Complete Chaos
Lierte worked her massive wings with all her might, starting her engine.
In other words, she was awakening the magic engraved upon her body.
Lierte was a single creature, yet she was not merely one.
Layer upon layer of magic was etched into her flesh, replicating every single component of avian flight. In essence, it was as if thousands of birds had been crammed into a single body.
She wasn't expensive for nothing.
With the aid of magic, Lierte finally succeeded in lifting her heavy bulk off the ground.
Simultaneously, a second spell activated.
It was a spell designed to overcome wind resistance and generate lift.
Unlike the previous one, this was a high-tier spell that could not be engraved, requiring a mage to chant it directly.
"It's actually flying."
"Of course it is. Did you not trust me?"
Luniere was casting the spell chantlessly while carrying on a casual conversation.
To anyone else, this would have been an astounding feat of magic, but not to Eisenhardt.
It wasn't because he was an ignorant modern man who knew nothing of magic, but rather because he simply didn't have the mental capacity to care.
The Emperor's sudden decree, a deployment initiated without a single word of explanation.
Everything was a blur of confusion.
Until now, he had inwardly congratulated himself on adapting well, but this situation was different.
War, all of a sudden.
Eisenhardt's soul was still that of a modern man.
Being told to take up a sword out of nowhere felt entirely alien.
Yet, Eisenhardt obeyed the order without a word of complaint.
For starters, he had no other choice.
Surrounded by knights on all sides, how far could a half-baked imposter like him run?
Even if he did run, he had no confidence he could evade capture.
And then, the words from his first audience with the Emperor came back to him.
"Regrettably, the Empire cannot release you, Marquis. You have already dedicated your sword to us in the past. Even if your memories are lost, the records remain. You are still the Empire's Sword Saint and the Commander of the Imperial Knights."
It was the history of a body he had no memory of, a history that had nothing to do with him, but he couldn't think of a single counterargument.
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
The food that amazed him with every bite, the clean and comfortable isolation room, the clothes that felt premium to the touch, the lavish treatment...
Having already enjoyed all these luxuries, it would be pathetic to start whining now about how none of this was his business.
Especially after experiencing something as unprecedented as transmigration.
If he truly hated this unavoidable absurdity, he should have thrown a tantrum on the floor from the start.
Or held a blade to his own throat.
He needed to be a bit more detached.
...Right, it was pure self-rationalization.
He was still deeply regretting not running away on day one.
"Haa..."
Hearing Eisenhardt's sigh, Luniere felt a pang of pity.
She understood both the Emperor's position and Eisenhardt's.
Thus, she knew this deployment was unavoidable.
But that didn't make Eisenhardt any less pitiful.
Having watched over him all this time, Luniere felt it even more acutely.
The current Eisenhardt was a truly innocent young man.
In fact, he was far more innocent than those who had just reached adulthood in this world.
He was, quite literally, a baby.
And they had thrown such a person straight into a warzone.
It was impossible not to feel for him.
This world was a harsh, wild fantasy where anyone, noble or commoner, would perish if they weren't strong.
To her, Eisenhardt, who had lived in a soft and comfortable modern society, looked as fragile as dandelion fluff.
So Luniere deliberately changed seats and sat down right next to him.
Not quite touching, but close enough that a slight shift in movement would bridge the gap.
Luniere's sudden proximity broke Eisenhardt out of his thoughts.
"Yes?"
Just as she intended.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Luniere asked with a perfectly innocent, nonchalant expression.
Eisenhardt had been wearing the most serious expression in the world just a moment ago, but now he grew serious in a completely different way.
His mind belonged to a young man in his twenties.
His body belonged to a man in his seventies.
At the same time, he was an aura user.
One who had reached the absolute peak, attaining a realm where the world bent to his will.
In other words, his body followed his mind.
Eisenhardt pressed himself flat against the wall and asked,
"Why did you suddenly move..."
