Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Chapter 33: I've Made It (4)
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Knights, as a breed, were generally slow to act.
Damn their sense of propriety, they never stepped up to do anything promptly.
Someone had to set the stage and give them a push before they'd reluctantly get moving.
This was true even for tasks that were necessary and beneficial to them.
Conversely, if something didn't pique their interest or wasn't immediately necessary, they'd grit their teeth and ignore it.
That was precisely why squires existed.
Squires had to take on and handle the tasks their masters ignored.
But among those tasks, there were often things beyond a squire's capabilities.
In such cases, one had to use any means necessary to make the master move, while being extremely careful not to upset them.
Sensitive and prideful knights were prone to throwing fits over the smallest mistakes.
The skill of coaxing and soothing one's master to prevent such fits was one of the essential virtues a squire had to possess.
‘We call that being a nanny.’
Yanick had put it scathingly.
In any case, I had a knack for that sort of thing.
It was a skill I'd naturally acquired while serving various social misfits I called masters.
Thanks to that ability, I was treated as quite important even within the war legion.
When it came to subtly pushing not only the ill-tempered Roman but also the other loose-screwed knights of the war legion onto the battlefield, I was the best.
Compared to the people I dealt with back then, Rangfin Haime was nothing more than a greenhouse flower.
Although that flower had some sharp thorns and poison of its own, he couldn't compare to the knights who had gone half-mad during the Great War.
“Don't keep me waiting too long.”
Watching Rangfin Haime's back as he turned away, still acting high and mighty, I wracked my brain.
How could I make good use of him in this war?
After much deliberation, a suitable method came to mind.
I immediately put the plan into action.
“I will gather the allied survivors scattered across the plain.”
The high command immediately expressed their opposition.
Their reasoning was that the risk was too great to lead a small force on a search operation in an area that had all but fallen into enemy hands.
A single sentence was enough to dispel their concerns and objections.
“I plan to go with the knight from the mainland.”
The effect was tremendous.
“We'll assign you a guide as soon as you reach the allied outpost at the entrance to the plain.”
“You may copy parts of the strategy map if you wish.”
The Centurions changed their tune as if they had never objected.
It was only natural.
Knights who had lost their squires were bound to wreak all sorts of havoc on those around them, so it wasn't strange that the high command, who had been tormented by Rangfin Haime regardless of rank, would welcome my proposal with open arms.
The high command was happy to get rid of a knight who lorded over them, and I was happy to have a check against potential attacks from the demi-humans.
A win-win situation, killing two birds with one stone.
With only benefits for both sides, it would have been stranger to refuse.
Persuading Rangfin Haime wasn't difficult either.
“These people don't treat me with any honor.”
As it happened, he was thoroughly fed up with the service of the soldiers assigned to him by the high command.
“How could commoners possibly know of honor or chivalry?”
“There are so many gathered here, yet you and I are the only ones who know honor.”
I listened to his complaints for a while before revealing my intention to leave the main force soon.
A bit of heartfelt condolence for him being left alone among those who knew no honor was a bonus.
“If only I could serve you.”
I trailed off, casting my bait.
“There's no reason you can't.”
“It's a harsh mission, I worry it might be a burden to you, Knight...”
“I'd a thousand times rather wander in the rain than remain among these honorless beasts.”
Rangfin Haime took the bait.
As a result, I was able to leave the outpost with the high command's blessing.
“When will this rain ever stop? It's absolutely dreadful.”
“I left my horse behind on your advice, and now my boots are ruined.”
“Does the Imperial Army always move at a snail's pace like this? No wonder you're powerless against savage demi-humans.”
Ever since we started marching, Rangfin Haime had been spouting an endless stream of complaints.
“What's the use in finding these honorless scraps of defeated soldiers who ran away?”
He even went so far as to lump the survivors together as 'scraps of defeated soldiers' and spew vitriol.
“Sacrificing one's life for honor is not an easy thing for a common man. Not everyone can be like you, Knight.”
Each time, it was my role to step in and quell his complaints.
Coaxing, soothing, and offering insincere flattery.
I worked my mouth tirelessly.
The soldiers looked at me with pity, but in truth, I was unfazed.
I was used to humoring self-centered knights.
Flattery on the exhale. Sweet talk on the inhale.
To me, it was as natural as breathing.
And while I was coaxing and soothing the whining Rangfin Haime, I never neglected my duties as the search party leader.
“Halt the unit. We'll take a short rest here.”
“Over-ten Quentin, take three soldiers and search the vicinity.”
“You, you, and you. The three of you, find a place to shelter from the rain.”
The thirty-odd soldiers moved in and out of formation to carry out my orders, their movements incredibly swift.
This was possible because I had formed a new unit by handpicking only the veteran soldiers from among the volunteers.
As I nodded, watching the soldiers move about busily, a familiar face suddenly caught my eye.
It was Mad Dog Gordo, the Decurion of the 21st Century, who had once picked a fight with me for no reason and been publicly humiliated.
