12 - Holy Knight Brigade 聖騎士旅

Holy Knight Brigade

聖騎士旅

In the entrance hall used for the inaugural assembly, over a hundred adventurers had gathered.

在用於成立大會的入口大廳裏，聚集了一百多名冒險者。

They talked amongst themselves, as they waited nervously.

他們一邊緊張地等待，一邊互相交談。

I was distanced from the tables, watching over them from the wall. This time, I wasn9;t an attendee, but the host.

我與桌子保持一定距離，從牆上監視着它們。這次，我不是與會者，而是主持人。

Monica was busily moving around, and she put the temple virgins in maid clothes to have them help out.

莫妮卡忙着走動，她給聖殿童女穿上女僕裝，讓她們幫忙。

When she came up next to me, Monica…

當她走到我旁邊時，莫妮卡……

“As I thought, perhaps keeping them in their temple robes would9;ve been better? I was sure it would look out of place, but by doing this, I9;ve killed their character traits.”

“正如我所想，也許讓他們穿着聖殿長袍會更好？我確信這看起來不合適，但通過這樣做，我已經扼殺了他們的性格特徵。”

“What are you even talking about? More importantly, do you think we have enough food and drink?”

“你到底在說什麼？更重要的是，你覺得我們有足夠的食物和飲料嗎？”

When I confirmed it, she nodded.

當我確認後，她點了點頭。

“We9;ve made no oversights. But there is a bit of a problem.”

“我們沒有疏忽。但有一點問題。”

With some drink in their systems, and some time to alleviate the tension, we had prepared the stage for the others to make their appearance.

『無論什麼時期，你都會遇到無法計算得失的人。好吧，事實上他們至少得到了解決，這已經很不錯了。』

Among them were adventurers formerly of knight households. Just as Aria hailed from a militaristic Viscount House, there were a number of adventurers with similar heritage.

Music was to be made of instruments, and playing them together before a crowd was the whole point. So her Skill was nothing but irksome.

Majestic music began to stream into the assembly hall. Eva didn9;t show any signs of having done anything, and I couldn9;t help but wonder where exactly the music was coming from.

“是的，我明白這一點。我們一定能堅持到這場戰鬥結束吧？”

伊娃不這樣做是有原因的不要利用她的技能。她討厭它。

『Exactly. But they9;ll be reliable for now. And thinking of the future, the Holy Maiden will need those who9;ll move as her arms and legs.』

爲了奪回昔日的輝煌，他們決心踏上這一次的使命。

當貴賓出來時，一切都安靜了。

“Yes.”

它的名字是【聲音】……它放大了她的聲音，讓更多的人聽到。

（我沒有欺騙他，但我確實在利用他。這種感覺不太好。）

『正是如此。但目前它們是可靠的。想到未來，聖女將需要那些能像她的胳膊和腿一樣移動的人。』

（時間到了。）

Its name was 【Voice】… it amplified the sound of her voice, and let a larger number of people hear it.

0;It9;s time.1;

穿着一件看起來緊緊貼在皮膚上的白色連衣裙，亞烏拉小姐下來了。在她身後，跟着前聖女塞爾瑪小姐和前大祭司加斯通小姐。

There was a reason Eva didn9;t make use of her Skill. She hated it.

Or so she said.

I looked at the hall. Creit-san was there, and he was wearing conspicuously high-spirited clothing.

（物以類聚，物以類聚。）

祝聖的童女們……不是穿着女僕裝，而是穿着莫妮卡縫製的服裝，她們出來了，大廳裏的人們議論紛紛。

The consecrated virgins… not in maid clothes, but in the outfits that Monica had sewn, they came out, and talk broke out among the people in the hall.

She wanted her voice to reach on its own. She didn9;t want to rely on a Skill.

他們喝了點酒，也有時間緩解緊張，我們已經爲其他人出場準備了舞臺。

當我看向伊娃時，她點了點頭。

我看着大廳。克雷特先生也在場，他的服裝顯得十分昂揚。

『No matter the time period, you9;ll find folks who can9;t calculate loss and gain. Well, the fact they9;re at least resolved is decent.』

對了，我收集的都是那些以政府服務爲目標的人。我也讓克雷特先生把那些以騎士身份爲目標的人都收集起來了。

音樂是由樂器組成的，在人羣面前一起演奏它們纔是重點。所以她的技能只是令人厭煩而已。

第六個也是如此。

從寶石中傳來了第五號略顯厭倦的聲音。

When I sent a look to Eva, she nodded her head.

