The man who caught my blade effortlessly with one hand took a sip of black tea with the other.
"You slash at me, then ask for help? You’re a strange one."
"You’re Gaia-san, aren't you!?"
"Why not start by introducing yourself? I haven't the faintest idea what your business is, but..."
An instant later, I threw myself backward.
I instinctively reached up to my neck, checking to make sure my head was still attached to my shoulders.
"I nearly... took that little head of yours right off."
Every cell in my body screamed, sounding a frantic alarm. As a cold sweat broke out across my skin, I stared at Gaia-san.
There was no mistake. This man was a Five Star Sword—one of the strongest knights in the kingdom. He was a powerhouse of such magnitude that the gap between our abilities was immeasurable.
Just then, a voice thundered through the garden.
"My Lord!! Are you unharmed!?"
The knights who had been chasing me finally caught up. There were already more than twenty of them, likely due to the commotion I’d caused. Among them was a man with a voice so loud it shook the air. He had deep-set features and a rugged, intense face—the kind of man who was the very definition of 'masculine.'
"Yooouuuu! You little brat!!!!" he roared. "Don't think you're getting away with this! I don't care if you're a kid, I'll beat you to death!!"
"Iricobert... what is the meaning of this?" Gaia asked calmly. "Did a mere child really slip past all of you?"
"N-No, it's not like that, My Lord! We just... we didn't think a child would actually possess an emblem! And he was incredibly nimble, you see..."
"Gaia-san! Never mind that!" I shouted.
"Never mind that!? Why, you little—!"
Gaia raised a hand to silence the man called Iricobert, then turned his gaze back to me.
"Dragonia has invaded," I said.
"What?"
"Haaaah!? You kid, don't think you can trick us with a tall tale like that!" Iricobert barked. "Doing something like this could get your entire family beheaded!"
"Iricobert, be quiet for a moment."
"...Yes, sir."
Iricobert looked a bit dejected after the scolding, but I didn't have time to care about his feelings. Gaia-san signaled with his eyes for me to continue.
"Dragonia attacked, and Princess Scarlett is currently besieged at Canaan Castle. Several Knight Orders attempted to break through the blockade to reach you, but only one succeeded. That order was intercepted by Dragonia knights just a short distance from here. I happened to be with them and managed to reach the city alone. They're still fighting right now—please, you have to help them! You have to hurry!"
"............"
I kept my explanation as concise as possible. We were out of time. If he didn't believe me now, it would be over.
"Hold on, that's just too much to swallow," Iricobert grumbled. "Why would a brat like you be the messenger for a Knight Order? Why would Dragonia attack now? And why the hell does a kid like you have an emblem anyway? Explain everything from the very beginning!"
"There’s no time for explanations!"
"Wh-Why you...! Do you have any idea who I am? I was granted a Three-Star by His Majesty—!"
"Iricobert, be quiet."
"...Yes."
I understood their skepticism. To anyone else, this was just the rambling of an eight-year-old. I had broken into a noble estate and caused a scene; why should anyone believe me? Even so, there was one thing I could do for Gald-san and the others.
"Please... believe me. I just want to save them. If I'm lying..."
I drew my sword and pressed the tip against my own throat. Then, I held the hilt out toward Gaia-san.
"You can kill me here and now."
I stared straight into his eyes, refusing to look away.
"............You won't take those words back?"
"I won't."
"............Iricobert!! All forces, prepare for an immediate sortie!! Move!!"
"Huh? The whole army!? U-Understood!!"
In the next heartbeat, the world blurred. My vision shifted with such terrifying speed that it felt like being in a high-speed collision. I couldn't even move my limbs against the sheer force of the inertia.
Then I realized: Gaia-san was carrying me under his arm, and we were flying through the air.
"MY LOOOOOORD!!??"
We landed an instant later. We were already atop the roof of the main mansion.
"Direction."
"That way!!"
Another explosive burst of speed. This time, I managed to stay calm enough to watch. Gaia-san was moving with unbelievable power.
Thump!!
He landed on another rooftop and immediately launched off again. His acceleration was so violent it felt like an explosion. His top speed was perhaps only slightly faster than an Emblem Horse, but the way he reached that speed from a standstill was instantaneous. There was zero time lag.
