The Sage that the Sword Saint is Obsessed With

9 – 3. To the Battlefield (2)

1.

“……Eh, Evan?”

She doubted her eyes.

Evan was among the attacked group.

Leowen slowly reached out her hand.

…Could she be seeing something that wasn’t there?

It seemed as if the moment her fingertips touched him, he would disappear like smoke.

“Ah……”

As Leowen’s trembling hand was about to touch Evan’s face, she stopped with a small sigh.

No.

Looking closer, it wasn’t Evan.

Aside from the golden hair, there was not a single resemblance between them.

Evan’s eyes were long and narrow, while this man’s eyes were round. And while Evan usually had a wolf-like face, it would change to a puppy-like one when he smiled. But this man had a deer-like expression.

The shape of the ears was different.

So was the jawline.

The shoulder structure was different too.

The length of the arms and legs were different as well.

And above all, even though both had blue eyes, Evan’s eyes had a slightly lighter shade of blue.

Upon closer inspection, it was evident that he was an entirely different person.

Leuwen withdrew his hand.

In the southern empire, seeing blond hair was rare, so he had hastily mistaken him for Evan based on the blond hair alone.

“Thank you.”

The man who had been blankly staring at Leuwen, who was about to reach out to his face, expressed his gratitude politely.

“…Yes.”

Leuwen nodded slightly.

“Thanks to you, I survived. I never imagined that I would encounter such a magical beast in a forest far away from the frontline. Once again, thank you.”

It’s not that only weak magical beasts appear far away from the magic world’s frontline. Right now, magical beasts are constantly escaping from the magic world and spreading throughout the continents.

So the appearance of such magical beasts in this rural area is not particularly surprising. He had even faced more grotesque creatures than the ones he just fought.

“…You don’t seem to be from around here?”

Leuwen looked at the man.

At a glance, the man was wearing luxurious clothes. One could sense manners in his way of speaking and nobility in his upright posture.

“Yes, my name is Haid Yeagertrie, from the Yeagertrie family.”

With one hand over his chest, he offered a noble’s greeting. At the same time, with slightly raised eyes, he looked at Leuwen as if asking for his name.

“…Leuwen.”

“Are you an adventurer?”

Leuwen shook his head, side to side.

“…Captain of the guards.”

“I thought you were no ordinary person because of your extraordinary skills, but it turns out you’re the captain of the southern guards!”

“…No.”

Leuwen shook his head again.

“…I’m part of a private security group that manages this region only.”

“Weren’t you part of the Imperial Army?”

“……Yes.

“I thought you would naturally be part of the Imperial Army. That’s quite unexpected.”

There was no sympathy.

A frog that jumped around the world and ended up in a well knows how small it really is. Therefore, no matter how much people praised him, Leowen only felt it as a mere formality.

“But what brings the Yegarthree family here?”

The Yegarthree family, who are based in the western territory of Archerfield.

A traditional count family known for producing great monster hunters. Any adventurer would have read the Yegarthree family’s monster records at least once. Leowen was one of them.

“I was on my way east, cutting through the forest.”

As soon as Leowen heard the direction, he had a hunch about the noble’s destination.

“……The Dreager family?”

“That’s right. I’m on my way to see a longtime friend in the Dreager family. He was an imperial knight on the front line of the demon world and recently returned due to an injury. So, I’m going to visit him and see his face after a long time.”

Although Leowen didn’t specifically ask for the purpose of the visit, he explained it without hesitation.

“I’ll guide you to the exit of the forest.”

At Leowen’s words, Heide’s face brightened.

It was an anxious moment.

The knights of the Yegarthree family with him were undoubtedly skilled, but they were powerless against the monster forces who had been trained by the demon king’s army, like the ones they just encountered.

Leowen had dealt with them so easily that one might think they were weak, but they were by no means weak enough to be ignored.

They had enough power amongst the ten of them to reduce several villages to ruins.

If it weren’t for her rescue, several people in the party might have escaped successfully or faced total annihilation.

“Thank you. We’ll be in your debt.”

They set off as soon as the first-aid treatment for the injured members of the party was finished.

Leowen led the way to the exit of the forest.

Heide, who was riding a horse, looked at Leowen.

She seemed to be a woman shrouded in sadness.

Her face was expressionless, but the atmosphere she exuded was like that.

Her face resembled that of a widow who had heard the death of her husband who had gone to the battlefield.

What kind of story had happened to her?

He tried to start a conversation several times out of curiosity, but he was mostly ignored.

“Just follow this path and you should be fine.”

Rouen guided the Egerthri party to the exit of the forest and then prepared to return to the forest for another reconnaissance mission.

“I’ll be sure to repay you for this.”

“… No need.”

Rouen lumbered back into the forest.

His retreating figure didn’t match the fresh forest that began to bloom with spring.

