Inn Overlord: Reincarnated with Enhancement Magic, Now Worshipped as a Divine Messenger! - Chapter 43

(Jeanne’s Perspective)

We were on our way to the estate of the Margrave of Burlington, planning to catch him and reveal his betrayal in the open. Albert and Setsuna, who had been to the estate before, were guiding us. On our way, we saw a battlefield where the Empire army and the Kingdom army were fighting.

Albert spoke. “Is the Kingdom army being pushed back?”

I asked, “Are you sure?”

“No, we can only see the battle in front of us, so I can’t say for sure…”

What we were seeing was the Kingdom’s left wing, or from the Empire’s side, the Empire’s right wing.

I made a suggestion.

“In that case, shouldn’t we help the Kingdom side?”

Setsuna said, “But it would be better to reach the Margrave of Burlington as soon as possible…”

“No. In the end, to make the people from Barmuller believe in the Margrave’s betrayal, we need to let them see the moment his soldiers betray. It’s true that arriving at the estate early would help us learn more about the situation, but this battle looks like it just started. Helping the Kingdom army a little and turning the battle in their favor would be more useful than reaching the estate quickly.”

Setsuna said, “…But if we join the fight, your face will be recognized, sister…”

At some point, both Albert and Setsuna had started calling me ‘sister.’

“You’re right… Wait a moment…”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

In an instant, I rushed toward the battlefield.

“Uoooohhhh!!!”
“Gyaaaa!!!”
“Hiiii!!!”
“Wah!?”
“Ooooooooohhhh!!!”

I heard war cries trying to overcome fear and screams of those giving in to fear. I ignored all of that and picked up three helmets, which seemed to belong to Kingdom soldiers, lying on the battlefield. Then I returned to Albert and Setsuna.

At that moment, I locked eyes with a soldier who had lost one arm and was bleeding from his mouth and stOrmach. As he came closer, he said,

“Ah, ah… it’s the goddess… the goddess of the battlefield is here!!?”

I ignored the soldier and returned to Albert and Setsuna.

“Ah!?”

“Sister!?”

Albert and Setsuna were shocked because I had suddenly disappeared and then suddenly returned.

I handed the two helmets I picked up to them, and while putting one on myself, I said,

“We’re not here to wipe out the Empire soldiers. We’ll just help a little.”

“Wipe out…?”

“Even you can’t do that, sister…”

Albert and Setsuna were mumbling, but we ran toward the Kingdom’s left wing.

(Thomas Wade, One of the Empire’s Four Knights – Perspective)

The person standing before me wearing a helmet held a longsword like a child holding a stick.

At first, I thought it was just an amateur who had grabbed a weapon on the battlefield, filled with wild emotions and desire for fame. But the way they held the sword — loose and relaxed like a child with a stick — didn’t match someone overwhelmed by such desires. This person couldn’t be someone with no experience.

When I gripped my longsword again and got into position, the helmeted figure suddenly vanished. The next moment, they appeared right in front of me and swung down their sword.

“What!?”

I twisted my body to the left to avoid the strike and quickly jumped back.

Since I almost lost my balance, I landed with one hand on the grass. The helmeted figure tilted their head while swinging their sword.

─ That was close!?
─ What speed…
─ But their sword skills are completely untrained…
─ A martial artist using body enhancement magic?
─ If so, why use a longsword?

Before I could finish thinking, the helmeted person gripped their sword again and looked at me.

─ They’re coming…

I cast a certain magic on myself. It was a safety spell, made to help me complete my duty as commander-in-chief.

All the battlefield sounds faded. Now, it felt like only me and the helmeted one were in this space.

─ I’m really focused now…

Just as I thought that, the helmeted one disappeared again.

As before, they suddenly appeared in front of me and swung their sword.

─ You think the same move will work twice!?

I struck the falling sword with my own. The Kingdom soldier’s sword broke in two, and the tip spun into the air.

“It’s over!”

I raised my sword to finish off the Kingdom soldier — but they raised their free hand.

─ A magic user!?
─ The sword was a decoy!?
─ A survivor from the magic squad!?

The Kingdom soldier began to gather magical power.

“!?”

A chill ran down my spine.

At that moment, the magic I had cast earlier activated. Wind swirled around me and pulled me backward, away from the enemy. It was an emergency escape spell that activates when I feel fear.

As the commander-in-chief, I cannot die in a place like this. I’m glad I cast that spell earlier, after I felt that first danger. (In the past, I had tried to turn this safety spell into an attack spell, but I never had the power to make it lethal.)

I flew far back. The helmeted Kingdom soldier didn’t chase me but just looked my way, then turned to a different target.

On my way back to my base, I looked down at the battlefield from above.

Besides that helmeted Kingdom soldier, there were two others who were skilled. They also wore helmets, so I couldn’t see their faces, but from their movements, one was clearly a swordsman, and the other a spellcaster.

Thanks to those three, our once-dominant right wing was pushed back.

I returned to our central base and got a report from the messengers: our cavalry on the left wing was destroyed by the magic squad. The infantry from the center had moved toward the right side where I was, so the right wing wasn’t doing too badly. But the left wing had taken heavy damage.

─ And those three helmeted Kingdom soldiers on the right wing…

Now it’s night. I wanted to balance the fight to 5:5, but looking at it, it’s more like 4:6 — or even 3:7. We are losing.

Even though we still have our main forces — the magic squad and my personal cavalry — we are not in a good position.

“To all troops: return to base! We will resume the battle tomorrow morning!!”