43 – Splendid Vacation (5)
During the time covered in darkness,
Me and the Devil Hunters were moving, holding our weapons tightly with stiff expressions.
The situation was far from the relaxed vacation we had anticipated and there was an eerie atmosphere.
With the soldiers disguised in black armors,
the carriage quietly moved along the road, taking advantage of the darkness.
In the midst of it, I was captured by a heavy tension, unlike the feeling I had at the beginning of the journey.
A sudden summons in the late midnight.
For the sake of security and whatever reasons, we found ourselves moving without knowing the details.
The place we arrived at, following Napolea’s guidance.
In a small clock factory located on the outskirts of Pari,
We met Elie and Gabrielle, who were already waiting for us, and joined them…
There, together with Elie, we were assigned the urgent mission to escort a carriage that someone was riding.
The carriage was running towards a suburban city located a few kilometers away from Pari, not entering the downtown area.
Other than Gabrielle, who was leading the way, we had no knowledge of the exact direction,
So we simply followed behind.
“Now I’m starting to wonder what this situation is.”
My question filled with frustration…
However,
Gabrielle replied with a blunt voice.
“You’ll find out soon. Be quiet.”
“…”
Gabrielle’s response was quite different from usual.
With a strange feeling, I had no choice but to silently follow her.
“Throughout this trip, something has felt off… Could it be that puberty has come late?”
I even had such thoughts at that moment.
“…Huh?”
“…Ah…no, what is this again…”
In the next moment, our devil hunters suddenly began to furrow their brows. Despite the uncomfortable feeling, they sensed something suspicious within the boundaries of the mana barriers that spread in all directions. Immediately, we started preparing for battle.
And then.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sharp gunshots pierced through the darkness. The bullets, spreading terrifyingly, were enough to annihilate the unsuspecting individuals who were moving in an unprotected state, and there were even some left over.
However,
Those fired bullets,
They were futilely blocked by the mana barrier that I had already placed around me.
It was an impossible feat for an ordinary devil hunter, but it was possible for me because of my age.
After the enemy’s attack came to an end,
Jenneu gathered mana in both hands and asked in a cold voice,
“What should we do, Master?”
“We have no choice but to follow orders. Eliminate all approaching enemies.”
There was no reason to show mercy to those who had launched the surprise attack.
As soon as my orders were given, the devil hunters immediately went into action.
*
Shooting in the darkness.
Their attacks, aimed accurately in their own way, were reminiscent of a well-aimed carriage, but
The result was obviously unsatisfactory.
“Gosh… What happened? We fired so many bullets, but why are they still alive?”
“I… I don’t know. Even if they are Devil Hunters, there’s no way they can withstand such an attack…”
The assailants were trapped in doubt and confusion.
However,
Their bewildering emotions did not last as long as they thought.
“Grrraaar!”
“What… What is this? Suddenly… Grrr!”
Something flashed in the darkness.
A sharp axe blade,
An invisible touch.
And…
A sword engulfed in crimson flames.
As they came into view,
The assailants were trapped in immense pain, gasping their last breath.
In just a few seconds, they were literally annihilated.
Looking at the fallen assailants, covered in blood on the ground,
The Devil Hunters wore expressions of slight disbelief and said,
“What on earth are these things?”
“A… they died just by being touched…”
“…foolish beings, daring to think they are safe…”
A situation that ended in a sense of futility.
Regardless of how it happened, the Devil Hunters attempted to subdue the individuals who were still gasping for breath after the crisis(?).
“Just stay quiet, we won’t kill you.”
But…
“You bastards!!!”
“!”
“Laugh!”
-Smack!
As the Devil Hunters approached, the attackers stabbed knives into their own hearts.
In the midst of a mass suicide that happened too quickly for them to react, the Devil Hunters were overcome with bewilderment.
“These…these guys…”
“Hiii…hihihi…”
In the end, not a single survivor remained, only cold corpses.