（是的，只要她閉嘴，她絕對是聖女。）

至少她是這麼說的。

（很少有技能被持有者討厭。不，正是因爲她不想要它才顯現出來嗎？技能有很多謎團。）

這次的重頭戲是她的舞臺【背景音樂】。即使沒有樂器，她也能憑藉自己的技能進行表演。

0;I9;m not deceiving him, but I9;m certainly using him. It isn9;t a good feeling.1;

0;Birds of a feather flock together, I see.1;

我明白了我們面臨的問題。莫妮卡跟我登記後，就回去工作了。

I understood the problem we carried. After Monica checked in with me, she went back to work.

0;It9;s rare for there to be a Skill hated by its holder. No, did it manifest precisely because she didn9;t desire it? There are quite a few mysteries with Skills.1;

Dreaming adventurers.

In order to reclaim their former glory, they had resolved themselves to hop aboard this time9;s mission.

Eva had a Skill of her own. It wasn9;t too useful in battle, and the girl herself didn9;t really seem to like it.

“是的。”

And when the VIPs came out, it all went silent.

Rather than using it to get rich quick, those that wanted to escape from this lifestyle.

“Yeah, I understand that one. We9;ll be able to hold out until the end of this battle, right?”

我把目光轉向樓梯。

夢想冒險家。

0;Yep, she9;s definitely a Holy Maiden as long as she keeps her mouth shut.1;

其中有原爲騎士家族的冒險者。正如出身于軍國主義子爵府的阿莉亞一樣，同樣出身的冒險家也有不少。

她希望自己的聲音能夠傳達出去。她不想依賴技能。

Right, the ones I gathered were those aiming for government service. I had Creit-san gather those aiming for knighthood as well.

I turned my eyes to the stairs.

那些想要逃離這種生活方式的人，而不是利用它來快速致富。

From the Jewel, came the slightly-fed-up voice of the Fifth.

雄偉的音樂開始流入禮堂。伊娃沒有表現出任何做過任何事情的跡象，我忍不住想知道音樂到底是從哪裏來的。

In a white dress that seemed to be stuck-fast to her skin, down came Aura-san. Behind her followed the former Holy Maiden Thelma-san, and former High Priest Gastone-san.

伊娃有自己的技能。它在戰鬥中用處不大，而且少女本人似乎也不太喜歡它。

The Sixth as well.

And this time9;s centerpiece was her stage 【Back Music】. Even without instruments, she could put on performances with her Skill.

This time, we didn9;t have the leisure or time to hire an orchestra, so I left it to her.

這一次，我們沒有閒暇或時間聘請管絃樂隊，所以我把它留給了她。

The atmosphere and sound, as well as the real Holy Maiden9;s… no, the former Holy Maiden candidate9;s appearance set the hall in silence and anticipation.

氣氛和聲音，還有真正的聖女……不，前聖女候補的出現，讓大廳裏一片寂靜和期待。

Aura-san stopped part-way down the stairs, and looked over the hall before speaking.

亞烏拉小姐在下樓梯的途中停了下來，環顧大廳後開口說道。

“I thank you all for gathering. I, Aura, am grateful to be in your presence today.”

“感謝大家的聚集。我，奧拉，很高興今天能見到你們。”

Unmotivated, and violent… from my image of her, the girl9;s current bearing was too different, I felt like I was going to laugh.

沒有動力，而且暴力……和我印象中的她相比，這個女孩現在的神態太不一樣了，我感覺我要笑了。

I held back and listened, but the contents were, to put it simply… let9;s go forth and beat Zayin9;s Divine Knights black and blue together. Because if you succeed, you9;ll get government offices, and I9;ll take you on as knights.

我忍住聽了聽，內容簡單來說就是……我們一起上前，把扎因的神騎士們打得遍體鱗傷。因爲如果你成功了，你就會得到官職，我就會封你爲騎士。

Is how it was.

就是這樣。

Right, that was the bait for this time9;s gathering. We couldn9;t pay a reward. But it goes without saying we had to prepare the necessary food supplies on our side.

對了，這就是這次聚會的誘餌。我們無法支付報酬。但不言而喻，我們必須準備好必要的食物供應。

And Aura-san sent a glance to me.

然後亞烏拉小姐看了我一眼。

“In order to take back Zayin, here, a new knight brigade will be formed. Its lead shall be left to the one who saved my life, Lyle-dono.”

“爲了奪回扎因，在這裏，將組建新的騎士團。它的領導權就交給了救了我一命的萊爾大人。”

這是一個簡單的想法，但也許效果會很好？就這樣，聖女騎士團被稱爲聖騎士團。

當他如此大膽地說出這句話時，我苦笑了一下，點了點頭。

To oppose the divine knight brigade, we had formed a holy knight brigade. By the way, the naming was done on the spot.

