[Altair Miller]
We stopped before a group of men dressed in simple chainmail and matching helmets, with blue cloth draped over their chests.
One of them raised his weapon toward us, stepping back a few paces as he spotted a group of strangers.
From his point of view, it seemed quite reasonable. I mean, showing up while carrying a girl over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes — with her rear facing forward — probably wasn't the best idea.
"Excuse me..." Mash stepped forward, raising her hands peacefully, trying to defuse the situation.
Yeah... Mash, I don't think that's a good idea.
It was clearly a group of French soldiers, and a foreigner who didn't speak their language showing up wasn't exactly what you'd call reassuring.
I thought that but kept quiet, just watching to see what would happen. With that in mind, our pink-haired girl pressed on.
"We're travelers. Could you help us?" she asked, trying to sound as friendly and calm as possible.
However, the atmosphere shifted instantly the moment those words left her rosy lips. The French soldiers, visibly exhausted, heard a woman speaking an unfamiliar language — carrying a strange white creature on her shoulder, accompanied by an odd group of people — and immediately raised their weapons.
"Attaque ennemie ! Attaque ennemie !(Enemy attack! Enemy attack!)" the leader shouted to his companions, who quickly drew swords or took positions behind their shields.
"Wh-What?!" Mash exclaimed, watching the leader raise his wooden spear with clear intent to strike.
Like I said... not a good idea, I thought, cracking a small smile.
"What's happening?!" Ritsuka, still in my arms, turned her head and saw the soldiers leveling their spears. "Altair-kun, please, put me down," she said, her face bright red as she tugged at her skirt.
"Of course," I replied, lowering her to the ground. Her face somehow became even more flushed than her hair.
"P-Please, calm down! We don't mean any harm!" Mash said, her voice tinged with panic as she tried once more to reason with them.
Dear Mash... you're only making it worse~
"Étrangers, devons-nous attaquer, Capitaine? (Strangers, should we attack Captain?)" one of the soldiers asked, sword raised as he turned toward the leader.
"Oui. Attaquez les ennemis de la France (Yes. Attack the enemies of France)," the supposed captain ordered, pointing his spear directly at me with the clear intent of charging.
Before he could even move, Okita stepped forward. In a blink, her katana was drawn, and with a single, impossibly swift strike, the spear shattered in two — so fast it seemed the blade had moved before anyone's eyes could register it.
The broken tip hit the ground with a sharp metallic clang, echoing through the sudden silence. The captain stood frozen, eyes wide with disbelief, staring at the remains of his weapon.
Okita didn't move an inch, her katana still raised, its flawless blade gleaming like a mirror.
"Do not dare raise your weapons against my Master," she said coldly, narrowing her eyes as an overwhelming, suffocating killing intent poured from her. It left every soldier frozen in place.
I never really believed in that whole "killing intent" thing... but in that moment, I felt something terrifyingly close. It was as if my Servant was standing atop a mountain of corpses.
"Haha! You suit the Assassin class more than Saber," Nobunaga chuckled with a wry grin.
Okita ignored the remark. "Master, don't worry. I'll never allow a single blade to touch you," she declared with absolute devotion, her expression remaining cold, unreadable.
With a faint smile, I stepped forward. "I appreciate it, Okita," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But I'm the type who prefers being on the front lines."
"Attaque! (Attack)!" the captain shouted, panic dripping from his voice as sweat poured down his face.
Okita's eyes grew even colder. Her grip tightened, ready to kill him.
Before blood could be spilled, I moved quickly, delivering a light strike to the man's neck, making him collapse unconscious. "They're regular humans. No need to kill them."
"Aghhhh!" one of the soldiers screamed, charging at Artoria in a panic with his sword raised.
She casually lifted one hand, catching the blade mid-swing. Then, with the sole of her boot, she kicked him square in the gut. The dull thud sent him flying backward.
"Not stepping on insects is surprisingly difficult," she muttered, a cold smile tugging at her lips.
I simply grinned. Honestly... she wasn't wrong. Back in the Fuyuki days, there was a good chance I would've accidentally killed them.
