The Call (4)
They say true madness isn’t felt while you’re committing it, but only after the dust has settled. As I followed the soldier the Chancellor had assigned to guide me out of the imperial palace, I suddenly felt the back of my neck go stiff. Wow. What the hell did I just do?
I wasn’t some random neighborhood drunk. I had just run my mouth at the Chancellor of the empire—the man who stood at the absolute peak of the strongest nation on the continent. It was a relief that he had such a bold personality. If he’d been the scheming or authority-obsessed type, I might not have walked out of there on my own two feet.
I wasn’t regretting it now, exactly, but a complicated mix of wondering whether there had been a better way to negotiate and genuine admiration at how I’d managed to flap my lips without shrinking back swirled inside me. Maybe all the practice I’d gotten trading barbs with my worthless father and that cold-blooded professor had finally paid off.
That aside, it was a shame I hadn’t pushed for full authority over team composition while I was at it. I hadn’t thought of it in the moment, but if I’d gotten permission, the whole thing would have gone much more smoothly.
“Hmm?”
Right then, as I was absentmindedly scanning the palace interior while lost in thought, my eyes met a man’s. He looked to be somewhere in his thirties or forties. By the standards of this era—where average lifespans tended to be short—he wasn’t old enough to be called elderly, but he was well past the age where anyone would call him a youth. The moment he saw me his eyes widened. Ignoring the knights around him, he strode toward me with a heavy, intimidating air.
Now that I thought about it, that face… I felt like I’d seen it before… Ah.
“Southern Army Commander?”
“Attach sir, you commoner. How rude.”
“My apologies. It’s a habit from the Academy.”
The man glaring at me with open displeasure was Kalyos Schmidt, commander of the empire’s southern army—the same man who had picked a fight at the Academy and ended up getting thoroughly crushed. But why was this guy—well, it was the imperial palace, so it wasn’t strange for him to be here.
“Commander!”
The southern army knights who had been standing beside him hurried after him, while the soldier guiding me looked completely lost at the sudden appearance of such a high-ranking figure.
Kalyos snorted and asked, “Hmph. So why are you here, you bastard?”
I thought for a moment before deciding to tell the truth. He had told me to watch my mouth, but this much should be fine.
“His Excellency the Chancellor summoned me.”
“Why?”
“His Excellency instructed me to keep it confidential, so I cannot say.”
He twisted his lips in clear dissatisfaction, but he didn’t press further or explode at me for daring to refuse to answer as a mere commoner. After all, if the Chancellor himself had ordered secrecy, what could he do? No matter how often people mocked the southern army as the weakest or the biggest pushovers, it was still one of the five regular armies. Unless he had won his commander position in a poker game, he had to possess at least that much sense.
“To think you’ve been personally summoned by His Excellency the Chancellor—you must have made quite a name for yourself. That’s good to see. But it would be wise not to grow too arrogant or act recklessly.”
“Yes, thank you for the advice.”
He had spoken in a low, warning tone, and I simply bowed my head. He wasn’t wrong, so there was no need to push back. The way he looked down at me while speaking was only natural for a noble. Unlike that boar whose name I could barely remember—who went beyond looking down on people to spouting brainless nonsense that could only be fixed with a club—this wasn’t that kind of situation.
“Hmph. Good that you understand.”
The Southern Army Commander’s voice had grown slightly gentler, apparently satisfied by my attitude. If he had said everything he wanted, he could have simply greeted me and left, but for some reason he lingered, hesitating.
What is this? Why is he acting like that?
“That mock battle back then…”
Kalyos Schmidt finally opened his mouth with difficulty, only to stop halfway. I imagined the words that would follow. That mock battle wasn’t serious? Don’t think that was our full strength? Yeah, I could see why he’d shut his mouth. Even I didn’t think that had been the southern army’s true capability, but for the commander himself to admit it out loud would have been pathetic.
Since it would be awkward to keep standing here, I was considering throwing him a lifeline so the conversation could end smoothly when a voice cut in between us.
“Well, well. Who do we have here? It’s been a while, Southern Army Commander.”
Kalyos Schmidt bowed his head to the owner of that arrogant, puffed-up voice.
“I greet Your Highness Prince Lucas.”
“Yes. I heard some unfortunate news about the southern army recently and meant to offer you consolation. How fortunate that we’ve run into each other like this. This too must be the guidance of the Star Gods.”
