Magic Caster of Destroy

This carriage had been fitted with defenses against physical attacks and information-type magic. The entire chassis was covered in metal sheeting, and as such it didn’t even have windows. Baziwood stood and cracked the door open to peek outside ― or rather, at the person who had knocked on the door.

Although they were surrounded by knights protecting them and he was sure that this person was a friendly, he couldn’t help but remain on guard against an unexpected situation.

“Your Majesty, it’s Leinas.”

“Open the door.”

The fresh air from the plains flowed in as the door opened fully, blowing through the hair of everyone within. During this season, the air coming in from the outside should have been cold, but the breeze that reached the people inside was comfortably warm.

Needless to say, this was the result of magic used on this carriage.

The rider keeping pace with the carriage was the woman who had been at the head of the formation.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. There’s―”

It was hard to make out her words over the rushing of the wind between them.

“This is no way to talk. Come in, don’t stand on ceremony.”

“Understood. Then, permit me this intrusion.”

With that, she gracefully vaulted off her horse and landed elegantly in the doorway of the moving carriage. Although she made it look simple, given that she was wearing full plate armor and that both her horse and the carriage were moving at a full gallop, it was proof that she had considerable athletic ability.

Still, that was only to be expected of one of the Four Knights that were the pride of the Empire.

Among them, she had the greatest offensive ability. Her name was Leinas Rockbluth, also known as

“Heavy Explosion”.

After transferring to the carriage, Leinas quietly closed the door behind her and took a seat beside Baziwood. The last thing they saw as the outside world was shut out, were the reins of Leinas’ horse being taken by one of the knights riding beside her.

Since the carriage’s magic would only warm the air that entered it, anything cold that came inside would remain that way. Considering Leinas was wearing a suit of full plate armor that had been chilled by the wind shear outside, she was like a block of ice when she took a seat next to Baziwood, who could not help but shiver.

“The people we sent ahead have sent a ‘Message’ to us.”

One of the defenses offered by this carriage was interference against information-type magic cast from the outside. Although it would prevent the enemy from finding them with spells, it also meant spells like ‘Message’ would be blocked, so it was her duty to receive ‘Messages’ on Jircniv’s behalf.

“The outrider element has reached the Great Tomb of Nazarick. There appears to be a log house at that location, and after they informed the waiting maids of Your Majesty’s time of arrival, the maids replied that there would be a welcome waiting for Your Majesty.”

“Maids? I thought it was a… Maids? Maids… could it be? I’ve heard that some countries buried maids with their dead kings to serve them in the afterlife. Is that what happened here? Or does this mean that the dark elves who left the forest made this tomb their new home?

“Regretfully, the ‘Message’ did not contain any further details, Your Majesty.”

“…I can’t figure it out at all. The forest is not a human realm, so there’s no history on it either….…

well, I’d like to hope that the maids won’t be monsters like the ones that came to the capital. Tell our people to be careful.”

“It is as Your Majesty says. Judging by the strength of those emissaries, we are most likely heading into a completely unknown situation. We would be best served by caution. In addition, I hope Your Majesty will swiftly come to my side should anything unexpected come to pass.”

“By which you mean we will teleport away in case of an emergency?”

Fluder’s slight smile was an answer in the affirmative.

“If that comes to pass, then we will fight a delaying action. No matter how many enemies come at us, at the very least we will be able to buy Your Majesty some time to escape.”

Baziwood said this with a smile, but his comrade Leinas did not reply at all. Rather than an agreement which needed no words, it was a form of disapproval that was immediately visible on her face. Yet the others around her said nothing.

In the end, she had never officially sworn her loyalty to Jircniv despite her position in the Four Knights. The truth was that serving Jircniv was the most profitable course of action for her. If someone else appeared who could give her what she wanted, she would immediately abandon her current position.

In other words, her loyalty to Jircniv was the lowest among the Four Knights.

The Four Knights were selected solely on the basis of their fighting ability and not their personality or loyalty. Even so, there was nobody else whose motives were as mercenary as hers.