“What? You got a mouth on you, talking to me like that? Do you even know who I am?”
The dark-skinned guy flashed what he must have thought was a sharp grin as he strode toward me.
Karls immediately slid forward, moving to block him from getting any closer.
A fierce battle of gazes broke out between the handsome one and the ugly one.
‘Figures. The first thing that shows up is a total jerk character.’
Of course, I knew this guy all too well.
[Character Entry] Nicknamed ‘Needle Killer.’ Young master of the Walt family from the Revolutionary Army, born with high status.
During the side scenario ‘Death Island’, he is recruited by the Far Eastern Sea Necromancers.
He’s got the shine of having the Border Guard Commander as a father, and at just nineteen, he’s already reached 5-star level—a truly remarkable talent.
Hekster was the classic frog-in-the-well type, convinced he was the best in the world.
But…
‘Soon enough, this guy’s going to lose everything, pride included, and fall into darkness.’
That’s the result of the scenario where he suffers a string of defeats at the hands of the player.
Just as personality and skill are separate things, skill and life are also different matters.
‘Anyway, for now, this guy is the boss around here.’
That’s probably why Karls was holding back and waiting for me, putting up with all the insults.
“Hey, Hekster.”
I didn’t need to do the same.
I knew enough about him that I didn’t have to be afraid.
If it were the other way around, maybe.
“What? You know who I am?”
“Yeah, I do. And I also know what you did last summer.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You drank the ‘black water,’ didn’t you?”
“……!”
All I did was mention the ‘black water’.
“Huh? Wh—what? No, that’s—!”
With some strange noises, Hekster’s dark face turned blue, then white, shaking like crazy.
I chuckled inwardly.
‘Last summer, Hekster made contact with the Far Eastern Sea Necromancers to get stronger faster.’
And that was an absolute taboo within the Revolutionary Army’s ranks.
Especially if your father was the Border Guard Commander.
“H-how do you know about that?”
He wouldn’t be able to avoid a serious punishment.
“No! Whatever that is, I don’t know anything about it!”
…Seeing him panic like that, even if he’s a 5-star, a kid’s still a kid.
Cute, really cute.
“W-who the hell are you, showing up and saying that stuff out of nowhere?”
I grinned at his eyes, which were trembling with fear.
“Who I am, you can take your time figuring out.”
I nodded my head.
“I’ve got something important to discuss with my brother, so could you leave?”
Hekster glared at me in silence.
But I just smiled.
“Hurry up and scram, unless you want your dad to drag you to the underground prison for a whipping.”
“Your Highness, honestly, you looked like a real ruffian back there. Where did you learn that sort of thing?”
But Karls was grinning widely as he said it.
“Come on. How can you call your lord a ruffian with a face like that?”
“Good things are good things, aren’t they?”
Since he’d been snickering about Tirvaen earlier, even if I hadn’t stepped in, Karls would probably have put him in his place eventually.
“…Well, anyway.”
I patted Karls on the shoulder.
“Must’ve been tough acting a role you weren’t born to play. Good work.”
“It was manageable.”
“Didn’t look that way to me, though?”
I let out a little laugh.
“For now, start with what you figured out while I was gone.”
Karls began to report in detail everything he and Tirvaen had discovered.
“As Your Highness said, that girl is here right now.”
It was information about ‘Eve Wyler’.
But things had taken a very different turn from what I’d hoped.
“…That’s the situation.”
When Karls finished his report, I fell silent.
‘This is turning into more of a headache than I thought.’
Maybe I should have skipped the tomb ruins and come here directly. The situation was that ambiguous.
‘No, if the divine power on the surface hadn’t weakened at that time, I never would’ve met the guardian saints.’
That had been the right call.
Anyway, if everything Karls said was true…
“Eve Wyler has taken control of all the girls here. That’s what you’re saying?”
“Yes, that’s right. Right now she’s using the name ‘Eve Regal’.”
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at that part.
‘Now she’s mixed two names together? Doesn’t even care to hide anymore, huh?’
At this point, it was almost funny.
Like Gilloshian, she was an NPC who should have died as the game story progressed.
But like me, she had survived and was moving around the world—a player in this world.
‘That means she has every right to participate in this quest.’
If Eve had properly followed the procedures as a player of the Revolutionary Army faction,
She had every reason to get involved in the Rite of the Crimson Wind.
But…
“The first thing she did upon arriving was to gather up all the girls?”
My head throbbed a little.
I knew exactly what Eve’s actions meant.
‘That’s one of the strategies to clear this quest.’
…And it was the exact opposite of the one I planned to use.
Could I convince her?
Could I get her to abandon that route and follow me?
That part was still a complete unknown.
But in any case, my goal hadn’t changed.
I needed to clear this quest perfectly, in my own way.
Not only stop the monster of the Order of Kishiris, but drag that black hand out into the open and reveal it.
‘Not that I’m particularly fond of these cocky brats, though.’
A quest was a quest, and a life was a life.
“Your Highness.”
Lost in thought, I was snapped back to reality by Karls’ cautious voice.
“What is it?”
“Wouldn’t it be best to meet her, at least once?”
“Who?”
“The young lady.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
For a moment, I didn’t understand Karls’ sudden suggestion.
But then a thought flashed through my mind.
“Wait, do you mean they’ve…?”
As I hesitantly broached the subject, Karls nodded.
“Yes. The young lady Wyler’s side has also been watching us. By now, they’ve probably been informed that Your Highness entered the campsite.”
…!
Just like me, Eve had been keeping tabs on my movements.
Through the subordinates she had under her control…
‘Well, that makes sense.’
She’s not stupid, after all.
It was entirely plausible she’d think like me and assign someone to watch Karls.