"Hmm... Why don't you look over there?"
Eisenhardt followed Luniere's pointing finger and looked out the window.
The clear sky, the lush and vibrant vegetation, the vast fields, the neat gray brick road running through them, and the majestic capital standing where the roads converged.
As he turned his gaze, the rivers and valleys scattered the sunlight, painting the landscape in various hues. The mountain range rising behind them was half-shrouded in clouds, lending it a mystical air.
The scenery, visible through air incomparably clearer than Earth's, completely captivated him.
"I moved because I wanted to see this. What do you think? Isn't it wonderful?"
"...It's beautiful. The nature, I mean."
Though his mind had been cluttered with all sorts of worries, the sight of this landscape brought a soothing calm over him.
Luniere stared blankly at the look in his eyes before speaking.
"Oh. Is that what you noticed first? Usually, people are surprised by the city. They say it looks so tiny."
"Pardon? Ah... it just caught my eye first."
To him, the city was just an upgraded version of a typical European landscape.
There was no reason for it to draw his attention.
"Hmm... It seems we share the same taste."
Eisenhardt had somehow scored points in a very unexpected area.
"That's just how it is when you get old."
"What?"
"Ah."
Though he lost those points immediately after.
In truth, she didn't really mind.
That was just the nature of age.
When someone was fifty or eighty, they seemed old, but once they passed a hundred or two hundred, age ceased to feel like a passage of time and became just a natural number.
Luniere feigned annoyance, enjoying the sight of Eisenhardt breaking into a cold sweat, before bringing up the main point.
"You seem to have calmed down a bit."
"I'm sor— wait, what?"
"Pfft. I don't care, so you don't need to look so apologetic."
"Ah... right."
Smiling at his lukewarm response, Luniere explained.
"First of all, the Emperor has no intention of making you fight. What you need to do out there is buy time."
"Phew..."
Why are you only telling me this now...? Well, I suppose she couldn't have said it earlier.
A third party had been glued to his side the entire time.
And it would have looked suspicious if the Emperor had summoned him privately.
"From the Emperor's perspective, you drawing your sword is the last thing he wants. I told you before, didn't I? If you regain your memories, your Heart Demon will return as well."
"Yes."
"If you suffer from the Heart Demon again, the Emperor will be the one who loses the most."
He understood what she meant.
So they won't force me to do anything unreasonable, right?
"The Western Knights will arrive in four days. You just need to hold out until then."
The West?
No, more importantly, how am I supposed to hold out for four days?
Didn't they say there were hundreds of thousands of them?
"Your task is simple. Just go and stand there. That's all."
Because the enemy will delay their march the moment they hear you've arrived.
The pod carrying them rattled continuously despite the magical dampening.
It was an unavoidable limitation.
However, it wasn't enough to bother two superhumans, so they spent the time chatting comfortably.
Of course, as the scenery outside the window grew increasingly white, Eisenhardt's face paled in tandem, leaving them in silence toward the end of the journey.
While the flight itself was relatively pleasant, the landing was anything but smooth.
Though they decelerated as gently as possible, a violent jolt was inevitable the moment they touched down.
But he had no time to worry about that.
Eisenhardt stared blankly at the snow cascading outside the window before cautiously stepping out of the pod.
The snow crunched satisfyingly under his boots, but Eisenhardt couldn't bring himself to smile.
He merely grumbled to mask his unease.
"The ride quality is... questionable."
"It can't be helped. Lierte is actually one of the better ones. You'll understand once you ride the others later."
"Ah..."
Luniere uncoupled the pod and picked up the clothes Eisenhardt had left behind.
It was winter wear brought along to prepare for the freezing northern climate, styled like a heavy coat.
As its compact appearance suggested, it was enchanted.
Of course, Eisenhardt wasn't feeling the cold at all.
It wasn't because tension had numbed his senses; the body of a superhuman was simply built that way.
It wasn't something that would succumb to mere cold.
