What do you mean?　King's Landing should be warded, I'm sure.
　Princess Sophia's calm voice echoed in the buzzing hall.

''That's it. A group of demons have suddenly appeared in the city!　The cause is unknown. Our priority right now is to evacuate the residents.
'Enlist the help of the Adventurer's Guild as soon as possible. Tell them that they will not only pay you to defeat the demons, but also to rescue the inhabitants. If they are hesitant, I will offer them a reward of one and a half times the normal rate.
'Ha!　Now!
　Quickly giving orders, Princess Sophia.
　Oh!　The decision is quick.

''All the knights of the royal palace will be assigned to defeat the demons and protect the inhabitants.
Sister!　I'm going with you!
'....Okay, okay. You'll have to work with me.
　He seemed a little lost in what Prince Leonard had said.
　Maybe he didn't want to put his brother in danger too much.
　However, can't a brave man hide in the danger of his own country?

'Sa-san, Lucy. We'll go too.
　I don't belong to the Adventurer's Guild in King's Land.
　However, I am an adventurer from the Water Country.
　Let's find some way to help you.

''All right! Let's go!
　Lucy and Sa-san nodded vigorously.

'Lord Tucky!'
Fujiyan, Nina and Chris, take shelter with you. Nina-san, please!
I'll take care of it!　Sir, Chris!　Let's go.
　We started to move to our respective destinations.


　◇


　--The city is burning.

　No, it just looks that way because of the smoke billowing up in places.
　It's not a big fire.

　You can see the appearance of rampaging demons here and there.
　There are not so many of them.
　However, people who aren't used to seeing demons may be afraid of them, and screams can be heard from everywhere.

''Eh!''
　Sa-san's fist blew away the Kobold-like demon.
''Earth magic, rock bullets!''
　Lucy's magic hit the orc's brain and finished him off.

''Please run this way!
　I pulled the old man's hand away and led him to the temple, which was a refuge.

　
　No, this is also an important job.　

''True, look!
"Takatsuki-kun!　The griffon!
　I turn around at the sound of Lucy and Saasan's shouts.
　A griffon is on its way!
　Seriously?

"There's a bad boy in here!
　Dagger at the ready.
'Stay back!'
　An old man, a former guardian knight, jumped out from somewhere.

　Gasp!　He collided with the Gryphon with a loud noise.

''Guguugu........''
　An old man with a bright red face is stopping the gryphon!
　Hey, old man!

"Water Magic Ice Blade!
　I unleash what little magic I have, without sparing any effort.

　Geeeeeeee!　And the griffon, whose eyeballs were pierced by the ice blade, writhed in agony.

''Earth magic, large rock bullets! Lucy's big rock and
"Ha! Sa-san's 'Tame Attack' stabbed the griffon.

　The griffon hit a house and stopped moving.
　Amazing, both of you.
　Even though they were small, they easily defeated the gryphon that had been so hard to deal with before.

''Captain! Are you all right? Thank you, adventurer!
　The old man's knights came too.　

'Hey, Takatsuki-kun,'
　Saasan looked at the griffon's corpse and looked as if he wanted to say something.
'Is this the one you saw at the circus?
'The other demons seem to be too,' said Lucy.
　'Indeed, I can see bits and pieces of the circus costume, though it's tattered.
　Has it escaped from the circus group?
　But how can they ramp up all at once like this?

Makoto Takatsuki. Do you recognize this demon?
Maybe it's a circus demon in the middle of town.
'What?　They mismanaged it!　What the demonslayer (tamer) is doing!
Let's go.
　If anyone missed the run, the most dangerous place to be is around the circus tent.

　◇

Terrible....
　The square in the center of the city, the area near it, was the most destroyed.
　

''That guy's wrinkles.......''

--Oh, wow!　

　A yell echoes through the air, shaking the air.
　It's a giant. Nearly ten meters tall, a giant is rampaging.

Let's go!
" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "
　The voice of the old man, a former guardian knight, is followed by his subordinate knights.

The first thing you need to do is to take a shot at that guy's head, Lucy. Sa-san, I'll break his footing, so please finish him off.
Okay, I will.
　There is a large fountain in the square.
　If you have water--you can fight!

　The knights led by the old man are struggling to attack.
　The giants' movements are slow, so they don't seem to have been attacked, but they haven't been able to inflict any fatal injuries on their opponents either.

''Hey, you guys are adventurers too! That's the biggest one you've ever seen! Let's help! We'll split the prize among us.
　The adventurers have gathered, too.
　Okay!　That's a win!

Oh, don't be alarmed.
　Yes, Goddess.
　As always, cherish your life.

