“I can imitate your barrier, but I haven’t really used it much in a real fight. I can’t make it as big as yours and I don’t think I’d be able to keep it up for long either, since I’d get bored. But for now...” Haruto looked out at the meadow and spread his arms wide. “All I can do is see how big I can make it!”
“Yeah. I guess we should try it out.”
If they didn’t consciously try to, their barriers wouldn’t interfere with each other, and they couldn’t be felt by people, so the citizens of the capital would be none the wiser.
“We should see what we’re trying to cover, so let’s face the capital.”
“Yeah. We don’t want to be noticed, though, so let’s not put any color on ’em.”
The sun had almost completely set by now, and the capital’s skyline was casting shadows on the meadow. They could see the castle in the distance, so the Wolveriés’ townhouse must be right next to it, and a little farther than that was the Apothecary’s Guild. Now, how far would they reach?
“Barrier.”
“Barrier.”
Their voices synced without them planning it. Sara was a little amused and maybe a little sad as well that Haruto didn’t still call it “Bastion.”
Her barrier extended out around her. She couldn’t see them, but she felt like she could sense the people of the capital hurrying home from work. Her barrier pushed past Noel, whom they’d just parted with, passed the Apothecary’s Guild and the nobles’ district where the townhouse was (was Ann home by now?), and reached the castle.
“Aw, man! I have no concept of the western side of the capital. I can only extend my barrier out to the castle.”
She was pretty sure it covered the castle, but she had no confidence that she got the western part of the town in it as well.
“Are you kidding? I don’t think I even reached the main street. And I was using the buildings on the outside of the capital for reference, so I’m not even sure if that’s right. I can tell it’d disappear if I tried to make it any bigger, though.”
You really did improve the more you did something.
“Do you think you can keep it up for a while?” Allen asked.
Sara was able to answer right away. “Mmm, I know from the thing with the green grass locusts that I can maintain it for a while, even resting once I’ve got it up, so I think it’d last a few hours at least.”
“That’s crazy. Mine gets unstable just from talking. I don’t think I could ever keep it up for hours. Can I move like this?”
“You should be able to. It should follow you automatically if you do.”
“Whoa! You’re right! I wonder why... It feels easier to keep it up if I’m moving.”
Sara had heard that some people had trouble sitting still, and they found it easier to work if some part of them was moving. Haruto must have been that type.
As Haruto wandered around the meadow, Sara gazed out vacantly at the town.
“If your barrier has you at the center of it, that means that if you stood in the middle of the capital, you could cover the whole thing, couldn’t you?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Are you gonna tell them that?” Allen’s tone was a bit heavy.
“I wouldn’t. You’ll just end up getting used like I was. You’ll be called to the capital every time there’s a monster outbreak.” Haruto’s tone was dark.
“The knights are a lot better now than they used to be. They don’t flatter me constantly and try to get me to do things for them, and they ask what I want to do when they do have a request for me. But there’s no guarantee they’ll stay that way.”
He seemed to be maintaining his barrier even as he talked.
“I’m getting used to this. I think the edges of my barrier are a little clearer to me now.”
“That’s amazing, Haruto. Everybody calls it ‘Kuntz’s shield,’ but if I try to put up a barrier all around myself like Sara’s, I run out of mana right away.”
It seemed Kuntz had been secretly trying out a barrier of his own.
“Your shield is impressive ’cause even guys without a lot of mana can use it,” Haruto told Kuntz. Sara and Allen nodded in agreement.
“It looks like Sara’s barrier could solve the whole problem all by itself. I wonder what I can do for the capital.”
Haruto didn’t want to be used, but he was still thinking about what he could do for the capital. Sara wondered if he realized the contradiction. Even if he felt somewhat conflicted about the situation, he must have really treasured the people of the capital.
“I’ve decided!” Sara held her hands up to the sky. “If they start out by depending on us, I’ll just do what they ask us to do. If they come up with a solution on their own but ask us for help on top of that, I’ll suggest using my barrier. And if they don’t ask anything, I’ll just use my barrier in secret anyway. If it comes down to it, I’ll protect the capital!”
She felt like that determination would make her barrier even stronger.
“Ugh! You’re making me seem like I’m totally indecisive!” Haruto shouted up at the sky. “My barrier! It’s weak! So I’ll start by supporting Sara while she puts up her barrier! And if the knights are completely useless! Then I’ll just fry all the cotton sheep with lightning!”
Sara almost thought she could see some of the migrating dragons flying in the distance, turning to glance their way.
“This country... Trilgaia gave me my freedom. Maybe it was the goddess who reincarnated me here, but the people here supported my becoming a Hunter and let me do whatever I wanted. And the Gallaghers have been good enough to me that I feel like I could call myself a Gallagher instead of a Nishiya.”
Haruto was just upset that he’d been used to hurt someone in the past.
“I’m an adult now, so I won’t let anyone use me anymore. I won’t hesitate to protect the capital either. And I won’t lose to you either, Sara!”
“Who’s an adult now?”
She didn’t think anyone could fault her for that jab.
“We’ll protect it! We’ll do it!”
“I get it already!”
For the next few days, Haruto practiced his barrier while he was in the dungeon, and Sara walked around the west side of the capital so she could picture it properly. She also snacked at some food stands on the way with Allen. So now, back in this meeting, she could answer Liam’s question with confidence.
“I’d like to use my barrier.”
At Sara’s declaration, the people around the table, Liam included, looked a bit disappointed.
“All you can suggest is that old barrier of yours?”
This was the commander’s comment. Even though Sara and Haruto were the only ones who could even maintain a stable barrier for a long period of time. All Sara could do was smile wryly in response.
“First of all, if Liam’s plan goes well, you’ll be able to protect the capital and the fields with just the people of the capital. As for our utility in this instance, that would be insurance in case the plan doesn’t work. In other words, if the knights are unsuccessful, I can use my barrier to prevent the cotton sheep from entering the capital or the fields outside it.”
Sara could see Liam and Konrad, basically everyone other than the commander, swallow.
“Sara, you’re not telling me your barrier...”
“Yes. I should be able to cover a city the size of the capital.”
“Then all we need is the one Invited! How many resources are you going to waste unnecessarily, not just from the knights but from the Hunter’s Guild and the Apothecary’s Guild too?!”
Sara knew there would be people who thought this way.
“I can make a barrier too, but it’s way smaller than Sara’s,” Haruto said, ignoring the knight commander. “So I’ll be on the front line with the knights, and if the battle line breaks or the sheep start stampeding, I’ll stop them from reaching the capital.” Unlike Sara, Haruto had offensive capabilities. “If the sheep really get out of control and there’s nothing anyone else can do, I’ll take responsibility and take them all out with my lightning.”
“That’s the first thing I proposed! If you can do it, why not do that from the start?!”
The irritated knight commander was silenced by a word from the king.
“Silence, Knight Commander.”
“Sir, but...”
“You trusted your vice commander with the planning, did you not? There are no contradictions in the plan and the Invited are participating in it of their own volition. What do you take issue with? Disasters occur in every era, but the Invited are not guaranteed to be present in every era.”
“Yes, sir.”
The king and prime minister always attended meetings like this, but they hardly ever made their opinions known. Sara was surprised, since she thought the king would merely be approving of the plan and adjourning the meeting, but she appreciated him preventing a potentially annoying argument.
“The Invited will have our backs. We’ll give everything we have to this mission,” Liam declared, and the meeting was over.