“Monster outbreak, huh? We need to exterminate them before they reach the villages...!”

With her hair blowing wildly,
Sylvia rode quickly towards the Arient territory.
The mutated monsters resembling ants were typically the size of a carriage, with hard shells that blades couldn’t penetrate.

However, with a “Kwang,” she could turn them into pools of goo.
If that wasn't enough, she could use “Buwang” or “Buwang Kwang.”
As she got closer to Arient,
Sylvia prepared to draw upon the mana accumulated within her for the “Kwang” activation.

“Ah.”

Finally, the wave of the ant army came into view.
Monsters covered the entire mountain without a single gap.
Sylvia immediately sank her mana back down.

“Yeah. Let’s give up.”

She couldn’t catch them.
Even if she used all her mana, she wouldn’t be able to.
It seemed wise to quickly decide on retreat.

With that many, even the royal knights would need to fight for three days and nights to deal with them!
It was absurd in terms of numbers.
Where on earth did so many monsters crawl out from?

Was it someone’s scheme?
Which wicked person unleashed so many monsters in the mountains...!?
Sylvia trembled at the malice and changed her course.

There was no way to catch them all.
The high and sturdy castle walls of Arient looked promising, so their goal had to be the complete evacuation of the residents.

“Hey, bugs! Don’t just hide; come out! It’s time to earn your keep!”

Boom!
Sylvia charged straight to the training grounds, stomping her feet and shouting.
Only then did the staff hiding in the dormitory start to reveal themselves, one by one, with terrified expressions.

“These bastards! Did you train for nothing? If you saw that, you should have crawled out quickly! From now on, we’ll start guiding the residents to evacuate! Team 1, Team 2, and Team 3 will split up and evacuate all the residents from Districts 3, 4, and 5 into the castle! Execute!”
“Yes!!!

The response of the staff echoed loudly.
As if they had never shown a frightened expression, they began to move in an orderly fashion.
Perhaps due to the repeated training, the staff acted without hesitation and rushed toward the Arient territory, which was in a precarious situation.

“Knight! One of them has already gone out for rescue!”
“...!”

They took the initiative without being told?
Which commendable fool was it!?

“What? Who is it?”
“It’s Yulia! Yulia has gone out to hold off the monsters and buy us time!”
“Wha...!”

Of all people, it was that brat?
Due to the lord's recommendation, they had reluctantly included her in the training, and while she was working hard,
they had no expectations of her making any significant contributions.
It would have been best if she just stayed quiet; why did she have to jump out?

“Cough!”

Mana surged into Sylvia’s legs, and she accelerated in an instant.
It was a magic spell she had invented herself, which she called “Shasha-shak.”

That girl must not die!
She was entrusted to me by the lord; if she dies and comes back...!

'Then it won't just be a salary deduction; it'll be my head!'

Sylvia gritted her teeth and spread her mana in all directions.
This was called “Wiing.”
It was a spell that investigated surrounding objects by bouncing back the dispersed mana.
Soon, she detected something unusual.

'That kid’s mana...!'

Over there!
Sylvia’s legs changed direction, accelerating once more.
The source of the mana was getting closer.

What a foolish child!
Using so much mana continuously would lead to exhaustion.
If she collapsed right in front of the monsters while fighting... Ugh.
It was extremely dangerous for a rookie who didn’t yet understand her own mana capacity to enter battle.

'Just stay alive!'

At that moment, as Sylvia desperately leaped over the wall,
Squeak!
With a horrifying sound, a blue flash cut through Sylvia’s view.
The long flash zipped by her eye and shot out.

“Keyeeek!!!”

With a crack, it struck the head of the charging ant monster, crushing it in an instant.
Swish!
Like a whip, the flash was pulled back.

“Are you okay? I didn’t expect you to come out from there.”
“...”

The one holding the end of the flash was none other than Yuria.
She was cradling a newborn baby in one arm.
Sylvia glanced at the pile of ant monster corpses stacked like a mountain.
Then, she looked back at Yuria, unable to hide her bewildered expression.

“Did you really take them all down by yourself?”
“Huh? Yes. And I found this baby while searching an empty house. It seems they’ve lost their parents...”
“Ha. I got your explanation, but we need to run! The evacuation of the nearby residences is already complete, so there’s no need to fight anymore!”
“Yes!”

Keyeeek!
Ant monsters that had crossed over the pile of corpses began to appear one by one.
Sylvia took the baby from Yuria and began to run.

'She doesn’t look tired at all.'

