Chapter 62: The Cleanup (1)
Chapter 62: The Cleanup (1)
"The Count said that?"
"Yes."
"I see. Good work. You may go now."
Rememver sat down, concealing his rapidly spinning thoughts behind an expression no different from usual.
He could have conveyed it directly to the knight order or Lady Rien, yet the Count had deliberately chosen to relay it through him.
Rememver was a capable butler, and his master was a hero of the Empire. He understood immediately what the Honorary Count Hart was instructing.
A man who had been through war would have no reason to convey a message through such an inefficient method without cause.
Meaning, his esteemed master was telling him to watch that man Dan.
'There is no way he would let an outsider stay without reason.'
Most likely, he intended to keep a suspected enemy close at hand and observe him.
The grounds were sufficient. The words 'teach only swordsmanship' appeared at first glance to be concern that the Murderer Knight Order members might try to drug the man Dan, but digging deeper, it could be interpreted as an order not to teach anything beyond swordsmanship.
In other words, it meant to maintain a proper level of caution since the man might be an enemy.
'As the butler of a hero, I must ensure my master does not waste his attention on such matters.'
For that was the duty of a butler.
The utterly ordinary-looking old butler slowly rose from his seat.
* * *
"So... to put it more precisely, you want to become stronger in a short amount of time, correct? Not that you want to learn swordsmanship."
"Yes."
"Then we're exactly the right fit. Lucky for you. If it were any other knight order, it would've been out of the question."
Ordinary knight orders taught 'swordsmanship' through systematic training and education. Which was why those who took up the sword late could never become as strong as they aimed to be.
Clater, seated on a tree stump in a corner of the training ground, patted the spot next to him. Watching Dan obediently approach, he slowly resumed speaking.
"Do you know about our knight order?"
"The Murderer Knight Order... a very strong knight order..."
"Kid, you know how to flatter. Well, we are pretty famous. And we are quite strong, that is true. Then, what about the fact that almost all of us were forcibly conscripted commoners, and slum-dwellers at that?"
"That... I didn't know."
"Really? That's also a pretty famous story. Well, you might not know. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is this. We too were ordinary people who knew nothing at the start. Adults, even, far too old to learn the sword."
"That's right! Especially that old guy over there, you see him? He's forty-six this year. When he was conscripted, he was thirty-six!"
"...Milan..."
Clater rubbed his face. He'd thought this bastard was being oddly quiet — turns out he couldn't hold it in for long.
He briefly considered kicking him out, but it was obvious that would only make him louder and more obnoxiously clingy, so he gave up and turned back to Dan. Milan's words must have struck a chord, because he was muttering softly, 'Forty-six...'
"So..."
"...How?"
"Huh?"
"How did you become so strong?"
"Well... honestly, the reason is nothing special."
Leaning back slightly and gazing into the air as if recalling the past, Clater slowly let the words out. Or rather, he tried to.
If only Milan hadn't cut in first.
"First off, all the weak ones died during the war."
"Milan!"
"What? It's true."
At the start, they had stood on the front lines as meat shields. They had the words and orders of Deon Hart, who was their captain at the time, but those who couldn't cast off their humanity and ultimately failed to follow his command all ended up dead.
Of course, Clater hadn't intended not to say this. He was just planning to soften it a little, but this bastard had beaten him to the punch.
Heaving a deep sigh, Clater began listing off the other reasons with an expression of total surrender.
"And after the war ended, the people who had somewhere to go back to all left. Don't you think the numbers are a bit small for a knight order that was once a 'unit'? The only ones who remain here now are people who aren't afraid of death."
Those who have a place to return to and something to protect grow cautious with their lives. On the battlefield, there had been no other choice, so they'd had no option but to pretend they weren't afraid. But there was no need to keep pretending now that everything was over.
So those who still had attachments to life naturally left the knight order and returned to their daily lives.
Of course, there were plenty who couldn't overcome the aftereffects of war and came back. But among those who returned, the most common reason was simply that, over the long stretch of eight years, the place they were supposed to return to, the things they were supposed to protect, had 'vanished entirely.'
Come to think of it, it was kind of funny.
During the war, they'd thrown those fits because they were afraid of dying. And now, they were throwing these fits because they wanted to die.
'Well, actually, back then it was more out of sheer stubborn refusal to die during wartime, so I guess you could call it different.'
Clater's face, which had been smiling wryly at the thought, hardened in an instant.
He'd had a bad feeling from the start, and sure enough, Milan, this goddamn bastard—
"And the last reason is because we're all junkies."
"...Junkies?"
"Yeah. Might make it sound grand, but in the end, without the drugs, we're just worthless half-wits who can't even kill one person properly. In that sense..."
"...?"
"Wanna try one?"
"Milan!!"
There had been no need to shout.
Almost the exact moment Clater raised his voice, a sharp smack! rang out, and Milan went flying far into the distance. The person now occupying the spot where he had been standing was none other than Commander Rien Rainer.
Instead of speaking, she strode slowly over to Milan, pressed down firmly on his chest with her foot, and looked down at him with icy eyes.
The cold voice that soon flowed from her parted lips was as chilly as her gaze.
"I thought so, but I didn't think you'd actually offer him the drug. Are you out of your mind?"
"Ow ow ow... Commander, it hurts. I'm dying...! Kkhak!"
"Not 'Commander.' Lady Commander."
"L-Lady Commander! Lady Commander!"
"That's better."
"I'm dying!"
Tch. Clicking her tongue softly, Rien slowly withdrew her foot. As if he'd been waiting for that, Milan burst into a coughing fit and gasped for breath before looking at her with an expression of deep injustice.
