Chapter4 - Bereavement

The wind on her cheeks felt so good!

Fran was flying in the wide open sky, held tightly by Lou.

She could see the trees of the forest far below.

Fran marveled at the comfort of flying in the sky for the first time, and at Lou’s amazing talent as a wizard.

Amazing! Just amazing!

It was funny that these were the only words she could come up with to express her simple emotions that she felt inexplicable.

Fire and wind attribute magic, healing magic, and even spying magic…this was probably what it meant by unfathomable.

This guy ――― if he was skilled enough as a magician, those ladies would certainly give their consent.

「Hey, Fran. Where were you attacked?」

Fran’s thoughts were interrupted when Lou called out to her.

「We’ve risen right above now. If so, it should be along the northwest road.」

「OK!」

Sniff, sniff…Fran couldn’t resist sniffing him.

He smelled of sweat…but she felt safe in Lou’s arms.

Speaking of which, she remembered being called a dog girl formerly because she could sniff odors right away.

Hahaha…

Fran chuckled at the memory.

「Is it over there?」

Following the direction Lou, who had his hands full holding herself, was pointing with his chin, she spotted an upturned familiar carriage. 

Fran’s expression, which had been upbeat until now, darkened as soon as she saw it.

It reminded her of last night’s attack.

The scene must have been the same as last night’s tragedy.

Lou noticed this and whispered softly.

「Fran, please endure a little. If not, just keep your eyes closed.」

Lou…you’re looking out for me.

Thank you!

Fran squeezed Lou’s arm.

「I don’t feel that unique magic wave aura. It looks like those guys aren’t there.」

「It’s all right! I’ll be watching very closely. These are the people who fought for me.」

Fran said, ready to squeeze Lou’s arms once more.

The two slowly made their way down to the incident location.

***

「This is … awful.」

「…………」

The site where Fran was attacked was beyond horrific.

The knights who died protecting her seemed to have been devoured by those monsters here and there. Their corpses were in a miserable state.

The same was true for the horses that pulled the carriage.

Some of the corpses were lying around.

Lou examined them meticulously.

「They still look like a pseudo-life form, a homunculus. They’re likely demons that were a combination of evil chimera and magical beasts.」

Fran stood still, watching the merciless scene.

「Fran…」

Lou’s call made Fran snap back to her senses.

「What relics should I bring back for the knights?」

「Uh, nothing too big.」

Fran remembered the backpack that Lou had with him.

It was packed with everything needed for a trip; there was no extra space.

「It’s okay. I’ve got this.」

There was a bracelet fastened to Lou’s left arm that he pointed to, which appeared a magical tool.

Apparently, it has turned into a「Storage Madogu.」

「That’s, no way!?」

「I made it with an enchantment magic incantation, just like Grandpa taught me.」

Enchantment magic incantation?

Enchantment magic incantation, you say?!

Speaking of which, he immediately recognized her attackers as pseudo-life forms, Homunculus.

No wonder the great Arlv, Sowell, who lived for 7000 years named Lou as his successor.

「I get it…Then, I’ll trouble you, Lou. Would you mind retrieving their swords and hair? I-I do it too, of course.」

Fran approached a corpse and tried to collect his sword and hair, but the horrific state of the corpse made her nauseous once again…she crouched down and vomited everything in her stomach.

「Oi, Fran!」

Lou ran over and carried Fran in his arms, then took her to the shade of a tree and laid her down.

After wiping her dirty mouth with a dry cloth, he covered Fran with his cloak and gently caressed her cheek with a burly hand.

「Are you okay? Don’t push yourself. If you aren’t used to it, I’ll take care of it.」

Fran felt pathetic.

She was too weak to touch the knights who died protecting her…

Lou watched Fran sobbing for a while and then collected the swords and hair of the five knights.

It was fortunate that their swords were mostly shorswords and not large longswords, which made them easier to clean and store.

As for the hair of the deceased, they had crests attached to their armor, so he peeled them off and used them as a marker.

After all the work was done, Lou called out to Fran again, who was lying down.

「Fran, I’m done.」

「…………」

「Are you okay? Great, let’s head to your house. Hold on to me again.」

「…………」

「Fran …」

When Lou approached Fran, rested a hand on her shoulder and tried to pick her up…

The sobbing Fran began wailing.

The emotions he had been holding back burst out like a dam.

「U-U-Waaaaaaaaa!」

Lou gently rubbed her back and repeatedly told her that everything was all right. 

The voice that was comforting her unknowingly turned husky.

And Lou himself was unaware.