第二天，我帶着米蘭達，找到了阿爾巴諾桑在酒吧裏。

「這裏，騎士團……【聖騎士團】已經成立。勇敢的人們，願你們在女神的保護下出擊。”

Albano-san looked at us with his cup still held against his face.

大廳裏再次沸騰起來，我感覺只有我一個人在思考這個名字。現在採取下一步行動…

They were barely any different.

“協助扎因這邊？不想。我只騎獲勝的馬。”

我向前邁出了一步，聚集在一起的冒險者們的目光都聚集在我身上。

阿爾巴諾先生仍然把杯子抵在臉上看着我們。

“… I do know you lot are making some flashy moves. Making use of Creit9;s rock-headedness, and spreading rumors on your own?”

這是一個家庭傳統。我們不會打失敗的仗。只有老三舍命換取時間，但那是因爲這是必要的。

“What we want to leave to you is spreading rumors in Zayin. That the former Holy Maiden candidate has stood up, and that she will wage war on Zayin.”

阿爾巴諾桑喝了一大口啤酒，看着我們。

他回答時的聲音有點顫抖。

“沒關係。但這並不意味着揮舞武器就能引發戰爭，對吧？”

“我想把副司令一職交給克雷特·貝尼尼閣下。”

“It will only be temporary, but I shall graciously take up the position of commander.”

It was a simple thought, but perhaps it would work out fine? And like that, the Holy Maiden9;s knight brigade was dubbed the holy knight brigade.

“Here, a knight brigade… a 【Holy Knight Brigade】has been formed. Brave ones, may you sally forth with the protection of the Goddess.”

“… Y-yes!”

0;I9;ll have to meet Albano-san9;s party tomorrow.1;

I nodded.

這是一家商店，唯一的入口是一條小巷，並不是最好的地方。但他們做出來的菜品質量很高，而且味道鮮美。

It was a store that9;s sole entrance was an alleyway, and not the best place to be. But the quality of the dishes they put out was high, and the taste was delicious.

“I would like to leave the role of vice commander to Creit Benini-dono.”

（好吧，雖然不太能從嘴裏說出，那就是……聖女騎士團，或者怎麼說……聽起來確實像那個國家會有的東西。這是一個臨時名稱，任何人都可以稍後進行更改。）

Taking a swig of ale, Albano-san looked at us.

“這是爲了勝利。我們無意失敗。當然，我不喜歡輸掉戰鬥。”

It9;s a family tradition. We won9;t fight losing battles. Only the Third threw down his life to buy time, but that was because it was a necessity.

0;Well, even if it doesn9;t quite roll off the tongue, it9;s that… the Holy Maiden9;s knight brigade, or how to put it… that does sound like something that country would have. It9;s a temporary name, and anyone can come along and change it later.1;

“It9;s to win. We9;ve no intentions of losing. Of course, I9;ve not a preference for losing battles.”

在我們周圍，粗野的人們喝着啤酒，尋歡作樂。

➐

阿爾巴諾桑想了想。他不但沒有猶豫，反而像是不明白。

米蘭達向她的食物伸出一隻手。

Creit-san was so moved, he broke into tears.

張開雙臂後，亞烏拉小姐將雙手交叉在小小的胸前，擺出了祈禱的姿勢。

還有亞烏拉小姐……

And Aura-san…

Around us, rough folk drank ale, and made merry.

克雷特先生感動得流下了眼淚。

Albano-san thought over it. Rather than hesitating, it looked as if he didn9;t understand.

Harlots called out to the customers in the bar, but they didn9;t come closer to us, as Miranda was at the table.

“這只是暫時的，但我會慷慨地擔任指揮官的職位。”

“Assist on Zayin9;s side? Don9;t want to. I only ride winning horses.”

“……我知道你們正在做出一些華麗的舉動。利用克雷特的頑固，自己散佈謠言？”

I took a step forward, and the eyes of the gathered adventurers gathered on me.

The next day, I took Miranda, and found Albano-san in a bar.

“……是、是的！”

When he said that quite boldly, I gave a bitter smile, and nodded.

爲了對抗神聖騎士團，我們組建了聖騎士團。順便說一句，命名是當場完成的。

我點點頭。

After spreading out her arms, Aura-san crossed her hands over her small chest, and made a pose of prayer.

（明天我必須去見阿爾巴諾桑一行。）

His voice as he answered was shaking a bit.

他們幾乎沒有什麼不同。

“我們想留給你們的是在扎音散播謠言。原來的聖女候選人已經站出來了，她要向扎因發動戰爭。”

“That9;s alright. But it9;s not like swinging a weapon is all that makes a war, right?”

