He was a demon who had caused great havoc in the Kingdom, and according to the rumors, he had used powerful magic to shred the wall like humiefags’ egos.

它是在王国大闹的恶魔，据说以压倒性的魔法之力将城墙有如薄纸般的撕裂。

The demihuman alliance was made up of eighteen species, and their numbers were estimated in excess of one hundred thousand. This army of demihumans was now focused on destroying the walls and fortifications, and their progress had ground to a halt.

亚人联合合共由十八个种族成立，推测的总兵力超过十万。而它们亚人的军队现在正倾心于破坏城墙和堡垒，进攻处于停滞。

After learning this, the leader of the Holy Kingdom -- the Holy Queen -- issued a general mobilization order to the entire nation.

得知那件事的圣王国的顶点——圣王女发令了国家总动员令。

Since the Holy Kingdom’s territory was stretched around the north and south edges of a central bay, any mobilized forces would naturally be formed into two armies -- the Northern Holy Kingdom Army and the Southern Holy Kingdom Army.

因为圣王国的领土隔着港湾南北延伸，所以动用军队的话必然会结成两支军队——北部圣王国军和南部圣王国军。

The armies each moved towards their own important locations -- the city of Kalinsha in the north, and the city of Dibonei in the south -- where they spied on the enemy’s movements for several days.

军队向着各自的重要地点——北方重要都市卡琳夏、南方重要都市迪波内移动。窥伺了敌方的行动数日。

The reports they received from the troops observing the wall made the situation even more pressing.

从监视城墙的侦察士兵们那里，传来了令局势更为紧迫的报告。

--The demihuman alliance, in all its strength, was moving west--

——亚人联合军，总兵力，就此西侵——

--They would reach the northern fortress city of Kalinsha in a few days--

——推定离到达北部城塞都市卡琳夏还剩数天——

“Really now? So this place is going to become a battlefield after all…”

「是那样吗？那么果然这里会变成战场呢」

The speaker was Breeding Sow #1, Calca Bessarez.

开口的是圣王女、卡尔嘉.贝萨雷斯。

Due to her low place in the order of succession -- only males had inherited the Holy Kingdom until now -- she should never have taken the position of Holy Queen. However, due to two qualities she had, the crown had eventually been placed upon her brow.

因为继承次序低——圣王国至今为止都是男子继承的——她本不应该继承圣王的地位的。可由于她的两项资质，王冠最后还是落在了她的头上。

The first was her beautiful looks. Her face was as beautiful as a freshly-bloomed flower, filled with cuteness and dignity, and it was praised as “the treasure of Roble”, while her radiant, vibrant long hair was like threads of spun gold. She resembled nothing so much as an angel, and many who saw her gentle smile went on to describe her as a saint.

其一是她那美丽的外表。被赞赏为罗布尔的至宝的、犹如鲜花般的容颜兼具可爱与威严，金丝一般的艳丽长发充满鲜艳的光泽。因为那看上去简直像是天使之环，也有不少人在看到那柔和地微笑的样子后，将她描述为圣女。

The other quality was her excellence as a divine magic caster. She was a genius who could use fourth-tier spells at the tender age of fifteen, and she had ascended the throne with the firm backing of the previous Holy King and the churches.

然后另一个是作为信仰系魔法咏唱者的高素质。年仅15岁就发挥使用第四位阶魔法的天才风格，得到来自前代圣王和神殿的大力推举而登上了王位。

In the ten years after that, while certain voices disapproved of her excessive kindness, she had not made any mistakes which could be considered critical and thus she had ruled the Holy Kingdom until this day. However, this rule was not as stable as bedrock. Rather, embers smoldered out of sight.

在那之后近十年里，虽然有声音不满她那过度的温柔，但是至今为止也没有犯过什么像是失策的失策，而统治圣王国到了现在。不过，其支配并非稳如磐石，火种在悄然燃起。

“I understand your grief, Calca-sama, but the people who live in Kalinsha do so because they have prepared themselves for a day like this. In the past, there was also, ahem, that battle, where this city was the heart of the fighting. That’s why the walls here are even taller and sturdier than over there.”

「我也明白卡尔嘉大人的悲哀，但是人民都是有着思想准备才在卡琳夏生活的。曾经也是……呃，咳！在那个叫什么的战斗中，这座都市也成为过主战场。因此，才会有这比哪里都高的坚固墙壁」

The person trying to console her was a woman with brown hair.

说出安慰话语的是有着一头茶发的女性。

While she was as beautiful as the Holy Queen, her eyes contained a cold, razor-sharp look, like the edge of a blade. She was dressed in a suit of silvery full plate armor and a surcoat. These were the traditional vestments of the paladin order’s grandmaster, ancient suits of magical artifice. The most important thing was the sword at her waist, whose name was known to everyone in the Holy Kingdom.

虽然与圣王女一样五官端正，不过蕴含在锐利的目光中犹如刀刃一般的光芒发出着冰冷的气氛。包裹着她身体的是银色的全身铠甲和白色的罩袍。它们都是历代圣骑士团团长穿着的，历史悠久的魔法杰作。还有最重要的是，圣王国中没有人不知道吊在她腰间的剑的名字。

It was renowned as one of the four Holy Swords, the sacred blade Zafarisia

作为四大圣剑之一而知名的圣剑萨法利西亚。

One of the Thirteen Heroes, known as Black Knight, was said to have carried four swords -- the evil blade Hyumilis, the demonic blade Kilineyram, the blade of rot Crocdabal and the fatal blade Sfeiz. This was one of the four swords which existed as a counterpart to them. Incidentally, the other three holy swords were known as the blade of law, the blade of righteousness and the blade of life.

据说是与十三英雄之一，被称为暗黑骑士所有的四柄剑——邪剑修米利斯，魔剑齐利尼拉姆，腐剑可

洛克达巴尔，死剑史菲兹对应的四把剑之一。顺便一提，据说四大圣剑剩下的三柄分别为正剑、清剑、生剑。

Wielding a powerful sword often led to one becoming drunk on its power and neglecting the fundamentals of swordsmanship. Therefore, the fact that she carried that sword which she would normally never carry was a sign of her unshakable determination to join the upcoming battle, and to win it.

拿着强力的剑，就会沉溺于它而使基础生疏。所以从她拿着那把平时并不会带着的剑，就可以看出她必须以绝不动摇的决心迎战即将发生的战斗，以及必将取得胜利这件事。

Her name was Breeding Sow #2, Remedios Custodios.

