Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: A Baby Bird Leaves the Nest (3)
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I didn't even have a moment to realize what it was.
[□□□ serves □□□ (☆☆☆☆☆)]
The inverted letters flipped back again.
[□□□□ □□ (★★★★★)]
And then they flipped again.
The same thing repeated countless times in a brief moment.
There was no need to check again.
It was impossible, anyway.
A pain like my eyes were being gouged out.
I was gritting my teeth and enduring it, but it felt like a scream would burst through them at any moment.
Either that, or my teeth would shatter first.
In the end, I forced my wide-open eyes shut.
The pain subsided as if by magic.
At the same time, the breath I'd been holding escaped in a long exhale.
And then I belatedly realized.
A pair of eyes was staring intently at me.
“Ah?”
The owner of the barracks was staring intently at me.
His brow was deeply furrowed, as if he found me extremely suspicious.
His gaze, so clear it seemed to see right through me, was an added bonus.
I hastily lowered my head, avoiding his eyes.
Though it was late, I checked my expression and composed myself.
“You.”
In the meantime, the owner of the barracks spoke.
“Your breathing is very unstable.”
*Thump, thump.*
I heard footsteps.
“Why is your heart beating so fast?”
The knight asked, having come right up to me.
“I can practically hear it from here.”
It was a common, cliché expression.
But it didn't sound like that to me.
He acted as if he could really hear my heartbeat.
“I need to see your face…”
“Knight. The Centurion has arrived.”
If not for the timely visitor, I would have been in real trouble.
“Knight. I apologize for the intrusion, but it's an urgent matter.”
Hearing the familiar voice, I looked toward the barracks entrance.
It was Centurion Bravos.
“You there! What are you dawdling for! Are you trying to disturb the Knight's rest?”
It was a rebuke with a clear intention.
“S-sorry!”
“If you're sorry, then get out of the way! There's a mountain of work to do. You useless parasite of a trainee!”
“I-I'll go now!”
I left the barracks as if fleeing.
-Do you know that boy?
-He's a kid who follows the centuria around doing odd jobs. I liked his hardworking attitude, so I accepted him as a trainee this time.
-Hmm. I see.
-More importantly, the reason I've come is because the visibility is so poor due to the downpour…
*Swoooosh.*
The conversation behind me was quickly swallowed by the sound of the rain and became inaudible.
It seemed I'd gotten through it more or less safely.
It was thanks to the Centurion showing up just in time.
It was too much of a coincidence to be called a coincidence.
He must have been watching the situation from nearby and quickly intervened when I didn't come out.
“I owe him one.”
A debt could be settled one way or another later.
Right now, there was something more important.
“What the hell is that guy?”
The star I saw with the Starseeker's eye was a five-star.
As he had boasted, he possessed the caliber to fill the void left by the separated forces.
But the reason I went to him, even posing as a trainee, wasn't simply to confirm his abilities.
I found it suspicious that those who would defy even death to make their names known had hidden their identities to join the fray this time, so I intended to check it out.
And so, the stars I confirmed with my own eyes were two.
It wasn't a delusion, nor did I see wrong.
“The one marked in white is a star.”
A star that shines brilliantly from a high place everyone looks up to.
A guardian constellation that grants blessings in exchange for an oath.
“The one marked in black is a Dark Star.”
A star that has lost its light, existing somewhere in the sky, its very presence unknown.
A dark constellation that grants power in exchange for a sacrifice.
□□□ serves □□□,
□□□□ □□.
He seemed like a being who served two stars.
It made no sense.
But what made even less sense was the fact that, no matter how I thought about it, those two stars seemed like beings that could not coexist.
Of course, this was all based on the premise that the Starseeker's identification eye was flawless.
I wasn't certain.
I'd only used the Starseeker's ability twice, this being the second time.
For someone who usually couldn't even control it properly and had to wear an eyepatch, jumping to conclusions was forbidden.
