Scout 1

Sven Parav stepped out of the wardrobe and headed toward the window.

Perhaps it was the overwhelming stress, but his head felt hot and his thoughts were different from usual.

It was as if another personality that had always lived inside his chest was now controlling him.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

From the moment he stepped out of the wardrobe, his heart had been pounding like mad. Yet he didn’t hesitate anymore.

He jumped down from the window.

And—

Whoosh!

His first strike landed on the dark mage who had been standing defenseless at the rear.

Not a rational decision.

An action born purely from instinct.

Only after cutting the dark mage’s throat did he start thinking.

Slice—

“…Who are you?!”

“Kill Him—!!”

With the most dangerous variable—the dark mage—dead, he wouldn’t have trouble with the rest. That expectation proved true soon after.

Only after the black mage’s head rolled away did the Noark troops realize they’d been ambushed and charge at him.

Surprisingly, one of them recognized him.

“Sven Parav…!”

It wasn’t that his name had become famous or anything. It was simply that the person he hung out with was famous enough for both of them.

“…Bjorn Jandel’s companion…”

“Damn it! I knew this bitch had allies nearby!”

His identity was exposed in an instant, but he didn’t care. He focused solely on swinging his blade.

Whoosh! Slash—!

Every time he swung his sword, arms, legs, and even heads were severed.

A completely one-sided fight.

Slash!

Before long, the brief yet intense combat ended. When he regained his senses, there were no Noark soldiers left standing.

Sven Parab lowered his gaze. He had acquired the new white greatsword after stepping down as a Holy Knight from the Church of Reatlas. Now, the blade was stained crimson with fresh blood.

Slide.

He glanced sideways at the corpses scattered around him. They were cold and lifeless.

“…Mr. Parav?”

Sven Parab suddenly grew curious. He didn’t know how skilled the dark mage he’d killed in the ambush was, but the Noark soldiers were pathetically weak. That was why they had lost to someone like him.

Why…

Why were they so desperate to torment those weaker than themselves?

“Mr. Parav…”

Hearing Marone’s trembling voice, he finally regained his senses.

Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump…

Once his mind settled from the overload of stimulation, the intuition he’d forgotten reactivated.

Badump.

This place is dangerous.

If we stay here, we might die.

Sven quickly turned his head and looked toward the window he had jumped from.

But—

“Ah… no…”

He knew instinctively.

Even if he crawled back into the wardrobe, it wouldn’t be safe anymore.

The only place in the city he had believed was safe was gone.

“Mr. Parav…?”

There was no time to despair. These men had reported to the main force before they found Marone. Once they realised contact had been cut, they would immediately send reinforcements.

So what should he do now? Since the intuition that usually guided his decisions was silent, it was actually easier to decide quickly.

“…We need to move. Now.”

They had to leave.

Immediately.

***

He dashed through the bleak street with three people on his back.

A mage, a mother, and her child.

“…Where are we going? That’s where the fire’s spreading.”

“That’s exactly why.”

He had chosen eastern District 7, half consumed by flames, for a simple reason.

Fire was less frightening than people. In an area where flames were spreading in real-time, there would be fewer enemy troops.

Clearly, it was already too late to extinguish the blaze. The best option was to hide near it; if things went wrong, the second-best option was to dive into the flames and endure them using magic and divine power.

Yes, so…

Badump, Badump!

Even knowing it was dangerous, he ignored his intuition and kept running.

Tap tap tap!

With each step, shockwaves rattled his spine, as if he were running across an active earthquake.

After all, he was carrying three people. The mother’s frame was larger than an average woman’s, so his hands were effectively tied. If they were discovered by enemies in this state, the situation would become extremely dire.

“I’m sorry.”

After running for a while, he heard an apology from his back.
It was Lyris Marone.

“For what?”

“…For getting angry at you. I said you were that kind of person.”

Guilt filled her voice.

Something stabbed at his chest.

“…There’s no need to apologize. You weren’t wrong.”

“No, I was wrong. You ended up saving us. That proves what I said before wasn’t true.”

Hmm… he supposed that was one way of looking at it.

It seemed like she was twisting things to fit a conclusion she’d already reached, but he didn’t argue.

There was no point in having an in-depth discussion about it at this stage. Besides, accepting it this way made his regret a little easier to bear.

Regret at stepping out of the wardrobe.

“…Are we heading to the eastern district because of the fire?”

