Chapter 8

"Everyone, take your positions! Stonewall! Deploy the barriers! Raise the signal flares! Red and green!"

Zaza's clear voice echoed.

With just that command, the knights scattered to their respective positions without needing to confirm with each other.

In the sky, there were popping sounds, and looking up, black smoke and red and green sparks were rising.

I remember being told before that this was a signal to the capital. It must be visible from quite a distance. They must have good eyesight.

I slowly returned my gaze to the ground.

Just a moment ago, really just a moment ago.

--- It was delicious, Kazuha-sama.

Holding the empty bowl, I bowed deeply.

Yes, what was his name again, the one who told me that Kousuke and the others would be back soon, ah, Saito-san.

I returned my gaze to where Saito-san's face, his left shoulder, his left arm holding the bowl, and the emblem on the left side of his chest plate had been.

The cross-section from Saito-san's right shoulder to his left side was black and charred.

No flames had risen.

Only a purple, meter-wide flash of light had streaked by, and that flash had taken Saito-san away.

In this world, where even a house spirit is treated kindly, a strange acceptance settled in my stomach that we were indeed called here to kill each other.

◇

After serving the food, I joined Kousuke and the others with my own bowl and plate.

"I've already started eating."

Shota gave a light bow.

"The peony hot pot is amazing! The roasted pork is perfectly cooked!"

"The cooking is mine, but!?"

Kousuke praised the food while chewing, but Ayame's point was valid.

"Wasn't it Aiba who gave the instructions? You did a great job adjusting without an oven."

"I used a meat thermometer and learned how to judge the color of the fire in the kitchen."

"That's so detailed! And the little chopping and the last bit, I don't even understand the instructions!"

"Ayame, you did a great job. You're the best at using magic, after all."

"If I raised such a pillar of fire, only I could control it!"

Kousuke almost spat out the meat he was chewing.

"--- Stop it, remember, it, it, it..."

While Ayame was suppressing the fire, Kousuke was rolling on the ground laughing. Shota was also trembling, pressing his mouth with the back of his elbow.

The roasted pork was made by placing a grill on the edge of the fire used for roasting. It turned out pretty well, though Ayame actually did the work.

"But, Aiba, that was amazing. You didn't even chant."

Rei sat down between me and Kousuke. It's a bit cramped, isn't it? Maybe I'm just misjudging the space again.

"Chanting"

"Yes, because if you're going to make such a big fire, you need to chant, right?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Tilting my head, Rei tilted his head in the opposite direction.

Ayame furrowed her brow deeply.

"Didn't you learn from Elness? When using a certain level of magic, you need to chant the name of the spell to adjust the nature and power of the magic, or it's difficult to activate it at all—weren't you there...?"

Before coming to this world, magic was just a fairy tale. We had to start by feeling the existence of "magic."

We used crystal balls and boxes with the same characters as those in magic arrays to feel and control the magic within us.

Incidentally, Elness was a sensory type, saying things like "there, push it" and "it becomes pow, so do it like this." It was a bit difficult.

"But, Ayame, didn't you do that during training?"

I recalled the training sessions. She did sometimes mumble.

"For fireballs and pebbles, it's not necessary. It's faster to cast, so it's needed for quick actions. But for more powerful spells, you need to chant."

"…Mumbling?"

"Embarrassing! It feels like shouting a technique!"

Well, I can understand that.

Rei muttered next to me, "But, he's so cool." I can understand that too.

"No, wait, Kazuha, didn't the High Priest teach you that?"

"Well, if you're not fighting, it's not necessary—once you can feel the magic, you can live your life, you know?"

"…Huh?"

"We mutually agreed to leave the class."

"Um, the High Priest, he's a genius, so, yes, Kazuha, when you get back to the castle, practice a bit more. I'll tell the High Priest."

"Ah, yes."

Zaza was flustered!

I might have seen it for the first time! Zaza's rare scolding scene!

