Running Away From The Hero!

264

Originally, watching fights is the most entertaining way (11)

#13 Their Situation: The Situation of a Certain Hero

Suddenly, there was an aerial surprise attack.

I was caught off guard in ways I never anticipated.

Indeed, its the senior

Although it doesnt seem like Iron Bats style, he learned from that professor.

He surely knows how to strike from behind.

The neighboring countries were unprepared for the sudden attack.

Worst case scenario, a Kingdom could collapse.

Hmm

The serious expression on the side was from Shuttle, or rather, Hill.

With the rear support no longer needed

A collapse in the rear will create more enemies.

A situation where we could be surrounded from all sides might arise, worst-case scenario!

In such dire straits,

Cant we just eliminate them all?

Mira tilted her head as if asking what the problem was.

Excuse me, Lady Mira? Could you consider the common people?

Maintaining the front line, utilizing geographical advantages, it was difficult to defend against the enemys strength.

With formidable power and magic resistance.

Moreover, an army of evil spirits who fear not even death and only seek destruction is nothing short of a disaster.

Isnt weakness the problem?

Ah

Indeed, a Professors student.

He was a human lacking something fundamental that one should possess as a person, just like the Professor.

Is that so?

Thats right.

Even though it lacked humanity, there was no choice but to nod.

Because Mira emphasized strength.

If one denied it here, it would be affirmed through force!

Even if its not right, affirming it is the best option.

Unnecessary beliefs only lead to suffering.

It was a significant lesson learned from the Professor.

Can we send the Imperial troops to all the Kingdoms?

The enemies only attacked the rear unexpectedly, and their numbers were not that many.

Over time, the evil spirits armys numbers might become an issue, but not immediately.

In fact, in some Kingdoms, they had succeeded in eliminating the appearance of the evil spirits army in their own territories, and now sending just a few Imperial soldiers to one Kingdom would solve everything.

However,

No, we cant.

Mira firmly refused.

Why on earth?

It was incomprehensible.

Miras goal is to capture the Professor and deliver her to Her Majesty, the Empress.

And the King is an obstacle to that.

Does Mira have a reason for just watching the masterpieces of the evil spirits army, knowing better than anyone that its not good if the enemy becomes stronger?

Of course.

Wait, I didnt say anything yet?

I said why on earth? but the response was what could be the reason? Why the difference??

Could it be because of my mood?

Its not because of the mood.

Just say its because of the mood!

Reading peoples thoughts as well? What kind of magic is this?

Its not magic.

Thats even scarier!

The more I couldnt understand Miras ability, the more fear grew.

If you have this ability, you dont need to use mental magic on me!

Mixing up ones memories is an unpleasant feeling that only someone who has experienced it would know.

Wait, didnt this person try to torture me before?

Its better to be sure, isnt it, to be sure~

This is

I wanted to say many things, but I was rendered speechless.

I couldnt even think straight; it felt like my thoughts were being read. Th. most uptod/at nvels a/re published on n(0)velbj)n(.)c/o/m

Isnt it absurd to have such a being?

Its the result of effort.

I didnt even want to imagine the effort required to become such a being.

Lets forget about that and focus on what I originally wanted to ask.

Never mind about other things, whats the reason for not providing support to the other Kingdoms?

Mira responded to my question in a somewhat dismissive tone.

Because theyre enemies of the Empire.

Huh?

Her words sounded plausible.

Enemies of the Empire? Were such beings real?

The Empire was a country that held undisputed power over the continent, with no nation capable of opposing it.

Youre mistaken. There are nations capable of opposing it. In fact, almost every nation is opposing it.

What?

Not being able to win in a fight and not opposing are different things.

Miras words seemed out of place.

I feel like youre misunderstanding. Im someone bestowed with the title of a Countess. And its hereditary.

Really?

No matter how noble one is as a child of the Grand Duke, its natural for someone whos been erased from the family tree to know more about the current situation of the Empire.

Uh

Mira, looking at me with a cold gaze, wasnt the Mira I had known until now.

What should I call her? Your Grace? My lady?

Are you a noble?

Yeah, thats right.

Yeah, just a noble. But not the noble I knew; more like a splendid noble from a novel!

Wait, hold on. I heard something strange, like it was just flowing naturally? Erased from the family tree? Why?

Despite my dislike for my lineage, being erased from the family tree without consent was shocking.

Laina Rel Swin decided to discard the name Laina, which is the adult name of the family, and just live as a warrior Swin. And out of respect for his sacrificial spirit, the next heir of the Grand Dukes lineage decided to exclude him from the family tree

This is!

Risking ones position is one thing, but cutting off a sibling from the family tree is outrageous.

If the King is overthrown, everything, including siblings and the family, will be turned upside down.

Ive instructed to relay the decision to the Royal Palace.

You instructed?

Oh, my mistake. I threatened.

Things have gotten worse, havent they?

So what? What are we going to do about it?

I couldnt offer any rebuttal to Mira, who was looking at me with such eyes.

I felt a moment of understanding akin to the villains in legends who would sell their souls to demons for power.

Sir Knight

Its okay. Im used to it.

Beside me, Shuttle looked at me with pity, but I offered him a reassuring smile.

Yeah, my opponent is Mira. This is how Mira behaves.

Similar to Mira, she embodies the essence of the Professors teachings more than any other student Ive encountered.

Mira just disposed of the Professor.

For now, lets leave aside the discussion about the lineage

Satisfied with knowing one fact in exchange for being erased from the family tree.

