Chapter 17
What I saw after teleporting into the sky was Elna fighting a pair who appeared to be vampires.
Frankly, that alone wouldn't have surprised me.
What surprised me was that Fine was near the battle.
Fine had climbed the clock tower and was constantly looking upward.
Then, when she saw Elna knock the flute out of one of the vampires' hands, she stretched out as far as she could and caught it.
The moment I saw that, I was already moving.
I descended at top speed. I cast every spell I could and headed for Fine like a meteor.
The vampire who had lost the flute destroyed the clock tower, sending Fine flying outside.
At that moment, instead of reaching out her hand, Fine threw the flute toward Elna.
Fine's face as she fell looked satisfied. I hated that beyond words, so I accelerated even further.
"You little brat!"
The vampire fired a magic bullet.
The instant it was about to hit Fine,
I knocked the magic bullet away and caught Fine in midair.
I felt relieved by her unmistakable warmth. I had made it in time. I had saved her.
I might not have been this frantic in a very long time.
And... it had been a long time since I'd been this irritated, too.
"You...! Who are you to dispel my magic bullet? State your name!"
"...Silver, an SS-rank adventurer affiliated with the Imperial Capital Branch of the Adventurers' Guild... I've come to hunt you down."
I told them calmly, my voice filled with anger.
It was a declaration—a vow that I would never let them escape.
"Silver-sama...?"
"...Don't do anything reckless."
"I'm sorry... I acted carelessly again..."
"...I'll hear the details later. But... you did well. Leave the rest to me."
When I gently patted Fine's head, her cheeks faintly reddened.
After setting the blushing Fine down on the ground, I looked at the vampires in the sky.
There were only two vampires who seemed capable of planning a crime on this scale.
They were vampire outcasts wanted by the Adventurers' Guild: the S-rank wanted brothers, Sam and Dean.
"Silver-sama! Best of luck!"
"Yeah. Leave it to me."
After answering, I smoothly rose into the sky.
Sam and Dean, now more wary, were both watching me.
Of course they were. The requirement for becoming an SS-rank adventurer was defeating an S-rank monster. In other words, I had defeated someone at least as strong as Sam and Dean at some point in the past.
"I never expected an SS-rank adventurer to show up... You've surprised me."
"Damn it! Trouble just keeps coming! You guys! Don't get in big brother's way!!"
The smaller one, who was noisily shouting, must be the younger brother, Sam.
So the stronger vampire was the older brother.
"I'm just as surprised. You two were supposed to have kept quiet ever since you became wanted. If you made a move, an SS-rank adventurer would come after you. Haven't you been living in fear?"
"Don't mock us! We were merely waiting for the right opportunity!"
"But that opportunity has already passed you by. The monsters have been held back by the efforts of the garrison and the knights, and I've arrived. Your plan is over."
"Hmph! You think you've won? So what if the flute was taken? There are still plenty of monsters, and if we defeat you and the Hero, we win!!"
What were these guys thinking?
Were they really planning to fight Elna and me at the same time?
Surprised, I looked toward Elna, but she also wore an expression of displeasure.
"You've got some nerve. The two of you could barely hold your own against us."
"You're the ones underestimating us! We haven't even gotten serious yet!"
"Then show me! In the name of Amsberg, I'll annihilate you!"
"No, Elna von Amsberg. Sorry to interrupt while you're fired up, but I'll handle these guys."
I declared this to Elna as she dramatically pointed her sword at them.
Elna turned her gaze toward me.
With a furrowed brow, she glared at me with an expression that said she couldn't believe what she'd heard. That wasn't a face a girl should be making.
"Silver? Is there something wrong with my ears? Because I could have sworn you just said you were going to steal my prey."
"I don't remember putting it that way. Your ears really must be bad. If you're a knight, protect the Emperor. I'll deal with these guys."
"You! That's exactly what you said! You back off! I was the one fighting them first!"
"The Emperor seems to be left defenseless."
"His Majesty the Emperor ordered me to do this! I absolutely refuse to yield! More importantly! They said the one thing I hate hearing most! I've decided I'm going to cut them down... Step back. I'll cut you down too, you know?"
Scary.
She was absolutely furious. What the hell did they say? Seriously.
I had been hoping to have her cover for Leo.
"Hah! You sure are carefree. The moment the Hero and an SS-rank adventurer appear, you get all high and mighty. Do you understand that, at best, the situation is even?"
"Even? I'd say you're completely at a disadvantage."
"Silver. Can't you tell what's happening below? The Emperor is about to be defeated. That Hero over there looks like he can hardly wait to fight us. Why don't you go lend him support? If you're an adventurer affiliated with the Empire, the Emperor should be important to you, shouldn't he?"
The forces below were indeed at a disadvantage.
One of us should probably go down to support them. If things continued as they were, at least.
But this man was making a huge mistake.
