Volume 2 Chapter 65 Chaos
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”……!!”
”W-What is this…!?”
Serena and the Margrave’s knights, who had arrived at the gouged clearing where Kian waited, stared in shock at the pile of fallen trees.
Some stood frozen in awe.
Others let out dry laughs, as if trying to convince themselves this was a dream.
Waterman, sweat dripping from his temples, stared at Kian.
”What is this? What happened?”
”…It’s Azrael’s apostle, Baron Waterman. They burned the forest down.”
”What…!?”
The bald knight’s eyes widened as he turned his face toward the gouged earth.
The destruction continued all the way to the moat surrounding the main castle.
Murky water reached the feet of those present, sparkling as it reflected the midday sun.
”This was done by that country’s apostle…!? If what you’re saying is true, this is an international issue!?”
”Kian, did that apostle really do this?”
”…Yeah.”
”────. I see.”
(Serena has figured out the lie. But it seems she intends to keep quiet about it.)
He can only be grateful.
If it were known that a tenth of the Margrave family’s windbreak forest was burned, Kian’s wealth could never compensate for it.
”So, where is that apostle!?”
”I defeated them. ──Over there.”
Kian pointed to Natra’s arm lying near an oak tree.
Her blood was splattered all around.
”Just the arm, though.”
”I’m sorry, I didn’t have the luxury to hold back; the body… as you can see, was blown away.”
”……!”
Waterman seemed at a loss for words.
His sharp gaze remained wide open, mouth moving without sound.
Beside him, a knight strained to squeeze out a voice.
”Did you really defeat Azrael’s apostle? The one known as the strongest in the world?”
”I just got lucky. I didn’t do anything special myself.”
”I can’t believe you could defeat someone capable of this level of destruction just by luck…”
Waterman trembled his mustache.
”We must return and act quickly! If that firepower is unleashed again, next time the main castle or the crowded arena will be blown away! Lord Katze!”
”Yes, I will urgently contact Lady Natasha to reinforce the barrier.”
”Alright. Are there any signs of enemy soldiers around?”
Waterman asked this to Serena.
The Wolfmen girl fell silent for a few seconds,
”No, I don’t sense anyone hiding in this area.”
”I see. – You all, secure the scene. And Lord Katze, tell the arena guests that there was no problem! The blast sound earlier… let’s say it was the sound of blank shots from the firearms planned for the ceremony.”
”Yes.”
”The female apostle’s arm and that black curved sword ── those are the enemy’s weapons, right? We will recover them. Kian, Serena, come with me. Your Excellency and Sir McCutchen are in the arena. We might need to explain the situation.”
”Understood. As you wish, Your Excellency Baron.”
Kian nodded unsteadily, while Serena bowed courteously.
Apparently, delivering the earlier Insect Master had raised Waterman’s assessment of Serena significantly.
”Well done. I apologize for underestimating you as adventurers,” he said, primarily looking at Serena.
After leaving the scene to the knights, Kian and Serena followed the bald Baron back through the forest.
On the way, they had been filled with the excitement of the hunt, but now a swirl of complex feelings filled their hearts.
The journey was quite long.
”Why did Azrael’s apostle do something like this?”
Serena asked Waterman while returning through the forest.
He furrowed his brow.
”I think there’s no reason not to be attacked. Although there exists international law as customary law, it ultimately relies on strength, be it military or economic. Azrael is a neighboring country, and skirmishes have been common for a long time. It’s not the first time they have been meddling like this.”
Waterman continues.
”You may not know this, but people from our rural areas have been kidnapped and trained as apostles, coming out as Azrael soldiers in war. It’s a very wicked method. Powerful and effective, though.”
”They actually kidnapped Franz people…?”
”You’re a Wolfman, right? How would you feel if you saw soldiers who looked just like you from the country you’re fighting against? The enemy is brainwashed and will seriously attack you. Can you really fight back?”
”────. If it’s for work.”
Serena answered that, but there was hesitation in her tone.
It’s relatively easy to attack someone of a different race, but there’s some hesitation when it comes to fighting an enemy of the same race who looks similar.