‘Should I just go see her and negotiate?’
But after a moment’s thought, I shook my head.
“No. Not now. Even if I go, it’s better to wait a bit.”
A look of confusion crossed Karls’ face.
“But isn’t this a matter of urgency?”
“It is.”
“Then why wait?”
“Well, even if I wanted to go right now, I can’t.”
I scratched the back of my head, chuckling.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Somewhere, the sound of a large drum echoed.
It rang out from high atop the shadowy cliffs.
Karls instinctively stepped in front of me, half-drawing his sword, but I just smiled.
“Relax. That’s the signal that the ritual is starting.”
“…Ah.”
That’s right.
That drum was the signal to gather the scattered children near the campsite.
It meant the first stage of the Rite of the Crimson Wind was about to begin, and everyone was to assemble.
Which meant I couldn’t go see Eve.
“Then the monster at the Kishiris Grand Cathedral must be on the move as well.”
Karls said, sheathing his sword.
“Yeah, probably.”
By now, it would be racing through the forest, thirsting to slaughter all the boys gathered here.
That was what I’d come to stop.
‘Eve must be somewhere, doing the same thing as me.’
With the same goal, we’d run into each other soon enough.
But—
“…Still, I don’t think our conversation will go smoothly when we do meet.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Just a feeling.”
Watching the children gather around the campfire, I had a hunch.
“If she chose that route, that’s what it’ll be.”
I had a guess as to why Eve was recruiting all the girls.
“…She must be planning to use that particular strategy.”
The first step of this ritual was ‘forming teams’.
First, I needed to find one person to be my teammate, then go see Eve.
If she refused to join me…
‘This quest will inevitably turn into a competition.’
The Western District of Aurax.
Even within the Revolutionary Army’s faction, this area was known as a wealthy neighborhood, home to people with both fortune and fame.
The alleys were neat and orderly.
“Catch them!”
“Pursuit unit! Move faster!”
But now, the streets echoed with rough shouts and crashing spells that brought walls tumbling down.
Tatadadadak!
Charging through like tanks in heavy armor were the elite members of the City Guard.
Shwooooosh!
And flying along at breakneck speed with acceleration magic were the special agents of the Titan Special Task Force.
Onlookers could only be stunned.
“Is it normal for the City Guard and Special Task Force to work together?”
“I’ve never seen it happen.”
But even greater than their surprise at the chasers was the shock at those escaping, tearing through the ruined streets.
[Transmutation Magic: Shadow Melt]
“T-the shadows!”
“Why are the Empire’s people here?!”
Eight black shadows scurried across the ground in a desperate escape.
Shyaaaaak!
“Kugh!”
“Aaaah!”
Twisting themselves like stains on the world, they cut down and shredded anything in their path.
It was magic incomprehensible to those standing on the earth, drawing blades up from beneath their feet.
The streets were plunged into chaos in an instant, and for the first time in ages, the City Guard and Special Duty Knights were forced into a joint operation.
“Guard Captain! I said block the other way!”
“Damn it! They’re too fast! If you’re so eager, Special Task Force, why don’t you do it?!”
“Is that supposed to be helpful?!”
Despite belonging to the same Revolutionary Army, the two groups didn’t get along, making for poor coordination.
But the same went for the shadows.
Hey! What are you all doing? Is that really the best Duke Pen’s taught you?
- Are you insulting our Duke? Special Duty Knights, seems you’re not so great at these high-level missions yourselves.
- Shut up, you bastard! All you guys do is yap in the comfort of the palace!
- Mind your tongue! I won’t tolerate this any longer!
Even among themselves, they exchanged barbed telepathy.
The Shadow Knights, bleeding as they fled, left drops of blood on the pavement behind them.
Senis Edryn, First Knight of the Special Duty Knights, clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘Ugh, damn it. This is totally messed up.’
This ‘Surveillance Squad’ of twelve Knights had been dispatched from the Empire because of Third Prince Gilloshian.
By direct order of the Vareshan Emperor.
- Select those skilled in covert operations, infiltrate Aurax, and keep watch over the Third Prince from a distance.
To that end, Duke Pen had assigned ten Imperial Knights under his command to accompany the Third Prince.
But Marquis Reith had intervened.
- Infiltration is the Special Duty Knights’ specialty. Take two of mine along.
So, ten Imperial Knights plus two Special Duty Knights made twelve for the ‘Surveillance Squad’.
And Marquis Reith secretly ordered his own Knights:
- When you meet the Third Prince, tell him the Emperor’s eyes are upon him—he should be careful.
In short, spies were planted among the Emperor’s Surveillance Squad.
Those were ‘Senis’ and the ‘Ralph’ who had just escaped with her.
But now, this was the result.
They hadn’t even gotten a glimpse of the Third Prince, and Ralph had already been caught by the Special Task Force.
Senis, and the whole squad, were left bewildered.
But didn’t they receive intel that the Third Prince had escaped to the Western District?
Wasn’t it that guy ‘Thomson’ who had testified he was with the Prince?
…But what the Surveillance Squad actually encountered was a district packed with pursuit forces.
What was going on?
Had they been outmaneuvered by the Revolutionary Army?
‘Agh, this is driving me mad!’
Senis bit her lip inside the shadows.
The Shadow Knights had no idea all this was the result of the Third Prince’s false intel, and could only run for their lives.
‘I have no choice. I have to save myself first!’
With determination, Senis’s shadow suddenly broke formation, scaling the alley wall.
- Huh? Sir Edryn!
- Where are you going?!
The Imperial Knights’ flustered telepathy poured in.
- Everyone, just survive on your own! Every man for himself! Bye!
No one could stop her, not when her specialty was shadow movement.