Chapter 81 : Dispute over the Princess

Chapter 0081 Dispute over the Princess

Translator: Tseirp

Luckily, Deputy Chief Oscar, Adjutant Jurgen, and Adjutant and maid Marie were outdoors when Fiona fired five red bullets in the sky to signal for emergency rescue.

That was when they saw five red bullets rising from the courtyard of the Lord’s building.

“Five red bullets … emergency rescue request? Jurgen, Marie, we are charging straight into the building.”

“Affirmative.”

In the army, the orders of superiors were absolute.

They usually joked around as companions, but when it came to the battlefield or similar situations, they maintained the relationship of superiors and subordinates.

The guards guarding the gates of the mansion were on duty as usual.

All three were aides to Princess Fiona, and more importantly, they were informed that Oscar was the Explosive Blaze Magician, so they were able to enter without any questioning.

The problem was after they opened the door and entered the hall.

“What is this …”

“They’re dead.”

Jurgen and Marie confirmed that the people there were dead and reported it.

“It is confirmed that this is an abnormal situation. We’ll head to the courtyard.”

Around the first corner, they encountered a very large group of people dressed in black.

“<Piercing Fire>”

Oscar, who was in the lead, shot over 20 extra-thin arrows of white flame.

It was worthy of special mention that all of them struck the foreheads of the assailants.

“Precise control as usual …”

Adjutant Jurgen murmured.

This <Piercing Fire> was Oscar’s best spell since he was an adventurer.

A very fine white flame arrow that does not spread fire would strike the forehead and reach the brain, ending the target’s life.

The damage to the target was minimal.

For that reason, he was also able to sell his materials at a high price.

After passing through several corridors and defeating several groups without a moment’s delay, the three reached the courtyard.

However, the scene there was a picture of hell.

Scattered with magic, bows, spears, and the bodies of those killed in close quarters combat.

“No way, Her Highness …”

Marie whispered with a quivering voice.

“Her Highness will not fall so easily! She may be injured, look for her!”

Oscar scolded her and Marie and Jurgen started searching …

However, they couldn’t find anybody who resembled her.

(It’s okay, there’s no corpse. She’s alive somewhere …)

Oscar pretended to be calm in front of them but was about to lose his mind from anxiety.

At that moment …

“Deputy chief, there is the sound of battle from the other side.”

Jurgen pointed out.

Oscar started running as if to say that answering would be a waste of precious time. Following that, Jurgen and Marie also ran after him.

The sight that the three saw after crossing the fence was …

Fiona blown away by the flames and soil that blew up like a geyser.

At that moment, Oscar’s face was dyed in despair.

But it was only for a moment.

That was because he saw Fiona’s lips move while being blown away.

“Jurgen and Marie, protect Konrad-sama. I will chase after Her Highness who was sent flying.”

Oscar commanded and dashed out of the building at full speed.

Since it was the last night, a closing party was being held in the city.

If this was modern Earth, fireworks would be launched but it appeared that gunpowder was not yet common on 『Phi』.

At least, Ryo had never seen any since he reincarnated on 『Phi』.

That said, there was a huge bonfire in the square.

Some vendors were even using decorations that were used during the festival in place of firewood and it seemed that they were enjoying the closing party as they pleased.

Finally released from the Whitnash adventurers, the four from Room 10 were heading towards the bonfire on the beach instead of the one in the square.

Of course, while procuring various foods on the way.

“I have four mini Krakens.”

“I bought four crepes.”

“I really liked the Lindo candy, but it was sold out … he called it takoyaki but it was delicious when I tasted it, so I bought four sets of this.”

Etho proposed for each of them to buy what they liked and exchange them so the four of them went separately and gathered there.

“Hmm? Is Ryo late?”

“I thought I saw him at the Lindo street candy stall over there …”

“Oh~!”

Amon, who had given up on the Lindo candies, cheered at Etho’s report.

Meanwhile, it was completely coincidental that Niels was looking up at the sky.

“What is that?”

Niels said and pointed to something flying over from the Lord’s mansion.

“Where?”

“A person?”

Etho could not see it while Amon couldn’t identify it either.

“That … that is the princess.”

Niels said and started running alone.

She was going to land on the coast. Even though it was sandy, she could die if she landed poorly.

Following Niels who started running, Etho and Amon ran after him.

There wasn’t an ounce of Ryo in their minds anymore …

He had never run so hard during an adventure.

Niels ran desperately.

As his feet got caught in the sand, he desperately tried to avoid falling over and over, and aimed to not slow down as much as possible as he ran to the spot she would land on.

And……

He had to pretty much slide in the end … but he managed to catch her at the last second.

“Oh, that was dangerous …”

At first glance, she had no major injuries.

She appeared to have been at a party as she was in a dress.

“Fu … fu … Niels-san, how is the princess?”

“Oh, she’s probably okay, though she fainted.”

Amon caught up first, and Etho caught up a little later.

But Etho wasn’t the only one catching up.

“Amon!”

“Yes, I see them.”

Amon replied as he drew his sword and slashed at the man in black.

Normally they would wonder who they were, but suspicious people appearing in that situation would not be there for anything good … Niels and Amon came to that decision.

