[Chapter 56]
Contact
“This is a battlefield,” the Black Knight said in a grave tone. “Uncontrolled variables only serve to worsen the situation.”
“A sound argument.”
“……Sigh.”
The Black Knight let out a sigh, unable to hold it back. It was a reaction born from the instinctive realization that this could not be resolved through conversation.
“In my heart, I would like to challenge you to a duel.”
“You can if you want. Though I won’t be responsible for the aftermath.”
“I have no intention of doing so. I make it a point not to engage in fights I cannot win.”
“A wise choice.”
The Black Knight narrowed his eyes and asked, “How do you intend to move?”
“As I said before, the basics are guerrilla warfare. Individual activities. It won’t affect the operation you intend to carry out.”
“As you’ve already heard, there are disaster-class Demonic Beasts there. I assume you’re saying this knowing it’s a suicide mission?”
“It feels like you’re praying for your allies to die. That’s not very good. If you harbor such thoughts, they have a way of coming back to you.”
“That remains to be seen. Regardless, I understand. However, since I am the field commander here, I would like to at least receive reports.”
“As long as you don’t mind ‘act first, report later.'”
As the Black Knight nodded, I turned away. There was no more conversation to be had.
“Will Sir Vincent be moving with the Black Knight? If so, I won’t stop you.”
At my words, the Knight of Sloth shook his head. “No, I will follow you.”
“The reason?”
“Because I am the only one who can contact Berlin. To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, shouldn’t I be the one to handle the means of coordination?”
The Administrator’s words were as sound as Berlin’s. Since there was no particular reason to refute him, I nodded.
“If that’s more comfortable for you.”
Of course, in my view, there wasn’t even a shred of possibility for coordination. This was primarily because I had no intention of doing so.
“By the way, you said guerrilla warfare, right? What, are you going for a stroll in the Sacred Land?”
At Murfin’s question, I clapped my hands and replied, “That sounds good. A stroll in the Sacred Land.”
“……What?”
As Murfin wore an absurd expression, Elena, standing beside him, poked him in the waist and glared.
“Always with the big mouth.”
“Wait, did I do something wrong this time?”
Ignoring the bickering cat siblings, Beatrice approached.
“Where do you plan to go for this stroll?”
“First, we’ll lightly scout the outskirts of the Sacred Land. We’ll clear out any enemies we see and wander around while chatting. Time will pass quickly, won’t it?”
“And we’ll do some internal reconnaissance while we’re at it?”
“Exactly.”
As I nodded, Thrall asked with a puzzled expression, “Can’t we just go straight into the Sacred Land? If it’s you, Brother, I feel like you could wipe out everything in sight without much effort.”
Laila nodded in agreement beside Thrall. When the eyes of the other Special Task Force members focused on me as if asking if it were true, I shrugged.
“If I were alone, I would have. It’s true that would be more efficient.”
“Why not do that then?”
“First, this mission belongs to the Special Task Force members, and second, because of the duty we must perform as the Special Task Force.”
“……Count Georg’s inspection.”
I nodded at Vincent’s words.
“Normally, we should join the formation and show our faces, but seeing the Black Knight’s reaction, there’s a high chance we’d just end up irritating each other. There’s no reason to ‘interfere’ and lower the unit’s morale.”
Of course, there might be questions within the unit about why the expected reinforcements didn’t arrive, but that’s not my concern. That’s a problem for the Black Knight to handle; the Special Task Force only needs to move as the Special Task Force.
“So, while we stroll near the Sacred Land, we’ll look for traces of Count Georg and the Wolfdog Mercenaries.”
Murfin asked back with an incredulous look. “……You’re going to look for traces of a specific group while wandering a battlefield? Have you heard the phrase ‘finding a needle in a haystack’?”
I looked at him with a serious expression. “Murfin.”
“Yeah?”
“The ultimate goal of the Special Task Force is the Demon King. If you can’t even find a needle in a haystack, how do you plan to defeat the Demon King?”
“……Ugh.”
Unable to find a retort, Murfin finally groaned and held his forehead.
“Finding traces of Count Georg and the Wolfdog Mercenaries…… Are you looking for a specific mark unique to them?”
I nodded at Vincent’s sharp question. “That’s right. Specifically, the traces of Blood Claw Riki.”
The leader of the Wolfdog Mercenaries and the youngest Sword Master. Blood Claw Riki. I knew the strikes he wielded, their aftermath, and the traces of his Sword Qi very well. Having faced him several times already, there was no way I wouldn’t know.
“As an elite Noble, Count Georg is likely fighting on the Frontline. Naturally, the Wolfdog Mercenaries will be with him to protect him.”
In other words, finding the traces of Blood Claw Riki was synonymous with finding the place where Count Georg was active.
“The inspection starts there.”
Allied Nations Participating in the Sacred Land Reclamation Operation.
Headquarters Tent of the Kingdom of Lumin Order of Knights.
“Reinforcements from the Lumin Royal Family are acting independently?!”
A middle-aged Knight shouted in shock toward the Black Knight. The adjutant beside the Black Knight frowned and spoke pointedly.
“Count Georg. Calm down and take your seat. The Commander is currently speaking about that matter.”
“……I apologize for my outburst. But this is strictly speaking an abuse of authority. No matter what orders the Royal Family gave, how can they not hand over command to Marquis Berlin, the supreme commander on the battlefield?! Even His Majesty has never taken such an exceptional measure on the battlefield!”