2.

Hades Egerthri arrived safely at his destination.

As soon as he got off his horse, he met with Duke Drager, exchanged light greetings, and then told him about Count Egerthri’s recent affairs. After finishing the conversation, he went to meet the eldest son of the Drager family to complete his original mission.

“Oh, welcome.”

Alfred Drager, the eldest son of the Duke of Drager, who was resting in his bedroom, warmly greeted his friend he had not seen for a long time.

He was bored from lying in bed all day.

“How’s your health?”

“I’m fine. I’m ready to return to the frontlines right away.”

Alfred, whose right arm was missing, spoke cheerfully and smiled.

The full-scale war had not broken out yet, but they had been fighting large and small battles at the entrance to the demon world for several years. They were in the process of blocking the demons and demon king’s army from crossing over into their world.

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“… How did it end up like this?”

Hades felt bitter as he looked at his friend, who had lost one arm but still managed to smile as if nothing had happened.

The two of them had been friends since childhood.

They graduated from the academy together.

Although they had different majors, they were always together, taking care of each other.

Their relationship was so close that they could have been considered brothers, so seeing his friend like this made Hades’ heart ache.

“Well… it happened during a battle…”

Alfred touched his right shoulder with his remaining left arm.

“Recently, the situation on the frontlines has been getting worse. The demon king’s army is trying to cross the frontlines more and more, as if they are preparing for a full-scale war. Furthermore, high-risk demons have also started to appear more frequently.”

Although the seal was broken and the demon king had been resurrected, he was not yet fully revived. It was presumed that he was recovering from the injuries he had suffered at the hands of the hero party 100 years ago.

The demon king’s army was becoming more active as his recovery was almost complete.

“At this rate…… a war is likely to break out soon.”

Alfred suppressed a moan.

He didn’t know that he would have to retire from the knight order in such a way.

It was a frustrating situation.

He was the one who led a brigade.

Late at night, he was ambushed by the Demon King’s army and lost his arm.

There were also other damages.

One platoon was completely wiped out.

They were torn apart by monsters that seemed to be mixed with multiple demons.

Alfred’s right arm was also lost while facing that monster.

Although it was a great gain to take the monster’s neck in exchange for his arm, it seems impossible to return to the front line in this condition.

“This is a big problem. The hero party needs to be completed quickly.”

An elite unit to defeat the Demon King.

In the Empire, they are determined to create a hero party, but they have not been able to find a suitable candidate yet. They cannot find exceptional talents like the heroes of the past.

They managed to select a few candidates for heroes, but they still can’t choose someone they like.

“Speaking of which, have you heard of the guard unit in the Starflower Forest?”

“The Starflower Forest?”

The name of the forest is unfamiliar.

Alfred nodded his head.

“I crossed that forest on my way here and was attacked by monsters that looked like the Demon King’s army.”

“What? The Demon King’s army has come all the way to the southern Empire?”

“It’s not certain whether they are the Demon King’s army or not. However, they have skills as if they have been professionally trained and coordinate well with each other. Anyway, at that time, our knights were pushed back and almost died, but the captain of the guard unit protecting the Starflower Forest saved us.”

Heide recalled the woman who helped him a few days ago.

“She was truly amazing. I’m not a swordsman, so I don’t know much about swordsmanship, but from observing you for a long time, it’s not an ordinary skill. Defeating ten members of the Demon King’s army alone is no small feat.”

“Alone?”

“It was truly in an instant. Even if it was an ambush, not everyone can face ten opponents alone.”

He remembered her swordsmanship at that time and sighed with admiration once again.

“I don’t know about joining a hero party, but if she joins the Empire’s army, it will be a huge help.”

“I doubt you’re lying…”

“Why would I lie?”

It’s truly astonishing to defeat ten members of the Demon King’s army alone.

Even among the same demons, the strength of the Demon King’s army varies. They are stronger and more powerful than other demons because they have received the power of the Demon King. If they use magic, their hierarchy is different.

Wasn’t the one who ambushed Alfred also a member of the Demon King’s army?

“I recommend meeting her at least once.”

Alfred hesitated for a moment, his thoughts interrupted.

Skilled warriors were always in short supply.

Not necessarily up to the level of a hero’s party, as Heyd had put it, but having a capable individual join the imperial army would greatly aid in defending the demonic front.

Who could this person be?

If even his friend praised someone with sparkling eyes, it meant their skills were truly exceptional. Although he was a student of alchemy in the School of Magic, during his time at the academy, Alfred had never received praise for swordsmanship from anyone, not even when he graduated as the top student in the Swordsmanship Department.

The fact that this person, who had never complimented anyone on swordsmanship, was now praising someone’s swordsmanship, piqued Alfred’s curiosity and felt unfamiliar.

“Who could it be?”