Well, this is bad.
I never expected there to be as many as thirty knights; this is no ordinary situation.
Knights exist somewhere between soldiers and bodyguards—they have greater killing power than guards, yet serve a greater ceremonial role than soldiers.
Moreover, the Church Knights are an extraterritorial military force even within the country.
(Cephirah, do you know why I would be targeted? Could the worship itself be a trap?)
(Unable to advance beyond conjecture. The demerits outweigh the merits in this location. Estimated probability: not someone targeting Master.)
But if that's the case, then who?
Terry and the others are entities who stand to lose more than I do.
That would leave Tadare or Ritoriomasu, but I don't understand why they would do something with us princes present.
"Terry, could I go first alone? Watch me, and let me know if there's a problem. Also, let the twins strike a good pose."
I stepped forward alone, making light of the situation so as not to worry them.
"It would be more efficient to do it together."
"I want to show my younger brothers an example."
"Sigh... as you wish."
Ritoriomasu spoke of saving time, while Tadare visibly lost motivation.
Paying them no mind, I knelt, interlaced my fingers, bowed my head deeply in prayer, and offered my devotion.
(I'm separated from my guards, and this posture is full of openings.)
(Outside of royal authority, religion holds power. Assassinating a prince within their occupied territory would likely earn the enmity of two factions, and even if the religious side were allies, Master possesses no flaw sufficient to convince the faithful masses.)
She's saying a lot, but to the masses, I'm just another harmless child.
More importantly, Cephirah says the masses would recoil from violence committed in a chapel—a familiar facility they also use.
And so I finished my prayer without incident. Tadare did not read the prayer clearly or rapidly.
"Then, Your Highnesses—"
"No, I shall follow my elder brother's example and do this alone."
When Terry spoke to the fully-smiling Tadare, Ritoriomasu uttered another word with clear distaste.
"We have limited time, so please do it together."
"No, no—we should respect His Highness's wishes here."
But this time, Tadare deferred to Terry.
And he read the prayer from the main text slowly, projecting his voice, showing far more favoritism than he had with me.
Terry's guards glanced at Icto to see if he would get angry at such blatant partiality, but Icto isn't that childish.
And it seems children know nothing of adult schemes.
"Feru, wake up, we're almost done."
"Brother, I'm... sleepy too..."
The twins succumbed to drowsiness from the monotony of the prayer; Feru was rowing a boat with his eyelids drooping.
(Detection. Ten individuals approaching. From behind the ten, five more appear to be following up.)
At Cephirah's warning, I looked at Icto.
Icto immediately signaled to the other guards.
Terry's guards hurriedly rushed to his side even during the prayer.
The moment a guard placed a hand on Terry's shoulder, the door beside the altar opened with a sound.
What appeared was exactly as Cephirah had informed me—Church Knights, already gripping longswords and spears in their hands.
"What is this!? Interrupting the prayer suddenly, haah!? What are the Knights doing!"
Tadare shouted from the position closest to the intruding knights.
Terry was immediately grabbed by his guard and brought toward us.
During that time, Tadare was cut down as if struck by a longsword.
"This way! There's an exit over there!"
Ritoriomasu shouted and took the lead in guiding us.
The guards, though unarmed, shielded us with their backs and faced the knights.
Among them, Icto made a charge that seemed reckless, swiftly diving into the chest of a spear-wielding opponent.
But he was swung at by a longsword from a nearby knight.
I thought he was cut, but what echoed through the high chapel ceiling was the sound of metal.
Icto had snatched the sword from the spear-wielding knight and used it for defense.
It seemed he received a shallow cut from the sudden attack, but it wasn't fatal.
"We'll hinder the guards! Let's flee!"
Ritoriomasu urged us further.
However, Cephirah issued another warning to me.
(Detection. Armed group of ten beyond the door ahead.)
When I stopped, Feru, who was holding my hand, stopped too.
And when Terry noticed and stopped, Warneru, who was holding his hand, also stopped.
"...The guards can no longer obtain weapons. In that case, we who should be protected should join with those ahead."
A guard who had been at the edge of the chapel and arrived late was running toward us, still clutching his sword.
"Let's go!"
"""Yeah!"""
"Haah!? Wait! This way! It's safe over here!"
Ignoring Ritoriomasu's voice, we brothers ran.
Then knights burst from the door we were heading toward and chased us.
"Icto! Reinforcements!"
"Run!"
While shielding the guards, Icto kept the swinging swords at bay, but he shouted instructions for the unarmed guards to run to where we were.
Of course, the thirty-odd knights didn't miss such a division.
Icto, isolated, was exposed to danger.
(Cephirah Sephiroth! Beginner level is fine! Rain magic down on the knights only!)
I pretended to cast magic, gathering power and waving my hand.
In coordination, Cephirah deployed magic that only emitted sparks, about ten of them above the knights' heads.
Immediately, a commotion like household fireworks exploding broke out above the knights.
"Icto! Sorry!"
"For what?"
Icto, who had somehow been defending himself with water magic, followed us with a cool expression.
"Amazing! So much magic at once..."
"Crackle crackle!"
"Hot hot!"
Though Terry and the twins were impressed, it was Cephirah's ability, and I couldn't rejoice while we were still in danger.
Above all, even running at full speed, we had children's legs.
We were about to be caught by the knights.
There, an unarmed guard tackled them as interference, and one remaining guard caught up to us.
I could see the guard who had tackled them being saved by Icto, who had retreated.
And so, right in the middle of the chapel, we were able to join up with the guard who had been carrying a sword.
(Cephirah! Escape route?)
(Upper floor.)
Following Cephirah's directions, we headed for the stairs we had climbed to view the ceiling painting.
From there, we fled from the second floor into the palace interior.
Then, perhaps because the knights belonged to the church, they stopped chasing midway and began fleeing in the opposite direction.
(Cephirah Sephiroth! Pursue them!)
(Warning. Cannot state that we have completely escaped the threat yet.)
(But we can't leave that threat alone only to never catch them again!)
While being warned by Cephirah, I had her pursue the enemy.
And without stopping immediately, we found guards within the palace interior and reported the emergency.
"What!? Then we shall protect Your Highnesses immediately. Please come this way together with that clergyman as well."
Ritoriomasu, who had fled with us, was also addressed by the guards who tried to protect him.
But I raised my hand to stop them, shielding my younger brothers behind me.
"Ah, that person is with the enemy, so capture him."
"What?"
"He tried to guide us toward where the knights were. Also, the other one was attacked, but this one came through the knights unharmed—he's with those attacking knights."
At my accusation, Icto moved immediately.
Terry's guards also moved, following Icto, perhaps due to the pursuit up to this point.
Ritoriomasu was immediately subdued, and the guards who had gathered from within the palace interior stood stunned, unable to keep up with the situation.
"Release me! Damn! Dammiiit!"
With no one to help him, Ritoriomasu was captured.
Terry had gone through the trouble of acting for my sake.
Since he ruined that, I won't show mercy!
Regular Update
Next Time: The Older Brother Doesn't Understand the Younger Brother's Heart 5