"I'm affiliated with the Guild, not the Empire. Adventurers are responsible for protecting the people across the continent, but we're not obligated to protect any particular nation. It's not as though the country pays me. Honestly, whether the Emperor dies or not has nothing to do with me."
"What?"
"If you don't want him to die, someone other than me can protect him. I protect the people of this city, not the privileged classes. I protect the people of this country, not the country itself. There should be people whose positions are guaranteed in exchange for collecting this country's taxes. Protecting the Empire is the job of its Imperial family and knights. If they aren't doing their jobs now, they have no reason to exist. That's why I won't take their jobs away from them."
"Not take their jobs?"
Dean seemed puzzled by my choice of words.
The answer to his question arrived almost immediately.
South of Kiel.
From beside the massive horde of monsters came the sound of feet pounding against the earth. The thunderous sound grew louder and louder, then stopped when a member of the Imperial family appeared.
"What...!?"
"Knights! I, Leonart Lakes Adler, the Eighth Imperial Prince, command you! Defend the city of Kiel!! Forward!!"
With that, Leo led several thousand knights in a charge.
The monsters were unable to respond to the knight corps that had appeared out of nowhere.
Sam and Dean moved to stop them, but Elna and I each stepped in front of one of them.
"Silver, how about this? You can have that one. I'll take this one, all right?"
"That's a good proposal. I accept."
Having chosen our respective targets, we immediately shifted into battle mode.
Below, the knight corps led by Leo was mowing down the monsters like a raging torrent. The frenzied monsters could see nothing but what was in front of them. They had no way to respond to an attack from the side.
They would probably be deemed a threat and face a counterattack from the monsters before long, but they should be fine for a while.
In the meantime, I would take care of this one.
Thus, the battle to defend Kiel entered its final phase.
■■■
"Damn you! You mere human!!"
Dean fired countless magic bullets while moving, but I pursued him and intercepted them.
Brilliant lights glittered across the sky like fireworks.
The sight seemed to make Dean increasingly irritated.
In fact, it seemed these two hadn't been serious when fighting Elna. They had clearly grown stronger now. They had probably been thinking about escaping as well, but once that became impossible, they had decided to get serious.
As he bared his sharp vampire fangs, Dean closed in on me.
He must have decided that magic attacks weren't getting him anywhere. He certainly knew his way around a fight.
"Tch!"
Clicking my tongue, I countered with magic, but Dean nimbly dodged it.
I tried to put some distance between us, but before I could, he slipped inside my guard and punched me in the stomach.
"Guh!"
"Hah! What's wrong, SS-rank adventurer?!"
"Shut up!"
The spell I fired in retaliation was dodged, and Dean moved behind me.
Thinking this was bad, I circulated mana through my body to protect it.
Dean clasped both hands together and brought them down on me with all his might.
Feeling an impact like I'd been struck by a hammer, I was slammed down into the city's main street.
"Ow! You really went all out..."
"What's wrong? Now that I've gotten serious, you can't even fight back?"
"What are you doing!? They aren't even that strong, are they!? Are you holding back? You are holding back! Do you think acting like that makes you look cool? It doesn't look cool at all!!"
I was being taunted by the enemy and somehow scolded by my ally.
Being an adventurer really wasn't easy.
Still, I was willing to accept this much.
My precious little brother and the knights he had dragged into this for his sake. The garrison soldiers I could have rushed to aid immediately but didn't, instead forcing them to overextend themselves so I could gain an advantage in the struggle for the throne.
And all the people in this city.
For all of them, this much was nothing. It didn't hurt in the slightest.
But my irritation was reaching its limit.
"Hmph! Hiding in fear of the likes of you was a waste of time! So you're only human after all!"
"So you were hiding after all. Vampires really aren't much after all."
With that, I slowly got to my feet as though nothing had happened.
There wasn't a scratch on my body. Of course, I hadn't taken any damage, either.
Dean was surprised by this, but he soon realized that something was strange about his surroundings.
"Gwaaahhh!! My arm! Huh...?"
"It hurts! It hurts... Wait, it's healed?"
The garrison soldiers fighting atop Kiel's walls, of course, and the knight corps led by Leo, which had charged into the horde of monsters—
No one had died since I arrived here.
That was because anyone who was injured recovered immediately.
"You...!? Don't tell me you were fighting while maintaining a healing barrier!?"
"Half right."
I hadn't been maintaining only a healing barrier.
The moment I arrived, I cast a healing barrier, then prepared another spell while fighting and maintaining it.
That preparation was complete as well.
"I was fighting while maintaining two barriers. Well, one of them has only just been completed."
The moment I said that,
A gigantic magic circle appeared over the entire city of Kiel. Countless chains emerged from it and bound Dean and Sam.
"What!? Something like this!!"
"Damn it! Let go!!"
"You won't be able to break free. Ancient Magic: Cursed Chain Barrier. It curses and weakens anyone it binds. Now then... are you ready? You two?"
You two beat on me to your heart's content while I was busy with everything else.
It was time for your punishment.