Observing their bodies, the Devil Hunters realized that this incident was not something ordinary, unrelated to the danger they faced. However…
It didn’t take them long to recognize the truth behind it.
*
It had been about an hour since the situation, which was anything but a crisis, had ended.
Me and the Devil Hunters proceeded forward along the path lined with soldiers.
The covert movements from earlier seemed to have been false.
It was an experience I had never had since birth.
It felt as if I were in the position of receiving the ‘bullets of words’ from a general in the military.
You could say that I had the privilege that not even a rich man could have,
But, separate from that, I couldn’t help but feel significant discomfort in the atmosphere of this place, which was by no means light.
“Now that I’ve come this far in a rush… I can’t believe this is the essence of what happened…”
The person standing before my eyes,
The person who we hurriedly brought here in the middle of the night to carry out the escort mission.
After coming to this world, I had experienced many surprising things.
However,
The moment I understood the identity of the person we had brought in the carriage without even knowing their face,
And the meaning of this journey related to it,
Both me and the devil hunters couldn’t help but be sincerely astonished.
The figure walking at the forefront of this procession, having gotten off the black carriage, along with Ellie.
For some reason, she had familiar green eyes,
But at the same time, she had an alienating presence,
With golden hair as bright as the sun and beautiful white skin.
Looking at her,
I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the growing burden of the present time.
One could think, “Why make such a fuss over just one woman to escort?”
But,
The place we are in right now is not just any ordinary building, but the palace of this country called ‘Versha’. Considering the fact that these soldiers wearing armor, which has also appeared in the original work, are part of the royal guard, I couldn’t help but realize the weight that this situation holds. A person who can come and go to the palace like their own home, and someone who can be in a position to receive the formation of the kingdom’s strongest royal guard even at this late hour. The Queen of the Franz Kingdom, Louis XVI. In this moment, seeing the appearance of the monarch of this country walking side by side with Elie, who is within reach if I just stretch my hand, I couldn’t help but have complex thoughts. ‘I thought that maybe one day we would meet, but… I really didn’t expect to meet her like this. The queen I have only heard about by name…’ In the first part, set 30 years ago, this character didn’t even appear, let alone exist. However, in the process of coming to this world and collecting various information, I was able to learn about this person, Louis XVI. A ruler of a country, but someone who lacks enthusiasm for politics. Moreover, an incompetent person who leaves most of the state affairs to the nobles and devotes themselves only to hobbies like making clocks. Although not on the level of historical tyrants who indulge in luxury and pleasure and ruin the country, in this crisis situation where demons rampage and countless people starve, she did not show any proactive intention to resolve the situation. From this point, she was clearly a person who couldn’t escape the evaluation of being a negligent ruler, if not a tyrant. However,
Like this, in many ways, he was a person who didn’t fit in the throne,
Separate from the fact that he was a person who could be described as not helpful in this situation,
I didn’t feel any negative emotions towards her who was in front of me, for some reason.
‘She’s clearly a person I’m seeing for the first time, so why do I feel like she’s not like any other woman… Is it just because she’s pretty?’
Objectively speaking, it was a story that had enough validity.
If you look at it from a standard of being pretty, she had a mesmerizing beauty that could be admired, besides being a ruler.
If you judged her solely based on her beauty, she could capture the hearts of many men.
Moreover, considering that I have a favorable impression of Ellie’s owner, I was not in a position to be hostile towards the queen.
‘I heard that Ellie is a loyal servant to that king. I don’t know why she bows her head to a man who is practically an enemy… There must be a reason for it.’
It wasn’t exactly a refreshing feeling, but even so, I didn’t need to pay close attention to the complicated political situation of this country.
What I am concerned about now is only my relationship with Ellie,
And the matters regarding my subordinates, the devil hunters, who are also my disciples.
Anything else didn’t matter, and to ensure that, the existence that can do anything was me right now.
Even if that meant protecting an incompetent ruler.
‘By the way… The queen seems to have been glancing at me from time to time since earlier, what on earth is the reason for that?’