The Male Slave of House Sianella - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Hard Road (5)

"Hurry up. Lady Diolia will finish them all off at this rate."

"But... will you be alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"Killing goblins. It might be difficult for a man."

"Don't worry about that."

I'm not just any man.

I wish she wouldn't compare me to the delicate men of this world, despite my appearance here.

I wonder how my former comrades would react seeing me receive concern about taking down a single goblin.

Still, she was thinking of me, even if the worry was unnecessary.

I shrugged lightly and continued:

"I didn't say I'd protect you for nothing."

"...I see."

"Besides, wouldn't it be strange if I couldn't handle a single goblin with the archery skills you praised?"

"That will do then."

Sione, who had already returned to her usual way of speaking, stepped down from the carriage.

Diolia must have engaged the goblins—harsh screeching sounds could be heard from the distance.

Now that an Expert knight had stepped in, there wouldn't be any left if we delayed further.

I quickly offered her my hand.

"Take my hand. I'll show you quickly."

"...Must I really hold your hand?"

"Forgive my impudence, but holding your hand will make it easier to show you about combat."

"I suppose there's no help for it then."

I took Sione's hand.

It was too small and delicate for someone who had wielded a sword.

I firmly gripped her small hand and hurried forward.

"Aren't you holding too tightly?!"

"Please excuse me for a moment."

As we headed toward the front carriage, we could see Diolia's back in the distance.

She was casually cutting down goblins that charged at her with her drawn sword.

Since goblins were pack creatures,

There were still plenty left to deal with.

I pressed myself against a tree at a suitable distance.

Then I looked at Sione, who maintained an awkward pose while I held her hand.

She seemed flustered just from holding hands with a man.

What would she do in front of her fiancé?

I pulled Sione sharply toward me.

As she fell against me without mercy, I spoke:

"W-what are you doing?"

"The bow's advantage lies in distance. We archers typically start combat by ambushing while avoiding the enemy's sight."

"C-can't we separate?"

"We'd be spotted if we separated. Bear with the discomfort for a moment. Now look at that goblin."

A child-sized creature with wrinkled dark green skin. An ugly pug nose and angry eyes as if bearing all the world's evil.

A monster with pointed ears, as if trying to imitate the beautiful elven race despite its appearance.

The goblin was shouting something at Diolia in the distance with its cracking voice.

"Hitting moving targets is much harder than hitting stationary ones. The basics are to predict the enemy's movement and aim accordingly."

"Ah, I understand."

Sione's body seemed quite stiff.

Why was she acting like this over just a goblin? Was her courage really that small?

"No need to be tense. They're just goblins, after all."

"...It's not because of the goblins."

"Pardon?"

"You're too close...!"

"Ah."

"Move away a bit!"

Just for this much.

I thought women in this world were generally more rough-and-tumble...

What a shy one.

I moved slightly away from Sione and quietly nocked an arrow while speaking:

"...Is this distance better?"

Nod nod.

Finally, Sione's gaze turned to me and the goblin.

Stretch.

The taut bowstring was drawn as I held my breath.

Twang!!

The fierce arrow tore through the air from the string.

For enemies of this level, there was no need for lengthy aiming—it was a quick attack using sliding release.

"Keek!! Kek...!!"

As the arrow pierced the throat of a goblin charging at Diolia, it collapsed in place, strength gone.

After successfully taking down the goblin, both Diolia and the other goblins focused their attention on me at once.

Three goblins began charging at me simultaneously.

Probably because I was male, they thought I'd be easier to handle than Diolia.

Unfortunately for the goblins, I'd once pierced between the eyes of their king, a Goblin Lord.

Keeping my eyes fixed on the goblins, I spoke:

"Of course, once discovered, archers must move too. It's dangerous to stand still shooting arrows without sufficient guards or skill."

I walked slowly around the area, shooting whenever there were no obstacles between me and the goblins.

With each Twang!! of the bowstring returning to position.

"Kek!!"

A goblin's short death cry rang out.

After taking down another one with one more shot, I looked at the goblin that had managed to close in on me.

Judging by that unpleasant smirk,

It probably thought it could toy with me now that it had approached an archer.

Unfortunately for this goblin, it only got this close because I'd chosen not to kill it.

What good would just shooting arrows do? What Sione had been curious about in the carriage was the single-edged sword.

