#82. Capital (3)
Sasha’s urgent voice made the group react quickly.
The noisy campsite instantly went silent.
The knights didn’t panic; they immediately prepared for battle.
It was hard to believe these were the same people who, just moments ago, had been flushed from drink and chatting away. Their movements were quick and precise.
“Prepare for battle, all troops!”
Dmitri came out of the tent and gave the order. His face was grim, and like the other knights, he drew his sword from its sheath.
“Protect the women and children!”
“Yes!”
In an instant, a circular formation surrounded Sasha and Pavel’s group.
Then—
Growl!
Hiss!
The monsters that had been creeping from the darkness bared their sharp teeth and charged.
Clang—
Slash!
“Hyah!”
“Ha!”
The outermost knights blocked the monsters’ attacks first.
They cut them down with ease—these were the elite of the Black Wolf Knights, veterans who spent most of the year on the battlefield and won as easily as breathing.
But even with their overwhelming skill, the battle didn’t end quickly.
“Why are there so many monsters?!” one knight shouted in frustration.
“This was supposed to be a safe area! How did they get here?”
“And it’s not just one or two—what’s going on?!”
As they swung their swords without pause, monster blood soaked the ground and corpses piled up so densely there was barely room to step.
Even so, more kept coming. The endless swarm began to wear down the knights. Some were getting injured.
This won’t do.
Sasha quickly assessed the situation. She had no sword—so swordsmanship was out.
Magic?
Unfortunately, with her current body she hadn’t learned any battle-ready magic. She had spells that could work on ordinary people, but not on monsters.
Still, there was one thing she could try.
“Guys.”
When she whispered, spirits appeared in the air—now as large as a human head, thanks to her improved spirit affinity and mana control.
“Weee, you called us?”
“Why’d you call~?”
“I need your help.”
“Just say it~”
With their eager agreement, Sasha urgently called out to Pavel.
“Pavel.”
Pavel, standing protectively in front of her, turned his head slightly.
“…”
“…”
Their eyes met.
“…I’ll do it.”
They didn’t need to exchange details—
“Yeah.”
—just a glance was enough to understand.
Pavel nodded, and flames burst from his sword. The fire spread to the monsters he struck.
Then—
Whoosh!
“Yeah~ make it bigger~”
“The fire should grow stronger~”
The spirits blew strong winds, fanning the flames until they spread rapidly in all directions.
The monsters screamed as they burned in the mana fire.
Since there were many but not especially strong ones, Pavel and Sasha’s joint attack worked perfectly. The monsters’ numbers dropped fast.
“Whoa!”
The knights, at first shocked by Pavel’s flaming sword, now marveled at the timely wind that helped finish the fight—and even dried their sweat.
“Let’s go! Just a bit more!”
With the tide turned, the knights finished off the remaining monsters.
After the battle, Pavel was the center of attention.
“What was that fire just now, young master?”
“Did Lord Sergei teach you? I heard only a few swordsmen can do that!”
Even Dmitri and Igor stared at him in surprise.
“That was…”
“Mana Hole,” Dmitri murmured.
“When did you learn that? Lord Sergei must’ve taught you, right?” Igor asked.
Dmitri didn’t answer—he doubted it came from Sergei. His gaze shifted to Sasha, who smiled innocently at Pavel from the crowd.
That girl… she must be hiding a bigger secret than I thought.
But he had no time to dig further. There was a more pressing matter.
Igor, also serious, voiced it.
“Monsters here… how can that be?”
Monsters usually stayed in border areas or remote lands—not in the central-southern region where they now were.
“And these ones… natural enemies are mixed together.”
It was unheard of for predator and prey species among monsters to form a group—yet here they were.
“…Suspicious,” Dmitri said.
Sasha added, “Yes. Just weeks ago, in Sulis, there was a similar attack.”
This wasn’t the first time.
Igor frowned. “We’d better return to the battlefield right after the investiture ceremony.”
“Agreed. We must prepare for a long war.”
“Understood!” the knights replied without fear.
Then Dmitri looked at the younger knights—Andrei, Nikolai, and Pavel.
“And you three… you’ll join the next war. Be ready.”
“Yes!”
Watching Pavel agree so readily, Sasha felt uneasy.
Pavel… going to war?
They had been together since he was twelve. If he left for battle outside of winter…
The castle will feel so empty… and I’ll be worrying about him every moment.
That night, she couldn’t sleep.
She rose quietly so as not to wake Nina and went downstairs.
The group had moved quickly after the battle, not wanting to camp near a pile of monster corpses. They’d reached the nearest village and rented an inn—small, so everyone had to share rooms. Sasha shared with Nina, the only other woman.
After lying awake for hours, Sasha left the room and told the knights downstairs, “I just want to get some fresh air.”
They warned her not to go far.
Outside, she leaned against the wall by the inn and looked up.
“The stars are so clear.”
The cool air began to clear her mind—
Creak.
The old hinges groaned, making her blink in surprise.
“Can’t sleep?”
