After the battle of the fort, I was taking a short rest before moving on, when a rider came running towards me, looking flustered.
āIāve just heard from an enemy prisoner that the imprisoned Princess Rhydiria and the others have been moved to the Mardan base, which is just around the corner from here, and I believe this is our best chance to rescue them!ā
āGreat chanceā¦ā¦is that right?ā
āYes! We canā t do anything about it in the palace, which is highly defended, but the Mardan base is not that big, and there are only about 100 magic machines guarding it. How about we go and rescue them before they are transferred to a troublesome place!ā
The expression on the riderās face was very passionate, and I could tell that he wanted to help his master, Princess Rhydiria, right away.
āAll right, 100 magicrafts is the same as the number we just fought, letās just go and save them.ā
āHoā¦ā¦really! Thank you very much! Iāll let everyone know right away!ā
Then he happily informed them. In fact, it would probably be better to meet up with Jean and the others, but as time goes by, there is certainly a possibility that they will be moved again to another place, and it would be better to rescue them right now, even if we have to push ourselves a little.
āBut will you be okay?ā
Nanami said, looking worried about something.
āNanami, is there something bothering you?ā
āYeahā¦ā¦not really, but thereās something weird aboutā¦ā¦ā
āWhat do you mean, āweirdā?ā
āPrincess Rhydiria and the dukes are important hostages, would it be so easy to move them from theā¦ā¦easily defended royal palace to a less fortified base?ā
āThere must have been some reason. But this is an opportunity, so letās make the most of it.ā
āIām not that worried because Iām sure Yuta will be able to handle anything that comes his way.ā
āIām not that good at everything. Iāmā¦ā¦ā
āIām just wondering how itās actually going to work out.ā
Now I knew that Nanamiās assessment of me was one of wonder, the rider came to tell me that they were ready to go. Everyone seemed to want to go to the rescue right away and looked at me with a twinkle in their eyes.
āAlright then, letās head to the rescue of the princesses!ā
As I said this, the crowd cheered.
From a short distance away, I surveyed the Mardan base ā at first glance, it didnāt look any different, and it didnāt seem to be on alert.
āItās okay, it looks the same as always.ā
One of the riders who knew the old Mardan base said so. But the word āsame as alwaysā stuck with me.
āItās kind of weird that everythingās the same.ā
When I said that, he asked me curiously.
āWhat do you mean by strange?ā
āThere are some important hostages in that base right now, right? If thatās the case, then itās strange to have the usual level of alert, isnāt it?ā
āIām pretty sure itās a trap.ā
The riders look very disappointed. When they looked at me like that, I couldnāt tell them to stop because it seemed like a trap.
āOkay, Iām going to go at it alone first, and you guys stay in the back.ā
āThatāsā¦ā¦too muchā¦ā¦.ā
āNo, if we all go to attack and it turns out to be a trap, thereās nothing we can do about it, I can handle it on my own.ā
āHey, is Nanami on standby too?ā
āSheās the one who has to protect everyone in case something goes wrong.ā
āYouāreā¦ā¦being reckless againā¦ā¦.ā
No, I really think I can handle it alone, after all, with Viktorā¦ā¦honestly, I donāt think I gave my all yetā¦ā¦.
I asked Nanami and the others to stand by in the rear, and I approached the Mardan base alone. When I got about a kilometer from the base, I noticed a sudden change in the appearance of the base. It was a trap after all.
Magicrafts appeared from the woods near the base and other hidden places. It wasnāt just a hundred of them, it was the largest army Iāve ever seen in this worldā¦ā¦