Drifted Into a Reversed World ~ The One Method for Me, a Japanese Guy, to Survive in a World Where Men and Fertility Are Scarce ~ - 23

Chapter 23: The Guardian

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Sota felt the gazes of everyone around him piercing into him all at once. It was certainly not just his imagination. In fact, the yellowed eyes of the goblins, their irises split vertically, were all directed at Sota, ignoring the women in front of them. Sota’s voice, which was neither a goblin’s distorted shriek nor a woman’s sky-piercing soprano, stood out remarkably even amidst the chaotic battlefield. And that low, human male voice was a “favorite dish” for the goblins. 

Upon recognizing Sota, the goblins raised cries of joy, their sagging, hag-like breasts swaying from side to side as drool dripped from the corners of their mouths. It was clearly the reaction of witnessing a feast they hadn’t even laid eyes on for hundreds of days.

“Ugh…!”

Witnessing the various emotions of the monsters directed at him, Sota felt a voice swell in the back of his throat. Then, without even a moment to flinch, a clamorous danger signal surged through his entire body. His whole being, his instincts, and his spinal cord were screaming at him.

Run.

“Uwaaaaaaaa!!!”

Without a second thought, Sota took action. He didn’t care where he went, as long as it was far away from here. He moved to lead the goblins away in order to save the lives of Elraine and the other female soldiers. That shout was nothing more than an attempt to shake off even a little of the terror that felt as if it were violating his entire body.

Picking up a dagger that someone had abandoned on the spot, he dashed toward the stables. However, the monsters were not about to just let him escape. Abandoning all their current combat, the goblins began to pursue his back with terrifying tenacity, intent on capturing him.

“Sota-sama!”

In the distance, Elraine screamed… or so it seemed to him. Sota no longer had even a shred of composure left to recognize it. Gasping for breath from extreme tension and exhaustion, he cut through the rope tethering a horse with a single strike of his dagger and leaped onto its back recklessly.

“Go! Please, go!”

Sota had no knowledge of horsemanship. If he had any at all, it was only from being taken by his family as a young child and put on a pony kept at a ranch. He didn’t know if the horse would move if he pulled the reins or if he slapped its rump. So he just shouted for it to go.

“Whoa!”

…And yet, his prayer-like shout was understood. The chestnut mare gave a single neigh as if responding to Sota’s cry and bolted from the spot without a hint of hesitation.

“Woa-ta-ta-ta!”

While kicking aside the swarming goblins, the horse raced through the village as if splitting it down the middle. The swaying atop the horse was more intense than he had imagined. Sota could do nothing but cling to the mare’s neck and try his best to avoid falling off.

“What are you doing! Pursue them! Sota-sama is in danger!”

Who said it? The female soldiers, who had been standing there in a daze, were awakened by that commanding voice. They each barked out orders or words of encouragement as they leaped onto horses, or struck at the defenseless backs of the goblins who were trying to chase after Sota.

Sota fleeing. The goblins pursuing. The female soldiers pursuing them. The state of the battle tilted heavily. For these top-tier soldiers, slaughtering goblins who were distracted and completely obsessed with Sota was trivial. Sota’s action, born from a desire to save Elraine, was unexpectedly improving the situation.

However, that situation did not last long. Before long, an arrow pierced deeply into the thigh of the horse Sota was riding. Goblins were capable of using human tools and weapons to some extent. This included daggers and, of course, bows.

“W-waah!?”

As the arrow shot by the goblin bit into the flesh, the horse leaped while letting out a scream. As if following that, a second and third arrow came flying. They pierced into its rump and belly, causing the horse to neigh even louder.

“Sota-sama!”

In the distance, the soldiers’ screams rang out. This was because Sota’s body had been thrown from the horse’s back and was flying through the air. Sota, whose martial arts experience amounted to at most some judo in elective PE classes in middle and high school, could not possibly perform a proper breakfall. Crashing into the ground shoulder-first, he writhed with the momentum of the fall, gasping out the air trapped in his lungs.

“Ugh…!!”

Enduring the pain in his shoulder, Sota pushed himself up and glared at his surroundings. Already, numerous goblins were there. From his low vantage point on his knees, that soot-colored green skin filled his entire field of vision. Although the soldiers were approaching with the force of a surging tide from afar, they were blocked by other goblins and didn’t seem likely to arrive in time.

“This is bad…”

The distance between them was already close enough that they could touch if they just reached out. The goblins were stealthily closing in on Sota, drooling as they walked.

(The goblin’s breath really stinks… )

Sota thought vaguely with a hazy head, and that was when it happened.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

From the sky, silver armor-clad gold descended. Holding a massive sword in her hands with a ghastly expression, the gold—Firis  Aigul—swept away the surrounding goblins with a single strike that seemed to carry even a turbulent air current with it.

“Firis-san!?”

Had fifteen heads flown with that single strike? Faced with a blow from a strong individual who was clearly different from the rest, even the goblins were beginning to show their fear. Maintaining a tense expression, Firis  took up a stance with her sword right next to Sota.

“Sota, I am sorry for making you wait…! Even though I was by your side, I let you go through such a terrifying experience…”

“N-no! Firis-san, you were in a coma… More importantly, is it okay for you to be up right now? Your body…”

“Hehe. If I were to stay fast asleep while a man… no, while Sota was in danger, I would have failed as a woman.”

“Firis-san…”

Firis’s complexion could not be called good, even if one looked at it favorably. However, her will to protect Sota, and her expression, were overflowing with vitality.

“You goblins, I am your opponent from here on. But do not think for a moment that you can lay a single finger on Sota while facing me.”

Firis said this and raised her longsword in a high-guard stance. Her spirit was so immense that Sota found himself thinking that even if a thousand goblins were lined up against her, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

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