The Hero Begins the Judgment
"Is that your own idea? Or is it an order from above?"
I directed the question at the gate captain, who showed zero intention of opening the gates. I hadn't liked the fact that this creep—who'd originally abused his position to strip women—was still clinging to his post, but I'd decided to exercise some patience anyway.
"Hah, acting all high and mighty when you're the one who dragged these monsters here—what do you even have to say for yourself?"
"So Hazel approved of this too?"
"Of course. The countess herself ordered me not to open the gates under any circumstances."
Of course, I had no reason to take the gate captain's word at face value. Better to trust what I'd seen and felt with my own eyes than listen to a sleazy bastard like him. Still, the confidence in his voice suggested Hazel had at least tacitly approved of this mess in some way.
Put simply, my judgment was that even if Hazel wasn't the one who'd issued the order, she'd given it her blessing.
Guess I'll just have to check for myself.
I flashed a faint smile as I eyed the gates. Butler Castle's entrance was a double-layered setup: a latticework iron gate and a thick wooden door. The iron lattice was currently blocking the main gateway.
Through the gaps in the iron, I could see the residents of Butler Territory peering out anxiously from inside the castle.
What was funny was that the refugees—who'd been trembling outside the walls just moments ago—were now just standing there watching, too.
"Why are you all just standing around gawking? These people are just like you—fleeing their homes, refugees all the same."
"…"
My shout fell on deaf ears. The locals and refugees alike just stared at us, unmoving. Their expressions screamed, What can we do? We're powerless to open the gates. It made my stomach turn.
"Seal the gates completely!"
At the gate captain's command, a few soldiers rushed to turn the windlass. The wooden barrier at the entrance slowly rose, fully sealing the gateway.
"Wh-what are we gonna do now?"
"There's nowhere left to run!"
The refugees who'd followed me were understandably rattled by the gate captain's words. At least things were better than in my first timeline—no one was acting all high-and-mighty like before. They'd seen what I'd done, stuck close behind me, gotten a good look at who I was.
"What do we do now, sir?"
Saintess Marian Delarossi asked me that, and instead of answering, I drew the sword of Peril from my belt. Thanks to Lilite coming this way, the light sword had probably survived. This was originally his technique, but I had no qualms about using it.
"What happens next is on you all."
I murmured the words low, then charged the gates sword-first.
"Chased by monsters and now you've finally lost it."
The gate captain's voice drifted down from atop the walls as he watched me, but I had no time to humor him. I'd poured every ounce of my power into the sword I'd taken from Peril, and soon the ordinary blade began radiating brilliant light.
Boom—.
With a deafening crash, the thick gates exploded into splintered wood. The inner lattice iron gate was mangled beyond recognition.
A bit of a waste. Not a bad sword.
I glanced at the utterly ruined blade, then unceremoniously tossed it to the ground. In the eerie silence that followed, only the sound of the broken sword skittering across the dirt could be heard.
Unable to believe their eyes, the onlookers gaped at me in stunned silence.
"What are you all standing around for? Get inside the castle."
Only then did Marian snap out of it, ushering the refugees through the gates. A few soldiers tried to block their path with spears, but when I stepped forward, they backpedaled in terror.
"Wh-what kind of lunatic are you? You trying to get us all killed?"
The gate captain's voice rang out again from above the gates. He was clearly terrified I'd come for him next, yet he still spat out that pointless question, unable to make sense of it all.
"If you wanna live, then defend it properly."
That was my reply to the gate captain. I had no intention of saving these people for free. Just like the refugees outside the empire, the people of Butler Territory needed to prove themselves first for fairness' sake.
Just as I bore the responsibility of my power to live, they needed to take responsibility for their own lives to survive.
Creak— creeeak—.
The distant monster howls grew closer, and soon they were pouring into the castle. They were just small fry like goblins, but under the demon army executive's control, they moved with unnatural agility.
Butler Territory's forces—prepared only for a siege—panicked. The castle interior might as well have been abandoned.
The small monsters that breached the walls charged the frozen residents, and soon screams and shouts echoed from every corner.
Amusingly, even in the chaos, the monsters targeted very specific victims.
"Marian, keep these people safe."
Lilite would avoid them anyway, but I gave the order regardless as I slowly made my way toward the inner castle. I'd leave the small fry to her, but I had something to confirm with Hazel.
**
"H-Hero…"
As I headed for the inner keep, I ran into Charlie fleeing in a hurry. He'd clearly heard about the gate incident—his face was pale with fear.
I grinned at him. "Where's the fire, Administrator?"
"…Th-there's trouble at the walls."
I couldn't help but chuckle at Charlie scrambling for an excuse even in that split second. Sure, he might be heading to the walls, but the bag in his hand looked far too heavy for a battlefield errand.
I closed in on the terrified man and lightly kicked his gut. The coward—who only knew how to scheme—rolled on the ground, vomiting his guts out from that single blow. A cascade of precious jewels and metals spilled from his dropped bag.
"What's all this? Rewards for the soldiers?"
"Urk…"
Charlie writhed in agony, unable to answer properly. His reaction made it obvious whose head had ordered the gates sealed. He had that guilty look unique to crooks with too many skeletons in their closet.
What I couldn't figure out was why screwing me over benefited him.
"Why'd you do it?"
"Urgh. M-monsters could get inside the castle—it was the only choice."
I grabbed him by the hair and he spat out the excuse. Sure, it was plausible, but he still wouldn't meet my eyes—like he was hiding something.
"Not that. The real reason."
"…What other reason could there be for sealing the gates?"
I scowled at Charlie's stonewalling. He wasn't about to crack easily. But just then, a fancy envelope slipped from his pocket.
I tossed him to the ground and picked it up.
"Th-that's—"
His panic told me it was important. Inspecting it closely, I frowned. It bore Crown Prince Aaron's seal, clear as day.
Kill the Hero.
That was the entire contents of the letter. I suddenly understood why Charlie had kept it so close—he must've planned to flee to the capital and throw himself on Aaron's mercy.
The problem wasn't Charlie. It was Crown Prince Aaron.
Why the hell would he…?
I couldn't fathom why Aaron would send a letter all the way to a vassal in Butler Territory ordering my death. A guy whose head was full of ways to use me had no reason to kill me.
I wondered if he'd been involved in the first timeline too, but it was hard to say for sure. Our relationship wasn't one where he'd throw away someone useful. Besides, this trip to Butler Territory had been my solo call, not the emperor's order. Too many variables had cropped up; I couldn't reliably connect this to past events.
"G-give that back!"
Charlie yelled, but I had no intention of handing it over.
I'll look into this separately.
I pocketed Aaron's letter and looked down at him. "Funny guy. Wrong time to be thinking ahead."
"Wh-what?"
Creak— creeeak—.
A few monsters were charging straight for Charlie's back.
"Survive if you can, Administrator."
I said it flatly, watching as a goblin closed in and slashed at him with a short dagger. His scream followed, but I turned toward the inner keep without a second thought.
I was far more curious about Hazel's reaction than some worthless punk like Charlie.