Late in the evening of the day that Toto left town, almost after midnight, Wacoz, a member of the Knights of the Royal City of Aries who was waiting in his office for the night shift, suddenly noticed an unfamiliar sound, probably caused by the wind, so he put his Lamp Light on his waist and went out into the street.

In the streets lit only by the moon and starlight, there were some people who came out of their lodgings or opened their windows to check out the mysterious sound as well.

「 That’s creepy. 」

He thought it was the sound of the wind, so he went outside, but he didn’t feel any wind at all, and there was an unpleasant sensation like the earth shaking all the time.

He thought about looking around for a while, and then, perhaps because of his intuition as a knight, or perhaps because of his own caution, he suddenly decided to check the outside of the city from his vantage point, so he went back to his office and took out his telescope, which he left behind.

「 I’m a little worried about the noise, so I’m going to take the 《 Moon Observer 》 and go to the observation deck at the west gate. 」

The magical tool called the Moon Observer is a telescope that collects the light of the moon and stars to allow clear vision far away at night, but since we have rarely had the chance to use it, the other members of the Order looked as if they just remembered its existence when they heard its name.

On the way to the west gate, the knights with the Lamp Light on their waists were conspicuous, and adventurers asked about the mysterious sound several times, but when we told them we were checking, they understood and left.

The mysterious sound grew louder as they approached the west gate, and Wacoz felt that his premonition had come true, but at the same time he was terrified. Could this sound be…? Could it be the earth shaking?

He half ran up to the top of the observation platform and looked through the telescope.

「 What……the, that is…… 」

In his vision, he saw countless undead of all sizes, a number that was too large to even be considered approximate, coming towards him.

Fortunately, the progress was slow, but that was not the point. Wacoz was so stunned that he almost lost the strength in his hands and dropped his telescope, but then he realized that he had to ring the alarm bell that was hanging right next to him with great force.

The bell rang five times in a set of three, signaling an “enemy attack,” something that had never been used before.

As soon as the bell rang, all the adventurers headed for the adventurer’s guild, and the knights immediately gathered in front of the chambers.

Wacoz, who saw the scene before the assembled knights, told them.

「 A large number of undead are heading this way, at least a thousand. I don’t know where they came from, but if they are able to surround a whole town, it could be more than ten thousand. There are too many of them for me to be able to identify the type, but I believe they range from low to high rank. 」

The Knight Commander, Vanil Mirth, who was standing next to him, immediately gave orders and dispersed the knights.

「 The first and second teams will be sent to guard the noble districts and the royal castle, the third team will patrol the commoner districts, the fourth team will patrol the northern districts, and the rest of the troops will work with the adventurer’s guild in the western districts. The enemy is undead, and it doesn’t matter if it’s day or night to them, so please make sure you all rest in rotation. Now, let’s go. Everyone, return alive. 」

「 Hai! 」

The knights went off in various directions under the direction of their respective captains. Thus began the long, long night.

◇――――――

Clank, clank, clank. Three days of idly swaying in the carriage, and I’m bored.

Helvetia told me that at the beginning of the trip, and I also noticed that Idry-san was not going straight to Revenant territory. Maybe he was taking a big detour.

I was not sure what he was thinking, so I asked him about it, and he replied that it was probably just my imagination, and then he slightly corrected his course, but I don’t think he was trying to buy time to reach Revenant territory, and I don’t know if he had any purpose as a messenger.

I lay back in my chair and looked out the window at the sky. It was a beautiful day with white clouds flickering in the sky.

There were times when we passed by the forest, but no monsters appeared, so it was a comfortable trip.

It wasn’t until late afternoon that I suddenly heard the sound of hooves and wheels coming towards us.

I put my face to the window to see what was going on, but I couldn’t find out the source of the noise that seemed to be coming straight at me, so I hurriedly looked through the small window where I could see right in front of me.

The man who was driving the carriage at breakneck speed, unconcerned that it was bouncing repeatedly, was wearing a robe that covered his entire body, giving the impression that he was hiding something.

「 Uu 」

For a moment, I could see the contents of the hood and my eyes met those of the person inside, and I was frightened, overwhelmed by the bright red eyes filled with madness.

At the same time, the person in the robe moves his mouth for a few words, and something comes flying out, aiming at the carriage.

『 Dangerous, get out now! 』

Helvetia’s voice brought me back to my senses, and I opened the door of the carriage and jumped out at the same time something came out of the other carriage that was approaching at a tremendous speed and smashed the carriage I was riding in.

「 I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for this! This was not part of the agreement! 」

Idry-san, who had successfully jumped before the horse collapsed, shouted in panic and moved away. The carriage that was heading towards us drove off at a tremendous speed, and the thing that attacked us swung its fist out as soon as it jumped off, and from its crouched position on the wreckage of the carriage, it slowly stood up and looked at me.

It was terrifyingly tall and muscular, a huge one that made Virgilio look small as it was twice as big. It was dressed in something resembling a tattered yukata and had bright red eyes on it.

『 I can’t believe it’s a giant, a Giant zombie, an undead, but the flow of magic power in its body is similar to Toto’s, is it man-made!? 』

Helvetia is surprised. Well, this is a Giant, and it is indeed too big not to be called a Giant.

The Giant approached me with tremendous speed and kicked at me while gouging the ground. I quickly judged that I would not be able to get away from it in time, so I went up to its feet and avoided it just in time.

I prepared to punch him in the knee, but he dexterously swung his fist down from his kicking stance, so I hurriedly back stepped to avoid him.

「 Run! 」

I shouted to Idry-san, who was standing far away from me, because I knew that this Giant was after me.

「 Of course I will, damn it! 」

Perhaps realizing that he was being shouted at, Idry-san got on his horse, which was miraculously safe, and ran away at once. Although I told him to run away, I was surprised at how fast and graceful he acted.

While I was doing this, the Giant was getting into position. I, too, clenched my fists and prepared myself.

「 Guuu……Guuu…… 」

Something like a voice came from the Giant, but whether it meant anything or not, it was not a verbal response.

I go for the body, avoiding the fast fist that makes a gurgling sound as if breaking the wind, but my fist is grabbed by the Giant’s left hand.

「 geh, this is bad 」

He grabbed my right hand, and as I was about to step down, he swung his right hand down as if he was trying to slap me, and I parried with my left hand.

There was a great difference between our hands size and our heights, so although it was like a contest of strength, since his hands were covered from above, he could not put out enough pressure.

「 Gununu…… 」

I put in my best effort, but there was no sign that I could get out, the moment I ran out of strength, I would end up being crushed.

『 This is certainly a dangerous fight 』

「 Be, betty, can you at least help 」

Helvetia tilted her head, wondering if there was a solution to the desperate situation, but she was not really worrying much about it.

『 Well, you still haven’t realized it? 』

I haven’t realized it? What does she mean?

I don’t have time to think about it, and I endure desperately with more effort.

Mugigi … It became harder and harder to put in more effort, and when I started to feel crushed, I heard a voice from afar.

「 Leave Toto alone! 」

Suddenly, someone flew in from the side with the speed of a bullet, then I heard a dull thud, and Giant was blown away.

This voice sounded familiar, no way――

The blow loosened his strength, and I escaped from his hands without being blown away along with the Giant, and the one standing there was.

「 Ehehe, I have arrived 」

No way! I thought, as I moved my gaze to see Rikka-chan standing there, shyly giggling, carrying a large backpack, her eyes as red as mine1.