“Well, er, that is to say...” Shildon stammered.
“How about you, Karina? Feel like confessing to me?” Sekko said.
“Nah, I’m sure you can find a better woman than me,” I replied.
“Thanks for the template rejection phrase.” He sighed, then muttered under his breath, “Go die in a fire, Blade.”
Apparently, there were some pent-up feelings there.
“Oh, Karina! You came too, huh?”
“Hey, Blade. Yeah, I just got here. But seriously, look at you, acting all smooth back there!”
“Well, what can I say? It’s like a job, being this popular! Just kidding, ha ha.” He laughed dryly, scratching his head in apparent embarrassment.
“Actually, why are you all so determined to put your lives on the line for this town?” I asked.
“We just want to keep the town we were born and raised in safe. Do we need any other reason?” was Blade’s immediate response. Oh no, that was kind of cool. No wonder he’s got that receptionist head over heels for him... Huh? Wait, don’t Shildon and Sekko feel the same as Blade, though? Why am I treating him so differently from them?
“Er, actually, Karina, can I talk to you about something in private?”
“Huh? What is it?” I followed Blade over the other side of the room to talk.
“By now I’ve more or less realized you’re hiding some insane power. Well, maybe you’re not actually hiding it, per se...”
Right, I haven’t really tried that hard to keep it under wraps, huh?
“Is there something you want me to do, Blade?”
“If you can’t, don’t worry about it. But yeah, if you really are that powerful, then even if the three of us don’t make it through this, I’d like you to protect this town in our place.”
“Oh?” It sounds to me like you want to do it yourself if possible, though, and you’re asking me just in case things get rough. Heh heh, all right, Blade, I like your moxie. If it’s for you, I’ll gladly—
“If you end up coming back alive, treat me to a night out at Shunrai and we have a deal.”
“All right, deal! I’ll hold you to that!”
—milk you for the best reward I can think of! Yippee! Thanks a bunch, Blade—now I’ll help you with everything I’ve got!
And so, I decided I’d work from the shadows. After all, I’d only been asked to help out, not solve the problem! Leave the espionage to me! Publicly I was supposed to be a mage, though, so first I joined the other mages in providing offensive support from atop the fortress wall bordering the town.
Outside the town gates, which had been sealed shut, two groups of resolved adventurers were lying in wait to either side. Once the enemy forces were whittled down with magic, they were to ambush the remaining monsters from both sides. My three senior adventurer buddies were included in that team.
Now then, what should I do from here on? While I was thinking, the horde of monsters arrived at the ambush point, with the comparatively weaker monsters like goblins, megafrogs, and kobolds all in front.
“Everyone, use the spells in your repertoire with the biggest areas of effect! Fire!” The commander—apparently a royal knight sent to protect the town—gave the order, and everyone unleashed their offensive magic at once. Balls of fire, spears of water, and javelins of lightning all went flying. I took a few out as well, shouting out “Air Cutter!” all the while.
“Mages, cease fire! Archers, take aim and shoot!” The archer unit was up next. Arrows sailed through the air and descended upon the remaining monsters. The plan was to alternate between arrows and magic to thin out the horde.
“Hm?” Suddenly I noticed something, and I quickly created a defensive barrier of spatial magic around Blade and the others, who were still lying in wait. A high-pitched sound rang out—an orc assassin had been about to take them by surprise, and I’d deflected the attack before it could hit. Anyone else wouldn’t have noticed in time.
“Wh-Whoa!” The soldier who’d nearly died froze in shock, likely realizing what a close call it had been. The orc assassin was unharmed, but it looked bewildered. In the next instant, however, Blade’s blade sliced through its torso. He bisected the orc assassin with a single slash!
Pretty impressive, Blade! I applauded, though I doubted he could hear it from his position.
“What the hell was— Gyah?!” Then Blade made a sudden unnatural sliding motion—as though something had picked him up and dragged him to the side—narrowly avoiding the hatchet that cleaved through the space he’d just occupied. At the same time, he raised his blade, then cut the goblin that had tried to surprise him in half.
Good, good. Looks like my spatial manipulation spell to create a dummy hero, which I’ve dubbed “You Are the Star,” is working just as intended!
Yep, that’s right. I’m just working behind the scenes this time, so I can’t be the hero. I can, however, manipulate the hero’s every move like a puppeteer! Naturally, the “heroes” in this case will be all of Sun Bacchus, not just Blade. I’ll make Shildon and Sekko heroes too!
“We’ll head them off here. You guys go on!”
“S-Sorry, Sun Bacchus! And thank you! We won’t forget what you’ve done for us!”
Sounds like Sun Bacchus is really making a name for themselves today.
“Hey, Shildon, you think they’ll raise our ranks once this battle’s over?”
“I wouldn’t doubt it. By the way, it’s looked like your body’s been moving on its own for some time now. That’s got to be her doing, right?”
“Ha ha ha. You think so too, huh? Really, just who is that girl?”
Me? No one special—just a disciple of the Goddess, is all! Now then, let’s make a little more of a scene, shall we?
“Come at me, you bastards! Here we go... Hi-yahhh!” Blade’s sword glinted with light, and he cut down around twenty monsters with a single slash.
“I-I’ll protect this town too! Eek!” A monster sent an attack in Shildon’s direction, but his defense was impregnable. For some bizarre reason I wouldn’t know anything about whatsoever, it looked almost like the attack’s trajectory had been guided to Shildon’s shield, where it was promptly repelled.
“Aagh?! What the— Shit, that was close!” Meanwhile, Sekko was charging at a group of enemies, weaving in and out of their attacks without even receiving so much as a scratch. Then, with pinpoint accuracy, he decapitated the goblin that looked like the leader of the group.