「Gyaah!」

    「O, bo…」

    The whole bodies of the men who got caught in Phlegethon were covered with flames, and they fell down.

    「Even though they’re allies—」

    Valeria, who had defended herself against a direct hit of the explosive flame by stretching the rampart around, murmured in a daze with a hoarse voice. Enemies who were unafraid of allies’ friendly fire—or rather, enemies who would kill their opponents even at the sacrifices of their allies were the most terrifying; although Dimitar understood that well, he hesitated to say that here now. If Valeria heard that, she’d probably become unable to say anything completely.

    At that moment, something that was shining black came flying, piercing the red brilliance and hot air.

    「! Needles!?」

    Although he said needles, they weren’t the cute ones used for sewing. Having a thickness and sharpness like those of a drill, they were steel concealed weapons that were used for throwing.

    「His wickedness is revealing itself, huh—!」

    Dimitar instantly held his sword aloft and knocked down several needles.

    「Tsu—」

    「Oi, don’t tell me you were hit!?」

    Hearing Valeria letting out a moan of pain on his shoulder, Dimitar’s complexion changed.

    「Where were you hit!?」

    「My, my leg! A, around my thigh—」

    「…That’s because you trash your legs about uselessly!」

    The anger towards himself unintentionally turned into him venting his anger on her and rushed out from his mouth.

    「It can’t be helped!」

    Valeria hit Dimitar’s back with her fists and shouted.

    「—It’s difficult to take aim when I’m being carried on your shoulder like this, so I have to move slightly, right!?」

    「Damn it…!」

    When he checked fleetingly, Valeria’s white thigh had certainly been pierced by a black needle. Although there was hardly any bleeding, it was better to treat it as soon as possible.

    「Don’t move as much as possible from now on. Stay still」

    「Even if you tell me to stay still—」

    「Oi, what do you intend to do!?」

    「B, but… I can’t close the wound if I don’t pull it out」

    「Do it later!」

    Dimitar shouted at Valeria, who was squirming on a person’s shoulder, and frowned.

    「It doesn’t seem that you’ll have the time to flirt in front of people—!」

    「It’s none of your business…!」

    Dodging the blow of the man with make-up who had dashed through the empty sky, Dimitar spat out so.

    「This man, he used Force just now!」

    「Eh?」

    「Why can this man use it!?」

    Force and “Double Speed”Flash were originally magic designed by the Seal Chivalric OrderTempliers Aegis of several generations ago. Although they were imparted to every country of the alliance as a tool for diplomatic negotiations and were also currently being used by countries besides Ahmad, Dimitar hadn’t heard of them being spread to the other side of the mountain range. Even if this peculiar-looking man was a citizen of Ahmad, the magic crests of Force and Flash should have been concealed from the civilians.

    「No way… then, this man is also the same as Hokon, and he can use “magic” even though he’s a barbarian believer!?」

    Valeria’s dignity as a devout God believer and a Dominas was whipped up, and she gnashed her teeth.

    「—In the first place, calling me a young girl is extremely rude!」

    「Hahan? A young girl is a young girl, isn’t it? —」

    The man with make-up snorted and seemed to have murmured something rapidly, but perhaps it was the language from the other side of the mountain range, Dimitar couldn’t understand it.

    「—!」

    Repeatedly repelling the man’s crescent-moon sword which was unleashed in rapid succession, Dimitar felt unpleasant sweat running down his back.

    Setting him smelling of make-up aside, this man’s ability was the real thing. In addition to being able to use that many magics, there was also this swordsmanship. In the current state where Dimitar’s left arm was completely occupied, he’d reach his limit before long.

    Valeria pointed at the man with make-up while grinding her teeth out of anger.

    「If I go all out, then someone like you—!」

    「Ignore him」

    「Fue!?」

    「We have no time to deal with him!」

    The man’s sword grazed Dimitar’s side, and a stinging pain shot through it. He forcibly suppressed it and shouted.

