Chapter 138
Chapter 138
Knight Commander Ethan (2)
The Special Unit that Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess wanted to create was, strictly speaking, illegal. Anyone who had not undergone training from the Imperial Knight Order could not even become part of the Imperial private forces.
That was why I had suggested to Her Imperial Highness that we borrow the name of the Anaye Order to form the unit. She had already been extending her reach into various places.
“I cannot join the Order. As you know, I am part of the Imperial Knight Order.”
That much had been expected. If Ethan were to become a Believer of the Order, it would be a challenge against the Imperial House, and both Ethan and I would become enemies of the Empire.
“You brat of the Duhein Family. You’ve got some skill, but you’re still far from enough.”
Ethan let out a small scoff as he continued speaking. I checked my condition and followed after him.
“I already knew that Her Imperial Highness intended to take me in.”
“Was that the Vice-Commander’s doing?”
“Yes.”
As expected, even Her Imperial Highness had Ethan in mind. If he was still like this even after receiving an offer, it seemed he had refused.
“Why did you refuse?”
“Because there is no meaning in it.”
More precisely, it meant that the Imperial Princess’s side had failed to persuade him. But I was different. There was something even the Vice-Commander, who had spent seven years with Ethan, and the Imperial Princess herself did not know.
“Is it because you will die soon?”
At my words, Ethan, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped. Knight Commander Ethan properly appeared in Episode 6 and died in Episode 8.
The reason was death due to an incurable disease. It was a pitiful end for someone who had risen to the position of Knight Commander of the Imperial Knight Order.
“……How do you know that?”
“There are no secrets in this world. You should guard yours better.”
The calm aura around Ethan rippled for a moment. The pressure from him, towering far taller than me as he looked down, was immense.
“If you already know, then this is easy. For that reason, it is difficult for me to belong anywhere else.”
I let out a faint chuckle and patted Ethan on the back. Then I passed him and exited the cave.
“I will come to see you soon.”
“Hm.”
“Our Winter happens to have quite the talent for treatment.”
At my words, Ethan let out a small laugh and followed behind me.
***
“What a mess.”
“Indeed.”
After returning to the academy, we let out a sigh. Students wearing gas masks were running around with purification rods in hand.
They were absorbing the poisonous fog that had settled throughout the academy. Thanks to the swift response of the Imperial Knight Order and the Academy Director’s magic, the damage was minimal.
There were many who had been poisoned, but none were injured, and above all, there was no damage to the buildings.
“Her Imperial Highness will be furious.”
Ethan spoke gloomily as he looked at the procession of students being carried on stretchers toward the Academic Department. If she woke up, the Imperial Princess would be enraged.
At both the Imperial Knight Order, for failing to properly stop the enemy, and the Academic Department, for failing to properly protect the students.
“With this, the traitor has been confirmed.”
“Yes. No one has entered Museion Island in the past month. It must be an inside job.”
▶Main Quest [Gehenna with Its Mouth Open] Complete.
Right on time, the system notification arrived. It seemed that Winter’s side had finally been wrapped up.
“Will you interrogate them?”
“We must.”
I handed the half-conscious Red Eyes over to Ethan. He grabbed Red Eyes roughly.
“Shall I send Winter to you?”
“Who is Winter?”
“She’s a priest in the Order. She has an Inquisitor certification.”
“……No need. We are quite good at interrogations ourselves.”
I clicked my tongue at Ethan’s refusal. Even without Winter, the moment Red Eyes regained consciousness, he would spill everything without holding anything back.
After all, they had a Vice-Commander capable of using illusion magic. It was something they would never normally use, but in this case, they had no choice.
“Then, good work.”
“Where are you going?”
“To the Order.”
I gave Ethan a slight bow in response to his question and stepped away. As I headed toward the Academic Department building, I calculated things in my head.
The reward from the academy, the reward from the Imperial Knight Order, the reward from Ethan. On top of that, the artifact obtained as a quest reward.
It was enough to make the reward I received from Rama in the Ulla Desert look trivial.
“Of course, there are places to spend it.”
Even just the money alone would be enormous, but most of it already had its uses. Namely, the Imperial Princess. I had to go meet the Imperial Princess, who had fallen into a nightmare.
Entering someone else’s dream was not an easy task. Moreover, the Imperial Princess’s nightmare was somewhat unusual, so there were many preparations to be made.
“And there’s Canis too.”
On top of that, I had to resolve Canis’s issue as well.
“Mm~ why me?”
As I absentmindedly called her name, she appeared. I quickly grabbed Canis by the head.
“Eh?”
Caught off guard, Canis let out a dazed sound. Grabbing her with the gauntlet risked crushing her, so I used my bare left hand.
I could feel the warmth of her through my palm. I slowly applied pressure with my fingers.
“Kyaaang!”
“You betrayed me?”
“Th-that was a, a straaategy~~”
Canis tried to make excuses, but I completely ignored her. It really had been part of a plan, but I simply wanted to torment her.
-Gah! Aaah. Aagh!”
Thinking its master was under attack, Anger jumped out, only to be caught by the gauntlet. Instead of summoning lightning, I called forth cold.
As pain that froze the body solid set in, Anger screamed along with her. I dragged the two of them along in a limp state as I headed toward the Academic Department.
“Hiiik!”
“Gasp!”
Every student we encountered on the way recoiled in shock and ran away. Half-torn shorts and an exposed upper body. Strange tattoos covering it entirely.
