Chapter 39

Three days went by in a blink of an eye, and the subjugation squad Julian and his father have assembled was already outside the city gate.

The number of people that have gathered was higher than I expected. Julian has his personal unit of 25 knights, 15 mages, and 10 priests. A dozen knights were on horses, guarding him in the frontlines, while the remaining knights were directly following behind. On the other hand, both the mages and priests were riding inside the few wagons.

As for the adventurers, three of the higher ranking parties in the guild were invited. All of them were also given a wagon each to ride. The strongest of them consists of C rank adventurers, while the other two were both mostly D ranks. One of those parties was Gil and the others.

Julian did not pick the adventurer parties himself. He hates them, so he left it to his father. Like the arrogant bastard he was, I can see him scowling at them.

Just what made him hate adventurers so much?

Other than Julian's unit and the adventurers, there were the ordinary foot soldiers, who were assigned for miscellaneous work, such as managing the supply wagons and taking care of the weapons.

Lastly, there was me...

I was at the back together with the foot soldiers. I can see them looking at me like I was some sort of weird animal, whispering and gossiping, not knowing I can hear them.

Looking ahead to the front, I saw Julian talking to one of the cavalry knights. That knight came riding here to the backline and immediately went towards my direction the moment he saw me.

"I assume you're Eria-sama? Julian-sama was asking for you. If you don't mind, may I ask you to come?" the knight said, lightly tapping the back of his horse.

"Ah... Okay..." I was a bit startled, so I simply nodded and did not say anything else.

I mean, it's obvious. He's asking me to ride the horse with him, right? So, I absent-mindedly follow through.

"Let me help you," the knight extended his hand and helped me mount the horse.

"Thank you."

"Please hold tight."

I did what he said, and just when I finally got to comfortably sit down, the horse came running right away back to the frontlines, where Julian and his guards were.

What is he planning to do to mess with me this time?

"I was waiting for you. You should've went here immediately, yet you're at the back? Hmph! That place is for the servants," Julian shrugged.

"Are you really asking me to ride here with you?" I sighed.

"Stupid, what else would I call you here for?"

"I can't, I'm not working as your bodyguard."

"What are you talking about? Even if you're not, we're closer than that. So, if I'm here to the front, you should be too."

Looking around, I can see how everyone's expressions suddenly changed. They were looking randomly at each other, as if verifying if they're seeing and hearing the same thing. Gil and the others were the same. Their eyes were telling me that they simply couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Mm?" Julian groans, frowning his eyes at the knight who was with me.

His eyes momentarily turned to look at my chest, which was pushing against the knight's back. It seems like he was flustered by being hugged by me and that caught Julian's attention. I cannot exactly do anything about it, so I just ignored it.

"Are you not comfortable?"

"A little, but I think I can get used to it..." I answered, trying to fix my butt.

I moved a little on my seat when the horse came running, so it became a little uncomfortable.

"It looks like this is your first time riding a horse," Julian figured and said, "How about you ride here with me instead?"

"No, no, no! I can't accept that!"

Julian's saddle was cushioned, so I would've liked to accept his offer, but with so many eyes on me, I couldn't. I was already getting enough attention. They might misunderstand even more than they already have if I ride with him.

"I see why you can't..."

I can see in Julian's eyes that he was somewhat pissed off.

"Tch!" he took a glance at his men and clicked his tongue.

I guess even he can understand why I can't ride with him.

"Don't make her feel uncomfortable," Julian said to the terrified knight.

"Ye-Yes, sir!"

I can only pity him...

"You know I can just walk like the others, right?"

"No, you need to stay by my side. You'll need to conserve your energy for when the fight comes."

I feel really awkward to this special treatment. After all, I'm just a nobody who came from the back of the lines. I'm the lowest rank adventurer here too.

"I'm sorry about this."

Feeling regretful, I apologized to the knight in front of me.

"Do-Don't worry about it... Uhh... Eria-sama... It's my pleasure," he replied, scratching his head.

"Let's go."

With those words, Julian started the march.