When he first left the 21st Century and volunteered for the search mission, I was bewildered.
I wondered what a man with a solid position within his century could possibly want from joining mine, which was less than half the size.
But it turned out there was a reason.
‘In the last battle, Mad Dog and his decade were the first to turn their swords on our allies. It seems he's completely lost the trust of his century because of it.’
So, the soldiers who had stained their hands with the blood of their comrades were looking for someone to blame, and that someone was Mad Dog, who had been the first to act.
It was the exact opposite of my case.
If I had become a bouquet to boost allied morale, he had become a scapegoat to bear the blame for killing allies.
But contrary to the rumors that he'd been half-willingly, half-forcibly pushed into the search party, Mad Dog's eyes were very much alive.
Seeing that resolute gaze, I turned my head away.
Whether he had truly given up and come under my command, or if he had another purpose.
I'd find out by watching him anyway.
“Not yet? I asked if you've found a place to rest yet!”
For now, pacifying the whining Rangfin Haime was the priority.
* * *
The first day ended without any gains.
But I wasn't disappointed.
We had only just begun to search the edge of the plain, a mere fraction of it.
We continued to press forward, sweeping the plain.
“Here! We've found a survivor!”
And at last, we were able to find a survivor.
Quentin, who was examining the survivor gasping for breath while clutching a large hole in his stomach, shook his head at me.
Though I knew the meaning of that gesture, I feigned ignorance and approached the survivor.
“W-what happened over there?”
“We took the heads of one hundred and fifty of the two hundred demi-humans. A great victory.”
At my words that we were currently searching the plain to gather the remaining forces, the survivor let out a sigh of relief.
“Any last words?”
“To Cain, the owner of the Black Sheep tavern, tell him I'm sorry I couldn't pay my tab...”
“I'll be sure to tell him.”
“Th-thank you.”
With those words, the survivor's head slumped.
Decurion Quentin removed the corpse's helmet and cut off a lock of hair.
Then he tucked it away inside his coat.
That was the beginning.
Soldiers of the 3rd Chiliarchy were found all over the plain.
Most were already dead, but some were still alive.
However, even the living soldiers were not in good condition.
Most were too severely injured to move on their own, and the search party moved them to a place we had scouted earlier.
The plan was to have them wait here for a while and return with the search party on our way back.
But honestly, I couldn't be sure how many of them would survive.
More than likely, the majority wouldn't last until our return.
“When the search party returns, we'll all go back together. Just hold on a little longer.”
Despite everything, the words I had to offer were set.
“Soldier. Remain here and protect them.”
I left one of my veteran soldiers behind to look after the wounded.
But both the veteran and I knew.
The only thing the veteran would do while remaining here was to remember their last words.
We left food and water for the wounded and resumed the search.
“It seems more soldiers managed to escape the battlefield than we thought.”
A flicker of hope was visible on the soldier's face as he spoke.
But there was no place where hope was as meaningless as the battlefield.
As the search continued, everyone came to realize it.
“They let them all go on purpose.”
The survivors hadn't escaped the battlefield on their own.
They had been moderately wounded and allowed to flee.
“But why...?”
“What for...?”
To the soldiers asking for a reason, I gave a short answer.
“A hunt.”
This was a hunting ground.
A hunting ground created for inexperienced warriors and crows.
It was also a festival ground for the demi-humans to celebrate their victory, and a trap to lure in any potential allied search parties.
“Then aren't we in danger too?”
“We should get out of here now...”
After hearing the explanation, the soldiers voiced their opinions with grim faces.
“You honorless curs! To think of running away and leaving your comrades behind. It seems fighting those inhuman creatures has made you like them!”
Rangfin Haime, who had been watching silently until now, roared.
It was less out of pity and anger for the allies who had been reduced to prey, and more an expression of the stubbornness peculiar to knights who refuse to retreat from an enemy.
But even if our motives were different, his intention was the same as mine.
“We continue the search.”
It wasn't as if I hadn't anticipated this situation.
The soldiers didn't question my command.
Though their faces were anxious, they silently continued the search.
Moving the wounded, then moving more.
For once, even Rangfin Haime didn't complain.
But nothing was as petty and thin as a knight's patience.
“This is all meaningless! Those whose fighting spirit has been broken once can never be used again! There's no point in saving them! It's a waste of time!”
Rangfin Haime's irritation, which had been steadily building since we entered the plain, finally exploded.
“I'm going back! I'll cut down anyone who doesn't follow!”
Even as I watched him, so irritated that he was now radiating killing intent, I remained calm.
Because there was someone else to receive that irritation and anger.
“C-Centurion! Enemies!”
Decurion Quentin's urgent report was no surprise either.
I had been waiting for the hunters to appear.
And had I just been waiting?
I had left tracks and scents all over the place to draw them out quickly.
All that was left to do now.
“Knight. I'll cover our rear.”
Was to drive the furious beast toward the hunters.