“If they were, you’d expect reports of more extreme damage than what we’re seeing,” Febral replied. “The only damages I’ve heard of are an empty village or two burning to the ground after its residents were already evacuated…”
“…Well, I guess that does seem a bit odd,” Dece said.
As would be expected of a party leader, Dece knew how to listen to others. When he thought an opinion was worth listening to, he was open-minded enough to follow the advice of others.
Dece spoke to Juno, who had her hands behind her head, her fingers interlocked.
“Juno. I’m counting on you to be thorough with your scouting. From here out, keep an eye out for more than just monsters or animals.”
“Roger that!”
With those words, Juno climbed up into the tree again, then jumped away.
After watching Juno go, Dece said, “Febral, go tell Augus and Julia up at the front everything you told me. I’ll stay here and guard the rear.”
“Roger.”
As he watched Febral run off towards the head of the party, Dece let out a sigh. Here’s hoping this quest stays this good until the end…
That was Dece’s fervent hope.
After splitting off from Dece and the others, Juno went back on patrol.
The forest was as quiet as ever, but when she came out onto one of the narrow mountain paths, Juno’s sensitive ears picked up something.
Juno descended from the trees, getting down on all-fours and putting an ear to the ground. This noise… Is it the sound of hooves?
The noise was coming from not far away. There was more than one of them, and the noise was loud.
For now, all she heard was the sound of hooves. Taking into account that she didn’t hear wheels, as well, she judged that the sound was likely coming from horsemen… a group of heavy cavalry, at that.
There’s heavy cavalry galloping along this mountain road?
Suspicious, Juno decided to scout in the direction of the noise. But, before heading off to scout…
“Awoooo!” she howled, imitating the cry of a grey wolf.
This was a message to Dece and the others. “Abnormal situation detected. Be on your guard,” was what it meant.
Having done this, Dece and the others would stay alert. If something happened to delay her return, they would probably come to rescue her.
Juno remained even more silent than before, jumping from tree to tree as she searched for the individuals making the noise.
After some time, she heard the rustling of armor in the distance. Juno hid in the shadows, surveying the area around her.
When she did, as expected, she spotted a group of heavy cavalry galloping along the mountain path. There were five of them in total. Each of them wore black full-plate armor.
What’re they doing here?
While Juno was suspiciously observing them, the emblem on the shields they carried caught her eye.
That crest… It belongs to the Principality of Amidonia. Then… are they horsemen from the principality?
This was Elfrieden Kingdom territory. It was strange for horsemen from the Principality of Amidonia to be here at all. Adventurers wandered the continent in search of dungeons and quests, so their loyalty to any given state was weak. However, because they wandered the continent, they were very knowledgeable about the relations between different countries.
The principality is supposed to be hostile to the kingdom, she thought. If principality horsemen are out here… has the Elfrieden Kingdom been attacked by the Principality of Amidonia?
She recalled there having been talk of the Principality of Amidonia massing its forces on the border.
The adventurers’ guild had a system that allowed a country that was under attack to pay a certain amount of money to conscript all adventurers inside their territory. Because of that, adventurers working in the kingdom had been keeping a close eye on the movements of the principality, but the guild received no request for support from the kingdom. Because of that, she had thought nothing would come of it.
Incidentally, Souma had canceled that contract with the guild, declaring it a waste of money for the same reasons as hiring mercenaries, but the adventurers themselves hadn’t been informed of this.
Judging from their numbers, they’re a scouting party. In that case, is the main force nearby?
If the soldiers came across the villagers the party were escorting, it was going to be very, very bad. The party might be fine against five horsemen, but if they came at them in large numbers, the party didn’t stand a chance. The villagers might be dragged off as prisoners of war, but they, the ones escorting them, might just be killed. Even so, if they abandoned their quest and fled, they would find themselves on the guild’s wanted list.
Juno let out a little sigh, trying to set her feelings aside. For now, I need to stall them.
Juno hid in the foliage, hiding herself as she gradually approached the five horsemen. Then she took a stone into her hand and threw it at the head of the horse running at the head of the group.
Whack.
“Neighhhh!”
“Whoa?!”
Having been hit in the side of the neck with a stone, the lead horse reared back. The surprised principality soldier was nearly thrown from his horse.
His comrades clustered around him. “What happened?”
“I just suddenly lost control of the horse…”
“Did it get stung by a bee, or something?”
“Dunno. I think something came flying this way, though…”
While the principality horsemen were talking about it, Juno circled around behind them. Then, once again, she threw a stone at the horse that was at the rear of the group.
Whack.
“Neighhhh!”
The moment she hit it, the horse that had been at the rear jumped and ran wild.
“Whoa! Hey, calm down!”
“What?! Is there something here?!”
The horsemen looked around restlessly. With two of their horses having been startled by something in short succession, they seemed to have become very cautious.
When she saw that, Juno was relieved.
Good. That ought to bring their pace down.
The more cautious they were of their surroundings, the slower they would advance. Now she just had to join up with Dece and the others, then get the villagers to hurry up. With that in mind, Juno was turning around to leave when it happened.
Because she had turned suddenly, the branches rustled slightly. That vibration, unfortunately, startled a bird perched on the branch above Juno and it took off. With the loud beating of wings, the principality soldiers looked in Juno’s direction.
“Is there something over there?!”
“Oh, crap…!” Juno fled at once.
Making a snap decision, she took off in the opposite direction of the way she’d come. She couldn’t lead these guys back to where the villagers were.
The horsemen chased after Juno. “Don’t let her get away! Make sure you capture her!”
Juno could hear the voices shouting from behind her. Juno fled through the areas where trees were densely packed, making use of tight turns to try to shake her pursuers, but horses were faster on land. The horsemen deftly controlled their horses, diverting around the dense trees to pursue Juno.
Dammit… These guys just don’t give up!
Juno wasn’t convinced she’d get out of this alive. As an adventurer, Juno had no particular loyalty to the kingdom. However, they weren’t likely to care about that. If she was caught, there was no telling what they might do to her. The thought sent a chill down her spine.