“Once we can’t see the fort……we’ll be splitting up into two groups. Make sure you follow so we don’t get separated.”
Liz’s voice rang out from above.
“Ok.”
After walking in silence for about two hours, one could see the fort disappearing behind them, shrouded by darkness.
The first one to take action was Liz.
Jumping off of her horse, she turned towards Tris and shouted.
“Tris! You better guide everyone properly!”
“Hime-sama’s the one that I’m worried won’t be able to keep up with this old man!”
Tris dashed ahead of Liz.
“Let’s go, Hiro!”
Liz grabbed Hiro’s left hand, forcefully dragging him along.
Behind them were soldiers who broke out of their ranks, as well as the split-off soldiers who continued to advance without incident.
Worries such as, ‘exactly how far do I have to run?’ and, ‘will my body be able to keep up?’, naturally began to fill Hiro’s head.
Looking to his side, a sprinting Cerberus could be seen wearing a cool, calm face.
—as expected of a wolf. A little bit is fine, so would it kill you to give me some of that stamina……
As Hiro’s limit grew near, Liz began to walk.
Hiro repeatedly sucked in air with wild, ragged gasps. On the other hand, though drops of sweat glimmered on her forehead, her breathing was not disturbed at all.
“Are you ok?”
“I-I’m, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? Tell me if it’s too hard, ok? If it’s only for a little bit, we can take a break……”
“That’s no good, Hime-sama. If you spoil boys, they will unavoidably become weak. Those who strive to become men are the type who grow from being thrown off of a cliff.”
Though Hiro wanted to interject(2), seeing how his mouth was dominated by oxygen, his wish to do so was left unfulfilled.
As if ridiculing Hiro, Cerberus ran around merrily.
“Hiro is still a kid. If you were to throw him off a cliff, he would die.”
“Mm? Is that brat not 16 years old? I heard this from Dios, but……”
“But his appearance is childish, right? We need to treat him gently.”
“Mm? Certainly, his appearance is quite young……but 16……furthermore, a child? Hmm, I’m not too sure.”
Turning his gaze away from Tris, who began to laugh uproariously, Hiro looked behind him.
He could see the large number of soldiers who had followed them.
Whilst wearing heavy armour, it appeared that their breathing was not disturbed, nor had any of them fallen behind.
Even the senior, Tris, had yet to break a sweat.
—this old man’s definitely a monster.
“Were there any that withdrew?”
“We don’t have such weaklings.”
“I see, thank goodness……”
“Right now things are going alright. It should be possible to start walking into the mountains by sunrise. Looks like it’ll end without anyone catching a glimpse of us.”
“I wonder if everything’s alright on Dios’s end?”
“There’s no need to worry. Because he’s strong.”
After walking for a while, the sky began to brighten, exposing a large mountain before them.
As always, Hiro’s hand was being gripped by Liz.
Whether he had gotten used to it……or had forgotten about it, Hiro was no longer as embarrassed about it compared to when he had first held her hand.
As soon as they had stepped into the mountain’s entrance, Liz brought her face close to Hiro’s.
Hiro’s face turned red as he waited for Liz to speak. This alone was something that he couldn’t get used to.
“Once we cross over this mountain, we’ll reach the Country of Baum. It’s pretty peaceful, and there’s a beautiful town overflowing with nature. Though there’s not enough time right now, so we won’t be able to visit it.”