“…So, do you want to go see it?”
“Me? Alone?”
Eliya, who had been looking out the window, suddenly turned her head.
She glared at me.
For some reason, her returning voice felt chilly.
“You should go together.”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“I met everyone I needed to see yesterday. Now, I’m just waiting for their responses.”
Eliya rested her chin on her hand and looked at me with a sly gaze.
Her cheeks were puffed up and round, almost like she was trying to act innocent.
“Today should be fine.”
Hmm…
I don’t know if it’s just my feeling, but it seems like she really… wants to go?
‘…Or maybe not?’
Eliya stared at me for a moment before casually looking out the window as if my response didn’t matter at all.
Anyway.
I had no reason to refuse.
More than anything, I was worried about the monsters showing up.
If we moved around pretending to enjoy the festival, it might help prevent that.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll go…”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Eliya grabbed my hand and stood up.
Ria came running.
“Miss! You need to take this!”
What she handed over was a large robe with a hood.
She definitely stands out in many ways.
First of all, her basic outfit is anything but ordinary.
Anyone can tell she’s nobility.
Moreover, the insane fire wizard, Eliya, is quite famous among the nobility.
“Okay.”
Eliya obediently followed Ria. While she put on the robe, I grabbed my own robe from my room.
A brown robe with faded ends.
I mostly wear it over my armor.
To prevent the sunlight from heating it up.
The robe buttons up from the neck to the solar plexus.
As I finished putting it on and turned back, Eliya was staring at me.
“You buttoned it wrong.”
“Eh? Ah…”
Before I even had a chance to check, Eliya reached for me.
She unbuttoned one by one and patiently redid them from the bottom up.
I had to stand still until she was done.
Finally, Eliya buttoned up all the way to my neck.
That’s normally a spot I leave unbuttoned because it feels tight.
Eliya didn’t move her hand.
She held onto the buttoned area like a leash and looked at me intently.
“Miss?”
“…No, it’s fine now, right, Ria?”
Eliya asked while putting on the hood, and Ria nodded with a smile.
“Please be careful out there, Miss.”
With that, I stepped out of the mansion with Eliya.
*
It was clear this was the beginning of a royal festival, as there were noticeably more people around.
If we weren’t careful, we might lose track of someone standing next to us.
Because of that, Eliya and I had to walk closely together.
With our hoods pulled over our heads, no one could recognize us.
Given the crowd, we wouldn’t seem suspicious.
We weren’t the only ones wearing hoods, after all.
“Have you ever been to a festival?”
Eliya asked.
“No.”
I answered immediately.
A festival? I’ve never experienced one in my life.
‘If I had to stretch it, I’ve participated in many festivals in games, including royal festivals.’
But saying that is a bit of a stretch…
“It’s my first time participating as a visitor too.”
Come to think of it, Eliya mainly organizes or manages festivals.
At least for royal festivals, that’s how it goes.
She may have come as a guest, but she probably didn’t intend to enjoy it much.
“Is there something you want to do?”
“Hmm….”
I pretended to think seriously while subtly guiding the way.
Towards near Judeca.
To the place where monsters were supposed to show up.
Fortunately, Eliya followed me without suspecting anything.
‘Having Eliya around is actually helpful… wait, will Eliya’s magic cause ordinary people to get caught up in this…?’
A belated worry arose.
“…Judas?”
“Ah, yes. Sorry, I got sidetracked for a moment…”
“Why are you constantly thinking of other things while you’re with me?”
I was startled and quickly turned to her.
Did I hear that right?
Eliya didn’t avoid my gaze.
Looking slightly sulky, she stared at me with her lips pouted.
At that moment, I wanted to smack myself for misunderstanding.
‘Geez… messing with someone’s heart like this…’
It meant I wasn’t focusing on what my superior was saying.
I thought she couldn’t have meant it that way.
“I’m sorry. It’s my first time with this kind of thing too, so I’m not quite sure what to do.”
“Hm. Well, it’s your first after all.”
Judeca, the massive circular arena.
There are quite a lot of entrances leading into it.
First, four: north, south, east, and west.
Standard spots for regular spectators.
There are then four more entrances, rotated 45 degrees.
These are shaped like an “X,” and they serve as back entrances for officials or invited guests.
They also act as passages for transporting monsters used in exhibitions or battles, and I used one with my guards yesterday.
The interior is so vast, and I was busy yesterday, so I didn’t get to check it thoroughly.
‘There are supposed to be two doors through which monsters come out. I’m sure one is the southeast, but where was the other…?’
While checking the surrounding terrain, I headed for the southeast entrance.
Eliya didn’t ask any questions or stop to look around.
She simply matched her pace to mine.
Walking while taking in the sights around her.
Red eyes gazing curiously!
‘…Is she really a cat or something?’
She didn’t seem to dislike looking at the scenery as she walked forward without looking ahead.
I kept my eyes on her as we walked.
Finally, we reached the southeast entrance.
