Selena carried Inglis to evacuate to the castle and when they reached the gate, there was someone waiting for them.
「Selena! Thank heavens, you’re safe!」
「Irina! You waited for me!?」
Irina was Selena’s older sister which made her Inglis’ aunt.
The two sisters shared a close relationship with each other and Inglis often saw her aunt around.Her aunt was the Marchioness of the Fortified City of Ymir, married to Marquis Wilford, the lord of this city where Inglis was born.
And her mother was married to the head of the knight order under Marquis Wilford’s command.
Inglis’ new heritage was that of a relative of the Marquis’ and the daughter of the Knights’ commander.
When compared to the heritage of her previous life as a village boy from a rural area, the difference was that of Heaven and Earth.
Though, she was hardly bothered by the difference in birth statuses.
「Of course I did! I’m worried sick!」
「But you shouldn’t leave Raphael and Rafinha alone! Poor children, they must be frightened.」Irina had two children, a son and a daughter. However, Rafinha, in particular, was the worrisome one as she was around Inglis’ age.
Inglis had met Rafinha a number of times before.
As fellow babies, Inglis had wondered whether Rafinha had also felt inconvenienced with her fragile body. However, her consciousness was that of a child’s, unlike Inglis’. So, in truth, that had not been the case since Rafinha hadn’t known any better.
「It’s okay, Rafinha has Raphael to look after her! Now, come with me!」
「Yes!」
Inglis was brought inside the castle in her mother’s arms and evacuated into a private room for the Marquis’ family on the third floor.
It was much safer inside the robust castle over the mansion where Inglis and her family lived.
There was a young boy around the age of 7 or 8 years old holding a baby waiting for them in the room.
「Dear mother! You made it safely!」
The boy had black hair and eyes, with a face that exuded intelligence.
That was Raphael, the eldest child of Marquis Wilford, the city’s future lord.
「I did, Raphael. Is Rafinha okay?」
「Yes, as you can see! She’s been a good child.」
「I see. I’m glad. Now, let’s wait here until the knights drive the magic stone beast away. 」
「Let’s.」
The pair of mothers nodded in agreement.
From her mother’s embrace, Inglis was watching the view outside the window.
The room had a good overlook. One could see the battle that unfolded outside the encircling city walls.
Those so-called magic stone beasts seemed to be a colony of huge lizard monsters, easily twice the size of an adult. 1 They had a pair of blade-like rigid wings, with crystallized gems embedded on their foreheads, necks and all the way down to their backs.
The color of their hides differed from one another; some were red, some were light blue and the remaining were purple.
Inglis pondered whether they were called Magic Stone Beasts because of the jewel-like things embedded in their skin. Although it was difficult to discern at this distance, she could glimpse the gleam of those stones that looked like it was produced from condensed mana.
There were more than ten lizards in the colony.
The chivalric order the mothers mentioned wielded their weapons and faced those lizards in order to drive them away.
Selena, Irina and Raphael watched the battle unfold while holding onto their collective breaths.
The situation was grave but it was nothing out of the ordinary that they couldn’t handle.
In other words, this kind of situation was commonplace in this time and age.
Hmm… It seems like the world has become more dangerous. However, that’s just convenient for me. 2
Inglis was not unfamiliar with war.
Treading the path of a hunter and pursuing the mighty and ferocious Magic Stone Beast didn’t sound too bad to her.
Either way, Inglis couldn’t wait to grow up and face one of those lizards to test her strength.
Aah, my arms are itching! They’re itching for a sword! What a nuisance to have a weak baby’s body that’s difficult to control!
Inglis’ cry of frustration could only be translated into a baby’s cry from her mouth.
「Daaaah——! Abububuuu!!」
「G-, Glis…! Don’t move around too much.」
「Don’t blame her. It’s her first time seeing a magic stone beast, isn’t it? She must be scared.」
Compared to Rafinha who was bawling in her mother’s arm, Inglis’ blubbering was considered tame.
「You have a point, sis. If only there’s a world without Magic Stone Beast around, for the sake of these children’s future… 」
No, dear mother, that would be troubling! I need something to fight against! We need to have the magic stone beasts around! They look battle-worthy!
「Abubu abuu abuuu!!」
「Here, here, don’t be scared. Mommy will protect you——」
With an expression full of love, Selena held Inglis tighter to her chest.
It’s not that! I’m frustrated! There’s a fight in front of me and yet I can’t move!
As it turned out, there was a person who shared Inglis’ feelings.
「…I feel miserable. Even though I already possess a Rune, I can’t believe I’m just standing here and watching.」 3
That was yet another new thing for Inglis.
She knew that every knight in the current era had those Runes engraved on their body.
Her father as the captain of the chivalric order and her mother as a former knight, both of them carried something akin to a crest on their dominant hands.
Those were apparently something like a weapon used to fight against the magic stone beasts. 4
