Escort (Prologue)

◇◇???'s POV◇◇

A carriage was running at a great speed through the thick forest. Drops of rain were falling on the carriage.

The four white horses were pulling the carriage at an extraordinary quickness perhaps the [Haste] spell was applied to them, but it was all useless because their journey was coming to an end.

The carriage had the symbol of a hawk on it,

It belonged to the one of the four Dukes of the

The Linval Kingdom.

After failing my assassination at the Academy, I came to know about the sad death of my patron

but at least I didn't have to give back the money.

His coffin didn't have that much space and he could do without sparkly gold coins when he is three feet under the ground.

My next mission was not assassination but an escort mission of the duke who was returning from Fort Wayne through the Lost Forest.

I usually don't do the escort mission but this was a matter of great importance and was given to me by the Guild Master himself.

"You are the only one who can reach in time"

he said to me.

So here I was sitting on a tree branch and seeing the hurried advance of the Duke's carriage

Why he is so much in a hurry would be a question I would have asked myself if I had not checked the condition of the fort Wayne.

The fort Wayne which acted as a shield against monster hordes of the Lost forest had

???-"Fallen."

The fort which was known to survive the Great War had fallen, no wonder the Duke was fleeing at such a speed and even asked the Infamous Assassins Guild for assistance.

A group of large worm type monsters appeared from inside the ground and swallows up the Horses.

Should I move now or not is what I was thinking when the gate of the armoured carriage opened

and a red knight stepped out.

He had the same black hawk symbol on his armour so he can't be an adventure or mercenary

he must be a feudal knight of the private army of the Duke.

The Worm like monsters opened his mouth and starts to charge at the carriage but the red knight takes out a huge metallic mace

Red knight-" [Skull Crush]

and smashed the worm's head.

Green blood gushes out from the smashed worm it wriggles for some time and it died after giving out a huge shout.

The shout was loud most probably it's a way of calling for help.

If the Duke doesn't move away now he will be surrounded by monsters.

His only option is to now move by walking. though it is more dangerous and slower still a lot better than be still target for the monsters.

The gate of the armoured carriage opens once again. Will the Duke and his followers come out

now....What the red knight went inside the carriage do they want to hole up here till the reinforcement comes, don't tell me the Duke is so much of a fool. I don't like nobles but I have to complete this mission so I have to at least save him.

The carriage is showing some changes and some patterns are glowing is it magic circle to protect against the attacks of the monsters.

Well, the armoured carriage looks quite sturdy but I doubt it will last long.

I couldn't believe my eyes but the carriage without horses started to move on its own

and gained quite a speed. I need to follow it or I will lose the carriage.

???-" I at least have to make sure that the duke survives I can't fail more missions."

◇◇End of ???'s POV◇◇

◇◇ Duke's POV◇◇

I was sitting at the drivers' side of a car which was made with the help of heroes summoned from another world, powered by magical power, was close to that of the basic covered wagon.

The seat, wide enough to sit three males, had a slanted footrest which could fix your body in place.

A mudguard protective plate was installed in front of the driver's seat, and it warped towards the seat.

This came up to the chest of the driver sitting on the driver's seat, and a fist-sized, grey magic stone was installed just within reach.

On the protective plate, towards the front of the car, there was a statue modelled after the top of a horse's head, which vaguely reminded me of the goddess statues on the bows of ships. The magic stone was attached to the base of its neck.

I touched the magic stone.

The way of operating it was simple. Just touch it and pour your magical power into it. The heroes said in their world they used something called petrol

This magic stone was made to act as a replacement for the ignition device. As long as the magical power in the atmosphere was stored and used as a power source, there was no need to keep putting in magical power.

Incidentally, I was wondering what force was driving the wheels, but it appeared the effect of the attached magic stone was『to generates a pulling force on the front of the car』. In short, it was a vehicle following the example of a horse-drawn carriage but the technology of the

heroes' world is sure advanced.

This force only extended to the vehicle body and did not include the things loaded within. You had to be careful about falling down immediately after departure but it was the prototype version I made the engineer install in my personal carriage but I am thankful I did so and this carriage could create a revolution.

When the vehicle body began moving along with a creaking sound from the wheels, rattling vibrations came from the ground.

It was not the most comfortable, but the road was in bad shape, so I guess it couldn't be helped. It'd be harsh on those with motion sickness. The monster has started chasing us but the vehicle is slowly gaining speed.

" THUMP"

Something or rather someone landed on the top of the vehicle.