Chapter 219. Target Strike (4)
Only after moving continuously for several hours after shaking off the pursuit were they able to enter a quiet area where no trace of magical beasts could be felt.
When Enoch looked up, he saw silver stars already scattered across the darkening night sky as the sun set.
Beneath a towering rock cliff, in a spot surrounded by relatively small trees and scattered rocks,
Enoch and Alicia sat side by side, leaning against the thick root of a massive tree.
This place was secluded enough, and well hidden by undergrowth, that it would be difficult for enemies to find.
On top of that, they had almost completely erased the scent of blood, so the immediate threat of pursuit had likely been shaken off, for now, at least.
“I’m sorry… for carrying me all the way here……”
Sitting on the soft grass, Alicia murmured quietly, deliberately avoiding Enoch’s gaze.
“Um, I wasn’t… too heavy, was I? Ahaha……”
Enoch replied calmly.
“It was fine. There were plenty of places to hold onto, so it was easy to carry you.”
“G, ! A-are you saying I’m fat?!”
Watching her protest wildly after completely misreading the situation, Enoch slowly shook his head.
“Of course not.”
What he had meant was that, thanks to her feminine curves, it had been fairly easy to support her by holding her slender waist and legs, but there was no reason to say that out loud.
As a Dragoon, she had a firm and healthy body to begin with, and even now, it felt as though the softness and sweet scent of Alicia still lingered in his arms.
And her weight, which she seemed so worried about, had never been an issue in the first place.
“Uh, hm, hm!!”
At that moment, Alicia cleared her throat several times, cheeks burning red as she avoided his gaze, then cautiously looked at him.
“Anyway, the operation ended up getting delayed because of me…… I’m sorry, Young Master.”
Enoch shook his head.
“It’s not your fault. Given the situation, forcing the operation would have been the wrong call.”
Even if they had shaken off the pursuit, the beasts would still be agitated from chasing them just moments ago.
Charging straight into enemy territory right now would hardly be a wise move.
“Besides, I know you pushed yourself. I was planning to reorganize here anyway, so don’t worry about it. Focus on resting.”
“T-to think you were really concerned about me…… Young Master, you’re very kind after all.”
Alicia murmured softly, staring ahead.
“But resting here because of me… did the maid agree to that too?”
“You mean Rien? Why do you ask?”
“Ah! W-well, it’s just… your relationship feels a bit strange. Cold, maybe? And if that’s because of my injury, then……”
Alicia glanced off to the side.
Following her gaze, Enoch saw the maid standing a short distance away.
She was standing neatly in her maid uniform, hands folded over her apron, carefully scanning their surroundings.
She was probably keeping watch in case any beasts approached.
“You’re worrying about nothing. It’s not like there’s any disagreement between us.”
If anything, the fact that he had been injured despite her accompanying the mission likely made her even more vigilant.
Enoch glanced toward Rien and added,
“Besides, I already talked things through with her.”
“Ahaha, I see.”
Alicia hugged her knees and quietly buried her cheek between her arms.
“Still, Elseid really is something else. I never imagined even a maid could be that strong……”
She tilted her head slightly over her knees, smiling awkwardly.
“Ahaha, honestly… watching her kind of gives me strange feelings.”
“Well, that’s understandable.”
How often would one see a beautiful silver-haired girl in a maid uniform, deep in the forest at night?
Enoch glanced toward Rien.
“…To begin with, it’s rare enough for a maid to distinguish herself so much in combat that she draws admiration from the elite forces under a lord’s command.”
“That’s exactly it! She took down all those massive trees at once!”
Alicia turned her head, touching the huge tree root she was leaning against.
“Even other Dragoon members, let alone me, couldn’t cut down trees that big in a single blow. She’s really incredible, that maid.”
On that point, Enoch wholeheartedly agreed.
The image of Rien sprinting forward, cutting down every tree around them to block the beasts’ pursuit, was still vivid in his mind.
As he was thinking that, something occurred to him, and he turned to Alicia.
“Oh. That reminds me, Alicia, I actually have something to give you.”
“Something for me?”
From the duffel bag he had set beside him, Enoch took out an item wrapped in a black, waterproof tactical pack.
It was part of the supplies delivered earlier by the Dragoon messengers before they entered the area.
A cylindrical cartridge rested in Enoch’s palm. Alicia’s eyes widened when she saw it.
“Ah! This is Aslin’s special ammunition! You hardly ever see these, even back at the unit!!”
She carefully accepted it with both hands, eyes sparkling as she stared at it.
“You look happy.”
