Chapter 6

CHAPTER 3 | Maiden of the God of Fire On the southern side of the Erythron Kingdom, around the single road that led to another nation, lay a region filled with numerous bubbling bogs. The kingdom valued the mires as a shield that made movement difficult for large militaries, but they also proved a nuisance to wagons bearing goods. This earned the ire of many merchants. In those southern bogs, there were currently a number of metal-armor-clad royal knights astride horses. “Is this the area mentioned in the report?” “Yes, Captain Diné.” Leading the group was Captain Diné, a red-haired female knight. Answering her question was the lieutenant, a balding, middle-aged male knight. “It attacked a group of merchants, resulting in the death of one attendant and one horse,” he said. “I see.” Diné dismounted from her house as she listened to the lieutenant, then reached into the foliage growing thick on either side of the narrow road. She pulled out a tattered set of reins, likely belonging to the horse that had been killed. “Looks like this is the place. Troops, guard the horses,” she said. “Yes, ma’am!” Her accompanying knights dismounted at once, drew their swords, and turned their eyes to the bog surrounding them. “The number of living creatures we have here should be plenty to draw it out.” In complete contrast to her nervous troops, Diné stood at ease, seeming almost carefree while waiting patiently for the enemy. Ripples appeared on the surface of the gray-colored bog water, and the thing surfaced with a splash. Its transparent body looked clouded and dirty, perhaps due to the bog water, but they could still see the wriggling of the sizeable red nucleus suspended inside. This creature was a pure, unadulterated monster, an unintelligent being that ran on simple instinct. The entirety of its body was formed from digestive juices, which it used to consume and dissolve prey. “There you are, slime.” “I-it’s massive?!” While Diné quietly invoked its name, her troops looked up at the slime and uttered cries of disbelief. Normally, slimes were only about as big as a medium-sized dog. They couldn’t easily kill you, as long as they didn’t manage to attach themselves to your face. Yet, the slime that stood before them now was as large as a single-family home. It was big enough to swallow an entire horse whole, let alone a human. “Looks like you’re just a fat cow of a slime after all,” Diné remarked, but the creature didn’t have a brain with which it could understand her insult. However, it might have instinctually sensed her hostility. It swung its imposing, bulbous body straight at her. “Thanks. Now I don’t have to get my boots dirty.” Smiling at the fact that she wouldn’t have to go into the bog, Diné nodded to her troops, ordering them to fall back with the horses. In response, the slime rose up like a wave about to crash down, perhaps thinking she would make fine prey all alone. “Captain?!” reflexively cried a greenhorn knight. Cutting the monster’s digestive-juice body with a sword or stabbing it with a spear did nothing, making them dangerous opponents for anyone who couldn’t use fire or ice magic. They did die if you pierced their nucleus, however, so normal-size slimes could be brought down. But the thick, massive specimen in front of them would swallow and dissolve anyone whole before their weapon could reach the core. Despite the greenhorn knight’s vision of catastrophe, the other knights remained cool and collected. “It’s big, all right. But it’s still a worthless slime.” “What’s the point in attacking the strongest person?” The tall wave of a slime moved to smother Diné in front of the flabbergasted knights. Showing no signs of hurrying, she drew her favored sword from the sheath at her waist. “Erupt, Vulcanus!” The white blade responded to Diné’s call and burned a bright red. Since the weapon emitted enough heat to evaporate magma, she swung it at the monster’s huge body. The digestive juices instantly boiled away at the absurdly high temperatures and exploded, splattering the slime’s body across the area. “What?!” A greenhorn knight exclaimed as Diné jumped lightly and smashed the exposed nucleus of the slime. “Sorry. Are any of you hurt?” After landing among the lifeless and placid acidic liquid, Diné inquired about her troops’ condition. She should have been drenched in acid, but there weren’t any signs of damage on her white skin or red hair. After all, the mana that surrounded her body was so powerful that she didn’t even need to cast defensive magic on herself. No way would an attack from a mere slime break through that. “Incredible…” A drop of acid landed on the cheek of the greenhorn knight, but he didn’t notice the stinging pain while trembling out of sheer awe. “So this is the power of the holy knight, a descendant of a god…” The scions of gods, holy knights possessed unnatural levels of mana and used a divine weapon bequeathed by their parents. All the citizens of Erythron Kingdom knew the name and achievements of their holy knight, but this was the first time the greenhorn knight had actually seen her power in person. He couldn’t contain his growing excitement. Diné noticed his gaze and smiled bashfully, then returned her now-white sword to its sheath. “All right, let’s hurry home so we can take baths. I’m not going to get any men smelling like this,” she announced. “I thought that was normal for you,” ribbed the lieutenant, not holding back against his commander, who had remained unmarried even into her twenties. The truth of the matter was that her intimidating strength often obscured her beauty. The other troops let out large guffaws at the insult. Diné shook a fist in their direction in feigned anger as she mounted her horse and spurred it off toward the capital. She returned to her manor at noon, two days later. A messenger arrived from the castle as she was in the bath, washing off the grime from traveling and fighting. “Lady Diné, His Majesty requests your presence immediately.” “I gotcha,” replied Diné through the bathroom door as she dried her wet red hair with a towel, a wrinkle between her brows. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, seeing as they couldn’t even wait until after I was done taking a bath for the report. Diné did not need much in the way of preparation, as she was already planning to report to the king about the slime she defeated in the bog, so she was able to quickly gather her equipment and head off in a carriage with an attendant. Perhaps because the country was naturally protected by geographical features, it prioritized appearances over defense. Diné entered the exquisite Erythron Castle, exchanging greetings with nobles and other knights she passed in the halls as she headed toward the office where the king waited. “Your Majesty, I present to you the holy knight Diné, captain of the Second Knight Squadron.” “Enter.” A sweet voice replied to the attendant’s knock, one that vainly attempted a majestic tone. Having received permission, the attendant opened the door. Diné bowed and entered the room, where she faced a small boy sitting in a large chair. She waited for the door to close and the attendant to move away before she smiled. “I’ve returned, Your Majesty,” she said. “Welcome back, Diné,” said Calyx, boy king of the Erythron Kingdom, running up to Diné with a huge smile on his face. “I heard you went to defeat a monster. You weren’t hurt, were you?”