Iris looked in the direction of the crowd of strangers.
As they waited, the desert people, the Qahifs, appeared along with the dust. It was a relatively large tribe that seemed to have about sixty people. They wore hoods over their faces to avoid the dust, and only their eyes were exposed.
It is said that one could understand people’s feelings by looking at their eyes, but it didn’t seem like that. Even after getting close enough to look at them in the eye, Iris could not fathom the feelings of the Qahifs.
Enemies? Or allies?
All they knew about them was that the chief’s name was ‘Sichtis.’
She turned to look at Hayer. Having a duty to lead the party, he must be on high alert to find out his opponent’s hostility as quickly as possible. However, hiding such pressure, Hayer gazed at the dust with a relaxed face as usual.
Shortly afterwards, the elite of the Tejas Knights and the Qahif tribe faced each other. Sichtis, the chief, was riding a white horse, and his men were riding camels.
The Luwans used straight swords, while the Qahifs used curved blades that curved in the middle like a half moon. It was to attack by hacking from a horse or camel.
As the Knights were wary and poised to attack at any moment, Sichtis rode up to them alone.
The Qahifs carried scabbards on horseback so that they could pull them out at any time. The same was true for Sichtis.
“What can you do, people on your guard? At most, the old martial arts that have been handed down and the young masters who use them will not be able to beat us.”
The chief said provokingly.
The Qahifs were those who learned to fight only for looting. They did not hesitate to win somehow, but on the contrary, the knights of Luwan had a chivalry that they always upheld. It was understandable that a knight who upheld such unnecessary things seemed weak in the eyes of those bandits.
Sichtis, who was riding among the knights, recognized at a glance that Hayer was the strongest of them. He rode back and forth in front of Hayer a couple of times, and then suddenly lunged at Iris.
Iris hurriedly pulled out her spear in her own way, but when she grabbed the weapon with both hands, it was all over.
Knowing that Sichtis was about to attack the weakest point, Hayer’s sword was already close to the chief’s neck, and Sichtis stopped moving right in front of him.
Iris made eye contact with Sichtis, who was looking at her from the front.
“Back off.”
Hayer commanded in a casual voice.
Sichtis said, looking toward Hayer.
“If it were me, I would have killed you. If you touched my own woman.”
“If my woman allows me to kill you, then I will.”
Iris felt the tension between the two pressing down on her from both sides.
Hayer and Sichtis were measuring each other. Whether it was an enemy or ally.
Iris calmed her trembling heart and examined the two men’s investigation. And soon, she knew that Hayer was holding back his anger before investigating.
In the future, he had to join forces with Sichtis, but from his point of view, he seemed unable to accept Sichtis’s attempt to attack Iris.
Iris thought she should stop Hayer. However, Hayer’s lack of vigilance meant that he had an opponent in front of him that he could not easily subdue, so she could not talk to him openly and distract him.
She soon opened her mouth, looking straight at Sichtis.
“To cross the desert, we need your help.”
She hastily decided not to stir up emotions.
Iris continued in a very polite tone, considering that she should not reveal herself as a princess now.
“And in getting rid of the monsters, we will definitely help.”
At Iris’s words, Sichtis looked at her carefully. Then he opened his mouth.
“You’re not a young lady of a commoner’s home.”
“…”
…I tried. How do you know?
Iris furrowed her brows slightly, and Sichtis opened his mouth.
“You disguised yourself, but how did I recognize you?”
“…Yes.”
When Iris said it, thinking that she had already been caught, Sichtis put the blade back into the scabbard and said.
“You just tried to negotiate with me. Even though that man over there is the queen’s son anyway, the young lady herself knows that she has authority over his words. The same goes for the rest of the party.”
Desert barbarians and looters were far more difficult opponents than Iris had realized.
Sichtis continued.
“So, I won’t accompany you until I make a statement with the lady there.”
Iris thought the opponent was not easy, so she had no choice but to reveal her identity.
“I am Iris Lepos, daughter of Celios Lepos and Peter Wick.”
“Ah, you are to be the Princess of Luwan.”
Sichtis threw the blade at his subordinate, and rode closer to the horse on which Iris rode. When Hayer tried to stop him, Iris shook her head saying it was okay.
Sichtis stared at Iris’s little horse, Rayne. Even though a horse bigger than it was circling around, it was breathing as if it wanted to stay there.
And the woman on that horse…
Every Qahif man wanted a strong woman as a wife. The wife, who would be guarding the tent of the residence centered on the oasis, should be able to cut off the head of any snake or person who crawls into the tent without invitation.
She was a fine wife in the eyes of a Qahif man. Therefore, Sichtis showed a very favourable attitude toward her. Just by looking at the spear she held earlier, she was a woman who knew how to use a weapon properly. Her eyes were clear and her spirit was strong.
“It is forbidden for the princess to cross the border.”
“I know. That is why I am in disguise.”
“You won’t be able to deceive anyone with such arrogance.”
“Please cross the desert together. I’ll learn how to deceive in the meantime.”
“Take out the spear.”
Sichtis said, turned around, and summoned a small subordinate.
