Volume 6 Chapter 57 Run, Shirakaba
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Shirakaba—known in this world as Niimi Yukina—watched the courtyard through the small gap between the curtains.
Armed soldiers crept forward, half-concealed behind the trees. Hiding their heads while leaving their backsides out—useless. Anyone watching from above would see right through them. Surely, they knew that. Still, it seemed they couldn’t help but cling to whatever cover they could find.
”So it’s already begun,” Shirakaba muttered, brushing a hand against the windowsill. “There’s always someone who tries to act first. I suppose everyone’s starving for glory.”
The Demon King no longer threatened the world. Peace had finally returned. Yet here they were—so many still craving war.
For those unhappy with the current state of things, peace felt like stagnation. In chaos, they saw opportunity.
It was true—some would rise through the ranks by earning fame on the battlefield. But in a world of swords and magic, those born with power would always hold the advantage. Wealth and status meant access to better gear. Privilege opened every door to leveling up.
When war broke out, the strong got stronger, while the weak sank even deeper into the mud.
Of course, among the noble class were fools like Duke Mineley, who’d grown soft with comfort. And when the privileged forget that this world is ruled by survival of the fittest, it’s no wonder ambitious upstarts start dreaming of overthrowing them.
Duke Mineley’s family had once clawed their way up with unmatched valor. But over generations, they’d grown complacent—blind to the harsh truths of the world.
Maybe Tizzy was an exception—a throwback to her ancestors. Or perhaps it was her mother’s blood. Shirakaba believed it was the latter. After all, Princess Auroora, Tizzy’s mother, had been a formidable woman in her own right. And from what Shirakaba had heard, the princess’s mother—Tizzy’s grandmother—was her sister.
They weren’t born nobles. They came from a merchant family, though one big enough to marry into royalty and a duke’s household. That blood ran through Tizzy’s veins—and now, she was the most courageous one in the entire Mineley line.
And it was Shirakaba herself who had helped her reach such heights. She’d trained Tizzy too well. Despite having the support-based job of “Saint,” she now held some of the greatest combat strength in the entire Duke’s domain. That strength had even saved her life—when she was poisoned, her high level let her endure the worst of it.
Now, Shirakaba the Paladin and Tizzy the Saint made an unbeatable team. In a place like this distant frontier, there were no enemies left who could stand against them.
During the campaign against the Gorigan army, the two had agreed to play the role of helpless noble ladies to protect her husband’s honor. But if they’d wanted to, they could have wiped out the enemy without breaking a sweat. Still, Shirakaba had been glad to catch a glimpse of his strange and mysterious abilities during that battle.
It wasn’t that Shirakaba disliked strong men. What she couldn’t stand were the ones who bragged about it. Her husband… well, he had this look in his eyes when he wanted praise—but somehow, even that part of him felt endearing.
”Honestly, once you fall in love, even their flaws start looking cute,” she whispered, letting out a soft sigh. “I wonder… even if I love him this much, will there come a time when we grow tired of each other?”
They say it’s best when the husband’s healthy and stays out of the house, but with the way things were now, that was hard to imagine. Still, there was a more serious problem: what if they had a fight? With her strength, it’d be Shirakaba who ended up being labeled the abuser.
She hoped they could live their lives without ever fighting—but that wasn’t realistic, was it? Thinking she and her husband were somehow special… maybe that was just the foolish dream of a girl in love.
She had never been the type to sit around waiting for a prince on a white horse.
Besides, if there ever was one—he was already right here.
Shirakaba summoned a mirror using her light magic and looked at her reflection.
A proud knight in shining silver armor gazed back at her. Strong, gallant, everything a storybook hero should be.
But somehow, she didn’t feel it. That image, once so perfect, no longer stirred her heart the same way.
”Is this… age catching up to me? No way. I’m not even twenty yet. Maybe they’re right—good looks really do get boring after three days.”
