Fransisca was as harsh
as ever toward Alexis, but the other members of the team followed and supported
Alexis at every point and showed a friendly attitude.
In response to their
behavior, Fransisca did not speak up, although she seemed to be dissatisfied.
But, thanks to the team
that had managed to get into shape, they were now able to go much deeper into
the dungeon than before.
**a
* * *
When they finally
descended to the fifth layer, the first team had arrived at a space that was
different from the previous terrain, and looked like one large room.
「What is this place...?」
Lorenzo was the first
one to mutter.
And the other members
of the team looked around with alarm.
Then, out of nowhere,
they heard a sound like crawling on the ground.
「What the...?!」
In a panic, Sara lowers
her posture and reaches for the mace on her back.
Fransisca silently
draws the sword at her waist, Lorenzo picks up his bow, Fatima clutches her
staff tightly, and Alexis also takes a stance with his shield.
「Alex Rein」
Fransisca says in a
whisper.
Alexis nodded and
stepped forward.
The next moment.
GUOOHHHHHH!
A gust of wind blew
with a loud noise.
「Everyone, get behind
me!」
Alexis put his big
shield in front of him and stood low.
The other four members
of the team ducked backward as Alexis told them to.
As soon as the gust of
wind stopped, a huge shadow came out from across the room.
It was a monster.
It was the biggest
one-eyed black wolf they had ever seen.
And suddenly, it cried
out with a neigh, turned itself around, and leaped toward them!
Boom!
A heavy boom echoes.
Alexis manages to block
the monster's blow with his big shield.
However, it is much more
powerful than expected.
「Switch!!」
Fransisca shouted.
Alexis pushes back the
wolf's head with his shield and leaps backward.
In his place, Fransisca
leaps forward, holding her sword steady.
「HAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Fransisca swings her
sword and a blade-shaped shockwave hits the monster!
But the blade only
slashes the demon's right ear. However, Guahhhh! it still screamed.
「Evaded...? Everyone,
let's go!」
Lorenzo drew his bow
and Fatima waved her staff in response to Fransisca's voice.
Arrows flew from the
right and fireballs flew from the left toward the monster.
「Gauuuuuuuuu!!」
The monster shook its
body and then it screamed ,"Guooooo?" again.
Then a gust of wind
blows around the monster.
「Whoa!」「Kyaa?!」
Fransisca and Lorenzo,
who were not standing behind the shield, were blown away and slammed back hard
against the wall.
「Your Highness, Lorenzo-kun!!」
Sara was the one who
shouted, who fortunately was behind Alexis and was safe.
「Wait for me, I'm going
to cast a healing spell now!」
Sara put the tip of her
mace on the floor and started chanting with her eyes closed.
「Alex, protect me!」
At Fatima's voice,
Alexis replied, "I understand!".
But soon, the monster
jumped at him and delivered one or two blow with its thick claws on its paws.
However, Fatima also
completes her chanting as Alexis manages to block them.
「Thunderbolt!!」
Fatima raised her
staff, and two bolts of lightning struck the monster's head one after another.
While the monster was
still dazed, Alexis jumped out of the way.
「Haa!!」
Boom! he slams his
shield into its brain with all his might.
He also swings his
sword with one hand while the monster is still dizzy.
「Take this!」
Slash! Alexis' slashing
sword makes a cut right between the monster's eyebrows.
In the meantime,
Sara seems to have completed the chanting of the recovery spell, and says,
"Healing!".
A light green light
envelops Fransisca and Lorenzo's bodies.
Fransisca, who managed
to move again, immediately jumped out with her sword and shouted,
"Switch!".
**b
「Roger!」
Alexis jumped back, and
once again Fransisca swung her sword.
Woosh!? The sword drew a
wide arc, and a shockwave was generated, which slashed the center line of the
body of the monster that was crouching straight down.
And upon seeing the
body of the monster split in half, Fransisca lets out a big breath.
「We did it...?!」
But just at that
moment.
