Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: A Desperate Gambit
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“L-Lieutenant Helen!”
Begman seemed quite taken aback by Helen's firm stance.
“They say the enemy numbers over five hundred! It's impossible for our fortress to face them with our current strength!”
“I'm well aware.”
“Then why...”
“If I could decide to withdraw on my own authority, I would have. But I do not have the power to retreat without orders from high command.”
“But at this rate, we'll all die. You know better than anyone that we could be annihilated.”
“Then we will die.”
“...”
“I'll say it again: no retreat without orders from high command. We will continue to defend the fortress and carry out our mission while we await orders.”
Carlyle thought he understood why Helen had made such a decision.
The Decaron army did not grant low-ranking commanders serving in Kuberin the authority to abandon their fortress.
Why?
Because low-ranking, inexperienced commanders would often get scared, abandon their posts, and withdraw their troops at the slightest provocation.
For that reason, a commander needed to be at least a major to have the discretion to abandon a fortress.
In other words, Helen, as a first lieutenant, had no authority to abandon the fortress and withdraw her troops.
The problem, of course, was that defending the fortress against the Butcher Tribe while continuing to mine mana stones was practically a suicide mission. But wasn't the military, no matter where you went, an irrational and rigid organization that prioritized procedure over common sense and reason?
“Is there nothing we can do?”
“Not at the moment.”
“Hmph. This is serious. I'd rather not die here.”
Kudo said with a frown.
“For now... our only option is to make the most of Private Carlyle's abilities.”
As Helen spoke cautiously, the eyes of all the soldiers at the meeting turned to Carlyle.
“...Me?”
Carlyle was quite flustered to be the center of attention.
Just a moment ago, they were treating me like a useless ticking time bomb...
“If the enemy were to launch an all-out assault, it would be one thing, but if they continue to provoke sporadic skirmishes with small forces like today, Private Carlyle's detection ability will shine. Am I wrong?”
“That... is true.”
“Then I'm counting on you, Private Carlyle.”
“I understand what you're saying, but what exactly do you want me to do? The mining operations are happening in several places at once, and there's only one of me.”
“An excellent point.”
A smile touched Helen's lips.
“I believe that stationing Private Carlyle at just one specific site would be a grave tactical error in managing our forces.”
“You don't mean...”
“Starting tomorrow, Private Carlyle will be tasked with rotating between the work sites to detect and assassinate approaching enemies.”
“...”
Carlyle's face twisted as he understood Helen's meaning.
There were at least three, and sometimes as many as five, mana stone mining sites.
The problem was that the mining sites weren't clustered in one area but were scattered all around Bowden Fortress.
And I'm supposed to patrol between them?
A rough estimate of the route meant he would have to cover dozens of kilometers at high speed.
What's more, Kuberin's rugged, mountainous terrain meant the physical strain would be immense—that went without saying.
On top of that, if he was unlucky, the chances of encountering barbarian warriors were high, making the mission incredibly dangerous.
To run all day long through what the soldiers called 'the damn mountains and forests' with his life on the line...
“That sounds like abuse. What kind of commander assigns such a difficult and dangerous mission to a mere private?”
“Private Carlyle.”
“Yes?”
“Who would consider you an ordinary private? You are a direct descendant of the great and noble Sigmund family.”
*Only when it's convenient?*
Carlyle protested, dumbfounded.
“My stamina and my knee joints are...”
“You're a Sigmund, you'll be fine. Aren't those who carry the Sigmund bloodline renowned for having physical abilities far superior to ordinary people?”
“So they say, but...”
“I'd rather not have to say this... but this is not a request, Private Carlyle. It's an order.”
“...”
Carlyle could only shut his mouth tightly at Helen's command.
Rank is king. How could a mere private defy a commander's order?
“I'm not asking you to do this indefinitely. A day or two at most. You just need to hold out until withdrawal orders come from high command or reinforcements arrive.”
“Fine.”
“Good, I'm counting on you. Don't forget that the survival of your comrades rests in your hands. Ah, but don't misunderstand, I don't mean to pressure you.”
“...”
Carlyle found Helen, who had just piled on all the pressure in the world, incredibly irritating, but he wasn't foolish enough to say it out loud.
“We're counting on you.”
“Looks like our rookie's in for some real shit, huh? Hehehe!”
“There's a reason they say to just do the bare minimum in the army. Yep, that's right.”
Begman and a few other reconnaissance team members snickered, clearly enjoying his misfortune.
Of course, not everyone felt that way.
“Kudo, see to it that Corporal Marder accompanies Private Carlyle on the reconnaissance mission.”
At Helen's command, Kudo's and Marder's faces twisted as well.
***
After the meeting.
*'I might have to do something about this.'*
As he headed for the barracks, Carlyle thought that he couldn't let things continue as they were.
It wasn't just because Helen had given him a heavy burden along with a crucial mission.
A reconnaissance mission?
Just as Helen said, he could probably endure it for a day or two, however difficult.
However, with the possibility that the Butcher Tribe might launch an all-out assault, he couldn't afford to relax.
Besides, with the dungeon of an evil black mage nearby Bowden Fortress, it was an environment where disaster could strike at any moment.
*'One wrong move, and I could get my head chopped off by those barbarians.'*
It wasn't that he feared death, but he didn't want to experience it like that.
Of course, once he was dead, it would all be over, so he didn't really care what happened to his corpse.