This means that aside from the Emperor, Mira had the authority to threaten the next heir of the Grand Dukes lineage, one of the Empires highest positions.

And that the next heir of the Grand Dukes lineage quietly accepted it.

I was reminded once more of the importance of never provoking Mira!

Well In short, not all Kingdoms were left without support. There are several countries that have already sent support and defeated the evil spirits army.

A few?

Kingdoms that have signed military treaties with the Empire.

Military treaties?

Yeah. Because we need to avoid as many inconveniences as possible when capturing the Professor.

Therefore, Miras words implied that the Empires army was only intervening in countries that permitted their troops on their soil to combat the evil spirits army.

Isnt that too much?

Even if the world is in crisis! Isnt saving the world the priority rather than excluding it!

Yeah, no.

Oh, really?

With such a definite answer, I just nodded.

Many countries see the crisis as an opportunity. Those who are not helping us are the same. They exclude the Empire and try to solve things by uniting among themselves.

Without the necessary power or capabilities.

Miras atmosphere, speaking coldly with an expressionless face, was very frightening.

Just like a commander. It felt overwhelming, like being surrounded by unreasonable monsters under a commanders authority.

So are we just going to let it be?

If there arent just fools, we can win.

Even if many people die?

We cant help it. Those who reject us are the powerful ones there. Its illegal for us to cross borders without their permission.

Mira discussed the violation of international law in sending military forces but emphasized that its not unwillingness but inability to send them.

Is it my misunderstanding that Mira seems to emphasize the inability to send rather than a choice not to?

They also dont care about the worlds crisis. Theyre just doing their best to benefit themselves, with the premise that the King will fall anyway.

Mira didnt seem to have a particular dislike for that.

No, the Mira I know would think thats only natural. Mira was someone who would do anything to survive.

So theyll manage to survive on their own.

It was a really irresponsible statement, but Miras words were correct.

Other Kingdoms didnt want to see the Empires influence expand.

They rejected the Empire, sought unity for strength, and are now facing the consequences of their choice.

But,

To defeat the evil spirits army and beyond that, to overthrow the King, we need to secure the rear.

Despite my discomfort, I couldnt simply stand by and watch the Kings plan unfold.

Who said anything about standing by?

Ha This is supposed to be the strongest Knight? Give me back my childhood fantasies

You had fantasies like that?

Yeah, I guess I did.

Okay. I was a naive girl too.

Huh

Whats this? It almost sounds like youre saying the Professor was a decent person?

I felt like I had just heard an absurd story.

Whats wrong?

Oh, its nothing.

I shook my head vigorously at Mira, who met my gaze with indifference.

Sigh Im too lazy to explain it all, so Ill say it quickly. Why did the King send reinforcements to the rear?

Well

As expected, you need to be hit by Iron Bat, just like the Professor.

Thats too harsh!

There are certain things you shouldnt say, you know. I looked at Mira, who had gone beyond insults to curses, with a resentful gaze.

You need a lesson in whats normal. Listen carefully. The reason the King withdrew troops is simple. Hes falling behind.

Falling behind?

Yeah. Hes falling behind in every aspect right now, so hes trying to divert attention elsewhere and buy time for an opportunity.

Mira grumbled as if recalling a lesson from the Professors class.

Turning crises into opportunities. No matter how difficult the situation, as long as theres a possibility of turning it around and people who can make it successful, thats why the word reversal exists in the dictionary, Professor used to say.

Oh

It seemed like one of the things I learned in Howling.

Additionally

Sending a small force to attack the rear is an example of that. But its not about succeeding in turning the tables

If you succeed, its fifty-fifty. Even if you succeed

It doesnt mean the crisis is over.

Mira nodded at my words.

Yeah. They used their best tactics to overcome the crisis. But that doesnt mean the crisis is over. In fact, its become even more dangerous.

True.

The overall picture that hadnt been clear before was starting to form in my mind.

The evil spirits army that invaded the rear isnt that numerous. Theyre spreading across each Kingdom, not gathering in one place.

Right. But thats considering the scale of each Kingdom.

When you look at the entire continent, its a significant number.

The current active evil spirits army is in dozens of Kingdoms. And there are over ten Kingdoms where theyve failed.

Assuming there were a hundred evil spirit forces in one Kingdom, that would mean over a thousand evil spirit forces in ten Kingdoms.

The Kingdoms with fewer evil spirit forces have hundreds of them. The Kingdom with the most has thousands.

And if you add them all up

It means there are more than ten thousand forces held in the rear, and that means the Kings forces have seriously weakened.

Indeed, Commander. Thinking about all this by yourself

Professor used to say that we should learn from the enemys successful methods. The Kings methods, we should use them too.

Since the evil spirits army attacked the rear, the King would think well send reinforcements to the rear. Theyve divided non-existent forces into the rear, so the logic goes that theyve sent a large number of forces to the rear.

So, Tell the rear to fight, and lets move to the sky and attack the King!

The sky the sky

Easy to say, but is moving to the sky not difficult?

Hehehe!

Mira, who smiled for a moment, took out a small metal badge from her pocket.

Whats that now?

Its an Imperial Mage Pass! It allows you to always have access to the highest level of mages on the continent!

Looking at Mira boasting about receiving it to capture the Professor for the Princess, I couldnt help but sigh.

Professor, it feels like I made a mistake by making this person an enemy.

This person is the scariest, no, the scariest girl!

Im not that scary, you know?

I got goosebumps from how scary you were!

Professor, did I make a mistake?