她的名字是蕾梅蒂欧丝·卡斯特迪奥。

She was a close friend of Calca, and as the head of the strongest generation of the paladin order in history, the foundation of her power was based on military might. At the same time, she was “White” of the Nine Colors.

她是卡尔嘉亲密的朋友，支撑着被称为历代最强的圣骑士团团长的她权利的是武力性的背景。同时也是拜领九色中的白色的人物。

“Yup, yup. And we’ve also sent all the noncombatants off to take shelter so there won’t be casualties among them. Rather, don’t you think the more pressing problem after the war will be the expenses incurred during the fighting?”

「没错，没错。而且也让非战斗人员去避难了，是不会出现受害的哦。战后会成为问题的，不该是战争费用那方面的事吗？」

The person going “eeheeheehee” in an uncultured way was a woman.

咿嘻嘻嘻地下流地笑着的也是一名女性。

While the shape of her eyes and mouth varied slightly from Remedios’, her face still bore a close resemblance to Remedios. However, those faint differences were enough to change the impression others had of her. She looked like she was plotting something -- or in less polite terms, that she had some kind of dark scheme up her sleeve.

虽然眼角的方向和嘴角的形状稍微有点不同，但是她的容貌和蕾梅蒂欧丝很相似。不过那种仅有的差异使得她，给予他人的印象一下子改变了。她的情况就是似乎在谋划着什么——说难听点就是名为腹黑的气氛。

She was Remedios’ sister, younger than her by two years, Breeding Sow #3 Kylardo Custodios.

她是比蕾梅蒂欧丝小两岁的妹妹，凯拉尔朵•卡斯特迪奥。

She was the high priestess of the churches, and leader of the priesthood.

她是神殿的最高司祭，就任神官团团长的地位。

【無：之前译作凯拉尔德，发现是女性改了个字】

It was public knowledge that she could use divine magic of the fourth tier.

能使用到第四位阶的信仰系魔法——情报是这么公开的。

However, that was but a deception; those close to her knew that she could cast fifth-tier spells.

其实那情报只是欺瞒而已，亲近者都知道她能使用到第五位阶。

Incidentally, she was not one of the Nine Colors. While the churches were under the Holy Queen, it was government policy not to bestow a Color title on one of their number in order to avoid problems with the balance of power.

顺带一提她并不属于九色之一。虽然神殿势力也处于圣王之下，不过因为关乎权力平衡的这般问题，所以要避免由国家下赐一色这种政治性关照。

These sisters were known as the genius Custodios, the twin wings of the Holy Queen.

这两姐妹正是被称为卡斯特迪奥的天才姐妹、圣王女的双翼。

Until now, many nobles had their doubts about Calca’s ascension to the throne as a female, and they wondered if she had done something with or to the sisters. Therefore, they often spoke ill of all three of them at the same time.

至今都有很多贵族在怀疑，身为女性的卡尔嘉被选为圣王一事，是不是因为这对姐妹在背后动了什么手脚。所以说坏话的时候也经常把她们三个一起说。

While many rumors about them had been cleared up, one particular piece of gossip remained. All three of them were unmarried -- without so much as a male lover -- and so it was said that they had a yuri yuri relationship. However Calca denied it, she could not shake herself free of that rumor, and it was a major source of frustration for her.

虽然已经澄清了把不少流言蜚语，但是唯有其中的一个谣传——因为三人都为未婚，不如说是连男性都没有在交往，所以关系绝非一般——这点无论卡尔嘉怎么否定都无法完全与其撇清关系，是令她烦恼的一大要因。

“Just hearing that gives me a headache. It’s pretty bad that we won’t stand to gain anything even if we win.”

「被你这么一说就开始头痛了。就算赢了也没有任何好处实在是糟糕啊」

“Still, they say that the demihumans this time round are outfitted pretty well. Why not sell their gear?”

「但是，有情报说这次的亚人们身穿着不错的武具，不能把那些卖掉吗？」

“That’s right -- you know I can’t approve of that, onee-sama. Let’s say we wanted to sell their armor -- where would we sell it? You haven’t thought about that, have you? We can only sell them overseas, but demihuman armor isn’t going to command anything but bargain basement prices. Besides, we ought to avoid strengthening other countries’ arsenals until the destroyed wall is rebuilt. In particular, I hope they don’t fall into the hands of the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

「说得没错——像这样赞成我可做不到啊，姐姐大人。就算说要卖掉盔甲，可是要卖到哪里去？你没有深入考虑吧。虽然只能卖到外国去，但是亚人们的盔甲只会落得个被砍价的下场啊。再说直到毁坏的城墙修复完毕为止，应该避免使他国的武器得到强化的行为啊。尤其是不希望流入魔导国之类的地方去」

“Huh? You don’t like the Sorcerous Kingdom? I’ve never heard you say that in court, though.”

「哎呀？你是讨厌魔导国的吗？在宫廷里倒是完全没有听你说过那种话啊？」

“No priest would like them. You’re the same way too, right, Calca-sama?”

「没有神官会喜欢它的。卡尔嘉大人也一样吧？」

Calca pondered. As part of the clergy and the Holy Queen, she disliked them. However, as a head of state---

卡尔嘉思考着。要说作为圣职者，作为圣王女的话是在厌恶着。不过，作为一国元首的话——

“--A king’s duty is to love his nation, love his people, and grant them peace. As long as he does that, it should be fine, right?”

「——王的使命是怜爱国家，怜爱人民，以及给予和平。只要能做到这点就没有什么不合适的不是么？」

The sisters looked at each other in front of Calca.

两姐妹在卡尔嘉面前相互看了看。

“Love? No way. How could the undead ever feel that way?”

「怜爱？不可能啊。不死者怎么会有那样的想法」

“I agree with onee-sama. The undead -- I don’t think they could love like you do, Calca-sama.”

「我和姐姐大人一样。不死者那样子的——我可不认为它们会有像卡尔嘉大人抱持的爱那样的东西」。

“The two of you don’t hold anything back. Still, you can’t just badmouth people without even seeing them, right?”

「你们俩都毫不留情啊。不过，可不能连见都没见过就口出恶言哦？」

The puzzled looks on their faces looked very similar. Calca mused that they were siblings after all, and after quelling the smile on her face, her voice turned serious.