妓女向酒吧裏的顧客招呼，但他們並沒有靠近我們，因爲米蘭達就在餐桌旁。

The hall heated up again, and I got the feeling I was the only one mulling over the name so much. Now to take the next move…

Miranda extended a hand towards her food.

It wasn9;t for his own loss, he lost his life for a greater victory.

他不是爲了自己的失敗，而是爲了更大的勝利而犧牲生命。

Albano-san laughed.

阿爾巴諾桑笑了。

“Nice! I like guys like you. But what will you do by spreading rumors? If that9;s all there is to it, I will admit there9;s no demerit to us, though.”

“好極了！我喜歡像你這樣的人。但散佈謠言能做什麼呢？如果僅此而已，我承認我們並沒有什麼缺點。”

He seemed to think it may be a trap.

他似乎認爲這可能是一個陷阱。

“Yes, spreading rumors is all we need. After that, it9;ll embellish itself on its own. And there are a number of rumors I9;d like you to leak. Please spread them in order. Ah, I9;ll put up the funds for your food and drink while in Zayin. Once you9;re done spreading them, you need only return.”

“是的，散佈謠言就是我們所需要的。之後，它會自己裝飾自己。我希望你透露一些謠言。請按順序展開。啊，我會爲你在扎音期間的飲食提供資金。一旦你傳播完畢，你只需要返回即可。”

Neither me nor Miranda expected him to do the job properly. But rather than having him carry it out, we wanted the fact to remain that we had made the request to him.

我和米蘭達都不希望他能做好這項工作。但我們不想讓他執行，而是希望保留我們已向他提出請求的事實。

When we were making so many showy moves, we believed there were those watching us.

當我們做出如此多炫耀的舉動時，我們相信有人在看着我們。

“… Hmm, well if that9;s all, then why not. But I9;ve a request of my own.”

“……嗯，好吧，如果僅此而已，那爲什麼不呢。但我有一個自己的要求。”

“What could it be?”

“會是什麼呢？”

When I said that, Albano-san made a serious expression.

當我這麼說的時候，阿爾巴諾桑露出了嚴肅的表情。

當我警惕地朝他們這邊看了一眼時，米蘭達看到了，也注意到了。

“Come to think of it, Albano-san?”

The Third let his voice from the Jewel.

“… And what reward do you want?”

“我會接受這個請求。當我在做這件事的時候，你能告訴我你要去那裏做什麼嗎？”

“那些幹髒活的傢伙？是的，我認識他們；那又怎樣呢？從我的角度來看，我只能羨慕。他們做骯髒的工作，人們稱他們爲該死的精英。”

阿爾巴諾先生髮言了。

『Well, we9;re only doing this to show our enemies that we9;re making a move. I don9;t think there9;ll be a problem if he betrays, but…』

And…

“讓我來談談這件事。”

“Would you be interested in that elite force?”

“嗯，也許這樣就對了。油和水。”

她帶來的是一封信。

阿爾巴諾先生做了個鬼臉，好像無法理解我的話。

With an earnest face, I nodded.

我嘆了一口氣。

“What?”

“你這是什麼意思？你想加入嗎？我看不出你和克雷特先生合作得很好，知道嗎？”

Miranda was a little wary as she uncrossed her legs under the table so she could move at a moment9;s notice.

When I sent a wary glance their way, Miranda saw, and noticed as well.

“I9;ll take up the request. While I9;m at it, how about you tell me what you9;ll be doing over there?”

“What, I don9;t care about that knight brigade. I just want to get out of this lowly lifestyle of mine. No, make that we. We9;re a hopeless gathering of trash. But look here… we don9;t have to be at the top, but we have our longings for a respectable life. When that chance is rolling around in front of us, isn9;t grasping at it the human thing to do?”

“You9;ll find adventurers here on one side or the other. Those guys are on Zayin9;s side. They may go out to sell info on us. My party will take on those sorts for you. You guys don9;t look too skilled in that field.”

並這麼說。

“Money, status, fame… I9;d like to say all of them, but let9;s just say I want something considerable. Even if it isn9;t a Zayin governmental position, something like a medal others will recognize. Former bandits… as long as I can get rid of that label.”

“……你想要什麼獎勵？”

“What could you mean by that? You want to join in? I can9;t see you working well alongside Creit-san, you know?”

