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About ten minutes after leaving the capital.
We entered the forest.
Even though it was noon, it was strangely quiet.
“Alt…”
The adventurer leading the way spoke up.
“I’m sorry…”
“I’m the only one who managed to escape.”
I replied without turning around.
“I’m not blaming you.”
“But…”
“If you hadn’t come back, no one would have been able to come to their rescue.”
At those words, the young man’s eyes widened.
“If you want to save your comrades, you have to make it back alive first.”
“…Yes.”
His expression softened slightly.
I looked around as we walked.
Broken branches.
Trampled grass.
And then.
Countless footprints on the ground.
“Stop.”
I crouched down.
“These are…”
The young man peered down as well.
“Goblin footprints.”
“And there are quite a lot of them.”
Even at a quick glance, there were more than twenty.
No.
There are more.
“This many…”
The young man’s face turned pale.
I furrowed my brow as well.
Something’s off.
The forest south of the capital is meant for beginners.
It’s not the kind of place where a horde like this would settle.
“Has anything out of the ordinary happened recently?”
“N-no… I haven’t heard of anything.”
“I see.”
I have a bad feeling about this.
But.
There’s no time to think about it now.
We had to hurry on.
A few more minutes.
“Alt-san!”
The young man pointed.
A sword was stuck in a tree.
“Look at this!”
It looked familiar.
It was one of the standard-issue swords issued to the new recruits.
One was missing.
Which meant…
A battle had taken place here.
I looked at the ground.
Bloodstains.
And.
Drag marks.
“It’s still fresh.”
I touched it with my finger.
It wasn’t completely dry yet.
“Let’s hurry.”
“Yes!”
The two of us broke into a run.
――Around the same time, deep in the forest.
“Haa… haa…”
Three rookie adventurers were hiding behind a rock.
They were panting heavily.
They were all covered in wounds.
“I’m sorry…”
One of them muttered.
“If only I were stronger…”
“You idiot.”
Another shook his head.
“This isn’t the time to be saying things like that.”
But.
There was no conviction in his voice.
Their weapons were at their limit.
Their stamina was at its limit.
“If it were Lady Leona…”
One of them muttered.
“Would she come to our rescue?”
Silence.
They all knew.
Leona wasn’t here right now.
That’s why.
They shouldn’t get their hopes up.
But in the midst of this desperate situation, they couldn’t help but hope.
Just then.
Rustle.
The grass rustled.
Everyone’s bodies trembled.
What appeared was…
A goblin.
One.
Two.
Three.
They emerged one after another.
“We’re surrounded…”
Someone muttered.
There was no escape.
The goblins approached with leering grins on their faces.
“Damn it!”
One of the new recruits raised his sword.
His hands were shaking.
His legs wouldn’t move.
Still,
he stepped forward, determined to protect his comrades at least.
A goblin lunged at him.
“Uwaaaaah!”
The new recruit screamed as he swung his sword.
But.
It was too late.
He wouldn’t make it in time.
It was at that very moment.
—Thud!!
A dull sound echoed through the forest.
The goblin that had lunged was blown sideways and slammed into a tree.
“…Huh?”
The new recruits’ eyes widened.
From deep within the grassy thicket.
A man slowly emerged.
A wooden sword rested on his shoulder.
A familiar silhouette from behind.
“Are you hurt?”
The new recruits’ eyes widened.
“A…”
“Alt-san…!”
With those words alone.
In the forest that had been filled with nothing but despair.
Hope returned.
“They’re coming!”
I shouted.
The next moment.
Goblins began bursting out of every patch of grass.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
And more kept coming.
“Wha…!?”
One of the new recruits’ eyes widened.
“What is this number!?”
This wasn’t normal.
This wasn’t the kind of number you’d expect to see in the forest south of the capital.
It was as if every goblin in the forest had gathered here.
“Alt-san!”
“Don’t panic!”
I stepped forward.
I swung my wooden sword in a horizontal slash.
Thud!!
Two of them were sent flying at once.
With the same follow-through, I sliced through the jaw of a third.
“To your right!”
A goblin lunged at one of the new recruits.
I stepped in between them and deflected the attack.
“Look around you!”
“Don’t fight alone!”
“Cover each other’s backs!”
At those words,
the rookies’ expressions changed.
“Yes!”
One of them parries the sword.
Another slashes from the side.
The last one sweeps the goblin’s legs out from under it.
Teamwork.
It was the move I’d taught them countless times in training.
“That’s it!”
“Keep it up!”
I, too, kept swinging my wooden sword.
A goblin.
Another goblin.
Yet another goblin.
“Ugh…!”
There were just too many of them.
