Hayer was thinking that some of the monsters that appeared in the Siere capital were probably in the form of humans. He briefly recalled the day when he first killed a human-shaped monster.
It was even a child then. Perhaps those wicked beings knew that the most difficult thing for the Knights of Tejas to kill was the form of a child. However, he shook his head and forgot about it, leading the party toward the watchtower.
Hayer moved in the direction of the watchtower, and fortunately, the Qahifs came running from afar.
One of the Qahifs who saw Hayer cried.
“Knights, feet! Attack the feet!”
It seemed that they found out the same thing over there. The Knights of Tejas exchanged the weaknesses of the monsters they learned about as they reached two-thirds of the village with the Qahif men. Then, one by one, they began to kill the monsters.
Hayer kept abreast of the number of people and constantly dictated the strategy, being careful not to lose the party.
Sichtis, whom they soon encountered in the middle of the village, said.
“The watchtower is empty.”
“Did you evacuate everyone?”
“I did.”
Hayer put on a rather odd expression when, for some reason, things turned out better than he thought.
He had never done anything like this in his life. He never thought that things would go smoothly.
Sichtis, who read his eyes, said.
“The princess asked to empty the watchtower.”
“Ah.”
“It’s a match made in heaven, really.”
Hayer laughed at Sichtis’s words. The sinking feeling came back to him more than usual at those words.
Hayer had his men climb the watchtower as originally planned. And the Knights of Tejas who went up there called out to the monsters.
“Come here, you idiots!”
“Oh, slow, slow.”
As if they understood the knights’ provocation, the monsters began to gather in their direction.
The termite hill monsters began to gnaw at the watchtower, and as expected, the watchtower slowly tilted to one side. Meanwhile, the knights jumped to the roof of a nearby house.
The leaning watchtower covered the monsters. The monsters gathered around the watchtower were pushed down by the fallen watchtower, and the termite hill knocked down the termite hill behind it like dominoes.
At that moment, knights and the Qahifs with weapons rushed at the monsters.
Hayer shouted.
“Be careful not to touch the body until it cracks!”
“Yes, Captain!”
Many people gathered in an instant and dealt with most of the termite hill monsters.
The struggle took more than half a day. At night when the sun had completely set, they lit lamps and fought with the monsters.
By dawn when the stars were shining, all the monsters had finally died or fled. Hayer had his men look around the entire village. Camille, the youngest knight who toured the village, said.
“There isn’t any.”
Even though he answered, Hayer did not hastily declare, and Annamaria, who returned a moment later, reported again.
“There isn’t any. Not… even one.”
Hayer knew that Annamaria could not easily return to her normal state when she saw a monster in the form of a child, so he identified a person around her to soothe her.
The problem was that even Annamaria’s best friend, Hencke, looked cluttered even though he did not encounter the monster head-on.
In the end, the only person he could rely on in this situation was Iris.
Hayer pondered for a moment whether he could rely on her. Wasn’t that too unmanly?
But even after concluding that he was not manly, his mind eventually tilted to lean on Iris.
Hayer said.
“Now we can go to the oasis.”
At his permission, the villagers and Tejas Knights cheered. People rushed to the oasis, and as Hayer turned to speak to Iris, a light thing rushed into his body.
Hayer was taken aback when he realized that Iris ran toward him and hugged him.
Hayer asked Iris, who buried her face in his chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“…I’m afraid you might be injured.”
He was not easily injured in a fight, so he thought the judgement was all over the place.
“Isn’t that something I should say?”
Hayer muttered as if he didn’t understand.
“I don’t get injured easily.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. You’re the most injured here.”
After saying that, Iris checked to see if Hayer had all ten fingers. Hayer burst into laughter at the sight.
“Are you serious?”
“Do you think I’m joking?”
Iris gave a sidelong scowl and smacked Hayer as if to tell him to stop laughing like that.
Hayer thought that he was also leaning on her because she kept taking care of him.
After confirming that, Iris took Rayne, who was also thirsty, to the oasis.
The horses drank the water frantically, and the knights also quenched their thirst. The Qahif people ran to find their families before that, hugging each other and checking whether they were alive or dead.
In the meantime, some of the people in the watchtower were dehydrated because they couldn’t drink water, so water was brought to them first.
Cuona, the daughter of Chief Sichtis, approached Iris.
“Thank you for saving our village.”
“Yes. I’ll pass it on to Hayer.”
“No, I’m talking to you.”
Cuona continued, rubbing Rayne’s back without any reason.
“I heard that when the men of our tribe tried to run at the monsters, you stopped them. You said you would find the survivors.”
“That’s because it’s an ability I naturally have.”
Cuona laughed cheerfully at Iris’s answer.
“That’s nice. I’d like to answer like that too.”
“Did it not sound conceited?”
“No, it’s not like that. I also want to act altruistically with my ability, like it’s nothing.”
“……”
“I think that’s cool.”
Iris said with a smile at her words.
“You have a knack for saying small things in a cool way.”
“Wow, I’ve never heard that before. My family says I have my own way.”
