The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom: Part 1

The fog was getting thick enough that horses could not advance through it. Given what they had learned earlier, there were no cliffs near E-Rantel. If they advanced slowly, they ought to be able to deal with whatever came up. However, this rapidly brewing fog made them hesitant to move through it, however slowly they travelled.

Neia sniffed the fog.

It smelled of water vapor and nothing more. There was nothing about it that would have bothered her. However, that was exactly what bothered her.

“Captain, could this fog have been generated by a monster? My father once said that some monsters had the magical ability to generate fog, and they would hide in it to stalk their prey.”

“...Everyone, draw your blades! Anyone still on the road, clear off right away!”

This quick decision-making was a sign of Remedios’s excellence in battle.

Neia and the Paladins moved their horses as directed and left the road, whereupon they circled up. By this time, the thick fog looked like it was going to swallow up the entire world.

It was thick enough that she could barely make out her companions next to her, and visibility was zero beyond fifteen meters. Her unease boiled in her chest, and she imagined she saw wraiths in the movement of the fog’s currents.

It would be good if she could determine what was approaching them by sound, but she was surrounded by fully armored knights. Every move they made caused metal to scrape against metal, and it hampered Neia’s sense of hearing. Under these conditions, it would be very difficult to detect anything that was closing in on them. By Neia’s reckoning, the only one who could still discern objects by sound in these conditions was her father.

As she realized her father’s greatness once more, she desperately pricked up her ears to listen.

“This is a really weird fog; it doesn’t get this thick even on the sea.”

“Aren’t we about to reach the Sorcerous Kingdom’s city? Are there still monsters this close to the city limits? Or are these strange things par for the course because it’s the Sorcerous Kingdom?”

“I don’t know… could it be some sort of defensive spell used by the Sorcerous Kingdom?”

“...Let’s leave magic out of it, just talking about it makes my head hurt. If you see anything, let me know, and make it easy to understand. If it’s a monster, we’ll kill it so we can have the Sorcerer King owe us a favor when asking him to send out Momon. How about that?”

“How do you think that will turn out? While they say clearing out monsters within a country’s borders is the responsibility of that country…”

Perhaps it was because she had focused all her energies on listening intently, but she could clearly make out the contents of the conversation between the Captain and Gustavo. However, if she moved away, she was no longer confident that she could hear them. What would her father do at a time like this?

I can’t keep relying on someone who isn’t here! I need to stand on my own two feet!

However, the fact remained that staying here would only impede her abilities. In that case, should she ask if she could be allowed to move away by herself in order to verify the situation?

—It would be better not to.

Neia quelled her desire to speak up.

Even if she did not do so, the Captain was hardly close to her. If she asked for that and failed, there was no telling how she would be punished. It would be best to avoid causing more problems for herself.

Also, it would be bad if the Captain stopped trusting my guidance as a result.

Neia struggled to make excuses in her heart. However, it would be very bad for her mental health if they ran into danger and she thought, I could have handled this better.

Although part of her mind thought, If we all die here, the people suffering in the Holy Kingdom will have to wait even longer for salvation, Remedios’s barbs had already punched countless holes in Neia’s heart, and she could not bring herself to care any more.

Just then, Neia saw something from the corner of her eye that she could not possibly miss.

Amidst the dense fog, she glimpsed the murky outline of something huge coming from the Sorcerous Kingdom.

“Say, can you take a look over there?” Neia poked one of the mounted paladins beside her.

“...I don’t see anything. Sorry, but the fog’s too thick and I can’t see anything. Is something there?”

She heard the paladin reaching to his waist and fluidly drawing his sword, then the sound of him tightly gripping its hilt.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I thought I saw something, but maybe I was mistaken.”

“Really? Well, if you think there’s something there, just tell us, no matter what it is.”

“All right, I’ll be counting on you when the time comes, then.”