The goblin charged at me, wildly swinging its gap-toothed blade.

I calmly drew my sword and sliced its right arm holding the weapon.

"Keeeek!!!"

How can such a voice even come from a throat?

With a screech sharper than nails on a chalkboard, it dropped its weapon.

I immediately thrust my sword into its neck, ending its life.

"Kek..."

Rather brutal, but this much was nothing.

I swung my sword once to clear the blood.

Sione stared intently at me after watching the entire sequence.

Her eyes held an inexplicable sympathy.

"...You're skilled."

"They're just goblins."

"Did you receive such training before coming to the count's house?"

"I received regular combat training using bows and swords against goblins."

"That must have been very difficult for a weak man..."

I recalled the memories of this body's previous owner.

He had certainly struggled even against a single goblin.

He was a delicate person who would spend the whole day depressed at the sight of blood.

But well.

"You get used to it eventually."

That was about the previous owner—it didn't bother me at all.

As I said this while retrieving and organizing arrows, Diolia, who had completely cleared the goblins, came over to report the situation's end.

"I've dealt with all the goblins blocking the road. The rumors about increased goblin numbers must be true."

"Good work, Lady Diolia."

"I merely did my duty as Lady Sione's guard."

As we boarded the carriage, it began moving forward again.

And I...

"...Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's nothing. Um..."

"Yes?"

"Would you like a cookie?"

All day today, I received inexplicable consideration from Sione.

The cookies didn't taste bad, at least.

***

It had been four days of camping at night and moving on when the sun rose.

During this carriage life, I'd ended up handling all the troublesome tasks—cooking, night watch, everything.

It was already quite taxing.

Fortunately, Ian, the domestic male priest, and occasionally Diolia helped out a bit.

If I'd had to do everything alone, there were many times things would have become difficult with all the troublesome and time-consuming tasks.

True to her position as the count's second daughter,

Sione would return to her carriage and lounge around as soon as her tasks were done.

These days had been a hard road for me.

For Sione, it was probably more like an amusing camping trip.

With such thoughts, I was looking out the carriage window when Sione, apparently tired of sitting and watching the outside, spoke up.

Her speech had finally returned to her original formal manner.

"We should arrive at a village soon—let's rest there for a day."

"A village?"

"Yes, Lady Diolia told me this morning. We should reach a small village by noon today, so she suggested we rest there for a day to recover from the journey."

"Hah—"

Sione sighed while staring blankly at the carriage ceiling.

"After three straight days in this carriage, my joints are aching."

"..."

It was quite something to complain about aching joints when all she did was lounge around in the carriage like she used to in her room.

If she'd taken initiative like me, doing dishes and making soup, she wouldn't be getting stiff from being cooped up in the carriage.

As I quietly watched Sione making her privileged complaints, she looked up at me.

Literally looked up.

Because this brat was lying down with a blanket spread on the carriage floor.

"Why are you staring so intently?"

"...It's nothing."

"Isn't it tiring to just sit there? Why don't you lie down on a blanket too?"

"The carriage seems too narrow for both of us to lie down comfortably... we'd have to touch. Would that be alright?"

"Ah, that..."

Sione covered her face with the blanket.

"On second thought, you'd better stay seated."

"...Yes, I will."

I couldn't tell if she wanted me to sit or lie down.

I desperately suppressed the urge to put an arrow in her.

"Yawn... Wake me when we reach the village."

"Understood."

What happened to those aching joints? Now she's going to sleep again?

Well, thinking about it, she was someone who'd spent years shut in her room eating snacks and sleeping.

I gave up trying to understand Sione's thought process.

At least I'd be able to rest a bit in the village too.

As I mindlessly watched out the window hoping for the village to appear...

[Quest has been formed]

「For Her Safety」

「An ominous current flows from the small village you are heading toward. Recently, people showing fanatical belief in demons have infiltrated the village and successfully established a stable power base. The people of House Sianella, who have inherited the spirit of demon slaying for hundreds of years, are like mortal enemies to them, and their rage born from fanatical beliefs cannot be shielded against even by the status of a count's house. Keep Sione Sianella safe until you can escape the village, avoiding their eyes.」

「Reward: Increased bond with Sione Sianella」

「Failure: Death of Sione Sianella」

My expression darkened infinitely at seeing the words "Death of Sione Sianella.”

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