Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 41: Lucius’s Grief
After leaving the castle, Lucius arrived at the temporary government office at dusk.
The town of Tact territory, which had been attacked by armored monsters, was approaching sunset, and the townspeople were busy cleaning up.
While glancing at the state of the town, when Lucius opened the door to the temporary government office, Yu suddenly jumped out.
“Whoa, what’s wrong, Yu-san!?”
“Ah, Lucius, I’m glad you’re safe. Did you happen to see Lauren!?”
“No, I just returned to the town and haven’t seen her yet.”
“I see.”
Yu looked downcast.
“Could she be out shopping nearby?”
“She came back in the morning, and I haven’t seen her since then. The laundry was still piled up.”
Tact territory at the foot of Mount Clune was a small town.
It usually takes less than an hour for a shopping trip.
“I’ll search as well.”
Lucius, feeling uneasy, searched the town with Yu, but they couldn’t find any sign of Lauren anywhere.
It crossed their minds that she might have been taken by those armored monsters, but it seemed that they had already confirmed the casualties.
From the condition of the victims, it seemed that the monsters were not the kind that would eat people or use them for breeding.
With no other options, they started asking the residents of Tact territory one by one.
After asking about 20 people, they received a clue from the wife of a grocery store owner.
“Come to think of it, this morning, I saw a carriage stopped in front of the temporary government office. It was just a glimpse, but I saw a man with burns and a very beautiful female knight.”
“A knight? Not soldiers?”
Knights and soldiers are strictly different.
In this country, only counts or higher nobles can have a knight order, and the soldiers of the Takt Territory, who are treated as private soldiers, are not allowed to wear the official attire of knights.
“Yeah, that’s right. But more importantly, thank you for yesterday. My wife kept saying that you saved her. No, that black one! That was amazing…”
As the conversation seemed to be getting long, Lucius cut it off forcibly and hurried back to Yu.
They had a clue about that duo.
A knight with burn scars would most likely be the knight Lucius had burned with dragon flames during their duel. It was an incantation he had used for the first time on a person, and he couldn’t forget it.
And the female knight who fought against Yu.
“Yu-san! It seems that a knight from the Honogura Territory visited this morning.”
“I heard the same thing.”
Yu had returned home earlier and seemed to have received the same information.
“Could it be that Lauren was taken away by the two knights!?”
Yu seemed skeptical.
“It’s unlikely if you think about it normally. Sending knights directly to another territory would worsen the relationship between the territories. But…”
Yu’s words trailed off.
“Yu-san, do you know something?”
“Count O’Malley has been targeting Lauren for some reason. But until now, it was only aimed at getting rid of me. With what happened yesterday, something might be happening in the Honogura Territory.”
The distance between the Honogura Territory and Tact territory was close.
Even a child’s legs could reach it in a full day’s walk.
A few hours by carriage.
Using magic, it might be even shorter.
“Is Lauren currently in the neighboring territory?”
“That’s the most likely possibility.”
Both of them nodded.
The attack of the monsters yesterday also seemed to come from the neighboring Honogura Territory.
“Let’s go right away.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Why?”
“For Lucius, she’s just a housemate in the temporary residence.”
That might be true.
They had only known each other for about two weeks.
However, if the girl he had lived under the same roof with for several days had been abducted, he couldn’t remain indifferent.
“We don’t have time for that kind of talk!”
Yu’s face cracked.
“I see, I owe you.”
The two of them rushed out of the gate with an overwhelming force and called for Rikugo, to transform into his tiger form.
It was almost night.
Carriages wouldn’t run at night. It would be faster to run on their own feet than to wait until morning.
They ran through the streets of the town.
“Hurry up. Lucius, get on.”
Yu, who had turned into a tiger, lifted Lucius up.
Lucius could have ridden on the back of the evil dragon, but that would deplete his magical power.
He could only manifest the evil dragon once a day.
In this uncertain situation, he couldn’t afford to exhaust his magical power just by moving.
Lucius got on Yu’s shoulder, who was running as if flying, and soon Tact territory and the tea fields disappeared from their sight.
A beast ran through the dimly lit forest illuminated by the moon.
Only Yu’s breathing and the sound of crickets could be heard as the two of them remained silent and moved forward.
And when the moon was about to tilt, they emerged from the forest.
As their field of vision opened up, what jumped into their sight was the glow of burning flames engulfing the town.
The town of the Honogura Territory was on fire.
“What… is that?”
Fires were rising from various parts of the town, and even the clouds in the sky were illuminated in red.
Although it should have been a chilly autumn night, heat could be felt from the town.
As they entered the town, they found dead bodies of people and empty-armored monsters wandering around.
There were a few knights fighting here and there, but they were too few in number.
It seems that the Takt Territory is still better off.
