Extra S*ave Saves the Crown Prince Chapter 46

 

“Will you take her with you?”

 

At the unprecedented news of monster appearances, the faces of all the knights were stiff.

 

Baslo and Arnic, who had been ordered to set out for each village, stood up first to prepare. The Crown Prince was looking at the map spread out on the table, seemingly lost in thought.

 

“Shall I have her prepared?”

 

Although the Crown Prince said nothing, Captain Lekes asked from beside him.

 

There was no subject, but the same figure came to everyone’s mind.

 

『Sez!!』

 

That night, the scream of that name still pierced through Sihien’s mind from time to time. Even while in Enapok, he had not been able to stop the monster from snatching her away. She had miraculously returned alive, but there was no guarantee such a thing wouldn’t happen again.

 

He never wanted to experience it again. The feeling of her disappearing completely before his eyes. The helplessness of being unable to do anything.

 

Scrape.

 

The chair scraped the floor as it was pushed back. Sihien, who had been looking down at the map, stood up from his seat. His expression didn’t change, but both his fists were tightly clenched.

 

“I’ll be back.”

 

He didn’t want to leave her here. But he couldn’t take her to a place where monsters had just appeared, either.

 

“I’ll keep a close watch.”

 

The Captain had known Sihien since he was a child. He already knew what he was thinking. Originally, Sihien had cared for nothing but killing monsters. The mere fact that he lingered on someone with his gaze was enough to guess his feelings.

 

Sihien nodded once to Captain Lekes, as if to say, please watch over her well. And then, as always, he dashed straight toward the monsters.

 

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

 

The knights, divided between Delois and Okon, were left speechless at the horrific scene.

 

The monsters had turned everything into ruins and were roaming atop the devastation. The stench of blood was so thick it stung the nose.

 

“Damn it!”

 

The area with the worst damage was Delois village. Baslo cursed repeatedly as he looked at the monsters. At a glance, it seemed unlikely that anyone had survived.

 

“Attack!”

 

The knights, more enraged than ever before, charged forward. The Crown Prince was not at the front, but these were not enemies they couldn’t handle. The knights had honed their skills over more than a decade of fighting monsters.

 

But the villagers would have been completely defenseless. Thinking of that made everyone’s blood boil.

 

Thud!

 

The knights, assembled under Baslo’s command, defeated the monsters with more determination than ever. Even after eliminating the threat, no one’s expression brightened.

 

The smoke from burning the monsters rose thicker and darker. Yet the knights could not release their anger and breathed heavily.

 

The sight of the entire village utterly destroyed was almost unbearable. No one had been able to resist; they had been helplessly slaughtered.

 

“We’ll need a priest.”

 

For the knights, and for this village as well.

 

Baslo sent a messenger to Enapok. He thought the village would need prayers. The silence, without even the sound of weeping, was all the more mournful.

 

At about the same time, the knights led by Arnic were locked in a fierce struggle against the monsters. The black forms refused to fall, giving the knights a hard time.

 

Okon was in better shape than Delois, which had been completely wiped out, but it was still a wretched sight.

 

The young men of the village had been out in the fields, which was the only reason they survived by luck.

 

“His Highness is coming!”

 

“Waaaaah!”

 

The struggling knights raised their swords and shouted. The black horse racing toward them, red cloak flying, was itself a sign of victory.

 

Sihien, at full gallop, thrust his sword at the monster. The knights instinctively cleared a path for their lord.

 

With the Crown Prince present, monsters of this level would surely be defeated in no time. The power behind his sword was far beyond that of ordinary knights. Even a single strike sent the monster staggering backward.

 

Thud, thud.

 

The monster stomped so hard the ground shook, but Sihien, still on horseback, darted back and forth, slashing with his sword.

 

With each pass of his blade, monster blood splattered everywhere. For ordinary people, it would have been hard to even follow his speed with their eyes.

 

His arrival instantly turned the tide of the previously desperate battle. But unlike usual, there were no cheers. Instead, the more clearly the monster’s life ebbed away, the quieter the surroundings became.

 

Because everyone knew that, even if the monster was defeated, the villagers would not return.

 

“Drag it as far away as possible.”

 

When the monster finally collapsed, unable to endure any longer, Arnic gave the knights a low command.

 

It seemed best to avoid burning it in the middle of the village. Dragging the monster away would not be easy, but none of the knights complained.

 

“Hic, sob.”

 

“Aaaaaah.”

 

“Nooooooo!”

 

As Sihien dismounted and swung his sword through the air, drops of monster blood fell to the ground.

 

That was the signal for those who had been holding back to finally burst into tears. The young men who had been away from the village watched from behind, then stepped forward.

 

Among them was the man who had sent a distress signal all the way to Enapok. Seeing the village where they had lived since childhood completely destroyed, they all fell to their knees and wept.

 

The sunset stained the whole village redder than ever before.

 

.*. *. *. *. *. *.

 

“Priest! I’ll go too!”

 

From the moment I heard that the knights and Sihien had gone to a nearby village, my heart was already there.

 

When the messenger arrived, saying a priest was needed for prayers for the village and asking for a second group to come, I was filled with the thought that I absolutely had to go.

