Urgent Recruitment
The situation was urgent. Now that I knew the suppression force had suffered a crushing defeat—losing seventy percent of its troops—I couldn’t afford to waste even a single second. I had to gather every available fighting force and set out immediately.
“So you went and got permission from the Emperor? Even got yourself appointed as a court knight?”
“It’s only temporary.”
“Professor! Even a temporary court knight has to be at least an upper-rank knight! Do you have any idea how many upper-rank knights in the Empire dream of becoming one?”
In the underground training room, Trie was chattering away nonstop. While the others were gathering, I’d sparred with her and given her the news in advance. Thanks to that, I realized it would be better to leave out the part about the temporary knighthood once everyone arrived. Ainz would definitely throw a fit. Iris and Erika might be fine, but Ainz was bound to make a huge scene.
“Anyway, I’m heading south. Trie, I’d like you to come with me. Of course, you can take some time to think about—”
“Sure!”
“What?”
“I said sure. You needed someone to watch your back, right? I’ll go with you.”
Her answer came far too quickly. Had she even properly understood what I was saying?
“Trie. This isn’t something you should decide so lightly. The place we’re going is a battlefield soaked in blood and flesh. And since we’re using the break period to go, if an emergency happens we might not make it back in time for classes—”
“I know. I answered knowing all that. Or do you just not want me to go?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then it’s settled! Decision made!”
“…….”
Her response was so refreshingly decisive that it actually made me anxious. I had expected her to accept after a short moment of thought, but I never imagined she wouldn’t even hesitate. I almost asked if she shouldn’t discuss it with her family first, but stopped myself. The outcome was obvious anyway. Her family would try to stop her, and Trie would ignore them. Within the Schulzenburg family, she held that much status and power.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to test something today?”
“Ah. Right. There’s something I want to practice against you. I couldn’t quite get the feel for it when I tried alone……”
“What is it?”
“I want you to face me seriously.”
As soon as I activated the Internal Circuit, a low hum filled the air and heat surged through my entire body. At the same time, a pillar of light erupted from my right palm, taking the shape of a sword. With my left hand, I drew the metal sword from its leather sheath.
“Whoa…… dual wielding?”
I nodded silently and assumed my stance. The metal sword extended forward in a middle guard while Bappe was raised high in an upper guard. It was the most ideal posture I had come up with after teaching myself. Defend with the forward sword while attacking with the other. In theory, it was a sword style that perfectly embodied unified offense and defense.
“I’ve never faced dual wielding before either…… Alright. I’ll try to break through it however I can.”
Trie planted herself firmly like a towering mountain. She radiated an aura that would make any opponent shrink back just by facing her. She hadn’t been this intense before. It seemed that after going through the Wist Forest, she had achieved another level of awakening in swordsmanship.
But Trie’s defense wasn’t an unbreakable absolute. I had pierced it myself once before. Knowing that possibility existed meant I no longer had anything to fear.
“Prepare yourself, Trie.”
My body had never felt lighter. I kicked off the ground and charged straight at her throat.
“Damn it……”
“Hehe. Did I go too hard?”
Trie scratched her head with an awkward laugh. If I could, I would have gotten up and flicked her forehead. But the excruciating pain in my side kept me flat on the floor, completely unable to move.
I had nearly died. Trie’s white blade had slipped into my guard and, just before slicing through my flank, twisted sharply to strike me with the flat of the sword. Thanks to that I hadn’t died, but I was left flailing in an agonizing swamp of pain that felt like death itself. It was as if all my internal organs had been twisted inside out. I wasn’t even sure a potion would fix this.
“It really was a crazy idea. I should scrap it.”
I had tried copying something I’d seen in an animation and ended up like this. If they had been one-handed swords it might have been different, but wielding two longswords—one in each hand—was simply too unbalanced. That awkwardness had immediately created openings, and I had ended up taking a hit. Longswords were meant to be used with both hands for a reason. I should use weapons properly for their intended purpose.
“Huh? You’re scrapping it? No way! It was actually pretty fierce.”
“You don’t have to comfort me, Trie.”
“I’m not. I mean it. Somehow it felt like I was fighting against both a sword and a shield.”
“Even so, it couldn’t match the agility of a one-handed sword or replicate the stability of a shield.”
“But you can instantly switch between sword and shield roles depending on your stance. That’s an incredibly big advantage!”
I understood what she meant. With a sword and shield, if the angle was even slightly off, one of them could become useless. But with dual swords, you simply had to swap their roles.
“And when you switched both swords to attack mode and swung them! Even I got really scared then! I only handled it calmly because I’m an experienced swordsman. Most people would have panicked, you know?”
Coming from the person who had blocked all of it, her words didn’t sound very convincing. Still, Trie wasn’t the type to say empty compliments or lie. Since she had declared it was sincere, even if there was a bit of exaggeration, I could believe she wasn’t lying.
“Alright. I’ll research it some more.”
“Good decision!”
The future Sword Deity herself had said it was worth researching. It would be wise to listen carefully. Clutching my side, I took Trie’s hand and stood up.
Oof. Just standing made it feel like my insides were shaking…… I pulled a handkerchief from my pocket to wipe away the cold sweat, then stopped. If my sweat got on it, Emilia’s scent would disappear.
“Master Heinkel. All the guests have arrived.”
“Ah. I’ll head up right away.”
“Schlus op……”
Just then Emilia opened the door and appeared. She looked like she was about to say something upon seeing me being supported by Trie, but—
“What was that?”
“Nothing, Master Heinkel. I’ll serve them tea.”
She turned away with an icy expression. She must have been annoyed at having so many guests to entertain. After all, I would be gone in a few days and things would calm down. Just endure it a little longer.
