Trislimigante had gates to the north and south that saints used to enter the city. While we could have split into two groups, the gates were so far apart that it would have taken too long to back each other up if one group got attacked, so we decided to all enter together. Once inside the barrier the plan was to split into several groups and surround the giant.
Though they were crumbling in places, the city’s outer walls and gate were still largely intact. That in itself concerned me. “If the giant’s trying to protect the city, why hasn’t it sealed off the gates?” I asked. It seemed logical to prevent invaders from entering the city in the first place. Piling up rubble would have been enough to repel most ordinary intruders. Was it thinking that it would rather know where we were coming from than force us to create new entrances?
“Oh, you’ve got a good eye, Al,” Campsis replied as we approached the gate. She was Scorching Sun’s holy woman, a beautiful, flashy woman with a side ponytail. “The giant’s waiting,” she continued, pointing both her index fingers at me.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Y’see, there were people who safely escaped the city three hundred years ago. Do you know the famous hero Robert? He’s from a different city, but kinda like him.”
“Yeah, I’m familiar with him.” I wasn’t sure how to respond after hearing my adoptive brother’s name out of the blue like that. Myra shot me a concerned look.
“According to records left by the survivors who fled the city, the giant was the one who helped them escape. One survivor even promised to come back when the city was peaceful again.”
Well, someone had certainly been optimistic. Maybe the situation had been a little different from my city’s, but promising to reunite with someone when the city was crawling with undead seemed crazy to me. “I get it. So the giant’s leaving the gates open to reunite with those who safely escaped?”
“Probably.” Normal people couldn’t live for three hundred years. Perhaps it hoped they’d turned into curions and would return. Although back then the giant had probably helped them flee to keep them alive, it had ended up becoming a curion itself. It wouldn’t be strange for its mindset to have changed slightly.
“That would explain why the gate is unharmed,” said Drizzle’s holy woman, Irislaevi. With her bunny hood on, it was hard for me to see her as anything but a child.
“Right?”
“But I have a question for you, holy woman of Scorching Sun—why have I never heard this story before?” Irislaevi asked with her hand on her chin.
“It’s not surprising you don’t know about it. It was a story passed down in my hometown,” Campsis replied.
“So survivors from Trislimigante settled in your hometown?”
“Exactly, Iris.”
“I see.” Irislaevi nodded in acceptance. “Also, don’t give me such an undignified nickname,” she added after a short pause.
“Aw, you don’t think it’s cute?”
“If I got any cuter, I’d suffer from cuteness overload.”
“Aha ha ha, sorry, I don’t really follow.”
“No, she’s correct,” Irislaevi’s partner, the fox-eyed Lycoris, said. “If she got any cuter, it would reach a critical level.”
“Well done, Lycoris. You understand well.”
“But of course, ma’am.”
“They’re in their own little world, huh?” Campsis said with a smile, giving up on trying to understand.
“What happens if it reaches a critical level?” I asked, keeping the conversation going.
“Worst-case scenario, there could be casualties,” Irislaevi replied.
“That’s right. We only barely avoided any deaths when she added that hood to her uniform,” Lycoris added.
“Because a guy tried to make a move on you or something?” Though she was a child in my eyes, she was still a grown woman. It wouldn’t be strange for men who were into that to approach her. That said, I didn’t even need to imagine what sort of fate someone who approached one of the Twelve Saints with ill intent might meet.
“No, because I got a nosebleed and nearly died,” said Lycoris. Apparently, she was the casualty in question.
“Lycoris is the only person I’ve ever seen create a sea of blood with a nosebleed.”
“Aw, no need to praise me.”
“You’re a pretty positive thinker to interpret that as a compliment.”
“Well, for your partner’s sake, it probably is a good idea not to be too cute,” I said in agreement. Everyone had their own tastes.
As we were having that silly conversation, we finally reached the gate.
“The Twelve Saints will go first. After a short wait, the Colors will enter as well,” said Scorching Sun’s holy knight. His name was Glenn, if I recalled correctly. The ones who entered first were more likely to be targeted, so he was volunteering for the role.
“Campsis, Irislaevi, Lycoris, Nemophila—be careful.” I wished the four women heading inside luck, and Glenn looked at me with an exasperated smile.
“You’re pretty relaxed, huh?” he asked.
“Wishing men luck is gross.”
“I’m impressed you can keep your composure before a battle with one of the Twelve Corpses. It’s like you’re a seasoned veteran.”
“I don’t want a man’s praise.”
After another exasperated look, Glenn joined the blue-haired asshole and the four beautiful women and disappeared through the gate. Only the three pairs from the Colors remained.
There was me and the princess, Orlaya and Myra, and Serrulata and Euryops. Most of us were quietly trying to calm ourselves, but Serrulata was shaking—a ferocious smile adorning her face.
“I’m lookin’ forward to finally gettin’ to fight one of the Twelve Corpses. It’s been banned up until now,” she said. Even members of the Twelve Saints had lost their lives fighting them—a student definitely wouldn’t be granted permission, no matter how skilled they were. However, with the consecutive defeats of the Pestilent Guardian Dragon and the Shaman of the Heavenly Garden, things had changed for the first time in three centuries, resulting in the current mission to exterminate the One-Armed Giant. “And I’m excited to see what you’re really made of, Albert.” Serrulata flashed me a smile.