The role of guardian
was unfamiliar even to him.
Whenever a monster
appeared, Fransisca's instruction came to him that he should be a wall.
「There? Right!!」
「They're coming from the
left!!」
「Don't you dare miss it,
you dumb!!」
「Really? You're no use
to us!」
If even one of the
monsters slips away, a storm of such verbal abuse will pour down on him.
However, Fransisca has
slain all the monster, which was slipped, so there has been no damage so far.
But Alexis is no
masochist. Having such a lot of things said to him makes him angry.
Nevertheless, he put up
with it.
For now, he has to win
the trust of this stubborn princess first...
**a
And
so, after two, three, four, or five times of fighting, he
gradually got the hang of it.
Originally, Alexis has
a natural talent for fighting. Even though it is completely different from his
original fighting style, Guardian is also a vanguard position. It was easy to
adapt.
Crack!
When the shield finally
shattered with a sound, Alexis was already able to stop eight out of ten of
monster.
「Hah, hah, hah!」
Even so, Alexis was
breathing heavily from exhaustion.
But at that moment, one
of the remaining fish jumped toward Alexis.
「Damn...!」
Alexis swung his
broadsword in his right hand and sliced the monster into two pieces from the
torso.
The monster instantly
dissipates in a puff of black smoke. With this attack, the monster is gone.
（If only the monster
between my legs would dissipate like this...）
He thought so for a
moment and shook his head.
What will he do if he
lose his real thing? For the record, he doesn't intend to castrate himself yet.
But still, he was
exhausted.
And at last Alexis sits
down while he breathes heavily.
「Are you tired already?
You dumb!」
Fransisca looked down
at him coldly and spoke to him.
「...Shut up!」
Alexis, who had no time
to spare, replied with a bare answer.
「What――」
It was Fatima who spoke
to Fransisca from the side, saying "Your Highness".
「It's time for you to
forgive him. He seems to be struggling earnestly... I think it's a great
achievement for his first time」
Following Fatima's
words, Lorenzo nodded his head and said...
「Indeed, he has a
remarkable muscle. He's too good to be killed, isn't he?」
「Yes. I think so too,
can you admit that?」
Even Sara tells
Fransisca in an endearing voice with a hint of childishness.
「......」
Fransisca was silent,
with a blank expression on her face.
There was a pause, but
in the end, this was the decision Fransisca made.
「...Let's turn back for
today. Fatima, call the other team」
「Yes」
Fatima nodded and began
chanting magic.
Then she waved her wand
in her hand and said, "| Transmission <Voiceprint Transfer>!".
After that, Fatima
suddenly started to lip-synch silently, apparently using magic to transmit her
voice to another place.
Soon the two teams,
which had been moving separately, meet up with them.
Unlike the first team,
each team seems to have lost almost all of its members, and only three people
have gathered together.
Fransisca then slides
her hand toward her chests without a glance at others who have been battered
and bruised.
She pulls out a pendant
with a bluish-white gleam from a gap in her armor.
「Then we're getting out.
Everyone gather within a two-meter radius」
As Fransisca spoke
briefly, the pendant became more brilliant, and a circle of light suddenly
encircled the area she had described.
The circle also
encircled Alexis, who was sitting down, causing his eyes to widen and he began
to gawk.
The next moment, all of
them disappeared from the place.
* * *
After they returned
from Avalon, Alexis
found himself with the other members in front of the darkness that he had first
plunged into.
「...Could it be a
<Legacy> artifact of an ancient mage?」
Alexis' question was
answered by Fransisca, "I don't have to answer that".
「Well, that's all for
today. We will dive in the dungeon again tomorrow, so get some rest today. And
Alex Rein!」
Fransisca glared at
Alexis.
「You come back to me
later. I will give you a new shield」
Alexis nodded,
"...okay".
**b
* * *
Fransisca did as she
said and handed the shield to Alexis when he visited the command center.
It was a brand new
shield, unlike the cracked one he had used today.
「Thank you very much」
When Alexis accepted
it, Fransisca glared at him.
「...I haven't forgiven
you yet」
「I know」
Alexis nodded but
quickly continued speaking.
「...but I ask you to
keep your personal feelings to yourself」
「What do you mean?」
「Exactly what I said.
This is not a game. Lives are at stake. Not only lives, the whole world is at
stake」
「It's none of your
business. This is Sagrado's business」
「No, it's not」
Alexis gave her very
clear response.
And Fransisca gives him
an uncomfortable look.
But Alexis does not
seem intimidated.
「It's also a Krangal
problem, since many Krangal soldiers are involved」
「...a bunch of those
worthless guys?」
Fransisca smiles, but
it is filled with overt disgust.
It gives a cold
impression to Fransisca, who is supposed to be pretty. What a waste. Alexis
thought, but he did not say anything about it.
「You know it, right? The
darkness that Avalon produces is spreading」
Fransisca was silent
because Alexis had hit the nail on the head.
「...Since that's the
case, we can't play around, Your Highness Princess-maiden」
Alexis stared into the
amethyst eyes she owned.
Fransisca flinched for
a moment, as if she had never seen him do that before.
「...It's been a long
time since I've been called that」
Fransisca muttered
something like that.
But Alexis bowed
reverently to Fransisca, said, "Well, excuse me", and left the place.
「...What happened to
him?」
Fransisca was
muttering.
Never before had she
seen a soldier so skillfully bow in the aristocratic manner.
「Why!? What's wrong with
him? Even though he's a pervert...」
Fransisca was
discouraged by this.
**c
* * *
As Alexis left the
command center and walked down the hallway, he saw someone walk up to him from
the other side. It was Fatima.
When Fatima found
Alexis, she walked up to him with her robe fluttering and her bosom swaying.
Despite her friendly
behavior, Fatima speak to "Alex Rain" with blank expressions.
「Did you get a big
shield? ...Oh, that's the new shield」
Fatima looks around the
shield Alexis is holding and then expresses her relief.
「It seems, Her Highness gave
you a sturdy one. Thank God...」
But then, Alexis opens
his mouth.
「Fatima-san, is she always like that?」
「Are you surprised?」
Alexis thought Fatima's
small smile was more surprising, but he did not say it.
「Well, she looked very
different from the image I had of her as a princess-maiden」
「Oh...」
Fatima nodded, a
somewhat forlorn expression on her face.
「Well, the original princess...
is a kind-hearted and gentle person. And actually, she was always a little too
serious... but now she was not like that」
Fatima's sigh says it
all.
And perhaps Fransisca's
distrust of Krangal people has now become too strong because of that accident.
「Well, I'm... sorry...」
Involuntarily, Alexis
apologized and Fatima laughs then she speaks.
「Why do you say that?
It's not your fault. You are a serious Krangal person. It's not just me. The
others who teamed up with you today - Sara, Lorenzo, I'm sure they feel the
same way. And I'm sure, Her Highness too」
「...is that so?」
Fatima nodded her head
in affirmation when he asked the question.
「Please give her a long
look. Her Highness has not yet sorted out her mind. After all, she lost her parents,
her brother, and even her country. And now...」
Fatima almost said
something but she shook her head.
「Anyway, I'll be happy
to see you tomorrow」
Fatima held out one
hand. Seeing her slender, white hand, Alexis hesitated for a moment, but soon
took her hand.
「...Pleased to meet you,
Fatima-san」
「...yes, you can call me
Fatima. You're one of us now」
After said this, Fatima
laughed.
