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Gravel erupted as her body lunged forward.
Straight toward the approaching shadows of black and brown—a pack of Gravehounds—she charged.
“—I’m going first!”
Liene beside her surged forward with astonishing explosive force.
The instant she raised her right hand, the air warped and light converged. The gathered light formed the shape of a great sword, and soon a blade taller than her own height materialized in Liene’s hand.
A massive, overwhelmingly heavy mass composed of a thick steel blade and a silver hilt—something a normal person would struggle to lift. Though Liene, being a young maiden, had a fondness for cute things, the materialized greatsword was the polar opposite of her taste, boasting a rugged design.
The sight of her casually shouldering it with one arm made her look less like a maid and more like a battle demon.
(Still, what incredible power…)
Watching her back as she charged into the horde of monsters, weapon in hand, I thought.
—When did it start? When did she first declare, “I want to get stronger!”?
Begging never to lose anything precious again, she found herself swinging a wooden sword alongside the knights serving the duke’s household.
She fell, covered in mud, yet rose again. Blisters formed on her hands, yet day after day, she swung that wooden sword tirelessly. Before long, she wasn’t wielding a wooden sword anymore, but that greatsword. It blew me and the adults away.
And through that relentless effort, she had grown so strong that even new knights couldn’t stand against her.
“Haaah!!”
The moment the three leading the pack lunged at Liene, she swung her greatsword with the effortless ease of wielding a wooden stick.
The sweeping horizontal slash erupted with a thunderous roar, generating a shockwave that crushed the air as it slaughtered all three at once. The Gravehounds, their heads and bodies separated as they flew apart, died instantly, of course.
“――!!”
Without pause, she stepped forward, her blade returning to slaughter the next prey.
If they lunged, she knocked them down. If they tried to close in between attacks, she countered with kicks and fists. Her fighting style was pure savage.
Who taught her to fight like that…?
Thinking that, I concentrated my magic power and extended my palm toward Liene.
“Muscle Boost, Skeletal Armor, Nerve Acceleration, Vitality Enhancement…! Go wild!”
A faint light enveloped Rine.
Essentially, it was a body-enhancing spell. Attack power, defense, burst speed, stamina—each would surge severalfold.
She glanced briefly in my direction.
“Yes!”
With that single word, she charged once more toward the horde of monsters.
Her speed was several levels faster than before, and the explosive power of her greatsword swings had increased. The thunderous roar accompanying each swing grew significantly louder, and the number of monster corpses blown away was vastly greater.
One against a thousand. Her performance was so impressive it made me think of a phrase hardly fitting for a maid.
Perhaps intimidated by such a Liene, several monsters in the horde set their sights on me behind her. They clearly underestimated me. They also seemed unable to grasp why Liene didn’t pause her fight to deal with me, continuing her counterattack instead.
“After all, they’re just monsters… Do beasts possess any intelligence?”
Raising my left hand, I aimed at the advancing Gravehounds.
I chose fire magic. Among the six attributes existing in this world—Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind, Light, and Darkness—it was the most effective choice against beast-type monsters like them.
The flame projectile, released at minimum output and consumption, struck their foreheads as if sucked in, piercing clean through.
No confirmation was needed—instant death.
In gaming terms, maybe a critical hit? Hitting a vital spot for massive damage. Well, in my case, it’s no luck—I aim for it.
“It’s plain, but this is the fastest way.”
I muttered as I dispensed with the monsters in a matter-of-fact manner.
After dealing with the ones closing in on us, I shifted to ranged magic attacks, slipping in between Liene’s strikes.
Liene mowed down the close-range ones, while I shot down the fleeing ones.
Within a dozen seconds, the monsters were wiped out in the blink of an eye.
“…Phew.”
Liene gave her greatsword a light shake.
After wiping away the blood, the crude, massive iron block vanished in a flash of light. Liene then came running over to me, fluttering her wings.
“Lord Rai!”
“Hm?”
“Are you hurt!?”
“No, thanks to you, Liene , I’m fine.”
Unsatisfied with my answer, Liene proceeded to poke and prod every inch of my body. Her worry was truly boundless.
Shoulder, arm, chest, waist, leg. Then she moved around to my back and checked there too. Finally satisfied, she looked up at me with a glance from below.
“R-really…?”
“Yeah.”
“…I’m so relieved.”
Liene relaxed, her face breaking into a soft smile that made her seem like a different person from the one during combat.
The sword-like coldness from just moments ago was nowhere to be found. I gave a wry smile at her usual self and asked, as if it was now my turn.
“Liene, are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”
“Yes! Not at all!”
Liene answered immediately, her chest puffed out—neither too small nor too large.
Then she spun around in place. Her maid outfit, with her skirt fluttering, showed no blood splatter, let alone mud. It was practically brand new.
Finishing with a beaming smile, she added, “See? I’m perfectly fine!!”
It was a smile unimaginable from the girl who had just moments ago been blowing monsters away one after another.
Could this really be the same person? I chuckled softly to myself and took a step forward.
I gently tapped her light brown head.
“You’re strong, Liene. Honestly, I left most of it to you. You saved me.”
As I spoke my honest thoughts and gently stroked her head, Liene’s face slowly turned crimson. Watching the color spread steadily from her ears down her neck was quite amusing.
“Eh, um… well…”
“Hm?”
“W-well, that’s only natural… After all, I’m… Lord Rai’s personal maid… I became stronger for Lord Rai’s sake… Hearing you say that… makes me happy.”
Her eyes glistening, she fidgeted, twisting her fingers together as she spoke.
Then, she took my hand and moved it to her cheek. Her smooth cheek felt different from her hair, a texture I could touch forever.
“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
“…Yes.”
As I enjoyed that soft skin for a moment, Liene’s shoulder suddenly twitched.
I wondered if she disliked it, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“…L-Lord Rai!”
“What is it?”
Her gaze shifted behind me.
Feeling the sweet atmosphere vanish instantly, I turned around and spotted two figures in the distance along the road.
A red-haired youth wielding a sword and a sky-blue-haired girl carrying dual blades.
“Damn…”
“Looks like we weren’t needed after all…”
The stunned pair stood frozen, weapons in hand.
It was as if they’d been about to jump in to help, only to have their moment vanish—that was the look on their faces.
“…W-Who are they?”
Liene tilted her head in puzzlement, but I knew them.
That red hair, and the longsword he carried. There was no mistaking it. He was none other than the protagonist of ‘CHOICE//MAZE’ himself.
His appearance was exactly as I’d seen countless times in character portraits, event CGs, and battle scenes—it was genuinely moving.
And beside him stood a girl with sky-blue hair swaying in the breeze.
Her name was ‘Ciel’. She was the protagonist’s childhood friend, his partner, and—in the game—one of the very first girls to become a sacrifice.
“Lord Rai?”
Liene looked up at me curiously as I stood frozen, staring at them.
“…Um, are you two acquainted?”
“—No… I just felt like I’d seen him somewhere before. That’s all.”
When I gave a vague answer, Liene tilted her head, saying “Is that so?”, but didn’t press further.
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