Those who conveyed, those who were not abandoned

 
 
 ☆
 
 
 A single road stretched across the meadow.
 
 Along the road, which had no paving and was merely treaded down, was a soldier frantically pulling along a horse.
 
 From overhead, a caw like 『Gyaah』 came down upon them.
 
 He turned around in the direction of the voice, readied the magic rifle hanging from his shoulder, and pulled the trigger.
 
 Bang!
 
 A dry sound echoed through the surrounding area, and from the sky in the direction the muzzle was pointed came a mocking caw in return.
 
 “𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚝, they’re a persistent bunch.”
 
 The cursing middle-aged soldier glared at the three silhouettes dancing in the air, and once again began pulling along the horse.
 
 
 
 I’ve already lost count as to how many times I’ve shot at them like this.
 
 While circling round and round above head, the gigantic crows look for an opportunity to come and make a pass at us.
 
 I’ve shot at them hoping to drive the lot away, but their movements are too fast and it doesn’t hit.
 
 No, I did manage to get several shots off.
 But those weren’t fatal hits, and so the lot just kept flying calmly in the sky.
 
 Before I knew it, one magazine had been emptied, and only a few shots remained in the spare magazine.
 
 Perhaps the giant crows were waiting for me to run out of bullets as they meddled like this.
 
 It’s the end if I run out of bullets.
 They would likely play with me to death using those sharp beaks and claws.
 
 
 
 “Ugh…”
 
 At that moment, yet another young soldier, limply leaning his body against the horse’s back, moaned out.
 
 “Oi, hold on! We’re nearly at the village of Vanni!!”
 
 “O-, old man… please leave me behind. If things continue like this, you and I both———”
 
 “You idiot! I’m bringing you back. Definitely. So shut up and hang on!!”
 
 “Sorry…”
 
 Having seemingly wrung out those words, his left arm hung limply, with blood dripping drop by drop from one of his fingers.
 
 Just looking from the side, one could tell he had broken bones and an injured arm.
 
 In fact, these were not the only injuries he had.
 
 When escaping on horseback from Nakuha village, a Devil Crow gliding from behind and to the left grabbed hold of his arm and lifted him up, and threw him aside at a height of about 5 metres just like that.
 
 The noticeable external wounds would be the bone fractures and lacerations to his left arm and left wrist, but he also had several broken ribs based on the bruising all over his body.
 
 Due to such a condition, he could no longer ride a horse on his own, and had no choice but to have his senior partner pull his horse along.
 
 
 
 (𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚝…)
 
 The middle-aged soldier pulling the horse clicked his tongue in his head.
 
 (If that crow hadn’t followed us, this wouldn’t be happening…)
 
 There’s no use regretting it.
 
 However, he couldn’t help but feel responsible for putting his partner, who had gone through fewer years of experience, in danger and causing the current situation where they were driven into a corner.
 
 They, the stationed soldiers of the Second Territorial Troops, were the last to remain in Nakuha village.
 
 It was the middle-aged soldier who observed the monster swarm, and sent back the news of them heading south.
 
 His young partner promptly communicated this news to Cocomel’s headquarters.
 
 Grasp the enemies movements and contact the headquarters.
 Up till that point, everything was fine.
 
 The problem was, just as they were looking at them, they too were being looked at.
 
 And then, during the time they were sending the report to the headquarters, they called their friends.
 
 
 
 Gyaa, the giant crow cawed in a shrill voice.
 
 The middle-aged soldier once again stopped walking, and aimed the muzzle in the direction of the voice.
 
 A black silhouette gliding as it approached.
 
 Bang!
 
 The bullet doesn’t hit, the monster swerving in evasive flight.
 
 The middle-aged soldier vigilantly kept the muzzle pointed at the monster.
 
 ——— at that moment.
 
 Gah!!
 
 A sudden impact.
 
 A sharp pain ran through both shoulders, and he was lifted into the air as though by a flying trapeze^[1].
 
 “Woah?!”
 
 A black silhouette blotted out the sky above.
 He had been grabbed by a different individual just a moment ago.
 
 “These 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜!!”
 
 With sharp talons gripping both shoulders, it occurred just as he tried aiming his muzzle upwards.
 
 “!!”
 
 Whoosh, his body was flung in the air.
 
 A momentary floating sensation.
 And then———
 
 Bang! Tumble tumble tumble tumble…^[2]
 
 His body hit the ground hard, and then went on to tumble around.
 