Kousuke was crouching. He looks in pain. Can he breathe? Maybe he laughed a bit too much.

"--- Excuse me. Is it alright, Kazuha-sama?"

A knight holding an empty bowl stood behind Zaza and bowed to me.

"It was very delicious, Kazuha-sama. Especially this soup, button vegetable?"

"Ah, I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Being praised for my cooking is always a joy.

When I try to make something delicious, I have to find something similar in this world. It took some effort, but whether it suits the taste of the people here is another matter. If they find it delicious, and I find it delicious, then the effort is worth it.

"Will this be added to the cafeteria menu?"

"Maybe. The head chef likes new things, so it might appear once."

"Oh, that would be great. I'd like to let the young ones in my squad try it."

"That's good. I'll tell the head chef too."

The knight smiled at Zaza, bowed again, and approached a group eating a short distance away, raising his arm. They welcomed him with light cheers. It seems they really liked it.

"Is your squad not this one?"

I remember most of the people who come in and out of the cafeteria, but I don't know their affiliations. This person often greets me.

"Oh, he's the squad leader responsible for the capital's perimeter security. This squad is a temporary elite unit, responsible for the heroes' training and protection."

"Is he around the same age as Zaza? He's an elite, but a squad leader?"

Kousuke, who had finally stopped his fit, asked Zaza curiously. I gave him a curious look, not understanding what was curious.

"Well, if he's an elite and around the same age as Zaza, shouldn't he be a higher rank?"

I see. It seems that squad leaders are usually younger. Zaza gave a wry smile in response to Kousuke's question.

"He's a bit of an oddball. He keeps refusing promotions, saying it's not his style and he's not the right fit. I think it's a waste, considering his skills and popularity."

"Ah, you want capable people in higher positions."

"Even when I threaten that my inability to place people properly will be questioned, he doesn't care at all..."

Zaza and he must be close. They're around the same age.

By the way, Kousuke, do you know a lot about this? I often see him chatting with the knights. Kousuke looked a bit uncomfortable for a moment.

"Well, it's quite different from the other world, and I'm not sure if I know a lot, but among us, Aiba is probably the one who gets along best with the knights. She was in sync during the cooking, right?"

"Everyone comes to the cafeteria, and the stomach is the weakest point for children and men."

Kousuke and Zaza looked at each other and laughed, "That's true," when suddenly—

There was no presence, no warning at all.

A streak of light that changed the color of the world.

◇

Where Zaza placed his hand, a rock wall about three meters high and four meters wide rose between the forest and us. Two, three more similar rock walls lined up on either side.

A pale blue, translucent mist enveloped the rock walls. That must be the barrier.

I stood up and hugged Rei, but my body couldn't block his view.

"…Huh? Aiba, that person, huh?"

The people who had been gathered around the large pot, and those who had been smiling and welcoming Saito just moments ago, now stood between us and the rock wall, blocking Rei's view.

I didn't know where the flash of light came from, but Zaza must have known.

He indicated the direction with the first rock wall, and the knights, armed with weapons and shields, began to channel their magic in that direction.

They were the elite unit responsible for the heroes' protection.

The hero, who was supposed to be asked to fight, stood frozen, while others tried to pull him back to the rear.

Is this what it means?

To protect the inexperienced hero, to become a shield without hesitation.

I once heard a lecture on the difference in how men and women protect. Women embrace what they protect and turn their backs to the enemy, while men face the enemy with what they protect behind them. I thought it was more about whether they had the means to fight, not gender. Men often have more physical strength, so in that sense, it is a gender difference.

Despite being three meters high, something appeared on top of the wall, and red flames and blue-white pebbles formed a barrage, hiding its form.

After a few moments, Zaza swept his arm horizontally, and the wind cleared the smoky vision.

The form that appeared was a beast with a tiger's body and bat wings spread wide. Its human-like face, covered in fur, had not a single burn mark.