And Etho, who joined late, agreed too.

“Block all attacks <Physical Barrier>”

Without any hesitation, the daggers released by the black assailants were targeted at Fiona. Etho blocked it with a physical barrier that prevented physical attacks.

Niels couldn’t move while holding Fiona.

In essence, Amon was dealing with two assailants on his own.

If he was just any regular F-rank adventurer, he would have been cut down in no time.

However, Amon gained time by kicking up the sand at his feet, blinding them, and attacking persistently to incapacitate instead of to kill.

And finally, an arrow was released from the hands of the priest Etho.

To the members of Room 10, they had no archer and wanted even a little means of dealing middle to long-range attack so during this festival, what the four of them found was this small 『crossbow』.

It was the type that was worn on the left arm, and although it was difficult to attack from a long distance, it had an effective range of about 10 meters.

The arrow shot from the crossbow pierced the neck of one of the assailants.

The other assailant was slightly taken aback by the sudden attack.

Amon took advantage of the slight sway in alertness.

He slammed with his entire body, pushed him down, and thrust his sword through his head.

…….

No one spoke for a while.

“I’m glad it worked …”

Eto muttered softly.

Amon retrieved his sword and moved to Niels.

There may still be further pursuits.

And then, he appeared.

“Oi, back away from that person.”

After leaving the mansion, Oscar continued to run at full speed.

“The beach? ... If it’s a sandy area, she should suffer fewer injuries.”

Assailants were carefully positioned even from the streets to the beach.

He easily pierced them with Piercing Fire without giving the slightest consideration and rushed onto the shore.

Corpses were lying there too, but they were completely invisible to Oscar.

The only thing he saw was the men holding his respected princess.

The moment he saw that scene, the little remaining reasoning he had was blown away.

If he had only retained a little bit of reasoning, he would have noticed that they were different from the black assailants.

If he had only retained a little bit of reasoning, he would have understood that the corpses on the ground were the black assailants and that the men had defeated them.

If he had only retained a little bit of reasoning... he would not have tried to kill them.

As he approached step by step, Oscar uttered.

“Oi, back away from that person.”

But the men said nothing and showed no sign of letting Fiona go.

Naturally. They were assailants after all.

“That person is not someone you can lay your hands on.”

At that instant, Piercing Fire was fired from Oscar’s hand.

All of them felt the danger coming from the approaching 『individual』.

However, among them, the degree of danger that Etho felt was arguably the greatest in his life.

(What’s this ... the magical power around him and the magical power that he’s gathering are abnormal)

“That person is not someone you can lay your hands on.”

The moment that 『individual』 spoke, Etho chanted reflexively.

“<Sanctuary>”

Emergency deployment of defensive magic …… the quintessence of a priest was to deploy a defensive spell in an instant without chanting.

The absolute defense <Sacred Ground> could only be used by high-ranking priests, but this <Sanctuary> could be used by almost any priest.

(TLN: I have been translating ‘Sacred Ground’ as ‘Sanctuary’ but here the author mentioned another spell named ‘Sanctuary’. All ‘Sanctuary’ before this chapter has been ‘Sacred Ground’. I will make the distinction from this chapter onward.)

It could only last five seconds but could defend against most physical and magical attacks.

But the recoil was tremendous.

It would have been so for high-ranking priests, not to mention Etho, who was just an E-rank adventurer ...

Jut~

Sanctuary was activated successfully and repelled the three Piercing Fires.

The three arrows were accurately aimed at the foreheads of Niels, Etho, and Amon.

The moment he confirmed that, Etho nodded in his heart that he did not make a mistake in judgment.

“Cough”

However, the recoil from Sanctuary caused him to spit blood from his mouth and fall to his knees.

“Etho!”

“Etho-san!”

Amon rushed to Etho and supported his body.

Etho’s consciousness was already hazy.

However, Oscar held no sentiment for such exchanges.

“Get away from her now.”

Oscar commanded and fired Piercing Fire again.

“<Ice Wall 10-layers>”

This time, a transparent ice wall flicked away Oscar’s Piercing Fire.

“What?”

He could understand how Sanctuary could repel his Piercing Fire, but a mere Ice Wall could do so too?

There was a crack ... just a crack?

“I was searching for where everyone went ... to think that I would find corpses and you guys in battle.”

As he said that, Ryo finally saw Etho spitting blood and kneeling.

A picture of his companion spilling blood ... was enough for Ryo’s reasoning to be blown away.

“You bastard ... what did you do to Etho ...”

“Shut up, quickly get away from that person.”

Oscar said once again, firing off four Piercing Fires.

(<Icicle Lance 4>)

Ryo intercepted the four flaming arrows with four ice spears.

“What is happening ...”

Even Oscar, who had lost his reasoning, could understand that the Water Magician in front of him was abnormal.

Intercepting four of his Piercing Fires with four ice spears ... it was proof that he had the same magic generation speed as him.

That was the first time Oscar met such a person.

And as long as Fiona was in the hands of the opponent, he could not use large-scale destruction magic.

If she gets caught in it, he would lose everything.