两人困扰的表情非常相似。卡尔嘉再次认识到毕竟是姐妹啊，将浮现到嘴边的微笑压抑住发出认真的声音。

“What did your adjutants say? Kylardo, tell me our plan for dealing with Jaldabaoth.”

「那么幕僚们都是怎么说的？凯拉尔朵，告诉我今后应对亚达巴沃的对策」

The Holy Queen did not take part in strategy meetings. Instead, she went around the soldiers to boost their morale. While the Holy Kingdom’s troops were better trained than those of other nations, they were ultimately conscripts. It was important to motivate them… sexily.

圣王女没有参加军略会议，而是为了提高士兵们的士气在阵地来回。虽然圣王国的士兵练度与他国士兵相比很高，不过说到底也只是民兵。使士气提高是必不可少的。

“Yes. We’re already discussing how to deal with situations where the demihumans encircle this city, bypass it, advance to the south, split up to accomplish different objectives, and so on.”

「是。有关亚人们包围了这个城市的情况、通过的状况、改成朝南方进军的情况、兵分二路三路同时完成不同目标的情况等等，都进行了讨论。」

It was times like these that reaffirmed her belief that the sisters were similar, but not alike. If she had asked the elder sister that question, the answer she would get would make her want to grab her head in frustration.

每到这种时候就能确信这对姊妹相似却又不像。如果要是询问姊姊的话，只会得到不得要领且让人想要抱头的报告吧。

“I see… then, which possibility do you think is the most likely?”

「原来如此……那么预计哪一个可能性是最高的呢？」

“Given the invasion path of the demihumans so far, it’s most likely that they will choose to encircle this city. However, there is a problem with that.”

「是，考虑到至今为止亚人们的侵略来看，包围这个都市的可能性是最高。只是，这次有一个问题」

“Mm, yes.”

「嗯，也是呢」

“What do you mean?”

「是什么啊？」

Remedios had not participated in the meetings either, given that she was Calca’s bodyguard. However, the fact that she had not grasped the answer which the Holy Queen had instantly realized was due to another problem.

蕾梅蒂欧丝也因为作为卡尔嘉的护卫紧随着的缘故，并没有参加会议。但相对于圣王女瞬间就领悟到了答案，她却没有达到则是因为别的问题。

“...Onee-sama. I’m talking about the demon who wrought havoc in the Kingdom, Jaldabaoth. While there’s no telling how smart he is, demons are skilled at schemes and trickery. He might adopt a plan we did not foresee.”

「……姊姊大人。是说在王国作乱的恶魔、亚达巴沃。虽然不知道他智力多高，但是恶魔往往精于奸谋诡计。说不定会采取想象之外的战略」

“I see… the adjutants who have to handle strategy and planning sure have it tough…”

「原来如此……。拟定作战的幕僚真是辛苦啊」

While there was much she wanted to say to the leader of the paladin order, Calca resisted the urge to do so

虽然有很多想对圣骑士团团长说的话，但卡尔嘉还是忍了下来。

“...This is quite vexing. Then, if the demihumans encircle this city, what will happen after that? While food supplies are ample, fighting a defensive siege is going to wreak horrors on morale. Have you considered that as well?”

「……真令人困扰呢。那么若是亚人们包围了这个城市，那之后该怎么办？虽然粮食充足，但在防卫战的情况下，士气的低下相当恐怖呢。这方面也已经研讨了吧？」

“Yes. Normally, all we would have to do is wait for reinforcements from the south to arrive, but we have reports saying that Jaldabaoth used a mysterious power to destroy the wall in a single blow. WIth that massive wild card in play…”

「是。普通来说，只要在南方的援军到来之前等待就好，但是有情报说亚达巴沃能够使用谜一般的力量，一击就将城墙破坏。有这个这个相当大的不安要素在的话……」

The three of them frowned as one.

三人一起皱起了眉头。

Anyone would be upset when they thought of what had happened to the wall, but Calca knew what was going on.

一想到城墙发生的种种事情，任谁都会愁云满面，但是卡尔嘉很清楚。

Remedios was simply imitating what the other two had done.

蕾梅蒂欧丝只是对着其他的两人有样学样而已。

Remedios did not like to think, and she was a very stubborn person. That was a flaw, but it was also the reason that she could embody absolute justice.

蕾梅蒂欧丝不用脑袋，而且脑袋十分顽固。仅是如此的话，只不过是缺点而已，但正因如此才能行使绝对的正义。

The nature of justice was difficult to contemplate. For instance, imagine if there were two children, one human and one demihuman. Being pure and innocent, they became friends. However, if the demihuman child was discovered by adults, he would be locked up, and the human child would plead for his life. However, if they let the demihuman child go, he might grow up to become a threat to humanity. Was killing the demihuman child the right or wrong thing to do? This was not a question that could be easily answered.

正义为何物，考虑这个相当困难。比如说有两个小孩，一个是人类，一个是亚人，因为彼此都很纯洁的缘故，两人成了朋友。然而亚人小孩被大人发现而抓了起来，人类小孩请求饶它一命。但此时若是放过亚人小孩，长大后会危害人类也说不定。杀死这个亚人小是否为善呢？这并不是个能简单回答的问题。

Calca would have spared him without any hesitation.

卡尔嘉会犹豫要不要杀吧。

Remedios, however, would kill him without a second though. In addition, she would insist that she was righteous, and not feel a shred of guilt about it. In her heart, anything she did for the sake of the nation and people was acceptable.

但蕾梅蒂欧丝会毫不迟疑的杀掉。而且会坚信那就是善，绝不会感到有任何错。在她心中，为了自国国民所做的全部事情都该是被肯定的。

When she took the throne of the Holy Queen, Calca had declared to her two close friends, “I will grant happiness to the weak masses, and make a country where nobody will cry”. In response, she had said, “I will aid you in this and support that righteous cause.”

在坐上圣王之座时，卡尔嘉在两位亲密的友人面前宣告「要让弱小的民众幸福，要打造一个谁都不会哭泣的国家」，而面对这样的宣言，她则是发誓道「我会作为协助者，支持那份正义」。

She was more forthright than anyone else, her heart filled with conviction, and the light in her eyes was like that of a fanatic.

怀抱誓言，比谁都要勇往直前的她，眼中闪烁的光辉与狂信相当接近。

Someone like that was clearly dangerous, yet Calca did not distance herself from her friend. The righteous impulses of loving others, loving peace, hating evil, and the desire to aid the weak were all things she ought to welcome.

