abcnovels
Chapter 397: Those Who Gathered
Chapter 397: Those Who Gathered
I was in the Queen's Chamber with Rinji and Oru.
This chamber, which used to be a royal court, had now turned into a venue for military discussions.
At that moment, the door suddenly opened.
Two women entered, accompanied by knights in white armor.
One of them wore a circlet on her head.
The other carried a white helmet adorned with a tail-like ornament under her arm.
[Long time no see. Diaris Artlight, Captain of Magnar's White Tiger Knights———– have just arrived.]
She was a woman who seemed to radiate light.
Her armor was pure white.
It had a knightly design that somehow reminded me of a fox.Her cloak was also pure white.
At her waist hung a longsword.
She wore long white gloves that extended from her hands to her elbows.
Even over her armor, her slender figure was evident.
She was tall, with long arms and legs.
Her eyes were a pale emerald green.
Her hair was slightly close to white, but it had a faint lemon color.
Compared to Seras Ashrain, for instance, she had considerably lighter pigmentation.
She exuded a graceful and dignified presence.
Above all————- she was a beautiful woman.
Next to her stood a petite woman who was equally beautiful.
In fact——— she looked quite similar to the woman beside her.
This one had long hair tied back.
She wore a friendly smile.
At her waist……
(Are those…… axes……?)
……hung two slightly small axes.
They seemed somewhat out of place for her delicate and slender appearance.
However, the two axes with honey-colored blades surprisingly suited her well.
Perhaps it was due to the design?
They lacked the rough impression typically associated with axes.
She wore a circlet adorned with rabbit ears.
Additionally, she also wore white long gloves.
Due to the color scheme of white and red, her attire subtly reminded me of a white rabbit.
Unlike the woman next to her, however, her armor had a slightly dress-like design.
She lifted the edges of her skirt, just like those noble women often do, and bowed her head.
[Your Majesty, it has been a while. Captain of Magnar's White Rabbit Knights, Sicily Artlight is here.]
[It’s been a while, Sicily.]
The one who smiled and spoke her name was the saint, Curia.
I had only seen her stern expression……
(She can show that kind of face huh……)
……so such a thought popped into my mind.
Sicily smiled and replied,
[Yes, it has indeed been a long time, Curia.]
It seems they were old acquaintances.
Well, I had gathered information about them in advance.
(So these are the famous beautiful sisters from the continent…… Magnar's Artlight Sisters……)
Originally, Magnar's White Wolf Knights had two vice-captains.
One of them was Diaris Artlight.
The White Wolf Knights were known as the greatest military force of Magnar.
It was primarily their role to patrol all of Magnar's territory.
Meanwhile, the White Tiger and White Rabbit Knights operated mainly within the Royal Capital and its surroundings.
These two Knight Orders had the primary duty of guarding the King and maintaining order in the Capital.
Therefore, they rarely appeared in public.
However————- during the Great Invasion, the captain of the White Tiger Knights was killed in battle.
As a result, Diaris, who was one of the Vice-Captains, took over as the Captain of the White Tiger Knights.
The White Tiger Knights, who hardly moved beyond the Royal Capital and its surroundings————-
[I have heard that Diaris-dono is pregnant. Is it appropriate for you to be in a battlefield like this?]
Curia asked this question.
Diaris lowered her gaze and smiled, stroking her belly.
[I can still move quite well. Well, my subordinates did express their concerns, telling me not to go too close to the front lines.]
After switching her smile to a wry grin, Diaris revealed a hint of sorrow in her expression.
[……For the future of this child left to me by Sigurd, I must fight. At the very least, I should be able to lead everyone.]
The White Wolf Knights, led by Sigurd Sigmus, had been completely annihilated.
This was publicly announced.
They had been ambushed and killed due to Vysis' schemes.
This information spreading throughout Magnar was a contributing factor to the country's swift turn against the Goddess.
[But Onee-sama, please do not push yourself too hard.]
[I know that already, Sicily.]
[I will do my best to take on Onee-sama's share of the duties. Furthermore, it seems His Majesty will be arriving shortly as well.]