    「—Oi, Your Eminence-sama!」

    「Eh!?」

    「I’m going to throw you! Think of protecting yourself only!」

    「Ah? —U, un!」

    Dimitar grasped Valeria’s arm and swung her around, then threw her up towards the night sky.

    「!?」

    The man with make-up opened his mouth wide as if he was dumbfounded. As one would expect, he probably didn’t think Dimitar would casually throw the Dominas.

    Seizing that opportunity, Dimitar ran past the man, grazing his side.

    「…You really did it…!」

    The blow of Dimitar, who had intended to cut the man in two with a single stroke of his sword, was stopped by the man’s crescent-moon sword, and it did no more than simply slicing off his skin at the most. However, now wasn’t the time to be feeling bitter about that. Dimitar didn’t even look back and headed for the falling spot to try to catch Valeria, who had drawn a large parabola and come falling down.

    「Do you think I’ll let you, Dimitar-chan?」

    The hair on the nape of Dimitar’s neck stood on end at the voice of the man who was pursuing from the rear.

    「…He also knows about me, huh」

    「—Dii!」

    Valeria’s voice came down from above his head. Taking that girl’s character into consideration, he somehow knew what she was trying to do.

    「…Don’t get me involved」

    Dimitar, who had murmured so, took out a small ceramic bottle from his inside pocket while pulling in his head like a tortoise.

    「I’ll teach you a lesson!」

    Together with Valeria’s voice, from which one could feel her anger, a violent gale became countless blades and pierced the earth.

    「“Tornado”Razor… was it? If I remember correctly, it’s like this right?」

    The man with make-up, who had dodged Valeria’s magic entirely, also began drawing the magic crest for Razor immediately himself, as if showing off to Valeria.

    「I’ve fully understood that you’re good at imitation」

    Dimitar smiled coldly at his predictable action and kicked the ground. Returning Jagielka to its scabbard, Dimitar caught Valeria, who had come falling down, in his arms in mid-air.

    「—However, I have no intention of going along with your parlour trick」

    Dimitar suddenly threw the bottle, which he was holding, down, then kicked the thick tree branch and jumped again.

    「What are you—」

    The wind blades that the man had shot caught the small bottle thrown by Dimitar accurately.

    「This… oh no!?」

    The man with make-up quickly covered his mouth with his hand and jumped back greatly.

    The men who had arrived slightly later ran past him on both sides, and when they were just about to follow Dimitar closely as they were, they went down on their knees and fell face down one after another.

    「…H, huh, what happened?」

    Looking down at the strange occurrence of the enemies over the boy’s shoulder, Valeria asked in a puzzled manner.

    「The contents of the small bottle just now are sleeping powder. The period of its effectiveness is short, but to make up for that, it takes effect immediately if it’s inhaled once」

    「Are you always carrying that sort of thing around!?」

    「You never know when you might need it, after all. It’s quite expensive despite its appearance, so I can’t prepare very much of it」

    「Then why didn’t you use it earlier!?」

    「Indeed. In retrospect, I should have used it when you started saying that you wanted to come along with me. If I had make you smell it a little and then shoved you into your bed, this would have ended without such trouble」

    「You—」

    When Valeria stared fixedly at Dimitar from right in front, all her movements stopped suddenly.

    「……」

    「What’s the matter?」

    「C… close! Close, close! Too close!」

    「What are you saying? I’m outdistancing them perfectly, you know?」

    Dimitar looked back and checked the figures of the enemies. Setting the man with make-up, who had noticed the sleeping powder and jumped back instantly, aside, the other people had mostly fallen down. For the time being, there was no sign of anyone being hot on their heels.

    「Not that!」

    Valeria’s face turned bright red, and she screamed.

    「Your face is too close! You know that, right!?」

    「…It’s not my fault」

    It was natural that the two people’s faces were so close that the tips of their noses were going to touch each other. After all, the current Valeria was clinging tightly to Dimitar.

