Chapter 27 – The Leader Has Not Changed

-Seniors are in danger! Please help me, Captain!

At the urgent voice coming from beyond the door, I jumped up and opened the door.

Should I say I was glad that he came at a time when I was still dressed and not doing anything?
Fine’s expression was so serious that he didn’t even have time to think about such nonsense.

“What do you mean the sisters are in danger, Phineas?”

When Agnes asked about her unusual premonition, Fine rushed over and answered as if she was out of breath.

“Heo-eok… There’s a report that there’s a strange monster in the forest, heo-eok…!”

“A monster?”

“Yes…! After receiving a tip, the knights went to exterminate it, but it is too strong to be defeated!”

Upon hearing the news that the sisters were in crisis, Agnes’ eyes instantly changed to that of a knight commander.
Even though he was kicked out from them, his love for his subordinates remained the same.

“What’s the situation like? Are the monsters and the knights in conflict?”

“I’m taking my time by avoiding direct fights as much as possible. But I don’t think I can last long!”

“Understood. I will bring weapons, so guide me right away!”

As Agnes was about to leave the room with Fine, I caught them both.

“Wait a minute, Finn. What does that monster look like?”

“Dake. There’s no time for this…!”

Agnes seemed very impatient, but I had to hear about the monster.

“Fine, hurry up.”

“Well, he had greenish skin like a goblin, but he seemed to be about ten times taller than an elf.”

“Do you remember anything else? Please be as detailed as possible.”

“And again… Ah! When I heard that monster’s roar, for some reason I couldn’t use the mana in my body! That’s why my seniors are being pushed back!”

“Really? Okay. Agnes, grab your weapons and stop by here for a moment before you go to the monster.”

“What? And if something happens to the sisters…!”

“You said you would follow my orders unconditionally, right?”

“…Ah, I understand.”

“You must stop by.”

After the two elves ran out of the room, I quickly turned on my phone.

I searched based on the story I heard from Fine, and fortunately, I found related information.

‘Ogre?’

According to the app, ogres are monsters with a small population that live alone, and when they encounter a group of goblins, they act as their leader.

‘He’s the leader of the goblins…’

Although we eliminated all the goblins that appeared in the forest, it was still suspicious that the ogre that appeared this time had nothing to do with them.

My doubts turned into confidence thanks to the following sentence.

‘A wizard goblin can summon an ogre through a ritual?’

If you complete the ritual, the ogre will be summoned to the location where the ritual was performed after a certain period of time.

So, when the wizard goblin died at the hands of Agnes, the summoning ritual had already been completed, and as time passed, the goblin appeared in the forest.

‘Ogres prey on living creatures such as mountain animals, humans, and elves, so goblins often deliver food to them… ? Then…’

When I rescued the elves kidnapped by goblins before, there was an unanswered question.

Why did goblins, who do not have the habit of storing food or taking hostages, keep the elves alive in the cave?

I didn’t know it at the time, but now I think I know why.
They captured them to serve as food when their true leader was summoned.

‘That’s how it was.’

The question was resolved, but now it was not that important.
What we need now is information on how to take him down.

‘… There is!’

The ogre’s main weapon was great strength, but he had one special ability.
It was a roaring spell that stopped the mana circulation of those who heard it, and because of this, the knights were unable to use magic and were struggling against it.

Besides that, I read articles related to ogres as quickly as possible.
It goes without saying that I couldn’t put Agnes and Fine in danger, and if I wanted to remain in the castle, I couldn’t allow the knights to be wiped out by that bastard.

After a while.

“Dake! I’m back!”

Agnes, still looking impatient, returned with Fine, and she gave her the things she had prepared for her.

“W-what is this?”

What I gave him was the magic-nullifying necklace he used to escape from the isolation space created by the wizard goblin.

“Fine said that the members can’t use magic, right? If you have this, you’ll be fine. So make sure to keep it on you.”

“Really? …Thank you, Dake.”

“And to kill it, aim for the vital spot right in the middle of its forehead. Its knees are also weak to support its large size, so if you want to block its movement, you can target its knees first.”

“I understand. But where on earth did you get this information… No, now is not the time.”

Agnes turned around and said she would return.

“Let’s go, Pine!”

“Yes, Captain!”

I didn’t necessarily follow them.
I also wanted to help in the fight, but I felt like Agnes would only be in trouble if she was seen by other members.

Analyzing the information read through the app, if Agnes could only use magic, she would be easily defeated with her abilities, so there was no need to worry too much.

Nevertheless, perhaps because she had been with Agnes for several days, she had been secretly praying for her to be okay in her quiet room.

—

“Kwaeeeeek!”

“Ugh…!”

The vice-captain covered his ears with both hands at the sound of a roar that seemed to tear apart space.

For some reason, I couldn’t use magic after hearing that roar, and the power of the green giant monster was too strong, so I hid behind a rock or tree and waited for support.

“Vice-captain! Has Fine reached the castle? We’re at our limit now!”

“He’s a quick kid, so he’s probably already arrived. We have to hold on somehow longer!”

The Knights were not just hiding.
Taking advantage of knowing the forest terrain well, they attempted to reduce the opponent’s stamina by repeatedly attacking and hiding.

