Chapter 2-5:
Real Battle
ONE MORNING, SERENA WENT TO THE DUKE’S armory with the orphans in tow.
“I think that you all lack experience in real battle,” she said.
It was normal for this lady to make outlandish demands. In fact, it would have been far more terrifying if she greeted everyone normally. That being said, how could these kids have any actual experience in combat? They had lived in the orphanage until Serena took them in when they were ten. Now, they were all around twelve, and it was highly unusual for a child that young to have combat experience. To be fair, these kids had fought against monsters several times due to Serena’s harsh training regimen, so they had more experience than a normal adult.
But such logical claims would only earn them a magical attack in response. Thus, from force of habit, the orphans gave their usual response.
“Sir, yes, sir!”
“Luckily, there have apparently been reports of monsters appearing near the capital,” Serena said. “This will be a good opportunity for you all to get a taste of what a real battle is like. Isn’t this what we call the will of God, Lewis?”
“Sir, yes, sir!” Lewis answered.
Internally, he was rather confused. Serena was referring to a pack of umbral dogs that had been terrorizing the royal capital as of late. As their name implied, they were massive black hounds that had been attacking people. While there hadn’t been any direct damage to the royal capital yet, many on the streets nearby had fallen victim to the monsters—God couldn’t have produced those horrible creatures simply to train the orphans.
Lewis was a priest in training; as a person who served God, he couldn’t agree with Serena, who called the emergence of those monsters “lucky.” Serena must have been aware of this and purposefully asked for his opinion as a further display of her meanness.
“Now then, I’ll permit you to bring along any weapons you desire,” Serena said. “Use them to get rid of the evil monsters. That shall be today’s training.”
The orphans stared at her with suspicion. Evil monsters? Surely the evilest of them all that had to be eradicated was right in front of their eyes. However, even with weapons in their hands, not a single one of them could bring themselves to fight Serena. Her violence and terror had been deeply engraved in their hearts—even if they wished to rebel against her, their bodies would refuse to comply. Unbelievably, Alice had apparently already sworn her loyalty to Serena, so the orphans couldn’t band together and revolt.
The orphans all agonized over their decisions for a moment before they reached out to grab weapons. Isabel, Oscar, Lewis, and Emma took regular swords, while Richard chose a large two-handed blade. Alice chose a staff that must have been made for mages. Once they had all donned armor as they saw fit, Serena once again addressed them.
“You will be fighting against umbral dogs,” she said. “They aren’t too dangerous, but their numbers are abundant. And so, I had a thought.”
Please don’t, the orphans all begged.
“The one who defeats the fewest umbral dogs must be in need of remedial training,” Serena went on. “Wouldn’t it be a pity if one of you lagged behind? And so, I’ve benevolently decided that I shall prepare a special program for the one in last place. Do look forward to it.”
The orphans all steeled their resolve to eradicate every single umbral dog that they saw.
✦ ✦ ✦
Led by Serena, the orphans stepped into the forest near the city streets where the sightings of the umbral dogs had been reported. They were all still kids, but old enough to have some sense. Naturally, they feared monsters. However, the lady beside them was scarier still, far outweighing their fright of monsters as they headed into the woods.
“Umbral dogs attack in packs,” Alice said. “It’s better if we fight together. It’s dangerous if we wander off by ourselves.”
She had read up on umbral dogs before they left, so the orphans all heeded her warning. Richard and Emma stood at the vanguard while Oscar and Isabel defended the rear. The melee fighters defended their magic users and the daughter of the duke, meaning that Lewis, Alice, and Serena were in the middle as they headed deeper inside.
Emma was happily walking through the forest at the front of the group, but Richard was tense. Thanks to Serena’s hellish training regimen, he was rather confident in his strength, but he had never been in a battle where his life was at stake. Until now, he had faced relatively weak monsters, and not once did he battle a monster like a umbral dog capable of killing a person.
Lewis and Alice, who were in the middle, were nervous in a different sense—they were the closest to Serena. The noblewoman was capable of powerful spells and adept at the sword, but she wasn’t the altruistic type who would leap in to save her subordinates. It was quite easy to imagine her elegantly laughing at their misfortune as they were eaten alive by the umbral dogs.
Oscar and Isabel, the rear guards, were especially anxious. The umbral dogs hadn’t been successfully wiped out by the kingdom, which implied the monsters were intelligent. In other words, there was a good chance that the beasts wouldn’t attack them head-on, but instead from behind. Since the pair weren’t as confident in their skills as Emma and Richard, Oscar and Isabel were especially vigilant as they walked along.
Serena strolled through happily as she gazed at the orphans. Because she had practiced magic ever since she was a toddler, umbral dogs hardly stood a chance against her. However, she thought that they would be perfect opponents for the children. Their training had progressed smoothly, and she needed them to become strong enough to kill not only the saintess in the future but also the king and the crown prince.
They weren’t allowed to have a hard time against the umbral dogs. It was precisely why she had suggested this monster extermination mission, and she had given a lot of thought to the training program in her own way. Still, she couldn’t help but smile when she imagined the orphans struggling against the monsters.
It had been some time since the group entered the forest, but the umbral dogs were nowhere to be seen.
“Hey, I just had a thought,” Serena said cheerfully.
Forget that thought, the orphans all thought.
“Maybe the umbral dogs would be more likely to appear if we carried around some delicious raw meat,” she said.
“Sir, yes, sir!” the orphans replied.
They instantly knew that their master wasn’t cracking some sort of witty joke—she was serious. They also knew just how uncomfortable it would feel to carry around lukewarm meat dripping with blood in the middle of the forest. This trek was tough enough as it was, and they weren’t keen to add another factor that increased the difficulty of their journey.
“Sir, Lady Serena!” Oscar said. “It’s not so easy to gather raw meat, so I propose that we wait a while more. If they don’t appear, we can utilize the plan to carry the meat around, sir!”
His goal with this compromise was to buy some time.
“Very well,” Serena replied. She flashed an angelic smile framed by her dark locks and eyes. “I can wait thirty more minutes, and then we’ll use raw meat if we have no luck.”
Please appear, umbral dogs! All the orphans vehemently prayed. And attack this demon first if you can!
How rare it was for a human to earnestly wish for monsters to appear.
Unfortunately, their prayers were in vain. As the clock progressed and the promised time drew near, the raw meat plan was growing closer to reality. However, perhaps the world took pity on them; right as thirty minutes were about to pass, the umbral dogs appeared. Two growled from the front, and another two emerged at their rear. The monsters’ massive bodies were akin to calves, and their scarlet eyes seemed to burn with fiery fury. As the reports had claimed, they looked like omens of misfortune.
It was clear from their formation that they wanted to do a pincer attack. Umbral dogs often used this tactic to attack their prey and instill fear. Strangely enough, this time around, their prey reacted differently—the orphans gave cries of joy.
“There they are!”
“Yay!”
“Thank goodness!”
The umbral dogs had expected the humans to stare in astonishment at their sudden, horrific appearance, but the orphans expressed gratitude instead. For a moment, the creatures were confused, so the kids used that opportunity to launch an attack. There were only four dogs, meaning that only four of the orphans could claim a kill. Whoever was fastest could nab one for themselves. They eagerly swung their weapons.