Chapter 150
Chapter 150
Chapter 150
The Entrance to the Underworld (1)
"Sir Derrick?"
The person in front of Rudian was definitely Derrick.
His face was covered in sweat and dust, and his plate mail, which he always kept polished and well-maintained, was dented here and there.
But there was no way Rudian wouldn't recognize Derrick's face.
"Rudian! It really is you!"
Derrick, along with the knights around him, recognized Rudian's face and immediately rushed toward him.
"You, you're supposed to be in Nevan...no, that's not right!"
Derrick seemed to urgently realize something and knelt slightly in front of Rudian.
"It's been a long time, Count."
No matter how remote the frontier might be, there was no way someone of Derrick's stature wouldn't know the central political situation.
Rudian smiled awkwardly and grabbed Derrick's arm to help him up.
"...Please just treat me comfortably."
"Is that alright?"
"What's so strange about it now..."
If Calline had spoken informally, Rudian would have asserted his authority without mercy, but Derrick was someone to whom he owed a debt from long ago.
"If you say so."
Derrick immediately brightened and stood up.
"By the way, what brings you here? A nobleman with a Count's title coming to a battlefield like this without even a single attendant..."
"Well, due to certain circumstances, I ended up this way."
Now that he looked around, Derrick's surroundings were filled with soldiers camping alongside the Lion Hearts, Iskar's elite knight order.
He had expected to be sent back to the southern continent where they had started, but why had he been sent to such a place so unexpectedly?
'Surely it wasn't a mistake... It couldn't be.'
Then this place was a battlefield, meaning it was the land where war was being waged between the Morian Empire and the Kingdom of Rohans.
"This is a rather sudden question, but where exactly is this place?"
"What, were you traveling without even a map? Isn't this the shuron region? You should have been here while serving the Young Lord, have you already forgotten?"
"Ah, I see!"
Shuron was a region located near the northeast of Iskar.
Still, the fact that they had set up camp here was evidence that the war situation wasn't too bad.
"How has the situation been so far?"
This was naturally a question about military secrets, but Derrick answered without much suspicion.
"Not too bad. At one point, most of Iskar had been occupied, but after support arrived from the center, we succeeded in reclaiming a considerable portion of our territory."
"That's fortunate."
"Especially...the psychics...after they joined the battlefield, the war situation changed tremendously in our favor. I wonder where such people suddenly appeared from."
Fortunately, it seemed the Psychic Luminous was fulfilling its role properly.
"The most decisive factor was that somehow the center provided us with accurate information about enemy deployment and military organization. Since then, we haven't lost a single skirmish."
The war situation seemed to be going smoothly, and there didn't seem to be any demons or monsters intervening and causing havoc.
"Right now, there's a temporary lull due to the appearance of a strange 'dungeon' in this vicinity, but we'll reach a conclusion soon."
"...A dungeon?"
"Yes, naturally we can't explore it while we're at war, but they say no strange energy or monsters are flowing out of the dungeon."
The identity of that dungeon was something to investigate later...
When Derrick said they would likely drive out the Kingdom of Rohans forces without difficulty at this rate, Rudian mentioned the greatest source of anxiety he had harbored about this front.
"Um... Sir Derrick."
"Just call me Derrick. Same goes for the other guys. Your title is much higher than mine."
"Ah, right. Derrick."
"......"
When Rudian promptly called him Derrick, Derrick's expression, who had been the one to suggest it, changed slightly.
"It feels strange to hear you call me by name."
"I feel a bit awkward too."
For over two years, their relationship had been one where Rudian showed utmost respect to Derrick, so it was indeed awkward to suddenly change.
"Haha, you don't look awkward at all though. It seems a lot has happened in the past few months since you went to the capital."
"Really... A lot has happened."
If it were compiled into novels, it would probably fill about five or six volumes.
"So, what did you want to ask? I can roughly guess."
Rudian grumbled in response.
"It's because of that bastard Calline."
"Ah, so you've heard the news too."
Seeing that even the enemy prince knew about it, it seemed anyone with even a slight interest in this place would know.
"But calling him 'that bastard'... Hahaha! You must have built up quite a lot of resentment over the years!"
"There's no reason to be subservient in terms of rank anymore."
"Follow me, I'll let you meet the Young Lord... No, the Acting Supreme Commander."
Judging by the considerable mischief in Derrick's expression, Derrick seemed to be quite looking forward to this meeting.
The moment he entered the tent where the command staff had gathered, he felt a profound emotion welling up that he hadn't even felt in Shub's temple.
***
"Isn't the left flank deployment too loose? Deploy 3,000 more troops to prepare for any possible surprise attacks!"
"Yes!"
"Concentrate the central forces! Pack in the psychics and magicians as much as possible to finally defeat the enemy's magician corps this time. Since the two groups don't get along well, pay thorough attention to their deployment!"
"I'll keep that in mind, Commander Calline!"
"Acting Commander. Father is still in good health, so watch your words."
"Yes! I misspoke!"
Murmur, murmur!
A military council was in full swing inside the tent.
At the head seat, 'Acting Supreme Commander Calline' was giving various orders to the officers, and the officers were faithfully carrying out Calline's instructions with loyal faces.
