Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Heroes and Knights - (7)

Henrik almost groaned.

"How many victims have been evacuated?"

"About half."

“So... Keep supporting their retreat. And when you find an opportunity, back off with them. "

“Hah? What about you, Captain Gordo? ”

Gordo ignored the confused Henrik, and went towards the monster with his mount. As he rode, he took out the Goddess Citresia pendant and prayed.

(Goddess of Citresia, please take care of this foolish old man.)

Even Volmar the Perisher was played by him, he had no chance of winning. But even a parent like him could buy time for his men to retreat. Even a few seconds will be worth a—

“Hold there, monster! I, Gordo Kreis of the Crimson Knights will be your opponent! ”

“Once again.. I'm not a monster, I'm Olivia.”.

Olivia braced her sword with an angry face and lunged in. Gordo thrust the trident into Olivia's heart while she was within range. Even monsters would die if their hearts were pierced.

"Damn!"

However, his first attack failed miserably. Gordo threw out the trident and pulled out his sword. At the same time, he turned his horse to face Olivia.

“Any enough?”

"… What do you mean?"

Gordo did not understand what Olivia meant, and asked reflexively. Olivia tilted her head slightly and then opened her eyes wide with enlightenment.

“Ahaha, sorry. I messed up my dialogue again - then, I'll kill now. "

"… I get it."

He was a monster, so he was unfamiliar with human language. With that in mind, Gordo tightened the grip of his sword. After taking a deep breath, he spurred on his horse and attacked Olivia again.

"Die!!"

The most perfect horizontal slash in Gordo's life was blocked by Olivia easily. His sword circled around the black sword for a while, before flying into the air.

Gordo who could not trace his sword suddenly saw something dark.

"- This is!? A scythe !? ”

The sudden appearance of the black scythe shook Gordo. On closer inspection, Olivia was not holding the black sword anymore. But it was more like a black sword, which emitted an ominous black fog.

(It's like a scythe held by the God of Death in a fairy tale ... God of Death ...? Fufu ... Fufufu ... I see, so so!)

The sudden thought he got made Gordo laugh.

(After all, it's impossible to win. Lieutenant Colonel Volmar died in vain. After all, what is a human being to a god?)

- The same goes for gods who have the suffix "Death".

“I finally understand now. You're not a monster. ”

"Absolutely. I'm not a monster, I'm Olivia Valedstorm. I finally found a reasonable person in the Empire. "

Olivia nodded happily. Instead, Gordo shook his head violently.

“Not that I mean.. You must be the God of Death.”.

“Ehh? —Z is the God of Death, not me."

Olivia opened her eyes wide and swung her scythe down. An excruciating pain ran through Gordo —'s body and his world was dyed white.

“... Does Mr Gordo know about Z? I should have caught him instead of killing him. "

Next to Olivia's feet who was holding her head in regret, was Gordo's corpse that was split in two.

Next to his corpse, a brightly glittering pendant.

...[.Fortress City Emreed, Training Grounds.]...

In the afternoon, the sound of hissing was heard from the training ground.

“As expected, you are here... train your sword again?”.

"That voice, Ashton was right ... There's no one around, so I'll keep the honor."

Guile did not look at Ashton, and continued to focus on his vertical slash.

"It's okay. But why are you exercising so late today? ”

Ashton watched Guile concentrate on his training with a face half impressed and half irritated. Ashton usually has a place to himself when he trains at this time.

“Isn't it clear? To compensate the commander Olivia, a half-and-a-half skill would not work. I was well aware of it after the fight against the Crimson Knights. "

Guile had been practicing swordsmanship for a year, and the more he practiced, the more he realized how absurd Olivia's prowess was.

(By the way, I actually said something stupid back then.)

Guile recalled how he bragged that he had grown stronger on the way to the Iris Plains, and how Claudia looked at him with pitiful eyes. And now, he understood what the reason was. The memory was so embarrassing that he wanted to dig into the hole.

“Although so, you have grown much stronger now, Guile. You even defeated the platoon captain of the Crimson Knights by yourself during the final battle? ”

“... Hey Ashton, what do you think is the difference between me and commander Olivia?”

"Why are you suddenly asking me that?"

Don't mind me, just tell me.

"Even if you ask me to compare ... I don't know."

Ashton shrugged his shoulders.

“Let me tell you. The difference between me and commander Olivia is ant-sized to the One Horned Beast. We are not in the same nature. "

“So that big..It is true, from Olivia's appearance during the battle, it might be true. But to me, you are all very strong. It makes me jealous. "

Ashton looked at Guile unhappily, and Guile could not help but laugh.

"Oh, you also want to become stronger, Ashton?"

“Of course, I'm also a man. Of course I want to be stronger. ”

Ashton slowly pulled the sword at his waist, and began to swing it. He still could not control the balance of his sword well, and his body even swayed due to the weight of the sword. Guile watched the entire process, and Ashton turned his head towards Guile like a rusty door that was forced to open.

“Am I becoming stronger?”

“... Well, Ashton, being strong is not limited to just swinging a sword.”

“K-You don't need to entertain me.”

Ashton sounded a bit displeased.

"I'm not comforting you — don't you know what makes you strong?"

“What makes me strong? As you can see, I'm useless with spears and swords."

Ashton laughed to himself mockingly. Guile pointed to Ashton's forehead:

“You are really solid at a time like this. What makes you strong is right here, right here. You have something I cannot have, no matter how much I crave it. Compared to that, my prowess is very small."

If Guile were to be killed in battle one day, it would not have much impact on the Autonomous Cavalry Regiment. At most, the First Platoon warriors would feel dejected. But if they lost Ashton who was the brain of the Autonomous Cavalry Regiment, it would be a huge loss. Ashton once said that compared to the number of enemies you kill, keeping your people alive is more important. That's a tough task. He didn't have many people, but Guile understood how difficult it was to manage people.

Ashton took care of his forehead which was flushed red from Guile's prick, and muttered reluctantly:

“But if anything happens, I won't be able to protect myself. Isn't that embarrassing for a man…? ”

...****************...

...To Be Continue's...