Chapter 10

The carriage moved smoothly.

The road was unpaved, so it jolted, but with the cushions I received, I secured them on both sides and laid one underneath, so it wasn’t uncomfortable.

To be honest, it was more comfortable than the carriage the Saint of Raphen rode in.

(Whenever I rode in that carriage for inspections in the countryside, my back always hurt, and I felt like an old woman.)

The decoration was excessive, but the seats were hard, and I had to bring cushions to make it somewhat bearable.

Perhaps the Einveil Kingdom’s carriages have a different mechanism.

While thinking about this, we took a break, and the carriage started moving again.

"We’ll arrive at the next town if we go a little further."

"You’re in quite a hurry, aren’t you?"

The carriage was moving at a good speed, and the breaks were kept to a minimum.

I thought a duke’s journey would be more elegant.

Well, despite his beautiful face and appearance, the duke, who exuded a ruggedness, didn’t seem to suit an elegant journey.

He was also dressed practically for the journey.

The carriage we were in and another one carrying some luggage were all he brought. The luggage was mostly personal items and mostly food.

The duke’s journey was rather modest.

It felt like a detachment of the knight corps was just moving on a secret mission.

"It can’t be helped."

Agatha smiled wryly at that moment.

The carriage suddenly slowed down and stopped.

"What’s happening..."

I couldn’t help but look out the window, and I gasped.

There were gray, large creatures in front of us.

Well, I’m not sure if they can be defined as living beings... or rather, monsters.

The white-gray, wolf-like monsters, which were twice the size of the knights who drew their swords in caution, were numerous. I couldn’t tell how many there were from inside the carriage.

"Sir, we’ve confirmed 30 magic wolves. There might be more in the woods!"

Someone reported, and I understood the scale, but I could only turn pale.

"Why are there so many magic wolves!?"

Someone muttered in a trembling voice. However, the duke seemed calm even in this situation.

"They’ve multiplied too much. We should have hunted more."

But his voice sounded annoyed. In fact, it was strange that his expression didn’t change, even when he said it in an annoyed tone.

The duke approached the carriage and said to me.

"Take the best action to protect your life. We will mainly handle the extermination, but there might be times when we can’t protect you. Agatha, I leave it to you."

"Understood."

Agatha bowed from her seat.

The duke immediately dismounted and slowly approached the magic wolves.

"Eh, um, is the situation that serious?"

Despite his calm steps, the duke’s words were quite stern. I had no idea what to think.

Agatha nodded.

"It’s quite serious. In the worst case, even if the duke is safe, the others might all perish."

"To that extent...!?"

I widened my eyes.

The duke must have brought elite soldiers.

With at least ten of them, I thought they could put up a decent fight.

Agatha’s expression was stern as she pulled out a sword from under the carriage seat. She then gripped the hilt and focused on the window.

I also looked outside and gasped at the sight of the battle that had begun.

The soldiers and knights who wielded their swords.

However, they were cruelly thrown back by a single swipe of the magic wolves’ arms and struggled to get back up.

The swords they swung also lacked power.

It seemed like the swords were sliding off their tough fur, making it difficult to wound them.

Something was wrong.

—There was almost no shimmer of magic.

I thought they weren’t using magic, but Agatha provided the answer.

"Can you see it? The power of magic has decreased."

"The power!?"

Agatha’s words were shocking.

If the power of magic decreased, it would be difficult to slay the monsters. So, that’s why the monsters appeared on the road?

"Why is that?"

"Because the spirits have decreased."

Agatha explained.

The Saint Aria had said that the spirits should leave the country, and as a result, many spirits left the Einveil Kingdom.

At the same time, the power of magic also decreased.

"Why..."

"Probably, even if they don’t directly involve themselves in magic, the presence of spirits increases the amount of magic within the kingdom... That’s what the duke speculated. Therefore, if one’s own magic power isn’t strong, they can’t control magic as they used to. Bringing many soldiers who can’t use magic would only make them useless shields."

"So, that’s why..."

The reason the duke didn’t bring many guards.

In case of an emergency, he would open a path and escape first.

If there were too many, they couldn’t escape quickly. The number of people the duke could save alone was limited. That’s why he decided not to bring too many.

Knowing that this was a decision to prevent the unnecessary death of many people, I couldn’t help but shiver.