"Uhmm, so, looking from the state you are right now, can I a.s.sume that Princess Elise was taken away already?"

"Boss, what shall we do? Only Boss and us can go ahead and chase them, but-"

Crary who was somewhat tired asked while leaning on the spear he held in his hand.

Yui who is also gasping for breath answered while panting.

"Eeeh. Climbing up here gave us such a hard time already, so give it a break. Fuu, even if you hurry up there, it probably won't affect the future developments anyway. The main point is it would be safer if you put out the opponent with everyone, plus, this was the easiest way above all"

"Boss is still the same as ever. Well then it seems there are roughly twelve people left. A vague quant.i.ty which can't be divided by five people are still remaining"

"Hey you, why are you also numbering me too?"

"Didn't Boss said that you don't want to chase them a little while ago?"

"No, I mean I don't want to move anymore. So I don't intend to fight them. So it's 12 versus four, not five"

Despite of arriving in the battlefield, Yui denying to fight even showed a slight confusion to the private soldiers of Tarim.

But at that moment when the air slightly lazed, two swords gleamed, and alongside them, two heads of the soldiers flew.

"Yui, we'll make you a nice number that you can work easily!"

"Senior Yui, you actually haven't done anything yet, so please work a bit!"

Eins and Lute didn't miss that gap the moment the concentration of the soldiers slackened, and slas.h.i.+ng the necks of the enemy soldiers closest to themselves, they entrusted it to them as they retreated to the rear.

"It can't be helped. Well, today I won't be moving with the team, so you all do as you like. The quota is two people per person"

As Yui said so while feeling reluctant, at the back, continuous firing of arrows that seemed almost without pause was shot as if to hit Yui's right temple, and at the same time two soldiers were penetrated in between their eyebrows simultaneously and collapsed.

"Captain, my quota is over"

Kains hung his prided bow towards his back immediately, and a.s.sumed a stance of an unconcerned spectator right away. Wanting to complain about the way he shoot those arrows near his face, he was about to opened his mouth, but at that moment, this time a magic flame arrow was released as if to hit his left temple, it burned a little of Yui's hair and pierced through the bodies of the two soldiers nearby.

"And that's it for my share"

Nanya said so, while blowing his protruded index finger which released the flame arrow, then went down to the rear.

"Aaaah, my hair. Why can't you feel respect to your boss a little more?”

Touching the hair that had scorched a little with his left hand, Yui breathed a sigh.

"Boss, while you are complaining those things, they are approaching before your eyes"

"Oh, they'd think that we have ran out of projectiles, right? Well then, Huth, are you good?"

When he turned his gaze onto Huth, with her usual posture of putting her drawn sword on her shoulder, she nodded at once.

Three people break into a run as if it was a signal.

First, Crary who has the longest reach made a thrust as if picking up his prey, then the vanguard soldier was pierced to death. At the next moment, a soldier trying to aim for that gap jumped at Crary, but Huth who is behind Crary accelerated with a leap, brandis.h.i.+ng her sword that reflected light, the soldier who tried to jump was split into two from the center, then fell down.

After Yui and his company's arrival, six people were dealt already with surprising swiftness, and the soldiers who have already became fewer than Yui and the others, realizing the foreboding of defeat turn their tails and began to run away. Crary and Huth started running as not to miss their backs, and each person furthermore dealt with one additional person each.

Fortunately for them, the two remaining soldiers who shook off the pursuit of Crary and Huth threw out both their swords and their helmets while running, and dashed away from the place while rolling about.

"Fighting is always futile……"

Placing his hand onto his waist, Yui uttered so, then moved his eyes to the halfway up the mountain where the blaze of the fire is weakening with distant eyes.

Nanya who caught up with his speech and behavior walked closely on to Yui, then pulled out a backhander to his right temple.

"What was that for? Isn't winning without fighting the supreme victory?"

"You, you said a while ago that the quota is two per person!"

"I haven't said that you have to kill them or anything, you know. Because my opponent ran away, isn't that a win by default?"

At the moment when he said that, Nanya reinstated a backhander once more.

Yui unconsciously crouched to the power of the fist. While looking at his appearance, Eins remained as usual, and supported by Lute, he came up to him.

"Senior Yui, what happened to the magician?"

"Oh, are you talking about that one-armed guy? He was the first to run away when arrived"

Still rubbing the temporal side of his head where the pain still remained, Yui responded to Eins.

"Is that so? Then Senior Yui, did you not see the soldier who took Elise while you came here?"

"Well, because we climbed up from the pavement of the workshop, we haven't seen a thing. But if you think of it, normally, fi you make a forest fire, usually it will make a big fuss and someone will come running. So probably they will not descend through normal routes"

"You have a point. However, tracking them will be a lot more difficult with this……"

Eins said so, lowering his head in agony.

"Well, it is certainly hard to track them in this state. Anyway, can you tell me what happened in the mountain while we're out?"

As Yui asked so, Eins in a m.u.f.fled tone told him the events that happened in the workshop: the seizing of the evidences of selling through illegal channels, their encounter of the wildfire in the mountain immediately after the moment they returned which maybe perhaps the fault of the Tarim faction, their separation with the escorts, and how Her Highness was taken away.

By the time Eins has finished speaking, Lute walked beside him and suddenly lowered his head.

"Sorry, Yui. To be honest with you, when you were dismissed as an escort, I felt a little sense of superiority. That even without you, it is sufficient with me alone. I should have advised Her Highness not to have done that to you. If you think it calmly, it was like she had spit on my rival's face. You should have thought about the possibility of this counterattack already. And on top of that, we also made a foolish deed to drive away those who are familiar with the geography of this land and acted only by ourselves. And the result was this sorry state new are now……"

Seeing the usual high and mighty Lute bowing his head to him of the same age group, Yui could only shake his head left and right and told him.

"This is a loan, Lute. And because you'll pay it back with interest sooner or later, we're good with this"

"Err, boss, I think all you did was slack around earlier. You are the only one who hasn't done anything yet, you know?"

"Oi, shut it"

Making Yui cry out in reflex to the sharp riposte of Crary, every one of Yui's men burst into laughter.

"Yeah yeah. For now we will now commence the rescue of Princess Elise. This also means another loan that you will pay hereafter. Yep. That's all there is to it"

Looking at Yui trying to regain his dignity from being fl.u.s.tered earlier, signs of relief showed on Lute's tense face.

Yui still tried to defend himself, but seeing Lute's change of expression, he swallowed his follow-up words instead. Then, Lute, seeing Yui's reaction, tightens his expression once again, then presents his own information.

"Eins gave you the rough explanation of things, but regarding the mountain wildfire, I think it's alright now. Along with the soldiers and chamberlains who can use freezing magic at the center, they have been able to escape. And since the fire is gradually beginning to weaken compared from earlier, you could guess that the flame magician Eins cut down earlier might had intermittently spreading the fire from the start. With that punk gone, the fire of this extent will pose problems to my subordinates no more. But the problem is ……Princess Elise"

"Agreed. I was also focused in battle, so I wasn't able to confirm from what direction they have taken Princess Elise away. At this rate, we won't be able to track them"

"n.o.body knows which route Her Highness was taken away, so it would be pretty impossible to find out. But I know exactly where Princess Elise is going, so all we have to do is sieze her on that place"

Upon hearing Yui's words, Lute as well as Eins could only take a gasp.

"Boss, where exactly is the princess being taken to?"

The moment Crary asked, all the eyes of the surroundings focused on Yui.

"To the same place Kureha is staying at. Count Tarim's place"