Chapter 18: 18

Chapter 18

Clanetta's Monster Extermination — Part 4

Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV

 

The winter stars shine high in the sky.

At midnight, three weeks after our encounter with the monster, Emily and I were waiting for it to appear in the village square.

Bernhardt and his men, who were preparing for an ambush, sent out a signal that the ambush was complete, so he left his escorting knights and remained in the village.

It was quiet as before, but the lights had been dimmed to allow the eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night. Fortunately, we could see all around us thanks to the star-filled sky. Relying on the starlight, we sat back to back and kept an eye on our surroundings. Only the sound of leaves rustling in the wind and the occasional whinny of a warhorse tied to a stake beside it can be heard.

Leaning against their warm backs under the clear winter sky, it is almost hard to believe that monsters are lurking in the woods nearby. Emily thought something similar and spoke to me with her back turned.

 

「Princess. Are your feet not cold?」

「I have a lap blanket, so I’ll be fine. I won’t let Emily get cold either.」

「Yes. Thank you very much.」

 

Today I am wearing a pure white dress that only goes up to my knees. I chose something that would not interfere with my riding because I will be using a horse to escape from the monster. A leather belt with an angular pouch is fastened over the dress.

The original plan was to use riding culottes, but this dress was chosen for its night-blue color to prevent accidental shooting by ambushing knights. Emily likewise shortens the length of her maid’s uniform.

 

「Will the monster appear?」

「It will come. It’ll be hungry, and here’s a catch they missed earlier.」

「Bears are obsessed with their prey, or was it? Bernhardt and his colleagues told me——」

 

As I nodded my head in reply to Emily’s narrative, the scene began to pop up in my mind.

 

◆

 

「I would be very interested to hear your reasons.」

 

After announcing that I would take the role of decoy, Bernhardt asked me in an unusually angry tone. But in his eyes, I could see that he was concerned about me, just like the other knights.

 

「There are three reasons.」

「With what kind of reasons?」

「The first is the bear’s habit. They are obsessed with their prey and will attack anyone who tries to take it from them. You remember when I encountered the monster. That being lunged at me without hesitation. It’s evidence that it recognizes me as prey.」

「Even so, it is too dangerous for the Princess to take the bait herself.」

 

I tell him about the bear’s habits, but this time Gregory disagrees. He would not agree even if I told him it was okay. Therefore, I dared to affirm his words for once.

 

「Yes, it really is dangerous. Whoever does this needs to put their life on the line.」

「If so then—!」

「Let me tell you the second reason. Look at my hands.」

 

I held out my left palm and shows it to the knights. It is so white that one can almost see the veins, but otherwise it is the hand of a graceful maiden. There, I made a red line with the right-hand knife I received from Emily.

 

「Princess! What are you doing!」

 

Bernhardt quickly takes up the knife, and Gregory, shouting, tries to stop the bleeding by holding my wrist.

 

「Such treatment is useless. Just take a good look at the wounded area.」

 

I wiped off the blood with my handkerchief and showed them my palm again.

 

「Wha—!」

「The wound is gone!」

「This is the second reason. What only a few know is that I have God’s blessing.」

 

It’s an added bonus, God said. I’ve never tried it to see how well it would heal up to a wound, but now that I’ve grown up, I can heal a few wounds in an instant. The knights begin to murmur at the miracle that has happened to me.

 

「It’s the saint…」

「After all, the Princess is the one who has received God’s grace. We can win. We can defeat the monster!」

 

Encouraged by the miracle, the knights were in high spirits, but only Bernhardt and Gregory, who had been particularly concerned about the situation, remained unconvinced. I repeat to them the validity of the blessing, as if to remind them.

 

「I am the best decoy, with my wounds healed. We will be able to defeat the monster without any casualties.」

「I understand your kind heart, Princess. However, we are Clanetta’s knights, the princess’s knights. Even with God’s blessing, we cannot allow the princess alone to take such a risk. Please allow me to send even a few guards.」

 

Kneeling on one knee, Bernhardt makes his request in a formal tone. There is no trace of his usual aloof demeanor. Gregory bent down and nodded his head in agreement.

I sensed a strong will in both of them and looked over at my friend, who had pledged to be with me always.

 

「Please rest assured. Bernhardt-san. Gregory-san. It is to be done by me.」

 

Emily steps forward and announces that she will be my escort. Both knights, who know what she is capable of as the daughter of the Commander, are finally convinced here that I will play the decoy role.

 

「Surely you would be a perfect escort. Please take care of the princess.」

「Yes, I’ll make sure to protect her and show you through.」

 

Emily pledges to Gregory, who bows his head. Beside him, Bernhardt suddenly noticed something and asked her about it.

 

「Princess. You mentioned earlier that there are three reasons. What is the other one?」

「What, they didn’t realize it themselves?」

「What do you mean?」

 

I grinned at Bernard, who tilts his head.