Fortunately, I knew who to ask in times like these.
“Hey, stars?”
I spoke while looking at the sky.
The stars, which normally would have started chattering before I even spoke, were strangely quiet.
The star cluster channel was the same.
It hadn't updated since the last conversation, which ended with ‘The weather is bad, so visibility is poor and we can't see anything.’
“Does bad weather make the channel connection unstable?”
In the end, it seemed getting help from the stars right now would be difficult.
If only there was another knight around, I could check with them.
Unfortunately, the only knight I could meet right now was the one who came from the mainland.
“It’s always the way; you can never find one when you need one.”
Usually, knights were a dime a dozen.
I put my eyepatch back on and headed for Centurion Bravos's barracks.
I waited there for a while before talking with him when he finally returned.
“So. Any results?”
There wasn't much I could say to the Centurion who asked for the results.
The most I could do was warn him of the need for greater vigilance and caution.
As a bonus, I advised him to tell the other centuriae to increase the number of guards tonight.
After leaving the Centurion's barracks, I headed for where the Three-rank Infantry were.
In the short time I was gone, they had perfectly finished setting up the barracks and were inside, drying their damp clothes.
They all seemed curious about where I had been wandering around in the rain, but no one dared to ask.
“We've received the items from the quartermaster and have them ready for immediate use.”
They simply reported on the tasks I had assigned just before I left.
I checked the supplies they had gathered in a corner of the barracks one by one.
The check didn't take long.
The supplies consisted of only an emergency signal flare, some waterskins, and a small, tightly sealed jar.
When I put my nose to the mouth of the jar and sniffed, the foul smell of oil wafted up.
“I get the signal flare, but what on earth do you need the oil for…?”
Senior Soldier Quentin, who had been watching quietly, spoke up as if he'd been waiting for the chance.
“It's not like command is super strict about the quantity, but handling it is another matter. This is normally a prohibited item inside the encampment.”
It was less of a question and more of a warning.
I knew that much without him telling me.
Fire was one of the biggest concerns for the army during encampment.
This kind of oil was usually stored separately, out of the soldiers' reach, unless absolutely necessary.
“They only gave it to us, grumbling, because it's raining this hard. If you mishandle this and something goes wrong, it won't be overlooked.”
The senior soldier's concern was by no means an exaggeration.
Of course, that didn't mean I was going to just let the supplies I'd gone to the trouble of getting sit around.
I crouched down right there and started working.
“...Over-ten? What are you doing…”
“Can't you tell? I'm transferring the oil.”
“I mean, why do something so dangerous…”
“Ah, don't talk to me. I spilled some.”
Regardless of what the soldiers said, I continued with my work.
I transferred the oil into the waterskins we got from the quartermaster corps, then rolled up a pre-prepared cloth scrap and stuck it in the opening.
Making sure the cloth scrap stuck out just enough.
*Squeeze.*
I used the thread I had also prepared to tie it up tightly.
“Done.”
Its name: Flame Pouch.
An item I had used to death in my past life.
Easy to make and powerful.
A weapon so excellent, I wondered why no one had used it until now.
I just made ten of those excellent weapons.
While I was at it, I collected the soldiers' waterskins as well.
After repeating the same process, a total of twenty-two Flame Pouches were made.
“Each of you, take two of these. And one signal flare each.”
Even the Three-rank Infantry, who had been obedient ever since I decided on our course, refused to accept my orders this time.
Saying things like it would be a disaster if they were caught by other commanders carrying pouches full of oil.
Or that it would be a huge problem if they accidentally caught fire.
“Haaah.”
I sighed at their insubordination.
“Are you that scared of fire? Are you an inhuman species?”
Perhaps because they were men who had fought on the front lines against inhuman species for decades, their reaction was immediate.
*Clink, clank.*
Soldiers stepped forward, picked up the Flame Pouches, and looked at me.
Their faces seemed to say that they were different from beasts like the inhuman species.
