Chapter 16

Chapter 16 \n<h1>The night before (2)</h1>\n

“Well, it’s not like I’m complaining, but…”

A person clad in a black hooded coat let out a frivolous voice — from his voice, he seemed to be male– while his tall figure was crouched on the ground, drawing a pattern on the ground.

“Even though our plan is being put into motion, everybody is all gloomy like this. Cheer up! Be more enthusiastic! Even if it succeeds, it won’t be a success because of your thoughts.”

While muttering and grumbling, a faint light was emitted from his fingertip as he slowly etched the complex pattern.

“In the first place, is such a big magic formation really necessary? With this Seven-fold barrier formation using our power, what type of monster are we trying to confine?”

“A monster that destroyed your boss.”

The man referred to as ‘His Excellency,’ answered the robed man, with a shade of sarcasm in his voice.However, the robed man ignored the sarcasm, and snickered.[1]

“Are we trying to confine the saviour of humanity? Hard to help aren’t you, you guys.”hard to please?

“You bastards are said to be unreasonable. You have asked for help…”

“Well, we are just working according to the contract. However, the Brave… Surely, it will be a feast, the flavour of despair.”

“Let’s shut up and finish our work quickly.”

Despite the voice of the old man, which was filled with impatience, the robed man whistled a tune as he slowly stood up.Suddenly emerging from the darkness, he began to glide.

“Well, don’t be flustered. With rushed work, if the Brave notices, we will be finished right? The scary, scaary Brave will come running, Zunbararin![2] Well, if you want to die, then it’s okay to rush it…”

“As long as it is unnoticeable, hurry up.”

“Yeah, yeah, even demons… you use roughly.”[3]

While grumbling complainants, he sighed while looking at the working demon.The couldn’t not rely on this bunch.

“This guy, can he really be trusted?”

One of the subordinates in the rear asked the man.It wasn’t unreasonable.They had always fought against the demonsFor a demon, that was once a menace, to be an integral part of the plan was inevitable.He understood his subordinate’s complicated feelings.\n

However…

“Don’t worry. The demon is under a contract.”

The seven-fold barrier magic formation.It was a barrier that could even contain the magic of high-ranking demons, dragon-kind, and fairy-kin.One of the empire’s defensive trump cards, it was a high-level barrier magic.It took an enormous amount of time to cast, with a ritual that required many expensive catalysts, that even with the magic amplifiers installed in the six fortresses surrounding the empire, he couldn’t use it with the magicians he had on hand.He had used his substantial fortune to gather the catalysts, and the activation of the fort’s magic amplifier was left to his subordinate.However, even with the magic amplifier, there was still not enough magic to cast the spell.There was no choice but to borrow the power of their mortal enemy, a demon.All for containing the Brave. [4]

“The demon is bound by a contract. As for the compensation, it is not a problem.”

“That’s right. We demons are not like humans, we do not renege on promises.”

The demon affirmed the man’s words with a light tone.At those words, he smiled wryly.

‘How unexpected, those words from a demon.’

While following the demon’s working figure, the aged man reflexively smiled bitterly.Though the barrier couldn’t cover the whole school, if they were able to focus on one part, the Brave would be able to be contained.Her intervention in the plan would mean the very failure of the strategy.This plan would definitely cause much bloodshed.It would be good if she turned a blind eye, but they couldn’t count on it.However, this surely was an unforgivable act.The aged man knew that he had earned a degree in mistakes.Nonetheless, he had no more time.For example, there are times where it is necessary to trick the Brave who saved the world.From now on, his sympathizers and accomplices, his subordinates, would not be caught in this.[?1]For that, he wouldn’t mind bearing the stigma of dishonor.The plan has been polished, and all that is left is to put it into motion.The aged man drew the sword which had accompanied him for half a lifetime near.Now, there is no going back.

In the knight school’s dormitories for high ranking nobles, there, was Leticia’s dorm room. \nThere, where she and the other high ranked nobles live, was once where the emperor’s favorite concubines lived.If she had to say, due to Wynn influencing her commoner mindset, she had no positive thoughts about the dorm.If one thought about how she had stayed in many cheap inns throughout the journey, the luxuriously built dormitories made her feel restless.Though she had wanted to change her dormitory (if she could it would be one like Wynn’s inn), and had requested it, the faculty rejected the request, and she had to stay in that dormitory.However, being unable to calm down anyways, she decided to read books until she was sleepy.

After reading a library book on her bed, Leticia got up.[5]For just a moment, she felt an uncomfortable feeling.This was the Brave’s sixth sense, honed across many battlefields.Rising from the bed, she looked out the window.Designed to be visible from the former imperial concubine’s building, was the knight school’s courtyard, formerly a flower garden filled with seasonal flowers in bloom all year-round.When it was a palace, it was constantly lit by lamps, but now that it became an educational facility, among other things, the courtyard was covered in darkness in the night. but even with her extraordinary senses, she was unable to see the source of her unease in the darkness.

‘Is it my imagination?’

She continued looking, but couldn’t sense anything in particular.She stopped feeling the unease she felt a moment ago.

Her gaze moved from the courtyard to the silhouette of the distant mountains.Where that gaze fell, in those mountains, Wynn was probably there.

It was the periodic patrol subjugation mission.

Though they were low class, they would be fighting actual demonic beasts.[?2]Leticia was worried about Wynn fighting against monsters.Low-level monsters such as goblins in the beginning, and beasts corrupted by miasma and turn into demonic beasts, one would be able to defeat them alone.When they were young, while the two of them worked together to fulfill the herb gathering requests from the adventurer guild, they had experience fighting the monsters several times.Leticia had used a short-sword that she borrowed from her house.Since they were still young, she had wielded it like a longsword.

Now that she thought about it, when she had carried the short-sword, her Onii-chan was surprised.

A smile leaked out as she recalled those times.It was the old, ordinary times, when they ran around the town.One day, in that same place, Leticia had noticed that Wynn’s running speed had slowed down.

They were in front of a run-down store.

Since it was early in the morning, every time they passed by, it was closed, so what kind of shop it was, Leticia didn’t know, but that day, accompanying Wynn on an errand from Hanna, she finally found out what it sold.

\nShe looks at the mountains once more, then wistfully crawls into bed.

‘If I see a dream of that time, it would be good.’

She closed her eyes with those thoughts.