Still, even beauty fades. Maybe not today, but someday. It always comes faster than we expect. A flower’s bloom is fleeting, after all.
If she could choose her end, she wished it would be peaceful—surrounded by grandchildren, passing away on a warm tatami mat.
This world didn’t have tatami, but she’d let him figure that part out.
A heavy wooden door echoed with a knock.
Shirakaba cast a quick buff to raise her defenses, then opened the door.
One of the maids stood outside, holding a tray.
”…Lady Tizzy,” the maid said with a practiced smile. “I’ve brought some delicious sweets for you.”
But Shirakaba already knew—the maids had turned. The information came from Amada Saburou. These past few days, she’d avoided all food from the castle, relying instead on the boxed meals he prepared for her.
A high level meant resistance to poison, yes. But that didn’t mean she was invincible. There were toxins out there even Tizzy’s magic couldn’t cleanse.
The enemy wasn’t stupid. They must have used something rare—something deadly.
And for some reason, Saburou had stored those poisoned meals in his magic bag, practically delighted. Maybe he planned to use them as evidence of attempted murder.
The truth was, most of the maids were bound to their home factions. And nearly all the powerful families within the domain had already sided with the Larse Empire. Naturally, the maids followed suit.
Shirakaba understood. But that didn’t mean she would forgive betrayal. Deep down, she wanted to make them pay.
When it was just her and Tizzy, they’d sometimes joke about different punishments—half in fun, half serious.
Back when she was still Niimi Yukina in Japan, she’d been a true bookworm, even delving into classic tales like Investiture of the Gods. She once told Tizzy about the cruel deeds of Daji—but that had only left the poor girl terrified.
Later, Shirakaba even asked Saburou if he knew any clever ways to punish people without violence. But he hadn’t been helpful.
”There’s no need to dwell on that stuff,” he said with a serious face. “Just focus on your own happiness.”
He hadn’t said it to be polite. That was just who he was. Pure-hearted, maybe to a fault. He wasn’t always great at reading the room, but somehow, that honesty made him even more likable.
She hadn’t been expecting a moral lecture—but if Tizzy could find true happiness, that alone would drive the traitors mad with envy.
Those maids had traded loyalty for immediate gain—drawn in by the name and power of the Larse Empire. But the moment they outlived their usefulness, they’d be discarded like dogs.
Thinking about the miserable fate waiting for them, Shirakaba almost pitied them.
”So this is what they mean by ‘Heaven’s net casts wide, but nothing slips through,’” she murmured.
”…I’m sorry?” the maid asked, blinking.
”Oh, I guess there’s no saying like that here,” Shirakaba replied with a shrug. “Basically… even if it looks like no one’s watching, the gods see everything. Sooner or later, justice always catches up.”
The maid’s composed face twisted in an instant.
”Damn it! So you figured it out!! If you’d just eaten quietly, you could’ve died peacefully!”
She hurled the tray of sweets at Shirakaba and leapt back into the hallway, blowing hard on a small whistle from her pocket.
”She found out! Everyone—take her down!!”
Like a bandit chief, she shouted commands at the soldiers rushing in from behind. Shirakaba watched the scene with a bemused smile.
”My, my. For a noble-born lady, you make a convincing outlaw. Maybe you picked the wrong profession.”
”Shut up! Keep talking and I’ll turn you into our little slave! You and your pretty face—we’ll work you to the bone, day and night!”
”Women really are scary,” Shirakaba said with a sigh. “At this rate, I might end up afraid of girls for life. Well then—guess it’s time for me to make my exit.”
With a wink and a light step, she jumped out the window.
”Hey, this is second floor, right?”
”If she fall wearing full armor, she dies. Suicide?”
”What are you doing?! Hurry up and chase her!! …No, wait. She’s bait. Catch Tizzy first!”
The maid rushes into Tizzy’s room with soldiers.
Door to back room is heavy, made from thick oak wood. Big brass lock on it.
