Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: Guderian's Counsel
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An unexpected tension filled the room.
Eowa and I, who knew the situation, along with Gaspar, were fully prepared, while the others looked baffled, unaware of what was happening.
"Gaspar, is that really true? Master...?"
Master Ilya trailed off, having sensed the presence herself.
Anton hesitated before speaking to me.
"Do we really need to be on guard? It's probably about his disciple's childbirth. Right, Ilya?"
"Hmm, I did vaguely mention the due date to Master. I just didn't expect her to show up at such a perfectly timed moment."
Master Ilya seemed oblivious to why we were on guard.
But Gaspar spoke up.
"Even if that's the case. You can't predict what might happen if you let your guard down in front of that one. Anton! What are you doing? Grab a weapon now!"
Urged by Gaspar, Anton hurriedly snatched a sword that had been mounted on the wall as decoration.
"Of course, letting our guard down in front of Master Guderian is out of the question... but is it really necessary...?"
Master Ilya fidgeted restlessly. She felt repulsed by the idea of greeting her master with weapons in hand.
"Ilya, are you there? Your master has come in person!"
Guderian bellowed from the first-floor lobby of the mansion. Master Ilya flinched and started to get out of bed to greet her.
I stopped her and gave Ymir a look.
Ymir nodded and left the room to receive Guderian.
His voice was so loud that only his carried through—Ymir's was inaudible.
"Oh, a beastkin, eh? Hmm, I smelled Gaspar on you, so it must be yours. No, the room still reeks of it. Fine, lead the way."
After a short wait, Ymir returned with Guderian in tow.
He was covered head to toe in thick leather garb, his head wrapped in something like a bandana, making it hard to tell at a glance that he was a beastkin.
But his aura gave it away. This man was outrageously dangerous.
"Hoo.... Well now, what a grand welcome."
Guderian narrowed his eyes at the sight of us gripping our weapons.
Master Ilya, uncharacteristically losing her composure, wore a tearful expression.
"I'm sorry, Master! It seems there's been a misunderstanding..."
"No, it's the proper response. If that guy over there is who I think he is."
He grinned at me.
"Mercenary Wade... You're the one who turned Haneman into a coward, huh."
"Pleasure to meet you, Grand Master. I'm Wade, disciple of Ilya Anpei."
"Greetings with your face hidden, eh."
"...If you would."
I wondered if hiding my face even mattered. Guderian, who knew everything about Master Ilya from A to Z, wouldn't have trouble guessing my identity.
His eyes seemed to pierce right through, glaring at the real me inside.
For now, though, he seemed willing to play along and didn't press the issue.
"Hah, looks like you've done your homework on me too."
"Just the surface level."
"Then it was the right call. If you'd been careless, your head would've been rolling by now."
The room's atmosphere sharpened even further. Anton, grasping the situation, began emanating his own killing intent.
Guderian widened his eyes in surprise at Anton's aura, then smirked.
"Well, I'm here today to celebrate my disciple's childbirth, so no blood will be spilled. How about everyone puts down those menacing things? You too, Gaspar."
"...It's been a while, Guderian."
"You as well. Glad to see you're doing well."
"You're not weirded out? By me serving under someone."
"I was... but I figured out why right away."
Guderian smiled at Ymir. Gaspar made a sour face like he'd bitten into dung.
Everyone slowly lowered their weapons.
Still uneasy, Ymir and Eowa stood guard in front of me.
"Wait a minute, Master. What do you mean? Of course we'd be hostile."
Master Ilya asked with a desperate expression.
Guderian said casually.
"Well, the West has gone to war with Crossing now. Including Mercenary Wade."
"What does that have to do with you, Master?"
"I didn't say it outright... but with the flames of war already rising, I suppose I should. Ilya, I'm lending my strength to the West right now. Under the name of the Three Great Generals."
"What...!? Why would you do such a thing, Master...!"
"Maybe I'm starting to feel my age. Got me thinking all sorts of things. Watching Dielrum sink into endless depravity."
Dielrum, the beastkin slums. According to Gaspar, it was an extreme group.
Gaspar nodded in understanding.
"You're trying to bring Dielrum into the light."
"Otherwise, it was headed straight for destruction. Even I can't help but feel responsible. Sigh! Would've been nice if I could have a free spirit like you, Gaspar."
"Sounds like sarcasm."
"Hah, if that's how it sounded, then it was. At least the people of Dielrum see you as a traitor."
"They just assumed I was on their side. I take no one's orders. I belong nowhere."
"And now?"
"...What, I'm getting old too."
"Hahaha! Tit for tat, eh?"
I had no idea what they were talking about, but I let it slide.
Probably, with Dielrum's survival in peril, Guderian had stepped up to lead them out of responsibility.
Guderian plopped down into a chair. He then took the baby from Master Ilya.
"What's the name?"
"We named him Gawain."
"Gawain, huh... Nice. Sounds like he'll grow into a fine man."
"When he grows up, I hope you'll teach him the martial arts, Master."
"Hah, that's impossible. I told you—we're enemies now. The fires of war are already lit. They won't stop until one side's flames are snuffed out completely. So if we meet on the battlefield, kill me, Ilya. And you all survive. It's far better for fresh young things like you to live than this old bag of bones."