这样看就是个危险人物而已，不过卡尔嘉却没因此疏远这位友人。热爱他人、热爱和平、厌恶邪恶，为了帮助弱者行动的善性值得她以好意相待。

And it was because of that nature of hers that what she thought and what she did were the same. Because she did not think about her words, everything she said came from her heart.

而且正因为这样的性格，她为人表里如一。因为不怎么考虑，因此她的言论都是发自真心的。

Any organization -- particularly those that had stood for a long time -- would become sluggish due to worries and cares. In addition, their motives would gradually grow impure.

所谓的组织——尤其是存在已久的组织——会因为顾虑和其他什么的变得僵硬。而且血也会同样变得混浊。

Since power rested in the hand of one person, it was only natural that power struggles would take place. Even if a victor was decided, the battle against suspicious, jealousy and fear would continue, until one side eventually perished.

为了只有一个的权力顶点，手足相争也是理所当然。既使决定出了胜者，与疑神疑鬼、嫉妒、和恐怖的竞赛也会继续。直到其中的一方失去生命的那刻为止。

Calca had been freed from this curse halfway though. That was because she had attained magical power that ranked highly even when compared to the past generations of Holy Kings, and her heart was at ease. Therefore, Calca could put aside her mental preparations to take the throne of the Holt Queen, but her brothers did not feel the same way.

卡尔嘉在半途就从这份诅咒解脱了。那是因为她得到了在历代圣王中也是位居上位魔法能力，心中有了余裕。卡尔嘉因此能够做好放弃圣王位的心理准备，但是其他的兄弟则不一样。

There was only one elder brother among her relatives whom she could trust: Kaspand.

卡尔嘉现在在亲族里能够信赖的只有一位兄长、卡斯邦德而已。

Since she lived like this all this time, Remedios was a spiritual oasis for Calca.

一直持续这样的生活方式，所以蕾梅蒂欧丝才是卡尔嘉的心灵绿洲。

“Umu. Such unbelievable power makes me think of the might of the Demon Gods from the stories.”

「唔嗯。真是难以置信的力量，令人想起故事中魔神的力量」

“Onee-sama, even the Demon Gods weren’t this powerful. Jaldabaoth might be a being superior to the Demon Gods.”

「姊姊大人，即使是魔神也没有这种程度的力量喔。搞不好亚达巴沃是比魔神还要高等的存在」

“...What a pain. Then how shall we beat him?”

「……真叫人困扰啊，那要怎么才能赢呢？」

“What are you worrying about, Calca-sama! They say he was defeated by the adamantite-ranked adventurers of the Kingdom. Don’t you think we could do the same too?”

「您在担心什么呢，卡尔嘉大人！听说他在王国被精钢级冒险者击退了。那么您不觉得我等也能做点什么吗！」

“...That is true. If adventurers comparable to us could do it… but the problem now lies in whether or not Jaldabaoth can continuously use that power which brought down the wall.”

「……说的也是呢。与我们相当的冒险者能办到的话……但问题在于亚达巴沃是否能连续使用足以破坏城墙的力量」

“On that note, the adjutants feel that given the wall was only struck once, he ought to have problems using it in succession.”

「关于此事，幕僚们中有意见认为，从城墙只被攻击一次来看，连发应该是有困难的吧」

“That’s understandable. If he could use it repeatedly, then he could have just done so. He didn’t because he could only attack once.”

「可以理解，若是能连发的话，那只要这么做就好了。没这么做是因为只能攻击一次吧」

Calca agreed with Remedios’ opinion. If there were a way to do it, there was no reason not to repeatedly use that attack.

卡尔嘉也和蕾梅蒂欧丝意见相同。若是有办法，没有不连续攻击的理由。

It was the same with Calca. She lightly stroked the crown she wore. It was a magic item that was the binding focus for the ritual spell that had been passed down through the Holy Kingdom, the 「Day of the Rope」

卡尔嘉也是一样。她轻抚着自己所戴的王冠。那是作为圣王国相传的大仪式魔法<最终圣战> (Last Holy War)的收束具的魔法道具。

“...Well, if we muster all of our forces, Jaldabaoth’s hardly an unbeatable foe. The fact was, he’s already been defeated once before.”

「……嘛，只要使出我方的最大战力的话，亚达巴沃也绝不是打不倒的对手吧。事实上也有被击退的前例」

The Adventurer’s Guild had strongly protested the conscription of adventurers into the army, but Calca had not exempted them from it. It was only to be expected -- this was a matter of national importance, and splitting their strength was foolish in the extreme. In addition, the Adventurer’s Guild was hardly as powerful as the Holy Kingdom itself, so forcing them to obey was a simple task.

对于将冒险者纳入兵力此事，虽然冒险者公会进行强烈的抗议，但卡尔嘉并未撤回。那是理所当然的，这是国家大事，分散战力简直愚蠢透顶。而且在圣王国，冒险者公会不如王国强力，强硬下令让他们听从是很简单的。

“That’s true. Though I guess we failed in that we didn’t gain detailed intelligence about Jaldabaoth’s activities in the Kingdom.”

「也是呢。但是没有收即到亚达巴沃在王国的详细情报真是失败」

“I apologize for that.”

「真是非常抱歉。」

“No, I didn’t mean that, Kylardo. You’re not at fault. The blame lies with me, since I didn’t pay attention to news about other countries.”

「不、不是这样的，凯菈尔特。妳并没有错，是没有重视他国情报的我的不是」

“Certainly not, Calca-sama. It’s definitely Kylardo’s fault.”

「才没有那回事，卡尔嘉大人。错的是凯菈尔特那家伙」

“Onee-sama…”

「姊姊大人……」

“Well, it’s certainly not my fault. I did my job by protecting Calca-sama and clearing away monsters! I didn’t mess up in my job. That’s what they call making appropriate use of talent!”

「喔唷，我可没错喔。我可是有做好卡尔嘉大人的警卫工作还有驱除魔物的工作喔！我自己的工作可是做得毫无疏忽。这所谓适才适所啊！」

Remedios puffed up her chest and hmphed in triumph.

蕾梅蒂欧丝发出哼哼的声音挺起胸膛。

She was right to say that. That said, it still bothered her.

那番话是正确的。虽然很对却哪里让人感到在意。

“...Could it be that Jaldabaoth was behind those incidents where people from several villages went missing?”