In that case, the means he had were naturally limited.

“First, I will kill you. <Flame Spear Duet>”

From Oscar’s hands, ten Flame Spears with enhanced penetrating power, which were different in quality from the Piercing Fires, were fired toward Ryo.

(<Laminated Ice Wall 10-layers>)

In front of Ryo, ice walls formed one after another.

They formed one after another in front of Ryo heading toward Oscar.

It was the spell that he used to clash against the Akuma Leonor’s <Hellfire>.

As expected of his <Flame Spear> specialized in penetrating power, which was incomparable to the Piercing Fire.

Even the Ice Wall 10-layers which Ryo was proud of would be pierced through with a single blow.

But ... in anticipation of that, he cast a <Laminated Ice Wall> that dynamically defends against attacks with high penetrating power.

Unless it was as destructive as the Akuma Leonor’s Hellfire, it could not break through Ryo’s current defense.

Oscar tried to break through by firing four more consecutive casts of <Flame Spear Duet>.

The spear of fire moved forward while penetrating the ice wall ... but every time it penetrated the ice wall, its speed surely slowed down. It was hard to see, but it was definitely slowing down.

Finally, it struck an ice wall that it failed to break through and disappeared.

That repeated dozens of times ...

Ryo’s Laminated Ice Wall completely defended against all of Oscar’s Flame Spear Duets.

“No way ...”

Oscar couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Oscar’s custom-made <Flame Spear> could penetrate the walls of the Imperial City even with a single shot.

He fired 10 of those at once, and cast it 5 times ... A total of 50 flame spears were fired.

And he blocked all that? That was nothing worse than a nightmare.

Moreover, his opponent didn’t seem to be out of magical power.

“What? Are you done? Then it’s my turn next.”

Ryo’s voice echoed.

However, another voice interrupted to drown him out.

“Wait. Both of you pull back!”

The voice that interrupted was very familiar to Ryo.

But ...

“Abel, don’t involve yourself. If you get in the way, I will kill you.”

Ryo’s voice was low, really low.

Even Abel, who spent the longest time with Ryo, found that voice chilling.

For that reason, he understood that Ryo was infuriated.

“Pl-please wait a moment, Ryo.”

While having cold sweats, Abel asked Ryo to restrain himself.

“That person with white hair is Oscar. Oscar Ruska, Deputy Chief of the Emperor Magic Division of the Debuhi Empire.”

Hearing his name, Oscar finally looked at the intruder.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Abel. Acting in as the City of Rune Adventurer’s Guild Guildmaster. These four people you are facing are not suspicious. They are adventurers who belong to the Adventurer’s Guild in the City of Rune. I am familiar with them and they are not involved in what happened at the garden party.”

Oscar reacted slightly when he heard the word garden party.

“Of course, I know you’re acting with the princess in mind, so just listen.”

“Abel, your conversation is over, right? Then, time for me to kill that guy.”

“No, why!”

Abel yelled at Ryo’s announcement.

“He injured Etho that far, I can’t let it slide that easily. Yes, how about I encase this woman in ice? You’ll end up with a very beautiful object.”

The moment he heard those words, the little reasoning that returned to Oscar flew away.

Oscar showed a furious expression and activated his magic.

“<Heaven and Earth Collapse>”

It was a wide-area destruction magic in which countless flame bullets fell from the sky. Originally.

However, all the flame bullets were falling straight for Ryo.

(<Water Jet 256>)

All the falling flame bullets were mowed down by the 256 extra-thick Water Jets fired in a fan shape.

He magnificently intercepted and extinguished all the flame bullets.

“Hmm, he’s good for a human, but that’s as far as he goes. I can kill him now, right? Abel.”

“Goddamn idiot, that’s just an excuse!”

Far from having just cold sweats, Abel was soaked in sweat, but he couldn’t pull back there.

They were on the verge of a war between the Kingdom and the Empire.

Only at this point, he realized that he had to persuade Ryo more than Oscar.

Because it had been Ryo fanning the flames from a while ago.

“Ryo, I understand your feelings, but please stand down.”

“Will Abel be persuaded to put down his sword if Rihya suffered the same thing?”

“Yes, I will stand down, because Rihya doesn’t want a war between the Kingdom and the Empire.”

Abel made a clear statement to Ryo’s question.

It was, of course, to persuade Ryo, but at the same time, it was his true feelings too.

Ryo didn’t say anything for ten seconds.

For Abel, those ten seconds caused his stomach immense pain.

“... I see. All right. I will stand down in honor of Abel.”

At that moment, even bystanders could tell how relieved Abel was.

“Abel, could you pass that princess to that white-haired tanned-skin man?”

“Ah, yes. Niels, pass her to me.”

Abel received Fiona from Niels and carried her to Oscar.

When Oscar received Fiona from Abel, he finally regained his composure.

(That’s the Explosive Blaze Magician ... white-haired tanned-skin, what kind of middle-grade syndrome does he have to choose that? The power of his magic was not as good as that of Leonor, but ... his magic generation speed was abnormal. Perhaps, his generation speed might be even faster than mine... even my magic generation speed was faster than Leonor, but ... I will have to train more.)