However, the ogre’s hide was so hard that, rather than causing damage, it only increased the risk of being hit back when attempting an attack.

“What if Fine really went to the leader?”

There was a reason why her subordinate asked in an anxious voice.

When the vice-captain ordered Fine to return to the kingdom and gather reinforcements for her, differences of opinion arose between the two.

Fine’s opinion was that the leader should be brought in, not other troops.

In fact, the vice-captain also knew that Fine’s judgment was right.
There was no way that guards or knights from other territories could deal with a monster that even the best knights in the kingdom could not handle.

In the end, the situation became so urgent that he had to send Fine without receiving confirmation that he would bring in other troops.

‘I know. The point is that you need a leader more than a bunch of troops. But… !’

“If you really went to call the leader… Will he come?”

No. The leader won’t come.

He couldn’t answer his subordinate like that.
Because hope on the battlefield is directly related to morale.

‘But the leader didn’t come… There’s no way you’re coming.’

Two days ago, to be exact, the night I asked Agnes to leave the knights.
The vice-captain went down to the basement of the barracks where Dake was.
I don’t think he’ll be able to sleep if I don’t curse him for taking away the leader.

And she listened.
Agnes’s cry was heard from the end of the hallway.

[Vice-captain, I’m sorry. I am… As you said, I fell into lust.]

[So I will be with Dake… Being held by this man for the rest of my life… I will live the rest of my life giving birth to this man’s child!]

After hearing those words, the vice-captain thought that there was really no way the leader would come back like before, so he had no choice but to go back to his room with a heavy heart.

‘So you can’t come.’

It’s shameless to even expect her to come since she was the one who kicked her out in the first place.
That was the vice-captain’s idea.

Right then.

“Aaaaah!”

At the sound of screaming, the vice-captain turned his head.
One of his subordinates was trying to ambush him, but was attacked and thrown to the ground.

“Louis! Run away!”

“Ugh, my legs…!”

Despite the vice-captain’s instructions, the subordinate was unable to move due to his injuries.
The ogre, who couldn’t miss this, approached the fallen elf and roared as he lifted the huge club in his hand.

“Queeeeek!”

“No!”

The falling ogre’s club cut through the vice-captain’s scream.

Just before the elf knight was crushed by the club, a blue disk flew from somewhere and cut off the ogre’s wrist.

“Ooooo!”

The ogre steps back with a cry of pain.

The vice-captain’s eyes widened at seeing her for the first time since facing the ogre, but there was something else that surprised her even more.

‘Captain? Why is the leader here… ?’

“Louis, are you okay!”

“Gwae, it’s okay. Thank you! But how could the leader be here…”

“Hurry and hide!”

Before the subordinate could finish his question, Agnes disappeared from the scene.

Transported in an instant by her magic, she picked up her sword she had thrown earlier and shouted at the monster looking down at her.

“I will never forgive you for trying to harm my sisters, you monster!”

“Kwaeeeeek!”

The roaring orc picked up his club with his free hand and swung it at Agnes.

The thickness of the club was as large as Agnes’ height, and it gave off speed and pressure as if an angry boar was charging at her.

However, Agnes left the spot just as quickly and cut off the ogre’s remaining wrist with a blade coated with blue mana.

Pashaak!

‘What happened? ‘If you hear that thing crying, you won’t be able to use magic?!’

While the vice-captain was wondering, Agnes raised her head and looked at the ogre’s forehead.

He then raised his sword, took a stance, and swung it horizontally, cutting the knee tendon of a nearby ogre.

The demon’s green blood gushes from his wrists and knees, which could not even be scratched by the swords or arrows of his subordinates, and when the ogre finally falls to his knees, Agnes jumps up from her spot and plunges her sword into the center of the ogre’s forehead.

“Sooooo…”

A cry that feels less powerful than before.
The huge figure that seemed as strong as a mountain collapsed to the ground, and soon the ogre stopped breathing.

“Captain!”

Her knights gathered around her, watching with bated breath her Agnes’s fight.

Although it was a happy moment after defeating a powerful enemy, there was an awkwardness between the leader and his subordinates.

“…Thank you, Captain. I didn’t know you would come.”

Agnes also hesitantly responded to the vice-captain’s words filled with complex emotions.

“I’m sorry… I heard that the Knights were dangerous and I didn’t realize it…”

An awkward atmosphere that rarely goes away.
Not only the two elves, but none of the subordinates around them hesitate, unable to figure out what to say.

The person who broke the silence was Fine, who was watching the leader’s fight with brighter eyes than anyone else.

“As expected, the leader hasn’t changed!”

“Pine?”

The vice-captain asked back in an excited voice, but Fine still shouted with a bright face.

“The leader hasn’t changed at all! He’s the leader we knew! So, it’s okay for you to continue to be in the Knights!”

The elves are buzzing.
Of course, they want Agnes to stay, but they must also follow the rules of the royal castle.

So what you just said was enough to confuse everyone here.

However, it didn’t seem to be Fine.
Even though she could clearly hear her seniors whispering, her eyes were shining with strong confidence as she couldn’t control her excited emotions.