The monster’s parade

 
 
 ☆
 
 
 Departing from Cocomel, Anna and I flew north.
 
 As we flew along the main road heading to the all the villages, we encountered those evacuating from each village many times.
 
 “Ah, over there?!”
 
 “It’s Leticia-sama!”
 
 “Leticia-sama came!!”
 
 ““OOoohhhh!!!!””
 
 Sent off with the people’s cheers, I responded by waving my hand in a big way.
 
 Sudden discovery of monsters.
 Evacuation orders to the territorial capital.
 
 Everyone’s seemingly anxious expressions brightened whenever they saw me.
 
 After all, I’m glad I came to see the situation.
 
 There were those who were relieved when I made an appearance.
 Surely, this must have meant a great deal to them.
 
 
 
 “The evacuation seems to be going well, huh.”
 
 I nodded at Anna, who was flying beside me.
 
 “The evacuation drills are showing effect. The local organisations seem to be functioning properly. It’s a small relief.”
 
 During this past half year, we’ve formed a local defence unit centred on men above the age of 15 and below 40, and a women’s association similarly centred around women, as well as a town/village council consisting of the local households’ heads.
 
 Well, originally there had been similar meetings and gatherings in the communities, so we simply formally defined their proper framework and duties, treating them as official organisations.
 
 Anyway, I could see with just a glance at the evacuees that those organisations were functioning effectively right now.
 
 The young children and the ill, as well as the elderly, were all aboard the carriages, and the veterans of life served as leaders guiding the people.
 
 The able-bodied were on foot.
 
 And around them, the youths and soldiers stationed at each village were consolidated, guarding the line of evacuees.
 
 I was able to see such a sight multiple times.
 
 
 
 “The only question left now is, how far have the monsters come already.”
 
 “If they’d already gotten close, what would you do?”
 
 I let the thoughts of Anna’s question spin around in my head.
 
 “In the worst case, if they’re attacking people then I’ll use everything I have to save them. ——— well, though I say that, if their numbers are too many then I guess it might be impossible to defeat them completely, in which case I’ll become a decoy to change the enemies movements.”
 
 “Ughh… Would, would you really do that?”
 
 “Don’t worry. I won’t be reckless.”
 
 “Really?”
 
 My attendant looked at me with doubtful eyes.
 
 “Yes. Really really.”
 
 “Hmmmm.”
 
 Hearing my words, Anna looked at me with even more doubt in her eyes.
 
 ——— why does she have so little trust in me, I wonder?
 
 It happened right when I thought that.
 
 “-! I can feel magic power ahead of us.”
 
 “… Ojou-sama! Over there!!”
 
 Anna pointed ahead.
 
 There, some of our soldiers were being attacked by giant crows.
 
 “Let’s go, Anna!!”
 
 “Ok!!”
 
 Thus, we dove towards the crow monsters.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 We parted with the two soldiers, and headed north from there.
 
 When we passed through Nakuha village, we came across that sight.
 
 “… what, is that?”
 
 I muttered, stopped still in mid-air.
 I could see Anna next to me gasp.
 
 On the 200 metre wide plains sandwiched between two hills, there was a swarm of monsters marching.
 
 That’s right, marching.
 
 Both the goblins, and the orcs.
 And far into the distance, there were also the form of giants twice the size of orcs.
 
 Their movements were scattered, but everyone, extremely slowly, was walking north at the same speed.
 
 And above their heads, dozens of giant crows were circling round and round.
 Almost as if to match the speed of the monsters on the ground.
 
 
 ——— How could such a thing occur?
 
 
 It happened while I was dazed by such a sight.
 Anna shouted at me.
 
 “Ojou-sama, over there!!”
 
 “!!”
 
 I looked in the direction my attendant pointed, and I doubted my eyes even further.
 
 
 
 The forests covering the hills on the left and the right.
 
 From both sides of the forest, new goblin swarms appeared, and began merging with the parade of monsters.
 
 In other words,
 
 “Their numbers are increasing?!”
 
 At the reporting stage, there were 3000 goblins and several hundred orcs.
 