Soldiers smash door with axes. Took long time.
Inside small room, they find Tizzy’s clothes, left behind.
”She changed clothes and ran! There’s a hidden path! She’s still close! Block the area now!”
Soldiers look for treasure.
The maid screams like crazy:
”The stupid Duke took all the gold already!! That door you broke is the most expensive thing here! Stop standing around and move!! If we let her escape, Larse Empire will kill us all!!”
* * *
Meanwhile, Shirakaba is calm. She picks a horse at the stable.
Good horses are all gone, taken during chaos.
She puts saddle on the biggest horse there.
”Good horse. I’ll take you on fun trip. Let’s go.”
Main gate is locked.
Shirakaba doesn’t go to the gate.
She jumps over fence and escapes.
Guards panic and chase her.
She runs through the town to east gate.
At the gate, a knight waits with a lance.
”You’re Orlan, right? You too betray us?”
”In times like this, loyalty doesn’t feed my men.”
”Don’t blame the times. Wanting to join the winning side is fine, but can traitors talk about loyalty?”
”Th-that’s…”
Orlan gets nervous.
”Tizzy didn’t do anything wrong. You guys got fooled by Larse Empire’s sweet words.”
One soldier says truth:
”We can’t win. They promise 10x better pay. Anyone would switch sides.”
”That’s fishy. Big promises are easy when they don’t plan to keep them.”
Orlan and others look shocked.
They didn’t think about it until now. That’s bad.
”Larse is a big empire, so they can—”
Some don’t want to believe, even if they understand.
Shirakaba keeps calm and talks:
”If you betray once, you’ll do it again. Is Larse really so desperate they’ll trust traitors? No way. They’ll kill you when they don’t need you.”
”If they break promises, we’ll fight and kick them out with our lives!”
”This land is easy to defend, hard to attack. If everyone stayed loyal, we could beat Larse easily. Like we beat Totoana.”
Truth is, Saburou did most of that alone.
”But once the enemy gets inside, the land’s shape doesn’t matter. Sorry, but you guys can’t win now.”
”Then what should we do?!”
”I don’t care. You’re just enemies. I’ll crush enemies!”
Shirakaba pulls her sword.
It’s short compared to a lance, but she’s not scared.
”Wait! Don’t fight! I can’t betray Tizzy! I’ll stop the enemy here, I swear! Just… help my men get jobs later!”
Shirakaba looks at them.
Honestly, having them as allies now is just a pain.
In games, missions with NPC allies are the worst.
They die fast and ruin your perfect score.
”Nah, that’s just dying for nothing. You guys are a problem. So… I’ll paralyze you.”
Shirakaba lifts her hand.
Boom — area magic.
Orlan and the others freeze, can’t move.
”But still, not betraying Tizzy? That’s nice. I’ll tell her. So for now, pretend to be traitors. When things calm down, come back with your families.”
”…Thank you…”
Shirakaba takes Orlan’s spear, then rides off fast.
The rest just lie there, frozen, feeling half-ashamed, half-relieved.
* * *
By the time the pursuit team reached the east gate, Shirakaba’s figure had already vanished. The defeated defenders’ remains and the overwhelming power of the summoned hero spoke for themselves.
”Well, Knight Orlan. Quite the spectacle, isn’t it?”
The pursuit leader laughed mockingly at Orlan and the others lying on the ground.
”Even someone skilled like Lord Orlan couldn’t stand against it. Though it was just one, the summoned hero is a serious threat.”
”Heh, that’s because she’s too kind to kill enemies who can’t fight back. If she weren’t afraid of killing, she could have done much more.”
Those words doubled the cavalry’s courage. They chased Shirakaba on horseback.
* * *
”That’s strange. If you picked up Tizzy along the way, it should be a two-person ride. It’s about time we catch up.”
As the horses tired, the pursuers slowed.
