Chapter 42

After that, Lady Olga and I walked side by side down the corridor of the fortress, with Lauro and Lord Cecilio following behind us.

"Lord Lauro is quite tall, isn't he?"

"? What do you mean?"

I could hear Lauro and Lord Cecilio conversing behind us.

"It's your height. Look, it's obvious, I'm short, right?"

"Yes, that's true."

"Ouch, being affirmed so straightforwardly hurts a bit..."

"I'm sorry. But you are taller than my brother."

"Huh, really? That's good to hear. How old is Lord Lauro's brother?"

"He recently turned ten."

"I'm eighteen, though..."

"? Is that so?"

"...Yeah, Lord Lauro is quite natural, isn't he?"

"I'm often told that by Lady Asaria too."

It seems like Lauro is saying something rude... but is it okay?

Lord Cecilio appears to be kind and sociable, and he continues to talk with Lauro.

"If I were as tall and strong as Lord Lauro, I could—"

"Call you 'big sister'."

Lady Olga, who was standing next to me, corrected Lord Cecilio's words.

"...I feel like I might be seen as a bit more manly if I were called 'big sister'."

"I'm sorry, but height and build are hard to change."

"Yeah, I didn't say I wanted Lord Lauro's body. But I do wish he could share a little."

"That's true. But from what I've heard, no matter how big you get, your way of treating Lady Olga won't change."

"Lord Lauro, you understand, right? That's exactly it."

Lady Olga interjected in the conversation behind us again.

"...How long will I keep calling you 'big sister'?"

"Probably for life, right?"

"For life."

"...That's tough."

Lord Cecilio seemed to be in despair at the answers from Lauro and Lady Olga.

Yeah, I can't really say anything about that.

The conversation behind us ended, and I started talking with Lady Olga.

"What kind of monsters are common in the western fortress?"

"Compared to other places, there are probably more flying monsters. You can assume that half of the monsters that come are flying monsters."

"That's indeed a lot."

If a thousand come, then five hundred are flying monsters.

The southern fortress, which the Spencer Dukedom is in charge of, has about three hundred at most.

"Well, even if they have wings, some monsters come running on the ground. It's easier to take them down while they're on the ground."

"Understood. I think it will be fine if I leave that to my personal knight, Lauro."

"I've heard he's the strongest knight. I have high expectations for his skills."

"Yes, I won't disappoint your expectations."

Lady Olga nodded with a slight smile at my words.

"You seem to trust him. I'm looking forward to seeing Lady Asaria's skills too."

"Likewise, I'm looking forward to seeing Lady Olga and Lord Cecilio's magic."

"Hmm, it seems the knights in the fortress will have a quiet day today."

While talking about such things, we reached the fortress walls, where the knights were moving busily.

It seems they had already been informed that the monsters were heading towards the fortress. This movement was familiar, just like at the southern fortress.

Looking into the distance, I could see the monsters descending, and it seemed there were a lot of flying monsters.

After a while, it seemed the preparations were complete, and Lady Olga, who was standing right at the edge of the wall, spoke to us.

"The monsters are about to come. Are you both ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

"No problem."

"Good. Lord Lauro, take care of the monsters on the ground. Even if you get injured, it's fine today because a holy woman is scheduled to come after this."

"...Understood."

After Lauro responded, he jumped down from the wall as usual.

Every time, he seems unhappy when he leaves me.

Lady Olga and Lord Cecilio, who saw this for the first time, were surprised, but I was too preoccupied to notice.

Wait... a holy woman is coming after this?

The holy woman is Oriane, right?

...Suddenly, my mood dropped.

Well, I thought I would meet her at some point, so it's fine.

Right now, I need to focus on my job.

◇ ◇ ◇

When Lauro suddenly jumped down from the fortress, Olga was a bit surprised.

(He doesn't seem to be using magic, just physical enhancement with mana. So, he must be strong enough to jump from this height without any problems.)

Olga, a woman who is to become the next duchess, easily recognized this level of skill.

That's why she understood how much stronger Lauro was compared to other knights.

(I thought he had a lot of mana for a knight, but he's using all of it for physical enhancement. No wonder other knights can't keep up with him.)

Looking down, Lauro was already at the front of the knights.