“Yes! Every time I asked Aslin to enchant something before, she’d scold me, saying enchantment magic wasn’t something you just used anywhere!”
“You ask her for magic regularly?”
“Yes! Enchantment magic is fascinating! I grow potatoes personally back at the unit, and if you use enchantment magic on them, they grow really big and healthy!”
“…Potatoes?”
“Yes! I brought them from my hometown, they’re really plump and delicious! I’ll give you some too once I harvest them, Young Master!”
Watching her bright smile as she launched into a potato monologue, Enoch almost let out a wry smile.
Come to think of it, hadn’t she also been scammed over potatoes back in the outer district?
Whenever he talked with Alicia, the conversation always seemed to drift off in strange directions.
Still, it wasn’t unpleasant.
“Well, I don’t know much about it.”
Enoch looked at her expressionlessly, then turned his head slightly.
“But it probably means she trusts you that much.”
“Ahaha… I hope so.”
She clasped the special ammunition tightly, pressing it between her hands against her chest.
Watching her, Enoch asked,
“I don’t know much about that ammo, but will it really be enough to defeat Indiviltal?”
“Yes! Aslin’s enchantment magic is amazing!”
She raised the cartridge in one hand, holding it up against the starlight of the night sky.
The black-chrome metallic casing, unique to mana stone alloys, glimmered faintly.
After gazing at it for a moment, Alicia glanced back at Enoch and smiled brightly.
“In terms of raw power, when I use this, my burst firepower might even be comparable to a tenth-rank mage!”
“Tenth rank, huh.”
Enoch nodded slowly.
Now that he thought about it, even in the original story, Aslin’s enchantment magic had been exceptionally powerful.
Even considering that Alicia herself was on the verge of breaking through the tenth-rank barrier, the difference between the tenth and eleventh ranks was enormous.
If Alicia, who had trained under a mentor who had already crossed that threshold, said this much, then Aslin’s skill must truly be extraordinary.
“If that’s the case, even a Monarch-class beast should take a solid hit.”
“Yes! I think it’s definitely possible!”
Watching the Dragoon girl clench her fists and shine with excitement, Enoch turned his head aside.
Alicia, who wielded a bombardment lance with devastating destructive power, could surely cripple the enemy if she landed a hit with special ammunition.
The true value of recruiting her into the squad was becoming clearer by the moment.
“Oh, right!”
Alicia suddenly tilted her head, as if something had just occurred to her.
“Do you have a specific plan for when we encounter Indiviltal on site? Victoria’s tactical doctrine says it’s best to prepare in advance……”
“There isn’t one. We’ll adapt to the situation.”
At Enoch’s blunt answer, Alicia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“B-but! Wouldn’t that cause problems if something unexpected happens?”
“We don’t know what Indiviltal can do.”
Enoch turned his gaze toward the vast forest.
Somewhere within it lurked the leader-class beast. Thinking back to the battlefield, he continued,
“The last time, Anakillione used combat magic that was nearly thirteenth rank. In terms of sheer power, it might have been even higher.”
“R-right……”
The experimental beast, fifty meters tall, practically a mountain in itself.
The fact that such a creature could wield magic that dangerous was undeniably terrifying.
“Likewise, we don’t know what kind of trump card the target this time is hiding. There’s not enough information to set a plan in advance.”
Enoch summarized simply.
“Once we locate Indiviltal, whoever is best suited to take it down should act according to the situation at the time.”
Alicia nodded, looking convinced.
Then she stared at Enoch with genuine admiration.
“As expected, the Elseid Heir really is different. You’ve thought this operation through far more than I have!”
“…Even if you praise me, there’s nothing special I can do for you.”
Enoch replied calmly.
But Alicia looked up at him, smiling brightly and sincerely.
“Ahaha, I’m not expecting anything. I’m just glad my mentor’s recommendation was right!”
“…Is that so?”
Her frankness left Enoch with a strange feeling, and he turned his head away.
Thinking the conversation had wrapped up, Enoch unfolded the paper map he had been holding and studied it.
After staring at it for a while, resting his chin on one arm, a faint scent, citrus shampoo mixed with earthy soil, tickled his nose.
When he looked over, Alicia had somehow crawled closer and was staring intently at him.
Lying on her stomach, her long hair draped over her slender waist, she gazed up at him like a curious cat.
Because of her position, her full chest hung close to Enoch’s seated legs, forcing him to briefly consider where to put his eyes.
Yet she seemed completely unaware of it, continuing to stare at him innocently.
“Um… Young Master, what are you doing right now?”
“I already have a rough idea of where the enemy’s main force is, from before we regrouped. But we also need to plan the route to strike them.”
