Allen had been watching Brett from a distance for a while. After thinking it over for a bit, he had decided to leave him be for the time being. It was clearly an unusual situation, but judging by the reactions of the townspeople, it didn’t seem like something that needed to be dealt with immediately. Still, right after what had happened to Allen earlier, it was hard to believe the two weren’t connected.
If that was the case, it was only natural to think something else might be going on too. And the best place to gather information efficiently would be a Frontier town. So even though the situation was clearly suspicious in many ways, he decided that figuring out what was really happening came first and headed toward the Frontier.
From Westfeldt to the Frontier, huh? This takes me back.
Everything was different from back then. But maybe it was because it had become rare for him to be traveling alone at all lately.
Somehow, the memories of those days came flooding back. After being exiled from his home, deciding to live life on his own terms, and setting out for the Frontier...
I ran into Riese and the others being attacked, didn’t I?
It really was nostalgic. Well, the fact that they were being attacked wasn’t something that should be treated lightly or looked back on fondly, of course. Still, the fact that he felt that way probably meant that a lot had happened since then.
Thinking back on everything that had happened, something like that felt like it was just the beginning.
Well, I guess it’s easy for me to say that because I wasn’t the one being attacked.
Allen had been involved, yes, but he hadn’t been the one under attack. Riese and the others, on the other hand, might have had a very different take on that experience.
Maybe I should ask them about it sometime, just as a conversation starter.
As he looked around, Allen came to a stop. Part of the reason he had been walking was to indulge in his nostalgia, but more importantly, he couldn’t just teleport into the middle of town. Even if he found a secluded spot, teleporting would still create enough of a disturbance to affect his surroundings.
Anyone with sharp senses would immediately notice that something had happened, and he didn’t want to cause unnecessary confusion, so he’d kept walking until he was a fair distance from town.
All right, then. I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t afford to take my time.
Stopping by Westfeldt had been necessary, but it had still cost him time. It hadn’t taken that long in reality, but a loss of time was still a loss of time. Before it got any later, he needed to return to the Frontier. If he did, he should be able to get at least some idea of what was going on. At the very least, someone like Anriette should have picked up on something by now. If even she didn’t know what was going on, then it would mean things were really bad. Allen didn’t want to believe that was the case, but...
Hm? Wait, don’t tell me. Did I just jinx myself by saying all that nostalgic stuff?
He muttered to himself as he scanned his surroundings, just in case, and then he stumbled upon a situation that gave him an eerie sense of déjà vu. In a place just beyond visible range, someone was being attacked by something or someone. It was almost like a replay of that time.
And the person being attacked is riding in a carriage too...just like back then. I doubt the similarities go much further, though.
The coachman was wearing a hood, so Allen couldn’t see their face, but it was probably safe to say they weren’t someone he knew. Still, judging by the exterior of the carriage, the passenger seemed to be someone of high status.
About the same rank as Riese, or maybe even higher? Hah. I’ve already got one troublesome situation on my hands, though...
This clearly looked like another can of worms. He hesitated for a moment, wondering what to do, but really, it was far too late for second-guessing. What were one or two more problems on top of everything else?
Once he made that decision, he didn’t hesitate. Just like in the past, Allen narrowed his eyes and rushed toward the carriage that was under attack.
She clicked her tongue instinctively at the sudden impact of the attack. Of course, the frustration wasn’t directed at the woman sitting in the driver’s seat. She knew the woman was handling things well. If not for her, the carriage would have already toppled over or worse.
No, she’d aimed the tongue-click squarely at herself for allowing the situation to go this way. She should have known this would happen. Well, maybe not to this extent, but the ambush itself had been within the realm of possibility. And yet, she had done nothing, hadn’t even managed to fight back. All she could do was flee. That was what truly irritated her.
“Honestly, and I call myself a queen? What a joke,” she said.
“That’s not true. It can’t be helped. Thinking a queen should be able to do everything is true arrogance,” the woman in the driver’s seat said.
“Bold of you to say.”
But she was right. Being a queen didn’t mean someone could do everything. Trying to shoulder everything alone was wrong too. More than anything, the fact that she had made her driver say such a thing was proof enough that she had failed as a queen.
“Still, just acknowledging that doesn’t change our current situation.”
“It’ll be okay...” the driver said.
“Oh? And what exactly are you basing that on?” she asked.
“A hunch?” her driver replied.
“Well, that’s not the most reassuring answer I’ve ever heard.”
“It’s not just that. You’re a good person too.”
“I see. Well then, I suppose we are in luck.”
She smiled as she said it because somehow, it really did feel like it would be okay. Probably because she could tell the girl meant it from the bottom of her heart. Still, despite all that, expecting help to conveniently show up in this situation would be asking too much. There was no way such a thing would actually happen.
“Seriously. Talk about bad luck, huh? For both of us.”
Or at least, that was what she thought...until it happened. With those words, a new sound, different from the others, rang out around them.
The first thing Allen felt upon witnessing the scene was surprise. He still didn’t know much about the person being attacked, but he had realized what—no, who—the attacker was. It was something that harbored hatred toward the world, something shunned and despised by the world in return.
In other words, a demon.
But what surprised him wasn’t just the presence of a demon. It was the fact that demons were supposed to be exceedingly rare. They were, after all, a type of Transcendent. As the name implied, Transcendents were beings that had surpassed humanity. Anriette, back when she was a disciple, had fallen into this category. On the other hand, the current Anriette did not.
Strictly speaking, Allen wasn’t a Transcendent either. He could wield power beyond human limits, but physically he was still human, and more importantly, that power was ultimately borrowed.
Demons were beings on par with disciples or even gods. Allen, for some reason, had gotten tangled up with them more often than most, but the average person could go their entire life without ever encountering one. And demons were creatures born from hatred toward the world.
That was why the actions they took were, by nature, aimed at venting that hatred—in other words, revenge against the world. As a result, even if humans were harmed as a consequence, demons wouldn’t usually go out of their way to attack people directly or proactively. Or at least, that was what Anriette had claimed.
“Hmm. Well, I suppose even if we call them all ‘demons,’ they’re not all the same. Guess there are exceptions.”