16. As I Please

「Your Highness!」 Fotis shouted, his voice thick with sheer desperation.

Princess Helene looked up. Her smile instantly vanished, and her face turned deathly pale.

I looked up as well. A thick cloud of arrows was raining down upon the courtyard. I could see a squad of enemy archers lined up just outside the wooden palisade, clearly concentrating their entire fire payload on this exact spot. They must have spotted Princess Helene standing in the open.

「Fuuu!」

I swung my magic sword in a wide arc, swatting away the volley of arrows heading straight for Helene. They came flying in rapid succession, but I knocked down every single one that threatened us, only ignoring the ones that were already wildly off target.

The stray arrows embedded themselves deeply into the dirt, creating a safe, barren circle around Helene and me like a crop circle.

「Incredible……」 「What master swordsmanship!」

Princess Helene and Fotis marveled in sheer disbelief. More arrows rained down, but this time I simply turned my back to Helene—using my own body as a shield—and batted them all out of the air with casual sweeps of the blade.

「Now that I’m here, you’re safe.」 「Yes……」

Helene’s gentle smile finally returned. Yeah, that’s how it should be.

However, her expression suddenly shifted as she looked past me.

「That sword…… could it be Eleanor?」 「What?!」

Princess Helene gasped, and Fotis’s eyes went wide with sudden shock. They both stared intently at the blade of the magic sword I was holding.

「The magic sword Eleanor…… is this really it?」 「The legendary cursed blade that corrodes its master’s heart and devours their spirit.」 「That shape, and that ominous miasma… There is no doubt. It’s Eleanor! Please step back, Your Highness!」

Fotis lunged forward, physically inserting himself between Helene and me.

……Ah, right. His historical knowledge was accurate, and his instincts as a knight protecting the royalty were completely correct. Still, it made me feel a little bittersweet. It was hard not to feel a twinge of sadness knowing they viewed my new companion as a world-ending threat, even if she was currently behaving herself.

I opened my mouth to explain and clear up the misunderstanding, but—

「Fotis-sama!」

A frantic shout from one of the rooftop lookouts interrupted us.

「What is it?!」 「Enemy reinforcements have just arrived at the front of the fort!」 「More are coming? What are their numbers?!」 「There has to be at least a thousand of them!」 「A thousand! That traitor Kirill… he must have committed nearly his entire regional command against us. Does he want Her Highness dead that badly?!」 Fotis spat out in venomous rage. 「Kuuu, it’s come to this──」 「How many able-bodied soldiers do we have left here besides us?」 I asked. Fotis shot me a wary look. 「About…… fifty.」

Fifty people. Well, that should still work out. If it gets too messy, I can just handle it in a few rounds.

「Gather everyone here.」 「What are you planning to do?」 「It’s fine, just hurry up.」

I urged him on, but Fotis hesitated, lingering in agonizing doubt. We didn’t have a single second to waste on hesitation.

「Fo──」 「Fotis, do as Kakeru-sama says,」 Princess Helene commanded firmly. 「……Ha!」

Reluctantly swallowing his doubts, Fotis barked orders, and the remaining garrison soldiers scrambled to assemble in the courtyard. As the final battered soldiers fell into formation near the gate, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Warp Feather.

「Let’s go.」 「What are you──」 Fotis started, but I ignored him.

I vividly pictured the route I had taken to reach this region, focusing my intent on executing a mass teleportation straight to Euboea, the nearest major city safely behind friendly lines.

The scenery around us violently flickered and swapped. In an instant, the besieged wooden palisade vanished, replaced by the stone-paved streets of Euboea.

I looked around. Princess Helene was there, Fotis was there, and the dozens of wounded soldiers were collapsed nearby, staring around in utter bewilderment. I had successfully evacuated everyone in one go.

「What… this is…… Euboea?!」 「How the hell did we just get here……?」 「I’ll explain later,」 I cut in, looking at Fotis.「More importantly, now that we’ve warped here, is this city safe?」 「Y-Yes, aahh. It should be entirely secure here.」 「I see. Then I’ll leave everyone in your charge.」 「Leave them to me? But what are you going to do, Kakeru-sama?」 「Princess Helene, I’ll be back in a bit.」 「May the fortunes of war be with you,」 Helene answered immediately, her tone unwavering. It was almost as if she already knew what I was planning to do.

I gripped the Warp Feather and instantly jumped right back to the fort.

⸻

「Wait, there’s no one here! What the hell is going on?!」 「There are only empty barracks!」 「Nonsense, they were all right here a moment ago!」

Just to be safe, I had materialized directly inside one of the watchtower shadows. Down in the courtyard, I could hear enemy soldiers roaring in blind confusion. They had rushed through the gates expecting a bloodbath, only to find the entire garrison had vanished into thin air.

「Alright, time to clean house.」 (What are you even doing?) the magic sword’s voice grumbled in my head. 「I made sure Princess Helene escaped safely, so now I’m going to beat these guys to a pulp.」 (All by yourself?) 「Aaah. Fotis looked exhausted, and all his men were wounded. It’s much faster and cleaner if I just do this alone.」

That was a practical excuse, but the real motivation was simpler──

(Whatever. You just want to show off in front of Princess Helene, don’t you?) The magic sword hit the nail squarely on the head. 「……You really can read my thoughts, can’t you?」 (You aren’t exactly hiding it, idiot. Everyone with eyes could tell.) ……Well, I suppose that’s fair. (Look at you, trying to play the big hero.) she teased.

Annoyed by her mocking tone, I grabbed my magic sword and stepped out of the shadows.