"Master...! Please, no more sad talk."
Master Ilya shed tears like a child. It was the first time we'd seen her so soft, and everyone was stunned.
"Whoops, didn't come here to talk like that."
I bowed my head.
"I'm sorry. I seem to have ruined the mood. Master Ilya, I'll take my leave. You all talk in peace."
Gaspar signaled he was staying, so I decided to leave the room with Ymir and Eowa.
But then.
"Wade!"
Guderian said lowly.
"...Strictly speaking, you're my precious disciple's disciple too. So let me give you a bit of advice."
"Advice...?"
"First! Beware the West's spies."
"...!"
"The West has been planting spies across the continent for decades to conquer it. They're cunning and sly. One might be right next to you already. Let your guard down, and a knife might end up in your throat while you sleep."
"..."
"For the record, it's not Ilya. She's from the West too, but her circumstances are a bit different. Ask her about it later. Second, watch out for Tetora Anistri."
Tetora Anistri. According to Crossing's intel, one of the West's top leaders.
"That one's an outsider. Totally different quality from Haneman. Underestimate him, and you might get swallowed by those black flames."
"Tetora Anistri..."
"And third. War will break out in Caliper soon. You're connected to Caliper too, so you should know."
"War in Caliper?"
That was the hardest to grasp. There wasn't the slightest pretext for war in Caliper.
"You'll find out soon enough. Oh, and one more bonus. If we meet on the battlefield next time, avoid me if you can. I turn into a demon in battle. But if it's not on the field—if it's after everything's over—let's share a drink. And I'd appreciate it if you took off that mask then. Until that day... I'll think of you only as Wade."
He'd roughly guessed my identity, as expected. But he didn't seem inclined to blab it to the others.
Guderian was with the West, making him my enemy, yet for some reason, I felt a vague trust in him.
"...Yes, thank you, Grand Master."
I mulled over the advice Guderian had tossed my way.
*
*
*
Tossing and turning all night with so much on my mind, I dragged myself to the academy in a daze.
I'd slept some in the carriage, but the fatigue lingered.
‘Gotta nap in class.’
Being a general had its perks here—no instructor dared call me out even if I slept openly now.
As I headed to the classroom, a crowd blocked my path.
It was the cadets I'd dismissed yesterday.
Spotting me, they rushed forward and dropped to the ground in a heap. True to form as cadets, even their prostrations had precision.
"I'm sorry! Please forgive us!"
"Forgive us, General!"
They slammed their foreheads to the ground, pleading. It was only natural. With daddy's influence off the table, this was their last resort.
‘Quite the spectacle.’
The ones who'd always looked down on me were now weeping and begging.
Over sixty of them.
Casper was among the group.
He stood there in a daze. The sight of his followers kowtowing to me must have been a shock.
"Wh-what the hell is this?"
Dorothy, arriving behind me, muttered in astonishment.
"...Als. What are you gonna do?"
"Dunno."
Dorothy whispered to me, as if she'd made up her mind.
"How about forgiving them? Some of them weren't malicious toward you—they just went along with the faction."
"That's no reason to forgive them."
"True, but..."
I was tempted to cut them all out ruthlessly since I was already pegged as the villain, but apparently, that wasn't in my nature.
‘Plus, purging them all might stir up trouble elsewhere.’
Like pressure on my family.
Decision made, I said to Casper.
"You kneel and bow your head too. Do that, and I'll forgive the rest."
At my words, Casper began trembling.
The others looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
‘Sigh, I'm too soft.’
Forgiving an act of lese-majeste just for kneeling and begging. What general would show such leniency?
Besides, this was doing Casper a favor. Kneeling here meant admitting he wasn't Wade.
He'd eat endless shit for it, but it'd be mitigated by saving his comrades, letting him shed the fake Wade risk and keep his cadet spot. He wouldn't have the same influence, but at least he'd stay.
This was my final mercy.
And he rejected it.
"You think I'll kneel to trash like you!? I'm Wade! A greater general than the likes of you!"
He spat it out in rage and stormed off. Naturally, curses rained down from the others.
"Where the hell you going, you bastard!? If you'd just bowed, we could've all been saved!"
"Damn you! You weren't Wade after all! I never believed you from the start!"
"You coward! Can't take responsibility and just run away!"
"I was the idiot for trusting scum like you!"
The outpouring of curses.
The fake Wade—Casper Milia—was utterly ruined.
I addressed the ones still prostrated.
"You were following trash like that, huh?"
They stayed silent, speechless even with a hundred mouths.
I whispered to Dorothy.
"Can you pick out the decent ones from these?"
"Yeah, I'll do it as quick as I can."
I trusted Dorothy's eye.
But first, some had to go. With Casper pulling that stunt, I had no intention of forgiving the rest blindly.
"You, you, and you over there, and you."
The ones who'd been the most insolent.
Among them were the guys who'd leered at Estelle during the Chimera War visitation and picked fights.
"I'm not forgiving you lot, so get lost. If you wanna blame someone, blame Casper for ditching you—that was your one shot at survival. The rest... I'll think about."
Sighs of relief came from all around.
The ones I'd pointed out were sobbing like penitents, faces streaked with tears, but it was too late.
And I knew full well those weren't tears of true remorse.