“Truly a monster.”
Sword Master King Deaurus calmly took a deep breath as he returned to his study and quietly leaned back in his chair.
He had gathered the nobles all in one place and, though even bloodshed didn’t tire him, there was one exception.
In front of the boy who had subdued him, a mental fatigue rapidly accumulated.
‘I’ve never felt such pressure since becoming a Sword Master.’
A pressure strong enough to drain the spirit of a Sword Master.
On the outside, he looked like a mere child barely in his mid-teens, but no one could believe that someone so young could subdue him in just a few moves.
‘Is it that when you surpass the Sword Master’s realm, you somehow become rejuvenated? Or did he take some kind of drug?’
Anyway, Deaurus was faced with a boy stronger than himself.
He, who called himself a hero, could not fathom that the boy was younger than him.
“I—”
‘…By the way, the Special Task Force.’
Deaurus glanced at the document before him.
It contained an outline of the King’s direct Royal Inspectorate.
“Not the kind of idea a mere kid could come up with.”
There was no trace of youthful naivety.
Though it was just a hypothesis, its credibility quickly shifted into reality.
The King quietly stroked the name on the paper—the Special Task Force Captain named Owen.
“What on earth… could his true identity be?”
The King’s quiet groan echoed.
Deaurus Lumin was a trustworthy king.
At least, that was the judgment both Ryuk and I had made.
As the monarch leading the Nation of Knights,
and for having reclaimed some territories that were taken by the Demon Army.
That judgment still stood.
‘Being a king must be a tough position.’
A faint sympathy arose.
The power struggles between nobles and the royal authority—Ryuk had drilled into me that only when balance was maintained there would be no crisis in the state.
But Deaurus was not just someone who understood this intellectually; he was a king who practiced it and was putting it into action.
‘But everything went awry at the final battle against the Demon King.’
There was only one cause.
Captain of the First Knights’ Order, Reinhardt Graves—the cockroach.
It had become an undeniable fact that the traitor had colluded with the Demon Army, continuing up to the final battle.
Therefore, doubts began to arise.
‘Was this all just a scheme the Demon King had prepared?’
I had to assume the worst as a precaution, so it was a hypothesis I could not reject.
But there was an even worse hypothesis added to this.
‘Why did the cockroach target me?’
Judging by the conversations I had with the demons, it was probably connected to the Demon King.
As evidence, the Demon King had predicted that the cockroach would fail to kill me.
However, the demon said that predicting failure was itself a form of success.
What does that mean?
‘For some reason, the Demon King is aware of my existence.’
And he probably knows that I have undergone Time Reversal.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have used words with such definitive meaning as success and failure on something that could simply be dismissed as ‘coincidence.’
‘Hmm.’
Though I said I’d assume the worst, I don’t have the intellect to consider the ‘absolute worst,’ or the ‘worst of the worst,’ a step or two ahead.
If I did, I would have been the great sage myself.
So this level of assumption is just right.
‘Plans that are too deeply made tend to backfire.’
If I tried to agonize over every little detail before acting, I’d probably die of frustration before even facing the Demon King.
Anyway, the Graves family and Crowd family involved in this incident were surely doomed.
After some time passes, they will either be demoted to the frontlines or their clans will vanish.
I don’t know how the now-empty territories will be handled, but their retainers will likely have to exercise temporary lordship for the time being.
‘Of course, if some of those retainers are involved, that’s a different story.’
Anyway, handling troublesome matters is not my concern right now.
What matters now is using the new privilege granted to me.
“So then, Captain Bern. Vacate the room.”
“…Who are you?”
I frowned at Bern Ajae, who scowled at the sixteen-year-old kid suddenly barging into the study, and extended the order form in my hand.
“I’m someone of a higher rank than you. And this is an order from someone higher than me. Check it for yourself.”
Bern Ajae’s eyes widened as he read the royal order carefully.
“…Who is this Owen?”
“That’s my name.”
“Don’t lie, kid. Even if it’s a joke, this crosses the line…”
“Does the King’s order look like a joke to you? Could it be, Captain, that you’re preparing to rebel?”
“What kind of nonsense is that!”
Bern Ajae snapped and glanced around.
The knights nearby were staring at me with bewildered expressions.
That’s Bern Ajae for you.
He’s really popular.
Thankfully. The head of the First Order of Knights is gone now, but the vacant position has to be filled by someone—
“What? Wait. What did you just say? I haven’t heard anything about that…!”
“Captain!”
A knight rushed in, opening the door roughly.
He was the same one who had previously questioned if I was too young to be accepted as a knight.
“What’s the matter?”
“The… the King has summoned you!”
Bern Ajae glanced at me subtly.
“Go. I’ll guard this place.”