 He fell from several metres above the ground.
 
 It’s probably a small blessing that he was able to take slight defensive action, albeit half-baked.
 
 Even so, the pain was so great that he felt his entire body had fallen to pieces, and being unable to immediately get up, he slumped awkwardly to the ground.
 
 
 
 “Ugh…”
 
 Shaking with acute pain, he attempted to raise his body.
 
 However, that attempt would be literally pinned down from above.
 
 “Ugh!!”
 
 A giant crow climbed onto his back.
 Talons that bite into his body.
 Right above his head, the crow cawed triumphantly.
 
 “Fuuuh… Gah?!”
 
 He somehow managed to escape, but this time the crow on his back pushed down on his head with one of its feet.
 
 His cheek was pressed against the ground, and the taste of the earth spread in his mouth.
 
 Ahead of me, two new bird legs landed.
 Their intention was clear.
 
 (I’m not going to become crow food in a place like this!!)
 
 Struggling frantically, he tried to pull out the rifle in his hand.
 
 But, the crow’s foot trampled down on that hand even more.
 
 
 (𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚝, shiiiiittt!!!!)
 
 
 Tears blurred his vision.
 
 
 ——— it happened at that moment.
 
 
 
 “『Simple Defence 《Palt Defensia》』!!”^[3]
 
 
 A girl’s voice echoed around them.
 
 Then a whoom sound, like that of invisible atmospheric pressure.
 
 At the same time, the back and arm on which the giant crows were trampling became light right away.
 
 “?!”
 
 Without understanding what happened, he turned around to face upwards, and looked up into the air.
 
 
 
 Gi-, gigi-
 
 Above his head, two Devil Crows were crucified mid-air.
 
 (…-! Wh-, what’s happening?!)
 
 His breath was taken away by the phenomenon which he’d never seen before.
 
 
 ——— And then, he saw an angel.
 
 
 A young girl, wrapped in an iridescent membrane and floating in the air, aimed her palm at the two crows.
 
 Almost as if to restrain the monsters.
 
 Eventually,
 
 Squish, squish squish!
 
 The crucified black birds were contorted into strange shapes.
 
 Gi-, gigigi-
 
 Those were their agonising cries on the verge of death.
 
 Crack, crack crack
 
 Crack crack crack crack!
 
 Snap!!
 
 The monstrous crows’ giant bodies were crushed into a sloppy mess———
 
 “Haahh!!!!”
 
 ——— and along with the young girl’s voice, they were blown away further than could be seen.
 
 
 
 (… Is, this a dream?)
 
 As he was stunned by the unrealistic scene, the young girl glanced his way.
 
 Seeing her face, the soldier’s eyes went wide.
 And then,
 
 “L-, Leticia-sama?!”
 
 he shouted out his Lord’s^[4] name.
 
 Seeing the man, the angel seemed relieved.
 
 But, the young girl immediately returned to a serious expression, and looked behind her as she shouted.
 
 “Anna! I’ll leave the remaining one to you!!”
 
 “Understood!!”
 
 The attendant in maid’s clothes that she called out to aimed the muzzle of her rifle, and began firing ferociously towards the sky.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 “Russel, are you sure you’re alright?”
 
 Looking up at him as I asked this, the corner’s of the veteran soldier’s lips raised as he nodded.
 
 “What, this much is noth-…!”
 
 “… it doesn’t look very fine to me though.”
 
 I considered ways of bringing them back home.
 
 But, without flying boots or support bears^[5], I couldn’t think of any good methods.
 
 As I wrapped my head around it, a voice filled with forced-leeway came down.
 
 “Miss, please don’t make that face. It’s thanks to Miss that we can head back like this. That much is enough. All that’s left is for me to bring this guy safely back.”
 
 Saying so, he gave the back of the young soldier leaning on the horse’s nape a light pat.
 
 And then the patted soldier turned his face this way slightly, and gave me a smile.
 
 “Ojou-sama. It’s just like the old man said. I too will make sure to return to Cocomel, so…”
 
 Seeing this man’s face grimace each time he took a breath, I finally nodded.
 
 “… got it. We’ll return once we’ve finished our monster reconnaissance. You guys should also return home safely, ok?”
 
 “’Aight^[6].” “Ok.”
 
 Thus the two soldiers aimed for the village in the south, and Anna and I flew off towards the north where the monsters were.