我看了看搜索技能上的回答。阿爾巴諾先生髮出藍色信號。酒吧裏還舉辦了一場紅色派對。

“金錢、地位、名譽……我都想說，但還是說我想要一些比較大的東西吧。即使不是扎因政府的職位，像獎章之類的東西，其他人也會承認。曾經的強盜……只要我能擺脫這個標籤就好。”

我花了很多時間進行這樣的準備，兩週後，艾蕾特小姐就來到了莊園。

What she brought with her was a letter.

I looked at the responses on the Search Skill. Albano-san was giving off a blue signal. And there was also a red party in the bar.

I spent my time carrying out such preparations, and in two weeks9; time, Alette-san came over to the manor.

“Zayin9;s knight brigade… do you happen to know of their elite force?”

We weren9;t the best at it, I concede.

“Well, maybe it9;s just right. Oil and water.”

Albano-san made a face as if he couldn9;t comprehend my words.

Albano-san put his hands up on the backrest of his chair, and turned his body diagonally towards us.

“那你到底想要什麼？”

她微笑着……

And smiling, she…

“什麼？”

阿爾巴諾先生將雙手放在椅子靠背上，將身體斜向我們。

米蘭達推斷出了我的想法。她把手放在下巴上，看着阿爾巴諾桑，連連點頭。

“扎因騎士團……你知道他們的精銳部隊嗎？”

米蘭達在桌子底下鬆開交叉的雙腿，以便隨時移動，她有點小心翼翼。

我一臉認真地點點頭。

And said that.

“Let me in on this matter.”

我承認，我們在這方面並不是最擅長的。

“什麼，我不關心那個騎士團。我只是想擺脫這種卑微的生活方式。不，讓我們。我們是一羣絕望的垃圾。但看看這裏……我們不必處於頂端，但我們有對受人尊敬的生活的渴望。當機會擺在我們面前時，抓住它不正是人的本分嗎？”

還有……

第三個從寶石中發出聲音。

➐

“So what exactly do you want?”

“你會在這裏的一側或另一側找到冒險家。那些傢伙是站在扎因一邊的。他們可能會出去兜售我們的信息。我的隊伍將爲你承擔這些任務。你們看起來在這方面不太熟練。”

I breathed out a sigh.

『好吧，我們這樣做只是爲了向敵人表明我們正在採取行動。我覺得如果他背叛的話應該不會有什麼問題，但是……』

Miranda inferred what I was thinking. She put her hand to her chin, looked at Albano-san, and nodded a number of times.

“想一想吧，阿爾巴諾桑？”

“Those guys that do the dirty work? Yeah, I know them; what of it? From my point of view, I can only be envious. They do the dirty work, and people call them the god damn elites.”

Albano-san spoke.

“你對那支精銳部隊感興趣嗎？”

I accepted it in the parlor, and looked at her face.

我在客廳接過它，看着她的臉。

“I9;m looking forward to our meeting with the crown princess.”

“我很期待與公主的會面。”

When I said that with a smile, Alette-san made a dubious expression.

當我微笑着這麼說時，艾莉特小姐露出了疑惑的表情。

“You already brazenly investigated it beforehand… that9;s quite a nice personality you have there, Lyle-kun.”

「你已經明目張膽地調查過了……萊爾君，你的性格真是太好了。」

“I graciously accept your words of praise.”

“我欣然接受您的讚美之詞。”

She likely didn9;t want it to come to this. But with those three cards in my hand when the meeting was proposed, I thought I9;d surely be able to meet the princess.

她可能不希望事情發展到這個地步。但有了這三張卡片，當提議見面時，我想我一定能見到公主。

Even if I myself wasn9;t of such high position.

即使我自己的職位沒有那麼高。

Alette-san looked at my face.

阿萊特小姐看着我的臉。

“… I9;ll just say this beforehand, but if you won9;t come under Lorphys9; umbrella, we can9;t back your cause. Even if we can cooperate.”

「……我就先說一下，但如果你不加入洛菲斯的保護傘，我們就無法支持你的事業。就算我們可以合作。”

Funds, goods, manpower… I knew Lorphys didn9;t have the leisure to send such things around.

資金、物資、人力……我就知道洛菲斯沒閒工夫送這些東西。

『如果在這裏停下來的話，那就是很大的打擊了……哈。』

它的建造是爲了標記與洛菲斯的邊界，但這條線已被推遲，堡壘已經失去了它的作用。

It was the Seventh9;s voice.

When I saw her look around the room, I smiled, and nodded.

我微笑着，聽到寶石的聲音。

The yawning man spoke in contempt.

我無視了他的沮喪，對亞蕾特小姐說道。

『Results? That9;s something you take for yourself. And our preparations are already onto the next stage. There9;s no stopping it anymore.』

它曾經被使用過，但現在派往那裏的騎士卻無能爲力。它的士兵是剛剛從周圍村莊僱傭來的。

這就是我不依賴他們的原因。

打哈欠的男人輕蔑地說道。

The subordinate soldiers9; morale was endlessly low.

