Soldiers appeared before Ryutas and his guards, who held longswords in hand.
That said, the soldiers' equipment varied from person to person and was by no means standardized.
Even so, looking at those bearing weapons, there was nothing else to call them but soldiers.
(If they were adventurers, we might have been able to strike a deal.)
Fundamentally, adventurers undertook quests with money as their objective.
Moreover, the adventurers of Reblurina were by no means superior to those of the Kingdom of Mireana.
That was precisely why, if they could make easy money, they would agree to a deal with only a few exceptions.
But those standing before Ryutas now were soldiers.
(A noble's private army… no, that's not it. With this many of them, it's probably the National Army. Though their equipment being all different suggests otherwise. Which would mean they were dispatched on an unofficial mission.)
The one saving grace was that Reblurina's soldiers were weak compared to those of neighboring nations.
Of course, it was precisely because their soldiers were weak—and because as a small nation they could never muster the numbers the Kingdom of Mireana could—that they had likely leaped at the option of Giants.
Also, even if Reblurina's soldiers were weak, it was not as though Ryutas had the power to somehow deal with them.
All Ryutas could do now was stall for time.
While praying that the guards who had entered the cave would link up with Rei's group as quickly as possible.
"My, everyone. What brings you to a place like this?"
Wearing his usual mask, Ryutas called out to the soldiers who had appeared.
"Soldiers, what are you doing in a place like this?"
Ryutas called out to them in a friendly manner, but with the longsword in his hand, the soldiers would not so easily let down their guard.
"You are?"
"I am…"
Ryutas was about to give the alias he always used in response to the soldier's words, but he stopped mid-sentence.
That was because a different soldier beside the one Ryutas had been addressing readied his spear.
"Soldier, why on earth would you… ah, it's because I'm carrying a weapon, isn't it? Rest assured… though saying that is strange in itself. I was simply certain that bandits or something had appeared, so I armed myself like this. As a merchant, one must be cautious."
It was fundamentally unheard of for unaffiliated bandits to appear around Mejougo, which Jaya controlled. …Of course, there were likely exceptions, such as when Ryutas had acted as a decoy before.
Given that Jaya's existence was a semi-open secret, the soldiers before Ryutas naturally knew of it as well.
However, if the soldiers thought Ryutas was an ordinary merchant, they might be unaware of those circumstances, and he might be able to stall for at least some time.
Of course, Ryutas understood that words alone could not avoid a fight, so the goal was purely to buy time.
Fortunately, the first man Ryutas had spoken to seemed receptive to his scheme… but the soldier next to him, unfortunately, was not so easily fooled.
"Did you forget? The order is to kill everyone in this forest. Even if they aren't with Jaya."
"Wait, but… look at these guys. They're saying they're merchants, aren't they?"
"Listen, them being merchants is just that man's claim. For starters, if he's a merchant, where are his goods? Where do you find a merchant with no merchandise?"
As the man said, there was no cargo of any kind around Ryutas.
It would be very difficult to look at that and call Ryutas a merchant.
However, there were several counterarguments to that.
For example, the goods were hidden inside the cave. Since the soldiers before him did not know that Jaya personnel and Giants were inside the cave, smoothing that over would not be impossible.
For example, they had been pursued by bandits—in this case, Jaya soldiers—and had thrown aside their cargo to barely escape with their lives.
For example, they had entered this forest to find new goods to sell.
For example, they had been waiting in front of this cave as a meeting point for an important deal.
There were various reasons like those.
But while Ryutas hesitated over what to say, several more soldiers emerged from the surrounding forest.
Since their objective was to kill those inside this cave—presumably Jaya personnel—it was only natural that the soldiers would surround the forest to prevent escape before heading for the cave.
(Which means the underground passage connected to Mejougo is probably being watched as well.)
While Ryutas was thinking that, the soldiers who had gathered here directed looks at the ones talking to Ryutas as if to say, "What are you doing?"
The mission the soldiers had been given was to stop the breathing of everyone in this forest, even if they were children or the elderly.
And yet, here they were, chatting leisurely.
"Hey."
Perhaps that frustration had leaked out, as one of the newly arrived soldiers called out to his comrades in a displeased tone.
There were already nearly twenty soldiers present.
Facing that many soldiers, Ryutas tried to figure out some way to stall for time…
"Young Master, we can't do this any longer. Aside from the soldier you addressed, everyone is suspicious of us."
One of his guards warned him, barely moving his mouth, yet using a special way of speaking that only Ryutas could hear.
If Rei saw that guard now… and if the guard were holding a puppet or something, he would have cried out in surprise, "Ventriloquism!?"
At any rate, at the guard's warning, Ryutas considered trying to stall a little longer, but gave up, knowing that doing so in this situation would only result in the number of soldiers increasing.
Given that they lacked the strength to deal with a large number of enemies, it was better to keep the enemy count as low as possible—so he judged.
He gave a small nod at the guard's words and stepped forward.
"Now, now, please don't be so wary. …Hmm? Oh, isn't that you, Ralkeno? Are you on the job too, Ralkeno?"
Ryutas said, addressing no one in particular.
Naturally, Ryutas had no way of knowing whether anyone named Ralkeno was among the soldiers.
But… being suddenly addressed like that, it was only natural for the soldiers to turn their gazes toward whoever they thought had been called upon.
Who is it? You? No, not you. Then you…
Like that, the large group directed their gazes toward those nearby, as if Ryutas's words had been meant for them.
