Ivan Petrovich calculated Patricia's weight on his back with almost no error compared to his memory. He nodded slightly as he assessed the familiar burden.
What impressive self-discipline. The last time he'd carried her on his back was nearly 10 years ago, and back then, she had been gaunt from breaking through the demon realm barrier. To maintain this weight even in peacetime...
"What are you thinking about?!"
"Your weight."
The Saintess immediately smacked the back of Ivan's head. There was no impact. Even if she struck with all her might, Ivan's body wasn't fragile enough to be injured by the arm of an adult woman with not a trace of holy power or magic left.
Instead, he glanced sideways at the group following behind.
"Haaack—huff—!!"
Isabelle de Etoile, Asidis Einarsdottir, and Oskar de Satieon were relatively fine, but Elfihera Grikenkos was following with a pale face, staggering along.
"Just—just a little rest—haaack—!!"
They were currently sprinting through the forest at full speed. The forest that spread widely along the northern border of Leonor was wild terrain without a single tenant farmer.
They had to run while avoiding protruding thick roots and branches. There were no paths. It was an isolated forest stretching continuously without a single station stop, except for the direction where the train tracks were laid.
In such terrain, it was perhaps natural that Elfihera, who had barely been reinforcing her body with magic to run, would be the first to collapse from exhaustion.
"Weren't elves supposed to be good at running in forests?"
"That's—what—we're sea people—haaack—!!"
At Asidis's words, Elfihera tried to burst out in anger but bit her tongue and made a yelp. She chewed her mouth and exhaled labored breaths before starting to stagger.
Tsk, Ivan clicked his tongue and moved to the back of the formation. When Isabelle slowed her pace seeing his action, Ivan shook his head and said briefly:
"Don't stop. Keep running."
"You know there's something seriously wrong with your training methods, right?"
Ignoring the grumbling Isabelle, he grabbed the staggering Elfihera by the scruff of her neck. With a squawk, Elfihera was lifted up and dangled from Ivan's arm.
"Huh?! Th-that's cheating! I'm tired too!"
"If you collapse, Asidis will carry you."
"Why only me?!"
"Because I need to keep one arm free."
With the Saintess on his back and Elfihera in his left arm, he couldn't carry anyone else with his right arm. Ivan increased his speed again and headed to the front of the formation.
Oskar, who had been maintaining his pace while breathing steadily, calmly asked:
"What's the plan?"
"Combat at the forest entrance."
"Will they attack?"
"Once we leave the forest, it leads to the main road. From that point on, an ambush would be meaningless, so they'll try to settle things before then."
As Ivan continued speaking, he quickly ducked his head.
-Bang—!!
A gunshot rang out from far away in the forest. It was a sniper shot aimed at the Saintess. Following the warning from his line-of-fire detection, Ivan bent at the waist while running and extended his right arm.
-Click, bang—!!
Without changing his running posture or speed, he fired back the moment he heard the gunshot, instantly pinpointing the enemy's position. Ivan sent his gaze in the direction of the gunshot, fired two more shots, then holstered his pistol again.
His hearing, enhanced to the limit with magic power, caught a brief scream. Even if not an instant kill, he had at least wounded the enemy.
The distance to the forest entrance would take three days on foot. He would reduce that to a day and a half. The standard for walking distance was based on normal pace, so with knight-level full sprinting, they could reduce the time even further.
Then another day to Ebron, the capital of Leonor. This would be based on traversing flat terrain.
If they obtained horses in Ebron, they could gallop through western Lorencia in two days. Even assuming they changed horses once, that should be sufficient.
-Bang—!!
He immediately returned fire at a gunshot from another direction, then went back to tracing lines on the map spread out in his mind.
After traversing western Lorencia in two days, they would reach the Papal State.
That meant they could reach the Papal State in five days... six at most. Even setting aside one day as buffer time for variables, it wouldn't be difficult to make it in time for the council.
He had covered this distance in this timeframe before. In fact, back then the terrain had been even rougher, and he'd had to do it with more people.
It was doable. If these kids could hold up.
Sleep in shifts over five days, minimize rest, and eat nutrition bars. If the Saintess could endure, it certainly wasn't a distance that superhumans couldn't manage.