“Oh! I see!”
“Yes. But there’s a problem.”
From what he had seen earlier, the enemy was likely across the river, beyond the waterfall.
However, crossing downstream meant either terrain so dense they couldn’t advance at all, or terrain so open they would be completely exposed.
Enoch pointed to a spot on the map.
“Geographically, it looks like this is the only way through.”
“Hmm, you’re right. That does seem like the only viable route.”
“Exactly. And that’s the problem. That one route……”
Leaning in to look more closely, Alicia tilted her head.
“There’s a strange marking on this area?”
“Yes. It looks like a treasure hunter’s mark.”
At the spot Enoch indicated, symbols left by treasure hunters were marked on the white-background digital-style map.
Seeing them, Alicia’s shoulders slumped, and she let out a faint groan.
“Ugh… I was hoping to avoid places with these kinds of mysterious markings if possible. Of all times……”
Enoch nodded silently.
She was right. And yet, the only path that allowed them to strike the enemy ran straight through such a place.
Perhaps this too was a trick of fate. Enoch suppressed his growing headache and sighed.
“If only we knew what these symbols actually meant.”
“Yeah… what could this place be……?”
Alicia pressed her index finger under her lip, murmuring as she tried to make a guess.
“They’re basically ciphers, really……”
“These codes were probably only meant for treasure hunters. Trying to decode them here wouldn’t help much.”
“True…… Ah, wait!”
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she leaned forward toward Enoch.
“I, I think I recognize one of these symbols!!”
Excited, she pressed her upper body closer to him as she exclaimed,
“I didn’t realize it when I first saw it, but this is a marking that used to be used in the Victoria military!”
Her soft, well-shaped chest pressed firmly against Enoch’s arm and body, visibly compressing, yet she remained completely unaware.
She pointed at the symbol on the map, eyes shining as she let out a small gasp.
“This is something we studied really hard at the academy! I never thought I’d actually use it!!”
“Victoria military symbols?”
“Yes! That’s right!”
Still pressed close, she turned toward Enoch and said,
“So if I know what the symbol means, then I think I can tell what this place i, th, th, !!”
Only then did she realize how close Enoch’s face was.
By the time awareness dawned on her, it was already too late.
As a deep blush spread across her pale cheeks, before she could react,
A firm grip seized her shoulders.
And Enoch leaned in close, still holding her in place.
“Wait. Alicia. You think you know what this is?”
Enoch asked, his voice slightly raised as he stared directly into the wide-eyed Dragoon girl.
For some reason, Alicia let out a strange “hic” and covered her mouth.
“T-that…! Y-yes, I do, but……!!”
“Are you serious?”
Enoch asked again.
If they could find a clue here, the operation’s success rate would increase significantly. If Alicia knew, that would be a stroke of luck.
“Yes! Yes!! I’m sure!!”
Her reaction, however, was oddly stiff.
Alicia stared at Enoch gripping her shoulders, flustered, then looked away.
Her cheeks flushed red as she squeezed her eyes shut and murmured while turning her head aside,
“Um… I-I mean, I think it really is an old military symbol……”
“What? I can’t hear you!”
“U-um! If it’s alright, c-could you step back just a little……?”
Enoch looked at her, then nodded.
“Oh. Right, sorry.”
Realizing he had gotten carried away by the sudden lead in an operation that had gone nothing according to plan, Enoch released her and stepped back.
Alicia immediately turned away where she sat, making a strange “uuuuh” sound as she rubbed her burning red cheeks with both hands.
“…So, um.”
After a moment, she cautiously edged closer again, glancing at Enoch while doing her best to avoid eye contact.
Pointing at the map, she said,
“I think this mark means there’s a ruin here.”
A ruin.
At that word, Enoch’s breath caught.
He had avoided considering it during the operation, but ruins were undeniably familiar locations in the original story.
No one knew better than Enoch how powerful the artifacts classified as ancient relics could be.
Even in the middle of a mission, the idea of passing through a place where such items might appear was undeniably intriguing.
And it wasn’t just because of his memories of the original story.
Of course, preparing useful artifacts for his vassal families was important.
But ruins were places of immense importance to Enoch himself.
‘Every ruin I’ve visited so far was connected to a Sword Saint.’
That was true for the Empire’s last Sword Saint, and for the Azure Sword Saint as well.
Only when he entered ruins associated with them did he experience tangible growth with the sword.
And now, another ruin.
“Well then.”
Suppressing the slight thrill rising within him, Enoch asked,
“Can you tell me more about it?”