"Fireball, Wood Magic, Windblade, and Mixed Magic, Meteorite Drop!
　The adventurer wizards and Lucy's magic explodes on the giant.
　Lucy's magic, she's getting better at controlling it.

　I'm in a state of deep emotion as I approach the giant.
　I'm not sure if this is a good idea.
　It's a tough giant.

I slammed the water from the Water Magic Water Stream fountain onto the giant.
　The water pours down on the giant and the knights nearby.

''Hey!'' The old knight will have something to say, but we'll see what he has to say.

Water-magic icy floor, freezing only the feet of the giant.

"Oh? The giant lost his balance and fell on his butt.

'Now!' Take him down! The knights will call on you.

--A small shadow falls around the giant's head. A small shadow fell on the giant's head.
　Sa-san?

　Sa-san jumped a few meters and then kicked the sky, sending the giant into the head with a heel strike!
　That's a 'jump in the air' skill!

　Thud!　And the giant's head shook the ground, and the giant stopped moving.

　Defeated?
　Doh!　And everyone gushed in triumph.

"That was a great kicking move earlier, are you a gold-ranked fighter?
Hey, what kind of magic was that meteorite drop you just did?
You're a lifesaver. You're heroes.
　Sa-san and Lucy are being admired by the adventurers and knights.
　Both of them are embarrassed but happy.

　While looking at it from a distance, I checked my surroundings for a bit with my 'Enemy Detection' skill.
　Does it look okay already?

　The giants still seem to have some slight breath, but they are slowly weakening.
　Some of the adventurers are also on guard, and although they are wary of it, it seems to be unfounded.
　They should be out of breath in a few minutes.

'Saved!'
　I found myself next to an old man who was a former guardian knight.
''I'm proud of him,''
　It's a waste of time for me.
"No, the magic that made the giant fall. You used it, didn't you?　We wouldn't have been able to take him down without that quick thinking.
Is that right?
　I think Lucy and Sa-san would have beaten them both, though.

Are you guys okay?
　The late arrival of Prince Leonard and .........Princess Sophia came in here.
　Are you sure you don't want to run away?

It looks like the demon slaying is pretty much over. Good work, everyone.
　At Princess Sophia's voice, the people present nodded with satisfaction.
　When I look at it this way, she's an excellent princess.
　You can see her in all sorts of dangerous situations.

You can't get away with it.　All of the circus group's magicians have been murdered!
　A knight who had apparently been examining the tent was reporting.
　That's a disturbing report.
　Was it attacked by a demon?

The demon hunter was cut by a blade and not by a demon.
Find out what's left of the circus. Listen to the details.
Ha!
　It looks like it's a case.
　Speaking of which, I wonder if that clown guy is safe?

　
　Now that I think about it, isn't it a bit suspicious?

　I was just about to report to the old knight, just in case, when I thought about reporting to the old man.


Ouch!
--Throbbing, a shock hit me as if I had been hit on the head with a hammer.

　Is this......an enemy detection skill?
　This headache........a disaster designated demon?

Really?
What's going on?
　I suddenly got my head down and Lucy and Mr. Saasan came over to me, worried.

What's the matter?　Makoto Takatsuki.
　The old man is worried about you.

A demon designated as a disaster is probably coming.

What? What?
　But from where?
　This isn't the Great Maze, okay?


...ku.......i. .........nin......gen.......
　I hear a grunt.
　Is that a giant still alive?


---- Yeah, I hate you. I know, I know.


　I heard a strange voice.
　A gentle little voice, like a child, like a girl.



　I have a bad feeling about this.

'Someone!　Finish that giant!
　Princess Sophia cried out.
　The knight and the adventurer follow her voice.


----Yeah, you can have the power. And I'm going to take your heart.


　And the strange voice keeps talking.　
"Lucy, honey. "Dear Lucy, dear, can you hear this child?
What?
It's a kid?
　Can't people hear me?


"Oooh-ooh-ooh-ooh!


　The dying giant suddenly stood up!
　But the body is crumbling down.
　Crumbling down?
　No, the skin peeled off and something red and slimy flooded out from underneath it.
　The sludge fell to the ground and made a sizzling sound, and the ground melted black.

　Melting?
　Is it melting in the heat?
　Is that ... like ... lava?
　The body of the giant turned into something covered in lava.
　There was a lot of white stuff in the lava.......were those bones?　is floating.
　Why don't the bones melt?


----Come on, let's defy fate!　You are a Yucan warrior.



　The childlike voice stopped sounding like a child there.

'-----Kiaaaaaaaaaaaa!

　The giant's voice changed from a low one to a grating one that sounded like it was scratching glass.
　This strange voice..............................somewhere.


''Abominable.......Giant.......''
　Someone's muttered voice reached my ears.