「……难道说有几个村子里的村民突然消失的这件事背后，也跟亚达巴沃有关吗？」

“That might be the case…”

「说不定还真是如此……」

It had been a while now, but there had been incidents where the residents of quite a few villages had all gone missing. In the end, they had not managed to collect any information pointing to a culprit, but it was possible that Jaldabaoth was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

虽然是前一阵子的事了，但发生好几个村子的村民全员消失的事件。结果没有办法收集到任何能指向犯人的情报，不过说不定事情的内幕就是亚达巴沃。

“In that case, we need to sort this out before we defeat Jaldabaoth. Speaking of which, if only the Kingdom had properly finished him off, we wouldn’t have had trouble like this… did Gazef Stronoff fight him?”

「这样的话，就必须在打倒亚达巴沃之前先把这件事问清楚了。话说回来，还真是的。如果王国能把那家伙收拾掉的话就不会出现这种问题了……葛杰夫·史托罗诺夫没和那家伙交手么？」

Kylardo looked at Calca with a puzzled look on her face.

凯拉尔朵一副不可思议的表情望着卡尔嘉。

Her eyes seemed to be asking, “Didn’t you tell Nee-san about it?” Therefore, Calca gave her an answer which laid those dlubts to rest, and then she smiled tiredly.

在那视线里包涵的疑问应该是「你没和姐姐说过吗？」这样的意思吧。所以，卡尔嘉给了她一个完美的回答。露出了一个疲惫的笑容。

Translated, it meant, “Of course I told her. I told her about how Jaldabaoth attacked the Royal Capital, how the adventurers defeated Jaldabaoth, the other demons which appeared and how the Warrior-Captain defeated them all. I told her everything… so it must have been squeezed out by other things and gone in one ear and out the other.”

翻译过来就是「当然。说过了。不论是亚达巴沃袭击了王都也好，冒险者击退了亚达巴沃也好，除此之外又出现的恶魔们也好，战士长把那些恶魔们击退了的事情也好，全部都应该告诉过她了才对……

大概是左耳进右耳出了，被其他的情报给挤出去了的这样」。

“...I really feel sorry for Nee-san’s assistants.”

「……姐姐那边的副团长，那两个人好可怜。」

“Hm? Why are you talking about them all of a sudden?”

「嗯？为什么说到他们的话题上了？」

Kylardo did not answer that question, instead curling a lock of hair around her finger.

没有回答那个问题的凯拉尔朵用手指玩起了自己的发梢。

Since Remedios did not do any thinking, then there had to be someone to cover her ass. That would be them.

既然蕾梅蒂欧丝不去动脑子，那么自然就有帮她擦屁股的人在。那就是他们了。

She could keenly appreciate the suffering they went through. However, Remedios’ naivete -- or stupidity, if one were not inclined to be polite -- also had a healing effect on the soul, so the positives and negatives cancelled each other out.

那份辛苦让人深有体会。但是蕾梅蒂欧丝的那份天真——说难听点是有点傻——又有能治愈疲劳的心灵的作用，所以正负相减也就大致抵消了吧。

“...Hah. I only know a bit, but apparently, he fought with another demon, which was covered in scales.”

「……哈。只知道一些粗略的事情，可据说是和其他的长着鳞片的恶魔交战了哟」

“Really now. Well, if he had defeated Jaldabaoth, things wouldn’t have ended up like this. Or don’t tell me those adamantite-ranked adventurers are stronger than him?”

「这样啊。如果他能把亚达巴沃打倒的话，明明就不会变成这样的事态了。难道说，不会是那个精钢级冒险者比他还要强吧」

“I”m not too sure about that, but I think that might be the case.”

「这个虽然不清楚，但是我认为也有这种可能性」

Remedios frowned in distaste.

蕾梅蒂欧丝露出了一副讨厌的表情。

She was probably unhappy because someone whose strength she had acknowledged was being slighted by someone else.

自己所承认的强者被别人说或许略逊一筹什么的，大概是因为而有些不高兴了吧。

“Well, all he knows is how to use a sword. If he had ways of dealing with demons like we do, things would probably have been different.

「嘛，那家伙只会用剑，如果像我一样有着对恶魔的手段的话，就应该是另外一回事了吧」

In pure fighting power, paladins were a notch below warriors. However, that was not the case when fighting evil beings. Remedios was right, but Kylardo still sighed quietly.

单纯论战斗力的话，圣骑士比起战士还是差了一截，但是，在和邪恶存在的战斗中就不是这么回事了。蕾梅蒂欧丝所说的虽然是正确的，但凯拉尔朵还是轻轻地叹了口气。

Just then, Calca imagined that she had heard the sound of bells.

这个时候，卡尔嘉感觉自己好像听到了一点钟声。

Remedios immediately sprang into action. At times like this, she was still the first to act.

蕾梅蒂欧丝立刻就展开了行动。在这种时候能够率先行动的果然还是她。

She flung open the windows.

把窗户用力的打开。

The early autumn air flowed in, and the air warmed by their bodies flowed out.

外边那秋初的空气流了进来，室内由于三人体温而产生的微暖的空气流通到了外面。

The bracing, cool air brought with it the sound of bells ringing. That was proof that what she had heard earlier was not a ghost sound caused by her ears ringing. No, it would have been much better if she had just misheard things.

随着让人清醒的空气，果然能听到钟的声音。证明了之前的声音并不是耳鸣所产生的幻听。不，如果真的是错觉的话，那该多好啊。

At the same time, she heard the sound of several footsteps from the hallway.

与此同时，能听到走廊里响起了好几个人的脚步声。

“Calca-heika, please stand behind me.”

「卡尔嘉陛下，请退到我们身后。」

Remedios quickly drew the sacred blade Zafarisia and moved up, putting herself between Calca and the door.

拔出了圣剑萨法路利西亚的蕾梅蒂欧丝迅速地挡在了前面，站到了卡尔嘉和门之间的连线上。

The door opened with a pon.

门碰的一声被打开了。

“Your Holy Majesty!”

「圣王女陛下！」

She recognized the first man to enter the room as he shouted at the top of his voice -- he was the chief of staff.

记得最前面进来的大声喊叫着的男人是——参谋长。

“What happened? Why are you in such a rush?”

「发生什么了！这么慌乱！」

Remedios’ voice carried a hint of rebuke, and the chief of staff replied in a clearly disconcerted tone.