But it was still a large city where the count lived.
There were still many people alive.
The townspeople were in a panic, running in the direction of tomorrow.
Lucius approached an old woman who was shrinking in fear under the debris nearby.
“Are you alright!?”
“Ah!”
The old woman jumped up startled.
“What happened!?”
The old woman clenched her teeth and spoke while trembling.
“S-suddenly, the town was flooded with monsters from last night! And then, the knights, the knights!”
The conversation was incoherent.
“It’s dangerous here. The monsters in the Takt Territory have been wiped out, so please run away quickly.”
The old woman, upon hearing that there were no more monsters, didn’t even listen to the rest of the words and ran towards the forest road that Lucius and the others had passed through earlier.
Other residents who had heard those words followed suit.
In this chaotic situation, they couldn’t even search for Lauren, let alone find her.
“Yu-san, let’s split up and search.”
“That’s right.”
Yu replied, and just as he did, several armored monsters approached Lucius and the others.
Lucius put his right hand on the hilt of his sword.
“I’ll take care of them. You go ahead.”
“Understood.”
Lucius quickly ran towards the center of the town, where the flames were rising.
Where is she!?
He searched the surroundings, weaving through the gaps between buildings.
As he dealt with the armored monsters that caught his eye, the search did not progress.
However, they couldn’t abandon the people of the territory.
As long as it was within reach, it was the duty of a noble to save them.
Frustration grew, and he finally reached a slightly open area.
It was the plaza where Yu and the others had dueled before.
Wha… What is this?
The sight that met his eyes was difficult to believe.
The knights, without paying any attention to the monsters, kicked and broke the doors of the surrounding buildings and went inside.
There were many knights carrying household goods out of the houses.
They were like thieves at a fire scene.
“Why are the knights…?”
Without knowing the reason, Lucius watched in amazement as something flew out of one of the buildings.
It was a town girl.
“Ahh!”
Her clothes were torn, and blood flowed from her mouth as if she had been slapped.
Behind her were several knights in beast form, chasing her as if they were enjoying themselves, clearly holding back.
“I’ll do it again.”
“Yeah, let’s do it again. I’ll want to do it even more if she escapes.”
“Well, even if she spreads her legs, she’ll just die.”
“That’s right.”
Lucius, unable to bear it, jumped out of the shadow of the building and confronted the knights.
“What are you doing? Stop it right now!”
Lucius’s shout caused the legs of the beast-like knights to stop.
“Damn it. Who is this guy? Let’s find the next girl quickly.”
“That’s right. Earl O’malley even said we could go a little wild.”
“Actually, is this territory already finished?”
“Maybe. Well, I don’t care.”
The knights grinned, their earlier smirks gone.
One of them, without any hesitation, shot an arrow at Lucius.
He quickly cut the arrow with his sword.
“That guy… I’ve seen him before. He’s the brat who burned down Bluesen, right?”
“…Run away.”
“Help us!”
The knights, who were trembling with fear, sought refuge behind their comrade.
Some knights who had survived flew through the air and clung to their companions.
“Damn it, let go!”
The knights who had been grabbed didn’t hesitate and stabbed their weapons into their clinging comrades.
The knights who were stabbed and fell powerless flew into the black sphere as if they were water balloons filled to bursting, and the mixture they had become was expelled.
The surviving soldiers shouted in desperation.
“What… what is this…? Who are you!?”
They looked at him as if he were a monster.
It irritated Lucius even more.
He wanted to leave this place as soon as possible and tell them the reason why he came to the territory.
“Where is the girl taken from the Takt Territory?”
The knights risked their lives to recall their memories.
They seemed to have some thoughts, and one of the frightened knights desperately spoke up.
“That’s it! The mausoleum! Earlier today, the captain said he was going to use it to suppress it!”
“I see.”
“Are you going to help us!?”
Lucius gazed at them with cold eyes as they broke out in a cold sweat.
“I’m not telling you to defeat the monsters. But don’t kill, violate, or rob the people. And resign from being a knight right now. If you don’t like that, I’ll be your opponent.”
They seemed to feel contempt.
Several knights who were behind the frightened soldiers attacked without heeding the warning.
“Don’t get carried away, brat!”
“Die!”
Lucius faced the attacking knights with an expressionless face.
“Oh, right.”
In his right hand was the Holy Sword – the Sword of the Holy Spirit, which he had borrowed from Yu.
The sword emitted a holy light and repelled the knights.
The swords swung by the knights did not reach Lucius.
“Wha… what is that!?”
“It’s the Holy Sword, the Sword of the Holy Spirit. A sword that can only be wielded by the chosen one.”
“Ch-chosen…!”
As Lucius repelled the knights, he hurriedly ran in the direction of the mausoleum.