“Have a duel, to decide.”
At that, Annamaria said.
“If you need a duel, why don’t you do it with me?”
“Dame, you know that even if three or four of my men attack you, you can win.”
“So you’re going to compete with an opponent you can beat?”
“To see if that princess is someone worthy of commanding us.”
“What does it matter! It’s only barbarians like you who would think that you can lead with only strength!”
Annamaria, who considered them dirty, was furious, but Iris slowly got off her horse to accept the duel.
She knew that if she lost to that Qahif and was seriously injured, that Qahif would die at Hayer’s hands. Even the Knights of Tejas seemed to regard it as more than that.
“…If the princess gets hurt here, all of them will die by the captain’s hands.”
Annamaria, who was fuming at Hencke’s words, said.
“Even that, he won’t kill them nicely.”
Their words were exaggerated, but Iris had to win anyway.
Since she got her own spear, she spent a lot of time learning spearmanship. She read books on spearmanship and asked her father, Peter Wick, if she didn’t know anything.
When the opponent approached, Iris swept up the sand from the ground with her spear without greeting, blocking the view of the careless Qahif.
“W-what is this!”
Iris knew very well how to create sandstorms because she had once experienced this desert.
Iris, who was completely obscured by the sandstorm, pierced the Qahif’s heart with her spear.
Sensing the spear flying in, the Qahif swung his sword hurriedly. The blade at the end of the spear broke off and flew away.
Anticipating that, Iris turned the spear and slashed the chest of the Qahif with the blade on the other side of the spear.
The sandstorm subsided, and the Qahif slumped. Blood was dripping from the cut made by the spear’s blade.
The foul of blocking the view with sand was an act that a knight of Luwan would never do.
But Iris did. It was because it was a fight that she couldn’t lose. Fighting in a blind spot was, in fact, tantamount to slashing an immovable enemy for Iris.
Hayer immediately sent the doctor to treat him, but Sichtis said.
“No need. If you die like this, you are not a Qahif man.”
As he said, the Qahif, who confronted Iris, took out a needle on his own and sewed the wound while breathing, took off his top, tore it off, and pressed the wound he had sealed.
Iris turned her head away because it was terrible, but since it was a routine for the Knights of Tejas, they didn’t respond much either.
Then Hayer walked toward Iris. And examined the nape of her neck.
“…”
“It’s all right.”
“…”
“Don’t kill them.”
Iris’s neck was studded with a poisonous needle. That opponent was dirtier than Hayer thought.
Hayer pulled out the poison needle right away, and Iris fell helplessly into his arms.
Iris looked in the direction of the crowd of strangers.
As they waited, the desert people, the Qahifs, appeared along with the dust. It was a relatively large tribe that seemed to have about sixty people. They wore hoods over their faces to avoid the dust, and only their eyes were exposed.
It is said that one could understand people’s feelings by looking at their eyes, but it didn’t seem like that. Even after getting close enough to look at them in the eye, Iris could not fathom the feelings of the Qahifs.
Enemies? Or allies?
All they knew about them was that the chief’s name was ‘Sichtis.’
She turned to look at Hayer. Having a duty to lead the party, he must be on high alert to find out his opponent’s hostility as quickly as possible. However, hiding such pressure, Hayer gazed at the dust with a relaxed face as usual.
Shortly afterwards, the elite of the Tejas Knights and the Qahif tribe faced each other. Sichtis, the chief, was riding a white horse, and his men were riding camels.
The Luwans used straight swords, while the Qahifs used curved blades that curved in the middle like a half moon. It was to attack by hacking from a horse or camel.
As the Knights were wary and poised to attack at any moment, Sichtis rode up to them alone.
The Qahifs carried scabbards on horseback so that they could pull them out at any time. The same was true for Sichtis.
“What can you do, people on your guard? At most, the old martial arts that have been handed down and the young masters who use them will not be able to beat us.”
The chief said provokingly.
The Qahifs were those who learned to fight only for looting. They did not hesitate to win somehow, but on the contrary, the knights of Luwan had a chivalry that they always upheld. It was understandable that a knight who upheld such unnecessary things seemed weak in the eyes of those bandits.
Sichtis, who was riding among the knights, recognized at a glance that Hayer was the strongest of them. He rode back and forth in front of Hayer a couple of times, and then suddenly lunged at Iris.
Iris hurriedly pulled out her spear in her own way, but when she grabbed the weapon with both hands, it was all over.
Knowing that Sichtis was about to attack the weakest point, Hayer’s sword was already close to the chief’s neck, and Sichtis stopped moving right in front of him.
Iris made eye contact with Sichtis, who was looking at her from the front.
“Back off.”
Hayer commanded in a casual voice.
Sichtis said, looking toward Hayer.
“If it were me, I would have killed you. If you touched my own woman.”
“If my woman allows me to kill you, then I will.”
Iris felt the tension between the two pressing down on her from both sides.
Hayer and Sichtis were measuring each other. Whether it was an enemy or ally.
Iris calmed her trembling heart and examined the two men’s investigation. And soon, she knew that Hayer was holding back his anger before investigating.