And combat without lethal threats was essentially training. Ivan was a sensible person, so he never missed an opportunity for a two-for-one deal.
"Diego is down!!"
"Damn it, is that guy a monster?"
Luis relaxed his grip on the binoculars, gritting his teeth. Considering the constantly increasing distance between them and their target, it seemed unreal that the man's small pistol could kill his subordinates with return fire.
He had been running at a pace similar to a horse's trot for hours now. That alone was amazing, but he was also performing shooting feats at a difficulty level far beyond mounted shooting, and with a pistol at that.
Just trying to pursue and fire occasional suppressing shots was causing casualties among his own men. The non-combat losses were reaching serious levels.
"Tsk."
Luis clicked his tongue as he surveyed his subordinates. Morale was hitting rock bottom. Even when they had received orders to kill the Saintess, morale had held up, but now in actual combat, it was rapidly crumbling.
He clicked his tongue and swallowed his resentment.
'It's not just one powerless woman...!'
The assassination team included two knights. It was already disheartening to be mobilized for such a base task, and now failure was staring them in the face.
"If they maintain that speed, they'll be out of the forest in two days! Lord Castano, you must make a decision!"
"Decision? There are at least four knight-level fighters on their side, what other decision can I make? Stick to the plan. Lord Otis, Lord Montero. Please go to the forest entrance and lead the troops. We'll drive them in that direction."
"Understood."
The knights left their positions. Judging by their route, the targets were heading precisely straight toward the northwestern plains of Leonor.
Ahead lay Norvik Fortress. It was the northernmost fortress in Leonor, a military stronghold where Count Escalon maintained at least 500 of his private soldiers.
Since Count Escalon had deployed troops in the vicinity to control civilians, the mission wouldn't immediately fail even if the targets left the forest.
"Yes, according to plan..."
All he could do anyway was to drain as much stamina as possible from the Saintess's knight-level support personnel.
It was painful to watch his meticulously trained elite soldiers dying one by one, but this was all he could do right now...
With an ominous chill running down his spine, Baron Luis de Cartano gripped his rifle tightly as he ran through the forest.
"Rest for a moment."
"Urgh..."
"Heurk... whew... huaaah—."
At Ivan's gesture, the group stopped. They buried themselves beneath a massive tree trunk and sprawled out everywhere, panting.
Ivan tossed the unconscious Elfihera into a corner and carefully lowered the Saintess. Despite being carried for nearly half a day, the Saintess was smiling as if nothing was wrong.
"It was an experience that brought back old memories."
"You'll have to endure it a bit longer."
"So I'll have more time to reminisce about the good old days."
At the Saintess's words, Ivan smiled slightly and handed her a nutrition bar. The Saintess's smile broke for the first time.
Ivan placed the nutrition bar in her hand and gathered fallen leaves.
"Um, is it okay to light a campfire? You mentioned visibility concerns earlier."
"Our position is constantly exposed anyway."
If they were in a situation where they needed to survive in the middle of enemy territory, they should never light a campfire. But now the pursuit team was clearly aware of their presence.
The enemy could attack at any time anyway. So it was better to improve the quality of their rest.
"We'll rest for 30 minutes and then depart again. I'll prepare the meal, so rest."
"When you say meal preparation..."
"It'll be easier to eat if heated over the fire."
Ivan took out flint from his pocket and quickly prepared a campfire. His movements were so practiced that Isabelle blankly watched what he was doing.
Crackle, crackle. The flames rose instantly. Under the dimming sky approaching evening, their faces were illuminated by the bright red flames.
Hah, if only his looks were all that mattered, he'd be fine. It's when he opens his mouth that problems start. That old man.
Isabelle was grumbling to herself when she accepted the nutrition bar Ivan handed her. A bizarre smell wafted from its melting surface.
"Eww."
Asidis took a bite of the nutrition bar with tears in her eyes. The sticky melted pork fat clung to the inside of her mouth, making it twice as horrible as usual.
Oskar silently bit into his nutrition bar, and Lucia looked at the back of Ivan's neck with sad eyes before forcing herself to look away. As Isabelle sighed deeply and took a bite, Ivan approached her.
"What? I'm eating it."
"Take off your shoes."