Olga gave the order from above, "Deal with that knight as a solo guerrilla unit!"

This way, the knights below would be fine.

The first wave of monsters was flying monsters.

Usually, Olga or Cecilio would cast magic, but...

"Lady Asaria, can you handle the first attack?"

"Of course."

Lady Asaria, with an elegant smile, stood next to Olga.

"Cast one spell. Try to reduce their numbers as much as possible."

"Understood."

Honestly, Olga disliked Asaria.

They only exchanged greetings and brief conversations in social settings.

But Olga disliked Asaria.

Mostly from rumors, Asaria was known as the prince's fiancée, a capricious and temperamental duchess's daughter.

That alone was enough to give a bad impression, but what Olga disliked the most was that Asaria, born into one of the four great duchies, did not stand on the battlefield.

The reason the four great duchies held power and wealth in the empire was because they risked their lives fighting monsters on the battlefield.

Yet, Asaria fled from the battlefield to become the prince's fiancée and, as the princess, never returned to the battlefield.

While it was true that becoming the princess and eventually the empress was a difficult job, it wasn't as life-threatening as the battlefield.

Born into a duchy but not fulfilling her duties, a weak duchess's daughter.

That was why Olga disliked Asaria.

But now, her thoughts were completely overturned.

"'Duke of Flames'"

The single spell Asaria cast hit the group of flying monsters.

Instantly, the sky was enveloped in flames, and when the smoke cleared, over two hundred monsters were gone.

"Wow, incredible...!"

The flames of the Spencer Dukedom, known for their destructive power among the four great duchies.

She had heard the rumors, but she didn't expect it to be this powerful.

Not just Olga, but Cecilio and the other mages were also amazed by the power.

"Amazing...! I've never seen such flames...!"

"Yeah, that's right, Cecilio. We can't fall behind either."

"Right, big sister... big sister."

Cecilio, whose motivation was slightly dampened, quickly regained his composure and began casting wind magic.

"Lady Asaria, your excellent magical support is greatly appreciated."

"No, I thought I could reduce their numbers more. I'm still inexperienced, I'm sorry."

"Hmm, if that's what you call inexperienced, I see, I see."

Asaria, at eighteen, still had a lot of potential to grow, considering her age.

(Lady Asaria isn't weak at all. She didn't flee from the battlefield. It seems I had a major misunderstanding.)

Despite having such power, she chose to become the prince's fiancée.

But recently, it was said that her relationship with the prince was deteriorating, and their engagement might be broken off.

(I don't know why, but if such a strong and beautiful lady like Asaria doesn't become the first prince's wife, it's for the best.)

While thinking about this, she continued to take down the flying monsters. Then, something large flew from below towards the sky.

The moment it hit, the monsters exploded and were blown away.

"Huh, something's flying up from below!?"

As Cecilio spoke, Olga and Asaria looked down to see that the battle below was already over.

And on top of a pile of corpses, Lauro was standing.

"Lauro must have finished off the monsters below and is now throwing their heads at the flying monsters."

As Asaria said, Lauro was indeed throwing the heads of the dead monsters.

The idea was impressive, but the strength to hit and take down the flying monsters was incredible.

"Haha! I've heard about the skills of Lady Asaria and Lord Lauro, but seeing it in person is completely different!"

"If I can meet your expectations, I'm honored."

"Yes, it's perfect. From now on, please leave it to us. Can you stop Lord Lauro?"

"Understood. Lauro, come back here."

"No, Lady Asaria, a voice that casual won't reach Lord Lauro..."

"I'm back."

"Wha!? Lord Lauro, when did you get here!?"

"Just now."

Cecilio's surprise was understandable; Lauro had been hundreds of meters away at the bottom of the fortress just a moment ago.

(Such speed is beyond the eye. Lady Asaria's magic was impressive, but Lord Lauro's strength is even greater.)

"Lady Asaria, I know this might be a refusal, but would you consider letting Lord Lauro join the Aegis Dukedom?"

"Would you agree if Lady Olga asked you to give up your brother?"

"No, I'd want to punch her."

"Same here."

"Understood. I apologize if I offended you."

"No, it's fine. It's good to share the same feelings."

After that, the monster attack on the western fortress ended much faster than usual.