Carren, who had realized the existence of demons, grabbed Leciel’s hand without hesitation and ran.

He might be able to handle one or two, but he couldn’t possibly handle ten monsters by his own skills.

Despite his considerable skill, he was just a young child of twelve.

Especially with Leciel, who seemed fragile enough to collapse with just one blow, by his side, Carren couldn’t afford to pay attention to anything other than dealing with the demons.

However, Carren had to stop running not long after.

With Leciel’s much smaller body, it was difficult for her to keep up with his running speed, and eventually, they both stumbled.

Because of the situation, Carren had to run again without giving Leciel the chance to ask if he was okay.

At most, she was only two years younger than him, but because of her small built, it wasn’t difficult to run while carrying her.

However, the problem was that carrying her meant that his speed naturally slowed down.

‘Shit.’

In this situation, there was no use fleeing, as the monsters were already close behind them.

Instead of risking both of their lives by running away and eventually getting caught by the monsters, Carren thought it would be better to buy time so Leciel could escape safely.

“Listen to me.”

“Yes.”

“When I let you go, don’t look back and run. And let anyone know that monsters have appeared.”

“… what about you?”

“We’ll be caught if we try to escape anyway. So, it’s more efficient for you to run and seek help.”

Although Leciel doubted his ability to hold out until someone else arrived, there was no other choice.

Moreover, for Carren, this was his first real battle.

Although he had been diligently training in swordsmanship, he had never actually participated in subjugating monsters because of his young age.

But given the circumstances, there was no other way.

“But…”

Leciel also knew that in the current situation, it was best to follow Carren’s instructions.

Besides, she knew that even if she had special abilities, they wouldn’t be much help in combat.

Rather than staying here and becoming a burden to Carren, it would be better to ask someone else for help, as he said.

But even so, she couldn’t help but worry about leaving him behind alone.

Although he was older, he was also a child like her. So how could she run away alone, leaving him behind?

And if it went wrong…

“We don’t have time to hesitate.”

Carren firmly interrupted Leciel’s thoughts and dropped her off.

“Go. Quickly.”

Carren was more anxious and fearful than anyone else, but he didn’t show it in front of Leciel.

If he showed any signs of worry in front of her, she might hesitate even more.

Sensing Carren’s feelings, Leciel closed her eyes tightly and ran.

Requesting help from others as soon as possible might prevent Carren from being in danger even for a moment.

However, not long after, when Leciel glanced back inadvertently, he saw Carren struggling to continue the fight against the monsters.

Carren might have learnt the sword rigorously, so he was fighting the monsters quite admirably for a 12-year-old.

But that was only for a moment.

Carren seemed to be increasingly on the defensive.

Leciel stamped her feet, not knowing what to do. It seemed too late to call for anyone now.

In Carren’s state, it wouldn’t be surprising if he ended in the hands of the monsters sooner or later.

Eventually, Leciel turned around.

Even if she met someone else and asked for help, what was the point if Carren died before that?

Of course, just because Leciel joined him, didn’t mean that they had an advantage. She just leaned on a little hope.

She didn’t know if it would work on those monsters, but one never knew.

“Why are you….!”

Even while he dealt with the monsters, Carren noticed Leciel’s return and frowned.

‘Fool!’

He thought she understood what he said since she was quite smart. It was a mistake to think that she wouldn’t be swayed by clumsy emotions and did something foolish.

‘If it’s like this…’

Now, even if Leciel escaped again, she would eventually be caught by the monsters.

It had become the worst situation one could wish for.

But in reality, Leciel looked more determined than ever.

Seeing monsters for the first time after a while made her heart jump in surprise, but Leciel was able to quickly regain her composure.

For some reason, those in the monster forest looked even scarier and more disgusting than these monsters. It was very hard for her eyes and mind, but she couldn’t afford to worry about that right now.

Leciel looked anxiously at Carren, who was about to be attacked by a monster, and shouted loudly.

“Stop!”

Please… she hoped this would work.

Leciel watched the monster’s movements eagerly.

Fortunately, her words worked. The movement of the monster that seemed as if it would pierce Carren’s neck at any moment stopped.

Leciel was relieved for a moment, but she couldn’t feel completely at ease yet. She quickly reached out her hand and grabbed Carren.

She blocked the monster’s path, as if protecting him from it.