Okita, maintaining her usual serious expression, turned to me. "Excuse me, Master," she said softly, stepping forward. For a brief instant, her figure blurred — vanishing from sight — leaving behind only a faint afterimage. In an instant, she weaved through the soldiers, slicing through swords, spears, and shields like they were paper. The sharp cacophony of metal shattering echoed across the field.
Moments later, she reappeared at my side while the soldiers stood frozen in disbelief, staring at the ruins of their weapons.
"What the hell was that?!" Ritsuka rubbed her eyes, clearly unable to process what had just happened.
Honestly... even I had trouble following her. She's ridiculously fast — maybe even faster than Hercules.
"Fall back!"
The panicked shout echoed as the soldiers began retreating, realizing how hopelessly outmatched they were. Some threw their broken weapons to the ground, faces pale with terror, while others scrambled to help their injured comrades.
Arms crossed, I watched them closely, making sure they didn't try anything stupid. Meanwhile, the only thought running through my head was: This might be a good chance to practice my French.
A stupid thought, considering the situation... though, to be fair, I didn't feel the slightest sense of danger.
I turned to Okita.
"Good job," I said with a grin.
"Thank you, Master," she replied, calmly sheathing her katana.
"Question: is that your normal speed?" I asked, curious. It was weird — I usually could follow her movements.
"Not exactly. I used a technique that instantly closes the distance between me and my enemies," Okita explained, blinking her large eyes at me.
Oh! That sounds ridiculously useful. Would that be considered a spatial technique?
"Hey! This is overkill! I never thought I'd be in a battle where I actually felt sorry for the enemy... Everyone on our side is a monster," Ritsuka said with a sarcastic smile, lowering her arms.
"That's a lovely compliment... but what are we going to do about them?" Artoria pointed to the retreating soldiers.
"That's obvious," Nobunaga stepped forward. "They're exhausted — physically and mentally. People like that always retreat to their base when they feel threatened. We just follow them and... crush them," she added with a wicked grin.
As soon as she finished her sentence, Dr. Roman's hologram popped up again.
"Nobunaga-san is right... Except for the crushing part. You should follow them and figure out what's going on. By the way... does anyone here speak French?"
"Évident. Moi. Un génie absolu. Bien sûr que oui (Obviously. Me. An absolute genius. Of course, I do)," Da Vinci's voice echoed from the hologram.
"Oh ! Ton français est bien meilleur que le mien, mais nous n'en aurons pas besoin. Je peux me débrouiller parfaitement (Oh! Your French is way better than mine, but we won't need it. I can manage just fine)," I said, shrugging.
The moment those words left my mouth, everyone turned to stare at me.
"Senpai?!"
"Hold on! You speak French?!" Ritsuka gasped, pointing at me.
"Just a bit," I replied, casually. "I also get by in Spanish... and Chinese."
"What kind of monster were you back in school?!" Ritsuka stared at me like I'd grown a second head.
"When you don't have a guaranteed future... you gotta stack as many cards up your sleeve as you can."
Da Vinci chuckled. "I like you even more now. I might just kidnap you and make you my student."
"It would be an honor," I replied with a smirk.
"But..." Ritsuka crossed her arms, eyeing me suspiciously. "If you know French... why didn't you say anything and let Mash handle it?"
Mash also looked at me, curious.
It was a fair question... but...
"Simple. I just wanted to see how things would play out."
Both Ritsuka and Mash blinked, stunned.
"You're a little chaos gremlin, aren't you?" Da Vinci asked.
"More or less."
"Hate to interrupt," Nobunaga raised her hand, pointing toward the group of men retreating in the distance, "but we should probably get moving."
"Yeah, let's go. But this time... I'll be the one doing the talking," I said, making Mash blush lightly. Then I turned to Ritsuka, who quickly caught on.
"Not again! At least carry me over your shoulder this time!" she protested, flailing her arms.
Smiling, I grabbed her by the waist. Her face instantly went crimson as I lifted her.
"I hate you, Altair-kuuuuuun!"
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