Chapter 3 Part 1
Chapter 3, Part 1: Meeting in the Forest
As I approached the source of the voice, new Imperial soldiers' bodies began to appear.
Every body was cut cleanly with a single strike.
Not only their armor, but even the swords and shields they tried to use to defend themselves were sliced with smooth edges.
Could there really be someone in this forest who can perform such attacks and still cry?
As doubts grew, the crying continued.
We proceeded more cautiously, and eventually came to a slightly open area in the forest.
There were more than thirty Imperial soldiers' bodies scattered about, and a figure in full-body armor with a cloak stood against a large tree.
Upon closer inspection, many swords and spears were stuck in the armor. There was no way the person could have survived that.
However, the crying was coming from the location of the full-body armor that looked like a corpse.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know, but if we've found a knight from the Knight's country, we can't just leave them alone, dead or alive."
Perhaps because the situation was unclear, Alektem took the lead and approached the stranded knight.
On the way, he gestured for me to stay back.
Alektem drew his short sword for self-defense and forcefully pulled down the knight's cloak.
As I was surprised at Alektem's barbaric behavior after just telling him not to handle the Knight's country's corpses roughly, I noticed that the crying I heard earlier had become even louder.
"No, no, no, no! Don't come closer!!"
Not only crying but also a trembling voice could be heard.
While I couldn't comprehend the situation, Alektem looked troubled and took a step or two away from the tree. Then he signaled me to come over.
"What's wrong?"
As I approached and asked, Alektem pointed with his gaze towards the tree.
Curiously, I looked towards the tree and saw a hole in the middle of it.
Inside, there was a girl who seemed to be about the same age as me, sitting cross-legged with a short sword in hand.
She was wearing silver armor for the shoulder and chest plates, as she perhaps did not have enough physical strength to wear a full-body armor. Underneath, she wore a voluminous skirt dress, also known as dress armor.
The facial features of the girl were solidly constructed, but her large eyes and slanted gaze gave her an overall impression of gentleness, making her look strangely out of place in a battlefield. Her hair looked long, but it was tied back in a way that made it easy to move around. The bright pink color of her hair was something I had never seen before in this world, and it was truly fantastic.
As I observed her closely, the girl also looked back at me. She trembled her short sword as if she were in a desperate situation.
"I am Parubera Eregiyamanya Mudo, the second daughter of Teletothos Eregiyamanya Mudo, the king of the Holy Knight Kingdom of Mudo Veniolnathal! I would rather fight and die than be disgraced! Come on, let's fight! Uuuu..."
She tried to say her rehearsed lines bravely, but halfway through, she couldn't bear it and started crying again.
I scratched my head in confusion and decided to approach her, thinking that she would trust me more than the old man Alektem, who looked like he was from the same generation as me.
"Um, Your Highness the Princess of the Knight Kingdom. We are not citizens of the Empire."
When I called out to her in the gentlest tone possible, Princess Parubera looked at me suspiciously while still crying.
"Sniff... If you're not citizens of the Empire, why are you here?"
"Well, we're here to work. If we gather weapons from the Empire and bring them back to their base, we get paid."
This was the truth. Most of the people who stayed at the same inn as us in the town were there for the same reason.
I tilted my backpack to show her that it contained Empire weapons, and she seemed to understand.
"I see. You're not Empire soldiers. I'm relieved."
Princess Parubera peeked out of the wooden cave and looked around. When she saw that we were the only living humans around in our villager-like attire, she hesitantly came out.
Then she clung to a knight who was stranded, hiding the cave.
"Grandpa, grandpaaaaaahhhhh..."
The intensity of the girl's weeping made it clear that the dead knight must have been someone very close to her.
As I struggled to figure out how to console her, Alektem stepped forward and knelt down in front of Princess Parubera.
"Your Highness. If we don't properly say goodbye and pay our respects, this person will get lost in the underworld."
"Uuu... I know. I knowwww..."
Princess Parubera, crying uncontrollably, stopped clinging to the knight's body.
However, seeming lost, she turned her head left and right like a lost child and approached me when she found me.
"Eh, huh? What's wrong?"
Ignoring my confusion, Princess Parubera jumped into my chest, grabbed my clothes, and pressed her face against me.
Not knowing what to do, I decided to do the appropriate thing for a crying girl: to stroke her head.
As I listened to the girl crying close to me, Alekthem quickly arranged the knight's body. First, he removed the weapon that was stuck in him. Then he laid the knight on his back and put the mantle that had been stripped off him over him. Finally, he placed the sword that the knight had held onto his chest.
With the ritual complete, Alekthem called Princess Parubera.
"Your Highness. Please come here. Please bid farewell to him, who died protecting you and fulfilled the knight's wish."
"Uh, okay. Thank you."
Princess Parubera bowed and said thank you with her hand on my chest. Then she approached the knight's body, which had been laid to rest.
Instead of clinging to the knight's body again, her expression was filled with sadness. However, she seemed to have regained her composure enough to hold back her tears.
As I breathed a sigh of relief, Alekthem came over.
"Hey, Mimo. Leave this to me. Collect weapons from the surrounding corpses and light a signal fire to call the people of the knight's country. I'll explain the situation to the visitors who haven't arrived yet."
I understood the meaning of the fake name he used.
"Got it. I'll say goodbye to the princess first and then go collect weapons."
"Okay. I have to explain the situation to the people who haven't come yet."
I nodded to Alekthem and approached Princess Parubera.
"Your Highness, I have work to do, so I'll be leaving from here."
As I tried to leave, Princess Parubera stopped me.
"Wait, please. Um, this is a thank you for paying tribute to my grandfather. Please accept it."
She handed me the dagger she had first aimed at me and the leather bag she had been carrying at her waist.
When I confirmed with Alekthem, he nodded, indicating that I should take it.
"I gratefully accept it. See you later, Your Highness."
"Yes. Thank you for comforting me without saying anything earlier. I look forward to the day we can meet again."
I smiled, but in my heart, I knew that day would never come. After all, Princess Parubera was a princess of one of the two major countries, and I am just the youngest prince of a small, insignificant country. There's no way our paths would ever cross.
While suppressing such thoughts, I separated from Princess Parubera and Alektem, and headed back into the forest.
I was going to strip equipment off the imperial soldiers that I thought were defeated by the stranded knight.