“What? Do people from the fief capital not see Hollows? Children in Lentforce get the chance to see Hollows even if it’s protected by a barrier,” Kyaro asked an escort while hunting Hollows at a constant pace.
“Hollows hardly ever enter the city. And your safety is guaranteed if you work in the castle.”
“Hmph, well that’s dangerous.”
“What is?”
There weren’t many Hollows at the beginning of the night, and the guard looked curious as he stared at them.
“If you don’t know the dangers of Hollows, then you’re going to take being protected for granted.”
“What’s wrong with letting people live in peace?”
Kyaro cut down the Hollow in front of him and suddenly went back into the barrier.
“Hey, did you know? The Four Marquises can’t leave the Kingdom because they have to maintain the barrier.”
“That’s their job, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah.”
Kyaro remained on alert and watched the Hollows.
“But, to spread a barrier around your fief capital…”
The guard looked at Kyaro as if asking what he wanted to say.
“Your Princes will no longer be able to leave the capital. The people may think that this goes without saying, but it’s scary to me.”
The guard usually went with the Prince on his travels. Therefore, he really cared about him. The matter of spreading a barrier around the whole city hadn’t been made public. However, he had never considered that maintaining the barrier would restrict the Prince’s movements because he was so proud that his Prince was going to play a significant role in protecting the people.
Hollows and Hunters were a surprising experience for guards. It was rare for him to see his Prince take care of a toddler. A lot of unexpected things happened on this trip. But now, maintaining their defence was the priority. “I’ll think about the troublesome things later,” the guard regained his focus.
“Leila-sama, don’t look at those dreadful things and go inside where it’s safe.”
“Ai.”
I watched their exchange from beginning to end from behind the door, and Dory, who was watching me from behind, finally cautioned me.
I toddled back to the middle of the room. Everyone was taking turns sleeping, so there were blankets everywhere, and my bed was in the middle with Dory. Alistair’s barrier box was placed by my bedside. We reviewed how to use the barrier boxes earlier, so everyone should be able to use the barrier box immediately if the Hollows broke through the entrance.
Dory was responsible for holding onto it. I was told to activate the barrier box as soon as possible if I thought it was dangerous.
The hut was only equipped with small lights because the portable lights were taken to illuminate the surroundings outside. Half the guards and half of Bart’s crew were inside the hut resting as well.
“I’m going tho shweep.”
“Leila-sama, you’re smart. Let’s rest, so we don’t get in their way,” Dory said as she laid next to me on the blanket.
“Dory?”
“I can sleep as much as I want in the basket tomorrow. Please don’t worry.”
“Ai. Goodnighth.”
“I can’t sleep very well in this tense atmosphere,” I heard her say that, but I want to say, That’s why we survive. Those who remain awake but aren’t able to fight should accumulate their strength, so they don’t get in the way. I fell asleep quickly. But before I fell asleep, I heard, Dory say gently, “Good girl”.
How long did I sleep? I probably woke up because of the loud sounds. I’m a morning person. So, I didn’t quickly jump up as soon as I woke up and pricked up my ears to listen.
“I can’t believe they have three barrier boxes,” a guard’s voice said. I heard the powerful sounds of something colliding outside the entrance.
*CLANG* I listened to loud noise from where the wall was. The hut shook a bit.
They came after all.
“Woah.” The people in the hut raised their voices in surprise. All the guards looked like they were going to go outside. I got up and called out to Dory, who was staring at where the loud noise was coming from in surprise, “Dory.”
“Le-Leila-sama.”
“Ai. Dory.”
“What should we do? What should we do?”
“Dory!”
“Yes!?”
Dory’s voice got louder because she was flustered.
“Gathher eberywon here.”
“Huh, what?”
“Ushe bawwier.”
“But…”
“We can ushe ith. Ith won’th diminish.”
“But…”
*CLACK. CREAK.* I heard along with the sounds of a tree breaking.
There wasn’t any time to wait for Dory to pick it up. I sat up properly and wore the Rug Dragon, which was next to me, on my back. I grabbed the barrier box, which was by my side and put it on my thigh, then took a deep breath.
“Come here!” An infant’s loud voice echoed in the room, and everyone turned to me at once. I held up the barrier box to show them.
“I’m ushing thhe bawwier box. Come here!”
Everyone gathered around me after freezing for a moment.
A hole was made in the wall along with a creaking sound.
“Eek,” someone gulped.
“Acthivathing bawwier.”
I turned the barrier box switch with a click. *DING* the air around us changed. The barriers didn’t negate each other when they came into contact. This shouldn’t bother those outside.
In the meantime, the walls were destroyed in no time, but it wasn’t the Hollows who entered the hut; it was an average human who was dressed in armour. However, he was wrapped in a barrier. In other words, a man was holding a barrier box behind him.
“Eep!” I raised my voice before the man could say anything. Victory goes to those who make the first move.
“Eeep!”
“Shut up!”
I shut up. However, my voice was heard.
“Lei-sama? The hut is destroyed?” A guard heard my voice and said.
“It doesn’t matter if they can hear you, we have a lot of people there. Help won’t come,” the man, who was accompanied by a follower, said.
“Now, hand over the girl.”