Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Path Diverges
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A Change in the Stem
"What are you doing here?"
Ilia Marcus, my fiancée and a peerless beauty with the makings of a Sword Queen, was looking at me, clad in brilliant armor.
Lined up behind her were knights in armor emblazoned with a hammer over the left breast.
"Who is this gentleman?"
A handsome man walking with Ilia looked at me and asked her.
"Yuren Lox. He is the Grand Prince of the Lox House. And my fiancé."
She introduced me without a moment's hesitation.
"Ah, of the Lox House..."
For just a split second, I saw the handsome man's expression harden.
"To meet the Grand Prince of the Lox House in a place like this, what a strange occurrence. I am Musk Malone, the 5th Vice-Captain of the Steel Hammer Knights, affiliated with the Marquis Marcus House."
He just kept tacking on titles before his name. In short, it meant he was a nobody.
Wait, did he say Musk Malone? And this is the fountain in As Castle. No way!
I immediately stood up and looked around. And then I saw the back of a figure I had imagined hundreds, thousands of times in my head.
Dammit, I'm too late. How could I have forgotten? So this was the moment!
The fountain, As Castle, and Musk Maloneseeing those three together made me remember for certain. This was originally the intersection where Ilia and the protagonist were supposed to meet.
A child would have been in danger of being killed for blocking the knights' path, and the protagonist would have saved them, causing a conflict. Ilia would then step in to mediate, and thus their connection would have begun.
But because Ilia saw me and moved first, the situation had changed. The child who would have blocked the knights' path passed by without incident, and the protagonist also simply watched before moving on.
This was different from the small changes I had made so far. The main stem of the story itself had been altered.
"Yuren, what are you doing?"
It seemed Musk had been holding his hand out while I was lost in thought. He was still smiling, offering a handshake.
But right now, that guy probably wants to kill me.
"Yuren Lox."
I had to be forceful here. Hearing my brusque introduction, Musk's expression stiffened again.
"Vice-Captain, I need to have a word with him. Please go on ahead."
"Understood."
Ilia sent the knights on their way, then took my arm and led me elsewhere.
"Yuren, why did you come here?"
"I came looking for an artisan."
"An artisan? You mean a blacksmith?"
She asked again, as if my words were unexpected.
"The Marquis Lox House must have plenty of skilled artisans."
"That's true, but I wanted to find my own person."
"If you had told me beforehand, I could have helped."
"It's fine. I found someone good."
Ilia clicked her tongue as if in disappointment.
Is she really your fiancée?
Yes.
What is with this woman! Her talent is overflowing! Its like its about to shatter its vessel and burst out!
Agnes, having read Ilia's talent, shrieked an ecstatic voice, practically bouncing.
Right, this woman later becomes one of the strongest.
"So, are you heading back now?"
I thought for a moment at her question.
In the original story, Ilia would face a great danger on her expedition and be saved by the protagonist with whom she had formed a bond. But now that her connection with the protagonist has been severed, she would die.
I have no choice. I can't let her die.
"Ilia, where are you headed?"
"The number of people being attacked by orcs near As Castle has been increasing, so we've been ordered to scout and subjugate them."
My prediction was right. If she goes on like this, she won't be able to escape death.
"Ilia, I have a favor to ask."
"A favor?"
"Yes. Take me with you where you're going."
"What?"
Ilia tilted her head, trying to discern my intentions as she looked at me.
"Why do you want to follow?"
"I'm in the middle of training, too. I want to see real combat. And I want to see your skills."
"I see. I suppose you're at that age. It won't be dangerous, so I don't mind, but will it be alright if we don't tell the Marquis?"
It seemed Ilia was worried about going without reporting to the Marquis.
If a report reached the Marquis, I would be detained here. I had to prevent that report at all costs.
"It's fine. It's not dangerous and it won't take long, right?"
"That's true, but... Yuren, you seem to have changed again somehow."
She couldn't sense my internal energy, so she shouldn't know about my changes. What was she sensing from me?
"Well, it should be fine. Let's go."
"Thanks."
The reason Ilia could make this decision so easily was simple. She was the captain of the 5th squad. Though she wasn't fully acknowledged yet, after this incident, she would be recognized as a proper knight.
"Ah, I need to bring my artisan."
"Where is he?"
"Over there."
I pointed to Giranox, who was looking around with a worried expression.
"Ah, Lord Yuren!"