 However, this was ———
 
 “If the swarm continues to expand at this rate, by the time they reach Cocomel, they would have crossed a solid 『ten thousand』 monsters.”
 
 The current military strength is 800 people.
 Even if we joined up with the reinforcements from the main and new territories, it’ll probably be at best 2000 people.
 
 The difference in military strength is 5 times, or if we’re unlucky, even 10 times different.
 
 The city walls of Cocomel are, at most, 5 metres tall in order to prevent monster invasion.
 
 Well then.
 Leaving things like this is out of the question.
 
 The territory’s citizens and my… our town will be swallowed up and squashed by the swarm of monsters.
 
 
 ——— As if I’d let that happen.
 
 
 We’ve got to return immediately, and think up countermeasures.
 
 “Anna, take the photo quick! We’re rushing back!!”
 
 “Understood!!”
 
 Anna replied, readying the camera, and clicked the shutter, when it happened.
 
 “『Auto Defence 《Auto Defensia》』!!”
 
 Along with Coco’s yell, Auto Defence was deployed.
 
 
 
 “Devil Crows!?”
 
 Turning around, I was surprised by the giant crow caught right before me in my magic power net, and I screamed.
 
 ——— That caught me off guard.
 
 I was captivated by the intense scene before my eyes, and before I knew it, they’d circled around behind me.
 
 But that was only the beginning.
 
 Bash!
 Bash bash!!
 
 Gyaah!
 Gyah! Gyaah!!
 
 One after the other, the monstrous crows dove in from all directions.
 
 They got entangled in the deployed 『Auto Defence』, and were restricted.
 
 In an instant, our surroundings were made pitch black with crows.
 
 “Ojou-sama… I can’t take a picture like this…”
 
 Bewildered, Anna froze.
 
 Looking right and looking up, there was nothing but the faces and feathers of the giant, disgusting crows.
 
 Now’s not the time for photography.
 
 Besides, if I keep putting up with the Auto Defence’s huge magic power consumption, then as expected, I’ll be at risk of magic power sickness, or worse, magic power exhaustion.
 
 Having said that, I can’t use magic power convergence bullets in this situation either.
 
 Even if it is the real bullets of Anna’s rifle, or changing the shape of the defensive membrane to strangle them, we probably wouldn’t be able to completely deal with all of them.
 
 
 
 “Anna, you got a picture, right?”
 
 “Yes, many…”
 
 Anna replied anxiously.
 
 I looked at her expression, and spoke.
 
 “We’re withdrawing. ——— we’re going to separate from these guys, so do your best not to pass out.”
 
 “-…Understood!!”
 
 Thus, we flew round and round the outskirts of Nakuha village and somehow shook the crows off, then set out on our way back to Cocomel.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 By the time we finally arrived in Cocomel, the sky had already begun to be dyed scarlet.
 
 Along the way, I called out to the villagers evacuating, and instructed them to borrow the nearest village home and rest once the sun set.
 
 And then, to also depart at dawn.
 
 This was a gamble.
 
 The monsters’ movements were extremely sluggish, and it was clear that the territory’s population were moving at a much faster pace.
 
 If you consider the distance between the two parties, they should not be able to catch up.
 
 Just in case, I decided to go out for power scouting^[1] as dawn breaks, and gave out instructions as such.
 
 
 
 While flying to Cocomel, my head was jumbled with various thoughts.
 
 Evacuation of the territory’s citizens.
 How to hold a siege battle.
 Crow countermeasures.
 And, the swelling monster swarm.
 
 Among these, the one that made me the most anxious was that, before the redo, I hadn’t heard any rumours of such a huge incident.
 
 Around this time before the redo, I’d already begun my queen’s education.
 
 History, geography, and current topics.
 
 If such a huge problem occurred domestically in Heielland, it definitely should have reached my ears.
 
 And yet, I hadn’t heard of such a monster outbreak.
 
 
 (… what on earth is going on?)
 
 
 With unspeakable anxiety in my heart, Anna and I landed in the back garden in Cocomel.