Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 481: A Chance to Shine
Twenty ogres attacked the right rear of the Saint’s procession. Because they advanced from within the forest, the Royal Guard had difficulty countering them with magic.
The fire mages in particular hesitated to cast their spells for fear of setting the surrounding forest ablaze.
Some guards could use wind, earth, or water magic, but fire magic’s greater offensive power made it especially effective against ogres.
Other attributes could substitute, but they generally required higher-level spells to achieve comparable power.
Most members of the Royal Guard specialized in physical combat such as swordsmanship, and few could use powerful non-fire magic.
The guards therefore tried to repel the ogres through physical combat alone. Ogres possessed high resistance to physical attacks, however, and defeating one without magic ordinarily required strength comparable to a B-rank adventurer. Even Sart’s elite Royal Guard faced a formidable challenge.
“Wh-What are you doing!? Guards, an ogre is approaching our carriage! Drive it back!”
The Crown Prince had already lost standing in the Saint’s eyes and attempted to restore it by taking command in front of her.
The carriages around him also carried members of the high nobility.
He began shouting one conflicting order after another at the Royal Guard.
The results were disastrous.
The guards had been forming units for a coordinated counterattack. The Crown Prince instead ordered some to remain near him and the high nobles, sent others forward to intercept the ogres, and abruptly instructed still others to circle around and block the monsters’ retreat. His interference threw the formation into chaos.
Had he left command to the Royal Guard captain, the squads could have combined with incoming reinforcements and mounted a unified counterattack. Even against physically resilient ogres, they would then have fought on at least equal terms. Instead, the amateur Crown Prince divided the force into three. The battle-hardened ogres immediately exploited the weakness and attacked the isolated groups in turn.
The troops ordered to intercept the ogres were soon pushed back by superior numbers.
“Damn it! Your Highness, please withdraw to the Saint’s position and allow us to restore the formation!”
A Royal Guard knight who recognized the danger tried to remove the Crown Prince from the battlefield.
“Don’t be ridiculous! If I withdraw now, I’ll lose even more of the Saint’s trust! Don’t retreat—hold this position with your lives!”
In other words, he was ordering the Royal Guard to die.
“Your Highness, leave this to us!”
Suguro, Marquis Halagoura’s grandson, stepped forward with the other young nobles in the entourage.
Mahodo, the common-born tamer, was among them.
“We’ll fight monsters with monsters! Mahodo, send in your familiars!”
Mahodo summoned his four contracted familiars—two Spike Wolves, one Dark Wolf, and one Stone-Throwing Monkey—and sent them against the nearly twenty ogres.
He confidently ordered them to charge.
The battle ended almost immediately.
The Dark Wolf sank its teeth into an ogre’s arm, but the monster barely reacted before cutting it down with its weapon.
The two Spike Wolves fired the hornlike spikes that gave them their name.
The projectiles couldn’t overcome the ogres’ physical resistance, and both wolves were quickly slain.
The Stone-Throwing Monkey riding the Dark Wolf met the same fate.
Mahodo dropped to his knees after losing all his precious familiars so suddenly. “N-No way…!”
“Damn it! This was too much for a common-born tamer! You’re the talented sons of noble families—now is your chance to display your abilities! Fight those monsters!”
Suguro barked at his noble companions.
“U-Us…?”
“Of course! We were gathered here as promising talents who will lead the future! Now is the time to prove yourselves to Her Holiness and His Highness!”
“W-Well, I’m more of an intellectual, so this sort of thing…”
“I also intend to pursue research rather than combat…”
“And my martial ability is hopeless…”
A few of them did possess martial training.
None, however, had any confidence that they were stronger than the Royal Guard.
After seeing the knights driven back, they lost any desire to intervene and insisted that combat wasn’t their role.
“Damn it! At this rate, I won’t impress His Highness at all!”
Just as Suguro shouted in frustration—
A sharp whistle cut through the air. A glowing arrow streaked past and pierced an ogre with deadly precision. Another [Light Arrow] followed, then another, dropping the monsters one by one.
Lightning crackled above the ogres before crashing down in a thunderous barrage that electrocuted several at once.
Aeris had cast a greatly amplified [Lightning Shower].
At the same time, a barrier of light appeared before the struggling Royal Guard and deflected the ogres’ blows.
It was Ragune’s [Area Protection].
Two black figures then rushed among the monsters.
They were Ankh and Zion.
Ankh struck the ogres with wind-infused flying slashes, while Zion attacked with the Opposing Demon Gauntlets and their light and darkness attributes.
Tauro continued sniping with [Light Arrow], while Aeris strengthened Ragune, Ankh, and Zion with enhancement magic.
Thanks to Black-Gold Wings’ swift intervention, the remaining ogres were exterminated in moments.
In fairness to the Royal Guard, it could have repelled the ogres with proper tactics had its command structure not been disrupted.
The remaining Royal Guard squads arrived shortly afterward. Their heavy armor had slowed them compared with Tauro’s lightly equipped party, leaving them no opportunity to contribute.
Once the dust settled, the Crown Prince and Suguro stood speechless. Eventually, both recovered their composure.
“I-It was my command that held the line together during the crisis! That’s why you latecomers had an opportunity to distinguish yourselves. Don’t misunderstand!”
Having offered that excuse to save face, the Crown Prince returned to his carriage.
Suguro, meanwhile, kicked the devastated Mahodo as he knelt on the ground.
“Useless fool! Return to the commoners’ carriages where you belong!”
Only moments earlier, Mahodo had been promised a position of importance. Now Suguro banished him to the rear of the procession with the other common-born members.
“Oh dear… I don’t understand the details, but it seems something happened here.”
After observing the Crown Prince’s behavior and Suguro’s treatment of Mahodo, Tauro realized that his party’s timing had been rather unfortunate.