42 - The Eleventh "The Thief"

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"-human?"



　Upon receiving the report from Ceres, Helian couldn't help but ask back.






　Helian frowned at the information that there was only one child in the wilderness.

　It would normally have taken them three days to reach this point, but Helian and his team had made it in just one day by taking shortcuts through cliffs and valleys, relying on magic. However, the distance from their current location to the border city is still half a day's ride by carriage. It is blatantly unnatural for a child to be alone in the middle of such a wilderness.



Can you describe the child?

>



　Celes often describes the external features of the house.

　And one of them was something that I never missed.

　He asks Ceres, hiding his astonished emotion.



"Are you sure?"

<>

"Protect. I know it's a mess, but we can't just abandon him."

<

What's going on?

<...... something is chasing us. I couldn't see them because of the complicated terrain, but I could see several figures hunting the child down.

"Come on, Lieve, take me to higher ground!　Gardi, stand by the wagon until further notice!"



　After receiving the order, Lieve said, "Excuse me," and took Helian's body in her arms, as she had done before.

　After a moment's pause, a heavy pressure as if he had been ejected hit Helian's body. Levee, who has strong legs even in her fully humanized form, leaps lightly with Helian's body in her arms, and lands on a nearby high ground.



　Supporting her head, which was dizzy from the sudden acceleration (G), Helian looked out over the wilderness from the high ground with an open field of view. However, at a glance, he did not see any of the people that Celes had mentioned. He wrinkles his brow and opens a new window.



"Tactical Window: Open. Select: Map."



　The you have invoked shows the life forms (units) that Celes has detected.

　As she reported, there were several yellow light spots encircling the light blue light spot. The light blue means friendly neutral units, and the yellow means virtual enemy or enemy-neutral units.



　The movement of the dots was like a hunt. The light blue spot - the girl to be rescued is cornered and completely surrounded.



<<


　Celes' report reminded me of the story of the mercenary bandits mentioned by an adventurer who had visited Rattestwood.



　It is no exaggeration to say that once you leave the city, you are in a lawless zone, and bandits are targeted for defeat in the same way as monsters and beasts. The bandit gang has become more active in the confusion caused by the disaster that struck the border city - a massive attack by a pack of magical beasts, and the Adventurers' Guild has issued a notice recommending that the bandits be defeated.



　I would like to lament my own misfortune to have suddenly stumbled upon such a group, but for now the immediate problem must be dealt with first.



Celes, can you target the enemy with your sniping technique?




　With that, Celes deployed an invisible magic circle as a scaffold. She cuts off part of her gravity manipulation technique and lands on the magic circle, attaching her legs to it.

　She then brushes back her long hair to reveal her elven ears, and makes a bowing motion with no hands. In tandem, a white glow illuminates her hands, and the light forms the shape of a drawn bow.

　The light forms the shape of a drawn bow. This is the "yew bow", a race-specific skill unique to the elves.



<>



　Celes asked without hesitation.

　From her point of view, it was just a confirmation question.

　But Helian's body tensed up at the word.



(...... kill?)



　The reason why Ceres went to the trouble of asking for confirmation was because before she left, she had been told by Hellián to refrain from killing as much as possible.



　During the last search, Levee and his team had no hesitation in killing their opponents.

　In the case of Wenri of Rattestwood, if Helian had stopped them even for a moment, they would have killed her without a doubt. It is doubtful that they would have had the good relationship with Rattestwood that they have today. In light of these circumstances, he imposed restrictions on his followers to refrain from killing her.



　But Helian impulsively wanted to regret his decision.



"...... Is it possible to hold back so as not to kill?"

<<>



　The number of enemies is over twenty. If your subordinates are focused on long-range precision sniping, it may be possible to neutralize all of them instantly with a little help, but Celes is a subordinate trained for wide-area annihilation. However, Celes is a subordinate trained for wide-area extermination. This situation, where the rescue target is in the middle of an enemy group, is not suitable for her.



　It would be too reckless to add a condition of non-lethal to the list of conditions, even though she is being asked to do something she is not good at. As Celes says, if the protection of the girl is the first priority, we should make sure to bury the enemy. But..,



(...... do I have to say it?)



　To ensure the girl's safety, the enemy must be killed.

　But without Hellian's permission, Ceres cannot kill her enemies.

　If Hellian does not say "kill", the girl dies.

　Here was the simple and clear picture.



（I order a murderer?)



　As soon as I became aware of this, my knees almost shook.

　I thought to myself, "What the hell is going on?

　I had gotten my hands dirty during the rebellion and at Noblewood.