“It’s one of two things,” Berlin, the Black Knight, replied in a calm tone. “Either His Majesty holds him in high regard, or he truly possesses the skill to justify it.”
“……Commander, you said you went to see him once.”
The adjutant looked at Berlin’s expression.
“How was he? That fellow who is the Captain of the Special Task Force.”
“First of all, he was young. Even younger than the leader of the Wolfdog Mercenaries.”
At those words, not only Count Georg but also the field commanders listening nearby wore bewildered expressions. Only the adjutant maintained a poker face in that atmosphere and asked back.
“I believe there is more to it than that.”
At the adjutant’s persistent questioning, Berlin finally sighed and answered.
“Fine. I’ll speak honestly. That Special Task Force Captain is…… perhaps even stronger than His Majesty.”
“……?!”
“I don’t know if his youthful appearance is a simple deception or if there’s another reason, but if any of you unit commanders see a boy in his mid-teens who looks like the Special Task Force Captain…… respect him absolutely.”
“Is, is he that much?”
“Yes.”
Berlin slightly furrowed his brow as he recalled the gaze of the boy who didn’t seem like a boy he had just encountered. The faint madness seen in that gaze was certainly not that of an ordinary boy. No, his actual age likely differed from his appearance in the first place. That was never a gaze a child could harbor.
“The Special Task Force Captain is a madman. Even if he seems like someone you can talk to, he isn’t, and he’s the type to calmly commit acts that defy common sense. The scariest thing about such people is that they are merciless even to their allies.”
The Black Knight looked at Count Georg and spoke.
“It means if he finds a traitor, he’s the type to cut off their head first, no matter who they are. Or perhaps he’s already started preparing for that. So, for the time being, act with discretion to avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings.”
“……”
Everyone bowed their heads. Count Georg wore a troubled expression among them.
“You don’t look too good, Father.”
“Ugh.”
The Wolfdog Mercenaries’ tent, located next to the headquarters tent. In fact, it was only a mercenary tent in name; it was essentially used by Count Georg. Riki, the leader of the Wolfdog Mercenaries, asked while tidying his red hair.
“Did something happen? Why the long face?”
“It’s nothing. It’s just that lately, it feels like the Commander is suspecting me.”
“Suspecting you of what?”
“Suspecting that I’ve made contact with the Demon Race.”
At Count Georg’s words, Riki wore an absurd expression. “What are you talking about? Father, did you make a deal with the Demon Race?”
“Would I? Don’t say such ridiculous things. Why would I, with nothing to lose, open a dialogue with the betrayers of Humanity?”
“True, you were the one who hated those guys the most.”
Riki wiped his red sword with a cloth. Every time he wiped it, it grew glossier, looking like a blade that had soaked up blood.
“So, what are you going to do? Do you need help?”
“Yes. There’s a fellow who is the Captain of the Special Task Force. I heard their primary mission is the inspection of Nobles. I want you to meet him.”
“An inspection of Nobles? Ah, I’ve heard of that. Didn’t a Noble who conspired with the Demon Race die by that Special Task Force Captain’s blade at the palace before?”
“Yes. I was at the scene of that incident as well.”
“When I think about it, it’s quite strange. Normally, when such a thing happens in other Royal Families, they try to hide it. It doesn’t seem like they’re trying to keep it quiet. Rather, I heard His Majesty himself made this incident public?”
“He did. We are not a country that operates like others.”
The Kingdom of Lumin is a country of Knights. To put it another way, the foundation of political positions and actions consists of one-third ‘Noble-like’ and two-thirds ‘Knight-like.’
It’s not that there are no political movements, but it’s difficult for the actions and mindsets of Nobles who were originally Knights to become entirely Noble-like.
Because of this, most of the Kingdom of Lumin’s administrative processing is carried out by suppressing with power.
Conversely, even if a weakness is revealed, it’s a structure where it’s almost impossible to overturn unless one possesses superior power.
However, that isn’t particularly a problem. Because the King of Lumin runs around the field, covering it up with achievements that exceed the flaws.
Since things work this way, there is no place where the Royal Family’s administrative processing is as transparently revealed to all Nobles as in the Kingdom of Lumin. Instead, for the Nobles who have to deal with the aftermath, it’s truly a nightmare.
“Anyway, I don’t think that Special Task Force Captain was sent here simply for the reclamation of the Sacred Land. The Royal Family must know the situation here, so would they really have sent them just to make the operation succeed?”
“……I see, so you’re saying the Special Task Force came to inspect you, Father?”
“Even so, this is a battlefield, so they won’t come out in the open. But they could certainly conduct surveillance.”
As if he understood, Riki nodded and asked, “Then what is my task? I don’t think it’s just simple contact.”
Count Georg nodded and replied, “Tell him that I will prove my innocence, so I would like him to come and inspect me personally.”
How long had it been since we started scouting the outskirts of the Sacred Land and wiping out the Demonic Beasts that occasionally attacked?
I witnessed the figure of a boy gesturing toward us while sitting atop a half-destroyed ruin. The problem was that every visible part of him was dyed black.
“Wha-What is that? A shadow?”
“It feels somewhat ominous.”
Knowing its identity, I dismissed the Special Task Force’s anxiety in one sentence.
“It’s a scout from the Wolfdog Mercenaries. They rarely show themselves directly, so they must have business with us.”
“A-A scout? Then you’re saying that thing is a person?”
“Does that look like a person to you?”
Perhaps realizing he had made a stupid comment, Murfin’s face turned strangely red. The shadow formed by Magic soon vanished.