 

「I am confident that you will be able to join with us to defeat the monster in one breath. That confidence is the third reason.」

「Kuh! Hahahaha! Truly, I am no match for the Princess.」

 

Perhaps embarrassed, Bernhardt returned to his normal tone and scratched his cheek.

 

◆

 

「Princess.」

「Ahh, I see it’s here.」

 

After a while, when the chit-chat was over. Emily quietly called out to me. Listening carefully, I hear a slight shaking of the earth. We both gazed in the direction of the sound and saw that a huge shadow was just now emerging from the forest.

 

「Emily!」

「Hah!」

 

When we saw the monster, we got up, paid our kneelers, and ran to the war horse. It was a large horse borrowed from the Knight Commander Marcel. Like his master, the horse is quite determined and is not too fazed when the monster appears.

On its back are two saddles with stirrups suspended from them, connected to each other. First Emily, who holds the reins, jumps in front, then I sit back with her help. Then we untied the rope that connected us to the stakes and faced the monster with our necks around the horse.

 

——How intimidating.

 

The distance between them is still more than 30 meters. The view is also high above the horse’s head. Still, I shuddered at the abnormality of the monster that intimidated me to the point of being crushed.

 

——However,

 

I gently put my left hand on my friend’s back who was holding the reins. She, too, was trembling slightly. However, when we confirmed each other’s passion and felt that we had someone to protect and a friend we could trust by our side, our bodies and minds regained our fighting spirit.

 

「Hey, monster! Today’s the day we’re going to settle this!」

 

The monster roars in response to my cries, and the earth shakes as it closes in.

 

「Come!」

 

The escape for our lives had begun.

 

◆

 

「Hold on tight, we’re leaping!」

 

As soon as I put my arm around Emily’s waist, the acceleration started with the sensation of being pulled backward. In no time at all, the horse galloped out of the square, into the surrounding fields, and onto the forest trail leading to the mountains. The horse is the favorite of the Knight Commander, and it is light enough to carry the two of us. However

 

「It’s fast!」

 

I looked behind me and saw that the monster was running after us, maintaining a distance between us and the monster.

 

「It’s waiting for the horse to tire!　Hurrying is what it wants us to do. We must keep this distance to attract it!」

「Okay! I’ll let you know if we get too close. Emily, keep your eyes forward!」

「Affirmative!」

 

We shout loudly to each other to keep up with the sound of the wind cutting through the air.

 

「We’re entering the forest!」

 

With the same momentum, we plunged into the animal trail. Then, with skillful horsemanship, we slipped through the dense trees. Although the speed was slowing down, it seemed that the monster would have a hard time pursuing it on this narrow beast road.

 

「Princess! How is the monster moving?」

「It was that big. There are only a few roads that are passable… What!?」

 

The monster was approaching in a straight line. Not figuratively, but it was closing the distance, knocking down the trees in front of us. I had misjudged the cunning of the monster. From the beginning, it had planned to finish us off in the woods, where there was little escape.

 

「Emily! It’s getting closer. Can you speed it up!?」

「If it’s just a little bit more. But any more than that and we may fall over!」

「Alright then. Hurry up so we don’t fall. I’ll buy you some time! Run upwind for once!」

「Hah!!」

 

By the time we saw it start to run toward windward, the distance between us and the monster was as close as five meters. I reach into the pouch at my waist and pull out a small bag with a string tied around its mouth.

 

「You’re getting too close! Take this!」

 

A yellow powder danced on the ground behind us as I slammed the unraveled sack onto the ground. The monster, which was hit squarely in the face by the powder, lets out a short scream and falls to the ground.

 

「How about that! Your first taste of mustard!」

 

Stored in the pouch was powdered mustard. I had put it in a bag and prepared it in case of an emergency. The monster got up, let out an angry yell, and came after us again, but in the meantime we were far enough away.

The monster approached, and I used mustard to keep it in check. After repeating this several times, Emily, who was controlling the horse, raised her voice.

 

「Princess! The narrow passage! The narrow passage is in sight!」

「We’ve arrived!」

 

Emily’s voice made me look ahead and I saw a narrow path between a break in the forest and a mountain cliff. I let out a blast from my whistle, which I had tucked away in my chest, to alert Bernhardt and the others in ambush. The high-pitched sound reverberated through the bottleneck.

 

「Good! Now all we have to do is lure that over there… Wha–!?」

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When I looked back again, the monster had vanished. No, it is near what I cannot see. The sound of heavy stomping on the ground ran alongside, approaching and moving away.

 

「Sorry! I looked away and it disappeared. Watch out!」

「Affirmative! We’ll rush to the bottleneck!」

 

——Where is it!?

