Chapter 19

Thank you for the bookmark.

We run, we run.

We ran desperately through the forest, distancing ourselves from the monsters chasing us and the princes. I have no idea where we ran or how, so I’m completely lost. Even if we are saved, I have no confidence in being able to return to the village on my own.

And, fortunately or unfortunately, we emerged from the towering trees into an open area.

(I’ll stand and fight here! I will do it, I will!)

I stopped and turned to face the monsters that would surely appear from the forest.

“Tytte, stay back.”

“Miss…”

I don’t have the composure to reassure Tytte, who looks worried, with a clever line. She just nods, her expression tense, and moves hesitantly to the forest behind me.

(I’m going to do it, I will, I will fight! With courage, forward!)

I glared straight ahead, and just as I thought I heard the sound of something huge slithering closer, the grass and trees were violently pushed aside, and a giant snake burst out of the forest.

Faced with this overwhelming sight, I gasped, and for a moment, I felt as if my heart had stopped.

The giant snake, with its huge mouth open, lunged at me with full force. I stood rooted to the spot, my mind blank from the sheer intensity, and remained in the stance I had learned during training, frozen in place.

“Miss!”

Hearing a voice from behind, I snapped back to reality.

(That’s right, for Tytte’s sake, who trusted and followed me, I… I can’t lose!)

If it were just me, could I have mustered this much courage? No, I would have probably run around crying.

(For someone else)

It’s a cliché, but what a powerful phrase.

The giant snake’s huge mouth was coming at me with incredible speed.

But I won’t run!

“I’m invincible!”

I screamed incoherently and thrust out both hands.

BOOM!

The sound of the snake’s charge and my impact echoed around.

In fact, I had closed my eyes halfway through and grabbed onto something when I felt it touch my hands.

When nothing happened, I slowly opened my eyes and saw the snake’s mouth right in front of me. The breath of the monster reached me, and I wrinkled my nose at the smell.

(What happened? What is this, what happened?)

Panic-stricken, I looked at my hands and saw that I was holding the snake’s large fangs. I had grabbed the snake’s fangs, pinning its head to the spot. As evidence, the snake couldn’t move its head at all and was only writhing its tail.

(I’ve stopped its movement, so what do I do now! What do I do next! I can’t let go of my hands, how do I attack!)

The sight of the snake writhing and drooling in front of me was incredibly disgusting and terrifying. I couldn’t kick it in this position, and the stalemate between me and the snake continued. But I wasn’t losing the grip, and the snake was just thrashing its tail.

“Miss, use magic! Magic!”

Tytte, who had been hiding behind the trees, approached and gave me advice.

(Right, magic, magic! I can attack without using my hands, and since it can’t move, it will definitely hit!)

Then, I remembered the magic I could use.

(No, I haven’t learned any attack magic since then! The only thing I can use is Magic Arrow, but that won’t be enough to defeat it!)

I panicked even more, and the stalemate between me and the snake continued.

Then, at that moment, I saw white petals dance in front of my eyes.

(White… Yes, the Silver Knight!)

I had read a few of his legends and stories, but the descriptions of the magic he used were vague, and the names didn’t match my previous life’s memories. However, there was one spell that the Silver Knight often used to finish off his enemies, which was described in detail and matched the memory from my previous life’s game.

(I can use that! Probably…)

I could imagine it as clearly as when I learned Magic Arrow, and I knew the name, so I probably could cast it. I decided to bet on this unknown power in this critical moment.

“Tytte! Stay back!”

I didn’t know how effective it would be, so I made Tytte move away. I took a deep breath and steeled myself.

(I might lose control of my magic! But I’m betting on this.)

“Fourth-tier magic!”

My powerful words echoed through the forest.

“I bestow upon you the blade of judgment!”

I recited the lines from the stories, not knowing how much was necessary.

“Sword of Judgment!”

At that moment, a large magic circle appeared beneath me, spreading wide enough to envelop the giant snake in front of me. The light shone brightly, converged in the sky, and transformed into a massive sword.

“It’s over.”

I’m not saying this because I want to; it’s written in the story, and it might be part of the incantation.

(Embarrassing, yes, very embarrassing!)

KRAAAASH!

A tremendous boom echoed, and the sound of metal slicing through the air deafened me as the giant sword of light pierced the snake and impaled it into the ground.

It happened in an instant.

As the light faded, the once thrashing snake collapsed into a lifeless heap on the ground.

I released the fangs I had been holding, and with a loud thud, the snake completely collapsed.

I stood there for a while, unable to process what had happened.

“You… You did it! You defeated it, Miss! That’s amazing!”

Tytte, who had observed the entire scene objectively, was the first to come to her senses and ran to me, helping me grasp the situation. At the same time, my thoughts sounded an alarm: “This is bad.”

I grabbed Tytte’s hand and started running again.

“W-What’s wrong, Miss! We don’t need to run anymore!”

“It’s bad, bad, bad, bad! How do I explain defeating that thing! And what do I say about using that magic?”

“Why not just say it as it is? That you defeated it.”

“No way! If I say that, I’ll really be made into a hero! My motto is no events, good life! I refuse to go through such a scary experience ever again!”

I dragged the flustered Tytte, pulling her deeper into the forest.

“Then what do you plan to do? You defeated it like the Silver Knight… Oh, by the way, Miss, you used some amazing magic.”

“I just copied what I saw; I wasn’t sure if I could do it. And you didn’t see it, right? I read it in a story.”

Neither of us was calm, and we had a disjointed conversation. But Tytte’s words gave me an idea.

“Right, right! We were saved by a traveler in full silver armor. Let’s do that! If we make it seem like a return of the Silver Knight, no one will think I defeated it! Yes, great idea.”

“Eh?!”

I continued to think about this as I dragged Tytte deeper into the forest.

As expected, or perhaps inevitably, we got completely lost.

When the sun set, we realized the severity of the situation and stood still, half-crying, waiting for help. In the distance, we saw the light of torches and were eventually rescued by Sir Claus and his knights.

Thus, the chaotic event that occurred the day before the Moonflower Festival ended with a bit of a fuss about the appearance of the Silver Knight.

Battles are really difficult. Thank you for reading this far.