　I may not have had a direct hand in it, but it is an undeniable fact that the pile of corpses was built as a result of my desire.

　My hands are already stained red.

　And to be cowardly at this late stage is an act of inertia.



　But I was still afraid.

　I was truly afraid of the act of ordering to kill a "human being".




　Racism was a good thing, but I had the feeling that I might be stepping over the line by ordering them to do so.



"......!"



　You have to make a choice.

　But I can't make up my mind.

　In the meantime, the situation continues to evolve without regard.



　
　The girl who had been surrounded has been captured.

　There is not a moment to lose.

　Ceres has finished drawing her light bow.

　She is ready to fire at a moment's notice from Hellian.

　There is life out there that could be saved if only Herian would say, "Kill the enemy.



　And yet, no matter how long it takes, this mouth never spins the words, "Kill them and save the girl. Herian's inertia and unconsciousness had put a stop to his command to Ceres.



"...... Mr. Helian. The man who pushed the girl down ripped her clothes. This is going to be somewhat unpleasant."



　The calm voice of Levee, whose vision had been enhanced, reached the ears of Helian, who was gnashing his teeth.

　He changes color and half-reflexively calls up the in the .

　Ceres's bamboo ears heard the girl's scream.

　It was output to the through the .





>





　A heartbreaking cry.

　A cry for help that must have come from the bottom of your heart.

　Your voice will not be heard.

　But still I know.

　I know the desperate plea for help.

　The girl whose face I did not know overlapped with the half-elf sisters.



　--So Helian cried out.



"The target is declared a bandit and is authorized to open fire!　Save the girl, Celes!



　At the same time as the order was given, a ray of light flashed across the void.

　The light turned into an arrow and pierced through the shimmering flames and into the skull of the man who was covering the girl.



　Immediately afterwards, the changed.

　The yellow spot of light overlapping the girl disappears.

　This means that the enemy unit covering the girl has stopped its life activity due to the attack of Ceres.



　Helian commanded.

　Ceres shoots.

　A man died.



"--,Chat window open!　Mode Select: Voice Chat!　Target input: direct select!



　A thought blanks for a moment.

　Ignoring the emotions that rise in the pit of your stomach, you launch a .



　You directly tap a light blue dot to specify the target of your connection. The connection process is successfully completed, as in the case of the experiment with Riffa. Five seconds have already passed since the sniping. However, the light-blue light spot on the has not shown any movement. Helian shouts as he strikes it.



"What the hell are you doing?　Get the hell up!"



　Zoom in on the map information.

　Check the battle situation on the with the changed to the setting for small-scale battles.

　But the light blue light spot does not move. The girl's location does not change. She has not moved even a single step.



　The realization of this fact suddenly arouses a feeling of "Screw you!

　He shouted angrily, as if he was screaming, and he filled the bitterness rising up from the bottom of his stomach with anger.



"I said get up!　Or do you want to die!"



　I killed him. He decided to help them by killing them.

　Then I'll help you. I won't let you die here. If you die here, I'll never know what I got my hands dirty for. I will not allow you to die here. ......!



"If you don't want to die, get up!　Get up and run towards the sun!



　There's movement.

　A girl starts moving in the direction of Helian and the others. Another light spot in the direction of movement. Its color has already changed from yellow to red. The red color clearly indicates an enemy. Using , he orders Celes to eliminate them.



　As if already prepared, an arrow is immediately released from the bow, which had been drawn. The second arrow whizzed across the wilderness. It hits the enemy who was blocking the girl's path. And the number of red dots of light on the map decreased. I'm not upset. There is no time to be upset. The group of enemies begins to move in pursuit of the girl who ran away. With a clap of the tongue, the next command is given.



"d*mn it! ...... Liewe, get ahead of them!　Rescuing the girl is our top priority--"

"No, Herian. I think it is possible to save her even with only Celes' sniper fire. I would like to continue to protect you..."






　Rieve, who is usually a good listener, made such an offer of opinion.

　I felt a sense of anger akin to taking it out on her.

　Helian said in a harsh tone of voice, "I don't know.



"- I don't care!　That's an order!　Go, go, go!"



　The way he yells at you.

　Rieve, realizing that he could not dissuade his master, nodded his head "Yes, sir," kicked the ground, and rushed out. With a final kick, he leaped forward like a bullet, sending himself flying into the void.



　After seeing her back off, Helian switched the virtual communication window connected to the girl to inactive status for a while. He then opens a new map with a spoken command. Two different maps with different scales are displayed at the same time, and he tries to grasp the war situation.



"Ceres!　Maintain sniper position until Riveh arrives!　I will designate the target of the attack!"