 

Relying on sound, I searched for the monster, but could not catch sight of it. However, just as we were about to reach the forest exit, a thick smell of the beast stung our noses.

 

「—Emily!! It’s in the windward side!」

 

I shouted this and the monster appeared from diagonally to our left at about the same time.

I could not use the mustard bag if it went upwind. It leapt at us with its mighty arm to reap the life out of us. It all happened in an instant. But Emily’s reaction was even more powerful than that.

 

「I’ll never let go of you!」

 

Following a hasty cry, I tightened my hands around her waist. Then she suddenly brought the horse down and leaped forward in a single bound, using the recoil of the horse. With a sense of levitation, we passed the monster just in time.

Its vicious claws sliced through the air, and we ran like a dangling animal out of the forest and into a narrow path. The monster quickly regains its position and comes in after us.

 

「You did it!」

「Not yet, it’s still there!」

 

Although we succeeded in luring it away, the monster’s pursuit was anything but ordinary. In just a few seconds, it was right behind us. The horse is running at full speed, and the monster’s movements is so violent that it cannot be checked with mustard bags any longer.

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The next moment, the monster bent down and jumped at me again from behind. Its huge body blocked the light of the stars and tried to shroud us in jet-black shadows. But there was no fear. We were not alone in this place anymore.

 

「My knights!」

 

In response to my call, two projectile spears, shot from the cliff tops on either side, pierced the monster’s right eye and left arm with the speed of a shooting star. The monster, having shifted the trajectory of its leap, fell down again with a shriek, while we ran past the marked spot in place.

 

◆

 

「The princess has escaped from the trap! Now! Cut the rope!」

 

Bernhardt, who had successfully hit the monster’s right eye with his spear, instructs him to cut the rope on the wooden board that holds the pile of rocks in place. The rocks, no longer able to support them, fell at once with a heavy thud, and the narrow passage became a cage to catch the monster. Gregory, on the other side of the river, immediately ordered the knights to move on.

 

「Albarett Unit, ready!」

「And me, too! Don’t waste the opportunity the princess has created for us!」

 

The knights who had been lying prone on the cliffs on either side rushed to the edge and took aim with their crossbows, which were armed with gunpowder arrows. The monster, realizing that it was being plotted against, stood up menacingly and grunted. It was a frightening sound that seemed to come from the depths of the earth, but the knights, safe on the cliff, did not panic. What if they had been standing on the same ground? Bernhardt lowered his raised hand, his tongue wagging at Eliza’s tactical eye.

More than thirty arrows, lit by gunpowder fuses, pierced the monster. A small sun appeared before the knights.

 

◆

 

After confirming that the rocks behind them had completely closed the bottleneck, a roar shook the earth and a pillar of fire rose from behind the rocks. Next, the monster’s long exclamation echoed out of the thick white smoke and ceased with the sound of a huge body collapsing to the ground.

After a moment of silence, the knights cheered from the cliff top. We, too, were finally released from our tension and dismounted.

 

「You did a great job. Thanks to you, we got away from it.」

 

I patted the sweaty horse’s neck and unsaddled him with Emily, who happily nodded and went off to eat some grass that was growing in the distance.

 

「It’s finally finished. Princess.」

「Yes. Thanks to everyone’s help. I can’t thank you enough, especially Emily. I’m sorry I had to play the bait game.」

 

I turned to Emily and bowed my head in gratitude and apology, and she slowly shook her head.

 

「No apology is necessary. I went with you because I wanted to be with you, Princess. I am your vassal and your friend.」

「A friend, huh? Still, it is something to be thanked for. Thank you. Emily.」

「Thank you very much. Princess.」

 

Emily smiled and returned the bow, picking at the edge of her short skirt. Her response was perfect for a vassal.

 

「Hmmm. That’s not quite the right response.」

「D–Did I do something rude?」

 

For the first time, Emily, who had been calm even in our escape from the monster, looked puzzled. I find that hilarious, but I will give her the answer.

 

「I want you to call me Eliza, not Princess.」

「B–But I am Princess’…」

「A friend, what is that?」

 

To Emily, who refrains from calling her Lord’s name, I return the words she had just uttered. Emily then blushed, but somewhat happily opened her mouth.

 

「E–Eliza-sama…」

「Hmm, now then…」

 

The word “good” could not be uttered until the end. Behind Emily, through the white smoke rising from behind a pile of rocks, a bloody monster leapt toward us.

 

◆

 

「Emily—!」

 

Emily fell flat on her back, covered by her Lord in front of her. Immediately after, a black shadow passed directly above her, bounced several times on the ground in front of her, and stopped moving again.

 

「T–The monster…」

 

The black shadow was the monster that they had thought they had just defeated. It seemed to have scrambled over the rocks with its last ounce of strength. Emily shuddered at the reluctance, but her eyes widened as she tried to thank her Lord for saving her.