「! Hey! There’s one of them!」

A soldier patrolling the courtyard spotted me and screamed at the top of his lungs. Instantly, hostile soldiers began swarming from all directions. Word on the ground was that there were roughly a thousand of them.

This was easily the largest single force I had faced head-on yet. The biggest crowd before this was the army of dead spirits, but that had only been around a hundred; this was easily ten times that size.

I think I can manage. And if things get out of hand, I can always just warp away.

「Ah, actually…」 I muttered, rethinking my approach.

I pulled out the Warp Feather, locked onto a spot directly behind the dense vanguard of charging soldiers, and triggered it. In a blink, I appeared behind their formation and brought the magic sword down in a sweeping diagonal slash, catching a defenseless soldier across the back. He collapsed instantly, unable to fight back.

Another soldier whirled around in shock. Before he could raise his weapon, I warped right behind him and opened up his back with a clean strike.

Warp and slash. Warp and slash.

(This is the most obnoxious fighting style ever,) the magic sword muttered in my mind, though despite her complaints, she sounded like she was having the time of her life.

I grinned, dropped all pretense of elegance, and charged headfirst into the sea of bodies. I parried a frontal attack, countered with a heavy blow, warped behind another soldier to slip past his guard, and swung the magic sword at random.

Slash, slash, cut, slash!

「Uooooooh!」

A soldier suddenly leaped out from a high platform, tackling me from behind. The unexpected momentum caught me off guard, shoving me violently forward and down into the dirt.

「Got him!」 「Pin him down! Don’t let him move!」

I tried to push myself up, but another soldier piled on top, followed immediately by a third and a fourth. A massive dogpile of armored men rapidly formed right on top of me, crushing me into the dirt and pinning my arms so I couldn’t leverage my strength properly.

「Hold him still!」 「Somebody drive a spear through his head!」

I was trapped in a genuine pinch. Well, at least I was until a minute ago.

I activated the Warp Feather. I instantaneously teleported precisely one meter to the side, leaving an empty pile of soldiers awkwardly collapsing onto each other into the dirt.

I brushed off my clothes, casually stood back up as if nothing had happened, regripped my magic sword, and brought it down with full force onto the tangled mountain of men.

SPLIT!

The sheer shockwave carved a trench right through the center of the pile.

「What the hell kind of monster is this guy……?」 「He’s a damn demon!」 「We can’t fight something like this! Run!」

Seeing that display of absurd destructive power, a huge portion of the enemy soldiers completely lost their will to fight and scattered in a desperate panic. I cut down the ones foolish enough to keep charging me and let the deserters flee.

「Eeeeeei, get the hell out of my way!」

A moment later, a heavily armored man pushed his way through the retreating rabble. His gear was far more ornate than standard infantry armor; he was clearly the commander of this traitorous force.

「Who the hell are you?!」 he bellowed. 「I’m Kirill Slav. Who are you? And where is Helene?」 I asked, though the name already rang a bell. 「I am Kirill! And what business is it of yours—?!」

He didn’t even get to finish his sentence.

Slash!

I casually flicked my magic sword to the side. Kirill’s head instantly detached and went flying through the air.

「There’s even less reason to keep a traitor alive,」 I muttered, watching his body hit the dirt.

⸻

After tossing Kirill’s head into the fort’s water supply as a clear message, I warped back to Euboea and dumped the remains at Fotis’s feet. Fotis stared at the gruesome trophy in absolute shock, demanding to know how I had possibly accomplished such a feat single-handedly.

I simply told him the honest truth: I just cut and slashed my way through them.

Fotis looked like his brain had short-circuited trying to process that answer. But honestly, the tactical victory wasn’t what was currently occupying my mind. For a while now, a strange, persistent churning had been bubbling up in my stomach. What the hell is this weird feeling?

「I’m……」 I started. 「Eh?」 Fotis blinked, snapping out of his daze and taking on a remarkably serious tone. 「I often tell my men this when they return from their very first major battlefield. If you’re feeling restless and shaken up, go embrace a woman.」 「……」

When I didn’t reply, Fotis wisely bowed his head and walked away without another word.

He was right, of course. His advice suddenly made me realize the true source of the nervous knot in my stomach. There was a specific word for this restless anxiety, and a very specific way to quell it. It was slightly annoying that a veteran knight had seen right through me, but I was grateful he had put words to the feeling.

I need to get back and start fluffing. I told myself. I’m going to mofumofu Miu, bury my face in her tail, and fluff her thoroughly until morning. That ought to clear my head.

I reached out to pull out my Warp Feather and warp straight back to the mansion.

「Kakeru-sama.」

I heard Princess Helene’s soft voice call out. I turned around just as she approached me.

「I am simply overjoyed that you are safe above all else,」 she said softly. 「Un.」 「Ah… you have a small cut on your cheek.」 「Eh?」

I touched my face. My fingertips came away feeling slightly wet with blood. I didn’t remember taking a direct hit during the melee…… I must have scraped myself when that pile of soldiers crushed me into the ground.

Without hesitation, Princess Helene pulled out a fine silk handkerchief and gently reached up to wipe the blood from my cheek. I could feel her body heat radiating through the delicate fabric. Her sweet, floral scent drifted past my nose.

My heart hammered frantically against my ribs—it felt like it was burning alive.

After carefully wiping the scratch away, Princess Helene lingered, staring up directly into my eyes. She stared for a long, breathless moment──and then softly closed her eyes.

I raised my hand and gently placed it upon her slim, delicate shoulder.

And then, I kissed Helene.