Even in the midst of that, his body, which had been lying down, had diligently started to get up just in case he got stepped on again.
At that endearing yet infuriating behavior, Rien let out a short scoff and shifted her gaze. It wouldn't be a bad idea to educate that insolent fellow a little more, but at the moment, she had a clear purpose for being here.
And even if she didn't say anything more now...
"Clater."
"Yes, Lady Commander."
"Get ready."
"Ah...! Yes, ma'am!"
"W-w-wait a second! Commander! I mean Lady Commander! Aren't you picking people for a mission right now? So why only him...?! I'm bored too!"
As expected, he'd bitten. At the anticipated question, Rien smirked.
As if she'd been waiting for it, she answered kindly, with a hint of enjoyment and satisfaction, her expression insufferably smug.
"Because His Lordship instructed me to select ten of the 'relatively normal' ones."
"Ah... damn it!"
But you didn't even argue, did you.
Unable to hide her bafflement, Rien let out a hollow laugh, then quickly changed her expression and turned her gaze toward a nearby tree.
She'd been uncertain ever since she arrived, but now she was certain.
"Come out."
There was no reply, but her certainty remained. Her voice continued, level and businesslike.
"How long did you intend to just stand there and watch? The man your lord personally brought here was nearly about to take drugs, and you just stayed still."
"...What strength does an old man have to stop strapping fellows? And before I could even try to stop it, Lady Rien intervened first, did you not?"
Huhk. Clater inhaled sharply. Milan, too, made a dumbfounded noise of surprise. "Huh? Huh?"
They had spent eight grueling years on the battlefield and had become quite adept at detecting presences, yet even they had failed to notice him entirely.
They'd always thought of him as no ordinary butler, but to think he was to this extent...
Rien, completely ignoring the reactions of her subordinates, addressed Rememver.
"What business brings you here?"
"I came to deliver a message from the Count. However..."
Catching the direction of Rememver's gaze, she turned to her subordinates.
"Take Dan and step aside for a moment."
* * *
"I apologize. I am late."
"It's fine."
I mean, it was only a few minutes, so.
Rien had shown up not long after I'd finished a single cup of tea.
I hadn't given an exact time in the first place, and I'd drunk the tea fast anyway, so she couldn't really be considered late. But Rien apparently saw it differently.
"I am truly sorry. I don't know what to say..."
"It really is fine. You must have had a reason. Something like... finding one of the knights offering drugs when you told them to teach swordsmanship, so you had to give him a little education."
"H-How did you know...!"
Wait, that was real? I guessed that on a complete shot in the dark!
Anyway, if that was the reason she was late, then all the more it wasn't something to apologize for. She deserved praise, rather.
"Well done."
"Excuse me?"
"Did Dan take the drug?"
"No."
"Then you did very well."
Rien prevented one more madman from appearing in the world!
She contributed to continental peace, and that counted for a lot more than being a few minutes late. I repeated it again with genuine feeling. Well done.
"Well then, let's go."
I shifted my gaze and scanned the faces of those standing before me. The mad dogs, Rien, and the sorceress Ran.
Hm, seems like nobody's missing. But the numbers do seem a bit high.
Slum districts are said to have very little influx of new people. As a result, everyone is familiar with each other's faces, so if a stranger shows up, they stand out right away.
One or two might be manageable, but if a whole group of completely unfamiliar faces suddenly swarms into a place like that, wouldn't news naturally travel fast to that side?
"...I think we might have to move separately..."
"If we want to avoid detection, it will be troublesome, but grouping into twos or threes seems safest."
I agree. Even three is a bit risky. Pairs might be the safest bet.
The only problem is...
"Anyone here who doesn't know the local geography?"
"..."
"..."
No answer came.
What? It can't be that they didn't hear me. Is there really no one who doesn't know?
Nah, no way, that's ridiculous...
"There is no one."
"...Hm?"
"We are all from around here, so..."
"Taking the situation's conditions into account, I only selected those who originated from this district's slums."
The calm voice laying out the facts was overlaid with a proud tone.
As expected of Rien. Very competent. I really am blessed with talented people.
'I just wish that talent-blessing wasn't a thing in the Demon Realm, though...'
I quickly pushed the bitter thought aside and gave a rough nod.
"Then the knights will pair up and move via different routes. The rally point is near the Salvation Church. If you don't know the location, ask Lady Rien. And gather somewhere you can avoid being spotted, using your own judgment."
"Yes, sir!"
"Lady Rien and the sorceress will move with me."
"Understood."
I watched the bastards scatter in different directions, then soon hurried my steps.
I thought maybe I could afford to take it a little leisurely, but thinking of Cruel made it absolutely impossible.
Where was that bastard right now, and what was he doing? No way he moved faster than me, right?
Should I have just stuck with him? No, even so, still...
...
We reached the destination in no time.
Apparently the claim about being from this area wasn't a lie — the knights had all arrived before me, despite having moved in different directions (one team even doubled back the way we'd come).
I had known that a high proportion of the Murderer Knight Order members were from the slums, but I hadn't imagined there'd be this many slum-born types all from the same district.
"Ah, that's because this slum district is the largest."
"That's why when the Empire needed to conscript troops, they cleaned this place out first."
"Unless you were very old or very young, they dragged off every single man. The population shrank a lot because of it. There used to be more people and all that."
And this was it having shrunk? I couldn't even begin to imagine what it used to be like.
"Anyway, so we just charge in now, right?"
"Boys, time for drugs!"
"...That's not it. Put the drugs away."