 

「Princess!!」

 

Eliza’s back, covered by herself, had large diagonal claw marks running diagonally across it. Even though her torn white dress turned red in the blink of an eye, new red was still overflowing from the wound. Even so, she turned her golden eyes to Emily and asked her if she was safe.

 

「Emily… The monster, is it gone?」

「Yes! Yes it is! But you, Princess!!」

 

Perhaps recognizing the depth of her own wounds from the way Emily was shaking her head, Eliza shut her mouth for a moment. However, she immediately smiled and quietly spoke to Emily.

 

「I don’t think I’m going to make it with these wounds.」

「I can’t allow that to happen!!」

「No, I know because this is the second time. Emily. Tell Father and Mother. Thank them for raising me up until now and that I have fulfilled my duties as a Clanetta.」

「No! I don’t want that!!」

「Please…」

 

Emily shook her head like a child, but prompted by Eliza’s clinging gaze, she finally nodded back.

 

「Even so, thank you. Emily.」

「Princess…!」

「Don’t give me that look. I, I am satisfied. I’m happy to protect the one I love…」

 

Emily gently hugged her Lord, who had stopped moving with her eyes closed and a faint smile on her face. At that moment, something started moving near them.

 

◆

 

The monster had risen again. Its entire body was scorched, and some parts of its flesh had been popped off by gunpowder. Its left arm was also connected to the body by a piece of skin, but that did not extinguish the fire of life. The monster looked around in slow motion and noticed that two prey remained in the immediate vicinity. One was finished off by the monster’s claws just now. The other one is standing towards it.

If it did not eat, it would die. The monster instinctively knew this, and as it approached, its prey, which had been standing in its way, also approached. It wonders about that, but jumps at them and swings down with it safe right arm.

A clattering sound reached the monster’s ears. It was not the sound of cutting through its prey. Its own right arm was halfway gone. The prey, which had once jumped back before the monster, screamed in pain and astonishment and stood up, approached again with a single elongated claw gleaming.

Until now, when a monster wielded its arm, it wounded any prey. No one had ever stopped moving when it bit its prey. The monster was experiencing for the first time an unobtainable emotion.

The monster howled desperately, but it did not stop its steps. Realizing that the emotion was fear of death, it turned on its heel and tried to flee, but what this monster thought was its prey had already run up the monster’s body and was digging its claws into its neck.

 

◆

 

Blood spurts from the neck pierced by the saber, and the monster falls forward. Emily, who had landed on the ground, did not give it a second thought and ran back to her Lord. Lying on her back, the figure appears to be simply sleeping now that the wounds on her back are not visible.

Emily knelt by the Lord and looked into her face. Golden hair reminiscent of a warm day, long downcast eyelashes and light pink lips. The beautiful princess, who could only have been shaped by the gods as well as everything else, shines even in the darkness of the night. Emily opened her mouth, unable to suppress the thoughts that welled up in her chest.

 

「I love you. I love you too, my dear master. Since the day you called me your friend, I have been determined to dedicate myself to you. My body, my heart, everything. This was love. I offer you my love. I give you my all. That’s why—!」

 

A drop of water spilled from her eyes and fell on the eyelids of her beloved. Then, the eyelids seemed to twitch slightly. When Emily held Eliza’s upper body close, the wound on her back was gone, and her heartbeat, weak but sure, came back to her body.

 

「Ahh. Ahh. You’re alive! You lived!」

 

Emily continued to embrace her Lord with tears of joy until the knights rushed in.

 

I opened my eyes to the glare and saw the wood grain of the ceiling.

 

「You’re finally awake.」

 

I looked at the voice that was immediately called to me and saw Emily sitting in a chair, smiling. She is dressed in her usual maid’s outfit against the window with the morning sun shining in. I realized I had picked up my life when I saw her again, thinking I would never see her again.

 

「This place is…?」

「This is the guest room of the village chief’s house.」

「Guest room… Oh, right, what about the monster!?」

 

Emily answers while gently supporting me as I suddenly half awake and wobble.

 

「Thanks to Eliza-sama, we were able to defeat it.」

「I see… that’s good.」

 

I was about to lie down on the bed again in relief, but I looked at Emily for a word I couldn’t miss.

 

「Just now, my name…」

 

When she uttered this, Emily’s white face turned bright red. However, she mouthed the words「Eliza-sama」again while her cheeks were stained with shame. The sound of it contained more trust than I had ever had before.

We blushed and stared at each other and fell silent. It was an embarrassing yet comfortable silence, but I couldn’t stay like this forever. I made up my mind and confessed my feelings to Emily.

 

「Emily.」

「Yes.」

「I hope you will stay with me in the future. As a vassal, as a friend, as my ……lover.」

 

What came back was a soft touch on the lips.

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