“You have your own expression. What’s wrong with having your own way if you’re consistent?”
“Indeed. I’m consistent.”
Cuona said and laughed pleasantly.
Iris, who was watching her laugh, said.
“You also risked your life to run through the monsters.”
“That’s right, since there was no other way.”
“Then you acted altruistically like it was nothing.”
Cuona looked embarrassed at Iris’s teasing remark.
Still, she didn’t particularly deny it.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
They couldn’t even be happy to survive.
Many people were saved, but many were still dead. A child and two elderly people died of severe dehydration overnight. The village was covered with tears.
The desert was a harsh place for people to live in. They always had to think of the future direction and ways to increase their chances of survival to live.
Early in the morning, there was a meeting at the house of Chief Sichtis. At the gathering of Hayer, Iris, and the elders of the Qahif tribe, Hayer was lost in thought for a moment.
Then he opened his mouth.
“To protect the southern border, I cut down the sacred tree.”
That quieted the place, and Hayer continued.
“If I tell you how to stop the monsters here, you may no longer accompany us. I’m informing you because I think I need to say something to prevent even a little damage.”
“The only way is to… cut down the sacred tree?”
When Sichtis asked without more surprise than expected, Hayer asked again.
“Why aren’t you surprised?”
“Come to think of it, when the sacred tree fell… I remember not seeing any monsters. I didn’t know why it was seen again.”
“The sacred tree has been revived.”
Sichtis nodded at Hayer’s murmur.
Silence fell in the house again. In the end, it meant that someone had to cut down the sacred tree.
Cuona, who was pondering over the story, said.
“I’ll cut it.”
Sichtis widened his eyes at those words.
“Didn’t you hear just now? They say if you cut the sacred tree, you can die of a curse.”
“I heard there’s a cure?”
Cuona continued with her fists clenched.
“Those Luwans don’t have time anyway. No, even if they have time, how could we entrust the safety of the Qahifs to the Luwans?”
Sichtis groaned at his daughter’s resolute words. It would be best to send his son, but his son was still fourteen. Under the rules of the tribe, it was an age at which one should not leave the tribe.
Sichtis agonized, but he remembered his daughter, who had previously jumped from the watchtower. It was the first time he saw it, and it was a strong look.
Qahif men were exceptionally weak against such women. Even when it was a daughter, there was no way a father could win.
“Don’t die. I’ll be ashamed.”
He should have said something warm, but Cuona looked rather satisfied. When death was a disgrace, it meant survival was an honour.
Hayer was thinking that some of the monsters that appeared in the Siere capital were probably in the form of humans. He briefly recalled the day when he first killed a human-shaped monster.
It was even a child then. Perhaps those wicked beings knew that the most difficult thing for the Knights of Tejas to kill was the form of a child. However, he shook his head and forgot about it, leading the party toward the watchtower.
Hayer moved in the direction of the watchtower, and fortunately, the Qahifs came running from afar.
One of the Qahifs who saw Hayer cried.
“Knights, feet! Attack the feet!”
It seemed that they found out the same thing over there. The Knights of Tejas exchanged the weaknesses of the monsters they learned about as they reached two-thirds of the village with the Qahif men. Then, one by one, they began to kill the monsters.
Hayer kept abreast of the number of people and constantly dictated the strategy, being careful not to lose the party.
Sichtis, whom they soon encountered in the middle of the village, said.
“The watchtower is empty.”
“Did you evacuate everyone?”
“I did.”
Hayer put on a rather odd expression when, for some reason, things turned out better than he thought.
He had never done anything like this in his life. He never thought that things would go smoothly.
Sichtis, who read his eyes, said.
“The princess asked to empty the watchtower.”
“Ah.”
“It’s a match made in heaven, really.”
Hayer laughed at Sichtis’s words. The sinking feeling came back to him more than usual at those words.
Hayer had his men climb the watchtower as originally planned. And the Knights of Tejas who went up there called out to the monsters.
“Come here, you idiots!”
“Oh, slow, slow.”
As if they understood the knights’ provocation, the monsters began to gather in their direction.
The termite hill monsters began to gnaw at the watchtower, and as expected, the watchtower slowly tilted to one side. Meanwhile, the knights jumped to the roof of a nearby house.
The leaning watchtower covered the monsters. The monsters gathered around the watchtower were pushed down by the fallen watchtower, and the termite hill knocked down the termite hill behind it like dominoes.
At that moment, knights and the Qahifs with weapons rushed at the monsters.
Hayer shouted.
“Be careful not to touch the body until it cracks!”
“Yes, Captain!”
Many people gathered in an instant and dealt with most of the termite hill monsters.
The struggle took more than half a day. At night when the sun had completely set, they lit lamps and fought with the monsters.
By dawn when the stars were shining, all the monsters had finally died or fled. Hayer had his men look around the entire village. Camille, the youngest knight who toured the village, said.
“There isn’t any.”
Even though he answered, Hayer did not hastily declare, and Annamaria, who returned a moment later, reported again.