The constant G-force felt like being hit by a car over and over. If I hadn't been an emblem holder myself, the strain might have killed me.
"O-Over there... that forest!"
"Ho... You're holding up well. You get more interesting by the second."
In a matter of seconds, we cleared the city walls of Gracefeel. Gaia-san’s Emblem Horse appeared below us—it was a full size larger than the one Gald-san had used.
We hopped onto it without slowing down. The horse was incredibly fast, easily exceeding a hundred kilometers per hour. We tore across the landscape toward the spot where I had left the knights.
Twenty minutes had passed. I prayed Gald-san and the others were still alive.
"Don't you dare die on me!! Believe in Sora-sama!! Ohhhhh!! Chivalryyyyy!! FIREEEEE!!"
""FIREEEEE!!""
They were holding out. Gald-san and his men were huddled together like a turtle, defending back-to-back. They were covered in wounds and clearly at their limits, but they were still breathing.
"You're a persistent one," the Dragonia commander sneered, raising his blade. "Enough of thi—!?"
"Hey, Dragonia. Where exactly do you think you are?"
Gaia-san and I touched down right in the middle of the clearing. We were facing twenty enemies, meaning we were still outnumbered ten-to-one.
It didn't matter.
"—!? G-Gaia... Featherfiel..."
The enemy commander didn't even finish the name before the fight was over.
Gaia-san dismounted, and before I could even blink, he vanished. The ground where he’d been standing literally exploded from the force of his step.
The Dragonia knight—likely a Knight Commander himself—didn't even have time to clash blades. His torso was severed in a single clean strike.
Immediately, the surrounding knights lost their crest power, and their summoned swords vanished. Clad in expressions of pure despair, they all threw up their hands in surrender.
Strong. He was too strong. This was an overwhelming display of martial prowess that I couldn't even begin to comprehend.
This was the Great Hero—the Five Star Sword, Gaia Featherfield.
I was mesmerized. I couldn't help but think he was the coolest person I’d ever seen. Maybe it was because he’d saved us, or because he’d listened to my desperate plea... but for the first time in my life, I felt a genuine sense of admiration for someone.
We returned to Gracefeel with Gald-san's group.
"I believed in you, Sora-sama! But how did you pull it off so fast? To be honest, I was starting to lose hope."
"Ahaha, I might have been a little reckless. But I'm just glad we made it."
Gald-san and his men were in bad shape. They couldn't even sit upright on their horses; they were slumped over, clinging to the manes for dear life. Fortunately, none of their wounds were life-threatening.
Gald told me they had initially planned to charge in and die fighting, but they chose to trust my words and focused entirely on a defensive formation. They had endured the onslaught, waiting for the reinforcements they believed would come.
"Thank you for trusting me," I said.
"Don't be silly! We're the ones who should be thanking you. Now, I’ll actually get to see my family again!"
"Yeah... I'm really glad."
We reached the gates of Gracefeel, passing the guards who had ignored me earlier. Beyond the gates, a massive force of knights was mobilizing. Supply wagons were being loaded with food and equipment in a frantic rush.
"My Lord! You're safe!! —!? Are those prisoners...?"
"Yeah. Everything this lad said was true," Gaia replied. "Dragonia is invading. Are the preparations ready?"
"Sir! We’ll be ready in an hour!!"
"Too slow. You have twenty minutes. This is a matter of life and death. Tell them we’re leaving behind anyone who isn't ready."
"—!? A-At once!! Hey, you lot!! Move like your lives depend on it!!"
Iricobert, the man with the intense face, scrambled away, shouting at the top of his lungs. I was starting to feel a bit sorry for him—he seemed like a real workhorse. Still, the fact that they were preparing for war based on a single order proved how much they trusted Gaia-san.
Gaia-san flicked the reins of his Emblem Horse. We moved away from the crowd, hopping up onto a quiet section of the city wall.
"Um... Gaia-san?"
He grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and set me down on the stone. Then he dismounted and stood before me with his arms crossed, towering over me. His brow was furrowed so deeply he looked like a literal demon.
"Now then, we have twenty minutes," he said, his voice low. "Start talking."
"A-About what? I already told you everything that's happening..."
"No, there's one thing you haven't explained," he said, narrowing his eyes. "I want to know why you possess the Regalia Emblem."
"............A-Ahaha."
My secret was out.