　The enemy who is closest to the girl is designated as the main target, and the two enemies who are following right behind her are designated as sub-targets. Enough time has already passed since the second shot. Stand by for the third shot. Ceres maintains her readiness to fire on signal.



　However, just before Hellian gives the order to fire, Lieve drops like a comet toward the enemy in the lead. The enemy arrives somewhat earlier than expected. At the same time, a single red light spot disappears. Upon receiving this result, Helian immediately discards the that he was about to send out.



　


　--Twenty seconds have passed since RIEVE's arrival at the scene.

　All the red dots of light disappear from the map floating in the center of Hellian's field of vision.

　All that remains in the battle area is a blue light indicating the friendly force "Rieve" and a light blue light indicating the girl to be rescued.

　That is all.

　Every other life that should have been there just a moment ago has been reaped.






　Celes, who had put out her "yew bow," said in a tone as if she was taking a breather.

　Then, slowly lowering the altitude, Ceres landed beside Hellian.



"...... ah..."



　With a vague reply, Helian calls up the enemy's .

　The identity of the enemy is unknown, but he has obtained basic combat-related information by defeating the enemy in battle. He checked the "Unique Skills" item in the "Possessed Abilities" column, and found that none of the enemies had the "Unique Skills".



　In a sense, it is natural. It is because unique skills are quite rare.

　Even the military commanders of major powers had subordinates who did not have unique skills, and as for abilities that trigger death, such as self-revival, the probability is as low as one in several hundred thousand. There is no way they have such a thing. The case of the Red Ogre is an exception to the rule.



　The bandit is dead. They're dead for sure. They will never come back to life.



Your Majesty?　What's wrong?"

"...... is nothing. Don't worry about it."



　Celes wondered what the Lord's prone figure was thinking and asked him.

　Helian tried his best to remain calm, trying not to let his agitation show in his tone.

　However, she cannot shake the feeling of discomfort that lies deep in her chest.



"----"



　Helian is the king of all demons.

　In Alkymyra, a nation of so many races that it is called the "land of all demons," discrimination between races is forbidden.

　If it is an enemy or a vermin, it should be defeated equally no matter what kind of race it is, and in that sense, the current act is right for a king.



　But I guess I am not a king after all.

　Because I feel so bad. It's a feeling of discomfort beyond comparison to carsickness. I still have these bad feelings crawling around in my head. If I'm not careful, I could scream out at any moment.



　How pathetic I look.

　I can't let my men see me like this.

　It's so unbecoming.

　I laugh at such a man calling himself a king.

　He is far from the ideal king.



　--But I have decided to persevere.



"...... Ceres, turn around until I say yes. That's an order.

"Huh?　Uh, no, I understand."



　I don't know what he intends, but it is an order from the Lord.

　Ceres obeys and turns her back on the Herrians.



　Then Helian clenched his right fist tightly.

　Even though his fingernails dig into his palm and red oozes out, he clenches his fist even tighter.

　Helian looked at the hard fist he had made for a moment and then, without any effort, he punched his own cheek.



　A dull thud.

　Sparks burst in his vision, and he stepped on the tatara. A dull pain in the cheekbone. Taste of iron on the tip of his tongue. It seems that he has cut himself violently in the mouth. He gurgles and swallows blood.



　......Yeah, I know you don't have to tell me.

　This is a stupid act of self-punishment. I revolt at my own weakness in trying to switch consciousness with such a cheap act. But this is what I needed to do now.



　I wanted to cry because I was so pathetic, but I had already shed my tears that day.

　So I can't cry here and now.




　He grits his teeth and looks ahead with his chest out.



That's enough. And from here on out, you too should be in full humanized form. Except in an emergency, changing to the demon form is basically forbidden. Is that clear?"



　After covering up the evidence of the blows with a potion, he tells the follower behind him.

　Celes, reversed again, had a curious look on her face, but nodded as if she had regained her composure when Helian gave her a firm command.



　Celes, now in full humanized form, looked a little younger than when she was in her demon form. Her elven ears were now the same shape as human ears, and her height had shrunk a little. Her skin color has not changed, and her body shape is almost the same, but she definitely looks like a human being.



　Helian gives a short order to Ceres after she has completed her transformation.



"-We are now on our way to Lieve and the others. Will you do this for me, Celes?"

"Yes, sir."



　A sphere of light surrounds the bodies of Helian and Ceres.

　It's a gravity-reducing binding spell deployed without chanting.

　After crossing the valley, they descend to the ground in a gliding trajectory.



　On the plain below, Lieve and the girl are waiting for them.







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