On top of that, in my left hand, I was dragging what appeared to be an unconscious woman, and in my right hand, I was holding a strange black lump.
“Aaaah! What are you doing?! Murder is not allowed!”
The Academic Department building. Among them, I arrived at the grand hall designated as a temporary shelter and slowly looked around. Just then, my eyes met Winter, who was running around treating students.
Winter immediately rolled her eyes back and rushed toward me. At the word “murder,” the previously bustling surroundings fell silent in an instant.
Th-they said it’s murder?
That person… isn’t that Davide? Why does he look like that?
If it were murder, would he even be allowed in here? The Academy Director would’ve stopped him.
I-is that so.
The murmurs began to grow louder. I didn’t even spare them a glance and instead lifted up the unconscious Canis.
“Oh. Canis?”
“Yeah. She annoyed me.”
“Sh-she still contributed quite a lot though…….”
With her blue hair and the priest robes symbolizing the Anaye Order, Winter quickly recognized her identity.
“Um… how should I put this… could you, maybe, listen a bit more kindly?”
Winter cautiously asked while watching my reaction. I simply tucked Canis under my arm. Startled, Winter quickly wrapped her priest robe around Canis’s lower body.
“No! Where are your clothes? You fought again, didn’t you!”
“Did you catch the one behind it all?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. Together with Canis, Senior Soloven Rahorakti, Senior Rama, and Bereninche, we killed it. But it turned out to be a wooden puppet.”
From Winter’s explanation, it wasn’t Red Eyes. A clear diversion. But the mention of a wooden puppet bothered me slightly.
As far as I knew, the only one who used that kind of technique was Coco, who had died in Episode 1.
“Well, it is what it is. I also caught another one with the Knight Commander. He took him, so he’ll probably interrogate him now.”
“Ah. You’ve worked hard.”
As I listened to Winter, I looked around for a place to sit. Spotting chairs meant for waiting patients, I quickly dropped myself onto one.
Winter tried to say something but shut her mouth. I wasn’t planning to listen anyway, so it didn’t matter.
“What about the others?”
“Ah. Senior Aro went to help with the purification, and Worden was dragged away by Bereninche again.”
“……Feels like a father who just lost his daughter.”
Seeing Bereninche take Worden again, I ground my teeth. Because of that damned Bereninche, I had never once seen Worden properly in battle.
I had let it slide thinking it might help when persuading Bereninche later, but… Winter tilted her head, not fully understanding what I meant.
“More importantly, do you have any dried garlic?”
“……No.”
At my random question, Winter pouted as she answered. I smacked my lips and let out a big yawn.
“What about the Academy Director?”
“She was already gone when I arrived. But she had lifted the barrier.”
“I see. You’ve worked hard too.”
At my words, the corners of Winter’s lips twitched. She clearly looked happy but was trying not to show it, which made me chuckle.
“What about our Holy Relic?”
“Ah. It’s over there.”
When I asked about the broken greatsword, Winter pointed somewhere with her finger.
“……What is that.”
The place she pointed to was the center of the grand hall where relief supplies were piled up. It had been hidden from view, but in the middle of it, the greatsword was floating in the air.
Strange Talismans circled around it, and a faint light was being emitted from the greatsword.
“It’s something Senior Aro made. She said it was some kind of Sorcery that activates something? Anyway, she did something, and then the greatsword started glowing.”
“And then?”
“And then it rapidly purified the poisonous fog around it. Thanks to that, it’s been easier to move around here.”
That was why the patients were gathering here. I nodded roughly.
“Um, senior.”
“What?”
I turned my head toward Winter, who spoke cautiously. Her face was filled with confusion and worry.
“The festival… it’ll be difficult now, right?”
“That’s right.”
At my firm answer, Winter’s shoulders drooped. She must have been looking forward to it, but it couldn’t be helped. I also regretted not being able to introduce shaved ice.
“Open the way to the chapel.”
“Ah! Yes. Just a moment.”
After asking for understanding, Winter took out the Holy Brush from her arms. As she infused it with Divine Power, it transformed into a flag.
She drew an X in the air. With a humming sound, space split open, revealing the familiar chapel.
“I’ll go in for a bit.”
“Yes! You’ve worked hard. Here, take this too.”
“You worked hard too. If you see anyone you know, let them use it freely.”
Saying that, I stepped into the chapel. Of course, I brought along the Canis I had knocked unconscious.
As the sound of the portal closing echoed behind me, I waved the purification rod Winter had given me around.
“Ah, this is comfortable.”
After roughly purifying the poisonous fog and changing into spare clothes, I threw myself onto the sofa. The soft sensation made my tension melt away.
“Ah… right.”
Just as I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly remembered something and rummaged through my belongings. The card-like object was a reward I had received from the system.
▶Random Artifact Summon Ticket.
Previously, I had obtained the Laurel Crown of Victory. Its effect wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly versatile.
This time, I hoped for something more flexible. The summon ticket shone and turned into particles before disappearing.
▶[Aroma Band] Acquired.
Inserts the genes of another race to activate that race’s buff.
For something called a band, its shape was unusual. It looked more like a bracelet.
The bracelet looked as if it had been roughly twisted together from wires. Just as I was about to be disappointed by its crude design, I noticed something meaningful.
‘Genes of another race.’
I hurried toward the Safe. There, I took out a carefully stored pouch.
If it was genes of another race, there were a few things that came to mind from modern knowledge. Among them, I thought of hair.
“…….”
Inside the pouch I took out from the Safe was Astral’s hair.