No matter how many I took down, it never ended.
“This is abnormal…”
I muttered without thinking.
“There’s no way a swarm like this should be in a forest meant for beginners…!”
Still.
I can’t back down.
If I back down,
the three behind me will die.
“Woooooah!”
The new recruits also swing their swords while shouting.
The fear that was on their faces just a moment ago is gone.
All that remains is
their determination to protect their comrades.
A few minutes later.
The last one fell to the ground.
“Phew…”
“It’s over…”
The new recruits slumped down where they stood.
I lowered my wooden sword as well.
We’d managed to hold them off.
That’s what I thought.
But.
Thud…
The ground shook.
“…?”
The new recruits looked up.
Thud…
Thud…
Footsteps far heavier than before.
The smile vanished from my face.
“Hey…”
I muttered under my breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Deep in the forest.
A single giant tree.
It slowly toppled over.
THUDDDD!!
The birds took flight all at once.
I tightened my grip on my wooden sword.
“Everyone.”
“Fall back behind me.”
In that voice,
there was a tension I’d never felt before.
Thud…
Thud…
Accompanied by heavy footsteps, a massive figure appeared.
“…Goblin General.”
I couldn’t help but gasp.
This wasn’t the kind of monster you’d find in a beginner’s forest.
And now the goblin horde made sense.
The blood drained from the newcomers’ faces.
“Alt-san…”
“Fall back!”
I raised my wooden sword.
The Goblin General let out a low growl.
The next moment.
It charged forward, tearing up the ground as it went.
It’s fast.
It was a speed I never would have imagined from such a massive body.
Clang!!
The wooden sword and the iron club collided.
The impact made my arm go numb.
“Tch…!”
It’s heavy.
I can’t fully block it with just a wooden sword.
One step.
Then another, as I’m pushed back.
“Alt-san!”
“Stay back!”
I shout.
Somehow regaining my footing, I circle around to the side.
I swing the wooden sword through.
Thud!!
A blow to his side.
But.
It’s shallow.
“It’s tough, as expected.”
A wooden sword isn’t enough to land a decisive blow.
Still.
I can buy some time.
That’s when it happened.
“Crap…!”
One of the rookies slipped.
The Goblin General immediately shifted his aim.
A massive iron club was raised.
“Ah…!”
I won’t make it in time.
That’s what I thought.
“Watch out!!”
I instinctively threw myself in front of him.
THUD!!
A dull impact.
My vision blurred.
My body flew through the air and slammed into a huge tree.
“Gah…!”
The taste of iron spread through my mouth.
A searing pain shot from my left shoulder down to my chest.
I couldn’t put any strength into my arm.
“Alt-san!!”
The rookies’ screams echoed.
I tried my best to get back on my feet.
But.
My knees buckled.
My body wouldn’t obey me.
“Damn…”
I’d taken more of a beating than I’d expected.
I gave a wry smile.
“After all that high-and-mighty coaching…”
I laugh as I cough up blood.
“It’s pathetic to end up like this.”
The new recruits shake their heads.
“That’s not true!”
“Shut up.”
I grip my wooden sword again.
With trembling hands.
I manage to stand up.
“You guys, run!”
“But!”
“Just go!”
I yelled.
“I’ll buy you some time.”
Tears welled up in the new recruits’ eyes.
Still, they couldn’t move.
The Goblin General raised his iron staff once more.
This is bad.
I won’t be able to block the next one.
Just as I thought that, at that very moment—
From deep within the forest.
—Thud!!
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a figure descended before me.
Long red hair fluttered in the wind.
A single sword hung at her waist.
It was the treasured sword I’d once given to Leona.
“…Leona.”
I called out her name without thinking.
But.
There was no reply.
Leona slowly drew her sword.
Her gaze wasn’t on me.
She was staring only at the Goblin General standing right in front of her.
No.
That’s not right.
Right after that.
For just a split second.
Leona’s gaze turned toward me.
It was in that instant.
I caught my breath.
She was angry.
That word alone wasn’t enough.
We’d traveled together all this time.
We’d had our fights.
We’d fought for our lives countless times.
And yet.
I’d never seen Leona look like this before.
The moment she saw me injured.
Her usual composure had completely vanished from her face.
No emotion was visible on her face.
That, in itself, was terrifying.
A killing intent so intense it seemed to freeze the very air around us.
The sword she gripped was trembling slightly.
With rage.
No.
With something even stronger than that.
Perhaps even the Goblin General instinctively sensed the danger, for he took a single step back.
Leona said nothing.
She simply.
Quietly readied her sword.
Seeing her like that.
“…This is bad.”
That premonition had turned into certainty.
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