Watching them, Rudian thought:
'Has the Avatar of Destruction already appeared?'
Or had the world already been destroyed once and this was the world after one cycle?
Rudian rubbed his eyes and let out a hearty laugh.
"Hehehe, I'm suddenly seeing things. I'm not that old yet..."
"Don't turn away from reality."
Derrick, who had been standing in front, turned his head and rebuked him, but Rudian remained unmoved.
"Has someone perhaps taken over his body? That's a possibility."
"Hmm, we actually thought that at first too, but according to the magicians, that's not the case. That person is definitely Young Lord Calline von Iskar."
"Good heavens..."
Calline reforming, Calline reforming!
While Rudian was lost in thought over the world's absurdity, Derrick frowned and said:
"Don't you know better, having spent academy life with the Young Lord? When he returned from the capital, he was already a completely different person."
"Mmm...!"
The trigger that completely changed Calline?
At most, if there was a possibility, it would be heartbreak...but...
Rudian asked Derrick, just in case:
"Did he ever mess around with women after coming to the territory? Or did he go to brothels..."
"Not at all. That's actually what we consider the greatest miracle."
"......"
During his time as a squire, there were several noble ladies whose lives Calline had ruined.
Among commoners, the numbers were so high he couldn't even remember them all.
'Asmodeus really did something big before leaving.'
While Rudian was recalling the phrase "how times have changed," Calline, who had been watching from afar with his arms crossed, called out bluntly:
"Derrick, Rudian... Are you two going to keep gossiping about others over there? If you're here, come over quickly instead of just standing around."
"Ah, excuse me."
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Rudian walked toward Calline in the center, receiving the gazes of the officers and knights in the tent.
And facing Calline, who was looking at him confidently, he said with a face full of deep emotion:
"You've grown."
CREAK...!
"Thanks to you!"
Judging by the anger still remaining on his face, it seemed he hadn't completely let go of his lingering feelings.
It appeared Calline knew the reason why Asmodeus had abandoned him.
"Please consider it my final loyalty as a squire."
"Hmph, now that you've become a Count, you sure know how to talk."
Calline snorted once and continued:
"Before returning home, I heard you had suddenly left the capital. Where were you and what were you doing? Where are Princess Luciella and Young Lord Gray Bellatrix, who left with you?"
"They're in this vicinity. I just came here briefly by myself."
"If anything happens to them, our Iskar might get blamed, so manage them well. Though they're all skilled, so they shouldn't be in much danger ordinarily..."
"Wow..."
Rudian was genuinely impressed.
That Calline was actually concerned about the territory's welfare!
And to make such accurate assessments of others!
'This must definitely be the world after one cycle.'
Calline's eyes sharpened as he looked at Rudian, who had momentarily lost focus.
"So, what business brings you to this battlefield? Don't tell me you came as an envoy from the center?"
"Ah, well about that..."
Since he couldn't say that the alien god Shub had sent him here, Rudian hastily fabricated a justification using what he had heard from Derrick before coming here.
"I heard a dungeon appeared in this vicinity?"
"...Ah, that thing?"
Immediately, not only Calline but also the surrounding officers' expressions darkened.
"It's troublesome. Of all places, a 'dungeon transition phenomenon' had to appear right in the middle of a battlefield..."
In , dungeons could be created by someone, but there were also cases where they suddenly appeared when existing space was replaced without warning.
And nine times out of ten, such dungeons had hellish difficulty levels, making them impossible for humans to conquer.
"It happened just when we were about to push back the Kingdom of Rohans forces, so we're quite troubled. We did report it to the center, but I never expected you to come in less than three days..."
"Hmm..."
It seemed the timing had worked out quite well, whether by coincidence or not.
"For now, it's not producing monsters like typical dungeons, nor is it spreading strange energy around, so we're keeping it on hold as the magicians suggested."
Monsters, or strange energy.
The dungeon of Caslay that Rudian had first experienced fell into the former category.
That place had minotaurs appearing from the very entrance of the dungeon, and such monsters had escaped the dungeon to cause damage to the surroundings, which is how its location was discovered.
'Could it be that Shub sent me here because of that dungeon?'
If we force a causal relationship, it roughly makes sense...
"I'll investigate the dungeon myself. Just assign me a guide."
"Fine, I'll assign you a Lion Hearts knight."
The progression was smooth and without obstacles.
Just as he was about to marvel at Calline's transformation again, Derrick's voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Acting Supreme Commander, may I handle that guidance?"
"Derrick...?"
At those words, the atmosphere around them immediately became strange.
Derrick was Iskar's Iron Lion and effectively held the number two position here.
For such a person to personally guide someone to a dungeon was not appropriate.
But Derrick remained firm.
"Yes, there's something I need to check as well."
"......"
After a moment of silence, Calline seemed to sense something in Derrick's words and nodded readily.
"Well, fine. Take it easy."
Rudian didn't know what "take it easy" meant, but anyway, Derrick was confirmed as Rudian's guide.
***
Several hours passed.
CLANK!
"Reveal your identity! You impostor wearing Rudian's face!"
"Huh...?"
For some reason, Derrick and the Lion Hearts knights were surrounding Rudian with their swords drawn.
This felt like something he had experienced before...
'Déjà vu...?'