    「How did it become like this!?」

    「Like I said, it’s not my fault」

    Dimitar also didn’t want to do it this way in particular. They just happened to be facing each other when he tried to catch Valeria, who had come falling down, in his arms. Afterwards, it was Valeria’s own volition to cling tight to him, and not because Dimitar instructed her to do so.

    「It can’t be helped, right?!」

    Valeria’s face flushed increasingly bright red from Dimitar pointing that out, and she screamed.

    「I, I might fall down if I don’t cling to you!」

    「No matter how fast I run, it’s impossible for me to drop you. …I can also carry you on my back though」

    「There’s no such need! After I close the wound, I’ll use magic to—」

    The limbs of Valeria, who had retorted firmly, suddenly lost their strength.

    「Oi, though I certainly said that I won’t drop you, don’t relax your whole body all of a sudden」

    「I didn’t particularly—h, huh…? I didn’t, relax my whole body, though—」

    「…Oi?」

    Dimitar stared at Valeria’s face, which was right in front of him, and knitted his brows.

    「You… are not having a fever by any chance, are you? No matter how I look at it, I think your face is too red—」

    「F, fever…?」

    Valeria murmured, her lips quivering, and then leaned her head on Dimitar’s shoulder and took a big deep breath.

    「Damn it…! I thought it was unlikely, but it’s just as I thought—!」

    「W, what do you mean…?」

    Dimitar reduced his speed and surveyed his surroundings.

    He had left those men behind and was able to gain quite a distance. The width of the river flowing nearby had become considerably wider, and its current had also become much slower. He should be reaching the foot of the mountain soon.

    Dimitar spread the mantle on the side of the river and laid Valeria down, then removed the gauntlet on his left arm and took a breath.

    「Oi」

    Dimitar boldly cut off both sleeves of his own shirt with a knife and washed them lightly in the cold river water, then brought his face close to Valeria and whispered in a low voice.

    「Spread your legs」

    「…Ha?」

    Valeria glared at Dimitar while breathing hard.

    「Y, you… what are you saying, t, taking advantage of a girl, when, she’s weakened? Y, you’re, incomprehensible—」

    Seeing that such a response came back immediately, it seemed that her reason was still functioning sufficiently. Although it was troublesome in the sense that he had to explain various things, it was something he should be glad of.

    Dimitar stared at Valeria’s right leg, where the black iron needle was stuck as it was. The girl’s white skin was changing colour, centring around the area where the needle was stuck. Many bluish-black specks, which were about the size of a small coin, were appearing here and there.

    「Your fever is probably because of this needle」

    「Then, pull it out… and then, I’ll, quickly, close it up, with, magic…」

    「That’s impossible. The needle is most likely smeared with poison」

    「…Eh?」

    「It’s poison. The poison is spreading」

    Dimitar repeated so, then twisted the sleeves to turn them into a thin cord.

    Although it was possible to heal a simple wound by means of magic, it was impossible to restore the damage caused by the diseases and poisons that lay dormant deep inside the body. At the very least, a healing magic that could even heal such things wasn’t developed yet.

    In other words—Valeria couldn’t heal herself, who was afflicted with poison.

    「W… what do we do? What, should we do—」

    Perhaps it was because of the fever, Valeria’s lips trembled, and she looked up at Dimitar with watery eyes.

    「That’s why I told you to spread your legs first. —That’s enough, I’ll do it by myself」

    When Dimitar raised Valeria’s right leg, he passed the improvised cord below it and tied it tightly on the base of her thigh.

    「…Does it hurt?」

    「I’m, all, right… it’s not so, painful」

    Valeria showed a tight smile and shook her head weakly.

    「…I see」

    Dimitar had tied it exceptionally tight with the intention of stopping the blood flow to slow down the spread of the poison even a little. Nevertheless, the fact that it didn’t feel very painful meant that Valeria’s sense of touch might possibly be growing numb little by little.

    「……」

    If Valeria was left as she was, she’d undoubtedly lose her life. Besides, if they were attacked by those men again while he was carrying Valeria, who was in this state, in his arms, they surely wouldn’t be able to escape this time.

