Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Nati - Chapter Sixty Seven

Two armies on the same day.

As it turns out, I missed the first one while in the bath. The second showed up an hour later and attacked us, but failed miserably.

"They're retreating. Keep an eye out, in case they come back!" I heard the leader of the hunters yelling. Scanning the field from the top of the walls, he soon noticed me. A smug grin appeared on his face. "Nati, these things, your crossbows are amazing. The bolts went through the knight's armor as if it wasn't there. They didn't stand a chance."

I had mixed feelings about that praise. I did want to give them the best weapons possible for hunting and self-defense. Even if I wasn't a human in this life, being responsible for a whole bunch of them dying didn't sit well with me. It would have been the same if the enemy were orcs, beastmen, or any of the sentient species I have met.

But this world was an unforgiving place. Kill or be killed. I wanted those who were close to me to survive no matter what. It wasn't even close if I had to choose between humans and them. The village looked like a disturbed anthill, but nothing got damaged. The merchants and the newly arrived immigrants seemed a bit lost, just like me.

They took shelter in the old mess hall or the embassy but it seemed unnecessary. The hunters were on top of the situation. I ran into Charlotte the next moment. She was still not satisfied.

"What is going on?" I asked, but before answering, she grabbed my arm, dragging me along. "Where are we going? And did we win?"

"So far we did, but there is a problem." The chieftain claimed, heading towards the embassy. "This is probably the safest building in the village. I'd prefer if you went in, and locked yourself inside your room."

"Huh, why?" I was surprised. I already missed the battle, yet she wanted me to hide? "If something's going on, I want to help."

"There is too much going on. First, the Demon Lord's army, now the humans." She shook her head. I saw neither here, just the dwarf and the strange horses. He handed out swords and shields to the people at the moment. "It's too early to tell if we're already through the thick of it. Lambert couldn't contact the orc witch."

"I um, feel a strong presence too." The shaman of the village approached us next. I found him suspicious and strange so I usually tried to stay away. He kept following me around even more than Lambert, and now he was here again. "The humans have two mediocre wizards and two priests with them, but there is someone else."

"Did they run, or just hid themselves in the forest?" Charlotte asked him, not doubting his words for a single second. We stopped in front of the entrance of the embassy. "Can you also tell what's with Omerta at the crossroads? No telepathic messages could reach her."

"That is exactly where that strong presence is. And I feel a swarm of reptiles coming." He already looked like an emo among the orcs, but now he even started to talk this cryptic. It gave me the creeps, but the chieftain took him seriously. I did my best not to judge him either. "Last time I felt it right before you brought Hana and Omerta back from that fight. I think it is the Elder. It's the Inquisitorias."

"Well, that was to be expected." Charlotte scratched her head. She seemed to be pondering about the situation. I wondered, what happened with the Princess and that blue-haired paladin, and if the Inquisitorias was after me or the Goddess. "But reptiles? Don't you feel the pack animals, the New Order soldiers brought?"

"No, I talk about sentient beings and thousands of them." Gitaut seemed offended by the assumption. All I knew about him was that he was the tribe's shaman, and he handled tasks around the village before the other spellcasters came along. He had some useful abilities when in time of need. "They were drawn here by that strong entity, and it is fighting alongside them. The humans were not the real threat. The Demon Lord's men are soon overwhelmed."