Among the more than thirty fugitives were small children, who were exhausted from days of fleeing. With several horses in tow, they could carry the children instead of making them walk. However, because the horses carried supplies like food, there were not enough of them to accommodate everyone.
As fatigue accumulated, even the adults grew weary. They could cover less distance in a day, and breaks became more frequent.
Their destination was beyond the country’s borders. With a new king in power, the entire country had begun to prioritize witch hunts. So everyone was trying to escape the country. Of course, there were threats of witch hunts outside the country as well. But it should still be safer than their current situation. They aimed for a country with relatively few witch hunt threats, and they walked relentlessly. But they were still far from the border.
As exhaustion mounted, a heavy atmosphere pervaded. Bodies grew sluggish, and feet blistered and bled. Taking breaks in the dense forest, everyone sat in a circle, but few words were exchanged due to fatigue. Heads hung low, and a sense of despair, with no visible future, darkened everyone’s expressions.
“…It’s okay!”
At that moment, a cheerful voice rang out, dispelling the heavy atmosphere.
“…Aoi?”
“There’s no need to be so gloomy! Everything will be okay!”
Suddenly standing up and speaking energetically was Aoi. Everyone looked up at her voice, which had been hanging their heads.
“How will everything be okay…?”
“Everyone, have you forgotten what I’ve been researching in magic? I’ve been studying the magic of [Reincarnation]!”
As Aoi spoke, everyone from the village looked bewildered.
“I’ll cast the reincarnation magic on everyone. That way, even if we can’t escape, we won’t disappear.”
“…………”
“We can have hope for the future.”
Her words were followed by several seconds of silence. Everyone’s eyes widened, blinking several times. A gentle breeze swept through them, and the villagers repeated Aoi’s words in their minds, confirming them.
Then, loud laughter began to erupt.
“Hahaha! Aoi-chan! That’s impossible!”
“After all, isn’t reincarnation magic still incomplete!?”
“Haven’t you always said that! Such research is impossible! I heard it would take another thousand years!?”
As everyone laughed heartily, they teased Aoi’s proposal. Despite the impractical suggestion, everyone laughed brightly.
Seeing this, Aoi puffed out her chest satisfactorily.
“You guys are so mean! Don’t you believe in me?”
“Hahaha! Impossible! Aoi-chan knows it’s impossible better than anyone!”
“You won’t know until you try, right?”
Aoi spoke with a somewhat theatrical tone, expressing confidence and ease. Each time, the villagers teased her with laughter.
Everyone understood. Aoi’s words were like jokes, and the reincarnation magic was unlikely to succeed, and they probably wouldn’t escape.
“Leave it to me! I’ll protect everyone’s lives!”
Still, Aoi said so proudly. Her bravado lightened everyone’s spirits. With Aoi’s jokes and cheerfulness, small smiles returned to the heavy and dark atmosphere.
During the break, Aoi inscribed the reincarnation magic circle on everyone’s backs. As if in a usual research meeting in the village, everyone discussed magic while Aoi drew the reincarnation magic circles on their bodies.
The magic circles were incredibly complex, even for the village’s residents accustomed to magic. Multiple circles overlapped, and intricate patterns covered their backs from top to bottom. Surrounding them with several candles lit, Aoi performed a grand ritual, carefully casting the reincarnation magic on each person.
“This should be okay…”
“Hahaha!”
“With this, we’ll be okay…”
While engraving a thread of hope that would probably not be realized, everyone became silly and laughed again. Magic was a source of pride and power for everyone in the village. Inscribing a magic circle that gathered the essence of knowledge on their bodies, a little courage began to dwell in everyone’s hearts.
Perhaps this magic would not be activated. But even knowing that, everyone was happy to walk alongside the magic.
“…………”
Aoi smiled faintly, able to cheer everyone up a little.
And they started walking again.
For now, beyond the country’s borders. With no support, they stumbled forward like a kite with a broken string.
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And days passed, one after another.
They tried to avoid towns and villages as much as possible, steering clear of main roads and walking on untrodden paths. So they often journeyed through mountains and forests, slowly moving forward while hiding among the dense trees.
However, this time they had to walk on an open plain with a good view.
The villagers took off their black hooded coats and changed into inconspicuous clothes like ordinary villagers. Even so, the presence of the unusual group of thirty people with horses to carry their baggage
Praying that they wouldn’t be noticed, they walked across the open plain with a wide view of the sky. The mountains were faintly visible in the distance, and they walked towards them. Although they usually found walking up mountain slopes difficult, walking on open plains without trees to hide behind made them feel uneasy and difficult in its own way.
What was unfortunate for the group was the presence of a gentle, large hill where they were walking.
When they reached the top of the hill, they were startled. As soon as they saw the downhill slope and the city not far from there, they realized there was a city inhabited by people. In the center of the city stood a relatively large building that was unmistakably a religious structure, indicating that it was a city with a strong church presence.
The villagers immediately turned back along the path they came, trying to hide from the people in the city. They then searched for a way around the hill without passing close to the city.
However, unfortunately, in the instant they exposed themselves from the top, they were spotted by the church members. They spotted a group resembling merchants on top of the hill, but since they hadn’t come to the city for a day, the church ordered the guards to patrol outside the city.
And then, after half a day, the villagers were finally discovered by the church’s guards.
“They’re over there! They have red eyes…! They’re the minions of the witches!”
“Oh no! It’s the guards! Run…!”
Many descendants of mages have red eyes by genetics. It was just a small clue, but there were many cases where many people were falsely accused of being witches and unfairly punished because of it. But there was no time to argue about such excuses at this moment.
The group of guards assumed that the villagers were a wicked group of witches and attacked them. The villagers tried to run away, but there were some slow children in the group. It wasn’t a situation where they could escape easily, as there was still some distance between them and the guards, but it was only a matter of time before they caught up.
“…Men, stay here and fight! Delay the guards! The others, escape into the forest during that time!”
“Huh…!?”
The male leader of the group instructed. The forest was a little further ahead. If they could escape into it, the trees of the forest would hide them and make it easier to escape, but they would be caught up with before they could enter the forest. They had to fight to delay the pursuers, or they wouldn’t be able to escape from these guards. That was the leader’s judgment.
“But…!”
Everyone was in a state of confusion. If they could delay the guards successfully, maybe the children could escape. But what about those who would fight against the pursuers? Would they be able to escape? While trying to somehow push out the obvious answer from their heads, they were standing there restlessly.
“Aoi! Irias!”
“Yes…!?”
The leader of the group called out their names loudly.
“You two lead! Lead the rest and let them escape…!”
“…!?”
“You two lead and let the others escape…!”
He gave instructions to Aoi and Irias like that. Hearing that, large amounts of sweat gushed from their foreheads.
“B-but! Then what about the leaders…!?”
“Go! Aoi, Irias!”
“B-But…!?”
Trying to resist the leader’s instructions, Aoi was shouted at by Verdi.
Verdi took her bow from her back, took an arrow in her hand, pulled the bowstring, and aimed at the approaching guards with her sword held, suppressing her tension and breath, just focusing her aim firmly.
The shouts and footsteps were getting closer, but Verdi shot an arrow without being pressured.
“Ugh…!?”
“…………”
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