◆Chapter 4: Grantz Kingdom “SEEING it up close is pretty daunting…” The capital of Grantz is a fortified city, surrounded entirely by tall stone walls you have to crane your neck to see the top of. This kind of structure exists in the world I come from, too, but I’ve only ever seen pictures of it. I’m totally overwhelmed by seeing the real thing in person. “Hey, since this is a fortified city…does that mean you were at war?” Several moats and canals encircle the city walls. We are currently lying low in one of the dried-out canals, but the mere fact they went to such lengths to prevent invasions gives me the sneaking suspicion they had something they were trying to stop from coming in. “No. Grantz has never gone to war. These defenses are not for us to partake in war, but to keep others from dragging us into wars. The other two major countries have been fighting for many years now…” Cia sorrowfully relates, squeezing my hand. Incidentally, the zombie stench has vanished from my righ
HALFWAY through our escape I keep the motion going by kicking off the ground every few steps even though we had slowed to a walking speed. I don’t know the exact distance we’ve gone, but I’m positive we’ve made it a ways. We’re currently on top of a small hill. The heavy fog makes it hard to see much, but I can faintly make out an open field ahead of us. All of a sudden, the right hand I’m holding tugs back. I stop my brisk walk and look over my shoulder to where the princess has sunk to the ground, exhausted. Her shoulders are moving up and down with her heavy breathing. “A-Are you okay?” “…I’m sorry. I will stand now.” So she says, but her stamina has reached its limit. Her face is haggard, and I can tell just by looking that she’s sweating a lot. Continuing to run in her state could be the real threat to her life. I release her hand and crouch down in front of her. “Sorry. I made you run at my pace… I think we’ve put a good distance between us and the horde, so why don’t we take