*'Feels like a knife is slowly being pressed to my throat. I guess that's enough to give even me some motivation.'*
Carlyle scoffed at himself for trying to figure out a way to survive.
He had sworn that as Carlyle van Sigmund, he would live a life of leisure, lazing around and doing nothing. Yet, the moment his own neck was on the line, he found himself motivated to act.
*'There's no way for me to get dramatically stronger right now. I guess I have to raid Antiros's Laboratory after all.'*
[Antiros's Laboratory] was one of several hidden dungeons located in the Blood-Soaked Land.
It was a farming spot where one could obtain very good items with a bit of luck, so in a situation like this, visiting it at least once could be a good option.
*'My gacha luck has always been terrible, though.'*
Carlyle recalled his past gacha success rate—in other words, his luck with draws.
His luck was so abysmal that he'd sometimes had to try dozens, even hundreds, of times for something others got in just a few attempts.
It was so bad that even when he was engrossed in the game [Overlord], he had played by completely eliminating any factors related to luck.
*'Nothing to lose...'*
Just then.
*'What was that?'*
Carlyle stopped in his tracks, startled.
“Why did you stop all of a sudden?”
Kudo, who was walking beside him, looked back at Carlyle.
“I felt an unsettling gaze.”
“Huh?”
“I don't know why, but it feels like someone is glaring at me?”
“As you can see, there's no one here.”
Just as Kudo said, there was no one around who could be glaring at Carlyle.
It was late at night.
Lights-out had already passed, so there were no troops moving about.
In the distance, sentries stood guard on the watchtower, and a patrol of four seemed to be making their rounds, but it didn't seem like anyone was specifically staring at Carlyle.
“It's probably just your imagination.”
Kudo waved his hand dismissively.
“It's common for that to happen when you're not yet used to the battlefield.”
“What do you mean?”
“When people are exposed to situations rife with murder and violence, like in a war, they tend to become extremely sensitive.”
“Ah?”
“It's common for new recruits to suffer from anxiety, so don't worry about it too much.”
“That's a relief, then.”
“Haha.”
Kudo laughed.
“I'm a little surprised.”
“About what?”
“I didn't think a Sigmund would suffer from something like anxiety.”
“A Sigmund is still human.”
“That may be true, but your innate temperament is different from that of ordinary people, isn't it? It's not for nothing that people say you were born with a sword in your hand.”
“That's ridiculous.”
Carlyle dismissed the so-called as nonsense and started walking again.
*'Right, it must be my imagination. It would be stranger not to be on edge after experiencing a war. It's not like I'm a psychopath.'*
Thinking this, Carlyle spoke to Kudo.
“By any chance...”
“Yes?”
“Would it be alright if I stepped outside the fortress for a bit?”
“If you're planning to desert, you should do it sneakily like a rat, not ask so openly. It puts me in a difficult position.”
“I have no intention of doing that.”
“Then why do you want to go outside the fortress? You might not know this, but the nights in Kuberin are extremely dangerous. It's not just the barbarians. In Kuberin, there are...”
“I know that much.”
“Then why?”
“The truth is...”
Carlyle explained his reason for wanting to leave the fortress as they walked toward the barracks.
Blink, blink.
The gaze of the dead watched Carlyle.
***
“Hmm.”
Kudo pondered after hearing Carlyle's story.
“So, you're saying there might be a brilliant mage's laboratory somewhere around here? And the source of this information is the Sigmund family library?”
“Something like that.”
“Good heavens.”
“...?”
“The Sigmund family has a library... That's quite a surprising fact.”
“W-well.”
Carlyle was at a loss for words.
Kudo's point was so sharp it was like a razor's edge.
The Sigmund family, a renowned house of swordsmanship and martial prowess, excelled in military strength and tactics, but they were utterly ignorant when it came to magic, let alone academics.
It was so bad that rival families would dismissively call the Sigmunds the [Swordsmen of the North] or [Idiots Who Know Nothing But the Sword].
Because of this, the Sigmund family didn't have anything that could be called a library.
Of course, the family head, Grand Duke Guntram, had a study in his office, and it seemed to contain several thousand books.
“For now, let's report this to Lieutenant Helen later and proceed slowly...”
“What if the fortress is in crisis before then?”
“That's...”
“I have to start the reconnaissance mission tomorrow. If the enemy launches an all-out assault, we'll be in trouble.”
“So, are you saying you absolutely have to visit that mage's dungeon tonight, Private Carlyle?”
“That's right.”
“This isn't something I can decide on my own. I think it's best to speak with Captain Begman first.”
“Let's do that.”
Begman's reaction was positive.
“Really? Damn it! You should have said so sooner! I was already sleepy, but I guess sleep is out of the question now.”
Despite his grumbling, Begman took Carlyle to Helen and reported the news.
“A mage's dungeon, you say. Why didn't you mention this sooner?”
“I wasn't certain about the information, and I didn't think you would believe me.”
“I'm disappointed. To make such an assumption.”
“Wouldn't one be cautious about telling something to a person who despises them?”
“Wh-when did I ever say I despised you?”
“You're despising me right now.”
“This is a dilemma. A night operation is quite dangerous.”
Helen ignored Carlyle's remark and changed the subject.
*'She's surprisingly petty.'*
Whether she knew what Carlyle was thinking or not, Helen was clearly deep in thought.
After a short while.
Having made up her mind, Helen announced her decision.
“Operation approved.”