The half of the
monster's body opened its eyes, then it opened its mouth and several thick
fangs flew out of it.
「...!?」
Alexis dashed in front
of Fransisca, whose eyes were wide open.
He held up his big
shield and caught all the fangs with his shield.
Then, the shield
shattered, perhaps from the impact.
On the other side of
the shield, the monster was dissipating in a black smoke with a shrieking
sound.
「Ah... waaa...」
Fransisca, realizing
that she was safe, slumped down on the ground as if she had lost her back.
* * *
Apparently, by
defeating the giant monster this time, the range of the darkness produced by
Avalon, which had been spreading, had been narrowed somewhat.
「Well done」
Fransisca returned the
silence to Fatima who said so.
Here in the command
center, Fransisca was talking with Fatima and three other Sagrado people.
「If Alex had not been
here, Her Hig would have died. We have to give him credit for that」
Fatima had a point.
「Yes, but...」
Seeing Fransisca's
attitude, with her gaze constantly drifting, she said, "Oh, Your Highness!".
「How long are you going
to act like a child?」
「What...――」
Fransisca is absolutely
mortified.
It was hard to tell who
was more of a child.
「You have to give Alex a
proper evaluation, okay?」
Sara folds her arms,
while Fransisca's shoulders slump in dismay.
「Yes, I understand that,
but...」
「Oh, gosh. Why are you
so stubborn, Your Highness?」
The one sighing now is
Lorenzo.
These three vassals
have a lot to say about their own princess.
Well, in fact, this is
how Fransisca usually is.
As long as she doesn't
have to deal with Krangals, she is a relatively good listener.
This may be a
characteristic of the Sagrado royal family, who are trained to be priestesses
rather than princesses....
While they were still
chatting, a visitor came to the control room.
It was a messenger from
Krangal Kingdom.
「Your Highness Fransisca?
There is a message from the King of Krangal to inform you of our recent
success!」
Fransisca responds
"Let's hear it" as the delegate salutes her with a crisp salute.
「Haha!」
The messenger breaks
the sealed envelope in his hand and reads the letter from the king.
**c
『Attention Fransisca
Arias Sagrado!
Your achievement is
very fortuitous. This is the result of your daily work and of the new soldier
Alex Rein whom we have deployed!
Therefore, I would like
to assign Alex Rein, or Alexis Sheridan Krangal, the 6th Prince of Krangal, to
your Fort Rohka as its new captain!
As you know, the burden
is too much for a princess-maiden, right? From now on, I want you to work with
Alexis as the deputy captain to attack Avalon!』
「「Ehhhhhhhhhhhh――?!」」
Everyone voices echoed
here.
「Eh? No way! Alexis
Sheridan Krangal... the 6th prince?!」
Fransisca could not
hide her shock.
「No...no way. Alex
doesn't look like a king at all...」
Fatima was not
convinced by any means.
「Eh, what do you mean?? Eh, Ehh?!」
Sara was just in a
daze.
「So... what do you mean
by that...?」
Lorenzo asked the
messenger in a low voice.
「Well, I mean...」
The messenger was
reluctant to tell them.
「...the new recruit who
joined the army under the name of Alex Rein is, in fact, the sixth prince who
was on a secret visit by order of the king...」
「Fu, fufu. Fufufufu...」
Fransisca suddenly
burst out laughing, and Fatima, who was standing nearby, was startled.
「...Your Highness, are you in
trouble?」
「...It is true that I
have heard that there is a sixth prince. I had also heard that they did not
resemble each other. But I never thought they would look so much alike...」
Fransisca is mumbling.
「Oh, gosh. It must be a
lie. What have I done to the royalty of a superior country? I don't know what
to do. No way, it must be a lie...」
Fransisca is no longer
in the picture.
Fatima, on behalf of
the princess, coughs, and then tells the messenger.
「Umm...thank you, please
let His Majesty know that I understand.」
「Yes!」
The messenger salutes
and leaves.
The remaining people
all looked at Princess Fransisca, who was stunned and lost in thought.
