Ch.12.Deception
That’s why I said let’s not do this.
One of the knights, being attacked by numerous bandits, lamented inwardly.
Amid the clanging of metal, the knight lamented and swung his sword desperately.
As the sun set and his vision grew poor, he swung his sword relying only on the outlines of his enemies.
Occasionally, the sensation of flesh being pierced and the liquid sticking to his face increased his discomfort, frustration, and fear.
Even if the schedule was packed, the itinerary after sunset was extremely dangerous.
This is the result. I’ll bitch about it later,” the lamenting knight said, glancing at his ambiguous boss, who was nowhere to be found.“I-I’ll fight too!”
At that moment, a voice was heard from the carriage behind them.
“Miss! Please return to the carriage!”
“No, everyone is fighting…even I can do it!”
The kindness of the master, who cared for the knight and risked their own life, was heartwarming.
It was one of the reasons why the knight had decided to serve them, but now that kindness was honestly more of a burden than anything else.
What happens when someone who needs protection appears on the battlefield?
It simply results in having to constantly be aware of the “moving target” and being scattered in attention.
This attack is like a game of chess where a few bishops are protecting the king from many pawns.
No matter how strong a piece is, being outnumbered will inevitably put you at a disadvantage.
Chess enthusiasts can easily understand this.
The number of ants that you think can’t be killed is just like this.
Because they are ants, no one knows when and where they will sneak through the feet of people and get to the king.
Therefore…
“It’s the young lady’s life! I won’t die hereeeee!!”
Suddenly, the voice was heard from behind.
Even though the knight who was lamenting and the other knights were not careless, they realized at this moment that they had put their master’s life in danger.
On the other hand, the master…
“…Huh?”
The reason was not clear.
Even though she had just come out, a silhouette that seemed to be about to swing a sword from behind had approached her without her noticing.
Had she been ambushed while waiting to get off the carriage? Such a doubt arises, but at the same time-
“No…!”
In the face of the approaching fear, her feet froze.
In the girl’s hand was a single sword. If she had the will to defend herself, she could surely survive for just a moment.
But when people are not used to the situation, their emotions can overwhelm their reason in a snap decision.
In this situation, fear had won over self-defense, and—
“Someone…”
—she thought desperately, “help me.”
Without voicing her thoughts, the girl involuntarily shut her eyes to the fear that was closing in on her.
And then—
“Don’t you dare try to kill a girl with such relish… you damn bastard.”
A loud impact resounded.
“What happened!?”
The girl, who had closed her eyes, was bewildered by the sword that never came.
When she cautiously opened her eyes, she saw a young boy holding down a man’s head on the ground.
“…Huh?”
“Let’s save the questions for later. We’re not really in a situation to enjoy quiz time.”
The boy stood up, as if to protect the girl.
When he got closer, the girl could make out a faint outline of his appearance.
Black clothes and a plain mask.
The girl had also heard of that figure before.
A hero who rushes to someone’s crisis to save them.
The figure was very similar to the one she had only heard of in rumors.
The boy spoke.
“Freedom that allows attacking someone needs to be abolished. Those who trample on someone’s happiness must be given appropriate restraint.”
Snap.
The sound of his fingers snapping, along with a metallic sound, was drowned out in the midst of the battlefield.
At that moment…
“Then, let’s go to a world with restrictions.”
Something rose from behind the boy…no, the girl.
It was darker than the dim scenery and had a faintly flickering outline like a water pillar.
The water pillar spread out horizontally and became a large wall that swallowed up everyone present in this place.
───”The Great Sea beckons to the world of limitations.”
Phil activates his magic.
“Shadow Sea.”
As soon as the boy spoke those words, the wall approached, swallowing up the entire battlefield.
Bandits, knights, and even the girl, all frozen in place, were swallowed up without any way to resist. It was like being engulfed by a single wave. This drew everyone present into the world of shadow restraints.
♦♦♦
“Okay, with this guy it should be over.”
Phil pulled up a man in armor from the space he had created.
To an onlooker, the scene would have looked like pulling a drowning person out of the sea.
Despite being on a well-maintained road, the ground was still hard.
“Sorry…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
In the midst of poor visibility, it was impossible to skillfully engulf only the enemies. So, thinking that it would be better to just engulf everyone, Phil began the task of pulling up the knights and the girl who had been swallowed up until now.
And now, with this man who he just pulled up, it was all over. Since the enemies had entered the bound space, it was all settled.
“Um, thank you for helping us… On behalf of everyone, I’d like to express my gratitude.”
At that moment, a voice came from behind Phil. In the bright light of the torch, the figure of the voice could be clearly seen in his field of view.
“I am Alicia Amazista, the only daughter of the Amazista Count family, and the ‘Hero of Shadows,’ sir.”
With lustrous silver hair like mithril, amethyst-colored eyes, a distinctively contoured body, and a lovely face, the girl wrapped herself in a thin, easy-to-move-in dress and looked fantastically beautiful like the moon floating in the night sky.
(Do they have a requirement that only beautiful girls in special positions, like nobles or something, have to be beautiful? In a sense, it’s a harsh world.)
Whether it was Kahlua or Milis, those in positions of power all seemed to be beautiful. Has some kind of equation been established somewhere? The deviation in the world’s facial beauty index is too extreme.
“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t do it because I wanted to be thanked,” Phil said.
Indeed, normally he would have left without saying anything after helping them. Before introducing himself or receiving thanks.
As can be inferred from those things, Phil did not desire such things at all.
However, this time it was different…!
“Now that you’ve introduced yourself, I guess I have to introduce myself too,” he said.
Yes, it’s for the sake of introducing himself!
Using a fictional name, not Phil !!!
“My name is Fee. Remember it!”
He proclaimed with a proud attitude that was accompanied by a sound effect like “Don!” directed at Alice.
He only mentioned being the “Shadow Hero”.
She should know that the man in front of her is the “Shadow Hero” – if that’s the case, if he gives a different name here, it won’t be associated with the man named Phil.
As Kahlua said, this is a pretty effective plan.
All of this is to cover up the true identity of the “Shadow Hero”!
All of this is to live a free life, unfettered by anything!
Therefore, in order to cover up as much as possible, using the opportunity of helping others, he devises a plan with all his might.
However, …
“That being said, I’ll take my leave now,” said Phil.
Having finished what he came to do, Phil tapped the ground with his heel and disappeared into the world of shadows.
Without saying a word to anyone, he vanished from the spot as if he were running away.
As a result of this,
“Hmm? That voice… “
Phil could not hear the last words Alicia muttered.
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