Barrels. Numerous barrels rolled from the dark slope. The sorcerer’s instincts were ringing like an alarm.
“It’s an ambush! Calm the horses and watch the movement of the things falling! Ril, you hide behind the Hero!”
She had been in military marches numerous times, and so the sorcerer knew how to handle a horse. About ten barrels had been dropped from above.
“Hyah! Be good and listen!”
She pulled on the reins and controlled the wild horse. The first barrel smashed to the ground loudly.
“Kyah! Hero!”
“I’m fine! Just stay behind me!”
One after another, the barrels exploded. The Hero’s armor had the power to protect any who were in contact with it. And so Ril and her horse were safe.
“Wh-what is this? It stinks!”
“What a horrible smell!”
“Is this shi-shit!?”
“And raw garbage. Damn it.”
The filth around them filled the air with a toxic odor. It caused the horses to grow wild and anxious.
“Is this the attack! A smell!”
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait!”
“What!? I don’t want to stay here for another minute!”
While the smell was bad, Elka sensed something much worse in it.
“Calm down! If we move without thinking, we will surely fall into a trap!”
“A trap?”
“The enemy wants us to move. And without thinking about where. That is why they filled these barrels like this. If they really wanted to attack us, they would have used oil and fire.”
“Then what should we do! It stinks!”
After thinking for a moment, the sorcerer answered.
“We will go back where we came.”
“What? Not go forward?”
“After being ambushed from above, an unorderly group would usually run ahead. Because you want to rush to your destination. I think we should retreat for now.”
The knight nodded at this suggestion.
“At the very least, I’m sure that there is a trap ahead. Once things calm down, I will go and scout.”
“Whatever. As long as we move quickly!”
As if she could not bear it any longer, Ril moved her horse along, and the Hero followed after her.
“Hey, wait! The formation!”
Just then, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. In the forest shadows, a place high up, two eyes shone as they looked at her.
“Enemy attack! From the mountain…”
Yes, she was not wrong.
The chaos from the trap. The attack right after. She had read it all. And so she alerted the others of the danger.
However, this was only effective if everyone had the experience and instincts to know what to do immediately.
A novice would not be able to react.
And so both the Hero and Ril turned towards the mountain dumbfoundedly.
“Kyaaah!”
Two arrows pierced, knocked her off of the horse.
The impact shook her brain, and the world around her blew away.
“Gaah!”
The intense pain and shaking. Her eyes saw nothing but darkness.
“Ril!”
She could hear the Hero’s voice. When she opened her eyes, she felt his arms pick her up.
“Ah, I…what happened…”
“It-it’s fine! Hold in there!”
“Fool! Don’t pick her up like that! Leave her down!”
Elka shouted. And then she realized she had been attacked and had fallen off of her horse.
“Ah, right. What are you supposed to do again? You’re not supposed to pull these out, I think… What to do… I don’t have any healing magic…”
“I-I’m fine…”
Her head still hurt, but she was able to open her eyes and inspect herself. Arrows were in her right shoulder and thigh. They were crude arrows made from tree branches. Likely shot with a short bow.
“I can treat this myself. More importantly, the enemy…”
“Bu-but…”
“I’m fine. Please go.”
She smiled at the anxious man, and then he finally put her down and ran off.
It was then that she finally understood the situation.
The three were brandishing their weapons towards something that hid in the trees. The attacker was concealing itself carefully and waiting for the next opportunity to attack.
She felt so powerless now, and was filled with regret.
She had been given this opportunity to help serve the Hero, and had come this far. Yet she had not done much work as a monk.
At first, she was able to help the Hero with defense and healing, as he was not used to traveling. But these days, he had become so strong that she had less things to do.
When it came to protecting their camp, it was the knight and sorcerer who did most of the work.
Perhaps that was why Axle and Elka seemed to treat her differently. This had caused her to rely even more on the Hero. It helped distract her from her worries.
A monk was a healer and protector on the battlefield. She blessed those who fought and healed those who were wounded. That was what she was taught to do.
But the Hero was never wounded. By enemy blade or magic.
He did not actually need her.
She was just a fanatical worshiper in his eyes.
“Ahh…”
Her wound burned. It hurt.
She should be able to heal it by herself. But her power didn’t seem to work as well. And her spirit was being chipped away.
“Is this…poison…”
She grabbed the sacred seal around her neck and was about to pray to get rid of the poison.
That was when Ril realized it.
She too had the protection of a god. Unlike the sorcerer, she had some defenses without chanting. She should not have been able to be wounded by an arrow that did not even have a metal head.
In other words, the attacker was strong enough to pierce her.
“He-Hero…”
As she slowly lost consciousness, Ril felt that for the first time, she saw the dark clouds being cast over the Hero’s future.
“Damn it! Who did this! Show yourself now!”
He shouted while waving his sword, but no one appeared. The other two stood quietly on either side of him.
“If you don’t come out, I’ll destroy the entire forest!”
“Don’t. We don’t know what kind of person this is. We cannot be reckless.”
“Still, we can’t just stare ahead like this either.”
“I will go.”
Koji took a step forward, but the other two blocked his way. They were looking at him in a way they had never done before. But he could not quite read the meaning behind it.
“This enemy is different. You should stay back.”
“But I’ll be fine.”
“You should let us work once in a while.”
He felt irritated by their oddly stubborn attitude.
“Shut up! I’m just as angry that it wounded one of our own!! Let me…”
“That’s not what this is about!”
Koji was surprised by the anger.
He had never been shouted at before. Not by his parents or even his older brother.
“A-Axle?”
“It looks like we’ve been too soft on you. Once this is over, we are going to have a talk. That being said, we will deal with this enemy first.”
“Elka?”
He did not understand what they were talking about. Clearly he was much stronger than them. If he went out, all of this could be settled easily.
“Scary.”
A voice from deep in the forest. It was a little high, almost like a child’s.
“Thought you would rely on the Hero.”
“You underestimate us. Do you think we are here for decoration?”
Koji was shocked as the thing showed itself.
It was wearing clothes made from some kind of animal skin, and carrying a shortbow. It was the kobold that had escaped at the fortress.
“No. You two are smart. Have instincts. That is why, you are scary.”
“So it’s you. The servant of the sister god.”
The small monster jumped down on light feet and held up its bow.
“What is your name?”
“…Sheto.”