Even so, it was better to wear it if he could.
Luniere approached the slumped Eisenhardt, brushed the snow off his shoulders, and draped the coat over him.
"Oh..."
"You need to conserve your strength."
Eisenhardt examined the coat draped over him and asked,
"Aren't I supposed to be immune to the cold? Since I'm the Sword Saint."
"There is no such convenient setting."
Generating heat to withstand the cold wasn't free.
It all consumed mana.
Left speechless, Eisenhardt fell silent, and a quiet hush settled between them.
The place where they had landed was an empty lot next to the inner castle of the Marquis Südburg, who managed the northern wall.
Wasn't the Northern Wall supposed to be managed directly by Duke Hartenfeld?
Who in their right mind would station a Duke at the border?
Treat a ducal house like that, and the day would surely come when they turned their spears back toward the throne.
Fitting for their prestige, the territory of Duke Hartenfeld contained a mana stone mine.
It was the sole productive hub in the otherwise resource-draining North.
Furthermore, the Northern Wall was by no means short.
Marquis Südburg only managed a portion of it, sharing the responsibility with several subordinate counts.
Since the front line lacked even symbolic value, there was no reason to station the Duke there.
"I have a question. May I ask?"
"Yes."
"Aren't you nervous?"
"Pardon?"
Though Eisenhardt was radiating anxiety with his entire body, Luniere's expression remained curious.
"Then why is it so quiet? Your Qi Sensing."
"...Huh?"
"I've been wondering about it for a while. I thought you said it runs wild when you're tense, but it's been perfectly calm."
Now that she mentions it...
Checking his Qi Sensing now, it was surprisingly tranquil.
In fact, it felt even calmer than usual.
If it usually felt like a mastiff ready to snap at any moment, right now it felt like a golden retriever.
"Hmm... The timing is too coincidental to say you've just gotten used to it."
"They say people actually calm down when they're too shocked... Could it be that?"
Come to think of it, hadn't he remained relatively composed even in the face of the disaster that was sudden transmigration to another world?
It sounded plausible.
Yet, Luniere's face still held a trace of curiosity.
"Rather than that..."
At that moment, Lierte let out a sharp shriek.
Her complaints were clear: she was cold, hungry, and exhausted.
Having been raised in luxury, the harsh environment of the North was too much for Lierte to bear.
"Piyoooo!"
"Just bear with it for a bit. They said it's gotten colder lately, and they weren't lying."
As Luniere was soothing the whining beast, a large group of knights approached.
At their head was Marquis Südburg.
The moment they arrived, they snapped to attention and saluted loudly.
"We greet Lord Eisenhardt!"
"We greet the Imperial Chief Mage!"
Once the two rounds of greetings were acknowledged, the Marquis finally stepped forward, offering peace to the two humans and the single beast.
Proving his heritage as a man of the North—and specifically, a man of the Wall—he got straight to the point.
"Since we are at war, we shall dispense with formalities. This way, please."
Following Marquis Südburg into the inner castle, they were met with a battlefield.
Not that the wall had been breached already, but rather that the defenders were fighting among themselves.
"I'm telling you, we should leave the Krone Mountains entirely to the mountain divisions! Sending men from the Wall won't help at all!"
"Did you not hear the scale of the enemy this time? It's at least three hundred thousand! Even in the mountains, we need to form a proper battle line to stand a chance. And you want to rely solely on the mountain divisions? If they break through, we'll be surrounded!"
"But we have no choice! According to the intelligence from the Mage Division, they've even brought siege engines. If we miscalculate our deployment, the Wall will fall."
"But the same goes for the mountains. If they push with sheer numbers, we have no proper way to stop them."
"What a headache... When did they say the Western reinforcements would arrive?"
"If I knew that, I wouldn't be—!"
"Hey, I only asked a reasonable question, why are you shouting?!"
It was complete chaos.
(Luniere in her combat uniform)