Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Chaos in Fort Astra! - (4)

"You're right... By the way, has anyone escaped here?"

Kyle shook his head in response to the girl's sincere gaze. He couldn't say it because it was too blunt, but going on a pilgrimage in the middle of the night was crazy. They would be a good meal for the bandits.

He was stunned by this, and could not sympathize with her at all.

No one else came.

Kyle answered coldly. Refusing to accept this, the girl asked again:

"Am I really the only one?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, only you succeed."

"I understand..."

The girl looked disappointed when she heard that, and pressed her face against Kyle's chest. When he smelled her scent, Kyle was forced to suppress his earthly urges.

(Really torturing.).

Kyle tells himself to stay calm, while Derek complains: "I should help him if I know."

"Don't worry, the bandits won't chase you here. If they dared to touch the Crimson Knight, they would pay for it. "

Kyle laughed sinisterly after saying that.

"So you're from Crimson Knight ... I escaped here in a fainting state, it seemed like luck was with me."

The girl looked at Kyle with passionate eyes, and Kyle's ears turned red.

"I-That's right. I can't let you in, but I have water to calm you down."

Kyle offered him pelples hanging from his waist. The girl thanked him, and drank from the pelples.

(I've never been clear)

"-how? Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you."

The girl replied with a smile.

"Good... By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. I'm Kyle. The creepy guy over there is Derek. "

"Introduction is fine, but what do you mean by creepy !?"

Derek snorted displeased. The girl then left Kyle's chest, got up slowly, and bowed officially:

"I was saved by both of you in my time of need. Sorry for my late introduction. I'm Amelia. How do I say this ... Allow me to return the favor."

"No, no, we didn't do anything"

"Please look here."

Amelia cut Kyle off, and stretched out her hand, as if she was holding water in her palm.

Their attention was drawn, and blue flames suddenly appeared in Amelia's hands.

"W-What happened !?"

"A-Are you a Sorcerer !?"

The two of them were startled, and Amelia calmed them down with a soft voice:

"It's okay, please calm down."

"How can we stay calm!"

"Look at this flame... That's right.. be careful. observe."

Amelia's hypnotizing voice quickly overpowered their bodies. Kyle's mind became cloudy, and Derek drooled with an empty face.

"Isn't this fire beautiful?"

"Ohh right..."

"This fire is so beautiful..."

The roar of a savage beast from a distance pierced through the darkness of the night.

And Amelia's smile was like a crescent moon hanging high in the night sky

******

[Fort Astra, Colonel Gaier's office]

“Colonel, you must rest. I don't mean to lecture, but you're pushing yourself too hard."

Gaier returns his empty cup back to the plate, and finds his aide Vim looking at him with concern. Gaier glanced at the clock, and realized that it was late at night. Gaier put down his pen and sighed deeply.

“Not yet. It might be temporary, but I'm still Acting Commander. When His Majesty returns, I don't want him to yell at me for leaving everything in a mess."

Gaier said with a self-deprecating laugh. Vim shook his head in disagreement:

Vim bowed deeply with it. Their conversation did not meet, like two parallel lines. Gaier thanked his subordinates for their attention, and stood up slowly.

"… I get it. Then I'll rest for a while.”

"Please don't shorten it, and rest well."

Vim opens the door, and salutes to drive Gaier away. Gaier smiled awkwardly in his heart and headed to his room.

"- It's noisy."

Repeated footsteps in the corridor woke Gaier who had just slept. He looked out the window, and saw that it was almost dawn. The troops wouldn't be so rowdy at this moment for no reason.

"Is there a problem?"

Gaier jumped out of his bed and immediately got dressed. Right after, one of his guards barged in in in a panic.

"What's wrong?"

“I-It's a surprise attack!”

Gaier frowned hearing that.

He suspected the Seventh Army might pursue the Crimson Knight to build up their victory, and give a firm order to the gatekeeper. But they were still caught off guard by the surprise attack, and it made him angry.

“What is our enemy Seventh Army?”

Gaier held back his anger and asked calmly. But the restless guards gave an unexpected response.

“Not the Seventh Army! The enemy is from another country! "

“Nation other.. !?”

Gaier's face wrinkled at this news.

The wars of continental unification have raged for four years. And now, no country dared to oppose the Empire, and it was only a matter of time before the Empire took control of the entire continent. Despite these facts, the guards say that Fort Astra was attacked by unknown soldiers. In an instant, the Sutherland Confederacy that controlled the south flashed through Gaier's mind, but given the secret alliance he had with the Empire, the possibilities were slim.

(No matter what, the trigger was the defeat of the Crimson Knights ..)

When it occurred to him, Gaier felt that his shoulders were very heavy.

"What's the situation?"

"Y-Yeah ... That's ..."

The guards eyes were wobbly, which meant they were in serious trouble.

“Does the battle go bad?”

It may have been a surprise attack, but the assailant was from an unknown place. They were different from the Seventh Army that had the Death God. Gaier did not expect the Crimson Knight to have any trouble. That's why the guard's attitude made him uneasy.

"Yes, Sir. The enemy has broken into the fortress, and there is a fierce battle in it ... "

"What…!? Impossible! How can they break through the gate !?”

The gate of Astra Fort was made of the strongest stone, augite. Even if siege weapons like battering rams were used, it would take a long time to be destroyed.

“The information we got is messy, and we cannot be sure if this is true, but..”.

The reports of the guards' stuttering made Gaier doubt his ears. The gatekeeper who was in charge of killing all the soldiers in the guard room, destroyed the doorstop and opened the gate for the enemy. If that was true, it made sense how the enemy could break through so easily.

“You mean the proud soldiers of the Crimson Knight colluded with the enemy?”

The guard nodded with cold sweat on his brows.

“Seeing from the situation, there must be a traitor.”

—Treason in the army.

The overwhelming answers of the guards startled Gaier, and he was not finished yet:

"And the soldiers who betrayed us .. have inhuman prowess and agility."

"Inhumane?"

“Y-Yes Sir. The elites who tried to stop them were slaughtered in an instant.Right, they were like wild beasts."

The report became even more ridiculous, and Gaier was getting confused.

"Colonel Gaier, please order it."

The guard looked like he was grasping at straws. Gaier patted his shoulder to calm the guard and himself, and said:

(Idiom I've never explained.)

"I will access the situation personally first."

Gaier grabbed the sword by his bedside, and left the room quickly.

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

...To Be Continue's...