"--- Why is it here?"

The knight who muttered this did not take a single step back, but repositioned his shield.

"Fourth squad! Go!"

Zaza's voice made the arm that was holding Rei and me tighten.

"Quickly, this way."

It was the person who had helped me dismantle the Green Bow. The one I asked multiple times if we were really going to do it together. Seto.

Are you the fourth squad? What about Zaza? What about the people who have their backs to us?

My tangled thoughts raced as my tangled feet stumbled.

Because, you see, on top of the wall, in mid-air, two more of those beasts appeared.

Three pairs of golden eyes surveyed the scene before them, and they slowly descended like kings.

Their simultaneous roar sent the knights at the front flying several meters.

They sprang up like coiled springs and immediately lined up with the rear guard, who were holding back with arrows and magic.

Some were dripping red from the gaps in their armor, and some were not moving at all.

The great shields moved forward again, followed by swords and spears.

Among us, who had been frozen in place, Kousuke was the first to move.

"Ayame! Switch to healing! Shota, take out the right!"

"Got it!"

Ayame shuddered and ran to the fallen, while Shota, pale, manifested an iron ball.

"No! Those are magic beasts! Fall back!"

"Then you fall back too!"

"--- Take out the tail first! Second squad, sixth squad, surround them!"

Zaza, who had been stopped by Kousuke, instantly reissued his commands.

Several people split left and right, Shota launched an iron ball at the beast on the right, and Kousuke, while firing arrows at the remaining two, leaped to the front of the great shield wall.

Several pale orange lights danced over the stomachs and shoulders of those whose armor was stained red. Ayame's healing magic, no doubt.

Kousuke glanced back, his eyes stopping on me and Rei.

"--- Rei! Take Aiba and go!"

Kousuke must have seen me and Rei being carried by the knights.

Without waiting for our response, Kousuke faced the two beasts again.

The beasts, which deflected the knights' arrows and fireballs like insects, narrowly avoided Shota's iron ball and Kousuke's magic arrows.

I tightened my grip on Rei's head and chest.

"Let's go!"

"But—"

"Let's go!"

I felt surprisingly light lifting Rei, but my feet weren't touching the ground, so I think I was lifted with him.

But that wasn't it.

Both of us, and Seto who was carrying us, were floating in mid-air.

One of the three must have broken through.

As we passed over the heads of the knights, I thought, in a daze, that it must have blown us away, watching the scene of Rei and Seto separating in the air, frame by frame.

My lightest body would probably be blown the farthest.

Why do I feel this impact so slowly?

Twice, three times, four times, the shock resonated through my body as my vision filled with the sky.

It doesn't hurt, there's no pain.

Despite feeling time so slowly, my body, gouging the ground and raising dust, moved without resistance.

"…Guh, cough"

The landscape finally stabilized.

Seto, trying to stand, fell to his knees.

Zaza ran over to us.

The beast took a step, leisurely, toward Rei, who was only half-upright.

--- How can I recognize it but not move my body?

In a low, prone position, I kicked the gouged ground with my right foot.

A dry, cracking sound traveled from my right foot to my left foot, left arm, and right hand, like thin threads entwining.

A pleasant, tingling pain as my stiff muscles loosened.

The handle that appeared in my right hand, fitting perfectly into my palm as if it were being sucked in.

The hammer I had manifested the day after my summoning, which I couldn't move even a millimeter.

Now, it felt like a part of my right arm.

Like the sparks of a sparkler, like static electricity running through a dark room, thin light adhered to me and the hammer with a dry sound.

A roar I had never heard before escaped from the back of my throat.

Too heavy to move? Nonsense. That's impossible.

I stepped between Rei and the beast, placing my left hand on the obedient hammer,

--- I control gravity.

"…What are you going to do to this kid, ahhh!!"

The hammer, swung, gouged the beast from head to tail, leaving only its four legs and belly.