“This is bad.”
“Yes, very bad.”
Neia slowly raised the bow she had been lent. The Bafolk seemed to be using the girl as a shield. Therefore she had a very small space in which to aim for. Killing it in one hit would be very difficult.
Even so, if she did not do it, who would?
I wish I’d practiced my bow skills more, Neia thought as she drew an arrow from her quiver.
Just then, the Sorcerer King swiftly held out a hand, as if to block her shot.
“I don’t intend to insult you, but you should stop. There’s no longer any point to it.”
Just as she was about to ask what he meant, the Sorcerer King walked over to where the paladins were gathered.
There was an argument raging there about how to save the girl.
Priestly magic could freeze the enemy in their tracks. Many people approved of that, but spells had an effective range. Could they get into that range? Would the hostage be killed? All these questions and more flew back and forth, but there was no sign that an answer had been reached.
Just then, the Sorcerer King and Neia arrived.
“How long are you going to twiddle your thumbs about this? The situation looks bad.”
After he spoke, the others turned to look at the Sorcerer King as one.
“Of course we know that—”
“—Captain… please calm down. The enemy is over there.”
Remedios was at the end of her tether, and Gustavo spoke to her.
“No, Captain Custodio. You know nothing. Since the enemy knows that hostages are effective, they’ll show that this is not a threat, and they’ll use her as an ex—”
As though waiting for those words, the girl hostage’s head was hacked off. They could see her bright red blood spurting even from here. The Bafolk let go of the girl’s body, and it crumpled weakly to the ground.
Everyone was silent.
Their minds refused to accept what had just happened.
Remedios was the first to recover, and as she shouted, Neia came to her senses as well
“You bastard! How dare you kill the hostage!? Even after we obeyed your demands!”
“Hmph!” The Bafolk dragged a boy in front of him this time. “That’s why I’ve got another one, see? Now back off!”
“You shameless scumbag!”
“Hmph. You really are an idiot, aren’t you? Perhaps you’ll understand after I bring another over?”
Remedios’s clenched fist trembled mightily. Then, as though to vent her feelings, she ordered:
“Everyone, fall back!”
“Also, gather up the people on horses around the sides! Move it!”
She could hear the sound of grinding teeth from Remedios. It was loud enough that one might think she was crushing her teeth.
“Vice-Captain. Order them to gather here.”
“B-But—”
“If you don’t do it, the child will die. Move!”
“Everyone fall back!”
“A very bad move. You’ve shown the enemy that hostages are effective and given them so much time to prepare. If the enemy does something to break your will to fight again, won’t that cause even more damage?”
A red-faced Remedios glared at the Sorcerer King like she was looking at the enemy.
“If this goes on, your surprise attack will be pointless. Also, I can hear the sounds of something moving over there. If they set up barricades, breaking them down will take more time, and things will be more troublesome—”
“—Shut up!” Remedios interrupted the Sorcerer King.
“Who’s got an idea? A way to solve this without anyone dying!?”
Nobody said anything.
Of course nobody had such a convenient solution. For instance, if they had someone adept at infiltration skills, this situation might not have arisen. However, there was nobody like that around.
Even Remedios should have understood this. If her animal-like instincts analyzed the battle situation and told her there was no way, then such a method did not exist.
Even so, why did she refuse to admit it?
Why was she hung up on not letting a single person die?
The Sorcerer King’s words flashed through her mind — was this not one of those necessary sacrifices which he mentioned? There was no way to come out of this without losing a single person unless one had an overwhelming advantage in strength or a great deal of luck.
“Captain Custodio,”
Neia’s voice sounded abnormally loud.
“Right now, can we not finish the fight with only a few casualties?”
Remedios’s furious gaze shifted to Neia.
The powerful emotions boiling off that mighty warrior’s body made her own body tremble, but Neia was sure that she was right.
“There’s no justice in that!” Remedios shouted.
Justice? That justice—
The surrounding paladins remained silent. It would seem nobody was prepared to say anything. Neia felt like she was surrounded by enemies and she unconsciously backed off, and then she felt someone’s hand supporting her from behind.
Looking back, she saw the Sorcerer King, as she had expected.
“—I support Miss Baraja’s opinion.”
He had affirmed her in a quiet voice. But to Neia, it was like a hundred-million strong ovation.
“Shut up!”
Remedios barked again. However, this was not something she should be saying to a king from another country who had come all this way to save her. There were actions which were acceptable, and actions which were unacceptable.
Anger welled up in Neia’s heart.
“What you need right now is to change the situation, not sit around and butt heads in frustration… Ah, it can’t be helped. I shall turn things around, then.”
After muttering to himself, the Sorcerer King turned away from them — towards the gate — and began walking. Due to his sudden movement, nobody managed to call out to him before the Bafolk shouted a warning.
“You there, in the mask! I told you to back off, didn’t I?”
“I will not back down! What do you think a single human life means to me!?”
“W-What!?”
“Our aim is to kill every single one of the Bafolk here! It doesn’t matter what happens to the humans! 「Widen Magic — Fireball」!”
The Sorcerer King extended his hand with a shout, and the fireball that flew forth blew away the Bafolk and the boy he was holding.
The enormous burst of flame also consumed the watchtower.
Everyone on top had been slain by that attack. The Bafolk and his hostage fell onto the Sorcerer King’s side of the wall.
“「Maximize Magic — Shockwave」”
The spell which followed blasted away the half-ruined gates. In addition, it scattered the Bafolk who were erecting barricades behind it, blowing a huge hole into their defenses.
“Come, you paladins! Attack! Kill the Bafolk inside to the very last man!”
As though awakened by his voice, Remedios came to and replied:
“You son of a bitch—!”
“—Captain!”
“Grrrrgh! —Charge!”
The paladins moved forward in response to Remedios’s words. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say that they had abandoned all attempts at thinking and fully subordinated themselves to her orders.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Gustavo left those words behind and moved on. After that, there the paladins and priests — the more sensible ones, at least — directed grateful looks at him. Remedios was the only one who was staring at the Sorcerer King with open displeasure.
The Sorcerer King addressed Neia in a quiet voice.
“—Miss Baraja. Did you think I would save the boy with a spell beyond your imagination?”