“嗯？那是天上的馬嗎……哎呀！這不是奎林嗎！？”

There wasn9;t any helping the young soldier saying such a thing.

…那是扎印郊外的一座堡壘。

雖然阿萊特明確表示同意我的觀點，但她並沒有對此發表任何言論。

即便如此，它的駐紮人數也接近五十，而且還是爲了它而維持着。之所以面積如此之大，與聚集的寥寥無幾的人不成比例，是因爲它缺乏戰略價值。

“這是……我不確定，但我認爲你應該把它交給前聖女候補者亞烏拉閣下。好像有動靜。”

“I don9;t mind. All I desire is that things may go well for both of us. I do think you will profit from it as well.”

『If we stop here, it9;ll be a large blow… hah.』

I smiled, and heard a voice from the Jewel.

“Right, that fiancé prince did take up a stay, did he? Quite a troublesome thing when war is approaching.”

“We9;ll try to do something about it.”

“Hah, even when there9;s a war with Lorphys… it sure is peaceful here.”

➐

當我看到她環視房間時，我微笑着點了點頭。

“This is… I9;m not certain, but I think you should deliver it to the former Holy Maiden candidate Aura-dono. It seems there9;s been a movement.”

第四個也是。

… It was a fortress on the outskirts of Zayin.

看着遠方，士兵低聲說道。

“Huh? Is that a horse in the sky… oy! Isn9;t that a quilin!?”

The Fourth as well.

Looking into the distance, the soldier murmured.

值班士兵在要塞城牆上嘆了口氣。一個同村的士兵走了過來。

“That so? Even so, that maid of yours isn9;t here today, I see.”

毫無意義的【諾尼爾要塞】裏，被降職的騎士們似乎並不在意，這裏從早到晚都瀰漫着酒氣。

“還有什麼可做的？即使他們給了我們錢，在這個該死的堡壘裏也沒有地方可以使用。騎士們沒有動力。即使我們訓練，也沒有任何意義。這個堡壘應該已經被拆除了。”

Seeing her mutter that in irritation, I nodded.

“我認爲結果不會像你想象的那樣，萊爾君。”

在那裏，艾萊特小姐對我說話了。

There, Alette-san addressed me.

The soldier on duty sighed atop the fortress9;s wall. A soldier from the same village walked over.

看到她惱怒地嘟囔着，我點了點頭。

In the meaningless 【Fort Noinyl】, the demoted knights didn9;t seem to care, and the place reeked of alcohol from morning to dusk.

“What9;s that? Were you gambling late into the night or something?”

“我不介意。我所希望的只是我們倆都能一切順利。我確實認爲你也會從中受益。”

It had once been put to use, but now the knights dispatched to it had little to do. Its soldiers were just hired from the surrounding villages.

部下士氣低落不已。

That9;s why I didn9;t depend on them.

“是嗎？話雖如此，看來你那位女僕今天並不在。」

“對了，那個未婚夫王子確實住了下來，不是嗎？當戰爭臨近時，這是一件相當麻煩的事情。”

It had been constructed to mark the border with Lorphys border, but that line had been pushed back, and the fortress had lost its role.

這是第七人的聲音。

“哈，就算是和洛菲斯發生戰爭……這裏也確實很和平啊。”

“I don9;t think the results will come out how you think they will, Lyle-kun.”

“我們會嘗試對此採取一些措施。”

While she made it clear she shared my opinion, Alette-san didn9;t say anything to that effect.

『結果？那是你爲自己拿走的東西。我們的準備工作已經進入下一階段。已經無法阻止了。』

沒有任何人可以幫助年輕士兵說出這樣的話。

Even so, it had close to fifty stationed, and it was maintained for the sake of it. The reason its expanse was unproportional to the few people gathered was due to its lack of strategic value.

“那是什麼？你是不是在深夜賭博什麼的？”

I ignored his depression, and spoke to Alette-san.

“What else is there to do? Even if they give us money, there9;s nowhere to use it in this bloody fort. The knights have no motivation. Even if we train, there9;s no meaning to it. This fort should just be demolished already.”

“You screwing with me!? Where!? … It9;s really flying. Without wings.”

“你跟我搞鬼！？在哪裏！？ ……真的飛起來了。沒有翅膀。”

The soldiers were excited over such a rare sight. And the others stationed in the fort were the same. Without any stories to speak of, the boring fortress was soon roused by the sighting of the quilin.