“You…”

Carren couldn’t understand the current situation.

Although the monsters that stopped at that moment seemed to understand Leciel’s words, they couldn’t understand her actions of blocking their path while trembling.

“I’ll explain later. Now, think about how to survive first.”

Leciel, who completely blocked Carren from the monster’s view, spoke while trying to maintain her calmness.

Meanwhile, she also stared at the monsters without letting her guard down.

Fortunately, the moment she blocked the path, the monsters didn’t approach them, as if hesitating.

Like they couldn’t bear to attack her.

‘I was worried in case it only worked for the monsters in the forest, but it didn’t seem to be.’

Even though they weren’t monsters from the forest, they listened to her words and didn’t attack her.

But that was it. Anything beyond that wasn’t included in Leciel’s capabilities.

‘First of all, we have no choice but to hope that someone notices the monsters attacking us.’

If that was the case, she didn’t think it would be difficult to hold on.

However, there was no way to know when the knights would notice since they were quite far inside the garden.

She wondered if there happened to be someone passing by.

“Brother.”

“… say it.”

Carren answered in a low voice.

“I will stop the monsters. So, brother. Please ask others for help instead of me.”

“Are you going to stop them by yourself?”

“Yes. From the look of it, they seem to not going to attack me at all.”

“You won’t know for sure.”

For some reason, they were now only observing Leciel instead of attacking, but you never knew.

“That doesn’t mean I can go.”

If she went away, there was 100% certainty that the monsters would attack Carren.

Therefore, it was right for her to protect this place while Carren asked for help, as there was no chance of being attacked.

“….”

Carren didn’t say anything.

He thought it would be better to do as she said, but he couldn’t bear to leave her behind.

‘It wasn’t something I should say to Lessie.’

In the end, when he found himself in the same situation as Leciel, he was unable to make an easy choice and hesitated.

It was then.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

A familiar voice came from behind them.

It was Kael.

Kael had come to rescue Leciel and Carren as soon as he confirmed the presence of monsters through the office window.

“… father.”

Carren was relieved to hear Kael’s voice for the first time in a while.

If it was his father, he could handle those monsters alone without needing to call other knights.

“It’s wonderful to be young.”

They were fighting against each other to protect each other.

But the admiration was short-lived.

Although the monsters didn’t attack Leciel, who blocked Carren’s path, they were still frightening to her.

It was expected.

How could one not be scared even if they know that the monsters might not attack them?

Especially since there were not just one or two, but ten demons in front of her.

Their appearance was so terrifying that it might haunt her dreams.

If there was a ranking of frightening appearances among monsters, they would definitely be in the top five.

Even though Leciel had become accustomed to monsters while in the monster forest, their appearance alone would make anyone afraid.

In fact, Leciel’s body, which was trying to firmly block Carren’s path, was trembling.

Moreover, her face, which Carren and Kael couldn’t see, was pale with anxiety and fear.

“Little one, I’ll handle it now.”

“… yes, sir.”

Trying to hide her trembling, Leciel slowly stepped back. She couldn’t run away immediately because she was anxious about giving Kael some time.

As Leciel started to step back, the monsters began to approach slowly.

When Leciel finally retreated completely behind Kael, the monsters attacked fiercely without mercy.

But Kael blocked all their attacks with his sword.

He had been assigned to subjugate monsters for nearly twenty years.

That was how long Kael had been fighting monsters.

In the demon forest, where there were sometimes dozens or even hundreds of monsters, it was impossible to guarantee victory easily. But he could handle around ten monsters alone without any problem.

In reality, Kael quickly disposed of the monsters.

It took less than ten minutes.

After all the monsters were dead, Leciel could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Are you okay?”

Kael asked Leciel worriedly, who collapsed as if her legs had given out.

“… yes, I’m fine now.”

Although Leciel’s face was still pale, her expression had returned to normal.

‘But…’

From Kael’s arms, Leciel’s gaze briefly turned to the dead bodies of the monsters.

Earlier, she had heard a voice in her ear, just like when she escaped from the monster forest.

But this time, it was slightly different.

-Thank you.

-We’re finally… escaped.

The owners of the voices were thanking him.

Considering that they were killed by Kael, there was no way they would say such things.

Leciel couldn’t help but feel puzzled by that.