The death of the King's brother, Sigurd Sigmus, brought profound sorrow to Magnar.
However, there was also a comforting report that eased that grief.
The White Wolf King, who had been thought to be dead during the Great Invasion, was alive.
He had sustained severe injuries during the Great Invasion and had been receiving treatment in Mira.
However———– why had Mira not announced his survival until now?
Why had Mira taken the severely injured White Wolf King to their Imperial Capital, Ruva?
These issues may arise later.
But for now, we could rejoice in the fact that the White Wolf King was alive and heading toward Azziz.
After saying this, Diaris bowed to the Queen.
[Your Majesty, for accepting the people of Magnal this time…… You have our gratitude.]
[……We weren't able to save all of the people though. How unfortunate.]
The people of Magnar were evacuating to Jonato.
Naturally, among them were those who moved slowly.
The Magnar army had also assigned some forces to the rear guard.
However———– those left behind were likely caught up in the waves of Sacraments, and they too had probably been "swallowed."
In that case, it wasn’t hard to imagine that the evacuees who were left behind met the same fate.
“The Sacraments released by Vysis indiscriminately kill even those who cannot fight.”
With self-blame and regret seeping through her expression, Diaris clenched her teeth lightly.
[While leading the Knight Order that should protect the people, I had no choice but to leave some evacuees behind———- no, it’s the same as cutting them off.]
[No, that’s not a problem you should be burdening yourself, Onee-sama.]
With a refreshing smile, Sicily stepped forward.
She clasped her white hands behind her back.
[The "cutting off" of the evacuees was not your doing, Onee-sama———- nor a command from his Majesty. This was something I, Sicily Artlight, acted on my own and enforced.]
The kind atmosphere surrounding Sicily transformed dramatically.
Her eyes darkened with cunning.
At that moment, even her smile seemed sharp like a blade.
[If we are held accountable after this battle, it wouldn’t be good if the blame fell on Onee-sama, who is pregnant with a child, or on his Majesty, who will be the driving force to rebuild our Kingdom. I will bear the discontent and anger of the people. So please, rest assured.]
She returned to her smile with a light chuckle.
[Well, if I were to die in battle, putting all the blame on me would be easy. "The deceased can't speak otherwise" after all.]
[Sicily, that’s———-]
[Onee-sama, that’s enough of this conversation.]
With a tone that brooked no argument, Sicily cut off the discussion.
[Right now, our top priority is to win this battle. By the way———- he's the one you mentioned?]
Sicily’s gaze fell on me.
The Queen of Jonato nodded.
[Yes, he's the Hero from Another World who will fight alongside us.]
Feeling a bit shy, I bowed my head toward Sicily.
[……Nice…… to meet you. I’m Tomohiro Yasu.]
Sicily approached me and flashed a smile.
[Nice to meet you, I’m Sicily Artlight.]
She then extended her hand for a handshake.
I responded, and as we shook hands, I noticed that Sicily was observing me closely.
Eventually, she murmured……
[I see, you certainly seem reliable.]
With that, Sicily turned on her heel and walked back.
?
Later, the Mira army and the White Wolf King arrived in Azziz.
I joined the line to welcome them along with Rinji and the others.
Under the clear blue sky, the commanders of Mira emerged through the Final Guardian Wall.
The first to appear was the strikingly handsome General Wright Mira.
Next to him stood one of the heads of Three Elected Imperial Households, Hausen Diaz.
I heard he was serving as the Deputy Commander of the Mira army in this battle.
And then———-
There was the White Wolf King, a large man who somehow reminded me of a winter wasteland.
Like the White Wolf King himself, his horse was larger than the others.
The soldiers of Magnar, who had been eagerly awaiting their King's return, erupted into cheers as he finally appeared.
But then, at that moment———-
Rinji's expression turned quite complex.
Oru also exclaimed, seemingly noticing what Rinji was looking at.
(……Those are……)
I too noticed "them."
(……The members of the Drunken Sword Party……)
<Author's Notes>
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The next chapter is scheduled to be updated on Friday, October 25th, around 9pm.