With a woman’s legs, and Shirakaba in full armor plus Tizzy’s weight, their speed should be slower than the pursuers. It was calculated perfectly.
”That man is a decoy, and Lady Tizzy didn’t run off alone?”
”If that’s true, our cavalry has the short straw. Should we let that man go? Let’s chase with three riders. The rest should return and join the infantry to keep searching for Tizzy.”
Using skill, they split from the main force on the narrow mountain path. The four riders kept a steady, fast pace, careful not to tire their horses.
* * *
”Only four riders chasing us?” Shirakaba muttered, narrowing her eyes. “Scouting party? What are they trying to pull?”
They kept their distance—close enough to follow, but never too near. Even without any search-type skills, Shirakaba could clearly make them out.
There might’ve been others hidden nearby, but she judged the odds low.
No one in Duke Mineley’s territory truly understood the importance of stealth-based thief jobs. Compared to them, Gorigan had at least shown some competence.
”Stealth while riding… that’s not normal,” Shirakaba said, frowning slightly. “Amada really is something else.”
Amada had once laughed, saying she poured everything into stealth because she wasn’t much of a fighter. But that level of mastery didn’t come easy. Her skill proficiency was absurd.
She must’ve brushed against death countless times.
Shirakaba knew that pain. Her defensive skills had only bloomed after dragging herself through hell. But if she could help it, she never wanted to go through that again.
This wasn’t a game. Gaining proficiency meant real suffering. Without giving something up, strength couldn’t be earned.
She hadn’t wanted power. She’d needed it—just to survive.
But if there was a way to live in this world without strength, then that would’ve been ideal.
”Guess running’s the better option.”
She’d thought she could blow through the pursuers in one clean strike. But it was harder than it sounded, especially against enemies who had no intention of fighting back.
The moment she moved toward them, they slipped further away.
They were already on guard against her magic. Closing the gap would just turn into a useless chase.
Spending any more time here would only hand the enemy the upper hand.
With a quiet breath, Shirakaba drove her lance into a roadside stump and left it behind, then took off at full speed.
The pursuers rushed after her in a fluster. The lead knight caught his leg on the lance, tumbled from the saddle, and pulled the others into the wreck.
”The horses didn’t do anything wrong,” Shirakaba muttered, glancing back. “Poor things…”
She hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. It felt like a prank pulled off too well—leaving her with both satisfaction and a twinge of guilt.
But two were still coming. Their horses seemed faster. She couldn’t lose them that easily.
If she dragged the chase all the way to Hollowvale, would he be angry?
Letting the enemy find Tizzy’s location would be a serious blunder, sure…
But somehow, Shirakaba couldn’t imagine him mad.
* * *
”So, those two ended up following you, huh.”
Without even needing the radar scan, I could see the pursuing knights resting a little away from the tower. They probably thought they were far enough for their arrows, but of course, they were still in range of the Indra Gun.
They were resting their exhausted horses for now, but one of them would probably turn back to report.
”Sorry, that’s my fault. Want to take responsibility and fight?” she said.
”No, it’s fine as long as Ms. Shirakaba is safe,” I replied.
Despite everything, the great escape plan was nearly complete. Now all that was left was for us to get out safely. Fighting low-level soldiers here would be pointless.
I suddenly remembered the old-world trap left behind in Hollowvale—a dormant volcano that could be forced to erupt, blowing this entire area away. What were the people back then thinking?
Maybe I should use that trap to take out the pursuers all at once.
If Tizzy showed up, one of those knights would rush to call reinforcements. If I could lure the Larse Empire’s Hero army into a trap and trigger that volcano, it would be a massive victory.
No matter how overpowered summoned Heroes were, even they couldn’t survive long caught in lava. It would go down in history as a legendary win.
Well, I wouldn’t actually do it.
I don’t want to be seriously hated by the resurrected Hero army. When weighing the pros and cons, that victory isn’t worth it at all.