What if the enemy resembled a boy named ○○ who suddenly disappeared when he was ten?
What if memories of playing in the hills with him as a child suddenly resurfaced?
The arm wielding the spear is likely to be fatally slow.
”Azrael is a huge trading nation, but the land is mostly sand and rocky mountains, with few grain-producing areas. If we don’t rely on mercenaries, we need to be clever about securing troops. ──Right, Kian?”
”Yes, you know it well.”
”I’m a politician and a soldier, after all. I must know about their supply routes and oasis paths as part of my education. ──However, even I don’t know how to completely uproot the windbreak forest owned by Her Excellency like that. Do you understand what the enemy did?”
”I think they probably used a ‘Secret Technique.’ There was an incredible release of energy before it activated.”
When Kian answered that, Waterman clicked his tongue.
”Damn, they had someone with a ‘Secret Technique’ come after all. I see. I’ve heard that there was an apostle who wiped out hundreds of soldiers on the battlefield with a single release of energy. After that, no country dared to pick a fight with Azrael. You really won.”
”It was really just by chance. If even one thing had been different, I would have been killed without being able to do anything.”
Those words come from the heart.
If Natra had only fought using normal attacks without using ‘Secret Technique’, the ring would have activated when the blade struck his heart, and he would have been immediately killed again by Restoration Curse.
She used ‘Secret Technique’ playfully because she saw Kian’s sword skills.
And the ‘Secret Technique’ she used was a powerful type meant for multiple targets.
It was only because he had turned into a puddle of blood that there was a moment’s gap for the Leap.
(I’ve been relying too much on the power of Windsong Blade lately. Just because the equipment is strong doesn’t mean I should depend solely on it. …I need to practice. Fortunately, I got the textbook (Natra’s knowledge).)
And, he give his utmost thanks to Aliona who gave him the ring.
She has been helping Kian since the very early days of his rise.
She is the greatest benefactor of his life.
(I need to do something to show my gratitude next time.)
”I can see the arena now. …It seems the ceremony rehearsal is already over. I can hear the bard reciting the closing poem.”
The 3 who came out of the forest passed through the square where knights attacked by poisonous bees were being treated.
At the entrance of the circular arena, there with Kian’s partner──Wolf.
”Baron Waterman!”
”Thank you for your service. Let us pass. These 2 as well. We are going to report to Sir McCutchen now. What about the ceremony?”
”The exhibition match is over. Soon all procedures will be complete, and it will be time for the guests to leave. The entrance to the audience seats is temporarily blocked on Lord Katze’s orders.”
”Move the injured out of sight. Once that is done, you may open the passage. Have the drivers who witnessed it been given gold?”
”Yes, Lord Mashas was scattering silver coins.”
”What about the Insect Master?”
”He has been thrown into the slave holding cell below. My party members are keeping watch.”
”Alright. ――Serena, Kian, follow me.”
Following Waterman, we entered the arena.
We passed through the deserted entrance and emerged into the corridor.
They proceeded down the corridor, drawing an arc, towards the north section where the guest seats were set up.
In the north, simple waiting rooms and kitchen space were arranged for the Margrave’s people and especially those of high rank.
Kian and Serena were guided to an empty waiting room, where they would wait for a while.
Receiving snacks from a maid whose ownership was unknown, the two quietly replenished their energy.
Some footsteps were heavy, possibly from anger.
”Looks like they’ve come.”
Serena, leaning against the wall and reading a spellbook, looked up.
”Is someone angry?”
”A man is raising his voice. It seems Waterman is responding to him.”
(If that’s the case, it’s McCutchen who’s angry.)
Kian’s prediction was correct; as soon as the waiting room door opened, McCutchen’s huge body with a red face appeared.
”Maid, get lost!”
With the steward’s loud voice, the women waiting in the corridor began to leave.
McCutchen’s plump belly was followed by Maribel, then Waterman.
As the old steward entered the room, the head magician Natasha and the young guards accompanying Maribel followed and closed the door with a key.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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