"...What?"
Did I hear wrong? As Isabelle tilted her head in confusion, Ivan, seemingly feeling that time was precious, immediately reached out.
"Wh-wh-what???? What are you doing?! What are you doing now?!"
"Take off your shoes."
"Th-this is sexual harassment! Sexual harassment! Sex-sexual harassment!!"
Ivan, being a reasonable person, ignored his squad member's protests. He forcibly grabbed and pulled Isabelle's calf as she trembled and curled up her legs.
"Huh? Eh? Ehhh?!"
Isabelle flailed about with her face bright red. Her pant leg rolled up, revealing her pale white ankle. Ivan skillfully untied the laces of her combat boots and removed her shoes.
"Kyaaaah—!!"
"Quiet."
He opened his canteen and poured clean water over Isabelle's feet. After carefully examining whether blisters had formed on her feet, he completed the treatment on both feet and stood up.
"Ehh— uhh— eh?"
"Keep your feet exposed until they cool down. Put your shoes back on after they're completely dry. Thirty minutes should be enough."
"Ehhuh—??"
Isabelle rolled her eyes like a broken machine. When Ivan approached Oskar to do the same thing, Oskar removed his shoes with a stern face and poured water on his own feet.
"I'll do it myself, Sir Yeremov. Please help Asidis."
"You, you, you, that's not helping, that's eating me! Uncle! Don't! Don't do it! I'll, I'll do it myself!"
"Ah, please do it for me. I have a condition where my feet don't sweat."
As a vampire, Lucia wouldn't get blisters on her feet. She was an excellent agent who didn't need treatment. Ivan shook his head and silently watched as Asidis poured water on her own feet, then left.
The Saintess, who had been watching this scene, chuckled.
"Would you do mine too, Brother?"
"You haven't even been walking."
"I just wanted the attention, how disappointing."
The Saintess hid her nutrition bar while looking at the campfire and spoke up.
"Do you know why Leonor, Lorencia, and Bellacrya supported the Pope?"
"Because they're close to the Papal State."
"Half correct. The real answer is that those three countries are relatively close to the 'great powers.'"
Depending on the results of the council, if one of the three countries—Droan, Tilles, or Krasilov—were to be excommunicated, then Leonor, Lorencia, and Bellacrya, being closest to them, would be the first to benefit.
"In fact, the King of Leonor has been gathering troops in this region. Though he's being cautious since the council hasn't started yet and becoming too conspicuous would make him a target, well... he's been mobilizing troops quite openly."
"Hmm."
"In contrast, the more southern countries—Albinia, Equitania, and Elsros—didn't respond as enthusiastically. They had little reason to confront the great powers even under the Pope's influence."
"You mean they'll help us?"
"If the council doesn't end with my excommunication, but instead church opinion splits in half and conflict begins... yes, they would."
The Saintess concealed her nutrition bar with fallen leaves and dusted off her hands.
"If Leonor, Lorencia, and Bellacrya follow the Holy Pope's opinion, the remaining three countries will lend me their support. They would prefer to devour their neighbors rather than challenge the great powers."
"The six southern countries will split in half?"
"That's the optimistic view. In the worst case, well... perhaps just one."
"Equitania."
"Yes, my homeland."
If the Saintess were designated a heretic and excommunicated, her homeland of Equitania would certainly fall to ruin.
"Even if all plans fail, it's fortunate that there's at least one country where I can hide."
"There are many variables."
"I'm not Brother Beolgrin—how could I control all the variables? Hehe."
"That's why you need to conserve your strength better."
Ivan took out a nutrition bar he had been heating over the campfire and put it in the Saintess's mouth. The Saintess momentarily closed her mouth and turned her head, but she couldn't outmatch a superhuman's peripheral vision and reflexes.
Forcibly chewing the nutrition bar that filled her mouth, the Saintess quietly made the sign of the cross.
"We'll leave in 10 minutes. The next rest will be in 12 hours. Prepare yourselves thoroughly."
Ivan looked around at the group once more and sat at the edge of the site, chomping on his nutrition bar.
-Bang—!!
He tilted his head back to avoid a bullet and immediately returned fire, all while continuing to chew his nutrition bar without pause.