    However, even though Dimitar understood these, he couldn’t decide what he should do. He also thought of putting the treatment off and returning to the town anyway, but it was evident that Valeria’s condition had deteriorated even more.

    「…Dimitar」

    Valeria spoke to Dimitar, who was pondering with his arms folded.

    「Hide me, around there—and return, by yourself first」

    「Just when I was wondering what you’d say… that’s your constructive idea?」

    Forcibly restraining his irritation towards himself, Dimitar asked back indifferently.

    「If you return to the town… you can negotiate with, that prefectural governor… and then use his assistance, right? Also, a doctor or something—if you do that」

    「Rejected」

    Dimitar crushed the girl’s idea, which she had brought up with considerable resolution, with no room for thought.

    「W, why…?」

    「I said so in Seriba, that even if you abandon me, I’ll never abandon you. Have you forgotten?」

    「Y, you’re not abandoning me, but coming for me afterwards—besides, look… it was me who forcibly came along with you from the start」

    「In the first place, I’m at fault for not forcibly putting you to sleep. After all, I understood from the case in Seriba in particular that I can’t stop you if I don’t do that much. …This was my responsibility the moment I overlooked that」

    He could hear a voice in his mind saying that this wasn’t the time to be quarrelling over such a matter. At present, even the time when he was hesitating was precious.

    While looking up at the sky, Dimitar pulled the small, thin knife out from his boot again.

    「…This will be a drastic treatment, but it can’t be helped」

    「W, what is it…?」

    「I don’t know whether you can understand in your current state, but I’ll explain just in case」

    Dimitar briefly looked back at the very dim light behind him and then continued after confirming that there were no signs of pursuers.

    「—I’ll put this needle out after this and cut the wound open. If we let the poison out together with your blood, you’ll probably feel a little more comfortable」

    「That’s, fine, …but after that, how will you stop the bleeding…? Also, the wound, how will you close, it…?」

    「I can at least close the wound somehow」

    Setting the matter of pulling the needle out aside, cutting the wound open afterwards was bound to be accompanied by a lot of pain under ordinary circumstances, but the current Valeria might hardly feel it.

    Reaching for the black needle, Dimitar controlled his breathing quietly.

    「—Here I go」

    Dimitar pulled the needle out in one breath. Blackish blood overflowed slightly from the open wound on the pale skin. It was the blood that had become turbid because of the poison.

    Confirming that Valeria didn’t even give a moan of pain, Dimitar slid the knife into the girl’s skin.

    「N…」

    Valeria furrowed her brow and bent slightly backwards. As one would expect, she might have felt the pain from her skin being cut. However, she didn’t seem to have the strength to scream “It hurts” or struggle.

    「Don’t lose consciousness, all right?」

    「…Un」

    Valeria closed her eyes quietly as she said so.

    「I, I feel cold somehow…」

    「Don’t worry about it. It’s because of the bleeding and the fever」

    Dimitar pressed the surroundings of the wound firmly and squeezed even more turbid blood out. Without a doubt, the person in question, Valeria, was only feeling some pain faintly and most likely didn’t understand what was being done to her now.

    While wiping the flowing blood and keeping a very close watch on the blood that oozed out next again, Dimitar put his right hand on her knee to fix it in place and pressed his left index finger against the skin.

    「Di, ta…」

    「What? If you have something you want to say, then say it clearly」

    「It’s, nothing—」

    Valeria shook her head and extended her left hand out in slow motion.

    「…What?」

    「It’s nothing…」

    The girl repeated so in a feeble voice, and then her hand, as if wanting to cling to something, grasped the right hand of Dimitar, who was sitting cross-legged.

    「……」

    The girl’s nails dug into his wrist, and blood started to ooze out. However, compared to the pain and agony that Valeria was feeling now, the pain of his skin tearing was without doubt much more insignificant.

    Intentionally pretending not to notice Valeria revealing her helplessness, Dimitar pressed his left index finger against his right arm, which was grasped by the girl, and concentrated his consciousness there.