“Let’s go up, Trie. I’d appreciate your help persuading them.”
“What? There are others coming too?”
“Yeah. The more allies, the better.”
“Are you going to ask Professor Sergei?”
“No. Of course not……”
I had no intention of asking Sergei. Even if I did, he wasn’t someone who would move easily. Without an official request for assistance from the imperial family, Sergei—as a civilian—couldn’t head to the battlefield.
“They’re all people you know too.”
I climbed the stairs with Trie. There was no way I couldn’t be nervous. My fate—slightly exaggerated—was hanging on this very moment. I had made big promises to the Emperor. If I returned empty-handed without bringing anyone south, it would be the most pathetic outcome imaginable. My honor would be damaged beyond recovery. So failure was absolutely not an option.
“You call guests over and then make them wait?”
Erika grumbled as she sipped her tea. She glanced forward and to the side. Ainz and Iris. Two familiar faces.
“Does anyone know why we were invited?”
“Hm? Invited? I just came running the moment Schlus called.”
“Ah, I see……”
Ainz crossed his arms and said something stupid. Lately he gave off the impression of having become Schlus’s loyal dog, and it was hard to shake that feeling.
“What about you, Iris? Haven’t you heard anything?”
“I wonder.”
“Ah.”
The moment I saw Iris’s gentle smile, it clicked. Iris had future sight…… Which meant the only one in this room wondering why they had been invited was Erika.
“Ugh, this is so frustrating! Attendant! When is Schlus—
“You seem quite impatient. Do you have other plans afterward?”
A low voice came from behind. It was Schlus Heinkel…… and he wasn’t alone. He was with the green-haired girl who always carried a white sword. Strangely, Schlus was also wearing a sword. Maybe he was excited after receiving it as a gift.
“I don’t have any particular plans, but my precious time is being wasted, that’s why.”
“You’re the one who wastes my time with trivial nonsense whenever you have something to say.”
“T-That’s……!”
“I’ll keep it simple and only say what needs to be said.”
Schlus Heinkel walked over and stopped in front of the sofa. The green-haired girl glanced around hesitantly before quietly sitting at the very edge of the couch.
“Trie and I will be participating in the civil war in the south. We’re recruiting comrades to join us.”
“What?!”
Erika couldn’t hold back and shouted. She whipped her head to the side, and sure enough, Iris remained perfectly calm. Whether she had known in advance or simply didn’t show excitement easily, Erika couldn’t tell.
“W-What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Do I need to explain the meaning of such a simple sentence?”
“No, that’s not what I mean! Why are you suddenly going? And in the middle of the semester!”
“To strengthen the Empire’s unity and maintain peace on the continent.”
“Uh……?”
Perhaps because it sounded so obviously righteous. Hearing Schlus say it so shamelessly left Erika speechless. She was so dumbfounded that not even a sarcastic remark like “Oh, look at the great patriot” came out.
“Among the students whose skills have been verified, you are the ones I believe I can trust. I’ll be honest. I need your help. I need comrades I can trust to stand guard while I sleep, comrades I can entrust my back to.”
“But this is all so sudden…… What could we even do on a battlefield?”
“Mages are treated as valuable tactical assets. You don’t need to worry about the Mage’s Oath. You won’t be going as soldiers, but as mercenaries hired by me.”
The Mage’s Oath was a promise made by all who walked the path of magic. It included vowing never to use the magical power granted by Lord Aegis for evil deeds, which was why the Freya Empire prohibited including mages in military organizations. But it was all just a facade. In reality, mages were deployed to battlefields through wordplay—hired as mercenaries or as infantry capable of using magic.
“……”
Erika glanced at Iris. Erika, who wasn’t particularly devout, had no qualms about using such loopholes, but she wondered how the Saintess Iris would feel.
“This is not a place to take lightly. It is a battlefield where people kill and are killed, and we will be no exception. You may end up with blood on your hands. I will do my utmost to prevent that, but it’s possible some of us won’t return. I want you to answer after fully understanding all these risks.”
“I’ll go. It’s a life you saved, Schlus. Sacrificing it for you wouldn’t be so bad.”
“No, I’d rather you didn’t sacrifice it……”
Ainz answered without a moment’s hesitation. They were suddenly talking about going to a battlefield to fight, and he just accepted? No matter how close the two had become recently, Erika found it hard to understand. She even began to suspect that Schlus had hypnotized and was controlling him.
“I’ll go too.”
“Huh? You too, Iris? Is that okay? With your status as Saintess?”
“It’s fine. I’ll simply be going for humanitarian reasons to treat the wounded soldiers.”
“Ah…….”
If that was the case, even a Saintess could go. But even if she could, why on earth was she going?
“Schlus. If you’re hiring us, how will you pay our wages?”
“You already know that, don’t you?”
“Hehe. You noticed?”
What the hell. Why were they talking about something only she didn’t know? Erika looked back and forth between Iris and Schlus in utter bewilderment.
‘Are they messing with me?’
She was starting to suspect that everyone here was in on it and teasing her. Otherwise there was no way they would accept such an insane proposal on the spot. And everyone except her!
“Wait, I don’t know! Wages! Tell me too!”
“I’ll provide you with separate compensation, Erika.”
“What is it?”
“The nightmares your little sister is suffering from. I’ll fix them.”
“……!”
The words What nonsense hovered on the tip of her tongue.
“I think it will be difficult to decide alone. You don’t need to answer right away. We’ll depart from the imperial station at 7 p.m. today, so you can give your answer by then. Now, since you all need to pack, let’s disperse.”
“……”
As everyone stood up and began to move, only Erika remained frozen in place, completely stunned.