If there had been a battle-hardened Knight or a higher-ranking soldier here, they would have shouted at the soldiers who took their eyes off Ryutas.
Even if the opponent was not necessarily an enemy, what was the meaning of taking one's eyes off a suspicious person?
However, among the soldiers gathered here, there were those leading small groups, but none who had actual combat experience.
To begin with, it was extremely rare for soldiers of a small nation like Reblurina to experience real combat.
Given their connection to Jaya, if bandits or the like appeared, Jaya would dispose of them for encroaching on their territory. And if a neighboring nation tried to attack, they needed only to call upon the Kingdom of Mireana—their suzerain—and that would settle it.
If some sort of rebellion occurred, the soldiers would be deployed, but there had been no sign of anything like that happening recently.
As a result, these soldiers existed in great numbers but with virtually no real combat experience.
As every soldier turned their gaze in the direction Ryutas was looking… in the next instant, Ryutas thrust out the longsword whose tip he had been pointing downward.
It was a blow that caught the soldiers completely off guard.
That strike was against the soldier who had been talking to Ryutas first.
Ryutas had judged that while the soldier had not been exactly friendly toward him, he had still been willing to have a proper conversation—and precisely because he was that type, he would likely counterattack fiercely if he believed he had been betrayed. That was why Ryutas had struck him down.
The sensation of piercing flesh transmitted through the hand gripping the longsword's hilt.
Ryutas frowned slightly at the sensation, but it lasted only a moment.
He immediately moved to his next action.
Naturally. Right now, the enemy was caught off guard—the best possible opening.
Taking this opportunity to reduce the enemy's numbers even slightly was now the top priority.
It was not just Ryutas who thought so; his guards felt the same.
The moment the soldiers looked away, caught by Ryutas's words, they launched into an all-out attack.
Longswords, short swords, spears.
Using those weapons, they attacked the soldiers all at once.
In just a few seconds, several soldiers' lives were taken.
The screams of their comrades, blood splattering onto their faces, and the sound of bodies collapsing to the ground.
By that point, it was easy for the soldiers to realize they had been deceived.
"What the hell are you doing!"
The first to shout was the soldier who had readied his spear while Ryutas was talking to the soldier he had killed first.
Setting aside being attacked himself, the thought that that soldier—the one who had been trying to converse with Ryutas—would be attacked was completely unexpected.
"Who cares!"
Swinging his longsword toward the shouting man, Ryutas leapt backward.
Because it was a strike aimed behind rather than forward, he could not wound the soldier's body.
The tip of the longsword barely scratched the surface of the Leather Armor, but it was no more than a scrape.
It could not break a bone from the impact, let alone send the soldier's body flying.
But… the soldier clearly understood that the tip of the longsword had gouged the surface of his Leather Armor.
Because of that, blood rushed to his head.
"I'll kill you!"
Shouting with an expression full of rage and killing intent, he chased after Ryutas, who was retreating backward toward the cave with his longsword at the ready.
The other soldiers, too, having clearly recognized that those before them were their enemies, pursued Ryutas with weapons in hand as he retreated toward the cave.
"Young Master, hurry this way!"
Throwing a nearby stone, one of the guards shouted sharply.
Normally, he would have wanted to throw a short sword, but considering the number of soldiers, they were far too short on throwing blades.
Given that, the best course was to head for the cave, using the stones that were everywhere around them.
…That said, while stone throwing was primitive, it possessed a force that was by no means to be underestimated.
In fact, several of the soldiers were lying on the ground with blood streaming from their heads.
Even so, the soldiers arriving here outnumbered those falling, so it was little more than a drop in the ocean.
But at least it bought them a chance to retreat into the cave.
And once they entered the cave, they would not have to face a large number of enemies all at once.
They only needed to fight the soldiers coming in after them.
He could confirm that some soldiers carried bows, but this cave was a naturally formed cave in its raw state.
While the center had been somewhat modified so that the Giants could traverse it without much difficulty walking, there were ordinary rocks and the like near the walls.
Rocks large enough to serve as sufficient cover.
If they hid behind those, there would be no need to fear bows and the like.
However, if the soldiers closed the distance while they were hiding, they would undoubtedly struggle.
(That's exactly why I need to put up somewhat of a fight. I need to make them think they can defeat us without using bows. …Though the chances are high they'd think that even if we fought normally.)
Evading the spear of the soldier whose Leather Armor he had scratched with the longsword strike while retreating moments ago, Ryutas frowned slightly, thinking this was a troublesome situation.
Of course, he was the one who had decided to stay here and wait for Rei's group to arrive.
Given that, the current situation was, in a sense, undoubtedly his own doing.
Evading the spearhead and closing the distance, he unleashed a thrust.
If asked which was more suited for thrusting—a spear or a longsword—most people would answer a spear.
And they would not be wrong.
But… that was only the case when both combatants were of comparable strength, or at most differed by only a slight degree.
Ryutas could not single-handedly annihilate an entire army like Rei, but he was still not so weak as to lose to an ordinary soldier of Reblurina, not even a Knight.
The tip of the longsword he released pierced the soldier's throat in the next instant, and with that momentum, severed the head.
Spewing blood from the severed neck like a fountain, the soldier's body collapsed to the ground.
By felling a soldier like this, he could also expect the secondary effect of denying the enemy their footing.
(Though it won't hold forever. Please, hurry and bring Rei.)
Thinking that, Ryutas exploited an opening in a soldier enraged by the death of his comrade and unleashed another thrust.