“Judas, over there…”
Just as Eliya grabbed my clothes to say something…
-SCREECH!
A chilling sound echoed from afar.
People around us instinctively covered their ears at the terrifying noise.
I reflexively pulled Eliya into my arms.
I turned my head towards the source of the sound.
Sure enough, at the southeast entrance of Judeca.
The large iron door was being torn apart.
Making a grotesque noise, the iron door ripped apart like paper.
Beyond it, a giant green eye glowed.
‘Cyclops.’
It’s classified as a sub-species of ogres.
The only difference is its mindless size and brute strength.
“Aaaah-!”
“Run for it-! Everyone escape!”
People screamed and scattered in chaos.
I stood in the middle, holding Eliya tightly.
Afraid she might get swept away.
“Judas. What’s happening?”
Eliya asked, her face against my chest.
She couldn’t see the situation since I was holding her.
“It seems a monster caught in Judeca is trying to escape.”
The iron door split wide open.
As the crowd fled, more space was created.
I set Eliya down and summoned my armor, putting it on piece by piece.
‘From what I remember, it’ll take a while for the royal knights to arrive. I have to hold them off for now.’
Eliya helped me put on my armor.
“Ah, th-thank you…”
“Let’s save the thanks for later. We need to stop those monsters from escaping first.”
Eliya turned toward the empire.
And she probably calculated the consequences.
How much prestige the empire will lose from this incident.
How much support we’d gain by resolving it.
Thanks to her help, I finished gearing up and took out the moon’s orb.
‘Besides this spot, monsters will appear elsewhere, but I can’t quite recall where… I guess I have no choice but to break through here as quickly as possible.’
-THUD!
The Cyclops emerged from Judeca.
A giant nearly reaching 4m tall.
Countless monsters poured out beneath it.
Eliya stuck close behind me.
“Miss, are you alright?”
“Don’t worry about me. Just take care of those small ones down below.”
Eliya’s magic is overwhelmingly destructive.
It would be tough for her to target just the monsters without damaging Judeca.
So, Eliya goes for the Cyclops first.
“Understood. Just don’t get hurt.”
“Yeah, you too.”
Eliya’s form vanished.
And soon, she appeared from thin air.
Her eyes blazed with mad fire as she glared down at the Cyclops.
I trusted her and charged forward.
The first thing I saw was a huge centipede.
A beast over 8m long.
I imbued my sword with power from the moon’s orb.
Moonlight glimmered from the black blade.
The magical potency seemed lower, causing the light to be dimmer.
The colossal centipede lunged at me with its gigantic antennae.
I swung my sword down with all my might.
“Hyah-!”
It split in half, green blood bursting forth.
I stepped over its corpse and continued on.
Beyond it, I could see the foot of the Cyclops.
And a swarm of monsters.
Some turned their attention to me, while others started to flee in different directions.
‘As expected, alone it’s…’
At that moment.
Golden flames erupted from both sides.
A wall of fire sealing off Judeca’s entrance.
Eliya’s magic.
The monsters hesitated.
They wouldn’t be able to escape outside anymore.
‘After all, when she’s on our side, it feels more reassuring than anyone else.’
The death of the Cyclops came in an instant.
Its massive body collapsed from a cascade of blood, creating a wave of panic among the monsters as they fled in all directions.
I chased after them, cutting them down one by one.
*
“It would be great if I could have brought Benny along…”
“Who do you think would want to hang out with you? You never know when something might happen if you’re out alone…”
“Yes, yes. Dillon is always right.”
“…”
While Richard teased Dillon, he fixed his gaze on a certain spot.
A big structure standing in the center of this city.
Judeca.
To be precise, the entrance of Judeca.
“What is that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Seriously, look over there!”
Dillon pointed lazily in Richard’s direction.
The northeast entrance of Judeca.
Something was struggling to push through the heavy iron door.
Dillon recognized it almost immediately.
“…Isn’t that a werewolf’s paw?”
“That’s definitely a monster, right?”
“Why’s it…?”
“What are you two doing?”
Lindell approached from nearby.
He was with Argon and Daik.
They also noticed the northeastern entrance.
“What’s going on over there?”
“I don’t know the reason, but it looks suspicious.”
-CRASH!
The iron door burst open violently.
The monster’s eerie eyes gleamed in the dark.
The northeastern entrance of Judeca had opened wide.
People screamed and scattered.
Amidst the chaos and disturbance, Dillon shouted.
“All guards, prepare for battle-!”
As soon as his command reached their ears, all the nearby members of Eliya’s guard promptly drew their weapons.
Dillon quickly assessed the situation and issued orders.
“Surround the entrance and funnel them in! Ensure there’s no harm to civilians!”
“Roger!”
“The goal is to hold out until royal knights arrive! Everyone, charge-!”
By Judeca’s northeast.
Right near there, eleven guards were enjoying the festival.
They were lightly armed just in case of emergency.
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