This time, it was the mother. Perhaps because things were no longer as chaotic, her voice sounded calm and composed. At the same time, she seemed surprisingly resilient.

“I couldn’t introduce myself properly earlier because I was so frantic. Thank you so much for saving us…”

Her words made Sven Parab feel even more uncomfortable.

“…I didn’t do this to be thanked.”

In fact, until moments ago, he had been thinking that if the worst came to worst, he might need to abandon the mother and her son.

It was a realistic thought, and he hadn’t yet come to a decision. However, even as he thought it over, Parav knew that if it came to that, abandoning the others and leaving with Lyris Marone alone would always be the right

“Still, thank you… if you’re heading east, how about going to the Leatlas Church’s eastern branch?”

The name was completely unexpected for him“…Leatlas Church?”

“Yes. My husband’s an explorer. With how dangerous things have been lately, he’s always telling me where to go for shelter depending on the situation.”

“But judging by the flames, the branch might already be burned down.”

“No, that’s exactly why we should go. My husband said the District 7 Eastern Branch is the only place with some kind of fire protection spell cast over the entire building.”

For a moment, he wondered if she was mistaken. Even as a former Holy Knight of the Church, he had never heard of anything like that. However…

“…What rank explorer is your husband?”

“…He’s Rank 3.”

That significantly boosted the information’s credibility. An explorer of Rank 3 wouldn’t give his wife false information regarding places she could find shelter in. Furthermore, unless they were high-ranking clerics handling administrative affairs, even Holy Knights didn’t know every detail of every branch. The information gathered by an explorer worried for his wife was likely more reliable.

A building that can withstand fire…

If that was true, it would be the ideal shelter in the current situation.

“The question is whether we can reach that building safely. Is it possible? I heard that Mr Jandel had something that could protect people from fire.”

Ah, she means the Orb of Fire. It was pretty famous, after all.

“If Miss Marone and I combine our strength, the three of us… no, including the child, the four of us should be able to arrive safely.”

As long as we don’t encounter any enemies. Sven Parab kept that last part to himself.

“…That’s a relief. We’re lucky to have met people like you…”

“Yes… But why were you hiding on that street, miss? District 7’s evacuation should’ve finished a while ago. Why didn’t you leave with the others?”

He was curious to hear the mother’s story. She had been through a hard time too.

“We did evacuate. But… all the other districts were already full. People like us had no choice but to settle on the outskirts. The front lines were so close that we could hear the fighting and people being killed every single day.”

After some time, the palace army was forced back and the Noarkans invaded our territory.

The Noarkans who had flooded in like the tide began to pull back, taking any civilians they could get their hands on. According to those who were kidnapped, they were being taken to be used as human shields, although this wasn’t certain. Before she could be driven to the front lines, she managed to escape their clutches.

“A huge fireball fell from the sky.”

The palace’s counterattack struck the enemy hard, but it showed little regard for the civilians being held hostage. Fortunately, she survived and took advantage of the chaos to escape.

“There are probably quite a few people hiding in District 7 like me. There were thousands of people captured as prisoners back then…”

“So that was the story…”

The saying that war gives birth to tragedy suddenly felt painfully real.

Even as he ran, Parav found himself wondering—

What happened to her husband?

He thought about it briefly, then let the question remain unanswered.

Right now, running mattered more than satisfying his curiosity.

Besides, some truths didn’t need to be asked.

On a battlefield where anyone could die, why would a Rank 3 explorer leave his wife and child alone?

Sven Parab did not ask. But the military mage, Lyris Marone, was different.

“…If you don’t mind… what happened to your husband?”

A cautious question.

Yet contrary to expectations, the mother’s voice showed no particular agitation as she answered.

“I don’t know. When things broke out, he was conscripted into the army due to the mobilization order. I just pray… that he’s safe…”

She muttered the words like a quiet prayer.

Hearing her sincere wish, Marone spoke gently, as if trying to comfort her.

“I’m sure your husband is safe. By now, he’s probably realised you’re missing and is running around everywhere trying to find you.”

It was the kind of thing that warmed your heart just hearing it.

But the mother’s reaction was different.

“I’m not so sure. Honestly, I’d rather he didn’t do anything reckless and just stayed somewhere safe…”

“…Pardon?”

Caught off guard, Lyris Marone tilted her head.

The mother’s black, furry ears twitched as she spoke, looking faintly embarrassed.

“Well… my husband isn’t very good with directions… I’m worried he might wander somewhere dangerous trying to look for me for no reason.”

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