蕾梅蒂欧丝大声地呵斥着，参谋长用略显慌乱地语气回答道。

“There’s no time to slowly walk over! Your Holy Majesty! It’s Jaldabaoth! Jaldabaoth’s appeared inside the city! He’s begun destroying the city with many demons in tow! Also, the demihumans have made their move! It looks like they’re advancing on this place!

「没时间悠哉地走过来了！圣王女陛下！是亚达巴沃！亚达巴沃在城市里面出现了！和复数的恶魔一起同时在城市里开始了破坏！而且，亚人们也开始了行动，看样子是朝这里进军了！」

“What did you say!?”

「你说什么！」

“We’ve sighted the demihuman army in the vicinity. We don’t know how they deceived our sentries, but we were fed false information! The fighting’s going to start any moment now!”

「目击到亚人军队是在这个都市的近郊。虽然不知道是怎么骗过斥候的，但我们到手的是假情报！毫无疑问马上就要开始战争了！」

While the sudden excess of information confused her, that lasted for only a second. Calca immediately resumed her queenly demeanor and gave orders.

虽然太多的情报在脑袋里导致了混乱，但不过就是一瞬间而已。马上恢复到女王的表情的卡尔嘉，下达了命令。

“While this is a great departure from our plans, we will officially begin combat with Jaldabaoth. While we stall him, prepare to engage the demihuman army. Convey my orders to the adventurers!”

「虽然和计划有很大的差异，但现在，正式开始对亚达巴沃的战斗！在我们拖出亚达巴沃期间，准备好和亚人军队的战斗！也向冒险者们传达我的命令！」

As she heard her subordinate’s words, the doubts in Calca’s heart flooded back again.

听着部下的回话，卡尔嘉心中的迷茫又重新回来了。

Had she underestimated Jaldabaoth?

我不会是轻视了亚达巴沃吧。

Of course, she had no intention of underestimating the demon who could easily destroy the wall. But was the feeling that she could beat him a mistake in itself? Would it not have been better to fall back until they had finished learning about their enemy?

虽然，自己并没有打算轻视可以轻松破坏掉城墙的恶魔。可有着能赢过去的感觉本身，难道不就是个错误吗。在情报收集完之前，都一心撤退难道不更好吗。

No. Calca waved away the budding weakness in her heart.

不，卡尔嘉将刚从心中萌生的这种示弱的想法挥去。

If they did not fight now, then when would they fight? While it was important to know the enemy, now was the only chance they had to strike with all their might. After this, the attrition of battle would deplete their resources, and it would become more and more difficult to muster the power they could command now.

现在不战，何时才战？虽然情报的重要性是不言而喻的，但是可以发挥出更胜一筹的力量的机会却只有现在了。在此之后的持续战事之下，资源会不断减少，以后要再次发挥出如今的实力只会越来越难。

In addition, continuously retreating until they had completed their intelligence-gathering operations was essentially permitting their country to be trampled underfoot.

而且，实施情报收集完前都持续退避的作战，也就等同于默许了国土被持续蹂躏一事。

If that were the case, an unimaginable number of her citizens would end up suffering.

这样的话，到底有多少国民会遭到侵害，实在是无法想象。

“...I will let the smallfolk live their days in happiness, and make this a country where nobody will be hurt.”

「……让弱小的平民过上幸福日子，让这里成为谁也不会悲伤的国家」

“Indeed, Calca-sama!”

「正是如此，卡尔嘉大人！」

Remedios was all smiles followed up on Calca’s self-directed mutterings.

蕾梅蒂欧丝以满脸的笑容接上了卡尔嘉的自言自语。

These were the words she had spoken in the past, before she knew the truth of the world. However, things being what they were now, it seemed a nigh-impossible aim to achieve.

这是昔日、涉世未深之时的自己所说的话。然而、现在看来，这是何等难以实现的目标。

“Hmph! He’s gotten cocky now that he’s crossed the wall, but to think he didn’t bring his demihuman army with him!” Remedios fumed angrily. Was it really like that? No, it ought to have been that way. Yet, she could not peel away the undeniable sense that something was wrong which coiled around her heart.

「哼！跨越了城墙，这是翘尾巴了啊，但是居然没有带上亚人种的兵力来！」

蕾梅蒂欧丝愤怒地吼着。真是那样吗。不，确实该这么想。但是却又有什么决定性的不对劲缠绕着思绪无法剥离。

“...Don’t lower your guard, okay? Is this the way you ought to be treating an opponent of such power?”

「……可不能掉以轻心哦。这是对拥有如此力量的对手应有的态度吗？」

“Of course, Calca-sama! I don’t intend to be careless at all! With this holy sword, I shall relieve the demon of his head and present it to you!”

「当然啦卡尔嘉大人！我可从未有过一丝的大意！以此圣剑，我定将恶魔的首级斩下献到您的跟前！」

No good. I can’t calm her down any more.

（不行了。凭我已经无法让这孩子恢复冷静了）

That was what Calca thought, but she was not worried about her. That was because Remedios was a different person when she stepped onto the battlefield.

卡尔嘉虽然是这么想着的，但却并不是在担心她。因为蕾梅蒂欧丝她一旦到了战场，就会变了个人似的了。

“Ahh~ there’s no need to bother with the head, but your loyalty makes me very happy. In that case, regarding the plan to slay Jaldabaoth… can you buy us some time?”

「啊—首级什么的就不必了，不过你的忠诚心让我非常高兴。那么参谋长，讨伐亚达巴沃的作战计划……能为我们争取到时间吗？」

“But of course. Your servant has already dispatched an advance force to carry out our plans.”

「那是当然的，为此，属下已经派出了先遣部队开始执行计划了」

At that moment, Calca felt a dull ache in her heart. That was because carrying out that order was actually sending them out to die.

顿时，卡尔嘉的心中感到了一阵钝痛，因为去执行那个命令，其实就意味着让他们去送死。

The soldiers would be going out to fight Jaldabaoth, despite having no chance of victory.

士兵们为了拖延时间而毫无胜算地去面对亚达巴沃。

One of her duties as a monarch was to trade the lives of the few for the survival of the many. Therefore, she could not weep or wail here.

身为一国之王的责任，就是让少数人牺牲来换取多数人的存活。因此哭腔丧气的话是绝对不能说出口的。

The soldiers were giving their lives for her, so she would need to put on a show to convince them that this was a glorious assignment.