In truth, not all inhuman species are savage.
Inhuman species and demi-humans.
The only criterion for distinguishing between the two was whether or not they could handle fire.
Those who feared and avoided fire were inhuman species; those who did not fear fire and actively used it were demi-humans.
The former were enemies of humanity, the latter were neighbors.
It was something like that.
It was an arbitrary standard, to the point of making one wonder if it was really okay, but surprisingly, this method of classification was quite accurate.
It was far more accurate than judging by appearance and habits, at least.
The ones who feared fire were hostile to humans and made no attempt to form relationships.
Elves were a prime example.
Based on appearance alone, they were much closer to humans than dwarves, but they were an inhuman species.
Anyway.
“Tsk. Don't just hold them in your hands. Wear them on your waists like this. Just like you'd wear your waterskins.”
I urged the awkwardly standing soldiers.
And I finally managed to make the Three-rank Infantry wear the Flame Pouches on their waists.
It was thanks to my persuasion that with this weather, they absolutely wouldn't catch fire unless someone intentionally lit them.
But what could I do?
There might be a reason to intentionally light them on fire today.
Speaking from the full mobilization of my past life's experience, memories, and my current premonition, the possibility was extremely high.
Inhuman species, regardless of their race, generally have good night vision.
There's no better time for a night raid than today, when the clouds hide even the moonlight.
This was even more true on a day like today, when their prey was split in two, making it easy to swallow in one bite.
“If something happens, don't hesitate to fire the signal flare. Then light the cloth sticking out of the oil pouch and throw it.”
As my explanation continued, the Three-rank Infantry's postures grew more and more awkward.
“If possible, aim for something flammable. If there's a barracks nearby, that would be good. That way, the fire will spread.”
“Hey. I told you not to worry. It won't spread far anyway. It's raining.”
Eventually, their faces turned pale as they looked at me, their eyes as if they were looking at a terrible arsonist.
It's not like I wasn't called that in my past life.
* * *
I assigned reinforcements to each of the Three-rank Infantry and positioned them at key points in the encampment.
Then, I went on patrol with Trainee Bella.
Not just the soldiers of our centuria, but also those of other centuriae were on high alert.
No one was chatting or slacking off.
It seemed Centurion Bravos had spoken well to the other centurions.
Still, it was too early to be relieved.
The rain had certainly weakened, but the dark clouds that hid the moon and stars remained.
Even if I strained my eyes, there was only darkness; even if I perked up my ears, all I could hear was the rain.
An ordinary human's pathetic five senses were as good as useless.
What that meant was.
*Fweeeesh! Bang!*
It meant that by the time you saw it with your eyes and heard it with your ears, it was already too late.
*Bwooooooo.*
“O-Over-ten?”
When I suddenly fired a signal flare and blew the horn, the trainee's face went blank with shock.
“Go! Blow it while you run!”
I handed the horn to the trainee and pushed her in the direction of the Centurion's barracks.
Though she didn't know what was going on, the trainee faithfully carried out my order.
*Phew, ph-bwooooooo!*
Just as the trainee was about to run toward the inner barracks, blowing the horn.
*Shhhk.*
The darkness right next to the encampment's perimeter wavered.
“Where do you think you're going!”
I grabbed the shield that had been leaning against my waist and blocked the trainee's back.
*Crrrack.*
I felt the sensation of something sharp digging into the shield.
I reflexively twisted my upper body behind the shield.
By a hair's breadth, something that had pierced the shield grazed past my chest.
An attack aimed at the trainee.
I was worried about what was behind me, but I had no time to look back.
Just as I thought the darkness was wavering, attackers began to reveal themselves one by one.
“Ah.”
The moment I saw their ghost-like forms, I knew.
“Yanick, you clueless bastard…”
Someone's boast that he could change the tide of the war with just one centuria was nothing but ridiculous bluffing.
Because the enemy that raided the encampment in the dead of night was not an opponent against whom such bluffs would work.