* * *
In that case, it’d be best to assess the situation and retreat if there was a demon present.
Was there a safe place nearby where the villagers could evacuate?
If the Hero could hold off the enemy long enough, we might be able to save the people even if the village was lost.
“We’ll need to see if it’s just beasts or more.”
I grabbed the Hero’s wrist and leapt out of the window.
In small villages like this, the inn is usually the tallest building.
I landed lightly on the inn’s wall, then jumped again, landing on the roof.
“What the…?”
The Hero mumbled something, but the wind rushing past made it impossible to hear.
Was he upset that I grabbed him without asking?
I let go of his wrist immediately.
From up here, the whole situation was clear.
Through the gap in the broken wall, spiked wolves were pouring in.
There were so many of them that the ground seemed to writhe.
There was no way I could handle this alone, especially if these beasts had evolved under the influence of a demon.
The only relief was that there was no sign of a demon.
Demons are much larger than humans and impossible to miss in an open area like this.
They wouldn’t bother hiding against what they see as weaker opponents.
That eased my mind a little.
But it was far from a situation to relax in.
“Ahhh!”
“Help us!”
A ravenous beast burst into the village, devouring livestock and attacking the villagers.
Awakened by the screams, people scrambled to lock their doors, but it wouldn’t do much good.
Just as the spiked wolves had shattered walls with their bodies of steel spikes, the wooden doors of these rural brick houses were no obstacle to them.
Guards rushed out, wielding spears and swords, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.
Even if their numbers had been closer, the guards would still have been overwhelmed.
It’s not like these countryside guards had spent their days rigorously training in martial arts.
For some reason, the hero stood there, staring blankly at the scene, as if he’d been struck by some unseen shock.
Was there some danger I couldn’t recognize?
He was a man of few words, but if it was something important, he’d tell me.
I decided not to overthink it.
I didn’t want to disturb his thoughts.
I had my own job to do.
“Just in case—can you fight?” I asked.
“…Of course.”
His response came a beat slower than usual, as if he were snapping out of his thoughts.
He didn’t seem quite himself, but if he said he was fine, then I’d trust that he was.
There were no demons here, so the two of us should be enough.
“But in this situation…”
He trailed off, glancing at the beasts scattered throughout the village.
If the hero’s powerful sword aura were unleashed here, it could harm the villagers as well.
I understood what he was getting at.
But that wasn’t anything new.
“Leave that part to me,” I said.
I wasn’t strong, but I could at least create the conditions for the hero to fight freely.
“I’ll gather the villagers and lead the guards to this inn for shelter.”
This was a small village, with a population to match.
While the lack of manpower was a disadvantage, it also meant the entire population could fit into the inn, which was built to accommodate travelers heading to Swindlin.
If we gathered the villagers in one place, we wouldn’t need to worry as much about civilian casualties.
Once I stationed myself in front of the inn, there’d be no more attacks.
After that, it would be the hero’s turn to act.
A cluster of beasts like this in a small village could easily be wiped out in one sweep of the hero’s sword aura.
“Until then, keep them occupied in smaller skirmishes,” I added.
There were too many of them. If the hero didn’t thin their numbers in one area, evacuating the villagers would be much more dangerous.
Even if I were fine, the villagers might not be.
Taking his silence as agreement, I leapt down from the roof.
“Wait, Raul…!”
Oh?
Did the hero just call for me?
Had I been too one-sided in deciding our plan?
Usually, when he didn’t speak, I filled in the gaps for him.
Now I felt uneasy.
I wanted to ask why, but it was already too late.
A spiked wolf’s gaping jaws loomed before me.
If it had been something critical, he wouldn’t have just let me go—he’d have grabbed me by the collar or something, right?
I reached into my coat and pulled out daggers, slipping them between my fingers.
With a flick, they flew through the air.
The blades gleamed with a sharp aura, cutting through the darkness as they struck true.
They pierced the steel hide, passing through the beast’s body.
A spiked wolf with a blade through its skull collapsed, its jaws still wide open.
One.
Another wolf had its legs severed as it pinned a villager beneath its claws.
It howled in pain, its massive body collapsing.
Two.
Lastly, three.
A dagger struck a wolf in the eye just as it charged a brick house, ready to tear it down.
I commanded the blade to return, and it carved through the soft tissue inside the beast’s skull before emerging and landing back in my hand.
That should take care of the ones in front of me.
I decapitated the wolf writhing on the ground.
Leaving its head intact could risk resurrection by demon magic, so it was better to finish it off completely.
You never know.
“Hic, sob…”
I extended a hand to a trembling villager crouched on the ground.
They were so terrified they couldn’t even open their eyes, convinced they were about to be eaten.
Gently patting their shoulder, I coaxed them to calm down.
Their tightly shut eyes slowly opened.
They seemed to relax slightly—until they spotted the dead wolf, and their face went pale again.
Even though it was dead, the mere sight of the beast must have been terrifying for a regular person.
“It’s okay,” I said firmly.
I pulled out my adventurer’s badge and held it out.
It was gold—enough to reassure them.
“You’re lucky. Zerbin and I happened to be staying here today.”
“Z-Zerbin… You mean…?”
I nodded. Their stiff expression softened with relief.
The villager who had been pinned by the wolf groaned intermittently.
I approached and found their arm bleeding profusely from a bite wound.
Tearing a strip from my coat, I tied it tightly around the wound to stop the bleeding.
Proper first aid would have to wait until we reached the inn.
Looking up at the inn’s roof, I saw the hero was gone.
He must have gone off to fight somewhere.
Whatever he wanted to say, it didn’t seem like something I needed to hear.
I decided to forget about it.
“Th-thank you…”
“If it’s hard to talk, don’t. Just hold on tight.”
“Huh?”
I grabbed two villagers and leapt toward the inn.
I dropped them off in my room, safe on an upper floor where the wolves couldn’t immediately reach them.
“Stay here. Keep the wound tightly bandaged.”
They nodded numbly as I stepped back out the window.
There were still plenty of people to rescue.
Hopping across rooftops, I reached the guards I’d spotted earlier.
On the way, I rescued a few more people in danger, carrying them along.
By the time I arrived, I was practically a walking luggage rack.
The guards were barely managing to kill a single spiked wolf.
At least they could fight.
“Who are you?!” one of them demanded, pointing a spear at me.
Seriously?
No sense of timing.
I dropped off the people I was carrying and turned to face them.
* * *