看到如此罕見的景象，士兵們興奮不已。而其他駐紮在要塞裏的人也是如此。沒有任何故事可言，無聊的堡壘很快就因爲看到了奎林而甦醒了。

It didn9;t take much time at all for the hungover knights to stumble outside, and see the quilin spanning the sky.

沒過多久，宿醉騎士們就跌跌撞撞地走出去，看到了跨越天空的奎林。

“Quilins are supposed to bring good luck, right? Then something good will happen to us as well…”

“奎林斯應該會帶來好運，對嗎？那麼我們也會有好事發生……”

But a single one of them rose their voice.

但是其中一個人提高了聲音。

“E-enemy attack! It9;s an enemy attack!!”

“敵軍進攻！是敵人襲擊！！”

The bell was promptly sounded, and the knights and soldiers knew what that meant, but no one took up a weapon as they looked outside the fortress walls in surprise.

鐘聲很快響起，騎士和士兵們都知道這意味着什麼，但沒有人拿起武器，驚訝地看着城牆外。

Outside, was what looked like a large iron-made box with a cylinder furnished on its side. Even without a horse, it was steadily moving.

外面是一個看起來像鐵製大盒子的東西，側面裝有一個圓柱體。即使沒有馬，它也能平穩地前行。

“W-what the hell is that! Why did you lot let it get so close!?”

“這、那是什麼！你們爲什麼讓它離得這麼近！？”

The hungover knight opened his eyes, and grasped the lapel of the soldier. But the knight himself was in trousers and a shirt… he didn9;t have a weapon on hand.

宿醉的騎士睜開了眼睛，抓住了士兵的衣領。但騎士本人穿着褲子和襯衫……他手上沒有武器。

“她爲何如此荒涼……”

“W-who are you!”

A single knight spoke.

“What are your intentions. Dammit! Get your weapons at the ready! That is a fake! There9;s no way she9;d…”

那麼……他想起了一個傳聞。

被踢的騎士在地上滾滾，然後撞到牆壁，失去了知覺。

一名士兵問道。

“… So it9;s Aura-sama!”

There, with her shoulders, stomach, and thighs exposed, and with separate cloths lazily covering her arms, chest, and waist, a young girl descended from the sky.

“這、那隻奎林引起了我的注意。”

“S-strong.”

“……我們投降。”

Hearing that, the knight was sure about it.

當另一位騎士這麼說時，入侵者就跑上臺階，包圍了牆頂上的人。

The knight immediately looked towards it, to see close to a hundred men stream into the fortress walls. With those fully-armed soldiers streaming in, the knight quickly remembered he was unarmed, and retreated further in

要塞的士兵從來沒有見過真正的聖女。他們只見過前任聖女塞爾瑪幾次。

The knight put his hand to his waist, but he had left his sword behind. To the giggling girl, the knight snatched a spear off a nearby soldier, and let out a thrust.

“那不可能……”

There, one of the soldiers shouted out.

“Why is she in such a desolate…”

In that case… he recalled a rumor.

“The Holy Maiden?”

“What should we do!? Is it alright if we shoot some arrows!?”

他投降了。如果真是自稱爲正統聖女亞烏菈的力量，他估計不會有什麼可怕的事情發生。

After the knight had said that much, a violent explosive sound rocked the fort. A number of soldiers collapsed on the spot, and smoke was coming out of the area around the gate.

“你到底有何意圖。該死！準備好你的武器吧！那是假的！她不可能……”

“That can9;t be…”

從扎因逃脫後，她在貝姆發起了行動，並正在集結士兵，至少有傳言是這樣的。但騎士們沒想到她會來到如此偏僻的地方。

騎士說完這句話後，劇烈的爆炸聲震動了要塞。多名士兵當場倒地，大門周圍冒出濃煙。

“Hurry and tie them up. Aura-sama is coming. And send out troops to secure edible supplies from the area. Gather up soldiers as well. It9;s our victory if we can finish preparing before the enemy comes.”

“趕緊把他們綁起來。亞烏拉大人來了。並派出部隊確保該地區的糧食供應。也召集士兵。如果我們能在敵人到來之前做好準備，那就是我們的勝利。”

Having escaped from Zayin, she hand rose to action in Beim, and was gathering soldiers, or so the rumors went. But the knights hadn9;t anticipated she wold come to such a remote regions.

少女開口了。

As the girl dodged it, she continued into a spinning kick, and kicked the man off of his feet.

Before any orders could be issued to the soldiers, the iron box carrying the Holy Maiden had come all the way to the gate. And the large cylinder turned towards the center of the gate.

“… We surrender.”