Still, summoned Heroes who come back from death are a real nightmare as enemies. They’re uncontrollable forces of strength. The Hero Management Bureau really unleashed a terrible curse on this world.
I’ve learned how to defeat summoned Heroes without letting them resurrect, but I have no intention of cleaning up the Bureau’s mess.
For now, I’ll leave this victory to the Larse Empire. They can have this abandoned mining land as a worthless debt. When the time comes, I’ll just buy it cheaply and move on. They’ll probably be satisfied thinking they won.
Tizzy will earn the bad reputation of a weak lord in battle, but she’s won against the Totoana Empire once, and can blame losing to the Larse Empire. Besides, if she marries into our family, fame in battle won’t matter much.
* * *
Pretending to teleport, I stored Ms. Shirakaba into my magic bag. Now it was just me. I was confident I could stealthily escape without being seen. Although, if there’s a Hero with a strange cheat ability, that would be scary.
The horse she rode stubbornly resisted, so sadly, I had to leave it behind.
Military horses were shockingly expensive in this world. A well-trained one like this cost dozens of times more than a human slave. Though slave prices varied widely.
Still, horses were only good for about ten years, so knights spent a lot on them. Mares retired even earlier for breeding, like changing supercars every few years.
Horses past their prime often became mounts for ladies or attendants. Most horses in Miss Floria’s stables were retired geldings. Even though castrated, they were lucky to spend their remaining years as riding horses.
Extra horses were sold to merchants, usually for less than a tenth of their military price, but still valuable. Old horses sold cheap were worked hard until death, then eventually sold to butchers. Horse meat was tasty, after all.
Looking at the number of military horses in the territory, Duke Mineley was truly a great noble. Some poor knights rode old horses, though. The two horses with the pursuers were also fine steeds—wish I could have them too.
When the Duke fled, he took the best horses with him, along with most of the ancestral treasures. By the time they crossed the border, those treasures were less than half of what they’d been. I wonder what happened—did some officers steal the loot or bury it? Maybe some were teleported away?
If this world enters a warring era, summoned Heroes with teleport will be in high demand. Every royal family will compete to hire them.
Perfect timing—I’ll make this horse a decoy. I tied it near the basement entrance of the tower. I gave it plenty of water and feed. It wasn’t visible from outside, but it neighed constantly, maybe because of a wild temperament. Its presence was obvious. No knight would think I’d abandon a horse while escaping.
Now, I’ll head for the Gorigan territory’s teleportation gate.
If I escape along the town streets, there’s a chance of ambush near the border. But the Hero army probably hasn’t reached Kasgar yet. I doubt they’ve covered that area so quickly.
Speed is my weapon. The longer I wait, the tighter the encirclement will become. I’ve gotten used to flying fast with the Hover Shield over these past days. I’ll just rush through in one go.
Notes:
• Shirakaba – A paladin who seems to be a skilled fighter. He’s introduced as someone with a strong defense and healing abilities.
• Tizzy – Claims to be Duke’s daughter, a noble with advanced magic skills. MC and Ms. Shirakaba lover.
• Knight Orlan – Male. A knight whose daughter has been kidnapped and brainwashed by Little Castor. His appearance and relationship with other characters are not detailed, but he is mentioned as a potential ally against the Castors. His daughter is forced to commit heinous acts, including killing her parents and herself.
• Miss Floria – Elegant, silver-haired noblewoman in her 40s, referred to as an ‘older sister’. Judge of the Supreme Court and Baroness. Former tutor of Princess Auroora. Initially stern but warms up, showing a playful side. Close with Ms. Nina (Princess Auroora’s doll copy), treating her like a sister. Trustworthy and explains legal matters clearly.
• Kasgar – The capital of Duke Mineley Territory. Located in a mining region, it is known for its acetylene lamps and mica windows. The city is bustling, with taverns and merchants, but it lacks the exotic charm of the royal capital.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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