CH 73

“Sensei! What do you mean Nordes are attacking us!?”

“Calm down! Everyone, please calm down first!”

The children gathered in the classrooms were causing a racket, and the teachers were trying their best to appease them. The same scene extended inside every classroom we passed by, and it was the same again in the classroom we arrived at.

“Amar-sensei!  I’ve brought Miguel and Nash!”

“Thank you, Thomas. Then please both of you take your seats immediately. I’ll explain the situation to you right away.”

Both Miguel and Nash obediently took their seats, regardless of what they may have been thinking. After confirming that the entire class had gathered, Amar took a deep breath once and then slowly began to explain.

“Let me begin by explaining. You all know about the Nordes, don’t you? They are evil beings who attack us from the northern continent ruled by the Demon Lord.”

“I know! But they are usually held back by the coast, aren’t they?”

Amar nodded at the female student who raised her hand and continued.

“Yes, that is true. They were shot down at sea by excellent spirit users, and the few nordes that escaped from there were all destroyed before they entered this country due to the activities of the Imperial Knights. This time, however, the Nordes were moving in a completely different way. Not only did they come in an unprecedentedly large group, but they also disregarded all towns and villages along the way and headed toward us.”

“What!? Why!?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know, but … anyway, there are a large number of Nordes flying towards this school right now. So I’m going to ask you all to take shelter here for a while. The school buildings are better protected than the dormitories. It will be uncomfortable for a while, but――!?”

Thud! Thud! Boom!

“Kiyaaaaaa!?”

Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of an explosion and a shock, and the students screamed and crouched on the spot. Looking out the window, there was a black humanoid with bat-like wings….I saw a Norde stuck to it.

“Hiiii!? I-It’s a N-Norde!”

“No!”

“It’s okay! It’s alright, everyone! This school building is protected by a powerful barrier, so this is no problem!”

“B-But, sensei! It’s a Norde!?”

“Somebody! Somebody help me!”

“Aahhh! Father! Mother!”

“Calm down! This situation has already been reported to the King and the Knights will come to our aid! So please be patient for a moment!”

“Aaaaahhhh!”

No matter how desperately Amar appealed, the wailing in the room would not subside. But that was rather natural. It would be rather strange for a 12-year-old child with no experience in actual combat not to cry if they were subjected to this kind of situation.

But still, some kids remained calm.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. It’s okay, don’t cry.”

“That’s right! With me, who can use the spirit magic of all six attributes, I’ll blow Nordes away in no time!”

“That’s right, that’s right! Crying will only make you hungry, it ain’t going to make help come any faster, okay? In times like this, you have to love your spirits and calm down. Hey, Saran?”

“Kuahhhh ……”

Miguel consoling his classmate, Nash encouraging everyone by beating his chest, and Thomas patting his spirit with a carefree look on his face…. Incidentally, of course, Saran’s appearance has long since reverted back to that of a skink lizard…. Seeing these three, the confusion in the room gradually subsided. Just as confusion was contagious, so too was calmness.

“Miguel, do you really think we’re going to be okay?”

“Of course. Hey, Eidos, we’re going to be okay, right?”

“Of course. As long as I am here, the safety of my Lord and his friends will never falter.”

“Oi, Tia! You’re gonna help me this time, right?”

“Yes, I will. When the time comes, I’ll do it with a bang!”

“I’m an average guy, but my friends are pretty awesome. Miguel and Nash will take care of me.”

“Thomas …, yeah, Leave it to me!”

“Gah! Fine, I’ll do it!”

In reality, Miguel, Nash, and even Thomas must be quite overwhelmed. The three of them, their hands shaking slightly, still maintained their strength and composure, and completely calmed down the classroom. I took advantage of the opportunity to sneak up and talk to Amar-sensei.

“Sensei, so what’s the real story here? How long is it gonna hold?”

“That’s … In the current condition, probably for a week. It just takes as long for the Knights to arrive, and I don’t know if the children can stand that much, let alone us adults. …”

“… It would be difficult.”

There was no way they would feel secure if the time that the defenses would hold and the time when rescue might arrive were the same. And even if they were calm now, a child’s psyche would not be able to endure such a harsh situation very well.

“Then, Let’s make our debut here… Tia!”

“Of course, Let’s go!

At my call, Tia nodded with a big smile on her face. Then there was only one thing left to do.

“My Lord. As a human spirit, I am going out now to protect people. I request your permission to do so.”

“Permission!? What are you going to do out there!?”

“Of course, I’m going to strike down the insolent ones who threaten my Lord.”

“…Can you do it?”

“I can.”

Looking straight into each other’s eyes, I emphatically assured Miguel. In the past, I would have been expelled here, but this time I won’t do that. I couldn’t take the risk of returning in 10 minutes when the enemy’s strength was unknown.

Conversely, that also meant that as long as I wasn’t dead, I would not have the opportunity to fully resurrect in ten minutes. …. What on earth could I protect if I wasn’t prepared to do that much?

“What, you’re just going to leave me here!?”

“No, I’m leaving you in charge. You have a bad mouth and a mean personality, but you have learned enough to protect everyone when the time comes, haven’t you? So you stay here and protect them.”

Next to me, Nash and Tia were also continuing their discussion. Nash’s face, which was always arrogant and irreverent, turned sullen and … turned his head away, but he said what he wanted to say as if he had made up his mind.

“Understood. Then go! Go out there and do your work as my contracted spirit, and don’t be ashamed of it! Blow away all the Nordes ….and be sure to come back! Okay!?”

“Fufu~, okay. This one’s fine, Eidos.”

“Got it. Miguel?”

“Yeah, go ahead, Eidos. Show me … what you can do, and show us that you can beat the Nordes!”

“I’m on it!”

After nodding vigorously, I ran alongside Tia through the school building and out the entrance.

“Hmmm, I would have liked to break through the window and jump out, momentum-wise.”

“Ed? You don’t know what that would do to the barrier, do you?”

“I know. That’s why I came all the way out here in the regular way. …, coming from forward, numbering about 300.”

After completing the search using the banishment skills [Akashic Compass] and [Auto Mapping], I informed Tia of the results. After that, I took out a steel word from the [Stranger Box] that I had bought and left behind.

“I need you to defend the school building. I don’t know how long the barrier will hold up.”

“Roger that. You need backup?”

“Ha! Kidding!”

“Keeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!”

A Norde plunged at me from the sky, and I split it in two, head first. Then the corpse disappeared in a few seconds as a black mist,… I’ve never fought one before, but apparently they were similar in nature to the Kuronuris at Waffer’s place. This would make it easier to fight without getting bogged down by corpses.

“Come on! I’m gonna cut every last one of you up!”

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“I won’t let you get even a single scratch on those kids!”

“Keeeeeeeeeeee!!!!”

Three hundred vs two. In the face of the difference in numbers, even despair, I grinned and swung my sword at Norde, who jumped at me.

(T/N: Trails players, Elise, Juna or Sara?. Hard to decide between Elise and juna for me)