“…Sigh. Baton!”
“Yes!”
“You, make sure this guy doesn’t run off somewhere else. I’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, sir!”
Bern Ajae brushed past me and whispered quietly.
“Talk after you return.”
“Fine.”
“Phew.”
Bern Ajae sighed deeply as he left the room.
The knight Baton asked me.
“By the way, who are you?”
“You ask that even after seeing me speaking informally with Captain Bern? No sense at all.”
Shortly after,
Bern Ajae returned to the study looking tired.
“Good work, Baton. Any unusual matters?”
“No! None at all!”
“Thanks. You may leave.”
“Yes!”
Baton fled from the room like running away.
Watching that, Bern quietly asked me.
“What did you do?”
“Why the sudden formality?”
“The King ordered me to be cautious with you.”
I nodded.
“Well, I guess I have no choice.”
Bern Ajae’s gaze sparkled as if demanding an answer to his question.
I shrugged and replied.
“I didn’t do anything. Baton asked me who I was after seeing me speak informally with you. I teased him for having no sense, and after that, his complexion suddenly went pale.”
“…I apologize for having a clueless subordinate.”
He was once my mentor, so it felt strange hearing him use honorifics toward me.
But what could I do?
Even the King did not forbid the use of honorifics toward me.
It was only natural for knights to show respect to me.
And being addressed with honorifics by my teacher was my burden to bear.
“Being clueless is a good thing. It means being knightly.”
“…Clueless is knightly?”
“Captain, have you heard what kind of person I am?”
“I only heard you are an important figure, but wasn’t told any details.”
“I see. Then you should know from now on.”
I leaned back in the chair Bern had been sitting in.
“I am Owen, the Captain of the Royal Family’s direct Special Task Force.”
“Royal Family direct?”
“The difference from the Order of Knights is… this unit takes orders only from His Majesty the King.”
“…!”
The Order of the Royal Knights is generally overseen by a captain who manages and supervises the whole, but in emergencies, one of the knights or high nobles holding royal titles often takes actual command.
But the Special Task Force is different.
It moves solely under the King’s direct orders.
This meant only one thing.
“…His Majesty has made a ridiculous decision.”
“That’s the normal way to see it.”
An administrative appointment made for just one Special Task Force Captain.
There was no other explanation.
Lumin Kingdom is the Nation of Knights.
Normally, there would be no reason for a Special Task Force to exist.
Because the King has no reason to issue direct orders.
‘The King himself moves on the battlefield, able to overturn anything he dislikes. There would be no reason to create such a unit.’
Moreover, all the nobles of Lumin Kingdom were comrades who had fought alongside him.
Attaching secret surveillance to such comrades would be an insult in itself.
Knights could tell a white lie, but would never deceive themselves.
Especially those who had reached the Sword Master realm beyond humanity—the matter needed no long explanation.
But from today, that ends.
The explosive corruption of the Captain of the First Knights’ Order.
And it was proven that nobles were involved among those entangled.
The problem was, the noble colluding with the Demon Army was surely not the only one emerging from the Royal Family.
‘The reason for giving up humanity is a magical contract with either a demon or the Demon Race.’
Humans are creatures of learning, and demons are notorious for stopping at nothing to overthrow us.
Therefore, they would manage to form contracts while leaving humans as humans.
This was the trickiest case.
Simply stabbing with the Holy Sword would not solve it.
“So, vacate the room today. For now, just the captain’s room. The rest of the knights can be gradually relocated.”
“How many members are in the Special Task Force?”
“For now, just me. And since it will be a minimal force, at least four more will be needed.”
Bern frowned.
“Just that few to take care of this entire place?”
“Hey, Captain Bern, no matter how I look, I’m not such a shameless thief.”
Using just five people to manage the whole Second Knight Order unit, which numbers nearly 200, is impossible.
“There’s a barracks of the First Order of Knights beside this unit, right? Soon, we’ll breach the wall to expand the area. And the Special Task Force will take only about a third of the current Second Knight Order’s space.”
“What does that mean?”
“The Special Task Force only needs five rooms including the captain’s office. No more than that. They won’t even use more.”
Bern asked with a puzzled expression.
“Then why such a big construction?”
“There’s a reason.”
I nodded in response.
“Soon, the Second Knight Order and the First Knight Order will be merged into one.”
“…What are you saying? That’s impossible, isn’t it?”
Under normal circumstances, yes.
“That was the price.”
I became the captain of the Royal Family’s Special Task Force, with the duty to boldly inspect nobles who were in contact with the Demon Army.
“Congratulations on that, Captain Bern. I hope you will lead the Special Knight Order well.”
Seeing Bern Ajae frozen like that after a long time, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“We’re going to see each other quite often from now on.”