Yuria was moving ahead at a fast pace.
Even without any apparent body-enhancement magic, she was keeping pace with Sylvia.
Is it possible to reach that speed without using any enhancement?
Had she been hiding her strength during training?
Sylvia was astonished at the unbelievable sight, unable to suppress her surprise.

“Knight, you’ve arrived! The search and rescue is complete, and we are currently guiding evacuations!”
“Move faster! The monsters are right behind us! They’ll catch up soon!”

Guarding the rear of the evacuation line,
Sylvia’s hands trembled with urgency.

Had they really searched every building, every corner?
Was there nowhere they missed?
Would it be alright not to go check?

'Trust them. They’re the ones I trained.'

She squeezed her eyes shut.
She had to trust the staff here.
Although it had only been a short period of less than a month,
she had taught them a considerable amount.

The courage and boldness needed to leap into harsh environments.
And the only thing that could help overcome such environments was the strong bond with their comrades; that was what she had taught them.
The staff moved as if they had been together for years, coordinating seamlessly.

With this, the effectiveness of their training had already been confirmed.
They were ready for immediate deployment in the field.
Sylvia felt a slight sense of pride.

“Ahhhh! Knight from Vermont! Thank you so much! You brought my taxpayers, no, my beloved territory residents here safely! I really owe you every time...”

With a boom, the castle gates opened,
and the moment Count Arien appeared, shedding tears of joy.

“Be quiet, and step away from the castle gate! Evacuation takes priority over greetings!”
“Cough!”

Sylvia immediately slammed into him, causing him to bounce back.
Evacuees began to rush through the wide-open castle gates.
Sylvia anxiously stomped her feet and looked back.

'They're coming.'

A black wave was approaching.
The swarm of ant monsters densely covered the view as they surged forward.
Would they be able to close the castle walls before they arrived?

It was impossible.
Sylvia quickly finished calculating and drew her sword,
running in the opposite direction of the evacuation line.

'I can’t catch them all. I need to buy time with magic...!'

The answer was “Kkong Kkong.”
Gritting her teeth, Sylvia began to prepare the magic she had sealed away long ago.

Before she knew it, Sylvia had moved quite far away from the evacuees.
This distance should be okay.
Taking a deep breath, Sylvia exhaled, and the air instantly froze, releasing a white breath.

“Kkong Kkong!!!”

With the incantation, thump.
The moment Sylvia’s palm struck the ground,
a chill of winter spread from her palm, turning the ground white.

“Keyeek!!!”

As the ant monsters charged at Sylvia, their feet got caught in the freezing air,
and their movements began to slow.

“Grrr!”
“Please stop! Stop!!!”

The monsters approached closely, but Sylvia didn’t take her hands off the ground.
More and more mana was being drawn from her, and Sylvia’s surroundings began to transform into a frozen wasteland.
The monsters couldn’t just slow down; they were gradually freezing.

Just as the jaw of the ant monster slowly approached Sylvia’s head,
the monsters completely froze, their movements stopping.
She succeeded! She froze them all!

“Ha...!”

As Sylvia swayed and turned around, she saw that the evacuees had all passed through the castle gate.
Now, she needed to go back... she had to go back...
Huh?

“Am I an idiot...?”

She forgot to think about how to return.
Now she was out of mana...

Squelch, squelch.
The frozen joints of the monsters began to move, breaking the ice.

Her legs trembled, and she couldn’t gather any strength.
So, I’m going to die like this.
At that moment, Sylvia let out a hollow laugh.

“What’s with that expression, like you’ve accepted death? It’s bad luck, so fix your face.”
“...!?”

Thud.
A strong hand caught Sylvia as she was about to fall over.
And with a voice that was always unsettling, Sylvia's eyes widened.
It was a voice that shouldn’t be here.

“L-Lord!? What are you doing here...?”
“There’s a lot for you to do. I will never allow you to escape from your duties and pay cuts this way. So, put aside thoughts of dying for now.”
“No, it’s dangerous here! You need to leave me and run away! Please, quickly! If they thaw out, we’ll both die!”
“Don’t worry. I’m not an idiot like you who leaps in recklessly.”

“...?”

At Aslan’s sinister smile, Sylvia stopped struggling.
For some reason, it felt like a sense of relief washed over her, that kind of smile.

“Keyeeek!!!”

The ant monsters that had completely broken through the ice began charging again.
But just as Sylvia quietly muttered something and stretched out her hand.

“Ke? Keyeek!?”
“Krack?”

With a roar,
the ant monsters screamed their last cries and collapsed en masse.

What the hell...?