917: Side - Sophilia (1)

Riding on Urushi’s back, I dashed through the streets of Sendia. His legs were more powerful than I had imagined, being capable of climbing vertically up the walls of the building, and cutting across the city on the shortest route possible.

But my results were not so favorable.

Our first stop was, of course, the Sanatorium. There, we tried to ask for help from all the soldiers, but…

Most of the soldiers had already left for the gates. Moreover, there was no sign of Seliadot.

The commander of the soldiers looked at me and scrunched up his face. I could see in his eyes that he thought I was a hindrance.

No matter how much I pleaded, he would not permit any reinforcements to be sent. He wants to defend the tower and doesn’t trust the gangs? Fine, but what does any of that matter when the town itself is on the verge of destruction?

I appealed directly to the soldiers remaining in the tower, but they refused as well due to the orders of their commander. It seems everyone still left in the tower reported to him.

And what kept them so busy here? Evacuating all the various valuables. They packed gold, jewelry, potions, etc. into item bags for safekeeping.

A crisis like this and all you care about is money? How stupid can you get? I can’t rely on them anymore.

The only good news was that many of the patients had already left. It seems Seliadot ordered their evacuation.

I gave up the support from the Sanatorium and decided to go elsewhere. Mea-san and Velmeria-san should have already handled the Beastmen Union and the Dragon King Syndicate. In that case, I should head to the Adventurers Guild next. That’s what I thought, but…

The guild was almost completely empty. It seems many adventurers also already left to defend the gates.

And with so many antidemons pouring in at the gates, they couldn’t reduce their forces there either. The remaining adventurers, apparently, were to stay and protect the guild itself.

If the city itself falls, the organizations inside would mean absolutely nothing… Is it the same here too?

When I pleaded the need for more forces, I was yelled at by a man calling himself the submaster. It seems he plans to flee the city, and retained the adventurers under his command to escort him.

Even at a time like this, they can only think about escaping on their own… Expecting anything more from the Adventurers Guild is pointless. That’s when I thought of getting the support of the smaller organization, but…

「Saintess-san. I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. We don’t have the manpower to send anyone.」

「I know it’s tough! But this town is in serious danger!」

「We’ve already sent out the forces required from us.」

「The city will fall if you try to do business as usual! Please, just let us have the people currently here!」

「We can’t reduce security here, you see? If the other gangs confirm that they will provide forces too, then we can follow suit.」

They say they can’t trust the other gangs, and are wary of thieves taking advantage of the situation. Everywhere we went, the response was the same. Some of them even turned us away at the door. They all refused to reduce their own strength any more than necessary.

There were even some organizations preparing to flee. A few did promise to send people, but barely a handful.

We went around to all the smaller organizations in this way, but we didn’t have much to show for it. I can’t afford to waste any more time.

「…Why? Why does no one want to protect the city?」

「Woof.」

「Are you trying to console me?」

「Kuhn.」

Urushi licked my cheek. I felt a calming sensation as I heard his heart beating next to mine. Besides, I knew that Urushi must be feeling impatient after leaving his master Fran behind.

I can’t stop now.

But then things took a sudden turn. To my astonishment, the entire eastern wall had collapsed with a terrible rumbling sound.

Are Fran and the others still safe? Even if they are, it would be impossible to prevent the antidemons from invading the city.

「Woof!」

「T-That’s right. We can’t give up now.」

They definitely need my help. Determined, I went around to visit more organizations, but was unable to get any promises of reinforcements.

When everyone saw the destroyed walls, all they could think about was escape. Some even mocked me for trying to fight.

「…Pathetic!」

As I walked out of the building, the tears escaped from my eyes.

My own inadequacy, those overbearing idiots who flee at the moment of a crisis, the entire situation in which I had to rely on them… Everything was just pathetic.

「Um, Saintess-sama…? Are you alright?」

「Eh?」

I was approached by a few men. They must be Sendia’s ordinary citizens. Each carried a large cloth bag on their backs.

It seems they plan to escape the city. Seeing this only made the tears flow harder. The people living here already thought the city’s fall was inevitable.

And yet, Fran was putting her life on the line to protect them all.

Then, I noticed the spear on the man’s back. Everyone in this city carried a weapon just in case.

After all, they needed to be able to fight off criminals. Even if all the gangs agreed to leave civilians unharmed, certain individuals could break the unwritten rules. Besides, many of them may have inherited the weapons from their ancestors.

After thinking about it, a thought occurred to me. Could they fight? If they had weapons, maybe they would be able to take on lesser antidemons…

Of course not. In any usual situation, I would never come up with anything so stupid. But I was cornered, and the thought just exited my mouth.

「There are people fighting to protect this city.」

「Eh? What?」

「But if things continue as they are, the entire city may be destroyed. Will you fight with us?」

「Eh? No, no, no, no. I have no clue how to fight!」

「Yeah! We’ve never even been in a real fight before!」

「Please!」

「No, no! That’s just not possible!」

「What he said!」

「The people defending the city might be dying at this very moment!」

Of course, no matter how much I asked, the men kept making excuses. I can’t blame them.

They had neither the strength nor the resolve to fight. They were the ones to be protected.

「L-Leave the fighting to those who want to fight! It’s not like we made them to do it or anything! They can go die on their own!」

「T-That’s right! It’s their job! If they die in battle, it’s their own fault!」

「Don’t act like you’re doing us a favor!」

So this is the true form of the people living in this city… and Fran is fighting for their sakes…?

Despair. That single emotion filled my mind.

We’re doomed. The city will fall. In that case, I have to at least go help Fran and the others, and assist in their escape.

But at that very moment.

「What kind of nonsense are you spouting now, you good-for-nothing husband!」

「Bugeh! D-Dear!?」

「How dare you make such rotten excuses to Saintess-sama…?! You say you don’t care about the soldiers? Even after they’ve protected you your entire life?」

「B-But…」

「Shut your mouth! In the first place, you tried to ditch us and escape by yourselves. Trash, the lot of you!」

「Guboh!」

Umm, is this lady the man’s wife or something? She suddenly started arguing with him, then smacked his mouth shut.

It seems that the wives of the other men were here as well. They too, left their husbands battered and bruised from the beating, but I felt no urge to heal them.

「Excuse me, who are you?」

「Please allow me to apologize for him, Saintess-sama! I’m Anna, the chairwoman of the third district women’s association!」

「I’m Mary, the chairwoman of the second shopping district.」

「I’m Vassa, the fifth district chairwoman!」

One after another, the ladies bowed their heads. And behind them, I could see many more people running toward us.

Their footsteps must have numbered in the thousands. I looked in their direction and saw the main street packed with people, all coming toward us with valiant expressions on their faces.

In their hands, they held nothing but makeshift weapons.

「Please forget the words of those selfish scumbags.」

「Those were just opinions of the minority!」

「Yes, yes. I knew he was useless, but I never imagined he would be such complete and utter garbage… If we make it out of here alive, he better get ready for a divorce!」

「Same here! If only I could drag him out to the front lines!」

H-How very encouraging.

「We’re the residents of this city too, and we refuse to run away while others are fighting for us! We’ll fight too if we have to!」

「Exactly! We all feel the same way! We won’t abandon those fighting to protect us!」

「Come on, Saintess-sama! Your friends are holding the line, right? Let’s go save them!」

「Yes… Of course!」

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