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While Inglis and her team were on the move in Alucard…

At the eastern front of Charalia, near the border neighboring the country of Venefique, countless flying bird-shaped Magic Stone Beasts were swarming the front of the Flygear troop led by Raphael Wilford. Further back and farther away, the Prisma was seen enshrined within a giant block of ice.

Raphael and Ripple previously transported it to this location on a mission. It was previously closely monitored in Arlman Town, which was located farther inland, but as the phenomenon that spawned Magic Stone Beasts around it became more and more common, they transported it to the frontier in an attempt to reduce the damage to the populace.

What happened instead was that it became much more active seemingly because of the standoff with the Venefian army at the border. If they were simply a bunch of Magic Stone Beasts passively hanging around the frozen Prisma, leaving them alone would be a rational option.

But, seeing that they were coming forward to the soldiers en masse, it was inevitable that they had to intercept. Thus the current situation.

「Everyone! We can’t afford to sustain too much damage with the Venefian army closing in! Be as careful as possible and keep the casualties at a minimum!」
「Yes!」
「Understood!」
「Follow Sir Raphael’s order!」

The Knights under his command responded to Raphael’s call with high morale. Raphael, who uttered the command, however, was a bit melancholic inside. In preparation for fighting off the Venefian army, they had to save up their power when facing the Magic Stone Beasts.

It was reasonable for the current situation, as his power was supposed to be intended to protect the people from the Magic Stone Beasts. Raphael simply couldn’t understand why people would fight each other on Midland, where everyone was under the same threat of Magic Stone Beasts. That said, he couldn’t be so childish to just throw his hands up and no longer care, but he was sure that he couldn’t just nod his head so willy-nilly either.

「Everyone. Raphael said it too, but don’t work too hard and don’t get hurt, just do it in moderation, okay? Being healthy is the best, after all!」

Ripple made an effort to appear as cheerful and amiable as possible to inspire the Knights.

「「Ooh……Lady Ripple’s smile is back……!」」
「「This is how she should be……!」」
「「We can’t live without that smile!」」

Ripple had just returned here after her stay in the Knight Academy, away from the Holy Knight Order. For the Knights of the Holy Knight Order, having Ripple smiling and encouraging them was a great source of emotional support on the battlefield.

「Hey, Eris? Everyone’s all looking lonely, you know? Did you really fill in my role and greet them with a smile like I do when I was away? That’s what’s important, you know?」
「I-, I greet them, you know? I’ve been filling in your role.」
「Realsies……?」

Ripple looked back to the Knights, urging an answer from them with a glance.

「L-, Lady Eris surely has been greeting us much more frequently lately…」
「But not with a smile, I think……」
「If anything, she seems much more tense than usual, like she’s nervous…」

Came the reviews.

「……Sounds to me like you didn’t do a good enough job?」
「Wh-, what else can I do?! I’m not as extroverted as you!」
「N-, now now……everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and I’m sure Lady Eris does her best in her own way.」
「Oh? Now that’s the follow-up master Raphael at work~!」

Ripple slapped Raphael on the back.

「Hahaha, much obliged…」
「It’s enough, right? I’ll contribute with what I do best. Let’s get on with it and give us the go.」

Eris drew her twin swords, bracing herself for the group of magic stone beasts ahead. Raphael’s expression tightened with dignity, he nodded his head.

「All hands, prepare to attack! Fire a volley of long-range attacks, and then exterminate these beasts with Lady Eris leading you!」
「「「Sir yes sir!」」」

The Knights held their Artifacts up into the air all at once. The shapes and forms of their Artifacts varied from member to member, but they all had one thing in common: they were all equipped with Gifts that had a long-range attack.

The Holy Knight Order was an elite group of skilled anti-magic stone beast Knights. Every single one of them possessed multiple Artifacts and was proficient in their use of both long-range and close-quarter combats.

Many of the lower grade Artifacts, in particular, had Gifts with simple long-range attacks such as flaming bullets or ice arrows, so everyone should be able to handle at least one such Artifact.

「Ready!」

At Raphael’s word, the Knights all simultaneously prepared to attack. Fire, Ice, Thunder, Wind, and various other types of power filled their Artifacts. Raphael, overseeing the sight from the back of the line, kept his eyes on the group of enemies ahead. They were still flying straight towards their camp in one big group.

Soon, they would be in effective range…

「…They’re in! FIREEE!!!」

Along with Raphael’s powerful command, countless projectiles of fire, ice, lightning, wind, and many others soared. All of them landed at once. Many magic stone beasts received a direct hit and fell to the ground.

Among them, Ripple stood out from the rest, shooting down a large number of enemies by herself. The light bullets from her two golden pistols became a barrage of bullets and subdued her foes.

「「「OOoohh……! As expected of Lady Ripple!」」」

The Knights cheered

「…You’re in good shape.」

Eris seemed to be as relieved to see Ripple back to her usual speed.