"Nina! Come here for a moment!"
I shouted to Nina who was fighting against a demon 1-on-1. The smile on her face can be seen even from afar. What a sturdy fellow.
"What is it?! Are you giving me more equipment?!"
She joyfully ran back and stood just in front of me. I suddenly had the urge to pat her head but decided not to.
"You can read right?"
"Of course!"
Hearing her confident reply, I passed a small piece of paper to her. Then, I lighted a luminescence scroll to make it easier to read.
"Cut off the glove's mana supply for a moment. Then, when you applied mana again, read this paper aloud. Ok?"
"I-I'll try…"
She seemed to be nervous. Oh. I remember that chants were treated as something rare. Well, it's too late to mind it now. She took a few steps back and cut off the mana supply.
She took a deep breath, calming her slightly trembling body. Not long after, the glow of the glove's magic circle returned. That same instant, she started reading the paper out loud.
[Cleaving through the endless battlefields! Unfading strength reigns! Gather! Converge! Follow the command of the contractor of the sixth gate! «Panzer»!!!]
The blinding light that was released right after caused me to keep my eyes shut. When I opened my eyes once more, my breath was taken.
"Amazing!!! Look's cool!!!"
Nina shouted excitedly after seeing how the gloves transformed. Now, instead of the normal brown leather gloves, it turned into what seems like a pair of gauntlets. It looks heavy due to its large appearance, about half a meter wide, but after seeing how Nina tested it by releasing a few jabs quickly, I was relieved.
The appearance was nothing short of breath taking. It was of pure white color and covers her hands up to her elbow. The thickness seems to be about a couple of inches and the shine is reminiscent to porcelain. Matched with the smooth design and sharp looking claws. It looks cool alright.
"Go get them."
"Alright!!!"
Hearing my urging, she quickly dashed towards the front. Her speed seemed to have dropped. I felt worried for a moment but it seems that it was uncalled for.
In just a single punch, a demon got smashed into a pulp. The person herself didn't look surprised but everyone except her were. She jumped to the next demon and the same thing occurred.
I remembered her telling me that women cannot fight… Seeing this scene, her words felt like a joke.
Then, on the next demon, she seems to be testing something and released a kick instead. The monster only staggered back. Looks like her power was focused on the gauntlets. She quickly released an uppercut as a follow-up that made the demon's head to fly away for quite a distance.
She rampaged around the battlefield. When I imagined that the way she fights was similar to how I did mine, a shiver ran down my spine. That's not funny even as a joke. Though I don't remember how I fought.
It didn't even take 15 minutes before the battle ended. The guards cheered loudly in response. Not long after, a similar shout was heard from the other side. Looks like it went well for the other two as well.
We returned to the camp site with Nina being praised by the surrounding soldiers. From the other side, Blaire and Mary looks to be in the same situation as Nina. Since nobody saw how I fought, I was spared from that much attention.
When Nina saw Mary, she quickly ran towards her. Nina looks a bit weird… Ah! I forgot to tell her how to deactivate the transformation! However, I noticed too late and she jumped to hug Mary who looks flabbergasted. Her face soon turned blue. Looks like the power of the gauntlet is still active.
Blaire, seeing the situation, immediately separated the two. Mary knelt to the ground and panted. I hope she didn't have any broken bones due to that.
When I finally caught up to them, I immediately told Nina how to deactivate it.
[Release!]
After her chant, the gauntlets returned to their former form. Blaire and Mary stood in surprise.
"T-That was a chant just now right?! Nina, where did you learn that?!"
"From Nazo. He taught me a little while ago."
Nina said proudly. Mary turned her look towards me. Her eyes were shining in anticipation. Before she could even ask, I passed a small piece of paper to her.
"T-This is…?"
She asked doubtfully.
"You remember the fireball that I released yesterday?"
"Of course!"
"Then this is the chant for that. You can try it tomorrow if you want. For now, I just want to rest."
I said from the bottom of my heart. Not only physically but I am also mentally tired. I also felt lethargic for some reason apart from the fatigue I felt. This must be what Nina and Mary told me about. Mana exhaustion.
I retired inside the carriage as I don't think Blaire could sleep with me being in close proximity. Still, I could hear their excited voices from the tent.
As a side note, looks like they kept tabs of the number of the demons they killed. By the way, the record holder was of course Blaire with 123 kills then Mary with 109 and Nina with 87.
After they changed topics to some random talks where my name appeared on several occasions, I lost my consciousness and fell asleep.
The moment I woke up, the carriage was already moving. I enjoyed the soft pillow that I was sleeping at. In front of me, I can see both Mary and Nina, leaning against each other and sleeping. From the corner of my vision, I noticed the familiar jeans of someone.
I gulp down saliva noticing what my pillow was. I slowly turned my head upwards and saw Blaire's face. Hey eyes were closed and her head was hung down listlessly. She seems to be asleep.
Did I fall to her lap? Or maybe… No. That's not possible.
I immediately sat up and rubbed my sleepy eyes. Looking outside, I was surprised.
"What the hell…"
On both sides of our carriage, soldiers riding horses were guarding us. Noticing me, some soldiers even smiled and waved to me. Some bowed their head deeply. What's with this treatment?
"Uh… Nnnn…"
"Fuhaaaah…."
Mary and Nina woke up. After looking around for a moment, they greeted me.
"Good afternoon Nazo."
"Good Afternoon!"
Their greeting woke Blaire up. She rubbed her eyes lightly and turned her head to me.
"Good afternoon."
She greeted me with a smile… Am I dreaming? I tried pinching my cheeks but since I felt exquisite pain, this means that this is reality. Seeing my reaction, Blaire blushed and turned her head down. Her action urges me to go ahead and hug this cute creature.
Nina suddenly leaned against the window and, towards the soldiers, shouted.
"We'll be fine after coming this far! Thanks for guarding!"
Mary too waved towards them.
All the guards bowed at the same moment and quickly turned back.
"What was that?"
I asked out of pure curiosity. Having the border's guards to protect us during our journey isn't something that could occur that easily.
"They said that they want to do at least this much as thanks to the heroes that saved them."
Mary said with a smile. Nina sat back beside Mary and smiled proudly. Heroes… Right…
However, due to Mary's words, the scene last night revived inside my head. The vicious appearance of the enemies. The demons.
"… I thought 'demons' was a sort of nickname for soldiers of some enemy kingdom…"
I muttered while feeling depressed.
"Demons gather around villages and they dominate the spaces outside a kingdom's territory. Wars between other kingdoms stopped due to the appearance of demons. That is about a thousand years ago."
Blaire explained with a serious face.
"Barriers were placed around villages so the demons couldn't easily get in. However, there are rare cases like last night where the demons manage to bypass the barrier."
"… And most of the time, the villages attacked isn't strong enough to fight back against the demons."
I think I am starting to understand this world a bit more.
"… So the reason why they wanted to thank us was…"
I muttered but stopped before I finished my words. Instead, Blaire finished my speech.
"… They managed to keep their lives that was supposed to have been lost last night… Who wouldn't be thankful?"
I heaved another sigh.
I have thought that this world is as peaceful as Earth only with their technology behind…
Looks like I really need to change the way I view this world.