The red-haired man thumped Kalyos on the shoulder with loud, familiar slaps. The southern army knights watching from a step behind frowned at the clearly rude behavior, but Prince Lucas paid them no mind.
To avoid repeating my failure with the Chancellor, I quickly pulled up every scrap of information I had on him from both this life and the last. Let’s see… Lucas Barhart. The empire’s second prince. According to information from this life, he was in his early thirties. Having a different mother from Crown Prince Leon Fleet Barhart and only a small age gap, the two were rivals competing for the throne. From my previous life, I knew that while his abilities were decent, his personality was absolutely foul. Players swore they’d beat him to a pulp, but in the early game his unreasonably high martial prowess and powerful background made him untouchable. By the late game there were bigger problems to deal with, so he was simply left alone.
…The information was too biased to be useful.
Anyway, getting deeply involved with him now wouldn’t lead anywhere good. I should kill my presence, quietly slip away to the side—
“By the way, who is this boy standing with you? For a new knight, his physique is rather unimpressive.”
Damn it.
While I was desperately trying to keep a sour expression off my face, Kalyos answered for me.
“Chrome Midas, a student at the Academy, Your Highness.”
“Midas? I’ve never heard of that family. Which faction does he belong to?”
“He is not an imperial noble, but from Spero. He is not someone Your Highness needs to concern yourself with…”
“It is not for you to decide that, Southern Army Commander.”
The second prince cut Kalyos off without hesitation and turned to me.
“You there. How does someone who isn’t even an imperial noble dare set foot inside the imperial palace? What qualifications do you possess?”
“…I was summoned at the request of His Excellency Prime Minister Ordo von Devien, Your Highness.”
“The Chancellor?”
The second prince frowned as if the name was unexpected, then asked again.
“For what reason did the Chancellor call a wretch like you?”
“That is…”
“Tsk, why are you hesitating? Answer me at once!”
Ah, another boar. The stress I’d felt when dealing with that boar came rushing back…! And this one was non-recyclable trash—I couldn’t even apply the “a club is the best medicine” principle!
At that moment, the person who unexpectedly extended a helping hand was none other than Southern Army Commander Kalyos Schmidt.
“Your Highness Lucas, I apologize, but what this boy heard from His Excellency the Chancellor is deeply related to a military mission. No matter if you are a prince, you cannot recklessly involve yourself in military secrets.”
The second prince openly displayed his displeasure.
“I am a member of the imperial family that rules this continent. What could there possibly be that someone like me should not know?”
“Your Highness, this is a matter directly connected to military regulations. I beg for your understanding.”
Not only Kalyos, but the other southern army knights as well bowed their heads and applied pressure. Even the second prince could no longer push his unreasonable demands.
“Haha, very well. If the commander himself says so, I cannot ignore it.”
The second prince reluctantly acted magnanimous. Even then, rather than admitting any fault, his attitude was that he was generously stepping back because the other party had asked. It painted a clear picture of his character. It really was a shame that the unnecessarily high martial prowess he had inherited from his hero grandfather was wasted on a man like him.
Kalyos Schmidt waited until the second prince’s retreating figure had completely disappeared after he left with a “We’ll meet again later,” then spoke with a sour expression.
“You there, soldier. Take this guy and get him out of the palace quickly. …It’ll be a headache if he gets entangled again.”
The way he left “with whom” vague—was that his own version of being careful with his words? Unlike the female professor at the Academy or a certain eastern army commander, he seemed like a sensible person. Thinking that, I bowed my head.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Hmph. I only helped because if you got caught by me and ended up spilling the secret to His Highness the Prince, and that got back to His Excellency the Chancellor, it would be a headache for me. That’s all. Now hurry up and disappear.”
He waved his hand dismissively. I shrugged. What an honest-to-a-fault uncle. Or rather, an uncle who can’t be honest.
“The previous mock battle was an extremely valuable experience for me, as well as for the other students. I don’t think any of the students will misunderstand the capabilities of the southern army soldiers who deliberately fought from a disadvantageous position.”
When I spoke as politely as possible so it wouldn’t sound like sarcasm, Kalyos Schmidt and the southern army knights frowned but didn’t get angry.
“…It’s something we know even if you don’t say it.”
And then he added, “Someday, we will reclaim the glory of victory. Until then, make sure not to tarnish the name.”
I smiled inwardly. The reason I had asked the crown prince for care hadn’t really been for these people’s sake but for other calculations… Still, it seemed like the result hadn’t turned out too badly.
“Yes, I’ll be waiting. Though I won’t lose then, either.”