In the future, he had to join forces with Sichtis, but from his point of view, he seemed unable to accept Sichtis’s attempt to attack Iris.
Iris thought she should stop Hayer. However, Hayer’s lack of vigilance meant that he had an opponent in front of him that he could not easily subdue, so she could not talk to him openly and distract him.
She soon opened her mouth, looking straight at Sichtis.
“To cross the desert, we need your help.”
She hastily decided not to stir up emotions.
Iris continued in a very polite tone, considering that she should not reveal herself as a princess now.
“And in getting rid of the monsters, we will definitely help.”
At Iris’s words, Sichtis looked at her carefully. Then he opened his mouth.
“You’re not a young lady of a commoner’s home.”
“…”
…I tried. How do you know?
Iris furrowed her brows slightly, and Sichtis opened his mouth.
“You disguised yourself, but how did I recognize you?”
“…Yes.”
When Iris said it, thinking that she had already been caught, Sichtis put the blade back into the scabbard and said.
“You just tried to negotiate with me. Even though that man over there is the queen’s son anyway, the young lady herself knows that she has authority over his words. The same goes for the rest of the party.”
Desert barbarians and looters were far more difficult opponents than Iris had realized.
Sichtis continued.
“So, I won’t accompany you until I make a statement with the lady there.”
Iris thought the opponent was not easy, so she had no choice but to reveal her identity.
“I am Iris Lepos, daughter of Celios Lepos and Peter Wick.”
“Ah, you are to be the Princess of Luwan.”
Sichtis threw the blade at his subordinate, and rode closer to the horse on which Iris rode. When Hayer tried to stop him, Iris shook her head saying it was okay.
Sichtis stared at Iris’s little horse, Rayne. Even though a horse bigger than it was circling around, it was breathing as if it wanted to stay there.
And the woman on that horse…
Every Qahif man wanted a strong woman as a wife. The wife, who would be guarding the tent of the residence centered on the oasis, should be able to cut off the head of any snake or person who crawls into the tent without invitation.
She was a fine wife in the eyes of a Qahif man. Therefore, Sichtis showed a very favourable attitude toward her. Just by looking at the spear she held earlier, she was a woman who knew how to use a weapon properly. Her eyes were clear and her spirit was strong.
“It is forbidden for the princess to cross the border.”
“I know. That is why I am in disguise.”
“You won’t be able to deceive anyone with such arrogance.”
“Please cross the desert together. I’ll learn how to deceive in the meantime.”
“Take out the spear.”
Sichtis said, turned around, and summoned a small subordinate.
“Have a duel, to decide.”
At that, Annamaria said.
“If you need a duel, why don’t you do it with me?”
“Dame, you know that even if three or four of my men attack you, you can win.”
“So you’re going to compete with an opponent you can beat?”
“To see if that princess is someone worthy of commanding us.”
“What does it matter! It’s only barbarians like you who would think that you can lead with only strength!”
Annamaria, who considered them dirty, was furious, but Iris slowly got off her horse to accept the duel.
She knew that if she lost to that Qahif and was seriously injured, that Qahif would die at Hayer’s hands. Even the Knights of Tejas seemed to regard it as more than that.
“…If the princess gets hurt here, all of them will die by the captain’s hands.”
Annamaria, who was fuming at Hencke’s words, said.
“Even that, he won’t kill them nicely.”
Their words were exaggerated, but Iris had to win anyway.
Since she got her own spear, she spent a lot of time learning spearmanship. She read books on spearmanship and asked her father, Peter Wick, if she didn’t know anything.
When the opponent approached, Iris swept up the sand from the ground with her spear without greeting, blocking the view of the careless Qahif.
“W-what is this!”
Iris knew very well how to create sandstorms because she had once experienced this desert.
Iris, who was completely obscured by the sandstorm, pierced the Qahif’s heart with her spear.
Sensing the spear flying in, the Qahif swung his sword hurriedly. The blade at the end of the spear broke off and flew away.
Anticipating that, Iris turned the spear and slashed the chest of the Qahif with the blade on the other side of the spear.
The sandstorm subsided, and the Qahif slumped. Blood was dripping from the cut made by the spear’s blade.
The foul of blocking the view with sand was an act that a knight of Luwan would never do.
But Iris did. It was because it was a fight that she couldn’t lose. Fighting in a blind spot was, in fact, tantamount to slashing an immovable enemy for Iris.
Hayer immediately sent the doctor to treat him, but Sichtis said.
“No need. If you die like this, you are not a Qahif man.”
As he said, the Qahif, who confronted Iris, took out a needle on his own and sewed the wound while breathing, took off his top, tore it off, and pressed the wound he had sealed.
Iris turned her head away because it was terrible, but since it was a routine for the Knights of Tejas, they didn’t respond much either.
Then Hayer walked toward Iris. And examined the nape of her neck.
“…”
“It’s all right.”
“…”
“Don’t kill them.”
Iris’s neck was studded with a poisonous needle. That opponent was dirtier than Hayer thought.
Hayer pulled out the poison needle right away, and Iris fell helplessly into his arms.