When another knight said that, the intruders ran up the steps, surrounding the ones atop the wall.

On top of the metallic box was a girl in a white dress. A cloth rendered her face invisible. Her wavy brown hair was clear enough, though.

騎士們認爲這是錯誤的。雖然她的着裝很不一樣，但是卻有一種獨特的氣質。

“嘿，看！”

“Oy, look!”

騎士把手放在腰上，但他留下了劍。騎士從旁邊的士兵手中奪過長槍，對着咯咯笑的少女猛刺了出去。

金屬盒子的頂部是一個穿着白色連衣裙的女孩。一塊布遮住了她的臉。不過，她棕色的捲髮還是很清晰的。

確定他們在數量和裝備上都擊敗了騎士。

女孩一邊躲開，一邊繼續旋轉踢，將男人踢倒在地。

在那裏，一名士兵大聲喊道。

騎士立刻看去，看到近百人湧入城牆。隨着那些全副武裝的士兵蜂擁而至，騎士很快想起自己手無寸鐵，於是進一步退到了

He surrendered. If it was really the force of the one calling herself the rightful Holy Maiden, Aura, he calculated that nothing terrible would happen to them.

“T-the quilin caught my attention.”

還沒等士兵們下達命令，載着聖女的鐵箱就已經一路來到了城門口。而那巨大的圓柱體則轉向了大門的中央。

“聖女？”

那裏，肩膀、腹部和大腿暴露在外，並用單獨的布懶洋洋地蓋住了手臂、胸部和臀部。腰間，一名少女從天而降。

一名騎士說話了。

The young girl spoke.

The knights determined that was wrong. Her outfit was different, but she had a certain air to her.

“我們該怎麼辦！？我們射幾支箭可以嗎！？”

The fortress9; soldiers had never seen the real Holy Maiden before. They had only ever seen the previous Holy Maiden Thelma a handful of times.

「……原來是亞烏菈大人啊！」

Determining they were beaten in numbers and equipment, the knight.

“你、你是誰！”

The kicked knight rolled along the ground, before colliding with the wall, and losing consciousness.

A soldier asked.

“超強。”

騎士聞言，心中十分確定。

0;Dammit, for us to lose without fighting…1;

（該死，我們不戰而敗……）

So the knight was bound, but he noticed the one binding him wasn9;t the most skillful. His men relieved of their weapons, the soldiers were being bound one after the next. The knights began to move. As he was being transported down the stairs, a voice called out to the enemy soldier who9;d bound him.

所以騎士被束縛了，但他發現束縛他的人並不是最熟練的。他的手下卸下了武器，士兵們一個接一個地被捆綁起來。騎士們開始行動。當他被運下樓梯時，一個聲音向綁住他的敵方士兵喊道。

“Oy, help out over here.”

“哦，過來幫忙。”

“No, I have to move this one to the dungeon…”

“不，我必須把這個移到地牢……”

To the troubled enemy soldier, the knight.

給陷入困境的敵方士兵，騎士。

“I9;ve surrendered. I shant run. And you9;ve bound me so I can9;t run to begin with.”

“我投降了。我不會跑。而且你把我束縛住了，讓我根本就跑不了。”

There, the enemy soldier pretended to hesitate, before going back up the stairs.

在那裏，敵方士兵假裝猶豫了一下，然後又走上樓梯。

The knight grinned, as he descended with his bindings still on, and proceeded to undo the ropes.

騎士咧嘴一笑，身上的束縛仍然戴着，並開始解開繩索。

“Amateurs. It looks like she scraped together some adventurers, but she could only get a hundred at that. They9;re not even sufficient in supplies.”

“業餘愛好者。看來她湊了一些冒險者，不過也只能湊到一百個而已。他們甚至連物資都不夠。”

He hid so as not to be found, as he proceeded through the fortress, heading for where he9;d tethered his horse.

跨上馬鞍後，他讓它跑向被毀壞的城門殘骸。

騎士以扎因首都爲目標，馳騁在…

當他穿過堡壘，前往拴馬的地方時，他躲了起來，以免被發現。

And after straddling the saddle, he set it running towards the destroyed remains of the gate.

（如果我帶回這個信息，我就會得救。假設我們與敵人對峙，打了一場漂亮的仗，但被攻破了。而且我盡了最大努力傳達了這個信息……）

敵人向他喊叫，但騎士沒有理睬。

0;If I bring this info back with me, I9;ll be saved. Let9;s say we confronted the enemy, put up a good fight, but were breached. And that I did my best to convey the message…1;

The enemy cried out something towards him, but the knight ignored it.

Aiming for Zayin9;s capital, the knight galloped on…