"There you are. Did you get everything sorted out?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, it's all been taken care of. Haha."
Giranox seemed to have hardened his resolve a bit in the meantime, as he was smiling comfortably.
"Is this the artisan you chose?"
"That's right."
"Gasp!"
Giranox let out a gasp upon seeing Ilia. It wasn't because he saw her talent like Agnes. It was a pure exclamation of awe at her stunning beauty.
"Um, Lord Yuren. Who is this?"
"My fiancée."
"Gasp! As expected of you, my lord!"
Giranox seemed even more surprised than when he had seen Agnes yesterday. For a man, it couldn't be helped.
"Let's talk on the way. The knights and soldiers are waiting."
"Alright. Giranox, follow me."
"Yes."
The knights and soldiers were waiting outside the gates of As Castle. Ilia informed the other knights that Giranox and I would be accompanying them.
"Captain. We are not on an outing."
"That's right. Even if they are just orcs, we can be in danger if we're careless. We have neither the leeway nor the reason to protect them."
"Please reconsider!"
The knights, clearly displeased with me, protested vehemently to Ilia. In their eyes, it probably looked like their unqualified, nepotistic captain was just trying to go on a date. It was understandable.
"I am the captain. We will proceed as planned."
"Hmph..."
"But."
Ilia ignored their words and pushed her decision through. Honestly, she was cooler than me.
"Let's stop this and get moving. Captain Ilia is right. If you have a problem with it, you should become the captain."
Musk, who had been watching with his arms crossed from the back, stepped forward. His words were a blatant attempt to undermine Ilia.
"Then we depart."
Ilia paid him no mind and strode forward. It showed she was confident in her own skills, regardless of what others said.
On Ilia's command, the unit left the castle, with Giranox and me positioned somewhere in the middle.
"Um, Lord Yuren?"
"From now on, call me Grand Prince."
"Yes, Grand Prince. The men are giving us quite the looks. I'm usually quite thick-skinned, but even I can tell..."
"Don't worry about it. They're just a bunch of morons who wouldn't dare say a thing to our faces."
They knew my status, so they wouldn't say anything to me directly. They just kept glancing back and muttering amongst themselves.
About four hours into our march, the vanguard came to a halt. Ilia, who was at the very front, moved to a position where everyone could see her.
"This is the point where people were attacked by orcs. From now on, remember that we can encounter orcs at any moment. Maintain a battle-ready stance at all times."
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
Compared to the soldiers' thunderous roar, the knights' voices were barely audible.
This is serious.
"From this point, we will divide into squads and spread out to find the orc encampment. If you find it, do not attack first under any circumstances. Retreat and fire a signal flare."
"Yes!"
Ilia swiftly divided the knights and soldiers into eight squads and ordered them to scout.
Impressive. Her instructions are flawless and decisive.
Ilia was beautiful, but her refreshingly straightforward personality was even more charming.
"Yuren, let's go too."
Giranox and I were, of course, assigned to Ilia's squad.
Except for me taking the protagonist's place, things are still similar to the novel so far.
Our squad headed toward the northwest forest. Each squad had a soldier skilled in tracking, and we were following one of them.
"Have you found anything yet?"
"There are definitely signs of orcs, but they're scattered so chaotically that it's difficult to pinpoint their location. This is the first time I've seen anything like this. It's strange."
"Keep tracking."
"Yes."
Tracking was useless. The orcs already knew we were looking for them and were just stalling for time.
We wandered for a long time after that, but we found nothing, as if we were chasing a phantom.
"I apologize. The tracks are still too chaotic."
"It can't be helped. We're turning back for now. Stay alert for our rear as we move."
"Yes!"
As the day grew darker, Ilia ordered us to return to our starting point.
It's about to begin.
Just as I was calculating what would happen next.
Fwoosh!
Bang!
Fwoosh!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Signal flares erupted one after another from all directions.
Here we go.
"What was that?"
"Signal flares have been fired."
"How many just went off!"
While everyone was panicking, Ilia calmly asked her second-in-command for the number of flares.
"F-five have gone off."
Can't you even count? There were four, you idiot.
"Which of the flare locations is the closest?"
"The west."
"We head west immediately. Do not let your guard down. Move slowly."
"Yes!"
We began walking toward the signal flare that had gone off to the west.
"If a fight breaks out, you come to my side, no matter what."
Ilia came to the middle of the formation to tell me this before moving to the front again.
"Alright, I will."
If I don't, you'll die.