 

“Sez. It’ll be very different from Enapok. Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

 

Oment was, for once, dressed neatly in a clean formal uniform. He was always handsome, but dressed like this, he looked like a noble.

 

“Yes. I’ll help too.”

 

There would surely be things to do there as well. I looked at him, meaning that bringing a slave along would be useful.

 

“All right… I’ll let them know.”

 

He nodded with a sigh. His face was more tense than usual. In fact, not just Oment, but everyone seemed more solemn. Even though this was the empire’s front line, it felt as if we were heading out to an even more dangerous front.

 

“We’ll go to Delois first, then head to Okon. We’ll meet up with everyone there.”

 

Captain Lekes reminded the knights assigned to escort the second group once more. The knights, standing at attention, responded with perfect discipline instead of words.

 

Lekes nodded once and walked over to me. I was waiting to board the wagon loaded with herbs for the wounded and supplies for the villagers.

 

“If you don’t want to, you can stay.”

 

He seemed to think I was being forced to go as a slave.

 

“No, I volunteered.”

 

“…I see.”

 

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

 

“Be careful. No matter what happens, you must be careful.”

 

“Yes, thank you!”

 

He really is a good person. He even came all the way to tell a slave to be careful. Lekes seemed like he wanted to say more, but turned away with a sigh.

 

“Maybe seeing her will put him at ease.”

 

I heard him mutter again, but I didn’t know what he meant. I climbed onto the wagon before it was too late.

 

Neigh—!

 

With the sound of the horse whinnying, the wagon began to move. My heart pounded with the thought that I was going to where he was, and with worry for the village that would need prayers.

 

Delois was even worse than I had expected. Priest Oment told me to stay with the wagon and not to come near the place of prayer.

 

But even from a distance, the completely destroyed village was clearly visible. I didn’t know how to pray, but I bowed my head and mourned those who had lost their lives.

 

Afterward, when we arrived at Okon with Baslo’s group, stars were already twinkling in the sky. The monsters were nearly reduced to ashes.

 

It looked better than Delois, but in Okon, the sound of weeping echoed from all around, making me feel heavy-hearted.

 

Even in Enapok, the front line, I had never seen such a sad scene.

 

My heart sank endlessly. Knights had been wounded or killed, but the mood was different from that.

 

[Monsters have begun to appear all over the empire.] When I read it in the Original Story, I just thought of it as a plot point, but reality was much heavier than that. Please, don’t let this become a bad ending. I closed my eyes and prayed.

 

“Kill him! Kill him!”

 

Just then, a voice filled with malice rang out. As the hoofbeats of the second group’s horses died down, the wagon came to a full stop.

 

“What are you doing, not killing him immediately! No, no! You should keep him alive and make him suffer forever!”

 

When I got off the wagon, I saw a crowd gathered. Looking more closely, I saw someone tied and hanging from a large tree.

 

“Ptui!”

 

Someone spat at him, someone else threw a large stone.

 

“You damn Epilo! How could you do this to us! You devil!”

 

The word “Epilo” made me freeze.

 

“What happened here?”

 

Oment spoke to the people standing behind him.

 

“Ah, Priest. You’re here. Please punish that devil.”

 

“Devil?”

 

“The monsters appeared because of that devil, Priest.”

 

“You’re saying that person summoned the monsters?”

 

Oment’s voice was low. But the people around him twisted their faces.

 

“How else could monsters appear in a small village like this!”

 

“We should have known when he suddenly came to this village!”

 

“He didn’t even know we took in a devil. Sob…”

 

The surviving villagers all seemed to believe that man was a devil.

 

The man tied to the tree had his head hanging, so I couldn’t see his face. I stood frozen, clasping my trembling hands together.

 

“Where is His Highness?”

 

As the villagers grew agitated, Oment turned to the knight this time.

 

“He’s gone out for a brief inspection of the area.”

 

Oment’s shoulders rose and fell sharply. He seemed to be taking a deep breath.

 

“That man is an Epilo?”

 

The other priests seemed more interested in the man’s identity.

 

“Yes! He’s definitely an Epilo! There were wounds on his back.”

 

“Show the priest!”

 

Two men approached and spun the hanging man around.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Perhaps the wounds reopened, for a groan escaped him.

 

Rip—his clothes were torn away, revealing two straight black lines running along both shoulder blades.

 

“Aaaaah! Epilo!”

 

“Gasp.”

 

A young woman, seeing the marks, nearly fainted and collapsed. The priests, too, looked shocked as if seeing it for the first time.

 

‘That proves he’s an Epilo?’

 

I stared blankly at the marks. It was too dark to see clearly, but the lines looked as if they had been drawn deep into his skin.

 

Was there anything like this in the Original Story? I searched my memory in a panic, but nothing came to mind.

 

In fact, the extra slave being an Epilo wasn’t in the book, was it?

 

“Your Highness!”

 

The villagers suddenly bowed their heads. Some knelt and pressed their foreheads to the ground. Through them, a familiar figure appeared.

 

A tall man in a red cloak. Crown Prince Sihien.