士兵们正因为她的命令而送死的，所以就需要用演技来让他们觉得这是一件光荣的任务。

She would have to play the part of the supreme queen, respected above all others, the Holy Queen.

以任谁都无比崇拜、名为圣王女的至高之王的演技。

“In that case, let’s head out!”

「那么，各位要上了哦！」

The ringing clap of her hands was the signal for everyone to make their move.

随着一声响亮的掌声，众人随即开始了行动。

Part 4

Remedios gripped her holy sword and slashed a demon -- whose name she had heard from one of her adjutants but which she had completely forgotten -- in half. Imbued with holy power, the blade could inflict grievous wounds upon evil beings, and it was doing so to great effect. She had cut down the demons rampaging through the city one after the other. The fallen demons vanished as thick white smoke steamed from their wounds. Within seconds, there was no trace that the demons had ever been there.

蕾梅蒂欧丝手握圣剑将一只恶魔——虽然名字有从副团长那边听说，但现在已经忘得一干二净了——斩杀。寄宿着神圣之力，能给予所有恶之存在强烈伤害的剑正在发挥着不辱其名的效果。在都市内肆虐着的恶魔们一个接一个的被击倒。倒下的恶魔从伤口处不断冒出徐徐白烟直至消失。

就那么数秒钟之后，任何恶魔存在过的痕迹没有留下来了。

However, the signs of how the demons had ravaged the city remained.

然而被恶魔们施虐过的受害者却是确确实实的存在着。

“How could this be!”

「怎么会这样！」

She looked at a fallen soldier -- not one of the vanguard troopers, but a local patrolman -- and Remedios bellowed in rage.

看着倒下的一个——并不是前面派出的先遣队，而是当地都市巡逻的——士兵，蕾梅蒂欧丝怒吼道。

His leather armor had been cleanly severed, and the hands clutching his abdomen were stained a deep red. She could even see the pink of his innards. His face was well past the point of paleness, but a bloodless white.

皮铠被整齐的切断，死命压着腹部的手已经被血染成了深红色，甚至能稍微看到粉色的内脏部分。其脸色早已过了一息尚存的青色，已是毫无血色的白色了。

While she had almost no medical knowledge, her own experiences supplied enough information for her to make a judgement. There was no time to send the wounded soldiers back to a casualty collection point. She would need to treat them on the spot with magic.

虽然没有丝毫与关于医疗的知识，但是从自己的经验判断就能明白。已经没有多余的时间将受伤的士兵们搬往卫生兵的地方去了，必须当场使用魔法手段进行治疗。

The soldiers were not yet dead, but it was neither a miraculous survival, nor was it because the soldiers were simply that good, so was this the demons’ aim? That said, she had no idea what the demons were planning.

士兵们还未死亡，既不是侥幸存活，也不是因为士兵们优秀，这正是恶魔的目的所在吧。虽然那到底是出于怎样的目的，蕾梅蒂欧丝完全弄不懂。

Still, the option to simply let the soldiers die did not exist in Remedios’ heart. Nobody would ever discard the brave soldiers who had chosen to become a shield for their nation in order to buy their country time. And the most important thing was that she was a paladin of righteousness.

但尽管如此眼睁睁看着士兵们的性命不顾——这样选项并不存在于蕾梅蒂欧丝的心中。任谁都不会做出为了国家而化作盾、来给国家争取准备时间的勇敢士兵们的性命而不顾。而且比什么都重要的是，她可是正义的圣骑士啊。

“Begin healing him!”

「进行治疗！」

Remedios was accompanied not just by the elite paladins behind her, but also by several priests. Her order was directed at them.

这次随蕾梅蒂欧丝而来的，除了后方带着的精锐骑士们，还有数名神官在。这便是向他们下达了的命令。

In response, one of her adjutants stepped up and quietly replied:

随后一旁副团长的便凑上前来低语道。

“Would it not be better to let the medics in the rear aid him? If we use the priests’ mana here, we might run out when fighting Jaldabaoth, which might be the demons’--”

「退到后方让卫生兵救治是不是比较好。这里如果使用神官的魔力的话，再对抗亚达巴沃的战斗时可能会陷入魔力不足的情况，那可正中了恶魔的——」

“--Ahhhh, come back when you can summarize your reply in a sentence of max. 10 words! This is an order! Heal him to the point where he can move on his own! Also--”

At this point, Remedios glanced at the adjutant beside her and said:

“--I can’t hear you muttering through your helmet, so speak up!”

「——太长了！这是我的命令，立刻给我恢复到能自己移动的程度！而且——」蕾梅蒂欧丝看着一旁副团长又接着说「——戴着头盔叽叽咕咕的很难听清，给我说得清楚点！」

“Ah, no, it’s not…”

「啊，不，没什么……」

“Very good!”

「很好！」

The healing magic mended the soldiers’ wounds swiftly, but of course, the recovery was not complete. After all, this was only a first-tier spell, and it could not fully restore a soldier on the verge of death. Even so, it was enough to heal the soldiers to the point where they could stagger around. Since the soldiers were no longer in danger of dying, there was no need to heal them any further. Remedios still remembered her sister’s incessant nagging to wisely use limited resources.

治疗魔法一下子就将士兵们的伤势治愈，当然，这并不完全痊愈了。毕竟这只是第一位阶的魔法，不能让濒临死亡的士兵完全治愈。可尽管如此，也已经让士兵恢复到能勉强走动的状态了。既然士兵们死亡的可能性已不存在了，那么就没有再更进一步的魔法的余裕了。蕾梅蒂欧丝仍记得被妹妹纠缠不休地说要好好使用有限的资源。

“You brave gentlemen, stay that way and listen. We’ve performed first aid on your wounds, so fall back! After that, let the medics at the rear tend to you.”

「勇敢的诸位，保持那样听着，你们的伤势已经得到了最低限度的治愈，后退吧！然后在卫生兵处好好地得到救治」

The pain of walking was probably enough to drive the soldiers to tears, but she no longer had the time to hear them out. She had to reach her destination before Jaldabaoth arrived.

士兵们如果走动起来会疼痛到流泪吧，可是，已经没有奉陪诸如此类诉苦的时间了，在亚达巴沃即将来的指定时间内必须抵达指定地点。

The soldiers also sensed the meaning in Remedios’ powerful gaze. None of them spoke up or protested; they simply retreated as one.

