misfortune.

「Ah……?」

Guzelshio suddenly fell to the floor.

No, what dropped was Guzelshio’s head.

Guzelshio looked up while his headless body fell.

Someone in black, and someone in blue that carried a sword in their hand had put his body in between them from his front and back.

So he, had been killed──Understanding that, Guzelshio turned into black particles and scattered.

「……Even though I planned on keeping him alive, you shouldn’t go lopping his head off.」

「That’s because I aimed to bring certain death with a single attack after all. Besides, even keeping him alive would just be a pain, right?」

Celis saw the two of them, and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

One of them, was the blue Maid Knight that she recognized very well, Reina.

But, she didn’t know the other person. Celis could only see their appearance from behind from her position, but it was most likely a Maid Knight……a black Maid Knight. Moreover, she carried a long sword and large shield in her hands just like Reina.

After she absent-mindedly looked at the two of them while thinking “are they comrades?”, before long Reina breathed a sigh as if to say that it couldn’t be helped.

「Well, it can’t be helped now that everything’s finished. He didn’t look like he knew about much in detail after all.」

「That’s true. Also, the answer to the question you sent is soup. It had pieces of jerky and some unknown herbs in it.」

Celis tilted her head at the black Maid Knight’s incoherent line, but Reina chuckled.

「I see. Do you know what type of jerky it was?」

「No. After all, I can only remember that it was delicious at the time.」

「I bet. I did force you to eat it after all.」

「Ah, um……?」

Confused, Celis called out to Reina.

『In the event that there was a person searching for me, if that child answers what the menu they ate on the day we first met was, then I shall meet with them』──That which Reina had said before is something that Celis would naturally not know about.

With a *pon*, Reina placed a hand on the head of the black Maid Knight that turned an expressionless face towards Celis.

「Well……The things to talk about have piled up, but for the time being, let’s put that off for now. Are you alright, Celis?」

「Y, yes. Um, I was told that you were being held up on the floor below……」

「It wasn’t a problem. They were all tidied up.」

The fact that she didn’t hear any sounds of battle was probably because it was literally a one-sided slaughter but……even so, the fact that it took this much time for her to finish up, there was no doubt that there was a considerable number of them. She was able to guess that from Reina’s use of the word 「all」.

「For them to come aiming for you with this timing……As I thought, the disturbance outside is probably a diversion. Their real aim was probably here.」

It wasn’t on a scale that could be concluded with the word “diversion”, but Celis also felt that was most likely the case.

That Alva said that his objective was the Altluwand and to erase Celis.

In that case, as she thought, there was no mistake that the one behind the scenes was Narika, her older sister.

However, before thinking about that, there was something that was bothering her.

「S, so, um……Who is that person over there?」

「I am called Ichika.」

In response to Ichika who made a perfect and elegant bow that the one that the earlier Alva made couldn’t even be compared to it, Celis even hurried to bow back.

「I, I am the Third Princess of the Canal Kingdom, Celis. On this occasion, I am grateful for your assistance in my predicament. Erm, so, um. What kind of relationship do you have with Reina?……」

「……」

After making a wry smile at Ichika who kept silent and didn’t answer, Reina went “uーn” and then put up her index finger and started spinning it around in the air while muttering.

「Let’s see. How should I explain it?……Well, please just understand it as her being an acquaintance of mine.」

「Right……」

Although she was bothered by how Ichika had turned a gaze that said she was dissatisfied with that to Reina, Celis nodded.

It was because she understood that once Reina said something like that, it would be impossible to get more words out of her.

And then, the moment that Celis tried to open her mouth, the sound of several footsteps together with heavy *gasha gasha* sounds could be heard.

That sound climbed up the stairway sounding hurried, and their figures appeared in the Altar Room.

「Princess Celis, are you alri……Uoh, the Altar Room is!?」

「Knight Commander, I am fine. Since Reina and……Ichika-sama here had saved me.」

「Heh? R, right……However, just where did that person called Ichika come from?」

Although she received the Swords of Light Chivalric Order Commander’s gaze that compared Ichika and the broken ceiling with his eyes and had a face that said he was thinking “could it be?”, Ichika stood there with a composed face.

「Well, that should be fine. More importantly, the guy who seemed to be the principal offender of the attack this time was defeated. I’ll tell you about it in detail later but……for the time being, let’s escort Celis to her room. Ri……Ichika, you’ll help too, right?」

「……Yes.」

After Reina said that and carried Celis in her arms, *porori*, the long staff fell from Celis’ hands.

Ichika, who tried to catch that staff, was repelled the moment she touched it, and she unconsciously pulled her hand back.

「Whoa.」

Reina nimbly picked up the staff that fell to the floor and made a dull sound, and made Celis’ hand grip onto it.

「That’s no good, it’s an important staff, right?」

「Y, yes.」

While carrying Celis who was tightly gripping onto the long staff, Reina told the Swords of Light Chivalric Order Commander that stood in front of the stairway to “move out of the way” with her gaze.

「Oi, you all! Go down!」

「Y, yessir!」

Hearing the sounds of the Swords of Light Knights that seemed to have jammed up in the middle of the stairway hurriedly heading down the stairway, Reina was also about to head down the stairway after confirming that things had settled down. But, it was there that she turned around and called out to Ichika who was staring at her.

「Erーm……Ichika, it’s fine for you to come as well. It’s not like you intend on returning like this, right?」

「……Yes, of course.」

After answering like that, Ichika followed after Reina and also started to head down the stairway.

Going down from the Altar Room, and into the Throne Room. And then, Reina walked to Celis’ room that was on that floor.

Only one of the black cat ears peeked out from Celis’ hood as she was held within Reina’s arms, and having noticed that, Celis flusteredly fixed her hood to cover it.

Wondering if it was seen, Celis hurriedly looked at Ichika who was walking behind them, but she couldn’t surmise that sort of response from the expressionless Ichika.

Celis was a bit scared of Ichika whose atmosphere seemed somewhat like cold ice, unlike Reina who possessed an atmosphere that would make people feel relieved, and she tightly grabbed the hem of Reina’s clothes.

It’s alright. Since she’s Reina’s acquaintance, it’s not scary.

Since Reina’s here, it’s not scary.

As if to relieve herself, Celis muttered that over and over in her mind.

Reina stared at the slightly trembling Celis that was in her arms, with a slightly troubled looking……yet gentle expression.