“There isn’t any. Not… even one.”
Hayer knew that Annamaria could not easily return to her normal state when she saw a monster in the form of a child, so he identified a person around her to soothe her.
The problem was that even Annamaria’s best friend, Hencke, looked cluttered even though he did not encounter the monster head-on.
In the end, the only person he could rely on in this situation was Iris.
Hayer pondered for a moment whether he could rely on her. Wasn’t that too unmanly?
But even after concluding that he was not manly, his mind eventually tilted to lean on Iris.
Hayer said.
“Now we can go to the oasis.”
At his permission, the villagers and Tejas Knights cheered. People rushed to the oasis, and as Hayer turned to speak to Iris, a light thing rushed into his body.
Hayer was taken aback when he realized that Iris ran toward him and hugged him.
Hayer asked Iris, who buried her face in his chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“…I’m afraid you might be injured.”
He was not easily injured in a fight, so he thought the judgement was all over the place.
“Isn’t that something I should say?”
Hayer muttered as if he didn’t understand.
“I don’t get injured easily.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. You’re the most injured here.”
After saying that, Iris checked to see if Hayer had all ten fingers. Hayer burst into laughter at the sight.
“Are you serious?”
“Do you think I’m joking?”
Iris gave a sidelong scowl and smacked Hayer as if to tell him to stop laughing like that.
Hayer thought that he was also leaning on her because she kept taking care of him.
After confirming that, Iris took Rayne, who was also thirsty, to the oasis.
The horses drank the water frantically, and the knights also quenched their thirst. The Qahif people ran to find their families before that, hugging each other and checking whether they were alive or dead.
In the meantime, some of the people in the watchtower were dehydrated because they couldn’t drink water, so water was brought to them first.
Cuona, the daughter of Chief Sichtis, approached Iris.
“Thank you for saving our village.”
“Yes. I’ll pass it on to Hayer.”
“No, I’m talking to you.”
Cuona continued, rubbing Rayne’s back without any reason.
“I heard that when the men of our tribe tried to run at the monsters, you stopped them. You said you would find the survivors.”
“That’s because it’s an ability I naturally have.”
Cuona laughed cheerfully at Iris’s answer.
“That’s nice. I’d like to answer like that too.”
“Did it not sound conceited?”
“No, it’s not like that. I also want to act altruistically with my ability, like it’s nothing.”
“……”
“I think that’s cool.”
Iris said with a smile at her words.
“You have a knack for saying small things in a cool way.”
“Wow, I’ve never heard that before. My family says I have my own way.”
“You have your own expression. What’s wrong with having your own way if you’re consistent?”
“Indeed. I’m consistent.”
Cuona said and laughed pleasantly.
Iris, who was watching her laugh, said.
“You also risked your life to run through the monsters.”
“That’s right, since there was no other way.”
“Then you acted altruistically like it was nothing.”
Cuona looked embarrassed at Iris’s teasing remark.
Still, she didn’t particularly deny it.
─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───
They couldn’t even be happy to survive.
Many people were saved, but many were still dead. A child and two elderly people died of severe dehydration overnight. The village was covered with tears.
The desert was a harsh place for people to live in. They always had to think of the future direction and ways to increase their chances of survival to live.
Early in the morning, there was a meeting at the house of Chief Sichtis. At the gathering of Hayer, Iris, and the elders of the Qahif tribe, Hayer was lost in thought for a moment.
Then he opened his mouth.
“To protect the southern border, I cut down the sacred tree.”
That quieted the place, and Hayer continued.
“If I tell you how to stop the monsters here, you may no longer accompany us. I’m informing you because I think I need to say something to prevent even a little damage.”
“The only way is to… cut down the sacred tree?”
When Sichtis asked without more surprise than expected, Hayer asked again.
“Why aren’t you surprised?”
“Come to think of it, when the sacred tree fell… I remember not seeing any monsters. I didn’t know why it was seen again.”
“The sacred tree has been revived.”
Sichtis nodded at Hayer’s murmur.
Silence fell in the house again. In the end, it meant that someone had to cut down the sacred tree.
Cuona, who was pondering over the story, said.
“I’ll cut it.”
Sichtis widened his eyes at those words.
“Didn’t you hear just now? They say if you cut the sacred tree, you can die of a curse.”
“I heard there’s a cure?”
Cuona continued with her fists clenched.
“Those Luwans don’t have time anyway. No, even if they have time, how could we entrust the safety of the Qahifs to the Luwans?”
Sichtis groaned at his daughter’s resolute words. It would be best to send his son, but his son was still fourteen. Under the rules of the tribe, it was an age at which one should not leave the tribe.
Sichtis agonized, but he remembered his daughter, who had previously jumped from the watchtower. It was the first time he saw it, and it was a strong look.
Qahif men were exceptionally weak against such women. Even when it was a daughter, there was no way a father could win.
“Don’t die. I’ll be ashamed.”
He should have said something warm, but Cuona looked rather satisfied. When death was a disgrace, it meant survival was an honour.
