Chapter 113

Men and women, armed with swords and spears, were lining up in front of one robot.

Confused about the unmoving state of the robot, some tried to spot a magician behind it. But, no matter how they strained their eyes, there wasn’t anyone in a visible range.

Thus, cautious of the unmoving robot, they couldn’t do anything.

Then, a group with Grey in the lead came, each carrying a sword in one hand.

「Guh……! So it’s really……!」

「Golem… It’s quite thin, is it one of those flying golems……?」

As they moved to encircle the robot, brandishing their swords, the robot, that until now remained perfectly still, turned its head.

「It, it moved!」

「Golems are slow! Attack it keeping your distance!」

Words of warnings resounded and the encirclement became firmer. Under everyone’s close watch, the robot easily took Grey’s back, and restrained him, catching his hand.

「Wha…?!」

「When…?!」

They shouted in astonishment, and Grey saw swords now turned at him. Clicking his tongue he raised his voice.

「Don’t fight! There is no way we can win! Leave me and run away!」

With Grey’s shout, everyone exchanged glances and stepped back. But no one among those present could abandon Grey, a leader, that easily.

Then, came a sound of firm footsteps approaching. For some reason, that sound traveled really well, and everyone’s eyes turned towards it.

A beautiful young lady with long blonde hair, Catherine, expressionlessly looked at Grey and the robot then opened her mouth.

「Magician controlling the golem. If you want to take someone away, take me alone. If you are dealing in slaves, you should understand my value? If you take no one but me I swear on my name as Halfen that I will do anything you say.」

With that announcement from Catherine Grey’s eyes went wide.

「Wha-why are you trying to sacrifice yourself……!」

To that question, Catherine slightly narrowed her eyes and breathed a small sigh.

「I have nothing. If there is anything I can possibly have, that is the past of me being a daughter of Halfen house. As such, I don’t care what happens anymore.」

Hearing Catherine’s words, spoken in a tone filled with resignation, Grey shouted back with a scowl.

「And you are going to throw away your life for such a reason?! We risked our lives to……!」

Grey shouted, still restrained by the robot, then, a soft, completely out-of-place voice resounded.

「I’m sorry for this misunderstanding……」

Hearing the voice of a young man speaking in a humble tone, everyone glanced at each other. But there was no such person around.

「……This, right now, don’t tell me…」

As someone muttered those words, the voice once again resounded.

「I just wanted to talk with someone leader-like……」

Grey looked behind him.

「No way, it’s the golem talking?!」

When he said that, the robot’s head turned to him.

「Well, something like that. So, I’d like to chat with you a bit… Sorry, but I will have you come to the sky.」

Arbitrarily announcing that, the robot took off the ground without any additional motion.

「Mmh, it, it flew……!」

「Ooh, it really goes into the sky……」

「Grey!」

Astonished voices filled the scene upon seeing the robot float into the air.

Among the common confusion, Catherine’s shout stood out.

「Take me as well.」

With that line, the robot’s head inclined diagonally to the side. It looked just like a human tilting their head, but everyone’s gaze was directed to Catherine.

「……Why should I?」

A question came from the robot, to which Catherine took a step forward and raised her head.

「Using me has more value.」

After those words, the robot remained still for a few seconds, but eventually descended to the ground and extended one hand to Catherine.

「Then, please come along.」

And with such a casual response Catherine departed to the sky.

Dumbfounded, the crowd stared at Grey and Catherine as they disappeared into the sky, and only after the figure of the robot completely vanished from sight, someone raised a voice.

「He-hey. We gotta do something……」

「Yeah, but man, it’s the sky……」

「That’s a golem from the castle that is said to float through the skies, right?」

「Heavenly Country’s golem.」

During that exchange, someone noticed a certain fact and exclaimed.

「He-hey. Didn’t that new shop belong to Heavenly Country?!」

「Are you telling us to go to the slave store?! We will be caught and sold right on the spot!」

「But, going from the way that golem acted……」

「As if we can rely on something like that!」

The opinions splendidly split in two. Seeing everyone’s agitated state, one of the leaders that a while ago was talking with Grey, spoke up.

「……For now, we should move to another hiding place. One of us will go to that store and confirm the situation. As well as what Heavenly Country plans to do with Grey and Catherine.」

With that announcement from a scary-looking middle-aged man, everyone meekly obeyed.