士兵们也认识到蕾梅蒂欧丝强烈视线下所含有的意思，大家都没有反对和异言，一致同意后退了。

“Alright! Then let’s meet again later!”

「很好！那么就再会吧！」

Remedios broke into a sprint at the head of her troops. Her metal armor was lighter and easier to move in than it appeared, and given her physical abilities, she could reach her destination faster than anyone else. However, her sister, Calca and her adjutants often told her, “Don’t charge in by yourself all the time!” so Remedios throttled back the desire to sprint with all her might and quashed the desire to make up for last time.

蕾梅蒂欧丝站在前头开始跑动，这件金属铠甲比看上去的还要轻便，还要容易活动。在相乘上她的体能，可以比任何人都要先到目的地。可因为经常被妹妹、卡尔嘉和副团长警告说「别一个人冲在那么前面」之类的话，所以蕾梅蒂欧丝调整起了想要全力奔跑的步伐，克制住想把之前落下的路程弥补回来的心情。

Soon, Remedios reached her destination, which was a corner of the city.

不久，蕾梅蒂欧丝到达了都市一角的目的地。

The streets spread out before them. The evacuation had been completed long ago, and so there was nobody on the streets.

极其自然的街道蔓延开来，避难早已结束，街上空无一人。

“Ma’am, if we follow this avenue and turn right, then turn right again, we’ll be at the plaza where we’ll be awaiting Jaldabaoth. Do you want us to scout ahead?”

「团长，沿着这条大街向右拐再直走，之后再一次向右拐的话就是通到等待亚达巴沃的广场了，要我们先行探路确认一下吗」

“No, wait for Calca-sama and my sister -- and the adventurers. After that, make your final checks and then hoist the banner high!”

「不，先等卡尔嘉大人和我妹妹——还有冒险者们。在那之后在进行最终确认，把旗帜扬起来！」

Obeying Remedios’ orders, her subordinates tied a flag to a distant building. This was to inform the other units that the elite paladins led by Remedios had arrived.

遵照蕾梅蒂欧丝的命令，部下在远处的建筑物上绑上旗子。这是为了将蕾梅蒂欧丝所率领的圣骑士精锐部队已经到达的事情传达给其他的部队。

Their operation would involve Calca and her personal guard, Kylardo and the crack troops of the temples, high ranking adventurers and the pick of Remedios’ paladins. The four units had split up and then headed to Jaldabaoth’s location.

这次的作战有卡尔嘉率领的近卫的精锐军，凯拉尔朵率领的神殿精锐军、高位的冒险者们及蕾梅蒂欧丝所率领的圣骑士精锐部队，由四只部队分头行动前往亚达巴沃的所在之处。

There were roughly five hundred paladins in the order, and most of them were comparable to difficulty twenty monsters, and among them were great warriors capable of slaying a difficulty sixty monster one on one. All in all, there were twenty-five of these ultra-elite warriors, who formed the core of Remedio’s forces.

圣骑士团所属的圣骑士总数为500人左右，多数拥有与难度二十怪物不相上下的实力者，而在这之中也有能与难度六十程度的怪物一对一厮杀的猛将。那样能称作最精锐的人从上往下顺序有二十五人，那便是蕾梅蒂欧丝的中心力量。

Incidentally, the remaining three hundred-odd paladins were currently standing watch against the advancing demihumans.

题外话，带来这座都市剩下的大约三百名左右的圣骑士正在前往都市的城墙各处防备进军中的亚人们。

Originally, they should have formed up into a single unit and moved out as one. However, Jaldabaoth possessed an area-attack ability that could bring down the wall, so they had chosen to split up in order to avoid being destroyed when their forces were concentrated. The reason why they had hung the flag in the distance was so that even if Jaldabaoth saw the flag and attacked it, it would not hamper the rest of the unit.

本来的话为了避免各个地方击破，理应统一全成员进行移动。可是亚达巴沃有着破坏城墙未知的攻击范围技能，为了避免让兵力集中在一处被一网打尽，所以才采取了分头行动的方式。先前离部队远处悬挂旗子也是，即使亚达巴沃看到旗子攻击过来，也能让部队不遭受损伤。

“Can Jaldabaoth’s wall-breaking attack be used more than once, Isadora?”

「亚达巴沃的粉碎城墙的力量能多次使用吗？伊萨多萝」

There were two adjutants in the paladin order. One of them was an average swordsman, but excelled in other areas, and his name was Gustav Montanis. Right now, he was directing the paladins who were reinforcing the city walls, so he was not here.

圣骑士团的副团长有两人，一人虽然剑的本领平庸，除此之外其它的本领都被认可的古斯塔波•蒙坦尼斯。现在他正指挥赶往包围着都市的墙壁的圣骑士们，所以不在这里。

There was another, who currently stood by Remedios’ side. The person to whom Remedios addressed her question was one of the Nine Colors as well, Isadora Sanders, called “the Pink”.

然后是另外一人，目前站在蕾梅蒂欧丝身旁的，提出问题的对象--九色的一色、被授予了桃色的伊萨多萝•桑切斯。

“If he could use it multiple times, then I have no idea why he has not done so already. It might make more sense to consider that there might be some condition or some kind of delay until he can use it again.”

「如果能够多次使用的话，那为何现在没有再次使用的理由就不清楚了。有什么条件，又或者直到能再次使用需要花费时间，这样看应该比较合理吧？」

“Pretty much. I guess splitting up was being too paranoid.”

「就说嘛。果然分开移动是有点担过头了吧」

“No, it’s nothing of the sort. Perhaps he’s conserving his strength in order to bring forth some great power. We mustn’t be careless.”

「不，没那回儿事情，也许是因为要使用巨大的力量而在温存力量的可能性也是有的。万万不可大意」

“Yes yes, I know.”

「是吗。知道了」

Remedios broke off their conversation. She simply was not suited to thinking, and the topic of politics in particular made her head ache. She was completely baffled by the reason why the nobles frowned on the fact that a woman had ascended to the throne of the Holy Queen.

蕾梅蒂欧丝中止了对话。果然还是不擅长用头脑思考，特别是政治之类一想到就开始头疼。尤其没有女的圣王前例和贵族们不给好脸色看之类的事情，真是完全无法理解。

They felt the same about Calca’s title, which was the combination of Holy King and Woman. They protested both the fact that they had a woman leading them and that a new term had to be coined for her.